✅ Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

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Matski
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✅ Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

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Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

200. Ennio Morricone - Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo
199. Donovan - Sunshine Superman
198. Andrew Hill - Point of Departure
197. Cecil Taylor - Unit Structures
196. Wanda Jackson - Rockin’ With Wanda
195. Nilsson - Aerial Ballet
194. Donald Byrd - A New Perspective
193. The Beach Boys - Surfer Girl
192. Link Wray & the Wraymen - Link Wray & the Wraymen
191. Amon Düül II - Phallus Dei
190. Judy Collins - Wildflowers
189. The Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at “The Club”
188. Dave Van Ronk - Folksinger
187. Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow
186. The Kinks - Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
185. Charles Mingus - Mingus Plays Piano
184. BBC Radiophonic Workshop - BBC Radiophonic Music
183. Mickey Newbury - Looks Like Rain
182. The Soft Machine - The Soft Machine
181. Lesley Gore - I’ll Cry If I Want To
180. Wilson Pickett - The Exciting Wilson Pickett
179. Art Ensemble of Chicago - Message to Our Folks
178. Wendy Carlos - Switched-On Bach
177. Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles
176. Townes Van Zandt - Townes Van Zandt
175. Ella Fitzgerald/Count Basie - Ella and Basie!
174. Patty Waters - Sings
173. Duke Ellington - Far East Suite
172. Eddie Palmieri - Justicia
171. Various Artists - Golden Rain
170. Roland Kirk - The Inflated Tear
169. The Sonics - Here Are the Sonics!!!
168. The Peter Brötzmann Octet - Machine Gun
167. The Impressions - Keep On Pushing
166. Byrd Brothers - The Notorious Byrd Brothers
165. Sonny Rollins - The Bridge
164. The Beatles - A Hard Day’s Night
163. Big Brother & the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills
162. Dr. John - Gris-Gris
161. White Noise - An Electric Storm
160. Phil Ochs - I Ain’t Marching Anymore
159. Ray Barretto - Acid
158. Alice Coltrane - A Monastic Trio
157. Merle Haggard - Mama Tried
156. Ornette Coleman Trio - Live at the “Golden Circle” Stockholm Vol. 1
155. Moondog - Moondog
154. The Delfonics - La La Means I Love You
153. Max Roach - We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite
152. Jacques Brel - Ces Gens-là
151. La Monte YoungMarian Zazeela - The Black Record
150. John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane
149. Son House - Father of Folk Blues
148. Roberta Flack - First Take
147. Don Cherry - Eternal Rhythm
146. Jorge Ben - Samba Esquema Novo
145. Archie Shepp - Blasé
144. David Axelrod - Song of Innocence
143. Alexander “Skip” Spence - Oar
142. Frank Sinatra - September of My Years
141. Shirley and Dolly Collins - Anthems in Eden
140. Mary Lou Williams - Black Christ of the Andes
139. Stevie Wonder - For Once in My Life
138. Sun Ra and His Arkestra - The Magic City
137. The Isley Brothers - It’s Our Thing
136. Roy Orbison - Crying
135. Fred Neil - Fred Neil
134. Duke Ellington/Charles Mingus/Max Roach - Money Jungle
133. Aretha Franklin - Aretha Now
132. The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin
131. Jimmy Cliff - Jimmy Cliff
130. Various Artists - A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector
129. The United States of America - The United States of America
128. John Coltrane - Live at Birdland
127. The Monks - Black Monk Time
126. Tammy Wynette - D-I-V-O-R-C-E
125. Sonny Sharrock - Black Woman
124. The Kinks - Something Else By the Kinks
123. Marvin Gaye - In the Groove
122. Mulatu Astatke - Afro-Latin Soul, Vol. 1
121. Desmond Dekker and The Aces - Israelites
120. Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
119. The Meters - The Meters
118. The Beach Boys - Smiley Smile
117. Serge Gainsbourg - Initials B.B.
116. Miles Davis - Nefertiti
115. The Fugs - The Fugs First Album
114. Thelonious Monk - Straight, No Chaser
113. Harry Partch - The World of Harry Partch
112. The Paragons - On the Beach
111. Tom Zé - Grande Liquidação
110. The Shaggs - Philosophy of the World
109. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
108. Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
107. Four Tops - Reach Out
106. Ornette Coleman - Free Jazz
105. Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence
104. Patsy Cline - Sentimentally Yours
103. Stan Getz & João Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto
102. Elvis Presley - From Elvis in Memphis
101. The Mothers of Inventions - Freak Out!
100. Sun Ra - The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra
99. Gilberto Gil - Gilberto Gil
98. The Rolling Stones - Aftermath
97. Randy Newman - Randy Newman
96. Howlin’ Wolf - Howlin’ Wolf
95. The Doors - The Doors
94. Nina Simone - In Concert
93. Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle
92. Gal Costa - Gal Costa
91. James Brown - Say It Loud - I’m Black and I’m Proud
90. Françoise Hardy - Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles
89. The Temptations - Cloud Nine
88. 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
87. Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra - Nancy & Lee
86. Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell - United
85. The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo
84. Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
83. Morton Subotnick - Silver Apples of the Moon
82. Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
81. The Band - The Band
80. Karlheinz Stockhausen - Kontakte
79. Caetano Veloso - Caetano Veloso
78. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy and the Poor Boys
77. Silver Apples - Silver Apples
76. Steve Reich/Richard Maxfield/Pauline Oliveros - New Sounds in Electronic Music (Come Out / Night Music / I of IV)
75. Toots and the Maytals - Sweet and Dandy
74. John Fahey - The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death
73. Joni Mitchell - Clouds
72. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
71. Same Cooke - Ain’t That Good News
70. Leonard Cohen - Songs From a Room
69. The Who - The Who Sell Out
68. Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
67. Thelonious Monk - Solo Monk
66. Buff Sainte-Marie - Illuminations
65. Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Safe as Milk
64. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold as Love
63. Laura Nyro - New York Tendaberry
62. Etta James - At Last!
61. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
60. Grateful Dead - Live Dead
59. Bill Evans Trio - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
58. Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
57. The Ornette Coleman Quartet - This Is Our Music
56. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
55. Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
54. Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
53. Pharoah Sanders - Karma
52. Karen Dalton - It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going to Love You the Best
51. Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes
50. MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
49. The Shangri-Las - Leader of the Pack
48. Can - Monster Movie
47. The Zombies - Odyssey and Oracle
46. The Beatles - Rubber Soul
45. Scott Walker - Scott 4
44. Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg - Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg
43. Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
42. Nico - Chelsea Girl
41. Terry Riley - In C
40. Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep – Mountain High
39. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?
38. Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
37. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
36. John Coltrane - Giant Steps
35. The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
34. Otis Redding - Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
33. Love - Forever Changes
32. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
31. The Ronettes - Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica
30. Albert Ayler - Spiritual Unity
29. Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul
28. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
27. The Kinks - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
26. The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
25. Sly and the Family Stone - Stand!
24. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
23. Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul
22. The Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go
21. Nina Simone - Pastel Blues
20. The Stooges - The Stooges
19. Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis
18. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
17. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
16. The Beatles - Abbey Road
15. Eric Dolphy - Out to Lunch!
14. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
13. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
12. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground
11. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen
10. Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
9. Miles Davis - In a Silent Way
8. The Beatles - Revolver
7. James Brown - Live at the Apollo
6. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
5. Nina Simone - Wild Is the Wind
4. The Beatles - The Beatles (The White Album)
3. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
2. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
1. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
Last edited by Matski on Tue Aug 22, 2017 11:21 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Pierre
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Pierre »

Well, well, they finally got to it. The foreign entries are the usual suspects, and I'm slightly annoyed that there's only one Laura Nyro album, one Zappa (seriously?) and one The Who (really, seriously?), and also that Jefferson Airplane are so close to the shaft.

Jimi Hendrix is here. I was starting to wonder if Pitchfork ever listened to him.

Overall what I expected from Pitchfork. Nice to see the funk entries so high though, and a rather decent amount of jazz albums in there.

Now waiting for their best albums of the 1950s list!
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by StevieFan13 »

Pierre wrote:Well, well, they finally got to it. The foreign entries are the usual suspects, and I'm slightly annoyed that there's only one Laura Nyro album, one Zappa (seriously?) and one The Who (really, seriously?), and also that Jefferson Airplane are so close to the shaft.

Jimi Hendrix is here. I was starting to wonder if Pitchfork ever listened to him.

Overall what I expected from Pitchfork. Nice to see the funk entries so high though, and a rather decent amount of jazz albums in there.

Now waiting for their best albums of the 1950s list!
I'm actually wondering if next year they decide to bite the bullet and do an all-time albums or songs list.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Harold »

Too bad they didn't put this out a little earlier, to allow it to be incorporated into the forthcoming AM update. Fascinating list, as usual. Does this mean they're going to revisit their previous decade lists to expand those to 200 as well?

I agree with Stevie - a Pitchfork all-time list seems inevitable at some point, and would be worth looking forward to.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by StevieFan13 »

Harold wrote:Too bad they didn't put this out a little earlier, to allow it to be incorporated into the forthcoming AM update. Fascinating list, as usual. Does this mean they're going to revisit their previous decade lists to expand those to 200 as well?

I agree with Stevie - a Pitchfork all-time list seems inevitable at some point, and would be worth looking forward to.
Sadly, it probably wouldn't have been incorporated anyway, seeing as it's an album list.
And yeah, say what you will about Pitchfork, their choices are always more interesting than your average song/album list, so seeing how they'd put them all together would be very cool.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by panam »

More brazilians and less british than regular..
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Pierre »

StevieFan13 wrote:
Pierre wrote:Well, well, they finally got to it. The foreign entries are the usual suspects, and I'm slightly annoyed that there's only one Laura Nyro album, one Zappa (seriously?) and one The Who (really, seriously?), and also that Jefferson Airplane are so close to the shaft.

Jimi Hendrix is here. I was starting to wonder if Pitchfork ever listened to him.

Overall what I expected from Pitchfork. Nice to see the funk entries so high though, and a rather decent amount of jazz albums in there.

Now waiting for their best albums of the 1950s list!
I'm actually wondering if next year they decide to bite the bullet and do an all-time albums or songs list.
I was half-joking, but if they plan an all-time list at some point, perhaps a 1950s list should be a worthy last step before. In my opinion, at least.
panam wrote:More brazilians and less british than regular..
Yet no Jobim album (aside from the usual Getz/Gilberto/Jobim one). And I'm all OK for less British invasion, but as I stated before, not if it hurts the Who :angry-banghead: ;)

All the essential Kinks albums are there however, minus Face to Face, which is somewhat satisfying. I was sort of expecting more Scott Walker too, but oh well.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by StevieFan13 »

Pierre wrote: I was half-joking, but if they plan an all-time list at some point, perhaps a 1950s list should be a worthy last step before. In my opinion, at least.
A smart last step, although I'm not sure they could come up with 200 albums or songs from the '50s, and certainly not enough that go with their really pop/really not pop aesthetic (they could do only 100 each or so, but even that feels a little generous for albums). Some all-time lists have gotten away with only a handful of '50s songs (NME immediately comes to mind, although some of the songs they left off were pretty bonkers), so maybe they could just write new entries for decades they haven't covered. Plus they've briefly touched upon the '50s in some other lists (like the Nina Simone list).
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Illiniq »

Fascinating list in some regards - though their determination to try to define rock & roll as never having a blues element to it, when so much of what drove the sixties music scene was anchored in the blues, is almost reprehensible. Blatant rewriting of history to fit the sites own tastes.

Not gonna complain about what's on the list, most of the non blues anchored greats are there, and they definitely got number 1 right.

I still take umbrage with how high Pet Sounds stands with contemporary taste makers. It's a masterpiece, a definitive moment, but it's not a top ten album all-time or even of the sixties. Other albums just have a way stronger overall set of songs, starting with Are You Experienced, probably, along with Astral Weeks and The Band, the most underrank album on their list - Swap their number 2 and 3 albums with Are You Experienced and Astral Weeks and they get much closer to the truth.

But again, as always with Pitchfork - it's the Blues/Classic Rock oriented albums that take the hit. My votes for 22 most egregious ommissions.

The Who Sings My Generation
Mr Tambourine Man - The Byrds
The Beach Boys Today
The Fugs Second Album - Should have taken the place of number 1 - just a way better album, same way Ramones Debut always tops Rocket To Russia in polls for coming first when Rocket is just so much better.
Bluesbreakers - My vote for biggest disgraceful ommission in entire list - this album is undeniable - sounds better today than it ever did.
Roger The Engineer/Over Under Sideways Down - The Yardbirds
Fresh Cream or Disreali Gears - I get it, they hate Clapton, but Cream did invent the power trio.
Buffalo Springfield Again - Another WTF ommission - so much better than Young's Everbody Knows which ranked in their top 40
Moby Grape - best Psych Album to ever come out of San Fran
Between The Buttons
Born Under A Bad Sign – Albert King - Another how did they not include this - they are so anti-blues
You Got My Mind Messed Up – James Carr
Goodbye And Hello – Tim Buckley - Personally, not that huge they didn't include this, but surprising, seems so aligned with their tastes.
Steppenwolf S/t - I know, they'll just dismiss as biker rock, but the Stoner Rock movement of two decades later was born here.
We’re Only In It For The Money
A Salty Dog – Procul Harum
Volunteers - Jefferson Airplane
Uncle Meat - The best "jammy" Zappa album ever
Unhalfbricking - The Fairport Convention
Santana
Traffic
East West - Paul Butterfield Blues Band
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Kingoftonga »

Here's the albums from Acclaimed Music's current Top 100 of the 1960s that didn't make Pitchfork's cut:

24. The Band - Music from Big Pink
29. The Who - Tommy
38. Cream - Disraeli Gears
49. The Who - The Who Sing My Generation
50. Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
54. Mothers of Invention - We're Only In It For the Money
55. The Byrds - Younger Than Yesterday
56. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
61. The Beatles - With the Beatles/Meet the Beatles!
64. John Mayall - Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton
65. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River
69. BB King - Live at the Regal
71. Crosby, stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills and Nash
75. The Beatles - Please Please Me
77. Fairport Convention - Liege and Lief
79. Small Faces - Ogdun's Nut Gone Flake
81. Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again
82. Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones/England's Newest Hit Makers
84. Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding
85. Moby Grape - Moby Grape
89. Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails
90. Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking
92. Bobby Bland - Two Steps from the Blues
93. Tim Buckley - Happy Sad
94. The Beatles - Help!
95. Cream - Wheels of Fire
97. Oliver Nelson - The Blues and Abstract Truth
99. The Kinks - Face to Face
100. The Doors - Strange Days

There's a lot I might quibble with, but I agree that the lack of Tim Buckley on Pitchfork's list is certainly a surprise.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Illiniq »

Kingoftonga wrote:Here's the albums from Acclaimed Music's current Top 100 of the 1960s that didn't make Pitchfork's cut:

24. The Band - Music from Big Pink
29. The Who - Tommy
38. Cream - Disraeli Gears
49. The Who - The Who Sing My Generation
50. Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
54. Mothers of Invention - We're Only In It For the Money
55. The Byrds - Younger Than Yesterday
56. The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
61. The Beatles - With the Beatles/Meet the Beatles!
64. John Mayall - Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton
65. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River
69. BB King - Live at the Regal
71. Crosby, stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills and Nash
75. The Beatles - Please Please Me
77. Fairport Convention - Liege and Lief
79. Small Faces - Ogdun's Nut Gone Flake
81. Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again
82. Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones/England's Newest Hit Makers
84. Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding
85. Moby Grape - Moby Grape
89. Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails
90. Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking
92. Bobby Bland - Two Steps from the Blues
93. Tim Buckley - Happy Sad
94. The Beatles - Help!
95. Cream - Wheels of Fire
97. Oliver Nelson - The Blues and Abstract Truth
99. The Kinks - Face to Face
100. The Doors - Strange Days

There's a lot I might quibble with, but I agree that the lack of Tim Buckley on Pitchfork's list is certainly a surprise.
Some of their ommissions from this list I am okay with. Tommy may have been the first "rock opera" but taken in total it's such a hit and miss collection of songs, never been a favorite of mine, nor Wheels of FIre, which I think is pretty awful after White Room and Crossroads. Green River, Music From The Big Pink, and Face To Face are all excellent albums, but for my money not in same ballpark as the representative albums by the same artists Pitchfork did include on their list.

A minor case could be made for the inclusion of the earlier Beatles/Stones Album's, Ogden's Nut Gone Flakes, Happy Sad, Strange Days, and Younger Than Yesterday over other titles that did make the bottom half of Pitchfork's list - but not a super strong one, none of these are top-50 of the 60s albums.

But of albums here that I failed to mention my first post - Live At Regal, Two Steps From The Blues, John Wesley Harding, and Crosby, Stills and Nash definitely feel like they should have been included - though my guess is the Pitchfork powers find CSN even more repellant than Eric Clapton so that was never going to happen.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Nassim »

Pierre wrote:Well, well, they finally got to it. The foreign entries are the usual suspects,
I guess, but didn't expect to see Françoise Hardy in the top 100.

Some oddball albums are lower than I would have guess : Black Monk Time, Trout Mask Replica, A Rainbow in Curved Air, The United States of America... all albums I'd have guessed to be Pitchfork darlings. The last 2 are still way higher than their AM rank though.

All in all, that's probably the closest a Pitchfork top 50 has ever been to what a "regular" old school magazine top 20 would have been, and the differences (way more Jazz and black female singers) seems to me more like Pitchfork correcting a common bias than taking some kind of posture.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Illiniq »

Nassim wrote:
Pierre wrote:Well, well, they finally got to it. The foreign entries are the usual suspects,
I guess, but didn't expect to see Françoise Hardy in the top 100.

Some oddball albums are lower than I would have guess : Black Monk Time, Trout Mask Replica, A Rainbow in Curved Air, The United States of America... all albums I'd have guessed to be Pitchfork darlings. The last 2 are still way higher than their AM rank though.

All in all, that's probably the closest a Pitchfork top 50 has ever been to what a "regular" old school magazine top 20 would have been, and the differences (way more Jazz and black female singers) seems to me more like Pitchfork correcting a common bias than taking some kind of posture.
To a degree yes, but the complete absence of any of the most blues anchored classics of the decade aside from Howlin Wolf -- be it Born Under A Bad Sign, BB's Live at Regal, any of the 60s releases of Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, Bobby Bland, The Animals, Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Fresh Cream, Disreali Gears, Over Under Sideways Down, anything by Paul Butterfield/Mike Bloomfield, Jeff Beck's Truth -- at the expense of dozens and dozens of jazz releases speaks volumes. There's a definite perception being suggested that a huge historical link exists between the jazz and rock & roll of the decade when frankly I would argue the opposite, compared to the blues' influence on rock and roll, jazz's influence on rock at this time, though there, is infintesimal by comparison. Aside from a few acts on either side of the spectrum Miles Davis on the Jazz Side, Soft Machine, Van Morrison and a few others on the rock side - the two genres were moving on parellel trajectories that virtually never intersected or interferred with the other.

On top of that, we're talking the 60s, where the direct link between the blues and rock was most palpable. In this regard, Pitchfork is definitely taking a stance, not just correcting common biases. It feels like they drew a line in the sand - if it's an artist that took a heavy blues predilection, but morphed it into something else - Hendrix, The Stones, Led Zeppelin - they're in. If they fundamentally championed the blues in it's most traditional forms, be it acoustic or electrified - they're out.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by StevieFan13 »

I think Pitchfork are just stymied by the fact that they had to do a list for probably the most nostalgic decade in rock, when they're a site that seems allergic to acknowledging the past if it doesn't sound modern enough.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by StevieFan13 »

Also, Howlin' Wolf still managed to put in an appearance.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Pierre »

Nassim wrote:
Pierre wrote:Well, well, they finally got to it. The foreign entries are the usual suspects,
I guess, but didn't expect to see Françoise Hardy in the top 100.
Actually, I sort of expected Françoise Hardy in a "if there's another acknowledged French act from the 1960s aside from Gainsbourg, that would be Françoise Hardy" way. It's the usual thing with foreign critics. Another artist from the era that seems to be somewhat well-known is Brigitte Fontaine, but the only album they seem to know is Comme à la radio.
Nassim wrote: All in all, that's probably the closest a Pitchfork top 50 has ever been to what a "regular" old school magazine top 20 would have been, and the differences (way more Jazz and black female singers) seems to me more like Pitchfork correcting a common bias than taking some kind of posture.
Is it that surprising though? The 1960s are the decade where classic rock critics have probably ever been the most relevant. I guess there's only so much you can do if you just do a list of proto-krautrock, psych folk, free jazz, tropicalia, hipster-favourite obscure psychedelic records and outsider music, and if they did that, they would probably have been accused of turning into a caricature of themselves.
Illiniq wrote:Tommy may have been the first "rock opera"
First major profile one, but whatever, I'm not in the mood to re-open the old debate over S.F. Sorrow and Days of Future Passed. Yet I'm doing it anyway. Crap :mrgreen:
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by prosecutorgodot »

Lady Soul is superior to I Never Loved a Man. Am I the only one?
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by chet_baker »

Great list! I'm very pleased to see loads of jazz albums on there - (Out To Lunch at #15!!), and Nina Simone too, what a fantastic artist usually omitted from lists of this type (only 1 record in the AM3000).

It feels odd to be saying this when the Beatles have 6 albums on there but they still feel underrepresented! Rubber Soul (which I was hoping for #1) down in 46 and Magical Mystery Tour nowhere to be found (despite its perfect 10 review).

I don't think I'll ever understand the fuss surrounding James Brown at the Apollo.
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prosecutorgodot
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by prosecutorgodot »

chet_baker wrote:I don't think I'll ever understand the fuss surrounding James Brown at the Apollo.
I am not a huge fan of the album either, but people say it is the most vivid representation of a live concert ever laid to tape.

I'd personally say "At Folsom Prison" is the greatest live album.
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bootsy
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by bootsy »

chet_baker wrote:
I don't think I'll ever understand the fuss surrounding James Brown at the Apollo.
prosecutorgodot wrote: I am not a huge fan of the album either, but people say it is the most vivid representation of a live concert ever laid to tape.

I'd personally say "At Folsom Prison" is the greatest live album.
I sort of get your point about Apollo. It's not stand out-ish as far as the material, it's not new material and it's not a lengthy live album but it's still a great live album. The medley's and it put Brown kind of on a superstar level at the time is what makes it stand out.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by StevieFan13 »

James Brown is just a great performer. Even if his best material was yet to come (and I believe that's what he performed when he returned to the Apollo, in which case that's the record to check out if the original does nothing for you), he still is so talented.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Illiniq »

prosecutorgodot wrote:Lady Soul is superior to I Never Loved a Man. Am I the only one?
I see them pretty evenly, I Never Loved A Man has more iconic tunes, but Lady Soul is way funkier overall. If if you gravitate towards her in uptempo soul belter mode, makes perfect sense to prefer Lady Soul over Never Loved A Man, which really only has two barn burners in Respect and Save Me.
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Bruno »

Monte
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Re: Pitchfork - The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2017)

Post by Monte »

Bruno wrote:80s albums list tomorrow.

https://pitchfork.com/news/announcing-p ... the-1980s/
It's out.
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