A week before the release of NOW Yearbook EXTRA '92, NOW Towers announced NOW Yearbook '73 for release in September 2023, and I was back on board with a pre-order. For those new to The Hideaway, my favorite decade of music runs from 1973 to 1982, so of course, I was again on the NOW Yearbook train. The album comes in the same four formats as the previous Yearbooks: the vinyl configuration features 47 songs across three ruby red vinyl discs, while the CDs and digital download has 83 songs. Chart-wise, only two of the tracks failed to make the UK singles chart and only one other track ("Piano Man") failed to make the UK Top 40. We counted 75 Top 20 hits with 62 of those rising into the Top 10. NOW Yearbook '73 features an even dozen UK Number Ones.
While 1973 marks the beginning of our favorite decade of music, we were unfamiliar with many of the tracks on NOW Yearbook '73, close to 40%. None of the four discs provided the engaging listen that some of the previous Yearbooks had but we still found more than a dozen instances where a single song or run of several songs worked their time machine magic. The Top 40 in the UK and the US were very different in 1973. In hindsight, I probably should have spent more time researching the tracklisting before ordering.
The three-disc NOW Yearbook EXTRA '73 was released on October 13, 2023. There are sixty tracks spread evenly across each disc in the compilation. Seven of the songs here failed to chart in the UK though five of those seven were huge hits in the US. The remaining 53 tracks all made the UK Top 40 with 27 of those making it to the Top 10. There are three Number One songs on NOW Yearbook EXTRA '73.
Let's do the math. I really liked four songs on CD ONE, eleven on CD TWO, and six on CD THREE. That's 21 out of 60 which is a shame. I clearly underestimated how many of the new-to-me songs I was going to enjoy. My copies of NOW Yearbook '73 and NOW Yearbook EXTRA '73 soon found a good home with a listener who would appreciate them more than I ever could. My least favorite color is red, so I partly blame that.
To view the countdown of my 100 favorite songs from 1973, click HERE.
Other than a playlist for 1973, my favorite way to revisit the music of 1973 is via the two Time-Life compilations pictured above and below.
Both discs are excellent snapshots of the 1973 music scene and how I experienced it, including pop, rock, and soul. Twenty-two of the thirty-nine tracks on the two discs made our 1973 Countdown.
Released in 1994, and titled 73 on the front and rear covers, while titled 1973 on the spines, the double disc set features a dozen tracks on each disc. And an even dozen is an accurate count of my favorite songs across the set, with a preference for disc 2. Comparing this collection to the two 1973 Yearbooks, only three songs here didn't make the cut (1-2, 2-5, and 2-12).
To view my experiences with other NOW Yearbooks, click THIS or any title below.
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