Hey there music lovers!  ATV is pleased to bring you a Monday Morning Mix featuring a fine blend of 70s hard rock.  14 killer tunes flowing into what is known on the street as the Stereo Dictator’s 75 Minutes of 70s Volume One. Feast your musical mind on this free prize and give your week a little kick start.

Download the entire mix here.

“I Got the Fire” – Montrose
On the heels of their landmark debut, Montrose released Paper Money, a solid follow-up featuring this burner, which sounds like an outtake from the first album. Ted Templeman’s production keeps it crisp and pounding while Ronnie tears it down appropriately.

“Never Before” – Deep Purple
Deep Purple’s Machine Head was filled with FM hits yet this song was the expected single upon release.  Poppy in a rockin way thanks to the muscle applied to the arrangement, on another album it may have stood out and become a chart-topper. An underrated tune that moves well, has memorable lyrics and is very reflective of the era.

“The Rover” – Led Zeppelin
Physical Graffiti arguably presented Zeppelin at their best with this tune letting them do what they do best: blues-based boogie, patented layers of Page guitar, a powerful rhythm section brought way up front by Page the producer, and Plant’s hippie-fied stories about the uncertainties of life.

“Fairies Wear Boots” – Black Sabbath
Paranoid was a ground-breaker and “Fairies” is a song that helped to create the Sabbath template.  Whether the song was written in a smoke-filled haze or following an encounter with skinheads is still up for debate. What’s not is the significance of blending blues, metal and jazz with a wailing vocalist in 1970.

“Nobody’s Fault” – Aerosmith
Back when Aerosmith was on a roll, Rocks was the hammer in their catalog. Hard and heavy, it opened eyes as to the band’s ability to throw down a firestorm of rock and roll.  “Nobody’s Fault” is perhaps the greatest example.  Intelligent, raunchy and wholly satisfying.

“Go to Hell” – Alice Cooper
As the wheels were beginning to come off the Alice Cooper machine in 1976, Alice hit the studio with Bob Ezrin to create one more masterpiece, Goes to Hell. Fortifying the band were twin guitar killers Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter, notable for their excellence on Lou Reed’s Rock and Roll Animal a few years earlier. “Go to Hell” captures Alice at his sinister, story-telling best.

“D.O.A.” – Van Halen
Van Halen II continued the myth while delivering the goods, including this loose and loud outlaw tale.  David Lee Roth is the misunderstood hero while Eddie V pulls out a primal riff and plays the hell out of it. Must-have Van Halen right here.

“Gotta Keep a Runnin” – The Godz
Don Brewer of Grand Funk produced, the band put the pedal to the metal and here it is. A true classic featuring one of the all-time great rock raps courtesy of madman Eric Moore, and a great driving song to boot. It’s too bad that the Godz peaked with their first album, but at least we have this well-worn anthem.

“Motor City Madhouse” – Ted Nugent
Keepin’ your pulse rate runnin’ high is this bit of rock frenzy from Ted Nugent, one of several songs that made his post-Amboy Dukes debut one of the greatest guitar-hero albums of the 70s.  This slice of psychosis is like a rollercoaster; you are on, you are moving at full speed, and you are not getting off for four and-a-half minutes.

“Shinin’ On” – Grand Funk
When quad was quad on LP and 8-track, the guitar intro to “Shinin’ On” was prime stereo outlet demo material, with and without headphones for full effect. Producer Todd Rundgren applied a generous helping of heavy-metal sheen to the band’s core sound and struck gold.  Shinin’ On went to #5, bolstered by the title track, an FM favorite, and a remake of Little Eva’s “The Loco-Motion,” which became a #1 single.

“Overdose” – AC/DC
The combination of AC/DC with Vanda & Young as producers gave the band an entirely different feel than what was to come later with Mutt Lange.  This is groove-based metal blues that allows you to feel a genuine connection to the music. The guitars are truly razor-sharp, Bon Scott is right on top of it, and the whole things rocks. A supergroup to-be at its roots.

“Faith Healer” – Sensational Alex Harvey Band
This hypnotic showpiece is one of the key tracks on Next, the most well-rounded album in Harvey’s eclectic catalog.  A glitterized evangelical trip, this is another pioneering moment of the headphone-era that leaves you wanting more. Seek it out and experience more of the brilliance of the SAHB.

“Panic in Detroit” – David Bowie
A raging lead guitar from the legendary Mick Ronson wails over the top of a sometimes walking, sometimes running bass line hopped up by maracas and congas while Bowie name-checks controversial figures, adding to the panic with his somewhat urgent narrative, all the while backed up by female singers. It’s a handful and it’s glorious.

“White Punks on Dope” – The Tubes
A staple of FM radio until the FCC outlawed the F-word, this is quintessential 70s.  Producer Al Kooper masterfully weaves together the conglomeration of musical ideas for this tribute to the idle hands of rich suburban kids. The whole thing is so over the top (remember Fee Waybill as “Quay Lude”?) that it makes sense while never losing a real rock edge. Think of it as “Bohemian Rhapsody” for an alternative crowd.

Join us next time for another mix you’ll just have to have courtesy of the Stereo Dictator and AAAAY TEEEEE VEEEEE!

75 Minutes of 70s Volume One
I Got the Fire – Montrose
Never Before – Deep Purple
The Rover – Led Zeppelin
Fairies Wear Boots – Black Sabbath
Nobody’s Fault – Aerosmith
Go to Hell – Alice Cooper
D.O.A. – Van Halen
Gotta Keep a Runnin – The Godz
Motor City Madhouse – Ted Nugent
Shinin On – Grand Funk
Overdose – AC/DC
Faith Healer – Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Panic in Detroit – David Bowie
White Punks on Dope – The Tubes

Download the entire mix now.