The Next 8 Albums, for My Top 20 Albums of 1968
1968 featured 21 albums on my top 100 of the decade. So it’s a damned strong year. Anything in this top 20 might rank even higher in a normal year.
In fact, 1968 seems to me a pretty “flat” year in terms of quality, meaning that there are a lot of very good albums, with not much difference in quality between the large part of them. After my favorite four (which I’d probably rank Astral Weeks, Beggars Banquet, The Beatles, and Initials B.B.) there’s not a large separation between the rest of my top 20. On a different day, I could easily sequence them entirely differently.
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).
Dr. John, the Night Tripper
Gris-Gris
Released 1968/01/22
I first discovered Dr. John with his 2012 comeback album. On his debut, Gris-Gris, Dr. John (a.k.a., the Night Tripper) cranks out two glorious sides of tripped out psychedelic voodoo weirdness, unlike anything else you’ve ever heard. It’s damned good, too!
Adopting the voodoo doctor persona of Dr. John, Mac Rebennack fused psychedelic studio experimentation with a variety of styles of New Orleans music. The eerie stage is set masterfully with the spoken introduction of “Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya,” and the tribal drums of “Danse Kalinda Ba Doom” complete your transport to another realm. “Mama Roux” boasts a catchy melody and easy groove, as does “Jump Sturdy.” The entire ritual reaches its haunting, scattershot culmination in “I Walk on Guilded Splinters.”
The entire album sounds very much like a bring-your-own-talisman-and-chicken-and-razor-blade kind of affair, held out deep in the Louisiana bayou swamp in the morning’s wee hours. Unique, fascinating, brilliant.
Read more in my top 100 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 116
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005)
- Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), No . 143
- NME Writers All-Time 100 (1974), No. 093
- Uncut 200 Greatest Albums of All Time (2016), No . 199
- The Wire: 100 Records That Set the World on Fire (When No One was Listening)
The Velvet Underground
White Light/White Heat
Released 1968/01/30
White Light/White Heat stands as the Velvets’ most abrasive, dissonant album. I can only listen to it in certain moods, but it’s still a milestone in the formation of my musical aesthetics. Back in late high school, when many of my friends were satisfied checking out the latest Rush album, White Light/White Heat was a revelation, a dark manifesto of noise for its own sake.
The album brought abrasive dissonance to new heights, particularly in the extended improvisation “Sister Ray,” about a drug-fueled orgy, featuring drag queens, a murder, and the police knocking at the door. All the while, the biggest concern of the principal characters is not to stain the carpet. “Sister Ray” is one of those essential songs that you must have heard but don’t actually listen to all that often. It’s for special occasions, let’s say.
On the other hand, I get a real kick from “The Gift,” a macabre tale about a pathetic dweeb’s doomed love. And the gentle “Here She Comes Now” provides a surprisingly effective warmth after a side of discord.
I can understand why alternative magazines sometimes rank White Light/White Heat as their best album (even though song-for-song it is clearly the weakest of their four proper releases). It was truly ground-breaking, and the main reason after their debut that they are known as the forefathers of alternative rock.
Listen to more Velvet Underground.
Read more in my top 100 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 046
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005)
- SPIN: The Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s, No . 001
- Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), No . 292
- NME Writers All-Time 100 (1974), No. 089
- NME Writers All-Time 100 Albums (1985), No. 035
- NME Greatest Albums of the ’60s (1993), No. 020
- Uncut 200 Greatest Albums of All Time (2016), No . 080
- Paste 60 Best Albums of the 1960s, No . 055
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood
Nancy & Lee
Released 1968/03
Nancy Sinatra is best known for her classic hit single “These Boots Were Made for Walking,” and of course for being Frank Sinatra’s daughter. “Boots” was written by Lee Hazlewood, who has a deep, resonant voice and a quirky sensibility and theatricality that seems at odds with the country and pop music he writes. He’s truly an original.
Sinatra and Hazlewood had a lengthy, intermittent musical partnership, that yielded many wonderfully catchy (often witty and/or delightfully odd) pop songs. They had plenty of solo albums between them, but the best album by either one is their collaboration Nancy & Lee, which contains a few choice older duets added to more recent material, and it’s just excellent.
Of the older tracks, the eerie lounge-psychedelic “Some Velvet Morning” (from Movin’ with Nancy) appears to be about a man’s doomed love for the Greek goddess Phaedra. “Sand” (from How Does that Grab You?) and “Summer Wine” (from Nancy in London) are both duets between a grizzled cowboy figure and a younger, enigmatic maiden. Johnny Cash and June Carter’s version of “Jackson” is considered definitive, but the version here (from Country, My Way) is just about as good, with a more ironic touch to the rapport.
Particularly strong newer songs include “Sundown Sundown,” “Lady Bird,” and the humorous “I’ve Been Down So Long (It Looks Like Up to Me)” There are a few unfortunate covers, but some real gems, too—including Tom T. Hall’s “Greenwich Village Folk Song Salesman” and (on some CD versions) Bobby Braddock’s “Did You Ever?,” (from 1971’s Nancy & Lee Again) which captures their chemistry perfectly. Great fun!
Listen to more Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood (coming soon).
Read more in my top 100 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music , bubbling under the top 3000 albums of all time
- NME Greatest Albums of the ’60s (1993), No. 045
Johnny Cash
At Folsom Prison
Released 1968/05
For most artists, I consider live albums to be unnecessary. Muddy sound, less-crisp versions of songs that sound better in the studio, lengthy yet unremarkable guitar solos—these are the key features of many a live release.
But there are a small few group of artists whose best work is in a live setting—or, at the vey least, who have a live album or two that rank as the best or among the best of their career. From James Brown’s 1963 Live at the Apollo to Hawkwind’s Space Ritual to Townes Van Zandt’s At the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas, there are a small selection of live albums that are essential.
Cash’s At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin surely rank among those great live albums. The electrifying performances and stage banter yielded definitive versions of many of the songs here. Just for three songs alone—“Folsom Prison Blues” and “Cocaine Blues” most especially, but also “25 Minutes to Go”—At Folsom Prison is an undisputed classic.
Cash seems to have been a man of many contradictions, able to shift from themes of outlaw-style violence to religious repentance at the turn of a hat, and here he sings with such authority he seems to have lived through the tales he tells.
I of course ordinarily prefer the vibrant up-tempo stuff to the slow, mournful stuff (which you already know if you’ve read enough of my opinions), but even I must admit that his performances of “The Wall” and “The Long, Black Veil” are spellbinding.
Read more in my top 100 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 034
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005)
- Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), No . 088
- NME Greatest Albums of the ’60s (1993), No. 042
- Uncut 200 Greatest Albums of All Time (2016), No . 104
- Paste 60 Best Albums of the 1960s, No . 008
Small Faces
Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake
Released 1968/05/24
With Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake, Small Faces respectably tackle the standard psychedelic-rock concept album that every band seemed compelled to crank out after Sgt. Pepper. It’s one of their best albums, and one of the best of the ‘60s-concept-rock mini-genre.
Side one rocks with “Song of a Baker” and the soulful “Afterglow” and charms with the spritely barroom sing-alongs “Rene” and “Lazy Sunday.” It’s one of their strongest album sides.
Side two threads amusing semi-nonsensical narration (courtesy of comic Stanley Unwin), about a simple man on a quest to find the missing half of the moon, through the gaps between songs to form an interconnected song suite. Coming out a year before the Who’s Tommy and months before the Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow, it may be the earliest side-long concept album.
The packaging and album title parody a well-known English brand of tobacco. I’ve heard Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake is too quintessentially British for an American like me to fully appreciate, so if you’re a Brit you might rank this even higher.
Read more in my top 100 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 079
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005)
- NME Greatest Albums of the ’60s (1993), No. 022
The Band
Music from Big Pink
Released 1968/07/01
I’ve never been all that much of a Band fan. I first bought their two highly acclaimed late-‘60s albums after reading about them on the 1987 Rolling Stone list of the best albums of the previous 20 years. Those two albums were good, yes. But they didn’t fill me with passion.
I always preferred the innovative side of ‘60s music to the back-to-basics, roots/country-rock movement that reacted against it. I understand the need to simplify an art form that was starting to get overblown and a bit ridiculous. But the Band’s music was, frankly, less interesting to me. I felt similarly about the other roots album that helped close the door on the psychedelic movement, The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
I did like many of the Band’s songs, however, especially those on Music from Big Pink. Listening to it now, I like it even more.
I especially love that piercing organ to start off “Chest Fever,” which settles nicely into some sort of country-rock funk groove that I really dig. “The Weight” is an undisputed classic, as are “Tears of Rage,” “This Wheel’s on Fire,” and “I Shall Be Released.”
So although I’m not about to put Music from Big Pink on my Desert Island Top 10, it settles down into my ‘60s top 100 quite nicely. It’s really very good.
Read more in my top 100 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 024
- 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005)
- Rolling Stone: 100 Best Albums of the Past 20 Years (1987), No . 041
- Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of All Time (1997), No . 073
- Rolling Stone: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003), No . 034
- NME Writers All-Time 100 (1974), No. 010
- NME Writers All-Time 100 Albums (1985), No. 072
- NME Greatest Albums of the ’60s (1993), No. 039
- Uncut 200 Greatest Albums of All Time (2016), No . 066
- Paste 60 Best Albums of the 1960s, No . 012
The Soft Machine
The Soft Machine
Released 1968/12
Prog rock gets a bad rap, partly for good reasons. Overblown musical excess, synthesizer versions of classical music works, and fanciful fairytale and sci-fi lyrics have made the genre a bit of a laughing stock, or at the very least, quite an eye-roller. I suspect these tendencies stemmed from a desperate, misguided need to prove rock and roll was as sophisticated as classical music.
But good prog rock does exist. Blending psychedelic rock with jazz and other influences, the Soft Machine emerged from the Canterbury music scene playing a variety of prog rock that contained interconnected songs suites filled with musical improvisation and experimentation—but with a sense of playfulness lacking from many a please-take-me-seriously prog band.
Soft machine’s self-titled debut is one of the best prog rock albums around, and their third album (called Third) is quite good, as well. Later, they would morph into more of an instrumental jazz-fusion outfit, provoking lead singer Robert Wyatt to leave for a solo career.
Read more in my top 100 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 142
- NME Writers All-Time 100 (1974), No. 040
Etta James
Tell Mama
Released 1968/08/21
Etta James’ Tell Mama is a great blast of Southern soul, worthy of a place alongside other great ‘60s R&B classics from Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and more.
The title track, “Watch Dog,” “My Mother-in-Law,” “Just a Little Bit,’ and her take on Otis Redding’s “Security” are hard-hitting R&B treats, with Etta singing at the top her game. And the slow-burning “I’d Rather Go Blind” is an absolute knock-out, one of her best performances.
I slightly prefer Tell Mama to the standard critics’ darling, 1961’s At Last, which is also quite good. Tell Mama has a better balance of dynamic grooves songs to counter the slower numbers. Don’t miss it.
Read more in my top 100 of the decade.
Notable Critical Mentions:
- Acclaimed Music top albums of the ’60s, No. 213
Here’s the complete 1968: The Year in Review playlist for you—three tracks per album. Enjoy!
More 1968, The Year in Review
More Years in Review of the 1960s…
Cover Art Citations:
- Gris-Gris: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20640565
- White Light/White Heat: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1253935
- Nancy & Lee: By Derived from a scan of the album cover (creator of this digital version is irrelevant as the copyright in all equivalent images is still held by the same party). Copyright held by the record company or the artist. Claimed as fair use regardless., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34697801
- At Folsom Prison: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1366052
- Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43763533
- Music from Big Pink: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3094712
- Tell Mama: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21353372
- The Soft Machine: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3682267
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