George Russell Sextet - Ezz-thetics
Another strong performance by Dolphy, the rest of the band is ok, too. He keeps exploring uncharted territory, maybe not exactly free jazz yet, but it was definitely highly atypical for 1961.
6.5/10.
Freddie King - Freddie King Sings
More digestible than most blues I've tried so far, maybe because its electric? Nah, I think it’s more than that, it has an undeniable pop quality, it’s very easy on the ears.
7/10.
Bobby Vee - Take Good Care Of My Baby
Inoffensive pop music that admittedly gets boring rather quickly, the self-titled track is the biggest hit by far.
6.5/10.
Les Baxter - Jewels Of The Sea
This is so relaxing, I could listen to it every day. If I ever feel like discovering the beauty of nature and especially the majestic world that hides deep within the ocean, this would be the soundtrack.
7.5/10.
Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Banjo
Not my thing at all, but these guys know how to make an entertaining album. That’s what I’ll listen when I accept my fate, become a cowboy and visit a western saloon.
7/10.
Elmore James - Blues After Hours
I don't know, I suspect I might be warming up to blues, which is by some distance the biggest feat of this diary so far - ok, I 'm nowhere near a fan yet, but I can tolerate it without any difficulties whatsoever and occasionally enjoy it, too.
7/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
James Brown - The Amazing James Brown
Exactly what you’d expect. He never exploited the album format as far as his talent would have allowed him to, but there are some killer tunes here nonetheless, the funk is real.
6.5/10.
Georges Brassens - Le Temps Ne Fait Rien À L'affaire
French is a lovely language in terms of how it sounds and makes this seem better than it actually is, but still didn’t manage to stand out in any spectacular way.
6/10.
Rosemary Clooney - Rosie Solves The Swingin' Riddle!
It’s easy to see why the highest ranked albums of that era are either jazz or blues or classical, pop was fun for sure, but it wasn't ready yet to take over.
6/10.
John Lewis - Jazz Abstractions
This is so eccentric, it’s surrounded by a persistent, somewhat annoying feeling that something’s wrong, but you don’t know what, how or why. Maybe that’s its charm after all, it puzzles you and challenges you.
7/10.
The Jimmy Giuffre 3 - Fusion
Well, if the above was eccentric, this one flew completely over my head. Very difficult listen. It probably rewards patience and attention to detail, but I had no luck with it.
5.5/10.
Art Taylor - A.T.'s Delight
Art Taylor is one of those artists with such a massive body of work and a deservedly huge legacy when it comes to jazz drummers – or any kind of drummers for that matter -, but almost no albums as leader, so it’s nice having the chance to see this side of him as well. There’s something missing (maybe Turrentine can’t take this to next level) to call this a classic, but it’s hard to spot any major flaws either.
6/10.
The Miracles - Hi... We're The Miracles
I guess they weren’t exaggerating, that’s a miracle indeed. One of those albums that can make your day. They may be soft, but they got soul.
6.5/10.
Edit: forgot to add this one
Sam Cooke - My Kind Of Blues
He remains an excellent singer, but this jazzy/swing background doesn’t suit him that much to be honest, clearly one step behind his 1960 album, The Wonderful World Of Sam Cooke, which to be fair was a compilation.
6/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Ok, that should wrap it up for 1961 – that being said, if anyone spots a glaring omission or has a favourite that would like to bring up, I’m all ears.
Top 14 Music Albums of 1961
14 albums made the cut this time, which makes it two more than 1960. Despite 1961 having higher highs, I’d say that 1960 was overall slightly more consistent, but it was very close nonetheless. Moving on to 1962! _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Ray Charles - Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music
It seems BEA considers 1962 a slightly inferior year to 1960 and 1961 both in terms of their peaks (this is 1,167th of all time, while Sketches of Spain is 492nd and My Favorite Things is 685th) and overall strength (1962 has a score of 18,187, while 1960 has 23,484 and 1961 has 20,564).
Anyway, back to this record, I’m not huge on his soul albums, so it should come as no surprise that this country mixed with jazz attempt pushes it too far, but I’d say it’s worth a try to see another side of this legendary artist, especially if you happen to like the rest of his discography.
6/10.
Howlin' Wolf - Howlin' Wolf
Some classic blues tunes that sadly don’t do much for me. I have to admit that his vocals are off-putting at first, but the more you get used to them, the more they start making sense. Maybe I will have to try my luck again at some point in the future.
5.5/10.
Françoise Hardy - Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles
Apparently she was 18 or so years old when she recorded this, so props to her for that. If you are in the mood you might fall in love. The truth is I wasn’t. Still, it's short and sweet, pop, catchy music, what’s not to like?
6/10.
Bill Evans Trio - Waltz For Debby
The live setting allows him to be more relatable and direct than usual without compromising his notorious class or elegance. Also, it has to be said that the drummer, Paul Motian, stands out in a way that I didn’t notice in any of the trio’s work so far. The first two tracks, namely My Foolish Heart and Waltz For Debby, are easily the highlights here.
6.5/10.
Booker T. & The M.G.'s - Green Onions
The organ is the main selling point and it’s cool indeed– lately I’ve stumbled on a few similar albums and as a general rule I’ve found them enjoyable. Where this record lacks is in diversity. It’s all about the self titled track, a huge hit that not only overshadows anything else that appears here, but they waste all their energy by attempting to imitate its success by trying the same formula over and over – no matter how good it is, it gets boring fairly quickly.
6.5/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd - Jazz Samba
This was a pleasant surprise, at least compared to my rather low expectations. Maybe because it didn't go all out, it felt like more of an outsider's look at this culture, kinda similar to Sketches of Spain, so it was more accessible, more tourist friendly if you will.
6.5/10.
Dexter Gordon - Go
Embarrassed not to have heard of this man until recently, it seems he has quite a catalogue. I 'll defintely check more of his work, as the first signs are extremely promising.
A rare breed of a saxophone player, his intensity - and of course his technical skills - are combined with an infectiously jolly, maybe one could call it sunshine-ish, attitude, without ever straying from being concise and impactful. I can see this growing even futher with more listens.
7.5/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
Dick Dale And His Del-Tones - Surfer's Choice
I guess that’s sort of a landmark in music history, it’s finally time for some surf rock to shake things up. The guitar is kinda cool, especially in Misirlou Twist, which is the unquestionable highlight for me, the other aspects of this album are rather forgettable. As a result, I find its influence greater than its value as a standalone record. That being said, one can have lots of fun with this album, no doubt about it.
6.5/10.
The Beach Boys - Surfin' Safari
Speaking of historically important moments, there are two artists that went on to become legends and both had their debut In 1962. And there were also The Beach Boys, another band who had their debut in that very same year (kidding of course, they are one of those two). Hopefully I won’t sound too harsh if I say that no sign of greatness was anywhere on the horizon yet. I don’t mean to imply that they were unlistenable, it’s just that they went on to do much better things, as I'm sure all of you already know. This is harmless, childish, entertaining pop music. Simply approach it with realistic expectations and don’t take it too seriously. And yeah, don’t miss Moon Dawg, lol.
6/10.
Dizzy Reece - Asia Minor
This must have been my first experience with Dizzy Reece as far as I can recall. Based on that, I definitely wouldn’t dismiss him, though I wouldn’t say I immediately became his biggest fan either. His trumpet is warm and easy on the ears, but I’d like both him and the band to take some more risks, I found myself failing to pay attention during the last couple of tracks. The flute is always a welcome addition and its delicate touches go a long way.
6.5/10. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
The Beach Boys - Surfin' Safari
Speaking of historically important moments, there are two artists that went on to become legends and both had their debut In 1962. And there were also The Beach Boys, another band who had their debut in that very same year (kidding of course, they are one of those two). Hopefully I won’t sound too harsh if I say that no sign of greatness was anywhere on the horizon yet. I don’t mean to imply that they were unlistenable, it’s just that they went on to do much better things, as I'm sure all of you already know. This is harmless, childish, entertaining pop music. Simply approach it with realistic expectations and don’t take it too seriously. And yeah, don’t miss Moon Dawg, lol.
6/10.
Generally speaking, you might - or might not - have noticed I am hesitant when it comes to giving a high grade, but I am inclined to avoid the other end of the spectrum just as much, which leads to a fallacy of having like 80-90% of what I listen between 6 and 8, and I think it does a pretty good job at reflecting my feelings, nowadays I try to spot at least a few likeable qualities in almost every album, but I rarely get blown away - there are many songs/moments that have that effect, but it's rare for an entire album to achieve this. Anyway, I haven't come up with a better system/method, so it is what it is.
baystateoftheart wrote:
I'm a Beach Boys fan and have this at 4/10, but maybe I should revisit it.
Admittedly, i tend to enjoy goofiness/randomness even in unhealthy doses. From what I understand, based on various comments of yours, that's not your style at all, you are more no-nonsense/serious (for real, your attention to detail, especially when it comes to lyrics, is inspiring and has provided food for thought in more than one occasions).
Also, fans are usually harsher than an average listener when an artist they love comes up with something that's below their standards, so there is that to take into account as well. I guess the bottom line is that I don't think you would rate it much higher this time around. Maybe my estimation is completely off, so take it with a grain of salt.
Mercury wrote:
Is the other 1962 debut of historical importance Bob Dylan? If not, how dare you?’!??
Nope, it's Herbie Hancock, sorry. 😈
Ok, the truth is Bob Dylan is the one I had in mind, but it suddenly hit me that there's Herbie as well and I couldn't pass up on the opportunity to tease you a bit. 😁
So, scratch my initial comment, there are three albums of extreme signifinance in 1962 - and maybe even more that escape my memory/knowledge at the moment.
Based on that, we could say it was a good year for debuts...
... which triggers the silly statistics enthusiast in me and I can't help but wonder: which is the best year when it comes to debuts?
To answer that, I think there's a distinction to be made: a) best year for debut albums i.e. we examine only this specific record no matter what happened next and b) best year for debut artists i.e. having the benefit of hindsight and assessing everything said artist did. So, to use 1962 as an example, it would be a rather forgettable year regarding a), but a fantastic year regarding b).
So, for b) I struggle to think of a year that could compare with 1967: VU, The Doors, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Leonard Cohen, Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart. That's six and none of them would feel out of place in a G.O.A.T discussion - ok, some are more convincing than others, but all of them are up there.
For a) 1967 remains a powerhouse, as all the aforementioned artists were already firing on all cylinders, though there's a case to be made for 1994: Nas - Illmatic, Biggie - Ready To Die, Jeff Buckley - Grace, Portishead - Dummy, Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album), maybe one could also add Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep, Bark Psychosis - Hex, O.C. - Word...Life, Low - I Could Only Live In Hope.
Any thoughts/examples are more than welcome. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
OOOOH this is interesting! My mind has always gone to 1977 for this question (which has been on my mind a lot these last 20 years lol). 1977 for the QUALITY of debuts is stellar (of course I am a massive punk fan) - The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Television, The Damned, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, Wire, The Congos, first 2 classic Solo Iggy Pop albums - hard to say if that counts -, Suicide, Culture, solo Thunders/Heartbreakers, etc etc…
Again, as a punk fan this is the one that I champion. But 1967 and 1994 were the other 2 I thought of just after. And if course in terms of SIGNIFICANCE of the artists in hindsight, 1967 probably wins that. As outside of the Clash, Talking Heads, Costello those are more niche artists. And in most cases those are by far their most legendary albums. _________________ -Ryan
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
baystateoftheart
Mercury
