4 Excellent Singer/Songwriter Debut Albums From the 70s

The singer/songwriter era certainly bloomed in the 70s. In some cases, artists who would go on to be defined as rockers even flirted with keeping it somewhat quiet at the beginning of their careers as part of the trend.

These four artists wasted no time in establishing themselves at the top of the songsmith pack. Each came through with a debut album that still sets a towering standard within the singer/songwriter genre.

‘John Prine’ by John Prine (1971)

John Prine delivered consistent excellence throughout his career. It says a lot about his debut record that many of his signature songs appeared on it. Prine was walking around with those songs in his head while taking care of a mail route in Illinois before getting his record deal. Once he had the chance to lay them down, he knew how to imbue every nook and cranny of them with deep reserves of feeling. “Sam Stone” set the standard for songs about vets coming home. “Hello In There” did the same for tracks about giving some love and attention to the elderly. Humor mixes seamlessly with pathos, all held together by Prine’s eminently lovable croak of a voice.

‘Jackson Browne’ by Jackson Browne (1972)

After he lost his original record deal, Jackson Browne contemplated giving up music completely. This he did despite a promising start writing songs for others in the 60s. Fortunately, he stuck with it, and the music world benefited from hearing a debut album of rare grace and aptitude. The production from Rich Orshoff stayed unobtrusive, letting Browne’s songcraft take center stage. He snuck out a surprising hit single in “Doctor My Eyes”. Browne’s narrators ache with the awareness of their romantic and emotional problems in beauties like “Jamaica Say You Will” and “My Opening Farewell”. “Song For Adam” also displays early evidence of his empathetic streak.

‘Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.’ by Bruce Springsteen (1973)

We know that Bruce Springsteen doesn’t get categorized as a singer/songwriter these days. But even his record company was posing him as a troubadour back then to capitalize on the “New Dylan” comparisons. Honestly, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. is at its least compelling when Springsteen is crooning with just an acoustic guitar and a harmonica. And the production, on the whole, fails to capitalize on some of the solid instrumentalists on hand, a few of whom would go on to the E Street Band. But Springsteen finds a soulful groove on “Blinded By The Light” and “Spirit In The Night”. And he manages to conjure high drama out of the narratives in “For You” and “Lost In The Flood”.

‘My Aim Is True’ by Elvis Costello (1977)

Much like Bruce Springsteen. Elvis Costello didn’t stick around too long as a solo singer/songwriter before moving on to become the leader of a dynamic band. But there’s no denying that his songwriting gifts are on full display on My Aim Is True. The band Clover, a few of whom would go on to the News to back up Huey Lewis, helps out here. But this is mostly a command performance debut from the guy who had to hound Stiff Records offices every day just to get them to listen. His eclecticism was peeking through even then. You can hear it on the Phil Spector moves of “No Dancing”, the punkish sneer of “Less Than Zero”, and the soulful torment within “Alison”.

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