EVERY US/UK #1 album Discussion 1970-Present

Paul McCartney - McCartney

Singalong Junk is my favorite track on the album. Weird, I know. It's a stunning melody and while I like Paul's voice, as an instrumental this one really shines. When I first heard the album I didn't realize it was the same song as Junk, just instrumental. That was a very happy surprise when I neared the end of the album! I wouldn't drop anything from the album, but if I did I'd only have Singalong Junk and not the vocal one. As for the rest of the songs, there are some really good ideas here but they're not fully fleshed out as is usually commented on. Still, I like that he did the album this way. We already knew what Paul McCartney was capable of. I'm glad he put out an album that's so out of left field. Best tracks: Singalong Junk, Maybe I'm Amazed and Every Night. Worst: the incomplete ideas

6/10

 

Giving "Singalong Junk" another go since it'd been awhile since I've attempted the album and have the songs I like on another collection (Pure McCartney), it's not bad, a pretty instrumental.

 

As we go from Paul McCartney's solo debut to the breakup of the band that made him famous



The Beatles - Let It Be
UK: May 23-Jun 6, 1970
US: Jun 13-Jul 4, 1970

1. Two of Us
2. Dig a Pony
3. Across the Universe
4. I Me Mine
5. Dig It
6. Let It Be
7. Maggie Mae
8. I've Got a Feeling
9. One After 909
10. The Long and Winding Road
11. For You Blue
12. Get Back

 

A good album for what it is, but ultimately Abbey Road serves a much better swan song for them to me. There are still a lot of classics here though

 

It's been a very (very!) long time since I heard this one.

My 15 year old self didn't think it was good enough to record when I borrowed it from the record library, way back when. Not sure what my grumpy, middle-aged self would make of it.

 

The Beatles - Let It Be.

Not Abbey Road, but has some very likeable tracks. I actually prefer Two Of Us, Dig A Pony and I Me Mine to several tracks from the White album.

 

Try it, you may be surprised.

 

You never know!

 

Don’t understand the hate for this album other than maybe the wall of sound. The title track and “Get Back” are some McCartney classics. “I Me Mine” is a great George song that perfectly encapsulates the feelings of the band at the time. Two of Us is a great song with some great lyrics that could be ambiguously interpreted as being about John and Paul or them and their spouses. “I’ve Got a Feeling” is a classic John, then Paul, then John back and forth type song. Then you throw in a couple John rockers in “Dig a Pony” and “One After 909”, far from John’s greatest work, but ones I definitely move my feet to often, especially the latter. The one people point to as summing up the album’s disappointment is “the Long and Winding Road” or “the Long and Boring Song.” Which to some extent I agree for this particular version. But, the version on the Wings Over America live album is just beautiful.

All around a solid album, not deserving of the hate it gets

8.5/10

 

I'll be honest: I bought both Deja Vu and McCartney almost as soon as they arrived in the stores, listened to them once, and probably haven't listened to either in five decades. I think there are more memorable songs on the CSNY, although the hooks for both That Would Be Something and Man We Was Lonely have been known to pop into my head on occasion leaving me wondering at least for a little while where they came from, until I remember ...

 

Let It Be is a mixed bag. It has some excellent stuff, some good stuff and some filler. It's an interesting album in the way it's presented, with the studio chatter and little blurbs of humor. But since this is THE BEATLES we're talking about, it's not quite up to the brilliant standard they had set for themselves. I hear four guys who are tired - of the game, the business, the press, the image and each other. I've only seen parts of the film because it is pretty depressing (except for the rooftop gig which is fantastic stuff). I like I Me Mine, Two Of Us, I've Got A Feeling, One After 909, Across The Universe, Get Back and Let It Be - all top-notch Beatles tracks. The rest I rank as good or are just filler.

 

Another culture defining moment of the era



Soundtrack - Woodstock
US: Jul 11-Aug 1, 1970

1. "I Had a Dream" John Sebastian
2. "Going Up the Country" Canned Heat
3. "Freedom (Motherless Child)" Richie Havens.
4. "Rock and Soul Music" Country Joe & the Fish.
5. "Coming into Los Angeles" Arlo Guthrie.
6. "At the Hop" Sha-Na-Na
7. "The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag" Country Joe McDonald.
8. "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man" Joan Baez & Jeffrey Shurtleff.
9. "Joe Hill" Joan Baez
10. "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" Crosby, Stills & Nash.
11. "Sea of Madness" Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
12. "Wooden Ships" Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
13. "We're Not Gonna Take It" The Who
14. "With a Little Help from My Friends" Joe Cocker
15. "Soul Sacrifice" Santana
16. "I'm Going Home" Ten Years After
17. "Volunteers" Jefferson Airplane
18. "Medley" Sly & the Family Stone
19. "Rainbows All Over Your Blues" John Sebastian
20. "Love March" Butterfield Blues Band.
21. "Medley" Jimi Hendrix

 

Never really been fussed on checking it out. I like a couple acts here (The Who, CCR who aren't represented on this album, and in small doses Jimi and Sly) but never felt this affinity to it that older people may have,

Kudos for a time when festivals were actually something special though. Today they're a dime a dozen and there's one every weekend somewhere in the US, many of them having repeat artists which essentially dilutes the specialness that Woodstock had on a generation.

 

I inherited a lot of my older brother's records and so one Saturday about two years ago, I put Woodstock and Woodstock 2 on the Dual changer and played them all old-style. I was surprised at how good the Woodstock album was. I had only heard bits and pieces, but it's solidly good all the way through.

 

Let It Be - something of a dog's dinner, but I still like it.

Woodstock - bloated & redundant.

 

Bob Dylan - Self Portrait
UK: Jul 11, 1970

1. All the Tired Horses
2. Alberta #1
3. I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know
4. Days of 49
5. Early Mornin' Rain=
6. In Search of Little Sadie
7. Let It Be Me
8. Little Sadie
9. Woogie Boogie
10. Belle Isle
11. Living the Blues
12. Like a Rolling Stone
13. Copper Kettle
14. Gotta Travel On
15. Blue Moon
16. The Boxer
17. The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)
18. Take Me as I Am (Or Let Me Go)
19. Take a Message to Mary
20. It Hurts Me Too
21. Minstrel Boy
22. She Belongs to Me
23. Wigwam
24. Alberta #2

 

I am really surprised this topped the UK chart, especially given its reputation as lowest-tier Dylan imaginable. I guess name recognition really does matter. Never checked this one out since I've never been a big fan of his, but I've always thought "All The Tired Horses" is a nice tranquil song.... that Bob doesn't even sing on.

 

Never heard it but the track listing is interesting.

I'm especially curious about how Dylan approached Early Morning Rain.

 

Never been a big Dylan fan so I'm not familiar with the album at all. After listening to Wigwam, I don't think I'm missing much.

 

Self Portrait Piece of crap......but that's what Dylan intended it to be.

 

Blood, Sweat And Tears - Blood, Sweat And Tears 3
US: Aug 8-15 1970

Hi-De-Ho
The Battle
Lucretia MacEvil
Lucretia's Reprise
Fire and Rain
Lonesome Suzie
Symphony for the Devil/Sympathy for the Devil
He's a Runner
Somethin' Comin' On
40,000 Headmen

 

Seems a more random and forgotten #1 choice this year. Definitely went to the top on the momentum of their previous album which dominated throughout 1969 and had three massive hits. Nothing off this album had the same longevity as "Spinning Wheel" or "And When I Die"

 

Personally I think it’s wonderful to have a festival every weekend somewhere in the US.

 

I can see the point, but it does feel like it completely dilutes the impact a Woodstock had in its day when there's so many different festivals anymore. You can tell the difference with the way Woodstock 50 has been stillborn vs. the way 1994 and 1999 were pretty big events because back then it was still a novel concept to have a bunch of big acts playing for three days, now it's a common occurance

 

I'm not a BS&T fan, so I'm only familiar with the hits from this release. Take or leave.