Favorite 20 Albums Of 1965

[@MrCherryJuice]

Procol Harum did an album, 'Ain't Nothin' to Get Excited About', under the pseudonym Liquorice John Death', which as I realise from one of your picks was possibly inspired by John Fahey's 'The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death'. The Stones 'Under Assistant West Coast Promo Man' was an interesting song topic at the time. I always wondered if it was about Sonny Bono, who pre Sonny & Cher was the band's caretaker when they were in LA. He also co-wrote the song 'She Said Yeah', which appears on their 'December's Children' album (and the Searchers' his 'Needles & Pins'). It was originally recorded by Larry Williams, who penned 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy', the lame ending track on the Beatles' 'Help'. It was a small world. The Loving Spoonful made great records and were a fave with many other musicians. Did you know that 'Lucy', the red Les Paul that George Harrison gave to Eric Clapton originally belonged to the Spoonful's John Sebastian. It started as a sunburst with a Bigsby string bender. He put it up for sale in a shop, where it was purchased by the McCoys's Rick Derringer. He had it refinished in red and the Bigsby removed...but didn't like the end result, so had the shop put it back up for sale. Clapton purchased it. When he sat in on 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', Harrison gave him that guitar to use. Also, when Clapton failed to show up for a north London gig with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers - his guitar and amp were onstage - it turned out he'd gone to see the Spoonful at the Marquee Club down at 90 Wardour Street...which is where he and the Yardbirds recorded those live tracks on 'Having a Rave Up' in mid '64...on the opening night of the club at the location (having moved a few minutes walk down into London's Soho from Oxford Street. Mick Taylor offered to fill in for Mayall's second set and would later become a Bluesbreaker (and join the Stones) as a result. I've never understood why 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' and 'Bringing It All Back Home' don't feature more in the Dylan narrative. I've not heard either in over 40 years but recall them as being great...certainly more listenable than much of his subsequent work. And that cover of 'Beach Boys Today!' is yet another reminder of just how horrid their album covers were. Given their status, they were the most uncool looking band ever. The Beatles and Stones were naturally cool. The Yardbirds, Kinks and Who were hip Mods. The Hollies tried too hard, but at least the tried. The Beach Boys were a lost cause. When they later showed up in kaftans, beards and beads it was too late. And much to corny.

[@paulgoldstein2569]

My favorite 1965 albums are; The Who - My Generation The Yardbirds - For Your Love (U.S. only release) The Yardbirds - Having A Rave Up (U.S. only release) Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic The Rolling Stones - December's Children (U.S. only release) Paul Butterfield - self-titled debut Bob Dylan - both albums of that year Byrds - both albums of that year Beach Boys - Summer Days, Summer Nights Petula Clark - I Know A Place (issued in UK as Petula Clark Album) Dusty Springfield - Everything's Coming Up Dusty (her second UK album) Righteous Brothers - Just Once In My Life Otis Redding - Otis Blue The Impressions (featuring Curtis Mayfield) - People Get Ready The Four Tops - Second Album The Supremes - More Hits (not a compilation as it contained tracks exclusive to the album) The Miracles - Going To A Go Go The Temptations - Temptations Sing Smokey The Temptations - Temptin' Temptations Martha And The Vandellas - Dance Party Jr. Walker And The All Stars - Shotgun The Kinks - Kinkdom (U.S. only release) The Kinks - Kontroversy The Beatles - Help (UK version) The Beatles - Rubber Soul (UK version) Them - Angry Young Them (UK version of their first album) Donovan - What's Bin Did (Issued in the States as Catch The Wind) Donovan - Fairytale (UK version) Pretty Things - self-titled debut album (UK version) Pretty Things - Get The Picture (UK only release) Del Shannon - One Thousand Six Hundred Sixty One Seconds With Del Shannon Four Seasons - Working My Way Back To You Roy Orbison - There Is Only One Roy Orbison Johnny Cash - Ballads Of The True West Johnny Cash - Orange Blossom Special Paul Simon - Songbook (UK only release) The Everly Brothers - Rock And Soul The Everly Brothers - Beat And Soul With the Dusty Springfield, the CD reissue is better, as it contains bonus tracks including all 8 of her New York recordings, a couple of which were only released in the States, as her U.S. discography was different. The Rolling Stones album you mentioned only had six of the same tracks that were on the UK release, due to their U.S. discography being vastly different from their UK discography then. The U.S. release of the debut album by The Who which is the one you quoted was out in U.S. early the following year, and had an entirely different cover, and a track alteration, a track you mentioned, a Pete Townshend original, Instant Party replacing their way out version of Bo Diddley's I'm A Man from the UK release. The original double CD reissue of the album from 2003 is better, as it not only contains a heap of bonus tracks, but the album tracks in stereo for the first time. Two of the tracks, La La Lies and Kids Are Alright appear there with just a single lead vocal all the way through, so you can hear that extra edge to Roger Daltrey's voice, even though the tracks may sound a bit unfinished like this. The title track appears with parts of the guitar missing, so you hear the other parts better, and the instrumental The Ox appears with it's full unfaded ending. These tracks are exclusive to this double CD in these formats. The box set reissue of that album of years later included the tracks in stereo, but otherwise sounding identical to the mono's musically. Thse tracks also appear there in mono. That box set contained other gems that were exclusive to that set, but it was otherwise padded into a box set. But to add to the confusion, the My Generation album was then out again on CD in stereo, but with the tracks appearing exactly as they appear musically in the box set. The first Byrds album you mentioned contained mostly re-recordings of songs they already recorded as demos in 1964, that were not then released, but are now on their must-have double CD The Preflyte Sessions, al tracks recorded in 1964, and includes a few David Crosby solos. Not very easy to go back to 1964, as that was a bit before the album era, when albums were still only being released mostly on the back of hit singles.

[@bradhansen2065]

Fabulous stuff! Can we please go back and live it again (I was 15). Thank you.

[@juliatutor8099]

"Summer Days and Summer Nights " is the Beach Boys album you were thinking about....1965 was one of the greatest musical years in popular music history....I agree with a lot of your suggestions....love your channel

[@tomrobinson5776]

Thanks 😉

[@jeffwilson6297]

Great list, and your Top 5 is very close to mine, But I gotta say I love "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream."

[@jimward6445]

Ray's songwriting was often cinermatic, ie 'Waterloo Sunset' resembles a short film. 'See My Friends' is similarly evocative...beautiful song too. The last few minutes of 'A Love Supreme', after the turbulence of what comes before is beautifully cathartic. Horace Silver's 'Song For My Father' is a great choice, but Horace always delivers on his Blue Note releases. Great list.

[@bacarandii]

We forget that, in the mid-'60s, the Beatles and Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass often bumped against each other at the top of the Billboard charts. Among the top-selling albums of 1965 were titles by the Fab Four ("Beatles '65," "Beatles VI"), soundtrack albums ("Mary Poppins," "Goldfinger," "Roustabout," "Sound of Music") -- and combinations of the two (the Beatles soundtrack for "Help!"). And then, "Whipped Cream..." -- with one of the tastiest, most iconic album covers ever. That opening track, "A Taste of Honey" (a song earlier covered by the Beatles), is a pop instrumental with a rock spirit. And that spine-tingling, pulse-pounding drum intro by Hal Blaine (contrived to help the band enter on cue) can't be beat. No wonder Blaine and the Wrecking Crew appeared on just about everything on the charts in the '60s, from the Beach Boys to the Byrds to the Mamas & The Papas (and Frank and Elvis, too)... Thanks for the shout-out to The Sonics, who were doing grungy garage rock long before it became a thing. The Pacific Northwest (I'm a Seattle native) has a noisy history of gritty, grimy, rusty, distorted guitar sounds: The Ventures (Tacoma), Jimi Hendrix (Seattle), The Kingsmen (of "Louie, Louie" fame, from Portland, OR)... and the Sonics were there before anybody.

[@senatorjimdracula1603]

I think that Herb Alpert record just kind of shows up in everyone's collection. I didn't know I had it, never bought it, it just appeared LMAO!

[@TODDTAMANENDCLARK]

My Favorite Albums From 1965: 01 - HIGHWAY SIXTY-ONE REVISITED (Bob Dylan) 02 - THE HELIOCENTRIC WORLDS OF SUN RA (Sun Ra) 03 - A LOVE SUPREME (John Coltrane) 04 - E.S.P. (Miles Davis) 05 - ONE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE SECONDS (Del Shannon) 06 - RIP RIG AND PANIC (The Roland Kirk Quartet) 07 - POINT OF DEPARTURE (Andrew Hill) 08 - MISTER TAMBOURINE MAN (The Byrds) 09 - DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC (The Lovin' Spoonful) 10 - SUMMER DAYS AND SUMMER NIGHTS (The Beach Boys) 11 - IT AIN'T ME BABE (The Turtles) 12 - THE VILLAGE FUGS (The Fugs) 13 - HERE ARE THE SONICS (The Sonics) 14 - ODETTA SINGS DYLAN (Odetta) 15 - SPIRITUAL UNITY (The Albert Ayler Trio) 16 - LEADER OF THE PACK (The Shangri-Las) 17 - LIVE AT THE REGAL (B. B. King) 18 - I PUT A SPELL ON YOU (Nina Simone) 19 - I WANT CANDY (The Strangeloves) 20 - FIRE MUSIC (Archie Shepp)

[@tomrobinson5776]

I need to pick up that Sun Ra album.

[@davidschecter5247]

Nice list. I have almost all of them. What a year, as was 66, 67, 68, and on through about 1975

[@tomrobinson5776]

Indeed 😉

[@mikekivinen]

Great list! And bonus points for including John Fahey. Have you heard his 1968 album The Yellow Princess? I highly recommend it. And his The New Possibility--also from '68--just might be my favorite Christmas album.

[@tomrobinson5776]

I’ll have to check those out. Thanks 😉

[@jimcoleman598]

I think 1965 was the start of the best 10 years of music 1965-1974. Beatles, Rolling Stones, Who, Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Cream, Beach Boys, Dylan, Byrds, Trower, Sabbath, Deep Purple, Cooper, Allman Bros, Kiss, CCR, Dave Clark 5, Simon & Garfunkel, CSN&Y, Bowie, Elton John, Doors, Hendrix, Joplin, Queen, Rod Stewart & Faces, J Geils, Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Clapton, Moody Blues, Chicago, Springsteen, Carol King, James Taylor, Jethro Tull, Mott the Hoople, Traffic, ELP, ELO, Monkees, Mamas & Papas, Steppenwolf, Turtles, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Yardbirds, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Jackson 5, Temptations, Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Guess Who, BTO, John Denver, Beatles solo music, and many great songs from one hit wonder artists as well.

[@tomrobinson5776]

I agree 100 percent. 1965 was ground zero for the revolutionary aspect of rock music. Everything exploded and progressed at rapid speed from there on..

[@TheAnarchitek]

Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Cream, Trower, Sabbath, Deep Purple, Cooper, Allman Bros, Kiss, CCR, CSN&Y, Bowie, Elton John, Doors, Hendrix, Joplin, Queen, Rod Stewart & Faces, J Geils, Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Clapton, Moody Blues, Chicago, Springsteen, James Taylor, Jethro Tull, Mott the Hoople, Traffic, ELP, ELO, Monkees, Mamas & Papas, Steppenwolf, Jackson 5, BTO, were NOT recording in 1965. John Denver was just getting started with songwriting for others, Carol King was still writing songs in the Brill Building, and the Guess Who were still Chad Allen and the Arrows (or one of the many names they used). The Beatles were still pals, and it would be another 3 years before George put out his Wonderwall music. Pink Floyd was just starting out, wouldn't put out a single for two more years, Jimmy Page was a hot session guitarists, spicing up tracks for the Kinks, Herman, and other lesser-known British Invasion bands. The year 1965 was the Stone Age of modern pop music, still held hostage by Top 40, then in its prime, only a year and counting into the "British Invasion", but at the mercy of old-line pop stars, Perry Como, Connie Francis, and Peggy Lee, with Elvis lurking on the fringes with syrupy movie songs that made a mockery of his rock roots. Albums were vehicles for selling one or two singles, sometimes with their B-sides, sometimes not. Songs were routinely selected and arranged by A&R men who ran the session with iron fists. One of these, Sonny Bono, was assistant to Phil Spector, got Cher a break, made millions before the audience wised up to his lack of talent (one wonders how he came up with Needles and Pins, until one remembers it took Jack Nitsche, for sure, and Jackie DeShannon, too, probably, to get 'er done!). Laugh at Me was undoubtedly based on personal experience, so it came easily, but two hits in 16 months? What would 1965 have been without I Got You, Babe? Still the Year of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. If 1967 had gone without The Beat Goes On, though, Vanilla Fudge would've had to rethink their entire 2nd album.

[@MalcolmBaumgart]

Tjader was an Argentine. Kinks were banned from USA for reasons I forget, otherwise they would have been massive in your country. SHE KNOWS ME TOO WELL is such a beauty! Brave of you to include Alpert, forever banished to the bargain bins, there are many great sides in Herbs catalogue.Both Byrds albums...pure treasure. Dylan, yes. I would proffer DANCE PARTY from MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS. no filler.

[@kevtruth]

Really great video. Enjoying the content. I have a Lovin Spoonful comp. They were influential

[@tomrobinson5776]

Absolutely 😉

[@gregcrowe4826]

I knew you were going to pull up the Herb Albert album with your intro story, I knew it !!!

[@dreammachine2013]

Wow, excellent choices🎉 All of these would also be on my list, maybe apart from Herb Alpert. I've never been able to chose between Highway 61 and Rubber Soul as No 1, as both belong to that rare breed of "Best Albums ever made" 😅. Great shout about Coltrane and My Father's Place! However, there's some fascinating and great to good records that I feel belong to that list: 1. Animals : "Animal Tracks" ( their best LP) 2. Pretty Things 3. Beatles VI (Bad Boy!!!) 4.Rolling Stones No 2 5. Searchers "Take me for what I'm worth" (Their best!) 6. Bert Jansch 7. Beach Boys "Summer days and summer nights" 8. Them "Angry young Them" 9. Jackson C. Frank (produced by Paul Simon) 10. Paul Simon "Song Book" (recorded in London) 11. Donovan "Fairy Tale" 12. Hollies 13. Beau Brummels Vol 2 14. Yardbirds "For your love" 15. Gerry & the Pacemakers "Ferry across the Mersey"

[@tomrobinson5776]

All fantastic. 😉

[@edvonblue]

Nice video. It would be nice if you added graphics of the name and artist as you talk about them.

[@neurophile]

I have noted some of your artists that I didn't know and I thank you. My 20 favorite 1965 albums, in alphabetical order : - Allan, Chad, & The Expressions - Shakin' All Over - Alpert, Herb, & The Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream - Beach Boys - Summer Days and Summer Nights (favorite albums) - Beach Boys - Today (favorite albums) - Beatles - Help - Beatles - Rubber Soul - Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man - Byrds - Turn Turn Turn - Challengers - Sidewalk Surfin' (as The Good Guys) - Clark, Petula - I Know A Place - Dylan, Bob - Bringing It All Back Home - Four Seasons - Entertain You - Goldsboro, Bobby - Little Things - Hondells - (self-titled album) - Impressions - People Get Ready - Ivy League - This Is - Jay & The Americans - Blockbusters - Sunrays - Andrea - Tokens - I Hear The Trumpets Blow - Zombies - Begin Here

[@tomrobinson5776]

Love The Impressions. Great songs and harmonies.

[@davidschecter5247]

Was happy to see The Challengers, Petula Clark, Four Seasons, Hondells, Ivy League, Jay the Americans, and The Tokens on your list. AMAZED that anyone has mentioned the Hondells, Ivy League, or The Tokens on ANY list! Was listening to The Ivy League and The Tokens just last night! John Carter is amazing.

[@MalcolmBaumgart]

Love to see Jay & the Americans, 4 Seasons & Goldsboro in your list. Great pop music is generally forgotten in the rush to laud rock.

[@stephenkilby7851]

wow every single one of those albums are killer, what a top 20, you hear so many people in the vc bang on about 66 onwards being where it all starts you have more than proved that wrong, so enjoyed this video thanks going to relisten to some of these

[@MalcolmBaumgart]

John Fahey ...yes,yes,yes. T

[@geneobrien8907]

Please reconsider Bob Dylan's Dream, it a heart warming, nostalgic tale about the longing for simpler times when friendship mattered most. Happy Holidays!

[@tomrobinson5776]

Happy Holidays!

[@danielhayes7967]

"Play With Fire" is my favorite Phil Spector moment. Plays guitar on this.

[@tomrobinson5776]

Never knew that. Pretty wild..

[@danielhayes7967]

@@tomrobinson5776 I found this out in "Book Of Rock Lists."

[@johangaudissabois8668]

RUBBER SOUL WOULD BE COMPETING WITH HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED IN MY LIST too. Great top 20 although I would pick the original European version of RUBBER SOUL. Still, the one which made Brian Wilson create Pet Sounds was the American version. So : who's complaining? Must add,like Jeff did, I am extremely fond of Dylan's 115th dream.

[@chrisboerger465]

We disagree about Dizzy Miss Lizzie. One of my favorite covers by anyone, Lennon's vocals are just insane.

[@tomrobinson5776]

Lennon always laid down an epic vocal no matter what style. I agree his vocals are phenomenal on this track.

[@TheAnarchitek]

Even better on Bad Boy!

[@mattrobbins2268]

E.S.P. by Miles Davis belongs on any 1965 list. And l hate to be that guy, but the American version of My Generation came out in 1966. It is better than the British version because the Shel Talmy version of "Circles", or "lnstant Party", heh, we all know what that party entailed-- is superior to the flaccid rendition of "I'm A Man" from the British LP. The Yardbirds ate the Who's lunch on that one. But, again, being That Guy again, the version of "The Kids Are Alright" with the edited guitar break is a crime against humanity. Every music geek has his irritating quirks. Those are mine. Great list, 1965 rules.

[@Yougotadollar]

Nice list.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

Them on Parrot. The Heliocentric World's of Sun Ra. The Missing Links (Australia). Probably the first proto punk band. The Ramones look like them. They also did the first backwards song ever, as far as I know, pre-dating the Beatles backwards shenanigans.

[@tomrobinson5776]

Them are amazing. I only have a compilation on CD. Van at his early raw primal stage. Love the Parrot label.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

@@tomrobinson5776 I'm lucky to have a Parrot vinyl. Sounds great.

[@lupcokotevski2907]

@@tomrobinson5776 I'm lucky to have a Parrot vinyl. Sounds great.

[@jbelafonte]

Top 5 best to least: Smokey Robinson and the Miracles Going to a Go-Go, Beatles Rubber Soul, Dylan's Highway 65 Revisited, Temptations' Tempting' Temptations, Rolling Stones Out of Our Heads.

[@jbelafonte]

**Highway 61**

[@paulgoldstein2569]

I listed virtually every one of them in my list above on this page, but favored The Rolling Stones second U.S. album of this year, December's Children.

[@syater]

I'm a fan of the 'Soul Sauce' album too, and especially enjoy the title track. It' brings to mind one of Sergio Mendes's pre-Brasil '66 albums 'The Swinger from Rio' which could be thought of as a sister-album to 'Soul Sauce.' Technically it's not a 1965 release having been recorded late 1964 and released late 1966. If you aren't already familiar with 'Swinger' you may want to investigate. Also, during those days of complete Beatles domination I noted that parents listened to Herb Albert and Brasil '66 albums and seemed to prefer Mendes's arrangements of Beatles to the originals. It made no sense to me at the time.

[@tomrobinson5776]

I’ll have to check out “Swinger” I love those Sergio Mendes Brasil 66 albums.

[@syater]

@@tomrobinson5776 Maybe I should add that whereas Tjader's album is fire & spice Mendes's tends more toward sea-breezes & iced drinks, although he can fire up the keys just fine.

[@Vishangro]

My favourite album from '65 is Fairytale by Donovan. I know the Beatles and Dylan are probably better. But it was the first album I ever bought. I was ten years old.

[@tomrobinson5776]

Very cool.

[@danielhayes7967]

Herb Alpert's version of "Love Potion #9" is by far the best. Put 2:20-3:01 on 10hr. Loop, and I'm happy.

[@Fastnbulbous1969]

I also grew up with the American version of Rubber Soul but I very much disagree that it's the better version. I liked the UK version much better as it includes the missing "If I Needed Someone," "Nowhere Man" and "Drive My Car." "I've Just Seen a Face" is great "It's Only Love" is okay, but they're already on Help. If they really had to cut songs, they should have axed "Michelle" and "Girl." John Coltrane - A Love Supreme Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited The Who - My Generation The Beatles - Rubber Soul Otis Redding - Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home John Coltrane - First Meditations (For Quartet) John Coltrane - Transition Grant Green - Idle Moments The Beatles - Help! John Coltrane - The John Coltrane Quartet Plays John Coltrane - Sun Ship Sun Ra & his Arkestra - The Magic City The Rolling Stones - Now! The Rolling Stones - Out Of Our Heads The Sonics - Here Are The Sonics! Them - The Angry Young Them Sun Ra - The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 1 Miles Davis - E.S.P. Archie Shepp - Fire Music Sun Ra - The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 2 Albert Ayler Trio - Spirits Rejoice Nina Simone - I Put A Spell On You Nina Simone - Pastel Blues The Animals - Animal Tracks Otis Redding - The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads Junior Wells - Hoodoo Man Blues The Rolling Stones - December’s Children (And Everybody’s) The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy The Pretty Things - The Pretty Things

[@TheAnarchitek]

I found 40 albums from 1965 that (more or less) meet my definition of the term. Albums had been sales vehicles for hit singles, until the Beatles changed the definition with their 3rd LP, A Hard Day's Night, in the Summer of 1964. Previously, "A&R men" chose the songs to be recorded, and worked out the arrangements with the session musicians, without the input of the "artist", who was treated as just another instrument to be played. Albums were not given special attention beyond being test-beds for singles, and "albums" from the era before 1967 illustrate this shortcoming. By 1967, most artists who were invested in music beyond "becoming a star" recognized the demand by their audiences for better product, resulting in the flood of better albums that marked the Rock Era beginning then. The Beatles upset this apple cart permanently, by fashioning their own arrangments of "old" songs they liked, indelibly marking such classics as Boys, Chains, Anna, Baby, It's You, A Taste of Honey, and Twist and Shout, on their first LP, and Til There Was You, Please Mr Postman, Roll Over Beethoven, You Really Got A Hold On Me, Devil in Her Heart, and Money (That's What I Want), on the 2nd LP. On their 3rd outing, though, the lads from Liverpool wrote and arranged ALL the songs on A Hard Day's Night, six of them used in the film. "Rock" artists hadn't done that, before, although the Beach Boys were benefiting from Brian Wilson's songwriting skills, the Wilson brothers' dad, Maury, was acting as their "A&R man", through All Summer Long, the LP that came out a few days after A Hard Day's Night. Folkie Bob Dylan released his 3rd album of original material less than a month after AHDN came out. Dylan "borrowed" melodies for one song on Freewheelin' and two on The Times They Are A'Changin, of the 34 tracks on the 3 LP. He recorded on "traditional" tune on Freewheelin', and gave credit to Henry Thomas for the other non-original. Dylan would "go electric" on his next LP, showing he'd been listening to the Beatles, with his next LP, in March 1965, Bringing It All Back Home, and follow it up with the incredible Highway 61 Revisited, in August of that year. Rock would never be the same B E S T A L B U M S O F 1 9 6 5 : 01 H I G H W A Y 6 1 R E V I S I T E D Bob Dylan 02 R U B B E R S O U L the Beatles 03 T H E M Them 04 B R I N G I N G I T A L L B A C K H O M E Bob Dylan 05 O U T O F O U R H E A D S the Rolling Stones 06 H A V I N G A R A V E U P the Yardbirds 07 H E L P ! The Beatles 08 T H E B E A T L E S V I the Beatles 09 M R T A M B O U R I N E M A N the Byrds 10 T H E R O L L I N G S T O N E S N O W ! the Rolling Stones 11 D O Y O U B E L I E V E I N M A G I C the Lovin' Spoonful 12 T U R N ! T U R N ! T U R N ! the Byrds 13 D E C E M B E R’ S C H I L D R E N ( A N D E V E R Y B O D Y ' S ) the Rolling Stones 14 F O R Y O U R L O V E the Yardbirds 15 T O D A Y the Beach Boys 16 F A I R Y T A L E Donovan 17 T H E W H O S I N G M Y G E N E R A T I O N The Who 18 T H E P A U L B U T T E R F I E L D B L U E S B A N D Paul Butterfield Blues Band 19 O T I S B L U E / O T I S R E D D I N G S I N G S S O U L Otis Redding 20 S U M M E R D A Y S ( & S U M M E R N I G H T S ! ! ) the Beach Boys 21 D A N C E P A R T Y Martha & the Vandellas 22 H O W S W E E T I T I S T O B E L O V E D B Y Y O U Marvin Gaye 23 G O I N G T O A G O G O Smokey Robinson & the Miracles 24 I ' V E G O T A T I G E R B Y T H E T A I L Buck Owens & his Buckaroos 25 K I N K D O M the Kinks 26 T H E Z O M B I E S The Zombies 27 M O R E H I T S B Y T H E S U P R E M E S The Supremes 28 C O U N T R Y W I L L I E : H I S O W N S O N G S Willie Nelson 29 T H E T E M P T A T I O N S S I N G S M O K E Y the Temptations 29 T H E A N I M A L S O N T O U R The Animals 30 I N T R O D U C I N G T H E B E A U B R U M M E L S the Beau Brummels 31 S E C O N D A L B U M the Four Tops 32 K I N K S - S I Z E the Kinks 33 S H A K E Sam Cooke 34 T H E W A I L I N G W A I L E R S The Wailers 35 L E A D E R O F T H E P A C K The Shangri-Las 36 V O L U M E T W O the Beau Brummels 37 H E R M A N ' S H E R M I T S O N T O U R Herman's Hermits 38 J U S T O N C E I N M Y L I F E the Righteous Brothers 39 K I N D A K I N K S the Kinks 40 T H E P R E T T Y T H I N G S ( I ) the Pretty Things

[@paulgoldstein2569]

It seems as though you are in the States, as albums by some of the artists you listed, were not released in the UK, but contained tracks from UK releases of their previous albums that were not on the U.S. releases, partly because of the U.S. releases containing fewer tracks, and partly because of tracks from singles that were not then album tracks in the UK, added to the U.S. releases of their previous albums replacing other tracks from the UK releases of the same albums. Every now and then, their U.S. labels would release bonus albums by these artists containing those tracks, plus more tracks from singles, and with some artists, an occasional track not released in the UK. The Herman's Hermits album On Tour, actually contained studio tracks which were left-overs from their self-titled first UK album plus tracks from singles. Other albums here that were U.S. only but contained left-overs from other UK releases by the respective artists were both Yardbirds albums, Beatles 1V, Rolling Stones' December's Children, The Kinks' Kinkdom, and The Animals On Tour, which again contained studio tracks. Furthermore, the album you listed by THEM, was the U.S. version of their first UK album Angry Young Them. The British release had 14 tracks. But in the States, it was reduced to 12 tracks, seven of the same tracks, plus five tracks from their early singles that were not then album tracks in the UK. The U.S. release of The Pretty Things first album was a mixture of tracks from the UK release, plus tracks from their early singles that were not then album tracks in the UK. I printed a list of my favorite 1965 albums above, but have now discovered that more than half were the same ones you picked.

[@TheAnarchitek]

@@paulgoldstein2569 I agree, my views on the Beatles' pre-Sgt Pepper's albums were heavily influenced by Capitol's tampering. I still prefer the US versions of Rubber Soul and Revolver to the original UK releases, despite liking most of the songs that were removed. Revolver flows from song to song, on the US release, in ways it does not on the UK version, Rubber Soul could have been improved by the removal of The Word, Think for Yourself, and Run for Your Life, instead of Nowhere Man, If I Needed Someone, and either Drive My Car or What Goes On. One has to wonder, what was going on with Capitol's Dave Dexter, Jr, as he dispensed with great songs over dreck. Dexter's choices for Revolver made it a better record, trimming the distractions away from what would be the heart of the album, one that would become one of my all-time favorite Beatles' tracks, the inestimable And Your Bird Can Sing. I'm Only Sleeping and Dr Robert are great songs, but don't fit the ambience of the other songs, making the US version an album that flows from song to song, effortlessly pulling the listener along with them. As a "found object", Beatles VI surpasses this without breaking a sweat, the songs enhanced by the addition of Bad Boy (not particularly Dizzy Miss Lizzie, added to Help!), recorded for the album's release three months before Help! would hit store shelves. The resulting "album" flows from song to song as if the tunes were linked like sausages. As for HH on Tour, and The Animals on Tour (not surprisingly, both on MGM Records, not known for its originality or attention to artists' interests), work because of their content, the strongest recordings by both artists in an album. The Animals surmounted this shortcoming with their 1966 release, Animalization (the US version, not the UK), but that album would be Herman's best effort, and despite his teenybopper following, the Hermits did record some of the British Invasion's best songs. I still love I'm Into Something Good, and Can't You Hear My Heartbeat, and Mrs Brown still ticks my heartbeat up, despite having heard it on heavy "heavy rotation", for six weeks in 1965. As for the Yardbirds' albums, all I can say is, "Can I have some more, sir?" If ever a band didn't record enough, it would be the Yardbirds, although, I acknowledge, when you're a trailblazer, it's difficult knowing which way to go. I loved the Yardbirds from the opening chords of For Your Love. I played it incessantly, on record, and on stage, long after the song had fallen off the charts. I still get a charge out of the song, when it pops up on one of my playlists on my iPod. The first English LP I would get my sticky fingers on was Five Live Yardbirds, and I devoured it, whole, I was so stoked, in 1967. By that time, the 'Birds were sinking fast, Jeff Beck had left, and this new guy, Jimmy Page, was taking over. I'd heard he was the genius behind the early Kinks hits (even though the Kinks were loudly, and unconvincingly, denying it), and others, but he was different. I got a copy of the Live Yardbirds album, in 1971, and revised my thinking, because I'd become a fan of Led Zep in January, 1969, but I still felt the band was never fully recognized as the trailblazers they were. The Stones benefited from the same kind of thinking on Out of Our Heads, and. to a lesser degree, December's Children, both elevated by the kind of thinking that anticipated the future, over the "conventional wisdom" of the times. Everyone gushes over Aftermath, the US version, because the songs work together to make a great listening experience, but OOOH was better. I mean, admittedly She Said Yeah is lightyears better than That's How Strong My Love Is, or Good Times, or, shudder, Cry to Me, and should have been on the US release, but the US Aftermath is plagued by bad choices. Out Of Time, It's Not Easy, Take It Or Leave It, and What To Do are better songs than Don'cha Bother Me (a retread Little Red Rooster), or Goin' Home. As for Them, the album released in the US is staggeringly better than the UK release. The songs, their order, and the additions made by Parrot, make it the first truly great album by a non-Beatles act, and one of the first "great" albums by any band, ever. The removal of Just A Little Bit, I Gave My Love A Diamond (probably my least-favorite Van Morrison outing), I'm Gonna Dress in Black (unless it's this one), Bright Lights, Big City (ditto), and My Little Baby (utterly forgettable). Only You Just Can't Win rises to the level of the 9 that made it to the US copy. The three songs that aren't on the UK release are all stunningly better: Here Comes the Night, One Two Brown Eyes (one of his best), and One More Time, are all better-suited to Van's style and the band's abilities (with some choice assistance from Jimmy Page). The running order, with the addition of Here Comes the Night leading off, is immeasurably better. I have copies of both, hardly ever listen to the UK version, so much better is the US release. I own a mint copy of the Parrot album, one of my proudest possessions. As for the Pretty Things, the US version of their first album is far better than the UK release. Music as a business, especially in the '60s, Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut, Oh, Baby Doll, was no big loss, but it's hard, from this late a date, to hear the attraction of Unknown Blues or Honey I Need, over She's Fine, She's Mine, and Don't Lie to Me. The band defined Garage Rock, but it wasn't a compliment. There are only a handful of tunes recorded by the band that have stood the test of time. Some people like Garage Rock, though, so it isn't up to me to say. Thanks for the erudite response! I love talking about rock 'n' roll, especially the '60s, when it was exploding all over the place, and creativity was running loose. It didn't last - just listen to the tripe that passes for music on most days, today.

[@paulgoldstein2569]

@@TheAnarchitek I agree Herman's Hermits made some great records, although they never tried to sound raw like many of their contemporaries, and therefore appealed more to the older generation. I also agree that The Yardbirds did not last long enough. This was because of this ever changing world of the sixties when musical trends were shifting fast and furious, and nobody knew what or who was coming next. Come 1867 when Psychedelia exploded, a lot of the great mid sixties bands fell into the same boat, as it completely out-fashioned many of the great mid sixties sounds and artists. So this new trend that The Yardbirds undeniably laid the grounds for, ended up flourishing without them. But they left a much bigger recording legacy than you may think, because of all their then-unreleased material, mostly live but also studio. You are probably aware of their 4CD set on the Charly label containing their complete studio tracks 1964-1965, plus some live from 1963-1964. They have had CD compilations with numerous live sessions, including odd tracks they never recorded professionally. You can find it on sites like Spotify. I think they left a bigger recording legacy than The Lovin' Spoonful, whose success was shorter, and got washed away at the same time. The LS's success in the States only barely lasted two years. But they had about as much U.S. success in that time as what other artists would have achieved in about three or four times their length of success. They were second only to Gary Lewis And The Playboys to hit the U.S. Top 10 with their first seven singles, and had three huge albums in the States during that time. Then it was all over. But this was all back at a time when they all tried to compete by sounding different. But decades later, they all tried to compete by sounding the same. As for The Beatles' U.S. Revolver, I think it was a coincidence that the 3 tracks that you did not think fitted with the rest of the album were left off. They already appeared in the States on their last previous album Beatles Yesterday And Today. Capitol records in the States could not yet have heard the rest of the Revolver Tracks, as many of them had not yet been recorded. I think what helped to make The Rolling Stones' U.S. only album December's Children special is that it had two great tracks that were never issued in the UK during the sixties, Look What You've Done, & Blue Turns To Grey, even though the rest of it's tracks were all out over here on other releases. I have thought in my mind my Top 30 albums for 1964. But I think the further you go back for each year, the harder it gets, as this was back at a time when albums were usually only released on the back of hit singles, and usually only sold on the back of hit singles, and therefore frequently contained filler. I appreciate your knowledge of differentiating British discographies of many artists from their U.S. discographies.

[@TheAnarchitek]

@@paulgoldstein2569 I was still 14 when I first heard the Beatles, on a KOMA radio "Hit or Miss" call-in. The week after Thanksgiving 1963, the evening disc jockey, J Mike Wilson, played what turned out to be the Beatles first Capitol single, I Wanna Hold Your Hand b/w I Saw Her Standing There. It didn't do all that well with the listeners, but I was in seventh heaven. At last, rock 'n' roll to deliver on the promise hinted at by Elvis and the rockabillies. It would be another month before I head the songs on the radio, again, but everything the lads from Liverpool released was soon on heavy rotation. Herman's Hermits were an early version of a "boy band", with Peter Noone riding on his appearance in a popular BBC program to a career as a "rock 'n' roller". Session musicians recorded the backing tracks, for "Herman" to sing over. Much was made of his infectious grin and wholesome appearance, soothing parents who took Andrew Loog Oldham's advertising gimmick to heart (he paid for a billboard posing the question "Would you let one of them date your daughter?" over a photo of the Rolling Stones). The band was produced by Micky Most, who also produced the Animals early records, and tracks by Donovan, the Yardbirds, Moody Blues, and Jeff Beck. The backing band was usually Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and Nicky Hopkins. The Yardbirds charted unknown territory, leaving safe rock tunes for lesser talents, using experimentation and riffing by their guitarists, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, to illuminate recycled blues tunes and tiny slices of pure pop. No other band of their era so successfully married pop and rock, but the record-buying public didn't snap up their albums, admittedly less-successful, and the group began to show the strain of touring under the Stone Age conditions of the mid-'Sixties. I saw them in Denver, on a package tour, in 1965, at what I think was the VFW hall, or something similar. It was boomy, the sound echoing off the corners. George Harrison was shocked at a concert in Ohio, that year, and the Beatles' show at Shea used the stadium PA. There were good reasons the Beatles stopped touring, and the Yardbirds got the worst of it, because the band never commanded the kind of audiences the Beatles did. I have everything the Yardbirds recorded, including the "live" album by the "New" Yardbirds (bought as soon as it hit the record racks, in 1971). I was a fan from the first notes of For Your Love (even if Eric didn't like it), thought they were the direction rock was headed, when I heard I'm A Man, and Shapes of Things. I didn't know who McKinley Morganfield was, much less that he was known professionally as Muddy Waters, but I knew all the words and chords to I'm A Man. I soon knew Jeff Beck's lead, too, and how he got thpose sounds out of his guitar. Gary Lewis was an American Herman. The Wrecking Crew played on the singles, and many of the album tracks, regardless what Gary said later. His vocal tracks were overdubbed by a guy named Ron Hicklin. Al Kooper wrote This Diamond Ring and Leon Russell played piano on the track. Gary Lewis best single was his first. They got progressively duller, and fared worse, as music changed, after 1966, into what is more commonly recognized, today. Pop, as a genre, held on until the death of Top 40, in the '70s, when AOR took over. I saw Gary, and his latest band of Playboys, at the San Bernardino County Fair in 1979 or '80. The band played the hiits correctly, if listlessly. Capitol wanted to stick to the two-albums-four-singles-per-year schedule, so they nagged George Martin, until he gave them three songs for Yesterday and Today. Capitol had held Yesterday/Act Naturally back from the Help! LP, along with songs from Rubber Soul, and the We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper single, with the Revolver songs, to make 11 tracks. The label had worked the same problem, with Beatles VI, asking for two songs to round out the album, and getting Bad Boy, and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. The latter would go on to the Help! UK release (lost to elevator muzik on the US version), but Bad Boy wouldn't show up on an Apple release until Past Masters. I still listen to Beatles VI, think it a gem, an album made of pieces taken from songs by the 1964 Beatles and the 1965, state-of-the-art commercial monster band. Beatles singles debuted more than half-way up the charts, on their way to Number One, the next week. December's Children represents the different approaches of the labels, and the bands. London, the Stones US label, was a subsidiary of Decca (in the UK), and they were as predatory as Capitol, without Capitol's long (30-some years, then) history (traditional). They'd made up 12x5, and revised the band's first LP into England's Newest Hitmakers, improving it, while trimming the song list. Then, they converted The Rollings Stones No 2 into The Rolling Stones Now! Again, an improvement. The Stones were basically a blues band, then, not rock 'n' roll. and what might have started Brian Jones' decline and death might well have been the seductive fame that drew them away from the blues, and into full-tilt rock 'n' roll. By the time of Decembler's Children, London was practiced at creating product for the American teen market. They did a bang-up job, giving the band four albums in 1965, out of the two they recorded. The Beatles changed everything. Bands typically went into the studio with an A&R man who ran the show, chose the song, told the musicians what to play, the singer how to sing, etc. George Martin had a lot of influence over the Beatles, at first, but from Day One, they were soaking up knowledge about how the operation was run. He became their collaborator, but most studios were run the old-fashioned way. After the Beatles, it became common for bands to work up their own material. Music as we know it today began when the Beatles came to town.

[@paulgoldstein2569]

@@TheAnarchitek I saw your point about U.S. labels changing tracks for U.S. releases of albums by British artists up to an extent. The UK release of The Pretty Things first album was solid all the way through on side one. But side two started to get lame. It opened with their latest single Honey I Need, a great track. But the next four tracks were not so good, such as their straight ahead version of Chuck Berry's Oh Baby Doll. But I think the reason I put UK version in my list of favorite albums of 1965 is that the tracks exclusive to the U.S. release were already out on singles. But better still is the CD reissue of the UK version which has the remaining five tracks from their first three singles, plus a previously unreleased track from that time, Get Yourself Home. Many people thought that the U.S. release of the first Jimi Hendrix album of 1967 had a better tracklist than the UK version, although it just added the A sides of his first three singles, replacing three track on the UK release. But again, the CD reissue has the UK tracklist, with both sides of his first three singles added as bonus tracks. I agree about Gary Lewis/Playboys who got duller as they progressed, apart from an occasional better track. Despite hitting the U.S. Top 10 with their first seven singles, they never had a UK Top 50 entry to their credit, until 1975 when very mysteriously, My Heart's Symphony which was their first to miss the U.S. Top 10 was reissued in the UK, and mysteriously crept into the British Top 50. But I thought one of the tracks from the UK release of Them's first album that was missing from the U.S. release, I Gave My Love A Diamond was quite a nice track. It was a remake of the Folk standard I Gave My Love A Cherry. The tune of that was then plagiarized for the Johnny Mathis Hit Twelfth Of Never. Van Morrison interpreted the original, but with the slightly amended title, but again using the same tune. I did not blame you for adding albums by Country singers Willie Nelson and Buck Owens. I never bought vinyl by either artist. But I bought the CD reissues of Buck Owens' mid sixties albums on the Sundazed label with bonus tracks, including the one you listed, plus his box set on the German Bear Family label Act Naturally, containing his complete recordings from 1955-1964. With Willie Nelson, I bought a CD with demos of songs he wrote, some of which he then pitched to other artists, such as Crazy, and a double CD with his complete Liberty recordings, including all the tracks for his 1963 album, And Then I Wrote, containing his own versions of songs he previously pitched to other artists, including Crazy. But I think the reason those artists did not come to my mind is that they did not fit in to the actual musical fashions of the mid sixties which is what I was thinking of..

[@monaural2.988]

Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight” album never gets the applause it so richly and rightly deserves. Same for Bo Diddley’s “500 per cent More Man” and Chuck Berry’s “Fresh Berrys”, Del Shannon’s “1,661 Seconds with Del Shannon”, Jan & Dean’s “Little Old Lady from Pasadena”, Four Seasons’ “Working My Way Back to You”, I could seriously go on and on. As for Herb Alpert, I would put “Sounds Like” or “What Now My Love” ahead of WC, which gets all its hosannas because of its cover. Herb did better in ‘66/‘67.

[@paulgoldstein2569]

The Stevie Wonder album was issued early the following year, and I printed among my favorites of 1966 the comments of his 1966 favorite albums.

[@MalcolmBaumgart]

Monorail I love you! Great choices!

[@pkgannon]

good stuff.. I found it curious though when you brought up Help! (and yes side 1 is fantastic)... that you don't even mention Yesterday. I'm thinking because it's obvious (?)... but I mean c'mon... it is one of the most famous songs in music history. (There may be 1 or 2 who actually don't know it's on there 😀)

[@charlesperry6093]

I appreciate the knowledge!

[@tomrobinson5776]

Thanks for watching 😉

[@charlesperry6093]

I can tell you're on the West Coast, wondering how many albums you actually own?

[@tomrobinson5776]

Not sure.. never counted.