Being the little history nerd that I am, I’ve been quite interested in the subculture, counter cultures, and- well, regular old culture of Vietnam Era America. And, unsurprisingly, one of the neatest aspects of this era is the music that transcends virtually all cultural barriers of the time, spreading messages in the way only music can.
God, that sounded contrived. Anyway, the point is that I’m just not quite sure what I should get my hands on. I have a little Bob Dylan, but not much. Oh, I also listened to Where Have All the Flowers Gone in my history class and thought that was very neat. Oh, one more: my friend sent me a video he made in Iraq and he used the Hendrix version of All Along the Watchtower as a soundtrack- that was very, very cool as well. Beyond that though, I’m yours to indoctrinate.
I know some of you are reading this thread, shaking your head, and preparing yourself to yell at me to get the hell off of your lawn. I will, just as soon as I steal your records.
And not totally unrelated, I’ve been listening to some Bob Marley lately (after watching the documentary about him called Rebel Music) and he is also very interesting (though I doubt I have to tell that to any of you!).
You should start with the Beatles. Anything and everything by the Beatles, but classic albums include Yellow Submarine, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the White Album, and Let it Be.
From there you can go into some of the really trippy bands, like The Who and Pink Floyd (the Dark Side of the Moon album is an absolute must). Get more Bob Dylan, and get whatever you can find by Willie Nelson.
That’s off the top of my head. I’m sure some Dopers who actually lived through this period will be along presently to fill in the gaps.
We actually spent three weeks during my junior year of high school in English class listening to and analyzing the entire The Wall album. I think I still hate it for that reason, though I will certainly give that and Dark Side of the Moon another chance.
A personal favorite of mine has always been Love’s Forever Changes.
Also, a good source for a wide variety of garage punk/psychedelia from the era are Rhino’s Nuggets box sets. I’d recommend either of the first two (the first is American music, the second comes from the rest of the world). The third consists of music from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s instead. I haven’t listened to the fourth set yet.
I’d go with “Are You Experienced” by Jimi (though I don’t know a whole heckuvalot about his catalog, so there might be better choices). With The Doors, I’d say to get a “Best of” album or one of their concert albums, as their style varied a bit over the years and you might not glom on to some of their material. Ol’ Jim had some strange days.
Well… I think I’m about your age but some of my favourite stuff from then includes
The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin’, Monday Monday, Make Your Own Kind of Music
Donovan - Mellow Yellow
The Byrds - Turn Turn Turn
Peter Paul and Mary - I Dig Rock & Roll Music, Puff the Magic Dragon, Lemon Tree, If I Had a Hammer, Too Much of Nothing
The Association - Windy, Cherish
Simon and Garfunkel - I Am a Rock, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Mrs Robinson
Of course there’s also Joan Baez, the Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield… and I don’t need to repeat the ones already mentioned.
ETA: Almost forgot, The Kingston Trio is another good band from about that time (late 50s through the mid 60s)
I’ll skip the obvious Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who. I agree with the previously mentioned Jimi Hendrix (Are you Experienced, Electric Ladyland, Axis: Bold As Love), Simon and Garfunkel, and The Doors.
Here’s some classic albums.
The Band - The Band
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
Surrealistic Pillow - Jefferson Airplane
Disreali Gears - Cream
Cheap Thrills - Big Brother And The Holding Company
Santana - Santana
Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys.
Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield
Bayou Country - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Blind Faith - Blind Faith
Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan
I think you might want to increase the time frame to 1972. There were tons of great albums from 1970 to 1972 that stylistically belong to that era.
I’m unable to pick great albums by these guys, but you won’t go wrong with greatest hits collections:
The Supremes
The Temptations
Arethra Franklin
Smokey Robinson And The Miracles
(yeah, I’m a Motown fan)
Ray Orbison
The Kinks
There’s so much music to select from this period that I’m not sure where to start. If you plan on buying CD’s, how much money do you have to spend? If your funds are limited, you may want to go with getting a lot of greatest hits collections just so you at least have a general idea of what an artist’s work is like.
As for individual albums, there’s not much more I’d recommend beyond what’s already been recommended. However, I will suggest you get The Who’s “Sell Out” album. Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” has been mentioned but it if want to get a better idea of what the band was originally like during the 60’s, you should listen to the stuff they did when Syd Barrett was with the group (e.g., “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”). You also may want to sample at least some of The Velvet Underground’s work (in particular their first self-titled album) since it proved highly influential. As for Soul/R&B, I’d add anything by Marvin Gaye, James Brown, and Otis Redding.
Most underrated Jimi Hendrix song ever. I can’t recall ever seeing it on a Hendrix “best of” album even though it’s one of the most fantastical openings I’ve ever listened to.
Note that I have no real intention of limiting this strictly to 1960-1969. In fact, it will be loaded decisively towards the late 1960s (post-Beatles, likely post-Hendrix) and it will spill into the early 1970s.
[ul]
[li]The Kinks: The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society and The Kink Kronikles: I ignore the Kinks’s early work, but their later stuff is amazingly beautiful. “Waterloo Sunset” is one of the single best pop songs ever recorded.[/li][li]The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground and Nico (“The Banana Album”, a.k.a. “Peel Slowly and See”) and The Velvet Underground (also known as “The Gray Album”): In addition to defining the avant-garde high fashion of the era (look up Andy Warhol sometime), this is where all of the more complex alternative rock sounds come from. This explains Sonic Youth and Nine Inch Nails and even Nirvana. It also rocks pretty hard.[/li][li]King Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King: This is progressive rock, and it is good. If you like this, check out Yes, Genesis, and Rush.[/li][li]Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era: This is a big one, but it encapsulates the concept of “garage rock” from 1965 to 1968 like nothing else. This is what the Americans were doing after the Brits (namely, the Beatles, followed by the Kinks and some others) had showed them what rock could be. The compilation itself was released in 1976 and is credited with inspiring punk. The quality is amazingly variable, but (to paraphrase Stalin) variety has a quality all its own.[/li][li]John Prine: John Prine: This is some of the best, most listenable, most literate folk-rock out there. “Hello in There” and “Donald and Lydia” are simple, moving, and beautiful, and “Illegal Smile” and “Spanish Pipedream” are just plain fun.[/li][li]The Troggs: A greatest hits album: The unacknowledged fathers of punk. “Wild Thing” is just a pure head-banging rocker with no pretensions of artiness whatsoever. Sound familiar, Joey?[/li][li]Janis Joplin: A greatest hits album: She brought the blues of Big Mama Thornton to the electric and psychadelic era, and damn could she wail. Her version of “Summertime” (from the opera Porgy and Bess) is a standard only rivaled by Miles Davis’s version.[/li][/ul]
There was a decent 80s TV show about the Vietnam war - Tour Of Duty which featured terrific music of the period. Very evocative stuff. In Australia the CDs released were:
Music From Tour OF Duty 1
Baby Love…Diana Ross & the Supremes
Here Comes The Night…Them
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place…The Animals
A Whiter Shade Of Pale…Procol Harum
Itchycoo Park…Small Faces
All Along The Watchtower…Jimi Hendrix
Hurdy Gurdy Man…Donovan
Time Of The Season…Zombies
And When I Die…Blood Sweat & Tears
War …Edwin Starr
Ball Of Confusion (Thats What The World Is Today)…Temptations
What’s Going On…Marvin Gaye
Time Has Come Today…Chambers Brothers
I Want To Take You Higher…Sly & The Family Stone
Groovin’ Is Easy…The Electric Flag
Oye Como Va…Santana
Ball & Chain…Janis Joplin & The Full Tilt Boogie Band
Ballad Of Easy Rider…The Byrds
Music From Tour OF Duty 2
Paint It Black…Chris Farlowe
Tin Soldier…Small Faces
Stone Free…The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Sunshine On Your love…Cream
Born To Be Wild…Steppenwolf
Reach Out I’ll Be There…The Four Tops
I Second That Emotion…Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
People Get Ready…The Impressions
Jennifer Juniper…Donovan
Your Precious Love…Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
Groovin’…The Young Rascals
Eight Miles High…The Byrds
Cloud Nine…The Temptations
I Heard It Through The Grapevine…Gladys Night & The Pips
Love Child…Diana Ross & The Supremes
Piece Of My Hear…Janis Joplin with Big Brother & The Holding Co
It Takes Lot To Laugh,It Takes A Train To Cry…(Al Kooper & Stephen Stills)
Ring Of Fire…Eric Burdon & The Animals
Spinning Wheel…Blood Sweat & Tears
Bridge Over troubled Water…Aretha Franklin
Music From Tour OF Duty 3
White Room…Cream
Highway Chile…Jimi Hendrix
Lazy Sunday…Small Faces
Gloria…Them
Sky Pilot…Eric Burdon
Natural Born Bugie…Humble Pie
White Rabbit…Grace Slick & the Great Society
The Weight…The Band
Go Now…The Moody Blues
San Francisco(be sure to wear flowers in your hair)…Scott McKenzie
Draft Morning…The Byrds
Evil Ways…Santana
Dance To The Music…Sly & The Family Stone
Tell Her No…The Zombies
Barabajagal…Donovan
Killing Floor…The Electric Flag
Black Night…Deep Purple
Paranoid…Black Sabbath
Music From Tour OF Duty 4
This Wheels on Fire…Julie Driscoll,Brain Auger & The Family
Rag Mama Rag…The Band
On The Road Again…Canned Heat
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?..Chicago
American Women…Guess Who
Race With The Devil…The Gun
Down The Dustpipe…Status Quo
Living In The Past…Jethro Tull
Bird On The Wire…Leonard Cohen
Tears Of Rage…Bob Dylan & The Band
Save The Country…Laura Nyro
To Love Somebody…The Bee Gees
There Won’t Be Many Coming Home…Roy Orbison
Melting Pot…Blue Mink
Hi De Ho…Blood Sweat & Tears
Chestnut Mare…The Byrds
Sweet Baby James…James Taylor
Listen To the Music…The Doobie Brothers
Music From Tour OF Duty 5
For What Its Worth…Buffalo Springfield
Get Together…The Youngbloods
Well All Right…Blind Faith
Ride My See Saw…Moody Blues
Paper Sun…Traffic
25 or 6 To 4…Chigago
Are You Ready…Pacific Gas & Electric
Fire…The Crazy World Of Arther Brown
Sabre Dance…Dave Edmunds & Love Sculpture
Gimme Some Lovin’…Spencer Davis Group
Shapes Of Things To Come…The Yardbirds
12.Wild Honey…The Beach Boys
Chimes Of Freedom…The Byrds
Coming Into Los Angeles…Arlo Guthrie
Lay Down (Candles in the rain)…Melanie with the Edwin Hawkins Singer
I have to say, as a full-tilt child of the sixties, that Don’t Ask’s list nails it. Just reading that sent me into nostalgia overload - I had a visual of where and who I was for each and every song on that list. I’m off to Amazon to find that compilation!
Check out The Moody Blues, but I’d say avoid Knights in White Satin and go for some of their other songs on other albums. In Search of the Lost Chord, To Our Children’s Children’s Children, and even though it was released in 1970 I still say look into A Question of Balance, it still has a very strong 60’s feel. (I ESPECIALLY recommend A Question of Balance, in fact.) I’m not certain of On the Threshold of a Dream, that’s an album Mom and Dad didn’t own. The Moody Blues were pioneers, using synthesizers and orchestral music to make their own trademark sound. I believe each of those albums is still “in print”, or available on Amazon.com at the least. I bet you can also find the songs on YouTube.
People are doing fine with their suggestions, so not much need to chime in. I would add the **Rolling Stones’ Hot Rocks and big 4 ** (Let it Bleed, Beggar’s Banquet, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street)…
**Don’t ask’s ** list is great for a broader survey of the music of the time…
Anyway, the point is that I’m just not quite sure what I should get my hands on. I have a little Bob Dylan, but not much. Oh, I also listened to Where Have All the Flowers Gone in my history class and thought that was very neat. Oh, one more: my friend sent me a video he made in Iraq and he used the Hendrix version of All Along the Watchtower as a soundtrack- that was very, very cool as well. Beyond that though, I’m yours to indoctrinate.
