January hasn’t necessarily been a month associated with big album releases throughout history. But 1970 proved an exception to that trend. We actually had a hard time choosing just five from that stretch to highlight here.
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A couple of these records have been lauded as all-time classics. And then there are a few that haven’t received that kind of attention, but perhaps deserve it. Let’s look back at what gems awaited us in the first month of the ’70s.
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
The duo had steadily raised their game with each successive record, deviating from their folk-rock beginnings to make expansive, ambitious music, culminating in this masterpiece. Bridge Over Troubled Water displayed Paul Simon’s mastery of the studio, as he and producer Roy Halee found inventive ways to make it all sound so great. Simon’s songwriting also soared, whether writing about his complicated feelings of his musical partner (“The Only Living Boy in New York”), or delivering touching treatises on loneliness (“The Boxer”). He handed over his most towering original to Art Garfunkel to sing, and Garfunkel turned the title track into a fittingly majestic homage to enduring friendship.
Moondance by Van Morrison
Morrison’s previous work, Astral Weeks, wowed critics with its musical adventurousness. It didn’t sell all that much, as radio stations couldn’t do much with the somewhat formless musical pieces. With Moondance, Morrison condensed some of the spirit of Astral Weeks into a more song-oriented approach, and it turned out to be just as massive an achievement. For a guy with a reputation for being somewhat of a pill, Morrison delivered one of the most joyous records in pop music history. Try not smiling while songs like “Caravan” and “Everyone” are playing. It’s also about as romantic as it gets on tracks like “And It Stoned Me” and “Crazy Love.”
That’s the Way Love Is by Marvin Gaye
As the ’70s dawned, Marvin Gaye was starting to lose his taste for the Motown machinery that defined his work, wishing instead to strike out in his own artistic direction. Even if his heart wasn’t entirely in That’s the Way Love Is, his talent certainly was. Gaye and producer Norman Whitfield found novel ways to tackle well-worn material, leading to wonderful covers of everything from “Yesterday” to “Abraham, Martin & John.” The glam-rock touches added to “I Wish It Would Rain” are especially striking, while Gaye’s suavity raises romantic odes like “Gonna Give Her All the Love I’ve Got” several notches.
The Madcap Laughs by Syd Barrett
With anything involving Syd Barrett, it’s difficult to judge it fairly without getting caught up in the history and mystery of it all. His first solo album after his firing from Pink Floyd is neither as incendiary as the true believers would have you think, nor as disjointed as the skeptics might say. Even the title of the record promises a kind of wildness that isn’t really evident. What you really get are a collection of folky songs characterized by unexpected chord changes and a refreshingly unpredictable train of thought. Barrett’s innate charisma carries this a long way, even in the weirdest moments.
American Woman by The Guess Who
For a couple of minutes there, no songwriting tandem delivered audience-friendly rock music with such unerring precision as the duo of Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman. Alas, Bachman’s desire to be free of The Guess Who’s partying ways meant American Woman would be the end of their collaborative hot streak, as Bachman left following this album. They went out on an undeniable high note, as the title track, “No Time,” and “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” all delivered the goods. The album tracks don’t pop the same way, but you’ve still got three classic rock evergreens on one record, which is nothing to sneeze at.
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