1969. The US becomes the first country to put someone on the moon, Woodstock attracted over 350,00 not so cleanly humans, Walmart incorporated, and Nixon became president. Many milestones in the history of the US, and also many historic albums were released. Most famously, The Beatles released their last album as a group, Led Zeppelin made their way into the music scene, and a little known band called King Crimson found themselves playing in front of almost 500,000 people. Check out the top 10 albums of 1969 below to relive some memories.
Abbey Road – The Beatles
Abbey Road is The Beatles 11th and last album recorded with all 4 members and is widely considered to be The Beatles best work. The album, more specifically the cover, famously became the subject for many conspiracy theories of Paul McCartney’s death, which turned out to be “a load of rubbish”. Publicly, Abbey Road was admired and received immediate commercial success, but privately the album caused many disputes between band members. Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono had been attending all of the recording sessions, which had caused some problems with McCartney. Additionally, McCartney and Lennon had two very different visions for the album. Lennon wanted to produce an album of unrelated songs, while McCartney desired to continue producing a thematic album. Ultimately, Lennon ended up disliking the album, calling it, “junk, because it is just bits of songs thrown together. [Abbey Road] is competent, but has no life in it”. Regardless of Lennon’s opinion, Abbey Road has gone down as one of the greatest albums in history, and that’s how it appears it will remain.
Led Zeppelin II – Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II is the second studio album by Led Zeppelin, which quickly followed the band’s debut release just a few months earlier in January. The album was recorded is various locations around the world while the band toured. The group’s lead singer Robert Plant later discussed the writing and recording process, stating “It was crazy really. We were writing the numbers in hotel rooms and then we’d do a rhythm track in London, add the vocal in New York, overdub the harmonica in Vancouver and then come back to finish mixing at New York.” Led Zeppelin II was the first album that lead guitarist, Jimmy Page, wielded the 1959 Les Paul, and laid down some heavy guitar riffs. The album showcased the growth the band had gone through, after experimenting with different production processes and vocal styles. Zeppelin II is Led Zeppelin’s first album to reach the #1 spot in both the US and UK, and has reached 12x Platinum certification. Retrospectively, the album has been hailed as one of the most influential rock albums of all time, leading the way for guitarists like Eddie Van Halen, and bands such as Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, and Queen.
In the Court of the Crimson King – King Crimson
In the Court of the Crimson King is the debut album by the British group, King Crimson. Months before the release of their first album, King Crimson had the opportunity to play, The Stones In The Park, a free concert put on by the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park. Solely based on their word-of-mouth reputation, King Crimson made the lineup, and made their live introduction in front of a crowd estimated from 250,000 – 500,000 people. In the Court of the Crimson King was a departure from the blues inspired rock n roll of the time. King Crimson drew inspiration from jazz (and free-form jazz), classical music, and symphonic music, closing a few songs out with the traditional organized chaos of jazz and symphonies. After recording the album, it was found that the recorder used had partly malfunctioned, causing higher frequencies to be lost. When people went to fix the problem they were unable to locate the master copies, resulting in 2 re-releases, both of which were of lesser sound quality than the original. Luckily in 2003, the master copies were unearthed, and a fully mastered copy has been released. “King Crimson will probably be condemned by some for pompousness,” wrote Rolling Stone‘s John Morthland at the time, “but that criticism isn’t really valid. They have combined aspects of many musical forms to create a surreal work of force and originality.” Rolling Stone ranks In the Court of the Crimson King as the second best progressive rock album of all time, only behind Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd.
Let It Bleed – The Rolling Stones
Depending on where you are from, Let It Bleed is The Rolling Stones 11th (US) album or 8th (UK) album. Let It Bleed is also the last Stones album to feature Brian Jones, who was asked to leave the band, and died one month later, just months before the album’s release. Mick Jenkins replaced Jones, playing on 3 songs, “Country Honk”, “Live with Me”, and “Honky Tonk Women”. Let It Bleed reached the 3 spot on the US Billboard, and for a time, dethroned Abbey Road on the UK’s charts. Greil Marcus of Rolling Stone Magazine wrote, “This is one of the most outrageous productions ever staged by a rock and roll band, and every note of it works to perfection: the slow, virginal choral introduction; the intensely moving, really despairing sounds of Kooper’s horn and Keith’s slow strain; and then the first verse and first chorus by Mick, singing almost unaccompanied. From there it dissolves and builds again with surges of organ, lovely piano ripples, long lead electric runs by Richards, drumming that carries the song over every crescendo — music that begins in a mood of complete tragedy and fatigue and ends with optimism and complete exuberance.”
In A Silent Way – Miles Davis
In a Silent Way is Davis’ 17th album with Columbia Records. The album was recorded in one session received a wide range of reviews. It was the first album by Davis in which he explored the use of electronic instruments and marked the beginning of Davis’jazz fusion period. Jazz critics were befuddled with his use of electronic instruments and production methods, and rock n roll critics weren’t sure if they could/should label it as rock. “Where once his albums were more or less unvarnished document of how his current group sounded, the sessions for In a Silent Way found him recording what were essentially experiments in sound, which his producer/composer Teo Macero, would then splice into tracks. By pop standards, this was a totally reasonable way to make records, but is seemed near heretical by jazz standards. In that sense, the someone listening to the record has an enormous advantage over those who bought Davis’ album when it first came out. What they got was abrupt shifts in texture, odd electronic effects, and an almost episodic sense of melody, creating songs that for some were nearly impossible to apprehend but still somehow conforming to the normal rules of Jazz.” (Brackett, Nathan – The New Rolling Stone Album Guide p. 218)
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground is the self-titled, 3rd album by the American rock group, The Velvet Underground. It is a purposeful step away from their previous album, White Light/White Heat. As Lou Reed explains it, “I really didn’t think we should make another White Light/White Heat. I thought it would be a terrible mistake, and I really believed that. I thought we had to demonstrate the other side of us. Otherwise, we would become this one-dimensional thing, and that had to be avoided at all costs.” With all other band members on the same page, they went out and accomplished just that. The album is composed mostly of traditional rock songs and ballads. While some critics claim that it lacked the range of previous albums, others applaud the band for taking a more subdued approach. The Velvet Underground (album) is widely considered one of Lou Reed’s best in terms of songwriting and lyrics. “This album sounds less like The Velvet Underground than any of their studio albums, but it’s as personal, honest, and moving as anything Lou Reed ever committed to tape.”
Tommy – The Who
Tommy, is The Who’s fourth studio album. Tommy is a double album, and in traditional Who form, is a rock opera. We follow the story of a boy, Tommy, whose father was presumed lost and dead during a war. When Tommy’s father returns home, he finds his wife with a new lover and murders him and Tommy sees it all. After Tommy’s parents convince that he did not see or hear any of it, and must not tell anyone, Tommy becomes blind, deaf, and mute to the outside. We follow Tommy as he grows up, overcoming traumatic event after traumatic event, until one day there’s a breakthrough, and Tommy regains his senses. Tommy received some mixed reviews, some critics calling a few songs “distasteful”, but overall the album was a success. Tommy sold 200,000 copies in the first two weeks, and quickly attained Gold certification (500,000 copies). “For Townshend, Tommy was an attempt to unite the spiritual teachings of his guru Meher Baba with a message about the increasing detachment he saw within the late 1960s counterculture as its creative endeavors continued to become more handily exploited by the mainstream.” (Drozdowski, Gibson.com)
Trout Mask Replica – Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
Trout Mask Replica is Captain Beefheart’s 3rd studio album. Steve Huey of AllMusic calls it a “masterpiece, a fascinating, stunningly imaginative work that still sounds like little else in the rock & roll canon. Given total creative control by producer and friend Frank Zappa, Beefheart and his Magic Band rehearsed the material for this 28-song double album for over a year, wedding minimalistic R&B, blues, and garage rock to free jazz and avant-garde experimentalism.” Band leader, Don Van Vilet, took full control over the album, forcing his creative will on his bandmates. Allegedly, Van Vilet would force band members to practice his difficult compositions for 14 hours a day, and continually demean them until they broke down. Maybe it was for the sake of the music, collectively getting members of the band into the same mind set. Then again, maybe it was because Van Vilet was a paranoid schizophrenic. ‘If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then Trout Mask Replica is probably that work.’ – John Peel (interview with author 1995)
Five Leaves Left – Nick Drake
Five Leaves Left is the debut album from English folk musician, Nick Drake. The title for the album comes from Rizla, a cigarette paper company, who lets consumers know when they’re running low on “leaves”. Drake released 3 albums during his career, none of which would surpass 5,000 records sold during his lifetime. Drake suffered from severe depression, which carried over into many of his songs, and would eventually lead to him withdrawing from music and moving back into his parent’s rural home in Warwickshire. 5 years after the release of Five Leaves Left, Drake committed suicide. Fellow folk singer Michael Chapman remembers Drake’s bitterness the lack of popularity of his music, “The folkies did not take to him; [they] wanted songs with choruses. They completely missed the point. He didn’t say a word the entire evening. It was actually quite painful to watch. I don’t know what the audience expected, I mean, they must have known they weren’t going to get sea-shanties and sing-alongs at a Nick Drake gig!” Today, Nick Drake’s music is celebrated and is considered to be as influential as groups such as R.E.M. and The Cure.
The Band – The Band
The Band’s second, self-titled album, The Band, was a great commercial success. The group decided on a rustic theme for the album, focusing on traditions of an older Americana. Critics loved it, and along with other groups such as The Byrds, The Band helped pioneer the “country-rock”. This was the breakthrough the group thought they had wanted, allowing the group to go on their first tour as the headlining act. However the quick transition to fame had taken a toll on the members. Their next album, Stage Fright, touches on the anxiety and alienation the group felt, producing a much darker album than before. The Band made it through the tough times, going on to release 8 more albums. George Harrison and Eric Clapton cite The Band as being huge influences on the direction they took their music in the late 60’s and 70’s. Eric Clapton even reviled that he wanted to join the band.