Where it all began: The Bookmark Years : 1967 and 1971

I had some fun trying to pick my 50 best albums for 1971, and it looks like some of you enjoyed it as well. As my dad used to say, “repeat medicine until patient dies” (and no, he wasn’t a doctor, it was a phrase he used when executing squeeze plays in contract bridge; I took him to mean “more of the same, until it hurts”).

I arrived at 1971 almost randomly, influenced by what I was listening to at the time, which was Tull’s Aqualung. This time around, there’s nothing random about the year I’m choosing…. it’s the natural partner for 1971. If 1971 was a bookend, then surely the other bookend would be…. 1967.

So here goes: My top 50 albums for 1967, again in no particular order, but filtered on the basis they have Wikipedia entries. This time around, I’ve also found a faster route. Go to Wikipedia. Enter”1967″ and thereby get here. Then, using the sidebar on the right that says “1967 by topic”, hit “music” and thereby get here. Go to section 2, “Top Albums released in the US”, scan list and copy/paste those I have and like. Augment list from memory, eliding where I find no Wikipedia entry. And bingo.

[Incidentally, I have now found a page with albums released in 1971, which includes pretty much everything I’ve listed and quite a bit more. Worth a quick look.]

Here’s the list:

Mellow Yellow – Donovan

The Doors -The Doors

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles

Buffalo Springfield -Buffalo Springfield

Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits -Bob Dylan

The Grateful Dead – The Grateful Dead

Surrealistic Pillow – Jefferson Airplane

The Velvet Underground and Nico – The Velvet Underground

Are You Experienced?  Jimi Hendrix

Absolutely Free  The Mothers of Invention

Magical Mystery Tour  The Beatles

Buffalo Springfield Again  Buffalo Springfield

Disraeli Gears  Cream

Strange Days  The Doors

John Wesley Harding  Bob Dylan

Alice’s Restaurant  Arlo Guthrie

After Bathing At Baxter’s  Jefferson Airplane

Days of Future Passed  The Moody Blues

Blowin’ Your Mind!  Van Morrison

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn Pink Floyd (with Syd)

Procol Harum  Procol Harum

Their Satanic Majesties Request  The Rolling Stones

The Who Sell Out  The Who

Axis: Bold as Love  The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Mr. Fantasy  Traffic

The Way I Feel – Gordon Lightfoot

A Hard Road John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers

Ten Years After  Ten Years After

Album 1700 Peter Paul and Mary

Big Brother and The Holding Company Big Brother and The Holding Company

I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Country Joe and the Fish

Just For You Neil Diamond

Matthew And Son Cat Stevens

Songs of Leonard Cohen Leonard Cohen

Sunshine Superman Donovan

Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out Timothy Leary

Universal Soldier Donovan

Something Else The Kinks

Forever Changes Love

Younger Than Yesterday The Byrds

Crusade John Mayall

Goodbye And Hello Tim Buckley

Smiley Smile The Beach Boys

Joan Joan Baez

Wildflowers Judy Collins

Evolution  The Hollies

Bee Gees 1st Bee Gees

 There’s a Kind of Hush All Over The World Herman’s Hermits

 I Was Made To Love Her Stevie Wonder

From The Beginning Small Faces