The Next 6 Albums
for my Top 12 Albums of 1967
This batch of six albums seems particularly strong; certainly the albums by the Byrds, Kinks, and Jefferson Airplane are brilliant, easily good enough to make the top six albums of a typical year. But 1967 wasn’t a typical year, so here they are in the top 12. All six of the albums listed below represent the best album of each artist’s career, so they are all highly recommended.
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).
Jefferson Airplane
Surrealistic Pillow
Jefferson AirplaneReleased 1967/02/01
Jefferson Airplane burst onto the scene with Surrealistic Pillow, positively the best album by the best band of the San Francisco psychedelic scene.
This was their sophomore album, their first since the addition of Grace Slick, who brought with her the album’s two standout best tracks—the timeless classics “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit”—from her former band, The Great Society. Her presence enriches the entire album, even when she’s not singing lead, as her voice is seemingly always somewhere in the mix.
More than almost any other band at the time (or since) the vocals seem a team effort, with Slick, Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, and Jorma Kaukonen each singing lead on different songs. And many of the album’s strongest songs—“She Has Funny Cars,” “My Best Friend,” and others—featured ensemble vocals. Sometimes this contributes to the psychedelic effect: the melodic thrust of some songs seems to drift dreamily from one singer to the next, and in others the cluttered ensemble vocals feel muddled, reaching the listener as if through a haze.
With music that could be loud and noisy or delicate and tender, and lyrical content ranging from critiques of materialism and overt references to drug use to more mature portrayals of love than that offered in the standard pop fare, Surrealistic Pillow thrust the Airplane and San Francisco itself into the forefront of the American music scene. It ranks as one of the great albums of the psychedelic era.
Listen to more Jefferson Airplane.
Read more in my top 50 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 037
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005)
- The Rolling Stone 200 Essential Record Collection (1997)
- Rolling Stone: 100 Best Albums of the Past 20 Years (1987), No . 044
- Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), No . 146
- Paste 60 Best Albums of the 1960s, No . 033
The Byrds
Younger Than Yesterday
The ByrdsReleased 1967/02/06
The take on the Byrds I always heard was that their classic album was Sweetheart of the Rodeo, their collaboration with Gram Parsons, on which they broke free from the psychedelic scene to return rock to its country roots (whatever that means). When I listen to that album, I like it pretty well, but I don’t love it. It doesn’t possess me.
But the two albums in which they first set out on psychedelic explorations are another matter entirely. On the excellent Fifth Dimension and Younger Then Yesterday, their two best albums, they moved beyond their folky, cover-filled early jangle-pop sound toward something magnificent.
With balanced songwriting contributions from three members (Chris Hilman, David Crosby, and Jim McGuinn) the varied collection of songs and styles on Younger then Yesterday has been referred to as a West-Coast Revolver. Continuing their exploration of psychedelic effects, jazz modalities, and Indian music, the group graced their songs with trumpet, backwards guitar effects, raga-influenced guitar solos, and even a touch of electronic oscillator. The unstructured, probably-a-failure-but-worth-hearing-anyway “Mind Gardens” is the most experimental track they ever recorded. Other songs even have a hint of the country-rock that the band would soon pursue more intently.
With the exception of a couple tracks (“Mind Gardens,” “C.T.A. – 102”), the psychedelic touches sound rather light in comparison to what other artists would soon produce, but they are musically spot-on, enhancing the songs and pushing them forward—as well as being ahead of the curve. The Byrds were pioneers, and nowhere more successfully than on this album, which has many truly great moments.
Read more in my top 50 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 055
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005)
- Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of All Time (1997), No. 060
- Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), No . 124
- NME Writers Top 100 Albums (1993), No. 098
- NME Greatest Albums of the ’60s (1993), No. 017
- Uncut 200 Greatest Albums of All Time (2016), No . 078
Country Joe & The Fish
Electric Music for the Mind and Body
Country Joe & The FishReleased 1967/05/11
Very good San Francisco psychedelia. It may not have the catchy tunefulness of many of its contemporaries, but its eccentric charms reveal themselves upon further listens.
Country Joe McDonald’s pointed lyrics touch on politics both global and personal, and are littered with references to political figures and events, drug use, free love, hitchhiking, comic books, and other counterculture touchstones. Barry “The Fish” Melton’s oddly compelling, off-kilter guitar lines wander in and around the vocals like a court jester’s commentary. Piercing organ drones round out the mix.
Country Joe & The Fish released two albums in 1967; the big hit was the title track of their sophomore album, I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die, but their debut LP Electric Music for the Mind and Body was by a wide margin the better album, one of the highlights of the era.
Listen to more Country Joe & The Fish.
Read more in my top 50 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 158
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005)
- NME Writers All-Time 100 (1974), No. 081
The Kinks
Something Else by the Kinks
The KinksReleased 1967/09/15
On Something Else, The Kinks continued their turn away from the rough-edged blues-rock sound of their earlier albums toward a softer, music-hall-meets-chamber-pop sound that allowed them to focus more on the lyrical content of Ray and Dave Davies’ character studies and vignettes. Their work here and on the preceding Face to Face must rank among the most witty and charming in pop-rock history, with a perceptive humor and gently cutting cynicism that places them head and shoulders above their other songwriting peers.
Along with their non-album singles of the day these two albums easily comprise one of the great contributions to popular music. Essential.
Read more in my top 50 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 063
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005) )
- The Rolling Stone 200 Essential Record Collection (1997)
- Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), No . 288
Love
Forever Changes
LoveReleased 1967/11
Forever Changes is a listening experience unlike any other. With their third album, Love took their previous primitive garage-rock sound and softened it, made it more subtle and organic with elaborate string and horn orchestration.
“Alone Again Or,” for example—perhaps the album’s most iconic moment—features delicate guitar picking, swelling and shimmering strings, and mariachi trumpet. “A House is Not a Motel” adds driving rhythm guitar strumming and a climax of chaotic psychedelic guitar wailing.
And so what if it all feels a bit dated?—just to listen to it once is to be swept up in its surging melodies and heartfelt passion. Great stuff.
Read more in my top 50 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 017
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005)
- SPIN: The Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s, No . 026
- Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of All Time (1997), No . 033
- Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), No . 040
- NME Writers Top 100 Albums (1993), No. 018
- NME Greatest Albums of the ’60s (1993), No. 007
- Melody Maker All-Time Top 100 (2000), No . 069
- Uncut 200 Greatest Albums of All Time (2016), No . 006
- Paste 60 Best Albums of the 1960s, No . 020
Traffic
Mr. Fantasy
TrafficReleased 1967/12
Traffic had some other good albums, but none as strange or captivating as this one. Steve Winwood, straight off his experience in the British pop music scene with the Spencer Davis Group, teamed up with Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood, and on-again off-again member Dave Mason to create something altogether more unique.
Altogether, Mr. Fantasy is one of the best albums of the psychedelic era. By turns dreamy then energetic, melancholy then comic, the music encompasses an eclectic range of sounds and styles, incorporating such instruments as sitar, tambura, harpsichord, and flute. Steve Winwood’s pinched, brassy singing is key to the sound, especially when it’s distorted further, as in the title track.
Like many other experiments in psychedelia, this disc can sound a bit dated, a bit musically camp; but it still packs a wallop. Their later albums would sound more conventional, but were far less remarkable. (A paradox: Sometimes the “dated” sounds age better! The odd experiments, while sometimes hokey, are memorable even in their awkwardness; but the straight-up stuff, while easier to listen to, is too easily forgotten.)
Many reviews seem to focus on the difference between the original UK release (which of course omitted the band’s singles) and the US release (which of course omitted some of the best album tracks to add the singles), but if you’re streaming the album now, that’s all academic.
Read more in my top 50 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 114
- NME Writers All-Time 100 (1974), No. 086
Here’s the complete 1967: The Year in Review playlist for you—three tracks per album. Enjoy!
Also check out the singles playlists from 1967!
More 1967, The Year in Review
More Years in Review of the 1960s…
Cover Art Citations:
- Surrealistic Pillow: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5420908
- Younger Than Yesterday: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2202513
- Electric Music for the Mind and Body: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8044369
- Something Else by the Kinks: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18703295
- Forever Changes: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1039710
- Mr. Fantasy: Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13525938
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