1968 in music.

The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonley Hearts Club Band won 1967. Let's see who wins 1968. with the white album being so polarizing i could see a non-beatles album taking it. THIS YEAR, HOLY SHIT!

Billboard chart-topping albums of 1968:
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tou (cont. from '67)
Paul Mauriat - Blooming Hits
Simon & Garfunkel - The Graduate
Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
Herb Alpert - The Beat of the Brass
Cream - Wheels on Fire
The Doors - Waiting for the Sun
The Rascals - Time Peace
Big Brother and the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
The Beatles - The Beatles

Billboard chart-topping singles of 1968:
The Beatles - Hello, Goodbye (cont. from '67)
John Fred - Judy in Disguise
The Lemon Pipers - Green Tambourine
Paul Mauriat - Love is Blue
Otis Redding - (Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay
Bobby Goldsboro - Honey
Archie Bell - Tighten Up
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson
Herb Alpert - This Guy's in Love With You
Hugh Masekela - Grazing in the Grass
The Doors - Hello, I Love You
The Rascals - People Got to Be Free
Jeannie Riley - Harper Valley PTA
The Beatles - Hey Jude
Diana Ross & the Supremes - Love Child
Marvin Gaye - I Heard it Through the Grapevine

What are your top three albums for 1968? We will keep a running tally and eventually have some sort of bracket. For me it would be:

1. The Band - Music from Big Pink
2. Cream - Wheels of Fire
3. The Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society

What are some of the forgotten gems from the year? What is overrated? What did you discover at a young age and what did you discover later?

YEARS IN MUSIC • forum.chorus.fm

 

Polarizing?!!!? The White Album?!!? Whattttttt

 

honorable mentions:
aretha franklin - aretha now
blue cheer - vincebus eruptum
the byrds - sweetheart of the radio
dillard and clark - the fantastic expedition of dillard and clark
james taylor - james taylor
johnny cash - at folsom prison
the rolling stones - beggars banquet

other notable cuts:
aretha franklin - lady soul
the beatles - the beatles
blue cheer - outsideinside
the byrds - notorious byrd brothers
deep purple - shades of deep purple
dolly parton - just because i am a woman
donovan - the hurdy gurdy man
the doors - waiting for the sun
glen campbell - wichita lineman
the grateful dead - anthem of the sun
the international submarine band - safe at home
iron butterfly - in-a-gadda-da-vida
the jimi hendrix experience - electric ladyland
marvin gaye - i heard it through the grapevine!
merle haggard - mama tried
merle haggard - sing me back home
otis redding - the dock of the bay
pink floyd - a saucerful of secrets
randy newman - randy newman
townes van zandt - for the sake of the song
traffic - traffic
van morrison - astral weeks
the velvet underground - white light/white heat
waylon jennings - hangin on
the zombies - odyssey and oracle

stuff to check out:
blood sweat and tears - child is father to the man
canned heat - boogie with canned heat
canned heat - living the blues
dr. john - gris gris
electric flag - a long time coming
glen campbell - hey little one
gordon lightfoot - did she mention my name
herbie hancock - speak like a child
iron butterfly - heavy
joan baez - any day now
miles davis - nefertiti
miles davis - filled de killmanjaro
the mothers of invention - we’re only in it for the money
ravi shankar - the sounds of india
richie havens - something else again
scott walker - scott 2
simon and garfunkel - bookends
simon and garfunkel - the graduate
small faces - ogden’s nut gone flake
small faces - there are but four small faces
spirit - spirit
spirit - the family that plays together
stevie wonder - for once in my life
strawberry alarm clock - wake up its tomorrow

 

there's tons of filler lol. i would not have it in my top 3 beatles albums.

 

Hint of sarcasm from me for sure, I get it.

(back to enraged Beatles nerd) - BUT THE BEATLES INVENTED THE BLOATED DOUBLE ALBUM WITH THE WHITE ALBUM! THIS IS BLASPHEMOUS!

 

I say this yet the white album is already my de facto #1.

gosh I almost can’t wait till ‘71 so I don’t have to be so biased to my fave band.

 

leaving beggars banquet and james taylor out of the top three was ROUGH

 

1. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
2. Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
3.....Astral Weeks again

 

have you not peeped velvet underground?

 

1. The Beatles - The Beatles
2. Simon and Garfunkel - Bookends
3. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks

Others I love:
Dr. John - Gris Gris
The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet
The Band - Music from Big Pink
The Zombies - Odessy and Oracle
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - You're All I Need
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
Blood, Sweat, and Tears - Child Is Father to the Man
The Kinks - Are the Village Green Preservation Society
The Byrds - The Notorious Byrd Brothers
The Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord
Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle
Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul
Otis Redding - The Dock of the Bay
Taj Mahal - Taj Mahal
Herbie Hancock - Speak Like a Child
Diana Ross and The Supremes - Love Child
Jeff Beck - Truth
Caetano Veloso - Caetano Veloso
The Temptations - Wish It Would Rain
Glen Campbell - By the Time I Get to Phoenix

Good ones:
The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
Various Artists - Tropicalia: Ou Panis Et Circencis
Taj Majal - The Natch'l Blues
Randy Newman - Randy Newman
The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Blood, Sweat and Tears - Blood, Sweat and Tears
Willie Bobo - A New Dimension
Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes
The Monkees - Head
Laura Nyro - Eli and the Thirteenth Confession
Merle Haggard - Mama Tried
Spirit - The Family That Plays Together
Ray Barretto - Acid
Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Cream - Wheels of Fire
Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World
The Impressions - We're a Winner
Sammy Davis, Jr. - I Gotta Be Me
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Peter, Paul, and Mary - Late Again
The Impressions - This Is My Country
Donovan - Hurdy Gurdy Man
Clarence Carter - This Is Clarence Carter
Sly and the Family Stone - Dance to the Music
The Monkees - The Birds, The Bees, and The Monkees
Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, and Stephen Stills - Super Session
Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman
Louis Armstrong - Disney Songs The Satchmo Way
Linda Ronstadt with The Stone Poneys and Friends - Vol. III
Orpheus - Orpheus
Stevie Wonder - Eivets Rednow

Not a fan:
Listening - Listening
The Grateful Dead - Anthem of the Sun
Archie Bell and The Drells - Tighten Up
The Mothers of Invention - We're Only in It for the Money
The Beacon Street Union - The Eyes of the Beacon Street Union




Targets for listening:
Big Brother and the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills
Jerry Butler - The Iceman Cometh
Jerry Butler - The Soul Goes On
Martha and the Vandellas - Ridin' High
Blue Cheer - Vincebus Eruptum
Incredible String Band - The Hangman's Daughter
Iron Butterfly - In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida
Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow
Ravi Shankar - The Sounds of India
Traffic - Traffic
The United States of America - The United States of America
Scott Walker - Scott 2
Jose Feliciano - Feliciano!
Richard Harris - A Tramp Shining
Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Nancy and Lee
Harry Nilsson - Aerial Ballet
Deep Purple - Shades of Deep Purple
Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf the 2nd
The Turtles - Battle of the Bands

 

I don't know anything about either of these bands/albums. Would you say they'd be up my alley/worth the listen this week?

Strongly recommend these four. I think in particular Boookends and Child Is Father to the Man would be up your alley.

 

dillard/clark is gene clark from the byrds and doug dillard, who had a cup of coffee with the byrds, and is a great banjo player/sideman

international submarine band is gram parsons’ first band before he’d join the byrds (he’s on sweetheart of the radio in 68 as well) and flying burrito brothers before going solo

and yeah, i’m looking forward to those four, bookends especially.

 

Of course I have. It wouldn't make the 3 spot though. I had a hard time with #3 but:

1. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
2. Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
3. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland

Bookends, White Album and The Band were all up there.

 

Ahhh. I love the two I've heard from Gene, so that has to go on the radar for sure.

 

one of the more underrated songwriters around. his cuts on the early byrds albums are among their best songs too.

 

Was a hectic week last week, didn't get to listen to anywhere near as much 1967 music as I'd have liked, so will hopefully try and correct that this week too.


My (not that) hot take on The White Album is that the presence of Revolution 9 automatically puts it behind the rest of The Beatles post-Rubber Soul albums. If there's 9 minutes of music, or about 10% of the album that is basically an auto-skip every single time, that has to count against it.

 

yep

and it isn’t even close to the worst song on the album

 

I've honestly grown to really love the mess of The Beatles. I even leave on "Revolution 9" on most spins. I even like "Honey Pie" and "Wild Honey Pie" now.

 

goodness

 

By the way, big year for Brazil if that's of interest to any of you (Caetano Veloso, the Tropicalia comp, Os Mutantes) and kinda experimental/Boogaloo Latin music (A New Dimension, Acid)

 

Subbing so I remember to make my list later.

 

i’ve listened to Os Mutantes a few times and have to chalk it up to one i respect but just isn’t for me at all

 

I'm with you on this take. Slightly unrelated to your point but a lot of the "throwaways" make for cool additions to mix playlists.

It's not Beatles album with the best songs, nor the most hits, nor the best production. But to me it's still the most "fascinating".

 

It’s not my favorite of those 3. I’d say give Caetano Veloso a spin or listen to Gal Costa in ‘69 and if you don’t dig them, safe bet Tropicalia just isn’t your thing.

 

Yeah that’s exactly it. Plus the story around it makes it interesting to me. Some of it is probably projecting but you can hear the strife and the distance in the album and I love that.