Pictured above: Eric Clapton, 1970
As sessions for The Ravellers’ All Things Must Pass progressed, Eric Clapton continued work on his debut solo album, making use of a backing band primarily consisting of keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle, and drummer Jim Gordon. Clapton found himself being able to easily juggle between Ravellers and solo sessions, despite worries from both parties that he was overworking. Recording for the album concluded in September of 1970 and released in early November under Apple Records on the ELP format, to initial critical and commercial indifference, yet later being hailed as a strong debut by Clapton.
“I’m just glad I didn’t go fucking bonkers with recording both albums at the same time, I’d probably do my head in if I ever try to pull that again.”
- Eric Clapton, 1971
Eric Clapton
01. I Looked Away (3:04) [1]
02. Bottle of Red Wine (3:08) [2]
03. Lovin’ You Lovin’ Me (3:21) [2]
04. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out (4:57) [1]
05. Told You For The Last Time (2:32) [2]
06. Anyday (6:36) [1]
07. Key to the Highway (9:37) [1]
08. Tell the Truth (6:39) [1]
09. Why Does Love Got To Be Sad? (4:43) [1]
10. Have You Ever Loved a Woman (6:52) [1]
11. Little Wing (5:34) [1]
12. It’s Too Late (3:50) [1]
13. Don’t Know Why (3:12) [2]
Released: November 9th, 1970
Track sources:
[1] - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, 1970
[2] - Eric Clapton, 1970
Pictured above: Billy Preston and George Harrison, 1970
As 1970 carried on, The Ravellers continued to record their debut album, produced by the legendary Phil Spector and George Harrison himself. By the time recording had concluded, the band had well over 40 songs and countless jams, which were eventually condensed into a set of 24 songs across two discs and a bonus disc titled “Apple Jam” consisting of instrumental jams, mostly organized by George Harrison save for Ringo’s country-inspired Nashville, and Eric Clapton’s Slunky. Leftover songs were either saved to be re-worked into future projects, be it Raveller or solo albums, or to remain unreleased to this day save for the occasional bootleg.
“I’m honestly really proud of the album, it reminded me of the early Beatle days when we were all just a group of close friends making music together and supporting each other. With The Beatles, it eventually came to a point where we were essentially just each other’s backing bands, but I have good hopes for what’s next for us.”
- Ringo Starr, 1970
The album was released in November, a few weeks after Eric Clapton’s solo album, with the hit single My Sweet Lord / My Sweet Lord (Billy Preston Version) being released to promote the album on November 23rd, 1970. Reactions to The Ravellers album were overwhelmingly positive, with Rolling Stone magazine considering it the album of the year.
“Oh, the Ravollies? I’m not sure what to make of ‘em really, I mean, there are some really good tracks on there but... it’s a lotta filler, ya know?”
- John Lennon, 1971
All Things Must Pass
Disc 1:
01. I’d Have You Anytime (3:00) [1]
02. Early 1970 (2:21) [2]
03. Right Now (3:16) [3]
04. After Midnight (2:52) [4]
05. Octopus’s Garden (2:50) [5]
06. My Sweet Lord (4:43) [1]
07. Bad Boy (3:35) [4]
08. When You Are Mine (2:47) [3]
09. Easy Now (2:59) [4]
10. What is Life (4:27) [1]
11. Encouraging Words (3:36) [3]
12. It Don’t Come Easy (3:03) [2]
Disc 2:
01. Sing One for the Lord (3:49) [3]
02. Behind That Locked Door (3:10) [1]
03. Lonesome and a Long Way from Home (3:31) [4]
04. Coochy Coochy (4:48) [2]
05. Awaiting on You All (2:50) [1]
06. Blues Power (3:11) [4]
07. All That I Got (I’m Gonna Give It To You) (3:35) [3]
08. Dream (2:42) [6]
09. Little Girl (3:32) [3]
10. Let It Rain (5:01) [4]
11. Beaucoups of Blues (2:36) [7]
12. All Things Must Pass (3:47) [1]
Disc 3 - Apple Jam:
01. Plug Me In (3:19) [1]
02. Slunky (3:36) [4]
03. Nashville (6:40) [2]
04. I Remember Jeep (8:09) [1]
05. Thanks for the Pepperoni (5:32) [1]
06. Out of the Blue (11:16) [1]
Released: November 27th, 1970
Track sources:
[1] - All Things Must Pass, 1970
[2] - Non-album singles, 1970
[3] - Encouraging Words, 1970
[4] - Eric Clapton, 1970
[5] - Abbey Road, 1969
[6] - Sentimental Journey, 1970
[7] - Beaucoups of Blues, 1970
Pictured above: Michael Giles and Ian McDonald, 1970
Following their leave from King Crimson, Michael Giles and Ian McDonald got together in a jam session with Peter Giles with the intent of coming up with new ideas for an album. This session was marked by an unusual setup in which each musician was on an opposite end of the room, resulting in the emergence of a triangular pattern. Songs played in these sessions consisted of old King Crimson numbers, some new song ideas, and particularly the Gustav Holst’s composition Mars - The Bringer of War. The latter soon became a favorite among the three to improvise and build upon, despite their limited ability to play it with only three members.
By the time they had booked a session at Island Studios, Ian McDonald had greatly rewritten the piece and had given it a new name, The Mind. He had also begun writing a new composition, entitled The Body.
“The idea was for us to have had four pieces, respectively titled The Mind, The Body, The Soul, and The Heart. But unfortunately, we were having trouble coming up with even The Body, let alone The Soul and The Heart. (...), I don’t really talk to Ron (Geesin) anymore and I don’t think I ever will, we weren’t as friends as much as composing partners, but if it weren’t for him we probably would’ve never finished the album.”
- Ian McDonald, 1981
Meanwhile, elsewhere at Island Studios, Ron Geesin found himself in a complicated situation as Roger Waters had previously walked out of the studio following an argument among the two. They were commissioned to write the soundtrack for an upcoming documentary titled The Body, by Roy Battersby, and despite Waters’ absence, he carried forth. Eventually needing a break, he left the studio and happened upon Ian McDonald, who was just leaving the studio himself.
Geesin allegedly recognized him from going to a King Crimson concert once, and due to McDonald being done for the day anyways, the two men talked about their respective ongoing projects, eventually walking back into the studio where Geesin showed McDonald some of what he had on tape.
“What he showed me what absolutely bizarre, it was probably the most experimental thing I had heard up to that point, and it was exactly what I was envisioning with The Body.”
- Ian McDonald, 1981
The next day, Ron Geesin was introduced to the Giles brothers, and he soon became a member of their group, now called The Devil’s Triangle inspired by the initial jam session’s unusual setup, in order to assist with instrumentation and composition, while the rest of the group assisted him with his own compositions.
The album was concluded in merely two months, produced by Ron Geesin and Peter Sinfield, and released to negative and mixed reviews which comments ranged from “it did accomplish one thing that it promised to, it paints a clear picture the mind of a lunatic and the flatulence that leaves their body” to “a hard listen, not for any other than the open-minded individual”.
The Devil’s Triangle
01. The Mind (17:46) [1]
a. Merday Morn
b. Hand of Scieron
c. Peacock’s Tale
d. Garden of Worm
02. The Body (26:05) [1]
a. Red Stuff Writhe
b. A Gentle Breeze Blew Through Life
c. Lick Your Partners
d. Bridge Passage for Three Plastic Teeth
e. The Womb Bit
f. Embryo Thought
g. March Past of the Embryos
h. More Than Seven Dwarfs in Penis-Land
i. Dance of the Red Corpuscles
j. Body Transport
k. Hand Dance — Full Evening Dress
l. Old Folks Ascension
m. Bed-Time-Dream-Clime
n. Piddle in Perspex
o. Embryonic Womb-Walk
p. Mrs. Throat Goes Walking
Released: November 28th, 1970
Track sources:
Pictured above: Robert Fripp, 1970
Finding himself without a proper band other than himself, bassist and vocalist Greg Lake, and lyricist Peter Sinfield, Robert Fripp was desperate to keep King Crimson together. With Greg Lake about to leave to form a band with keyboardist Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer, Fripp came up with the idea of instead inviting the two to join King Crimson. With them accepting and the inclusion of woodwinds player Mel Collins, King Crimson was formed once again.
This new lineup debuted at Plymouth Guildhall on August 23rd, 1970, supported by the local band Earth. The setlist consisted of The Barbarian, an arrangement of the piano suite Allegro barbaro by Béla Bartók, the band's signature song 21st Century Schizoid Man, an arrangement of Nut Rocker as an encore, and a rock adaptation of Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky that Emerson wished to do following him seeing it performed with an orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The concert was well received and the band was paid £400 for the gig. A second gig took place at the Isle of Wight Festival which was attended by an estimated 650,000 people and drew considerable attention from the public and the music press who were anticipating where this new lineup would go next.
In the months surrounding the new lineup's debut gigs, their next album, Cirkus, was recorded at Wessex Sound Studios and Advision Studios. It saw a great compositional involvement of Lake and Emerson, and for the first time in King Crimson history, the inclusion of rearrangements of classical compositions. Fripp and Sinfield were the sole composers of only two of the album's tracks, Cirkus and Lady of the Dancing Water, which were sung by the former's boyhood friend Gordon Haskell due to Fripp believing his voice was a better fit for the songs than Greg Lake.
"We had a few other songs that me and Sinfield wrote that we wanted done, they, however, did not make the final cut and we shelved them to possibly be worked on in the future."
- Robert Fripp, 1981
Along with the main lineup of Lake, Fripp, Emerson, Collins, Palmer, and Sinfield, Cirkus also saw the participation of pianist Keith Tippet and horn players Robin Miller, Mark Charig, and Nick Evans. The album was recorded between the months of July and September of 1970 and released on December 10th, 1970, to mixed reception.
Cirkus
01. Cirkus (6:27) [1]
02. The Barbarian (4:30) [2]
03. Take a Pebble (12:35) [2]
04. Knife-Edge (5:06) [2]
05. Lady of the Dancing Water (2:42) [1]
06. Promenade (1:29) [2]
07. The Three Fates - Clotho (1:49) [2]
08. The Three Fates - Lachesis (2:44) [2]
09. The Three Fates - Atropos (3:13) [2]
10. Lucky Man (4:39) [2]
Released: December 10th, 1970
Track sources:
[1] - Lizard, 1970
[2] - Emerson, Lake & Palmer, 1970
Pictured above: John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 1970
In April 1970, ex-Beatle John Lennon and Yoko Ono undertook primal therapy with the guidance of Arthur Janov for four weeks at his London offices, before the three flew to Los Angeles to continue therapy for four months. In July 1970, Lennon started to record demos of songs that would show up on the Plastic Ono Band’s self-titled debut album. Their therapy was never completed due to the expiry of their US visas, and as such, they returned to the UK on September 15th, 1970.
Recording occurred between September 26th and October 27th using a lineup of musicians consisting of John Lennon on guitar and vocals, Yoko Ono on vocals, Ringo Starr on drums, and Dave Slater on bass, including producer Phil Spector playing piano on two songs.
“It was pretty hard getting a hold of Ringo, with him being busy with George and all at the time. But I managed to have him take some days off to do drums on the album.”
- John Lennon, 1979
The album was eventually released on December 11th of 1970 as both a double LP and an ELP that omitted the track AOS (albeit on further CD reissues it was released on two CDs including the song in the tracklisting), to great positive reception towards Lennon’s songs, albeit with more mixed views on Ono’s songs, with some critics going as far to say that “Ono’s songs ruin an otherwise perfect album”.
Plastic Ono Band
Disc 1:
01. Something More Abstract (0:46) [1]
02. Mother (5:36) [2]
03. Hold On (1:52) [2]
04. Why (5:36) [1]
05. I Found Out (3:38) [2]
06. Working Class Hero (3:48) [2]
07. Why Not (9:55) [1]
08. Isolation (2:52) [2]
09. Remember (4:33) [2]
10. Greenfield Morning I Pushed an Empty Baby Carriage All Over the City (5:40) [1]
Disc 2:
01. Love (3:22) [2]
02. Well Well Well (5:57) [2]
03. AOS (7:07) [1]
04. Look at Me (2:53) [2]
05. Touch Me (4:41) [1]
06. Paper Shoes (7:31) [1]
07. Do the Oz (3:12) [2]
08. God (4:12) [2]
09. My Mummy’s Dead (0:51) [2]
Released: December 11th, 1970
Track sources:
[1] - Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band - 1997/2017 reissue
[2] - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - 2000 reissue
Great update! Was not expecting to see McDonald & Giles go that route, but I am thoroughly impressed! :)
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