BLOODY MINDED – Twenty great albums of 1969…….

[email protected] November 26, 2021

While it may sound akin to stating the obvious, there is a strong sense given the immense changes in creative expression to have occurred in popular music through the decade, that all roads ultimately lead to 1969.

As the 1960s unfolded, so emerged artists whose creativity, lyricism, avoidance of established parameters in songwriting and refusal to compromise on artistic freedoms, opened up an awareness in attitudes that without artists such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan might have remained dormant for generations to come.

Such was the extraordinary level of newfound lyrical expressionism, musical dexterity and technical advancement, the scope, indeed entire method, for what could be expressed found outlets that were new and original. The tumult, turmoil, sheer bewilderment of the age was captured by a range of performers who articulated their concerns, joy, fear and frustrations as the seventh decade of the 20th Century ricocheted between wonderment and woe.

Moving from rock and roll to rock, pop through to protest songs, contemporary music had never been presented in so many styles, with folk, blues, country, jazz and psychedelic just some of the divergent strands to become variations of the form. In a few short years the possibilities had become limitless, the sky no longer the limit in regard to the long-playing record or for that matter lunar landings.

Two years before man would walk on the moon, The Beatles, who had been at the forefront of musical innovation, released ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band‘ an album that demonstrated their appetite for groundbreaking, highly imaginative work.

Following on the heels of the 1966 Beach Boys opus ‘Pet Sounds‘ – in a year that also brought seminal works from Bob Dylan and The Beatles themselves – there was now no horizon the LP could not reach.

By 1969 Dylan, The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix, The Byrds and The Beach Boys had all accelerated the process of rock music being regarded as a serious art form. Yet despite the dizzying level of accomplishment, such was the pace of progress not even their achievements came under the newly emerging banner of ‘progressive rock.’

During the year two top rank English rock bands, both containing a songwriting talent of remarkable verve and audacity, released albums where the songs served a narrative that covered the entire piece. At this point it was hard to see just how much more ‘progressive’ rock could become – this being a time when the term ‘prog rock’ was not used pejoratively, if at all.

As the primary source of ideas within their respective bands, Ray Davies of The Kinks and Who guitarist Pete Townshend had already begun exploring notions of the album being used to contain a song-cycle, their ambitions going beyond the three-minute single at which they were masters in creating – but on ‘ARTHUR‘ (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire‘) and ‘TOMMY‘ these ideas blossomed into fully-realised conceptual pieces.

On ‘Arthur‘ Davies moves the main character through the decades from 1900 onward, commenting with great poignancy and humour, not to say bittersweet irony, on how the mores and machinations of the British class system impact on the individual.

If songs such as the rousing opener ‘Victoria‘ and ‘Mr. Churchill Says‘ serve the story to great effect then on the devastatingly brilliant ‘Shangri-La,’ Davies pens a five-minute social history thesis which not only captures the essence of his thinking, but contains such wit and sharp-eyed observation, the song, due also to its brilliant ensemble playing, stands in its own right as a wonder of the age.

If ‘Arthur‘ could be classed as rock drama, then rock opera was the term used (often by The Who themselves) to describe ‘Tommy‘ – the 90-minute story of a boy struck deaf, dumb and blind who develops into a pinball champion and in recovering his faculties becomes a Messiah in leading an adolescent crusade. Viewed by some as pretentious but most others as gloriously ambitious, even if the story line at times goes awry ‘Tommy‘ remains musically superb. Soon it developed an existence beyond the group with stage and film adaptations, but still best heard on record in its original landmark double album form.

Established as a top concert attraction on both sides of the Atlantic, with a large dosage of ‘Tommy‘ incorporated into their stage act The Who became the undisputed champions of live rock, the four-year journey from rebel yells to rock opera testament to them setting the bar for three instrument, one voice rock bands – but also to the ever-fertile imagination of Townshend that would show no sign of diminishing in the years ahead.

With The Kinks and The Who producing albums of lasting gravitas, there is a sense the other thoroughbreds in the field, The Beatles and Rolling Stones, take an anything-you-can-do-we-can-certainly-match approach to the challenge laid down. After the ‘White Album‘ double set of the previous year, that for all its inspirational moments sounded the efforts of a disintegrating unit, ‘ABBEY ROAD‘ (the last album chronologically The Beatles would record together), showed them as buoyant and deft as ever.

Hindsight has seen it become regarded as a vehicle Paul McCartney drove to the finish line by virtue of the linear theme running through the second side. On side two the tracks, while not adhering to a any clear ‘concept’ flow with great melodic cohesion and play as brief vignettes rather than individual songs – the gist may not always be clear, yet inventiveness comes at every turn. Throw in two outstanding George Harrison compositions, a John Lennon standard in ‘Come Together‘ then taken as a whole it is an album of abundant musicality and resonance.

Standing tall against any of their previous triumphs, ‘Abbey Road‘ is a formidable Beatle-album and by extension a seminal rock record.

As The Beatles were compiling what would effectively be their swansong, four Canadians and an American known collectively as The Band were delivering their second album – an LP many would come to regard as the greatest ever made. Twelve months earlier the ‘Music from Big Pink‘ debut set had taken them from Bob Dylan sidemen to a group lauded for their astounding musical telepathy, incredible vocals and the songwriting prowess of guitarist Robbie Robertson.

On the follow-up entitled simply ‘THE BAND‘ they climb even higher with a collection of songs in which Robertson not only evokes events such as the Civil War and Great Depression but is able to convey the fascination in experiencing America as an outsider.

Whether they are conjuring rock, country or light jazz, few bands have operated with such clarity of purpose – yet then again hardly any can be said to have had such profound material with which to work.

In comparison the Flying Burrito Bros at times sound like spirited amateurs on their enthralling, often stunning debut album ‘THE GILDED PALACE OF SIN.’

At the helm are former Byrds Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, who expand on forays into country music with their previous band in creating the most authentic merger between country and rock anyone has ever managed. That Parsons – in conjunction with either Hillman or bassist Chris Ethridge – could write such brilliant original material (at the age of just 22) helped, as did the soulful, almost aching tenor in which he sang.

Despite barely selling a copy it was admired by Bob Dylan, taken as a key text by the Rolling Stones for their explorations into country music, but the true extent of the influence exerted by ‘Gilded Palace‘ came a few years later when the Eagles broke the bank with a sanitised version of Burrito pizzazz.

Ploughing a similar furrow only with pop rather than rock overtones was ‘PICKIN’ UP THE PIECES‘ the debut offering from Poco. Formed from the remnants of Buffalo Springfield when messrs Young then Stills opted for pastures new, guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina honed their country-pop intentions on a record (written in the main by Furay, with Messina producing) that suggests how The Beatles might have sounded had they emerged from Lincoln, Nebraska rather than Liverpool, England.

Ahead of its time in being too country for the pop charts and overloaded with rock for a country audience, Poco, in sales terms were another to miss the boat, ever after playing a major role in setting afloat the supertanker country rock would become.

Operating in territory, with regard to their sound, somewhere between Poco and The Band were Creedence Clearwater Revival, who topped a year when they had already released two notable albums along with a string of memorable hit singles, with ‘WILLY AND THE POOR BOYS‘ – a superbly crafted effort on which singer/songwriter/guitarist John Fogerty brought all his political fury to the fore.

Opening with the jug-band jamboree of ‘Down on the Corner,’ Fogerty loads the satirical ‘It Came Out of the Sky‘ with sly humour in lampooning politicians and religious leaders, but his turn of phrase is at its most caustic and succinct on ‘Fortunate Son‘ – a searing indictment of the Vietnam draft procedure in regard to how those from privileged backgrounds could be deferred from military service, the Creedence man entitled to comment due to serving on being drafted.

If Fogerty was breathing lyrical fire, Neil Young spent much of his intense ‘EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE‘ release firing out guitar solos that pierced and burst like musical tracer. His second solo album since leaving Buffalo Springfield, Young built from the foundations of his auspicious self-titled debut of the previous year to deliver a record offering harsh, but always assured performances featuring dramatic guitar duels with Danny Whitten from an assembled backing band known as Crazy Horse.

Blessed with an equally cutting turn of phrase, the feverish quality of cuts such as ‘Cinnamon Girl,’ ‘Down by the River‘ and ‘Cowgirl in the Sand‘ affirmed Young as a maverick but also a major talent.

Also weighing in with a second album was his fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell. ‘CLOUDS‘, her follow-up to ‘Songs to a Seagull‘ found her singing with increased confidence while taking small but significant steps forward in relation to the folk-based odes to romantic insecurity she was close to perfecting – ‘Chelsea Morning‘, ‘I Don’t Know Where I Stand‘ and ‘That Song about the Midway‘ go right to the heart of conflicting emotions, while closing cut ‘Both Sides, Now‘ would go on to become one of her best known songs.

Master wordsmith and generational troubadour Bob Dylan continued to immerse himself in country music on the eloquent ‘NASHVILLE SKYLINE.’ Following on from the superb ‘John Wesley Harding‘ (1967), his ninth album is just as textured being homely rather than sentimental. ‘Girl from the North Country‘ is a duet with Johnny Cash that takes country-folk to a new level of acceptance, while two great ballads ‘Lay Lady Lay‘ and ‘Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You‘ are testament to his domestic bliss – but all over this is a record of unfailing charm, although would prove the last essential Dylan album until ‘Blood on the Tracks.’

Twenty-one-year-old English folkie Nick Drake (born to English parents in Burma where his father was working as an engineer), generated all manner of critical approval for his intriguing debut ‘FIVE LEAVES LEFT.’ While a number of tracks are undoubtedly sombre, this was rich, if sensitive music. The jazz inflections of his acoustic guitar and pure, distinctive voice create a mood not dissimilar to ‘Astral Weeks‘ by Van Morrison, a comparison not made lightly.

With another couple of albums of comparable excellence behind him, none of this three LP’s making much commercial headway, Drake sadly succumbed to a drug overdose in October 1974.

Already heralded as the finest female rock singer Britain has produced (a title she has never relinquished), Dusty Springfield – born Mary O’Brien in London to Irish parents – had long since coveted an opportunity to produce a blend of pop and soul, her interpretation contained on the masterful ‘DUSTY IN MEMPHIS‘ the most perfect example ever recorded.

Produced by Jerry Wexler and supported by a top-notch session crew, Springfield turns in a series of faultless performances that are expressive and striking without ever sounding forced – emphasised in her reading of ‘Son of a Preacher Man‘ that stands as the definitive version.

Declared by Pete Townshend no less, who knew a thing or two about such things, as ‘an uncanny masterpiece‘ the King Crimson debut ‘IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING ‘ while not the most accessible album of 1969, arguably proved the most influential given the movement it almost single-handedly ushered in.

Consisting of lengthy compositions with classical overtones, to the uninitiated this wild meshing of drums, saxophone, keyboards and frenetic guitars often sounds at a deliberate cross-purpose. That said, the musicianship of this English band, led in the main by Robert Fripp (guitars) and Ian McDonald (keyboards/saxophone), is first rate and changes in tone and mood always make an impact as King Crimson blaze a trail for ‘prog rock’ down which countless others would follow – ramping up the musical excess for effect unlike Crimson who went out to avoid convention.

The surreal imagery in the words of lyricist Pete Sinfield also put ‘In the Court of The Crimson King‘ into an ‘art-rock’ cul-de-sac of its own – although years later he would write hits for the likes of Celine Dion, Cher and Bucks Fizz, while also penning the words to ‘I Believe in Father Christmas‘ a perennial festive hit for original King Crimson bassist Greg Lake.

Written and performed in similar free-form style but taking surrealism to a plateau rock music had never previously set foot was ‘TROUT MASK REPLICA‘ a double album by Californian free spirit Captain Beefheart. Few of the twenty-eight tracks spread across the four sides carry much lyrical weight, although looking for meaning in a Dylan or Beatles sense is beside the point – the combined elements of hard rock, jazz and blues (at times appearing to be going on all at the same time), is musical expressionism carried out to a level not even Bowie or Pink Floyd would attain.

Was it art? Extreme creativity? Or being 1969 just plain weird? It is, however, an album that continues to be embraced from generation to generation, particularly by those seeking inspiration beyond the mainstream. Former Sex Pistol John Lydon once described ‘Trout Mask Replica‘ as ‘anti-music in the most interesting and insane way,’ his appraisal impossible to improve on.

If Beefheart was lauded by the critics but lost on the public, the opposite could be said of the debut offering of English hard rockers Led Zeppelin which had appeared earlier in the year. Ten months on they came up with the equally forceful, but more rounded ‘LED ZEPPELIN II‘.

Still brimming with bombast but now with more snatches of brilliance, the world at large could not resist such a blockbuster rock record and in no time, Zeppelin were the biggest band in the world. Their detractors denounced them for being derivative of blues artists whose work they revamped as their own, although audiences adored them for a gut-busting heavy metal sound that was virtually without precedent.

Nobody could accuse Jefferson Airplane of lacking integrity, their ‘VOLUNTEERS‘ release giving full reign to deep political convictions based on social justice and ending the Vietnam war.

Potent music and gutsy lyrics ensured there was nothing ambiguous about cuts such as ‘We Can Be Together‘, ‘Good Shepherd‘ and the affecting title-track. Okay, they might have been naive in thinking the protestations of a San Francisco rock band (admittedly a very successful one), were going to change government policies, but hats off to the Airplane for trying – and also for a superbly atmospheric take on ‘Wooden Ships‘ a song written by guitarist Paul Kantner, David Crosby and Stephen Stills, that had already been cut on the CSN debut.

As black music continued to gather intensity it came with a more pointed political message, Sly Stone prominent in each field with the ebullient ‘STAND!’

Backed by an inter-sex, inter-racial band known as ‘the Family Stone’, singer/writer and multi-instrumentalist Sly wrote lyrics that championed civil rights atop of fluent soul/funk arrangements, interspersed with scatter-gun horns. Tracks such as ‘Everyday People‘, the anthemic title piece and ‘I Want to Take You Higher‘ had more than enough scope to make people think while they danced and vice-versa.

If Sly Stone was changing the perception of soul by commenting on society, then Issac Hayes decided to alter the way it was presented – ‘HOT BUTTERED SOUL‘ practically inventing the concept of orchestral soul music.

Comprising of just four elaborately arranged tracks, familiar pieces such as the Bacharach/David standard ‘Walk On By‘ and Glen Campbell country hit ‘By the Time I get to Phoenix‘ for his purpose, (both of which weigh in at over twelve minutes with ‘Walk on By‘ closer to twenty), Hayes – just – manages to stop short of self-indulgence, his impressive keyboard work and fulsome voice always a delight to hear.

While Led Zeppelin had quickly become the heavy rock band all others in that sphere wanted to emulate, then almost from the off Crosby, Stills and Nash were the soft-rock aggregation those who followed wanted to be.

Coming together after previously tasting success in other bands, Americans Crosby (The Byrds), Stills (Buffalo Springfield) and Englishman Nash (The Hollies), pooled their resources to form an eye-catching trio. whose ‘CROSBY, STILLS & NASH‘ debut reached most of the expectations placed upon it.

Only in the broadest sense was this ‘country-rock’, the flavour determined by which individual had written the track – Stills (Latin-folk), Crosby (abstract rock-jazz), Nash (lilting pop) – even if it was mostly built on a platform of acoustic guitars and carefully crafted three-part harmonies.

An embodiment of late-60s counterculture, their denim-clad appearance, hippie vibe and mellow melodies were a counterpoint to the end of psychedelic rock and loud guitar sound beginning to proliferate. Immediate acceptance as a major outfit was also due in no small way to the preponderance of good songs, they were able to muster, Stills alone contributing gems in ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes‘ and ‘Helplessly Hoping.’

Released in May and quickly becoming representative of the peace and love ethos of the time, ‘Crosby Stills & Nash‘ would, literally, have been a good note on which to end the decade.

Before the end of 1969 the moon would be conquered, but the name Charles Manson would also make the headlines. In August, with war in Vietnam at its height, the three day Woodstock Festival in upstate New York, featuring appearances by Crosby, Stills & Nash (now joined by Neil Young), The Band, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who and Jimi Hendrix among a host of others, produced some celebrated performances for an audience estimated at 450,000 – but as a cultural event was, in truth, the last hurrah of a sinking sub-culture.

Four months later brought the horror of Altamont, a free-festival provided by the Rolling Stones as a ‘gift’ to their fans in California. During their top of the bill appearance on Saturday 6 December, a young black fan was stabbed to death in a melee involving Hell’s Angels who had been hired to provide security.

The nightmarish images of the disorder were captured in footage contained in a 1972 documentary of the Stones ’69 US Tour entitled ‘Gimme Shelter‘ – named after the song which opens ‘LET IT BLEED‘ the album released by the band while they were on the road in America.

That a disconcerting event such as Altamont should occur on release of this totemic collection is one of those sad, uncomfortable ironies which run through the history of rock music. In a year when founder member Brian Jones had been fired from the group (replaced by exemplary guitarist Mick Taylor, Jones drowned in a swimming pool a few weeks later), rather than give the impression of being a band in transition, the Stones more than anyone else were attuned to the paranoia and uncertainty now permeating as the new decade approached.

Sex scandals and drug busts resulting in frequent brushes with the law had enhanced their anti-establishment, screw you, outlaw stance – from which by the way, happens to emerge some of the most prescient and gripping rock music ever produced.

At times ‘Let It Bleed‘ is dark and unerringly trenchant, much made at the time of the Stones playing the spooky ‘Midnight Rambler‘ with its Boston-strangler imagery, while an audience member was being slain at Altamont.

But at other intervals there is light and dare it be said, beauty to be found; ‘Live with Me‘ is one of those stunning exercises in riff and rhetoric that only Mick and Keith could come up with and if the portents of stellar opening cut ‘Gimme Shelter‘ are ominous and foreboding, then closer ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want‘ offers a glimmer of hope in the pervading darkness – a heartfelt Jagger vocal blended with a massed choir, offering distraction rather than sympathy for the devil.

Chaos, copulation, conflict – on ‘Let It Bleed‘ the Stones cover it all and at the same time serve notice on the 1960s.

TWENTY GREAT ALBUMS of 1969:

1. THE BAND – The Band;
2. LET IT BLEED – Rolling Stones;
3. ABBEY ROAD – The Beatles;
4. TOMMY – The Who;
5. ARTHUR (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) – The Kinks;
6. STAND! – Sly and the Family Stone;
7. THE GILDED PALACE OF SIN – The Flying Burrito Bros;
8. EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE – Neil Young;
9. WILLY AND THE POOR BOYS – Creedence Clearwater Revival;
10. DUSTY IN MEMPHIS – Dusty Springfield;
11. CROSBY, STILLS & NASH – Crosby, Stills & Nash;
12. VOLUNTEERS – Jefferson Airplane;
13. IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING – King Crimson;
14. LED ZEPPELIN II – Led Zeppelin;
15. TROUT MASK REPLICA – Captain Beefheart;
16. NASHVILLE SKYLINE – Bob Dylan;
17. CLOUDS – Joni Mitchell;
18. FIVE LEAVES LEFT – Nick Drake;
19. HOT BUTTERED SOUL – Issac Hayes;
20. PICKIN’ UP THE PIECES – Poco;

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NEIL SAMBROOK is the author of ‘MONTY’S DOUBLE‘ – an acclaimed thriller now available in paperback as an Amazon Kindle book.