The Songfactors' Choice: Top Albums of the Decade - The '60'

[Viaene]

Disraeli Gears - Cream (1967)

Including Strange Brew, Sunshine of your Love, Tales of Brave Ulysses, SWLABR, Outside Woman blues,...

You can listen to the tracks here

Little anecdote:

The title of the album was taken from an inside joke. Eric Clapton had been thinking of buying a racing bicycle and was discussing it with Ginger Baker, when a roadie named Mick Turner commented, "it's got them Disraeli Gears", meaning to say "derailleur gears," but instead alluding to 19th Century British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli. The band thought this was hilarious, and decided that it should be the title of their next album. Had it not been for Mick's turn of phrase, the album would simply have been entitled "Cream."

Enjoy and don't forget to vote

[Lucky]

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme - 1966

Are you going to Scarborough Fair .....

All songs by Paul Simon except where noted.

"Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (Traditional, arranged by Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel) – 3:10

Recorded: July 26, 1966

"Patterns" – 2:42

Recorded: June 8, 1966

"Cloudy" (Paul Simon, Bruce Woodley) – 2:10

Recorded: June 10, 1966

"Homeward Bound" – 2:30

Recorded: December 14, 1965

"The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" – 2:44

Recorded: June 15, 1966

"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" – 1:43

Recorded: August 16, 1966

"The Dangling Conversation" – 2:37

Recorded: June 21, 1966

"Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" – 2:10

Recorded: December 22, 1965

"A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)" – 2:12

Recorded: June 13, 1966

"For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" – 2:04

Recorded: August 22, 1966

"A Poem on the Underground Wall" – 1:52

Recorded: June 13, 1966

"7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" (Josef Mohr, Franz Gruber) – 2:01

Recorded: August 22, 1966

Trout Mask Replica - 1969

"Fast n' bulbous .... " "That's right, the mascara snake ...."

All songs written by Van Vliet.

Side one

"Frownland" – 1:41

"The Dust Blows Forward 'n the Dust Blows Back" – 1:53

"Dachau Blues" – 2:21

"Ella Guru" – 2:26

"Hair Pie: Bake 1" – 4:58

"Moonlight on Vermont" – 3:59

Side two

"Pachuco Cadaver" – 4:40

"Bills Corpse" – 1:48

"Sweet Sweet Bulbs" – 2:21

"Neon Meate Dream of a Octafish" – 2:25

"China Pig" – 4:02

"My Human Gets Me Blues" – 2:46

"Dali's Car" – 1:26

Side three

"Hair Pie: Bake 2" – 2:23

"Pena" – 2:33

"Well" – 2:07

"When Big Joan Sets Up" – 5:18

"Fallin' Ditch" – 2:08

"Sugar 'n Spikes" – 2:30

"Ant Man Bee" – 3:57

Side four

"Orange Claw Hammer" – 3:34

"Wild Life" – 3:09

"She's Too Much for My Mirror" – 1:40

"Hobo Chang Ba" – 2:02

"The Blimp (mousetrapreplica)" – 2:04

"Steal Softly thru Snow" – 2:18

"Old Fart at Play" – 1:51

"Veteran's Day Poppy" – 4:31

[bluesboy]

The Band self titled second album (1969)

Track listing

All tracks composed by Robbie Robertson unless otherwise noted.

"Across the Great Divide" – 2:53

"Rag Mama Rag" – 3:04

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" – 3:33

"When You Awake" (Richard Manuel, Robertson) – 3:13

"Up on Cripple Creek" – 4:34

" Whispering Pines " (Manuel, Robertson) – 3:58

"Jemima Surrender" (Levon Helm, Robertson) – 3:31

"Rockin' Chair" – 3:43

"Look Out Cleveland" – 3:09

"Jawbone" (Manuel, Robertson) – 4:20

" The UnFaithful Servant " – 4:17

"King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" – 3:39

Bonus tracks from 2000 CD re-release

"Get Up Jake" (outtake - stereo mix) – 2:17

"Rag Mama Rag" (alternate vocal take - rough mix) – 3:05

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (alternate mix) – 4:16

"Up on Cripple Creek" (alternate take) – 4:51

"Whispering Pines" (alternate take) (Manuel, Robertson) – 5:09

"Jemima Surrender" (alternate take) (Helm, Robertson) – 3:48

"King Harvest (Has Surely Come)" (alternate arrangement) – 4:28

Personnel

Rick Danko – bass, fiddle, trombone, Vocals

Levon Helm – drums, mandolin, rhythm guitar, Vocals

Garth Hudson – organ; clavinet; piano; accordion; melodica; soprano, tenor and baritone saxophones; slide trumpet; bass pedals

Richard Manuel – piano, drums, baritone saxophone, harmonica, Vocals

Jaime Robbie Robertson – guitars, engineer

John Simon – producer, tuba, electric piano, baritone horn, tenor saxophone, "high school and peck horns", engineer

Tony May – engineer

Joe Zagarino – engineer

Elliot Landy – photography

The Band with this album struck a root chord of Americana.

[Dappled]

1967 and 1969 seem to be the best years of the 60s musically; of the albums nominated so far 8 are from 67 and 9 from 69.

Yet some of my favorite albums from 1969 are missing: Abbey Road , On the Threshold of a Dream, A Salty Dog, Then Play On (Fleetwood Mac), Arthur (Kinks), Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, ...

[miamisammy29]

I almost nominated "Arthur", but I had to go with "Something Else" because it's, well...SOMETHING ELSE!

[bluesboy]

Getz / Gilberto (1964)

saxophonist Stan Getz / guitarist João Gilberto

and featuring composer and musician Antonio Carlos Jobim.

and a 1963 recording session photo

Track listing

For the 1997 Verve Records CD Reissue , 521414

# Title Songwriters Length

1. " The Girl from Ipanema " Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Norman Gimbel 5:24

2. "Doralice" Dorival Caymmi, Antonio Almeida 2:46

3. "Pra machucar meu coração" Ary Barroso 5:05

4. " Desafinado " Jobim, Newton Mendonça 4:15

5. " Corcovado " Jobim, Gene Lees 4:16

6. "Só danço samba" Jobim, de Moraes 3:45

7. "O grande amor" Jobim, de Moraes 5:27

8. "Vivo sonhando" Jobim 3:04

9. "The Girl from Ipanema" (45 rpm issue) Jobim, de Moraes, Gimbel 2:54

10. "Corcovado" (45 rpm issue) Jobim, Lees 2:20

Tracks 9 and 10 are the single versions, released as bonus tracks with the 1997 reissue.

[edit] Personnel

Stan Getz - tenor saxophone

João Gilberto - guitar, vocals

Antonio Carlos Jobim - piano

Sebastião Neto - bass

Milton Banana - drums

Astrud Gilberto - vocals (in "The girl from Ipanema", "Corcovado", "The girl from Ipanema (45 rpm issue)" and "Corcovado (45 rpm issue)")

Reissues incorrectly list Tommy Williams as bassist,[1][2] and Dori Caymmi as composer of "Doralice".[3]

It's release created a bosa nova craze around the world

[c_s_1987]

SHINE ON BRIGHTLY - PROCOL HARUM (1968)

Side One

1. "Quite Rightly So" - 3:40

2. "Shine on Brightly'" - 3:32

3. "Skip Softly (My Moonbeams)" - 3:47

4. "Wish Me Well" - 3:18

5. "Rambling On" - 4:31

Side Two

1. "Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)" - 2:50

2. "In Held 'Twas in I": - 17:31

Edited April 9, 2010 by Guest

[TheLizard]

Nomination #2:

[cyberjudge]

1967 and 1969 seem to be the best years of the 60s musically; of the albums nominated so far 8 are from 67 and 9 from 69.

Yet some of my favorite albums from 1969 are missing: Abbey Road , On the Threshold of a Dream, A Salty Dog, Then Play On (Fleetwood Mac), Arthur (Kinks), Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, ...

It was a toss-up between nominating Sgt. Pepper's or Abbey Road. Either one would be worthy.

[_Laurie_]

Nomination #1 The Byrds ~ Mr Tambourine Man (1965)

Side 1

1."Mr. Tambourine Man" (Bob Dylan) – 2:29

2."I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" (Gene Clark) – 2:32

3."Spanish Harlem Incident" (Bob Dylan) – 1:57

4."You Won't Have to Cry" (Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn) – 2:08

5."Here Without You" (Gene Clark) – 2:36

6."The Bells of Rhymney" (Idris Davies, Pete Seeger) – 3:30

Side 2

1."All I Really Want to Do" (Bob Dylan) – 2:04

2."I Knew I'd Want You" (Gene Clark) – 2:14

3."It's No Use" (Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn) – 2:23

4."Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe" (Jackie DeShannon) – 2:54

5."Chimes of Freedom" (Bob Dylan) – 3:51

6."We'll Meet Again" (Ross Parker, Hughie Charles) – 2:07

Nomination #2 Chicago Transit Authority (1969)

Side one

1."Introduction" – 6:35 (Terry Kath)

Lead singer: Terry Kath

1."Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" – 4:35 (Robert Lamm)

Lead singer: Robert Lamm

1."Beginnings" – 7:54 (Robert Lamm)

Lead singer: Robert Lamm

Side two

1."Questions 67 and 68" – 5:03 (Robert Lamm)

Lead singers: Peter Cetera and Robert Lamm

1."Listen" – 3:22 (Robert Lamm)

Lead singer: Robert Lamm

1."Poem 58" – 8:35 (Robert Lamm)

Lead singer: Robert Lamm

Side three

1."Free Form Guitar" – 6:47 (Terry Kath)

instrumental

1."South California Purples" – 6:11 (Robert Lamm)

Lead singer: Robert Lamm

1."I'm A Man" – 7:43 (Steve Winwood/James Miller) Spencer Davis Group cover.

Lead singers: Terry Kath, Peter Cetera, and Robert Lamm

Side four

1."Prologue (August 29, 1968)" – 0:58 (James William Guercio)

2."Someday (August 29, 1968)" – 4:11 (James Pankow/Robert Lamm)

Lead singers: Robert Lamm and Peter Cetera

1."Liberation" – 14:38 (James Pankow)

[Shawna]

I'm a big enough dork that I'm truly considering nominating a Monkees LP or two. SHUT UP! I was 7!!! It's what we listened to!!!

[MindCrime]

I'm a big enough dork that I'm truly considering nominating a Monkees LP or two. SHUT UP! I was 7!!! It's what we listened to!!!

It would be on my consider list. I actually like a couple of the Monkees songs still.

[Lucky]

Actually, mine too Shawna. I actually love the Monkees. I guess we've got a little dork club going.

[edna]

...this is going to be very complicated

[Dappled]

To be the best of the decade an album has to be a perfect album. What is a perfect album? To me it has to fill certain criteria:

1. It must have one or more unforgettable song (A Day In the Life, Like a Rolling Stone, Light My Fire, White Rabbit, etc)

2. The album must be of a uniform wholeness; don’t put studio work and live shows on the same album (Cheap Thrills); it can’t have songs that don’t fit into the rest of the album (Within You, Without You)

3. No fillers, like boring instrumentals (Embryonic Journey on Surrealistic Pillow for example)

4. No long jams

5. Not too many covers; only original songs would be preferable

An album that fits perfectly into these criteria is Highway 61 Revisited by Dylan! Any others?

[bluesboy]

3. No fillers, like boring instrumentals (Embryonic Journey on Surrealistic Pillow for example)

Boring instrumental ?

Filler ?

Here's the song review at allmusic

"Jorma Kaukonen's first solo original contribution to Jefferson Airplane's songbook, "Embryonic Journey" is an acoustic guitar instrumental that truly defies classification. An amalgamation of ideas, it starts off as a simple, warm, descending folk melody. However, Kaukonen changes gears (while still keeping the subtle feeling of the melody) dramatically with some classical overtones that bring the song to an elegant close. Kaukonen's gorgeous modulation at the end of the song shows true compositional genius at work. Overall, it added a feeling and a mood to the second side of the Airplane's Surrealistic Pillow album, and it's irreplaceable."

[Dappled]

Well, do you agree with that review, Bluesy?

[edna]

To be the best of the decade an album has to be a perfect album. What is a perfect album? To me it has to fill certain criteria:

1. It must have one or more unforgettable song (A Day In the Life, Like a Rolling Stone, Light My Fire, White Rabbit, etc)

2. The album must be of a uniform wholeness; don’t put studio work and live shows on the same album (Cheap Thrills); it can’t have songs that don’t fit into the rest of the album (Within You, Without You)

3. No fillers, like boring instrumentals (Embryonic Journey on Surrealistic Pillow for example)

5. Not too many covers; only original songs would be preferable

An album that fits perfectly into these criteria is Highway 61 Revisited by Dylan! Any others?

Dapp, for once I won't agree with you...

1- I need more than just one unforgettable song.

2- Cheap thrills is an amazing album... in fact, it's among my ten top albums...

3- Embryonic Journey... boring? it only lasts less than 2 minutes... and this album has 2 masterpieces... (WR and STL)

5- Well, some covers are better than the originals... CCR makes an amazing version of "I Put a spell on you" and the Animals make lots of covers...

In fact, one of my fave albums is "I'm Your Fan", a tribute to Leonard Cohen... only covers.

"Highway 61" is a very good album, yet I only love 4 of its songs. I prefer "Blonde On Blonde".

Anyways, you've got an amazing taste in music...

[Dappled]

To me Blonde On Blonde is a little uneven. I don't like Rainy Day Women, Pledging My Time and Obviously 5 Believers. But the other songs are wonderful!

And there are more than 2 masterpieces on Surrealistic Pillow

[edna]

But every album has its songs you dislike. It's like life... you have good times and bad times... after "Here, there and everywhere" you have "Yellow Submarine" and after "Cry Baby cry" you get Rev#9...

There's only one perfect album for me and that's Sticky Fingers. Yet I could avoid You got to move...

[Dappled]

Yes, you're right, you have to take things as they come. After "Take It It As It Comes" you get "The End" and after "The End" you get "Her Majesty"

You've become quite a philospher, Edna!

[edna]

After "Take It It As It Comes" you get "The End" and after "The End" you get "Her Majesty"

oh, oh, so I got the wrong album... mine has "carry that weight" and I never heard of "take it as it comes"

[Dappled]

No, you didn't, Edna

Sorry I confused you with that joke:

On The Doors first album the last 2 songs are "Take it as it comes" and "The End" and on Abbey Road the last 2 songs are "The End" and "Her Majesty". The point I wanted to make is that I like "Take it as it comes" better than "The End" and "The End" on Abbey Road better than "Her Majesty". Abbey Road is such a milestone in music so I can't understand why it isn't nominated yet.

I'm off to have some cake, cuz it's somebody's birthday!!!

[BlueAngel]

Abbey Road is such a milestone in music so I can't understand why it isn't nominated yet.

Me neither. It's probably my favourite Beatles album, just ahead of Rubber Soul and Revolver, and it definitely deserves a nomination...

[edna]

No, you didn't, Edna

Sorry I confused you with that joke:

On The Doors first album the last 2 songs are "Take it as it comes" and "The End" and on Abbey Road the last 2 songs are "The End" and "Her Majesty". The point I wanted to make is that I like "Take it as it comes" better than "The End" and "The End" on Abbey Road better than "Her Majesty". Abbey Road is such a milestone in music so I can't understand why it isn't nominated yet.

I'm off to have some cake, cuz it's somebody's birthday!!!

Dapp, I always learn something new with you... Thanks!!

Enjoy the party...!