From the Musical Wayback Machine
Here’s an escape from the serious craziness in the new world:
OK, This list is totally arguable and strictly personal opinion, and is focused on the early days....like real early. My roots. It would be fun to hear others talk about THEIR roots, as everyone’s tastes emerged in different eras and were influenced by different sounds.
Through the Holidays, there was some down time, so I've been rediscovering my collection. Digging out vinyl (I still have a turntable), cassettes (Lots of demos, airchecks and strange stuff there), CD's, Apple Music, Spotify and beyond....I let my 8-Track Rest In Peace though. The following are a few thoughts from my formulative years. I tried to stay away from the obvious Beatles, Hendrix and the like...but not get TOO obscure....just a few random thoughts from the dusty collection...for amusement only
THERE'D PROBABLY BE NO EDDIE VAN HALENS WITHOUT: The Ventures. Surf purists may prefer Dick Dale, but the Ventures were simple enough to learn from, original enough to create a "sound" and totally cool. The best era is the early and mid 60'd before they started doing Top 40 cover songs. Walk Don't Run and Slaughter on Tenth Avenue demonstrate mastery of the early Surf guitar.
ROCKERS COULD LEARN A FEW THINGS FROM THIS GUY: Chet Atkins. A lot of people think Country...and then you see he does songs like "Mr. Sandman"...then you listen and he plays so effortlessly...but DAMN this guy is amazing, partially because he DOES make everything sound so effortless.
THE PERFECT SINGLE: From the USA---Good Vibrations. Immaculate construction. Commercial perfection that was so damn original, if not revolutionary. . . No wonder it sounds as fresh today as the second it was released. From the U.K.— Video Killed the Radio Star, for the production alone...
MOST EXPERIMENTAL SINGLE: Telstar. The fist UK record to be #1 in the USA. Written and produced by madman Joe Meeks. Sped up pianos, slowed down toilets flushing and so much more sonic insanity... became an otherworldly smash. There had never been anything that sounded like this before on the charts.
SIMPLEST COOL SINGLE: Johnny Cash. I Walk The Line. Budget musta been ten bucks. I hear that the drums were actually brushes played on a phone book. Bare brilliance. Innocent. Spontaneous.
REALLY CLEVER ALBUMS NOT MADE BY THE BEATLES: The Who Sell Out. One of the most under appreciated early classic rock era albums. A concept album celebrating "Big L" aka Radio London, one of the Pirate stations off the coast of England. I guess it came out before the Who broke big...they were still a little culty back then in the pre Tommy days. But it was a joy to listen to, it was so...clever. Then there was the first Traffic record that was a sonic fairyland. Close to the Edge was a cinematic journey. This list could go on and on as cleverness was a trademark of that era.
UNDER-RATED SINGER: Gene Pitney. For a white guy, he had some soul going on. Plus he wrote and arranged his material, but that voice is so emotion packed...yet honest. In an age where many Male pop stars tended to be about fashion and cuteness, Gene was the real deal.
WHO KNEW AT THE TIME: Those amazing studio musicians that crafted all those hits.
WEIRDNESS AT IT'S BEST: Freak Out by the Mothers of Invention. By today's standards, it’s not that weird, but back in '67, it was so incredibly sick and out there. Completely experimental but melodic (mostly), funny and mildly offensive for all the right reasons. Rumor has it that this album was recorded without drugs. Hard to believe. Runner up is pretty much all of the Syd Barrett songs, especially “Interstellar Overdrive.”
MY FAVORITE FOLK ALBUM NOT BY BOB DYLAN: Gibson & Camp at the Gate of Horn. Funny, energetic, socially relevant in a 1962 way. A ton of fun to listen to...
BOB DYLAN POLITICAL SONG AS RELEVANT TODAY AS WHEN IT CAME OUT: The times they are a changing’. Of course
THERE'D PROBABLY BE NO LED ZEPPELIN WITHOUT: Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters, etc....the Blues giants. At the time, I thought the original Blues versions were too loose, too organic and guys like Led Zeppelin made the songs palatable to the masses by infusing the electric British sound. In recent years, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for the pure emotion transmitted in those early original recordings. Of course LZ created their own sound from those roots
THERE'D PROBABLY BE NO ROCK N ROLL WITHOUT: The Crows and those early R&B artists. Kinda like the Blues thing where there was a generation of artists emerging that took that sound, ”cleaned it up" for the mainstream. Take that early R&B mix it with Country and even some Pat Boone and the cocktail became Rock n Roll. Yes---highly simplified, but the point is how absolutely critical to the mix the R&B bands were. Without them, The Beatles may have been cutting their teeth on the McGuire Sisters.
COOL KEYBOARDS: Well played Mellotron as a foreground instrument with the Moody Blues, King Crimson and Yes. Early early Moog from Dick Hyman ( check out “The Minotaur.”)
TWO GUITAR SOUNDS THAT OPENED THE EYES OF THE MAINSTREAM: Jeff Beck's scorcher in Shapes of things and the oddball 12 string in Eight Miles High. We'd never heard anything quite like those, at least not on pop radio. It opened doors and influences so many guitarists to the sonic potential
BEST USE OF AN ORCHESTRA IN A POP SONG: I said I wasn't going to mention the Beatles, but they're the ones that did it right.
COOLEST SPECIAL EFFECT: The phasing on “The Big Hurt” by Toni Fisher. A mistake that worked.
BACK WHEN PROGRAMMERS WERE OPEN ENOUGH TO PLAY A FOREIGN LANGUAGE SONG. Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto and Dominique by the Singing Nun both soared to #1. Both had great melodies and proved that the strength of a melody performed right could overcome the language barrier. I think that STILL exists, but most pop programmers and the label machinery is so hooked into the system that it'll probably never happen. Too bad, I’ll bet there are quite a few big hits from overseas that would make some noise here. Discovery knows no borders.
Let’s hope future generations can also passionately relate to THEIR roots. Every musical revolution influences the next one.