My discoveries per year

[dihansse]

These are the albums of 2017 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

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Slowdive by Slowdive
This is their first come back album and since I lived their 2023 album Everything is alive so much I expected that relistening to this album would take me back to that listening experience and aha erlebnis. And it did pay off. The atmosphere here is just great; maybe the songwriting is not completely at the same level of the 2023 album but they certainly succeeded to make a great bridge between the nineties and 2017. I especially liked Star Roving and No Longer Making Time. And this album ascends from the 57th to the 18th rank.

Then an album from my wishlist:

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Dichotomy Desaturated by CFM
I am gradually discovering the albums of CFM who previously worked with Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin and this influence is clear in the production of a lot of fuzz (I mean electric guitar fuzz), mostly for a good purpose because the sound is great and most of the songs as well. Not all of them but the overall album still lands at the 58th rank of the year.

[dihansse]

The beginning of a new round: round 14 with two albums of 1963-1964-1965 I listened to:

First an album of 1963 I already listened to:

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The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan
And even the first album I discussed in this thread when I tried to cover the BEA 2500 and started with 1963, my birth year. And I still stand by my original comment of the 10th of April 2016:
"I'm not as big as a fan of Bob Dylan as many other people on this site but of course I respect his legacy and like many of his songs not in the least three on this album: Blowin' in the Wind, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall and Don't Think Twice It's Allright; and partially also Masters of War. The rest of the tracks I didn't really known and to me aren't as good as the already mentioned one, ie very traditional folk and blues. What struck me was the presence of two tracks over 6 minutes: strange for an album of the early 60s. Conclusion : included in my chart of '63 mostly because of the tracks I already knew". Although I upped the scores, it still remains at the 4th rank: nothing can beat the two Beatles albums of that year and a Brel album.

Then an album of 1964 on my wishlist:

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12 x 5 by The Rolling Stones
This is a difficult one because it is in fact the US version of the UK album Rolling Stones no 2: but it was earlier and contains some better songs so I chose this one. Of course there's the two hits Time Is On My Side and It's All Over Now and then mostly covers but there's some decent versions of Around an Around and Susie Q and also their own 2120 South Michigan Avenue is not bad. Albums were not yet the thing to do in British rock but this one is ok and just good enough to enter my year chart at the 4th rank.

I also tried from 1965:

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Begin Here by The Zombies
but apart from the obvious hit She's Not There (which is great), it only contains covers and a few not yet really good proper songs: they would get better.

[dihansse]

Only an album from my wishlist:

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Voor De Overlevenden by Boudewijn de Groot
A great first album from one of Holland's best singers (not singer-songwriter because he doesn't write his songs himself). These us a real classic if you speak Dutch (the lyrics are fantastic) and maybe even for non-Dutch speakers: the main hits are Testament, Het Land Van Maas en Wal and Verdronken Vlinder. The album ends up at the 4th rank of the year.

[dihansse]

And also only an album from my wishlist for the year 1967:

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There Are But Four Small Faces by Small Faces
This is the US version of an album that also appeared in the UK in a different form but this is the better of the two so I chose this one and what a great album it is with some of their best songs/hits: Itchycoo Park, Tin Soldier and Here Comes The Nice. But overall an enjoyable album with the gritty voice of Steve Mariott. And immediately enters at the 10th rank of this beautiful year where pop music was becoming more and more mature.

[dihansse]

These are two albums of 1968 I listened to:

First an album I already own:

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Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel
Another album that has also featured in this diary, namely on on 19/4/2016 with the following comment: "I doubted a bit on this one, especially if I would like other tracks but the three that are already famous (America, Mrs Robinson and A Hazy Shade of Winter) also because most of the tracks are a bit mellow. But I love the voices and the songs are not that bad either, so this is the only of the three albums I listened to today that I will add to my personal year chart." I'm now maybe a bit more certain that this album absolutely belongs in my 1968 chart and it climbs from the 20th to the 16th rank.


Then an album from my wishlist:

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Journey To The Center Of The Mind by The Amboy Dukes
This is an album which at the same time sounds bluesy and psychedelic and does a great thing in doing so. Of course don't forget the inventive guitar playing of Ted Nugent and with songs like the title track and many others you can't go wrong. hardrock this ain't yet but a fine record without real highlights it is and this album enters at the 13th rank of the year.

[dihansse]

Strangely enough I haven't got any albums on my wishlist for this year any more (anybody for some recs?) so only an album I already own:

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The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground
And another album that I already covered early in this diary (2 Oct 2016) and again an album I'm enjoying more and more (was fairly unknown to me at the time apart from the few obvious hits) and I even like the long nearly spoken word The Murder Mystery. So the album moves up from rank 8 to rank 5 of the year.

[Repo]

[dihansse]

A great rec Repo so I'm immediately jumping on it:

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Ball by Iron Butterfly
In fact I only know the band from In-a-gadda-da-vida especially it's long version. This album doesn't have the genius and the weirdness of that track and some of the tracks are not that interesting (I might even say dated) but the albums is saved by three electrifying tracks: In The Time Of Our Lives, It Must Be Love and Filled With Fear. So good for my year list and landing at the 22nd rank.

[Repo]

[dihansse]

No album I already own but one album from my wishlist:

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Looking On by The Move
The Move of the sixties this ain't but what a great discovery. This is the first album with also Jeff Lynne and together with the weirdness of Roy Wood this makes a great couple and creates a mix of psychedelic, blues, boogie and prog already starting with the title track which really goes in all directions but still lands on its feet and the full album at the 14th rank.