@tony1954

We were lucky to have been there in the beginning in the late 60’s and early 70’s, but maybe unlucky in that we developed very high standards in what constituted good music. It also gave us a broad spectrum of musical genres to enjoy ...

 

Yes. 

70/71 was my first year of high school.

DeKay

I can dig the collars-extra starch

@tony1954- interesting album, Lifeboat. It has a lot of the "usual suspects" including Stevie W. (also a Blackwell "discovery" via Spencer Davis) and John Bundrick and early cuts were done by George Peckham (aka "Porky"). 

Chris was one of those few guys who had an "ear" as a label chief and was very attuned to the music itself--he was someone who was considered artist "friendly."

Another outlier is John Martyn's Solid Air- not obscure, but it doesn't get the level of attention it probably deserves. Ditto Roy Harper's Stormcock--"The Same Old Rock" is an opus- with a fully primed Jimmy Page playing 12 string. Highly recommended if you haven't heard it. 

On Elton, I favor Tumbleweed, both for the writing and performance- I have multiple DJM pressings- oddly, the earliest UK cut has the least bombastic bass- some of them are bass monsters.

@tablejockey - throw in Disco Inferno too.

@Berner99- one early cover of "Can't find my Way Back Home" came out of that studio on LI where Bonnie Raitt was scheduled to perform and Lowell George sat  in with her crew. It's a good rendition. It's a shame the original album is a bad recording- the best version I've found is still the OG UK, with the controversial cover art.

To me, the importance is to dig in-- we can disagree about artists--e.g., Shuggie v. Bros. J but it puts us in a place where our brain is thinking about music. For that, I thank Tony1954 for his list. It got me thinking. 

I was barely alive, didn't live through that era per se, but have come to believe the answer to this question is an unequivocal yes.  Watch the movie on apple or read the book "Never a Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded" and you'll be hard pressed to find a better single year.  

Who's next, LZ IV, Sticky Fingers are peak Rock and Roll.  Joni Mitchell, Carole King and James Taylor led the ascension of the singer songwriter.  Bowie and T Rex kicking glam into high gear.  Fragile, Meddle leading the way for psych rock and prog.  Sly and Marvin releasing some of their best work. 
 

It's an easy answer when you look at it objectively.   I'll add for the record i'm not one of these "they don't make any good music these days" types, in fact i completely scoff at that notion.  But this year truly shines as a transformative moment.