Roger McGuinn, Thunderbyrd (1977)

Crap like this is why punk had to happen: tired old dinosaur rockers flogging the deadest horses since Nietzsche wept, to ever-dwindling effect. When the highlight of side one is a Peter Frampton cover (it beats the Tom Petty cover, easily), you’re in trouble. McGuinn has nothing left to say (did he ever?), co-writes all whopping four originals with Jacques Levy. Not even Neil Young could probably do much with a song called “Dixie Highway,” and McGuinn/Levy do far less. Only the closing track, “Russian Hill,” one of those older/sadder/wiser songs all the 60s survivors seemed to be doing by 1975 or so, even approaches memorable, and that’s mostly because of the haunted arrangement, which takes hold almost in spite of McGuinn. Also, that is one hell of a losing streak his solo LP cover art is on, crikes.