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Below is a list of the albums from the year 1972 that we have written original reviews.
America – Homecoming Blue Oyster Cult – Blue Oyster Cult Jackson Browne – Jackson Browne Chicago – Chicago V David Bowie – The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust Deep Purple – Machine Head * The Eagles – The Eagles Genesis – Foxtrot Jethro Tull – Thick As a Brick Elton John – Honky Chateau Pink Floyd – Obscured by Clouds Rolling Stones – Exile On Main Street Paul Simon – Paul Simon Steely Dan – Can’t Buy a Thrill Wishbone Ash – Argus Yes – Fragile Yes – Close to the Edge Neil Young – Harvest *1972 Album of the Year Below are further descriptions of each album, in the order that we reviewed. |
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| November 2, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Foxtrot is a solid album by Genesis, which struck a nice balance between jam-oriented progressive rock and theme-oriented art rock with not a weak single moment anywhere on the album. It would become the first in a trilogy of classic albums by the band in the early 1970s.
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| November 7, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 For a debut effort, Can’t Buy a Thrill by Steely Dan is quite polished and refined. This is hardly a surprise as the group’s founders and core songwriters Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are notorious for their near-obsessive perfectionism in the studio.
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| November 11, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Harvest is an album of Americana personified by Neil Young. It is where rock and roll goes to Nasville (literally), with simple and tight rhythms and subtle acoustic guitars are flavored by distant steel guitars and harmonica all under clearly vocalized lyrics about the simple struggles of life.
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| November 15, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 One of the lost treasures of classic rock and, by far, the most overlooked album by Pink Floyd during their classic era, Obscured by Clouds acted as a mere warm-up for the more ambitious and highly-regarded 1973 classic Dark Side of the Moon. Still the music here is excellent.
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| November 20, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Through a very long and distinguished career, David Bowie’s absolute classic is the 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It takes the musicianship and experimental of Bowie’s previous albums to a whole new level and, although it is a concept album, nothing feels forced and nowhere is it repetitive, just a grand parade of songs which collectively tell a story.
Review of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars |
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| November 25, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Many esteemed and big-name rock publications have rated Exile On Main Street by The Rolling Stones as one of the greatest albums of all time. While the music is legitimate rock throughout, this 1972 double album pales in comparison to its predecessor and breaks very little new ground to be held in such esteem.
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| November 29, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 The Eagles produced a very impressive debut album in 1972, both in songcraft and pure sound. All four original members of the band participated in writing and singing lead on multiple tunes, and the album spawned more radio hits than any of the band’s early efforts.
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| December 3, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 With his first solo effort after the breakup of Simon and Garfunkel, Paul Simon distinguished himself finely by exploring many root-American genres as well as some world musical influences. Simon instantly staked his own claim in the musical landscape with this first of many interesting albums.
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| December 10, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Fragile, the fourth album by Yes is really a bridge between its rock-influenced predecessors and the nearly pure prog albums which would follow. The album features four tracks of full band performances interspersed by five short tracks which each showcase an individual member of the band.
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| December 14, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 A unique hybrid album that literally bridges two eras of The Allman Brothers Band, the 1972 double album Eat a Peach was recorded prior to and in the wake of the tragedy which took the life of lead guitarist Duanne Allman. Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in October 1971 and the album is a tribute to him and his fantastic guitar work.
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| December 17, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 The eponymous debut album by Blue Öyster Cult kicked off the year 1972 as well as the recording career of this Long Island, New York based rock group. Often referred to as “the thinking man’s heavy metal group” or “heavy metal for those who hate heavy metal”.
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| December 20, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Honky Château was a very transitional album for Elton John, beig the first to feature his regular touring band and bridging his singer/songwriter early career with the more pop/rock oriented music he would ride to pop fame in the coming years.
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| December 25, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Thick as a Brick may be the album that brought progressive rock to its ultimate end, being one long song that covered both sides of this fifth studio album by Jethro Tull. It was deliberately crafted as an “over the top” concept album, to the point where all the lyrics were credited to a fictional child prodigy named “Gerald Bostick”. These lyrics and music were actually written by the band’s front man, Ian Anderson.
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| December 29, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Deep Purple is often overlooked as one of the truly great classic rock acts. This may be due to several factors, including the fact that they reigned during the prime of so many other great British rock groups who tended to crowd out this band’s accomplishments. In any case, this was a top-notch act and they were never better than they were on their 1972 classic Machine Head. |
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| April 28, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Wishbone Ash dabbled all kinds of hard rock genres in the early 1970s and found a bit of a distinctive sweet spot with the 1972 release, Argus. Here, the group merged some folk and blues elements with extended rock jams and a lyrical medieval concept to forge a unique record.
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| July 10, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 The first of their studio albums to be of standard, single-disc length, Chicago V has held up through the decades as the most cohesive album in the long discography of Chicago.
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| September 14, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 The critically acclaimed Close to the Edge was not an easy album to make and its intense studio sessions led to the departure of Yes‘s drummer, Bill Bruford. Still, this album would become the sonic culmination of all that the band had worked toward over through their early years and first five studio albums.
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| November 15, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 America‘s second album features the trio realizing their refined and folk-rock sound. The ten succinct tracks on Homecoming feature a clear and bright sound with some slight branching out towards diverse musical sub-genres.
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| January 1, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Although a debut, Jackson Browne‘s self-titled 1972 has a maturity due to his many years in the music industry as a performer and composer. The songs feature deeply introspective lyrics and deliberate musical arrangements which are discretely placed.
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| Final 1972 Poll Results | |||||||||||||||||||||
Q: What is the best album of 1972?
Conducted on our site, November-December, 2012 |
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| ← 1971 All Reviews 1973 → |
July 23, 2017 @ 11:23 am
“Obscure By The Clouds” by “Everybody’s A Showiz” (The Kinks) This album is best and much better
August 10, 2017 @ 12:35 pm
Please feel free to submit a Kinks review for consideration. Minimum 500 words, no plagiarizing.
Thanks.
February 16, 2020 @ 5:23 am
Roxy Music – the first album come on!! There had never been anythin like it.
November 9, 2022 @ 3:39 am
Van Morrison – St. Dominic’s Preview – the title track has been wandering around my mind – I mean like for years now – as quite possibly the greatest song ever. He starts simply and continues piling on details – fitting them in like broken chairs on a huge bonfire – but chairs made of oak. The resulting pile of conflagration just blows my mind every time.