Echoes of The Past pt. 2

Sorry for the late send! I accidentally scheduled this for 11pm instead of 11am on Sunday, cancelled it, fell asleep, had a crazy day yesterday, forgot to send it Monday… so now I just decided to send Sunday’s post on Tuesday.

To continue your week, I’m sharing a few lost gems from the ’70s. These are songs that slipped through the cracks but deserve way more shine. I’ll let the music do the talking. Hope you enjoy.

At just 21 years old, Bonnie Raitt released one of the most quietly confident debuts of the era and “Thank You” is a perfect example of that early spark. The song is stripped down and intimate, like a letter written in the dark. The song captures a tender moment of gratitude, delivered with the kind of honesty that would come to define her career. It’s the perfect song to put on during a warm summer afternoon as you chill by the pool, lake, beach or wherever your happy place is.

The album was recorded live in an empty ballroom at a Minnesota summer camp, which somehow makes the whole thing feel even more personal. Before the Grammys, the hits, or the radio play, there was this: a young woman with a guitar, a voice full of soul, and something real to say. The craziest thing is that for the first 20 years of her career she went pretty much unrecognized until her commercial breakthrough in ‘91.

Listen on all major streaming platforms here!

“Fly Now” is a track from Brian Protheroe’s debut album Pinball, released in 1974. The song blends soft rock, orchestral pop, and a theatrical sensibility which were hallmarks of Protheroe’s style.

Lyrically and musically, “Fly Now” feels both whimsical and melancholic. It captures the feeling of wanting to escape, float above reality, and shed the weight of the everyday. It’s melodic, a bit spacey, and built with careful arrangements that show Protheroe’s background in both music and theater.

Brian Protheroe is a British singer-songwriter and actor who first made waves not as a musician, but on the stage. Before releasing music, he was active in theater.

He only released a handful of albums in the 1970s, all of which flew under the mainstream radar, but earned him a cult following, especially among fans of soft rock.

Though his music career never fully took off commercially, his work has aged gracefully. “Fly Now” is one of those quietly transcendent tracks that makes you feel like you’ve discovered an uncut gem.

Listen on all major streaming platforms here!

Originally released in 1971, the track drifted under the radar until it found new life decades later, popping up in the Garden State soundtrack. That is where I first heard the song, I never saw the movie but my mom used to play the soundtrack album on repeat.

Nick Drake always had a way of making uncertainty feel beautiful and “One of These Things First” might be the best example of that. The song plays like a list of lives he never lived: a sailor, a soldier, a cook, a lover. It’s wistful without being heavy, poetic without trying too hard. Just a quiet acceptance that we are who we are, even if we could’ve been so many other things.

Listen on all major streaming platforms here!

This extended take was recorded during the Exodus sessions and was never meant for mainstream release. It surfaced years later on bootlegs and deluxe reissues, most notably on the Exodus Deluxe Edition released in 2001. The track runs just over 19 minutes, and it’s not just a longer cut of the original…it’s a meditative, intimate studio performance that gives you a rare window into Marley’s process.

The first few minutes follow the structure of the classic track, but then it drifts into a loose, almost hypnotic jam. Marley repeats lines, hums melodies, riffs on ideas. It’s as if he’s singing to himself..reflecting, rephrasing, reliving the emotion in real time.

The tape hiss is heavy, the quality is rough, but the emotion in Marley’s voice cuts right through. It’s raw, intimate, and the kind of performance that makes you lean in and stay awhile.

According to the internet, this is the only known photo of Brian Wilson and his piano sandbox. He famously installed a grand piano in a sandbox in his living room so he could feel the beach beneath his feet while writing music. It was part of his belief that the right environment could unlock deeper creativity. The sandbox became a symbol of both his genius and fragility during the Pet Sounds era. In that strange, sandy setup, some of the most beautiful music of the 20th century was born.

Did you enjoy this article? Let me know below, please and thanks!

Don’t forget to share the newsletter if you like it!