Rock and roll launched in the 1950s, but in the 1960s the rock LP as an art form came into its own. Artists like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and The Beach Boys are perennial favourites on greatest albums of all time lists.
Rock and pop music became more complex in the mid-1960s, as groups pushed the boundaries of subject matter, chord structures, and studio technology. After the psychedelic era, popular music diversified into many strands, like heavy metal, progressive rock, roots music, that would be explored further in the 1970s.
1960s acts that I plan to review include Otis Redding and Janis Joplin, as well as prominent rock bands like The Who, The Kinks, The Doors, and Cream. A bunch of acts that started their careers in the late 1960s, and went on to further triumphs in the 1970s, can be found on the 1970s review page. These include Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, and Joni Mitchell.
The Band Album Reviews
The Band started as The Hawks, backing blues belter Ronnie Hawkins before supporting Bob Dylan on his controversial 1966 electric tour. After the tour, The Band went to earth with...
The Beach Boys Album Reviews
As a casual music listener it's easy to hear The Beach Boys' sun-drenched hits, and conclude that the group were all beaches, girls and cars, and no substance. But the...
The Beach Boys Solo
Amazingly, for a band divided into factions since the mid-1960s, it took until 1977 for a solo album to emerge from any of the original Beach Boys. Dennis Wilson's lush,...
The Beatles Album Reviews
From very early in their career and probably until the demise of Western civilization, Liverpool's The Beatles will stand unchallenged as the world's greatest rock and roll band. They emerged...
Buffalo Springfield Album Reviews
Buffalo Springfield were a short-lived, but fascinating band. It's easy to draw parallels with The Byrds. Both were 1960s Californian folk rock bands, with volatile lineups, who spawned many notable...
The Byrds Album Reviews
The Byrds started as a folk band, but their single 'Mr Tambourine Man' crystallised their distinctive sound, with Roger McGuinn's ringing twelve-string guitar and the group's gorgeous harmonies. The combination of...
Gene Clark Album Reviews
Gene Clark achieved fame and success as an early member of The Byrds. As a solo artist, however, he only achieved cult status. Hampered by anxiety, a fear of flying,...
Creedence Clearwater Revival Album Reviews
1969 and 1970 were flagship years for rock music, with most major 1960s acts still releasing albums, and exciting new acts that would dominate the 1970s emerging. But perhaps the...
Neil Diamond Album Reviews
I was a teenager during the 1990s, but I never went through a rebellious phase. While my cooler peers were listening to Nirvana and Green Day, I was absorbed in...
Bob Dylan Album Reviews
Robert Zimmerman was born in Minnesota in 1941, renaming himself Bob Dylan after Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Dylan started his musical career dabbling in rock and roll, and saw Buddy...
Fairport Convention Album Reviews
Fairport Convention are the focal point for British folk-rock of their generation. While they started their career as a sixties folk-rock band, like a London equivalent to Jefferson Airplane, they...
Aretha Franklin Album Reviews
Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul and, according to Barack Obama, "helped define the American experience". Success, however, didn't happen overnight - when she delighted the mainstream in 1967...
The Jimi Hendrix Experience Album Reviews
Given his blatant talents, it's amazing how long it took James Marshall Hendrix to make an album. Seattle-born Hendrix was caught twice as a youth riding in stolen cars, and...
The Moody Blues Album Reviews
The Moody Blues started their career as an R&B band, enjoying a hit with ‘Go Now’, fronted by future Wings member Denny Laine, in 1965. But after Laine left and...
Laura Nyro Album Reviews
New York's Laura Nyro wrote a batch of hit songs in in the late 1960s, and is an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her confessional songs...
The Rolling Stones Album Reviews
It's widely acknowledged that The Rolling Stones hit their peak between 1968 and 1972 - right now I'm covering those albums, and a few later highlights, as my Top Rated...
Simon and Garfunkel Album Reviews
Simon and Garfunkel met as teenagers in a school play, where Simon played the White Rabbit and Garfunkel the Cheshire Cat. The pair initially tried to break into the music...
Spirit Album Reviews
Los Angeles teenagers Randy Wolfe, bassist Mark Andes, and vocalist Jay Ferguson formed The Red Roosters in the mid-1960s. The band was put on hiatus when Wolfe's step-father Ed Cassidy...
The Velvet Underground Album Reviews
1960s New York band The Velvet Underground have been cited as an influence by a legion of followers. Even if the ground rules of the rock album as an art form...
Scott Walker Album Reviews
Scott Walker was born Noel Scott Engel, in Hamilton, Ohio. A former child actor, he left his career as a singer to become a session bassist. In 1965 Walker moved...
The Zombies Album Reviews
The Zombies get lost in the shuffle of British invasion bands, but they're one of the most accomplished bands to emerge from the scene despite a small catalogue. Their 1960s...
1960s Miscellany
Album reviews of 1960s artists who don't qualify for their own page. Johnny CashAt Folsom PrisonArlo GuthrieAlice’s RestaurantDusty SpringfieldDusty in Memphis Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison 1968, 6/10Johnny Cash always...
About
Aphoristic Album Reviews is almost entirely written by one person. It features album reviews and blog posts across a growing spectrum of popular music.
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Graham Fyfe has been writing this website since his late teens. Now in his forties, he's been obsessively listening to albums for years. He works as a web editor and plays the piano.
Review Pages
Read about the discographies of musical acts from the 1960s to the present day. Browse this site's review archives or enjoy these random selections:
Blog Posts
I add new blog posts to this website every week. Browse the archives or enjoy these random selections:
