Another sixties group that was saying its goodbyes in the spring of 1970 was of course the Beatles. 6 March saw the release of a new single Let it Be which was followed by an album carrying the exact same title on 8 May. Only a couple of weeks shy of being seven years old, I immediately picked two absolute favorite tracks. Granted, the title track was great and it was easily the third best on the album. But the other two felt like John Lennon and Paul McCartney doing their absolutely best for one final time.
Lennon's masterpiece was, of course, Across the Universe, the third song on the A side of the album. I think I can recall the beauty of this particular song moving me to tears at the time. I don't think I quite grasped that this was the greatest band of the 1960's singing their last songs, but nonetheless the song had a somehow final feel to it. After this, there would be no more.
But, as great as Lennon's song was, McCartney managed to easily outdo him this time with the third track on B side. I have always tended to prefer Lennon over McCartney, but The Long and Winding Road is the exception. Quite probably the most moving pop song ever made at the time of its release, it also came out as a single only three days after the album. It is these two songs that in some way completed the Beatles' incredible career. Perhaps there had been many downs as well as ups, but when you can artistically achieve something like this, what more could there be? There is no other way but back down, so why not quit while you're winning big time.
And that's more or less it for goodbyes. A couple of great artists had completed their recording career, many new ones made public their exciting new music. Before moving ahead with the calendar, let's make an important point about some Finnish music. And here it is: in my opinion, arguably the greatest progressive rock song ever made in my home country was also released as a single in 1970. But I have no idea when exactly. I haven't been able to find out even the month of release, so let's dig into it now and get it over with.
Wigwam had already released their debut album Hard n' Horny in 1969 and were about to release their sophomore effort Tombstone Valentine in 1970. Somewhere in between they released this absolutely stunning single called Häätö (in English, Eviction) which I was unable to find in YouTube so here is a link to Spotify instead.
The song comprises of three completely different sequences, which in itself was already groundbreaking. Henrik Otto Donner, who coincidentally died less than a week ago, first reads aloud some psychedelic poetry with violins in the background. Then, one of the group's two singers, Jukka Gustavson sings two verses in Finnish. Suddenly, the other singer, Englishman Jim Pembroke starts singing in English about not wanting to be a Judas. After that, it's Donner, Gustavson, and Donner once more.
Absolutely unbelievable, and years ahead of its time in 1970. Best of all, you cannot find any connection between the separate sequences. Even Gustavson's sequences have nothing in common between them lyrics-wise. And none of this has anything to do with an eviction. Connecting the sequences together is completely artificial, yet it works perfectly.
Precisely one week after the release of Let it Be, on 15 May King Crimson released their second album In the Wake of Poseidon. Last year's In the Court of the Crimson King had been an overwhelming success, so what could Robert Fripp and company do next? That's right, make a carbon copy. Well, some of the way. The opening track Pictures of a City is strangely reminiscent of 21st Century Schizoid Man; the next one Cadence and Cascade is much like I Talk to the Wind; and the title track is the counterpart to Epitaph.
Luckily, the group did not reproduce Moonchild in another form, and actually started to depart from their initial success. Their version of Gustav Holst's Mars, Bringer of War actually sounds pretty cool. But no, this was not the album that would really see them grow artistically. It would be the next one. Due out in December of this very same year. We will definitely get back to it.
Another group that had excelled in 1969 and came out with a new album now, was Procol Harum. Home was already their fourth one. It came out on 5 June. While it was overall a very good collection of songs, there is one track that stands head and shoulders above the others. The brilliant The Dead Man's Dream was not only a first class piece of music; its lyrics actually told a story. A horror story of the worst kind! I guess this was also one reason why I was so drawn to this particular song. The list of unmissable tracks of the year is getting long...
On 13 July, a new talent emerged with a debut album. Uriah Heep was at the time classified as a heavy metal band, because in those days true heaviness was quite hard to come by. Looking back, the group was more like a regular rock band with some prog influences. Their debut Very 'Eavy ... Very 'Umble contained one song that completely enthralled me, I suppose mostly because it was also a story that involved an innocent child - one much like myself at the time. As a critique towards war, Come Away, Melinda is maybe a little naive, but a beautiful song in any case.
And finally, on 24 July, Yes released their sophomore album Time and a Word. It was definitely more accomplished than their first one, yet a long way from the level they would reach in only a couple of more years. In many places, they were still sounding like some pop group, yet in others they really did challenge the listener with kind of stuff that was seldom heard. My favorite track represents the easier side of 1970 Yes: the title track of the album is in my opinion a perfect pop song. The pinnacle of what the group had so far achieved. Emphasis placed on so far.
And this is where we need to take a short break. By now, there was so much high quality music around that it is no longer possible to go through a whole year's output in a single sitting. We have now covered January to July of 1970; next blog entry will cover August to December.
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