1960: Lonely and Blue - Roy Orbison
This album was Roy's first full album effort after a string of singles released under the Sun Records label. Feeling that his vocal power was wasted on the blues based rock and roll tunes coming out of Memphis, Roy moved to Monument. Featuring the Roy co-authored "Only the Lonely," this was the first chance listeners got to hear the true power of the 'soul of rock and roll.'
1961: My Favorite Things - John Coltrane
This album is, in my opinion, the best example of Coltrane's studio work. Playing a selection of songs from the likes of Porter, Rogers and Hammerstein, and The Gershwins, Coltrane's command of the soprano and tenor saxophones is very apparent. Being a Cole Porter fan, my favorite track is Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye.
1962: Peter, Paul and Mary - Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary's debut album came packed with hits such as 'If I had a Hammer,' '500 Miles,' and 'Lemon Tree.' The album climbed to number 1 in the US charts and set the stage for a folk revolution (in this year Bob Dylan released his flop debut album and Joan Baez was still struggling for the acclaim that she would reach a few years later).
1963: Please, Please Me - The Beatles
The Beatles first album is packed with great songs and has great production quality despite being recorded in just one day. Kicking off with 'I Saw Her Standing There' and finishing with 'Twist and Shout' (interestingly, Lennon had a terrible cold and was drinking tea throughout the day. 'Twist and Shout' was recorded last for fear of John losing his voice. But thanks to that cold, we have the raspy album version which was never recreated with the same emotion in a live format.) While this album does not have any of the "deep acid tunes" its songs are still timeless and have the same quality of craftsmanship that can be found on later albums.
1964: Kinks - The Kinks
The Kinks were a poor band from England. Due to their obsession with playing their guitars at maximum volume, the wound up gigging with blown amplifiers. The damaged amps coupled with a maximum gain setting were the perfect recipe to allow the Kinks to be the first hard rock group. Their debut effort features a selection of 50's rock and roll tunes along with their most popular self-written tune: 'You Really Got Me.'
1965: Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
After receiving harsh criticism for going electric on his last album, Dylan ignored his fans and put out another electric album. Featuring one of his biggest hits (one of my least favorite on the album) 'Like a Rolling Stone' Dylan was able to win over both fans and critics. The album features a selection of songs with lyrics based more on image creation and less on the story format of his earlier albums. The album closes with the 10+ minute 'Desolation Row.' In my opinion, it is hard to find a better song.
1966: The Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
"Sounds of Silence" is an album made up of unreleased 1964 recordings, with new producing and arranging. The album features many great songs beyond the title track including, 'I am a Rock,' 'Kathy's Song' and 'A Most Peculiar Man.' Overall I would say this is one of the top 3 rainy day albums. It is worth noting that later in 1964, Simon and Garfunkel released "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Tyne," which contains my favorite S&G song: 'The Dangling Conversation.'
1967: The Velvet Underground and Nico - The Velvet Underground
This is where things really start to get challenging. 1967 saw the debut efforts of, The Doors, Pink Floyd, and Jimi Hendrix. I believe that this album beats them all. A bunch of junkies from Andy Warhol's factory got together and produced an album that pushed into the psychedelic realms far further than anything done by The Beatles. The songs all have power, but lack any sort of great message. They just have a way of making you squirm in your seat. During the recording sessions, Lou Reed used what he referred to as an Ostrich Guitar. Basically, all 6 of Lou's strings were tuned to the same note. This allowed him to play octave solos by barring any particular fret on his guitar. It's madness and it's wonderful.
1968: Dance to the Music - Sly and the Family Stone
The Family Stone blended psychedelic rock with soul to lay the foundation for funk music. This album urges the listener to get up and dance, as well as just stare at the ceiling and think. Based on the popularity of this album, Sly and the Family Stone were invited to perform at Woodstock. The group was able to put out a fair amount of albums before their disbandment, but this one is my favorite. Check out 'Color Me True!'
1969: In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson
Welcome to the wild world of prog rock. Robert Fripp, Greg Lake and the rest of the gang put out a cosmic album that combines all the hard rockin' man would love with musical structure from baroque era music. There was never and album like it before or after, but if you really like it, I suggest you check out some Hawkwind.
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