Posted May 21, 20223 yr Not exactly a era which is hugely remembered for great albums nowadays (the format only got its own chart at the end of the 50s) but I’m currently listening to all the Beatles albums in order to see how they sound today to someone who will only really know all the classic melody’s and singles from great hits albums. But what other albums would be worth a listen to from this era in your opinion and why? Back on the Beatles and it is actually hard even knowing what their albums are in order as there were so many differences in international releases. Here’s the list off the internet so correct me if any are not right: The core UK albums released during The Beatles’ time together, 1963-1970: Please Please Me (1963) With The Beatles (1963) A Hard Day’s Night (1964) Beatles For Sale (1964) Help! (1965) Rubber Soul (1965) Revolver (1966) Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) The Beatles (White Album) (1968) Yellow Submarine (1969) Abbey Road (1969) Let It Be (1970)
May 21, 20223 yr I don't have many albums from the 60s but I would certainly recommend Days Of Future Passed by the Moody Blues which is a concept album going from the start of a day to the night time. It includes their best known song, Nights In White Satin. They used a full orchestra on the album. There's also the classic Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys which was Brian Wilson's attempt to match the quality of the Beatles' albums. I also like the debut album by Genesis, 'From Genesis To Revelation', which barely sold a copy at the time but most fans of the group purchased many years later to complete their collections. It consists of short pop songs rather than the prog rock that they moved onto.
May 21, 20223 yr Author Thanks King Rollo, I will def check out the Beach Boys ones, class band. Haven’t heard much from the Moody Blues. Any from the early 69s? The lte 60s post 1966 is like the 70s for me while the earlier decade is like the 50s!
May 22, 20223 yr Cream Disraeli Gears Otis Redding Otis Blue Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet Led Zeppelin Led Zeppellin II
May 22, 20223 yr Pet Sounds def. Beatles early albums tended to have filler covers, from A hard days Night to Help! the quality improves even with some singles and B sides missing, Rubber Soul ups the quality, Revolver is brilliant and Pepper pretty close. White album is bloated. Its a self-indulgent mess overall but a classic single album in there with judicious cherry picking. Abbey Road is great, Let It Be less so but never less than very good with 4 or 5 classics. One day I will list the albums as they SHOULD have been, with filler replaced by actual singles and B sides.....! There are great albums not usually mentioned in the 60's: Glen Campbell's from the Jimmy Webb period (Galveston/ Wichita Lineman), Mamas And The Papas, first Monkees album is fab, later ones less poppy but interesting, Dusty In Memphis is terrific, frankly you cant go wrong with any Dusty Springfield 60's stuff ditto anything with Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra on the cover is super cool druggy poetry widescreen vistarama. Not to mention A Christmas Gift To You Phil Spector and co. So many worthy Hits collections too, the best of the best hits acts of the 60's.
May 26, 20223 yr Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde Love - Forever Changes Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed The Velvet Underground & Nico
May 26, 20223 yr Loads of classic 60s albums. Aside from thee Beatles I'd suggest Velvet Underground & Nico Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced? Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin Led Zeppeilin - led Zeppelin II Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet Rolling Stones - let It Bleed Rolling Stones - Aftermath Electric Prunes - Electric Prunes Bob Dylan - Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - Highway '61 Revisited The Doors - The Doors Big Brother & The Holding Company - Cheap Thrills The Band - Music From The Big pink Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis Captain Beefheart - Trout Mask Replica MC5 - Kick Out The Jams The Stooges - The Stooges Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison The Kinks - The village Green Preservation Society Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake The Zombies - Oddessey & Oracle Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy & The Poor Boys Beach Boys - Pet Sounds The Who - Tommy The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man That should get you started... Edited May 26, 20223 yr by Severin
May 31, 20223 yr Author Thanks for the excellent suggestions Fiesta, Pop, Severin and Jim! One of my favourite bands of the 60s are The Kinks - have their hits collections, so many classic pop moments.
May 31, 20223 yr I'll definitely have to look into some of these suggestions myself! I'm a total Beatles nerd so know their records back to front by this point (and agree with a lot of John's above thoughts - Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - which is credited as a huge turning point for the potential of the album as an art form - and Abbey Road are my holy trinity) but otherwise my 60s studio album consumption isn't really up to scratch. I like the 1960s for singles (my decade-specific playlist is 200+ songs long which isn't half bad for someone born 3 decades later) but elsewhere, all non-Beatles stuff in my vinyl collection is an assortment of Greatest Hits collections - I have those of The Beach Boys, The Kinks, The Shadows and The Supremes off the top of my head.
June 1, 20223 yr Aside from The Beatles, my Top 5 of the 1960s includes: The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Underground & Nico King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed Love - Forever Changes Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited Hopefully, those will make for some great listens for you
June 1, 20223 yr I don't have many albums from the 60s but I would certainly recommend Days Of Future Passed by the Moody Blues which is a concept album going from the start of a day to the night time. It includes their best known song, Nights In White Satin. They used a full orchestra on the album. There's also the classic Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys which was Brian Wilson's attempt to match the quality of the Beatles' albums. I also like the debut album by Genesis, 'From Genesis To Revelation', which barely sold a copy at the time but most fans of the group purchased many years later to complete their collections. It consists of short pop songs rather than the prog rock that they moved onto. The full-length version of Nights In White Satin is a masterpiece. Unfortunately, it is not available on Spotify but it is on youtube. The first Genesis album is interesting in that it didn't give that much of a hint of what was to come in the next few albums. I was, as you say, basically a pop album but sold next to nothing. I'll definitely have to look into some of these suggestions myself! I'm a total Beatles nerd so know their records back to front by this point (and agree with a lot of John's above thoughts - Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - which is credited as a huge turning point for the potential of the album as an art form - and Abbey Road are my holy trinity) but otherwise my 60s studio album consumption isn't really up to scratch. I like the 1960s for singles (my decade-specific playlist is 200+ songs long which isn't half bad for someone born 3 decades later) but elsewhere, all non-Beatles stuff in my vinyl collection is an assortment of Greatest Hits collections - I have those of The Beach Boys, The Kinks, The Shadows and The Supremes off the top of my head. Sgt Pepper is a fabulous album but I have always liked Abbey Road even more. As I said in my commentary at the time of the reissue, the White Album is a bit of a mess. There are some great songs in there but also far too much filler. Alone Again Or from Love's album mentioned above is a glorious piece of music. The Damned did a great cover version but it still fell a long way short of the original version. It's one of those songs that should have been a huge hit but didn't make the chart at all :(
June 1, 20223 yr Sgt Pepper is a fabulous album but I have always liked Abbey Road even more. As I said in my commentary at the time of the reissue, the White Album is a bit of a mess. There are some great songs in there but also far too much filler. The magic of Abbey Road really clicked with me more than ever during the 50th anniversary, when I was listening to it over and over again a lot and became immersed in all the relevant Radio 2 programming. The likes of 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' and 'Because' turned into massive favourites. I totally agree with that The White Album assessment - it's like they threw pretty much everything at the wall :lol: some career highs and lows in the same project. I'm off to see The Bootleg Beatles for a second time in July for their 'And In The End' production - yup an Abbey Road celebration, just a few years late due to the pandemic :lol:
June 2, 20223 yr I can also add Bob Dylan, Love, as albums nestling in my cd collection. Essential 60's hits albums: Bee Gees 60's hits Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Cilla, Dusty Four Tops, Temptations, Martha & The vandellas, Stevie Wonder (or any comprehensive series of Motown singles compilations, there are loads) Aretha Franklin, Hollies, Kinks, Elvis, Mamas & papas, Monkees, 5th Dimension, CCR, Rolling Stones, Who, Tommy James & The Shondells, Gene Pitney, Roy Orbison, Neil Diamond. and I forgot the cult singer-songwriter Laura Nyro and her fab The First Songs (essentially she wrote the 5th Dimension/Babs Streisand songs of the time)
June 2, 20223 yr I'd add Hits collection by The Small Faces, one of my favourite bands of the 60s. Other than their hits other good songs by them include Autumn Stone, Rolling Over and their version of Every Little Bit Hurts is the best version I've heard.
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