1970 in music.

The Beatles' Abbey Road won 1969. The 60s are behind us, let's see who wins 1970. perhaps the beatles' reign of terror is behind us.

Billboard chart-topping albums of 1970:
The Beatles - Abbey Road (cont. from '69)
Led Zeppelin - II (cont. from '69)
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Deja Vu
Paul McCartney - McCartney
The Beatles - Let It Be
Soundtrack - Woodstock
Blood, Sweat and Tears - 3
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory
Santana - Abraxas
Led Zeppelin - III

Billboard chart-topping singles of 1970:
BJ Thomas - Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
Shocking Blue - Venus
Sly and the Family Stone - Thank You
Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
The Beatles - Let It Be
The Jackson 5 - ABC
The Guess Who - American Woman
Ray Stevens - Everything is Beautiful
The Beatles - The Long and Winding Road
The Jackson 5 - The Love You Save
Three Dog Night - Mama Told Me (Not to Come)
The Carpenters - (They Long to Be) Close to You
Bread - Make it With You
Edwin Starr - War
Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Neil Diamond - Cracklin' Rosie
The Jackson 5 - I'll Be There
The Partridge Family - I Think I Love You
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - The Tears of a Clown
George Harrison - My Sweet Lord

What are your top three albums for 1970? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:

1. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
2. George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
3. Derek & the Dominos - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs

What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later?

YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm

 

rest of the top 10:
4. crosby, stills, nash & young - deja vu
5. creedence clearwater revival - cosmo's factory
6. david bowie - the man who sold the world
7. the stooges - funhouse
8. neil young - after the gold rush
9. led zeppelin - iii
10. the kinks - lola vs. powerman and the moneygoround

additional honorable mentions (alphabetical):
allman brothers band - idlewild south
beatles - let it be
black sabbath - black sabbath
creedence clearwater revival - pendulum
the flying burrito brothers - burrito deluxe
free - fire and water
grateful dead - american beauty
james gang - rides again
jimi hendrix - band of gypsys
john lennon - plastic one band

additional cuts:
alice cooper - easy action
amon duul ii - yeti
badfinger - magic christian music
badfinger - no dice
bob dylan - new morning
bobby womack - my prescription
can - soundtracks
captain beefheart - lick my decals off, baby
curtis mayfield - curtis
deep purple - in rock
delaney & bonnie - on tour with eric clapton
the doors - morrison hotel
elton john - tumbleweed connection
faces - first step
grateful dead - workingman’s dead
james taylor - sweet baby james
johnny cash - hello, im johnny cash
joni mitchell - ladies of the canyon
king crimson - in the wake of poseidon
king crimson - lizard
kris kristofferson - kristofferson
mountain - climbing
nick drake - bryter layter
paul mccartney - mccartney
pink floyd - atom heart mother
ringo starr - beaucoups of blues
santana - abraxas
stephen stills - stephen stills
syd barrett - barrett
syd barrett - madcap laughs
tim buckley - star sailor
traffic - john barleycorn must die
van Morrison - moondance
velvet underground - loaded
waylon jennings - singer of sad songs
the who - live at leeds
zz top - first album

stuff to check out:
alice coltrane - journey in satchidananda
aretha franklin - spirit in the dark
the byrds - untitled
canned heat - future blues
dusty springfield - a brand new me
george campbell - try a little kindness
george clinton - osmium
gordon lightfoot - sit down young stranger
harry nilsson - nilsson sings newman
ike & tina turner - workin’ together
john cale - vintage violence
kenny rogers - tell it all brother
marvin gaye - thats the way love is
miles davis - bitches brew
the mothers of invention - burnt weeny sandwich
quincy jones - gula matari
randy newman - 12 songs
rod stewart - gasoline alley
runt - runt
simon and garfunkel - bridge over troubled water
the supremes - right on
tammy wynette - tammy’s touch

 

sabbath and the stooges are my favorite bands. funhouse is nice but pales in comparison to the other two. the run from the debut through to sabotage might be my favorite six album run in music. bowie (favorite musician) would always put up a random dud like pinups to throw off the streak.

 

I’ve actually never heard Sabotage listed in the “classic run” before. That’s exciting if it’s on the same tier

 

it’s the second worst of the group but it still rules

 

I was always pretty curious anyway because I think Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is their best

 

Subbin’

 

Bitches Brew baybeeeeeeeeeeee!

 

1. CCR - Cosmo’s Factory
2. Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
3. Neil Young - After the Gold Rush

Cosmo’s is just an incredible album. Their albums generally avoided filler, but they stepped up even beyond the ‘’69 trio with this which is imo Fogerty’s most complete statement beginning to end.

Pretty tempted to throw American Beauty in my top three but haven’t listened to it enough to be sure. Both Dead albums from this year have some pretty spectacular songwriting and are an enormous asterisk on their “live material only” rep that I sense as a casual fan 50 years later.

Interesting year overall for my favorites - could argue that Deja Vu, Let it Be, Bridge, Gold Rush and All Things Must Pass are all a song or 3 from perfect.

 

Sabotage is great. Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die have some killin moments too, like the guitar and synth break in “Back Street Kids” and “Junior’s Eyes”

 

oh that’s an intensely wild take that i have nothing but respect for

 

it’s perverse to call never say die music

 

There doesn't seem to be a particularly obvious stand-out popular choice for 1970, so perhaps everything will split the votes and Let It Be will sneak in and win this year too.

 

1. Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
2. Van Morrison - Moondance
3. Aretha Franklin - Spirit in the Dark

Bridge Over Troubled Water is without doubt one of my absolute favourite albums - a pop masterpiece, with Simon & Garfunkel composing songs blurring all sorts of different genres and styles, but keeping it incredibly hook filled. We have piano ballads, folk rock, latin infused sounds, R&B, gospel and everything in between. Just an incredible achievement, with basically every song that could be the peak of a lesser band.

Moondance is one of two great Van records this year. Less folksy and ethereal than Astral Weeks, and is much more R&B or soul flavour to it. While Astral Weeks is likely to always be my favourite, on a pure song-by-song basis, this is just as good.

Aretha's Spirit in the Dark is also one of two great records from her this year. This album is about 50/50 between Aretha's own compositions and covers, with the title track on this being (probably) the best song she wrote, and the band(s) backing here are in excellent form.

Some honourable mentions;

Aretha Franklin - This Girl's In Love With You: This contains the first released version of "Let It Be", with Aretha beating the Beatles by a few months. Not much between this and Spirit in the Dark, so listen to both.

MC5 - Back in the USA: MC5 peaked with their debut live album, but this is still great proto-punk / garage rock, containing a raucous version of "Tutti Frutti".

Van Morrison - His Band and the Street Choir: Contains "Domino", which is one of his biggest songs, this is another excellent gospel / R&B Van record. Van may not be much of a fan of it, but if this last year has taught me anything, is that his opinions aren't always worth listening to...

The Stooges - Fun House: Another fantastic and hugely influential Stooges record. The songs are a little longer on what came before or after, but the influence here is widely felt.

The Spinners - Second Time Around: Honestly my favourite Spinners record, and the only one they recorded with vocalist GC Cameron. "It's a Shame" might be my favourite Spinners track. Brilliant soul songs.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - What Love Has Joined Together: 25 minutes of just absolutely perfect soul music - 6 tracks, all of them basically perfect. A beautiful short treat.

 

imo this year has a clear cut 1 more than any of the last decade haha

paranoid is about as good as music gets *shrug emoji*

 

Someone other than me mentioning What Love Has...Joined Together on this site makes me deeply happy

 

Man, this year is stacked. I know what my number 1 is, but 2-3 are going to take some thinking.

 

1. Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman
2. The Velvet Underground - Loaded
3. The Beatles - Let It Be

Excruciating cuts:
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles - What Love Has...Joined Together
The Moody Blues - A Question of Balance
Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Others I love:
Van Morrison - Moondance
Elton John - Elton John
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young - Deja Vu
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection
Aretha Franklin - This Girl's in Love with You
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory
Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills
Led Zeppelin - III
Curtis Mayfield - Curtis
Santana - Abraxas
Jorge Ben - Forca Bruta
Aretha Franklin - Spirit in the Dark
Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
Grateful Dead - American Beauty
Donny Hathaway - Everything Is Everything
George Benson - The Other Side of Abbey Road
Willie Colon - Cosa Nuestra
Van Morrison - His Band and Street Choir
Duke Ellington - New Orleans Suite
Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die
Neil Young - After the Gold Rush
Sammy Davis, Jr. - Something for Everyone
Harry Nilsson - The Point!
Leon Russell - Leon Russell
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
Little Richard - The Rill Thing
Chicago - II

Good ones:
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Deep Purple - In Rock
Original Cast Recording - Jesus Christ Superstar
Spirit - Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
The Band - Stage Fright
The Beach Boys - Sunflower
Rod Stewart - Gasoline Alley
Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead
Bob Dylan - New Morning
Spinners - 2nd Time Around
Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon
Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - Express Yourself
The J. Geils Band - The J. Geils Band
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Pendulum
The Who - Live at Leeds
Booker T. and the MGs - Mclemore Avenue
Michael Nesmith and the First National Band - Magnetic South
The Bob Seger System - Mongrel
Paul McCartney - McCartney
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition - Tell It All, Brother
The Doors - Morrison Hotel
The Meters - Struttin'
Ringo Star - Beaucoups of Blues
Carpenters - Close to You
Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys
Willie Dixon - I Am the Blues
The Stooges - Funhouse
The Delfonics - The Delfonics
Badfinger- No Dice
The Partridge Family - The Partridge Family Album
Cactus - Cactus
Roy Ayers - Ubiquity
The Jackson 5 - ABC
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles - Pocketful of Miracles
Cat Stevens - Mona Bone Jakon
Harry Belafonte - By Request

Not a fan:
Neil Diamond - Tap Root Manuscript


Targets for listening:
Michel Chapman - Fully Qualified Survivor
Charlie Daniels - Charlie Daniels
Bob Dylan - Self-Portrait
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas - Natural Resources
Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs
Ananda Shankar - Ananda Shankar
Soft Machine - Third
Randy Newman - 12 Songs
MC5 - Back in the U.S.A.
James Brown - Sex Machine
Joe Cocker - Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Eric Burdon and War - Eric Burdon Declares "War"
Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton
Free - Fire and Water
Grand Funk - Closer to Home
The Guess Who - American Woman
The Guess Who - Share the Land
The Kinks - Lola vs. the Power Man and the Money-Go-'Round Pt. 1
Mountain - Climbing!
Sugarloaf - Sugarloaf
Thunderclap Newman - Hollywood Dream
Isaac Hayes - The Isaac Hayes Movement
Diana Ross - Diana Ross
Lee Dorsey - Yes We Can
John Phillips - John Phillips
Rodriguez - Cold Fact
Kris Kristofferson - Kristofferson
Ten Years After - Cricklewood Green
Mavis Staples - Only for the Lonely
The Chairmen of the Board - The Chairmen of the Board
Fanny - Fanny
The Friends of Distinction - Real Friends
Alive 'N' Kickin' - Alive 'N' Kickin'
Billy Preston - Encouraging Words

 

i cannot recommend self-portrait lol

stage fright is really really good. damn apple music!!!

 

adding to listen

wowwwww

 

1. Van Morrison - Moondance
2. Neil Young - After the Gold Rush
3. Van Morrison - His Band…

 

1. The Kinks - Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One
2. James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
3. Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Shooting from the hip here. Might be a completely different top 3 if I did this a week from now.

 

Also Curtis by Curtis Mayfield. Both are favourites of mine from any year. There's no better opening song on an album from this year than (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below, We're All Going To Go.

 

Haven't heard these yet. I'll have to get in a couple off this list this week if I have time.

 

I love this song from Lick My Decals Off. Really gorgeous gnarly song