I first have to acknowledge that I haven't posted since January. Do you know how much has happened to me since January? I've run a full marathon, a half marathon, signed up for a triathlon and I rode my bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles. So, I've been a little busy. And I know I've promised this before, so you have no reason to believe me, but I swear I'm going to be better. And I WILL get through this list! I'm almost in triple digits!
So, yesterday I listened to Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane, and I must admit, I kinda liked it. I've never really known much about them, except that they eventually became Jefferson Starship (and then Starship) and gave us "We Built This City" and that song from Mannequin.
This album is nothing like either of those songs. You're probably all familiar with "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit," unless you're musically illiterate like some people I know. ;-) Anyway, there were several other really groovy, psychedelic 60s tunes that I very much enjoyed. I felt a little like Johnny Bravo ("Hey there, groovy chick. You're really happening in a far out way!"). Some non-released highlights for me were the instrumental "Embryonic Journey" and the opening track "She Has Funny Cars."
If you know your Airplane history, then you know that this was the first album by the band with vocalist Grace Slick and drummer Spencer Dryden. The album peaked at number three and the two aforementioned singles hit #5 and #8 respectively. It was also the album that heralded the psychedelic sound of San Francisco that would define the City by the Bay for the remainder of the decade.
I would highly recommend this album, especially if you're into this sorta thing. I went through a huge 60s phase in high school, and I'm sure my 16 year-old self would have dug this.
Track Listing (my favorites are bolded): 1. She Has Funny Cars 2. Somebody to Love 3. My Best Friend 4. Today 5. Comin' Back to Me 6. 3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds 7. D.C.B.A.-25 8. How Do You Feel 9. Embryonic Journey 10. White Rabbit 11. Plastic Fantastic Lover
Grade: ★★★ This was the third album by The
Young Rascals, and proved to be their strongest by far thanks in part to the
number 1 title-track. Did I like it? Sure, it was OK.
Knowing that they supported The Beatles at Shea Stadium in '65 and they were
the first rock band signed by Atlantic Records helped me understand
exactly why this album is on my list.
★"A Girl Like You": This is one of my
favorite tracks on the album. Opening with an almost classical piano
intro, it quickly shifts into a beautiful swing arrangement before exploding
into an almost big-band feel on the chorus. One of four singles
released from the album, it reached number 10 on the U.S. Billboard
Charts.
★ "Find Somebody": This song marked a return to the group's
garage band sound with a psychedelic twist. Fuzztone guitars and some
catchy lyrics make this an often overlooked gem.
"I'm So Happy
Now": An OK
pop ballad, but in the end, kind of forgettable.
"Sueño": Some might say that the Latino-inspired
"Sueño" was an unexpected surprise, but I found it to be just a
little disjointed when compared to the rest of the album.
★ "How Can I Be Sure": Aside from the title track, this is
probably the band's most recognizable tune. Not many pop songs of the day
featured accordions, but this one did, and put it to good use. It reached
number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Charts and Dusty Springfield had a hit with it
the following year.
★"Groovin'": I was never a big fan of
this song, but I found a new appreciation for it when put in context with the
rest of the album. It's a great song to listen to on a lazy Sunday
afternoon. It was the band's first (and only) number 1 single in the U.S.
and their only top 10 single in the U.K.
"If You Know: The B-side to the 1966 single "Lonely
Too Long," which is a great song, makes a belated appearance on this
album. This is not a great song.
★ "I Don't Love You
Anymore": Yes,
it's a horrible name for a song, but in my opinion, it's just as good as
"How Can I Be Sure."
"You Better
Run" This
would have been an OK song until they whipped out the slide whistle towards the
end.
★ "A Place In The Sun": The band turned in one superb, if not
subdued, cover of this Stevie Wonder Motown hit.
"It's Love": I absolutely hated this song. I'm
not really sure why, but it just drove me absolutely crazy. Not a great
way to end the album that I may have given 4 stars otherwise. Sorry, Little
Rascals...er, YOUNG Rascals.
★★★★ The fourth album by The Byrds saw
them expand on the psychedelic experimantation they had begun on their previous
LP 5D (Fifth Dimension). They also introduced new layers of
music such as brass and reverse tape special effects, as well as allowing
bassist Chris Hillman to contribute a couple of country & western
inspired tunes that would foreshadow the direction the band would soon begin to
take. Overall, I enjoyed the album a lot more than I expected.
★"So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star": A
US Top 30 hit that satirized teenybop bands such as The Monkees, who had
achieved massive success without playing on their own records.
Ironically enough, Roger McGuinn was the only member to play on The Byrds'
chart-topper "Mr. Tambourine Man." This is a great song
that I never get tired of hearing.
★"Have You Seen Her Face": The first of
four Hillman-penned songs and the third single released from the album.
The song had a dismal showing on the Billboard Charts (it peaked at #74), but I
quite liked it.
★"CTA - 102": Named after a quasar
discovered in the early '60s, this song saw the band experiment with studio
trickery to produce sci-fi sound effects and expand on similar themes explored
in their earlier hit "Mr. Spaceman." Ulitmately, this
was a much more serious song that speculates on the existence of
intelligent extraterrestrial life. I like this song, but the second half
(the half where they create alien voices) sounds like there are gremlins
trapped in my iPod.
"Renaissance Fair": This was one of David
Crosby's contributions that was based on, wait for it, a Renaissance
Fair! It was an OK song, but kind of forgettable.
"Time Between": This was another Hillman song that
features future Byrd Clarence White. It's very obvious that Hillman was
heavily influenced by Paul McCartney on this one.
★"Everybody's Been Burned": This is probably
one of the darkest Byrds songs ever. It's also one of their best.
David Crosby's crystal-clear vocals are complemented by Hillman's fluid
bassline and McGuinn's understated guitar solo.
★"Thoughts And Words": In addition to the
country-inspired songs that Hillman contributed, he also wrote this
LSD-inspired song that features backwards guitar effects to simulate a
sitar. I guess all the sitar players were busy with The Beatles.
It's still a great song.
"Mind Gardens": This is one of the most annoying songs
that I've had to listen to before I die. It's just a bunch of nonsense
Shakespearean references on top of ridiculous studio sound effects.
★"My Back Pages": This was The Byrds' fourth
cover from the Bob Dylan album Another Side Of Bob Dylan, and as you can
imagine, was met with a little opposition from some of the band members.
Most notably, David Crosby felt this was formulaic, safe and a step in the
wrong direction. However, since the album's release, it has become one of
the band's strongest Dylan interpretations.
"The Girl With No
Name": This was
another country-inspired song by Hillman and it always reminded me of the
America song "A Horse With No Name" (no offense to any girls who
might be reading this).
"Why": This song appeared as the B-side to
an earlier Byrds hit, "Eight Miles High" nearly a year before the
release of this album. Its inclusion was insisted upon by Crosby,
probably because he wanted to increase his share of the songwriting credits on
the album.
I have definitely questioned some
of the albums that I've had to listen to so far, but there is no question
here. The debut album by The Doors is absolutely a MUST-LISTEN-TO.
Before the album's release, The Doors were the house band at the legendary West
Hollywood nightclub Whiskey a Go Go and got a record deal with Elektra after
then president Jac Holzman saw a couple of their sets upon the recommendation
of Love singer Arthur Lee. Foreshadowing the controversy that would later
follow the band, they were fired from the nightclub after Morrisson's
profanity-filled rendition of "The End." We'll get to that
later.
★"Break On Through (To The Other Side)": What
a great way to start off an album. This song holds many memories for
me. I started listening to The Doors in high school. In fact,
EVERYTHING was "a Doors reference." If somebody used a phrase
that had been uttered in a Doors song, "that's a Doors
reference." But this song was always playing in the dorm rooms my
freshman year at UGA.
★"Soul Kitchen": In all honesty, I
don't remember the first time I heard this song. Probably because I
was always focusing on all the hits from The Best Of The Doors
compilation. Boy, did I really miss out. This is a great song
that showcases Ray Manzarek's insane abilities on the keyboards.
★"The Crystal Ship": The Doors' first
love song, and it begins with the line "Before you slip into
unconsciousness/I'd like to have another kiss." Classic.
★"Twentieth Century Fox": Every time
we saw a movie released by 20th Century Fox was "a Doors reference."
★"Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)": The
Doors even had a way of making the two covers on this album seem like
originals. This was written by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill in the
1920s.
★"Light My Fire": Another classic that
combines the sultry, brooding vocals of Morrisson, the drum beats of John
Densmore, the subtle guitar riffs of Robby Krieger and the very ambitious organ
solo of Manzarek. I'll never get tired of this song.
★"Back Door Man": The second of two covers,
this one originally by American blues singer Wille Dixon. And, of course,
this paved the way for Sir Mix-A-Lot's similar obsession.
"I Looked At
You": This is
by no means a "bad song." It just doesn't quite reach
"classic" status, in my opinion.
"End Of The Night": Another "OK" song.
It's very dark and brooding.
"Take It As It
Comes": I like
this song a little better than the last two, but "side one" of this
album blows "side two" out of the water.
★"The End": Of course, they really know how
to end an album. One of the most haunting (and sometimes scary) songs I
know. Most people will recognize this from Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse
Now, or maybe from one of the three episodes of The Simpsons that
featured it. Or maybe you were a huge Animaniacs fan and remember
their parody: "This is the beginning...the beginning of our
story...the beginning..." But, this is the song that ultimately got
the band fired from their gig at Whiskey a Go Go. At about the mid-point
of the nearly 12-minute song, Morrison lapses into a very Oedipal spoken word
poem about a man that kills his father and has sex with his mother. So,
yes, it's a bit disturbing, but I still think it's one of the best rock songs
ever recorded.
By 1967, the
bossa nova fad had started to wane. What was once cool and hip in the hands of
Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, had become very cliche. But Frank didn't care.
His only concern was the lack of translated songs in Jobim's catalog, which
explains the inclusion of three American standards here ("Change
Partners," "If You Never Come To Me," and "Baubles,
Bangles, and Beads").
This makes for a
good rainy day listen, it just happened to be sunny and 70 degrees outside when
I listened to it. There are some great interpretations of a couple of my
favorite Jobim songs ("The Girl From Ipanema" and "Quiet Nights
of Quiet Stars"). I wouldn't say this is a "must-own." It was
just ok.
Track Listing: 01. The Girl
From Ipanema 02. Dindi 03. Change
Partners 04. Quiet
Nights Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado) 05. Meditation 06. If You Never
Come To Me 07. How
Insensitive 08. I
Concentrate On You 09. Baubles,
Bangles And Beads 10. Once I Loved
Largely ignored
when initially released, this is now considered one of the most influential
albums in rock history. It was banned from New York radio stations because of
its straight talk about sex and drugs, but most stations in the U.S. just
ignored it. Critics hated it, many thinking that it was an elaborate put-on by
producer Andy Warhol; Rolling Stone didn't even review it. But new wave
bands like Talking Heads and Joy Division owe much of their edginess to The
Velvet Underground; and acts like The Jesus and Mary Chain even adopted their
black-shades-and-leather look. The album starts
off with the innocent music-box sounds of "Sunday Morning," which was
originally written for Nico, but Lou Reed decided at the last minute (against
manager Paul Morrissey's better judgment) that he would sing lead and Nico
would provide backing vocals. "I'm Waiting for the Man" is one of the
band's more popular songs and one of many to touch on the subject matter of
drugs. It's about a drug deal in Harlem (the "Man" in the title is a
drug dealer). It's hard to pick a favorite on this album, but "Femme
Fatale" is definitely one of them. It was written at Warhol's request
about one of his muses at the time, Edie Sedgwick. Another great track is the
s&m-themed "Venus in Furs" ("kiss the boots, shiny boots
of leather..."). Warhol's favorite Velvet Underground song was the
Nico-helmed "All Tomorrow's Parties." Perhaps because it was written
about all the goings-on at Warhol's studio, The Factory. The
seven-plus-minute-long track "Heroin" depicts the high a user gets
from the drug, starting off slow and melodic and building to a frantic
crescendo, punctuated by shrieking violas and guitars, before returning to the
original tempo. A couple of other notable songs appear ("There She Goes
Again" and "I'll Be Your Mirror") before the nearly eight-minute
long finale, "European Son," which is a dedication to Lou Reed's
literary mentor Delmore Schwartz. I can't say
enough good things about this album. It's obviously one of the most influential
pieces of music, inspiring several acts and spawning numerous cover version. I
encourage you to check out the cover of "Sunday Morning" by James and
the R.E.M. versions of "Femme Fatale" and "There She Goes
Again." This album should be in your collection! Track Listing: 01. Sunday
Morning 02. I'm
Waiting For The Man 03. Femme
Fatale 04. Venus In
Furs 05. Run Run Run 06. All
Tomorrow's Parties 07. Heroin 08. There She
Goes Again 09. I'll Be
Your Mirror 10. The Black
Angel's Death Song 11. European
Son
The Who Sell
Out was
the band's satirical take on the relationship between the music industry and
advertising. It was devised as a faux pirate radio broadcast, interspersing
regular tracks with fake commercials and real radio ID jingles. (Side note:
there were reportedly numerous lawsuits from the real-world companies that are
parodied in the faux commercials, and by the makers of the real jingles,
who claimed The Who used them without permission.)
The songs are
fantastic. The album starts with the borderline psychedelic "Armenia City
in the Sky," which was a contribution from Townshend's former roommate and
future Thunderclap Newman collaborator John Keen. "I Can See For
Miles" was The Who's biggest U.S. hit and the only one to crack the
Billboard Top 10. "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" is a great little
song that reminded me a lot of The Byrds and the acoustic "Sunrise"
was beautiful. The album ends with the mini-opera "Rael," a prelude
to the band's star-making effort Tommy.
While the
concept of the album is kind of funny on first listen, the fake commercials and
jingles got a little annoying on the second or third go-around.
Track Listing: 01. Armenia
City In The Sky 02. Heinz Baked
Beans 03. Mary Anne
With The Shaky Hands 04. Odorono 05. Tattoo 06. Our Love
Was 07. I Can See
For Miles 08. I Can't
Reach You 09. Medac 10. Relax 11. Silas Stingy
12. Sunrise 13. Rael
Named after a chapter
from Syd Barrett's favorite children's book, The Wind in the Willows,
this album is full of colorful, childlike images...on acid. There are whimsical
lyrics about space, scarecrows, gnomes, bicycles and fairytales, as well as
some very psychedelic instrumental passages.
It's a very catchy album, and not at all what I was expecting from Pink Floyd.
The group were soon to lose Barrett to a mental breakdown and gain David
Gilmore's epic guitar leads. Roger Waters became the creative force and fueled
his fascination with concept albums (Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall).
Pink Floyd would of course go on to reach greater heights with these albums,
but they managed to capture the essence of '60s psychedelia with their debut.
Track Listing: 01. Astronomy Domine
02. Lucifer Sam
03. Matilda Mother
04. Flaming
05. Pow R. Toc H.
06. Take Up Thy Stethoscope And Walk 07. Interstellar Overdrive
08. The Gnome
09. Chapter 24 10. Scarecrow
11. Bike
NERD ALERT: Giles
plays this album for Buffy's mom in a 3rd season episode of "Buffy the
Vampire Slayer" when all the adults in Sunnydale revert to their teenage
personas thanks to some cursed "Band Candy." He's playing the track
"Tales of Brave Ulysses," to which she responds "Do you have any
Juice Newton?"
While this is no Juice Newton, it is, however, the quintessential heavy metal
album of the '60s. From swirling, psychedelic hits like "Strange
Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love" to the murky rhythms of the
aforementioned "Ulysses," this album would be the American breakthrough
for the British trio, reaching #4 on the album charts.
Track Listing: 01. Strange Brew
02. Sunshine Of Your Love
03. World Of Pain
04. Dance The Night Away
05. Blue Condition 06. Tales Of Brave Ulysses 07. Swlabr
08. We're Going Wrong
09. Outside Woman Blues
10. Take It Back
11. Mother's Lament
This was the third album by Los Angeles-based band, Love, and the second to
appear on my list of 1001 Albums To Listen To Before I Die.
By 1967, Love were the hippest band in LA after The Byrds. But acts like The
Doors and Jimi Hendrix were poised to steal the spotlight. Love faced many
challenges: they were ethnically mixed, with two black front men playing music
unlikely to appeal to a black audience; songs stretched out for entire LP
sides; and their drug use was spiralling out of control. They decided to go
back to basics with their third album.
By the time they hit the studio to record, they were in such bad shape, that
the producer had to hire session players to record the first two songs,
"The Daily Planet" and "Andmoreagain." They took time off
to get their act together and learn the next batch of tunes. They would come
back to the studio, record a couple of songs in a day and then take time off to
learn the next batch. This formula took them nearly four months to complete
recording.
What I love about this album is that it's acid rock played with acoustic
guitars and a symphony orchestra. There are a couple of catchy tunes, but not
enough to help make this album a commercial success. It eventually cracked the
Top 30 in the UK, but peaked at #154 in the US. Years later it would be
recognized as one of the best, if not most haunting, albums to come out of the
Summer of Love.
Track Listing: 01. Alone Again Or
02. A House Is Not A Motel 03. Andmoreagain
04. The Daily Planet
05. Old Man
06. The Red Telephone 07. Maybe The People Would Be The Times or Between Clark And Hilldale
08. Live And Let Live 09. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This
10. Bummer In The Summer 11. You Set The Scene
Tim Buckley's 2nd
album should have made him a star. He was already a recognizable face in LA
thanks to his eponymous debut album in 1966 - a set of post-Dylan love songs.
He was now ready to break out of the folk-rock scene.
Clearly inspired by Sgt. Pepper's, this is the ultimate Tim Buckley
statement. The best songs on the album were written by Buckley alone,
"Once I Was" and "Pleasant Street," while several were
co-written with his buddy Larry Beckett. But my favorite is definitely "I
Never Asked To Be Your Mountain," a self-justifying address to his
estranged wife Mary and son Jeff -- who went on to cover this song in a 1991
tribute concert.
Reviews were positive, but the album only peaked at #171 on the US chart.
Buckley responded with the jazz-influenced Happy Sad, followed by a
couple of avant garde releases. He died in June 1975 at the age of 28 from an
accidental heroin overdose. This album would remain a cornerstone of his
career.
01. No Man Can Find The War
02. Carnival Song 03. Pleasant Street
04. Hallucinations
05. I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain
06. Once I Was
07. Phantasmagoria In Two
08. Knight-Errant 09. Goodbye And Hello
10. Morning Glory
When I was little, I
used to LOVE to watch The Monkees on TV. When I was in high school, I
LOVED all their cheesy hits ("Daydream Believer," "Last Train to
Clarksville," etc.). As an adult, I feel as though I kind of outgrew The
Monkees. I was expecting this album to be sugary sweet '60s bubblegum pop, but
I was pleasantly surprised.
After the release of their 2nd studio album, More of the Monkees, The
Monkees wanted to prove to all the hippies that they were more than just
puppets manufactured for a TV show that couldn't play their own instruments.
They were a real rock band. So, they fired their musical supervisor and took
charge.
Although this album doesn't contain any of their biggest hits, it does contain
some of their best songs, like Mike Nesmith's folk-rocker "You Just May Be
the One," the rocker "No Time," the soul ballad "Forget
That Girl," which features one of Davy Jones' best vocals, and the
surpisingly political "Randy Scouse Git," which proved just how
avant-garde (and controversial) Mickey Dolenz could actually be -- this song
was renamed "Alternate Title" for the UK because its original name was
deemed offensive.
This album reached #1 on the Billboard Top 200, but was knocked off by a little
album called Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It did hold on to
the #2 spot for 11 weeks, though.
01. You Told Me
02. I'll Spend My Life With You 03. Forget That Girl
04. Band 6 05. You Just May Be The One
06. Shades Of Gray
07. I Can't Get Her Off My Mind
08. For Pete's Sake
09. Mr. Webster
10. Sunny Girlfriend
11. Zilch 12. No Time
13. Early Morning Blues And Greens 14. Randy Scouse Git
San Francisco's Beau
Brummels are most famous for their 1963 British Invasion hit, "Laugh
Laugh" (which won them a cameo on The Flintstones, as The Beau
Brummelstones). This was their fourth album, and even though it barely cracked
the Billboard Top 200 (it peaked at 197), it received much critical acclaim.
I thought it was a pleasant listen and I especially liked the opening track
"Are You Happy?". Their previous album, Beau Brummels '66,
consisted mainly of uninspired cover versions, prompting the departure of drummer
John Peterson. The three remaining members decided to forego touring and
experiment with new sounds and technology in the studio. This resulted in a
very ethereal, Tolkien-esque sound, especially on songs like "The Painter
of Women," "Magic Hollow" and "The Wolf of Velvet
Fortune." Another highlight on the album was the final track, a cover of
the Randy Newman song "Old Kentucky Home."
Track Listing: 01. Are You Happy?
02. Only Dreaming Now
03. The Painter of Women
04. The Keeper of Time
05. It Won't Get Better
06. Nine Pound Hammer 07. Magic Hollow
08. And I've Seen Her
09. Triangle
10. The Wolf of Velvet Fortune 11. Old Kentucky Home
For the most part,
listening to this album was like homework. There was one standout track that I
listened to over and over, "She Comes In Colors." I knew that I had
heard this song before, but then I thought I was just confusing it with "She's
Like A Rainbow" by the Rolling Stones. And then it hit me. One of the
first CD's I ever bought was Nervous Night by The Hooters (NERD ALERT!).
Track number 9 was a cover of "She Comes In Colors."
I did think the alliteration used in "Orange Skies" was quite catchy
("Carnivals and cotton candy"), but the 18-minute-long jam,
"Revelation," was too much for me.
Track Listing:
01. Stephanie Knows Who 02. Orange Skies
03. ¡Que Vida! 04. 7 And 7 Is
05. The Castle 06. She Comes In Colors
07. Revelation
Moby Grape is a great representation of the San
Francisco psychedelic scene of the late '60s. My favorite thing about this
album is that there are no attempts to musically recreate an acid trip, just
great straight-forward rock & roll with hints of pop, country, blues and
folk accents.
This album could have been a major success if not for the record company
releasing ten of the thirteen songs on five singles...all at once.
"Omaha" was the only single to even chart.
The truth is there's not a dud here and time has been extremely kind to this
album. If you're into the Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane, you should
definitely check this out. Oh, and there's a great cover of "Naked, If I
Want To" by Cat Power on her album The Covers Record.
Track Listing: 01. Hey Grandma
02. Mr. Blues 03. Fall On You
04. 8:05
05. Come In The Morning 06. Omaha
07. Naked, If I Want To
08. Someday
09. Ain't No Use
10. Sitting By The Window
11. Changes
12. Lazy Me
13. Indifference
Before recording this
album, Captain Beefheart had previously released a couple of singles through
A&M Records, and it was to this record label that they first proposed this,
their debut album in 1966. After hearing heavily R&B-influenced demos, A&M
decided that the tracks were too unconventional and dropped the band. They then
turned to new indie record label Buddha.
I'm not sure if I'm supposed to know who Captain Beefheart is, or was, but
before this, I had never heard of them. I was actually pleasantly surprised by
this album. I was expecting it to be a chore to get through, but it was a very
interesting listen. Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, sounds like a howling
wolf on most of the songs here, but it was the bluesy guitar riffs by a
20-year-old Ry Cooder that caught my ears.
The record never achieved popular success in the United States or the UK.
Actually, none of Captain Beefheart's albums would ever enter the Top 100
charts in the US. They would enjoy moderate success with later releases in Europe
(and, yes, I'll be listening to another Beefheart album soon).
Track Listing:
01. Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do 02. Zig Zag Wanderer
03. Call On Me 04. Dropout Boogie
05. I'm Glad 06. Electricity
07. Yellow Brick Road
08. Abba Zaba
09. Plastic Factory
10. Where There's Woman
11. Grown So Ugly 12. Autumn's Child
