Top 61 Music Albums of 1963
by Repo

Films
================
1. The Silence
2. 8 1/2
2. Pink Panther
3. The Haunting
4. The Sword & The Stone
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What Dylan Saw

Is “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” the best breakup song of all time?

Is “Masters Of War” the best protest song of all time?

A “hard yes” and a “perhaps, maybe” from me. And these are the sorts of questions that can be asked for a bunch of the tracks on Freewheelin'. An album so complete and well-crafted that it pretty much formally announces the Era of THE Album for the which the 60s is known.

Two things stand out for me that I hadn’t really thought of before. First, Dylan is funny as hell! Like really, really funny. I guess he stole his sense of humor from Woody Guthrie, but he’s still a natural at it.

Second, at least half of these songs are incredibly warm and lived-in. Like that aging fleece blankie you keep in the car for those first cold nights of Fall. I never really though of Dylan as a comfortable fleece blankie before. But this album is totally that for me.

As I already mentioned, Freewheelin’ is one of the first important ALBUMS released. A cultural milestone to be dissected & discussed. So it not only announced Dylan, it announced the artistry of making “an album.” Something I’m sure the Beatles were already paying attention to even if they don’t quite come nearly as close as Dylan to making such a grand statement in 1963. It’s one of the reason I chose 1963 as the first year for this little project. And there’s no way in hell it won’t be my #1 record of 1963.
[First added to this chart: 07/26/2019]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
7,940
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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The Two Moods Of Sam Cooke
Aka Take What The Path Gives You

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. My narrative was already set and (I thought) reasonably sound before I even set down the path. But it’s always best to just take what the path itself gives you. Stop fighting its trajectory and acquiesce to the sweet and saccharine charms of … Mr. Soul.

That’s right. Initially I was going to write how Night Soul was a necessary corrective from the candy coated confections of evil strings and cheesy over-production. But a funny thing happened along the way and I fell in love with Mr. Soul as well. Whereas Night Beat has an amazing concept & premise – Cooke stripped to the bones by a broken heart - my soft heart always ends up pulling for the under dog, and Mr. Soul has emerged as the near equal of the crushing Night Beat. The light to Night Beat’s darkness. Cooke's elocution on songs such as "Willow Weep For Me" or just the way he phrases puff on "Smoke Rings" has never been matched before or since. Total legend!

“Ok. But the assignment was Night Beat”, you say. Not talking Quite rightly, I say. And it’s a killer. Perhaps the single greatest breakup album of all time. Almost every song is crushing. The backing band is none other than the now legendary Wrecking Crew, in-demand session players in the LA area. Just check out the plaintive, lilting surf-like guitar intro to “I Lost Everything” for a prime example of what makes this album feel cared for and special. There’s heart in ALL these performances, not just Cooke’s. And it’s that detail & care that makes this my number TWO album for all of 1963. Just right below Dylan’s untouchable Freewheelin'.
[First added to this chart: 07/26/2019]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,294
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Music For Films
Aka Good Guys Going Bad For Bad Girls



The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady by Charles Mingus

It starts with a warning. A boozy, jarring warning. A night on fire. Until suddenly it slips into a tranquil, fantasy-filled dream of the prefect life. Domestic bliss behind white picket fences. The juxtaposition of the life he knows versus the life he thinks he wants but does not feel worthy of. Until the whole thing is pierced. Popped. Shot through with self-hate, frustration, and...

No. No, that’s not right. It’s…

Fuck this ballet bullshit. What a conceit! This is music for films, about films and from films. Our boy Mingus channeling every film noir motif – the confusion, the dread, the inevitabilities, the good guy going bad for the bad girl – taking THAT - all of THAT - and making it EVEN MORE. MORE psychotic. MORE bawdry. More, more more. And it sucks because even he can kinda see it coming. Even though he knows this is not the right life for him. That this going to end very, very badly. He just. can’t. help. himself.

Nah. That's not quite right either.

Honestly this album can hold a multitude of false-starts, wrong directions, and jags off course. And that's what's so great about it! AND why it took me a million days to write something up. Embarassed It’s just too BIG. A mad genius of an album if there ever was one. A fractured, tormented fever dream that was the perfect album to obsess over after catching The Big Heat (1953) a couple of weeks ago!

Can't see how this LP doesn't end up in my top five for 1963!!!
[First added to this chart: 06/30/2023]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,001
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Top rated album (86/100 - 1032 votes)  86 (1,032 votes)
Comments:
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Don't Forget About Me

The Setting: Forgotten. Jilted. The Everly Brothers could have been singing about their career on this set of country standards back in 1963. Once the steady of American teenage girls everywhere in the late 50s, they were completely forgotten in the wake of Beatlemania & the rising tide of Mersey Beat by the time this album rolled out in 1963. But was it fair?

The Listen: Not even close. If you ever need proof positive that life is not fair, well son, this is it. Perhaps the Everly's best album yet, this album is first class and first rate through and through. AND one of the best country albums of the entire sixties!

The Verdict: This will easily slide into my TOP TEN albums of 1963. Every song is immaculately played and a keeper. Once of those albums that stokes the fires of love more & more with each spin. A truly lost classic!!!

The Rating: Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil
[First added to this chart: 07/03/2023]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
11
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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The Lost Beach Boy (1963)

I was maybe nine or 10 and I saw ’ Stratocaster and something clicked inside my soul. Anyway Johnny, he taught me some stuff, and I transferred it over to Carl . Carl and I both got guitars around the same time. I was 10. He was about 12. And so every day after school we’d practice at my house listening to records, learning Chuck Berry, all these guitar riffs mainly and all the surf genre stuff. John was actually connected with Ritchie Valens. He was a pallbearer for Ritchie’s funeral, God bless him, and he was giving us the stuff that he was learning from Ritchie Valens which was at that time, when you’re a nine or ten-year-old, was like the king of rock and roll to me. That guitar sound just never left me. – David Marks aka The Lost Beach Boy

WTF! I cannot believe how ignorant I was about how great The Beach Boys were right from the start. I like this one EVEN MORE than Surfin’ Safari, which is no mean feat. In the early to mid-nineties, influenced by Pulp Fiction's soundtrack I think, I bought a few “surf” albums by bands like The Ventures, and the surf guitar interplay between The Beach Boys' David Marks and Carl Wilson is right up there with the best of them. David & Carl have GREAT guitar tones and a real feel for these songs. You can tell tell that they had been jamming together for a while and their chemistry is simply sublime. It’s too bad that this interplay between David & Carl in the early days and its HUGE contribution to the Beach Boys sound does not get more attention.

Not to say that Brian Wilson doesn't deserve all the credit he does get either though ! He does! His production takes a step up on Surfin' USA and it's the first album that Brian himself would later call “a Brian Wilson production.” The sound on "Finders Keepers" in particular showcases his jump in studio prowess. Despite its cheesy lyrics, to me, it’s one of the hidden the gems on this album, and the song that most shows the future direction Brian would take in the studio.

The Ranking: To me, this sounds very different from Surfin' Safari. Surfin' Safari has more of a proto-punk, '60s girls group feel whereas Surfin' USA is more of a true Surf Rock album. Both are GREAT in those sub-genres and certainly some of the best albums of early '60s rock!
[First added to this chart: 07/03/2023]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
315
Rank in 1963:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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The Conversation

It’s not sex. It’s just a conversation. Three people. Telling stories on the spot. Ellington, the gregarious one. Mingus ever the contrarian. And the ever flowing host of the party, Roach. Pouring drinks for everyone. “Can’t we all just get along, fellas!" Smooth. Mellow. There with that gentle, affirming laugh or "Oh yeah!" just when the conversation needed it. Keeping the glasses filled. But not TOO fill. (He doesn’t want anyone to spill after all.)

The Verdict: I can already tell this might be my gold standard. Three legends at the top of their respective games. Ellington pushing everyone just enough (although supposedly Mingus got pissed off anyways, grabbed that last bottle of rye, told "everyone" off (no one was really left), and stumbled on home.)
[First added to this chart: 04/12/2022]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
618
Rank in 1963:
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Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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It Always Rains in This City

The Setting: It always rains in this city. And it's always nighttime. I have to keep a cigarette lit just to keep warm. Warmth is life. At least, that’s what I tell myself. Maybe I'm just addicted to cigarettes. I see a corner bar up the block. It’s neon sign welcoming me in like the smile of a chorus girl. And I never could resist a chorus girl. I head down the stairs. The tables are arranged around the stage. A red glassed candle on each flickering at me to sit down. “Alright,” I says. “Just one”. At least this place has heat. The band starts playing up on the stage. They feel just like this city. Just like this bar. Ripped from some 40ish black & white film noir. The kind where there’s dames and broads and guys who always have a good quip at the ready. I want to be those guys. And, I want to be with those dames. So I stay. One leads to two. And two naturally leads to three. The cold is gone. A small smile even manages to cross my lips. “This ain’t so bad,” I say to myself. Guess I’ll stay for one more.

The Listen: This is the kind of jazz I picture in my head in those scenes in those old black & whites. You know. The ones on TCM. I don’t care if it’s historically accurate. It’s my head. My picture. It’s what gives those scenes on late night tv that something extra. A certain timelessness. The coolest cats playing the coolest blue jazz. The city is their music. And their music is the city. Interchangeable. Interlinked. You can't have one without the other. Just like this rain. Just like this night. Which is why it always rains in this city. And it's always nighttime.

The Rating: Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil
[First added to this chart: 07/07/2023]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
576
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
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Blowing Bubbles

Everyone wants to be him. That guy who is just effortlessly cool. Wherever he’s at, well, THAT’s the place to be at. He makes it THAT.

At first, I didn’t really get this album. Thought it was just background cocktail lounge music and fairly generic at that. Stuff I’d heard a thousand times before. But its slow charms and easy going nature eventually won me over. I let it in, you see. I let it ease that nagging tension in my lower back that'd been bugging me for weeks. Felt my muscles melt aways and relax. And slowly, a smile crossed my lips. And I thought, “THIS is the life.” Just chilling, not racing. My magical organ blowing bubbles as my boy Stanley Turrentine blows that sax and the rhythm section just bounces along with not a care in the world. No negativity on our block. No siree. No time to be wasting my time running around all ragged like. No. We’ll have none that. Not when I can be blowing bubbles.

The Rating: Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Twisted Evil
[First added to this chart: 09/15/2019]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
352
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
10. (8) Down 2
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Soul
Great!
[First added to this chart: 07/26/2019]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
80
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
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[First added to this chart: 08/20/2023]
Year of Release:
1963
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2,752
Rank in 1963:
Rank in 1960s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 49. Page 1 of 5
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Top 61 Music Albums of 1963 composition

Artist Albums %


The Beach Boys 3 5%
The Searchers 2 3%
Sam Cooke 2 3%
Lesley Gore 2 3%
Charles Mingus 2 3%
The Beatles 2 3%
Buck Owens 2 3%
Show all
Country Albums %


United States 49 80%
United Kingdom 6 10%
France 2 3%
Mixed Nationality 1 2%
Canada 1 2%
Brazil 1 2%
Jamaica 1 2%
Compilation? Albums %
No 60 98%
Yes 1 2%
Live? Albums %
No 60 98%
Yes 1 2%

Top 61 Music Albums of 1963 chart changes

Biggest climbers
Climber Up 7 from 11th to 4th
Please Please Me
by The Beatles
Climber Up 3 from 9th to 6th
Surfin' U.S.A.
by The Beach Boys
Biggest fallers
Faller Down 2 from 5th to 7th
Money Jungle
by Duke Ellington / Charlie Mingus / Max Roach
Faller Down 2 from 6th to 8th
Midnight Blue
by Kenny Burrell
Faller Down 2 from 7th to 9th
Back At The Chicken Shack
by Jimmy Smith

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