I gotta say, that Plastic Ono Band record is just about the only thing after the early singles that any of the Beatles ever did that I really, really enjoy listening to. And it absolutely beats the living hell out of the Beatles 1970 release, Let It Be.

Odd year for me though. Some really great stuff like the Stooges, Velvet Underground, a really good Kinks album, Van Morrison's Moondance, my fave MC5 album (I'll take Back in the USA over Kick Out the Jams any day) . But outside a few highlights, this year looks like total musical hell to me to a large degree. The majority of albums from this time period just make me cringe.

Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Stances a Sophie

Awesome spiritual jazz



Johnny Darrell - California Stop Over

One of the first country outlaws, Darrell had a habit of recording songs that would later become much bigger hits for others. After failing to have any Nashville hits, he moved to California and recorded California Stop Over with country rock veterans Clarence White of the Byrds guesting on Guitar and Larry Murray of Hearts and Flowers on production. Features a killer cover of Willin', and very good covers of Jackson Browne, Mickey Newbury and Hoyt Axton songs. RIYL: outlaw country, country rock, Clarence White, Hoyt Axton. This is a fine album that deserves more attention.



Rodriguez - Cold Fact

Really excellent soulful folk rock. RIYL: the folkier side of Arthur Lee.



Lee Hazlewood - Cowboy in Sweden

Probably my favorite of his.

first time listening to that kinks album front to back. man was i sleeping on that one...really excellent.

only a few that i got for '70 that has yet to be mentioned:


and was this one really not mentioned yet?

i'm not sure i could go that far, but i definitely prefer his version of "Dreams" to the original.

Some More:



Spirit - Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus

These guys are really great. I'm not sure why I only have two of their albums.



Labi Siffre - S/T

I came across Labi Siffre when looking for other artists who melded jazz, folk and soul in the way that Terry Callier does. He's not quite the equal of Terry Callier but he's probably the next closest in quality. This isn't my favorite by him but it's still damn good.



Jorge Ben - Forca Bruta
Tim Maia - S/T (1970)

Two of the best samba soul albums of the 70's.



Willie Colon - Cosa Nuestra

A monster salsa album featuring arrangements by Johnny Pacheco and vocals by Hector Lavoe.



Marie "Queenie" Lyons - Soul Fever
Aretha Franklin - Spirit in the Dark

Two great soul albums



Bill Fay - S/T

Lushly orchestrated english folk pop. While I greatly prefer "Time of the Last Persecution," this is a really fine album too.

Oh yeah....one I was just spinning the other day...great one by Desmond Dekker...


Desmond Dekker: You Can Get it if you Really Want

I've seen so many different dates and album covers and everything on these old Desmond Dekker albums, I'm not gonna swear this is 1970, but it seems to be. I need to grab my vinyl and check the date I guess. Either way a fantastic album. The title track is a monster. Pickney Gal, I Believe, Coomyah, You've Got Soul...from start to finish just a great album if you've any interest in classic Jamaican ska.

If you're a fan and are interested in sorting through all his releases...here's the discography I found that listed this as 1970:
http://reggaediscography.blogspot.com/2 ... e-and.html

jesus christ what a year

Some black rock classics:




Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys
Black Merda - S/T
Brute Force - S/T
Purple Image - S/T



McGuinness Flint - S/T

Pub Rock/Country Rock heavily indebted to the Band.



Michael Nesmith - Magnetic South

Great country rock album

More strong folk/country rock:



Paul Siebel - Woodsmoke and Oranges
Great Speckled Bird - S/T

and not sure how I almost forgot this one:



Tony Joe White - Tony Joe

The 10 second (or thereabouts) yodel at the end of She Made Me Lose My Blues is as good as it gets. By anyone, anywhere, anytime. Anyhow...

I have a few albums that haven't been mentioned yet, but I'll highlight:


Willie Dixon - I Am The Blues

Dixon finally sits down and records his own versions of all the songs he wrote for Muddy, Wolf, and other Chess artists.

That Willie Dixon was one of if not the first blues album I ever bought. Great stuff.

yeah count me in to the group of zero.

I love me some Zep.
I just don't put 'em on much, because I've heard them so much throughout my life, it's basically unnecessary to ever put them on, myself. Kinda like The Beatles.

+1 Look at any album...hear the entire thing in a flash.

Ironically titled, this record includes ten new songs and a host of great players including James Burton, Clarence White, Ry Cooder and Gene Parsons of the Byrds. The cover art is an obvious nod to Elvis, with the great tag-line “ Fifty Phil Ochs fans can’t be wrong.”

If you have a chance, check out the recent documentary on his life, "There But For Fortune". It's a moving history lesson for those not familiar with his songs & societal contributions, and for Phil, it provides some overdue recognition.

same, used to have it on cassette, I don't think I ever re-stocked it

Big yes to (in addition to The Stooges and Led Zep):

Funkadelic - Free Your Mind
Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Stances a Sophie
Captain Beefheart - Lick My Decals Off, Baby
The Kinks - Lola
Exuma - I & II
The Who - Live at Leeds
Neil Young - After the Gold Rush
Buddy Miles - Them Changes
CCR - Cosmo's Factory
Jimmy Hendrix - Band of Gypsys
VU - Loaded
John Cale - Vintage Violence

Best stuff not yet mentioned (I don't think):


Tim Buckley - Starsailor
His best, and my 2nd favorite of the year after Fun House. Just an incredible record, and it's the one where he strikes the most perfect balance between his various eccentricities. Sure, the title track is ridiculous, but it has its charm and works as a sort of segue. The way "Moulin Rouge" is sequenced between the intense "Monterey" and the beautiful and poignant "Song to the Siren" is just one of those perfect album stretches. Really the whole A-side of this album is flawless. And aside from that title track (which again isn't so bad), the B-side is too.






Soft Machine - Third
One of the best syntheses of jazz and rock I've ever heard.


Os Mutantes - A Divina Comedia ou Ando Meio Desligado
My 2nd favorite Mutantes album after their debut. It's more sophisticated and polished, but still fun and energetic.


Pharoah Sanders - Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun)


Herbie Hancock - Fat Albert Rotunda

There are several more I may post later.

Some more:



Honeybus - Story

Lush English Baroque pop. RIYL: 60's Bee Gees, softer side of the Beatles,the Left Banke, etc.



Love - False Start

Most people stop after the first three Love albums. I think they are all pretty good and this is probably the best one that most people don't own. Worth having just for "Keep on Shining"



Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon



Van Morrison & His Street Choir

I'm much more likely to listen to this than Moondance mostly because it's not been overplayed but I also think it's probably a little better.



Randy Newman - 12 Songs



Wayne McGhie & the Sounds of Joy

Soulful Reggae RIYL: Toots & the Maytals



Linda Perhacs - Parallelograms

When this first got reissued, I really loved it. I haven't listened to it in a long time and psych folk really isn't as much in my wheelhouse as it used to be. That said, it's very good for the style.



Pretty Things - Parachute

Not my favorite by them but still good



Leon Russell - S/T

I'm a big fan of his early solo work.



Mavis Staples - Only for the Lonely

Probably her best or at least the best I've heard.



Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Not as good as the albums to follow but still a really nice album.



The Last Poets - S/T
Gil Scott Heron - Small Talk at 125th & Lenox

Do these albums get their due here for their historical importance?




Harlem River Drive - S/T
Jimmy Sabater - Teresa's Son
Eddie Palmieri - Superimposition

Some very good salsa



I had thought I'd posted that Pharoah Sanders album but apparently didn't which makes me realize that there's a lot of jazz I had meant to post:





Ornette Coleman - the Art of the Improvisors
William S. Fischer - Circles
Herbie Mann - Muscle Shoals, Nitty Gritty
Jimmy McGriff - Electric Funk
Lloyd McNeill - Washington Suite
Duke Pearson - I Don't Care Who Knows It

I'm not a huge fan of that Mutantes album but I do like these Brazilian albums from 1970:







Marcos Valle - S/T [1970]
Milton Nascimento - Milton
Ronnie Von - A Maquina Voadora
Doris Monteiro - S/T [1970]
Doris Monteiro, Miltinho e charme
Astrud Gilberto - I Haven't Got Anything Better to do
Joao Donato - A Bad Donato
Os Novos Baianos - e ferro na boneca
Antonio Carlos Jobim - Stone Flower
Joao Gilberto - Ela e Carioca

Everything billyg posts in this thread smells like an old record store or thrift shop.

I picked this up on vinyl after the thread where we did this for 1968 and "The Family That Play Together" got some love. Saw this one a few days later. Lot better than I was expecting. They're kind of all over the place. Going Pink Floyd sound experiments one second into Who-esqe rock tunes the next. Forgiving a few hippy dippy lyrics here and there though, this def rises above mere 60's artifact. Still, I think I found some seeds in the vinyl jacket.

I'm surprised this band hasn't become some name check band for modern jam rockers.

Picked this up this year as well. After about a dozen spins this year now, it's probably 1A or 1B with Plastic Ono Band as my favorite solo Beatle release depending on the day.

Nearly every song is vintage sweet George. Picked up the deluxe version and hearing the original acoustic version of "Let It Down" I can't believe anyone actually said "hey maybe we should try it this way". It was already great.

How did it take me so long to post this one?!?!

Frequently brilliant band that later morphed into ELO. This was their last album where Roy Wood was still the unequivocal leader of the band -- before Jeff Lynne came aboard. And, therefore, it follows that this is their last great masterpiece.
Total oddball British psyche pop that will puzzle and delight or horrify, depending upon your own personal aesthetic.
I love them.

I know I've trumpeted it before but their cover of "Last Thing on My Mind" is one of my favorite covers ever

Was this posted?


and then some folk rock like Fairport Convention:

I bookmarked this thread, cheers to Drinky for firing this back up.