The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies

by Martin Popoff

Reviews and recollections of hundreds of '70s heavy metal bands are included in this reference guide to a decade of music.

Genres: Music

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

At approximately 7900 (with over 7000 appearing in his books), Martin has unofficially written more record reviews than anybody in the history of music writing across all genres. Additionally, Martin has penned approximately 85 books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock and record collecting. He was Editor-In-Chief of the now retired Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, Canada’s foremost metal publication for 14 years, and has also contributed to Revolver, Guitar World, Goldmine, Record Collector, bravewords.com, lollipop.com and hardradio.com, with many record label band bios and liner notes to his credit as well. Additionally, Martin has been a regular contractor to Banger Films, having worked for two years as researcher on the award-winning documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, on the writing and research team for the 11-episode Metal Evolution and on the ten-episode Rock Icons, both for VH1 Classic. Additionally, Martin is the writer of the original metal genre chart used in Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey and throughout the Metal Evolution episodes. Martin currently resides in Toronto and can be reached through martinp@inforamp.net or www.martinpopoff.com.

Reviews

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Heavy metal" was a very ambiguous concept in the seventies, basically a "you know it when you hear it" proposition, but certainly not a well-defined genre with its own tropes and standards. Sure, obvious bands like Sabbath, Zep, and Judas Priest were considered metal, but what about "heavy" genre-benders like Cheap Trick, Iggy and the Stooges, Lynyrd Skynyrd? Lucky for us, Martin Popoff sorts through all the ambiguity in this reverent and fascinating record guide, one of the best ever.

I used to own my share of Nazareth, West-Bruce-&-Laing, and Rick Derringer LP's. So I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about this seventies obscuro-metal stuff. Nope. This book opens up worlds upon worlds. For example, who knew that Brian Johnson fronted a decent pub-metal band called Geordie prior to taking Bon Scott's place? Or that Lou Gramm (born Louis Grammatico, is that not the coolest?) used to sing for a balls-to-the-wall band named Black Sheep... on CHRYSALIS RECORDS.

But that's just the trivia -- Popoff does a bang-up job of rehabilitating the usual "dustbin-of-hipster-history" bands like Styx, Kiss, and Uriah Heep, and his surprisingly catholic tastes fit in some glam (Queen) and punk (Buzzcocks, Dictators) as essential seventies "heavy metal" works. Plus lots of cool LP covers and a fascinating grading system (one score for heaviness, another for how much Popoff likes the album). Sure, you can quarrel with the omission of Jethro Tull and the inclusion of Grand Funk, but even there he gives you his reasons: he was a hilariously gonzo writer even back in his thirties. My favorite quote (referring to the 1978 Peter Criss solo album): "but he had the most guns, and logically therefore, gun incidents."

Comes with a decent CD of rarities, including a Minneapolis metal band called Cain, featuring Joe Soucheray!

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have to give Martin Popoff (of Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles) credit for his ambition, if nothing else. Over the course of three (soon to be four) volumes, he attempts to chronicle all of the albums that remotely qualify as metal and provide some commentary on each one. This is a huge undertaking, and it starts with this book - The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1 - The Seventies.

Unlike later volumes, there wasn't all that much that qualified as heavy metal in the `70s, so this is mostly a collection of hard rock and proto-metal reviews. Popoff has interesting criteria for determining which bands should be included, and at times it gets pretty ridiculous (damn near any Canadian AOR act is included, as are a ton of punk rock albums). Still, I've yet to see an exhaustive listing of `70s rock albums as this, and discovered several "new" bands here that I've since become a fan of.

As for the reviews themselves, I'm not a huge fan of Popoff's style, and he comes across as pretentious at times, but the reviews are the secondary reason for buying this book. I respect that he's always willing to venture an opinion that goes against the accepted wisdom.

You don't need to agree with all of the reviews to appreciate the fact that if you're a fan of `70s era hard rock and proto-metal, this is an essential resource. My only gripe is Popoff neglects the collector aspect. It would have been great to know which of these albums have since been released on CD, for example.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for heavy metal fans seeking to find what was new and heavy in the 70s. Popoff's prose is mostly verbose but always vivid, making the reviews rock as hard as the albums. Reading this will cause your definition of heavy metal to expand, along with your library of records.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable in its thoroughness and completeness. I consider myself a longtime aficionado of 70’s classic and hard rock… and Popoff covers just about every band and album I’ve heard of, plus many, many more obscurities and rarities from the period. And you can tell that he’s given everything reviewed and rated here a thoughtful listen, though it’s also interesting to see how his musical tastes have changed a bit over the years. I can’t imagine how much time he’s spent listening and thinking about music.

I use this book as a reference guide when looking to find “new” old music. Hardcore fans will find a number of these obscure records reissued by Rock Candy Records- go check out their site and their zine, well worth a look.