Here are two different perceives on the music of 1970. Rock On 1970 includes B. B. King’s classic “The Thrill is Gone.” But B. J. Thomas’s “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid might drive some of you to annoyance. I haven’t heard Eddie Holman’s “Hey There Lonely Girl” in decades. And then there’s Brian Hyland’s iconic “Gypsy Woman.” GRADE: B
ULTIMATE SEVENTIES 1970 is the first volume of a 10-CD Time-Life set. To my ears, this CD compilation does a better job at capturing the essence of 1970 from the lava lamp on the cover to the song selection. The first two songs, CCR’s “Up Around the Bend” (now the background music to a Ford truck commercial) and Edwin Starr’s “War” remind me of 1970. Love Van Morrison’s “Domino.” I remember Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me (Not To Come)” being on heavy rotation in 1970 on the radio stations I listened to.
And, there are just more hits on ULTIMATE SEVENTIES 1970: Santana’s “Black Magic Woman,” James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” Erie Clapton’s “After Midnight,” and Smokey Robinson and The Miracle’s “Tears of a Clown.”
Do you remember these song from 53 years ago? Any favorites? GRADE: B+
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | The Shocking Blue*– | Venus | 2:58 |
| 2 | Brian Hyland– | Gypsy Woman | 2:33 |
| 3 | B.B. King– | The Thrill Is Gone | 5:25 |
| 4 | Sugarloaf– | Green-Eyed Lady | 3:36 |
| 5 | Ray Stevens– | Everything Is Beautiful | 3:27 |
| 6 | B.J. Thomas– | Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head | 2:56 |
| 7 | Norman Greenbaum– | Spirit In The Sky | 4:00 |
| 8 | The Hollies– | He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother | 4:14 |
| 9 | Three Dog Night– | Mama Told Me (Not To Come) | 3:17 |
| 10 | Eddie Holman– | Hey There Lonely Girl | 3:33 |
| 11 | The Grass Roots– | Temptation Eyes | 2:37 |
| 12 | Steppenwolf– | Hey Lawdy Mama | 2:54 |
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Creedence Clearwater Revival– | Up Around The Bend |
| 2 | Edwin Starr– | War |
| 3 | Van Morrison– | Domino |
| 4 | Three Dog Night– | Mama Told Me (Not To Come) |
| 5 | The Jaggerz– | The Rapper |
| 6 | The Grateful Dead– | Uncle John’s Band |
| 7 | Norman Greenbaum– | Spirit In The Sky |
| 8 | Joe Cocker– | The Letter |
| 9 | Santana– | Black Magic Woman |
| 10 | The Moments– | Love On A Two-Way Street |
| 11 | The Hollies– | He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother |
| 12 | The Jackson 5– | ABC |
| 13 | The Guess Who– | American Woman |
| 14 | Eric Clapton– | After Midnight |
| 15 | Sugarloaf– | Green-Eyed Lady |
| 16 | James Taylor – | Fire And Rain |
| 17 | Smokey Robinson And The Miracles*– | The Tears Of A Clown |
| 18 | Bee Gees– | Lonely Days |
| 19 | Blues Image– | Ride Captain Ride |
| 20 | Free– | All Right Now |
| 21 | Sly & The Family Stone– | Thank You (Falletin Me Be Mice Elf Agin) |
Well, the BJ Thomas does have the most cutesy-inane lyrics, but for whatever reason is less intolerable than many of the hitz/misses of many of your ’70s compilations…Thomas proving he’s not the wit someone told him he was…but, generally, both of these albums are better than many of your recent examples. The second album loses points for including a Bee Gees, and the even more pathetic Guess Who, with their most annoying hit (particularly with the full-cut prelude of a man breathing heavily as if having sex with one of those much-maligned American Women)…Sugarloaf’s being the worst they share. Nearly all the rest are at least listenable…
Todd, I agree with you on the questionable inclusion of the Bee Gees, Guess Who, and BJ Thomas.
I know all of these songs—and really like (and still listen to) many of them. Favorites include “Fire & Rain”, “Domino” (Van at his unintelligible best, lol), “Tears of A Clown”, “Venus”, “Up Around the Bend”, and “Gypsy Women” (written by Curtis Mayfield, and originally performed by the Impressions, but I think Hyland injects a deep sense of melancholy into his version). Yes, there are a few clunkers (the execrable “Everything Is Beautiful” will surely be in heavy rotation on Hell’s jukebox), but for the most part these songs are a good representative sampling of the music I was listening to in the early 1970s.
Deb, I was surprised at the two different perspectives on these two 1970s compilation CDs. I figured you knew all these songs. “Heavy rotation on Hell’s jukebox” will be a line I may borrow…
In an odd moment of synchronicity, yesterday I was listening to one of the oldies channels as I was driving home from work, and the DJ announced that it was Van Morrison’s 78th birthday and played “Domino”!
Feel free to use the “Hell’s jukebox” line. I’m sure all of us could come up with songs that should be included on it, lol.
Deb, I knew Van Morrison was going to turn 78, but I didn’t know it was yesterday! One of my Hell’s Jukebox songs would be “Wildfire.”
These span the last semester of my sophomore year at WVU and the first semester of my junior year. Pretty representative Top 40 samples for the year. As a Three Dog Night selection, I’d prefer “Out in the Country,” but “Mama Told Me Not to Come” was bigger on the charts. No Delfonics/”Didn’t I Blow Your Mind”?
Fred, like you I would have liked the inclusion of the Delfonics “Didn’t I Blow Your Mind” and maybe more Motown songs.
Do I remember them? Does the Pope sh!t in the woods (as Lily Tomlin once asked)? Hell, yeah. I do not remember the Steppenwolf song from the first CD.
Not only do I remember “Hey There Lonely Girl,” I remember the original “Hey There Lonely BOY” by Ruby & the Romantics, from 1963, a version I prefer.
Overall, I much prefer the second group. “War” always makes me think of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry convinces Elaine that Tolstoy’s original title of WAR AND PEACE was really WAR – WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? “Domino” (as in Fats, of course) is a favorite Van Morrison song. And I love the live version of Joe Cocker doing “The Letter.”
Jeff, I had forgotten that Jerry convinced Elaine that Tolstoy’s original title of WAR AND PEACE was really WAR! And, like you, I’m a fan of Joe Cocker’s version of “The Letter.”
Me too!
Joe is one of those guys who can give other people’s songs a new meaning.
Just think of
– She came in through the bathroom window
– Bird on the wire
I remember buying the LP Mad dogs and Englishmen and watching the movie – one of my all time favourites!
Wolf, MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN is a classic!
Oh, and we first saw BB King, doing “The Thrill is Gone” among others, at the Fillmore East, ca. 1969-1970.
Jeff, I loved “The Thrill is Gone” the first time I heard it 53 years ago!
Didn’t listen to much music in the early Seventies. I had graduated college, just got married, and began to raise a family. Liked B. B. King, CCR, Van Morrison, the Dead, and James Taylor. The rest left me with minor memories, if that.
Jerry, B.B. King, Van Morrison, the Grateful Dead, and James Taylor are memorable, indeed!
I like some, tolerate some, don’t like others! Just what you’d expect from any compilation!
Bob, you roll the dice with compilations: some winners, some losers.