It’s about time to dust off the old time machine once again. We’re setting a course today for July 1970. And our mission, which we gladly accept, is to go crate-digging and find standout albums that were released in that month.
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As fate would have it, there are plenty of top candidates from which to choose when it comes to the albums released 55 years ago this month. Here are five of the most noteworthy and memorable.
‘Cosmo’s Factory’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival
It’s probably not fair to ding CCR for burning out as quickly as they did. While they were active, no band worked as quickly as they did in terms of churning out albums and singles. And those releases were all, at least till the end, of staggeringly high quality. Cosmo’s Factory can make a legitimate claim as being their absolute peak. These 11 songs provide a little bit of everything. Check out the instrumental dexterity on display in “Ramble Tamble” and “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”. Marvel at the chugging intensity of “Travelin’ Band” and the eerie atmosphere of “Run Through The Jungle”. Then prepare to be taken aback by the wisdom of “Who’ll Stop The Rain”.
‘John Barleycorn Must Die’ by Traffic
Traffic was pretty much kaput, and Steve Winwood was beginning the process of recording his first solo album. But Winwood preferred working in tandem with others, so he quickly brought Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood back and decided to rejuvenate the brand on John Barleycorn Must Die. The trio responded with the album that’s generally regarded as the finest in the Traffic catalog. Their instrumental interplay allows them to go off on fun, funky excursions. And then, just when you’ve followed them way out there, they bring you hurtling back in for one of Winwood’s high-arcing choruses on thrilling tracks like “Empty Pages” and “Every Mother’s Son”.
‘Fun House’ by The Stooges
The idea behind this, The Stooges sophomore album, was to try and emulate their live sound as much as possible in a studio setting. Smart move, as the best thing you could do with these guys was to get out of the way and let them run rampant. Bassist Dave Alexander and drummer Scott Asheton keep a reliable pulse. That allows for guitarist Ron Asheton to come crackling in with commentary at the most opportune moments. Steve Mackay’s saxophone adds a bit of a fusion element on Side Two. Of course, Iggy Pops serves as ringmaster, bellowing with abandon on iconoclastic classics like “T.V. Eye” and “1970”. Infinitely influential and a thrilling listen from first note to last.
‘Alone Together’ by Dave Mason
In the same month as his old band Traffic was delivering a classic in 1970, Dave Mason was highlighting his chops as a singer-songwriter on his solo debut. He’s surrounded here by elite musicians. Many of them served as part of the Delaney & Bonnie collective that would go on to contribute to classics by George Harrison and Derek and the Dominos. As a result, tracks like “Only You Know And I Know” glide by on an elegant blues-rock groove. But Mason’s songs don’t need a lot of help to make their mark. His questing lyrics and achy vocals on “Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave” and “Sad And Deep As You” make plenty of impact on their own.
‘James Gang Rides Again’ by James Gang
The second 1970 album by this trio begins with their most recognizable song. “Funk #49”, all skewed guitar angles, twitchy rhythms, and Joe Walsh’s cackling vocals, deserves its spot as a classic rock evergreen. Dive a little deeper into this record, and you’ll start to believe that this band was way underrated, perhaps because of Walsh’s eventual stardom as a solo act and as a member of The Eagles. You’ll note a pensive, soul-searching quality to songs like “Tend My Garden” and “Ashes The Rain And I”. It might surprise those who think of these guys only as party starters.
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