Listomania! - 1970

When I think of 1970, 2 memories come to mind. The first was being in Mrs. Slater's Grade 5 class at Huron Heights P.S. She was a white-haired old Granny who was a great teacher. I remember we had to do projects on what we thought the 1970s would be like. Despite being old school, she used to let us bring in our new records on the last Friday of every month and we'd get to play them for the last hour or so of the day. I remember taking The Long And Winding Road in and playing it on a really humid day near the end of the school year. The other incident was much more important and eye-opening for me. It was the kidnappings and general mayhem caused by the FLQ in Quebec. My Nan didn't visit her Mom and sister that year in Montreal because of all the violence and fear that gripped the country. I was glued to the TV and papers every day and couldn't believe this was happening in Canada. It was my first introduction to the friction between French and English in this country and it was quite scary for this 9 year old. Another fab year in music though, so here's the list:

Top 10 of 1970

10. Teacher - Jethro Tull

What a hook-fest this song is! The classic guitar riff, the rocking bass and Ian Anderson's smooth as silk vocals are all outstanding, but it is his flute that makes it special. I had never heard the flute used like that in a rock record and I still think it's a brilliant track. Apparently, Anderson thought it a throwaway track and intended it to be just a b-side, but here in North America it became a real fan favourite. I was never a big Tull fan. I mean, the guy wore Peter Pan getaway boots, but this song is one of the few exceptions. Martina really digs this one too! " Jump up, look around, find yourself some fun. No sense in sitting there hating everyone." Another deck music classic!

9. After The Gold Rush - Neil Young

To some, his voice is like fingernails on a blackboard, but to me, this is one of the purest and most childlike vocals ever put to acetate. Just Neil on piano and some dude that plays a mean French horn solo. That's right, a French horn solo! From the album of the same name and probably my favourite album of his, I'm not sure what all the lyrics mean, but I sure do love them. I used to put my transistor radio under my pillow and listen to CHLO from St. Thomas late at night (10 o'clock or so) when I was supposed to be sleeping and this was often played at that late hour. "There was a band playing in my head and I felt like getting high." I have taken that line to heart many times over the years!

8. Layla - Derek & The Dominos

I know, it's overplayed by the classic rock stations, but it is a true gem in my books. No, I don't mean the sleepy MTV Unplugged version. I'm talking about the original glorious 7 minute rock-out from Clapton and Duane Allman. Duane's slide guitar just cries all the way through this paean to Patti Boyd (see 1969 post about Cream's Badge). Originally released in 1970, it failed on the charts, but it was re-released in 1971 after Duane Allman's death in a motorcycle accident and made it to #10 in the U.S. charts. To me, it is one of the most beautiful songs ever written and what solidifies that feeling is the amazing piano coda that takes up the last 4 minutes of the song. It was written and played by the Dominos drummer Jim Gordon and makes me stop and listen every time. " What'll you do when you get lonely? And nobody's waiting by your side." I don't think anyone who's ever seen a photo of Ms. Boyd would think she would ever be alone for long.

7. Make Me Smile - Chicago

The blast of the horns and then those fantastic drums just take off! Some of the best drumming I have ever heard on a pop song! Danny Seraphine, take several bows for this one! This is from their 2nd album and is part of a suite called "Ballet For A Girl From Buchannon" and it is sung by the great guitarist of the band, Terry Kath. This song is so joyous and infectious and happy, which belies the awful truth that came in 1976, when a severely depressed Mr. Kath put a gun to his head and blew his brains out. This caused one of my Dad's classic comments: " I didn't think that Chicago were a bunch of dopeheads." Damn, my old man was so cool! Haha. "Now I need you, more than ever, no more crying, we're together. Tell me you will stay, make me smile." Great stuff!

6. Peace Frog / Blue Sunday - The Doors

Those of you who read this blog already know how I feel about the deification of Jim Morrison. In my books, this is the one time where he comes close to deserving it. A great funky guitar part by Robbie Krieger drives the tune along and Morrison's baritone really suits the mood well. It was written after the 1968 Democratic Party convention in Chicago which was bloody and riotous and also mentioned in the lyric is New Haven where he was arrested for basically hanging his dick out and daring the cops to bust him. The song morphs into the dreamy ballad Blue Sunday and some say that it ruins the feel of Peace Frog, but I think it is a great segue. Blue Sunday is languid and relaxed after the speed rush of Peace Frog and it works perfectly for me. There is some bad high school poetry in here, but for the most part the lyrics are among Jim's best." Blood in my love in the terrible summer, bloody red sun of fantastic LA." Paint the town red!

5. No Matter What - Badfinger

This is one of the early Power Pop anthems. This was the band's first UK top 10 single and began a long string of hits. They were discovered by Paul McCartney and he signed them to Apple records right away. It's all jangly guitars and gorgeous melody sung by another unfortunate soul, Pete Ham. He ended up literally at the end of his rope in 1975 after being cheated out of his money by a crooked manager and left penniless and hopeless. I listen to this song lots still as it never gets old for me. "Knock down the old brick wall and be a part of it all." Joyous pop music!

4. The Long And Winding Road - The Beatles

This song is quite sad and brings back sad/happy memories for me. My Nan played the piano and I bugged the shit out of her to get the sheet music for this. Well, she gave in and learned the song, and I spent countless hours sitting on the piano bench by her side and belting this out while she played beautifully. When I hear this now, I always think of her and how badly I miss her. From the Let It Be album, it was the last single ever released by the Beatles and their last #1. When Paul wrote it, the other Beatles didn't care for it, so he offered it to Tom Jones, but he turned it down, something I'm sure he later regretted. I love the Phil Spector orchestration on this, unlike McCartney, who hated it so much he put out the "naked" Let It Be a few years ago. To me, this is up there with his best vocal performances ever. There is no "auto tune" on these vocals kids! " You left me standing here a long, long time ago. Don't keep me waiting here, lead me to your door." Sob.......

3. Hey, Hey What Can I Do? - Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin III is a great record, but they should have put this little beauty on there. It was only released as the b-side to the Immigrant Song single in North America, until it was put on the box set in the '90s. This was the only non-album track that Zep ever put out. Definitely, this is one of my fave Robert Plant vocals and Page is great on acoustic guitar and mandolin. It's such a fun tune to sing along to with the old bluesy, folky arrangement they give it. Apparently, they didn't think much of it as it was never played live. It is top 5 by them in my opinion, but, hey, what do I know? " I got a woman wanna ball all day, I got a woman she won't be true no no, Said I got a woman stay drunk all the time." Sounds like my kind of girl!

2. Ohio - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Neil Young wrote this about a week after the shootings at Kent State University, when he saw the photo in Life magazine of the girl covered in blood bending over her fallen friend's body. I remember Kent State vividly and I watched all the news reports about it. It horrified me to think that the government would turn its guns on its own citizens, and Neil's lyrics really convey this horror. This was recorded live off the floor and Neil said that David Crosby broke down and cried when they finished this take. The song was banned on many American radio stations when it came out and to this day this song still upsets many right-wingers in the States. "Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming, we're finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming, 4 dead in Ohio." Shame!

1. Box Of Rain - The Grateful Dead

This is the best thing the Dead ever produced in my books. It is so poignant, so beautiful, so fraught with raw emotion. The music was penned by bassist Phil Lesh while his Dad was dying of cancer and he asked the Dead's lyricist Robert Hunter to write the words, which he did in a matter of a couple of hours. Apparently, the "box of rain" refers to the planet Earth itself, but "ball of rain" didn't sound as good to him. Lesh sang it, which was very rare for him, and he used to practise it while driving out to visit his Dad in the hospital. I will usually have tears in my eyes after listening to this song, but that's OK because it's a happy feeling over all. From their masterpiece American Beauty, this is the high point for the Dead as far as I'm concerned. "Walk into splintered sunlight, inch your way through dead dreams to another land. Maybe you're tired and broken, your tongue is twisted with words half-spoken and thoughts unclear. What do you want me to do, To do for you to see you through? A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through." Oh so gorgeous!