It’s kind of hard to understand how nuts this record was when it was recorded. Amateurism in popular music certainly existed before this record but it wasn’t a thing that most people were seeking out when their were professional records on offer. And it’s not like amateurism by itself is necessarily some kind of virtue …
Category: 1965
Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965) by The Byrds
If I were asked to make a list of the most underrated rock bands of the 1960s, the Byrds might top that list. The average person in the 21st century has no idea how important they were in the evolution of music between 1965 and 1968. So it’s safe to say I’m a fan. But, …
Going to a Go-Go (1965) by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
This record is reputed by some to be the best Miracles record out there. I have no idea if that is true because I’m pretty sure this is my first ever Miracles record. And given that I have no intention of listening to every Miracles record, I guess I just have to take it on …
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1965)
If the previous album lacked for name material, Otis certainly fixed that problem on this record: he covers some really big tracks including two big Sam Cooke hits (and another Cooke song), “My Girl” and “Satisfaction”. And to it, he adds his growing ability as a songwriter, particularly with the original (and inferior) version of …
I Ain’t Marching Anymore (1965) by Phil Ochs
I came to Phil Ochs late, only because of the recommendation of a friend. (Thanks Derek!) Before that I had heard of his infamous live album, but that’s it. So this is my second Ochs album and, as usual, I am listening to his catalogue out of order. I mention all of this because my …
More hits by The Supremes (1965)
You know what tells your audience you value them? Leading off your latest album with the last song from your previous (non-tribute) LP. But when the inner voice of self-criticism tells you that maybe you shouldn’t to do that you say to yourself “But hey, this is a new mix that they don’t have yet!”
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) by The Beach Boys
Record labels know best, right? They definitely understand what the people want better than the artists who do all the creative work that lets the label exist. Right?
The “Angry” Young Them (1965)
When I was younger, I was really into British R&B. But the older I get the less essential it seems to me: it’s not the genuine article and so much of it sounds the same. 55-60 years later, do we really care about British interpretations of American music? I mean, it made sense at the …
Dance Party (1965) by Martha and the Vandellas
This album has the reputation as being the group’s best, but I have no idea if that’s true or not, as it’s my first experience of the group in LP form. (I know their hits from oldies radio.) This album contains three of the group’s biggest hits – at least one of which had been …
Here Are The Sonics!!! (1965)
If you know anything about this record you know the hagiography is really strong. It’s only through actually listening to the music of 1965 and before a lot (as I have and do) that you can maybe see through the canonization of this band as “punk before punk” and see the real band, a band …
The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads (1965)
Can I tell you how great it is to listen to a Stax record right after a Motown record? It’s pretty damn great. And I must admit that there is a nonzero chance that listening to The Temptations prior to listening to Otis made me like this record even more than I would have normally.
The Temptations Sing Smokey (1965)
The Temptations’ second album has a couple of really iconic songs and an overall quality of material that I feel like is relatively uncommon in Motown records. (That opinion isn’t the most informed, but I have listened to the odd Motown.) But there are some problems with the record, too.
The Beach Boys Today! (1965)
Well this is the moment when the Brian Wilson who has been endlessly celebrated by the music press truly emerges, at least in album form. Though the lyrical sophistication of these songs has been greatly exaggerated (to a degree I don’t think I can stress enough) the musical sophistication is leaps and bounds beyond most …
People Get Ready (1965) by The Impressions
Of all the various soul scenes, I must say I’m pretty unfamiliar with Chicago. I don’t know to what extent its distinct from other scenes beyond what I hear on this record, because I think this is my first ever (’60s) Chicago Soul record. (My wordpress tags argue otherwise, but I can’t remember what that …
Chimes at Midnight aka Falstaff (1965, Orson Welles)
Like many of Welles’ later films, the strange history of this film is almost as interesting as the movie itself. It’s the kind of saga that makes me want to read a biography of Welles though I think there’s a documentary that just came out, isn’t there? Anyway…
Of the Farm (1965) by John Updike
There is a genre in American drama in which a family get together or reunion builds to a emotional climax where everyone’s feelings are revealed. It is not a genre I love. I am familiar with many plays in this genre but, honestly, I’m not sure if I’ve ever read a novel in that genre …
The Best of RPM and Kent Recordings (2011) by BB King
This disc compiles some of King’s A-sides for both the RPM and Kent labels throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s.
Kagel: Pan; String Quartets I-III (2004) by Arditti String Quartet
This disc collects the first three of Kagel’s quartets and pairs them with a piece he wrote for string quartet and piccolo. (Dietmar Wiesner guests on that piece.)
Ives: Symphonies Nos 2 and 3; The Unanswered Question (1966) by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Berstein
This is a compilation of the New York Philharmonic and Leonard Berstein’s performances of the middle symphonies and The Unanswered Question, originally a piece paired with another but one that has found a lot of attention as a standalone.
Peer Gynt Suites; Karelia Suite; The Swan of Tuonela (1965, 1976, 2003) by Various Artists
This is a compilation of two major romantic orchestral suites – one by Jean Sibelius and one by Edvard Grieg – buttressed by an excerpt from another of Sibelius’ suites.