Squeezing Out Sparks Tops 1979 Pazz and Jop Poll

Graham Parker: Protection

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Graham Parker and The Rumour win the annual Village Voice Pazz and Jop critics poll. Robert Christgau sums up the results in this way :

Especially if allowances are made for Nashville and Denver and Omaha and New Orleans, it's hard to imagine any other album cracking this year's top five: Armed Forces, by last year's overpowering winner, Elvis Costello; Fear of Music, by Talking Heads, up from fifth in 1978; the confusing American version of The Clash, which in its 1977 English edition showed up on a lot of best-of-the-decade lists; Rust Never Sleeps, generally regarded as Neil Young's best album since Tonight's the Night; and this year's model, Squeezing Out Sparks, by Graham Parker and the Rumour, who placed their first two albums at two and four in the 1976 poll but haven't made much noise among the voters since.

By clicking a link on the albums you can find my own reviews from this year.

The 1979 Pazz +Jop Critics Poll Albums

1. Graham Parker: Squeezing Out Sparks (Arista) 767 (63)
2. Neil Young: Rust Never Sleeps (Reprise) 652 (50) 
3. The Clash: The Clash (Epic) 638 (50)
4. Talking Heads : Fear of Music (Sire) 620 (51)

5. Elvis Costello: Armed Forces (Columbia) 619 (55)
6. Van Morrison: Into the Music (Warner Bros.) 474 (41)
7. The B-52s: The B-52s (Warner Bros.) 371 (37) 
8. Tom Petty Heartbreakers: Damn the Torpedoes (Backstreet/MCA) 340 (31)
9. Pere Ubu: Dub Housing (Chrysalis) 334 (28)
10. Donna Summer: Bad Girls (Casablanca) 330 (30)

11. The Roches: The Roches (Warner Bros.) 292 (30)
12. Dave Edmunds: Repeat When Necessary (Swan Song) 222 (21) 
13. Nick Lowe: Labour of Lust (Columbia) 201 (24)
14. Tom Verlaine: Tom Verlaine (Elektra)
15. Iggy Pop: New Values (Arista) 190 (20)

16. Marianne Faithfull: Broken English (Island) 185 (20)
17. Blondie: Eat to the Beat (Chrysalis) 184 (20)
18. Michael Jackson: Off the Wall (Epic) 179 (16)
19. Rickie Lee Jones: Rickie Lee Jones (Warner Bros.) 176 (20)
20. Buzzcocks: Singles Going Steady (I.R.S.) 172 (18)
21. Fleetwood Mac: Tusk (Warner Bros.) 160 (17)

22. Neil Young with Crazy Horse: Live Rust (Reprise) 158 (15)
23. Ry Cooder: Bop 'Til You Drop (Warner Bros.) 155 (18)
24. David Johansen: In Style (Blue Sky) 136 (15)
25. Lene Lovich: Stateless (Stiff/Epic) 125 (13)
26. Linton Kwesi Johnson: Forces of Victory (Mango) 122 (13) 

27. Chic: Risque (Atlantic) 112 (11) 
28. Joe Jackson: Look Sharp! (A+M) 111 (11) 
29. Art Ensemble of Chicago: Nice Guys (ECM)
30. Roxy Music: Manifesto (Atlantic) 107 (11) 
31. David Bowie: Lodger (RCA Victor) 104 (12)
32. The Slits: Cut (Antilles) 99 (10)

33. Philip Glass/Robert Wilson: Einstein on the Beach (Tomato) 98 (9)
34. Bob Marley the Wailers: Survival (Island) 94 (9)
35. The Police: Regatta de Blanc (A+M) 92 (10)
36. The Shoes: Present Tense (Elektra) 90 (12)
37. The Jam: All Mod Cons (Polydor) 89 (9)

38. Bob Dylan: Slow Train Coming (Columbia) 88 (11)
39. Stevie Wonder: Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants (Tamla) 88 (9)
40. The Kinks: Low Budget (Arista) 85 (9)

1978 Pazz + Jop Album Poll

Elvis Costello + the Attractions : This Year's Girl

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The Village Voice's contemporaneous poll of American rock and jazz critics in 1978 is interesting mostly because we get to see what they missed. The Clash's 1977 debut album wouldn't be released in the US until mid-1979 so Americans were late to certain parties, even if they eventually discovered The Clash, Ian Dury, and Wire in '78. So what did Americans miss by late '78? The Buzzcocks, The Jam, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magazine, Public Image, The Only Ones, Dire Straits and The Saints, to name a few. And as the years passed Kraftwerk's Man Machine, Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians , Marvin Gaye's Here My Dear, Big Star's Third would all be considered classics.

1. Elvis Costello: This Year's Model (Columbia) 783 (58)
2. The Rolling Stones: Some Girls (Rolling Stones) 616 (52)
3. Nick Lowe: Pure Pop for Power People (Columbia) 328 (32)
4. The Clash: Give 'Em Enough Rope (Epic) 328 (28) 
5. Talking Heads: More Songs About Buildings and Food (Sire) 317 (28)

6. Bruce Springsteen: Darkness at the Edge of Town (Columbia) 284 (25)
7. Ramones: Road to Ruin (Sire) 262 (24)
8. Neil Young: Comes a Time (Reprise) 250 (25)
9. The Cars: The Cars (Elektra) 223 (24)
10. David Johansen: David Johansen (Blue Sky) 186 (17)
11. Warren Zevon: Excitable Boy (Asylum) 182 (16)

12. Brian Eno: Before and After Science (Island) 171 (16)
13. Ian Dury: New Boots and Panties! (Stiff) 146 (15)
14. Patti Smith Group: Easter (Arista) 144 (18)
15. Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band: Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) (Warner Bros.) 137 (14)
16. Dave Edmunds: Tracks on Wax 4 (Swan Song) 111 (13)
17. The Who: Who Are You (MCA) 110 (8)
18. Television: Adventure (Elektra) 109 (13)
19. Willie Nelson: Stardust (Columbia) 108 (11)
20. Devo: Are We Not Men? We Are Devo! (Warner Bros.) 107 (12)

21. Bob Dylan: Street Legal (Columbia) 101 (8)
22. Cheap Trick: Heaven Tonight (Epic) 92 (11)
23. Van Morrison: Wavelength (Warner Bros.) 90 (11)
24. Lou Reed: Street Hassle (Arista) 89 (10)
25. Blondie: Parallel Lines (Chrysalis) 88 (11)
26. Pere Ubu: The Modern Dance (Blank) 81 (10)

27. Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove (Warner Bros.) 73 (7)
28. Wire: Pink Flag (Harvest) 70 (6)
29. Generation X: Generation X (Chrysalis) 66 (7)
30. Al Green : Truth n Time (Hi) 65 (9)



From Robert Christgau:

 Elvis Costello's This Year's Model is the biggest winner in Pazz + Jop history. Except in 1974, when there were a mere 28 voters, only The Basement Tapes has ever made over half the ballots, and Costello's point spread--huge over the runner-up Stones and absolutely staggering over everyone else--is unprecedented and then some. But what's even more remarkable is the rest of the chart. Last year, eight of the 30 finishers were directly associated with new wave; this year--not counting Brian Eno, the Cars or Cheap Trick--the figure is 16. And now consider the non-new wavers in the top 20, where the poll is most reliable statistically. Eno produced No New York and Talking Heads and is referred to in a recent issue of Punk as "God"; the Cars may share a producer with Queen, but they share a&r, not to mention key musical ideas, with Television and the Dictators. Bruce Springsteen was a punk before there were punks--a "real" punk, as they say. Singer-songwriter Neil Young encored at the Garden with a reprise of his paean to Johnny Rotten, and singer-songwriter Warren Zevon is an excitable boy who has done Neil one better by encoring with "God Save the Queen." Hard rock perennials Stones and Who both responded more or less explicitly to the punk challenge with their toughest records in years. The best album since 1971 (if not 4004 B.C.) by the venerable rock vanguardist Captain Beefheart responds to nothing except the weather, but the Captain was his own kind of new waver before there was an ocean, or a flag. And finally there's Willie Nelson, the great exception, described by ace ballot annotator Tom Smucker as follows: "Nelson takes the crossover spirit of 1978 Country Music and crosses so far over with it he misses the mainstream entirely and ends up with an album that takes risks and gains integrity."

1977 Critics Poll - Part 1

The 1977 Village Voice PAZZ AND JOP  poll is a good contemporaneous look at what rocked the world for American rock critics who, for the most part, missed  U.K. only releases like The Clash debut, Wire's Pink Flag, Ian Dury's New Boots and Brian Eno's Before And After Science. It would take time before many would recognize albums we now take for granted like David Bowie's Low, Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue, the Bee Gees side of Saturday Night Fever and any of the three Iggy Pop albums released in 1977, The Idiot, Lust For Life or Kill City.

1. Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (Warner Bros.) 412 (32)
2. Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True (Columbia) 367 (33)
3. Television: Marquee Moon (Elektra) 327 (26)




Television  : Torn Curtain


4. Fleetwood Mac: Rumours (Warner Bros.) 318 (26)
5. Steely Dan: Aja (ABC) 266 (23)
6. Ramones: Rocket to Russia (Sire) 238 (23)
7. Talking Heads: Talking Heads: 77 (Sire) 170 (17)
8. Randy Newman: Little Criminals (Warner Bros.) 160 (16)
9. Garland Jeffreys: Ghost Writer (AM) 153 (15)




Garland Jeffreys : Lift Me Up


10. Cheap Trick: In Color (Epic) 121 (11)
11. Jackson Browne: Running on Empty (Asylum) 113 (9)
12. Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane: Rough Mix (MCA) 105 (10)
13. Kate andAnna McGarrigle: Dancer with Bruised Knees (Warner Bros.) 104 (12)
 14. Al Green: The Belle Album (Hi) 89 (10)





Al Green : All n All



15. Ornette Coleman: Dancing in Your Head (Horizon) 83 (8)
 16. Bryan Ferry: In Your Mind (Atlantic) 80 (9)
 17. Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel (Atco) 75 (6)
 18. The Kinks: Sleepwalker (Arista) 74 (8)
 19. Graham Parker and the Rumour: Stick to Me (Mercury) 72 (10)
20. Neil Young: American Stars 'n Bars (Reprise) 69 (8)
21. David Bowie: Heroes (RCA) 66 (7)




David Bowie : Joe the Lion


22. The Persuasions: Chirpin' (Elektra) 63 (7)
 23. James Taylor: JT (Columbia) 61 (7)
24. The Jam: In the City (Polydor) 61 (6)
25. Ramones: Ramones Leave Home (Sire) 60 (8)
 26. The Beatles: The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl (Capitol) 60 (7)
27. Linda Ronstadt: Simple Dreams (Asylum) 59 (7)
28. The Beach Boys: Love You (Brother/Reprise) 59 (6)




The Beach Boys : Let Us Go On This Way

29. Mink DeVille: Mink DeVille (Capitol) 57 (5)
30. Kraftwerk: Trans-Europe Express (Capitol) 55 (4)

 Said poll organizer Robert Christgau of his fellow critics:

This year, the critics rejected albums by Mitchell, Stewart, the Cult, Scaggs, Thin Lizzy and Dylan while Bowie ceased to bust blocks, leaving only seven best-sellers: Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Randy Newman (heavy sales among leprechauns), Jackson Browne, James Taylor, the Beatles and Linda Ronstadt (who with the failure of Eno's Discreet Music is now the only artist to have made the last four Pazz and Jop polls, usually in the bottom five). And barring a punk breakthrough of proportions much larger than I think likely--although every night I gaze at the image of Maureen Tucker over my bedroom door and pray that I'm wrong--the only potential 1978 biggie I spy lurking amid this year's works of art is this year's sleeper, Cheap Trick. More and more, rock critics see themselves as guardians of an aesthetic of insurrection, and fuck what people are going to buy.

Pazz and Jop Poll for 1976

Village Voice - Pazz and Jop List for 1976

1. Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life (Tamla) 292 (25)
2. Graham Parker and the Rumour: Heat Treatment (Mercury) 234 (22)
3. Jackson Browne: The Pretender (Asylum) 232 (22)
4. Graham Parker and the Rumour: Howlin' Wind (Mercury) 215 (19)
5. Kate and Anna McGarrigle: Kate and Anna McGarrigle (Warner Bros.) 208 (16)
6. Steely Dan: The Royal Scam (ABC) 182 (14)
7. Joni Mitchell: Hejira (Asylum) 169 (16)
8. Ramones: Ramones (Sire) 153 (15)
9. Rod Stewart: A Night on the Town (Warner Bros.) 150 (15)
10. Blue Oyster Cult: Agents of Fortune (Columbia) 148 (13)
11. Eno: Another Green World (Island) 143 (12)
12. The Wild Tchoupitoulas: The Wild Tchoupitoulas (Island) 136 (14)
13. David Bowie: Station to Station (RCA Victor) 136 (13)
14. The Modern Lovers: The Modern Lovers (Home of the Hits) 111 (12)
15. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band: Night Moves (Capitol) 109 (12)
16. Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band: Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band (RCA) 99
17. Bob Marley and the Wailers: Live! (Island) 86 (10)
18. Ry Cooder: Chicken Skin Music (Reprise) 84 (8)
19. Warren Zevon: Warren Zevon (Asylum) 81 (8)a
20. The Dwight Twilley Band: Sincerely (Capitol) 80 (7)
21. Boz Scaggs: Silk Degrees (Columbia) 79 (10)
22. Boston: Boston (Epic) 78 (5)
23. Richard and Linda Thompson: Pour Down Like Silver (Island) 74 (9)
24. Arlo Guthrie: Amigo (Reprise) 68 (8)
25. Thin Lizzy: Jailbreak (Mercury) 66 (6)
26. Bob Dylan: Desire (Columbia) 59 (5)
27. Jeff Beck: Wired (Epic) 58 (5)
28. Andy Pratt: Resolution (Nemporer) 57 (6)
29. Linda Ronstadt: Hasten Down the Wind (Asylum) 55 (4)
30. Patti Smith Group: Radio Ethiopia (Arista)

As I pointed out earlier, had Graham Parker and the Rumour only released one album, instead of splitting the vote, they would have had the number one album of the year. It's a pretty pasty white list with only five acts of any color ( and that includes Thin Lizzy). Over the year, my fondness for Hejira and Station to Station grew. I've always loved Songs in the Key of Life, The Ramones, The Wild Tchoupitoulas and The Modern Lovers albums.

Most Overrated : 
Rod Stewart - So the critics loved "Tonight's the Night"?
Blue Oyster Cult- Not their strongest despite (Don't Fear) The Reaper
Jeff Beck- Blow By Blow's baby brother
Graham Parker's Heat Treatment is NOT better than Howlin' Wind.

Most Underrated:
David Bowie Station to Station
The Modern Lovers

Should've Been on this list:
Jorge Ben Africa Brasil
Tom Waits Small Change
Donna Summer A Love Trilogy
Flamin Groovies Shake Some Action
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Lou Reed Coney Island Baby

Shouldn't Be on This List
Kate and Anna McGarrigle (s/t)
Brian Eno Another Green World
Richard and Linda Thompson Pour Down Like Silver
Bob Marley and the Wailers Live....all 1975 releases.
Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band (s/t). Just one great song really.

Most Forgotten
Andy Pratt 's Resolution. Rolling Stone's review of the songsmith's album was given bigger play than Steely Dan's The Royal Scam in the same issue.

They Got It Right
Bob Dylan's Desire finished #1 on a lot of critics polls but isn't as strong as that. It actually does belong behind Arlo Guthrie's Amigo in my book
Night Moves and Boston are both strong, mainstream rock albums

I Still Don't Get It
Hasten Down the Wind doesn't do anything for me.
I tried to like Radio Ethiopia, figuring my rock cred is on the line and I still don't.