JONI Mitchell’s fourth album, the much-lauded Blue, celebrated its 50th anniversary this week. It comes amidst a move to elevate 1971, the year it was released, as the greatest year in popular music. It’s a claim advanced in Asif Kapadia’s recent music documentary 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, which was in turn inspired by David Hepworth’s book 1971 - Never a Dull Moment.

Hold on. 1971? The year Benny Hill got to number one with Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West). That was the greatest year for pop music? The year of Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by Middle of the Road? Pull the other one …

I believe this is what one might call selective memory. And you forgot to mention Lobo’s Me and You and a Dog called Boo.

Exactly. So, what’s the argument?

Well, the theory goes that 1971 saw the release of some of the most memorable and musically sophisticated albums in the history of pop. In his book, Hepworth argues that it was “the most febrile and creative time in the entire history of popular music.” He has also said it was the last moment in pop history when musicians were not self-conscious about what they were doing.

OK, where’s the evidence then?

It’s in the albums released that year. They include Marvin Gaye’s Motown classic What’s Going On, which came out in May 1971, a month before Blue. Having mentioned those two you could drop the mic and walk away.

But 1971 also saw the release of (deep breath) Carole King’s Tapestry, David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, Nick Drake’s Bryter Later, Sticky Fingers by the Stones, the Who’s Who’s Next, LA Woman by The Doors, Al Green Gets Next To You, Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain and Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On.

Issue of the Day has been listening to T-Rex’s Electric Warrior whilst typing this.

Oh, and we didn’t mention Led Zeppelin IV (but then some of us can’t stand Stairway to Heaven so that could go either way).

Fair enough, it’s a decent list. And I have been hearing a lot about Joni Mitchell’s Blue of late.

Yes, maybe you caught the Radio 4 documentary on the album presented by Laura Marling. Mitchell is a special talent, one whose honesty and openness on Blue expanded what pop music could talk about. As the New York Times noted of Blue this week, it is the work of “a restless young woman questioning everything”. 

So, are we saying it’s done and dusted, that 1971 is the high point of pop?

Well, where would the fun be in that? It’s always up for debate. You could make a very good case for 1965 (Rubber Soul, Highway 61 Revisited, Otis Blue, A Love Supreme), 1979 (Off the Wall, Tusk, Armed Forces, Unknown Pleasures, Eat to the Beat), 1985 (Hounds of Love, Psychocandy, Steve McQueen, Don’t Stand Me Down) or any other year you happened to be a teenager in. That’s usually the key to your favourite music after all – the age when you first heard it.