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.
Led zeppelin’s third album, cleverly titled Led Zeppelin III, marked a shift in their style from harder-edged rock to a more acoustic sound. The first side, which kicks off with the hit ‘Immigrant Song,’ is a bit more electric, while the second side is extremely mellow.
The album was met with confusion and didn’t perform very well critically or commercially at first, but over time it has come to be regarded as one of the band’s better efforts.
When compiling my list of favorite 1970 albums, I was tempted to include Grateful Dead’s American Beauty. Every time I listen to this record I’m reminded just how great it is.
The problem is, I almost never listen to it. Maybe three times in the last decade. Granted, I don’t pull out Let It Be or Watertown on a weekly basis either, but I know both of those albums by heart because I did give them that level of attention at some point. American Beauty never earned its own obsessive phase.
Last week I counted down my five favorite albums of 1970, and while it was an excellent group of albums, the truth is I didn’t have many runners-up. I have a very cursory knowledge of that year’s music.
So over the next three weeks I’ll feature songs from other 1970 albums that received widespread acclaim. Could some of these crack my own top five if given the chance?
Meet Me In Montauk 