Listed below are the best albums of 1970 as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 29 minutes ago).
"Angel Delight was Fairport's follow-up to their master-piece "Full House". Guitarist and songwiter Richard Thompson had left the band before the recordings for the album, but some songs had been written and rehearsed before he left. Thompson is co-writer on two songs and though his personal vocal...""Angel Delight was Fairport's follow-up to their master-piece "Full House".
Guitarist and songwiter Richard Thompson had left the band before the recordings for the album, but some songs had been written and rehearsed before he left. Thompson is co-writer on two songs and though his personal vocals are missed, his absence is actually surprisingly not very obvious.
Before the recordings of "Full House" the band had moved in together in an old inn called "The Angel Inn" ( hence the title of the album ), and they lived there together during the recordings of this album too. Actually Richard Thompson still lived there after he had left Fairport Convention to pursue a solo-career; so obviously he still played a part in the band's musical direction.
Guitarist Simon Nicol reveals in the sleeve-notes that he was not too familiar with the electric guitar at this point; but he obviously had been very much inspired by Thompson's style and his playing on the album is great. As with "Full House" the songs is a mixture of traditional songs and new originals written by the band.
The opener "Lord Marlborough" is one the traditionals. This old folk song features great lead vocals by Dave Swarbrick; catchy melody in a very unusual/difficult rhythm, which makes the song even more fascinating.
Simon Nicol takes over the lead vocals on the next traditional "Sir William Gower". The distorted guitar makes you think of Steeleye Span at their most electric/rocking period. Another good track! The first of the album's two instrumentals is the the violin-dominated "Bridge Over the River Ash" - almost like a classical piece.
Dave Swarbrick takes over again the lead vocals on his and Simon Nicol's "Wizzard of the Worldly Game". Classic Fairport Convention at their best; fine solo by Nicol! "The Journeyman's Grace" written by Thompson and Swarbrick is a song much in the same vein as "Walk Awhile" from "Full House"
The title track is a catchy and optimistic tune with autobiograpical lyrics. Great drum-breaks by Mattacks.
The traditional ballad "Banks of the Sweet Primroses" was from the the first time I heard the album my favourite track; and it still is. A gorgeous melody. The instrumental medley is as always a pleasure; showing what great instrumentalist they all were.
The last traditional song "The Bonny Black Hare" is probably my least favourite track, which by no means makes it a bad track.
Swarbrick and Thompson's "Sickness and Diseases" is the most hard-rocking track on the album. Great closer of the original album.
The single bonus-track is a BBC recording of "The Journeyman's Grace"; not that much different from the album version, but still interesting as it features great guitar-playing from Thompson.
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"Emitt Rhodes' second album from late 1970 is undoubtedly his strongest. The album was released on ABC Records, and Rhodes had recently had a nice hit with the single "Fresh said Daisy." His former record company AM Records took the renewed interest in Rhodes to re-release his first album "The Ame...""Emitt Rhodes' second album from late 1970 is undoubtedly his strongest. The album was released on ABC Records, and Rhodes had recently had a nice hit with the single "Fresh said Daisy." His former record company AM Records took the renewed interest in Rhodes to re-release his first album "The American Dream". This coincidence, with two simultaneous releases in Rhodes' name, meant some confusion among buyers of his music, and his new self-titled album did not sell as well as expected - and deserved.
Nevertheless it is still a milestone in American power-pop. Almost exclusively consisting of well-constructed pop songs in catchy arrangements. Hard to bring forward specific songs since most of them are really great. Still besides the catchy single "Fresh as a Daisy," "Live Till You Die," "Ever Find Yourself Running" or "You Should Be Ashamed" (along with a handful more) all have what a good popsong needs. The short "Lullabye" is another of my favorites.
Rhodes wrote all the songs, played all instruments and co-produced the album; so this is indeed is a solo album. Unfortunately pressure from the company, meant that Rhodes was not given the neccesary time to come up with an equally strong successor, and though his next album "Mirror" has its moments, it never comes close to matching this perfect power-pop album. "[+]Reply
"Absolutely underrated, this one. Not to mention the very ill-deserved statement from that one critic at the time - "What is this shit?". This album is anything but that. I was absolutely, and I must say, very pleasantly surprised with its impact on me. Right from the beginning, through to the end...""Absolutely underrated, this one. Not to mention the very ill-deserved statement from that one critic at the time - "What is this shit?". This album is anything but that. I was absolutely, and I must say, very pleasantly surprised with its impact on me. Right from the beginning, through to the end, this album is unpredictable! And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that exactly the key descriptive word most musicians are striving for? I think so...
Also, (Just one more thing) to help with its impeccable length ('Cause let's face it, it can seem a little long at times), may I suggest the simple removal of some of its weaker tracks, such as the Isle of Wight concert material. This listing below, I feel, best represents the brilliance of this album.
1. All the Tired Horses
2. Alberta
3. I've Forgotten More than You'll Ever Know
4. Days of '49
5. Early Mornin' Rain
6. Let it Be Me
7. Belle Isle
8. Living the Blues
9. Copper Kettle (The Pale Moonlight)
10. Blue Moon
11. Take me as I am (Or Let me go)
12. It Hurts Me Too
13. Take a Message to Mary
14. Wigwam"[+]Reply
""Nicely Out of Tune" was Lindisfarne's 1970 debut-album. Lindisfarne's music is catchy folk-inspired music; maybe it could be described as a British version of Lovin' Spoonful's good-time music. Lovin' Spoonful had John Sebastian and Lindisfarne had Alan Hull; both great singers and songwriters. ..."""Nicely Out of Tune" was Lindisfarne's 1970 debut-album. Lindisfarne's music is catchy folk-inspired music; maybe it could be described as a British version of Lovin' Spoonful's good-time music.
Lovin' Spoonful had John Sebastian and Lindisfarne had Alan Hull; both great singers and songwriters. Hull contributes 7 of the original album's 11 songs, and he is obviously the dominating personality in the band. Songs like "Lady Eleanor", "Winter Song", "Scarecrow Song" and "We Can Swing Together" are simply outstanding.
"Turn a Deaf Ear" written by Rab Noakes is another highlight; actually there are no weak tracks on the album. Rod Clements, another fine song-writer in the band, wrote two of the songs and especially "Road to Kingdom" is great and a Lindisfarne classic.
"Nicely out of Tune" and the follow-up, "Fog on the Tyne", are the two most consistent Lindisfarne albums, and both are highly recommendable. "[+]Reply
""A Question of Balance" from 1970 was my first Moody Blues album, which I bought while it was still on the charts. It was first and foremost the single "Question" I had noticed in the radio. After purchasing the album, I hated to admit to myself that the other tracks did not live up to my hopes a..."""A Question of Balance" from 1970 was my first Moody Blues album, which I bought while it was still on the charts. It was first and foremost the single "Question" I had noticed in the radio.
After purchasing the album, I hated to admit to myself that the other tracks did not live up to my hopes and expectations. There was too little rock guitar and that everything was overall a bit too nice. Even though it could not be measured with other favorites from the same time, such as "A Salty Dog" and "Full House", I actually did play it quite a lot and learned to a certain degree to appreciate even the the songs that sounded like ”family pop”; they were after all good and well-written songs. However, the three Hayward songs were always favorites. Now, many years later, I have relistened to the album and obviously noticed new aspects and learned to appreciate some of them. It is obvious that the group in many ways was trend-setting and lyrically, in fact ahead of their time, e.g. with focus on the environment and greedy abuse of the resurces of the Earth. In fact, very impressive that young men in their midtwenties could deliver such a mature piece of work.
The middle part of "Question" is still incredible and probably one of the most beautiful pieces of music group ever delivered. The pompous intro (and end) I was never very crazy about, and I still think that the two parts do not fi really well together. Haywards "It's up to You" is another highlight; a melodic rocker with a small touch of country. "Dawning is the Day" is an evocative and more complex number. Mike Pinders to numbers "How are we here" and "Melancholy man" originally fell out, far from my taste, but of course I now realize that they are actually both nicely and beautifully constructed. John Lodge's songwriting I found came the closest to Hayward’s, and he was my number two favorite. His "Tortoise and the Hare" is a light upbeat soft rocker - a really nice song. His "Minstrel Song" is a grand and nicely arranged composition. Ray Thomas croons safely through his own "And Tide Rushes in," and together with Graeme Edge he has put the final number "The Balance" together. Edge, who was often responsible for the recitals, has also written the fine "Don’t You Feel Small", which could sound like a song taken from a movie.
As a whole, "A Question of Balance" is probably one of the most succesful Moody Blues albums and one that has aged with grace.
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"Beautifully arranged (perhaps second only to the Carpenters), wonderfully harmonized and evocative in its celebration of childhood - an essential LP for big kids and their little kids too. I'm totally and utterly hooked by this sunshine-pop masterpiece, and if your mind is wired in a similar way ...""Beautifully arranged (perhaps second only to the Carpenters), wonderfully harmonized and evocative in its celebration of childhood - an essential LP for big kids and their little kids too. I'm totally and utterly hooked by this sunshine-pop masterpiece, and if your mind is wired in a similar way perhaps you will be too..."[+]Reply
"I can't say enough positive things about this multi-genre music. They were so great, so innovative, so ahead of their time, able to cross over into any genre, and their songs are so, so enduring. Fan of rock ? This stuff rocks. Need the funk? This is funk 101. Wanna dance? How could you not! Need...""I can't say enough positive things about this multi-genre music.
They were so great, so innovative, so ahead of their time, able to cross over into any genre, and their songs are so, so enduring.
Fan of rock ? This stuff rocks.
Need the funk? This is funk 101.
Wanna dance? How could you not!
Need it hard or need it soft, it's all here."[+]Reply
"Laura Nyro should be more widely appreciated - she did not produce one but string of great albums in the late 60s Her vocal gymnastics sometimes go to far but that's what makes her always differnt and always interseting"Reply
swhaze | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Jimmy Dread | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Jboy56 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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