FEW years have been more tumultuous for music than 1969.
The signature event was Woodstock, which for some people still seems like yesterday as opposed to 40 years ago. It was also the year of The Rolling Stones' infamous appearance at Altamont, where a man was stabbed to death by one of the Hell's Angels hired to provide security for the event. Many see that moment as the death of the '60s, and The Rolling Stones regretted naming their album of that year Let It Bleed.
But between John Lennon's bed-in, Charles Manson and company's murderous rampages, Jim Morrison exposing himself, and the death of Stones guitarist Brian Jones, some ground-breaking music was made.
This list comprises Musicology's picks for the most influential albums of 1969, which we've stretched beyond our usual list of five.
In The Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson
ALONG with Pink Floyd's Ummagumma and Yes' self-titled debut, King Crimson's first album signalled the dawn of prog-rock. Streams of folk, classical music and psychedelia swim through the rock, jazz and pop of the record, which consists of 12 musical movements divided into five long songs. It's an ambitious album and is rightly seen as one of prog's finest moments. The defining track is the opener 21st Century Schizoid Man, which kicks off a with some heavy horn-driven riffing before swinging into a paranoid rant backed by a lone jagged guitar. The whole thing then kicks into a frantic jazz-rock interlude the likes of which the music world had never heard before. It's a remarkable piece on a genre-bending album that oozed musical virtuosity while retaining popular punch.
The Stooges - The Stooges/Kick Out The Jams - MC5
PROG-ROCK wasn't the only genre of music finding its roots in 1969. Punk, which wouldn't properly explode for another six years, can be traced back to these two landmark albums. Unfortunately both were largely ignored upon release due to being ahead of their time. Kick Out The Jams was banned in many places due to singer Rob Tyner's opening war-cry of "It's time to kick out the jam, mother****ers''. Renowned critic Lester Bangs famously called the album "ridiculous, overbearing, pretentious''. The Stooges fared slightly better. Their record almost cracked the Billboard top 100 but didn't exactly set the world on fire. Forty years later, both records are regarded as proto-punk landmarks and regularly feature on lists of the greatest albums of all time. Where an unsuspecting populace of 1969 heard noise and shouting, listeners now here anger, rebellion, and raw power.
Bayou Country/Green River/Willy & The Poor Boys - Creedence Clearwater Revival
WITH three albums in 12 months, CCR were one of the biggest-selling bands in America of 1969. They never had a number one single (they had five that reached number two though), but they're influence was far-reaching. Shunned by many at the time for a lack of "rock cred'', probably because they didn't do drugs or perform many 12-minute jam sessions, CCR have gained respect since their break-up in 1972. Not only did their sound help kick off such key US genres as swamp rock, heartland rock, and country rock, but they're much loved by many modern musicians - there would be no Kings Of Leon without CCR, for one. But even more importantly, in one short year they gave us such great recordings as Born On The Bayou, Proud Mary, Green River, Bad Moon Rising and Fortunate Son.
Abbey Road - The Beatles
RELEASED before Let It Be but recorded afterwards, this is The Beatles' swan song - an aptly amazing and adventurous album to cap off an astonishing career. The Fab Four were barely functioning at the time of recording, yet somehow it's their most coherent album, perhaps because the band knew it would be their last. Side one features two of their finest moments - Lennon's abstract swamp-groove Come Together and Harrison's best Beatles moment Something - but it's side two that's the real masterpiece. Opening with Harrison's sublime Here Comes The Sun and the gorgeous harmonies of Because, the album then slides into a medley where finished and unfinished songs were stuck together by McCartney and long-time producer George Martin. The highlights of the suite including You Never Give Me Your Money, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry The Weight and the career-encapsulating The End, the latter of which features Ringo's only drum solo, cracking guitar solos by each of the other three Beatles and ends with the wonderful line "And in the end, the love you make is equal to the love you take''.
Led Zeppelin I/Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin
LED Zeppelin's first two albums are regarded as two of the greatest records of all time due to their groundbreaking mix of rock and blues. Oozing sex and danger, both are packed with bluesy riffs hardened by one too many bar fights. On Led Zeppelin I, there's the haunting power of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, the rollicking Good Times Bad Times, the woozy Dazed And Confused, and the pre-metal chug of Communication Breakdown - all of which would leave their mark on hard rock, metal, blues rock and alternative music for decades to come. They then backed it up with Led Zeppelin II which, despite being written on the road, featured some of their greatest moments and biggest riffs including Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker and Ramble On. These two records influenced guitar music like few since and are among the biggest selling albums of all time.
Honorary mentions: the Stones' aforementioned Let It Bleed, Captain Beefheart's mind-bending Trout Mask Replica, the equally warped Frank Zappa record Hot Rats, The Who's rock-opera Tommy, and Johnny Cash's live jail concert At San Quentin.
Song of the year: David Bowie's A Space Oddity, released just in time for man to land on the moon.
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