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I figured 1970 would be a year I had some experience with. When I grew up, I heard a lot of oldies stations. The day I am writing this, I was listening to the very same station that I listened to as a kid. It still plays “oldies,” in a sense, but it’s more all-encompassing than it was once upon a time. They still play vintage and classic music, though. Anyway, I say that to note that today I heard “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia on that station. That song came out in 1997. I remember it on top of VH1’s top-10 countdown repeatedly. My point is we are all slowly dying. My other point is that the oldies I listened to were actually mostly from the ‘60s, so 1970 is a smidge late.
A lot of now-classic artists were early in their careers in 1970. Elton John released his second album. Chicago released their second album. There are a lot of albums I could cover here. And yet, there was only one I could really choose from 1970. This is the year of Let It Be by the Beatles. It’s also a year that every Beatles member released a solo project/a Plastic Ono Band album.
I mean, do I need to go in depth into Let It Be? It’s the final album by the biggest band of all time. The story behind it is legendary. The album is legendary. I like the Beatles. I don’t love them, but they have some real jams. A shocking statement, I know. Personally, I really dig the early stuff that was ‘60s-style pop rock, but it’s not like the Beatles ever got bad.
And yet, I think Let It Be matters more historically than musically. If it wasn’t the final Beatles album, it wouldn’t mean nearly as much. It’s…a fine album. However, let’s say that Let It Be didn’t come out. What would you miss? I’d miss the title song and “Across the Universe.” Maybe “The Long and Winding Road.” If I were listing my top 20 Beatles songs, though, no Let It Be cuts would make it. It’s the album that ended things for a massive band. However, last albums are often a little lackluster, especially when bands fall apart. Just take a look at the final album of my favorite band Pavement, Terror Twilight. Yes, I just compared Pavement to the Beatles. Try and stop me.
