40 years ago, pop music was getting more sophisticated than a.m. pretended it was, and this week you'll see how the year 1972 could take you on any kind of ride you dared go on. from the underside of the city via lou reed's "walk on the wild side," the two-faced neighborhoods of the o'jays "back stabbers," and jeff beck's pessimistic blues cover, "goin' down," to the evolved world the paul simon's "peace like a river," yes's "close to the edge" [left] and the beach boys' divine "all this is that."

this week i begin to explore the music of 1972; the year that heard songs as creative and diverse as jethro tull's "living in the past," todd rundgren's "the night the carousel burned down," loggins & messina's cuddly "house at pooh corner," and guitar legend roy buchanon's lonely "the messiah will come again."