rubber soul

Still have some completed top twenty fives in reserves though it may be a while before I can totally complete them. Meanwhile we move on, shall we?...


1965





Event of the year: The Beatles are given medals at a Mets game by Elvis.
Fad: Wrecking Ford Mustangs
Babes of the Year: Ginger and Mary Ann
Scandal of the Year: Frankie and Annette shack up
Movie or TV show to barf to: My Mother the Car
What we could have done without: The Vietnam War
Pet of the year: Ilya Kuryakin

Other Tidbits: The night the lights went out in New York City, Malcolm X joins JFK in Australia, A cookout goes awry in Watts, LBJ declares blacks equal by sending them to Vietnam, an unmanned spaceship crashes into a telephone pole and starts the Apollo program, Bob Dylan electrocutes himself at Newport, Hugh Hefner invents the mini-skirt, Gomez Addams defeats Herman Munster for the Welterweight title, Frankie and Annette fall in love in Beach Blanket Bingo at Hamburger Hill.

The quality of the top twenty is getting better with each year and I really like this batch. So here we go…





1) The Beatles- Rubber Soul
2) Bob Dylan- Highway 61 Revisited
3) Bob Dylan- Bringing It All Back Home
4) Phil Ochs- I Ain’t Marchin Anymore
5) John Coltrane- A Love Supreme
6) The Rolling Stones- No. 2
7) The Who- My Generation
8) The Beatles- Help!
9) Otis Redding- Otis Blue
10) Them- The Angry Young Them
11) The Byrds- Mr. Tambourine Man
12) The Zombies- Begin Here
13) The Kinks- Kontroversey
14) The Beach Boys- Summer Days and Summer Nights
15) The Pretty Things- Get the Picture
16) Joan Baez- Farewell, Angelina
17) The Kinks- Kinda Kinks
18) Richard and Mimi Farina- Celebrations For a Grey Day
19) The Pretty Things- The Pretty Things
20) The Beau Brummels- Introducing the Beau Brummels
21) The Yardbirds- Having a Rave Up With the Yardbirds
22) Jackson C.Frank- Jackson C.Frank
23) John Fahey- The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death
24) The Fugs- The Fugs Sing Ballds of Contemporary Protest, Points of View, and General Dissatisfaction
25) The Sonics- Here Are the Sonics

Now things are getting going. The fact that my biggest surprise only comes in at number 24 should give you an idea of what I think of this year. For starters, Dylan’s Highway 61 is truly one of my favorite albums ever. In fact all-time it comes in at number four. Unfortunately for him, it was the same year that my number two all time album was released. Well, my name is Rubber Soul, isn’t it? .

Dylan also comes in at number three with his second best album. Yes, Dylan had one hell of a year, Phil Ochs scores big again, and Coltrane keeps jazz alive with his brilliant A Love Supreme. There are all sorts of gems on this year’s chart, but I’ll especially point to the Who, the Zombies, the Pretty Things two entries, and the Sonics who just sneak into an amazing top twenty-five. Even in the Honorable Mentions you have the Moodies' first entry. They were quite impressive with the Denny Laine fronted piano blues band.

Biggest Surprise- The Fugs.

Of course I’ve heard snippets from these guys (notably, CIA man which they recorded a little later), but this album bounces between nutty acoustic goofballishness that would make Zappa proud and some straightforward folk rock. It proved to be an enjoyable listen. Also note that the album still comes in at 24 which gives you an idea on how the quality of albums is improving.

Biggest Disappointment- The Rolling Stones- Out of Our Heads (US version)

This was the first Stones album I ever bought and, outside of the hit singles, the album is pretty boring. If you took away Satisfaction, the Last Time (one of my favorite Stones songs btw), and Play With Fire, the album would even stink. Needless to say, the aforementioned three songs saved the album from complete disaster (it did make my honorable mentions).


Honorable Mention- The Byrds- Turn, Turn, Turn, Donovan- Fairytale, The Moody Blues- The Magnificent Moodies, The Rolling Stones- Out of Our Heads, The Beach Boys- The Beach Boys Today.


Stinker of the Year- The Addicts- The Addicts Sing

A friend of mine had this album (he liked to buy odd albums for the covers mostly). The story is these guys were taken from the streets and put together as a gospel choir. They’re not the worst singers, but come on; do you really want to advertise a band as a bunch of ‘former’ drug addicts? They sing acappella on You Are the Finger of God (so don’t pick God’s nose) and it sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard. Well, hopefully, they were cleaned up and remained that way.

Well, that’s it for 1965. See you later on for 1966.

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