The Worst Of 70's Hard Rock

For every Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple, there were legions of shitty, untalented groups out there trying to out-heavy each other. So here's a look at some of the worst music to come out of a period of greatness;

Sir Lord Baltimore: while admittedly very heavy for the time, Sir Lord Baltimore sounded like everybody in the band has played their instrument for about two weeks. Some people seem to like the vocals, but they really get on my nerves. I can appreciate them trying to be so heavy in the early 70's, but it doesn't seem like they have the talent to back it up.


Dragonwyck: I like to think that this band had a lot of potential. I mean, they clearly have talent (most of them), but they fall prey to the same cliches that doomed so many hard rock/prog band of the time: writing boring songs and having terrible vocalists. Once again, it's pretty heavy for the time, but doesn't mean it's good. I feel like if this band had actually gone anywhere, they could have become great, but their debut is so generic and forgettable that they were doomed from the start.


Night Sun: Night Sun sounds like what you would get if you took Deep Purple and took away everything you loved about them. You know, the good songwriting, the talent, etc. What's left is a very, VERY uninspired album full of blues-rock cliches and mediocrity. The track below is the album's only real highlight, with everything else being a showcase for bad vocals and even worse guitar playing.


There's a lot of crap out there, and it's up to YOU to find it all

The Night Sun album is really awful. Thanks for warning me about the others.

This one isn't exactly hard rock, more like experimental prog. Anyway this is FoodBrain....and god damn did they suck. It's strange too, considering they had one of my all time favorite guitarists, Shinki Chen. But everything he released on his own his miles ahead of this crap. It's like the only thing they knew about making a prog album was "WEIRD TIME SIGNATURES. OR...FUCK IT, NO TIME SIGNATURES AT ALL". Yeah, I really hate it.

How 'bout Billy Joel's 1970 album with the hard rock band ATTILA?

That album is pretty terrible. It's no wonder that the organ-and-drum style of heavy metal never caught on.

I actually dig Sir Lord Baltimore a lot, their raw edge is catchy and the singer;s voice reminds me of Jack Black. In fact, I can see Jack Black singing 'Hellhound' one day, hehe.

Nightsun what a horrid steaming pile of turd

For whatever reason, I love Styx. Yeah, a lot of their material is really dated, so I get why people don't like them.

Pieces Of Eight is one of my favorite albums of the 70's though

I like the song "Renegade" other then that, they really sucked something awful. Between that high voiced bastard Deyoung, and the dated boring songs, they just dont do anything for me.

DeathCult wrote:

I like the song "Renegade" other then that, they really sucked something awful. Between that high voiced bastard Deyoung, and the dated boring songs, they just dont do anything for me.

I have to say I'm in agreement with that.

There is an episode of That 70's Show where Eric camps out to get Styx tickets and he's the only one that shows up.

Osmosis: Don't be fooled by the cool jazzy intro, this album is a complete mess. Apparently these guys never got the memo that vocal harmonies only work when the voices actually harmonize. Every song is chock full of unpleasant arrangements, cluttered instrumentation, and forgettable songwriting. Osmosis' self-titled album is one of the single worst progressive rock records I've ever heard.

Hey! I Dig Styx, up until Cornerstone they had some real solid albums during their A&M days. DDY and Steve Walsh are two of my favorite singers from American Prog bands.

There is something about Styx that is just horribly cheesy, I've never been able to put my finger on it, but they don't convince me.

I'll take Kansas any day.

S.D. wrote:

There is something about Styx that is just horribly cheesy, I've never been able to put my finger on it, but they don't convince me.

I'll take Kansas any day.

They did have some really, really cheesy stuff (aka pretty much everything DeYoung wrote) but it never bothered me. I'm just a sucker for power chords and harmonies.

I don't know what it is about Styx. Come Sail Away is an endearing favorite from my younger days; other than that I've tried everything from them (even what fans call their "prog years") and it just feels sticky. I do have the same issues with Kansas, although to a lesser extent.

I seem to always have The Grand Illusion stuck in my head, too, and at times I unknowingly burst out the intro to everyone's chagrin (and my own). DA DA DA DA, DAAAA, DA DA DA DA, DAAA, DA DA DA DA DA, DAH-DAH-DAH...

So to add to the list, Bachman Turner Overdrive anyone? And FOREIGNER, FOREIGNER, FOREIFUCKINGNER.

For every cool Styx song like "Blue Collar Man" or "Renegade" (a personal fave) there's a sappy piece of shit ballad like "Babe" or "Don't Let It End" that drags it down.

I bought a Styx best-of a while ago for a buck and that's probably the only Styx CD I'm ever gonna need.

Fat Freddy wrote:

For every cool Styx song like "Blue Collar Man" or "Renegade" (a personal fave) there's a sappy piece of shit ballad like "Babe" or "Don't Let It End" that drags it down.

I bought a Styx best-of a while ago for a buck and that's probably the only Styx CD I'm ever gonna need.

I have most of their vinyl; been thinking of getting rid of it but I don't know how 'cause no one wants it haha.

Did anyone hear their reunion disc that came out several years ago? Painful, painful shit, just awful.

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

For every cool Styx song like "Blue Collar Man" or "Renegade" (a personal fave) there's a sappy piece of shit ballad like "Babe" or "Don't Let It End" that drags it down.

I bought a Styx best-of a while ago for a buck and that's probably the only Styx CD I'm ever gonna need.

I have most of their vinyl; been thinking of getting rid of it but I don't know how 'cause no one wants it haha.

Did anyone hear their reunion disc that came out several years ago? Painful, painful shit, just awful.

Do you have any of the Wooden Nickel label stuff?

Yeah, too bad about Babe....... There are some cool keyboard sounds in that song. Too bad the song sux! Babe is from Cornerstone... only three good songs on that album(Lights, Love In The Midnight & Boat On a River).

This is what kills me about very early Styx, they would have good prog-type songs and then two or three of these doofy r'n'r songs on each album.

chewie wrote:

Babe is from Cornerstone... only three good songs on that album(Lights, Love In The Midnight & Boat On a River).

And Borrowed Time, c'mon now!

It's funny, listening to that Sir Lord Baltimore track now, I actually kind of dig it. Haha

corplhicks wrote:

And FOREIGNER, FOREIGNER, FOREIFUCKINGNER.

Now this I'll agree with. It honestly amazes me that Foreigner is still such a mainstay of classic rock radio. Their debut showed some potential but they fell out fucking FAST.

Special Guest wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

And FOREIGNER, FOREIGNER, FOREIFUCKINGNER.

Now this I'll agree with. It honestly amazes me that Foreigner is still such a mainstay of classic rock radio. Their debut showed some potential but they fell out fucking FAST.

That debut, to me, is no different than any of their subsequent records. I have the most negative reaction whenever I hear even the first two measures of any of their songs.

chewie wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

For every cool Styx song like "Blue Collar Man" or "Renegade" (a personal fave) there's a sappy piece of shit ballad like "Babe" or "Don't Let It End" that drags it down.

I bought a Styx best-of a while ago for a buck and that's probably the only Styx CD I'm ever gonna need.

I have most of their vinyl; been thinking of getting rid of it but I don't know how 'cause no one wants it haha.

Did anyone hear their reunion disc that came out several years ago? Painful, painful shit, just awful.

Do you have any of the Wooden Nickel label stuff?

Yeah, too bad about Babe....... There are some cool keyboard sounds in that song. Too bad the song sux! Babe is from Cornerstone... only three good songs on that album(Lights, Love In The Midnight & Boat On a River).

I have Grand Illusion through Killroy Was Here; I just looked up their discog and it looks like they had more early albums than I thought. I figured I was only missing I, II, and Equinox.

I'm not a Styx fan but I do have the Wooden Nickel stuff. If I wanna jam a Prog band turned bad I'll jam the first two Ambrosia albums.