UNCUT: The 500 Greatest Albums of The 1960's ...ranked!

There's a case to be made of the Sixties as the best decade in music, in general. A quick look at the Top Ten of this list will confirm that: I challenge you to make up a list of albums recorded in any decade (though these 10 records were recorded in a space of only 5 years) that can go head to head to this one. It's just impossible. Here you have pop perfection (Pet Sounds), orchestral psychedelia (Forever Changes), fluid jazz-folk (Astral weeks), electric folk rock (Blonde on Blonde), tough R&B (Let It Bleed), the precursors to punk (The Stooges) and new wave (Velvet underground & Nico), and The Beatles, who are at once of multiple genres and of a genre of their own. Scrolling down you'll find some of the most important landmarks in jazz, blues, pop, rock, folk, country, soul, and even avantgarde and world music. As usual, I'm adding links to albums already presented in this blog. If I live to be 150 years old and lucid enough, I should be able to complete the task I set out to do with this blog, and 227 out of these 500 entries will be leading to a record review by yours truly - a roundabout way to say I own almost half of these albums. In the meanwhile, it'd be interesting to compare this list to two similar ones presented here: Uncut's previous Ultimate Record Collection of The Sixties (featuring 657 unranked LPs) and Classic Rock's Real 100 Greatest Albums Of The 60s, focusing on the underrated masterpieces of the era.

1 Velvet underground Velvet underground & Nico 1967
2 Beatles Revolver 1966
3 Love Forever changes 1967
4 Beatles The Beatles (= the white album) 1968
5 Rolling Stones Let it bleed 1969
6 Beach Boys Pet sounds 1966
7 Bob Dylan Blonde on blonde 1966
8 Beatles Abbey road 1969
9 Van Morrison Astral weeks 1968
10 Stooges The Stooges 1969
11 Bob Dylan Highway 61 revisited 1965
12 Bob Dylan Bringing it all back home 1965
13 Velvet underground The Velvet underground 1969
14 Nick Drake Five leaves left 1969
15 Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely hearts club band 1967
16 Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis 1969
17 Kinks The Kinks are the Village green preservation society 1968
18 Rolling stones Beggars banquet 1968
19 John Coltrane A love supreme 1965
20 Neil Young Everybody knows this is nowhere 1969
21 Beatles Rubber soul 1965
22 Jimi Hendrix Are you experienced 1967
23 Scott Walker Scott 4 1969
24 Leonard Cohen Songs of Leonard Cohen 1967
25 Sly and the family Stone Stand! 1969
26 Flying burrito brothers The gilded palace of sin 1969
27 Miles Davis In a silent way 1969
28 Aretha Franklin I never loved a man the way I love you 1967
29 Velvet underground White light/white heat 1968
30 Dr. John Gris-gris 1968
31 Pink floyd The piper at the gates of dawn 1967
32 Jimi Hendrix Electric ladyland 1968
33 Byrds The notorious Byrd brothers 1968
34 Isaac Hayes Hot buttered soul 1969
35 Zombies Odessey & oracle 1968
36 Byrds Younger than yesterday 1967
37 Doors The Doors 1967
38 Led zeppelin Led zeppelin 1969
39 Captain Beefheart and the Magic band Safe as milk 1967
40 Otis Redding Otis blue - Otis Redding sings soul 1965
41 Johnny Cash Johnny Cash at Folsom prison 1968
42 Can Monster movie 1969
43 Scott Walker Scott 3 1969
44 Bob Dylan The freewheelin' Bob Dylan 1963
45 Led zeppelin Led zeppelin 2 1969
46 Beatles A hard day's night 1964
47 King Crimson In the court of the Crimson king 1969
48 Band The Band 1969
49 Fairport convention Unhalfbricking 1969
50 Byrds Sweetheart of the rodeo 1968
51 Simon and Garfunkel Bookends 1968
52 Nico The marble index 1968
53 James Brown Live at The Apollo, october 24, 1962 1963
54 Incredible string band The hangman's beautiful daughter 1968
55 MC5 Kick out the jams 1969
56 Charles Mingus The black saint and the sinner lady 1963
57 Kinks Something else by the Kinks 1967
58 Laura Nyro New York tendaberry 1969
59 Band Music from big pink 1968
60 Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding 1967
61 Fairport convention Liege & lief 1969
62 United States of America The United States of America 1968
63 Miles Davis Sketches of Spain 1960
64 Elvis Presley From Elvis in Memphis 1969
65 Simon and Garfunkel Sounds of silence 1966
66 Laura Nyro Eli and the thirteenth confession 1968
67 David Axelrod Song of innocence 1968
68 Rolling stones Aftermath 1966
69 Buffalo springfield Buffalo springfield again 1967
70 Jimi Hendrix Axis : bold as love 1967
71 Buffalo springfield Buffalo springfield 1966
72 Kinks Arthur, or the decline and fall of the British empire 1969
73 Joni Mitchell Clouds 1969
74 Van Dyke Parks Song cycle 1967
75 Monks Black monk time 1966
76 Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash 1969
77 Nina Simone Wild is the wind 1966
78 Who The Who sell out 1967
79 Tim Buckley Happy sad 1969
80 A Christmas gift for you (Phil Spector) 1963
81 Aretha Franklin Lady soul 1968
82 Roberta Flack First take 1969
83 Small faces Ogden's nut gone flake 1968
84 13th Floor elevators Easter everywhere 1967
85 Bob Dylan Nashville skyline 1969
86 Nico Chelsea girl 1967
87 David Bowie Space oddity 1969
88 Temptations Cloud nine 1969
89 Alexander 'Skip' Spence Oar 1969
90 Sonics Here are the Sonics!!! 1965
91 Love Da capo 1966
92 Beatles Help! 1965
93 Byrds Mr. Tambourine man 1965
94 Creedence clearwater revival Green river 1969
95 Caetano Veloso Caetano Veloso (Tropicália) 1968
96 Rolling stones Between the buttons 1967
97 Ornette Coleman This is our music 1961
98 Bert Jansch Bert and John 1966
99 Pentangle The Pentangle 1968
100 Left banke Walk away Renée/Pretty ballerina 1967
101 Bee gees Odessa 1969
102 Shirley Collins & Davy Graham Folk roots, new routes 1964
103 Silver apples Silver apples 1968
104 Soft machine The Soft machine 1968
105 Four tops Reach out 1967
106 Scott Walker Scott 2 1968
107 Pink floyd More (soundtrack) 1969
108 Procol harum Procol harum 1967
109 Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg 1969
110 Creedence clearwater revival Willy and the poor boys 1969
111 John Fahey The transfiguration of Blind Joe Death 1965
112 Who Tommy 1969
113 Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood Nancy & Lee 1968
114 13th Floor elevators The psychedelic sounds of the 13th Floor elevators 1966
115 Bert Jansch Bert Jansch 1965
116 Bob Dylan The times they are a-changin' 1964
117 Incredible string band Wee tam and the big huge 1968
118 Shirley & Dolly Collins Anthems in Eden 1969
119 Traffic Mr. Fantasy 1967
120 Terry Riley A rainbow in curved air 1969
121 Os mutantes Os mutantes 1968
122 David Axelrod Song of innocence 1968
123 Merle Haggard Mama tried 1968
124 James Carr You got my mind messed up 1967
125 Moby grape Moby grape 1967
126 Bill Evans Sunday at the Village Vanguard 1961
127 Jefferson airplane Volunteers 1969
128 Pretty things S.F. Sorrow 1968
129 Incredible string band The 5000 spirits or the layers of the Onion 1967
130 Bobbie Gentry Ode to Billie Joe 1967
131 Ray Charles Modern sounds in country and western music 1962
132 Townes Van Zandt Townes van Zandt 1969
133 Karen Dalton It's so hard to tell who's going to love you the best 1969
134 Beatles With the Beatles 1963
135 Who The Who sings My generation 1965
136 Albert Ayler Spiritual unity 1964
137 Impressions The young mod's forgotten story 1969
138 White noise An electric storm 1969
139 Rolling stones Their satanic majesties request 1967
140 John Barry Midnight cowboy (soundtrack) 1969
141 Grateful dead Live/Dead 1969
142 Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the Star club, Hamburg 1964
143 Traffic Traffic 1968
144 John Coltrane Giant steps 1960
145 Creedence clearwater revival Bayou country 1969
146 Small faces Small faces (1967) 1967
147 Townes Van Zandt Our mother the mountain 1969
148 Bert Jansch It don't bother me 1965
149 Neil Young Neil Young 1968
150 Pink floyd A saucerful of secrets 1968
151 Terry Riley In C 1968
152 Davy Graham Folk, blues & beyond ... 1964
153 Mickey Newbury Looks like rain 1969
154 Jerry Lee Lewis Another place another time 1968
155 Judy Henske & Jerry Yester Farewell Aldebaran 1969
156 Bobbie Gentry The delta sweete 1968
157 Dillard & Clark The fantastic expedition of Dillard & Clark 1968
158 Frank Zappa Hot rats 1969
159 John Coltrane Ascension 1966
160 Max Roach Members, don't git weary 1968
161 Tim Buckley Blue afternoon 1969
162 Creedence clearwater revival Creedence clearwater revival 1968
163 Moondog Moondog 1969
164 Merle Haggard I'm a lonesome fugitive 1967
165 Captain Beefheart and the Magic band Trout mask replica 1969
166 Gabor Szabo Dreams 1968
167 Oliver Nelson The blues and the abstract truth 1961
168 Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Going to a go-go 1965
169 Red krayola The parable of Arable land 1967
170 Fred Neil Fred Neil 1966
171 James Brown Live at the Apollo, volume II 1968
172 Nina Simone Pastel blues 1965
173 Ornette Coleman Free jazz : a collective improvisation 1961
174 Byrds Fifth dimension 1966
175 Doors Strange days 1967
176 Tim Buckley Goodbye and hello 1967
177 Tim Hardin Tim Hardin 1966
178 Ronettes Presenting the fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica 1964
179 Country Joe and the Fish Electric music for the mind and body 1967
180 Jefferson airplane Surrealistic pillow 1967
181 Beatles Magical mystery tour 1967
182 Supremes Where did our love go 1964
183 Amon Düül II Phallus Dei 1969
184 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell United 1967
185 Red crayola God bless the Red krayola and all who sail with it 1968
186 Jeff Beck Truth 1968
187 Stan Getz & João Gilberto Getz/Gilberto 1964
188 Kevin Ayers Joy of a toy 1969
189 Nina Simone High priestess of soul 1967
190 Solomon Burke Rock 'n soul 1964
191 Francoise Hardy Tous les garcons et les filles 1962
192 Gene Clark With the Gosdin brothers 1967
193 Temptations Puzzle people 1969
194 Glen Campbell By the time I get to Phoenix 1967
195 Karlheinz Stockhausen Kontakte 1964
196 Cream Disraeli gears 1967
197 Dionne Warwick Here I am 1965
198 Johnny Cash Johnny Cash at San Quentin 1969
199 Pentangle Basket of light 1969
200 Ennio Morricone The good, the bad and the ugly (soundtrack) 1966
201 Harry Partch The world of Harry Partch 1969
202 John Coltrane Meditations 1966
203 Love Love 1966
204 Bill Evans Waltz for Debby 1961
205 Donovan Sunshine superman 1966
206 Patty Waters Sings 1965
207 Scott Walker Scott 1967
208 Turtles The Turtles present The battle of the bands 1968
209 Booker T and the MG's Soul dressing 1965
210 P.F. Sloan Songs of our time 1965
211 Richard Harris A tramp shining 1968
212 Sam Cooke Mr. Soul 1963
213 Dorothy Asby Afro-harping 1968
214 Fairport convention What we did on our holidays 1969
215 Johnny Horton Honky-tonk man 1962
216 Mulatu Astatke & his Ethiopian quintet Afro-latin soul 1966
217 Alice Coltrane A monastic trio 1968
218 Bloomfield, Kooper & Stills Super session 1968
219 Bobby 'Blue' Bland Two steps from the blues 1961
220 Bobby Hutcherson Dialogue 1965
221 Jake Thackray The last will and testament of Jake Thackray 1967
222 Lee Hazlewood Trouble is a lonesome town 1963
223 Leonard Cohen Songs from a room 1969
224 Muddy Waters Folk singer 1964
225 Simon and Garfunkel Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme 1966
226 Four tops Greatest hits 1967
227 Kinks Sunny afternoon 1967
228 Caravan Carvan 1969
229 Dillard & Clark Through the morning, through the night 1969
230 Harvey Mandel Cristo redentor 1968
231 Herbie Hancock Speak like a child 1968
232 John Lee Hooker Don't turn me from your door 1963
233 Lalo Schifrin Bullit (soundtrack) 1968
234 Tammy Wynette D.I.V.O.R.C.E. 1968
235 Meters The Meters 1969
236 Bill Evans Interplay 1963
237 Blue cheer Vincebus eruptum 1968
238 Bobby Gentry & Glen Campbell Bobby Gentry & Glen Campbell 1968
239 David Bowie David Bowie 1967
240 Duke Ellington And his mother called him Bill 1968
241 Frank Sinatra September of my years 1965
242 Glen Campbell Wichita lineman 1968
243 Herbie Hancock Fat Albert Rotunda 1969
244 Nina Simone I put a spell on you 1965
245 Nina Simone Nuff said! 1968
246 Roy Harper Sophisticated beggar 1966
247 Serge Gainsbourg Initials B.B. 1968
248 Tom T. Hall Ballad of forty dollars and his other great songs 1969
249 Albert Ayler New grass 1969
250 Eric Dolphy Out to lunch! 1964
251 Herbie Hancock Maiden voyage 1965
252 Herbie Hancock Empyrean isles 1964
253 Merle Haggard Swinging doors 1966
254 Roy Orbison Crying 1962
255 Santana Santana 1969
256 Thelonious Monk Underground 1968
257 Them The angry young Them 1965
258 Various Artists     Mountain music of Kentucky 1960
259 Allman brothers band The Allman brothers band 1969
260 Aretha Franklin Aretha now 1968
261 Beach boys The Beach boys today! 1965
262 Priscilla Paris Priscilla sings herself 1967
263 Seeds The Seeds 1966
264 Biff Rose The thorn in mrs. Rose's side 1968
265 Charles Mingus Blues & roots 1960
266 Desmond Dekker Israelites 1969
267 Miles Davis Miles smiles 1967
268 Sandy Bull E pluribus unum 1969
269 Kaleidoscope Side trips 1967
270 Monkees The Monkees 1966
271 Yardbirds The Yardbirds (a.k.a. Roger the Engineer) 1966
272 Bob Dylan Another side of Bob Dylan 1964
273 Beach boys Smiley smile 1967
274 Charles Mingus Oh yeah 1962
275 John Coltrane Ballads 1962
276 Ornette Coleman Ornette! 1962
277 ? and the Mysterians 96 tears 1966
278 Shirley Collins The power of the true love knot 1968
279 O.S.T. Easy rider (soundtrack) 1969
280 Ike & Tina Turner River deep, mountain high 1966
281 Terry Callier The new folk sound of Terry Callier 1965
282 B.B. King Live at the Regal 1965
283 Brigitte Fontaine Comme à la radio 1969
284 Howlin' Wolf Howlin' Wolf (The rocking chair album) 1962
285 Johnny Paycheck The lovin' machine 1966
286 Merle Haggard Strangers 1965
287 Nirvana (60's) All of us 1968
288 Odetta Sometimes I feel like cryin' 1962
289 Quicksilver messenger service Happy trails 1969
290 Delfonics La la means I love you 1968
291 Vanilla fudge Vanilla fudge 1967
292 Beach boys Summer days (and summer nights) 1965
293 Blood, sweat & tears Child is father to the man 1968
294 Bo Diddley Bo Diddley is a gunslinger 1960
295 George Jones The race is on 1965
296 Joe South Introspect 1968
297 Miles Davis E.S.P. 1965
298 Rolling stones The Rolling stones 1964
299 Sonny Rollins Alfie (soundtrack) 1966
300 Art Blakey & the Jazz messengers Like someone in love 1967
301 Johnny Winter The progressive blues experiment 1969
302 Richard M. & Robert B. Sherman Chitty chitty bang bang 1968
303 Rotary connection Rotary connection 1969
304 Bonzo dog band The doughnut in granny's greenhouse 1968
305 Booker Little Out front 1961
306 Everly brothers Roots 1968
307 Fairport convention Fairport convention 1968
308 Free Tons of sobs 1969
309 James Brown Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud 1969
310 Procol harum Shine on brightly 1968
311 Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Make it happen 1967
312 Beatles Please please me 1963
313 Monkees Headquarters 1967
314 Francoise Hardy Ma jeunesse fout le camp … 1967
315 Gilberto Gil Gilberto Gil 1968
316 Procol harum A salty dog 1969
317 Roy Harper Folkjokeuponus 1969
318 Fugs The Fugs (aka second album) 1966
319 Young tradition The Young tradition 1966
320 Big Brother and the Holding company Cheap thrills 1968
321 Don Cherry Complete communion 1966
322 James Taylor James Taylor 1968
323 Lesley Gore I'll cry if I want to 1963
324 Miles Davis My funny Valentine 1965
325 Sun Ra The futuristic sounds of Sun Ra 1962
326 Electric prunes Release of an oath 1968
327 Joe Harriott & John Mayer Indo-jazz fusions 1967
328 Judy Garland Judy at Carnegie hall 1961
329 Ray Charles Genius sings the blues 1960
330 BBC Radiophonic workshop BBC Radiophonic music 1968
331 Electric prunes Mass in F minor 1968
332 Walter Carlos Switched-on Bach 1968
333 Donovan Barabajagal 1969
334 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer songbook 1964
335 Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim 1967
336 Gil Evans Out of the cool 1961
337 Jim Sullivan U.F.O. 1969
338 Prince Buster Fabulous greatest hits 1968
339 Sandy Bull Inventions 1965
340 Small faces Small faces 1966
341 Blind faith Blind faith 1969
342 Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity Open 1967
343 Gal Costa Gal Costa 1969
344 Beau brummels Bradley's barn 1968
345 Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Away we a go-go 1966
346 Sam Cooke Ain't that good news 1964
347 Jeff Beck     Beck-ola 1969
348 Gil Evans The individualism of Gil Evans 1964
349 John Fahey The new possibility : John Fahey's guitar solo Christmas album 1968
350 Johnny Cash Orange blossom special 1965
351 Joni Mitchell Song to a seagull 1968
352 Manitas de Plata The art of guitar 1968
353 Doors The soft parade 1969
354 Yes Yes 1969
355 Argent Argent 1969
356 Eric Burdon & the Animals Winds of change 1967
357 Henry Mancini Breakfast at Tiffany's (soundtrack) 1961
358 Pentangle Sweet child 1968
359 Phil Ochs Tape from California 1968
360 Raymond Scott Soothing sounds for baby 1962
361 Horace Silver Song for my father 1965
362 Walker brothers Take it easy with the Walker brothers 1965
363 Cecil Taylor Unit structures 1966
364 Dino Valente Dino Valente 1968
365 Don Rendell & Ian Carr quintet Dusk fire 1966
366 John Barry The Ipcress file (soundtrack) 1965
367 Judy Collins In my life 1966
368 Otis Redding The dock of the bay 1968
369 Phil Ochs I ain't marchin' anymore 1965
370 Sun Ra The heliocentric worlds of Sun Ra : volume 1 1965
371 Monkees Head (soundtrack) 1968
372 Caetano Veloso Caetano Veloso (Irene) 1969
373 Cream Fresh Cream 1966
374 Gilberto Gil Gilberto Gil 1968
375 Jefferson airplane After bathing at Baxter's 1967
376 Byrds Turn! Turn! Turn! 1965
377 Monkees Pisces, aquarius, capricorn & Jones Ltd. 1967
378 Shangri-La's Leader of the pack 1965
379 Thelonious Monk It's Monk time 1964
380 Various Artists     Tighten up : volume one 1969
381 Fleetwood mac Then play on 1969
382 John Coltrane My favorite things 1961
383 Max Roach We insist! : Max Roach's Freedom now suite 1960
384 Moody blues Days of future passed 1967
385 Buck Owens and his Buckaroos I've got a tiger by the tail 1965
386 Del Shannon The further adventures of Charles Westover 1968
387 Jack Bruce Songs for a tailor 1969
388 Mitch Ryder and the Detroit wheels Jenny take a ride 1966
389 Pat Kilroy Light of day 1966
390 Patsy Cline Sentimentally yours 1962
391 Robbie Basho The falconer's arm II 1967
392 Roger Miller The one and only 1965
393 Doors Waiting for the sun 1968
394 Dion Wonder where I'm bound 1969
395 Humble pie As safe as yesterday 1969
396 John Fahey Requia 1967
397 Lee Morgan The sidewinder 1964
398 Muddy Waters Muddy Waters at Newport 1960
399 Roy Orbison In dreams 1963
400 Various Artists Tropicália : ou panis et circensis 1968
401 Beatles Beatles for sale 1964
402 Brigitte Fontaine Brigitte Fontaine est … folle! 1968
403 Georgie Fame & the Blue flames Rhythm and blues at the Flamingo 1964
404 International harvester Sov Gott Rose-Marie 1968
405 Jackson C. Frank Jackson C. Frank 1965
406 John Coltrane Impressions 1963
407 Stevie Wonder For once in my life 1969
408 Blues magoos Psychedelic lollipop 1966
409 Fugs The Fugs first album 1965
410 Nazz Nazz 1968
411 Chocolate watchband The inner mystique 1968
412 David Ackles David Ackles 1968
413 Ennio Morricone Svegliati e uccidi (soundtrack) 1995
414 Bobby Bare The streets of Baltimore 1966
415 John McLaughlin Extrapolation 1969
416 Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington Recording together for the first time 1961
417 Phil Ochs Rehearsals for retirement 1969
418 Stan Getz Focus 1961
419 Steve Reich Live/Electric music 1968
420 Easybeats Friday on my mind 1967
421 Townes Van Zandt For the sake of the song 1968
422 Antônio Carlos Jobim Wave 1967
423 Elvis Presley Elvis is back! 1960
424 Sam Cooke Night beat 1963
425 Dubliners A drop of the hard stuff 1967
426 Leaves Hey Joe 1966
427 Tony Williams Lifetime Emergency! 1969
428 Thelonious Monk Straight, no chaser 1967
429 Tony Bennett I left my heart in San Francisco 1962
430 Art ensemble of Chicago Message to our folks 1969
431 Curtis Amy & Dupree Bolton Katanga! 1963
432 Etta James At last! 1960
433 Little Richard The explosive Little Richard 1967
434 Pharoah Sanders Karma 1969
435 Roy Harper Come out fighting Genghis Smith 1968
436 Taj Mahal The natch'l blues 1968
437 Groundhogs Blues obituary 1969
438 Isley brothers This old heart of mine 1966
439 Tim Hardin Tim Hardin 2 1967
440 Wayne Shorter Speak no evil 1966
441 Zodiac Cosmic sounds 1967
442 Dionne Warwick Valley of the dolls 1968
443 John Mayall Blues breakers with Eric Clapton 1966
444 Margo Guryan Take a picture 1968
445 Temptations Gettin' ready 1966
446 Bert Jansch Jack Orion 1966
447 Lee Hazlewood Love and other crimes 1968
448 Muddy Waters     Electric mud 1968
449 Paul Bley Closer 1966
450 Peter Brötzmann Machine gun 1968
451 Sir Douglas quintet Mendocino 1969
452 Spooky tooth Spooky two 1969
453 Tyrannosaurus Rex Unicorn 1969
454 George Harrison Wonderwall music 1968
455 Beach boys Friends 1968
456 Charley Pride The country way 1967
457 Eartha Kitt In person at the Plaza 1965
458 5th Dimension Stoned soul picnic 1968
459 Impressions This is my country 1968
460 Andrew Hill Judgment! 1964
461 Joe Cocker With a little help from my friends 1969
462 John Coltrane Africa/Brass 1961
463 Loretta Lynn Don't come home a drinkin' (with lovin' on your mind) 1967
464 Who Magic bus : the Who on tour 1968
465 Various Artists The rock machine turns you on 1968
466 Wilson Pickett The wicked Pickett 1966
467 Alice Coltrane     Huntington ashram monastery 1969
468 Country Joe and the Fish I-feel-like-I'm-fixin'-to-die 1967
469 Dr. Strangely Strange Kip of the serenes 1969
470 Eddie Gale Eddie Gale's  ghetto music 1968
471 John Lennon & the Plastic Ono band Live peace in Toronto 1969 1969
472 Frank Sinatra & Count Basie Sinatra at the Sands 1966
473 Free design Kites are fun 1967
474 Melanie Melanie 1969
475 Morton Subotnick Silver apples of the moon for electronic music synthesizer 1968
476 Mothers of invention Freak out! 1966
477 Sun Ra The magic city 1966
478 Supremes I hear a symphony 1966
479 Wilson Pickett The exciting Wilson Pickett 1966
480 Archie Shepp Four for Trane 1964
481 Bee gees Idea 1968
482 Deep purple Shades of Deep purple 1968
483 Stan Tracey Jazz suite : inspired by Dylan Thomas's 'Under milkwood' 1965
484 Joan Baez Joan Baez 1960
485 Marvin Gaye In the groove 1968
486 Various Artists Tonight let's make love (soundtrack) 1968
487 William Bell The soul of a Bell 1967
488 Robert Johnson King of the Delta blues singers 1961
489 Yardbirds Five live Yardbirds 1964
490 Boz Scaggs Boz Scaggs 1969
491 Charles Lloyd Soundtrack 1969
492 Watersons Frost and fire : a calendar of ritual and magical songs 1965
493 Reverend Gary Davis Harlem street singer 1960
494 Bonzo dog band Gorilla 1967
495 Blossom toes We are ever so clean 1967
496 Harry Nilsson Pandemonium shadow show 1967
497 Pharoah Sanders Tauhid 1967
498 Sonny Rollins The bridge 1962
499 Max Romeo A dream 1969
500 AMM  AMMMusic  1967

Pushin' Too Hard - American Garage Punk 1964-1967 (2024 comp)*****

 

Last week I was browsing at Reckless Records in London, trying to choose between these boxsets curated by Cherry Red Records - a British indie that's specialized in reissues (this one says it's Strawberry Records, others say Grapefruit, but they're all subdivisions of Cherry Red). They are superbly compiled, a great mix of classics I know and love, and of unknown gems to discover; plus they come with nice booklets full of photos and interesting info on the bands. I'd been eying them all on amazon, but I'm always telling myself "Kostas you have too many CDs, when are you going to listen to them all?" But a physical shop isn't amazon; "these people depend on (people like) you for their livelihood, Kostas" I told myself, so I convinced me to buy one. Choosing wasn't easy but in the end I chose this set. True, I already own two thirds of the tracks, which have been released as part of other compilations (Nuggets, Pebbles etc) but I just had to see if the the rest of the songs were as good as the ones I already had - and amazingly, they (almost) are! Since there are 94 tracks here, it's impossible to analyze them one by one. Suffice it to say that it includes the cream of the crop of 60's garage punk; there's a lot of overlap with the Nuggets box set, which remains the garage rock motherlode. It includes early rock'n'roll classics like "Wooly Bully" and "I Fought The Law", garage folk ("Too Many People", "Going All The Way"), tough R&B ("So What!!", "Diddy Wah Diddy" by an early incarnation of Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band), and proto-psychedelia ("Tried To Hide", the acronymic "Love Special Delivery"). As I said, the compilers mostly choose classics of the genre, but they also try to avoid being too predictable when possible, for example by using alternate versions (e.g. The Seeds' "Pushin’ Too Hard" and "Out of the Question") or a lesser known track by the more seminal garage bands e.g. The Sonics "You've Got Your Head On Backwards" from their 3rd LP when anything from the first two would be a more obvious choice. Similarly, they eschew the best, and most famous tracks, by The Electric Prunes and Shadows Of Knight, choosing non-LP single "Ain't It Hard" by the former and "Dark Side" (the B Side of "Gloria") by the latter. And, by the way, where is Gloria? It's not like her to be absent from a garage rock compilation, certainly not when there's a zillion of versions to choose from. Also, instead of the classic 13th Floor Elevators version "You're Gonna Miss Me", we get an earlier one by Roky Erickson's previous band, The Spades. It's interesting to hear Ohio Express version of "Try It" instead of the classic one by the Standells; apparently the original was banned because it was considered (not entirely unjustly) to urge girls to lose their virginity. At that point, Ohio Express (a "bubblegum" studio contraption rather than an actual band) slightly changed the lyrics to refer to "kissing" instead of "it" and released their own version to bypass the censors. It still wasn't a hit. We do get a couple of tracks by The Standells. Not "Try It", nor their biggest hits "Dirty Water" and "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White", but the equally good "Barraccuda" and "Rari". As always with garage bands, there are some interesting name choices: for example, many bands adopt pseudo-English names like The Liverpool Five, Squires, or Echoes of Carnaby Street, just because in the wake of The Beatles and The Stones everything British was supposedly cool; funny, considering that the British bands so admired by American teens were in turn fanatic followers of everything American, especially blues and rockabilly. Interestingly, the so-called "British Invasion" also produced a reaction by bands who took their inspiration from the War Of Independence against the English e.g. We The People and Paul Revere and The Raiders, both included here. Taking inspiration from The Beatles, many bands also misspell their names e.g. The Raymarks, Dirty Wurds, Mistics, The Forth Dimension etc. Of course by far the most original band name here is The Jefferson Handkerchief, whose "I'm Allergic To Flowers" is a spoof of Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco hippy scene. Those flower children spelled the end for the kind of music featured here: loud, frustrated, tough, passionate, irreverent, funny, desperate, pure authentic no-nonsense rock and roll. Not for long, though; it was resurrected a few years later by music archivist and Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye, who introduced those unsung heroes of the Sixties to a wider public via the very first Nuggets compilation. He'd call this music "garage punk"; firstly, because these bands mainly formed and practiced at the family homes and garages of every town and city in America, and secondly because of their aggressive street attitude. Pushin' Too Hard is a great introduction to that genre.

 

This reminds me of Tim Warren's remark on Back From Grave Vol.2 liner notes: that "both sides of (The Lyrics') single are so snotty because the author Christopher Gaylord must have caught of lot of shit in school, with a name like that" 

DISC ONE: The Rangers – Justine****, Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs – Wooly Bully*****, The Strangeloves – I Want Candy*****, The Barbarians – Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl*****, The Denims – I’m Your Man*****, The Castaways – Liar, Liar*****, The Remains – Why Do I Cry****, The Beau Brummels – Just A Little****, The Seeds Featuring Sky Saxon – Pushin’ Too Hard (Unedited Version)*****, The Leaves – Too Many People*****, The Front Line – Got Love****, The Brogues – I Ain’t No Miracle Worker*****, The Standells – Rari (Extended Version)*****, The Spades – You’re Gonna Miss Me*****, The Lyrics – So What!!*****, The Mad Hatters – I Need Love****, Don & The Goodtimes – Little Sally Tease****, The Coastliners – Alright****, The McCoys – Fever****, The Bobby Fuller Four – I Fought The Law *****, The JuJus – You Treat Me Bad*****, The Girls – My Baby****, The Raymarks – Louise***, The Emperor’s – I Want My Woman****, Paul Revere & The Raiders – Just Like Me*****, Liverpool Five – Heart***, The Bad Seeds – A Taste Of The Same*****, Merrell & The Exiles – She’s Gone****, The Bees – Forget Me Girl***, The Misunderstood – Don’t Break Me Down***, The Seeds – Out Of The Question ****

Question: Is this the coolest song ever written by anyone? Answer: Hell yeah! I can never resist singing along to it!

DISC TWO: The Thirteenth Floor Elevators – Tried To Hide*****, Love - My Little Red Book*****, The Mojo Men – She’s My Baby****, The Electric Prunes – Ain’t It Hard*****, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Diddy Wah Diddy*****, Dirty Wurds – Mellow Down Easy**** The Outcasts – I’m In Pittsburgh (And It’s Raining)****, The Knickerbockers – One Track Mind****, Rocky & The Riddlers – Flash And Crash***, The Dimensions – Knock You Flat***, The Unusuals – I’m Walking  Babe****, The Shadows Of Knight – Dark Side****, We The People – Mirror Of Your Mind*****, Sterling Damon – Rejected***, The Soothsayers – Please Don’t Be Mad****, The Esquires – Judgement Day****, The Century’s – Hard Times***, The Sonics – You Got Your Head On Backwards*****, Link Wray & The Raymen – Hidden Charms*****, The Misunderstood – Thunder ‘N’ Lightnin’****, Zakary Thaks – She’s Got You****, The Squires – Going All The Way*****, The Blue Beats – Extra Girl***, The Free-For-All – Show Me The Way****, Chris Morgan & The Togas – There She Goes***, The Executioners – I Want The Rain (Vocal)****, Limey & The Yanks – Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind*****, The Apparitions – She’s So Satisfyin’****, The Hustlers – If You Try***, The Echoes Of Carnaby Street – No Place Or Time****, Sparkles - No Friend Of Mine*****, Velvet Illusions – Velvet Illusions*****

Who knew that Link Wray wasn't just a great guitar innovator, but also a mean singer? I certainly didn't!

DISC THREE: The Standells – Barracuda*****, We The People – You Burn Me Up And Down*****, The Rationals – I Need You***, The Other Half – Mr. Pharmacist*****, Neal Ford & The Fanatics – Shame On You****, The Choir – It’s Cold Outside*****, The Newbeats – Top Secret****, The Fire Escape – Love Special Delivery****, ? & The Mysterians – Girl (You Captivate Me)*****, The Third Bardo – I’m Five Years Ahead Of My Time*****, Ken & The Forth Dimension – See If I Care****, The Off-Beats – Tired Of Crying****, The Mistics – Why Baby Why****, The Headstones – Bad Day Blues***, Roy Junior (Roy Acuff Jr.) – Victim Of Circumstances*****, The Sparkles - Hipsville 29 B.C. (I Need Help)*****, The Jackals – Love Times Eight****, The Galaxies IV – Piccadilly Circus****, Front Page News – Thoughts*****, Fenwyck – Mindrocker****, The Jefferson Handerchief – I’m Allergic To Flowers*****, The Buddhas – Lost Innocence*****, The Ohio Express – Try It****, Tidal Waves – Action! (Speaks Louder Than Words)****, The Liberty Bell – For What You Lack****, Thursdays Children – You Can Forget About That***, The Jades – Come Back***, The Checkmates – Talk To Me****, The New Yorkers – Again***, Georgy & The Velvet Illusions – Mini Shimmy****, The Bedlam Four – No One Left To Love****

This reminds me: I 💗 San Francisco. Haight Ashbury, here I come!

London Record Shops

(THE FIRST PART OF THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2015, SCROLL DOWN FOR THE 2025 UPDATE)

I just got back from my latest visit in London, the third one until now (roughly once every 10 years). It was an easy and comfortable train trip from Brussels, only 2 hours with euro-star, which made me wonder why I hadn't done it before (granted, I've only been living in Brussels for half a year - but still, even from Delft it wasn't that far). And of course, other than being there on my best friend's birthday (cheers Anastasia!) the main motivation for the trip was some good-old record hunting. My two previous trips (in the nineties and noughties) had been very productive, providing me with both rare and (crucially) cheap records and CD's to fill the holes in my record collection. Incidentally, my first experience from London record shops has seen the light of day in the pages of ZOO magazine - no, I don't mean this one, what are you thinking? I'm talking about the short-lived but legendary Greek music magazine. It sported a readers' column called "record hunting" and my entry got me a years' worth of issues, including the CD EP's that are now collectors' items. My second visit yielded even more treasures, but the third time there was no charm: The record shop is dying. It's a well known fact, but in my mind's eye it was alive and well in London. Not anymore. This time I was less than impressed by what I saw and, if the situation has deteriorated so badly in a city of 9 million people which also happens to be the pop capital of the world, there's no hope. Maybe the vinyl will survive as a gourmet music lovers' possession, but it seems it's more of a decorative item nowadays - used to give your house a sophisticated retro look, even if you don't own a record player and only listen to music on your laptop (It doesn't sound the same people, can't you hear the difference?) CD's are a thing of the past, but that's what I've been collecting since the days of the great vinyl purge. They take up less space, sound good (the flat digital transcription of the early days is gone), mostly have nice artwork and informative booklets, can be listened on the home stereo, car and -yes- laptop, and it's easy to rip mp3's for your portable devices and to make compilations. I do have doubts over their longevity, though.

 

Anyway, this is my report from my visits at the record shops during my 4-day stay in London. Obviously it's not a reliable guide, you'd have to ask a Londoner for that. First of all, forget the behemoths of the past: The Virgin Megastore on Tottenham Court Road that so impressed me the first time is gone. The same fate befell giant record stores everywhere: Gone are Amsterdam's Fame Store and Athens' Metropolis. Granted, they were never as sympathetic as the traditional record shops but they offered variety, hours of browsing without being bothered and affordable prices. Their supermarket-style approach lives on in the medium-sized shops like HMV on Oxford Street (founded in 1921, probably the oldest record shop around) and Fopp at the Seven Dials/Covent Garden neighborhood. I would recommend a visit to the latter for the variety and prices, but you can find the same in electronic chains stores like Media Markt in Brussels or Saturn in Bremen. Not that I like buying CD's from stores that sell TV's and coffeemakers, just saying that Fopp is one of the better London CD shops and yet nothing special. On to Soho, which is not as I remember it. The sex shops and working girls have given way to trendy pubs and restaurants. Still, gentrified or not, a lively neighborhood - a bit too lively in fact. On Friday and Saturday night it was almost impossible to find somewhere to eat or drink. Interesting shops, though. I visited Sister Ray which seemed to have shrunk from my last visit, but still had a large enough collection and good bargains. Same goes for Reckless Records, a few meters down the road (Berwick Street). I got some nice second hand psychedelic CD's here. The shop was promoting Reckless's (it's also a record label) latest release, a new Brainiac 5 album after 35 or so years of absence. Never heard of them? You should - their "World Inside" album always was a favorite of mine, together with early Bevis Frond LP's also on the Reckless label. A CD anthology is now available and I'll present it here on a later occasion. On the corner there's Sounds of the Universe, offering LP's, CD's and books mostly leaning towards jazz, soul and reggae. Phonica Records on the nearby Poland Street focuses on dance music and held my interest for about 15 seconds. Music and Video Exchange on Notting Hill Gate proved, once again, to be the best choice both for rare and cheap CD's. All second hand, most start with £4- £6, with the prices sliding down with time. I got a bunch of CD's for £1 as well as some stuff I was searching for (Planxty, Roy Harper etc) all under £8. Round the corner you can find Book and Comic Exchange which is, likewise, a good source for used books. Of the many music books on sale I chose Martin C. Strong's voluminous Great Rock Discography. It's out of print and replaced by the Essential Rock Discography, which I owned already but only is a measly 1200 pages thick. Whereas the Great Record Discography offers more info on pre-millenium rock, as well as a handy weapon to use against home invaders.

I also visited Rough Trade West on Talbot Street in Portobello and was rather disappointed when I saw how small it was. It turns out that, if one wants more choice, he'd have to to visit their other store on Brick Lane. But West did have some rarities from independent labels and I was delighted to get a compilation of The Zounds, a favorite anarcho-punk band from my youth. Next stop was Camden Market, where I imagined I'd find cheap CD's but it turns out they sell everything but CD's: I only found a couple of stalls among hundreds of shops. Monastiraki (Camden's Athenian counterpart) offers much much more choice to music lovers. I got a bunch of rock-related T-Shirts and, on my way out from Camden, visited another record shop in the area, Out On The Floor Records. It's a nice enough shop, mostly selling soul and reggae LP's, but I left without shopping something. I later went off the beaten path to Stoke Newington, to visit Lucky Seven Records, which is supposedly a great source of cheap music and books. And it is - if you don't mind digging through a crate of junk to find a few nice CD's priced a ridiculous 3-for-1£. There's a lot more books and CD's for a modest £2-£5, but finding what you're looking for is either a question of luck or of very wide taste. As I belong to the latter category, I came out with a book and 18 or so CD's for less than £30 overall, so I'd rate the excursion a success - but if you're the choosy kind, chances are you won't find any hidden treasures here. Then again, you never know. And that's what makes record shop browsing an infinitely more rewarding experience than surfing amazon or ebay... Now, I know most people favor collecting vinyl over CD and I guess they'd like to read more about the vinyl market in my blog entry. Limited time meant I didn't browse the LP stands a lot, but I generally found them to be quite overpriced. I mean certain records have always been expensive but not every album is a collector's item. The 90's and 00's saw thousands of record collections getting dumped into the market and the price of used vinyl plunge. Today it seems that those 20-somethings that sold off their collections are now 40 and eager to buy them back at twentyfold the price, just to own these nostalgia items they will never play because they're too lazy to walk over to the record player every 15 minutes. You won't catch me paying €20 for a used album that is by no means rare and costs half that price as a new, remastered, CD. And you know what? All that talk about vinyl sounding better is such nonsense. Most of them don't: the hissing during the quiet parts and the pops and crackles of used LP's still get on my nerves. I can't believe so many fall for the "romantic" glorification of these imperfections. Not to mention the latest trend to resurrect the audio cassette. Still, anything is better than mp3's and London record shops, even in decline, offer some good opportunities to collectors and music lovers. In addition, they made me re-evaluate and appreciate the shops I know well in The Netherlands, Athens and Brussels. They're certainly also worth a blog entry, in the future. I might even have a few pointers for record buying visitors to Paris, too..

UPDATE 2025: This is my second visit since I wrote the previous post (#5 in total, but who's counting?) so I thought it was time for an update. Once again, my stay was short so I covered little ground. But I now have a method: take pictures, make notes, move on unless there's really interesting stuff you want to buy. So I didn't spend hours in every shop as I used to. I'm not saying I didn't find interesting stuff here, although my previous estimation still stands: for a huge metropolis that happens to be the Mecca of pop and rock, full of music landmarks everywhere you look, the London record store situation is really underwhelming. Especially if you happen to have visited Tokyo a few weeks prior. In my previous visit I had focused mostly on CDs, this time I mostly browsed the vinyl racks. I omitted the Notting Hill/Portobello district where I had spent most of my record hunting time previously, as there weren't a lot of other attractions to combine with. Whereas shopping around Camden Town is always nice; my friends dispersed to browse around the place while I went looking for vinyl. First one I spotted was Massive International, a really cool place dedicated to reggae music and culture in general. Lots of reggae/dub vinyl (£20-30), as well as some soul and hip hop, cool hats, t-shirts and Jamaica-related trinkets. A bigger shop with more variety is Wild Horses. Lots of rock/soul/folk vinyl from 60's to 80's (many offers £1-5, the rest £6-29) as well as CDs (mostly £5-10). A third shop had a "no photos" policy and no discernible name. Used vinyl £10-20. My favorite though was a tiny stall by Moon Jelly Records. (Unit 514, Stables Market, Paddock Lane). A curated selection of garage rock, psychedelia and metal LPs, plus great T shirts and tote bags. 

On a side street of Camden High Street (10 Inverness Street) I re-discovered Out On The Floor Records. Nice ambience, still very good on soul, reggae, and ska, but also a lot of classic rock, some jazz, metal, and dance. LPs new and used mostly £10-24. Raven Records (24 Camden Road) gets some rave google reviews, mostly about how welcoming it is and how nice the people are. Nice is not something one associates with black metal; yet, although I didn't stick around long enough to chat with the staff, I did get a welcoming vibe. Pitch black walls and morbid decorations aside. There is a nice coffee bar, and lots of LPs in all metal sub-genres especially the more underground ones, as well as books and t-shirts. Speaking of specialty record stores, probably the most famous in Camden is All Ages Records. Everything punk related (with a small side order of metal) can be found here, above all vinyl (new £20-30, some on sale £8-12) and CDs. Regarding punk fashion and memorabilia, of course, Camden Town is the place to be, both the market and the streets around it. A very small token of the kind of shops one can find inside the Camden Market (let alone in the surrounding streets) can be found here. Record stores that are listed in the area which I missed include Rock and Roll Soldiers (Unit D34 Horse Tunnel Market inside the market, and music charity shop Rock and Roll Rescue (96 Parkway). Music landmarks also abound, from historic venues like The Electric Ballroom, The Roundhouse and Dingwalls to places associated with The Clash, Blur, Oasis, and Camden's latest local heroine Amy Winehouse, whose statue is one of the Camden Market attractions.

From Camden to Soho, one of the trendiest and most vibrant neighborhoods in London. I re-visited the same shops: Sister Ray is still one of the nicest shops in London: huge selection, one floor full of CDs (£3-15) and another one with vinyl. If one feels lost by all the choices, the staff have highlighted some interesting recommendations for them. Reckless Records, also on Berwick Street, is just as good. About 70% of the shop is dedicated to vinyl (new £20-30, used £10-30), also 7'singles and CDs (£1-10). All kinds of music but especially good for punk, rock, and reggae. I got to Sounds Of The Universe around closing time and didn't get to check prices, but I took in the nice ambience. 10 years ago I described it as selling "LP's, CD's and books mostly leaning towards jazz, soul and reggae", my impression from this short second visit is that that's still the case. I didn't revisit them this time but Phonica Records (51 Poland St,) and Fopp (1 Earlham St, near Covent Garden) are still in the neighborhood. 

A third neighborhood I checked on this time, which I hadn't visited during any of my other London trips, was the East End, from Whitechapel to Shoreditch and the like. We visited Spitalfields Market and the huge Brick Lane Vintage Market, both of which I very much recommend to any tourist/visitor to the city. Great food stalls with delicacies from around the world, fashion both new and vintage, and, in the case of Brick Lane, vinyl. There was a big stall with -mostly used- LPs of all styles and decades (£5-20) here. I got a copy of The Beatles' Yesterday And Today with the infamous butcher cover - it'd be nice if I could afford the original but, alas, this was just a bootleg. Here I parted ways with my girlfriend, who holds a doctorate in criminology and wanted to follow on the trail of Jack The Ripper, while I went to find Rough Trade East, the self-described flagship of this indie chain (Old Truman Brewery 91, Brick Ln). There's lots and lots of vinyl (£20-35, some offers for £15), especially rock, indie, post punk, and some electronic music. Also all kinds of music-related merchandise, but I was more drawn towards their book selection: a lot of very nice titles for only £5. I chose a book on the history of magic and Robbie Krieger's memoirs of his time with The Doors, but there were tons I would have carried with me if weight was not an issue - history, music, and fiction. There's also a cool bar and a stage for live events. A great scene on Brick Lane, lots of people sitting around on the street talking and going in and out of the shops. Opposite to Rough Trade, there's a place called the Backyard Market. Right in front of that, you'll find Tea Rooms a space full of small art and vintage shops, including vinyl. The first one, on your right as you enter, has a good selection of goth, indie, punk and metal CD (£4) and vinyl (£15-30), including some interesting bootlegs. Another one carries only used records (especially Soul/R&B, £25-30). 

Another record store just off Brick Lane (46 Cheshire St) is World Of Echo. Small shop with a curated collection of alternative, post punk, and experimental music. On to my last stop, Flashback Records. There are by now 3 shops of that chain in London: Islington (Essex Road), Crouch End (Tottenham Lane), and Shoreditch (Bethnal Green Road, near the end of Brick Lane). The latter's basement is dedicated to reggae, soul, and hip hop vinyl, while the ground floor holds a big selection of used and new music. Everything is neatly catalogued according to genre and sub-genre. CDs around £5, LPs mostly £10-20 (all kinds of rock, indie, psychedelia etc). Further north to Hackney, within walking distance from Flashback one can find more record stores including: Idle Moments (86 Columbia Rd, combines records and wine), Play Vinyl (14 Ezra Str), Crypt Of The Wizzard (specializing in Heavy Metal, 264 Hackney Rd), Love Vinyl (5 Pearson St), Yo Yo Records (501 Cambridge Heath Rd) and Stranger Than Paradise (117 Mare St, inside Market). There are many more scattered around the city, but I've only visited the three clusters above as I had limited time. A visitor with more time in their hands, or better yet a Londoner, can compile a better guide. The best reference I've found is this map. Now, if I've dissed the London vinyl scene, it's only because I was expecting so much more. Don't get me wrong, going record hunting is a must for any music lover visiting the city. You'll find many shops, a great variety in records, and knowledgeable clerks. No bargains whatsoever, but London is a very expensive city in general. 

UPDATE 2026: Gone are the days I used to visit London once per decade. This time it took me exactly a year. Of course I hit the record stores again, hitting some spots I missed last year: First, I went to Notting Hill to revisit Music and Video Exchange: smaller than I remembered, some bargains on vinyl £1-4 (nothing exciting) but generally more expensive than similar shops in the Netherlands where I live now. Not Lots of CDs for £1-2 though, with the rest also being quite cheap. Dance and Soul music on the 1st floor. In Portobello (278 Portobello Road) I visited Honest Jon's for the first time. It's a rather small record store with a (well-deserved) great reputation: I'venever before seen such a deep selection of world music, especially African but also reggae, Latin, even Arabic, as well as lots of soul and jazz. LPs mostly £20-30, CDs £5-20. Not bad for such rare stuff. Just off Portobello Rd (on Talbot Street) Rough Trade West yielded some good finds, both used and new. New LPs here cost mostly  £15-30, used "hand-picked by the stuff" (no crap vinyl here) £7-30. Decent prices for UK. Downstairs there was a sale including many records on half price (down from £30-40). Back to the West End, I got to visit Jack White's Third Man Records (1 Marshall St, Carnaby). It's a very stylish unclattered space, and by unclattered I mean there's a very small selection of highly curated vinyl, mostly from Third Man artists. Some CDs and singles too, as well as nice fashion items and Third Man-related merchandise, and a small stage downstairs for instore gigs. A very hipster place, not really interesting for collectors apart  from exclusive releases, including a lot of live in-store recordings by a bunch of artists. The local Rough Trade branch on 50-54 Beak St. seemed to only carry fashion items, so I didn't enter which may have been a mistake as the website states that it's a good source for "quality used vinyl". At the Seven Dials neighborhood, I also visited Fopp, part of a big chain. Many LPs 2-for-£50 or 3-for-£66, cheap CDs mostly £7-17 and even cheaper books, many good titles for £5 or less (music, non-fiction, novels etc). And while we're in the neighborhood, this time I managed to catch a play in the West End. Teeth 'n' Smiles is a musical by David Hare, first staged half a century ago - a funny, or rather darkly sarcastic, look at rock 'n' roll in the aftermath of the collapse of the 1960s dream of love, peace, and music. The other triptych -sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll- never goes out of fashion, of course, so it's celebrated onstage. I really enjoyed it all, and I'm surprised the play isn't revived more often. It has many great lines and excellent performances, especially from Rebecca Lucy Taylor in a role originally played by Helen Mirren. The original songs are terrific, too. The production closes just a couple of days after I write these words. If, by any chance, you're reading this before 6-6-26, I suggest booking a ticket.

Deep Purple "Live In Japan" a.k.a. "Made In Japan" 1972*****

I found this LP at a 2nd hand records store in Tokyo; I am quite familiar with the (official, at least) discography of Deep Purple but couldn't recall an LP called Live In Japan. Last Concert In Japan, yes. Τhere it was, also in front of me. I bought that too, because I couldn't resist the serendipity of coming across that LP while travelling in the city where it was recorded. Could this be the classic DP live album Made In Japan, albeit with a different album cover and title? If I could only see the tracklisting I'd know for sure, but that was nowhere to be seen. What the heck, I thought; let's buy it anyway, it's cheap enough. It turns out my suspicion was correct: Indeed, Made In Japan retains this title all around the world with one exception: if it is actually made in Japan, then it's sold under another title. I can imagine the frustration of the Warner Bros Japan executive who had to release this for the Japanese market "Made In Japan? Why, all of our records are made in Japan! No, this is too confusing! Unacceptable, we must call it something else!". So I bought this one again, which is fine; I had it on cassette back in the day, and still have the remastered CD, but a nice gatefold double LP is a thing of beauty - plus, this album has sold more than a million copies in Europe but I'm fairly sure I'm the only person in my neighborhood who owns this particular version. The original international edition, the one everybody except me has, uses the same picture as the remastered CD but the lettering is reversed, black letters on gold background. One of my classmates taped it for me, maybe 40 years ago. "If you listen closely" he told me "you will hear a Japanese fan blowing his own brains out on the balcony". No shit! "Yes shit!" Play-rewind-play-rewind, and yes indeed there it was around 9:45' minutes in during "Child In Time", the unmistakable sound of a gunshot - or is it? There are more plausible theories, such as an amp blowing out, or a spring reverb unit built into Jon Lord's organ suddenly going into action. But the idea of a fan choosing that moment to commit suicide, combined with Gillan's wailing and screaming and lyrics about bullets flying and ricocheting, that is goosebumps-inducing stuff. No wonder this theory was so popular with teenagers in the 80's - though how it proliferated so far and wide in the pre-internet days, I don't know. I myself heard it from a friend who either heard it from a friend, or a pirate radio DJ. Urban myths aside, this live version of "Child In Time" is fantastic - the band were in great form, possibly inspired by the triumphant reception from the Japanese fans: Gillan goes from quiet and emotive to demented-all-hell-breaks-loose screaming, and Blackmore's solos are insane, way faster than the studio version. Opener "Highway Star" is just another amazing performance featuring a brain melting solo with an immense difficulty factor - I remember seeing Blackmore's Rainbow play Monsters Of Rock 2016; he started that concert too with "Highway Star" and we all wondered if he could still play this solo at the age of 70, after a 20-year absence from rock performances; he almost nailed it, which is why his performance from Bietigheim-Bissingen didn't make the cut on the Memories In Rock DVD - they included the performance from Loreley instead. Side B starts with the band introducing "Smoke On The Water" to mild applause; back then, it was just a track from their latest album, which a lot of fans hadn't heard yet. The audience claps along to the intro, which is slightly different to the one we know; instead of repeating the same riff six or seven times, Blackmore plays a variation the second time. Once more, great solos surpassing those of the studio version. Which brings us to the moment everyone dreads during arena rock concerts: the drum solo which takes up most of "The Mule"s 10 minutes. Side C opens with "Strange Kind Of Woman" which I never particularly liked as I considered it too poppy for DP; the live version, though, is pure dynamite. Near the end there's an amusing duel between Gillan and Blackmore, with the singer mimicking the sounds of the electric guitar. "Lazy" takes a long time to warm up; Jon Lord plays an extended jazz intro on the Hammond for a few minutes before the band join him for a great jazz-blues jam; Gillan even blows a mean blues harmonica, which is quite uncharacteristic. All of Side D is taken up by a 20-minute version of "Space Truckin'". People will tell you it's boring and indulgent 70's arena-prog-rock shit. Those people are not your friends. Why would you want to miss the chance to hear what the exhaust pipe of a spaceship would sound like? If sound could travel in space, that is. Now you know: it sounds exactly like Jon Lord's organ, which sounds like nothing else on planet Earth. This is probably the last time that Blackmore and Lord share the spotlight equally as soloists: during the band's early days Lord seemed to have the upper hand; by this time DP had already become Blackmore's band, but the live organ and guitar duels here don't produce a clear winner. It's the incredible virtuosity of these two instrumentalists, along with the undeniable skill of the rhythm section, and -above all- Ian Gillan's unbelievable vocals that have rendered this album the leading candidate for Best Live Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album, ever! Not only that; it's also probably the only classic live album in this genre that doesn't contain any overdubs. Others (Thin Lizzy's Live And Dangerous, Kiss Alive! and Judas Priest's Unleashed in the East, to name just the worst offenders) were almost completely recreated in the studio, but Live In Japan is the pure unadulterated live sound of a monster rock band at the height of their powers.

P.S. The 25th Anniversary Remaster contains a bonus CD with 3 songs from the Japanese tour encores: "Black Night" (previously released only as a single) and "Speed King" come from the August 17 Tokyo date; the former easily outstrips the rather tame studio version, while the latter is a bit messier but still good fun. The bonus CD closes with a cover of Little Richard's classic rockabilly "Lucille" recorded the previous night in Osaka - it's quite entertaining but a bit lightweight compared to the rest of the album. Indeed the classic 7-song version of Live In Japan is just impossible to beat, and the glorious chaos of "Space Truckin'" makes for a perfect ending.

***** for Highway Star, Child In Time, Smoke On The Water 

**** for Strange Kind Of Woman, Lazy, Space Truckin', Black Night (CD), Speed King (CD)

*** for The Mule, Lucille (CD)

Sadistic Mika Band "天晴 (Appare)" 1989****

One of the albums I was looking for during my recent trek of Japanese record stores was 黒船 (Kurofune) by Sadistic Mika Band (SMB). This 1974 LP was kind of historic as the album that literally put Japanese rock on the map. It was produced by big-time British engineer Chris Thomas who had previously worked with The Beatles and was fresh out of mixing Dark Side Of The Moon. It was simultaneously released not only in Japan, but UK and US as well, and later reissued a few times on CD. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't locate a copy in any of the maybe 20 shops I visited - or get a spark of recognition from young record store clerks whom I asked about it. I guess the latter shouldn't surprise me as it seems that all the young people follow is happy go lucky girl- or androgynous and moody boy- bands. In any case, I didn't come up empty handed; I got a vinyl version of Live In London, recorded by the original band around the same time as Kurofune when they were playing British dates alongside Roxy Music. And this reunion CD, chosen purely because of its pretty cover and price - I think it cost around JP¥500 (€3) at second-hand shop Disk Union. SMB were initially formed around husband and wife duo Kazuhiko and Mika Katō. They took inspiration from the nascent glam rock movement in UK, as well as The Beatles - the name was a nod to Lennon and Ono's Plastic Ono Band, with the "Sadistic" part inspired by Mika's attitude with knives in the kitchen. The classic lineup also included Yukihiro Takahashi on drums, lead guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka, and bassist Ray Ohara. Their debut caught the ear of Malcolm McLaren, who passed it on to Bryan Ferry, who introduced the band to Roxy Music producer Chris Thomas, who in turn invited them to UK to record an album together. Soon afterwards, the disintegration of Mika and Kazuhiko's wedding spelled the end of the band; Mika had an affair with, and later married, Chris Thomas. After they, too, divorced, she enrolled in a French culinary school and embarked in a career as a high profile pastry chef and sommelier. Kazuhiko continued either solo or in collaboration with other SMB members as The Sadistics, and in 1989 revived the SMB moniker, enrolling singer Karen Kirishima for the female vocal parts. Renowned composer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto assists on keyboards. The CD opens with lead single "Boys & Girls". It has an agreeable Talking Heads-like synth funk flavor, but I found it a bit too commercial sounding, not exactly what I expected from an art-rock band. But then I thought what do you expect, this was the late 80's. Even prog giants like Genesis and Yes, not to mention the band's old friends Roxy Music, had turned to synth-heavy pop songs. It was a hit at the time, helped by its use for a Mazda commercial. The following "脳にファイヤー! Brains On Fire!" suffers from the same 80's plastic synth sound, but it's an even better song with a nice chorus and electric guitar solos giving it a more rock'n'roll flavor. "薔薇はプラズマ (Bara Wa Plasma)" is more atmospheric, with Karen's vocals more to the front. She certainly has a sweeter, arguably better, voice than Mika. "賑やかな孤独 (Nigiyaka Na Kodoku)" and "暮れる想い (Kureru Omoi)" are a couple of beautiful melodic numbers. "42℃のピクニック(42 Degrees No Picnic)" is a poppy number with a catchy English chorus. Karen's vocal and Takanaka's tasty electric guitar solos elevate it greatly. "ダシール・ハメット&ポップコーン (Dashiell Hammet & Popcorn)" is disco-fied new wave, followed by another dancey tune called "Un Coco Loco". The percussion, horns, and partly Spanish lyric, give it a Latin tinge."愛と快楽主義者 (Ai To Kairakushugisha)" is a bluesy song reminiscent of 80's Eric Clapton, while the album closes with "7 Days At Last!" - the sparkling clean production does not disguise an underlying sense of darkness - or am I mistaken? The booklet includes Japanese lyrics, but that's not really helpful for me. In the end, despite the dated production, I really liked this CD. Some tracks were too bright and poppy for my taste, but right when you think you're listening to a typical pop new wave album, the admirable musicianship and sense of melody remind you there's something deeper. Sometimes I'm reminded of 80's prog pop experiments by Talk Talk and Marillion. Let's call it a pop album for musically educated adults.

**** for Boys & Girls, 脳にファイヤー！ Brains On Fire!, 賑やかな孤独 (Nigiyaka Na Kodoku), 暮れる想い (Kureru Omoi), 42℃のピクニック(42 Degrees No Picnic), 愛と快楽主義者 (Ai To Kairakushugisha), 7 days At Last!

*** for 薔薇はプラズマ Bara Wa Plasma,ダシール・ハメット&ポップコーン (Dashiell Hammet & Popcorn), Un Coco Loco

"Rolling Tickets - Live Back-" 1964-1969(rec)1982(comp)*****

Wow, it's been a month to the day - probably the longest time I've been away from you. Truth is, I've been quite busy at work, and then travelling - in Japan, for a large chunk of last month. You can bet I visited a lot of record shops there, and I have the receipts to prove it! I bought mostly albums by Japanese bands, although I found great stuff in all kinds. I'll present as many of my purchases as I can in this blog (notice I've given up on the ambition to present all, or even the bulk of, my collection here). Let's start with this one, by the "Rolling Tickets":

Who are the Rolling Tickets? you ask. Fair question, that's what I asked myself when I came across this LP at the Shinjuku Rock branch of Disk Union. My first guess was some kind of Japanese Rolling Stones tribute band, perhaps? No siree, this is a Japan-only official Rolling Stones compilation. What the hell does the title mean, then? Why tickets? Is it a live recording? What does the word back refer to? I guess what we have here is a typical case of Engrish, otherwise known as Japanglish. You'll see it everywhere in Japan, from street signs to slogans on standardized food packages: English phrases that apparently sound good to Japanese ears but make zero sense to English speakers. Something else that makes zero sense to me is the concept of this comp: sure, what we have here is 10 stone cold classics from the 60's. One could argue for the inclusion of "Paint It, Black" and a couple of others, but there's no doubt that the songs included here are among the band's best. For some reason, 4 of them are repeated twice, once in their studio version and once live. Hence the "live" of the title. Each side opens with two versions of one song and closes with two versions of another. Sandwiched between these we get 3 more studio recordings on each side. The LP comes with a big 4-page insert, containing the band's discography, complete lyrics for all the songs with their Japanese translation, and info on the latest 1981-1982 Rolling Stones world tour, as well as a short text on each track. So we learn that 3 out of the 4 live tracks come from Have Live If You Want It ("Under My Thumb","Time Is On My Side" and "Satisfaction") and one from Get Your Ya Ya's Out ("Honky Tonk Women"). The provenance of the rest is less clear: we learn that these are studio recordings (or, in one occasion at least, "rocordings") which appear in this or that single, album, or comp, but not which mix is included. I'm guessing it's the US versions (Rolling Stones albums were released with different titles and tracklisting on the two sides of the Atlantic), because the record label is London, Decca's US subsidiary. While I know that some of these early songs were also recorded and released in stereo, the label denotes "mono" so these are the original mono mixes rather than the true stereo ones or the hastily "electronically re-channeled for stereo" ones which are reviled by audiophiles. I confess I have the vinyl "digitally remastered in stereo" reissues of those early US albums, and never had any complaints about the way they sound. Then again, I didn't have the original mono LPs for comparison. Maybe I should listen to them back-to-back with this Japanese comp and see which sounds better. In any case: Rolling Stones compilations are a dime a dozen, but this one may appeal to collectors because it centers on mono mixes exclusively, or because they get to listen the same song in two successive versions, a live and a studio one; notice the difference on the two versions of "Under My Thumb" below.

***** for Under My Thumb, Let's Spend The Night Together, Let It Bleed, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Time Is On My Side, Honky Tonk Women - Live, Honky Tonk Women, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

**** for Under My Thumb - Live, Time Is On My Side - Live, Mona (I Need You, Baby), (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Live

 

Extremoduro "La Ley Innata" 2008****

I recently returned from Madrid, Spain. Ιt was my second visit there, much happier than the previous one when I got COVID and stayed in bed for most of my time. At least, last time I did get to visit a lot of record stores and buy some CDs and LPs from Spanish bands - any visit to another country means getting some rock albums from local bands. I don't have to be familiar with them. Sometimes I listen to a few seconds of a song on my mobile, others I just read a bit of info about them. By now I've been to Spain so many times that I have albums by maybe 20 Spanish rock bands - more than most of my Spanish friends! This time I thought I'd buy something by Extremoduro whom I understood to be quite popular (apparently they were ranked number 6 on Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Spanish rock bands"). The band's name (which means "extremely tough/hard") is also a pun on the band's home region in western Spain, Extremadura. It was founded in 1987 by Roberto "Robe" Iniesta who was also the singer, guitarist, and main songwriter. Initially they were a bit rough, with rude lyrics glorifying sex and hard drugs. They called their music "Rock transgresivo" - a mix of progressive rock with hard rock and alternative. This album represents the culmination of their efforts, being both a critical and commercial success (their first to reach No.1 at the Spanish charts). The album title translates as "The Inner Law", and the Latin text on the cover (attributed to Cicero) translates as "There is, in fact, judges, an unwritten law, but an innate one, which we have not learned, inherited, or read, but which we have grasped, squeezed, and expunged from nature itself; a law for which we have not been educated, but made; and in which we have not been instructed, but steeped". That "innate law" seems to be the central idea behind this concept album, but how it's all connected isn't clear to me - the CD booklet provides us with the lyrics, but my Spanish is extremely limited. Supposedly the text is poetic and lyrically accomplished. The music is also quite complex, with changing tempos and rich instrumentation, including the violin and other strings, piano, trumpet, and woodwind. In a throwback to earlier times (e.g. "Thick As A Brick") there aren't songs per se, or rather there is a single song, divided in 6 parts: introduction, four "movements" and a coda. Even so, each movement is comprised by various segments sometimes incorporating recurring melodies from other movements. Opener "Dulce introducción al caos" starts, as hinted by its title, as a pretty ballad, with nice violin. Even though it gets progressively louder, even making use of metallic riffs towards the end, it never loses its sense of melody. "Primer movimiento: el sueño" is a catchy tune which reminds me of Porcupine Tree's more mainstream moments. "Segundo movimiento: lo de fuera" is, at nearly 12 minutes, the longest, most progressive, track. It includes everything from orchestral melodic parts to punk rock choruses, but above all excellent guitar solos. This segues into a relatively straight heavy metal piece "Tercer movimiento: lo de dentro", followed by the semi-acoustic (for the most part) "Cuarto movimiento: la realidad". "Coda flamenca (otra realidad)" which closes the album incorporates folk (flamenco) influences. It's a welcome addition to the group's palette, but Extremoduro aren't exactly Triana, meaning that Robe's flamenco-style vocalizing is less than convincing; he's more in his element when he cranks up the volume during the last two minutes of the song. In the end, this makes for a very satisfying listen: the compositions are complex enough to merit the progressive label, but not experimental or "difficult". Indeed it's full of catchy melodies and choruses, while the guitars are as loud and flashy as expected from a hard rock band, but not to the point of exhibitionism. Already one of my favorite Spanish rock bands, alongside the (very different to each other) Heroes Del Silencio, Ska-P, and Triana.

**** for Dulce introducción al caos, Primer movimiento: el sueño, Segundo movimiento: lo de fuera, Tercer movimiento: lo de dentro, Cuarto movimiento: la realidad, Coda flamenca (otra realidad)