Otis Redding -- Live In Europe

  Backed by Booker T. & the MG's on this Redding classic live album.  For starters the sound isn't the best and the song tempos are off, but who the hell cares this live album is great!!  All the hits are represented here.  The wild raw energy of the concert comes out beautifully, loud horns, fast pace and the tremendous voice.  What a show it must have been!!  Otis's energy was at a all time high, coming off the buzz of showing the psychedelic generation who's still the boss at the Monterey Pop Festival.  Unfortunately this record was the last release before Redding's death in a plane crash, but it's a great end to a great soul man's superb career, so show him some RESPECT!  Deh-Nah-Neh-Nah-Neh!

The Troggs -- Wild Thing

  Hidden deep within the caverns of garage rock, the Troggs crawl their way out to show the world what Punk Rock is all about!  First let's get the crap out of the way, we all know these guys for the mega hit Wild Thing, yeah yeah who cares, it's pretty much Louie Louie with different words!   The rest of the album is a mix of 60's camp and baroque-ish numbers.  But the juicy meat of this record lays on two tracks I Want You and From Home.  I Want You is definitely highly regarded in Detroit, cause, the MC5 covered it, and the Stooges swipe the screaming blues guitar solo sound ... The Troggs didn't last long, they had a couple big time hits, but their obscure stuff went on to influence groups who changed the face of music, so in fact, these dudes are in that weird 1966 punk club, developing a sound that wouldn't surface entirely for another decade.

Aretha Franklin -- Aretha Arrives

  Aretha Arrives is mostly a collection of cover songs from, the Stones, to Willie Nelson, even ? and the Mysterians, with a couple of traditional blues numbers and a tune written by her baby sister Carolyn.  What's most interesting is how she can take any song and totally Aretharize it.  The only chart topper and closing track on this record is the cool smooth Baby I Love you, as the record ends you kinda wish there were more songs like this one up ahead, but Aretha Arrives too late!

Elton John -- Tumbleweed Connection

  Personally regarded as Elton John's greatest effort, it might not have any killer hits, but all round as an album, it beats the rest.  Western culture influenced, conceptual, ode to Americana, with brief interludes of his usual Stonesy Stewart sound.  Come Down In Time and Love Song stick out, for being the most original.  Both numbers are prettily arranged slow vocal tracks.  Fun fact, Love Song is a cover tune, written by Lesley Duncan, yeah yeah who the hell is that, she sings background on this record, but previously released the song under her own name, and before that, she sang background for Dusty Springfield, who sings background on this record too!  I'm gonna get my six shooter and look around for a Tumbleweed Connection.

Bob Dylan -- Blonde On Blonde

  Blonde On Blonde the super classic.   The year was 1966, a time when the scene had shifted towards psychedelic music experimentation, Dylan took a trailblazing step ahead and pulls out a bluesy Americana double LP.  I wonder how this one fit in with your collection of that year's releases such as Pet Sounds and Revolver, maybe even some 60's psych punk, and then we have this pure American Rock 'n' Roll record.   Zimmy's contemporaries only started playing this style of music by 1968, as a sorta, "forget that psychedelic crap," type of protest, I guess Dylan had that in mind from its early conception.

  I do like this album, but there's an aspect about it that I can't stand.  The sound, lyrics and music give off a head inflated rockstar vibe and Dylan's voice sounds like he's parodying himself.  I found the first two sides kinda weak, although Visions Of Johanna did provide some interesting elements especially with the drum beat.  The third side redeems itself, it hits the mark just like his previous efforts ... back to back juxtaposing tracks closing the third side, 4th Time Around a lush relaxed mooder and Obviously 5 Believers a loud Stonesy rocker, steal the whole show!  I almost thought wow maybe I judged this record too soon, but then the harsh, long, droningly boring fourth side, 11 minute track Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands reminded and exaggerated everything I hated about the two first sides ... I remembered that I usually turn this track off or not play it at all, maybe this could have been my first sit through this entire number, I'm not entirely sure.

  It might not sound like it, but I still think Blonde On Blonde is a great album, but do I play it as much as Highway 61 ... f*ck no ...  but I do love the fact that Dylan always has surprises up his sleeve, the industry goes one way, Dylan goes the other, maybe he was parodying himself after all??  Having a joke to all the groups he influenced, they start to keep up, he banks left, now they all have to follow the leader all over again!

Chuck Berry -- Greatest Hits

  Here we go, Chuck Berry, the biggest influence on rock 'n' roll music there is!!  Now this greatest hits was released in 1964 and includes all the staple Berry tunes, no surprises there.  Berry's music didn't just have an impact on rock 'n' roll, he was a key figure in the integration of the United States, all because he was able to draw and relate to audiences of all races, not through political lyrics, but killer guitar riffs.  We all know the typical Berry hits, Johnny B Goode, Roll Over Beethoven, Rock 'n' Roll Music, yadda yadda ... My picks of interest are Maybellene, Thirty Days, and Memphis.  The first two are pretty much the same song, loud, fast rock 'n' roll numbers, makes me think of the Ramones of the 50's.  Memphis is in my mind Chuck Berry's greatest song.  Why?  For starters the eerie bass line that carries the whole tune, followed by brilliant Berry guitar picking.  The best part of the track are the great lyrics about a dialogue with the telephone operator trying to get in touch with his daughter, because his wife left him ... he goes on to describe they're last moment together and that the child, Marie, tried to contact him, he wasn't there, she left a message, but didn't leave her number, so he calls the operator, and all he knows is that she lives in Memphis, Tennessee.  Whoa!  It is a far cry from his usual tunes about teen culture or rock 'n' roll parties, but on Memphis Berry goes straight for the jugular of emotion and makes it work for him ... big time ... eerie sound and sad lyrics, done so well that none of the cover versions could ever touch it.  So all Hail Chuck Berry the king of Rock 'n' Roll!

The Everly Brothers -- A Date With The Everly Brothers

  Rock 'n' roll singing duo The Everly Brothers could have precursored the Beatle and the Beach Boys if they would have emulated the Chuck Berry sound rather than country.  The record features, one interesting Jimmy Reed classic blues cover, Baby What Do You Want Me To Do, a terrible version of Little Richard's Rock masterpiece Lucille, and two head turning numbers, Love Hurts, yes it's the tune that Nazareth murdered, and Cathy's Clown.  Love Hurts's main riff sets the somber mood with moody heartfelt vocals that confirms indeed ... Love Hurts.  Cathy's Clown at first glance just sounds like a stereotypical Everlys track, but if you break it up into parts you find something different, strange off beat drum, jangly piano, minimal guitar, harmonized vocals, the song turns out to be a very well arranged and thought-out, no wonder it was such a mega hit!  I suggest you all have A Date With The Everly Brothers!  (Ha ha they sound skanky now!)

The Jacks -- Jumpin' with the Jacks

  Rare swingin' doo wop group The Jacks were also known as The Cadets, and no they didn't have a simple name change, they actually recorded under both monikers at the same time, I guess they figured two chances are better than one.  They used the Jacks for the ballads and the Cadets for the uptempo rockers.  Although The best Jacks numbers are Rock 'n' Roll songs, Oo Wee Baby and Do You Wanna Rock.  Both tunes are great R & B tracks, Oo Wee Baby has a certain quality to it that grabs your attention, the sound of desperation where all he could sing is Oo Wee Baby, while  Do You Wanna Rock, which they later released under the Cadets, is basic Coasters style music.  The Jacks story is one strange one, they tried to hit two birds with one stone, and missed (twice), but even though they didn't hit it big they were a great doo wop group (or groups), and sure as hell could sing!

Sam Cooke

    The legendary Sam Cooke goes beyond being a music pioneer, maybe it's the mystique of his death, shot in a motel office in only his sports jacket and shoes, not really the end you'd think of when you hear the sound of his music and voice.  Furthermore was it murder, was it self-defense, who was the woman who left Cooke's room, did he rape her, was she a prostitute, the list goes on and on, we'll never know the real story.  I think the point is that an artist with his caliber of brilliance and talent never last too long, it's like they are so damn good that the stress of being  charismatic and loved just sends them into spiral of self-destruction, but who could really handle that?  It'd be great, I'm sure, as time goes on, a little too great, and then what??  Can you really keep up with yourself and be as wonderful as you were, in most cases it's bad ending to a good life, but Cooke was hardly a angel, he might have sounded like one, but sure as sh*t didn't act like one!

  As far as fully exploring this record, I'd would have had to listen to this album at least 10 times to ingrain it into my brain.  As soon as the needle hits you totally get sucked in, Cooke's cool smooth sultry voice is unlike anything else, with the beautifully arranged backups by Bumps Blackwell, takes you away into their world, nothing else really matters, except to keep listening.  Sam Cooke is an essential music legend, up there with Robert Johnson (also shot), putting the world on track and setting the course for the future.

The Doors -- Waiting For The Sun

  Beating the dead horse Waiting For The Sun just isn`t good.  I like the Doors, who doesn`t, but I can`t stand them at the same time, who can??  A couple of the tracks are good, but overall this record is pretentious over the top hippy garbage.  Most of the lyrics drive me bananas, for a so called beat poet genius, the words are weak.  The drugs and booze must have gotten the best of them to the point they thought they could do no wrong.  This sun I'm not waiting for!

The Music Machine -- (Turn on)

  Take out the cheesy covers and the campy stereotypical 60's originals, you've got yourself a Punk Rock record.  These guys had jet black moptops, all wore one black glove, in an all black garb.  Trouble, Wrong, People In Me and Masculine Intuition are fast fuzzed out punk numbers with flirtations of psychedelia -- it's 1966 after all.  Where the real money lies is on hit track Talk Talk, no psychedelia, no hippie bullsh*t, this is the real deal, fast, angry and loud.  The lyrics describe a degenerate who left his child, his reputation is "something more than wild," his name is "Really Mud," he has to hide his face, "or go some other place"; all this because of a life filled with lies and deceit, it eventually gets so bad, he takes off, washes his hand of all the damage he's done.  For a hit tune the theme is not only dark, it's sympathetic to criminalesque anti-social behaviour, makes me think of the Hell's Angels 1% ers.  I probably think that because Lester Bangs had a funny story about a homosexual biker obsessed with this song, only able to commit heterosexual activities while his 45 of Talk Talk is being played over and over, what this story suppose to mean or why I mentioned it I have no idea, but it's something that struck Bangs so it struck me!  Everyone better Turn On The Music Machine, because I doubt these guys would let you turn it off.

The Beatles -- '65

  Beatles '65 foreshadows what is to come from the group.  Lush sounding No Reply, I'll Follow The Sun and  Mr. Moonlight.  Rock 'n' roll classics Honey Don't, Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby and Rock And Roll Music.  Beatlemaniaed I'm A Loser, Baby's In Black and I'll Be Back.  The numbers of interest She's A Woman and I Fell Fine.  She's A Woman is bass driven track turned up to eleven and has a Velvets simplicity, like a slowed down I'm Waiting For The Man.  Super hit track I Fell Fine's influential guitar riff goes into the jangly hippy cool of the Byrds and has a style that is still mimicked today.  1965 was the year of the subtle experimentations acting as a stepping stone to the future.

The Shirelles -- Greatest Hits

  Classic girl group, The Shirelles are amongst the greatest of their era.  All the songs are beautifully arranged and are written by a cool collection of rock luminaries (look it up), meaning this album isn't anything less than perfect!  The main mega hits are the ones I love the most, Dedicated To The One I Love. a group vocaled doo wop track, Baby It's You the beautiful somber mood number, and Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow the superbly arranged work of art, but that doesn't mean that any of the other tracks aren't great -- trust me ... get into the Shirelles and listen to the LOVE!

The Rolling Stones -- Between The Buttons

  Totally bizarre Between The Buttons showcases Brian Jones's multi-talented musicianship more than any other Stones record.  None of the songs are in the traditional Rolling Stones format.  It's hard to pin point what kind of music this is suppose to be, it's so damn all over the place, maybe a pastiche of 60's punk and baroque psychedelia, you'd have to look Between The Buttons to figure it out ... but at the same time this album is a great example how far rock 'n' roll can go, and only a handful of 60's artist could pull off this level of brilliance.

Cat Stevens -- Mona Bone Jakon

  Mona Bone Jakon is by far the best Cat Stevens album, not that it sounds all that different than the others, it just has a greater sophistication and range.  The two main reasons that make this record a cut above the rest, are, I Think I See The Light, with its simple childish sinister sound, and two, Trouble, the perfect sound for human emotion, it's really miraculous how much Stevens nailed it.  Funny footnote:  A seriously themed album is titled after the Cat's pet name for his wing-wang.  Anyhoo moral is, try and stay out of Trouble,  See the Light and watch out for old hippie ladies, you never know when you'll fall in love with one!

Beach Boys -- Summer Days (And Summer Nights)

  Just under half an hour, Summer Days (And Summer Nights) is another release getting away from the early Beach Boy Chuck Berry sound and weening towards the arranged baroque style they are better known for.  Wilson here is perfecting his Spectorized wall of sound, from a four piece rock 'n' roll band, to complex string arrangements, and the sonic barbershop doo wop quartet.  Lyrically its basic Beach Boy themes, girls, the beach, but totally surfless -- weird.  My favorite numbers on this record have a Dada element of simplicity and beauty, Girl Don't Tell Me and You're So Good To Me.  And as much as I think I won't like it because of the David Lee Roth version the super hit California Girls is still great, it captures the timeless boyish obsession with fairer sexe!  The only thing I don't recommend on this album is the instrumental Summer Means New Love.   What is this suppose to be, an attempt to make it on a swinging groovy  movie soundtrack? YUCK!  Enjoy your Summer Days (And Summer Nights), I do (well try to)!

Jethro Tull -- Aqualung

  Aqualung is, in all fairness, just the ramblings of a vagrant mad man, which gives the band points for originality, but hardly makes this seminal classic, conceptual, prog, heavy metal, folk, celt, mishmash any good.  The strangeness of the album does make it a must hear, at least once, and for me, once was enough!  What made it even more bizarre were the notes on the back cover, tweaked from the book of Genesis for the character of Aqualung.  Side one focuses, and is named after, Aqualung, a sniveling weirdo, while the flipside focuses, and is named after God, now is it about Aqualung's relationship with God, I don't know.  There were a couple pleasant surprises on this record.  The first one, a folk number, Cheap Day Return, clocked at 1:21, this track has a Cat Stevens feel to it, and I'd go as far as saying a Elliot Smith vocal sound inbeded in the beginning -- I loved it.  The second surprise was in the song Mother Goose it stems in the same vein as the previous track, not as good, but gets murdered by intervals of flute solos which makes you think you were in Polanski's Macbeth.  Aqualung is just one of those weird thing in rock history, I didn't like it, but I respect it for what it is!

James Taylor -- Sweet Baby James

  What can I say, I never really liked James Taylor, but for some odd reason I've always been drawn to want to.  The thing about him is that I can never get past is his voice!  It reminds me of someone's dad singing on Sesame Street, except this dude was shooting crank behind Oscar's trash can between takes.  Although that is my reaction to James Taylor, today, at the time of the album's release it might have been different.  Perhaps, in the pre-Taylor era, there were less of these paternal figures singing in coffee houses and bars, our lives would have been less saturated with his sound, so when Jamesy started doing his thing it was maybe totally different and new???  I doubt it!  Sweet Baby James wasn't bad, I didn't hate it, corny at times, but otherwise it's ok, but make sure to skip Steamroller, 'cause it's one stinker of a sh*troller!