1966, The Year in Review, P2

The Next 6 Albums,
for My Top 12 Albums of 1966

Note: Some of this commentary is adapted from that in No Hype No Trends Music’s 200 Best Albums of the 1960s.

As always, you can jump to the playlist at the bottom of each post to listen while you read.

Within each tier (Top 6, Next 6, etc.), all albums are listed roughly chronologically (all release dates from Wikipedia, unless otherwise noted).

Simon and Garfunkel
Sounds of Silence

Released 1966/01/17

I’d ordinarily prefer a thorough Simon and Garfunkel compilation to owning any of their individual albums.  However, they did have quite a solid body of work, and this album is probably their best.  It’s a great listen from start to finish, from the familiar tracks to the ones that might be new to you.

Read more in my top 100 of the decade.

Notable Critical Mentions:

• Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 141
• Paste 60 Best Albums of the 1960s, No. 050

Monks
Black Monk Time

Released 1966/03

Is this the world’s first punk band?  Perhaps.  It seems they were discovered about 20 years ago, and almost no one had heard of them before that.  (I keep waiting to hear that their “discovery” was in fact a hoax, and that all the tracks were recorded in someone’s garage in early 1995.)  This band of American GIs stationed in Germany hammered out one lone album of fiery proto-punk—angry, intense, excellent.

Read more in my top 100 of the decade.

Notable Critical Mentions:

• Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 196
• 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die (2005)
• SPIN: The Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s, No. 045

Small Faces
Small Faces [Decca label, UK]

Released 1966/05/06

Listening to “You Need Loving” for the first time is like listening to an early rendition of half of Led Zeppelin’s entire career (or at least Led Zeppelin II)—only fierier and more frenzied. Wow.

But this isn’t heavy blues-rock, like the Zep—it’s a loud, sped-up, rock and roll take on early R&B and soul. While most British Invasion bands were covering Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, the Small Faces got their start idolizing Otis Redding and James Brown.

The high points here are gut-wrenchingly powerful. Great stuff. Essential listening.

Listen to more Small Faces.

Read more in my top 200 of the decade.

Skip James
Today!

Released 1966

Great blues stuff. James was one of the many long-time struggling blues musicians whose careers received a well-deserved boost in the ‘60s blues revival. After retiring from music during the Great Depression to become a minister, he was rediscovered in time to record a few last albums in the mid- to late ‘60s. His expressive voice is pitched higher than many of his contemporaries, and it has a distinctive haunting quality that is undeniably compelling.

Read more in my top 200 of the decade.

Notable Critical Mentions:

• Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 380

The Byrds
Fifth Dimension

Released 1966/07/18

Here’s where the Byrds first dipped their toes into the psychedelic pool. Actually, it might be better to say that they first started helping to fill the pool, as they were among the forerunners in developing the style.

Raga- and jazz-influenced guitar solos; cryptic lyrics about supersonic flights, space aliens, and the theory of relativity (all easily misconstrued as drug references); plus open-ended musings on “What’s Happening?!?!”—all this pointed rock and roll in a new direction, both musically and lyrically. The cover songs are only so-so, but at least they aren’t Dylan. (Don’t get me wrong, I love Dylan, but I rarely want to hear anyone cover his songs.)  Everything else on the album is flat-out brilliant.  Kudos to the band for losing its best songwriter (Gene Clark) and only getting better.

The Byrds would continue this experimental vein on their next—and best—album, Younger than Yesterday, only to begin turning away from such experimentation toward country and roots-rock with their subsequent albums.

Listen to more Byrds.

Read more in my top 100 of the decade.

Notable Critical Mentions:

• Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 102
• 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die (2005)
• NME Writers All-Time 100 (1974), No. 055
• NME Greatest Albums of the ’60s (1993), No. 032

John Mayall
Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton

Released 1966/07/22

Remembered today mostly for its guest star, this is the most acclaimed and probably best of John Mayall’s albums (certainly the best of those I’ve checked out, all for this project).  Mayall was a key figure in the development of blues-based rock, and this album shows him in peak form.

Read more in my top 100 of the decade.

Notable Critical Mentions:

• Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 064
• 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die (2005)
• The Rolling Stone 200 Essential Record Collection (1997)
• Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), No. 195
• NME Writers All-Time 100 (1974), No. 085

Here’s the complete 1966: The Year in Review playlist for you—three tracks per album. Enjoy!

More 1966, The Year in Review

More Years in Review of the 1960s…

Cover Art Citations:

• Sounds of Silence: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2184065
• Black Monk Time: By Guenther Aulich – [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54658521
• Fifth Dimension: By Photograph, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2202143
• Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15294151
• Small Faces [Decca label, UK]: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11189635
• Today!: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27071414