rubber soul

1960







Event of the year: Francis Gary Powers lands a plane in Red Square and stops the nuclear arms race.
Fad: Busting deejays in Payola Scandal
Babe of the Year: Lucy Van Pelt
Scandal of the Year: A woman arrested for wearing an Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
Movie or TV show to barf to: Lawrence Welk
What we could have done without: Dick Clark playing a kiss up in Payola scandal
Pet of the year: Norman Bates

Other Tidbits: Nixon grows a beard and gets trounced in the debates, The CIA tries to set Castro’s beard on fire, France gets the bomb and invades Britain, Woolworth stages a sit-in for more pecan pie, the crime rate triples in Mayberry, North Carolina, Frank Nitti kidnaps Elliot Ness, Chubby Checker invents hip casts, John Kennedy wins West Virginia primary by convincing voters he’s Jewish, Woman killed in a shower for embezzlement, John Wayne single handedly fights off 5000 Mexicans at the Alamo, Elvis Presley makes a comeback and becomes Frank Sinatra.

And here we go with more jazz plus a little bit of folk and rock n roll…







1) Charles Mingus- Blues and Roots
2) Miles Davis- Sketches of Spain
3) John Lee Hooker- Travelin’
4) Eric Dolphy- Out There
5) John Coltrane- Giant Steps
6) Johnny Cash- Ride This Train
7) Joan Baez- Joan Baez
8) Charles Mingus- Mingus Dynasty
9) The Everly Brothers- A Date With the Everly Brothers
10) Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers- The Big Beat
11) Muddy Waters- At Newport 1960
12) Thelonious Monk- Thelonious Alone in San Francisco
13) James Brown- Think
14) The Everly Brothers- It’s Everly Time
15) Link Wray- Link Wray and His Wraymen
16) Tina Brooks- True Blue
17) Bo Diddley- Bo Diddley is a Gunslinger
18) Ornette Coleman- Change of the Century
19) Bill Evans Trio- Portrait In Jazz
20) Hank Mobley- Soul Station
21) Sonny Clark Trio- Sonny Clark Trio
22) Wanda Jackson- Rockin’ With Wanda
23) The Ventures- Walk, Don’t Run
24) Curtis Fuller Quintet- Blues-Ette
25) The Kingston Trio- String Along




Another year of great surprises. I’ll cover the number two album in the Biggest Surprise. It still gets edged out by what is the first of truly great albums by Charles Mingus. It’s one of those albums where you just relax and let the music flow. His Mingus Dynasty (at number eight) is no slouch either. John Lee Hooker comes in at number three (Did I say last year’s album was his best? Scratch that). It’s a piece of the electric blues you would expect from the legend.

Coltrane’s Giant Steps signals his return to the top twenty-five and he’ll be coming back with a vengeance. The other big surprise for me was Johnny Cash’s Ride This Train. This may be the first real concept album in the rock n roll sense as he narrates into each song as if he’s reviewing his life. It’s a piece of brilliance and is now one of my favorite Cash albums. The Everly Brothers also impress me this year. A Date With the Every Brothers was an album my Mom had when I was a kid. I liked it then and I like it now. Thelonious Monk scores with his first album I actually like. In fact really most of the albums are solid except for maybe the bottom five. Needless to say, this is my favorite chart yet.


Biggest Surprise- Miles Davis- Sketches of Spain.

Until Kind of Blue, I wasn’t really that keen on Miles and even that album didn’t really live up to expectations for me. Sketches of Spain was very original as Davis uses flamenco music to his advantage. It’s my favorite Miles to date.

Biggest Disappointment- The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery.

I didn’t find anything incredible about it at all. It doesn’t even make Honorable Mention. Maybe when I want to hear jazz, I’d rather hear horns and sax and even piano. Guitar is for rock n roll, man.


Honorable Mention

Donald Byrd- Byrd in Hand, Jimmy Reed- Found Love

Stinker of the Year- Annette (Disney’s Darling before those Beach Party pictures)- Hawaiianette

Annette sings songs of Hawaii, excited yet? It takes five seconds of the title track to want to make you stick dynamite in your ears. Other great gems to poke your eyes out to include Hukilai, Blue Muu Muu, and Lua Cha Cha Cha. If I hear them chant Lua Cha Cha Cha one more time…

Okay, I’m going to end this so I can get away from Annette. God help us when she does those Beach Party movies. Meanwhile make sure you catch my top 25 for 1961 next week. Until then, aloha.

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