Top 10 for 1970

TheBigBlack's Rock Top 10

The Doors
Morrison Hotel

Classic Rock | Album | 15 February 1970

Deep Purple
In Rock

Classic Rock | Album | 3 June 1970

'In Rock' is the fourth studio album by Deep Purple. It was the first studio album recorded by the Mark II line-up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. It was the band's breakthrough album in Europe and peaked at No. 4 in the U.K., remaining in the charts for over a year. By contrast, it underperformed in the U.S., where the band's Mark I albums had been more successful. The album has continued to attract critical praise as a key early example of the hard rock and heavy metal genres.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Deja Vu

Folk Rock | Album | 11 March 1970

'Deja Vu' is the second studio album by the Crosby, Stills & Nash, and their first as a quartet with the addition of Neil Young. It topped the pop album chart for one week. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 148 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time, and later was ranked No. 220 on the 2020 edition of the list. Certified 7? platinum by RIAA, the album's sales currently sit at over 8 million copies.

Paul McCartney
McCartney

Classic Rock | Album | 17 April 1970

As The Beatles crumbled before the mourning eyes of their millions of fans, the four men scattered after the recording of Abbey Road. Paul McCartney used his home studio to deal with the break up, and the result was the most lo-fi album of his career. Wife Linda lends her voice to the occasional backing vocals, but beside that this is 100% Paul, on his own for the first time in his life, trying to find his musical voice solo. Having recorded the whole thing in secret, relations with his previous bandmates were further strained when the release date was scheduled for only a few weeks prior to The Beatles final album Let It Be. (It is worth noting that Ringo Starr's debut solo album was also released the same month, but his sales were never seen as a concern.) The resulting album, the first 'proper' solo album from any of the Fab Four, is actually mostly an underwhelming set of simple ditties, with only a couple of tracks even coming close to what would be expected of McCartney. In comparison, the solo debuts of both John Lennon and George Harrison later the same year often vie for the position of the best solo album from any of the four, ever. Today it is often said that the album's unfinished feel was due to it being rushed to cash-in on the buzz around The Beatles break-up and to be the first member to release anything solo. Half a century later it all seems a bit petty to think that may have been the motivations, but it is probably likely. Opening with the simplistic 'The Lovey Linda', the acoustic strummed ditty is a strange opener, but does a good job of preparing the listener for what is ahead. 'That Would Be Something' sounds like an unfinished demo, sung into a tape recorder to capture a song that would be further realised - even to the point of McCartney verbally singing 'tish' where a cymbal hit would work. This song is a perfect example of everything both good and bad about the album. It shows a song that has real promise, and has some hallmarks of classic McCartney, but feels so unfinished it is barely worth a second listen. 'Valentine Day' is instrumental and isn't particularly memorable, but at 'Every Night' the album begins to show what is below if Macca had just taken a little bit longer to really scratch and see what was under the surface. It is a stand-out of the album, and great song. Apart from a drum beat the version of 'Junk' is almost identical to the Kinfauns demo recorded back in May 1968, but doesn't quite have the charm of that earlier version. 'Man We Was Lonely' is simple, but by adding just a few finishing touches it emerges as a keeper. "Momma Miss America' is another instrumental, but it has a real smooth groove to it that is hard to describe. Just nod your head and enjoy it. 'Teddy Boy' is another Beatles cast off, this time from the January 1969 Let It Be sessions, and a bit of effort has been put into it. Unfortunately no shine can replace how lacklustre the vocal performance is. 'Singalong Junk' is a pointless instrumental reprise to fill time, but by song number 12 the fans that had hung around long enough were finally rewarded. 'Maybe I'm Amazed' is not only the best song on the album by a long stretch, but it is also one of the greatest McCartney composition of all time. It's piano intro and 60s style guitar fuzz calls straight back to Abbey Road, and this could easily be confused as being a lost Beatles track. The album closes with over four minutes of what can only described as a bad drum solo with the occasional guitar, and no one ever needed to hear it a second time. There are moments of occasional greatness here, even amongst the less realised tracks, but the brilliance of McCartney only really shines very occasionally. It is easy to dismiss it all as a rush job, but who knows what his mental state was when recording this? Losing three brothers no doubt left him with a feeling of heightened isolation (something John Lennon sang about on his own debut), so maybe these songs reflect the incompleteness of his surroundings. We have all heard the term 'art imitating life' after all.

George Harrison
All Things Must Pass

Classic Rock | Album | 27 November 1970

Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin III

Classic Rock | Album | 23 October 1970

John Lennon
John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band

Classic Rock | Album | 11 December 1970

The Beatles
Let It Be

Classic Rock | Album | 8 May 1970

TheBigBlack's Rock Honourable Mentions

Bob Dylan
New Morning

Classic Rock | Album | 21 October 1970

Ringo Starr
Sentimental Journey

Classic Rock | Album | 27 April 1970

TheBigBlack's Rock Dishonourable Mentions

Bob Dylan
Self Portrait

Classic Rock | Album | 8 June 1970

TheBigBlack's Metal Top 10

Black Sabbath
Paranoid

Heavy Metal | Album | 18 September 1970

'Paranoid' is the second studio album by Black Sabbath. The album is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time, often cited as a key influence for the development of the genre as well as one of its earliest albums. It was ranked number one on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time" in 2017 and number 139 on its The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list in 2020. It was the band's only album to top the U.K. Albums Chart until the release of '13' in 2013.

Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath

Heavy Metal | Album | 13 February 1970

Any metal fan can tell you that the birth of the genre can be traced back to one album. The debut by Black Sabbath. It is the moment a group of four guys from post-war Birmingham pushed blues out it's comfort zone, and twisted into it into something else. From the moment the title track starts and the church bell rings out from a bell-tower somewhere deep in the misty distance, the atmosphere of the album seeps through. When the instruments crash in, and the sinister Devil's Titone rings from the guitar of Tony Iommi, you know this is like no other song. Ever. This is a Hammer Horror film put to music, and the anguished wails of Ozzy Osbourne are like nothing previously unleashed on the public. The song ends with the benchmark for heavy metal, as the galloping riff is accentuated with a shredding solo. Heavy metal was born at that very moment, and rock music would never be the same again. Defining something new isn't easy of course, and there are certainly sign-posts back to where the band came from - 'The Wizard' has a fat and distorted guitar tone, but make no mistake - this is just heavy blues through and through, and would feel right at home on a Deep Purple or Led Zepplin album. Even Osbourne vocals and harmonica line lock this into the late 60s heavy blues boom. 'Behind The Wall Of Sleep' is similar, but much like the title track this one morphs itself into something previously unheard, and Iommi really gets a chance to shine with his soloing. Geezer Butler's bass line weaves and twists like the sounds of a late night smoke-filled jazz club, and it isn't too long before he gets his chance to shine on the intro to 'N.I.B.'. Not only is this track a classic metal assault, often cited as one of the band's greatest songs, but it is also the point that Sabbath did something that would change popular music forever - they sang a song about Satan, and made it great fun to sing along. This was 1970, when the Western world still held Christian values central to their way of life, and with one song four ragged outcasts changed how millions of teenagers would think about religion for countless decades to come. The U.K. version of the album contains the rather insipid cover of Crow's 'Evil Woman' at this point, and the band sounds like they are going through the motions, playing a song that was suggested as it may be a potential hit single (spoiler alert - it wasn't). For once the U.S. version had the better track list, with the brilliant 'Wicked World' midway into the album. A blues romp from start to finish, but with Sabbath at the helm is still has sinister undertones that a band like Cream or Jethro Tull could never have conjured. Bill Ward gets a few moments in the sun, and his thunderous playing pummels through the song, carrying it wonderfully. The album ends with the delicate guitar and Jew-harp of 'Sleeping Village', with minimal vocals but a great instrumental build up before it segues into a 10 minute cover of The Ainsley Dunbar Retaliation's 'Warning'. It is a perfect ending, with its dark and ominous vibe - and although it isn't far in style from the original, it again shows the band's ability to make something sound like a darkness is growing beneath. Osbourne's voice is at its finest here, and the song winds up with Iommi showing the fans of the great bands of the 60s that a new generation of guitar players are about to take control. The production on the album is as simple and raw as the cover art, and there is no studio trickery or post-production here, beyond some solo overdubs. Osbourne's voice is intense and filled with a sense of equal parts anxiety and terror, and without the double-tracking his voice would later constantly be subjected to, he sounds youthful and sincere. This is possibly his greatest ever performance. This isn't just an album, it is a blueprint for thousands of albums to come, with some following the doomier aspects and others preferring the more intense moments and guitar wizardry. Every metal band from this moment onwards owes its existence to this very point in time, and whilst the release of Black Sabbath probably isn't that relevant in the entire linage of human history - it's pretty fucking important if you like heavy music.