Category a) Sixties and earlier [0 – 1969]
EIGHT 1968 ALBUMS
…I WANTED TO TELL YOU ABOUT BUT RAN OUT OF TIME Here then, in synopsis, are a batch of brilliant LPs any twenty-first century collection should be proud to include. This post should be read in the context of the entire year of 1968 features; here we have an addendum, not a summary. The ranking […]
WHITES OF THEIR EYES
I remember the first copy vividly. Bentleigh Sewing and Records, that oddest of retail combinations, lurked down the western end of Centre Road, owned by veteran sole-trader Bill McAndrew. Those entering his domain seeking records had first to negotiate the labyrinth of sewing machines and associated paraphernalia that crammed the front of the shop. As […]
INSIDE
A while back, in response to what I perceived as heinous omissions from a well-known book, I began compiling a list of “101 More Albums You Must Hear Before You Die”. I thought this addendum could provide a focus for occasional Vinyl Connection posts. Sadly, the project stalled, largely because I couldn’t get the list […]
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO ELECTRIC LADYLAND?
The third and final Jimi Hendrix Experience album, the double Electric Ladyland, was released in October 1968. For me it is the greatest of his studio career. It would also be the last studio release in his lifetime, and see the breakup of the Experience. More: the album marked the departure of bassist Noel Redding […]
SINGLES ACTION
Vinyl Connection has been thoroughly enjoying presenting a selection of the albums released in 1968. So far, we have featured a goodly number of debut records (D) but what really stands out is the variety of different sounds. Here’s the list to date: Jeff Beck – Truth (D) Arthur Brown – The Crazy World of Arthur […]
YOUNG AND FRESH
First albums by bands are always interesting, though not necessarily essential. Sometimes the artist is feeling their way, often the vision is a work-in-progress, occasionally it’s “All Change!” after the first effort. The two 1968 debuts we’re looking at in this post cover most of the bases mentioned above. Both are worthy of attention; both […]
DADDY, WHERE DID PROG COME FROM?
Released in November 1968, Ars Longa Vita Brevis was the second album by The Nice. Their first, 1967’s The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack, has some classic psychedelic songs (“Flower King of Flies” is a personal fave) and clear progressive characteristics, exemplified by Keith Emerson’s keyboard work on “Rondo”, but you could not call it a […]
LIFE IS SHORT, ART IS LONG
“When did prog rock begin?” is a question that gets trotted out periodically and always invites a storm of opinion, most of it generating more heat than light. A big part of the problem is a lack of shared understanding around the terms. What is prog? Is it different from progressive music? And what constitutes […]
THREE 68 BEES
One of the best albums of the 60s was released in January 1968. It garnished folk-rock, psychedelic, country and pop tunes with flourishes of Eastern tonalities, smatterings of jazz and a knowing awareness of what four chaps from Liverpool were doing over in the UK. We are talking about The Notorious Byrd Brothers, behind whose […]
DON’T NEED NO TICKET
After a breakthrough year in 1967, Aretha Franklin surged into 1968 with Lady Soul, a flat-out classic that hit the shelves in January of that year. Aretha had a way of making a song her own. Didn’t matter who wrote it—male/female, black/white, pop/R&B—made no difference to the Queen of Soul. When Aretha sang a song […]
TOOTH TRAFFIC
Last year I bit off more than I could chew. A brave, but ultimately foolhardy attempt was made to cover all the 1967 albums stored in the Vinyl Connection larder. A couple of dozen LPs made it to the fifty-year table; a very modest selection from the potential number of courses. Some sense of failure […]
VERTICAL OVERLOAD
The last instalment* of the series on gatefold album covers that open vertically. Enjoy. * Keef Hartley Band – Halfbreed [Deram 1969] May Blitz – May Blitz [Vertigo 1970] The Peddlers – Birthday [CBS 1969] Muddy Waters & Howlin’ Wolf – London Revisited [Chess 1974] Queen – News Of The World [Elektra (US) / EMI […]
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