1001 Albums you must hear before you die: Pentangle's Basket of Light

I love this album -- there's so much energy to it.

 

San Quentin is also excellent...

 

Eli & the Thirteenth Confession (1968) - Laura Nyro

[image=http://www.1000recordings.com/images/artist-n/nyro-laura-626-l.jpg]

Tracks:

1. Luckie
2. Lu
3. Sweet Blindness
4. Poverty Train
5. Lonely Women
6. Eli's Coming
7. Timer
8. Stoned Soul Picnic
9. Emmie
10. Woman's Blues
11. Once It Was Alright Now
12. December's Boudoir
13. The Confession

My thoughts:

Hadn't even heard of this one before I saw it on the list; Nyro was a singer/songwriter who specialized in a Brill Building type pop. Anyone heard this one?

 

Oh, yes. Fantastic, intricate pop.

 

Lady Soul (1968) - Aretha Franklin

[image=http://www.dustygroove.com/images/products/f/frankl_aret_ladysoul1_101b.jpg]

Tracks:

1. Chain of Fools
2. Money Won't Change You
3. People Get Ready
4. Niki Hoeky
5. A Natural Woman
6. Since You've Been Gone
7. Good to Me as I Am To You
8. Come Back, Baby
9. Groovin'
10. Ain't No Way

My thoughts:

This is maybe my favorite Aretha Franklin album, even more so than I Never Loved a Man. The songs, and the performances are just absolute perfection. Her cover of People Get Ready comes darn close to eclipsing the Impressions' original version. Niki Hoeky is pure swagger, Chain of Fools is intense, hot, staggering. Since You've Been Gone is (for my money) way better than the latter day song by the same name (which is pretty great itself). And Ain't No Way is one of her most devestated and devestating songs - pure anguish. Essential? You know it. No one's ever done this kind of singing better; no one.

 

Lots of hits on that one.

 

Wonderful album, wonderful woman.

Also I wish there were more active music threads.

 

*Sigh* So do I.

 

I wish this one was active.

Vincebus Eruptum (1968) ? Blue Cheer

[image=http://www.b-sides.it/foto_dischi/348.JPG]

Tracks:

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

Haven?t heard this one; this was Blue Cheer?s debut. Apparently psychedelic blues rock is the most likely genre. But I?d actually like to hear it; anybody who covers Mose Allison and Eddie Cochran on one album can?t be that bad.

 

That's the dirtiest sounding faux-Latin I've ever heard.

Except for 'biggius diccius', of course.

 

The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968) - The Byrds

[image=http://dkpresents.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/66f71b9c5750701b3dec67f1cbf01a10_full.jpg]

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

My thoughts:

At the continued risk of losing all my classic rock cred, I continue to argue that The Byrds are overrated. This album is a fair glimpse at their completely fey, utterly irritating spacey-trippy period, which I find insufferable. Any right thinking person, I should think, would find a song about dolphins smiling insufferable, but somehow people loved it and continue to do so.

Turn Turn Turn isn't bad; He Was a Friend of Mine and I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better are both near perfect recordings. But nothing on this album comes anywhere close to that; Wasn't Born to Follow ain't bad, but it ain't great either.

On a side note, if you get the CD reissue, it closes with ten minutes or so of studio chatter, the band imploding right in front of you, which is hilarious and transfixing. Definitely better than the music in front of it. Of course, that CD reissue also contains a version of Triad, maybe the second worst song from the sixties/seventies. So at your own risk.

 

I don't recognize *any* of these songs.

 

Cheap Thrills (1968) - Big Brother & the Holding Company

[image=http://www.muzieklijstjes.nl/Tips/CheapthrillsBigbrother.jpg]

Tracks:

1. A 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 & Chain

My thoughts:

I've only heard Piece of My Heart. Joplin killed on that one. Much as I hate the cover, I'd love to hear this one.

 

The album cover is awesome in my opinion, and the music is very good. Some people don't like the guitar playing on it, but I think it's great. The sloppiness is part of the charm, and they crank out some excellent psychedelic blues on this record. And of course, Joplin's voice is amazing.

 

The United States of America (1968) - The United States of America

[image=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/Usa_album_papersleeve.jpg]

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 Che
9. Stranded in Time
10. The American Way of Love

My thoughts:

Never even heard of these guys. Apparently, a sort of prog-psychedelic mash-up. But they're certainly not pretentious, not with that name!

 

Never heard of them, either.

 

Gris-Gris (1968) - Dr. John

[image=http://img.imeem.com/ai/Q3PYUV3K3BXEPULYVCJH5IE3GDWGDEDX.jpg]

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

My thoughts:

Dr. John's debut. Apparently a mash up of New Orleans R&B and psychedelic rock which frankly sounds like a darn good plan to me. I need to hear this one.

 

after i heard him perform on the 2nd blues brothers soundtrack, i bought a collection of his songs. it has jump sturdy, i think. that album must be quite raw. the man has played around with so many things, it is such an amazing assortment of stuff, i love his funkiness.

 

In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968) - Iron Butterfly

[image=http://www.vinylrecords.ch/I/IR/Iron_Butterfly/Ina-YU/iron-butterfly-10.jpg]

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

My thoughts:

I've never heard the whole album, but I've heard the reason it's on this list which is the epic seventeen minute album closing title track, which on the original album took up the whole second side.

These kinds of psychedelic rave ups can be either very good or very bad; I think this one actually justifies its length. Others may feel otherwise, but I love the song. For those wondering, the title and the song as a whole is a mush mouthed take on 'In the garden of Eden.' Reportedly, at least. Luckily, the lyrics have nothing do with why this song rocks.

Anyone here heard the whole album?

 

I have not. I have however heard the two songs Nas has done that sampled the last track and those are both excellent.

 

Actually I think that's totally legitimate and requires no tongue face ; sampling has become, in itself, a form of criticism, I think.

 

Stupid lyrics, though.

 

S.F. Sorrow (1968) - The Pretty Things

[image=http://www.kosmikradiation.com/albums_files/prettythings_SFS.jpg]

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. The Loneliest Person

My thoughts:

Tommy wouldn't drop until 69, so you may wonder why no one ever calls this the first rock opera. Continue wondering. You may wonder even more after you realize that this album also has a great climactic moment at a mirror. You may continue wondering even more.

I haven't heard this, but I'd very much like too. One of the very first concept albums, probably the first rock opera, recorded at Abbey Road during the same period as Sgt. Pepper and Piper at the Gates. Historically very significant album that has, oddly, been almost completely forgotten.

 

I haven't heard it, either.

 

Bookends (1968) - Simon & Garfunkel

[image=http://www.musicdirect.com/shared/images/products/large/lsun5233.jpg]

Tracks:

1. Bookends Theme
2. Save the Life of My Child
3. America
4. Overs
5. Voices of Old People
6. Old Friends
7. Bookends
8. Fakin' It
9. Punky's Dilemma
10. Mrs. Robinson
11. A Hazy Shade of Winter
12. At the Zoo


My thoughts:

I think S&G's masterpiece. It's essentially a concept album about aging, with a very cynical overtone and a somber mood. The Bookends Theme is one of their most beautiful melodies; Voices of Old People is a collage of elderly people from various nursing homes being interviewed by Garfunkel. Mrs. Robinson and Hazy Shade of Winter are, of course, still two of their finest songs. I rather wish At the Zoo had been left off; it feels like a real outlier on the album, not at all stylistically a mesh with the rest of the album. But still, an essential album for sure.