Must Have Rock Albums of the 1960s and 1970s - Part One

A few months ago a friend of mine asked me a question. It was one that I felt equipped to answer since it had to do with my youth and my enthusiasm for music. I have played in bands most of my life and have grown up with different kinds of music, always being willing to listen and involve myself in new sounds. His question? What are the most important albums to have in a collection from the 1960s and 1970s, the growth period of early rock? It moved me to research and list those lps that seemed to influence our youth in those days, and in the most positive ways. The list grew to be too long to fit in one article so I plan to write the story in several parts, possibly three. Let us start with the 1960s and the heavy role some of the pioneers of rock music played.

When growing up in those days one of the first bands or artists influencing the radio listeners was of course the Beatles, possibly and arguably the most important band in rock music history. A person could own any and all of their albums from those days since their span of years covered only the decade of the sixties. Probably the biggest and most important album to have would have to be their thematic masterpiece, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". This was a work of art: each song seemed to build on the previous one, and the entire album is widely played on radio stations today. The cove itself was a work of genius and envied by many other rock artists of the last forty years. Anyone who did not have this album in their collection was missing something monumental, or they just didn't appreciate rock music.

In fact, most of the Beatles' collections of those days could be put on a "must have" list, but to limit oneself to the most important ones is the goal, unless a collector has enough funds to own them all. A couple other albums worth having would have to be "Revolver" and "Rubber Soul". Probably the most controversial and second on the list of my favorites, however, would be the famous "White Album" or the one unceremoniously called "The Beatles". This double album was the ultimate of all Beatles' creativity. Every member of the group contributed, although at the time even they thought this was simply a collection of "filler" songs. Some forty years later many of the tunes on that double dose of vinyl gold are beloved. One simply has to listen to FM radio to feel the influence.

After the Beatles, two bands come to mind with trying to keep up with the ingeniousness of their music. The Beach Boys were the American answer to the British invasion, with chart-topping hits and strong melodic development. The greatest lp of their early days has to be "Pet Sounds", an album of effort and one that would put them in every critic's sights. Although perhaps not filled with the AM radio hits of earlier albums, this one is an honor to their creativity. The only album close to this would have to be the later "Good Vibrations" where they began to experiment with the psychedelic sounds of the studio. Unquestionably, the Beach Boys were the most influential American band in rock history.

The other band mentioned in the same breath as the Beatles, of course, is the Rolling Stones. Their span of successes more than quadruples the years that their competitors lasted, but they seemed to follow every thing the Fab Four did. Their creativity cannot be doubted or lessened. Several of their lps can be mentioned here but the most influential of all time has to be 1968's "Beggar's Banquet", one of elegance and style. Again, other albums may have had more top forty hits, but this one is for the collector. Friends of mine have argued that either "Sticky Fingers" or "Let It Bleed" may be more important, but I always stick with "Beggar's" only because it led the way to the other, later and more well-known albums, including the famous "Exile on Main Street". Again, it had to be frustrating to the Stones to follow the Beatles out with these kinds of albums, but that was their lot in life.

No doubt, the most complete and talented artist coming out of that period had to be Bob Dylan. It is a testimony to him that many of his songs were made famous by others, but one of the most important albums ever done by Dylan has to be "Highway 61 Revisited". It came from a period where his mastery of lyrics and melodies was at an all-time high, and one that has to be considered a masterpiece of extraordinary proportions. Soon after wards Dylan had his motorcycle accident and his life somewhat changed. This was vintage Dylan before his change.

Another influential band of this period was the Animals, from which Eric Burden came. Their main effort has to be "Animal Tracks" which was sometimes forgotten about back in those days because of the number of groups putting out albums. The Animals were a rough sounding band whose early claim to fame had been "House of the Rising Sun" a cover tune copied by many. Eric Burden later became the leader of War, and has done many other projects since.

Several bands of the 1960s were short-lived and only released one or two lps. Blind Faith was one of those bands. Their debut album was their one and only; the lineup of superstars would not fly today because of their egos. Many bands have covered such jams as "Presence of the Lord". Eric Clapton would go on to many other projects while Steve Winwood would lead Traffic and put out his own solo records. Ginger Baker was a member with Clapton of Cream, and the lineup was filled out with Rich Grech playing bass. Sad was the fact that they didn't last to do more work together. Another well-deserved group, and one that would branch out into many other bands, was Buffalo Springfield. The names of the band are legendary: Steve Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay, Jim Messina, to name them. Their debut album would be their biggest, and one of their few. The most important cut, "For What It's Worth", would become a rock anthem of the era. Later bands such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Poco, and Loggins and Messina, would come from Springfield's breakup.

Another one of the most important and creative bands of that decade was the Yardbirds, a group of musicians who would influence later bands such as Led Zeppelin, Cream, and Renaissance. In fact, it was originally thought that Zeppelin would be named "The New Yardbirds", since one of its members, Jimmy Page, had inherited the title. The Yardbirds debut album also was one of its only albums, and its most influential. Little is now known of that band, except that three of its greatest guitar players are historically remembered as rock's greats: Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. Such is the innovation and creativity that filled this band's few works. Fuzz, distortion, unusual chord changes made the Yardbirds instrumental in the changing of music. Their period together did not last long enough.

Some of this earlier work gave way to later works. Crosby, Stills and Nash teamed up to create a sound that was distinct and harmonious. Their first album, self titled, was a work of art that is difficult to match. The vocals were perfect and their lyrical pitches made them hard to copy. The prime tune that proves this was a song written in honor of Judy Collins, herself an influential artist of the period, titled "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes". You can still hear the song played on most major radio stations. After Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds, he spent a while in the John Mayall group before forming the power trio Cream and putting himself at the head of the guitar gods of the era. Two albums are worth mentioning: "Disraeli Gears" and "Wheels of Fire". Both albums placed Cream at the top of many favorite lists, and Clapton's guitar playing was in top demand. Their early breakup was probably due more to the effects of constant drug use than to the problems of ego. Clapton would spend several years in solitude before beating his dependency.

Speaking of C S & N, David Crosby would come from another of the early influential bands, the Byrds. They would release several albums before their demise, but the most indicative of their sound was "Mr. Tambourine Man", an album that covered many of their more recognizable songs. The title track of course was written by Bob Dylan. Crosby would leave the Byrds to create bigger and better things, but he was definitely involved in the success of this earlier group.

To complete the earlier and first part of this series, it is worth mentioning one of the first of the many talented and creative bands from the British wave, the Kinks. Their songs covered many decades of work but their earliest tunes were unusual and rather obscure. Their first album, "You Really Got Me", may not have been their biggest seller in history, but it gives the listener enough to digest. The title track was one of their greatest hits and has been covered by other artists. The Kinks also led ground into the later punk rock movement with later works like "Lola". The Davies brothers were the main leaders of the group, but were not the only members. Some of them, especially Ray Davies, went on to pen soundtracks for movies and other projects. Their heavy influence on rock music is still underrated.

There is not enough room or time to list all of the greatest and most enjoyable records of rock history, but this is a start. Most of what has come since has been influenced by these people, bands and albums. In the days of youth these were some of the vinyls that everyone seemed to be purchasing, and most of what have been necessary to replace with digital Cd's. If new technology demands that they be replaced again, it will become necessary to list them again. This is not an easy task, but one that is currently asked of by younger music enthusiasts. Music will never die; it will simply evolve and become adopted by later generations. Such will be our task repeated again.

By the way, the request of putting this list together was done with one additional point; not to include "greatest hits" collections within it. I have stayed that path and have avoided placing any of these albums on my final list, although some of the best selling of all time include such works. The list will be completed without them. These lps will stand on their own as you listen to them. Too bad there isn't more time.

Sources: http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_albumsddd.html

George-Warren, H., Romanowski, P., Pareles, J., The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Third Edition, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2001.