A Lifetime-Plus of Music

     I don’t know if I have come across a debut album that delivers as strongly as today’s album, at least so far on this ride.  “The Doors”, by The Doors, really hits the mark and it’s really quite impressive how a relatively inexperienced band of musicians produced this work on their first release.  Rated #86 on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, this record hits the ground running and almost never loses momentum.

     Fronted by the legendary poet-singer Jim Morrison, with Ray Manzarek on keyboards, Robbie Krieger on guitar and John Densmore on drums, this four-piece act ultimately had an extremely productive ~ four year run before Morrison’s mysterious death in 1971.  This album opens with “Break On Through”, a perfect track for bursting onto the scene with intensity and significance.  The entire first side is just outstanding, heading next into the funky “Soul Kitchen”, the cosmic piano song, “The Crystal Ship”, the ode to modern beauty, “Twentieth Century Fox”, and the circus-like bar sing-along, “Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)”.  Side one ends with one of their most famous songs, and certainly the most recognized song from this album, “Light My Fire”.  Jim Morrison handled almost all of the lyrical songwriting for the band, but this song was written by guitarist Robbie Krieger, and is the most classic representation of their sound.

     Side two starts with a look back at American blues, with “Back Door Man”, co-written by Willie Dixon and Howlin’ Wolf.  Overall, the second side isn’t quite as consistent as side one, and ends with the 11:35 production, “The End”.  Many view this song as one of Morrison’s finest achievements, but it has never really captured my enthusiasm the way much of their catalog has.  I do enjoy the beginning and the basic verse and melody, but it strays a bit too long in distance for my taste.  There are many long songs that I find appealing from beginning to end, so this demonstrates that no matter the length, it is what the band does with that time that matters.  I personally think it drifts through the psychedelic haze of the mid-section of the song, and the “Oedipal Complex” theme is just a bit bizarre for my personal taste.

     Those minor skirmishes aside, I really love this album, and can only imagine how new, unique and groundbreaking their music and Morrison’s electric persona were when they kicked off 1967, the year I was born, which also will prove to be another remarkably influential and productive year in the evolution of popular music.

     Today’s album is “A Quick One” by The Who.  It will become obvious through this blog that I am a big fan of The Who, but I have no hesitation in saying this album is not my favorite.  A quirky collection of odd songs, many of which were covers or written by other members of the band besides their primary songwriter Pete Townshend, this album is frankly a bit of a hot mess in my opinion.

     One of the most notable segments is the infamous “mini-opera”, “A Quick One, While He’s Away”, a nine-minute connected story of mini-songs about lost female love, who falls under the romantic/sexual prey of Ivor the Engine Driver.  She ultimately confesses her moment of straying, and is forgiven by her true love.  It is an interesting piece and comes across better in a live setting, but it still is a far cry from their more ambitious story-telling musical pieces to follow.

     I like their cover of “Heat Wave” by Motown legends Martha and the Vandellas, and although it is a bit odd during the musical break, I also appreciate their version of “Barbara Ann” by the Beach Boys, featuring drummer Keith Moon on lead falsetto vocals.  Frankly though, the most passible other songs are the Townshend numbers, and the rest of the album, featuring contributions by Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon and John Entwistle’s unusual “Boris The Spider”, which would follow the band throughout their career, fall way short of the capabilities of this great band.

     A lesson I learned today… if you want to introduce someone to The Who, don’t start with this album as you may not win them back.  Better days ahead!

     Every now and then, music and life collide in the most jarring and impactful way.  As an intro, today’s album is “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme” by Simon and Garfunkel.  Their third studio release, it is a monumental step forward from their last album, and reflects much more of their creative influence and control over their sound.  In addition to the pseudo-title track “Scarborough Fair / Canticle”, which is amazing, this album features “Homeward Bound” and “The 59^th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)”.  This is a great album… yet none of that really matters right now.

     Today at least six people, as far as I know now, were needlessly murdered by yet another incidence of gun violence.  It happened in my home state, in a grocery store chain I once worked in for multiple years.  As I was trying to wrap my head around yet another instance of this, and wondering to myself if all of my friends from that town were safe and free from harm, the song “7 O’clock News / Silent Night” came on the car stereo.  If I have ever heard this piece before, I don’t recall it, and I can’t imagine ever forgetting this now, as this moment will stay with me forever.  I don’t want to give it all away, I would much prefer if you take two very important minutes out of your day to listen to this song… particularly this day.  All I can say is that it is one of the most, if not the most, powerful combinations of pure beauty and the absolute horrors of the modern world that somehow continue to coexist, even to this day.

     For many reasons, today started for me as a day of happiness and celebration.  As this song so vividly reminds us, peace and harmony can be shattered in an instant by the cruelty and evil intertwined within the world we all live.  I can’t truly describe my feeling as I realized where this song was going and what it was asking me to see, hear and feel, but it could not have possibly come at a more profound and appropriate time.  I will be forever indebted to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel for forcing this upon me when I needed it most, to remember once again what is ultimately most precious and essential in this life.

     I’m grateful for all that I have in this world, and the people I love who share it with me and make every day better, just as I dearly miss those who are no longer here with me to share in this experience.  Music is an integral and fundamental element of my daily life, and I’m thankful for that, no matter what feelings and emotions may emerge from those sounds.  I’m stunned and heartbroken to see more innocent lives taken from us unnecessarily.  That’s all that matters today… that, and figuring what more we can do to tangibly reduce our exposure to this catastrophic horror ever again.

     As the powerhouse acts responded to each other’s work, the Beatles released their next step forward in August of 1966.  Recorded as they completed their transition from a touring act to a full-time studio band, it was not recorded as a response to “Pet Sounds” or any of their contemporaries, although that would come.  “Revolver” is the second of what I call their transition albums, and it is very highly regarded.  Rated as the #11 album on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Albums of All Time, I enjoy this album a lot, although I would take “Rubber Soul” (rated #35 on the same list) with me instead if I could only keep one of them.

     One of the most notable transitions on this album is the continuing emergence of George Harrison.  “Taxman” opens the album, and he has three songs in total.  “I Want To Tell You” is a straight-up pop tune with the Beatles signature harmonies, while “Love You To” is a by-product of the growing influence of Indian music on the Beatles, particularly with George.

     The allotted Ringo song on this album is “Yellow Submarine”, which would ultimately inspire a very quirky and entertaining animated film.  Some love-inspired research tells us that “Yellow Submarine” fills the genre of both children’s music and psychedelia, which sounds about right.  It is an incredibly catchy tune, and the perfect outlet for Ringo’s dry humor.

     As usual, the rest of the album is divided between Lennon and McCartney, and we begin to really see the divergent paths they are following with their style.  Each has their exceptions, but in general, John is probing further into the world of experimentation, both musically and in life, while Paul continues to hone his craft as a master pop song creator with a softer and more traditional feel.  While John probably had the edge on “Rubber Soul”, Paul delivered most of the established hits on this album.  “Eleanor Rigby”, the classic sad story from Paul, backed by a classic arrangement of strings, leads the hit parade.  Two other massive songs from Paul on this album are “Good Day Sunshine” and “Got to Get You into My Life”, but I think my favorite of all of them is the beautiful love song, “Here, There and Everywhere”.

     None of John’s songs on this album delivered this type of commercial impact.  “I’m Only Sleeping” is probably my favorite, along with “And Your Bird Can Sing”.  Both are great Beatles songs you may not automatically recognize, but both are excellent songs that reflect John as one of the leading influences in song direction and production.

     Overall, I enjoy this album a lot, and it is exciting, just as it would have been then in real time, to contemplate how much further they can stretch their sound while remaining the most productive, and now full-time, songwriting and recording artists of the 1960s.

     The iconic, highly rated albums just keep coming in 1966.  Today we have “Blonde on Blonde” by Bob Dylan, the much-anticipated follow-up to “Highway 61 Revisited”.  As I have noted before, there is no shortage of appreciation and affection for Bob Dylan at Rolling Stone, and they have this album rated #38 on their Top 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time.

     I would say that in total, I probably favor “Highway 61 Revisited” over “Blonde on Blonde”, and I don’t think this would be MY #38 album of all time, but it certainly has its moments of greatness.  The album kicks off with “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”, or as most people probably know it, “Everybody Must Get Stoned”.  I would say the other most well-recognized track on this album is “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again”.  Other songs that stand out for me are the blues-rocker “Obviously Five Believers”, the slower blues tune “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat”, and the slower acoustic track “Fourth Time Around”, taking us back to earlier Dylan.  Overall, this album is a really diverse and well compiled mix of songs that reflects the breadth of capabilities he had as a songwriter.

     There are times on this record when I feel like Bob Dylan starts to sound a bit like the cliché Dylan we all came to know.  He will never be a classic vocalist, to say the least, and I occasionally feel like we start drifting a bit far down the nasally black hole of strained vocals on a couple of these songs.  That being said, the songwriting remains stellar and it definitely holds its own within the steady stream of classic albums released in the mid-1960s.

     There are very few albums that come with such consistent praise and appreciation as today’s selection.  “Pet Sounds”, the iconic triumph for Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, is consistently considered to be one of the most influential and highest rated albums in modern music.  Rated #2 on all three versions of Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, including the one I used as the initial baseline for this project, it really is a remarkable record and one that continued to push and challenge many other artists to strive for more.

     By early 1966, Brian Wilson was no longer touring and performing with the Beach Boys.  As he fell further into the dual abyss of mental health challenges and substance abuse, his only escape was the recording studio.  Fueled and inspired, as many were, by the Beatles album “Rubber Soul”, Wilson set out with the full intention of creating what he wanted to be the greatest album of all time.  Working primarily with lyricist Tony Asher, Brian created the soundtrack for this project.  Unlike the early days of the band, instead of a simple sound of guitars, bass, keyboard and drums, Brian embraced an intensely orchestrated and highly produced sound while emulating Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound”, working with dozens of studio musicians on horns, strings, keyboards, percussion, and anything else that he could add to the blend.

     So, was this a Brian Wilson album or a Beach Boys album?  One could argue it was both.  Ultimately, the band was included in the project, primarily for backing vocals and one highly notable lead vocal performance.  At it’s peak, this is Brian and the group at their very best.  The album opener, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, both in word and certainly in song, is one of my favorite vocal arrangements of all time.  The harmony blends and contributions from the group, mixed in with Brian’s lamenting lead, are truly phenomenal.  If you want a different and equally powerful perspective, you can find on YouTube this and other songs from the album with the vocal tracks only, with all instruments stripped out.  It is from this perspective I gained even more appreciation for my second favorite song on the album, “God Only Knows”, featuring the surprisingly beautiful lead vocals of Carl Wilson.  If you listen to the outro, especially on the vocal-only version, you will be amazed by the precision and beauty of their harmonies.

     As you can imagine, the reaction within the core group to this dramatic change in direction was mixed to say the least.  Brian’s brothers understood the magnitude and beauty of the project, even if they knew their relative contributions were less impactful.  Mike Love and Al Jardine both objected to this departure from format, also seeing their relative place in the group on the decline.

     The rest of the album is slightly more complicated to me.  “Sloop John B” is a well-known song, but it has never fully resonated with me.  I will say that listening to this album multiple times as I did, helped to further my appreciation of this song.  Many of the other songs are what I would call a challenging listen.  I go back and forth between being overwhelmed by the entirety of sound Brian delivers in each of these tracks, and how big of a creation this was, and also looking a bit awkwardly for the simplicity and hook of some of their earlier music.  I love “You Still Believe In Me”, which quickly jolts you into realizing this is something different altogether from simple surf music.  I think another song that captures that same melancholy sadness and slow harmonic burn is “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times”.  At the end of the day, I stand convicted that “Pet Sounds” is an incredibly accurate snapshot of exactly who and what Brian Wilson was during that time.  An absolute genius song and sound creator, while at the same time one who endured great sadness, pain, isolation and struggle.  Wilson and his many contributors, including the original band, ultimately delivered this triumph of an album that shattered all previous preconceived notions of the Beach Boys while leaving many searching for exactly that comfort while listening to this album.

     Today we observe some of the classic back and forth between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.  Following the release of “Rubber Soul” by the Beatles, we see a response from the Stones that has many of the same creative advances.  We even see their deployment of the sitar as well on the album “Aftermath”, rated as the #330 album by Rolling Stone on the Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     Also like the Beatles, Mick and Keith have fully assumed all songwriting duties at this point, which also further asserted their leadership in the band as Brian Jones continues to see his front role evolve and lessen over time.  This album starts with the dark classic “Paint It, Black” and also includes the dominant classic “Under My Thumb”.  This album represents a notable departure from the core of their blues roots, exploring pop sounds and folk trends, as seen on the ballad “Lady Jane”.

     I think this is a good Stones album, but maybe not a great one in total.  The album concludes with “Going Home”, an eleven-minute return to their blues roots with a rockabilly twist, and it comes in at a shocking eleven minutes, practically unheard of at that time.  Like “Midnight Rambler” a bit later in their career, I think this is a really good song that could have been as good, and probably better, without the long, extended runout at the end, but I can certainly appreciate their desire to push boundaries and test their audience along the way.

     This won’t be the last of the back and forth between these acts and others, and it is exciting to hear it unfold in just this manner.

     Today we encounter the folk-influenced duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel for the first time with what was their second studio album, “Sounds of Silence”.  This album, bookended by two of their most famous and successful hits, built on the two-part harmony legacy of the Everly Brothers, with a more sophisticated, mature and folk-based sound on the heels of Bob Dylan’s continued success.

     The title song, “The Sound of Silence”, is absolutely one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs ever.  With profound lyrics, and a building intensity, Art’s high harmony vocal blends perfectly with Paul to deliver a somber yet intense song.  This was actually the second version of this song released, as the record company presented a new version of the previously recorded acoustic track, with electric guitar, bass and drums added.  The original version was released on their initial album two years earlier.  Comparing the two versions, while they are the same basic song, I do think the building surge from this bigger sound definitely takes the song to a higher place with a more powerful impact.  Knowing the opinionated mindset of Paul and Art, it must have been an interesting sell at first.  Even from the beginning, Paul Simon was the primary creative force and songwriter in the duo, a fact that reappears as a source of tension throughout their complicated history.

     The album closes with “I Am A Rock”, a very timely declaration of inner strength that once again reflects the emerging sounds of folk rock, building on The Byrds as they built on Dylan.  While not always the case, I do believe these two well-known tunes stand out on an otherwise relatively forgettable collection of songs.  Like any artist, Simon and Garfunkel rise and fall based on the quality of their songs, and future creations by Paul will ultimately significantly overshadow this early work.

     Not unlike other years, the #1 selling album of 1966 was actually released the year before.  However, unlike the many years leading up to this moment, the #1 album this time is NOT a Broadway or cinematic soundtrack.  The #1 selling album in America in 1966?  The instrumental classic, “Whipped Cream & Other Delights”, by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.

     The son of immigrants from what is now Ukraine, Herb Alpert grew up in southern California in the 1950s, even performing for two years in the famous USC Trojan Marching Band. (Anyone remember their appearance in the Fleetwood Mac song Tusk?)  Anyway, after several years as a successful studio musician, he formed his band with several other session players, and he began a highly successful string of album sales running through most of the 1960s.  The biggest seller was this album, “Whipped Cream & Other Delights”.  I can specifically recall my parents owning this album, and while I did enjoy the music, as a growing boy I was much more interested in the album cover.  I’ll stop there… but for any of you other curious boys and girls out there, it’s worth a search.

     All of the songs are instrumental, led primarily by Alpert’s trumpet, with a slow, mellow and cool feel that makes this a great soundtrack for any gathering where conversation is key, but relaxation is essential.  Most recognizable, at least to me, is the song “A Taste of Honey”, the leadoff song, and I also particularly enjoy “Whipped Cream”, which many will recognize as one of the main theme songs from the legendary show “The Dating Game”.  “Bittersweet Samba” really captures the overall mood and the southern California/ Mexican flair of this act.

     Like I said, this album takes me way back to my early days, raised by a set of parents who loved me, loved music, and loved a good time.  Over six million Americans shared in this vibe, a unique and unusual sound of calm amidst very turbulent times.

     As we reach the end of 1965, I’m compelled to look back at what a remarkable year in music it was.  Multiple albums from the Beatles and the Stones, new ground from definitive acts like Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys, the surging dominance of Motown and R&B, and the continuing relevance of blues, jazz, and folk as iconic American music forms.  This last album (I believe) from 1965 brings it all together for me in many ways, both as I look back and look ahead to what comes next.  Today’s album… the debut album by British Mod rock band, The Who, titled “My Generation”.

     Listening to this album on the heels of what I have experienced for the past 75 days was a really rewarding experience.  As my mind and musical limits continue to be stretched, at my core, I’m still a rock and roll guy who thrives on loud guitar, a banging rhythm section and a great melody.  When I first encountered rock music and fell in love in the early 1980s, it was mostly a completed catalog of music we now refer to as “classic rock”, and it was much more difficult to distinguish which came first, who copied who, and who were the real pioneers and change agents of rock and roll.  However, as I listen to all of this music in a roughly sequential manner, all of that changes, and new trends or new sounds are much more authentic in their discovery.  Listening to this first album by The Who reassured me of their greatness, early and often.

     The ingredients are simple and yet very unique to the time.  Start with Pete Townshend, a highly innovative songwriter with a great voice and an aggressive attitude and violent style for attacking his guitar.  Add in a flashy and cocky lead singer and the appeal grows.  Mick Jagger probably wanted to steal your girlfriend, but Roger Daltrey probably just wanted to step outside if you crossed him.  If not, that’s certainly how he approached his vocal duties.  With many bands, that’s where the star-power ended, but we are just getting started with The Who.  John Entwistle takes rock and roll bass to a new level on this album and beyond.  If you have any doubts listen to the bass solo on the title track, or his instrumental track “The Ox”.  And of course, above it all, behind it all, and beneath it all, you have the one and only Keith Moon.  Not to disparage Ringo Starr or Charlie Watts, as they are both extremely capable and technically proficient drummers, but in personality and certainly in playing style, the world had not seen anything like Keith.  His drumming is slightly more subdued, a tiny bit, on these early albums, but even then, underneath an infinitely catchy pop tune like “The Kids Are Alright”, Keith is literally raging away on the drums.  I always suspected Keith Moon was fully liberated to play whatever the hell he wanted because Pete and John were so strong as a rhythm duo on lead and bass guitar… it sure sounds like it here.

     We will come back to the highlights of this album in a moment, but first I have to celebrate not one, but two James Brown tunes, “I Don’t Mind” and “Please Please Please” from the frequently referenced “Live At the Apollo” album.  When you add in their take on Muddy Waters’ “I’m a Man”, even a band like The Who, normally a few steps further from the blues and R&B orbit than the Stones or even the Beatles, demonstrated proper homage and respect for where it all started.

     I do love the opener “Out In The Street”, an original Townshend song like the rest of the songs on this album other than the songs noted above, but their hits on this album really stand the test of time.  “My Generation”, best known for the timeless phrase “I hope I die before I get old”, stands out like much of the Who’s early music as the earliest beginnings of punk rock.  Roger’s infamous stuttering vocal, the subject of many different alleged origins, creates an unforgettable image, and as noted before, John’s bass solo and Keith’s drum explosion during the outro was simply something we just had not experienced before. 

     Just as you are catching your breath from the end of side one and “My Generation”, the genius of “The Kids Are Alright” kicks off side two.  Blending raucous guitars and drums with the rich harmony backing vocals from Pete and John, it is my favorite song on this album and one of my all-time favorite Who songs.  One last song I will highlight is “A Legal Matter”.  Another really appealing pop song with a rock undertone, it also features Pete on lead vocals.  He has a really strong voice, at the upper end of the scale, and serves as a great compliment to Roger’s deeper and rougher delivery.

     As you probably have figured out, I’m also a big fan of The Who, and hearing this album in its time-centered context reminded me exactly why.  They blend the pop talents of the Beatles with the rougher edges of the Stones, with a dose of aggression and volume not yet heard widely in the world of rock and roll.  That’s three landmark bands from the UK… and we are just getting started.