The following op was written as my entry for the 29th_Candidate's "Dinosaur Rock-Off"; a tribute to the memory of rock legend, John Entwistle, recently departed bass player of The Who, and a true artist in every sense of the word.

The next track is probably one of their most famous songs - “Teach Your Children”, and the one that probably influenced my life (as well as the lives of many others) more than any single song ever written. This song, written during the Vietnam war era, became a banner for many who grew up and out of those eclectic and fascinating times. The melody to this song could hardly be called rock, and might even have spilled over into the pop genre, had the lyrics not meant so much more than some silly moon/June/spoon rhyme. With the opening lines of /You, who are on the road/must have a code/that you can live by/ one can see that this song has a message that was as relevant to the teenaged youths that first listened to this song, as it is today for those same people who are now parents of teenagers themselves. In fact, some would say that this is probably more of a folk song than any rock band would allow themselves to ever record. But that is the beauty of this album and group - they didn’t confine themselves to only one genre, and used a combination of them instead, to get their music and messages across. Check out these lyrics at http://www.mylyricarchive.com/teach_yo.htm and you’ll see what I mean. Just reading them gives me chills, and reminds me that life is a circle. We think we know it all when we are young. We grow, have children and then see our own offspring holding the same attitudes we held at their age. Probably the only other song that effected me in this way, and that still effects me today is Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” from his Tea for the Tillerman album.

The next track, “Woodstock” is the only one on the album that wasn’t written by any of the group. This song, written by Joni Mitchell is a real classic of the era, a ballad of one person’s experience with the famous outdoor rock concert from the protest era with lyrics that have an almost drug-like quality such as /and I dreamed I saw the bombers/riding shotgun in the sky/turning into butterflies/above our nation/.

The song “Our House” is a personal favorite of mine. In this song, Graham Nash (the only Brit in the group) takes a different look at a love song. The lyrics describe a couple and how they live in their home together. Without ever saying it straight out, you feel the love of these two people and one wonders why more love songs couldn’t be as creative.

In conclusion, while many could say that this album isn’t perfect, I’d certainly say that there is little on it to date it (except perhaps “Almost cut my hair”), and the music still can inspire us over 30 years after its initial release. Not many albums can say the same thing. If you’re looking for an album that would give you the very best of 70’s music, this would be the one. It has rock, folk, jazz, blues and even a little bit of pop. What’s more, its one hell of an enjoyable album - what more could you ask for.