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.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

123. Iron Butterfly | In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Most Anything You Want
2. Flowers and Beads
3. My Mirage
4. Termination
5. Are You Happy
6. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

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In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is a muti-faceted album. On the first listening, it may seem like a straightforward heavy rock and roll album, but there are power ballads, riff-heavy songs and an epic seventeen-minute jam. For just six songs, that's pretty good variety.

This album is significant because it's pushing psychedelic rock in a couple of new directions. It's riff-heavy and loud and it's got lyrics which contain fantastical imagery and it has a song that is almost twenty minutes in length. As we now know, one direction leads to heavy metal and the other leads to progressive rock. To me, that's why this album is on the 1001 Albums list.

I thought the album was good, but nothing great. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is a tiresome and tedious song. However, because it's so self-indulgent, there's no doubt it's precursor to prog rock. The first five songs aren't terrible, but the organ needs to sound more sinister. As it is, it sounds pretty cheesy. Also, Flowers and Beads and My Mirage are perfect power ballad material, but flowery hippie imagery and heavy metal riffs don't work well together.

The stand out songs are: Most Anything You Want, Termination and Are You Happy. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is worth listening to at least once.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

120. Big Brother and the Holding Company | Cheap Thrills (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

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

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Cheap Thrills is an exceptionally unexceptional album. The songs are blues rock. The music is good, but it's nothing new, but other bands play blues rock much better. What makes this album great is Janis Joplin. This album reminds me of Jerry Lee Lewis's Live at the Star Club, Hamburg. On that album, the band is trying to keep up with Jerry's piano playing. On this album, the band is trying to keep with Janis's singing.

Janis Joplin has a damn great voice. I'd have to go back to the 1950s vocal jazz singers to find someone comparable. What differentiates her from other female singers is that she can and does sing with the same force and power as a guy. With this album, Janis has opened up a lot of opportunities for future female singers. Janis is the reason this album is on the 1001 Albums list.

My parents had this album and I never listened to it. My mother even talked about how much she liked Janis whenever Piece of My Heart or Me and Bobby McGee was playing on the radio. How I regret not listening to this album now! This album is definitely worth listening to. All the songs are good, but Combination of the Two, I Need a Man to Love, Piece of My Heart and Oh, Sweet Mary are the stand outs.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

118. Blue Cheer | Vincebus Eruptum (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Summertime Blues
2. Rock Me Baby
3. Doctor Please
4. Out of Focus
5. Parchment Farm
6. Second Time Around

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Vincebus Eruptum is a loud album. The songs are rock and roll, but they are louder and noisier.

There is something new going on her, but it's not what it may seem initially. Certainly, there have been bands that have been loud and noisy—the Monks, the Sonics, the Velvet Underground and the Jimi Hendrix Experience come to mind. It would seem that for those bands, loudness and noisiness were not ends in themselves. With Blue Cheer however, their sole purpose is to be loud and noisy.

Dickie Peterson, the bassist and lead singer of Blue Cheer, is quoted in 1001 Albums as saying rock and roll is 10 percent technique and 90 percent attitude. With this album, Blue Cheer has put that observation into practice and it's that observation which makes this album innovative.

I really enjoyed this album. However, the songs did sound a little too similar. Fortunately, the album isn't very long. The stand out songs are Summertime Blues, Rock Me Baby and Parchment Farm.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

113. The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Electric Ladyland (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. ...And the Gods Made Love
2. Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)
3. Crosstown Traffic
4. Voodoo Chile
5. Little Miss Strange
6. Long Hot Summer Night
7. Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)
8. Gypsy Eyes
9. Burning of the Midnight Lamp
10. Rainy Day, Dream Away
11. 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)
12. Moon, Turn the Tides...Gently Gently Away
13. Still Raining, Still Dreaming
14. House Burning Down
15. All Along the Watchtower
16. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)

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Note: the US release used the cover at the top left; the UK release used the cover at the top right. Jimi Hendrix didn't approve of either. See the Wikipedia entry for Electric Ladyland for more information.


Electric Ladyland is a mighty album. From the groove-heavy rhythm section to the near-vocal lead guitar, from the double album length to the more-than-ten minute length of several tracks, from the Olympian allusions in the lyrics to the godlike guitar solos, this album exudes power and masculinity. This is the natural consequence of electrifying the blues. This is the pinnacle of hard rock.
Jimi Hendrix pushes the boundary of the role of the guitar in rock and roll. He clearly demonstrates that the guitar can be an alternative to a singer, yet retaining a vocal similarity. Not only does Jimi do that, but he also charts the future course of hard rock. Since he's so far ahead of his time, it's hard to tell if anyone can even try to match his skill. So he may have pushed the boundary, but the trail, if any, that he left might be to obscure to follow.

Listening to this album all the way through is a real workout. It's one outstanding song after another. There's no question about this album being a "must" to listen to. It's an album for the ages. There's not a bad track on the album, although ...And the Gods Made Love isn't necessary. The real stand outs are Crosstown Traffic, Voodoo Chile, Gypsy Eyes, Burning of the Midnight Lamp, 1983...(A Merman I Should Turn to Be), House Burning Down, All Along the Watchtower and Voodoo Child (Slight Return).

★★★★★★★★★★

105. The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Axis: Bold as Love (1967)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. EXP
2. Up from the Skies
3. Spanish Castle Magic
4. Wait Until Tomorrow
5. Ain't No Telling
6. Little Wing
7. If 6 Was 9
8. You Got Me Floatin'
9. Castles Made of Sand
10. She's So Fine
11. One Rainy Wish
12. Little Miss Lover
13. Bold as Love

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Axis: Bold as Love is a tight album. The songs are straight up rock and roll. The album has a really rich and clear sound which really emphasizes each of the main three instruments: guitar, bass and drums.

Jimi Hendrix is an amazing guitar player. He makes it sound so natural. He doesn't so much play the guitar as he wills it to make sound. Does anyone even come close to playing as naturally as Jimi could?


Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell are completely overshadowed and underrated. Mitch Mitchell is an aggressive and assertive drummer and Noel Redding's bass playing is solid, sounds great and really complements Jimi's guitar playing.

Aside from Spanish Castle Magic, the album doesn't really get going until a few songs in. But from Little Wing to Bold as Love, it's nearly flawless. This album is definitely worth listening to, but I'm ambivalent about whether it's worth owning. Are You Experienced certainly overshadows this album which its heavy riffs. This album is more subtle and the guitar is more lyrical.

Every song is worth listening to. EXP is a distraction. The stand out songs are Spanish Castle Magic, Little Wing, If 6 Was 9, You Got Me Floatin', Castles Made of Sand, She's So Fine, One Rainy Wish and Bold as Love.

★★★★★★★★★★

93. The Doors | The Doors (1967)

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Wikipedia Entry

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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
7. Back Door Man
8. I Looked at You
9. End of the Night
10. Take It as It Comes
11. The End

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The Doors is an aggressive album. The music is loud, heavy and droning. Jim Morrison is loud, confrontational and out for blood.

The lyrics are as deep as an Introduction to Philosophy course or an English Literature course, but for rock and roll that's deep enough. And with Morrison singing the lyrics, the songs become mystical and deep, eternal truths.

There is a lot of texture in the music. The bass is deep and rough. The keyboard and organ drone and create eerie moods. The guitar jangles and wails. All together, the music paints some surreal soundscapes. 

Combine that with Morrison's vocals and the songs become self-aware and transcendent. To say this is new is an understatement. This is getting into Beatles territory.

This is not just an album to listen to; it's an album to own. Every song is worthwhile, but the real stand outs are Break on Through (To the Other Side), Soul Kitchen, The Crystal Ship, Light My Fire, Back Door Man and The End.

★★★★★★★★★★

79. Country Joe and the Fish | Electric Music for the Mind and Body (1967)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Flying High
2. Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine
3. Death Sound Blues
4. Happiness Is a Porpoise Mouth
5. Section 43
6. Superbird
7. Sad and Lonely Times
8. Love
9. Bass Strings
10. The Masked Marauder
11. Grace

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Electric Music for the Mind and Body is a spacey album. Not only do the lyrics often refer to drug use in general and psychedelic drug use in particular, but with the ethereal atmosphere created by the organ and lead guitar, so does the music.


The album is more innovative than original . Songs are getting longer. There are long, meandering, ethereal instrumentals. There is lots of soloing from the lead guitar (and organ). References to drug use is more overt.


This album could be more organized, but maybe the band was too stoned. The album is uneven with the mix of long and short songs. However, the album stays very consistent in its themes and style. At least for the 1001 Albums list, this album is certainly the first hippie album. And that's no surprise given that they originated from Berkeley.


The album is certainly worth listening to, especially if you plan to do some drugs. Flying High, Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine, Section 43, Superbird, Bass Strings and Grace are the stand out songs.

★★★★★★★★ ☆☆