1976: Songs of the Year

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102 Starland Vocal Band - Afternoon Delight

101 Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

100 Bob Seger - Night Moves

99 The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop

98 Bee Gees - You Should Be Dancing

97 Aerosmith - Back in the Saddle

96 Steve Miller Band - Wild Mountain Honey

95 ELO - Rockaria

94 Orleans - Still the One

93 Al Stewart - Year of the Cat

92 Steve Miller Band - Take the Money and Run

91 Donna Summer - Spring Affair

90 Queen - Tie Your Mother Down

89 Jean-Luc Ponty - Renaissance

88 Hall & Oates - Sara Smile

87 10cc - The Things We Do for Love

86 Henry Gross - Shannon

85 Thin Lizzy - Jail Break

84 Firefall - You Are the Woman

83 Queen - Somebody to Love

82 Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son

81 Chick Corea - Love Castle

80 10cc - I'm Mandy Fly Me

79 Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Blinded By the Light

78 ELO - Livin' Thing

77 Hall & Oates - Rich Girl

76 Steve Miller Band - Fly Like an Eagle

75 Brand X - Unorthodox Behaviour

74 Pat Metheny - Road Trip / Broad Blues

73 James Brown - Get Up Offa That Thing / Release That Pressure

72 Heart - Soul of the Sea

71 Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't Fear) the Reaper

70 Led Zeppelin - Hots On for Nowhere

69 Led Zeppelin - Nobody's Fault But Mine

68 Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine

67 ELO - Strange Magic

66 Chick Corea - Night Streets

65 Kansas - Miracles Out of Nowhere

64 Stevie Wonder - As

63 Jaco Pastorius - Donna Lee

62 Heart - Magic Man

61 George Benson - Breezin'

60 Chick Corea - Armando's Rhumba

59 Jack Lancaster/Robin Lumley - Realisation

58 The Alan Parsons Project - (The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether

57 Billy Joel - New York State of Mind

56 The Alan Parsons Project - A Dream Within a Dream

55 Rush - Tears

54 Starcastle - Lady of the Lake

53 Styx - Crystal Ball

52 Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke

51 Jack Lancaster/Robin Lumley - Take Off

50 Jon Anderson - Meeting (Garden of Geda) / Sound Out the Galleon

49 Donna Summer - Try Me, I Know We Can Make It

48 Geneiss - One for the Vine

47 Styx - Jennifer

46 Rush - The Twilight Zone

45 Genesis - Eleventh Earl of Mar

44 Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely

43 Genesis - Squonk

42 Rainbow - A Light in the Black

41 Queen - The Millionaire Waltz

40 Jack Lancaster/Robin Lumley - Phobos and Deimos

39 Styx - Claire de lune / Ballerina

38 Heart - Crazy on You

37 Billy Cobham / George Duke - Ivory Tattoo

36 Jon Anderson - Dance of Ranyart / Olias (To Build the Moorglade)

35 Boston - Foreplay / Long Time

34 Jaco Pastorius - Portrait of Tracy

33 Stanley Clarke - School Days

32 Jack Lancaster/Robin Lumley - Homelight

31 Boston - Peace of Mind

30 Styx - Mademoiselle

29 Rush - A Passage to Bangkok

28 Genesis - Afterglow

27 Stevie Wonder - Wish

26 Billy Cobham / George Duke - Almustafa the Beloved

25 Kansas - Cheyenne Anthem

24 Stevie Wonder - Contusion

23 Rush - Something for Nothing

22 Genesis - Entangled

21 David Bowie - Station to Station

20 Steely Dan - Kid Charlemagne

19 Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)

18 Jack Lancaster/Robin Lumley - Hopper

17 Kansas - Magnum Opus

16 Billy Cobham / George Duke - Hip Pocket

15 Genesis - Dance on a Volcano

14 Genesis - Ripples

13 Return to Forever - Sorceress

12 Return to Forever - Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant, Parts I & II

11 Shakti with John McLaughlin - Joy

10 Jack Lancaster/Robin Lumley - Arrival

9 Al Di Meola - Land of the Midnight Sun

8 Rainbow - Stargazer

7 Return to Forever - Medieval Overture

6 Weather Report - Black Market

5 Kansas - The Wall

4 Jon Anderson - QoQuaQ Ën Transic / Naon / Transic Tö

3 Jon Anderson - Flight of the Moorglade

2 Rush - 2112

1 Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand

Put Down the Muffin - Charged Particles (2014)

I think I posted something earlier this year or late in 2013 when they launched their Kickstarter campaign, which ended up being successful obviously since this album was just printed and I received a copy in the mail just a day ago.

Put Down the Muffin I 1st heard on KBEM radio in Minneapolis, one afternoon driving home from work like in 2007 or 2008. They were playing live, being interviewed, and promoting a concert they had coming up etc. I remember the DJ asked them about progressive rock and who their favorite band was and one of the members says "well I could lie and say something like Soft Machine, haha, but I'll admit, it's Rush."

Anyway, they kind of disappeared after that point, and I meant to see them live and never was able to. That is why seeing their return of sorts recently online and then this album was kind of a big deal to me.

I have now listened to it twice and I can say I am certainly enjoying a lot of it. Stylistically, they are a jazz fusion group of a kind, but on this record, they go into some other genres to a point as well. I suppose 1 band I was reminded of at times was Tangled Thoughts of Leaving. Their use of keys and synths as not only for atmosphere, but actually a lead melody of a kind.

There are not really vocals exactly, but on 1 or 2 tracks there are what sounds like vocal lines, played backwards. "Limbic Fever" which I probably would say is my favorite track overall. The synth melody is kind of dreamy and ethereal, almost like Minus the Bear or something.

To mention some others: Aqua McGreen, Bed Foil, Arab Baker, Einstein Was Wrong and Mr.Potts all stood out in different ways. The 1st part of this album does resemble some classic Jazz Rock like Return to Forever or Weather Report. But as it goes on, it seems they do show the variety of styles they include.

I suppose you could call these kind of a hodgepodge of mostly instrumental Jazz-Rock incorporating Post-Rock, soundtrack-like textures and emphasizing synths and piano at times. Now, they still do use guitar quite a bit, even on some tracks as an equally lead instrument. But it does sound like they may use more than 1 keyboard or synth texture as there is a variety on this album. At times it almost resembles like Circus music or something.

I do also dig the way they use samples (something I totally love when used well).

One of the better local and instrumental records from 2014 certainly, and a record I look to spend more time with certainly the rest of this year/season.

This album doesn't appear to be available yet unless you backed their Kickstarter. But given they have a Bandcamp page

http://putdownthemuffin.bandcamp.com/

I wouldn't be surprised to see it up for sale there soon among other spots (Amazon, CDBaby, etc).

Put Down the Muffin on Facebook




1 Mr. Potts  5:23
2 Nightline News  4:02
3 Aqua McGreen  4:34
4 Hüba Güba  7:25
5 Claire the Loon 3:04
6 Oo˩          5:52
7 Bed Foil  4:10
8 Limbic Fever  6:30
9 Einstein Was Wrong 3:54
10 Temporary Fix 1:07
11 Arab Baker 3:54
12 Ten Miles to Waconia 5:48