Full disclosure part 1: I listened to this on a streaming service so a few tracks were missing, the videos were included in the track list, and I really have no idea how it would compare to the actual boxed set. (No booklets, etc.) Full disclosure part 2: the time for me to have listened …
Category: 1969
Woodstock (1970, Michael Wadleigh)
Note: I am reviewing the director’s cut, not the much shorter theatrical version. So, I’ve seen the majority of the musical performances in this film multiple times, and some of them many times. (Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner” in particular, but also the CSN performance and some others.) I’ve seen them because Woodstock used to be …
Le chagrin et la pitié [The Sorrow and the Pity] (1969), directed by Marcel Ophuls
Full disclosure: The DVD which I was watching basically failed 2/3-3/4 through part one, so I am sorry to say I did not actually watch the entire movie, just a majority of it (all of part 2 and, as I said, 2/3-3/4 of part 1). This documentary, made by the son of the great Max …
This is Desmond Dekkar (1969) by Desmond Dekker and the Aces
So, the story goes that “007” was not only Dekker’s first international hit but also the first UK Top 20 hit to be recorded in Jamaica, thereby demonstrating the viability of Jamaican music in England. Other details about this album are harder to figure out. It appears to be Dekker’s international debut as there might …
Scott 4 (1969) by Scott Engel
I think I just have to face it: the Scott Walker I like is the one who completely reinvented himself later in his life, demolishing his earlier image and creating some of the weirdness, most unique singer-songwriter albums I’ve ever heard. Try as I might, I don’t like the original version of him. This is …
New York Tendaberry (1969) by Laura Nyro
This is my second Laura Nyro record and I find myself once again struck by her performances as opposed to her songs.
Monster Movie (1969) by The Can
Like most people, I am coming to CAN’s first album (as The Can) having listened to their peak motorik albums many, many times. I’ve treated this one like the first child given up for adoption or something, only getting around to looking for it well after I became a fan of the band.
An Electric Storm (1969) by White Noise
This is one of those records that was pretty damn radical in 1969 but, 40 years later, sounds extremely dated, in part because some of the techniques used have either been replaced by better techniques or have been better incorporated into popular music. What is it? It’s electronic music – utilizing electronic instruments, electronic effects …
First Take (1969) by Roberta Flack
I know Roberta Flack from “Killing Me Softly” and that’s about it. I’m sure I’ve compared her with any number of other female soul/R&B singers throughout my life. I really don’t know anything about her. And so I wasn’t really prepared for this in any way, which is good because I didn’t have expectations.
The Young Mods’ Forgotten Story (1969) by The Impressions
Despite his fame, I don’t know Cutis Mayfield’s music very well and I don’t know the Impressions at all. I have only ever heard Mayfield’s most famous record and this is my first ever Impressions record. The little I know of Mayfield is that his music is slicker than I like my soul.
Stand! (1969) by Sly and the Family Stone
I think my biggest problem with all the early Family Stone albums I’ve heard is a lack of consistent material. Because, otherwise, they’re a truly great band with a unique sound fusion and sound, full of truly capable musicians. But on the previous records, nearly all the songs outside of the singles felt lazy (or …
Secret Treaties (1974) by Blue Öyster Cult
This is my third Blue Öyster Cult record and I feel like I feel about it as I did about the other two: meh.
Chicago Transit Authority (1969)
Imagine you were out on the street and you went to check your phone, and the battery ran out. And you said to the person nearest you “Do you know what time it is?” And he responded “Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? If so I can’t imagine why. …
It’s Our Thing (1969) by Isley Brothers
If you are sick to death of “It’s Your Thing” from all those TV ads masquerading as female self-empowerment messages you could be forgiven for never wanting to listen to this record, ever. I mean, that’s sort of where my mind was at when I saw the title. That song is one of the most …
On the Threshold of a Dream (1969) by The Moody Blues
Many people, or at least many rock critics, consider the Moodies to be the first ever progressive rock band or, at the very least, creators of the first ever progressive rock album. Now, I haven’t heard the previous album, but I have heard their album which supposedly invented the genre (Days of Future Passed) and …
Songs From a Room (1969) by Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen is over-produced. Like so many singer-songwriter debuts from the late ’60s and early ’70s, somebody somewhere didn’t trust the songs and/or the singer and made the decision to dress up his songs. Cohen likely didn’t know any better himself, not being a musician. But after the record came out, people complained …
Scott 3 (1969) by Scott Walker
I became a fan of Scott Walker through his later music so listening to his earlier music is always a bit of a challenge for me, both because it’s significantly different to what came later (that’s an understatement) and because it’s not my thing.
Dusty in Memphis (1969) by Dusty Sprinfield
I don’t know anything about Dusty Springfield. I do know a little bit of the legend of this record, but that really doesn’t help me much, because I don’t know what she did before this. If I had heard that music, maybe the legend of the record would resonate more, maybe the music would resonate …
Odessa (1969) by Bee Gees
I mostly know the Bee Gees from their most famous songs. And I can tell you categorically that their most famous songs from the ’70s gave me zero hint of what this record was going to sound like. I had, of course, heard a couple hits of theirs from the ’60s, and that gave me …
Runaway Horses (1969) by Yukio Mishima
All of us approach anything new from our frame of reference. And so I cannot help but liken this novel, the second part of a tetralogy the rest of which I haven’t read, to Dostoevsky’s The Possessed (aka Demons). It’s been years since I read it, but I felt strong echoes of it in this …
King of the Blues Guitar (1969) by Alberta King
This is a reissue of Born Under a Bad Sign (released only two years before), with the addition of a few more tracks. (At least the version I am listening to, which has 17 tracks compared to the 11 listed for the original LP.) Born Under a Bad Sign was itself a compilation, this time …
Mauricio Kagel (2003) by Alexandre Tharaud
This collection is a little confusing in part because of the confusing nature of Rrrrrrr…, which can apparently be performed independently. The disc appears to be a compilation of his piano-based music. Calling “piano music” would be a misnomer, as there are lots of other instruments on a number of the pieces.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000)
This is an exhaustive collection of Experience alternate takes, outtakes, alternate mixes and live performances. For the Hendrix completist, it’s probably more essential than any of the other studio rarities collections that have come out, just because it shows off more facets of his playing and his experimentation – unlike those studio rarities collections which …
Swiss Movement (1969) by Les McCann, Eddie Harris
The myth-making goes to hilarious extremes in the liner notes – with the writer denying the band had ever played together before this date before then detailing how they played together before the date – but that’s something that’s quite common to jazz (and to music in general) and this band still sounds fantastic for …