163. Fairport Convention | Unhalfbricking (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Genesis Hall
2. Si Tu Dois Partir
3. Autopsy
4. A Sailor's Life
5. Cajun Woman
6. Who Knows Where the Time Goes?
7. Percy's Song
8. Million Dollar Bash

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Note: the album cover on the left is from the UK release and the one on the right is from the US release.

Unhalfbricking is a beautiful album. Folk songs from the US and folk songs from the UK sound different. It's not a profound observation, but I wouldn't even know where to begin to explain how or why they sound different. I do think that English folk songs are more upbeat, more poetic and the storytelling is clearer and more robust. However, what's also interesting here is that Fairport Convention have covered three of Bob Dylan's songs and it's not obvious when you listen to them that they come from Dylan. They have been subsumed into the English folk tradition.

I really enjoyed this album a lot. The great melodies and Sandy Denny's voice make this a superb album. I think with this album, Fairport Convention has come up with a more accessible electric folk sound than the Pentangle and the Electric String Band have and that sound will make an appearance sometime later on this list. This album is worth listening to and is a must have for any serious folk music collection.

The stand out songs are Genesis Hall, Si Tu Dois Partir, A Sailor's Life, Cajun Woman, Percy's Song and Million Dollar Bash.

★★★★★★★★★☆

162. Chicago | The Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Introduction
2. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
3. Beginnings
4. Questions 67 and 68
5. Listen
6. Poem 58
7. Free Form Guitar
8. South California Purples
9. I'm a Man
10. Prologue (August 29, 1968)
11. Someday (August 29, 1968)
12. Liberation

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The Chicago Transit Authority is a lively album. The songs are catchy and full of horns. Despite the horns, there are some heavy songs and some wild, extended guitar solos.

Having horns in a band is always tricky. Jazz horn players are talented and serious musicians and it reflects in the music. The problem is that jazz isn't always accessible to the mainstream listener. So it's a danger to include horns in more accessible music like rock and roll. To people who know real horn playing, it may sound inauthentic or amateurish. This album doesn't suffer from that problem, but it's a bad influence on future bands and musicians who want to do the horn thing.

I usually associate Peter Cetera's cheesy pop music career with Chicago. With this album it's unfair. This is a solid hard rocking album. There's nothing cheesy or mainstream about the music. In fact, it was a ballsy move to release a debut album as a double. It's only problem is being a double. The album is too long because the songs are too long. They should have stuck with the jazz and hard rock labels and abandoned the progressive label.

All the songs are quite good, but Liberation becomes tiresome being that it's the last song on a double album and it's the longest song, running to almost fifteen minutes in length. The stand outs are Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?, Beginnings, Listen, Poem 58, South California Purples and I'm a Man.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

161. Tim Buckley | Happy Sad (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Strange Feelin'
2. Buzzin' Fly
3. Love from Room 109 at the Islander (On Pacific Coast Highway)
4. Dream Letter
5. Gypsy Woman
6. Sing a Song for You

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Happy Sad is a moody album which is no surprise given the title. The songs are rooted in folk, but musically, they are much richer, more complex and longer. The lyrics are also a lot more emotional and personal than is typical for folk music.

I enjoyed this album. The music is energetic, but not overbearing and accompanies and complements Tim Buckley nicely. Tim Buckley has a strong, yet soothing voice. This album is worth listening to. It may not be essential to own, but it would be sorely missed during the twilight of a rainy summer Saturday.

All the songs really stand out and I'm convinced there are parts of Strange Feelin' that sound like A Love Supreme.

★★★★★★★★★★

160. Sly and the Family Stone | Stand! (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

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. Everyday People
7. Sex Machine
8. You Can Make It If You Try

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Stand! is a complex album. At its heart, it's a funk album. Sly and the Family Stone lay down some of the heaviest and thickest grooves you'll ever hear. However, it's got more melody than a straight funk album. It also jams more like a psychedelic rock album than a soul or funk album.

This album really comes out of nowhere, at least on the 1001 Albums list. There's just nothing else between the soul and funk of James Brown and Sam Cooke in the mid 1960s and this album. With this album and its heavy rocking groove, Sly Stone has charted the course for black music in the 1970s. This album should have been ordered before The Temptations' Cloud Nine since it was released earlier.

I think this is one of the best albums I've ever heard. It has a great sound and a great attitude. There is more hope for humanity in Everyday People than in any other song so far on this list. You Can Make It If You Try is obvious in its positivity, but Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey is more subtle. The other songs are just as uplifting, but more from the music than from the lyrics.

The stand out songs are Stand!, Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey, I Want to Take You Higher, Sing a Simple Song, Everyday People and You Can Make It If You Try.

★★★★★★★★★★

159. The Temptations | Cloud Nine (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Cloud Nine
2. I Heard It Through the Grapevine
3. Runaway Child, Running Wild
4. Love is a Hurtin' Thing
5. Hey Girl
6. Why Did She Have to Leave Me (Why Did She Have to Go)
7. I Need Your Lovin'
8. Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me
9. I Gotta Find a Way (To Get You Back)
10. Gonna Keep On Tryin' till I Win Your Love

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Cloud Nine is a surprising album. The musical style doesn't have obvious connections to anything on the 1001 Albums list. A connection to the early and mid '60s soul albums seems the only plausible connection, but even that seems tenuous at best.

The bass guitar has a pulsating and playful sound and is the main driver of the rhythm. The vocals come in short bursts and are accompanied by a bass vocalist on the low end and a falsetto vocalist on the high end. Several of the songs have social commentary in the lyrics. It's not unique, but it's more direct and personal.

This is a good album, but not a great one. The first half of the album is the most interesting part. I tend to lose interest when listening to the second half, but there are some good songs. This album is certainly worth listening to because it presents a new style.

One frustrating thing about this list is that, although the albums are in chronological order by year of release, they aren't necessarily presented in chronological order within the year. So, Cloud Nine is presented before Sly and the Family Stone's Stand!, but Stand! was released before Cloud Nine according to Wikipedia. However, Stand! also had the funky sound, so Sly and the Family Stone may not have been the innovators, but they were ahead of The Temptations. So, there's an attribution problem with the way the albums are ordered. Of course, there's a potential attribution problem because the list is incomplete, but if this list is worth anything, it should be including innovative albums by default.

The songs are decent enough, but the stand outs are Cloud Nine, Runaway Child, Running Wild (although I really hate in the middle where a kid is screaming "I want my mother!"), Love Is a Hurting Thing, I Gotta Find a Way (To Get You Back) and Gonna Keep On Tryin' till I Win Your Love. I would have liked to have include I Heard It Through the Grapevine, but other artists have done a much better job.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

158. MC5 | Kick Out the Jams (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Ramblin' Rose
2. Kick Out the Jams
3. Come Together
4. Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)
5. Borderline
6. Motor City Is Burning
7. I Want You Right Now
8. Starship

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Kick Out the Jams is a wild album. The songs are loud and full of raw energy, the band is crude and obnoxious, and that's how it seems it's meant to be.

The music is completely anti-psychedelic although it still retains early rock and roll roots. This album certainly interprets the rebelliousness of rock and roll in a more serious and frightening way.

It's hard to say whether the MC5 are innovators of a new kind of music—they are on this 1001 Albums list of course. The Sonics and The Black Monks are mild compared to the MC5. However, the MC5 certainly are a portent of things to come.

I do like this album. It has a lot of energy and heart and soul, but there isn't much to it. Whereas all the psychedelic music might or might not be associated with college kids, this music is not. It is without a doubt music for the working class or the high school dropout.

The songs lack variety and there's only one speed—loud, fast and distorted. The more distinct songs are: Kick Out the Jams, Rock Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa), Motor City Is Burning and Starship.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

157. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin II (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Whole Lotta Love
2. What Is and What Should Never Be
3. The Lemon Song
4. Thank You
5. Heartbreaker
6. Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)
7. Ramble On
8. Moby Dick
9. Bring It On Home

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Led Zeppelin II is a thundering album—even the quiet songs are loud. From this album onward, rock and roll gets louder and heavier. John Bonham hits the drums not as if he's trying to play them, but as if he's trying to destroy them. Jimmy Page has also decided to turn his guitar up to eleven and Robert Plant is finding his wail.

Don't be deceived, though. This isn't a noisy album. John Paul Jones lays down the most lyrical bass lines so far and Jimmy Page has decided to play more riffs on one album than found in total on all the albums on the list so far.

Another really nice thing about this album is the variety of songs. Although they are blues-based, they all sound quite different from each other, yet complement each other quite well.

This album is essential for any serious collector. There's no need to list the stand out songs since they are all extraordinarily great. Most bands would be hard pressed to come up with just one of these, never mind nine of them.

★★★★★★★★★★

156. The Band | The Band (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Across the Great Divide
2. Rag Mama Rag
3. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
4. When You Awake
5. Up on Cripple Creek
6. Whispering Pines
7. Jemima Surrender
8. Rockin' Chair
9. Look Out Cleveland
10. Jawbone
11. The Unfaithful Servant
12. King Harvest (Has Surely Come)

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The Band is an disappointing album. This is a good example of good musicians making uninspiring music. The songs sound flat, dull and muted.

I was expecting to like this album since it is highly acclaimed. But I've listened to it many times over and it just can't keep my attention. Maybe I just don't get it.

The good songs are Across the Great Divide, Up on Cripple Creek and King Harvest (Has Surely Come).

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

155. Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Good Times Bad Times
2. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
3. You Shook Me
4. Dazed and Confused
5. Your Time Is Gonna Come
6. Black Mountain Side
7. Communication Breakdown
8. I Can't Quit You Baby
9. How Many More Times

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Led Zeppelin is a timeless album. This songs are heavy blues-based rock and roll. It's some of the most loudest and heaviest sounding music up to this point of the 1001 Albums list.

There's an intangible quality about both Led Zeppelin, the album, and Led Zeppelin, the band. Like, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin seems to transcend their contemporaries. However, where the Beatles were mostly way ahead of their time, Led Zeppelin was not;  they transcend by creating a mood, an atmosphere, an attitude, an aura that makes the music timeless and mysterious.

How does this transcendence emerge?

John Bonham and John Paul Jones are another reason. No one hits the drums harder than John Bonham does or hits as many drums at once. Well, Keith Moon might, but Keith Moon is a wasteful and erratic drummer. John Bonham was very conservative and utilized fills smartly. John Paul Jones is also someone who played his instrument smartly and conservatively. Together, they form a rhythm section like no other.

Robert Plant sings classic blues lines which themselves are eternal and he sings lyrics that are abstract enough and non-contemporary that they can transcend. It would have been curious if Rod Stewart had been the singer rather than Robert Plant. Rod Stewart is just as good, if not better, and has a similar style.

Jimmy Page isn't the most technical, talented or graceful guitarist, but he played what was necessary and nothing more. Jimmy Page was a smart producer. The album is serious and gets to the point immediately. It also stays focused and doesn't stray from it's purpose: which is heavy blues rock. There's nothing extraneous on the album. There's no idle banter, no pointless introductions, and no songs that were half-baked.

Also, the music sounds very compact almost to the point of being claustrophobic. Jimmy knew how to record the instruments. John Bonham is a great drummer, but the drums are recorded just the right way to enhance their power. The music doesn't sound like it was even recorded in a studio. Rather, it emerged from the infinite deep of space.

I don't know if that's how or whether it's all just a bullshit explanation. But, I've thought about it for a long time and that's all I have.

Needless to say, I love this album. I think it's an essential album in any serious album collection. There's not a bad song. It's hard to list any stand outs. I don't believe any stand out more than any other, but certainly Good Times, Bad Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me, Dazed and Confused, Communication Breakdown and How Many More Times are the most likely candidates.

★★★★★★★★★★

154. Quicksilver Messenger Service | Happy Trails (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Who Do You Love – Part 1
2. When You Love
3. Where You Love
4. How You Love
5. Which Do You Love
6. Who Do You Love – Part 2
7. Mona
8. Maiden of the Cancer Moon
9. Calvary
10. Happy Trails

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Happy Trails is a self-indulgent album. Although there are ten tracks listed on this album, the first six are really just the pieces of one song. I thought I read somewhere that Who Do You Love was broken into the six so that Bo Diddley, who wrote it, wouldn't get such a large share of the royalties. Or something like that.

The first half of the album is a live twenty-five minute jam with most of it being a guitar solo. It starts to flag and become tedious in the middle. Where You Love, How You Love and Which Do You Love should have been cut. There are two other extended songs, Mona and Calvary, on the second half. They also could have been shortened to make them better. Calvary would have been such an awesome song if it had been shortened because there is some really wonderful-sounding guitar in it.

It's nice to hear a good extended jam. However, a long jam must reinvent itself every so often. Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Chile is a great example, especially since it didn't get too long to wear out its welcome. Unfortunately, nothing like that happens here on this album.

I think the music is good and the album would have been much better if the longer songs had been tightened up. The stand out songs are Who Do You Love – Part 1, When Do You Love, Who Do You Love – Part 2, (a shorter version of) Mona and (a shorter version of) Calvary. Happy Trails is a throwaway song.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

153. The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Candy Says
2. What Goes On
3. Some Kinda Love
4. Pale Blue Eyes
5. Jesus
6. Beginning to See the Light
7. I'm Set Free
8. That's the Story of My Life
9. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours

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The Velvet Underground is a focused album. Well, it's certainly focused when compared to White Light/White Heat. The songs are also a lot more mellow, relaxed and melodic. Or at least the melody is more apparent.

This album starts out really strong, keeps improving and then falls short on the last two songs. I wouldn't be surprised if there are people who enjoy those two songs, but the Murder Mystery sounds like Frank Zappa doing a rendition of the Monkees' annoying Zilch. After Hours just seems out of place with the rest of the album.

Despite the last two songs, this is the best Velvet Underground album, but that may only be because Nico was on the first album. I'm somewhat unsure why this album is on the 1001 Albums list, but I have a nagging suspicion that this album actually is ahead of its time—that it doesn't sound much like a late '60s recording and that that's not just a fluke. So either Lou Reed is helping to set the tone for the '70s or is simply ahead of his time. No matter, this album worth listening to.

Actually, if The Crickets played no frills, straightforward rock and roll in the '50s, then this album is a modern updated version for the '70s of no frills, straightforward rock and roll.

The stand out songs are Candy Says, What Goes On, Some Kinda Love, Pale Blue Eyes, Jesus, Beginning to See the Light, I'm Set Free and That's the Story of My Life.

★★★★★★★★★☆

152. Elvis Presley | From Elvis in Memphis (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Wearin' That Loved On Look
2. Only the Strong Survive
3. I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)
4. Long Black Limousine
5. It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'
6. I'm Movin' On
7. Power of My Love
8. Gentle on My Mind
9. After Loving You
10. True Love Travels on a Gravel Road
11. Any Day Now
12. In the Ghetto

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From Elvis in Memphis is an anachronistic album. Almost, that is. Much of the music has an early rock and roll/rockabilly sound. Or maybe it doesn't. Perhaps Elvis is the anachronism and will forever only exist in 1956. However, that doesn't explain Elvis is Back!.

Despite being a decade-and-a-half out of sync, this is a great-sounding album. I suppose that money was no object during most Elvis Presley recording sessions, so it should sound great. No matter, Elvis has never sounded better himself. His singing on this album and Elvis is Back! is very expressive and what was lacking on his debut album.

One blemish to this album is In the Ghetto. Apparently, it was the biggest hit on this album, but I just think it's so out of character for Elvis. He never included (overtly) social or political commentary in his music, as far as I know. He should have sung a gospel song instead.

I don't necessarily think this needs to be on the 1001 Albums list. I don't think Elvis was breaking new ground, instead he was digging up relics of the past. Of course, it could be argued that this album deserves to be on the list because this album resurrected his flagging career. Anyway, it's worth listening to.

The stand out songs on this album are: Wearin' That Loved on Look, Only the Strong Survive, I'm Movin' On, Power of Love, Gentle on My Mind, After Loving You, True Love Travels on a Gravel Road and Any Day Now.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

151. Dusty Springfield | Dusty in Memphis (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

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

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Note: The cover on the left was used for the US release and the cover on the right was used for the UK release.

Dusty in Memphis is disappointing album. Actually, it's not that bad. The music is really good, the sound quality is excellent, and Dusty Springfield has such a powerful and beautiful voice. The disappointing thing is that for a soul album, she lacks the emotion that a soul singer needs to put into each and every song. The sole exception may be Don't Forget About Me.

I also wasn't thrilled with her choice of songs. Just a Little Lovin' is OK. The songs written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King, So Much Love, Don't Forget About Me, No Easy Way Down and I Can't Make It Alone, are winners. Son of a Preacher Man and Breakfast in Bed are great choices. However, the two Randy Newman songs, I Don't Want to Hear It and Just One Smile, just don't work. The Windmills of Your Mind is uninspiring and In the Land of Make Believe is boring.

I wanted to like this album more than I did. The stand out songs are the ones mentioned positively in the preceding paragraph.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

150. Nick Drake | Five Leaves Left (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Time Has Told Me
2. River Man
3. Three Hours
4. Way to Blue
5. Day is Done
6. Cello Song
7. The Thoughts of Mary Jane
8. Man in a Shed
9. Fruit Tree
10. Saturday Sun

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Five Leaves Left is a glum album. It's primarily a folk album, but it's not a simple folk album; many of the songs have string arrangements. The cello and bass guitar are very prominent in their respective songs which contributes to the dark quality of the album. Nick Drake's singing style also contributes to the dark quality by conveying little emotion or energy.

I think this album would be perfect to listen to while sitting next to a window on rainy, fall day. I am actually surprised that Nick Drake wasn't a very successful artist. I guess that partially explains why I had never heard of him and his music until I started doing this.

I instantly fell in love with this album when I first heard it. It is certainly worth listening to, and would be a great addition to any collection. I am at a loss to select any stand out songs; I think they are all fantastic.

★★★★★★★★★★

149. The Rolling Stones | Let It Bleed (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

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

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Let It Bleed is an insensitive album. Or is it a dehumanizing album? No matter, the themes aren't at all positive. Sexual relationships are impersonal, demeaning and violent—Country Honk, Live With Me and Gimme Shelter. Non-sexual relationships are the same—You Can't Always Get What You Want, Monkey Man and Midnight Rambler. Aside from that, the music is quite good. It's the best Rolling Stones album so far.

The only problem I had with it, is that I don't get that album feeling when I listen to this album. It seems like a collection of songs. That's the way all Rolling Stones albums have felt. It just seems they go in to the studio, write a bunch of songs, and put them on the album without care to how they are ordered or how they relate to each other. Despite indicating there are themes on this album, I don't think that was intentional at all. This isn't a big problem, but I think their albums could have been better if they were more focused.

This is a nice collection of great songs, but not a great album, so I don't see why it's on the 1001 Albums list. The stand out songs are Gimme Shelter, Love in Vain, Country Honk (I like this version of Honky Tonk Women better), Let It Bleed, Midnight Rambler and You Can't Always Get What You Want.

★★★★★★★★☆☆