Here’s ten of the best and most important albums that
were released 50 years ago. Except for “A Hard Day’s Night” you may rank
them in any order you like.
The Beatles, “A Hard
Day’s Night” (Parlophone) - released: July 10, 1964
This joyful record kick-started the real 60’s. Almost
all of the 13 cuts are classy tunes. Overwhelmingly spirited, high on
the Rickenbacker 12-string (Roger McGuinn built an entire career on the
guitar sound of “A Hard Day’s Night”), airy harmony voices that embrace
the singer so tight they almost become one, the wise use of acoustic
guitars that give the sharp and often pretty hard hitting songs a chance
to breathe. The Beatles are such an incredibly guitar band on this LP.
The songs are all given the same fresh, colourful and crisp sound. And
all the tracks are Lennon/McCartney-originals.
Contents: A Hard Day’s Night/I Should Have Known
Better/If I Fell/I’m Happy Just To Dance With You/And I Love Her/Tell Me
Why/Can’t Buy Me Love/Any Time At All/I’ll Cry Instead/Things We Said
Today/When I Get Home/You Can’t Do That/I’ll Be Back
The Rolling Stones,
The Rolling Stones (Decca) - released: April 16, 1964
Five white upstarts from London are brave, getting
braver and mixing their own scruffy attitude with the Chicago blues and
some Chuck Berry licks. Produced by a guy who didn’t know anything about
producing (Andrew Loog Oldham), the result is rough and ragged,
sometimes painfully ramshackle, but it never ceases to rock. The music
has an authentic edge to it, made even stronger by the messy production
and the band’s enthusiastic attack. Sound quality is a bit tinny and
lacks bottom.
They mainly do covers, and succeed beyond their
wildest dreams on tracks like “Route 66” and “Carol”. There’s a couple
of band originals here that are not too impressive, but the album’s only
Jagger/Richards-track, “Tell Me”, on the other hand, is a real
heartbroken winner and could have been a single. Impressive stuff for a
debut album.
Contents: Route 66/I Just Want To Make Love To
You/Honest I Do/Mona (I Need You Baby)/Now I’ve Got A Witness/Little By
Little/I’m A King Bee/Carol/Tell Me/Can I Get A Witness/You Can Make It
If You Try/Walking The Dog
The Beatles, “Beatles
For Sale” (Parlophone) -
released: December 4, 1964
The Beatles never repeated themselves. “A Hard Day’s
Night” was crisp and joyful pop for now people. “Beatles For Sale” is
more moody, autumn-like, with a country feel to it. John and Paul’s
voices are so equal that it’s hard to determine who sings the main
melody and who sings the harmony. The album contains several examples of
maturation in the Lennon/McCartney lyrics.
“No Reply” tells a whole story in tight, focused
stanzas. “I’m A Loser” mixes Dylan (voice and folk arrangement) with
Buck Owens (lyrics). “Baby’s In Black” is no ordinary love song, this
girl is in mourning, and one can sense the grimy grin of death between
the lines. The three mentioned and “Rock And Roll Music” (an explosive
Chuck Berry-cover) and “Eight Days A Week” (pure joy) are my favourites.
Contents: No Reply/I’m A Loser/Baby’s In Black/Rock
And Roll Music/I’ll Follow The Sun/Mr. Moonlight/Kansas City-
Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!/Eight Days A Week/Words Of Love/Honey Don’t/Every
Little Thing/I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party/What You’re
Doing/Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby
Bob Dylan, “Another
Side Of Bob Dylan” (Columbia/CBS) - released: August 8, 1964
Considered to be a transitional album, the missing
link between the protest singer and the visionary rock’n’roll poet. But
really, “Another Side Of Bob Dylan” is the actual phase 2 kick-off. The
only thing that differs from “Bringing It All Back Home” is the absence
of electric guitars, drums and bass. There are no so-called political
songs here, no agitating. The songs are significantly introverted, some
very much so, others smash their heads through the diamond sky and are
overflowing with rich imagery and striking poetic stanzas that never
before had been heard from a so-called pop musician.
All the songs were recorded one night in June 1964,
Bob Dylan armed with a case of red wine, some funny cigarettes, an
acoustic guitar and a piano.
Contents: All I Really Want To Do/Black Crow
Blues/Spanish Harlem Incident/Chimes Of Freedom/I Shall Be Free No.
10/To Ramona/Motorpsycho Nightmare/My Back Pages/I Don’t Believe You
(She Acts Like We Never Have Met)/Ballad In Plain D/It Ain’t Me, Babe
Manfred Mann,
“The Five Faces Of Manfred Mann”
(His Master’s Voice) - released: September 11, 1964
Teenagers who bought this album were in for a
surprise. No “5-4-3-2-1”, no “Hubble Bubble (Toil And Trouble)”, no “Do
Wah Diddy Diddy”, nothing in that neighborhood at all. Instead you find
yourself in the hot and smokey rhythm & blues and jazz clubs of swingin’
London with a band that play rings around their competitors.
The jazz background of several of the members give
them a flexibility that enables them to play around with Muddy Waters,
Howlin ‘Wolf, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, taking the music to new places
while Rolling Stones, Animals and the Pretty Things still were purists
trying to copy the originals. The interplay is awesome, and when Paul
Jones blows the harmonica the music catches fire.
Contents: Smokestack Lightning/Don’t Ask Me What I
Say/Sack O’ Woe/What You Gonna Do?/(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man/I’m
Your Kingpin/Down The Road A Piece/I’ve Got My Mojo Working/It’s Gonna
Work Out Fine/Mr. Anello/Untie Me/Bring It To Jerome/Without You/You’ve
Got To Take It
Bob Dylan, “The Times
They Are
A-Changin’”
(Columbia/CBS) - released: January 13, 1964
Contents: The Times They Are A-Changin’/Ballad Of
Hollis Brown/With God On Our Side/One Too Many Mornings/North Country
Blues/Only A Pawn In Their Game/Boots Of Spanish Leather/When The Ship
Comes In/The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll/Restless Farewell
Johnny Cash,
“Bitter Tears:
Ballads Of The American Indian” (Columbia/CBS) - released: October 1,
1964
Contents: As Longs As The Grass Shall Grow/Apache
Tears/Custer/The Talking Leaves/The Ballad Of Ira Hayes/Drums/White
Girl/The Vanishing Race
The Animals, “The
Animals” (Columbia) - released: October 1964
Contents: Story Of Bo Diddley/Bury My
Body/Dimples/I’ve Been Around/I’m In Love Again/The Girl Can’t Help
It/I’m Mad Again/She Said Yeah/Night Time Is The Right Time/Memphis
Tennessee/Boom Boom/Around And Around
The Yardbirds, “Five
Live Yardbirds”
(Columbia) -
released: December 4, 1964
Contents: Too Much Monkey Business/Got Love If You
Want It/Smokestack Lightning/Good Morning Little
Schoolgirl/Respectable/Five Long Years/Pretty Girl/Louise/I’m A Man/Here
‘Tis
The Kinks,
“The Kinks” (PYE) - released: October 2, 1964
Contents: Beautiful Delilah/So Mystifying/Just Can’t Go To Sleep/Long
Tall Shorty/I Took My Baby Home/I’m A Lover Not A Fighter/You Really Got
Me/Cadillac/Bald Headed Woman/Revenge/Too Much Monkey Business/I’ve Been
Driving On Bald Mountain/Stop Your Sobbing/Got Love If You Want It
