My Top 5 Songs as a 3-Year-Old in 1970:
https://youtu.be/N6P2YujV9is
1. Chicago – "25 or 6 to 4". That heavy guitar riff that opens the song really grabbed my attention as a child, but the way it keeps upping the ante by adding hard-hitting horns, an urgent vocal, and an acid-rock guitar solo guaranteed this would still be a favorite 54 years later. #music
https://youtu.be/D6FNJS23vkU
2. The Spinners – "It's A Shame". Quintessential Seventies soul from the tail end of The Spinners' tenure on Motown (they would have many more hits after jumping to Atlantic). The guitar intro has the "wet" reverb sound common in surf music. I was initially confused by the line "It's a shame the way you mess around with your man", thinking the man he's referring to is someone other than himself, which the next line makes clear isn't the case. #music
https://youtu.be/lGlXLPsxAAY
3. Santana – "Evil Ways". I was hooked by the funky groove with its distinctive percussion and keyboard sounds. But I always wanted to hear more about Jean and Joan—the mention of their names is oddly specific but we're never given any details about why they're so objectionable. #music
https://youtu.be/3r_qd2yxIsM
4. The Guess Who – "American Woman". Much as with "25 or 6 to 4", "American Woman" had me at the hard-rock guitar intro and the strident singing, which seemed like overkill for rejecting a woman but makes more sense when rejecting a country with both a war machine and a ghetto scene. #music
https://youtu.be/Yp1GRJIEaPU
5. Eric Burdon and War – "Spill the Wine". A gem produced by the collaboration of ex-Animal Burdon and East L.A.'s War. Burdon talk-sings a fascinating dream story in which he's in a movie, then he's naked in front of a crowd, then a woman appears and gives him some cryptic advice and you're just like, what the hell is he talking about? But it's super funky, so you keep listening even though it never does make a whole lot of sense. #music