1972 creem Rock ’n’ Roll Poll

1972 creem Rock ’n’ Roll Poll

The Readers Pass The Final Verdict

What’s this, yet another glance over the collective shoulders of a bunch of stuffed-shirt rock critics? Not this time, friends and neighbors. It’s just the final word (we hope) on a year already so far away as to be a chapter of ancient history. And it’s only fitting that you, who have hacked your way through so much of our verbiage for so long, should have the floor all to yourselves. We were overwhelmed by your response to our first annual CREEM Poll and, aside from assuring yourselves of another such shot next year, you helped give us a much more detailed picture of who you are.

In some respects, the year of 1972 was molded and dominated by a handful of aggressive personalities intent upon playing king to an audience of captive subjects. These personalities showed strongly in the balloting, but even in the mightiest of vote totals certain reservations became apparent. The Stones, as might be expected, won everything in sight with ease which assures (at least until next year) that they are truly the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band. But for a group that piled up such a formidable string of victories, their high placing in the RipOff and Fad categories (not to mention a 12th place showing in the Worst Group section) has to raise some questions. A similar polarity can be seen in the vote for David Bowie and, to a lesser extent, Alice Cooper.

There was ample evidence of the decline of certain heavy metal heroes of yesteryear. Grand Funk placed respectably among the Live Groups, but they were runaway winners of the coveted Worst Group award, joined in that Top 10 by the likes of Black Sabbath, T. Rex and the aformentioned Alice. There was no discernible shift of general attitude — Deep Purple took charge of the heavy metal turf, aided admirably by the Blue Oyster Cult and Slade — so it may be reflective of nothing more than a simple changing of the guard. But a lot of f£milar faces were conspicuous by their absence or the lacklustre nature of their appearances: Bob Dylan, Creedence, Jefferson Airplane and the individual Beatles all failed to serve any notice of the power they once wielded. The resurgence of Elvis, Chuck Berry and Rick Nelson, however, indicates the door is still open for any or all of them.

Perhaps the most revealing occurrence was not the score piled pp in any particular category, but the enormous number of boxes left unfilled. Most of the omissions were in the categories that most directly pertained to black music and those that were filled tended to cluster around a small circle of readily identifiable names. A number of white artists heavily dented the “black” categories — the J. Geils Band, the Allmans, the Stones and Van Morrison — but the situation would be healthier, maybe, if the crossovers had been more mutual.

There were some minor problems with our presentation. A lot of you picked up on the implication that the MVP category should pertain to artists of all-around ability, as the standing of Pete Townshend, Todd Rundgren and Nicky Hopkins attests. But even more seemed to regard it as just another vote for their favorite home-run hitters, which may help to explain why Eric Clapton, who hasn’t performed with any regularity in over two years, nevertheless won the MVP crown handily. A vote of confidence? At any rate, we’ll try and make the next ballot a little more specific, so start keeping score ’cause it ain’t that far away.

TOP ALBUMS (3 choices)

1.Exile on Main Street (Rolling Stones)

2.Eat A Peach (Allman Brothers)

3.Never A Dull Moment (Rod Stewart)

4.School’s Out (Alice Cooper)

5.Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie)

6.Thick As A Brick (Jethro Tull)

7.Machine Head (Deep Purple)

8.Led Zeppelin IV

9.Everybody’s In Show Biz (Kinks)

10.Transformer (Lou Reed)

11.Rock of Ages (The Band)

12.The Divine Miss M (Bette Midler)

13.Blue Oyster Cult

14.Full House (J. Geils Band)

15. Something/Any thing? (Todd Rundgren)

16. All the Young Dudes (Mott the Hoople)

17.Harvest (Neil Young)

18.St. Dominic’s Preview (Van Morrison)

19.For the Roses (Joni Mitchell)

20.Trilogy ■ (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)

lOP SINGLES (2 choices)

1.School’s Out (Alice Cooper)

2.AU the Young Dudes (Mott the Hoople)

3.Tumblin’ Dice (Rolling Stones)

4.Do Ya (The Move)

5. You’re So Vain (Carly Simon)

6. Layla (Derek & the Dominoes)\

7.Burning Love (Elvis Presley)

8.Take It Easy (Eagles)

9.Freddie’s Dead (Curtis Mayfield)

10.Go All the Way (Raspberries)

11. You Turn Me On (Joni Mitchell)

12.Elected (Alice Cooper)

13.Superstition (Stevie Wonder)

14.Long Cool Woman (Hollies)

15.Heart of Gold (Neil Young)

16.1 Can See Clearly Now (Johnny Nash)

17.Without You (Nilsson)

18.Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Temptations)

19. You Wear It Well (Rod Stewart)

20.Crocodile Rock (Elton John)

BEST R ’N* B ALBUM

1.Superfly (Curtis Mayfield)

2.Music of My Mind (Stevie Wonder)

3.London Sessions (Chuck Berry)

4.Best of Otis Redding

5.Talking Book (Stevie Wonder)

6.The World Is A Ghetto (War)

7.Straight From the Heart (Ann Peebles)

8.All Directions (Temptations)

9.Full House (J*. Geils Band)

10.I’m Still In Love With You (A1 Green)

BEST R’N’B SINGLE

1.Freddie’s Dead (Curtis Mayfield)

2.Superstition (Stevie Wonder)

3.Back StabbersYO’Jays)

4.Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Temptations)

5.1 Can See Clearly Now (Johnny Nash)

6.Let’s Stay Together (A1 Green)

7.Slippin’ Into Darkness (War)

8.1f Loving You Is Wrong (Luther Ingram)

9.Superfly (Curtis Mayfield)

10.My Ding-A-Ling (Chuck Berry)

BEST REISSUE

1.Nuggets (Elektra)

2. Layla (Derek & the Dominoes/Atlantic)

3.Pet Sounds (Beach Boys/Brother)

4.Them w/Van Morrison (London).

5.Days of Future Passed (Moody Blues/Deram)

6.Chuck Berry’s Golden Decade (Chess)

7.Space Oddity (David Bowie/RCA)

8. Lost & Found (Humble Pie/A&M)

9.More Hot Rocks (Rolling Stones/London)

10.The Kink Kronikles (Reprise)

BEST JAZZ ALBUM

l.On the Comer (Miles Davis)

2.Inner Mounting Flame (Mahavishnu Orchestra)

3.1 Sing the Body Electric (Weather Report)

4.Escalator Over the Hill (Jazz Composer’s Orchestra)

5.Sahara (McCoy Tyner)

6.Jazz/Blues Fusion (John Mayall)

7.Science Fiction (Ornette Coleman)

8.Offering (Larry Coryell)

9. Lady Sings the Blues (Diana Ross)

lO.Infinity (John Coltrane)

ALBUM COVER OF THE YEAR

1 .Transformer (Lou Reed/RCA)

2.School’s Out (Alice Cooper/Warners)

3.Mom’s Apple Pie (Brown Bag)

4.Small Beginnings (Flash/Capitol)

5.Roxy Music-(Warners)

6.They Only Come Out At Night (Edgar Winter/Epic)

7.Clear Spot (Captain Beefheart/Warners)

8.Captain Beyond (Capricorn)

9.Long John Silver (Jefferson Airpfane/Grunt)

10.The Academy in Peril (John Cale/Warners)

TOP GROUPS (3 Choices)

1 .Rolling Stones

2. The Allman Brothers Band

3.Alice Cooper

4.The Faces

5.The Who

6.Jethro Tull

7. Led Zeppelin

8. David Bowie & the Spiders

9.The Kinks

10.Deep Purple

11.The J. Geils Band

12.The Beach Boys

13.The Grateful Dead

14. Yes

15.The Band

16.Mott the Hoople

17.Emerson, Lake & Palmer

18. Slade

19.Pink Floyd

20.Blue Oyster Cult

TOP LIVE GROUPS (3 Choices)

1.The Rolling Stones

2.Alice Cooper

3. The J. Geils Band

4.The Faces

5.The Allman Brothers Band

6.The Who

7.Jethro Tull

8.David Bowie & the Spiders

9.The Kinks

10.The Grateful Dead

11. Slade

12.Blue Oyster Cult

13.Humble Pie

14. Yes

15.Grand Funk Railroad

16.Led Zeppelin

17.The Edgar Winter Group

18.Deep Purple

19.The Mahavishnu Orchestra

20.Emerson, Lake & Palmer

BEST MALE SINGER

1.Rod Stewart

2.Mick Jagger

3.Van Morrison

4.David Bowie

5.Alice Cooper

6.Neil Young

7.Robert Plant

8.Elvis Presley

9. Roger Daltrey

10.Elton John

11.Gregg Allman

12.Steve Marriott

13.Ian Gillian

14.Ian Anderson

15.James Taylor

16.Cat Stevens

17.Captain Beefheart

18. Ray Davies

19. Paul McCartney

20.Stevie Winwood

BEST FEMALE SINGER

1.Carly Simon

2.Joni Mitchell

3.Bette Midler

4.Grace Slick

5.Carole King

6.Roberta Flack

i 7.Aretha Franklin

8.Linda Ronstadt

9.Bonnie Raitt

10.Maggie Bell

11.Sandy Denny

12.Diana Ross '

13.Rita Coolidge

14.Tina Turner

15.David Bowie

16.Tracy Nelson

17.Joan Baez

18. Melanie

19.Marilyn Wilson

20. Laura Nyro

BEST R ’N’ B SINGER

1.Curt is Mayfield

2.A1 Green

3.Stevie Wonder

4.Aretha Franklin

5.Chuck Berry

6.Smokey Robinson

7.B.B. King

8.Diana Ross

9.James Brown

10.Van Morrison

BEST R ’N’ B GROUP

1.War

2.Temptations

3.Sly & the Family Stone

4.The Stylistics

5.The O’Jays

6.The J. Geils Band

7.The Rolling Stones

8.The Staple Singers

9.Wonderlove

lO.The Chi Lites

BEST NEW GROUP

1.Blue Oyster Cult

2. Slade

3.West, Bruce & Laing

4. Eagles

5. Raspberries

6.Loggins & Messina

7-Foghat

8. Focus

9. Roxy Music

10.American Spring

11. Flash

12.Jo Jo Gunne

13.Electric Light Orchestra

14. Sparks

15.New York Dolls

16.Steely Dan

17.Genesis

18.Wet Willie

19.REO Speedwagon

20. Rama tarn

WORST GROUP

1. Grand Funk Railroad

2.Osmonds

3. America

4.The Raspberries

5.T. Rex

6.The Carpenters

7.Chicago

8.Alice Cooper .

9.Black Sabbath

10.The Partridge Family

BEST GUITARIST

1.Eric Clapton

2.Jimmy Page

3.Dicky Betts

4.Keith Richard

5.John McLaughlin

6.Pete Townshend

7.Alvin Lee

8.Mick Ronson

9.Jeff Beck

10. Leslie West

BEST BASSIST

1.Bill Wyman

2.Jack Bruce

3.John Entwistle

4.Jack Casady

5.Berry Oakley

6.Paul McCartney

7.Ronnie Lane

8.Chris Squire

9.Phil Lesh

10. Dennis.Dunaway

BEST DRUMMER

1. Keith Moon

2.Charlie Watts

3.Billy Cobham

4.Ringo Starr

5.Ginger Baker

6.Neal Smith

7.Carl Palmer

8. Levon Helm

9.Don Brewer

lO.Aynsley Dunbar

BEST KEYBOARD

1.Keith Emerson

2.Nicky Hopkins

3.Leon Russell

4.Rick Wakeman

5.Elton John

6.Gregg Allman

7.Jon Lord

8. Rod Argent

9.Stevie Winwood

lO.Garth Hudson

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

1.Chuck Berry

2.Rick Nelson

3.Mott the Hoople

4.Lou Reed

5.The original Byrds

6.Jack Bruce

7.Alcohol

8.Jeff Beck

9.Curtis Mayfield

10.The Move

BEST SONGWRITER

1.Randy Newman

2.Jagger/Richard

3.Pete Townshend

4.Rod Stewart

5.David Bowie

6. Lou Reed

7. Ray Davies

8.Neil Young

9.Bob Dylan

10.Carole King

11 .Alice Cooper

12.James Taylor

13.Jackson Browne

14.Todd Rundgren

15.Cat Stevens

16.Van Morrison

17.Brian Wilson

18.Elton John

19.John Lennon

20.Gregg Allman

MISCELLANEOUS INSTRUMENT

1.Magic Dick (J.Geils Band /harmonica)

2. Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull/flute)

3.Stevie Wonder (Moog)

4.Captain Beefheart (Lungs)

5.Pete Townshend (Who/moog)

6.Ravi Shankar (Sitar)

7.Roy Wood (Move/oboe)

8.Bob Dylan (Memories)

9.Brian Wilson (Beach Boys/impresario)

10.Todd Rundgren (Studio)

BEST HORN MAN

1.Miles Davis

2.Bobby Keyes

3.Jim Price

4.Captain Beefheart

5.Ornette Coleman

6.Edgar Winter

7.Chris Wood

8.Jim Horn

9.James Pankow

lO.Pharoah Sanders

MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS

1.Eric Clapton

2.Pete Townshend

3.Mick Jagger

4.Keith Richard

5.Rod Stewart

6.Charlie Watts

7.Ron Wood

8.David Bowie

9.Ray Davies

10.Todd Rundgren

11 .Mick Ronson

12.Jimmy Page

13.Ian Anderson

14.Nicky Hopkins

15.Leon Russell

16.Frank Zappa

17.Alice Cooper

18.John McLaughlin

19.Brian Wilson .

20.Stevie Winwood

DRUG OF THE YEAR

1.Quaalude

2. Marijuana

3.Cocaine

4. Alcohol

5.Television

6.Tequila

7. Nostalgia

8. Rolling Stones

9. Mescaline

10.Aspirin

BEST FESTIVAL

l.Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz

2.Stones Tour

3.Newport Jazz in New York

4.Democratic Convention

5.Mt. Pocono

6.In Concert (TV)

7.Mar Y Sol

8.Dripping Springs

9.Soda Pop I'cst

lO.Woodstock

PUNK OF THE YEAR

1.Alice Cooper

2.Marc Bolan

3.Terry Knight

4.David Bowie

5.Donny Osmond

6.Lester Bangs

7.David Cassidy

8. Lou Reed

9.Richard M. Nixon

lO.Todd Rundgren

CRITIC OF THE YEAR

1.Lester Bangs

2.Robert Christgau

3.R. Meltzer

4.Robot A. Hull

5.Dave Marsh

6.Ed Ward

7.Greg Shaw

8.Ben Edmonds

9.Vince Aletti

lO.Greil Marcus

CRUMB BUM OF THE YEAR

1.Richard M. Nixon

2.Terry Knight

3.David Bowie

4.George McGovern

5.Allen Klein

6.Donny Osmond

7.Alice Cooper

8.John Lennon

9.Gilbert O’Sullivan

10.Bob Dylan

RIP OFF OF THE YEAR

1 .Re-election of Nixon

2.Stones tour

3.David Bowie & Friends

4.George McGovern

5.Concert ticket prices

6.Record prices

7.“Peace settlement”

8.T. Rex

9.Grand hunk Railroad

lO.Jimi Hendrix re-packages

FAD OF THE YEAR

l .Glam-Glitter-Anal Rock

2.Fifties nostalgia/Punkhood

3.Quaalude

4. Alcohol

5.The Rolling Stones

6.Voter Registration

7.Short Hair

8.Smile Buttons

9.Jesus

10.Superstardom

BEST ROCK’N’ROLL MOVIE

1.Super fly

2. Bangladesh

3.Clockwork Orange

4.Elvis on Tour

5. Lady Sings the Blues

6.Deep Throat

7. Deliverance

8.Heat

9.Greaser’s Palace

lO.The T.A.M.I. Show