A watershed year for innovation, 1966 was a year that saw the beginnings of true experimentation for many seminal artists. It seems that it was 1966 that psychedelia first began to take root in widespread fashion, and rock and roll began to find some sophistication in its lyrics and arrangements for the first time. Some of the choices here may seem a little odd, but keep in mind that the year isn't really that deep, as the album format (at least for most groups) was still in its first years. Still, there were some tough choices to make and I did make some omissions. And yes, I DID vote for the very first double LP in rock history.
NOTE: FnB list is wrong about the Zappa albums
Omissions:
# Nina Simone * Wild Is The Wind (Four Women) (Philips)
# Cecil Taylor * Unit Structures (Blue Note)
# Archie Shepp * Mama Too Tight (Impulse)
# Small Faces (Polygram)
# The Animals * Animalisms (Repertoire/Decca)
# The Yardbirds * Roger The Engineer (Columbia/Edsel)
# Nina Simone * Let It All Out (Philips)
# Nina Simone * High Priestess Of Soul (Philips)
# The Monks * Black Monk Time (Repertoire)
# Sly & The Family Stone * A Whole New Thing (Epic)
# The Shadows Of Knight * Back Door Men (Dunwich/Sundazed)
# The Pretty Things * Get The Picture (Fontana)
# The Who * A Quick One (Happy Jack) (MCA)
# Otis Redding * Dictionary Of Soul (Stax/Atlantic)
# Otis Redding * The Soul Album (Stax/Atlantic)
# Duke Ellington * Far East Suite (Bluebird/BMG)
# John Coltrane * Coltrane Live At The Village Vanguard Again! (Impulse)
# Justin Hinds & The Dominoes * Ska Uprising 1963-66 (Trojan)
# Sonny Rollins * East Broadway Run Down (Impulse!)
# Sun Ra & his Arkestra * Monorails And Satellites Vols. I & II (Evidence)
# Blues Magoos * Psychedelic Lollipop (Mercury)
# Howard Tate * Get It While You Can (Verve)
# Donovan * Sunshine Superman (Pye)
# The Fugs * Fugs II (ESP)
# Cecil Taylor * Conquistador! (Blue Note)
# Geno Washington And The Ram Jam Band * Hand Clappin', Foot Stompin', Funky- Butt . . . Live! (Piccadilly)
# The Shadows Of Knight * Gloria (Dunwich/Sundazed)
# The Byrds * Turn! Turn! Turn! (Columbia)
# The Maytals * The Sensational Maytals (Doctor Bird)
# Sonny Rollins * Alfie (Impulse!)
# The Leaves * Hey Joe (One Way)
# Love (Elektra)
# The Outsiders * Time Won't Let Me (Capitol)
# ? And The Mysterians * 96 Tears (Cameo)
# The Seeds (GNP)
# The Sonics * Sonics Boom (Norton)
# Lee Hazelwood * Sings Friday's Child
# The 13th Floor Elevators * The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
# Eric Burdon & the Animals * Eric Is Here (MGM)
# Tim Buckley * Tim Buckley (Elektra)
# The Blues Project * Projections (Verve)
# Godz * Contact High With The Godz (ESP) (IA)
# The Troggs * From Nowhere (Fontana)
# Simon & Garfunkel * Sounds of Silence (Columbia)
The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!
Quote:
One of the most ambitious debuts in rock history, Freak Out! was a seminal concept album that somehow foreshadowed both art rock and punk at the same time. Its four LP sides deconstruct rock conventions right and left, eventually pushing into territory inspired by avant-garde classical composers. Yet the album is sequenced in an accessibly logical progression; the first half is dedicated to catchy, satirical pop/rock songs that question assumptions about pop music, setting the tone for the radical new directions of the second half. Opening with the nonconformist call to arms "Hungry Freaks, Daddy," Freak Out! quickly posits the Mothers of Invention as the antithesis of teen-idol bands, often with sneering mockeries of the teen-romance songs that had long been rock's commercial stock-in-trade. Despite his genuine emotional alienation and dissatisfaction with pop conventions, though, Frank Zappa was actually a skilled pop composer; even with the raw performances and his stinging guitar work, there's a subtle sophistication apparent in his unorthodox arrangements and tight, unpredictable melodicism.
The Beach Boys - Pet SoundsQuote:
The best Beach Boys album, and one of the best of the 1960s. The group here reached a whole new level in terms of both composition and production, layering tracks upon tracks of vocals and instruments to create a richly symphonic sound. Conventional keyboards and guitars were combined with exotic touches of orchestrated strings, bicycle bells, buzzing organs, harpsichords, flutes, theremin, Hawaiian-sounding string instruments, Coca-Cola cans, barking dogs, and more. It wouldn't have been a classic without great songs, and this has some of the group's most stunning melodies, as well as lyrical themes which evoke both the intensity of newly born love affairs and the disappointment of failed romance (add in some general statements about loss of innocence and modern-day confusion as well). The spiritual quality of the material is enhanced by some of the most gorgeous upper-register male vocals (especially by Brian and Carl Wilson) ever heard on a rock record.
The Kinks - Face to FaceQuote:
The Kink Kontroversy was a considerable leap forward in terms of quality, but it pales next to Face to Face, one of the finest collections of pop songs released during the '60s. Conceived as a loose concept album, Face to Face sees Ray Davies' fascination with English class and social structures flourish, as he creates a number of vivid character portraits. Davies' growth as a lyricist has coincided with the Kinks' musical growth. Face to Face is filled with wonderful moments, whether it's the mocking Hawaiian guitars of the rocker "Holiday in Waikiki," the droning Eastern touches of "Fancy," the music hall shuffle of "Dandy," or the lazily rolling "Sunny Afternoon." And that only scratches the surface of the riches of Face to Face, which offers other classics like "Rosy Won't You Please Come Home," "Party Line," "Too Much on My Mind," "Rainy Day in June," and "Most Exclusive Residence for Sale," making the record one of the most distinctive and accomplished albums of its time.
Bob Dylan - Blonde on BlondeQuote:
If Highway 61 Revisited played as a garage rock record, the double album Blonde on Blonde inverted that sound, blending blues, country, rock, and folk into a wild, careening, and dense sound. Replacing the fiery Michael Bloomfield with the intense, weaving guitar of Robbie Robertson, Bob Dylan led a group comprised of his touring band the Hawks and session musicians through his richest set of songs. Blonde on Blonde is an album of enormous depth, providing endless lyrical and musical revelations on each play. Leavening the edginess of Highway 61 with a sense of the absurd, Blonde on Blonde is comprised entirely of songs driven by inventive, surreal, and witty wordplay, not only on the rockers but also on winding, moving ballads like "Visions of Johanna," "Just Like a Woman," and "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands." Throughout the record, the music matches the inventiveness of the songs, filled with cutting guitar riffs, liquid organ riffs, crisp pianos, and even woozy brass bands ("Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"). It's the culmination of Dylan's electric rock & roll period -- he would never release a studio record that rocked this hard, or had such bizarre imagery, ever again.
The Byrds - Fifth DimensionQuote:
Immaculate folk-rock was still present in their superb arrangements of the traditional songs "Wild Mountain Thyme" and "John Riley." For the originals, they devised some of the first and best psychedelic rock, often drawing from the influence of Indian raga in the guitar arrangements. "Eight Miles High," with its astral lyrics, pumping bassline, and fractured guitar solo, was a Top 20 hit, and one of the greatest singles of the '60s. The minor hit title track and the country-rock-tinged "Mr. Spaceman" are among their best songs; "I See You" has great 12-string psychedelic guitar solos; and "I Come and Stand at Every Door" is an unusual and moving update of a traditional rock tune, with new lyrics pleading for peace in the nuclear age.
The Beatles - RevolverQuote:
All the rules fell by the wayside with Revolver, as the Beatles began exploring new sonic territory, lyrical subjects, and styles of composition. It wasn't just Lennon and McCartney, either -- Harrison staked out his own dark territory with the tightly wound, cynical rocker "Taxman"; the jaunty yet dissonant "I Want to Tell You"; and "Love You To," George's first and best foray into Indian music. Such explorations were bold, yet they were eclipsed by Lennon's trippy kaleidoscopes of sound. His most straightforward number was "Doctor Robert," an ode to his dealer, and things just got stranger from there as he buried "And Your Bird Can Sing" in a maze of multi-tracked guitars, gave Ringo a charmingly hallucinogenic slice of childhood whimsy in "Yellow Submarine," and then capped it off with a triptych of bad trips: the spiraling "She Said She Said"; the crawling, druggy "I'm Only Sleeping"; and "Tomorrow Never Knows," a pure nightmare where John sang portions of the Tibetan Book of the Dead into a suspended microphone over Ringo's thundering, menacing drumbeats and layers of overdubbed, phased guitars and tape loops. McCartney's experiments were formal, as he tried on every pop style from chamber pop to soul, and when placed alongside Lennon's and Harrison's outright experimentations, McCartney's songcraft becomes all the more impressive. The biggest miracle of Revolver may be that the Beatles covered so much new stylistic ground and executed it perfectly on one record, or it may be that all of it holds together perfectly. Either way, its daring sonic adventures and consistently stunning songcraft set the standard for what pop/rock could achieve. Even after Sgt. Pepper, Revolver stands as the ultimate modern pop album and it's still as emulated as it was upon its original release.
Miles Davis - Miles SmilesQuote:
With their second album, Miles Smiles, the second Miles Davis Quintet really began to hit their stride, delving deeper into the more adventurous, exploratory side of their signature sound. This is clear as soon as "Orbits" comes crashing out the gate, but it's not just the fast, manic material that has an edge -- slower, quieter numbers are mercurial, not just in how they shift melodies and chords, but how the voicing and phrasing never settles into a comfortable groove. This is music that demands attention, never taking predictable paths or easy choices. Its greatest triumph is that it masks this adventurousness within music that is warm and accessible -- it just never acts that way. No matter how accessible this is, what's so utterly brilliant about it is that the group never brings it forth to the audience. They're playing for each other, pushing and prodding each other in an effort to discover new territory. As such, this crackles with vitality, sounding fresh decades after its release. And, like its predecessor, ESP, this freshness informs the writing as well, as the originals are memorable, yet open-ended and nervy, setting (and creating) standards for modern bop that were emulated well into the new century. Arguably, this quintet was never better than they are here, when all their strengths are in full bloom.
Simon and Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and ThymeQuote:
Simon & Garfunkel's first masterpiece, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was also the first album on which the duo, in tandem with engineer Roy Halee, exerted total control from beginning to end, right down to the mixing, and it is an achievement akin to the Beatles' Revolver or the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album, and just as personal and pointed as either of those records at their respective bests. After the frantic rush to put together an LP in just three weeks that characterized the Sounds of Silence album early in 1966, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme came together over a longer gestation period of about three months, an uncommonly extended period of recording in those days, but it gave the duo a chance to develop and shape the songs the way they wanted them.
Rolling Stones - AftermathQuote:
The Rolling Stones finally delivered a set of all-original material with this LP, which also did much to define the group as the bad boys of rock & roll with their sneering attitude toward the world in general and the female sex in particular. The borderline misogyny could get a bit juvenile in tunes like "Stupid Girl." But on the other hand the group began incorporating the influences of psychedelia and Dylan into their material with classics like "Paint It Black," an eerily insistent number one hit graced by some of the best use of sitar (played by Brian Jones) on a rock record. Other classics included the jazzy "Under My Thumb," where Jones added exotic accents with his vibes, and the delicate Elizabethan ballad "Lady Jane," where dulcimer can be heard.
