The Journey Back Entry 12: The Summer of ’65 Gets Progressively Better

The beginning of July 1965 saw the release of the appropriately named Summer Days (and Summer Nights!) by The Beach Boys. Apparently after the more progressive Today! , Capital Records asked Brian Wilson to tone it down a bit. The album features many of the traditional type songs from Summer Days but with a more layered production underneath. Once again, I’m drawn to the less surfy sound of the band and its the songs that have more instrumental experimentation that I was drawn towards while listening to this. Overall it isnt a bad album, its just not necessarily my cup of tea either. I think the fact that I’ve never lived in California also affects my  love for the band. They’re just too jolly. Take their most popular song on the album: “California Girls”. I recognize the importance but I cant say I enjoy listening to it.

1965 – Summer Days (and Summer Nights!) – Top Highlights

Then I Kissed Her – I love the guitar part on this song.

Girl Don’t Tell Me – I love the little vocal accents on this song. That “I’m the Guy-uy -uy!” part is so great. And the piano part in the background. And obviously minor key!

You’re So Good to Me – Ok so remember all that stuff I said about not liking how jolly the band is? Forget that this song always makes me smile! I think its the fact that they over sing it and it adds a sense of irony to the happiness that makes it infinitely more enjoyable. It helps that the backing music here is incredible. That addictive bass and drums accompanied by the “la la la” whiny vocals in the background. Reminds me of Muppet Babies. Actually most Beach Boys does. For better and worse.

Honorable mention for “I’m Bugged at My Old Man” as it gave me a great laugh.

 

So the theme of this article is progressively better album releases. The next to release was July 30th’s Out of our Heads by the Rolling Stones. Here the band continues its streak of releasing albums with a couple of really great songs and some other clear throw aways. Their sound hasn’t changed much mostly because once again we’re getting lots of covers. That being said, the standout single “Satisfaction” is on this album and it really does rock. Overall I would say this album is probably not “better” than Summer Days, just more down my alley.

1965 – Out of Our Heads – Top Highlights

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – What a riff!! So simple yet so addictive. What’s really interesting is that the distorted guitar was originally meant to later be replaced by a horn section. WHAT a different song it might have been! I’m glad it was kept with the guitar because it really is so immediately wonderful.

Cry To Me – I love Mick Jaggers wild vocals on this track. What really won me over was the line “Nothing could be sadder than a glass of wine alone!” Something about that image is just so wonderfully depressing.

Play with Fire – The Rolling Stones trying to be subtle?? Its so quiet. And that guitar part immediately following each line of “But dont play with me cause youre playing with fire.” is so mysterious. I think I just like the change of pace for the band and hope they pursue it further on future releases.

Not to be outdone by the Beach Boys or the Rolling Stones, the Beatles released their next album on August 6th 1965.  Help! accompanied a Beatles film which I have not seen. Still, no viewing of the movie is necessary to listen to the beautiful song writing and vocals on display here. If you remember I was disappointed in their last release of 1964 Beatles for Sale for being a quick cash in full of covers. Thankfully Help! is written by the band in full and is a much better album because of it. The Beatles are still a full on pop band but the songs are getting deeper. There’s more piano on the album and the instruments in general are taking more liberties from the traditional verse chorus structure. I’m nowhere near intelligent enough when in comes to recording techniques to comment on all the changes the Beatles are implementing but I can say that it sounds great. All that being said, its hard for me to review the Beatles albums in the comparison timeline because unlike most releases in 1965, I know how much potential the Beatles have yet to unleash.

1965 – Help! – Top 5 Highlights

Help! – The multiple layers in the first 10 seconds of this song alone are mind blowing. Lennon’s singing back against the harmonized cries for help and the bass and guitar underneath. I love the way the harmony part during the verses sings the same lines that Lennon is singing but at a different flow so that you hear them separately! It’s not a technique that always works but here it really succeeds. Plus the falsetto “Please please me” is such a great sing-a-long moment

I Need You – I promised I would keep following George Harrison’s songs. He gets 2 on Help! and my favorite is “I Need You”. One again a more mellow track. I love how sad that guitar sounds at the end of each line in the verse. It sounds like the guitar is dying. It’s a so bad its great kind of sound. The song reminds me of a sad puppy and to be honest I think that is what Harrison was going for.

She’s Got a Ticket To Ride – It’s hard for me to not like this song just based on the sheer amount of times I’ve heard it. I like how both Lennon and McCartney support each other vocally. Most important is the ending when the tempo changes and they sing “My baby dont care”. I love when songs break the verse/chorus mold for something special.

I’ve Just Seen a Face – What a beautiful song! I think this song continues to support the theory that I’m more of a McCartney fan than a Lennon fan. As I’ve mentioned before: while I’ve been listening to the Beatles for a long time, I’ve never payed attention to who wrote/sang what. Now that I’m exploring this aspect of the albums, Ive found that a lot of my favorites are McCartney songs. I like the twirling acoustic guitar in the song. Maybe its because a good acoustic guitar part is truly timeless to me, but I always find these stripped down songs to be my favorites on ’60’s albums so far (just like with Dylan).

Yesterday – OH boy. What can you say that hasn’t already been said? Its been voted the the best song of the 20th century and the greatest pop song of all time and for good reason. It’s only two minutes long but every second is well spent putting forth this perfect picture of heartbreak. What’s better than acoustic guitar alone? Strings of course.

I would end this entry here as its already overlong but the summer isnt over yet. August 30th 1965 saw the release of one more amazing album. Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited. At this point Dylan was stressed out by his fans for not liking his change in direction and this led to a song writing drought. Coming off of  Help! , there is an instant gravity about this album compared to everything else I’ve heard to this point. On my first listen, the second that “Like a Rolling Stone” began playing, I just had this… awakening? I dont know how to describe it. Just this overwhelming feeling that music can be better. That in 1965, we were just getting started with rock and roll. The biggest immediately  noticeable difference was in the lyrics. Flip through the songs on Help!; these two or three minute pop songs about love and loss. Then play “Like a Rolling Stone”. Just the sheer volume of lyrics, and the density. Just, wow. Now the album does feature a lot of the crazy wild rock Dylan present on Bringing It All Back Home that I wasnt such a big fan of but it’s definitely more developed and fleshed out here. I think one of the greatest additions is Bob Dylan’s wider use of piano and organ on this album. The longer, slower, piano laden tracks tend to draw me in more than the wild rock and roll ones. This led me to  songs like “Ballad of a Thin Man” and “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”. The album starts out with its strongest track but it ends on its second strongest. “Desolation Row” is an 11 and a half minute acoustic guitar epic and I’m just glad he’s continued to include songs in this style. Now up there for me with “It’s Alright Ma”. I mentioned the depth of the lyrics earlier and I will now preface this by saying that depth doesnt necessarily mean connections. A lot of times I have no idea what Dylan is singing about. I am certain that HE knew exactly what he was talking about. For me, its more similar to a blind food tasting. You may not know what it is youre eating but good tasting food is good tasting food. Just listening to Dylan’s solid imagery is a gift.

1965 – Highway 61 Revisited – Top 5 Highlights

Like a Rolling Stone – A perfect song and a perfect experience. Maybe Bob Dylan’s best song? Something about how it all comes together musically and lyrically and emotionally. There’s just a magic here. The way Dylan yells the chorus. The way the organ continually plays. The jangling of the guitars. The spare use of harmonica. Wow.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/5124986″>Like A Rolling Stone</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user1858627″>Lea Becker</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Ballad of a Thin Man – Haunting piano! Actually one of the first Dylan songs I ever heard and liked. Dylan’s talk singing works a lot better when he’s not yelling it in an extremely hoarse voice over jangling guitars. The cool factor of the piano adds a grounded feeling to Dylan’s talking. It works. It just works.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/52383325″>Bob Dylan – The Ballad of a Thin Man</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user1114172″>Vasco Cavalcante</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Queen Jane Approximately – The piano here is in complete contrast to that of “Ballad of a Thin Man”, here adding a feel good beauty both to Dylan’s vocals and the song itself.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/29149789″>Bob Dylan – “Queen Jane Approximately” MONO</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user5966392″>Curtis Mayfield</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Just Like Tom Thumb ‘s Blues – Once again its the beauty of the piano that won me over here. It’s hard to talk about a lot of Dylan’s songs because its so much better to just get them into your ears.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/29785190″>Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user1076768″>Vince Vercillo</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Desolation Row – I talked about this earlier but it really is all about the acoustic guitar here. It may be a bit repetitive but each note is played so beautifully that I have no problem listening to Dylan play it over the 11 minute length. This is a definitely a sit outside in the backyard and smoke a cigarette while staring at the night sky and contemplating life kind of experiences. Also if you stick around, you get one epic harmonica solo!

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/11222889″>Desolation Row</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user3675027″>Paul Tattam</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

So overall, the summer of 65 was really a great time to be a fan of rock music. While the Beach Boys and Rolling Stones released decent albums, and the Beatles released another great one, it was Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited that captured my heart. I think I’ll be shocked if I find an album in 65 that I like more. Still I’m excited to try anyway and dive further into the 60’s less famous acts. I really am desiring to pick up the pace of this journey so that I can get to more and more music but I know that will come with sacrificing some of the writing so I haven’t decided exactly what Ill do just yet. Again thank you if you were able to read all the way to the end of this. Let me know if theres an album you think I missed or you definitely want me to check out in the future!

The Journey Back Entry 8: Things get Kinda Kinky and the Siren Returns

The year is 1965! The first album I was interested in came around in February with the release of the Rolling Stones third album (creatively named as usual for the 60’s) The Rolling Stones, Now! I must point out here that I did also listen to The Rolling Stones No. 2 the UK release but seeing as it was mostly made up of a combination of the tracks on 12 x 5 and The Rolling Stones, Now! I decided to discuss this album instead. The album continues to produce their now classic rhythm and blues sound and this is probably their most consistent record to date. The production has definitely come a long way from their wild debut. While this album doesn’t excite me as much as their debut did, I think that it does a great job of showing of the Rolling Stones as musicians. I think Mick Jagger kind of stole the show on their debut album. 12 x 5 saw the focus turn more towards the rest of the band but the track were not as solid and put together as they are here. Strangely “Mona” appears again on this album. I’m not sure why this choice was made but seeing as its my favorite Rolling Stones song so far, I have no problem with it appearing again. Overall, while the album is good and shows off that the Rolling Stones can be civilized, I miss the frantic energy of the debut and I hope they bring some of that up in the future.

1965 – The Rolling Stones, Now! Highlights

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love – It’s a shame I couldnt find the version that appears on the album on youtube! This live performance still shows off the badns charisma but if you can find the version on the album definitely go for it! It starts of with Mick just talking to the audience while one of the other members sings some amazing back up falsetto over his talking. Then when Mick finally comes in, his vocals have just the right amount of grit. The song makes me very happy.

Heart of Stone – I love this song’s lyrics and the way those lyrics are delivered! It has this really relaxed pace while he sings about what a womanizer he is and how he has a “Heart of Stone” and this girl wont be able to break it. I love the “Never break, never break” call backs and the guitar and bass parts are phenomenal. The fact that this song isnt a cover but a Stones original gives me great hope for the future of the band.

Mona – I know I already mentioned my love for “Mona” on the debut but since they offered it up again, so will I. Still my favorite Stones song at this point.

Now lets talk about my favorite surprise of 65 till this point! The second release of the Kinks is wonderful! You may remember that I called their first album boring and that I only wanted to check out their next album because the original album was mostly covers and their original “You Really Got Me” was fun and exciting. Kinda Kinks takes everything I liked about “You Really Got Me” and extrapolates it to album length with wonderful results! Gone are the tedious boring covers and the copycat Rolling Stones sound. These guys have definitely come into their own on this second release. It’s funny because while I originally compared them to the Rolling Stones, I’m definitely feeling much more of a Beatles vibe on this second album in terms of song writing while still maintaining the more wild nature of the Stones. The best part is that the album was rushed and released in an unfinished form because the band was relentlessly touring at the time. If the band can release something this fun on that time frame, they’ve moved to the top of my anticipation list for future releases. If the latest Rolling Stones release felt a bit tame, Kinda Kinks is more than making up for it. If I could describe the album in one word it would be: FUN! The biggest highlight is their vocals that fall halfway between the Beatles cool harmonies and Mick Jagger’s rough and tumble vocals. The band isnt always wild though, my favorite track on the album is actually fairly quiet and yet rivals my favorite Dylan songs for top song of the 60’s. I just find myself listening to it over and over. So… lets get into the highlights!

1965 – Kinda Kinks – Top 5 Highlights

Look for Me Baby – The song is simple enough but I love the backing vocals. The best part is at 0:34 but appears at other times too where the drums kinda crap out and Ray Davies does this thing where he says way too many words for the amount of beats. It’s made even better at 1:45 when it is overdubbed slightly off so it sounds like there’s two of him one saying it again half a second behind the first. It makes me crack up every time and also shows off what I love about this album. The band is trying things that other bands of the time aren’t (weird things) and I find that daring.

Got My Feet on the Ground – I love Ray Davies voice on this track. Once again I find it to just be a very simple and fun little ditty. I love the “I dont neeeeed nobody else” part but the most important part of the song appears at the end. Ray Davies starts yelling “I dont need no one!” to this point where is voice is cracking in the most ridiculous way and they left it in the track! Once again, singing like this had to be daring. I love how he doesnt take himself too seriously.

Nothin’ in the World can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout that Girl – An emo song title 40 years before emo! I just complimented Ray Davies for not taking himself too seriously but it is his ability to take himself seriously on this song that elevated this album beyond simple and silly to amazing. This is the song I was referring to when I talked about liking it as much as my favorite Dylan songs in the sixties. The lyrics are deep and honest and the guitar work is perfect. Ray Davies beautiful and painful falsetto perfectly gets across his sadness about being cheated on. What a perfect song.

Naggin’ Woman – And then right afterwards we get this straight up hilarious blues marvel about a nagging woman. Seriously just go listen to this album. Here Davies goes full on whiney in the best of ways.

Tired of Waiting – More competition for the Beatles. Here’s another serious number with some great vocals. The “It’s your life and you can do what you want” gives me chills every time!

Basically this album is just wonderful. Go listen to it!

Finally, I’m going to take it back to 64 to play a little catch up on Joan Baez. I talked about how her second live album Joan Baez In Concert, Part 2 was a pretty big disappointment and I feared she may have run out of good songs to cover. I thought I might as well at least check out her next studio release to give her one more chance to change my mind. I’m glad I did because the siren is back! I mentioned that Joan Baez’s debut was so perfectly mesmerizing that I couldnt separate out the original elements. It was like 45 minutes would pass by and I’d wake up from a blissful dream. Thankfully that Joan is back here on Joan Baez/5! I put it on in the background while trying to write this and I had to turn it off again because it was so mentally mesmerizing that I couldnt think to write these words. At one point she even breaks out into full on classical belting. This album definitely sees her going in new directions while still conquering my brain with her voice. I still think her debut is a bit stronger as this album breaks the trance near the end with a couple songs that aren’t as good. Overall I highly recommend it. With the debut I didnt really share any of the music so I figured for this one, I’ll share a couple of the songs in case you want a listen. Just know that like the debut, I dont have much to say about them. I think they really just speak for themselves in their utter beauty and ability to take control of your brain.

1964 – Joan Baez/5 – Some Examples

There But for Fortune –

Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5 –

 Birmingham Sunday –

1965 promises to be an interesting year! The Rolling Stones are finessing their sound, the Kinks are revolutionizing theres and if Joan Baez’s 64 release is any indication, 1965 will be a good year for her as well! I for one cannot wait!

 

The Journey Back Entry 7: Simon and Garkfunkel Are Pretty.

My last entry focused mostly on rhythm and blues rock that was starting to take over in the later half of 1964. Now I’m going to focus on something completely different. Lets talk about Simon and Garfunkel. Representing my old neighborhood, Queens, NY, Simon and Garfunkel were friends since elementary school and started recording music together in the ’50’s. They became interested in the New York folk scene around the time most everyone did in 1963 and recorded both originals and covers for their late 1964 debut album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. Shockingly, the album flopped mostly due to the rise of the Beatles and the shift in interest towards their sound. While it may have flopped for them in 1964, I loved it from the very first listen.

Simon and Garfunkel fit perfectly as a counterpart to Bob Dylan’s 1963-64 albums. To put it simply, in every way that Bob Dylan is raw and wild and rough, Simon and Garfunkel are produced and pure and soft. “Pretty” is the word that immediately comes to mind and I can honestly say I it is a not an adjective I would ever use to describe Bob Dylan’s folk. Unlike Dylan, both singers have beautiful voices that fit into one another in a lovely harmony. Their subject matter is also of a more pretty and pleasant nature. Straight off the bat with “You Can Tell the World” with its chorus about joy and victory. I tried to think about a happy song Dylan had put out at this point and came up empty (I’m sure there is one, just couldnt think of any off the top of my head. Is there?). I think the best examples of their differences are in songs they share. Look to their version of “Peggy-O” or their cover of “The Times They are A -Changin’ “. I also have to commend their song writing skills with amazing songs like “Sparrow” and “The Sound of Silence”. The album is sparse on instrumentation beyond finger picking and strumming guitars, with the exception of some bass and some great banjo on “Last Night I had the Strangest Dream.” I think this is definitely an album not to be missed from 1964 and it definitely brought joy, joy, joy into my heart. If Dylan brings you down, Simon and Garfunkel will pick you up out of that funk.

1964 – Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. Top 5 Highlights 

You Can Tell The World – I love the WAY this song is sung. The way they kind of talk sing through the lyrics, with little yelling moments and little quiet moments and this absolutely playful guitars that are just jumping around the room. Plus the harmonizing woo, woos are amazing. The lyrics bring me joy, joy, joy too. You have to be in a really bad mood for this song not to put a big beaming smile on your face.

Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream – Reminds me of “Imagine”, in the ending world conflict sense. It really ends up on the list because of the banjo. And because it has unicorns in the lyrics.

Bleeker Street – I love the way the chorus of “Bleeker Street” is sung. All the extended “eee” sounds in the song are just so… pretty. And so is the soft finger picking guitars.

Sparrow – This is my favorite new discovery of the album since I already know “The Sound of Silence”. I love the rhythm guitar in this song. The finger picking guitar is also legendary. And the way Simon and Garfunkel draw their voices over everything else… Every time they say “Not I!” i get crazy chills. Love this song.

The Sound of Silence – Obviously. The song that would eventually pull them into the spotlight. Here, it appears in its original form with just guitars. Does this really need a reason to be on here? Perfect. I think it shows off the production on the album best. The feeling of hollow space around the music is powerful. Like the music is stretching out into the corners of the universe. I love it.

My final 1964 album (With the exception of Joan Baez, who I kind of follow a little behind everyone else) is the Beatles Beatles for Sale. I’m not going to say its a bad album. I wont say that because even the worst of the Beatles is still lovely for the ears most of the time. I definitely dont feel like there was much progression between this and A Hard Days Night and the album suffers for it. It’s still nice to hear the Beatles harmonizing and jamming out and they do seem to be having SOME fun. On the whole though, I feel that this record feels a bit phoned in. After looking up some of the details on the recording of the album, it seems this was not far from the truth. The band was touring america and really starting to blow up. The album was recorded on the bands days off from tour over a 3 week period. The lack of time to write new music also resulted in more covers appearing on the album. Despite all this criticism, I still enjoyed listening to the album. It’s just that the Beatles standards are a little higher than everyone else.

1964 – Beatles for Sale Top Highlights

No Reply – Forget everything negative I just said in the previous paragraph when it comes to “No Reply”. I LOVE this song. Lennon is on top of his game here writing some amazing music. The song tells a simple story about a man trying to get in touch with his girl and knowing that shes lying to him because he sees her with another man. I love the sad feeling of the song and its minor key is just right.

I’m A Loser – Self deprecating song lyrics. Who cant get down with that? I read somewhere that this is Lennon being influenced by Dylan and I must agree. A simple song but a fun one none the less.

I’ll Follow the Sun – Short and sweet,  it always puts a smile on my face. Great vocal harmony too.

Eight Days A Week – I first heard and fell in love with this song back in a high school music theory class. So many little details make this song extra great. Obviously the “Hold me, love me” pre-chorus with the clapping is my favorite. That and the “lo o o o ove you” of the chorus.

That pretty much brings 1964 to a close. Each year seems to bring more and more music into the fold. The Beatles picked up their game with the powerful A Hard Day’s Night while Dylan pulled himself in opposing directions and released 2 very different albums that neither destroyed his reputation nor improved it. The Rolling Stones had a glorious debut ushering in a wealth of other wild and crazy rockers of varying degrees. The Beach Boys grabbed my attention and the Animals organ playing on “House of The Rising Sun” was a real treat. Joan Baez has kept up with diminishing returns. Lastly, Simon and Garfunkel open my eyes to a softer, prettier side of folk music. The Rolling Stones and Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. were probably my favorite releases of the year discounting A Hard Days Night since I’ve said before that I listen to the Beatles more as a measuring device since I already knew most of their music before this project.

I’m having a great time with this journey and I’m really looking forward to all the new music to be released in 1965! See you then!

The Journey Back Entry 6: LOTS more in 1964!

Its been exactly a month since I last documented my time machine activities. While some of it was due to my fiance visiting and some due to 2 weeks of bronchitis, I was definitely still listening to tons of music. I’m going to start off with a release I was very much looking forward to, Bob Dylan’s second release of 1964 Another Side of Bob Dylan! I spoke last time about the fact that I wasnt too crazy about Bob Dylan the political activist on The Times They Are a-Changin’  so you can imagine my excitement about an album that advertised another side of him. It turns out Bob Dylan wasnt too crazy about “Bob Dylan the political activist” either. This was probably mostly due to the fact that his political stuff was encouraged by his girlfriend Suze Rotolo, and since they had finally ended things by the release of this album, Bob was free to write whatever he wanted. And that is EXACTLY what he does here. Recorded in 1 night, in a hotel room, while drinking, Dylan tried to recapture the raw sound of his debut album. Unfortunately, drinking isnt exactly the best way to produce your best work (at least not for Dylan here). So how does it compare to Times?  Times has a few songs I like MUCH more than the stuff on this album, but overall, while underwhelming, the joy that Bob seems to be experiencing here in recording this makes it a much more fun listen. Most of the songs have little to no depth but its an album I can easily put on and enjoy. It’s fun rather than technical. A perfect example is “All I Really Wanna Do” which I absolutely adore. Its nowhere near Bob’s best but his little “ooo ooo” sounds cant help but make me smile. Try to frown while he sings that part. It isnt possible. I found myself singing it the other day in my head  but for some reason my lyrics were “All IIIIII…. REAlly…. Wanna Dooo oooo. is baby have sex with you. ”  That would be the version I’d record.

Another example of Dylan’s “Not giving a damn” attitude is “I Shall Be Free”. The song is horrible but in a completely lovable way for me. It sounds to me like those parody songs people do of Dylan where they just sing in “Dylan” voice while talking drunken gibberish and blowing into the harmonica occasionally. But its Dylan! Its basically him saying “I dare you to try to apply a political banner behind this one!”

I dont think the album is Bob’s best work but I do appreciate it and I especially like that he decided to recapture the Bob Dylan raw style even if it didnt work out exactly as he had hoped. If he had spent months recording this, I think I would be more disappointed in the album.  Because the album instead perfectly captures this one night of Bob, drinking in the hotel room, I really enjoy it. It makes me smile and laugh wish I could hang out with Bob unlike on Times where the heavy themes and the downer nature of the album made me not want to be around Dylan.

1964 – Another Side of Bob Dylan Highlights

All I Really Wanna Do – See my description above. I LOVE the chorus of this song and Bob being silly

I Don’t Believe You – My other favorite song on the album. I love the lyrics and that frustration when someone completely ignores you

It Ain’t Me Babe – Couldnt find a version by Bob Dylan to lunk from youtube. I was told that this song was written in part as a response to the Beatles “She Loves You” who”s “Yeah Yeah Yeah” chorus is reflected back negatively by Bob Dylan with his “No No No” response. A great song.

I did check out Joan Baez’s 1963 release and fourth album, the creatively titled Joan Baez In Concert Part 2. Unfortunately I was disappointed once again in her “Part 2” titled album with this one paling in comparison to Part 1. One interesting change however was a few Dylan covers that appear on the album. The one that surprised me was her cover of “With God On Our Side”. This was a song I could not stand when Dylan sang it. For some reason, (Probably Joan’s voice)  this version was a huge improvement. While I still dont like the lyrics much, it was nice to hear a more melodic and beautiful version of this song.

Moving away from the folk scene for a while, I next checked out the debut album of The Animals, The Animals. I must confess, I was pretty excited for this one. Their version of “House of the Rising Sun” was the first version I’d ever heard and it also happens to be an excellent version. I loved the production of their guitars and their organ definitely adds some cool layers to their music. At the end of the day, I wouldnt say I was too impressed with their album. That isnt to say its a bad album, just that I didnt find too much original sounding material here. Maybe it’s because I heard the Rolling Stones debut first but all I could think of was that the band fit into mostly the same R&B sound. Where the Animal’s shined most on this album was in their more unconventional covers. Changing folk music into rock music rather than covering older R&B sounds. “House of Rising Sun” is the best example of this but not the only one. The band also does their own version of “Baby Let Me Follow You Down” titled “Baby Let Me Take You Home”. These additions stop the Animals from simply sounding like Rolling Stones clones and I did enjoy the album, I just wish it had more music like “House of The Rising Sun” on it. The bands blues music is simplistic to the point of comical. At one point, the same blues melody is used for 2 songs in a row! Literally the same exact music with different lyrics. Why place those songs back to back?  I guess Ill have to wait for their next album to see which direction the band heads in.

1964 – The Animals Highlights

House of the Rising Sun – A classic, this version of the song is definitely one of the most recognizable and features one of the coolest organ parts of all time. Plus Eric Burdon’s howls are damn sexy

Baby Let Me Take You Home – One of the reasons I decided to go on this journey was to discover the rock and roll roots of the music I listen to today. The first time I heard this song, I was smiling ear to ear. My first experience where I heard the song and immediately thought “This melody comes directly from another song I know!” It was a great feeling. I also like that they changed the lyrics for a more optimistic perspective. The Animals seem more in their elements when converting folk music to rock.

Talkin’ Bout You – My other favorite on the album is this Ray Charles cover. Once again I reward bands for experimentation and the 7 minute version of this song that converts at the 4 minute mark in a “Shout!” cover is truly awesome. I also love the songs opening clapping part.

I then moved onto another english rock group, The Kinks. Here I found yet another band joining the rock sound of the Rolling Stones and the Animals. Its hard to tell which one of these groups originated the sounds and who copied from who. At the end of the day, I found most of the Kinks debut to be a bit boring. The obvious exception is “You Really Got Me” which happens to be an excellent and addictive pop song. Maybe I’m just getting a bit of R&B rock fatigue. I just think most of the covers didnt have the power of other similar artists. I will definitely continue to check out the Kinks in the hopes that their sound evolves in a separate direction.

1964 – Kinks Highlight

You Really Got Me

Apparently the year of british R&B rock music, next in 1964, I took on the Rolling Stones second album of the year and their career 12 X 5. I was a huge fan of their debut so I was definitely looking forward to this one. Mick Jagger’s voice was refreshing. I just think it fits the music so well. 12 X 5  is definitely more toned down and instrument focused than it’s vocalist centric debut. The band is definitely having fun. Still, there was definitely less take home music for me here in comparison to their debut. Listening to this album did however get me very excited for one reason. After hearing the Animals, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones albums, one after another, one thing became abundantly clear. While each of the albums is in the same vane, all three had slightly varied sounds. I’m very excited to see how the bands will separate, change and evolve. I feel like these albums are helping to establish the bands beginnings in my mind so that I can more greatly appreciate the evolutions of each band. I just hope they dont disappoint.

1964 – 12 X 5 – Highlights

Time Is On Our Side – Mick Jagger sings this song in a way that just begs to be sung along with. The band just seems to be having so much fun!

Good Times, Bad Times – I just love the guitar and the harmonica on this track

Under the Boardwalk – I love this cover. I could listen to Mick sing “Down by the See-hee” over and over

If You Need Me – I love love love the backing vocals on this track. It’s like Mick’s trying to tell this girl something and his creepy friend is standing right behind him repeating what he says trying to encourage his buddy. “I still love love love, always thinking of you”. I love singing along as the back up dude.

Finally, I also did check out the debut album of the Impressions. I did it mostly to check out Curtis Mayfield. While I did enjoy the album, I didnt feel very fit to analyze its music. The sound is definitely more under the vain of doo-wop and soul. I felt like I would need to go back and listen to a lot of music from the ’50s to truly understand it. That isnt a bad idea and I do intend to check these genres out eventually. I just think that for now, I want to stick more clearly to rock and folk music.

So, after a very long entry, what do I have to show for it? Bob Dylan seems to be on the right track, giving up on his boring political side. The Rolling Stones, the Animals and the Kinks all try to do the same thing with varied results. I think a large part of it is also due to the fact that most of their current songs are covers. I can only hope they will forge new genres and continue to diverge creating more unique music as they stop playing covers and start writing their own music. Joan Baez has disappointed me again but I always seem to like her odd numbered albums so maybe her fifth album will change my mind again about whether there’s more to be gotten from her. I’m nearing the end of 1964 at this point. I believe the only two albums I have left to check out are the debut of folk legends Simon & Garfunkle and another release from the Beatles! I have high hopes for both. Then it will be time to move on into 1965 and I’m sure a ton more wonderful music. Only time will tell. Thanks for continuing to follow along with me on this crazy journey through musical time. Once again, fill me in on albums you think I might of missed or ways in which you hope I can improve my tales of the past

The Journey Back Entry 4: I May Have Lost the Battle but I Won the War!

I said last time that I was moving on to 1964. It does however seem there are still a couple albums to check out from that time period. That being said, Entry 4 shall deal specifically with my reactions to the first half of 1964.

Lets start with January 13th as Bob Dylan releases his much anticipated third album The Times They are a-Changin’! I’m not going to lie, I had high hopes for this one. So many people mention this song and this album when they talk about the influence of Bob Dylan. Remember I know hardly anything about his career. What I knew going into this album was that he released a kick ass, very raw debut of covers followed by an excellent album of new material both of which have continued to grow on me since then. I wanted the Times to be the next step forward into his career of awesome…!

Sadly, I came away completely disappointed upon my initial listen. Gone were the happy go lucky blues numbers. Gone was basically any sense of tongue in cheek or cheeriness. In place of it we get stone cold “pointin fingers” songs that attack specific issues going on in 1964. I can see why people were riled up by these protest songs, but as songs, they are severely lacking. Gone are Dylan’s amazing guitar skills, replaced here, by boring repetitive plucking noises that I could do nothing with. On top of that, the album feels like a downward spiral of lyric upon lyric of angry whining. This album was just a total downer. That was my first impression. “Boots of Spanish Leather” was ok.

My good friend Jacek who loves Bob Dylan has been writing me reviews to go along with the albums and I was terrified of checking out what he had to say about the album. I knew he was going to love it and I just absolutely did not. Low and behold, his review actually touched upon all the problems I had with the album. Especially the idea that this album was so much of the same! Where as The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan felt disjointed and inconsistent, The Times They are a-Changin’ feels TOO consistent. There’s no variety. No changes. No fun. I also found out that at this point, Bob Dylan was back with Suze Rotolo (you know the political one with the snobby parents) Then it all made sense. Have you ever had a girlfriend you wanted to impress? Bob didnt write these songs because he wanted to. He wrote them because people wanted to hear them. “Masters of War” was an excellent protest song with real emotion and feeling behind it. People wanted more “Masters of War” so Dylan gave them an entire album of it. It’s just that I dont think he was really that into it. This is what resulted. Now you know I’m not into negative reviews but here, I feel obligated to express this part of the journey as it is very important later on. This is not the end of my Times journey but I’m going to leave it alone at this point where you find me, disappointed that Dylan finally let me down as a song writer.

1964 has a lot of amazing releases in it I wanted to check out so I decided I would just go month to month and check out the ones I wanted in order. My next stop was the Hollies debut a week later, Stay with the Hollies. The most important member of the band for me was Graham Nash. I am very interested in CSNY so I thought I should check out the origins of its members. Graham Nash started out with the british pop group the Hollies. Once again, I came up disappointed! To be fair, I will confess to only listening to this album once. For me, that was enough to know I wasn’t going to find much here. For one, the band just sounds like Beatles-wannabes. The band was discovered during a time when Beatlemania was underway and every record label wanted to grab as many sound- alike bands as possible. The real problem is not that they sound like the Beatles. The problem is that Stay With the Hollies like most debuts of the time is full of cover songs. If I’m going to listen to a bunch of harmonizing 60’s pop singers cover music, I’ll just stick with the Beatles. I am interested to hear what the band has to contribute once they start writing their own music so I figure Ill check back in on them in a few years.

Now for the good news! It sounds like my journey hit a real downer in 1964 and it did for a bit but April rolled around and brought the year some character. Now I mentioned the last two albums so you con understand where I’m coming from when I finally picked up The Rolling Stones, debut album of the Rolling Stones. I knew that once again, the album was going to be a debut loaded with covers. There is only one original track. I’ve listened to a bit of the Rolling Stones before and never been too excited about what I heard. So… What did I think?

THIS is why Time Machine has been such a wonderful way to go back and discover music. The album is a VERY standard rock album. Compared to music of the present, I would probably consider it simple and “Not bad” had I heard it on a whim. However, after coming off the down in the dumps and politically stuffed borefest of Times and the absolute unoriginality of the pretty boy Hollies’s record: WHAT A BREATH OF FRESH AIR! Right off the bat with “Route 66”! The song was playful! It made me want to dance! And Mick Jagger! What a lovely voice! So hoarse and whiny but in the best of ways. And no harmonies! Just him singing against a funky bass and wily guitar and some raw drumming. This was rock and roll! Their song choices for cover were old rhythm and blues numbers that just had such a wild and danceable feel to them. It’s hard not to compare them with the Beatles since they were the other premiere group of the times and I have to say, I was really feeling the Stones. The Beatles are always smiling and happy. The Stones just seem more grumpy and cool. “Bad Ass” I think is the term that comes to mind for me. If the Beatles were the good looking guys in preppy cloths in high school proclaiming their love for women in a poetic fashion, then the Stones were the dudes in leather jackets who could give two shits and yet still ended up with the girls because every girl likes that bad boy act. In 1964 I just cant picture the Beatles singing a song like “I Just Want to Make Love To You.” The album had me laughing and head banging along. The lyrics were easy to pick up and sing along. What a wonderful debut! Definitely better than the Beatles Please Please Me. The attitude also carried over to the music. Where as the Beatles music all seems carefully constructed and thought out, recorded to the best of their ability, the Stones sound like they just banged it out in half an hour in someones garage so they could get back to trying to get women to sleep with them. There is just this “Wall of Sound” quality to the songs that feels like every instrument  is trying to be louder than the rest. The sound is definitely quantity over quality but I think it reflects their personalities really well. I touched on this before too but I think Mick’s singing also makes a huge difference. Instead of calculated beautiful four part harmonies, we just get Mick WAILING along. It is wonderful! I once heard someone tell me that all rock music can be put into one of two categories: The Beatles, and the Stones. I’m starting to agree. I cannot wait to see what the band does once they start to write their own material but for the time being, I’m content to hear them cover some more R & B! I cant wait to hear their follow up!

1964 The Rolling Stones Top 6 Highlights

Route 66 – I just love the playful nature. Just makes me want to dance. And Mick’s whiny vocals are a big highlight. I also love the bass, guitar and drums which all feel separate, uniquely raw and awesome.

I Just Wanna Make Love to You – I love the way Mick’s vocals are so loud they crack and distort the sound of the record. The harmonica here is used to great affect as well. And the lyrics. The first time I heard it I just thought, “The Beatles would not sing this!” and after coming off the copycat Hollies, that was just what I needed.

Mona – Mona is by far my favorite song on the album. I just love the laid back nature of the song. The way it kind of just meanders on with this amazing beat under it and Mick howling over it. It’s really sexy. And whenever the guitar comes in to give Mick’s voice a break, it does some really cool sliding stuff. I was excited about the first couple songs but this Bo Diddley cover can stand up to some of my best music. I just cant get it out of my head. I think Mick could sing me to sleep with this one(in a good way. lol)

Now I’ve Got a Witness – This is not one of my favorite songs on the record. I’m putting it here because I got really excited about it for one reason: Its an instrumental!! During my time travels, I had yet to spot a single instrumental track. Songs were meant to be sung it seems outside the world of Jazz. It made me really happy because to me, the instrumental is a staple on most great rock albums and here it just felt so innovative. I’m sure if I went farther back in time, I would probably realize it wasnt but in my limited knowledge and as my first time travel experience with it, I just had to point it out!

Carol – Once again, it is the playful nature of the song that really got to me. Every time Mick cries out “Oh Carol!” I just love how personal it feels. The guitars here I find really fun as well!

Tell Me (You’re Coming Back) – This is the one Stones original on the album and I really like it. The guitars are cool, the drums are laid back, and the Stones do harmony different! Where as the Beatles harmonies sound so pitch perfect and beautiful, the Stones manage to make even their harmonies sound wild and manly. It feels more like a wing man pitching in on a date request. They are all just kind of singing whatever they feel like coming in and out and most importantly, sounding really whiny. I just love that they aren’t trying to sound like the Beatles. It’s working for me! Interestingly, I read about the Stones writing and how their manager really wanted them to write some original material. They didnt feel they were quality writers and would write songs that they thought would prove they were bad song writers so their manager would stop asking. Obviously that plan failed.

I’m going to stop here since I’ve talked quite a bit and I think I’ve also shared the next great part of the journey. Sometimes you need to lose the battle in order to win the war. Dylan and the Hollies felt like uphill battles that yielded few results (Or at least so I thought at the time, in the case of Dylan, I should let you know that this is still not the end of the journey when it comes to Times, but more on that another time!). However, those failures perfectly set me up for a major victory with the Stones debut. I’m not sure I would have been as open and surprised by the Rolling Stones debut without the entire journey. TimeMachine seems to be working just as expected. Until next time…