I used to think that, if you were a Beatles man, you had to be a Beatles man all the way. Never mind that the Beatles and the Stones, throughout their “rivalry,” hung out with each other like they were their generation’s Rat Pack. Never mind that the Beatles and the Stones staked out distinctly […]
4. Let It Bleed (The Rolling Stones, 1969) Read More »
The English poetic tradition is a long one, but in the vast annals of British verse – a lineage stemming from Shakespeare, Milton, Spencer, and Dryden on to Byron, Shelley, Wordsworth, and Coleridge – only a few scattered lines in a few select works have scaled the heights of linguistic incisiveness and rhetorical dexterity. Though
5. Led Zeppelin II (Led Zeppelin, 1969) Read More »
What the white whale was to Ahab, has been hinted; what, at times, he was to me, as yet remains unsaid. Aside from those more obvious considerations touching Moby Dick, which could not but occasionally awaken in any man’s soul some alarm, there was another thought, or rather vague, nameless horror concerning him, which at times
6. The Beatles (The Beatles, 1968) Read More »
Lou Reed, the lyricist, I like to compare to water flowing downhill: he takes the quickest, shortest path. It’s not always precise, it’s not always artful, but, like a garbage man making the morning rounds, he gets the job done. He cuts to the chase. He shoots first and asks questions later. I don’t even
7. The Velvet Underground & Nico (The Velvet Underground/Nico, 1967) Read More »
After initially coming home from the record store assuming I’d purchased either the soundtrack to a new Pixar film centered around a giant, anthropomorphic flamingo, or the latest release from the older sister of early 2000s dance-pop diva P!nk, and finding myself sorely disappointed, I decided to give it a couple of listens anyway and,
8. Music From Big Pink (The Band, 1968) Read More »
This is the beginning … the beginning of my essay … the beginning. ***** Maybe it’s just me, but have the Doors become the band that people “used” to like? To admit that you once went through a Doors “phase”? Perfectly acceptable of course. But to admit that you’re still a Doors fan? Isn’t that
9. The Doors (The Doors, 1967) Read More »
A rock band … doing a country album? What’s next? Sonny Bono, U.S. congressman? ***** Whenever I try to explain my immense and seemingly illogical passion for country music, I always make sure to offer a key qualifier: “I love country music that was released before I was born.” See, country music used to be
10. Sweetheart Of The Rodeo (The Byrds, 1968) Read More »