Various Artists - AM Gold - #1 Hits Of The '70s: '70-'74 (2000)

Say what you will about the mainstream music of the '70s (you know, the stuff that got played on the last gasp of AM radio during the era): in retrospect, it was full of tracks that have endured. Time Life Records, well known for their fine compilations -- in content and sound -- have put together this 20-track collection of AM radio hits from 1975-1979, and the result is a surprising set of tunes that range from the good to the better, and of course, the horrible. The radio programmers of today should look at the array of music played on AM in the 1970s. This disc includes Manfred Mann covering Bruce Springsteen ("Blinded by the Light"); Freddy Fender's unique brand of Tex-Mex ("Before the Next Teardrop Falls"); progressive country by the Bellamy Brothers ("Let Your Love Flow"); and plenty of funky, funky disco from Chic, Gloria Gaynor, and Herb Alpert and steamy soul from Peaches & Herb and Thelma Houston. There's crap, from Shaun Cassidy to Andy Gibb to Leo Sayer to Neil Sedaka, but those are the breaks -- they are representing the hits of the era but it all still makes the radio of today look and sound sick in comparison. This is a great collection -- the second of two volumes covering the decade -- for those who are merely interested or who obsessively collect singles.