Genesis - stagnation, 1970

"Stagnation" and "Dusk" showed Phillips and Rutherford's combined twelve-string sound, along with Banks taking leads on piano, organ and Mellotron. The organ lead uses a surreal descending note which Banks produced by turning the organ off and then turning it back on. Rutherford later recalled there were around ten acoustic guitars on part of "Stagnation", but they cancelled each other out in the final mix. Gabriel described the track as a "journey song" with its lack of a more typical verse/chorus structure and the variety of mood changes it presents. Sections were removed or altered, but the introduction remained unchanged. The vocal effect on the section referencing "bitter minnows amongst the weeds and slimy water" was created by having Gabriel sing into a narrow tube with the intent of making it sound like he was underwater."

Bob Dylan - the boxer cover, 1970

"Bob Dylan, in turn, covered the song on his Self Portrait album, replacing the word "glove" with "blow". Paul Simon himself has suggested that the lyrics are largely autobiographical, written during a time when he felt he was being unfairly criticized: I think I was reading the Bible around that time. That's where I think phrases such as "workman's wages" came from, and "seeking out the poorer quarters". That was biblical. I think the song was about me: everybody's beating me up, and I'm telling you now I'm going to go away if you don't stop."

Neil Young - when you dance i can really love, 1970

"The official Neil Young website gives the title as "When You Dance I Can Really Love"; however, the CD release (US catalogue number 2283-2, Europe 7599-27243-2) has the title misprinted as "When You Dance You Can Really Love." The correct title appears on other albums, such as Live Rust. It also appears in Young's handwritten lyrics included with some copies of the album."

Don McLean - castles in the air, 1970

"The song describes a man who is unsatisfied with and weary of an urban lifestyle. Although native to the city, he decides to forsake not only his urban 'castle in the air' but also his love interest there."

Neil Young - birds, 1970

"You know, I don't edit my songs. I knew something was happening at the time that I wrote it to make that right, but I can't remember what it is and it doesn't apply to what I'm doing now."

Cat Stevens - hard headed woman, 1970

"Mona Bone Jakon had been full of references to death, but Tea for the Tillerman was not about dying; it was about living in the modern world while rejecting it in favor of spiritual fulfillment. It began with a statement of purpose, "Where Do the Children Play?," in which Stevens questioned the value of technology and progress."

The Beatles - across the universe, 1970

"On 4 February 2008, at 00:00 UTC, NASA transmitted the Interstellar Message "Across the Universe" in the direction of the star Polaris, 431 light-years from Earth. The transmission was made using a 70-metre antenna in the Deep Space Network's Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex, located outside of Madrid, Spain. It was done with an "X band" transmitter, radiating into the antenna at 18 kW. This was done to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the song's recording, the 45th anniversary of the Deep Space Network (DSN), and the 50th anniversary of NASA. The idea was hatched by Beatles historian Martin Lewis, who encouraged all Beatles fans to play the track as it was beamed to the distant star. The event marked the first time a song had ever been intentionally transmitted into deep space, and was approved by McCartney, Yoko Ono, and Apple Corps."

Pink Floyd - embryo, 1970

"Embryo" (sometimes called "The Embryo") is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd. It was written by Roger Waters, recorded in 1968, and regularly performed live in 1970–71, but never released on any regular Pink Floyd album. A studio version appeared in 1970 on the rare multi-artist album Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air, which was reissued in 2007, and the 1983 band compilation Works. Live performances expanded on the studio original, stretching beyond ten minutes. Multiple renditions of "Embryo" appeared on the band's 2016 box set The Early Years 1965–1972; two versions were also included on the smaller 2-disc compilation The Early Years 1967–1972: Cre/ation."

Pink Floyd - if, 1970

"Written and sung by Roger Waters, like "Grantchester Meadows" before it, "If" carries on a pastoral and folky approach, but instead deals with introspection."

Pink Floyd - echoes segment two, 1970

"There's something that's specifically so individual about the way that Rick and I play in that, that you can't get someone to learn it and do it just like that."

Simon And Garfunkel - the boxer, 1970

"The Boxer" is a song written by Paul Simon and recorded by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth and final studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, it was released as a standalone single on March 21, 1969, but included on the album nine months later (at the time, songs that had been released this far ahead were rarely included on the next studio album). The song is a folk rock ballad that variously takes the form of a first-person lament as well as a third-person sketch of a boxer. The lyrics are largely autobiographical and partially inspired by the Bible and were written during a time when Simon felt he was being unfairly criticized. The song's lyrics discuss poverty and loneliness. It is particularly known for its plaintive refrain, in which they sing 'lie-la-lie', accompanied by a heavily reverbed snare drum."

Pink Floyd - summer sixty-eight, 1970

"a catchy, fast and happy pop tune written and sung by Richard Wright" that's "one of the few songs Wright has ever done for Pink Floyd and it's actually pretty fine."

The Moody Blues - question, 1970

"It was written at a time when we were touring America, and a lot of young people of our generation were living in fear of being called up into a terrible conflict [the Vietnam War], so I think we were speaking for them in a way. When I wrote it, I knew what the bass line was going to be and what it needed from the drums, and fortunately I had Graeme [Edge], who could do that on the high hat. He was well up for doing that beat. And it was great — we didn’t do many takes. There’s no real double tracking on ‘Question.’ It was one of those things where we got back to basics. The Question of Balance album had that philosophy, to get back to basics and a simple way of recording."

Tim Buckley - song to the siren live, 1970

"I would write lyrics, hand them to him and he'd come back with a fully fledged piece. There was some kind of uncanny connection between us."

Van Der Graaf Generator - out of my book, 1970

"Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success in the UK, but became popular in Italy during the 1970s. In 2005 the band reformed, and are still musically active with a line-up of Hammill, organist Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans."

Neil Young - only love can break your heart, 1970

"'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' is an absurdly simple little tune. It's in waltz time, and the structure and instrumentation are sparse to the point of minimalism. Piano, guitar, bass and drums strike up gently and plod along together, happily oblivious to the fact that there don't seem to be any off-beats."

The Carpenters - reason to believe cover, 1970

"The Carpenters recorded "Reason to Believe" for their second LP, Close to You, in 1970. On television, the duo performed their version on The 5th Dimension Travelling Sunshine Show on August 18, 1971 and Make Your Own Kind of Music on September 7, 1971. Richard Carpenter remixed the song for the release of the 1995 compilation, Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Celebration."

The Moody Blues - and the tide rushes in, 1970

"Ray was my best pal. I met Ray when I was 14. We were two young kids from Birmingham who were reaching for the stars — and I think we got there. I'm really pleased that Ray was around to know we'd be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I spoke to Ray just before Christmas — because his birthday was after Christmas, on the 29th — and we had a long conversation. We're very close friends — or were very close friends. Very sad. Very, very sad."

Bee Gees - morning of my life, 1970

"Morning of My Life" (originally known as "In the Morning") is a song written by Barry Gibb in 1965 whilst in the town of Wagga Wagga, Australia and later recorded by the Bee Gees and several other artists. It was recorded in 1966 during sessions for the album Spicks and Specks, and later was released as the opening track on the compilation Inception/Nostalgia in 1970. The first recording of the song to be released by any artist was by Ronnie Burns, first as a B-side to his Exit, Stage Right single in June 1967 and a month later on his Ronnie LP."

The Velvet Underground - oh sweet nuthin, 1970

"On Loaded there was a big push to produce a hit single, there was that mentality, which one of these is a single, how does it sound when we cut it down to 3.5 minutes, so that was a major topic for the group at that point. And I think that the third album to a great extent shows a lot of that in that a lot of those songs were designed as singles and if you listen to them you can hear the derivation, like this is sort of a Phil Spector-ish kind of song, or this is that type of person song."