It was 25 years ago Tuesday-June 2, 1967-that rock grew up.
That may not necessarily have been for the best. But there`s little doubt that with the release on that day of the Beatles` ”Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” rock-and the public`s perception of what rock could be-was forever changed.
Although there had been great albums before ”Sgt. Pepper,” none were released with such fanfare and high expectation.
Up until then, the rock `n` roll soundtrack had been dominated by the 45- r.p.m. single: from Bill Haley and the Comets` ”Rock Around the Clock” in 1955 to the Beach Boys` ”Good Vibrations” in 1966.
With ”Sgt. Pepper,” the leading rock group of the era declared that a pop album could be more than just a hodgepodge, a haphazard collection of two or three singles and six or seven leftovers. The interwoven songs; the long, plangent chord that closed the album; the subtle humor; even the cover art-all bespoke an attention to detail that rewarded close attention. ”Sgt. Pepper” demanded to be listened to and analyzed as a complete package, a coherent whole, a work of art.
And, in general, critics and the public greeted it as such. Some reviewers hailed it as a masterpiece, the best rock album ever made.
In retrospect, ”Sgt. Pepper” was more of a cultural phenomenon than a musical milestone-it isn`t even the Beatles` best record (it is surpassed by virtually all of its predecessors, especially ”Revolver” and ”Rubber Soul”).
But it inspires an assessment of its legacy: the rock album. What are the greatest rock albums ever made? The debate, which more or less began with the release of ”Sgt. Pepper,” has been expanding in scope and fervor ever since, and we`re asking you, the reader, to weigh in with your choices (see an accompanying article).
For my Top 50, I didn`t consider greatest hits collections or box-set retrospectives. With a couple of exceptions, my choices are records that live up to the premise of ”Sgt. Pepper”: They were designed to be listened to as a unit rather than as a grab bag. Nor was any attempt made to cover every important artist or movement in rock. My final guide was the pleasure principle: Here are the records that I couldn`t imagine being without.
(1) ”Highway 61 Revisited” (1965) Bob Dylan: With his first fully electric album, the erstwhile protest singer redefined rock. His nasally singing voice, explosively literate lyrics and rollicking, shambling sense of song form-bringing together Woody Guthrie, Jack Kerouac, hillbilly, country blues and the Rolling Stones-broke all the rules for pop (including a barrier- breaking six-minute single, ”Like a Rolling Stone”) and captured a moment of limitless possibility.
(2) ”Exile on Main Street” (1972) Rolling Stones: The ”rank outsiders” put their greasy thumbprint on the blues, gospel, soul and the rotting carcass of `60s rock. The indolent, carnally casual vocals; the raw grind of the guitars; the murky production-this album bristled with menace, meanness and illicit dreams, and seemed somehow all the more electric because of it.
(3) ”Fun House” (1970) Stooges: This album begins on an almost primitive level, unvarnished blues played with awesome conviction by a stomping garage-rock band, then evolves into a mutant strain of free-jazz funk. All the while, Iggy Pop sings like a man crawling through cut glass.
(4) ”New York Dolls” (1973) New York Dolls: Hurtling along like a New York subway, the Dolls were all dressed up (high-heels, glitter, lipstick)
with nowhere to go, smart dead-end kids who were years ahead of their time. While twin guitars roared and the drums galloped, singer David Johansen embodied the white-trash origins of rock `n` roll even as his charm, wit and glorious bray of a voice transcended them.
(5) ”Sex Machine” (1970) James Brown: And a very well-oiled machine it was. Brown`s band was more like a percussion orchestra, and it was as tight and expressive as any ensemble since Ellington`s or Basie`s.
(6) ”The Velvet Underground and Nico” (1967) Velvet Underground: The underbelly of the Summer of Love, a world of darkness, decadence and dissonance, ennobled and illuminated by Lou Reed`s lyrics.
(7) ”Fear and Whiskey” (1985) Mekons: Thumbing its nose at the ”greed is good” decade, ”Fear and Whiskey” lifted its warped, woozy blend of Merle Haggard, punk rock, paranoia, defiance and bar-stool socialism to the level of poetry.
(8) ”Sun Sessions” (1956) Elvis Presley: This collection of Presley`s earliest singles is unified by his audacious vision. A fan of country music, rhythm and blues and out-and-out schlock, Presley re-invented all of them in his own swaggering image.
(9) ”Revolver” (1966) Beatles: The Beatles made a complete break with their early rock `n` roll influences and forged a new pop vocabulary by using the studio like another instrument. ”Revolver” is not only harder-edged but more cohesive than its more famous successor, ”Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
(10) ”I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You” (1967) Aretha Frankin: An astonishing voice in its glory, elaborating a pre-feminist vision that was earthy (the title track, ”Dr. Feelgood”), demanding (”Respect”), generous (”Do Right Woman-Do Right Man”), vulnerable (”Drown in My Own Tears,”
”Save Me”) and determined (”A Change is Gonna Come”).
(11) ”Blonde on Blonde” (1966) Bob Dylan: Dylan`s second masterpiece from the mid-`60s is in many ways an even deeper and more imponderable work than ”Highway 61 Revisited,” while still rocking like the dickens.
(12) ”Never Mind the Bollocks, Here`s the Sex Pistols” (1977) Sex Pistols: Johnny Rotten rolled his ”r`s” like he was sharpening his teeth on the consonant, and his band blasted with unequaled fury, liberated rather than constrained by its near total lack of ability.
(13) ”It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” (1988) Public Enemy: Slamming, swirling, vertigo-inducing tracks, surrounding the voice of black rage, Chuck D. One track, the single of the `80s, sums it up: ”Bring the Noise.”
(14) ”Astral Weeks” (1967) Van Morrison: With brilliant jazz musicians such as Connie Kay and Richard Davis layering on the atmosphere, Morrison creates ”head” music of the most evocative and sensual variety-soul as filtered through the prism of Celtic mysticism, John Lee Hooker and William Butler Yeats.
(15) ”Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs” (1970) Derek and the Dominoes: Perhaps the ultimate guitar-rock manifesto, with Eric Clapton spurred to his greatest performance on record by a young, eager virtuoso, Duane Allman.
(16) ”Dictionary of Soul” (1966) Otis Redding: At 25, Redding`s stylistic range was as great as any pop artist`s, refashioning songs made famous by Chuck Willis, the Beatles and even Patti Page as the deepest Southern soul music. Backed by the awesome Stax Records rhythm section (Booker T and the MG`s) and the Memphis Horns, this was Redding`s crowning achievement.
(17) ”Are You Experienced?” (1967) Jimi Hendrix: Not only was Hendrix the most extravagantly gifted and revolutionary rock guitarist of all time, he was pushed and challenged by Elvin Jones` evil twin, drummer Mitch Mitchell.
(18) ”London Calling” (1979) Clash: On its third album, the Clash shattered punk`s narrow sonic strictures. Instead of diluting the band`s socially conscious rage, ”London Calling” made it even more articulate and universal.
(19) ”Live at the Apollo” (1962) James Brown: While Brown`s band plays with air-tight discipline and power, his over-the-top showmanship and over-the-brink singing court chaos and hysteria.
(20) ”New Day Rising” (1985) Husker Du: A mix of pop melodies (mostly written by drummer Grant Hart) and howls into the blackness (guitarist Bob Mould`s speciality) played with ragged yet monumental force.
(21) ”The Band” (1968) The Band: An album drenched in Southern mythology, pathos and humor, largely written by a Canadian, Robbie Robertson. (22) ”12 Songs” (1970) Randy Newman: Songs that flow with the deceptive ease of Tin Pan Alley classics, sung in a lazy, Creole drawl by a bemused, and slightly deranged, iconoclast.
(23) ”Pet Sounds” (1966) Beach Boys: A song cycle about lost innocence, in which the Beach Boys` fabulous harmonies are but one element in Brian Wilson`s dense studio tapestry.
(24) ”There`s a Riot Goin` On” (1971) Sly and the Family Stone:
Sylvester Stewart had been justly celebrated for his uplifting dance anthems, but here the overriding mood is one of burned-out desolation and stumbling isolation, a brick through the window of the feel-good `60s.
(25) ”Every Picture Tells a Story” (1971) Rod Stewart: Hard rock created with acoustic instruments, ”Every Picture” presents Stewart as not only pop`s most versatile singer (equally adept at hard-driving R&B, raucous boogie and folk ballads) but as its friendliest.
(26) ”Innervisions” (1973) Stevie Wonder: Searing social commentaries, ballads worthy of Sinatra, a keening voice shot full of yearning, and synthesizers that sound like they`re wired to the singer`s heart.
(27) ”Live” (1975) Bob Marley: Reggae`s shaman at the peak of his powers: revolutionary, lover, preacher, compassionate friend.
(28) ”Rocket to Russia” (1977) Ramones: Very loud ear candy without an ounce of excess fat; not even a guitar solo impedes the nonstop blitz of three-chord melodies.
(29) ”Sign O` the Times” (1987) Prince: One of the most gifted pop performers of the `80s at the height of his powers, skipping from gender-bending experimental ballads to volcanic funk to delirious pop with delighted ease.
(30) ”The Belle Album” (1977) Al Green: The great voice of Memphis soul in the `70s was poised at the crossroads of the secular and the sacred during the making of this album, and the conflict gives ”Belle” its tension and power: ”It`s you that I want,” he tells his would-be lover, ”but it`s Him that I need.” Afterward, Green would quit making pop records to devote himself to his ministry and Christian music.
(31) ”Darkness on the Edge of Town” (1978) Bruce Springsteen: After the escapism of ”Born to Run,” this was a hard-bitten, angry record from which there was no escape. Never has Springsteen sounded so raw as a singer, not even on ”Nebraska,” nor has he ever equaled the wreckless passion of his guitar-playing on ”Candy`s Room” and ”Streets of Fire.”
(32) ”Rust Never Sleeps” (1979) Neil Young: Divided into equally volatile and devastating acoustic and electric halves, ”Rust Never Sleeps”
finds Young slashing out a new niche for himself in the wake of punk rock`s wakeup call.
(33) ”Blood on the Tracks” (1975) Bob Dylan: Whereas each of Dylan`s great works from a decade earlier seemed to lead his generation down a new path, this album, released when he was no longer the pre-eminent voice of his time, spoke to that generation`s disillusionment. ”Blood on the Tracks” is a long, bittersweet, at times compassionate look back at the ravages of love, the `60s and the passage of time.
(34) ”Let It Be” (1984) Replacements: The scruffy juvenile-delinquent charm of the band`s early records is intact, but it`s the sound of Paul Westerberg ripping his heart out that makes ”Let It Be” a low-rent classic, especially on the titanic ”Unsatisfied.”
(35) ”What`s Going On” (1971) Marvin Gaye: An inner-city version of Van Morrison`s ”Astral Weeks.”
(36) ”This Year`s Model” (1978) Elvis Costello: The hovering keyboards of Steve Nieve give this tour de force of frustration and betrayal a claustrophobic tension.
(37) ”Shoot Out the Lights” (1982) Richard and Linda Thompson: Haunted voices, slashing guitar and timeless songs of longing, disillusionment and death.
(38) ”Mothership Connection” (1976) Parliament: Take James Brown`s funk, a sprinkling of Sun Ra`s cosmic fancy and add George Clinton`s free-your-mind-and-your-butt-will-follow vision and you get this: a dance album with deep grooves and even deeper shades of humor and irony.
(39) ”Roxy Music” (1972) Roxy Music: Anarchic art-rock made by slumming lounge lizards. Key influences: 1930s cabaret, the Velvet Underground and vampire movies. Beneath the decadence, Bryan Ferry was just a regular guy looking for love in all the wrong places.
(40) ”Squeezing Out Sparks” (1979) Graham Parker and the Rumour:
Parker`s voice sounds like it could draw blood, and the Rumour`s guitar-driven arrangements are lean and nasty. As one of the songs says, passion is no ordinary word.
(41) ”Warren Zevon” (1976) Warren Zevon: Among his laid-back California singer-songwriter peers, Zevon comes off like a 500-pound, pistol-waving gorilla with a weakness for Wild Turkey.
(42) ”Horses” (1975) Patti Smith: An album that begins with the line, ”Jesus died for somebody`s sins, but not mine,” immediately arouses suspicion, but guitarist Lenny Kaye and producer John Cale focused Smith`s sometimes overwrought style to create a work of sweeping passion and artistry. (43) ”Marcus Garvey” (1976) Burning Spear: Winston Rodney`s haunted vibrato brings a magesty and gravity to even the most trivial concerns. Here he finds a topic-the black diaspora-worthy of his instrument.
(44) ”No Sleep At All” (1988) Motorhead: Heavy metal was stuck in a humorless dungeons-and-dragons ghetto until these guys came along in the mid-` 70s. On this live album, their speed tempos, filthy guitars, biker attitude and savage wit leave a Finnish audience howling, most notably on the quintessential ”Killed By Death.”
(45) ”The Velvet Underground” (1969) Velvet Underground: After firing John Cale, Lou Reed`s songwriting-rather than abrasive sonic textures-became the focal point of the band, and his brisk, sometimes gorgeous, neo-folk tunes are now justifiably regarded as classics.
(47) ”Dub Housing” (1979) Pere Ubu: The sound of civilization collapsing never sounded like so much fun, as Allen Ravenstine`s synthesizer and David Thomas` voice dance among the ruins
(48) ”Pink Flag” (1978) Wire: Pithy shots of barbed-wire pop that articulate punk`s 1st Commandment: Everything you know is wrong.
(49) ”Led Zeppelin” (1969) Led Zeppelin: Excessive? You bet. This is the sound of the blues overdosing on testosterone. But sometimes everyone needs a little overkill, and Jimmy Page (check ”Communication Breakdown” for a preview of early Metallica) remains inspiring to air guitarists everywhere. (50) ”Metal Box” (1979) Public Image Ltd.: In its original format-three 12-inch 45-r.p.m. records in a tin film cannister-this epochal music, the seismic thrust of Jah Wobble`s bass, the ghostly menace in John Lydon`s voice, is nearly overwhelming.
