Listening to the History of Popular Music - Music

sp4cetiger

Listmeister wrote:

When you get to 1969, for completeness' sake I recommend including some Bubblegum. The Archies, the Cowsills, the Monkees, Spanky and Our Gang, Tommy James and the Shondelles, Bobby Sherman, that sort of thing. It wasn't the most innovative or influential of genres, but it was a part of the musical conversation going on in that wonderful year.

This is a good point. In fact, this could just as easily apply to any other of the years. What I've been doing so far is, in addition to listening to the albums listed here, I've also been listening to the Billboard #1 songs, just to get a sense for what's popular. The problem with whole albums of bubblegum is that I tend not to enjoy sitting through them (the Monkees are an exception), even though I don't mind it so much on a song-by-song basis. Do you have any other recs for resources on representative "pop" songs for each year? Maybe pop compilations?

Last edited by sp4cetiger on 12/09/2013 22:09; edited 1 time in total

sp4cetiger

Cymro2011 wrote:

Why don't you just edit everything into the original post?

Edit: Actually on second though, your way is better. It would be a clusterfuck if it was all together.

Yeah, I started by trying to include them all in the original post, but eventually came to the same conclusion as you. I don't know if there are any limits on post length, but it would certainly be a pain to read through.

sp4cetiger

Okay, so I've instituted some changes in the list for 1969, this time doing a much more detailed genre breakdown. While genres are of minimal use to many music listeners, they are central in understanding the historical development of music (IMO) and I think they're fair game for discussion in this thread. Many of these albums can be classified in a variety of ways, but I've attempted to classify them according to the most appropriate genre label. This may be wildly inaccurate in some instances, since I haven't yet heard most of the albums listed here and am mostly going based on online resources. As such, feel free to jump in with suggested changes. I may also go back to the list and shuffle things around if I change my mind about the genre after listening.

Some questions we could discuss:

- I think the Poe said that he didn't like the "Experimental" and "Avant-Garde" classifications. I see why he would say that, but how should we classify artists like Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart? Should we just leave them unclassified because they can't be clearly tied to existing musical trends? Or maybe they can be?
- Are parent genres, like "Rock" or "Jazz," an entity in of themselves or just a label we give music that doesn't clearly fall into one of the recognized subgenres? In other words, were the Beatles just a "rock" band because they sounded a certain way or because they didn't consistently sound a certain way?
- Is the distinction between folk and folk rock an important one at this point in history? I think it was important in the early '60s when traditionalists were railing against artists like Bob Dylan for using an electric guitar. Are those criticisms still relevant in the late '60s and beyond?

Anyway, here's the list:

Rock
------
Abbey Road (The Beatles) - Ringo does a drum solo
Tommy (The Who) - Grammy Hall of Fame , Rolling Stone top 500 albums , soundtrack to rock musical
Arthur (Kinks) - acclaimed concept album about a cancelled TV play
Joy of a Toy (Kevin Ayers) - post-Soft Machine solo debut from Ayers, masterpiece of eccentric laidback pop

Blues Rock
-------------
Led Zeppelin - debut of all-time great blues rock/hard rock, Rolling Stone top 500 albums
Let It Bleed (Rolling Stones) - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , Grammy Hall of Fame , others
Led Zeppelin II - acclaimed, Rolling Stone top 500 albums , hard rock
Blind Faith - debut of supergroup featuring Clapton, Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech

Roots Rock/Americana
-------------------------
The Band - Grammy Hall of Fame
Green River (Credence Clearwater Revival) - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , roots rock/pop
Willy and the Poor Boys (Credence Clearwater Revival) - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , roots rock/pop

Prog Rock
------------
In the Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson) - acclaimed prog rock classic, rock minus blues

Garage Rock/Proto-punk
----------------------------
The Stooges - landmark protopunk, debut of rhof artist, Rolling Stone top 500 albums
Kick Out the Jams (MC5) - acclaimed protopunk, debut, Rolling Stone top 500 albums

Psychedelic Rock
-------------------
Live/Dead (Grateful Dead) - first live album from famed live rock band
Happy Trails (Quicksilver Messenger Service) - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , live performance of rock suite
Volunteers (Jefferson Airplane) - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , controversial for anti-war messages and profanity

Folk Rock
-----------
The Velvet Underground - radical change in direction, acclaimed folk rock
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Neil Young w/Crazy Horse) - acclaimed folk rock, Rolling Stone top 500 albums
Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , debut, helped popularize folk rock
Liege and Lief (Fairport Convention) - first major British folk rock album
Unhalfbricking (Fairport Convention) - acclaimed transitional British folk album
Space Oddity (David Bowie) - first "proper" Bowie album

Folk Jazz
----------
Happy Sad (Tim Buckley) - beginning of experimental period, folk jazz

Folk
-----
Oar (Skip Spence) - acclaimed solo album from leader of Moby Grape after time in mental hospital
Five Leaves Left (Nick Drake) - debut of folk legend
Songs from a Room (Leonard Cohen) - acclaimed, Cohen's second
6- And 12-String Guitar (Leo Kottke) - unique and influential instrumental guitar record
Basket of Light (Pentangle) - a really significant folk record

Chicano Rock
---------------
Santana - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , chicano rock debut, improvisational, featured at Woodstock

Prog Rock
-----------
Ummagumma (Pink Floyd) - double album, part live

Krautrock
-----------
Monster Movie (Can) - krautrock debut

Country Rock
---------------
The Gilded Palace of Sin (The Flying Burrito Bros) - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , country rock classic

Christian Rock
----------------
Upon This Rock (Larry Norman) - pioneering Christian rock

Soul
-----
Boz Scaggs - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , mix of rock and blue-eyed soul
Hot Buttered Soul (Isaac Hayes) - landmark soul, innovative production techniques, heavily sampled
Dusty in Memphis (Dusty Springfield) - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , Dusty attempts career revival with switch to soul
Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 - debut of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act

Philadelphia Soul
-------------------
Sound of Sexy Soul (Delfonics) - one of the great soul records of the era

Other R&B
------------
Make It Easy On Yourself (Burt Bacharach) - quite possibly the best work by one of the most important songwriters of the era

Funk
------
Stand! (Sly and the Family Stone) - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , one of most sampled albums in history

Jazz/Rock
-------------------
Uncle Meat (Frank Zappa) - acclaimed experimental mix of jazz, blues, rock

Free Jazz
----------
Prayer for Peace (Amalgam) - Penguin core collection , British jazz, led by saxophonist Trevor Watts
The Black Ark (Noah Howard) - Penguin core collection , free jazz saxophone

Space Jazz
------------
Atlantis (Sun Ra) - space-jazz landmark

Avant-Garde Jazz
--------------------
Karma (Pharaoh Sanders) - acclaimed avant-garde jazz, spiritual themes
Liberation Music Orchestra (Charlie Haden) - avant-garde jazz landmark

Jazz Fusion
-------------
In a Silent Way (Miles Davis) - Penguin core collection , Davis' first fusion recording, beginning of electric period
Extrapolation (John McLaughlin) - Penguin core collection , jazz guitar/fusion
Hot Rats (Frank Zappa) - acclaimed jazz fusion/prog rock, change from earlier Zappa
Emergency! (Tony Williams Lifetime) - one of first notable jazz fusion albums
Chicago Transit Authority (Chicago) - debut of noted rock/pop act, started more experimental
Songs of Experience (David Axelrod) - orchestral avant-pop

Vocal Jazz
------------
Close as Pages in a Book (Maxine Sullivan) - Penguin core collection , vocal jazz, swing music

Traditional Bebop
-------------------
Magnificent! (Barry Harris) - Penguin core collection , jazz piano, traditionak bop

Country
---------
Nashville Skyline - Dylan does country
At San Quentin (Johnny Cash) - acclaimed live album
Townes van Zandt - representative recordings country singer-songwriter
From Elvis in Memphis - Rolling Stone top 500 albums , Elvis does country tinged with blue-eyed soul

Avant-Garde
--------------
Trout Mask Replica (Captain Beefheart) - acclaimed, Rolling Stone top 500 albums , avant-garde

Baroque Pop
--------------
Scott 4 (Scott Walker) - acclaimed baroque pop

Electronic
-----------
Contact (Silver Apples) - every bit as original as their debut, and adds a lot of new elements to their sound and the advancement in psychedelic and electronic music

Other?
-------
Moondog (Moondog) - Unique New York musician, first release since 1957
Comme à la radio (Brigitte Fontaine & Art Ensemble of Chicago ) - seminal avant-pop/jazz/chanson project, first Fointaine masterpiece

Last edited by sp4cetiger on 01/02/2014 04:15; edited 3 times in total

Norman Bates

Gender: Male

Age: 52

Location: Paris, France

That's a hell of a comprehensive playlist you've got there.

I'd add: Moondog by Moondog (unclassifiable, at least by me), Comme à la radio by Brigitte Fontaine & Art Ensemble of Chicago (seminal avant-pop/jazz/chanson project, first Fointaine masterpiece), Atlantis by Sun Ra (space-jazz or something), Liberation Music Orchestra by Charlie Haden (avant-garde jazz), Songs of Experience by David Axelrod (orchestral avant-pop), Joy of a Toy by Kevin Ayers (post-Soft Machine solo debut from Ayers, masterpiece of eccentric laidback pop)

I've got more favourites from that year (most notably from female singers/songwriters: Karen Dalton, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Bridget St. John), but they probably defined the era less than those records I advertise + your awesome list.

meccalecca

Voice of Reason

Gender: Male

Location: The Land of Enchantment

sp4cetiger wrote:

- I think the Poe said that he didn't like the "Experimental" and "Avant-Garde" classifications. I see why he would say that, but how should we classify artists like Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart? Should we just leave them unclassified because they can't be clearly tied to existing musical trends? Or maybe they can be?

Depending on the albums, I would generally classify Beefheart and Zappa as rock, or experimental rock.I understand the Poe's reasoning against using the terms Experimental and Avant Garde to a degree, but they're useful as well.

I'll second Norman's rec of Moondog's record. You could classify under jazz maybe, but it's unlike pretty much any jazz.

Contact by Silver Apples is every bit as original as their debut, and adds a lot of new elements to their sound and the advancement in psychedelic and electronic music

6- And 12-String Guitar by Leo Kottke is a totally unique and influential instrumental guitar record.

Make It Easy On Yourself by Burt Bacharach is quite possibly the best work by one of the most important songwriters of the era.

Sound of Sexy Soul by Delfonics is one of the great soul records of the era

Basket of Light by Pentangle is a really significant folk record

I'd also take a listen to Manhattan Research Inc by Raymond Scott. It was released much much later, but the recordings are from the 50s to 60s, and some of the most important experiments in electronic music. This is the same man whose orchestral music was used in Looney Tunes. and much there are also multiple odd vocal appearances by a very young unknown named Jim Henson.

sp4cetiger

Some standouts from my listening for 1968.