89. Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Artist: Pink Floyd
Album: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
Year: 1967

Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn would prove to be very much unlike everything else in the band's discography. It is the only one of their albums featuring the enigmatic frontman Syd Barrett, who left the band shortly after its release after a nervous breakdown.

This is one weird album. It plays out as some kind of haunted-house theme music. It's creepy and whimsical all at once. I would just about guarantee that this was an influence on, of all groups, Boards of Canada. Music Has the Right to Children is one of my favorite albums--it has such a warm and childlike feel, yet it's remarkably bizarre. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn does largely the same thing.

Thing is, I didn't really care for this album too much. The spacey tracks like "Interstellar Overdrive" are kind of boring to me, and most of the "whimsical" songs are a little lacking in the melody department. One exception is "Lucifer Sam," which is a fantastic song that sounds like it should be a theme song to some spy movie or something. It's by far the best track on this album. The closer "Bike" is also pretty memorable, it sounds like a cross between Paul McCartney's music hall tunes and some of John Lennon's druggier ones. Nice.

I'm surprised I didn't really like this album too much. I always assumed I would like it whenever I got around to listening to it, given that a lot of my favorite bands of the Britpop era seemed to mention it as an influence. I can see that...but I'd have to say I prefer the more contemporary material. This album was just weird.

Rating: Not worth a listen

88. Cream - Disraeli Gears

Artist: Cream
Album: Disraeli Gears
Year: 1967

To this point I have not been a big fan of the "blues-rock" albums that are part of this compendium. I have found them either boring (John Mayall's Blues Breakers) or uneven (Yardbirds' Roger the Engineer). So I approached Cream's Disraeli Gears with a little caution.

This was really a rather delightful album. Catchy songs, swirling psychedelia, masterful guitar...everything an album should have. The big hit here is "Sunshine of Your Love," but I found "Strange Brew" and especially "Tales of Brave Ulysses" to be just as solid.

I'll probably never listen to this album again, but I can say I enjoyed it while I was listening to it.

Rating: Worth a listen

87. Love - Forever Changes

Artist: Love
Album: Forever Changes
Year: 1967

Love's Forever Changes is an album I found in a bargain bin for $1.99 when I was 17 years old. To say that I've gotten my money's worth out of this album is laughably obvious. It is one of the finest albums in my collection, an unflinching masterpiece that is both timeless and completely of its time.

I'm really not going to say much about this album. This is another one of those albums that nearly everything has been said about. Basically all that needs to be said about this one is that there are no bad songs here, many great ones ("Alone Again Or," "The Red Telephone," "...Between Clark and Hilldale" to name a few), and each subsequent song feels like a logical extension of the one that came before. It's an album of lyrical genius. I think at its heart it's an anti-war album; there are moments of startling poetic clarity throughout. The arrangements (including strings and brass throughout) feature Arthur Lee's vocals high in the mix, allowing his words to worm their way into your subconscious.

This album is the peak of psychedelia, even more so than Sgt. Pepper's. Absolutely essential listening.

Rating: Indispensable

86. Tim Buckley - Goodbye and Hello

Artist: Tim Buckley
Album: Goodbye and Hello
Year: 1967

Tim Buckley's another artist that takes some getting used to from a vocal standpoint. There's something androgynous about his voice that makes him a little offputting but mostly beguiling.

I wasn't specifically familiar with Tim Buckley before listening to this album. I am much more familiar with his son, Jeff, who would rise to become a minor alternative rock star before meeting his untimely demise in a drowning accident. Like son, like father, I suppose--the elder Buckley also expired in his 20's, a drug overdose being the cause.

Buckley reminded me of a Britpop singer of the late 90's, a gentleman and former choir boy by the name of Andrew Montgomery. Montgomery was the lead singer of the band Geneva, who managed to pop out a couple albums and a few charting singles in the UK but never making much headway in the U.S.A.

Anyhow, I was not crazy about this Buckley album...on first listen. I know this is an album that if I listen to it repeatedly, it will begin to work better for me. For now, I can't really get into Buckley's voice. It feels like a rather pretentious, theatrical album. Many of the songs kind of meander, like the title track, for example. That song has all kinds of pretty parts, some moments of melodic genius, but it just goes on and on without rhyme or reason. Most of the album felt very much that way to me.

There are two huge exceptions that made this album very much worth listening to. The closing track "Morning Glory" is a fantastic folk song, a plaintive, pretty song with fantastic lyrics and choral accompaniment. The other track that really caught my ear was the absolutely amazing "Phantasmagoria in Two." This one has instantly become one of my favorite songs; I listened to it on repeat for about an hour. It feels strangely modern to me, for some reason the guitar on this song reminded me of Radiohead, maybe a more upbeat "Exit Music"? Maybe something like Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms." I don't know. I'm surprised this song isn't often covered. Oh snap, I just Youtubed the song and NEIL HALSTEAD covered it!!! The mastermind behind one of my favorite bands, Slowdive. Now that's a closer comparison. Buckley's blend of pastoral folk and psychedelia isn't too far off from the post-Slowdive band, Mojave 3.



The original is even better.

I'm gonna give Buckley more of a chance in the future. I will need time to adapt to his voice, and time to really listen to and absorb his lyrics. For now, I'll give this a very mild thumbs up, with the hope that further listens will yield greater dividends.

Rating: Worth a listen

85. The Monkees - Headquarters

Artist: The Monkees
Album: Headquarters
Year: 1967

The Monkees' Headquarters is, as expected, a cheesy pop album. But it is not without its affecting moments, and it even has some surprises up its sleeve.

Everyone knows the story of The Monkees. They're the band manufactured for the TV show of the same name, kind of an alternate, wussier Beatles. They became extremely popular in a big hurry, with their first single "Last Train to Clarksville" riding all the way to #1 on the charts. Headquarters is evidently the band's attempt to improve their craft and make a more serious, less pre-fabricated album.

This album has its fair share of total schmaltz, like the piano ballad "Shades of Gray" and the country-inflected "I'll Spend My Life with You." Though cheesy, they are at least still strong songs from a melodic standpoint. There are gems to be had here also. "Forget That Girl" is a gentle song with swaying harmonies and chiming guitar. "Randy Scouse Git" is an oddball piece of Beatlesque music hall before exploding into a thunderous, vaguely psychedelic chorus and a scat-sung bridge.

The real find here was "Zilch." It's really a tossaway, spoken word track, but I had absolutely no idea that The Monkees were the band that Del the Funkee Homosapien sampled on the minor 90's hit "Mistadobalina." Funny stuff.

I kind of liked The Monkees. I do not think this album was anything close to essential listening, especially when compared with all the classic, important, and innovative albums I've been listening to. But it's a good time, and that's gotta count for something I suppose...

Rating: Worth a listen

84. The Beau Brummels - Triangle

Artist: The Beau Brummels
Album: Triangle
Year: 1967

Never heard of The Beau Brummels prior to listening to this album. Imagine taking Bob Dylan and crossing him with a touch of George Harrison's raga-rock excursions. That's what you get here on Triangle.

Now, I have not been the biggest advocate for Dylan, nor have I ever been a fan of The Beatles' forays into Indian music. However, The Beau Brummels are awesome. This album is one of my best finds of the 1960's. They have a great sense of melody, and their folkish style is the perfect intersection of gentle and energetic.

"Are You Happy?" and "Only Dreaming Now" are a really good opening duo of songs, but the real gem is buried about halfway through the album, the dreamy harpsichord-and-accordion-laden "Magic Hollow." I can't believe I hadn't heard this song before. It's gorgeous. I've been listening to most of these albums on Spotify and this is one of a very few songs that has gotten "starred" as one I'll revisit when the project is over. I don't really star that many songs to begin with. So, kudos to The Beau Brummels for that one. "The Wolf of Velvet Fortune" is another absolute stunner, with dueling acoustic guitars creating a haunting effect. Should I star this one, too? Why yes. Yes, I will.

I truly enjoyed this album. I feel like it could've been recorded anytime. It doesn't feel particularly tied to the 1960's--there are many indie-folk bands toiling today that are going for a similar sort of sound--Shearwater, for one. It really isn't that far off from the territory that The Decemberists tend to mine. Crossing Bob Dylan with baroque and subtle Eastern influences is really a rather genius idea. Fantastic stuff.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

83. Love - Da Capo

Artist: Love
Album: Da Capo
Year: 1967

History has been kind to Love. Never really that popular in their heyday (at least not with the general populace), they are known rather well-known for their third album Forever Changes, which routinely shows up on "best album of all-time" lists. I'll talk about that one when the time comes--it's an album that treads close to desert-island status for me. For now, time to discuss Da Capo, its precursor.

Love was led by Arthur Lee, one of the best, most creative songwriters to come out of American pop music, and unfortunately, not one of the best known. Da Capo is a nice showcase for his writing and his showmanship. It was also one of the finest examples of a Baroque-pop album, a style that emerged around this time emphasizing a distinct classical influence.

The album starts with the manic stop-start "Stephanie Knows Who," which sounds like some kind of crazed circus music. It's an awesome song, rich in sonic detail. "Orange Skies" and "Que Vida" follow, as more subdued tunes with nice melodies. "Orange Skies" is notable for its Latin feel.

These songs are no preparation for the juggernaut that is "Seven and Seven Is" which for all intents and purposes is a blistering two minute punk song. This is one of the best long-forgotten songs of the 1960's. Where the heck did this song come from, amidst these little acoustic Baroque pop tunes?

"The Castle" follows with surreal lyrics (as the band would explore further on their next album) and a great acoustic guitar melody. It's another highlight on this album. "She Comes in Colors" brings back the vaguely Latin feel, incorporating flute and Baroque harpsichord. And thus ends the first half of the album.

The second half is taken up by the 19-minute extended jam "Revelations," which I have always found to be sort of aimless and boring. Most times I listen to this album, I'll admit that I skip "Revelations."

So, this is half of a classic album. Each of the first six songs is memorable in some way: it's worth listening to this album solely for the "Stephanie Knows Who" and "Seven and Seven Is," both of which rate in my opinion as great hard-rocking songs of the era. They would get folkier on their next album, but it's nice to know that Love had the muscle to shred with the big boys.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

82. Moby Grape - Moby Grape

Artist: Moby Grape
Album: Moby Grape
Year: 1967

Listening to this album, it's hard to believe Moby Grape didn't become popular, or at least more popular than they were. This San Francisco band had an obvious knack for distilling their influences (psychedelia, country, folk, close harmony) into juicy 3-minute pop songs. "Omaha," "8:05," "Hey Grandma," "Lazy Me," and "Sitting by the Window" are all tunes that could've been popular in an alternate universe.

I don't have too much to say about this one. There's nothing particularly deep nor innovative in this set of songs. It's tough to be the band I heard right after Captain Beefheart. I guess where bands like Country Joe & The Fish were kind of all over the place in their approach to psychedelia, Moby Grape represented a somewhat more accessible version. A shame they never reached stardom.

Rating: Worth a listen

81. Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band - Safe as Milk

Artist: Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band
Album: Safe as Milk
Year: 1967

Never heard Captain Beefheart before. This is one of the artists I've actively avoided over the years, like Frank Zappa and Ray Charles. Not going to make it through the 1001 if I don't give these guys a chance. Hopefully Beefheart would follow the trend set by the other two...I loved Ray Charles' blend of soul, country, and standards, while Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention served up one of the 1960's deliciously weird albums in Freak Out!

This album, Safe as Milk, suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. Some of the songs are pretty "normal" (about half) and the other half are absolutely bizarre. I find the weird half much more interesting, but I can appreciate that going with all your weirdest material on your debut album is probably the quick ticket to not getting to make a second one.

There are songs here like "Electricity" that amp up this "weird" quotient, with fascinating results. I really think this album could've been an influence on early Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, other bands that had a great pop songwriting sense but opted for artsy and bizarre in lieu of shifting units. "I'm Glad" is a tender little doo-wop song. You can never quite tell if Beefheart is taking the piss here or if he's going for something authentic. Serious or not, it's one of the more memorable songs in this set. "Abba Zaba" is my favorite song here, a nonsensical song about a baboon (yes, really) with a shuffling beat and rapid fire lyrics.

What really separates this album from the crowd is the vocal stylings of the Captain himself. This guy has a really chameleon-like voice. He can pull off falsetto, he can go for scuzzy blues, he can even produce a reasonable Mick Jagger impression as on "Zig Zag Wanderer," a song somewhat akin to "Paint It Black." His voice is deep and gravelly, a good match for both the bluesier and folkier tunes here.

This is one of those dense sorts of albums that's really difficult to pin down with one listen. I can this is either the work of a man on copious amounts of hallucinogens, or a tortured genius. Maybe both. Like I said, some of the songs that play it relatively straight don't work quite as well with the oddball stuff all around it, but this is an album that practically demands repeated listens. I've listened through three times just now and it is growing on me pretty rapidly. Apparently Beefheart would go off the deep end on Trout Mask Replica a couple years later...I suppose we'll see. I look forward to hearing more from him.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

80. Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again

Artist: Buffalo Springfield
Album: Buffalo Springfield Again
Year: 1967

Buffalo Springfield Again was Buffalo Springfield's second album. Shocker.

These guys were best known for the era-defining "For What It's Worth," and for launching the careers of Stephen Stills and a young Canadian by the name of Neil Young. These two would reunite as half of Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young in due time--one of rock's first "supergroups."

Outside of "For What It's Worth" I hadn't really heard anything else by Buffalo Springfield. I was expecting psychedelia-tinged folk-rock, and that's exactly what this album was. I've gotta say, there are some really, really good songs in this set.

It didn't start off too hot in my opinion. "Mr. Soul" is the opening number here, a Young-penned tune that is kind of a Byrds-ian take on The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction." I've gotta say, I really do not understand the appeal of Neil Young's voice. I respect the man as a songwriter, but there's a whiny quality to his voice that I can't really get past. Anyhow, this song had Young on vocals and was derivative of the Stones--a bad combo if there ever was one, seeing as The Rolling Stones are the most overrated band in the history of music.

After that, though, this was a really pleasing set of songs. There are gentle folk-rockers like "A Child's Claim to Fame" and "Rock and Roll Woman," forays into jazzy psychedelia as on "Everydays," and CSNY-harbingers like "Bluebird." I feel like some of these songs really could've been big hits, and if they were, I hadn't heard them. "Bluebird" in particular seems like it should've had a place on the Forrest Gump soundtrack or something. I guess "For What It's Worth" made the cut instead. Tough to compete there. I think I've heard "Rock and Roll Woman" on classic rock radio before. Maybe. It could've been a number of CSNY songs instead that sound virtually the same. It's got that nice early 70's soft-rock sound going on, like America's "Ventura Highway." I guess what we're seeing here is that maybe Stills and Young were the true purveyors of that band's songwriting.

I would stop short of calling Buffalo Springfield Again absolutely essential, but I enjoyed this album more than most I've heard lately. That's saying something.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

79. Country Joe & The Fish - Electric Music for the Mind and Body

Artist: Country Joe & The Fish
Album: Electric Music for the Mind and Body
Year: 1967

I'd only ever heard of Country Joe because of his antics at the Woodstock Festival, where I figured he was somehow more of a war protester than a musician.

This album is the quintessential sixties album. There's blues-rock, country-inspired rock, some psychedelic organ interludes, and even a song that's an ol' flip o' the bird to LBJ. It was decent, if unspectacular. At first, it didn't connect with me too much, but then came the 7-minute instrumental "Section 43," a grand opus of psychedelia that forced me to listen to this album a little more closely. A few nice folk-rock tunes followed. "Super Bird" is a catchy anti-war anthem. "Sad and Lonely Times" has chiming guitars in the vein of The Byrds, while the organ-driven "Love" certainly was a popular little blues-rocker during the Summer of Love that year.

I thought this album was good insofar as it was entirely representative of its time period. If you walk up to a random person on the street and ask them to describe music of the 1960's, you'll get a string of adjectives that describe this very album. Outside of that, I didn't find any of the songs particularly memorable. In the story of 60's music, Country Joe & The Fish are rightfully relegated to footnote status.

Rating: Not worth a listen

78. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Artist: The Beatles
Album: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Year: 1967

Well, well, well. We've come to the Album to End All Albums, the one many people cite as either the best or the most influential album of all-time....The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

I've heard this album a lot over the years. As I've said before, I go through a Beatles phase every now and then, usually about one a year for about a week, and I play the heck out of Revolver, Rubber Soul, The White Album, Abbey Road, and this one. I might even throw in some Let It Be, A Hard Day's Night, or Magical Mystery Tour. I do not stoop to Yellow Submarine depths. :)

As strictly an album I think this is The Beatles' best. The production is inventive and paralleled only by the likes of the equally masterful Pet Sounds (which songs like "She's Leaving Home" sound like), and the flow from song to song is just perfect. I liken the band on this album to master chefs who know exactly what proportion is needed of each ingredient to make the best possible taste. The album also delivers on the promise of Revolver, which I found somewhat transitional.

Here's the thing, though. As a collection of songs put together this might be the best album, but taken individually, I don't think any of the songs on Sgt. Pepper's are among my favorite Beatles tunes! Only "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "A Day in the Life" really work for me outside of the context of this album, but even both of those are better when listening to the other tunes than as stand-alones. "A Day in the Life" ups the ante yet again on album closers. A great song that ends with an absolute thunderclap of a piano chord.

Once again, my favorite songs here are the John Lennon ones, even though this is a very Paul-centric album altogether. John's songs are all classic cuts of psychedelia--"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," the zany circus-show of "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite," and the jaunty time-signature experiment "Good Morning Good Morning" are fantastic tunes. I can do without Paul McCartney's hokier numbers on this album like "When I'm 64" and "Getting Better," though again, in the context of the album, they work perfectly.

This is definitely one of popular culture's quintessential albums and well deserving of its praise.

Rating: Indispensable

77. Nico - Chelsea Girl

Artist: Nico
Album: Chelsea Girl
Year: 1967

A-ha! I think I can see exactly why Nico's Chelsea Girl is placed in this book where it is, right after Nina Simone's Wild Is the Wind and Astrud Gilberto's Beach Samba. Nico's voice is deep and plaintive, challenging the notion of what the female voice should sound like much like Nina Simone's, and like Gilberto, Nico is a non-native English speaker who sings in a somewhat affected manner.

Chelsea Girl is kind of the antithesis of what was going on in music at the time. It seems like the trend was kind of a kitchen-sink approach--layers of guitars, layers of vocals, oddball instrumentation, bands trying to outdo each other by expanding their sound. By comparison, Nico's Chelsea Girl is rather stark. It's just Nico singing, with her flat, deep voice, some acoustic guitars to set the rhythm, string accompaniment, and the occasional flute here and there. This isn't rock music at all, really. This style would later become known as chamber pop.

This is a remarkably pretty album with lots of replay value. I will say that the first two songs, "The Fairest of the Seasons" and "These Days" are the best of the set. They are both gorgeous, oddly affecting tunes written by Jackson Browne. Yes, the same guy who would go on to write such hits as "Doctor My Eyes" and "Somebody's Baby." He was Nico's boyfriend at the time and had a big influence upon the construction of this album. As did John Cale and Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground, who recruited Nico to sing for them on their debut album (which inevitably is forthcoming in this 1001 list).

"Chelsea Girls" and a cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It with Mine" are great tunes on the album's second half, and there's not really a bad cut here. I will say that this is the kind of album you really have to be in the mood for to really enjoy. Luckily, I was in such a mood. This is probably somewhat of a polarizing album (either you can stand 40 minutes of Nico's voice or you can't stand one minute of it) but the vocals fit well with the music here, making for an enchanting listen.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

76. Astrud Gilberto - Beach Samba

Artist: Astrud Gilberto
Album: Beach Samba
Year: 1967

As I had heard on Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto's collaborative effort a few days back, Astrud Gilberto was the Brazilian vocalist on "The Girl From Ipanema" who struggled and mumbled her way through the English lyrics. It was kinda cute and endearing then, but imagine my surprise to find she would record Beach Samba three years later, an album with almost exclusively English-language tunes.

Here, the songs retain the tropical feel of Brazilian bossa nova jazz, but the arrangements fall more in line with American pop. Gilberto sounds great on this album, relaxed and confident in her English through the bulk of the proceedings. There isn't the level of sophistication on this album that there was on Getz/Gilberto but it's all very pleasant, and mostly worth listening to. "The Face I Love," "I Think of You," and the opener "Stay" are super relaxing yet insidiously catchy pop songs. "Parade" is a truly stupid song that should have been cut from the album on later editions, and "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice" is Schmaltz City. The best songs are the ones that stay closest to Gilberto's bossa nova comfort zone, but she definitely proves herself as a capable English vocalist on this release.

I have to think this album was influential upon other non-native English vocalists. Dominique Durand of the band Ivy comes to mind, as does Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab. Sadier would mine the scat singing of "Nao Bate O Coracao" on a number of songs "The Groop" would play.

Nothing masterful, nothing world-changing, but Beach Samba is a nice little album, relaxing and pretty and all that jazz.

Rating: Worth a listen

75. Nina Simone - Wild Is the Wind

Artist: Nina Simone
Album: Wild Is the Wind
Year: 1966

When I first put on Nina Simone's Wild Is the Wind and the vocals came in, my immediate thought was: "oh boy, here we go." I was immediately struck by Simone's voice, androgynous and warbling. The first song was one of those torch songs that I'm frankly quite sick of at this point. I thought the next forty minutes were going to be torturous.

But as I listened to this album, the music, the arrangements, and yes, even the voice of Nina Simone, would grow on me. This is a strangely beautiful album.

It consists of a wide variety of songs that showcase the singer's odd voice. There are upbeat songs here, the rock-ish "Break Down and Let It All Out," and there are slower songs like "Lilac Wine" (later to be covered by Jeff Buckley), "Wild Is the Wind" (later to be covered by David Bowie) and "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair," an old English folk hymn. A variety of genres, spanning blues, rock, soul, jazz, and standards, are represented here.

I don't know if it's Simone who plays piano on this album, but if it is, kudos to her. The arrangements are gorgeous, particularly on "What More Can I Say?" and "If I Should Lose You." It's not often that I've commented on the backing instrumentation on vocal tour de force albums like this one, but the piano here is noteworthy without question.

I'm glad I kept an open mind on this one, and I would urge anyone listening to this album to do the same. Simone's voice lacks the purity that the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan have, but she proves that there's many possible ways to skin a cat, or sing a song, as it were.

Rating: Worth a listen

74. The Yardbirds - Roger the Engineer

Artist: The Yardbirds
Album: Roger the Engineer
Year: 1966

Like John Mayall's Blues Breakers, The Yardbirds played blues-rock, but instead of going for the old-school approach the other band employed, they spruced it up with touches of psychedelia. This is an album I'd actually heard before, a number of years ago when I first got into 60's British bands. I hadn't heard it since, which gives some indication of what I thought of it at the time. This time, I was determined to give it more of a fair shot.

Eric Clapton had been a member of The Yardbirds before leaving the band when they decided to go a more "pop" route. The band brought in guitarist Jeff Beck and didn't miss a beat. After listening to Beck and Clapton back to back, I can honestly say I prefer Jeff Beck's guitar work. He has all these little manic riffs that he adds little flourishes to: on some songs the guitarwork has a Middle Eastern flair, on others driving blues.

I didn't love this album, but I can say there was a variety of styles. "Over, Under, Sideways, Down" has that Bob Dylan harmonica-rock thing mixed with "Rock Around the Clock" and a twisty guitar riff. "I Can't Make Your Way" and "Farewell" opt for a pop sound somewhat similar to The Kinks. "Lost Woman" sounds like an early Led Zeppelin cut. A number of songs like "Jeff's Boogie" and "Hot House of Omagarashid" are meandering and pointless. It doesn't help that the less successful tracks are all grouped together toward the middle of the album, causing it to lose steam. "He's Always There" gets some energy back into the proceedings toward the end of the album, with a strong melody, interesting percussion, and chanted backing vocals.

At the end of the day, this album is a rather uneven one. The best songs are the ones where they let Jeff Beck establish a good riff and build the rest of the song around it, as on "Over, Under, Sideways, Down." It's not bad, but if it's another ten years before I hear this album again, I won't really feel like I was missing anything all the while.

Rating: Worth a listen

73. John Mayall - Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton

Artist: John Mayall
Album: Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton
Year: 1966

It's time for another blues album. This time it's not from the American South, but rather the shores of the mighty Thames. A hotbed of blues music if there ever was one.

Blues hasn't been my favorite genre in going through these albums, so I tried to approach this one with an open mind. I put on headphones, turned it up extra loud, closed my eyes, and just tried to let it wash over me. Sad to say, this approach did not yield a different result.

There was some fantastic guitar playing here courtesy of none other than Eric Clapton, who I guess a lot of people say is the best, or at least among the best, guitarists around. Instrumentals like "Hideaway" show off his virtuosic skill. There were a couple mildly memorable songs here like "What'd I Say" and "All Your Love." But mostly it's just standard 12-bar blues music (where most of the non-aforementioned songs sound exactly the same) with some admittedly skilled guitar wankery. Blah.

Rating: Not worth a listen

72. The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

Artist: The 13th Floor Elevators
Album: The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
Year: 1966

So there's the word that would come to define the second-half of the 1960's in the minds of most people: psychedelic. This is music that would best be enjoyed if in some kind of altered state.

I liked this album. Quite a lot in fact. I will say I would've enjoyed it even more if I'd been able to blow over .10 whilst listening to it. Maybe I'll try that another time. "You're Gonna Miss Me" is a great little rock song in the vein of The Rolling Stones, with singer Roky Erickson caterwauling his way through the chorus and oddball synth bubbling underneath (if not synthesizers, I have no idea what is creating that weird bubbling sound). "Roller Coaster" sounds like a haunted-house version of Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love." "Fire Engine" is an amusing little tune with its faux sirens. "You Don't Know" is my favorite song here, a ridiculously catchy song if you can get to it through the layers of murk and feedback.

I didn't think this was a masterpiece or anything, but there's definitely something about the music that makes it far more interesting to me than, say, the aforementioned Stones. It's swirly, murky, reverb-laden music where little catchy melodies worm their way out of the woodwork from time to time. The same can be said about a lot of the shoegazer bands I listen to. This really isn't that far off from early shoegazers like The Telescopes, Loop, and Spacemen 3, for that matter. What brings me back to those bands repeatedly is the hypnotic effect of their oddly melodic guitar riffs, and there's some of that to be found here. No doubt, I'll be listening to this one again--drunk next time and as loudly as possible? We shall see.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

71. Simon & Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Album: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme
Year: 1966

Here's to you, Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel. On Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, this folk-rock duo provide a surprisingly varied, literate, and ultimately beautiful set of songs.

"Scarborough Fair/Canticle" starts the proceedings with a harpsichord-laden English folk song. It's such a haunting, stark song and its layered, echoing vocals lend an otherworldly feel. It's just a fantastic tune. It would become the unofficial theme song of The Graduate the following year, where it gained an added poignancy as a sort of anthem of young adult disillusionment.

But it's not even close to being the best song in this set. There are tons of contenders for that title. I'm going to throw "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall"--a gorgeous ode to the idea that imagination is what makes life worth living--out there as my personal favorite today, but on another day, it may be the rolling "Homeward Bound" or the gentle "A Poem on the Underground Wall."

This is a perfect album. It would be easy to dismiss this album as being too precious, too cutesy, but the pensive lyrics always push the proceedings forward. If The Rolling Stones represented the big, dumb side of rock and roll, Simon & Garfunkel were the polar opposite--warm, inviting, and literate. I know which side I'm on...

Rating: Indispensable

70. The Rolling Stones - Aftermath

Artist: The Rolling Stones
Album: Aftermath
Year: 1966

Aftermath represents The Rolling Stones' first album of all-original material.

I have to admit that the Stones are not really grabbing my ear in the same way as the other British artists of the time. I prefer The Beatles, The Who, and The Kinks. Aftermath has a few catchy tunes ("Mother's Little Helper," "Under My Thumb") but a ton of filler. You can tell they are trying to offer the same kind of experience as The Beatles. They use sitar on "Mother's Little Helper" and dulcimer on "Lady Jane." Marimba on a few other songs. They have some Bob Dylan-ish tunes like "High and Dry." They just aren't very good. And Mick Jagger is really a rather mediocre singer. Songs like "Stupid Girl" and "Think" are just sophomoric and awful.

And I haven't even mentioned the 12-minute abomination that is "Goin' Home." What a dreadful slog of a song.

Again, I ask the question, how on Earth is this the band that persisted longest of all the British bands of the 1960's? How are they among the most loved bands of all-time? Until I hear an album that proves otherwise, I have to think that The Rolling Stones are a gigantic hoax perpetrated by the music industry. This is music for people not intellectual enough to appreciate better.

Rating: Not worth a listen

69. The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!

Artist: The Mothers of Invention
Album: Freak Out!
Year: 1966

The Mothers of Invention were led by the inimitable Frank Zappa, one of rock's most idiosyncratic figures. Along with one-off acts like The Monks, this is where rock started to get more than a little weird.

The first dozen or so songs on Freak Out! play as awesome satire on the prevailing styles of the time. There are hilarious send-ups of the usual love songs of the day, Bob Dylan-esque "socially conscious" folk, even sunshine pop, doo-wop, and soul. Even though the songs are satirical, openly mocking their targets, they are still played fairly faithfully according to genre conventions. I guess Zappa might have been kind of the Weird Al of the sixties.

The last few songs on this album delve into more experimental material. The last track, "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet," plays as some kind of fever dream, to call it "avant garde" is not giving it enough credit. It's just bizarre. Worth listening to? I guess you make the call...

I guess this album might rightly be considered the jumping off point for "alternative" music. The defying of standard conventions, the blatant attempt to alienate mainstream listeners, the self-awareness, it's all there. It's a fantastic album and I look forward to hearing more Zappa as the 1001 albums roll along.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

68. Paul Revere & The Raiders - Midnight Ride

Artist: Paul Revere & The Raiders
Album: Midnight Ride
Year: 1966

Paul Revere & The Raiders are a band I had not heard before listening to Midnight Ride just now. On this album they played a standard blend of the prevailing rock at the time, displaying a knack for really catchy melodies on this uneven set.

I really liked the opener "Kicks," an anti-drug song--a rarity in this era of copious use. It's just a great rock song with a really catchy riff in its chorus. The Eastern-tinged "All I Really Need Is You" is an awesome little garage rock song with buoyant harmonies in its chorus. It sounds quite a bit like The Moody Blues, a band I've always liked. "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" has that "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida" haunted-house organ thing going on...great melody on this one with a little psych freakout in the chorus.

Not a whole lot else to say about this one. It's a 28-minute album that's over before you know it. They do a nice job assimilating the various successful sounds of the era into their music. Psych rock, Beach Boys-esque harmonies, some bluesy parts, some Bob Dylan-inspired lyricism, some upbeat proto-punkers...it's all represented here. Apparently they were one of the most popular bands of the era. It's easy to see why, even if they are a little second-rate.

Rating: Worth a listen

67. The Mamas & The Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears

Artist: The Mamas & The Papas
Album: If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears
Year: 1966

The Mamas & The Papas have always been something of a funny band to me. They are probably the quintessential "sunshine pop" band, a movement known for its purity of image. The Partridge Family and the Brady Kids would come to follow in this wholesome image.

And yet it feels to me that The Mamas & The Papas have this undercurrent of darkness and veiled sexuality to their music. Maybe I'm trying too hard to read into things, but take a listen to "Straight Shooter" and tell me that it's not about the search for a heroin fix.

Anyway, this is a really nice album with lots of pretty songs, assimilating the good qualities of The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and (to a lesser extent) The Byrds. The boy/girl harmonies were the real innovation here. "Monday, Monday" is a gem, with its rolling harpsichord and singsong vocals. The minor-key "California Dreamin'" is one of the best songs of the decade, bar none. "Do You Wanna Dance" and "You Baby" foreground the Sarah Records twee-pop movement of the late 1980's.

I'm not sure if this album belongs among the 1001 must-hear albums. I will agree that certain songs here are must-hear, but the ones that fall into that category are the ones everybody knows already ("Monday, Monday," "California Dreamin'"). The rest of the album is pleasant enough, but pales in comparison. The thing that makes them interesting is what I said at first...their happy pop music does seem to have enough impurities to keep it interesting.

Rating: Worth a listen

66. The Kinks - Face to Face

Artist: The Kinks
Album: Face to Face
Year: 1966

Throughout my teenage years I was always a bit of an Anglophile. It helped that those years lined up perfectly with the Britpop era, the "Cool Britannia" of Tony Blair's Prime Ministership that promoted the embracing of all things distinctly English. Some Britpop bands eventually made their way to America (Oasis and Blur to name the big two), but my obsession persisted much deeper. Dodgy, Marion, Shed Seven, Menswear, and Sleeper were all favorites of mine, just to name a few of Britpop's lesser-known acts. Fun fact: the first album I ever bought was Blur's Modern Life Is Rubbish back in 1993 after seeing the video for "Chemical World" on MTV's "120 Minutes." Naturally, at some point I got rather interested in where the Britpop bands drew their inspiration from. Some were direct descendants of The Smiths, others Squeeze, others The Beatles. But all of them listed The Kinks seemed to list The Kinks as a major influence. And thus began my interest in all things Kinks.

To me, The Kinks are one of rock and roll's oddest stories. Their first recordings in some sense set the groundwork for three-chord punk, singles like "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" were among the most rocking songs of the mid 1960's. And then all of a sudden, at the point where most bands were getting more muscular, going into hard rock, heavy metal, and blues rock, The Kinks went exactly the opposite route. They got considerably more poppy, considerably less rocky. Their lyrics reflected both a fondness for and a restlessness with the politics of their homeland. Many of their songs began to play as little social commentaries on life in England in the late 1960's, little vignettes of fictional people of various societal castes. They became fairly popular at home but failed miserably at making inroads on the opposite shore of the Atlantic during this phase, the phase most people consider their best.

Face to Face is the album that started off this phase of their career, and in my opinion it's a really uneven album, though it would set the template for what would follow. The Beatles were doing some similar stuff at this stage of the game, just as overtly political (see: "Taxman"), and were doing it much better. It would take until Village Green a couple years later before The Kinks would reach their peak.

"Sunny Afternoon," "Rosy Won't You Please Come Home," and "Too Much on My Mind" (among others) are all classics...I love the harpsichord on "Rosy" and "Too Much on My Mind." Some of the songs on the second half of the album fall a little flat. "Fancy" tries to throw in some sitar a la George Harrison's experiments on Rubber Soul and Revolver, and it doesn't quite work for me. "Holiday in Waikiki" goes for a Hawaiian guitar feel, but the effect is more annoying than endearing.

This album is worth a listen, but like I said, their better stuff would come later....

Rating: Worth a listen

65. The Monks - Black Monk Time

Artist: The Monks
Album: Black Monk Time
Year: 1966

The Monks are probably one of the weirdest bands in the history of rock-and-roll. It's difficult to determine whether they were a serious band or just trying to make the most ridiculous over-the-top music possible, but either way, Black Monk Time is a masterpiece that doesn't sound quite like anything else then or since.

The aesthetic is martial drumbeats, manic organ riffs, amplified banjos, and tunefully shouted vocals. I think it sounds like kind of a hybrid of The Velvet Underground, Gang of Four, and Ween. Songs like "I Hate You" and "Drunken Maria" have such a demented genius to them, they are ridiculously, insidiously melodic and yet more than a little menacing. "Love Came Tumbling Down" provides the same basic beat as the Bay City Rollers' "Saturday Night" but puts some weird R&B over the top.

This is really one of those sorts of albums you have to hear to believe. When I first heard this a few years ago I had a really hard time believing it was made in 1966. Now I have a hard time believing this is the only album this group would make. No doubt there was an audience for this stuff. I'm gonna stop short of calling this one indispensable (the schtick gets a little old once you get to the 15th song or so), but Black Monk Time is a minor miracle of an album that I have to believe was tremendously influential upon bands like Pixies and Ween, both of whom had a similar warped pop genius flowing through their music.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

64. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde

Artist: Bob Dylan
Album: Blonde on Blonde
Year: 1966

I'd first listened to Blonde on Blonde a few years ago, in an attempt to get into Bob Dylan's music at that time. I'd read somewhere that it was his most accessible album. I found myself unable to connect with it. The samey-ness of Dylan's vocals, the omnipresent harmonica, the meandering songs, the sheer length of the album (over 70 minutes)....it was all a little much for me. I wondered if I would find more appreciation for the album after listening to, and mostly liking, Dylan's earlier material.

I would indeed find more to like this time out. I definitely disagree with whoever said it's the most accessible Dylan album, though. I think Bringing It All Back Home is waaay more accessible than this one. If anything Blonde on Blonde feels like more of an album that would appeal most to Dylan acolytes. The songs are mostly slower, moodier, and more contemplative.

It all starts off with the classic "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," which is one of the silliest songs virtually ever with its super-thinly-veiled double meaning of the famous line "Everybody must get stoned!" The instrumentation on this song is interesting, like some kind of marching band on acid, woozy and imprecise. I find the song rather obnoxious.

If you dig deeper into this album, you'll find some real gems. "Visions of Johanna" is probably among the best Dylan songs I've heard. "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" is 10-minutes of gorgeous folk-pop. "4th Time Around" sounds like a ripoff of The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood," believe it or not. I thought Dylan was the one everyone else ripped off?

Overall, I found this album enjoyable, preferring the ballads to the rockier tunes. I still don't know if, at the end of the project, I'll listen to Dylan of my own volition, but I think I can see now why so many people like his music.

Rating: Worth a listen

63. The Byrds - Fifth Dimension

Artist: The Byrds
Album: Fifth Dimension
Year: 1966

I'm a big fan of The Byrds' music, but Fifth Dimension, as an album, doesn't do much for me. There are a few good songs here and there, but a number of forgettable ones, and there's no attempt made to help this album flow from song to song. The folky "Wild Mountain Thyme" for example immediately precedes the uber-poppy "Mr. Spaceman"; the lack of transition is somewhat jarring.

The best songs in this collection are among the best the band would ever write. I guess the most notable song here is "Eight Miles High," which in some sense stands as the quintessential "psychedelic rock" tune. "Hey Joe" is a nice slice of upbeat country rock. "John Riley" is a great folk song with sweeping strings, which Joan Baez had done a version of on her debut album.

I could take or leave the poppier cuts here like the Dylan-esque "Fifth Dimension," "Mr. Spaceman," and "What's Happening?" I love The Byrds' darker folk-rock stuff, as they'd explore more on The Notorious Byrd Brothers later on. Fifth Dimension is OK for a transitional album, but I demand more of this band.

Rating: Worth a listen

62. Fred Neil - Fred Neil

Artist: Fred Neil
Album: Fred Neil
Year: 1966

Neil is a new artist to me. I knew he was the writer of "Everybody's Talkin'," but I'd only ever heard the Harry Nilsson version.

I have to say Neil is pretty damn good. He is exactly the kind of male vocalist that I usually like--baritones whose lyrics have a penchant for unsettling detail and/or obliqueness. I know that's rather specific, but there are a number who fit this particular mold that I enjoy, Stuart Staples of Tindersticks, Scott Walker, and especially Matt Berninger of The National (my favorite band).

Neil's eponymous album here is kind of a hit or miss affair. It's folky, singer-songwriter stuff with a modern feel. If anything it sounds kind of like The National's debut album, another hit or miss affair. "The Dolphins" is a nice opener. "I've Got a Secret" is my favorite here, it's a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll, it's got that Berninger mumbly baritone going on.

Here's The National:



Then here's Fred Neil:



I hear some similarities there. Of course, The National is way better, but they have 35 more years of popular music to assimilate here, too.

"Everybody's Talkin'" is a classic of course, but the version here (the original) is a little underwhelming, and the closing track "Cynicrustpetefredblahblahblah" should've been left out. I would (in fact, I will) listen to Fred Neil again, his stuff is totally up my alley, but I think there are better versions of this kind of music already in my library--rendering Mr. Neil somewhat non-essential.

Rating: Worth a listen

61. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

Artist: The Beach Boys
Album: Pet Sounds
Year: 1966

Revolver, and now Pet Sounds? It's time for the big guns, apparently.

This one has long been a favorite of mine. I haven't heard an album quite like it before or since. I guess Panda Bear's Person Pitch goes for something akin, but it's just a tad weird for my taste.

Yeah, Pet Sounds. How do I sum up my feelings on this album? Everything's been said about this one. Nothing I type right now will add anything new to the proceedings. But what is the point of this blog anyway? Too many of my posts here are turning into "synopses" of the albums. The intent is for me to say what I think of the albums, what I like, what I dislike, what works for me, what doesn't. I don't need to give the history lesson every time. So I won't say that this album was Brian Wilson's attempt to outdo Rubber Soul. As far as I know, I am the only one who will ever read this!!!! I could say that Pet Sounds blows and there would be no one to "correct" me. It's the old tree-in-the-forest thing: if you write a blog without any readers, does it really exist? I guess it depends on the intent. Do I want people to read this someday? Or is it really "just for me"? I know there's an answer...

Did you get that one?

So, Pet Sounds. This is quite simply the pinnacle of pop music. The wall-of-sound style recording technique is done to perfect effect here. The singing is beautiful. The instrumentation is unique and there's not a note out of place. The album flows perfectly from song to song.

Do I have any problems with it? I don't know. I love the album, but I can never seem to put it into my upper echelon. It feels just a little sterile. It's too perfect. The thing is, if this album was scuzzed up just a hair, a note out of place here or there, a little screech of delay pedal, it would feel more human. As warm as this album is, it always leaves me a little cold. As immediate as the songs are, they just feel a little impenetrable. Maybe you, mystery reader, know what I mean?

Anyhow. The songs here are masterpieces. "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "I'm Waiting for the Day," "God Only Knows": all of these are among the best pop songs you'll ever hear. This album is a must-listen for anyone serious about music.

Rating: Indispensable

60. The Beatles - Revolver

Artist: The Beatles
Album: Revolver
Year: 1966

It's often been noted that The Beatles' Rubber Soul was a transitional album between their poppy, (some might say) immature early music and their more refined, varied, and experimental later music. For me, Rubber Soul was the culmination and natural endpoint of that early material, the first album where the band truly perfected their songwriting craft.

In my opinion, Revolver is the transition album. This is where the drugs started to kick in. This is also where you can really begin to see the fissures in songwriting ideology which would eventually lead to the band's untimely demise. In case it's not entirely clear, I find Revolver to be something of an overrated album in the band's near-perfect oeuvre. That said, this "overrated" album is still a masterpiece in its own right.

It amazes me that this is the same band that played the Ed Sullivan Show only TWO years prior. The advancement in songwriting and the innovation of their music in such a short span is virtually unparalleled. I think Radiohead would pull off a similar transformation in the 1990's, and in fact I think there are a number of comparisons to be drawn between the two bands' discographies. But that's a topic for another time.

Anyhow, great album, Revolver is. I don't love it like I love Rubber Soul, but there's a metric crapton of amazing songs here. "Taxman" is one of George Harrison's best contributions, a cynical little opus. These boys are really growing up. Two years ago it was all about girls; now they aren't happy about having to pay taxes? Anyhow, Ride would go on to rip off "Taxman" on their 1990 album Nowhere. I hope that album made this book. I could look ahead, I suppose, but I'm feeling lazy.

What else is here? Oh, "Eleanor Rigby." String octet, morose lyrics, great song, yada yada yada. The stuff of legend. "Here, There, and Everywhere," saccharine harmonies galore. "She Said She Said," Byrds-ish psychedelia. "And Your Bird Can Sing," great little pop song, probably one of the most underrated in the band's history. "Got to Get You Into My Life," some messing around with time signatures, cool. Chicago would totally ape this sound later. "Tomorrow Never Knows," one of the best album closers of all time, a weird, somewhat frightening cut of early psych-rock.

I can do without a few cuts here. "Yellow Submarine" is one of the dumbest songs ever. "Good Day Sunshine" is a little too "early Beatles" for this album in my estimation. It's catchy but a bit of a trifle among the much superior material here. "Love You To" is a little experimental track of sitar music that somehow made the cut here even though it's completely out of place, disrupting the flow of the album.

I guess I can sum up my feelings on Revolver like this:

The John stuff - Great
The George stuff - Hit or miss
The Paul stuff - Not his best outside of "Eleanor Rigby," which is a masterpiece.
The Ringo stuff - Meh

And I'd say in general I'm a Paul/John/George fan in equal measure. So this album is a little uneven for me. They'd even it back out the next time out, when their warped pop vision would come to full fruition.

Rating: Indispensable

59. The Who - My Generation

Artist: The Who
Album: My Generation
Year: 1965

The Who would eventually go on to become one of the greatest arena rock bands of all-time. On their debut My Generation, they display a knack for catchy songwriting and offer a blistering attack of guitars.

Hate to say it, but overall I found this album to have a ton of filler. Maybe it's just that the good songs are REALLY good, I don't know. But about half of these songs are unremarkable. The other half are absolutely great. "My Generation" is an energetic and downright angry rush of a tune; more than that, it kind of lays out the band's modus operandi at the time--we're going to live it up during our youthful years and if you don't like it, tough. "Out in the Street" sounds somewhat like one of the band's later hits, "Who Are You?" "The Good's Gone" is a slower song that very well could be the beginning of drone rock...it kind of feels a little shoegazer-ish to me! The Dandy Warhols have made an entire career out of trying to replicate songs like this. I love it. The best song in this set is the Byrds-ish "The Kids Are Alright," which would become one of the big anthems of the "mod" era.

Though it's an uneven affair, I highly recommend this one. There are some fantastic, memorable songs here and it's easy to see why this band became wildly popular.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

58. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

Artist: Bob Dylan
Album: Highway 61 Revisited
Year: 1965

Man, this guy Dylan's churning out albums left and right at this point. Bringing It All Back Home arrived in March 1965, and by August of the same year, its follow-up, Highway 61 Revisited had arrived. While The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan had been strictly a folk affair, and Bringing It All Back Home had a mix of folk and rock, Highway 61 Revisited was all about the rawk.

Really, at its core this album feels like blues mixed with rock and interesting lyrics. The music isn't too far off from B.B. King's Live at the Regal. I can understand why this album is as lauded as it is. There are two songs that are absolutely smashing. "Like a Rolling Stone" is usually considered one of the best songs of all-time, deservedly so. It's everything you want in a pop song--catchy, thought-provoking lyrics (maybe about "Factory Girl" Edie Sedgwick?), an empassioned delivery (how does it feeeeeeeeeeeel?!?). The other one is slow-burner "Ballad of a Thin Man," which sounds like the prototype for "Hotel California" to me for some reason, an attack on a faceless member of the media, "Mr. Jones," who is incapable of understanding Dylan's music or the counterculture movement at-large. The acoustic closer "Desolation Row" is also fantastic.

I think I prefer the full set of songs found on Bringing It All Back Home. It feels like a tighter set to me. Both albums, however, are well worth listening to. I can see Highway 61 Revisited as an album that will grow upon me the more I listen to it. I can also see it as a gigantic influence on lots of other bands I have liked over the years. Maybe in due time I will come to love it as much as everyone else seems to.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

57. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man

Artist: The Byrds
Album: Mr. Tambourine Man
Year: 1965

The Byrds are a band I'm pretty familiar with going into this project. I have a collection of their greatest hits, as well as a few of their albums: 5th Dimension, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Their music pretty much spans the gamut from classic oldies to folk-pop, psychedelia, and even country once Gram Parsons got on board. Past The Beatles, The Byrds may have had the greatest and/or longest-lasting influence of any 1960's band. Bands like R.E.M. would not have existed, or at least would not have sounded the same, without the guitar sound The Byrds perfected two decades prior.

Believe it or not, I hadn't heard The Byrds' debut, Mr. Tambourine Man, but many of these songs were recognizable to me, either from the greatest hits album I have, or from AM radio.

The Byrds' classic sound shows up fully-formed right out of the gate on this album. "Mr. Tambourine Man," penned by Bob Dylan (his version appeared on Bringing It All Back Home), features The Byrds' signature jangly 12-string guitar sound pioneered by Roger McGuinn as well as tremendous vocal harmonies. It's one of the band's quintessential songs and offers the template for their early sound.

This album, otherwise, is a little bit schizophrenic. There are some absolutely gorgeous folk songs here ("Chimes of Freedom," "Here Without You") but some of the poppier numbers just don't fit. "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" and "All I Really Want to Do" are great pop songs, but they feel a bit lightweight for the proceedings here. They feel a little older and out of place. "It's No Use" features the psychedelic sound that the band would become known for in the coming years. It's a fantastic song, as are most of these tunes.

I really can't get over how much "Here Without You" sounds like Fables of the Reconstruction-era R.E.M., or maybe Sister Lovers-era Big Star, or maybe even Thirteen-era Teenage Fanclub. I love it. This very well may be one of the best songs of the 1960's.



Rating: Worth repeated listens

56. Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch

Artist: Bert Jansch
Album: Bert Jansch
Year: 1965

Jansch was a Scottish folk singer who would prove to be a major influence upon many of the artists yet-to-be introduced among these 1001 albums--namely Neil Young, Simon & Garfunkel, and Led Zeppelin. I can also spot a somewhat striking melodic influence upon the early material of modern-day indie poppers Belle & Sebastian. Jansch's voice isn't too far removed from that of B&S's Stuart Murdoch. Probably even more like that of Nick Drake, really.

I was not too crazy about this album, all told, but it has its moments of startling beauty. "Courting Blues" and "Dreams of Love" have warm and comforting melodies, but the big winner here is "Needle of Death," a beautiful song and genuinely-affecting musing on death by drug overdose.

A good number of these songs are instrumentals that don't seem to add much to the proceedings, and those with lyrics are kind of hit and miss, as if Jansch was struggling a bit to find his footing as a songwriter (this album was his debut). Is this a "must-hear" album? Not really, but definitely do listen to "Needle of Death"....here ya go...



Rating: Not worth a listen

55. The Beatles - Rubber Soul

Artist: The Beatles
Album: Rubber Soul
Year: 1965

From my very first post, you'll notice that I listed this very album here among my favorite five. It's just a remarkable album from start to finish. Nearly every song is a little masterpiece in some fashion, there's a great variety of material, and it stood as one of the most subtly innovative albums of its era or any era, for that matter. Rubber Soul is a masterpiece.

Many consider this album to be a "transition" from the teenybopper early Beatle material to their more introspective and innovative later stuff. I can see that argument. There are still ultra-catchy, pop songs here like "Drive My Car," replete with "beep beeps" built into its lyrics. But this time out, the lyrics are a far cry from "I Want to Hold Your Hand." "Norwegian Wood" is a fantastic song on so many levels. First, it's a freakin' waltz. Second, its verses actually tell a story...is this the influence of Bob Dylan at work?!? Third, it features George Harrison on sitar, an instrument more commonly found in Indian music--so this song could properly be considered one of the first popular forays into what is now termed "world music." Most importantly, it's a fun, catchy song that doesn't feel like throwaway pop.

The rest of the album offers more of the same--surprises at every turn. "The Word" is 12-bar blues, "Michelle" and "Girl" seem to steal a page from the Jacques Brel songbook, "I'm Looking Through You" starts off as a gentle folk-rocker before a strident guitar intercepts the chorus. "Think for Yourself" and "If I Needed Someone" are early psychedelia. "What Goes On" is a little country tune which gives drummer Ringo a little face time. And I haven't even mentioned the classical music-influenced "In My Life" yet, one of the band's most famous and most poignant pop songs.

Rubber Soul is one of the best albums ever made, and in terms of sheer likability, might just represent the peak of the band's career.

Rating: Indispensable

54. B.B. King - Live at the Regal

Artist: B.B. King
Album: Live at the Regal
Year: 1965

B.B. King is among the most famous of all guitarists. He's a bluesman--his music isn't too far from Muddy Waters and Ray Charles terrain.

This album was a real treat. I think this might be my favorite of all the blues albums I've heard. King has a smoothness to his delivery and the guitar on this album really soars. If you've been following along here you'll know I'm not too much of a blues/soul aficionado, but this guy lends more of a "rock vocal" to the proceedings, somehow making it a little more palatable to my honky ass. King has a really nice rapport with the crowd, doing little introductions for a number of the songs. It's one of those live albums that makes you feel like you're there.

The highlight here for me was "How Blue Can You Get" -- which features the lyrics: "I've been downhearted, baby, ever since the day we met." Immediately, I was like, damn...I've heard that before!



It's sampled in the Primitive Radio Gods' "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand," a damn fine song by one of the 1990's long-forgotten one-hit wonders. It was nice to hear the original, in its intended context. Great tune, any way you slice it.

Rating: Worth repeated listens

53. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme

Artist: John Coltrane
Album: A Love Supreme
Year: 1965

John Coltrane is no doubt the most famous of all saxophonists. He played the tenor fantastically on Miles Davis' quintessential Kind of Blue, and would later go off on his own as a solo artist. As it turns out, he learned a few things from his buddy Miles, but would go even further into the heart of jazz on A Love Supreme.

A Love Supreme is divided into four songs: "Acknowledgement" (sic), "Resolution," "Pursuance," and "Psalm." There are many folks out there who consider this album a "spiritual" work, there's even a church out in California that cites this album among its holy "books."

Me, I think that's a complete load of hogwash. If people feel like this album represents some kind of "higher calling," so be it, but I reserve the right to consider them wackjobs. I think this is a good album, or at least three-quarters of a great album. But some kind of manna from heaven? It is not.

This album starts off with the most pretentious "song" in music history, "Acknowledgement." Basically this tune consists of Coltrane's aimless, formless, possessed noodling for six minutes (where he repeats the same little licks over and over again and fucks up some notes here and there). And then the vocals come in, chanting "a love supreme, a love supreme, a love supreme, a love supreme..." for another minute. End song. Ugh. I love Coltrane and the saxophone is no doubt my favorite of all instruments, but "Acknowledgement" tests my limits of what I even consider musical. Maybe that's the point? Whatever.

Now that I've just bashed "the greatest jazz album of all-time," let me say that the last three tracks here are fantastic. "Resolution" is beautiful, meditative, and graceful. "Pursuance" is smooth, has a killer piano solo in its first half, and a climactic sax solo in its second half. "Psalm" is plaintive and cathartic. For me it still doesn't stand up to Kind of Blue. I much prefer Coltrane's own Giant Steps to this one. I think it's somewhat kindred with The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus, another album I can't say I really get, but like A Love Supreme, repeat listens are necessary to reveal the layers of nuance and beauty.

Rating: Worth repeated listens