As I continue my dive into the best albums of 1970, I’m focusing this week on unfamiliar albums by artists I otherwise know pretty well. I own, or at least know, some material by each of these artists but I don’t have these particular records.
First up is Creedence Clearwater Revival with Cosmo’s Factory, the band’s fifth album and widely considered their best.
The fourth track from Prince’s classic Purple Rain soundtrack, ‘Computer Blue,’ underwent major changes between concept and final execution. The song originally ran about 14 minutes and ended with “three full minutes of screeching feedback,” according to Wikipedia. I’d say saner minds prevailed.
Apparently the song was trimmed after ‘Take Me With U’ was added to the album lineup, though I’m not sure what one thing has to do with the other.
Plain White T’s are best known (perhaps only known) for their hit single ‘Hey There Delilah.’ Looking back at Song of the Day #38, when I first posted that song, it’s amusing to see that I discovered it in an episode of iCarly about a year and a half after it was released. Guess I should have been doing the Billboard thing back then.
‘Hey There Delilah’ is such a simple, beautiful song and the other tracks I’ve heard from Plain White T’s just don’t compare. Today’s SOTD isn’t bad, but it’s not in the same league as ‘Delilah.’
Elton John’s third album, Tumbleweed Connection, received some of the best reviews he’d ever get. The album isn’t chock full of hits, though ‘Burn Down the Mission’ became a concert staple through the decades.
This is a concept album about the West, leaning on the country and blues genres and schewing simple verse-chorus-verse structure for a more experimental songwriting style.
Another 1970 album that I own but haven’t paid much attention is The Kinks’ Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. I’m familiar with only two songs on this record: today’s SOTD, ‘Lola,’ and ‘This Time Tomorrow,’ which was featured in the Wes Anderson film The Darjeeling Limited.
Based on those songs, and the fact that I love The Kinks’ overall sound, I suspect I’d enjoy the rest of the record, too.
Meet Me In Montauk 