3 Classic Rock Songs From the 1970s That Were Insanely Ahead of Their Time

These classic rock songs from the 1970s aren’t just deeply loved today. They were also very unique for their time, and many of them have been praised for influencing the trajectory of rock music that was yet to come. Let’s look at a few ahead-of-their-time bangers, shall we?

“Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads from ‘Talking Heads: 77’ (1977)

The entirety of 77 is years beyond what other musicians were doing in the year 1977. There’s no one from that time to really compare early Talking Heads to. The new wave art rock group came out of nowhere and blew the minds of listeners for years to come.

“Psycho Killer”, the most famous song from that album, was a bit more pop and rock-oriented for radio, but it was still totally unique for its time. This song is hailed as one of the most influential classic rock songs of all time, despite only making it to No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978.

“Sound And Vision” by David Bowie from ‘Low’ (1977)

Another gem from 1977, David Bowie outdid himself with this pop-rock song for the ages. Quite a few songs from Low could make it to this list, mainly because they sound like they could have easily come out in 1987 instead. When first listening to “Sound And Vision”, it sounds like an 80s song. Bowie knew how to constantly reinvent himself and sound fresh with every release, so I’m not surprised that a song like “Sound And Vision” could sound so forward-thinking and unique for its time. The odd structure, the delay on Bowie’s vocals, those dark lyrics… what a song!

“Baby’s On Fire” by Brian Eno from ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’ (1974)

It’s no surprise that Brian Eno and David Bowie worked together often, considering they were both such ahead-of-their-time musicians. I threw “Baby’s On Fire” onto our list of classic rock songs from the 1970s that were ahead of their time, but frankly, any song from Here Come The Warm Jets could have been worthy of a spot. This album is loaded with art rock, avant-pop tunes that literally sound like they came out in the 1980s. “Baby’s On Fire” is a particularly experimental rock track that still blows my mind, decades later.

Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns