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[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#123: "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly (1968)

record good. that good prog shit. we are entering into the period where the psychedelic movement morphs into progressive rock, and i am over the moon about it.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#122: "Gris-Gris" by Dr. John, the Night Tripper (1968)

uhh, this record is fucking weird??? but like, good weird, not bad weird.

Dr. John is a character created by Mac Rebennack, who was a legendary session musician. the character is a voodoo healer, inspired by Mac's New Orleans home. as such, this record combines alot of Louisiana blues (apparently called Swamp Blues), and a lot of typical-for-the-time psychedelia, which blends together into a really strange, ethereal texture that was quite striking. all the references to voodoo mythology leave the record is absolutely dripping with atmosphere. really liked this record.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#121: "The United States of America" by the United States of America (1968)

This record starts with one of those fucking Magic Roundabout-ass sounding organs so you know exactly what kind of record this is.

this record almost feels like an exagerrated idea of what people think the 60's psychedelic musical movement sounded like: tons of odd sound scapes, slightly esoteric lyrics, you name it. it almost feels like a crescendo to the psychedelic experiences of this album journey, though i'm sure we'll hear a few more before we're done.

notably, this is one of the first records to utilize electronic instruments like the synthesizer and even an electric drum kit, which helps it stand out from a lot of the stuff i've been listening to throughout this list so far.

unfortunately this is the only album this band put out, which is a shame. i really, really enjoyed this record.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#120: "Cheap Thrills" by Big Brother & the Holding Company (1968)

i'll be completely honest with you, i am not as well versed on Janis Joplin as someone in my position maybe should be, as i had absolutely no idea she was in a band before embarking on her own solo career (and, of course, before her tragic passing a few years later). so this record came as something of a surprise... and kicked my ass.

it would be easy to mistake this for a live record, not only because of the fake audience cheers peppered throughout the album, but also because the record has the energy of a live act. i've heard many stories over the years of bands desperately trying to capture their "live sound" on records, and it seems this group were able to do that here, on their second recording.

three of the albums seven songs are covers of standards, which the band absolutely excel with, but i think they especially shine on their own tracks, especially the two openers, one by Sam Andrew, the groups guitarist and male vocalist, and the second co-written with Joplin, both explode with an infectious energy.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#119: "The Notorious Byrd Brothers" by the Byrds (1968)

this record is surprisingly good considering drummer Michael Clarke left during the sessions, David Crosby was fired, and founding member Gene Clark rejoined the group, only to leave once again a few weeks later (with historians split over whether he even contributed anything to the material). but yeah, despite everything, this might actually be the best Byrds album I've listened to yet.

where as their last record featured a lot of jazz and psychedelic influences, this record reigns a lot of those influences in somewhat for a much more concise, refined record. and only one cover! and it's not a Bob Dylan cut! what a world!

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#118: "Vincebus Eruptum" by Blue Cheer (1968)

Blue Cheer are one of those "how have i never heard of these guys" kinda bands. this record starts off with a cover of "Summertime Blues" that some people have pointed to as a proto-heavy metal cut, and it's not hard to see why, it fucking rocks and is pretty heavy. Jim Morrison described them as "the most powerful band" he'd ever seen, and Neil Peart from Rush called them “the world’s loudest band."

in the context of it's release, it's not hard to see how this fits into the mold of the era as a psychedelic or garage rock album. aside from a handful of covers, there's also a handful of originals, which come out sounding very jam oriented.

Fun record, would recommend!

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#117: "Lady Soul" by Aretha Franklin (1968)

She just doesn't miss.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#116: "Eli and the Thirteenth Confession" by Laura Nyro (1968)

I can't explain it, this just feels like a 70's record. Or I guess more accurately, a bridge between the 60's and 70's. There's a real strength to this record, it's unquestionably a jazz record, but Laura is so clearly fascinated by a whole range of genres that she effortlessly dabbles in lost of different styles across the runtime. Occasionally rock 'n' roll, occasionally airy folk music.

This feels like the kind of record I would put on when I have friends over as backgroud music while we chat and catch up and then none of us will talk because we'd all be too busy listening to it and losing our minds.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#115: "At Folsom Prison" by Johnny Cash (1968)

fresh off kicking a drug habit that almost consumed his career, Johnny Cash delivers one of the best live albums of all time.

and that's not an exagerattion, the crowd here are absolutely wild, and Cash is having the time of his life performing for them with his band, the Tennesse Three, and a special (and incredibly fun) appearance from his then-wife June Carter. this is country music at it's absolute finest. strong, and easy, recommend.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#114: "Songs of Leonard Cohen" by Leonard Cohen (1967)

absolutely one of the greatest lyricists of all time. evocative, powerful, picturesque. what a phenomenal talen.

i think this is basically what i wanted out of bob dylan.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#113: "Electric Ladyland" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience (1968) [REVISIT]

it's still wild to me that the first and second Jimi Hendrix Experience records are also on this list along with this, their third and final record. the Experience may have only put out three records, but they are easily three of the finest records of the 60's.

this is undoubtedly their finest hour. it feels effortless. a double album, there are some longer cuts on here that might not quite resonate for some people. to me it all works as one unit. we've done a lot of talking over the entries about how bands were beginning to think of album's as singular entities, but Jimi takes that one step further here, at least in my eyes, and manages to encapsulate the same feel one might have when watching a band playing live, even through all the studio wizardry. as i said before, what a treat.

people not so familiar with Jimi who are aware that he died two years after this record might be forgiven for thinking this is the last Experience record because of that fact, but this is not the case. the Experience actually broke up the following year. Jimi started another band, the Band of Gyspys, and cut a live record with original material six months before he died. that record is not on this list, but i'm absolutely going to check it out at some point.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#112: "Os Mutantes" by Os Mutantes (1968)

this record was absolutely wild.

Os Mutantes are a Brazilian avant-garde psychedelic pop group. as you can imagine, there's a pretty diverse range of stuff on this record. there's a couple of really fun, light poppy pieces, a couple of more rock 'n' roll cuts, and the occaional psychedelic organ-y songs. these are all typically interspersed with stretches of musique-concrète styled field recordings, and it's all backed with more traditional Brazilian sounding percussions. to top the whole thing off, while i was unable to understand the lyrics, a lot of these are apparently protest songs against the Brazilian military dictatorship. wild!

but yeah, this record was fascinating. it felt like it was pulling a lot of influence from the psychedlic movement in the UK and US, albums i've been covering for a little while now, while also pulling in some local influence and pushing it in it's own directions. i really enjoyed listening it! there's also a brief the Mama's and the Papa's cover on here!

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#111: "The Sounds of India" by Ravi Shankar (1958)

so yeah, as i mentioned at the end of my review of the Incredible String Band's album, there seemed to be quite a large prominence of the sitar in the psychedelic movement. i'm not an expert in this subject by any means, but my general understanding is there was a rising interest in eastern cultural ideas throughout the sixties. i initially thought, due to it's placement on this list, that this recording of Shankar's was to capitalise on this rising trend, but was suprised to discover this record was originally released at the end of the 1950's!

a quick search of the album's release history led me to discover that a stereo re-release of the album came out in 1968, which is why it has been positioned here on "the list." this re-release is no doubt due to the rising interest in the sounds of the sitar throughout western popular music (and also quite possibly helped in no small part by George Harrison specifically, as mentioned in the book.)

this is similar in some ways to the previously reviewed "Call of the Valley," though there is no sitar on that album, both albums feature heavy prominence of ragas. i found this album much more captivating, motivated along by Ravi Shankar's spoken introduction to each track, briefly mentioning how the music differs from the music his target audience might usually listen to. it's a fantastic choice. highly recommend.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#110: "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society" by the Kinks (1968)

eyyy, it's the Kinks again!

sonically this record is quite different from the general feel of the records coming out (or at least, on this list) in this era. while there's been a lot of psychedelic and/or jazz influenced albums, this record felt much more simplistic and straight forward.

which makes because it's a concept album! i imagine we'll get more of these as we head into the seventies. the concept of the album, as i understand, is a nostalgic looking back to simpler times in British culture, so a more straightforward rock/pop format for songs plays straight in the idea.

i liked a handful of the tracks on this record, but as with my other Kinks reveiws, it didn't a whole lot for me. i think i'm just not a Kinks fan!

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#109: "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" by the Incredible String Band (1968)

a pretty wild psychedelic folk album from Scotland.

a lot of the songs on this record, espcially the thirteen minute piece that closes out the first side, feel less like singular songs and more like suites, or assemblances of little compositional chunks. it was an okay record. over-stayed it's welcome pretty quickly.

i think it's really funny that all these psychedelic records from the sixties have a sitar on them. i wonder if there was some reason for that.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#108: “Traffic” by Traffic (1968)

Traffic, the band, were apparently being pulled in two directions. One of their two lead songwriters, Dave Mason, was writing more pop-oriented cuts; while the songwriting pair of Jim Capaldi and Steve Winwood were more influenced by jazz. I’ve heard people say this dynamic gives the record a kind of “push-and-pull” feeling between the tracks, but going into the record knowing this made it feel more like all of the tracks are wrestling with this dichotomy.

But it’s excellent. The two worlds collide really well, and almost every track feels like a standout, the first half more the second. highly recommend.

[dannyandtheinfiniteplaylist]

#107: "Beggars Banquet" by the Rolling Stones (1968)

it's been a while since we last saw the Stones on this list. after their last album on the list (#70: Aftermath) they went on to release two slightly more psychedelic records before "returning to form" with this, their seventh (British) album. and return to form they did. in my head this record marks the beginning of what i always considered the Stones most well regarded period, when they came into their own as easily on the biggest (if not the biggest) rock band in the whole world.