1965

The talking dog has transported me to the year 1965. There are secret agents all over the place. One guy even talks in his shoe. He’s probably a little nuts. I guess you would be nuts too if you were stranded on a desert island during a three hour tour. At least they have a professor who can make a radio out of the vast wardrobe they brought along.

The US Army is offering free trips to Asia for any young man who happens to get drafted. This is an exciting opportunity for would be football players. Oh, wait, the talking dog tells me that it’s a draft to fight some war because LBJ doesn’t like the way the Vietcong wear their shirts. Oh, well, at least they’re not rioting in some neighborhood like Watts. Hey, did you know it’s better to fight than switch? I didn’t either- good thing I don’t smoke. It isn’t proper for a girl of the 1890s you know.

Boys are starting to grow their hair and older people are mad Thomas Edison didn’t invent a hair mower. Don’t worry, Uncle Sam will give these nice young men haircuts. And nobody will get hurt- much. I think I’ll crash into the Moon or something.

James Bond is the hottest actor since James Dean. I think he should star in one of those beach party movies. Has anyone seen Frankie and Annette? I hope they weren’t kidnapped by Eric Von Zipper. And stop calling my mother a car or I’m sending Herman Munster after you!

Well, even though it’s the Eve of Destruction (or is it the Dawn of Correction? Boy these people can’t make up their minds), I have a special top twenty-five for all you nice people. Ready? Tough, I’m letting my fingers do the walking, mainly because my legs are tired.

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, James Bond rejected by THRUSH, joins KAOS instead, isn’t society great?

The quality of the top twenty-five 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. So sue me, I’m a Beatles fan, okay?

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 came 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.