My oldest son Nick is a music junkie. I declared that years ago when long before blogging on the Internet he had a blog called Musc Junkies Anonymous. He quit blogging after several years when it wasn’t any fun anymore. But he never stopped listening and playing music.
Over the last several months, he has been posting on Facebook lists ranking the albums of his favorite artists. Most recently, he has been listing his top albums for each year starting in the 1960s. The other day he posted his top 15 albums from 1968.
The year 1968 was a tumultuous year in America. An ever growing war raged in Vietnam and Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. There were riots at the Democratic National Convention and ugh Richard Nixon was elected president!
One of bright spots though that had an impact on my life was the emergence of album rock radio. In April of 1968 WMMR in Philadelphia debuted The Marconi Experiment with DJ Dave Herman. The program came on at 10 PM and progressive and psychedelic rock. Wow! It was the first time music that wasn’t 2-3 minutes lag was featured on the radio. Soon WDAS was playing the same type of music.
Anyway 1968 was a year my taste in music drifted away from top 40 radio toward these new sounds!
Now a week or so ago, Nick posted his Top 15 for 1968 which was followed a day or two ago by his 1969 list. Here is his 1968 list of top albums followed by my list.
Nick’s Top Albums of 1968:
1. The Kinks – The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
2. The Beatles – The Beatles (White Album)
3. The Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet
4. The Band – Music From Big Pink
5. Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends
6. Sly & The Family Stone – Life
7. The Zombies – Odessey And Oracle
8. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
9. Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison
10. The Beach Boys – Friends
11. The Byrds – The Notorious Byrd Brothers
12. Joni Mitchell – Joni Mitchell aka Song To A Seagull
13. Aretha Franklin – Lady Soul
14. The Pretty Things – S.F. Sorrow
15. Blood, Sweat & Tears – Child Is Father To The Man.
The top 3 of this year were runaway choices, but the rest of this list was somewhat more difficult to put in an order and maybe could change quite a bit in the future. It’s also probably controversial to leave Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa and The Velvet Underground out but I stand by it on
My Top Albums of 1968
1. Tom Rush – The Circle Game
The Circle Game is one of my all-time favorite all- time albums. It served as an introduction to the music of Joni Mitchell as Tom recorded both “The Circle Game” and “Urge for Going” before Joni did! There are also songs from Jackson Browne and James Taylor on the album. Both recorded before they were known.
The above two songs are both favorites. Other favorites include: “No Regrets” and the instrumental “Rockport Sunday”
2. Jerry Jeff Walker – Mr Bojangles
Whenever I mention Jerry Jeff Walker to someone and they give me a puzzled look I say you know the song “Mr. Bojangles”? He wrote it! Anyway, I became a life long Jerry Jeff fan because of this album. And the jukebox in my head can still play “Little Bird”, “Gypsy Songman” and of course “Mr Bojangles”. My favorite song on the album though may be “My Old Man”
3. Ten Years After –Undead
I have vague memories of Undead not being the first Ten Years After album I bought. I think either of the 1969 albums Sssh! Or Stonedhenge came first.
But this album over the years has become a favorite. I love “(At the) Woodchopper’ Ball” where all the players get a moment to shine especially Leo Lyons on bass! And the of course there’s “I’m Going Home”
4. Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper – Super Session
I guess Stephen sticks should be included with this album because he plays on the second side of the album instead of Bloomfield. But side one was always my favorite. With “ Albert’s Shuffle” and “His Holy Modal Majesty” being the favorites.
I must admit that one side two I do like “ It Takes a Lot to Laugh, But a Train to Cry” and “Season of the Witch”
5. Jefferson Airplane – Crown of Creation
Thia album should probably be a little higher on the list because through the years I’ve played it a ton! There are so many tracks that I have played over and over including “Lather”, David Crosby’s “Triad”, “Greasy Heart”, “Crown of Creation” and Jorma’s “ Star Track”.
6. The Electric Flag – A Long Time Comin’
Mike Bloomfield appears on another of my favorite albums. This time he’s joined by Buddy Miles on drums, Harvey Brooks on bass, Nick Gravenites provides vocals and then there are several members adding horns!
My favorite tracks include; “Killing Floor”, “Texas” and “Wine”
7. Phil Ochs – Tape from California
This is another album that wasn’t the first album I bought from an artist. In this case I think I bought Phil’s 1969 release Rehearsals for Retirement first. In addition through the years I’ve probably listened to the songs on this album individually rather than sitting listening to the album.
Favorite tracks: “Tape from California”, “Joe Hill”. Phil was known for his anti war songs and two that appear here are “The War is Over” and “White Boots Marching in a Yellow Land”
When Phil wrote “The War is Over” the Vietnam War was stilling raging. He just decided to declare the war over in his mind. I can’t help but think that if he was still alive somehow he’d rewrite the song to declare the pandemic over. Or at least saying it was in Trump’s mind!
8. Cream – Wheels of Fire
I must admit that I did get tired of hearing “White Room” over and over on Classic Rock Radio through the years. While I was always listening to “Spoonful” and “Crossroads” and comparing every drum solo I’d hear to “Toad”
9. Steve Miller Band – Sailor
I usually put on this album to listen to “Quicksilver Girl”. Then while I’m listening the album I realize how much I like “Living in the USA” , and “Gangster of Love”
So years ago when I would buy an album I would always read who the musicians and the producers and engineered of the album. In the case of Sailor the producer/engineer was Gylnn Johns. Johns has already produced many of the Rolling Stones’ albums as well as Small Faces. and I always kept in the back of my head the name Boz Scaggs! And in the next post you’ll see the result!
10. Jimi Hendrix – Electric Ladyland
So you may see a pattern here. Mike Bloomfield, Alvin Lee, Eric Clapton all blues based guitars. So I guess one of the great or perhaps the greatest rock guitarist deserves a spot on my favorites. I liked this album but it just never got played all that much.
Favorite Tracks : “Voodoo Child” and “Cross town Traffic” “All Along the Watchtower”
11. Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends
I think the only two Simon & Garfunkel I my collection are Parsley,Sage,Rosemary and Thyme and Bookends
I think this year I think that this year and next when I reach 70 years old the lyrics from “Old Friends” will certainly be floating around in my head…..
Can you imagine us
Years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange
To be seventy
Favorite Tracks “America”, “Old Friends” and of course “Mrs Robinson”
12. Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison
Ahh, I can hear those words floating around in my head
I hear that train a comin’
it’s roll in’ round the bend….
While I haven’t played this album that much over the years, “Folsom Prison Blues”” certainly lives in the jukebox in my head surfacing on a regular basis!
Favorite Tracks “Folsom Prison Blues”, “Jackson”, “Orange Blossom Special”
13. James Taylor – James Taylor
I’m listening to this album, while I’m writing this, and realising that I liked this album more than I remember!
Two of the songs “Sunshine, Sunshine” and “Something in the Way She moves” were covered on Tom Rush’s The Circle Game album.
Other Favorite Tracks include: “Carolina I My Mind”, “Brighten Your Night with My Day” and “Rainy Day Man” Maybw if I listen a few more times the whole album may be favorites!
The last two albums haven’t got a lot of play since the 60s but both did back in the day…
14. Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – The Beat of the Brass
i think I had most of the Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass albums. There were only two more released before Alpert disbanded the Brass. I never listened to the last albums. I really have no favorite tracks on the album. However, I can put on any of the band’s albums and enjoy them.
15. Otis Redding –Dock of the Bay
Outside of “Dock of the Bay” I have no real favourites on this album. Through the years I have listened more often of Redding’s performance at the Monterey Pop Festival with “Respect” and “Try a Little Tenderness”
Final Thoughts
Now, if you asked me to name the “Top” albums of 1968 my list would probably look at lot more like Nick’s.
However, when I created my list of top albums from 1968, I picked albums that for the most part I owned on vinyl and I played many times over the years. The times I played the album over the years decreases as you move down the list.
So did we cover most of the top albums? Which ones did we miss???
