An Ear For An Era: 1970

And so begins another decade. A bummer decade? The decade where everything got overly polished and the hippies stopped and everything got lame? Until eventually punk rock came along to put an end to that stuff?

That may be generally true, but this is based on my music. I don't have much crap in my collection. So the 70s here is going to be where it starts shifting more away from the mainstream. Because there was still lots of great stuff happening. For 1970, it mostly means funk and folk.

But it's kind of a gradual change. I still have all the old people that were making music in the 60s, continuing into the 70s, and it's not like they suddenly sucked. Let's talk about some of that and some other things.

It started with the end of The Beatles. Which I appreciated, because I was hoping it'd come on before the solo projects started up. Just as I skewed the results so I'd listen to Led Zeppelin I before Led Zeppelin II, I was hoping Let It Be would come on before the post-Beatles solo work. Let It Be. Well, it does kind of sound more like the solo careers than The Beatles. Beatles Beatles Beatles. Get it out of your system because this is going to be the end of writing about The Beatles for awhile. Uhhhh...it has classics like "Let It Be" and "Across The Universe." And over-produced messiness. And I kinda like "For You Blue." And I think "Get Back" should have been played harder, like "Helter Skelter." This album version is just kind of a boring way to end things. Abbey Road should have been the proper end.

How about those solo projects though, huh? Those're something! I didn't have Macca's solo album digitally so I can't speak to that, but George's was very much the work of someone that only got to have one or two songs on the albums his band put out. A triple album? My Sweet Lord! But it's quite great. And Lennon's was pretty interesting as well. Just from those two you can see the different directions they may have wanted to take The Beatles. Hey! I mentioned them again! It's also interesting that Harrison's was called All Things Must Pass, and Lennon's had that song about how "the dream is over." Actually I'll say something about that song. It's called "God" and sings about all the things Lennon doesn't believe in, kind of a way to tear down idols and whatnot, but when it gets to "I don't believe in Beatles," the whole rest of the song is about how they're not a band anymore. I know they were kind of to a point of being idolized at that point but it just seems kind of not focused to me.

You know who wasn't breaking up? The Who. In fact, they were playing Live At Leeds! So that's one of the first vinyl albums I ever bought (yes, this was in a time after CDs existed, so it's not one of the first ALBUMS I ever bought, I'm not that cool), and I was mostly excited about the 15 minute rendition of "My Generation." Of course, it turned out to be more of a medley than anything, but it ruled. It's a quality live album.

It's been a little while since I heard from the Beach Boys but Sunflower is quite a good way to bring them back in. Dig the Dennis Wilson contributions! I love/hate the song "Forever." It's such a great ballad, but it had to be sung by Jesse and the Rippers on Full House which makes me also kind of hate it. But I still kind of love it!

And The Kinks. Lola Versus Powerman and the Money Go Round is quite the title for an album. The song "Lola," is that supposed to be a guilty pleasure? Because most music snobs seem to hate the song (although they otherwise appreciate this album) but I still dig the song. It's kind of silly, but it was pretty forward in how it blurred gender lines without passing judgment. Plus I like it because of "Yoda" by Weird Al Yankovic. Most of the rest of the album is as cynical as Arthur, only this time it's more about the music industry instead of war. And I dig me some cynical Kinks. But the most gorgeous song on the album, I think everyone can agree on it, and it's not cynical at all. It's just pretty:

The Kinks, "Strangers"

You know, it's kind of surprising to me that I quite enjoyed Derek & The Dominoes' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Since I didn't like Cream and thought they sounded to 70s in the 60s, I figured this'd be even more 70s-ish. But instead it's really just simple blues songs that give plenty of room for Clapton to wail on the guitar, and that just makes for a very enjoyable listening experience.

The Stooges are something completely different! And Fun House was already something completely different from their first album. Well not completely different. But it seems a bit slower. Just a hair. It still rocks harder than anything else I heard from this year. Turn it up! Also the song "Dirt" is so great, so menacing as it just grooves right along.

I keep not talking about stuff from those Eccentric Soul compilations other than small name-drops here and there. But off the Capsoul Label collection, I have to talk about Marion Black a bit. Not that I can say too much based on two songs, but he has such a wonderful voice and I wish there was more out there. How was he not super popular? It's not like his sound is all that "eccentric." Just a sad breakup ballad ("Go On Fool") and a groovy dose of cool:

Marion Black, "Who Knows"

Other soul was good. Did you know The Jackson 5 released "ABC" this year? Kind of a sign of the disco-doomed direction Motown was headed but I still love these early Jackson 5 cuts. And "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes. And we got the start of Diana's solo career! And Stevie Wonder in the 70s is something to keep an ear out for, and for 1970 that means the single "Signed Sealed Delivered."

But the obvious most favorable direction soul was taking was to a funkier place. 1969 had a lot of funk and it seems people just wanted to out-funk each other. Funk each other's brains out. James Brown had "Sex Machine." Slim and the Soulful Saints had a song called "Fish Head." Blood Sweat and Tears went super funky with "Lucretia MacEvil" (I blame this song for making me think everything else they'd do would be so funky). Tower of Power's East Bay Grease has kind of the perfect album title for the music contained therein. Greasy funk. We played some Tower of Power in marching band in high school because we had an awesome teacher so I really admire how damn tight that horn section is. It's just so dirty and foonky and great. And Jimmy McGriff with stuff like "Fat Cakes" and "Blue Juice," and The Meters' "Chicken Strut" (complete with chicken sounds) kept everything light but funky. funk funk funk funk funk funk funk. 

Merry Clayton always has to be written about. Crap, now wikipedia says her album Gimme Shelter came out in 1969! Whoops! Anyway, it's such an enjoyable album even if it follows the trend of the time of being full of covers. But I kind of see it like a Bettye LaVette album. Taking great songs and spinning them into a great funky version that is also a great song? Does that make any sense? Here's a song that doesn't reflect that, because it's not a cover and it is a ballad:

Merry Clayton, "I Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Away"

And...ska! Toots & The Maytals' "Monkey Man" is what made me get that whole anthology set in the first place. And they also had "Pressure Drop," another one that would be covered years later by another influential band. Another fun song (that just missed the "moon/space song trend of 1969" by a year) is "Skinhead Moonstomp" by Symarip. 

Let's change the subject again. Bitches Brew by Miles Davis is one of those things. Fusion, they call this thing. And I apologize for not speaking for accurately about this, but I'm still very much a novice about jazz. And I know I missed a lot (or all) of his 60s output that got him here. Still I very much enjoy most of this album. Some of the guitar based stuff I don't like as much as other guitar jazz (such as the Sonny Sharrock from 1969). It's not as good when you think of it as bringing rock to jazz as it is when you think of it as bringing jazz to rock. I don't care it makes no sense! Care not, ye, for what is important is that "Pharaoh's Dance" sounds so sinister and Egyptian, and "Sanctuary" takes you to a place of peace. It takes me there at least. 

What else is arty? To a degree, The Velvet Underground are. They used to be so art and then they got so pop, like a bunch of Campbell's soup cans or pictures of Marilyn Monroe. Every one of these makes me long for the wild experimentation of the previous. I think they're running out of my collection here with Loaded. I don't think they're coming back up. So just like The Beatles, it's time to say goodbye to a band here with one of their weaker(ish) efforts. Not that it's particularly weak. After all, this is the album with "Sweet Jane" on it. It's just so poppy, I don't know what they were going for. 

Their former collaborator, however, put out this great song:

Nico, "Afraid"

How about we talk about some singer songwriters?

Nilsson Sings Newman. Yes, Nilsson was a singer and Newman was a songwriter and they were also both both. I don't know why I didn't hear this one more growing up because my dad is a fan. My parents seem to know this album well (and picked "Love Story" it as a song to be played at my brother's wedding) but I mostly just grew up with Nilsson Schmilsson so I'll have a whole lot to say about that one when it comes up. But I do quite like Randy Newman's songs, and Nilsson picked some good ones to sing. 

My dad also introduced me to Kris Kristofferson, but it wasn't this self-titled debut. But I still know this self-titled debut well because I got it back before I got way too much music to be able to seriously listen to it all. So I listened to it a lot in college. It's a nice collage of political satire (not too far off from Phil Ochs if you remember what I wrote about him) and heartfelt ballads. The funny political ones sound a bit aged but the rest of the album (which is most of the album) sounds just timeless. I will say something about the satirical song "Blame It On The Stones" though. In the early 00s the song would be just as relevant if it was changed to "Blame It On Marilyn Manson" or "Blame It On Eminem." I don't know who the current scapegoat is but it's always gonna happen. But the timeless songs? Those are the ones. Kris Kristofferson is easily one of the best songwriters of the century. 

Kris Kristofferson "Just The Other Side of Nowhere"

And the Neil Young stuff! Both with CSN (Deja Vu is a great album full of hits like "Teach Your Children" and "Our House" as well as some great Neil Young solo-ish jams like "Helpless) and solo. The solo one is one of my favorite Neil Young albums: After The Gold Rush. I love my Neil Young mellow and unplugged, and this is one of the highest quality singer-songwriter albums I've ever heard. It just makes me try to sing along even though I can't sustain those notes. Mostly it just sounds so sad.

And there was Rodriguez' first album Cold Fact. Yes, I had no idea who he was before I saw that documentary Searching For Sugarman. But thank goodness for that documentary. He fits right in along with these other great early 70s singer songwriters. It really is a mystery why he couldn't find his audience. He exudes a cool not far from Lou Reed, writes lyrics not far from Bob Dylan, but doesn't really sound like anyone but himself. 

The last album I heard for 1970 (full disclosure: it actually ended with a Christmas song by Donny Hathaway) was the second album (I don't have his first, for shame!) by Nick Drake, Bryter Layter. Unfortunately I don't know what to say here about how this will shed a light on what's coming up or whatever. But I love his voice, and I wish he'd kept the arrangements a bit more spare (but that's what's coming up on Pink Moon!). I guess that's the 70s for you?

Where I Stand: 3926 of 36824 (10.66%!)

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning:

• Curtis Mayfield's debut solo album, in particular the song "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're All Going To Go."
• The four songs I have off Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, of course, are great.
• "Fire And Rain" by James Taylor. Cannot get enough of this song!
• Isaac Hayes had another epic version of a simple song, this time "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"
• Elvis' comeback must have continued as "Walk A Mile In My Shoes"
• Another bunch of Creedence songs that rule. 
• Johnny Cash's cover of "Sunday Morning Coming Down" is pretty great...Not sure why he changed the line about a kid "cussin' at a can he was kickin'" to "playin' with a can he was kickin'" but it's fine.
• Cat Stevens has entered the picture but I don't have much of anything by him.
• I thought I had a late period album by Little Richard but it turned out to be really old recordings that were finally released in 1970 so while I was going to say "wow, he put out something that sounded like T-Bone Walker in 1970? He must've been going for the nostalgia crowd!" it turns out it was just the record label that did so.
• I just got some Donny Hathaway material (just in time) mostly because he seems to be to Roberta Flack what James Taylor is to Carole King. Not much to say about him yet, but stay tuned?

On The Next Installment...

We'll see what changes from 1970 to 1971. It doesn't seem like much will. More funk, more singer/songwriters. Now let's look at the list and see if I was right: more Nilsson (THREE albums including the Nilsson Is For The Children album!), Joni Mitchell, more Rodriguez, Anthony Braxton (oooh even crazier jazz!), T Rex, Al Green (2 albums!), more Bowie, more Lennon, a big release from Serge Gainsbourg, Zeppelin comes back up (sorry I didn't have Led Zeppelin III so nothing on them today), Elton John, Jean Knight, Janis Joplin, Paul McCartney at last, an actual Curtis Mayfield album, Shaft, more Kristofferson & Cohen, Sticky Fingers, yet another Beach Boys album, Carole King, CAN (OMG), What's Going On, Who's Next

So...yeah. mostly funk/soul and folk but some significant rock & roll coming up, including Tago Mago by Can. Righteous.

An Ear For An Era: 1969

The old adage is that the greatest music comes from the times of the greatest social turbulence. That seemed to all come to a head here in 1969. It just seemed so urgent, so relevant. Passion in more ways than one. It was annee erotique, it was the year of the moon, and everything just meant something.

So it all started this time with a song called "1969." That's how I know I'd picked the correct playlist. Yup, The Stooges made their big debut right out the gate and tore the music world apart. I cannot over-state this. 1969. I Wanna Be Your Dog. No Fun. This is punk rock. Loose, sloppy, loud, fast. An edge of experimentation with some sax, but overall just back-to-basics rock and roll.

That Detroit (+Ann Arbor) scene was pretty amazingly vibrant at the time, it would seem. MC5 was also kicking out the jams and tearing another hole into the fabric of rock and roll, as their self-titled (live!) album captures such an amazing energy...I can only imagine what it was like to be at one of those shows. Pure energy.

It's almost enough to make me forget about the music Detroit was most famous for at the time...good ol' Motown. At this point in the listening project, we've got all this stuff tearing down the foundation and it's almost an obligation to check in with Motown because it happened to still be putting out music. But on the other hand...it was evolving as well. The Temptations' album from that year, Cloud Nine, showed a different side of the band. Including a 9-minute opus "Runaway Child, Running Wild" and shades of funk and psychedelia it was quite different than the band that sang "The Way You Do The Things You Do." Motown also put out more Impressions jams and an early single by The Jackson 5! And "My Cherie Amour" by Stevie Wonder, but that song now just makes me think of Silver Linings Playbook.

But it seems the funkiest stuff was coming out on different labels. Maybe Motown started losing its relevance around this time. One catchy, funky record that I quite enjoyed was Stand! by Sly & The Family Stone. It was half-funk, half-pop, and all party. All pretty positive, but the turbulence of the time made its way into the song "Don't Call Me N***, Whitey."

Immediately after that album came James Brown's Say It Loud--I'm Black & I'm Proud. I kind of had a perception of this album, and I assumed it'd take things funkier and more political than Stand! but instead it was an album of mostly ballads. I'm sure my music collection is missing a good amount of his funkier material of these days, but if not, it's kind of a disappointment.

Roberta Flack put out First Take and oh my. I have six album covers framed on my wall here and one of them is First Take. For one, because the photograph is stunning. And also because it is just absolutely some of the greatest music I've heard. I want to call her music soul but it's so different. Maybe jazz-soul? Soul-jazz? The music itself is kind of in line with jazz and her voice has that coolness to it. Would you believe I first checked her out because of a Spanish language cover song that Cat Power performed on a bonus track from her Jukebox album? It was so stunning when she performed it, that I had to know more about this song. And Roberta took it to higher highs, something that can make me cry even if I'm not quite sure what exactly is being sung. On top of that, she covers Leonard Cohen (solidifying her "cool" status among people like me), goes political with "Compared to What," and performs the definitive version of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." So cool, so pretty, so perfect. Here's the song that sold it for me, for you to hear if you haven't had the pleasure:

 Roberta Flack "Angelitos Negros"

I also love Dusty Springfield for pretty much the same reason. A beautiful voice but she doesn't overdo it. There's just an effortless quality to her delivery. Even Jan from The Office cannot ruin "Son of a Preacher Man" for me. "Breakfast in Bed" is another great song. But maybe my favorite thing about Dusty in Memphis is the full disc worth of bonus tracks it came with. All previously unissued, all solid gold.

And then there was potentially the greatest composer of this era: Isaac Hayes. His album Hot Buttered Soul is an absolute masterpiece of composition. Four epic songs that create such atmosphere, such an environment is created that listening to any one of these songs is to take a journey. That sounds cliche. I'm sorry. But I can't think of a better way to describe it right now.

You know who else took us on a journey? And captured America's fascination with space at the time? Why, David Bowie of course! His self-titled debut is quite folkier than what he would go on to do, but still. It has "Space Oddity" which is one of my favorite Bowie songs of all time.

I don't think I've gotten any better at writing about Leonard Cohen since last time. But Songs From A Room is another masterpiece. I'm not sure if much evolution took place between this and Songs of Leonard Cohen, but it's still such gorgeous songwriting that I don't really care.

I regret what I said last time around in regards to The Velvet Underground. I called White Light/White Heat basic and straightforward. In the scheme of things, it was not really. I just thought the experiments being done on that album were more straightforward (telling a story in one channel and having a highly distorted guitar playing on the other, a very punk-rock-style song that goes on for 17 minutes, etc) than stuff like the song "Heroin" from the first album. But now in the context with the third album (self-titled), I see that White Light/White Heat was pretty damn crazy. And this one is much more digestible and poppy. Very mellow. But I really do like the songwriting so even if the musicianship is less experimental than it used to be, it's still very enjoyable. "Pale Blue Eyes" is still one of my favorites.


Harry Nilsson's album Harry didn't take long to become a favorite. From the first time I listened to the record (and the only reason I have this digitally is because I recorded it from my record onto my computer) it's just been catchy and it makes me feel good to listen to it. From the whimsical ("The Puppy Song") to the sentimental ("Mr. Bojangles") to the inspirational ("I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City"), everything just makes me feel better. There aren't a whole lot of records in existence that do this for me. The only other one I can think of off the bat is Elvis Costello's King of America.

Harry Nilsson "Mournin' Glory Story"

Let's talk about the old guard of 60s rock. Some of them were winding down, some of them would continue for decades and decades and never give up...I feel like these bands were still relevant at the time but with artists like The Stooges, MC5, VU, etc. I can't say for sure how much I'd have been interested if I were around at the time. First up: The Kinks' Arthur. This album is pretty great. After being the nerdy band singing about the good old days they put out something so pessimistic, the turbulence of 69 definitely affected them. "Brainwashed" seems kind of influenced by the aforementioned proto-punk bands. Most of the songs are more subtle, sounding sweet with dark meanings in the lyrics about the horrors of war, the hypocrisy of wealth, the inequalities between the classes. The Who is up next. Tommy holds a special place in my heart, as I've been quite familiar with it for quite some time. My dad used to listen to this soundtrack a lot and I even went to a performance of it at the local playhouse. It was a good time! I remember listening to "1921" when I turned 21 just because I liked the line "Got a feeling 21 is gonna be a good year..." even though I knew it was about 1921. But yes, it's kind of a cheesy story but has some great songs in it. And finally The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed. The first Stones album I ever bought because it was at a sidewalk sale back in Fort Collins. Forever I just liked it for "You Can't Always Get What You Want" because I hadn't heard the full 7:29 version of it and it just became so epic.

And of course The Beatles. My favorite Beatles album is currently, and probably will always be, Abbey Road. Just the way that most of the songs would be out of place in any other context, but they fit so well together here. It took me a long time to know that "Come Together" was a Beatles song because it doesn't really sound anything like The Beatles as I knew them. Some of the goofier songs would fit on The White Album but the majority of this music wouldn't fit even on that one. It's so mature, so warm, and so gorgeously composed. The way "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" ends and "Here Comes The Sun" begins, the way they rock so hard on "The End," the way the medley of side B bounces around, the harmonies created on "Because," everything about this works here and here only. It's an album unlike any other Beatles album, and it's rare for anything to have so many "hits" but belong together as one unit as this one does. It would have been the perfect cap to their career. If only they'd let it be after this one...

OK now the new guard. Can someone explain to me how is it that Led Zeppelin started out so fully formed? I know they stand on the shoulders of their predecessors who established a plateau of rock & roll, but it's just strange to listen to the very first and second Zeppelin albums (they came out in the same year!) and think "yep, that's Led Zeppelin as I know them." I'm sure I'll pick up on how much they evolved as I go through this but it's surprising when I'm used to The Beatles going from "Love Me Do" to Abbey Road, and Zeppelin just kind of started with a full (up through the 60s) history of rock & roll established. It makes sense that they did, but it's still astonishing how talented they were on their debut. They picked up where Hendrix left off with blues & some psychedelia and a lot of energy.


How about some jazz? George Russell's Electronic Sonata - 1968 is something I got because it was so cheap to get digitally (two 25 minute tracks) that may be labeled 1968 because it was probably recorded then, but it was released in 1969 so there. You know, I had been away from jazz for so long in this project that I didn't know what to expect besides "crazy!" And it was. But even more bonkers was what the 60s ended with for me. Sonny Sharrock's landmark album Black Woman, featuring some very passionate vocals from his wife Linda Sharrock. I got into Sharrock because of Space Ghost and I'm glad I did. He works with a lot of different styles here and experiments freely.

Sonny Sharrock "Peanut"

Not the best way to end the 60s as I wanted to express my distaste for leaving this decade and this is more of a preview of things to come in the jazz world (I have several 70s compositions I'm looking forward to hearing) and more of a positive look at the future. But don't be fooled! The 70s are not the 60s and that is a problem.

Where I Stand: 3596 of 36763 (whoa I have a palindrome right now! Also nearing 10%!)

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning:

• Serge Gainsbourg took it pretty far with Jane Birkin in the song "Je T'Aime...Moi non Plus." Pornographic or just super sexy? Tough line to draw in this "Soixante Neuf Anne Erotique."
• Lots more Creedence came on including one of my all time favorite songs (and back in my punk rock days, leading into the Iraq war, I found myself drawn to it especially) "Fortunate Son."
• The Moon People - "Happy Soul" and "Hippy Skippy Moon Strut" were so of-the-time songs, I guess everyone was all excited about the moon landing.
• Jimi Hendrix Live At Woodstock. The year of Woodstock and this is the closest I'll be getting to it! I think the most interesting thing about this was hearing the way he spoke between songs, the way he describes things are so hippie-ish and pure love.
• Those Beatles started hinting at their solo careers. Amongst the demos and whatnot was a recording of "All Things Must Pass." And further so, John Lennon put out some solo singles "Give Peace a Chance" and "Cold Turkey." It was really ending/over!!
• A way-posthumous recording of "Love is Strange" by Buddy Holly. I think NOW I'll be done with him in this project?
• Elvis' big comeback! Two songs: one that is often mocked but it seems to be in the right place ("In The Ghetto") and the other that is possibly my favorite Elvis song ("Suspicious Minds").
• Among all the great obscure-ish funk artists of the time was Bill Moss. It was kind of unfortunate/ironic that in the song "Sock It To 'Em, Soul Brother" he was naming all these great black leaders and included OJ Simpson's name on the list. Oh, hindsight, how cruel you can be.
• Those Crosby Stills & Nash cats kind of sound to me like old men even when they must have been quite young (back in 1969). How gentle they played compared to some of the other stuff going on, it's like the original dad rock! But I still quite like it. Once an ex girlfriend included their song "Helplessly Hoping" on a mix tape and it was very effective.
• I feel like Neil Young deserves more than just a footnote here but I'll have more to say about him very soon. But since I didn't have any Buffalo Springfield and I didn't have his self-titled debut, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere is my first taste of his unique, very 70s-to-me sounding sound. But he was great with words and rockin', and I hope to do him justice starting with the next entry.

On The Next Installment...
Kicking and screaming out of the 60s. But they have done everything they could have done. I have squeezed it all out of them and now I must move on. This will be slowly evolving to a more personal experience, as there will be less mainstream 70s music (because I generally hate it) and higher ratios of the stuff I actually like. So this won't be so bad.

As far as 1970 specifically, I don't think there was any sort of drastic change from 1969. More funk. More Neil Young. Some solo Beatles stuff along with Let It Be. Miles Davis (for the first time here since 1959!). Nick Drake. Rodriguez. CSNY. Some sort of Little Richard comeback?! More Stooges. Mary Clayton. Kris Kristofferson. More Kinks. More Velvet Underground. The return of the Beach Boys. 

An Ear For An Era: 1968

1968 was another year that happened right after 1967 when music was still sitting high on the summer of love but starting to show signs of breakage as the war continued on and whatnot. That's what it was. It was full of passion in both directions.

That's what I would say confidently if I felt like I could be declarative here. But I wasn't there, man! This is still based on just like, my music, man!

So it started with the soundtrack to The Graduate. My, how that Simon and that Garfunkel made some beautiful music together. But did you know that The Graduate soundtrack CD doesn't have a full version of "Mrs. Robinson"?!? Just two interludes?! That's weird (it had to come from Bookends). I mostly just found it odd how the Dave Grusin tracks seemed less mature than the Simon & Garfunkel tracks. Because isn't this famously the first movie soundtrack to be all rock/pop music based? Was rock & roll that mature that fast?

But I guess they were folk. Those singer/songwriters were really starting to come into prominence at this time. This track by Donovan, "Jennifer Juniper," came up and it sounds a lot like Belle & Sebastian. So good on him! You know who else was a great singer/songwriter of this time? James Taylor of course. His eponymous album was out this year. I don't know if it's the most special of his works, but it includes "Carolina in my Mind" so it is by far great.

Now I should mention The Kinks' Are The Village Green Preservation Society. By far their strongest album even though if you'd told me they would sound like this a few years ago (before I delved into their catalog) I probably wouldn't have been interested. But it is such a lovely sound on this album, something purely nostalgic when most everyone else was going harsh and pessimistic...it's nice to put this on and "remember" village green. But you know what Kinks song was great from that year but not from that album? "Days," a single that I spent oh so much time tracking down. I knew the words from an Elvis Costello cover but I couldn't find it anywhere except as a part of more expensive collections of songs. Do you know how many record stores I've searched through the Kinks 45s looking for this one? Finally, after searching Amazon on a fairly regular basis (for at least the damn digital version), I saw it pop up on the Made in Dagenham soundtrack. Turns out to be a pretty great soundtrack (I still haven't seen the movie)! Now I have the song and it is one of my favorites, maybe my favorite song by The Kinks. Optimistic and sad at the same time, it captures those fond memories with someone that (for whatever reason) isn't around anymore.

The Kinks "Days"

Now for some more miscellany. Harry Nilsson's Aerial Ballet was a pretty great follow-up to Pandemonium Shadow Show. Not particularly different but it shows development and maturity. And looking through my ratings, damn near every song was 3 stars or higher, which is saying quite a bit. I'm pretty picky with my ratings. It includes the original version of the song Three Dog Night made popular ("One"), the original version of his first huge hit ("Everybody's Talkin'"), and this lovely ditty.

Harry Nilsson, "Little Cowboy"

You know, he was a favorite of both John Lennon and Paul McCartney so of course this is my transition to The Beatles' self titled/White Album. This was my first favorite Beatles album. It can be traced back to "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me & My Monkey." Hear me out. I was a casual Beatles fan, like everybody else, for years. I figured I heard it all because I knew so many singles and it seemed like I had to have heard pretty much all of it. Then I was listening to some Sirius radio and that song came on. I loved it so much! It showed a different side of this band, a freewheeling rock n roll machine full of monkey piss. And I looked it up and found out it was on The White Album. So I actually bought a Beatles album (whereas originally I kind of thought it would be unnecessary (I now have found it necessary to own all of their albums and whatever other stuff I can track down)). I love this album because of two things: they were experimenting (for better or worse) with all sorts of different sounds, and they were drifting more toward rock 'n' roll as a baseline after tinkering with different sounds on their previous few records. If that's not contradictory to you, then you understand. Lots of different sounds, but they kept coming back to guitar-based rock & roll. "Revolution 1." "Happiness is a Warm Gun." Obviously "Helter Skelter." Beautiful record despite the negative sides of experimentation (I will say that "Revolution 9" was a very, very noble failure).

The Beatles "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me & My Monkey"

Hey, The Zombies were back! And that's gonna do it for me for The Zombies. But Odyssey & Oracle is a damn near perfect album that seems to me to predict a whole sect of indie pop in the 2000s. As much as it sounds like the 60s ("Time of the Season" is kind of a cliche to play in movies/miniseries in late 60s montages) it's so timeless in a way that their peers did not really accomplish. I don't know how many contemporary artists directly name-check The Zombies but I can hear the influence of this album all over this century's loveliest indie pop.

The Zombies "A Rose for Emily"

And now something completely different-ish. Soul was evolving in a couple different directions here. Lots of funk, The Impressions brought a new(ish) level of social consciousness to Motown with This Is My Country, and the southern soul was going deeper and harder. The definitive posthumous album of all posthumous albums came out this year as well, which was The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding. That's gonna do it for Otis from my collection, so I have to say a few words. I guess he followed in Sam Cooke's footsteps a little too closely, dying just way too young. His Sam-with-edge style was just such a beautiful creation and you can just feel every emotion listening to him. It's comforting and heartbreaking at the same time.

Otis Redding "Let Me Come On Home"

Take soul even further south and you've got ska. That Toots & The Maytals anthology from my high school days seems to be holding up. "54-46, That's My Number" turns out to be quite the song. I guess Bradley Nowell had a good mind to cover that one. Also Desmond Dekker's "Israelites" (from that same Made in Dagenham soundtrack!) was another great one.

Nancy Sinatra put out the album of duets with Lee Hazlewood called Nancy & Lee and this time I couldn't help but think She & Him should cover songs from this album. Although I don't think M. Ward could bring the authority to the songs that Lee Hazlewood conveys. But I think Zooey would fit well into Nancy's shoes on these songs.

For the purpose of this project, 1968 ended with Jimi Hendrix' Electric Ladyland. He seemed to double down on psychedelia, pushing the limits of rock guitar even further than on Are You Experienced? It doesn't get much more "of the times" of the late 60s than Hendrix, blending blues and psychedelia, rock & roll and drugs. I have one more Hendrix "album" coming up in this project, which is a live recording of his performance at Woodstock. We are getting to the year of Woodstock, but there was so much more developing at this time, about to explode all over this thing.

Where I Stand: 3204 of 36674.

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning:

• "Hey Jude"!
• "Daydream Believer"!
• Creedence made their debut (to me) with "Suzy Q" and "I Put A Spell on You."
• I quite liked Lou Rawls' "Lifetime Monologue"
• A later-career Gene Pitney track "She's A Heartbreaker" was quite nice.
• I kind of think of The Band in the same way as Cream where they could be kind of boring in a pre-70s style of 70s rock but I actually kind of like Music From Big Pink. Probably the Bob Dylan factor.
• Hey, I finally got to another full Rolling Stones album in Beggars Banquet. "Salt of the Earth" is a great track to close the album.
• Aretha Franklin's Lady Soul is probably the best almost-as-good-as-the-last-one album of 1968 I think.
• The few years I have of French pop were brief, but 1968 had some great fun tracks from Monique Thubert, Marie Laforet, and Nino Ferrer. And good ol' Serge Gainsbourg was really rollin along with songs like "Bloody Jack" and "Ford Mustang."
• The Velvet Underground seemed to fall back into somewhat traditional rock n roll a bit with White Light/White Heat. At least compared to their debut. Still highly experimental and forward, but something about this album seems less so than other parts of their catalog. However, it is probably the best evidence to justify the strange claim I have heard a couple times in the past that they were the "first punk band."
• Johnny Cash ruled and played at a prison. The recording captured it quite well. I'm not sure what else to say about it at this time. I feel like I should have something profound to say. I listened, I enjoyed it quite a bit, I was able to picture him playing for a bunch of prisoners. 

On The Next Installment...

1969 was 'uge! In addition to my favorite Beatles album, we're bringing jazz back with Sonny Sharrock, George Russell, and others! The Temptations get their psychedelic soul on! Debuts from Bowie, Neil Young, Roberta Flack, MC5, The Stooges, and Led Zeppelin (rock & roll is about to be changed forever)!! We've got Dusty Springfield's definitive album, Elvis makes a comeback, Isaac Hayes kills it, and much much more. Stay tuned. I'll try to make it less thrown-together next time.

An Ear For An Era: 1967

This was the big one. The apex. The year that changed music? Maybe. So much happened that would go on to shape and influence the direction things would go, so many landmark albums, I fear I may not do justice to everything from this year just because I don't have all day to write this post. Although it is long. So I also worry it's too long. But all of this stuff deserves attention. I'll still try. You can skim if you want, I'll bold the artist so you can just read the stuff you're interested in.

I guess I'll start where we left off (basically) last time, and that's The Beach Boys. The whole switcheroo after Pet Sounds. The promise of Good Vibrations. The great album that wasn't. You know, that whole thing. I feel like Smile would have been the one that would have topped all the rest of the 1967 albums despite the greatness that resided in this year (as you will discover, if you did not already know, as you go through this post). Good Vibrations took "God Only Knows" and went even further into the symphony. I wonder how well publicized the abandonment of Smile was. If when Smiley Smile came out, if people have the same idea about it that we do today, that it was a consolation album. I wish I could hear Smiley Smile without knowing that it was inherently lesser. I could appreciate it more for what it is. I tried to listen to it in this way but I couldn't help but think "oh, the 2004 version is so much better." Because it has these great songs and there is a lot of complexity going on. But why did they go so lo-fi with "Wonderful?" The full version is one of my favorite songs! It's still great, but everything about it feels lesser.

The Beach Boys "Wonderful" (Smiley Smile version)

After that, they took a complete left turn and put out Wild Honey. I don't know what to say about Wild Honey. I do respect it a lot, but it just signifies the band giving up. It's a great album but damn it they were verging on something bigger. It's a very simple, straightforward recording with some great songs. Ugh. I need to give it more spins to form an opinion because it keeps changing.

Ok, moving on. I only have one album by the band Love, I believe it is their big artistic statement though. Forever Changes. It just feels so much like the 60s, summer of Love, but it feels good. Dated in its positivity, it kind of exemplified for me the point of this project, which was to put me mentally into different eras. To try to experience these times as closely as I can simply by listening to music. Of all the music of 1967, this one is the most of a time capsule, mostly because only one song ("Alone Again Or") has really endured on oldies stations and whatnot. So I didn't really know the music outside the full album, which I've only listened to a few times.

Another album that feels a little stuck in its time is Disareli Gears by Cream. But in this case, it's more of a foreshadowing of the coming 70s rock movement. I'm not sure why, but most of the album actually had me bored. Not something I associate with this time period. I want to say that it is because I was pretty tired after a long day at work when I listened to it and because it failed to take me out of that state  I'm unfairly judging it. So maybe it's that. But even the big hit "Sunshine of Your Love" seemed slow and like it just kept going, repeating that same guitar line over and over. The closing tracks on the album are either much better or I was in a better mood when I finished it off. It got catchy though.

From one great guitarist to another, in a very similar context, I think Jimi Hendrix pulled off the psychedelic blues a little better than Clapton. Are You Experienced seems like it should feel dated (especially looking at the super psychedelic cover art) but it has endured. Probably because we still hear these songs all the time outside their original context. So many songs have gone on to be such giant hits ("Purple Haze," "Manic Depression," "Hey Joe," "Foxy Lady") that it almost seems like a greatest hits album. The energy put into these recordings, it's druggy but positive, it feels like the 60s instead of the 70s, and just hearing Hendrix wail through these songs is astonishing. 

The Rolling Stones put out two albums in 1967 but I still feel they were a bit of a singles band at this time. At least I hope so. Actually I know that's not a very accurate statement. But I only have singles from this year, so I'm trying to justify that. I haven't heard Between The Buttons so I can't speak to that other than saying that "Let's Spend The Night Together" and "Ruby Tuesday" are classic Stones jams that I always appreciate hearing. Although those were only on the American tracklisting. So I'm kind of lost. But I have spent some time with Their Satanic Majesties Request and that is definitely art in album form. It's the Stones embracing this psychedelic sound that most of the rock albums I'm discussing from 1967 are based on. 

The Who Sell Out did not really fall in line with the trends of psychedelia though. Instead, they put out a concept album all about the radio, commercials and all. I've always considered this album "essential" but I don't know if it really is. There are several great songs, it's very original conceptually, but in the whole canon of 1967 music (and the whole canon of The Who's catalog) it might not be at the same level. I do have to say that it does hint at their upcoming Tommy project (one bonus track even has a part where they sing "It's a girl, Mrs. Walker, it's a girl") but one of the more amusing parts of this album was listening to "Odorono." It sounds like a typical Who-story song and it ends with "She should have used Odorono" making this song itself yet another commercial. I also must attest that there are a lot of great, great songs on this album. I feel like I've been putting it down a bit here. I love the opening song "Armenia City In The Sky," "Mary Ann With The Shaky Hand" is classic earlier-style Who, and "I Can See For Miles" is one of the greatest songs they ever recorded, showcasing Townshend's fantastic guitar wailing and Keith Moon's frenetic drum fills. 

Of course, all of this rock has to climax with what is probably the highest rated album of all time, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by some band called The Beatles. It is inevitably overrated but just barely. The journey the album takes us on includes some druggy freakouts, catchy lighthearted romps, and some big hits. But the best part of the album is the coda: after the reprise of the opening, closing out the main trip, we go into a condensed study of this era of the Beatles. "A Day in the Life" exemplifies everything they do greatly in 5 1/2 minutes. Lennon's balladry, an instrumental freakout including a full orchestra just building and building, McCartney's whimsical ditty within the song...it plays like a collage. It's one of the greatest accomplishments of the band (that I don't think they'd approach again until the medley on Abbey Road).

But I also have to mention Magical Mystery Tour, which came out that same year. I used to want to rank it about Sgt Pepper to be contrarian, although I don't think I can really justify that here. It is simply yet another collection of fantastic Beatles songs, just like everything else they'd done since 1965. It's like a sequel to Sgt Pepper in that it does the same thing. Lots of druggy freakouts but also some McCartney whimsy. I think it's just underrated, considering the songs included. Particularly because it ends with "All You Need Is Love." One of those songs that people always like to use to close out discussions of their career as a whole. Is it the last song they played on the rooftop or something? I don't feel like looking it up. But yeah, great album, underappreciated because of what it followed.

Let's switch gears to soul. I'll divide it into three categories: Motown, Atlantic, and the unknowns. Because I didn't get much Stax from this year.

Motown had another interesting year. Every year in the 60s is going to have several huge hits because that's the whole idea of that label. An odd choice was made with The Temptations in a Mellow Mood album (covering standards), which I think of as kind of a lesser album of theirs, but it's interesting (and has a pre-Stevie Wonder version of "For Once In My Life!"). However, they also put out "I Wish It Would Rain," my favorite of the "rain drops to hide my tears" subgenre of soul songs. I have the full album on vinyl but because we're focusing on my digital collection that's all I've got. And of course two huge Smokey Robinson & The Miracles hits "Tears of a Clown," and "I Second That Emotion," and The Supremes kept the hits coming with "The Happening," and "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone," 

But while Motown was churning out classic hits, Atlantic was busy putting out classic albums. I think I am discovering that I actually prefer southern soul with this project. It just sounds like it has more soul to its soul. The Sound of Wilson Pickett was a great album that came out (although "Funky Broadway" was almost too silly to bear). I also heard several hits from  Percy Sledge (I only have a greatest hits comp), so while we were past "When A Man Loves A Woman," there were great takes on classics like "The Dark End Of The Street" and "Love Me Tender." And last but the opposite of least, I finally got to an Aretha Franklin album I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You. One of the great soul albums of all time. Of course the hits are there ("Respect," the title track, "Do Right Woman - Do Right Man") but the whole thing is solid. I particularly love "Soul Serenade" and her take on "A Change Is Gonna Come."

As for the lesser-known stuff, I am still loving those Numero Group Eccentric Soul compilations with stuff like Betty Wright...although that's going to become much more prominent in the 1969-1972 era. We finished what we started with James Carr's You Got My Mind Messed Up...you really just have to hear his album, it's astonishing. I know she's not unknown, but Dusty Springfield's take on "I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face" is another great kiss-off performance. But I really gotta play you a clip of Billy Wade & The 3rd Degrees' "Tear It Up," which I discovered thanks to the Absolute Funk 3 compilation. 

Billy Wade & The 3rd Degrees "Tear It Up."

I'm not going to discuss ska too thoroughly in this entry but Desmond Dekker's classic song "Unity" was from 1967 and I love it. It's what I played/quoted/something when he passed away a couple years ago. 

French pop was picking up a lot of steam in these years with songs sung by actresses from Godard movies, such as Brigitte Bardot and Anna Karina, all so great! France Gall also had a great song "Teenie Weenie Boppie" (I think it makes me like the songs even more when I can't understand what they're saying). If you want to hear a song and say "whoa, the Futurama song is from 1967?!" listen to Les Yper-Sound's "Psyche Rock." But the clip I'm going to present is the epitome of 60s French playfulness. It includes the authoritative voice of the era, Serge Gainsbourg, Brigitte Bardot, and vocalized comic strip sound effects!

Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot "Comic Strip"

Now for some singer/songwriters. The only Phil Ochs album I have is Pleasures of the Harbor. I've read critiques that it is overproduced. And I can hear that. I'm sure I would quite love to hear him in a more stripped down raw version. Because to me he is kind of an early version of Elvis Costello. Part ballads, part biting satire, his songs hit home. 

Hey, we've got Nilsson! Harry Nilsson is one of my favorite artists of all time and we've gotten to Pandemonium Shadow Show (I don't have his very first album but Spotlight on Nilsson isn't so much an album as a collection of early singles). He would go on to much greater heights but this is still a very strong debut. A playfulness with a high level of satire can be heard through the whole album, one that would be a big part of why I love his songs so much. The cover of "You Can't Do That" by The Beatles is so much more than that, something I've still never heard anyone else do before (kind of a mash-up/medley of lots of Beatles songs contained within the cover of the one song). I'll have more to say about him in the coming entries.

You know how I know 1967 was bigger than what the above entries indicate? Yes, landmark albums abound by all sorts of rock artists, some great singer/songwriters made some great statements, and soul hit new highs. But beyond that, a whole new movement was taking shape with debuts by artists that would turn out to be some of the most influential artists of the 20th century, influencing damn near every great fringe artist I listen to.

Leonard Cohen came out with his debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen at the very end of 1967. I think of his style of songwriting as a kind of cool that has influenced everyone that is now cool. Does that make sense? And how he sings, kind of the opposite of the bombast showcased by other artists of this time, the way he sticks to one note for the majority of the song on "Suzanne" makes every variation, going only up a third all that much more impactful. "'Follow me,' the wise man said, but he walked behind." I love that line from "Teachers." I don't know how else to talk about him besides quoting this song. "Are you the teachers of the heart? We teach old hearts to break." Such a cold, lost song. "I was handsome, I was strong, I knew the words of every song, did my singing please you? No, the words you sang were wrong."

In that same league, at least my view of it, is The Velvet Underground & Nico, the debut album by The Velvet Underground. Probably even more influential although Lou Reed does seem to have a lot in common with Leonard Cohen. They were more experimental with their melodies though, so while the vocal delivery has the same minimalist approach, it's more to make room for sonic experiments. Where would music be without this album? Would anyone else have created something like this to kickstart the whole fringe/underground/indie/whatever movement that would follow and shape music by pushing it into new directions?

Once I was drunk on brandy listening to music and "Heroin" from this album came on. I then drunkenly declared it as the greatest song ever. Yes, I am subject to hyperbole especially when drunk, so I'm not going to make that argument right now. But it is a brilliant song. I've never done heroin, and I've heard that this song kind of feels like what it feels like to take it. I can believe that. The shifts in tempo, the way the screeching guitars come in and out, drowning out the vocals occasionally, it is something else to listen to this song. Especially on a decent pair of headphones, isolating everything else. 

The Velvet Underground "Heroin"

The album actually was the first one I got to when I listened to 1967's music. It kind of reminded me of what I was in for as far as music going forward. I was ready for more Beatles, Beach Boys, and soul, but I wasn't yet thinking too consciously about this fringe arty stuff, and figured it'd belong at the end of 1967 as a way of reminding readers that this element is starting to take shape, miles ahead of everything else, sounding like it's coming from the future when presented within its own context. It would've been a perfect closer. But that didn't happen.

What it really ended on was Carla Thomas' "Give Me Enough (To Keep Me Going)" which I think of as kind of a soul version of a country song. I don't know how to say it leads into 1968 other than the fact that she is featured on Otis' song "Tramp" from the posthumous album The Dock of the Bay. Which will be coming next year. So I'll just say this. Otis passed away at the very end of 1967. I'll be discussing said posthumous album next year. His career was tragically cut short but he did give us enough to keep us going, so this song is a fitting tribute to the man.

Carla Thomas, "Give Me Enough (To Keep Me Going)"

Where I stand: 2850 of 36595.

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning:

• I got a sweet live cut of Ella Fitzgerald with Duke Ellington performing "It Don't Mean A Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)" and it features Ella doing some pretty awesome scat singing. Love it!
• ? And The Mysterians put out another album called Action. It was great, just like the first one. Just didn't fit into the narrative above, as it didn't really build too much on the first one.
• Heard some Doors. I've long thought of The Doors as overrated and whatnot, but I think I judge Morrison more harshly than others. Especially after reading the Patti Smith autobiography when she talked about the influence he had on her. I do love "Alabama Song."
• Ben E. King made a triumphant return with "What Is Soul," a super funky vocal performance.
• She got lost in the shuffle when I was talking about The Velvet Underground, but Nico had some great solo stuff come out as well, including her landmark song "Chelsea Girl."
• I'm not sure why I had Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness" marked as 1967 but I did. I didn't write about it because it should've been 1966. But duh, amazing song!
• Hey, The Bee Gees started out as a very 60s sounding flowery pop band! "Massachusetts" is a pretty good song too.
• I heard a live take of "Summertime" by Big Brother & The Holding Company. I think I have more Janis on the way.
• The Whyte Boots "Nightmare" from that girl group compilation was pretty great.
• Lots of Monkees singles. Very serviceable songs.

In The Next Installment...

Hopefully a shorter entry! I'm going to take a small break to try to catch up on some of the new stuff that's come out this year. When I return, 1968. More Aretha, more Nilsson, more Hendrix, the band, The White Album, a definitive Kinks album, a definitive Zombies album, Nancy & Lee, Johnny Cash plays at a prison, I finally get into Rolling Stones albums, a farewell to Otis Redding, James Taylor, The Graduate soundtrack, and yes, more Velvet Underground. It's not like the greatness stopped in 1968, it seems. Some stuff was just getting started.

An Ear For An Era: 1966

It's late. I don't know if people actually click on the youtube videos I post here so I'm going to not bother this time. It's also going to be A Quick One (other than the extensive typing about Pet Sounds because I can't resist).

1966. The year of expansion, of reaching new highs, probably lots of acid, and also the year for southern soul. And other stuff.

It started (for me at least) with The Who. A Quick One. Which chronologically came after the My Generation album, but because I have the American version (titled The Who Sings My Generation) it came out in 1966 instead of 1965 and thanks to the shuffly nature of this project those two were out of order. So My Generation should probably be considered 1965 but let me say that it is a very enjoyable album full of great short rock songs. A Quick One showed them veering away from R&B covers and toward original material. And they already started with the whole rock opera thing with the title track "A Quick One (While He's Away)." Storytelling via song snippets combined into a whole. Something they would do a lot of going forward.

Nancy Sinatra had a huge year! Two albums that contrast each other in so many ways (I never really put together how different they are without hearing them in this context), there was Sugar, which could almost in full be used to soundtrack a burlesque house, and then Boots, which has a much more emotional core, abandoning just a little bit of the playful sex kitten from Sugar to get to something deeper (despite the fact that the title track is Sinatra's signature sexy song). I also love that she turns the tables on "Run For Your Life" by The Beatles due to conflicting feelings discussed in the last entry.

This year there was plenty of great Motown and other northern soul (The Isley Brothers in particular put out a great album in This Old Heart Of Mine, Jr Walker, one of my favorite Temptations singles "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," more Gloria Jones, etc etc) but I have to give it up for the south here. Two Otis Redding albums. Sam & Dave. Percy Sledge ("When A Man Loves A Woman" just always takes me back to The Wonder Years!). And the great unsung James Carr. I have different sources crediting his You Got My Mind Messed Up to both 1966 and 1967. The album itself had some songs labeled 1966 and 1967 (which probably means the album itself came out in 1967) but I'll just take it as a way to expand this across multiple listening years. I got 6 of the 12 tracks in this round. I first heard of James Carr via Elvis Costello covering "Pouring Water On A Drowning Man" as well as "The Dark End Of The Street." These are still two of my favorite soul songs, as I seeked out the Carr versions pretty quickly because as much as I love Elvis Costello and his vocals, he ain't no James Carr. But then...nobody is really.

Also for southern soul apparently Allen Toussaint had a big year based on the album Allen Toussaint: The Lost Sessions, which collects songs recorded/produced by Toussaint mostly by other artists (Diamond Joe, Willie Harper, Lee Dorsey, and many more!) and it is just a gem of New Orleans soul.

I don't know if I quite put it up there with Highway 61 Revisited, but Dylan released Blonde on Blonde in 1966 and wow. Actually, looking at it again I might rank it higher. Dude was on fire this year. "Just Like A Woman," "Obviously 5 Believers," "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," I could pretty much name off every track and you'd be on board. So yeah. A double album worth of great Dylan.

The other folk master of the time was Phil Ochs, and I only have one song from this year. It's called "Love Me, I'm A Liberal" and it takes liberals to task for talking from their high horses without doing anything about anything. I want to hear more from him from this era.

I don't have the Rolling Stones album from this  year but based on the singles I need it. Paint It Black is maybe my favorite Stones song.

? And The Mysterians put out 96 Tears. It's kind of like psychedelic proto-punk to me or something. I think I only associate them with psychedelia because of the organ and era. It's mostly organ based short rock songs that harken back to the old timey 50s rock while looking forward. If you haven't listened beyond the famous "96 Tears" song, give them a shot. They were pretty great rock & roll. Check out the song "You're Telling Me Lies."

The Beatles put out a little album called Revolver. And yeah, I argued for Help last time and everyone speaks of Rubber Soul as the first real brilliant statement by the band but it's still a giant leap forward for rock & roll to get to Revolver. Probably the biggest artistic leap in the Beatles' chronological catalog. From here on out it's going to be VERY significant when a Beatles album comes on.

And then the response to Revolver. Maybe my biggest anticipation for this project at least for the 60s was knowing I would get to listen to Pet Sounds twice. This is due to the fact that I have both the stereo and mono versions of the album and I called them both 1966. The build up was pretty great, as I kept anticipating it would come on at different times, first during the very warm spring Colorado days, thinking it'd be the perfect soundtrack driving around in the sun, to the supposed blizzard we got, thinking it'd be the perfect mental escape from the snow, to finally on the plane to California when it came on for the first time. I was down toward the very end of 1966 without it coming on once (even though it would come on twice eventually) and then thought it'd make the perfect way to end the year, as I've lately been writing about the very last thing to come on and using it to kind of speak toward the future year. But instead it came on in stereo on the flight to California, which was perfect because I was flying out of the blizzard and about to go to the beach, and then there were two songs in between (Paperback Writer and a Frank Sinatra tune) and the mono came on (but not early enough so I had to stop it and not listen until the flight out of California to blizzardy Colorado).

I spent all this space talking about the anticipation of the music instead of the music itself because so much is already known about this album. It's all been written. So hearing the opening notes to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" were more of a relief than anything. My paradise. I wish I could hear Pet Sounds with a fresh pair of ears again but it is now still just a great familiar comfort and puts my head in a good place. The highly conflicted lyrics, the masterful orchestrations, and the way the vocals are used as if it were a honest to god symphony (particularly in the I-wish-I-could-give-a-song-more-than-5-stars "God Only Knows"), it's just a piece of art that is so complex yet so perfectly straightforward, catchy, and comforting. Flying back to Colorado to the mono version was another relief (particularly due to some troubles with a cancelled flight, a hellish next day at the airport, etc. and I finally put the music on once we were approved to use electronic devices and I was finally officially on my way home) as I heard those same notes, arranged in a slightly different manner from the stereo but I'm not going to call it particularly different to my palette, I closed my eyes and let Brian Wilson & company take me away to a magical land.

After that was some Francophonic, some other stuff, and since I always mention where it ended, it ended on Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' "(Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need." I'm not sure if I have anything to say about it though! We are about to come 'round to 1967, the year I have long professed to be the big one. We'll see how it does in this context. Coming out of 65 and 66 there has been quite a build up.

Where I stand: 2473 of 36459 and counting (damn you Amoeba!)

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning:

• I didn't even discuss the French pop music! Serge Gainsbourg as well as others. Well I love it. Annie Philippe, etc. I first started exploring it because a filmmaker buddy said he liked 60s French music even though he didn't like the cinema (which is crazy to me because 60s French cinema is the greatest cinema). Also, the French film Masculine Feminine featured some pop music of the time and it's just so damn catchy. 
• Motown should just have a standing place here: The Supremes ("You Can't Hurry Love"), The Four Tops "Reach Out," Kim Weston, The Monitors, THe Spinners, oh my! And so many more!!
• That obscure girl pop and northern soul just kept on a-comin'. The Satisfactions, Barbara Lewis, Chris Clark, 
• The Monkees came up! I like some of their singles like "I'm A Believer"
• Loretta Lynn's You Ain't Woman Enough. Sassy but a little too upbeat for my tastes as far as country goes.
• Bo Diddley had a 45 that I have digitally! "We're Gonna Get Married" with the Bo-Dettes and "Do The Frog." YEAH!
• The Troggs' "With A Girl Like You." I first heard this song via TWO very hip covers (Yo La Tengo & Dave Sitek). I still love the covers but the original version is really something for a silly pop song.

In The Next Installment...

Just going through this real quick. It will be insane. I hope I can give it proper time to properly write about all the insanity. Aretha Franklin, Beach Boys' follow-up half-Smile-ish recording Smiley Smile as well as their soul album Wild Honey, Sgt Pepper, Cream, Nilsson, more James Carr, Jimi Hendrix, Leonard Cohen, Love, lots more Monkees, ? And The Mysterians, Phil Ochs' Pleasures of the Harbor, Velvet Underground & Nico, The Who Sell Out, and Wilson Pickett! HOLY CRAP.

An Ear For An Era: 1964

Ok, now we've got a year at a time until 2015 or so, whenever I actually get through all this. At least 2014 I think.

So what was 1964? Why is it so worthy of getting its own individual year as opposed to 1963? Well, 1963 would have been fine as well to start, but probably not before that. OK, 1964 had lots of great debuts, lots of great albums that established artists more thoroughly, and other such interestingness.

I'll get the jazz out of the way early because there wasn't much. Just a bunch of Vince Guaraldi. It was very pleasant. Lots of the style he used for the Peanuts cartoons could be found here, so nothing too groundbreaking, just pleasant. Oh, and another very pleasant track was "Moon River" by Louis Armstrong. Wikipedia says his version came out in 1965. I don't know where I got the information to place it in 1964, but there it is.

Can we talk about rock n roll already?

Those 50s artists that influenced all those 60s artists weren't about to slow down (at least the ones still alive). Chuck Berry had an album that included the song "No Particular Place to Go," and while it's basically a rework of School Days, it's a fun song. It just also kind of shows the lack of artistic development that these guys had and why we needed the British invasion and all that. That song came out the same year as (insert below listed album/song here)? That just makes you seem behind the times. However, it is still quite enjoyable and I love that song. There was also some more Little Richard, including a song that was later covered by one of my other favorites (Elvis Costello), the great this song:

"Bama Lama Bama Loo"

But rock & roll's gotta evolve, and I'm just going to go in alphabetical order talking about all this stuff.

The Beach Boys put out one of their "definitive" albums in Shut Down Volume 2. It's got one of their most upbeat hits "Fun Fun Fun," and some great instrumental tracks ("Denny's Drums," "Shut Down, Part II" and some sort-of regrettable silly songs "Pom Pom Playgirl," an awkward sounding "Louie Louie" cover, and a really dumb skit (that is still a good educational tool to teach someone which singer is Mike and which is Brian), but what I really go for are the ballads and this one's got plenty of 'em. "Don't Worry Baby," "Keep An Eye on Summer," and the gorgeous this one:

"The Warmth of the Sun"

Did you ever hear of The Beatles? Two, count 'em two albums in 1964! First was Beatles For Sale, which includes so many great songs but I still consider it "early Beatles." Still, it's got a Buddy Holly cover, a Chuck Berry cover, and "Baby's In Black" which is kind of a grandfather to one of my favorite Magnetic Fields songs (you figure that one out!). The other album, though, is really getting at the genius that was The Beatles. A Hard Day's Night. Completely solid, full of hits, and also some songs toward the end that I'm still not super familiar with, making it quite the exciting listen.

Now a detour. I have this song that is just SO terrible that I have a love/hate relationship with it. It's one of the dumbest songs I ever heard. It's a Beatles parody. I LOVE how terrible it is!

Gene Moss "I Want to Bite Your Hand"

Johnny Cash doesn't really fit here with the new up-and-coming rock n roll kids, but "The Wall" is a great song so here's where I'll mention that.

One of the most exciting moments in this adventure so far was the opening riff to "All Day And All of the Night" by The Kinks. Distortion! Rock and roll is now officially here in all its defiant glory. 

The Rolling Stones had what seemed to me like a weak start (considering what they'd go on to accomplish) with England's Newest Hit Makers. It's basically just a covers album. It's good that they wear their early influences so blatantly, but I'm glad they started creating their own sound down the road.

I was surprised to hear the first Simon & Garfunkel I had. "The Sound of Silence" came out in 1964 too? I don't have the album it's from but it's probably a great one.

But you know who just may have been the best rock & roll band of this year? Maybe? I'd like to put out some love for The Zombies. What I have is "The Decca Stereo Anthology" which is a 2-disc collection of all the songs they recorded for Decca records. Somewhere around 50 tracks. A real treasure. Do you know how many records they put out in this period on Decca? One. Which came out in 1965 (so I'll talk about them more next time). Everything else just seemed to not be released? Including 11 great tracks recorded in 1964. GET THIS COLLECTION!

OK, that's good for rock n roll. We must move on to ska! There's a ska cover of the Bonanza song from the compilation discussed last time by Carlos Malcom & The Afro-Caribs. I used to love that song so much and I'm not sure why exactly. There's also some Maytals in the collection but let's talk about  Byron Lee & The Dragonaires. This song has been covered in movies by Fishbone, it's been around in many cover versions but here's the original:

"Jamaica Ska"

Speaking of dancing, we've still got plenty more girl group sounds from that collection discussed from the last entry. Highlights included April Young, Betty Everett, Cher, Sandie Shaw, The Shangri-Las (actually have their whole self-titled album including hits like Leader Of The Pack!), Susan Lynne had another cautionary song about the dangers of boys that try to be so cool and tough called "Don't Drag No More." The Pinups seemed like they wanted to be female Beach Boys with their song "Lookin' For Boys." But the ultimate highlight was by someone named Lulu:

"I'll Come Running"

Now that's a segue into soul music if I ever heard one. It was all about Motown these days with great artists like The Adantes, Brenda Holloway, more well-known hits like The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go" (probably my favorite Supremes song) and Mary Wells' "My Guy." And we got the debut album by The Temptations (Meet the Temptations). It had their hit "The Way You Do The Things You Do" which is a great introduction to all the voices in the group, but I prefer the b-side to that single:

"Just Let Me Know"

I didn't have much by way of Stax for 1964 (just more Carla Thomas, who was still great) but thanks to the Eccentric Soul series of compilations I was treated to The Deep City Label. Here's Helene Smith:

"You Got To Do Your Share"

I'm sure there will be more from this compilation (and others) in the near future.

And Aretha Franklin of course! I only have one song from her from 1964 but it was a good one, still one of the greatest kiss-off performances in popular music.

"I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face"

Which brings us to the great great great Sam Cooke. First to come up was his live album Sam Cooke At the Copa, which is a very strong performance set to some very jazzy backing. Highly recommended. But then I was upset very much when I was looking at what I was expecting still in 1964. I noticed the album title of the compilation is Portrait of a Legend: 1951-1964. It ends here. He died in 1964. I knew he died early, but for some reason I figured it'd be 1967 or so. Just a little more is all I'm asking for. But no, that's the end of the line. So 1964 ended perfectly for me, as my shuffle was kind and saved that compilation for last, meaning it ended on this one-two punch:

"That's Where It's At" 

"A Change is Gonna Come"

Any time a dearly departed singer sings a beautiful song mentioning his own mortality in the lyrics it just makes it that much more poignant to hear that line: "It's been too hard livin' but I'm afraid to die, 'cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky..."

I hope it's every bit as beautiful as your voice.



Where I stand: 1837 of 36497.

Other Highlights Worth Mentioning:

• This came out of nowhere. I don't remember it from the class that I got the CD from but there was the song. One of the weirdest avant garde things I've heard: Bethany Beardslee "Philomel (Babbitt)"

• The Four Seasons were still pretty great.
• "My Girl" actually came on even though I think that album came out in 65. Must have been when the single was released or something.
• My favorite Rolling Stones song was still a cover but not from that album: "It's All Over Now"
• Jr Walker & The All Stars: still my favorite instrumental soul group?
• But don't forget Jimmy McGriff! Still being awesome & stuff.
• I'm not sure I'm a huge Impressions fan but "Keep on Pushin'" is a good song.
• Gene Pitney: I love his songs but "It Hurts to Be In Love" has some of the most awkward phrasings I've heard in music.
• Ella!
• Dusty Springfield covering "Can I Get A Witness" was wonderful.
• Buddy Holly had an even more far out posthumous release?
• Buck Owens & Patsy Cline...maybe I could've made a small country section to put Johnny Cash into.

In The Next Installment...

More Beatles! Help! and Rubber Soul!!! An actual Bob Dylan album (Highway 61 revisited)! More awesome obscure soul! Johnny Cash's great album Orange Blossom Special! An actual Kinks album! Otis Redding (had to have someone try to fill in Sam Cooke's shoes)! Nico! A taste of The Who! And the aforementioned Zombies album. This will be so rockin'.