231. Funkadelic | Maggot Brain (1971)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Maggot Brain
2. Can You Get to That
3. Hit It and Quit It
4. You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks
5. Super Stupid
6. Back in Our Minds
7. Wars of Armageddon

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Maggot Brain is a keen album. The music is funk. The opening song revisits the psychedelic rock era with a ten-minute long solo that would make Hendrix's jaw drop. The rest of the album has a hard rock and prog rock sensibility. The difference is in this is more intense and less showing off. The groove is pounding in the foreground and the guitar is just solos in the background throughout many of the songs.

I like this album. It is fun and weird. It's worth listening to. It's a new direction black artists are taking music. It's more dynamic than hard rock and heavy metal and less pedantic than progressive rock. I do think it deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list. (Unfortunately, this direction won't get very far, but so many possibilites were there. It does actually re-appear in the 1980s.)

All the songs are excellent. I think Maggot Brain, Hit It and Quit It, Super Stupid and Wars of Armageddon are the stand outs.

★★★★★★★★★☆

220. Can | Tago Mago (1971)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Paperhouse
2. Mushroom
3. Oh Yeah
4. Halleluhwah
5. Aumgn
6. Peking O.
7. Bring Me Coffee or Tea

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Tago Mago is an unconventional album. The music is krautrock. There is no relation to rock in any of the songs besides the use of bass, guitar, drums and synthesizers. It's really quite an original style. It might be most closely related to jazz because it seems improvisational than anything.

The first few songs each start off resembling prog rock songs, but they eventually lose form and become very noisy and chaotic. Aumgn and Peking O. are exercises in noise and madness. What makes the music even more chaotic is the singing. The lyrics are nonsense sung in a non-sensical language. Eventually, the singing devolves into shouts and screams and other primal noises.

This is a fascinating, but trying album. The more structured songs are enjoyable to listen to, but the songs that are mainly noise can be hard to get through because they are very long. It does take a few listenings and patience to get used to this album. There is no doubt that this album should be listened to and it should definitely be on the 1001 Albums list. Like prog rock,  Krautrock is not a popular style, so it's hard to say this album belongs in all serious collections, but I do highly recommend it, just to freak people out or to annoy the neighbors.

All the songs are good. The stand outs are: Paperhouse, Mushroom, Oh Yeah, Halleluhwah and Bring Me Coffee or Tea.

★★★★★★★★★☆

219. The Doors | L.A. Woman

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. The Changeling
2. Love Her Madly
3. Been Down So Long
4. Cars Hiss by My Window
5. L.A. Woman
6. L'America
7. Hyacinth House
8. Crawling King Snake
9. The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)
10. Riders on the Storm

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L.A. Woman is a confident album. The music is blues rock. The band gets a bass player and decides to get serious with the blues. The album is more grounded. It's not overwhelmed by Ray Manzarek's organ playing or by Jim Morrison's self-absorbed bombast.

This is a great album. The bass guitar is a welcome addition. The Doors interpret the blues well. Of course, pure blues rock has been done to death and is on the wane. So, while this album is worth listening to, it doesn't need to be on the 1001 Albums list.

All the songs are good. The stand outs are: Love Her Madly, Been Down So Long, L.A. Woman, L'America, Hyacinth House, Crawling King Snake and Riders on the Storm.

★★★★★★★★★☆

180. The Doors | Morrison Hotel (1970)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Roadhouse Blues
2. Waiting for the Sun
3. You Make Me Real
4. Peace Frog
5. Blue Sunday
6. Ship of Fools
7. Land Ho!
8. The Spy
9. Queen of the Highway
10. Indian Summer
11. Maggie M'Gill

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Morrison Hotel is a melodramatic album. Jim Morrison is the lyrical master of absolutes and superlatives. The music is straightforward blues rock; however, Ray Manzarek's keyboards are playful and enable Morrison's fatalistic theatrics.

This album is really catchy and, despite himself and his lyrics, Jim Morrison is charismatic on each song. However, with the exception of Peace Frog, this album is rather tame and uninspiring.

This album is good, but it isn't groundbreaking, and so it doesn't belong on the 1001 Albums list.

The stand out songs are Roadhouse Blues, Waiting for the Sun, Peace Frog, Ship of Fools and Indian Summer.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

178. Spirit | Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus (1970)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Prelude – Nothin' to Hide
2. Nature's Way
3. Animal Zoo
4. Love Has Found a Way
5. Why Can't I Be Free?
6. Mr. Skin
7. Space Child
8. When I Touch You
9. Street Worm
10. Life Has Just Begun
11. Morning Will Come
12. Soldier

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Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus is an amebic album. Maybe it's an exaggeration, but it really seems like each song has its own distinct rock style. What's really impressive is that, despite all the variety, the album has the feel and flow of a concept album; the title sort of suggests a concept album, but it could also be alluding to twelve distinct ideas.

I didn't have high hopes for this album after listening to the first two songs. They sounded good, but they didn't impress. However, the album just gets better and better as it progresses. The songs become more intense and catchier. Now that I've heard it the first two songs have even grown on me.

This album is a real hidden gem. For how damn good it is, I'm surprised I had never heard of the album or had heard any of the songs on it. It just blows my mind that something this good could go under my radar for so long. I ain't that naïve.

Needless to say, this is an album worth listening to. I'd also say it's an album worth owning. I do think it belongs on the 1001 Albums list. The band has done a good job of incorporating a lot of different styles on one album. I think they also are straddle the two growing styles of music: funk and prog rock.

All the songs are really great–not a throwaway song among the bunch. The songs I was really impressed with were: Prelude–Nothin' to Hide, Nature's Way, Animal Zoo, Love Has Found a Way, Mr. Skin, When I Touch You, Street Worm, Morning Will Come.

★★★★★★★★★★

172. The Stooges | The Stooges (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. 1969
2. I Wanna Be Your Dog
3. We Will Fall
4. No Fun
5. Real Cool Time
6. Ann
7. Not Right
8. Little Doll

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The Stooges is a raw album. The music is rock, but it's stripped down and simpler. The production is quite straightforward; put four musicians in a studio, record them playing and then cut an album. There are heavy, rocking songs, but there are a couple that are slow and droning. There's some good guitar fuzz on Little Doll. 

This album is certainly more reminiscent of the Sonics or the Monks, than, say, Led Zeppelin or the Beatles, both musically and lyrically. Musically, the album has its moments, but the songs are uneven. We Will Fall is the main problem. It's nothing like the other songs, it's smack dab in the middle of the album and it's uninteresting. The lyrics are just downright awful.

Despite We Will Fall, this album is interesting an shows that the Stooges have potential and that rock is also moving in another direction—a direction much different than the direction prog rock is going. Of course, appreciation for this kind of music will have to wait another few years.

This album might be worth listening to, but it's certainly not essential. There's a lot to like about this album. There's some interesting things going on musically, but it doesn't excite me.

I Wanna Be Your Dog is the best song on the album. Other stand outs are: 1969, No Fun, Real Cool Time and Little Doll.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

166. Grateful Dead | Live/Dead (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Dark Star
2. St. Stephen
3. The Eleven
4. Turn On Your Love Light
5. Death Don't Have No Mercy
6. Feedback
7. And We Bid You Goodnight

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Live/Dead is a long album. It's a live album and the music is standard psychedelic rock.

The Dead clearly like to jam during their shows. I'm still not sure whether I'm meant to tune in or tune out when I'm listening. If I'm meant to tune in, then this album didn't keep me interested. If I'm meant to tune out and let the music exist in the background, then it's a worthy album.

Because it's the Dead's thing to do long jams, it's not possible to question whether or not they are necessary. They are essential. The songs themselves are enjoyable, but are they enjoyable for ten or more minutes? I don't think so.

As for recommending this album, it's certainly worth listening to once, if only to figure out whether it's worth listening to.

Turn on Your Love Light and Death Don't Have No Mercy are notable songs. St. Stephen is also enjoyable at times.

I'm giving this album eight stars, instead of seven or six, because I do enjoy it as background music. 

★★★★★★★★☆☆

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.

★★★★★★★★★★

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.

★★★★★★★★★☆

129. Caetano Veloso | Caetano Veloso (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Tropicália
2. Clarice
3. No dia em que eu vim-me embora
4. Alegria, Alegria
5. Onde andarás
6. Anunciação
7. Superbacana
8. Paisagem útil
9. Clara
10. Soy loco por tí, América
11. Ave Maria
12. Eles

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Caetano Veloso is a playful album. The songs are a mix of tropicália and psychedelic rock, but there is much more tropicália than psychedelia.

I don't have a lot to say about this album. The music is pleasant enough, but it didn't capture my attention. The songs sound too similar to me and I'm still unable to understand Portuguese. And although the songs were melodic and had a variety of instruments, they lacked energy.

However, I can see why this album and Os Mutantes' album are on the 1001 Albums list. They both created a unique rock and roll sound. For that reason, I do recommend this album. Tropicália, Alegria, Alegria, Anunciação, Superbacana and Soy loco por tí, América are stand out songs.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

128. Jeff Beck | Truth (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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1. Shapes of Things
2. Let Me Love You
3. Morning Dew
4. You Shook Me
5. Ol' Man River
6. Greensleeves
7. Rock My Plimsoul
8. Beck's Bolero
9. Blues Deluxe
10. I Ain't Superstitious

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Truth is an intense album. The rhythm section lays down a loud and deep groove. On top of that is Rod Stewart's powerful and raspy vocals and Jeff Beck's guitar-playing which is a mix of soloing and fuzz. Up to this point, Jeff Beck is the only one who even comes close to doing what Hendrix can do.


This album re-invents blues rock to be louder, deeper-sounding and more aggressive. This lyrics generously borrow from the blues. There are longer breaks for guitar soloing. This might be what Jimi Hendrix would sound like minus the psychedelic stuff.


This is an outstanding album. It's definitely worth listening to and it's a must for anyone who like 70s hard rock. It's apparent that this band was a direct influence on Led Zeppelin and that Jeff Beck was an influence on Jimmy Page. The songs are all worth listening to, but the stand outs are Shapes of Things, Morning Dew, You Shook Me, 'Ol Man River, Beck's Bolero and Blues Deluxe.


★★★★★★★★★☆

126. Small Faces | Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
2. Afterglow (Of Your Love)
3. Long Agos and Worlds Apart
4. Rene
5. Song of a Baker
6. Lazy Sunday
7. Happiness Stan
8. Rollin' Over
9. The Hungry Intruder
10. The Journey
11. Mad John
12. Happydaystoytown

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Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake is an unusual album. The first half of the album is a collection of hard rock and psychedelic rock songs. The second half is a fairy tale about a boy named Happiness Stan. The songs are a mix of psychedelic rock and progressive rock.

The music is good when it's not silly and unfortunately that silliness becomes a distraction. The narrator who narrates the Happiness Stan fairy tale is another distraction. It's never been clearer to me that English is no longer spoken by the English. Either that or the narrator using slang from the 1960s that didn't survive to the present day.

As the album stands, it's quite good, but I think if it had more focus, it would have been a lot better. Steve Marriott has a great voice, and should have been used to better effect on this album. The stand out songs are Afterglow (Of Your Love), Song of a Baker, Lazy Sunday, Happiness Stan and The Hungry Intruder.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

124. The Pretty Things | S. F. Sorrow (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. S.F. Sorrow is Born
2. Bracelets of Fingers
3. She Says Good Morning
4. Private Sorrow
5. Balloon Burning
6. Death
7. Baron Saturday
8. The Journey
9. I See You
10. Well of Destiny
11. Trust
12. Old Man Going
13. Loneliest Person

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

S. F. Sorrow is a brilliant album. The album is a rock opera about the life of a character named S. F. Sorrow. The songs are are frenetic and roll from one right into another. It is varied a mix of pop rock and heavy rock. For songs of short duration, they are quite detailed and intricate. Many of the songs are reminiscent of early psychedelic albums like Sgt. Peppers, but other songs really breaks ground deep into progressive rock territory.

I had never even heard of this album before embarking on this 1001 Albums challenge. However, it has now become one of my favorite albums of all time. It's disappointing that this album isn't more well-known. Not only is it worth listening to, I think it's also essential for anyone who takes their rock music collection seriously.

All of the songs are worth listening to and I'm hesitant to make a list of stand out songs, so I won't.

★★★★★★★★★★

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.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

122. Dr. John, The Night Tripper | Gris-Gris (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya
2. Danse Kalinda Ba Doom
3. Mama Roux
4. Danse Fambeaux
5. Croker Courtbullion
6. Jump Sturdy
7. I Walk On Guilded Splinters

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Gris-Gris is a unique album. This is what Captain Beefheart's music might sound like if it were filtered through the bayous of Louisiana.

I like this album. The New Orleans style of rhythm and blues creates an eerie sound and mood. It's an interesting sound, but too much of this type of music would get old quickly. It's certainly worth listening to simply for its unique style.

The stand out songs are: Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya, Mama Roux, Danse Fambeaux and I Walk On Guilded Splinters.

★★★★★★★★★☆

121. The United States of America | The United States of America (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. The American Metaphysical Circus
2. Hard Coming Love
3. Cloud Song
4. The Garden of Earthly Delights
5. I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife for You, Sugar
6. Where Is Yesterday
7. Coming Down
8. Love Song for the Dead Ché
9. Stranded in Time
10. The American Way of Love
• Part I - Metaphor for an Older Man
• Part II - California Good-time Music
• Part III - Love Is All

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Wikipedia suggests there were two covers for this album. However, I think the cover on the left is a paper outer wrapper that the album was contained in and the cover on the right is the actual album cover.

The United States of America is a colorful album. The songs are rock and roll. This music is experimental and heavy like the music of the Mothers of Invention and the Velvet Underground and has a similarly mischievous like the Mothers of Invention. However, their music does push the boundaries like the music of the other two. It's certainly more listener-friendly.

I liked this album—I really liked Dorothy Moskovitz's singing—and I think it's worth listening to, but I'm not yet convinced this album should be on the list. The album is certainly a more refined type of psychedelic music and seems to be suggesting a new direction for that style. It's certainly a lot more interesting than a lot of the rock and roll from 1967 and 1968 that has been on the list, but I'm not sure it's noticeably different either.

The stand out songs are The American Metaphysical Circus, Hard Coming Love, Cloud Song, The Garden of Earthly Delights, Where Is Yesterday, Coming Down, Love Song for the Dead Ché and The American Way of Love.

★★★★★★★★★☆

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.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

119. The Byrds | The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Artificial Energy
2. Goin' Back
3. Natural Harmony
4. Draft Morning
5. Wasn't Born to Follow
6. Get to You
7. Change Is Now
8. Old John Robertson
9. Tribal Gathering
10. Dolphin's Smile
11. Space Odyssey

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The Notorious Byrd Brothers is an understated album. The songs are a combination of rock and roll, country and folk. They are short, but well developed and efficient.

I'm by no means a fan of the Byrds. Their music tends to annoy me more than it entertains me, but this album is really good. Maybe because the songs are short they don't have enough time to get under my skin. I really like how the songs flow from one to another. Conceptually, they are all different, but they all seem like extensions of each other.

My only guess why this album deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list is that it mixes folk, country and rock and roll in such a way that all three remain distinct styles. In that sense it's really interesting to see how much separation there is between country and rock and roll.

This album is the best so far by the Byrds and it's certainly worth listening to. Of course, Roger McGuinn still writes songs about outer space which always seemed out of place, but this time he's done much better making it work with the rest of the album. Another annoyance that is not so prevalent on this album are the snotty, smarmy vocals. Thank goodness for that.

There's not much variance in the quality of the songs, so despite the contradiction, they are all 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.

★★★★★★★★☆☆