When I first was trying to figure out how I would sum this up, I said “probably the most ambitious documentary project ever.” I should have said “in English” as this idea was actually not invented by this series. Rather, the Germans beat the British to it by a few years. Due to typical Anglo …
Category: 1970
Original Cast Album: Company (1970, D.A. Pennebaker)
This brief documentary about the creation of the original cast album for the musical Company is so brief because it was supposed to be a TV pilot. The idea was to have a TV series based around recordings of cast albums. I’m not sure there would have been enough, but it’s kind of a neat …
The Early Years 1965-1972 (2016) by Pink Floyd
Full disclosure part 1: I listened to this on a streaming service so a few tracks were missing, the videos were included in the track list, and I really have no idea how it would compare to the actual boxed set. (No booklets, etc.) Full disclosure part 2: the time for me to have listened …
Woodstock (1970, Michael Wadleigh)
Note: I am reviewing the director’s cut, not the much shorter theatrical version. So, I’ve seen the majority of the musical performances in this film multiple times, and some of them many times. (Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner” in particular, but also the CSN performance and some others.) I’ve seen them because Woodstock used to be …
Little Feat (1970)
I love Sailin’ Shoes. And I generally enjoy the albums that came after it (though not as much as Sailin’ Shoes, which is definitely a favourite of the ’70s). So this first record, the one everyone gets to after they become fans, came as a bit of a shock. (As it always does. Yes, I’m …
Warpig (1970)
This record didn’t get released outside of Canada for like 2 and a half years or something. And, as a result it seems like there was some surprise when people realized it had been released in 1970. This was one of the early metal albums! Oh my god! I have not been able to confirm …
Kingdom Come (1970) by Sir Lord Baltimore
I spent some time in a weird corner of the internet where people argued that this record and Warpig’s self-titled debut were just as important as music by Zeppelin, Purple and Black Sabbath. Before I get to the actual music on this record I do want to point out the following:
Lick My Decals Off, Baby (1970) by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band
There are people out there who are going to tell you that this is superior to Trout Mask Replica. And from an aesthetic perspective, I can see the case they’re making. (I mean, it’s more listenable for one.) But albums exist in time, as everything else does, and there’s just no getting around that this …
H to He Who Am the Only One (1970) by Van Der Graaf Generator
This has got to be the best-produced Van Der Graaf Generator record, at least among the albums of their first few eras. It’s clear and there are fewer instruments – or, rather, fewer effects on the instruments, I guess – and things don’t bleed together like they do on basically every other record this version …
Desertshore (1970) by Nico
There’s something about Nico’s austere approach on this record that is my catnip. I have no idea if I would like this record this much if the songs were the same and the arrangements were more contemporary, but I like the aesthetic so much I don’t care.
Plastic Ono Band (1970) by Yoko Ono
Lennon’s half of this record is my favourite post Beatles album and I think one of the great singer songwriter records of the 1970s. The fact that they recorded this (with one exception) at the same time is a tribute Lennon’s versatility in addition to being a great testament to Yoko Ono’s musical talent. (What, …
Starsailor (1970) by Tim Buckley
I guess this is the logical end of Tim Buckley’s pursuit of jazz – a record that has basically nothing in common with his debut or any of his early music, and which feels really mislabeled if the term “singer songwriter” or “folk” is used.
Tea for the Tillerman (1970) by Cat Stevens
At his worst, Cat Stevens is like a sappier James Taylor (which is really saying something). But, at his best, he’s more musically interesting and ambitious than his bloodless contemporaries. My problem with this record is that he’s at his worst far more than he’s at his best.
Stephen Stills (1970)
Though I became kind of obsessed with Manassas’ debut album and Super Session back in the day, Stills is the last of CSNY for me, in terms of listening to proper solo albums. Some of that is accidental (or technical, depending upon how you feel about Manassas). But some of that is also because, though …
Van Morrison, His Band and the Street Choir (1970)
Imagine you were so talented you could come up with an album concept, have it fall apart completely, and then have your record company release some of the tapes against your will and you still end up with this great album. The more I get into Van Morrison the more I am just in awe …
Tumbleweed Connection (1970) by Elton John
Try as I might, I cannot fall in love with Elton John’s music. I have listened to many of his records at this point – basically only from the ’70s – and I have quite liked one of them. The others don’t really connect with me yet and this one is just another of those.
Jesus Christ Superstar (1970) by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
I honestly had no idea this was an album first. I think because it has been so successful as a property I just assumed it had to have been a musical. But, instead, it was an album. And, as a result, it got reviewed as an album. (And, hilariously, it was banned in some countries …
Curtis (1970) by Curtis Mayfield
There is some hype out there about this record and I’m not sure I’ve listened to enough contemporary psychedelic soul and funk (specifically from 1969 and 1970) to know how seriously to take it.
Sex Machine (1970) by James Brown
One of the things you discover when you start wading into Jame’s Brown’s immense discography is that there is just so much stuff; it is kind of overwhelming and very hard to really evaluate. Is record 15 way better than record 25 or record 35 or record 45 or record 55? Who’s listened to even …
Spirit in the Dark (1970) by Aretha Franklin
This is particularly bluesy Aretha record, at least based on my very slight knowledge of her catalogue. Though it produced two hits, it infamously did relatively poorly as an album and, listening to it, it’s fairly easy to see why.
Close to You (1970) by Carpenters
I know the Carpenters by reputation and a few of their hits, only. The title track and a few other songs of theirs were big enough to find their way into pop culture. (For example, the title track has been used on The Simpsons.) Rockist orthodoxy has it that they are not very good – …
Le Genou de Claire (1970, Eric Rohmer)
Ah, the good old days, when European men could prey on little girls and everyone thought it was just great.
Osmium (1970) by Parliament
Recorded by the same people who made Free Your Mind…, this particular version of Parliament is basically just Funkadelic moonlighting. The record actually feels like the outtakes – the stuff that was just too weird – for Free Your Mind… if you listen to both of them at the same time. Parliament would be relaunched …
Free Your Mind…and Your Ass Will Follow (1970) by Funkadelic
Over the last 20 years my tolerance of directionless jamming and freakouts has gone from very high to relatively low. (I say relatively because I still have a much higher tolerance than, say, your average pop listener.) And this is my biggest problem with some Funkadelic as, in the early days in particular, they could …
Diana Ross (1970)
This album was the attempt to launch Ross as a solo artist, without the Supremes, and that seems very true when you take a look at the cover art. It’s the cover art, even more than the music, that feels like a declaration of independence. It’s amazing to the me that the cover has been …
ABC (1970) by Jackson 5
This is a slickly produced Motown record with a lead vocalist who is entirely too young. I don’t necessarily blame the people alive in 1970 who celebrated this group for what happened with Michael Jackson, but did nobody stop and wonder about this? It was probably “cute”, right?
12 Songs (1970) by Randy Newman
With virtually every Randy Newman album I’ve yet encountered my problem with him has in part been the aesthetic – a unique and not particularly compelling singer singing acerbic is often backed by extremely slick arrangements. But that’s not the case here as Newman has abandoned the massed arrangements of his debut for members of …
Yeti (1970) by Amon Düül II
The older I get, the lower my tolerance for directionless jamming. If I listened to Yeti when I first listened to Tanz der Lemminge I imagine I would have loved it as much as I love that album. But I’m not a lot older and these endless jams and snippets wear on me in a …
McCartney (1970)
It is incredible to me that this album now has a pretty good reputation. It speaks to McCartney’s fame and immense presence in the music world that an album which was once at least partially attacked by critics is now beloved. In fact, the fact that the album received mixed reviews at the time only …
Elton John (1970)
Elton John’s second album is an interesting combination of contrasting styles, with some of it sounding like classic Elton John and some of it sounding like he really doesn’t know what he wants to sound like. It sounds a lot like a debut to me in that it feels like he hasn’t quite found his …