Hard Rock 1970s Albums - Page 2

Rising rebuilds Rainbow with a new lineup and turns Ritchie Blackmore’s hard riffs and Ronnie James Dio’s fantasy-driven voice into a larger story.

2112 joins Rush’s large-scale storytelling to the focused power of three musicians.

Nine on a Ten Scale gives Sammy Hagar his first clear solo identity after leaving Montrose.

Virgin Killer joins Scorpions’ hard-rock attack to Uli Jon Roth’s fluid, classically colored guitar sense.

Jailbreak finds Thin Lizzy using Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham’s twin guitars not simply for technique, but as a force that moves each song forward.

Johnny the Fox expands Thin Lizzy’s storytelling and tonal range after the success of Jailbreak.

UFO's fifth album, released in May 1976, added ex-Heavy Metal Kids keyboard player Danny Peyronel and was Leo Lyons's third production for the band.

Yesterday and Today captures the band later known as Y&T playing Bay Area hard rock with direct commitment on its debut.

High Voltage (Australian) captures AC/DC at a point where the later image is not yet fully fixed.

T.N.T. is an extremely important early work that shot AC/DC to stardom in Australia.

Toys in the Attic joins Aerosmith’s blues-rooted roughness to sharper riffs and more immediate melodies.

Come Taste the Band is Deep Purple's tenth album, with Tommy Bolin in place of Ritchie Blackmore and more funk, soul and blues in its heavy rock.

Dreamboat Annie is Heart’s debut, joining the softness of acoustic guitar, hard-rock force and beautiful vocal harmony.

Dressed to Kill keeps KISS’s early raw energy while sharpening it into more compact, memorable songs.

Physical Graffiti lets Led Zeppelin move freely through heavy riffs, blues, funk and acoustic shadow across a double album.

Queen's fourth album, released in November 1975: twelve songs recorded in six studios, "Bohemian Rhapsody" among them, and their first UK No. 1.

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow is the debut in which Ritchie Blackmore, newly away from Deep Purple, met Ronnie James Dio’s rich voice and gave hard rock a mythic color.

Caress of Steel takes Rush further away from blues-based hard rock and puts long structures and fantasy-driven storytelling at the front.

Fly by Night finds Rush gaining a new language through the arrival of Neil Peart.

In Trance moves Scorpions away from the longer progressive turns of its earliest work and toward tighter, sharper hard rock.

Fighting finds Thin Lizzy making a harder, more identifiable sound around Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson’s twin guitars.

UFO's fourth album, released in July 1975 and produced by Leo Lyons, was their first to reach the US chart, peaking at No. 71 on the Billboard 200.

Get Your Wings finds Aerosmith keeping the raw charge of its debut while taking a major step forward in songwriting, playing, and sound.

Burn is the opening statement of Deep Purple’s Mark III lineup, with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes turning a personnel change into fresh momentum rather…

Stormbringer takes the Mark III Deep Purple sound beyond the framework of traditional hard rock and captures the individual instincts of its members in…

Hotter Than Hell keeps the debut album’s direct momentum but moves KISS into a darker, heavier, more humid sound world.

Kiss captures KISS before the giant stage productions and worldwide fame, reducing the distinct personalities of four musicians to short, sharp rock-and-roll…

Queen's second album, released in March 1974: a Side White led by Brian May, a Side Black all Freddie Mercury's, and No. 5 in Britain.

Queen's third album, from November 1974: recorded in four studios around Brian May's illness, it reached No. 2 in Britain, as did "Killer Queen".

Rush is the debut on which the group that would later build elaborate suites and conceptual worlds first appears as a direct, hard-rocking three-piece.

Fly to the Rainbow finds Scorpions before its later, streamlined heavy-metal identity, using Uli Jon Roth’s fluid guitar to blend psychedelic space, blues…

Nightlife is Thin Lizzy’s fourth album and the point at which Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson begin building the twin-guitar foundation of the band’s later…

UFO's third album and first for Chrysalis, released in May 1974, introduced Michael Schenker and gave the band "Doctor Doctor" and "Rock Bottom".

Aerosmith begins with the rough feel of blues rock, yet it already reveals the streetwise instinct and vocal power that would support the band’s later success.

Who Do We Think We Are finds Deep Purple retaining the tension and virtuosity of its classic lineup while letting the members collide inside tighter, more…

Houses of the Holy, Led Zeppelin's fifth album, moves easily beyond heavy blues rock with varied rhythms, layered arrangements and a sense of play.

Queen's debut, released in July 1973: recorded in Trident's spare studio hours, with "Keep Yourself Alive", "Liar" and no synthesizers.

Vagabonds of the Western World captures Thin Lizzy before the later twin-guitar style was fully formed, moving freely among blues, folk, soul and hard rock…

Machine Head is a defining Deep Purple album from the Mark II lineup, joining riff, improvisation, vocal power, and groove with astonishing economy.

Lonesome Crow is the Scorpions debut, far removed from the sharp melodic hard rock the band would later make its own.

Shades of a Blue Orphanage is Thin Lizzy’s second album, made before the later twin-guitar attack and city-bred rock-and-roll identity had fully arrived.

Fireball finds Deep Purple’s Mark II lineup building on the fierce hard-rock language established on In Rock while testing speed, blues, folk-like quiet, and…

Led Zeppelin IV is the band's fourth album and its signature work, joining hard rock, blues and British folk on a grand scale.

Thin Lizzy is the debut made by the trio of Phil Lynott, Eric Bell, and Brian Downey before the band reached the twin-guitar attack and fast-moving hard rock…

UFO's second album, issued by Beacon in 1971, is a self-produced space-rock record built around the long "Star Storm" and "Flying".

Deep Purple in Rock is the record on which Deep Purple’s Mark II lineup turns decisively away from the earlier phase that crossed psychedelic ideas with…

Led Zeppelin III preserves the electric force of Led Zeppelin’s first two albums while moving much further into acoustic instruments, folk texture, and quiet space.

UFO's debut album, released by Beacon Records in October 1970, with Mick Bolton on guitar and three covers among its ten songs.