Fifty years later,the music that defined the summer of love still influenced us like it was only yesterday.Several people who were not around when the social phenomenon originally took place in 1967[including yours truly],can only wonder in awe what was it like back then considering the great music that came along with it.Music that stood the test of time,music that defined a generation,music that can still be heard on this time period and the next.
Herewith is a compilation of albums released in 1967,rock albums that changed forever the way music is recorded,listened to and the engineering on which it was made.Glanced together with their colorful album covers,I gathered here what I think is the best stuff to listen to while we all commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Summer Of Love.But then, there is a twist,I added several albums on which I thought were overlooked and something that other bloggers from Rolling Stone and other music publications won't even think of considering.And of course,the great ones are added to the mix.
Without further adieu,here are what I think are the greatest albums of 1967,some good stuff to listen to on the Summer Of Love's 50th anniversary.
1. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Everyone knows the Beatles were exceptional,more than four decades after the band broke up,the impact of their music is still here.With their songs being sung everywhere,from radio stations,digital music and even advertising jingles.
Fresh from their touring retirement the previous year,the Beatles had enough time experimenting in the studio without worrying about the pressures of a gig schedule.Hence,Sgt Pepper's became their seminal album that required all the sonic manipulations,with the help of course from their producer George Martin who did all the mixings in Abbey Road studios.
A 50th anniversary edition is released with a second disc filled with outtakes including the originally intended songs that should've been included on the album.Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane which was released as a double A side single preceding the album and was later compiled on the Magical Mystery Tour LP which was released in the latter part of 1967.
Its a shame a lot of people today knew the Bee Gees as a disco group and the band's early albums were almost pretty much forgotten.Before the Gibb brothers were hitting high with that falsetto while John Travolta is strutting his way through Night Fever, the Bee Gees were actually a five piece rock band that played along with psychedelia and the music that came out from the pen of the three brothers along with the help from two of their bandmates Vince Melouney and Colin Petersen during this time period are marvellous and should not be ignored.
Their first international album Bee Gees 1st clearly points the fact that the band were not Beatles clones but rock stars in their own right competing with biggies such as the former and the Rolling Stones. The album is a masterpiece and ranks alongside Sgt Pepper as one of the greatest that ever came out of 1967.
All three members of Cream have excellent resumes prior to the band's formation.The band's second album is where Cream established their own sound,in contrast to their debut released a year earlier where the Delta blues influence is very much observed.
The tour that followed the release of this album is where Eric Clapton achieved a god status in rock guitar.A title that he kept many years later.
What would rock music be without the Doors? This debut released early in the year is just mind blowing.Considering the fact that Jim Morrison became such an important icon that his image lingered through the pages of rock magazines and t-shirts years after he passed away.
The Doors changed forever the way music is presented onstage and no wonder the then 32 year old Elvis Presley got so mesmerized and never felt so overwhelmed with the music that is unfolding right before his eyes.The King later acknowledged the way rock n' roll has evolved during his comeback tv special that was aired a year later.
We all know that the Stones are still rocking and touring more than fifty years later.We all know the impact of what Mick Jagger has then and now considering that newer bands were even singing about his 'moves' over the funny fact that Mick later claimed that he never got paid when Maroon 5 used his name.
I chose this Rolling Stones album over their other 1967 effort Their Satanic Majesties Request to be in this list.Who wants another Pepper clone anyway?
An awesome feat here is that the Monkees has outsold both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined with this album.Not to mention the chart performance that has never been equaled until today.
Nevertheless,the Monkees has defined 1967 with all its might.
The Who became one of the most influential bands in rock music,not to mention being famous as the destroyers of expensive hardware.
8. ARE YOU EXPERIENCED
What would the sixties be without Jimi Hendrix? Forming his band with two English musicians after moving to London in late 1966,Hendrix came back to the US as a mighty fish.
And like the other artists that came out of this time period of creativity-his guitar prowess has endured the test of time and has never been equaled.
A few gifted musicians and songwriters were often overlooked today.But I suppose a lot of people will have their memories refreshed with the inclusion of this 1967 double album by Donovan.It was cited by Mojo as a masterpiece making Mr Leitch a god of folk rock and psychedelia crossovers.
10. MR FANTASY
Steve Winwood's genius and soulful voice is pretty much dominant no matter what band he's into.
This is Traffic's best album ever and over the fact that it came out of the good vibes out of '67.
(c) 2017 Keith Vernon Adagio
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