My Music Library - 1967

Last summer there was this music meme circulating through the blogs. One was supposed to list the best album of the year for every year you’ve been alive. I thought it was pretty good, as far as memes go. It was a pretty daunting task for any serious music fan. With over 600 albums in my collection, I couldn’t just whip up that kind of list at the drop of hat. I know I’d miss something. But rather than cram my list all into one, or even a few posts, why not focus on each year and explain my choices (just in case someone gives a shit).

So that’s what I’m going to do. At the breakneck pace of a year per month (faster if I actually have the time), I’m going to write up a post on selected albums that came out that year and try to figure which one was best, although apples and oranges come to mind. I realize that it’ll take me years to get through all of this, but so what?

Bear in mind that this is all my opinion. You can disagree with me, of course. I expect you to. Feel free to tell me what moved you in that year. Maybe if it’s something I haven’t heard, I’ll check it out. But music is in the ear of the beholder. It’s a subjective experience. If anyone tells you you’re wrong for what you like, well, isn’t that a bit like being told what to think? Didn’t we get enough of that shit in high school?

Alright, enough of that.

I’m starting in 1967, not because I was born but because that’s where my music collection really begins. Before then it’s really spotty. Picking through my classical collection would be odd to do this way. And, except for John Lee Hooker’s “The Real Folk Blues” in 1966, most of the old Blues stuff is compilations that span decades.

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It’s 1967. I’ve been conceived but I’m still enjoying the blissful confines of my mother’s womb. Out in the world things aren’t so peaceful. The Vietnam War rages on while antiwar protests rage at home. Israel surprises the world by surviving the Six Day War. The Soviet Union and China rattle sabers at on another then China gets the bomb. A fire kills the Apollo 1 crew and a Soviet probe lands on Venus and melts. The Supreme Court declares that interracial marriage bans are unconstitutional during the Summer of Love and Elvis marries Priscilla. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup and haven’t since.

In the music world the Beatles were at the height of their psychedelic era glory with the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. For me, the good parts are the title track, "With a Little Help...", "Lucy...", and "A Day In The Life." The rest doesn't do much for me.

Rock's first power trio (well, I think they qualify as the first), Cream, released their second album, Disraeli Gears. Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker were fantastic together. For me, this was Clapton at his best. The premier songs were "Strange Brew, "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Tales of Brave Ulysses." The latter song would buzz in my head throughout my collegiate Greek Mythology course.

The Who released their third album, The Who Sell Out, an oddly prophetic title. ;) The humorous album cover featured the band hawking various products and the album contained several faux commercials. But it didn't do all that well. "I Can See For Miles" was the only song to register with the masses.

For me, the best material were the debut albums from three bands: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Doors and Pink Floyd.

After going through several personnel changes and band names, the members of Pink Floyd got into the studio to record their first album, just as the Beatles were recording Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Beatles are typically credited with creating psychedelic rock with their 1966 album, Revolver, but Pink Floyd wrested control from them with The Piper At The Gates of Dawn.

Piper… is full of strange little tunes that range from comical (“Bike”) to just plain weird (“Pow R Toch”). At times mysterious (“Lucifer Sam”, “Matilda Mother”, “Chapter 24”), mischievous (“Gnome”), and playfully sinister (“Flaming”). Space rock was born with "Astronomy Domine" and "Interstellar Overdrive." The former a whirling run through of planets and moons full of crescendos, the latter an instrumental jam that threatens to veer off course forever but is reigned in at the last minute.

The album is Syd Barrett's masterpiece and my #3 album for 1967. He wrote 8 of the 11 songs and collaborated on 2 others. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from here as excessive use of LSD combined with an already fragile mental state would bring him crashing down.

UCLA film school alumni Jim Morrisson and Ray Manzarek were hanging out in Venice Beach in 1965 looking for an outlet for their artistic vision as Hollywood wasn’t knocking. Morrisson was writing poetry and Manzarek was a keyboardist. The two formed a band and, after a few lineup changes, began writing and performing with Robby Krieger (guitar) and John Densmore (drums) as The Doors. The rest is history. Well, their story is well known. There’s no need for me to rehash it.

1967 would see The Doors release their first two albums: The Doors and Strange Days. Their debut was a mix of songs that they’d been performing live for years so the execution came off without a hitch. Playing a mix of acid rock, blues rock and psychedelia they took America by storm. The first single, and first track off the album, "Break On Through (To The Other Side)" was their mission statement. The album was dark and mysterious with "The Crystal Ship" and "End of the Night" and wildly sexual with their cover of "Back Door Man" and "Take It As It Comes." "Twentieth Century Fox" and "Light My Fire" were all about the pick up. "Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)" fits in there too in an inebriated sort of way. But the album's masterpiece is "The End." My earliest memory of the song was it being played in the background during "Apocalypse Now." It was overwhelmingly powerful.

Strange Days showed up later in the year with a similar collection of songs. The title track and "People Are Strange" are Morrisson's allegories for the band's heady new fame. But the alienation is conveyed so well that it's easy for anyone that feels that way to relate to the songs. There's the mix of sexual songs with "You're Lost Little Girl", "Love Me Two Times" and "My Eyes Have Seen You." "Horse Latitudes" is scary. This album's magnum opus is "When The Music's Over," a declaration of revolution.

I got into The Doors in high school. They were enjoying a resurgence at the time in addition to being a classic rock radio staple. Primarily, I remember driving around in my friend's car with the songs on the tape deck, singing along in perfect harmony with Mr. Mojo as we asked passersby to "show us the way to the next whisky bar" and commiserated in the fact that "people are strange."

These two albums get my vote for #2 and #5 respectively.

And then there's Hendrix. While Clapton was proclaimed to be "God" at one point, Hendrix's rise to prominence would certainly challenge that notion. However, there was no rivalry between the two. In fact they were friends up until Jimi's death.

Teamed with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, The Jimi Hendrix Experience had their earth shattering debut with Are You Experienced?. Before I bought this album, I'd heard 8 of the 11 tracks on the radio. The three that I hadn't heard, "Love or Confusion", "May This Be Love" and "I Don't Live Today" were surprising discoveries after classic rock radio had had their way this album. Often times, the songs you hear on the radio from a band are the only good ones on an album. It's always great when you can discover hidden gems that were overlooked.

The title track, "Third Stone From The Sun", "The Wind Cries Mary" and "Manic Depression" stick out as my favorites. I'm not sure that I can offer any insight here that hasn't been said a thousand times before. The band blended styles to form an innovative sound that was familiar yet unique. They were the first to work with stereophonic and phasing elements on their recordings. Oh forget it. You've heard it all already.

Axis: Bold As Love would emerge at the end of the year (at least in England) to fulfill their record contract. It was another great album chock full of more musical invention, though it would be less of a radio sensation than its predecessor. "Spanish Castle Magic", "Little Wing", "Castles Made of Sand" and "If 6 Was 9" are my favorites.

One fact that never seems to get much mention is that Hendrix was left-handed. All guitars were right handed. Rather than let that be an obstacle, he re-strung his guitars. I suppose that doesn't mean all that much to most people, but for me, a fellow lefty, that said a lot. Twenty years later, left handed guitars were out there, but expensive. I wound up buying a used Aria Pro II RS Straycat and just restrung it like he did. Of course, the similarities end there.

Are You Experienced? and Axis: Bold As Love get my votes for #1 and #4 albums of 1967, respectively.

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Beer In Review: Clearing the Backlog

I'm sorry. I've been remiss in my beer posting (I think that's why Jim doesn't come round anymore). With all that happened in 2008 and my limited time for blogging, writing about beer took a back seat. I kept my notes however. So I'm going to get caught up with this post. And, I plan on writing about beer (and something else to be announced soon) once a month.

Now, that might normally be a problem as my favorite liquor store really hasn't been coming up with anything new that I've been dying to try. Considering that I've done 41 beer reviews, not including the sampling I did at Beer Festivals, that might not come as a surprise. But my wonderful wife got me a subscription to a beer-of-the-month style club for Christmas! While it isn't a true monthly subscription (that's ok), I will be getting a variety 12-pack once every 3 or 4 months (not sure just yet). Fortunately for me (maybe not so much for you readers) it's all going to be porters and stouts, my two favorite styles of beer.

Without further ado, let's review.....

The first one up is a smoked porter from the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company of Pleasantville, NY. It was generously donated to a party we held here by a friend. We didn't get to drink it that night so I got to save it for a proper tasting later on. Three of us split the growler bottle (64 oz) one evening.

It had a reasonable head that was tinted dark. The beer itself was black. Not dark brown. Black. It had a roasted malt aroma, but it wasn't too strong. I expected it to have a strong taste but it didn't. It was a little on the robust side. Obviously, the roasted malt was prominent, but that smoky character and chocolate overtones were there too. The website talks about "licorice and dark fruit" but I didn't taste any. I'm not sure any of us did. What we all noticed was the dry aftertaste. After polishing off the growler we had to switch to water because we all had acute dry mouth.

This was a beer I wanted to like. It's a porter after all. But not all porters work for me. Unfortunately, this is another one of those, though I would say that maybe if the recipe is tweaked it could be better.
* * *At the 2008 Connecticut Craft Brewers Festival, I scored a bottle of Bluepoint's Blueberry Ale to bring home. When the weather warmed up, I decided to give it a shot. Good head on an amber body. Blueberry bouquet. A mild, unassuming beer with a clean finish. The website says that it's brewed with 132 lbs of blueberries. Yummy. This is a fruit flavored beer that isn't fruity. Good for summertime BBQ's. 4.3% ABV.
* * *Another fruit-flavored beer is Spanish Peaks Brewing Company's Honey Raspberry Ale. On the pour, the head starts out decent but soon fades. It has a light amber color but, amazingly enough, no bouquet to speak of. It's light bodied (the website says medium) with a crisp raspberry flavor, but the fruit doesn't overwhelm. Hops are used sparingly. Another good summer beer (though Bluepoint is better), if you can get past the weak head. 4.7% ABV.
* * *Skip this one, Mike. Rather that put out an Oktoberfest beer in the Fall like everyone else, the folks at Smuttynose put out a Pumpkin Ale instead. According to their website, the recipe goes back to colonial times. Brewers were looking for a cheaper domestic replacement for the high cost of imported malt. Squash and "pompions," better known as pumpkins, were tried out with some success.

On the pour, the beer presents a medium head atop a cloudy, apricot colored ale. The bouquet has a spicy, pumpkin character. A fair amount of hops runs hand-in-hand with some kind of spice (nutmeg?) and the pumpkin. The finish is clean, a snip on the tongue. I think this is a good beer. It's different. It certainly won't be confused with "fruity" beers. 5.6% ABV.
* * *Back when I tried out Sam Adams Oktoberfest, Mike raved about the Brooklyn Brewery's Oktoberfest. I got to it this year and it is indeed good.

Faithful to the traditional Marzen style, you'll get that lager aroma when you raise your glass to your lips. An ample head rides atop an amber body. It a full bodied beer with a complex mix of malt and hops that feels balanced. Ok, the hops dominate but the malt doesn't slouch. The website states that they used two types of Hallertauer hops which is as authentic as you can get. The malts are Bavarian too. Anyway, the beer finishes clean. Quite enjoyable. 5.5% ABV.

I bought some of the Sam Adams Oktoberfest too to compare it against Brooklyn. Although my original evaluation of Sammy's version holds up, I feel that Brooklyn is slightly better. I think it's because of the finish.
* * *Last, but not least, is Harpoon's Leviathan Baltic Porter. The Leviathan series is a run of specialty beers that is an "exploration in brewing big beers for adventurous palates." And it is that. There's a good amount of head and it sits on a rich brown body. Holding a pint glass up to the light will reveal faint ruby hues that are typical, but not always present, in the style. As you raise your glass, the roasted malt aroma rises to the surface. It gives your tongue a crisp bite then drowns your tongue in roasted malt with some chocolate to smooth out the rough spots. Hops go along for the ride to make sure your tongue knows who's boss. But the concoction won't kill you like those high hopped IPA's. There's a strong finish, brought to you by the 9.5% ABV, but it's a good finish. I admit my tolerance isn't what it used to be. I had a buzz under way after I finished one of these. If you think you're up to it, I'd recommend going for a swim with one of these, though they come in 4 packs.

And now I'm caught up. :)

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Reflecting on the Inauguration

I think it finally hit me. George W. Bush is no longer president. Really! The eight year fiasco pretending to be the executive branch of our government is actually over. Although we may not know the extent of the damage that his administration has done for some time, he can do no more harm to us.

Last year, the paranoid part of my brain envisioned W and Cheney scheming to hold on to power through some pseudo national emergency.
But as the year wore on and the economy went from sour to rancid that seemed less and less likely.In fact, it really seemed as if there was no one in the White House at all. All the action was either on the campaign trail or in Congress. W was mute and reclusive. The bright, shiny toy that he inherited in 2001 was now dull, tarnished, rusty and broken. It no longer amused him and thus he no longer wanted any part of it. While the country finally came to the realization that the economic doomsayers were right and everything collapsed in ruin, he couldn't be bothered to lead. Instead, the Decider delegated the responsibility to his minions while he spent the time counting down the days until he could return to Texas to tackle some pesky brush.

Dash does an excellent job with a final parting shot at W's administration.

* * *
Yesterday, I watched the inauguration with my cynicism tucked away in a closet. I was lucky to find an HD channel with no running commentary. It was a bit like being there.
Listening to Obama's speech, I couldn't help but get caught up in the moment. Here is a president who actually talks to us like adults. Hell, he insists that we "set aside childish things." No smirking or swaggering when he thinks he's got the upper hand. No stammering or word invention when he can't answer a question. I'd forgotten what it was like to have someone intelligent in the White House.

The President has the unique opportunity to set the tone for the political discourse in this country (Just look at the last 8 years). Obama's speech, if it rings true, offers us the chance to get it out of the gutter. Fact based policy, instead of faith based, would be a tremendous change. Abandoning the Orwellian doublespeak that has been spewing out of Washington for so long would be refreshing.

David Brin was pleased with what he heard too. In particular....

"We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age."

Yes, yes. Education, sustainability, health, plus the new technologies that may not only help save the nation and planet, but also kick-start the next economic boom, in much the same way that our government's internet research sparked the last one... all of that was profoundly welcome, and expected. But to put science first, ahead of all the others, and thus signaling it's "rightful place," struck me deeply. This is one lawyer who knows that good decisions cannot be based upon incantations, but must ultimately depend on actual, honest-to-God facts.

And that's something we haven't had for so long. It's enough to give me, dare I say it, hope. Maybe Obama can steer this ship of state away from the shoals of insolvency, clear past the jagged rocks of America's Imperialist foreign policy and far from the whirlpool of environmental degradation.

Now, I'm under no illusion that Obama can solve all of our problems. I'm sure that he'll set policies that I'll strongly disagree with. So many people have such high expectations that he'll address their #1 issue the way they want him too right away that Obama will certainly let them down. But after one of the worst presidents, if not the worst, in American history, Obama has a chance to steer the country back in the direction it was designed to be: a republic. Or, he can use some of W's special executive powers to become nothing more than a benevolent dictator. Time will tell, but for these first few days I'm just going to be glad that we have a real president again.


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Watchmen

I was never into comic books as a kid. They were just... lame. It wasn't just the fact that the characters were these two dimensional cheezy dorks in fluorescent costumes. Stories dragged on pointlessly. Oh wait, there was a point: to keep people buying them to find out if Ultra Fantastic Man was going to be victorious in his fight against Mr. Really Mean Dude. But since the Ultra Fantastic Man comic book wasn't canceled, he obviously won while Mr. Really Mean Dude got away or was temporarily incarcerated. Either way, he'd be back. Lame. Even the comic books themselves were tissue thin paper colored with half-assed ink.

In college, I had a roommate who was an avid collector. This guy defied the stereotype. There was no mistaking him for a dweeb. He was a 6' 2" jock. He played high school basketball and, although he didn't make the college team, still played it for fun. He was an all around fan of sports in general, easily segueing from basketball to football without missing a beat.

He took it upon himself to inform me that the comic books had evolved. "Graphic novels" had emerged and elevated the pathetic industry into something resembling traditional fiction. They even used real paper!

For instance, Batman was revitalized by Frank Miller in "The Dark Knight Returns". Miller would later go on to create "300" and "Sin City," which were both later made into successful films.

But the one that stood out from the rest of the graphic novels was "Watchmen" (don't click the link if you don't want to have it spoiled for you), written by Alan Moore (Moore would later go on to write "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and "V For Vendetta"). In it, Moore imagines an alternate reality where superheroes really existed and explores what impact they would have on society.

The story is set in the mid 80's. Nixon is still president thanks to the help of these superheroes (the outcome of the Vietnam War was decidedly different) and the repealing of the 22nd amendment. Watergate? Buried, along with those nosy journalists. Cold War tensions are high and threatening to turn hot as the Soviets are tired of getting boxed in by Pax Americana.

The relationship between the public and the superheroes isn't so great. After initial gratitude for fighting crime, things turn sour. The cry of "Who Watches The Watchmen" goes out and is scrawled in graffiti everywhere. The police grow to resent the superheroes, seeing them as nothing more than costumed vigilantes reveling in the glory. They go on strike and hold protest rallies. Ultimately, Congress passes a law banning superheroes, unless they work directly for the government. Those that don't retire or go into hiding.

Meanwhile, someone is eliminating superheroes. The first one to go turns out to be one of the government sanctioned guys. And since he's working for Nixon, you know his hat can't be white. His death drags the others out of retirement (and hiding) to figure out what's going on.

Unlike your typical comic book superhero, the superheroes in "Watchmen" don't have super powers, except for one guy. They're all just normal people with good fighting skills and gadgets, a bit like Batman. The one that does have super powers, Dr. Manhattan, can re-shape matter with just a thought. He gets lost in a conundrum over time, experiencing it all at once. One moment he's reliving the accident that made him what he is, the next he's on Mars building sand castles contemplating his post-human state.

Other characters wrestle with the way their lives turned out or what the whole point was. Truth, justice, and the American way? Some wonder if that's a multiple choice question. They certainly don't agree with one another. Was it really about doing good? Was it just a costume fetish?

And underneath it all is the comic book within the comic book. A teen reads about "Tales of the Black Freighter," a pirate ship comic. Moore and Gibbons, the illustrator, deftly weave the events of "Watchmen" with "The Black Freighter" together with the narration from one paralleling the other. And there are the clever little segments at the end of each chapter: excerpts from an autobiography written by a retired superhero, a treatise on the study of owls, interview excerpts with retired superheroes, and articles on missing persons that figure in the story.

You wouldn't get this sort of literary skill with old style comic books. They were all "bam", "kapow", and "you haven't seen the last of me" crap. "Watchmen" helped change all that. While it didn't turn me into a collector, it did teach me to appreciate the medium and look at it with an open mind. I've picked up a couple stories, and even got into the "Sandman" series. None of that would've been possible without "Watchmen" and the other graphic novels of the mid-80's.

My wife had heard that a movie based on "Watchmen" was coming out so while we were out Christmas shopping, we picked up a copy to re-read it. While it's still great, it's obviously not as fresh as it was. The Cold War seems so long ago compared to the problems we have now. However, substitute the Middle Eastern mess for it and the rest of the story holds.

I have no idea if the movie will be faithful to Moore's work or not. He's complained that previous adaptations of his work have been all crap. I haven't read his other works that were made into film so I don't know if he's right. I can easily see Hollywood ruining it. Will they try to update it for the present day? I mean, who under 30 (the typical movie goer's age is what 18?) remembers the Cold War or even Nixon. Will the story still seem relevant or carry the same weight as it did back then? I hope they don't screw it up but I won't hold my breath. If you do see it, do yourself a favor and read the book instead.

I haven't spoken to that old roommate of mine since graduation. However, I'm sure that he'd be pleased to see that graphic novels have received their due.

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DED

Ice Storm

A storm made its way into the northeast today. Unfortunately, after a snowy start, we got freezing rain.


Of course, it took its toll on the trees. Several limbs came down. Here are a couple that I could take pictures of. I didn't venture into the forest in the back yard to snap the larger limbs. I'd hear a rifle shot followed by thunderous cracking and finally a tremendous thud as branches and limbs came crashing down. I didn't think the shot was worth the risk.


Besides the damage it does to the trees, I hate ice storms because they're the hardest to clean up after. For snow, I've got the snow blower. I don't care if it's over a foot. The snow blower kicks ass. Even black ice I can throw some salt down. But with all the ice we got today, I had to scrape it up. Fortunately, I bought a new scraping shovel last week. On a whim no less. It still took me about an hour and a half to clear it so that my wife could make it home from work.

This cedar bush normally overhangs the driveway. The weight of the ice was just too much. The middle stem has an 8 inch crack in it. I don't know if it's fatal or not.

You can see it's entombed.

Spring is obviously a long way off.






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