’60s
Noah’s Barks pages covering things relating to the years 1960 to 1969, i.e. the ’60s.
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The Zombies – “Odessey and Oracle”
‘Odessey and Oracle’ is one of the greatest psychedelic pop albums—heck, one of the greatest albums ever made. (read more)
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Laura Nyro – “Eli and the Thirteenth Confession”
Though the mysterious, brooding album cover may suggest otherwise, ‘Eli and the Thirteenth Confession’ is actually a swingin’, progressive soul album. (read more)
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Big Brother & The Holding Company – “Cheap Thrills”
I decided a long time ago, pretty confidently, that I hated Janis Joplin‘s voice. Listening to Cheap Thrills now, I’m not sure what the hell was wrong with me. Not only is her righteous roar undeniably showstopping, but it’s the best thing about this album by a wide margin. I rarely even notice the band… (read more)
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The Soft Machine – “The Soft Machine” (1968)
The Soft Machine are a rightfully-named band. Their compositionally-layered blend of jazzy, psychedelic rock with frantic organ playing sounds like a machine straight out of a cartoon huffing and puffing, tooting and whistling while it bounces around, blowing smoke everywhere. Seriously though—that organ. Mike Ratledge is incredible here, and gives even Ray Manzarek a run… (read more)
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The Byrds – “The Notorious Byrd Brothers”
On ‘The Notorious Byrd Brothers,’ The Byrds oversaturate their album with too much hippy-dippy, reverbing, psychedelic production and undermine the immediacy of their signature jangly pop rock. (read more)
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Dusty Springfield – “Dusty in Memphis” (1969)
Aah, Dusty in Memphis is beautiful. Dusty Springfield’s voice is as soft as the warm air coming off a hot fire, and the string arrangements here decorate it in golden lace. The sitar at the end of “In the Land of Make Believe” is genuinely kind of innovative for soul/baroque pop music. I wish there… (read more)
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Nick Drake – “Five Leaves Left”
Five Leaves Left is currently my favorite album by Nick Drake, only in competition with Bryter Layter for his best (not like there’s much to compete with). All the strings in this album accentuate the music perfectly. The piano often may as well not be there, but it doesn’t bother much. Also, I’m pretty sure… (read more)
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The Sonics – “Here Are the Sonics!!!” (1965)
Here Are The Sonics!!! is the 1965 debut album by The Sonics. Considered very influential to both punk music and garage rock, the album receives near universal acclaim. But helping to pioneer some burgeoning genres does not alone make this a great album. For starters, 8 out of its 12 songs are covers, and while… (read more)
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The Electric Prunes – “The Electric Prunes”
There’s a little bit of all the great ’60s rock acts here. Considering The Electric Prunes formed in ’65, it’s clear that they’re trying to latch onto a scene. But integrity in pop music can be forgiven if the songs are good—so are they? (read more)
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Tim Buckley – “Blue Afternoon”
‘Blue Afternoon’ returns Tim Buckley to a more conventional, modest-length song format, a departure from the ethereal album cohesion shown prior. (read more)