1971 Party Tape, The - Robert Shaw

Advantages: Probably their most consistently good album, excluding compilations
Disadvantages: None

...foolishly at a party and singing along in no time, with an oh-so-simple yet wonderful sax break, and session player Bill Plummer on upright bass. 'All Down The Line' is another standard Stones-style rocker, driven along by a punchy riff and Mick's harmonica break. The group's blues roots are revisited in a couple of cover versions, Slim Harpo's 'Shake Your Hips', and Robert Johnson's 'Stop Breakin' Down'. Harmonica and slide guitar battle it out for honours on these. And there's plenty of homegrown blues, with 'Casino Boogie' and 'Ventilator Blues', a mid-tempo jam credited for once to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and guitarist Mick Taylor, who was a band member all too briefly. 'Turd On The Run' (don't worry, the lyrics are just about indecipherable) is a kind of skiffley item with more harmonica, upright bass and what sounds like a washboard... Read review

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Advantages: good time party music
Disadvantages: none

...Back in 1971 Van Morrisson was a commercial force to be reckoned with following the success of both Astral Weeks and Moondance. He followed it up with this excellent album building on the success of Moondance but adding more horns and feeling to produce his unique vision of celtic soul music. He manages to blend US Soul (Domino) rock'n'roll (Give me a kiss) and folk music to produce a goodtime album par excellance. Van Morrisson's voice is excellent swooping to the highs and lows with an outstanding purity of sound,ably supported by his band, who are incredibly tight, and the street choir to add soul. party on... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Another brilliant British prog rock album
Disadvantages: none whatsoever

...First released in 1971, Fireball was the follow up to "In Rock" and is seen as part two of a trilogy of classic British progressive rock albums from Deep Purple, sandwiched between 1970's In Rock and 1972's Machine Head. Thought for today: other than Zeppelin's IV, Houses Of The Holy and Physical Graffiti, has any other band ever come out with three great albums one after the other? I doubt it very much. Coldplay fans there's the door, you ain't invited to this party. This is the hallowed Mark II line up of the two Ians, (Paice and Gillan), Richie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Roger Glover. All equally brilliant musicians, unfortunately soon the egos would take over and the band would split into two camps, leading to their eventual self-destruction after 1973's Who Do We Think We Are, a very good album but not quite up... Read review

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