Track Listing

Side 1

   1. Make Me Know It

   2. Fever

   3. The Girl of My Best Friend

   4. I Will Be Home Again

   5. Dirty, Dirty Feeling

   6. The Thrill of Your Love

Side 2  

   1. Soldier Boy

   2. Such a Night

   3. It Feels So Right

   4. The Girl Next Door Went A'walking

   5. Like a Baby

   6. Reconsider Baby

Elvis Is Back

1960

Elvis Presley

Not long after his discharge from the US Army, RCA executives and manager Colonel Tom Parker booked recording sessions for Elvis at RCA's studios in Nashville. All present were eager to see if Elvis could still produce the magic after two years in uniform, but thanks to a solid backing group and songs drafted in from his favourite writers, they needn't have worried. Whilst Elvis Is Back! peaked at #2 on the US charts, it returned him to the summit of the UK charts for the first time since King Creole some two years previously. Elvis was back, and how!

Track Listing

   1. So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)

   2. Some Sweet Day

   3. Just In Case

   4. Memories Are Made Of This

   5. That's What You Do To Me

   6. Sleepless Nights

   7. What Kind Of Girl Are You

   8. Oh True Love

   9. Carol Jane

  10. Nashville Blues

  11. You Thrill Me (Through And Through)

  12. I Want You To Know

It’s Everly Time

1960

Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers first album for Warner Brothers after leaving the Cadence label, It's Everly Time, saw the pair stretch out from their traditional pop base. Most of the songs had an almost a country feel, not surprising given their Nashville hometown, but infused with a distinct Everly Brothers flavour. The album also saw them working extensively with husband and wife song writing team Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, with the album becoming their first UK hit album and peaking at number two.

Track Listing

Side 1

Tonight Is So Right For Love

What's She Really Like

Frankfort Special

Wooden Heart

GI Blues

Side 2

Pocketful Of Rainbows

Shoppin' Around

Big Boots

Didja Ever

Blue Suede Shoes

Doin' The Best I Can

G.I. Blues

1960

Elvis Presley

G.I. BLUES, Presley's first movie following his return from military service was, like most of his '60s movies, a light romantic comedy with plenty of musical numbers. As the decade progressed and the Presley movie formula ossified, Hollywood and Colonel Tom expended less effort finding suitable musical material for Presley to sing. Presley's earliest '60s movies, however, usually boasted strong soundtracks, and G.I. BLUES is among the best of them. None of the songs are embarrassing--no "Yoga Is As Yoga Does" or "Queenie Wahini's Papaya" here--and, in fact, nearly all are very good.

Best,of course, is the Carl Perkins classic "Blue Suede Shoes", but also excellent are "Such A Night"-like boogie entitled "Tonight Is So Right For Love", the title track, and several lovely ballads, among them "Pocket Full Of Rainbows", "Wooden Heart", and the lullaby "Big Boots". Overall, G.I. BLUES doesn't rock quite as hard as Elvis' pre-Army soundtracks, but it does demonstrate considerably more life than most of the soundtracks that followed. In fact, Presley's handlers should have worked harder at getting him material of this quality for his later films.

Track Listing

Side 1

   1. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky

   2. Wheels

   3. Lonely Heart

   4. Bulldog

   5. Lullaby of the Leaves

   6. Beyond the Reef

Side 2   

   1. Raw-Hide

   2. Meet Mr. Callahan

   3. Trambone

   4. Last Date

   5. Ginchy

   6. Josie

Another Smash

1961

The Ventures

By the time The Ventures released Another Smash, their massive single hit Walk Don't Run was still fresh enough in the mind to compel record buyers to latch on to their latest album release. It was helped by the minor hit single Lullaby Of The Leaves, with the album going on to make the Top 40 on Cashbox charts, further cementing The Ventures at the forefront of the instrumental rock scene.

                                     Track Listing

 Side 1

Blue Hawaii

Almost Always True

Aloha-Oe

No More

Can't Help Falling In Love

Rock-A-Hula Baby

Moonlight Swim

Side 2

Ku-u-i-po

Ito Eats

Slicin' Sand

Hawaiian Sunset

Beach Boy Blues

Island Of Love

Hawaiian Wedding Song

Blue Hawaii

1961

Elvis Presley

By 1961 Elvis' career was being very carefully mapped out - RCA would release two albums a year, of which one would be a film soundtrack. The film vehicle for this year was Blue Hawaii, with Elvis recording the songs that would appear on the album in March of that year. The main hit single off the album was Can't Help Falling In Love with Rock A Hula Baby, which may have started as a track on a soundtrack but which would become something of an Elvis standard in the years to come. The single made #1 on the charts whilst the album would also hit #1, spending eighteen weeks at the summit.

Track Listing

   1. Crying

   2. Great Pretender

   3. Love Hurts

   4. She Wears My Ring

   5. Wedding Day

   6. Summer Song

   7. Dance

   8. Lana

   9. Loneliness

  10. Let's Make A Memory

  11. Nite Life

  12. Running Scared

Crying

1962

Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison's second album features swooping strings and full vocal choruses. With such tracks as "Love Hurts," the title track Crying and the epic hit "Running Scared". Most of the cuts lean toward Orbison's more sentimental side. On the up-tempo side are "Nite Life" and "Let's Make A Memory," with its bouncing string arrangement.

Track Listing

   1. You're No Good

   2. Talkin' New York

   3. In My Time of Dyin'

   4. Man Of Constant Sorrow

   5. Fixin' To Die

   6. Pretty Peggy-O

   7. Highway 51 Blues

   8. Gospel Plow

   9. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down

  10. House Of the Risin' Sun

  11. Freight Train Blues

  12. Song To Woody

  13. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean

Bob Dylan

1962

Bob Dylan

This album now seems as remarkable as his mid-'60s breakthroughs. Like Presley's Sun Sessions, it is both the remnant of a lost rural America and the seed of rock culture. The music is primarily Dylan, with acoustic guitar, barking traditional folk, and blues. He was 20, a Northern hick come to New York to be the next Woody Guthrie. It's amazing that at 20 he sings "In My Time of Dying" and "See That My Grave is Kept Clean," not as traditional songs, but making their doom and resignation sound personal. --Steve Tignor

Track Listing

 Side 1  

   1. Green Onions

   2. Rinky Dink

   3. I Got A Woman

   4. Mo' Onions

   5. Twist And Shout

   6. Behave Yourself

Side 2

   1. Stranger On The Shore

   2. Lonely Avenue

   3. One Who Really Loves You

   4. You Can't Sit Down

   5. Woman A Lover A Friend

   6. Comin' Home Bab

Green Onions

1962

Booker T & the M.G.s

Released in 1962, the first full-length album by Booker T. & the MG's, GREEN ONIONS, revolves around the classic, slow-burning, organ-led instrumental title track. It's impossible to overstate the importance and impact of this, the band's biggest chart hit, which oozes smokey cool as Steve Cropper's strangled guitar cries and Booker T.'s terse keyboard bursts criss-cross over a framework that prefigures everything from funk to dub. Al Jackson and Lewis Steinberg keep the rhythm firmly in the pocket here and on covers such as "I Got a Woman" and the chill, down-tempo blues of Acker Bilk's "Stranger on the Shore". Together, the MG's (short for Memphis Group) developed a collective groove that would prove crucial to the development of '60s soul.

Baby It’s You

1962

The Shirelles

The Shirelles were earlier called the Poquellos, and when they signed for Florence Greenberg's Tiara Record Label they changed their name to “The Shirelles”. They recorded for some of the Brill Building songwriters like Gerry Goffin & Carole King, Burt Bacharach & Hal David and the man who produced this album Luther Dixon. Hits off the album include “Baby it’s you”, “Soldier Boy” and “Big John”.

Track Listing

   1. Once I Had A Sweetheart

   2. Jackaroe

   3. Don't Think Twice It's Alright

   4. We Shall Overcome

   5. Portland Town

   6. Queen Of Hearts

   7. Manha De Carnaval

   8. Te Ador

   9. Long Black Veil

  10. Fennario

  11. Ne Belle Cardillo

  12. With God On Our Side

  13. Three Fishers

  14. Hush Little Baby

  15. Battle Hymn Of The Republic

In Concert 2

1963

Joan Baez

Joan Baez in Concert 2 paints a beautiful picture of a classic folk singer of the 1960's. She gives the songs a very traditional treatment, accompanying her singing with only a guitar or banjo. Highlights of the album are that well known country song “Long Black Veil”, the classic protest song “We Shall Overcome” and the popular Bob Dylan compositions "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", and "With God on Our Side".

Track Listing

1. Introduction By Fats Gonder/ Opening Fanfare - James Brown & The Famous Flames, The James    Brown Band, Fats Gonder

   2. I'll Go Crazy

   3. Try Me

   4. Instrumental Bridge #1 (James Brown/Live At The Apollo, 1962)

   5. Think

   6. Instrumental Bridge #2 (James Brown/Live At The Apollo, 1962)

   7. I Don't Mind

   8. Instrumental Bridge #3 (James Brown/Live At The Apollo, 1962)

   9. Lost Someone

  10. Medley: Please Please Please/You've Got The Power/I Found Someone/Why Do You Do Me Like You Do/I Want You So Bad/I Love You, Yes I Do/Strange Things Happen/Bewildered/Please Please Please

  11. Night Train

Live at the Apollo

1963

James Brown

Thank God someone thought to record the Godfather in concert at this vital stage of his career--and at the ultimate shrine of black American music to boot. There is no more exciting document of live performance in the history of R&B: powered by tireless drummer Clayton Fillyau, James Brown and the Famous Flames tear their way through a slew of King hits--from "Please, Please, Please" to "Night Train"--taking soul power to the very edge of gospel abandon in the process. The Apollo audience, hysterical with adulation, plays as big a part in Live at the Apollo as Brown himself. The shrieking build-up and sudden drop down into "Lost Someone" is one of the most heart-stopping moments in soul. --Barney Hoskyns

Track Listing

SIDE ONE

Blowin’ In The Wind

Girl From The North Country

Masters Of War

Down The Highway

Bob Dylan’s Blues

A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall

SIDE TWO

Don’t Think Twice It’s All right

Bob Dylans Dream

Oxford Town

Talking World War lll Blues

Corrina, Corrina

Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance

I Shall Be Free

The Free Wheelin’

1963

Bob Dylan

Containing many of his most striking early compositions--and sounding today far less dated than The Times They Are A-Changin', his next largely "protest" album--the guitar/voice/harmonica sound and vision of Freewheelin' remains by turns hilarious ("Talking World War III Blues"), sweet ("Corrina, Corrina"), bitter ("Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"), enraged ("Masters of War"), questing ("Blowin' in the Wind"), and all of these things at once ("I Shall Be Free"). More than any other album, Freewheelin' established Dylan as the "voice of a generation," though even that expansive title was destined to be constricting in the face of the art he would soon create. --David Cantwell

Track Listing

SIDE ONE

I Saw Her Standing There  (McCartney/Lennon)

Misery   (McCartney/Lennon)

Anna(Go to Him)    (Alexander)

Chains  (Goffin & King)

Boys        (Dixon & Farrell)

Ask Me Why    (McCartney/Lennon)

Please, Please Me  (McCartney/Lennon)

SIDE TWO

Love Me Do   (McCartney/Lennon)

P.S. I Love You    (McCartney/Lennon)

Baby It’s You (David/Williams/Bacharach)

Do You Want To Know A Secret  (McCartney/Lennon)

A Taste Of Honey    (Scott/Marlow)

There’s A Place    (McCartney/Lennon)

Twist & Shout  (Medley/Russell)

Please, Please Me

1963

The Beatles

Their first-ever album, Please Please Me is raw and rough and still very rock & roll. Having already scored two hits when this appeared, Lennon and McCartney were only just beginning to flex their writing muscles and so relied heavily on the cover material to see them through. Their insecurity about their own abilities seems curious in hindsight since they'd pulled the title song and "I Saw Her Standing There" (with thanks to Little Richard) out of their hats. But they were an unknown quantity, still to launch a million bands and take pop music to places it had never dreamed of. A small step for four men, a giant leap for music.    --Chris Nickson     

Track Listing

Side 1

   1. White Christmas - Darlene Love

   2. Frosty The Snowman - Ronettes

   3. The Bells of St. Mary's - Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans

   4. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Crystals

   5. Sleigh Ride - Ronettes

   6. Marshmallow World - Darlene Love

Side 2

   1. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Ronettes

   2. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Crystals

   3. Winter Wonderland - Darlene Love

   4. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers - Crystals

   5. Christmas - Baby Please Come Home - Darlene Love

   6. Here Comes Santa Claus - Bob B Soxx & The Blue Jeans

   7. Silent Night - Phil Spector & Artists

Christmas A Gift

For You

1963

Phil Spector

This lavish holiday set has been called the greatest rock & roll Christmas album of all time. That's an opinion that's tough to argue with when you find yourself immersed in the massive sounds painstakingly crafted by legendary producer Phil Spector. His "wall-of-sound" technique is perfectly suited to the music of the season, as he proves with layer upon layer of piano, sleigh bells, buoyant percussion, and, of course, those legendary Spector sound harmonies. The Crystals turn their sassy interplay into sheer magic on "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town", The Ronettes stroll sweetly through numbers like "Sleigh Ride", while Darlene Love delivers areal knockout punch with her yearning version of "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)". Sure to become the soundtrack for your holidays. --DavidSprague

                               Track Listing

SIDE ONE

It Won’t Be Long  (Lennon/McCartney)

All I’ve Got To Do    (Lennon/McCartney)

All My Loving    (Lennon/McCartney)

Don’t Bother Me     (Harrison)

Little Child     (Lennon/McCartney)

Till There Was You      ( Willson)

Please Mr. Postman  (Dobbin/Garrett/Garman/Brianbert)

SIDE TWO

Roll Over Beethoven   (Berry)

Hold Me Tight      (Lennon/McCartney)

You Really Got A Hold On Me  (Robinson)

I Wanna Be Your Man (Lennon/McCartney)

Devil In Her Heart   (Drapkin)

Not A Second Time   (Lennon/McCartney)

Money   (Bradford/Gordy)

With The Beatles

1963

The Beatles

This is the one that turned the world upside-down. Released as its creators evolved from pop group to phenomenon, WITH THE BEATLES both affirmed promise and proclaimed genius. A slew of memorable Lennon/McCartney compositions embraced pop at its most multi-faceted, robust, melancholic, excited, and wistful. Their grasp of melody and harmony startled, yet for every unusual chord sequence employed, the Beatles' vigour and sense of purpose remained true. Influences and mentors were acknowledged by a handful of cover versions, but the strength of the album lies in the group's own creations. WITH THE BEATLES freed artists to record their own material, and the course of pop was irrevocably changed.

                                       Track Listing

SIDE ONE

   1. I Get Around

   2. All Summer Long

   3. Hushabye

   4. Little Honda

   5. We'll Run Away

   6. Carl's Big Chance

SIDE TWO

   7. Wendy

   8. Do You Remember?

   9. Girls on the Beach

  10. Drive-In

  11. Our Favorite Recording Sessions

  12. Don't Back Down

Beach Boys

The Beach Boys' second album of 1964 (they released four that year!) was released at the height of rampant Beatlemania. But that stiff competition only served to push Wilson and his band to new creative heights. The budding transatlantic rivalry also effectively made this the final album of Brian Wilson's early sun-'n'-fun period--his personal introspection and insecurities would increasingly inform his work hereafter. That either dates All Summer Long or marks it as a time-capsule classic (more likely the latter). Wilson's Phil Spector-inspired production blossoms in service of such pressing concerns as the fun of motorcycling ("Little Honda"), seasonal fun ("All Summer Long") and the joys of dining out ("Drive In"). But the Hawthorne Hedonists also convey Wilson's romantic brooding on "Hushabye" and "Girls on the Beach," bittersweet reminders of how fragile their leader was at heart. All Summer Long now seems an ironic tribute to a simpler, long-vanished American ethos. --Jerry McCulley

Track Listing

SIDE 1

1.Too Much Monkey Business

2. Got Love If You Want It

3. Smokestack Lightning

4. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

5. Respectable

SIDE 2

1. Five Long Years

2. Pretty Girl

3. Louise

4. I'm a Man

5. Here 'Tis

The Yardbirds

The Yardbirds are particularly known for having three of the best British rock guitarists among their number: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page making them one of the best rock 'n'roll/blues bands of the sixties.  

This debut album recorded live at Soho's Marquee Club in 1964 opens up with a cover of Chuck Berry's too much monkey business and romps into Got love if you want it. Good morning little schoolgirl was a single released earlier that year. The energy and enthusiasm of the group, tasty harmonica playing and wild instrumental breaks take you into the atmosphere of the time.

                                    Track Listing

SIDE ONE

   1. I Should Have Known Better

   2. If I Fell

   3. I'm Happy Just To Dance With You

   4. And I Love Her

   5. Tell Me Why

   6. Can't Buy Me Love

SIDE TWO

   1. Hard Day's Night

   2. Anytime At All

   3. I'll Cry Instead

   4. Things We Said Today

   5. When I Get Home

   6. You Can't Do That

   7. I'll Be Back

The Beatles

 A HARD DAY'S NIGHT was the first Beatles album of all-original material, and the first to feature George Harrison playing his Rickenbacker electric 12-string guitar (on the opening chord of "A Hard Day's Night", for instance). The distinctive sound of the 12-string inspired countless guitarists including Roger McGuinn and David Crosby of the Byrds.

The film from which these songs hail remains a classic combination of happy 1960’s naivete and nascent hipster wit. Many of the most important rock bands to emerge in the latter half of the '60s came into being because of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT's irresistible vibrancy. The tunes flow like the finest red wine, as the title track leads to the glorious harmonica of "I Should Have Known Better" and the powerfully poignant "If I Fell".   

                        Track Listing

Side 1

1. Beautiful Delilah    

2. So Mystifying    

3. Just Can't Go To Sleep     

4. Long Tall Shorty     

5. I Took My Baby Home    

6. I'm A Lover Not A Fighter     

7. You Really Got Me    

Side 2

1. Cadillac     

2. Bald Headed Woman    

3. Revenge    

4. Too Much Monkey Business     

5. I've Been Driving On Bald Mountain   

6. Stop Your Sobbing    

7. Got Love If You Want It

The Kinks

The Kinks were formed by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in their home town of Muswell Hill, North London. Formerly known as The Ravens they changed their name to the Kinks having secured a recording contract with PYE Records.

Released in October 1964 the Kinks self-titled debut album contains their number one single “You Really Got Me”. Starts off with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Beautiful Delilah" and later has his “To much Monkey Business”. With a sprinkling of Ray Davies compositions this was a vehicle for better things to come.

Track Listing

SIDE ONE

The Times They Are A Changin’

Ballad Of Hollis Brown

With God On Our Side

One Too Many Mornings

North Country Blues

SIDE TWO

Only A Pawn In Their Game

Boots Of Spanish Leather

When The Ship Comes In

The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll

Restless Farewell

Bob Dylan

One of the darkest of Dylan albums, Times... is the work of a 22-year-old who sounds no less sick of it all than the ailing 55-year-old who made Time out of Mind. There's a place here for rousing protests such as the title track and "When the Ship Comes In", but those songs are outnumbered by the equally powerful, drainingly pessimistic likes of "Only a Pawn in Their Game", "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll", and "The Ballad of Hollis Brown". It's as if Dylan had to deliver his grimmest topical material before moving on to Another Side's liberation and laughs. --Rickey Wright

  Track List   

Side 1

1. Out in the Street

2. I Don't Mind    

3. The Good's Gone

4. La-La-La Lies

5. Much Too Much

6. My Generation

Side 2     

1. The Kids Are Alright

2. Please, Please, Please

3. It's Not True

4. I'm a Man

5. A Legal Matter

6. The Ox

The Who

A glowering cover photo, on-the-run sound quality, and music to match. That's My Generation, and while it's hardly as consistent as The Who Sell Out, it's just as much fun to play. With the band steamrolling the title anthem, "The Kids Are Alright," "A Legal Matter," and a couple of James Brown covers, you can bet it was for them, too. Rock & roll for the hottest day of summer. --Rickey Wright

The Animals

Track Listing

   1. Do You Believe In Magic

   2. Blues In The Bottle

   3. Sportin' Life

   4. My Gal

   5. You Baby

   6. Fishin' Blues

   7. Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?

   8. Wild About My Lovin'

   9. Other Side Of This Life

  10. Younger Girl

Lovin’ Spoonful

The Lovin' Spoonful's 1965 debut set the tone for their entire career: summery good-time music with its roots in Greenwich Village's jugband folk scene of the early '60s. However, besides the massive hits of the title track and the slyly funny "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?", a good chunk of this brief album consists of snappy, slightly electrified versions of traditional American folk songs like "Blues in the Bottle" and "The Sportin' Life". The combination of these slices of juiced-up trad folk and Brill Building pop, like the Mann/Weil hit "You Baby", works better than one might expect, because John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, the leaders of the group, seem to make no distinctions between the two styles. Later albums would be even poppier, but Do You Believe in Magic has a folk-rockin' charm all of its own.

Track Listing                                     1965     

   1. Born in Chicago

   2. Shake Your Moneymaker

   3. Blues With a Feeling

   4. Thank You Mr. Poobah

   5. I Got My Mojo Working

   6. Mellow Down Easy

   7. Screamin'

   8. Our Love Is Drifting

   9. Mystery Train

  10. Last Night

  11. Look Over Yonders Wall  

A slew of albums by young white men out of their minds in love with music made by older black men came from both sides of the Atlantic during the mid-1960s, but two records really laid the groundwork for the decade's blues revival--the self-titled releases by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers out of London and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band out of Chicago. Both bands were led by harmonica-blowing vocalists; both featured ascending guitar gods--Eric Clapton with Mayall and Mike Bloomfield with Butterfield. Butterfield's ensemble, however, came of age closer to the roots of the music. The rhythm section heard on the group's 1965 debut was hired away from Howlin' Wolf, and Butterfield, while still in his early 20’s when the album shipped, was already a familiar face on the Windy City's club circuit. "Born in Chicago" opens the album on a gritty note that never flags through this 11-track landmark. The slashing duo guitars of Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop and Butterfield's flash harp helped make Muddy Waters fathomable for a new audience and, decades later, it's still easy to understand how. --Steven Stolder

                           Track Listing

SIDE ONE  

   1. Drive My Car

   2. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)

   3. You Won't See Me

   4. Nowhere Man

   5. Think For Yourself

   6. The Word

   7. Michelle

SIDE TWO

   1. What Goes On

   2. Girl

   3. I'm Looking Through You

   4. In My Life

   5. Wait

   7. If I Needed Someone

   8. Run For Your Life

The Beatles

Rank 'em how you like, Rubber Soul is an undeniable pivot point in the Fab Four's varied discography no matter where, or how, you first heard it. The album was softened up in its original 12-song American edition to jibe with the Dylan/Byrds folk-rock sound, as well as squeeze money from the Parlophone catalog. The 14-song U.K. edition--the version now available on compact disc--is a different, more dynamic, and ultimately more accomplished achievement. So many classics: "Drive My Car" and "Nowhere Man" (both omitted from the U.S. edition) merge the early combustible Beatifics to a burgeoning studio consciousness; "The Word" can be read as a pre-psych warning shot; the sitar-laden "Norwegian Wood" and the evocative "Girl" (the latter written on the last night of the sessions) stand as turning points in John Lennon's oeuvre. George finally emerges too, with the McGuinn-ish "If I Needed Someone." --Don Harrison

SIDE 1

1. Ole Man Trouble

2. Respect

3. Change Gonna Come

4. Down in the Valley

5. I've Been Loving You Too Long

SIDE 2

6. Shake

7. My Girl

8. Wonderful World

9. Rock Me Baby

10. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

11. You Don't Miss Your Water

Otis Redding

Otis Redding was a singer of such commanding stature that to this day he embodies the essence of soul music in its purist form. from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s website page on Redding’s 1989 induction. Though Otis Redding’s career was cut tragically short by a plane crash, his legacy and recordings are inestimably large. Intense, raw and emotional, his sound defines golden era Southern soul. Redding’s third album, OTIS BLUE: OTIS REDDING SINGS SOUL, is considered his first LP masterpiece, and it ranks #74 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, noting that it was recorded in a single 24-hour period in 1965, calls it, a virtual soul-music primer. The original album features a trio of songs by Sam Cooke, Redding’s idol, who had passed away shortly before OTIS BLUE was made. It also features his version of Respect a song he wrote, but that’s an Aretha signature his great cover of (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction and other classic tracks.

SIDE ONE

1. Road Runner

2. Summertime

3. I Can't Make Up My Mind

4. The Way I Feel Inside

5. Work 'N' Play

6. You've Really Got a Hold on Me/

       Bring It on Home to Me

7. She's Not There

SIDE TWO

1. Sticks and Stones

2. Can't Nobody Love You

3. Woman

4. I Don't Want to Know

5. I Remember When I Loved Her

6. What More Can I Do

7. I Got My Mojo Working

The Zombies

The Zombies were the most underrated band which came together in the sixties. Formed in the London suburb of St. Albans in 1962 and led by Rod Argent (piano,organ and vocals) and Colin Blunstone (vocals). Their melodies and vocal harmonies with the backing of Rod Argent's classical-influenced organ and piano, made the band's sound unique for their era. Begin Here was their debut album with Argent songs “She's not There”, “ I Remember When I Loved Her” and "The Way I Feel Inside" being the highlight of the album. Their version of the George Gershwin song “Summertime” is exceptional.

   Track Listing

   1. Like a Rolling Stone

   2. Tombstone Blues

   3. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry

   4. From a Buick 6

   5. Ballad of a Thin Man

   6. Queen Jane Approximately

   7. Highway 61 Revisited

   8. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

   9. Desolation Row

Bob Dylan

Dylan was virtually gushing great songs when this masterpiece arrived in the summer of 1965. From the epochal opening of "Like a Rolling Stone" through the absurdly apocalyptic closer, "Desolation Row," his command of surrealistic language was daring and amazing. As a vocalist, he was rewriting the rules of the game. Jimi Hendrix made note of Mr. Z's technically suspect pitch and decided that he too was a singer. And the backing, though ragged, is precisely right. Is this the essential Dylan album? It's certainly one of them. --Steven Stolder

SIDE ONE

   1. Mothers little helper

   2. Stupid Girl

   3. Lady Jane

   4. Under My Thumb

   5. Doncha Bother Me

   6. Going Home

SIDE TWO

   7. Flight 505

   8. High And Dry

   9. Out Of Time

  10. It's Not Easy

  11. I Am Waiting

  12. Take it or Leave It

  13. Think

  14. What To Do

Rolling Stones

For this 1966 album, one Stone asserted himself even more than Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who for the first time wrote all the album's songs. Brian Jones is all over the opening "Paint It Black", which remains a dark classic more for its spooky sitar than for Jagger's dated psychedelia. Jones's marimba boosts the R&B-derived "Under My Thumb" and his harpsichord somehow makes the subject of "Lady Jane" more interesting. Though Charlie Watts's jazz-derived fills and Bill Wyman's bass continue growing into rock's greatest rhythm section, a disturbing misogyny creeps into Jagger's class-conscious lyrics, especially on "Under My Thumb", and "Stupid Girl". --Steve Knopper

Track Listing

1. The Sound of Silence

2. Leaves That Are Green

3. Blessed

4. Kathy's Song

5. Somewhere They Can't Find Me

6. Anji

7. Homeward Bound

8. Richard Cory

9. A Most Peculiar Man

10. April Come She Will

11. We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin'

12. I Am a Rock

Simon & Garfunkel

One suspects that Paul Simon cringes a bit when he listens to Simon & Garfunkel's 1966 breakthrough release. Lines from "I Am a Rock" ("For a rock feels no pain / And an island never cries") and the title track ("Fools, said I, you do not know / Silence like a cancer grows") are the essence of sophomoric poetry. And who but a couple of self-serious young men would sequence the suicide odes "Richard Cory" and "A Most Peculiar Man" back to back? That said, every callow couplet found here is counterbalanced by words that are disarmingly guileless. The unabashed romanticism of "Kathy's Song" is truly poignant; it ranks with "For Emily" and "The Only Living Boy in New York" among the duo's most resplendent performances. "April Come She Will" has a similar innocent appeal, while the title track, despite its overwrought moments and Tom Wilson's tacked-on production, is a folk-rock landmark. It's not hard to find fault with The Sounds of Silence, but it's easier still to bask in its inchoate splendour.             Steven Stolder

                             Track Listing

SIDE ONE

   1. Wouldn't It Be Nice

   2. You Still Believe In Me

   3. That's Not Me

   4. Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)

   5. I'm Waiting For The Day

   6. Let's Go Away For Awhile

   7. Sloop John B

SIDE TWO

   1. God Only Knows

   2. I Know There's An Answer

   3. Here Today

   4. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times

   5. Pet Sounds

   6. Caroline No

Beach Boys

This was pretty much the only occasion on which Brian Wilson managed to articulate his extraordinary musical vision over the length of an album. As such, Pet Sounds is not merely one of the greatest records ever made, but also one of the towering masterpieces of 20th-century art. Every song here, from the exuberant introduction of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" to the concluding, wistful lament of "Caroline No", is definitive pop music. Wilson's fantastical orchestrations and harmonies support a collection of lyrics which are childishly innocent almost to the point of appearing sinister--no album has ever started with a less traditionally rock & roll sentiment than "Wouldn't it be nice if we were married?". When delivered in Wilson's anguished whine, the effect is gloriously heartbreaking--as statements of naked vulnerability go, "I Know There's An Answer" and "I Just \ Wasn't Made For These Times" remain difficult to top. Popular legend has it that when the fiercely insecure and competitive Wilson, a year on from Pet Sounds, heard the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, he was devastated. He needn't have worried. Pet Sounds wasn't trumped then, and it won't be anytime in the future.--Andrew Mueller

                               Track Listing

Side One  

1. All Your Love

2. Hideaway

3. Little Girl

4. Another Man

5. Double Crossing Time

6. What'd I Say

Side Two

1. Key to Love

2. Parchman Farm

3. Have You Heard

4. Ramblin' on My Mind

5. Steppin' Out

6. It Ain't Right

John Mayall

Rarely has any single record album induced such a shift in popular music. Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton not only catapulted Clapton to the helm of the burgeoning British blues-rock scene, it likewise made significant noise on the other side of the Atlantic--where the blues had literally been born, bred, and buttered. In addition to Mayall (guitar/vocals) and Clapton (guitar/vocals), this incarnation of the Blues Breakers utilises the talents of John McVie (bass) and Hughie Flint (drums). As a combo, this band was able to reinvent the American blues for a fresh audience whose ultimate response would give rise to subgenres such as heavy metal and other roots-related rock. While their contributions prove immeasurable, they are likewise sadly eclipsed by that of Clapton. In retrospect--unlike many of the other revolutionary changes occurring in pop music circa the mid-60s--the Blues Breakers are infinitely more subtle in their attack. Their most obvious weapon is the advantage of documenting in-the-studio material from their live performance set. Clapton needed precious little time to gestate the blues. His ability to express himself is uncanny, as if he were a man twice--if not three times--his age. The passionate inflections and unforgettable impressions Clapton makes upon these grooves swiftly catapulted him into both international exposure as well as legendary guitar rock idol status. Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton is an invaluable touchstone into primordial pre-metal rock & roll. --Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

SIDE ONE  

   1. Taxman

   2. Eleanor Rigby

   3. I'm Only Sleeping

   4. Love You To

   5. Here, There and Everywhere

   6. Yellow Submarine

   7. She Said, She Said

SIDE TWO

   1. Good Day Sunshine

   2. And Your Bird Can Sing

   3. For No One

   4. Doctor Robert

   5. I Want to Tell You

   6. Got to Get You into My Life

   7. Tomorrow Never Knows

The Beatles

Revolver wouldn't remain the Beatles' most ambitious LP for long, but many fans--including this one--remember it as their best. An object lesson in fitting great songwriting into experimental production and genre play, this is also a record whose influence extends far beyond mere they-was-the-greatest cheerleading. Putting McCartney's more traditionally melodic "Here, There and Everywhere" and "For No One" alongside Lennon's direct-hit sneering ("Dr. Robert") and dreamscapes ("I'm Only Sleeping," "Tomorrow Never Knows") and Harrison's peaking wit ("Taxman") was as conceptually brilliant as anything Sgt. Pepper attempted, and more subtly fulfilling. A must. –  Rickey Wright

Track Listing

   1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35

   2. Pledging My Time

   3. Visions of Johanna

   4. One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)

   5. I Want You

   6. Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again

   7. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat

   8. Just Like a Woman

   9. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)

  10. Temporary Like Achilles

  11. Absolutely Sweet Marie

  12. 4th Time Around

  13. Obviously 5 Believers

  14. Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands

Bob Dylan

Considered an unprecedented magnum opus when it arrived on two records in May of 1966 (1997's Time out of Mind is actually only about a minute shorter), Blonde on Blonde featured Dylan continuing to demonstrate remarkable powers over the course of 14 new numbers. Working in Nashville with session men and a few conscripted recruits (Al Kooper, Robbie Robertson), Dylan continued to bend minds with his warped lyrics and phrasing. Even dashed-off numbers such as "Obviously 5 Believers" and "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" contribute to the crazed, fun-house ambience. Dylan will never be this wild again. --Steven Stolder

                                Track Listing

Side One

   1. Have You Seen Your Mother Baby Standing In The Shadows

   2. Paint it Black

   3. It’s All Over Now

   4. The Last Time

   5. Heart of Stone

   6. Not Fade Away

   7. Come On

Side Two

   8. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction)

   9. Get Off My Cloud

  10. As Tears Go By

  11. 19th Nervous Breakdown

  12. Lady Jane

  13. Time Is On My Side

  14. Little Red Rooster

Rolling Stones

Noteworthy for the first album appearance of "19th Nervous Breakdown" and the hit version of "Time Is on My Side", this first collection in a long line of Rolling Stones retrospectives collects the early singles of a band that was slowly and surely becoming the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band. They're hungry here and they churn out a scruffy version of the Buddy Holly hit "Not Fade Away" as well as their own compositions ("(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Get Off of My Cloud"). Their ability to work ballads into their rough-hewn repertoire is apparent ("Play with Fire" and "As Tears Go By") and Jagger's persona as the devil incarnate is taking shape. --Rob O'Connor

Track Listing

Side One

1. She Has Funny Cars

2. Somebody to Love

3. My Best Friend

4. Today

5. Comin' Back to Me

Side Two

1. 3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds

2. D.C.B.A. - 25

3. How Do You Feel

4. Embryonic Journey

5. White Rabbit

6. Plastic Fantastic Lover

Jefferson Airplane

When she joined the Jefferson Airplane in 1966 as replacement for original vocalist Signe Anderson, Grace Slick brought with her two songs she'd performed in her previous band, the Great Society: "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit". Featured on this classic 1967 album, they became US Top 10 hits and helped establish both the San Francisco and the emerging counterculture they celebrated. With Jorma Kaukonen's sinewy guitar, Jack Casady's probing bass and Spencer Dryden's inventive drumming swirling around Slick and co-vocalists Marty Balin and Paul Kantner on songs like "She Has Funny Cars" and "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds", Surrealistic Pillow virtually defined the communal spirit of Summer of Love hippiedom. --Billy Altman

Track Listing

   1. Flying High

   2. Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine

   3. Death Sound Blues

   4. Porpoise Mouth

   5. Section 43

   6. Superbird

   7. Sad and Lonely Times

   8. Love

   9. Bass Strings

  10. The Masked Marauder

  11. Grace

Country Joe and the Fish

Given their origins, both geographically (San Francisco) and stylistically (founder Joe McDonald and lead guitarist Barry Melton first hooked up in a jug band), it wasn't surprising that the ragtag Fish sounded like an acid-soaked, plugged-in folk band when they debuted in '67. Simultaneously the most political and funniest of all the Northern California bands, the Fish's yippie-hippie philosophy was reflected in songs like "Superbird" (about Lyndon Johnson), "Flying High" (about getting you-know-what), and the bluesy free love saga, "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine." That they could periodically wax serious as well (the wide-angled instrumental "Section Forty Three" and the moody "Bass Strings") only added more bite to their satiric pungency. --Billy Altman

Side One  

   1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

   2. With A Little Help From My Friends

   3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

   4. Getting Better

   5. Fixing A Hole

   6. She's Leaving Home

   7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!

Side Two

   8. Within You Without You

   9. When I'm Sixty-Four

  10. Lovely Rita

  11. Good Morning Good Morning

  12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)

  13. A Day In The Life

The Beatles

One of the most famous and influential albums ever recorded, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band had a huge impact on the music world, signaling the beginning of a new era of sophistication and maturity in rock. The musical experimentation was dynamic and fresh, several tracks were edited to create seamless transitions, and even the visual design was more elaborate than anything previously attempted. Producer George Martin and The Beatles searched for new sounds and studio effects. They added crowd sounds and animal cries from sound-effects recordings, sped up Paul McCartney's vocals in "When I'm Sixty-Four" (to make him sound younger), and sustained a single piano chord for 40 seconds to end "A Day In The Life." The orchestrations, scored by Martin, were hailed by critics as bridging the gap between pop and classical music, and many people who had never bought a rock record bought Sgt. Pepper's.

Track Listing

Side One

1. Dear Eloise

2. Away Away Away

3. Maker

4. Pegasus

5. Would You Believe

6. Wishyouawish

Side Two  

1. Postcard

2. Charlie And Fred

3. Try It

4. Elevated Observations

5. Step Inside

6. Butterfly

The Hollies

The Hollies have been ignored for too long. There are so many 'Greatest Hits' albums available covering the Hollies 30 + years in the industry, all of them are good. However, this is an album that really works. Few of the songs that appear on this album appear on your average 'Hollies Greatest' releases but this is in no way a reflection of the material on Butterfly. The story telling on the songs “Dear Eloise”, “Charlie and Fred” and the quaintness of “Wishyouawish” make this album a must.

Track Listing

Side One

   1. Break On Through (To The Other Side)

   2. Soul Kitchen

   3. The Crystal Ship

   4. Twentieth Century Fox

   5. Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)

   6. Light My Fire

Side Two

   7. Back Door Man

   8. I Looked At You

   9. End Of The Night

  10. Take It As It Comes

  11. The End

The Doors

On their 1967 debut album, the Doors more than fulfilled the promise of their infamously challenging gigs around Los Angeles throughout the previous year. Whether belting out a standard like "Back Door Man" or talk-singing such originals as "The Crystal Ship" and "I Looked at You," leather-clad vocalist Jim Morrison exuded both sensuality and menace. The mixture, on the outsize album finale, "The End," helped rewrite the rules on rock song composition. None of this would have worked, though, were it not for the highly visual instrumental work of keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robbie Krieger, and drummer John Densmore, whose work on tracks such as "Take It As It Comes" and the lengthy hit "Light My Fire" virtually defined the rock-blues-jazz-classical amalgam that was acid-rock. --Billy Altman

Track Listing

Side One

1. Astronomy Domine

2. Lucifer Sam

3. Matilda Mother

4. Flaming

5. Pow R. Toc H.

6. Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk

Side Two

1. Interstellar Overdrive

2. The Gnome

3. Chapter 24

4. The Scarecrow

5. Bike

Pink Floyd

While they took their name from blues musicians Pink Anderson and Floyd Council when they started out as an R&B combo in the mid-60s, Pink Floyd's leader, guitarist Syd Barrett, soon began piloting the band through unprecedented sonic excursions typified by the title of their 1967 debut album's most celebrated track--the outsized instrumental "Interstellar Overdrive." Equally adept at composing catchy-sounding, Gothic-themed pop songs such as "See Emily Play," "The Scarecrow" and "The Gnome," Barrett seemed destined for greatness--that is, until psychedelic drugs got the best of him, and he abandoned the band to bassist Roger Waters and new guitarist David Gilmour. The rest, as they say, is history. --Billy Altman

Track Listing

Side One

   1. Mr. Soul

   2. A Child's Claim to Fame

   3. Everydays

   4. Expecting to Fly

   5. Bluebird

Side Two

   6.Hung Upside Down

   7. Sad Memory

   8. Good Time Boy

   9. Rock & Roll Woman

  10. Broken Arrow

Buffalo Springfield

In retrospect, it's hard to believe that Buffalo Springfield could not only top their debut album, but that they'd do it within a year. AGAIN clearly states the band's case as a rootsy American Beatles to rival folk-rock kings the Byrds.

Singer-songwriters Steve Stills and Neil Young were firing on all cylinders, Young moving easily from sharp-tongued acid rock ("Mr. Soul") to complex, art song-like ballads (the epic "Broken Arrow"). Stills could shift on a dime as well, offering the hypnotic, jazzy waltz "Everydays" right alongside the celebratory "Rock & Roll Woman" and the RUBBER SOUL-influenced "Bluebird". Richie Furay gamely navigated the choppy seas between these two giants and penned some beautiful, ahead-of-its-time country-rock along the way.

Track Listing

Side 1

1. John Wesley Harding

2. As I Went Out One Morning

3. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine

4. All Along The Watchtower

5. The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest

6. Drifter's Escape

Side 2

1. Dear Landlord

2. I Am A Lonesome Hobo

3. I Pity The Poor Immigrant

4. The Wicked Messenger

5. Down Along The Cove

6. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan's remarkable first album after his debilitating 1966 motorcycle accident isn't as urgent as the ambitious folk and rock songs he wrote earlier in the decade. Even considering the rocking "All Along the Watchtower" (covered famously by Jimi Hendrix), the album's overall feeling is soft and laid-back, all gently strummed guitars, perfectly timed harmonicas, and some of Dylan's best pure singing to date. The 1967 release sounds as if the songwriter and his three sidemen set up a few tape recorders in a bedroom and began playing as soon as they woke up in the morning. They open with the title track (a folk fable), move into the piano-driven "Dear Landlord," and close with the sweet love song "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight." --Steve Knopper

Track Listing

   1. The Day Begins

   2. Dawn Is a Feeling

   3. Another Morning

   4. Peak Hour

   5. Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)

   6. Time to Get Away

   7. The Sun Set

   8. Twilight Time

   9. Nights in White Satin

Moody Blues

The Moody Blues' second album was also their first of what would be a succession of "concept" albums. Inspired by the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper and utilizing the London Festival Orchestra primarily for epic instrumental interludes between songs, Days of Future Passed moved the Birmingham band away from its early R&B roots (as displayed on its debut album with soon-to-depart future Wings member Denny Laine into uncharted rock territory, making them the early pioneers of both classical and progressive rock. The concept of the 1967 release was very simple, tracing a day in the life from dawn to night, from awakening to sleep.

                                Track Listing

Side One

1. Strange Brew

2. Sunshine of your Love

3. World of Pain

4. Dance the Night Away

5. Blue Condition

Side Two

1. Tales of Brave Ulysses

2. SWLABR

3. We’re Going Wrong

4. Outside Woman Blues

5. Take It Back

6. Mother’s Lament

Cream

Fresh Cream, the album that introduced this seminal super-blues trio to America, was perhaps a bit too blues-based to do the advance hype ("Clapton is God!") justice. Two of its three best-known tracks, after all, were blues covers; it was Disraeli Gears that turned Cream into a "supergroup." Here they pursue the psychedelic ideals of the era with total abandon (the LP cover art still stands as one of the 1960s' most striking designs), merging these ideals with their take on the blues and adorning the amalgamation with some superb pop craftsmanship. Of the 11 originals here, four--"Tales of Brave Ulysses", "SWLABR", "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love"--earned major airplay. This, their excess-free greatest moment, does the Cream legend proud. --Bill Holdship

Track Listing

   1. Bookends Theme

   2. Save The Life Of My Child

   3. America

   4. Overs

   5. Voices Of Old People

   6. Old Friends

   7. Bookends Theme

   8. Fakin' It

   9. Punky's Dilemma

  10. Mrs. Robinson

  11. A Hazy Shade Of Winter

  12. At The Zoo

Simon & Garfunkel

Track for track, this is Simon & Garfunkel's best album. By 1968, Simon had shed his more precious tendencies as a songsmith. Meanwhile, the duo and coproducer/engineer Roy Halee had become adept studio technicians. "America" and "Mrs. Robinson" displayed the kind of sonic breadth that would flower even more fully two years later with "The Boxer" and "Bridge over Troubled Water." Bits of whimsy ("Punky's Dilemma," "At the Zoo") and melancholy ("Old Friends," "A Hazy Shade of Winter") complete this autumnal album.  --Steven Stolder

SIDE 1

1. Ogden's Nut Gone Flake

2. Afterglow (Of Your Love)

3. Long Ago’s and Worlds Apart

4. Rene

5. Song of a Baker

6. Lazy Sunday

SIDE 2

1. Happiness Stan

2. Rollin' Over

3. The Hungry Intruder

4. The Journey

5. Mad John

6. Happy Days Toy Town

Small Faces

Barely qualifying as a "concept" album, the second half of this album tells the story of Happiness Stan, a young man who sees the moon turn from full to half and decides he needs to find the missing part. It's a rather odd tale that's adorned with lush, psychedelic arrangements. The spoken narrative that links each song (provided by one Stanley Unwin in barely decipherable Clockwork Orange-style English) contributes to the yarn's surrealistic atmosphere. The real gems on this recording, however, are the six songs that make up the record's first half. From the sludgy, acid-jazz feel of the title track straight through to the comic plea for peace, love, and understanding ("Lazy Sunday," a song that opens with the universal sentiment "Wouldn't it be nice to get on with me neighbours..."), the real concept at work here is based on unforgettable songwriting. --Percy Keegan

              Track Listing

1. Overture

2. I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know

3. Morning Glory

4. My Days Are Numbered

5. Without Her

6. Just One Smile

7. I Can't Quit Her

8. Meagan's Gypsy Eyes

9. Somethin' Goin' On

10. House in the Country

11. The Modern Adventures of Plato, Diogenes           and Freud

12. So Much Love/Underture

Blood Sweat & Tears

Child Is Father To The Man is keyboard player/singer/arranger Al Kooper's finest work, taking in classical and jazz elements (including strings and horns), all without losing the pop essence that makes the hybrid work. Featuring classics such as "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," "I Can't Quit Her," "My Days Are Numbered" and "Morning Glory," this is the sound of a group of virtuosos enjoying itself in the newly open possibilities of pop music.

  Disc 1:

   1. Back in the U.S.S.R.

   2. Dear Prudence

   3. Glass Onion

   4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

   5. Wild Honey Pie

   6. Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill

   7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

   8. Happiness Is a Warm Gun

   9. Martha My Dear

  10. I'm So Tired

  11. Blackbird

  12. Piggies

  13. Rocky Raccoon

  14. Don't Pass Me By

  15. Why Don't We Do It in the Road?

  16. I Will

  17. Julia

The Beatles

  Disc 2:

   1. Birthday

   2. Yer Blues

   3. Mother Nature's Son

   4. Everybody's Got Something To        Hide Except Me And My Monkey

   5. Sexy Sadie

   6. Helter Skelter

   7. Long, Long, Long

   8. Revolution 1

   9. Honey Pie

  10. Savoy Truffle

  11. Cry Baby Cry

  12. Revolution 9

  13. Good Night

Better known as the "White Album," this was meant to be the record that brought them back to earth after three years of studio experimentation. Instead, it took them all over the place, continuing to burst the envelope of pop music. Lennon and McCartney were still at the height of their powers, with Lennon in particular growing into one of rock's towering figures. But even McCartney could still rock, and the amazement on "Helter Skelter" was that he had vocal cords at the end. From Beach Boys knock-offs to reggae and to the unknown ("Revolution #9"), this has it all. Some records have legend written all over them; this is one. --Chris Nickson

Track Listing

   1. Hello, I Love You

   2. Love Street

   3. Not To Touch The Earth

   4. Summer's Almost Gone

   5. Wintertime Love

   6. The Unknown Soldier

   7. Spanish Caravan

   8. My Wild Love

   9. We Could Be So Good Together

  10. Yes, The River Knows

  11. Five To One

The Doors

With the massive success of the single "Light My Fire" and their initial two albums, L.A.'s the Doors quickly built a sizable reputation for edgy, often over-the-top musical drama. Perhaps wary of stereotyping, or simply worn out from their gruelling early success, the band took a decided left turn into softer sounds here, from the pop-drenched "Hello, I Love You" to the flamenco guitar wash of "Spanish Caravan." Even gentle ballads (by the band's standards, anyway) were a part of the Doors' new sensibility, as witnessed by "Love Street" and "Summer's Almost Gone." But lest one think the band had gone a little too soft, the antiwar diatribe "The Unknown Soldier," the edgy "Five to One," and the deliciously strange "Not to Touch the Earth" were there to remind listeners that even if the band had mellowed a bit, they were still a long way from Jay and the Americans. --Jerry McCulley

   Track Listing

1. Combination of the Two

2. I Need a Man to Love

3. Summertime

4. Piece of My Heart

5. Turtle Blues

6. Oh, Sweet Mary

7. Ball and Chain

Big Brother

&

Holding Company

One of the most eagerly awaited albums in rock history, Big Brother & the Holding Company's 1968 major label debut (they'd previously released one thinly produced collection on the small Mainstream label) made good on all the hype generated by Janis Joplin's amazing performance at the Monterey Pop Festival the year before. Crowned by its hit single, a churning remake of Aretha Franklin's sister Erma's "Piece of My Heart," the album also contained Joplin's Monterey showstopper, Big Mama Thornton's "Ball and Chain," as well as the Gershwin classic "Summertime," on which Joplin's always underappreciated band (especially guitarists Sam Andrews and James Gurley) match her vocal intensity with their own ferocious playing.

Track Listing

   1. Sympathy for the Devil

   2. No Expectations

   3. Dear Doctor

   4. Parachute Woman

   5. Jigsaw Puzzle

   6. Street Fighting Man

   7. Prodigal Son

   8. Stray Cat Blues

   9. Factory Girl

  10. Salt of the Earth

Rolling Stones

Beggars Banquet is among the Stones two or three greatest albums, so it's also among the very best rock & roll albums ever made. Though known for its twin anthems of social decay, "Sympathy For The Devil" and "Street Fighting Man," it's actually the album's gritty yet beautiful acoustic country and country-blues numbers--"Dear Doctor," "Prodigal Son," "No Expectations," "Factory Girl"--that has helped Beggars stand up so effectively through the years--that and the fact that Keith Richard's lyrics here often come as close to sincerity as he's capable. When he sings "Let's drink to the hard working people," for once you almost believe him. --David Cantwell

Side 1

1. And the Gods Made love

2 Have You ever Been (To

   Electric Ladyland)

3. Crosstown Traffic

4. Voodoo Chile

Side 2

1. Little Miss Strange

2. Long Hot Summer Night

3. Come On (part 1)

4. Gipsy Eyes

5. Burning of the Midnight Lamp

Jimi Hendrix

If it's true that songwriters have a vision in their head of what their dream album would be, Electric Ladyland was the project Jimi Hendrix hoped would be as close to perfection as possible. No longer content with the rush-recorded psychedelic pop-rock of Experienced and Axis, Ladyland was an exploration of what could be achieved with time, money and experience. Jimi's soul roots from his session days shine through for the first time with the laid-back groove of the title track and the doo-woppy "Long Hot Summer Night" showing a vocal style reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield. It's hard to pick a standout piece as the quality of the album is so high, but the four-part dream segue of "Rainy Day", "1983", "Moon Turn the Tides" and "Still Raining" is a monumental piece of early prog rock continuing the acid-soaked ideal of extraterrestrials, love, peace and war that he started earlier on with "Third Stone from the Sun". However, it's not all spectacular drawn-out blues jams and sublime soundscapes, Electric Ladyland managed to produce Jimi's only UK No. 1 single, "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" plus the timeless classics "Crosstown Traffic" and "All Along the Watchtower" making it arguably the best studio album the Experience produced in their brief career together.--David Trueman                       

Side 3

1. Rainy Day, dream Away

2. 1983 ( A mermam I Should

    Turn to Be)

3. Moon Turn the Tides Gently,

    Gently Away

Side 4

1. Still Raining, Still Dreaming

2. House Burning Down

3. All Along the Watchtower

4. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

Track Listing

   1. Green River

   2. Commotion

   3. Tombstone Shadow

   4. Wrote a Song for Everyone

   5. Bad Moon Rising

   6. Lodi

   7. Cross-Tie Walker

   8. Sinister Purpose

   9. The Night Time Is the Right Time

Creedence Clearwater

Revival

Remarkably, this is the third studio album Creedence Clearwater Revival released in 1969! During that stunning burst, John Fogerty could do no wrong. Green River isn't as chock-full of CCR standards as the record that followed it in 1970 (Cosmo's Factory), and, at 30 minutes, it's briefer than its rather brief predecessor (Willy and the Poorboys). Still, this is economy at its best. The title track, "Lodi," and "Bad Moon Rising" are all indelibly etched into the memory banks of classic-rock fans, while "Commotion" and "Cross-Tie Walker" are perfect swamp-rock complements. "The Night Time Is the Right Time" is one more in a series of spot-on Fogerty covers. And "Wrote a Song for Everyone" manages to be both rarefied and down to earth in the same breath--which is really CCR in a nutshell. --Steven Stolder

Track Listings

1. Just a Little Lovin'

2. So Much Love

3. Son of a Preacher Man

4. I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore

5. Don't Forget About Me

6. Breakfast in Bed

7. Just One Smile

8. The Windmills of Your Mind

9. In the Land of Make Believe

10. No Easy Way Down

11. I Can't Make It Alone

Dusty Springfield

Dusty Springfield never claimed to be a soul singer but Dusty in Memphis effects a unique and deeply moving synthesis of her brand of stylish pop and the Southern R&B of the late 1960’s. Her soft tones and hushed, confessional readings make for definitive versions of everything from "Son of a Preacher Man" (a later version by Aretha Franklin is good but less thrillingly sensual than this one) to Randy Newman's ballads "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" and "Just One Smile" to a swirling take on "The Windmills of Your Mind". The soul obscurity "Breakfast in Bed" even gives a knowing spin to a line from an earlier Springfield classic: "You don't have to say you love me." --Rickey Wright

Track Listing                   

   1. Stand!

   2. Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey

   3. I Want to Take You Higher

   4. Somebody's Watching You

   5. Sing a Simple Song

   6. Everday People

   7. Sex Machine

   8. You Can Make It If You Try

STAND! - SLY & FAMILY STONE

In 1967, Sly Stone was unabashed: his debut, A Whole New Thing, claimed high ground--it was new, big time. He knew it. By 1969, the newness was transformed, Sly was imploring listeners to Stand! and breaking new ground. The snarl of "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" with its droning organ and wah-wah guitar had claws, it was unmistakable. And the full-on blast of harmonica, fuzz guitars, and horns that opens "I Want to Take You Higher" just cemented the claim: Music would unite and fight and kick and get you high. "Everyday People" almost seems an anomaly in this company, a breezy harmony vocal backing, simple piano framing, long horn lines, and a churchy chorus. It's the biggest hit from Stand!, a true pop gem. What you get with the rest of the album (and Sly's early catalogue overall) is sui generis. "Sing a Simple Song" has scouring, wordless shouts, a heavy beat backed by multiple voices half-atop each other, horn riffs jetting across guitar riffs, and an abrupt, scrambling end. It's a tight and tough embrace, an open door. It's 1969. --Andrew Bartlett

Track Listing

   1. St. Stephen

   2. Dupree's Diamond Blues

   3. Rosemary

   4. Doin' That Rag

   5. Mountains Of The Moon

   6. China Cat Sunflower

   7. What's Become Of The Baby

   8. Cosmic Charlie

Grateful Dead

Rock's longest, strangest trip, the Grateful Dead were the psychedelic era's most beloved musical ambassadors as well as its most enduring survivors, spreading their message of peace, love, and mind-expansion across the globe throughout the better part of three decades. The object of adoration for popular music's most fervent and celebrated fan following -- the Deadheads.  

Aoxomoxoa is one of those albums that always sounds fresh a psychedelic sound  with tracks "St. Stephen", "Mountains of the Moon" and "Doin that Rag".

Track Listing

   1. Tin Angel

   2. Chelsea Morning

   3. I Don't Know Where I Stand

   4. That Song About the Midway

   5. Roses Blue

   6. The Gallery

   7. I Think I Understand

   8. Songs to Aging Children Come

   9. The Fiddle and the Drum

  10. Both Sides, Now

Joni Mitchell

                                               Track Listing

   1. Come Together

   2. Something

   3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer

   4. Oh! Darling

   5. Octopus's Garden

   6. I Want You (She's So Heavy)

   7. Here Comes the Sun

   8. Because

   9. You Never Give Me Your Money

  10. Sun King

  11. Mean Mr. Mustard

  12. Polythene Pam

  13. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

  14. Golden Slumbers

  15. Carry That Weight

  16. End

  17. Her Majesty

The Beatles

Side 1

1. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)

2. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man

3. Respect

4. Dr. Feelgood (Love Is A Serious Business)

5. Baby I Love You

6. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

7. Chain Of Fools

Side 2

8. (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone

9. Ain't No Way

10. Think

11. You Send Me

12. The House That Jack Built

13. I Say A Little Prayer

14. See Saw

Aretha Franklin

“There are singers,” said Ray Charles, “then there is Aretha. She towers above the rest. Others are good, but Aretha is great. She’s my only sure-enough sister.”

Since the moment Aretha stepped to the pulpit at her father’s famed New Bethel Baptist Church as a young girl singing in the great gospel tradition, the world has recognized her as a musical miracle.

Track Listing

1. 21st Century Schizoid Man/Mirrors

2. I Talk to the Wind

3. Epitaph/March for No Reason/Tomorrow and        Tomorrow

4. Moonchild/The Dream/The Illusion

5. The Court of the Crimson King/The Return of the Fire        Witch/The Dance of the Puppets

King Crimson

Originally issued back in September 1969, In the Court of King Crimson heralded the dawn of prog-rock, but is mercifully free of the over-ambition synonymous with the genre. Moonchild's subdued improvisation apart; the tracks skilfully blend song and instrumental elements: quality of music counts as much as musicianship. It's a varied album too from the manic jazz-rock of the "21st Century Schizoid Man"--which introduced Robert Fripp's angular guitar breaks into the world--and the cool beauty of "I Talk to the Wind" (a shame those harmony vocals weren't retaken), to the grandeur, but not grandiosity, of "Epitaph" and the title track. Uniquely for a first album, playing has the sort of risk-taking normally possible only after years of working together. -—–___Richard Whitehouse

Track Listing

   1. Gimme Shelter

   2. Love In Vain

   3. Country Honk

   4. Live With Me

   5. Let It Bleed

   6. Midnight Rambler

   7. You Got the Silver

   8. Monkey Man

   9. You Can't Always Get What You Want

Rolling Stones

One of the Stones' most beloved albums, 1969's Let It Bleed was a benchmark for several reasons. First, founding guitarist Brian Jones died during the recording process. Second, the Stones take their last significant look at pure blues (Robert Johnson's spooky "Love in Vain") and country ("Country Honk," the two-stepping alter ego of "Honky-Tonk Women") before folding both styles into a cohesive rock & roll vision. Third, it contains some of the band's most eerie hits, such as the flame-enveloped "Gimme Shelter," the drug-reality anthem "Monkey Man," the epic "You Can't Always Get What You Want," and Mick Jagger's menacing "Midnight Rambler." --eve Knoppe

The Who

Tommy had the dubious distinction of being the first-ever rock opera; however, it's none the worse for that, Ken Russell's adaptation notwithstanding. Due largely to Pete Townshend's skill as a songwriter and composer, Tommy tells a coherent story and includes quality rock and roll at the same time, an impressive feat by itself. While surprisingly more linear than the later Quadrophenia, Tommy boasts several songs that stand up well on their own, including the classic "Pinball Wizard," "The Acid Queen," "I'm Free," and "Sally Simpson." Much of the rest doesn't make much sense lyrically unless you listen to the entire album, but you'll probably want to do that anyway, preferably with the lights low and the stereo cranked. --______Genevieve Williams

Side 1

   1. Overture

   2. It's a boy

   3. 1921

   4. Amazing journey

   5. Sparks

   6. Eyesight to the Blind (the         hawker)

Side 2

   7. Christmas

   8. Cousin Kevin

   9. The acid queen

  10. Underture

Side 3

  11. Do you think it's alright?

  12. Fiddle about

  13. Pinball Wizard

  14. There's a doctor

  15. Go to the mirror!

  16. Tommy can you hear me?

  17. Smash the mirror

  18. Sensation

Side 4

  19. Miracle cure

  20. Sally Simpson

  21. I'm free

  22. Welcome

  23. Tommy's holiday camp

  24. We're not gonna take it