Jim's Gems 1963: Dylan, The Beatles, Mingus among the artists with albums marking 60 years
Bob Dylan and The Beatles feature among Jim Comet's album choices for 1963.
The decade where it all changed… or did it?
A new generation born without the baggage of WWII were coming of age, and they were seriously starting to question their parents, and authority in general.
Add to that the student protests, civil rights marches and the growing disquiet with the war in Vietnam and you had a melting pot for change.
Music was changing too.
The four-decade dominance of jazz was under severe threat from the pop sounds originating in New York’s Brill Building and artists who were writing their own songs.
Of course, there were two artists in particular on either side of the pond who would emerge with music that really would change everything forever.
1963… the calm before the storm.
Even though this was his second album, it was the one that made the world sit up and listen and landed him with the ‘voice of a generation tag’.
Even though Dylan was heavily influenced by people like Woody Guthrie, his art was completely new to people in 1963 and his songs quickly became a rallying cry for the ever-increasing protest movement.
Tunes like ‘Blowing In The Wind’, ‘Don’t Think Twice’ and the timeless ‘Masters Of War’ all became anthems.
Here was an artist who wasn’t afraid to write about the burning issues of the time. Allen Ginsberg famously described the song ‘Hard Rain’ as the symbolic passing of the torch to the next generation.
Can you imagine what it must have been like as a teenager in 1963 hearing ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ for the first time?
This kind of music had never been heard before and here were four long-haired ordinary kids from Liverpool who not only sang these new songs but writing them as well.
For many, it was a life-changing moment and for the music industry, it was also a defining moment.
This album was recorded in one day and basically featured The Beatles’ live repertoire. We all know what happened next.
While the 1960s may have seen the end of jazz’s dominance, it in no way signalled the genre’s demise.
Creatively, the decade was outstanding for cutting-edge jazz, spearheaded by the Blue Note and Impulse labels.
This particular album is my favourite of the decade. Recorded by bassist, composer and bandleader Charles Mingus with an 11-piece band, it’s more of a symphony spread over four tracks than a conventional album.
The sometimes cinematic and dramatic Ellington-influenced style of the compositions challenge the listener and takes the genre to places not visited before. A genuine masterpiece.
I managed to see James Brown live once in the 1990s in the Point Depot and despite the fact that he put on a fully choreographed show, it just wasn’t very good.
Imagine what it would have been like to see him in his prime, to capture the sheer intensity of the performance and feel the euphoria of the crowd.
Well, this album is the closest you’ll get. He had to pay to make the album himself because the record company refused to support him.
Fortunately, it turned out to be a very wise investment and it remains one of the best live albums ever.
Country wouldn’t generally be one of my go-to genres but occasionally it throws up some gems. Particularly in the 1960s and early ’70s.
Skeeter Davis was born in Kentucky in 1931 and went on to become a huge influence on singers such as Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette.
This is her fourth album and the title track is the hit for which she’ll always be remembered.
For me, it’s the voice. She has an innocence and vulnerability that makes me weak at the knees, and her phrasing is a thing of sheer beauty.
I could listen to her voice forever and so could you if you can find this extremely rare record.
Sam Cooke was an innovator and not just in the studio. He tried to change the way the music industry worked against black artists.
Unfortunately, he was dead a year later, shot in disputed circumstances in an LA hotel.
His main treasure was his voice which was often camouflaged beneath elaborate studio arrangements.
That’s what makes Night Beat, one of three records he released in 1963, so good.
This is just him and a small band featuring a 16-year-old Billy Preston having fun in the studio.
Consisting mainly of old standards, it’s got a lovely late-night feel that occasionally strays a bit into easy listening territory.
His penultimate version of ‘Mean Old World’ was used to great effect by Ken Burns in his Vietnam documentary.
There was some great female vocal pop in the early 1960s courtesy of Red Bird Records, Spector, etc.
Leslie Gore was only 16 when this record came out.
The hit ‘It’s My Party (I’ll Cry If I Want To)’ should be very familiar to those who remember it being murdered in the 1980s.
The entire album is based around the theme of crying, featuring songs such as ‘Cry’, ‘Judy Turn To Cry’ and ‘Cry Me A River’.
A rare ‘out’ lesbian in that era, Gore also went on to appear in early surf movies like Ski Party and Girl On The Beach.
She appeared as Pussycat in the classic Batman TV series. In the 1980s she wrote a lot of the songs for the movie Fame, which earned her a Grammy.
The 1960s was a golden age for both soundtracks and easy listening, and when the king of cheese merged with the big screen it was a marriage made in heaven.
The music on the soundtrack is totally synonymous with the film here, the intro arguably containing the four most recognisable notes in soundtrack history.
The artistic bond between Mancini, star Peter Sellers and director Blake Edwards is in my opinion on the same level as that of Morricone, Leone and Eastwood in the spaghetti westerns of the same decade.
The soundtrack itself, which is the epitome of cool, has a European cocktail jazz easy-listening feel, which has spawned many imitators over the decades.
It’s reasonable to expect that if your debut album practically changed the world that your record company would be fairly anxious to put out a follow-up as soon as possible.
That’s probably why With The Beatles, released eight months after its predecessor, seems a bit rushed. Closer inspection tells a different story.
The eight original tracks including the excellent ‘All My Loving’ show how the group were rapidly maturing as songwriters. ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ and ‘This Boy’ were also included.
Christmas records are very uncool. True music aficionados would never admit to liking one. There is, however, one exception. The Christmas record it’s ok to like.
Originally the idea was very simple and a bit cheesy. Take 13 Christmas classics, get The Ronettes, Darlene Love, The Crystals and various Wrecking Crew people on board and give it Spector’s famous full Wall Of Sound treatment.
Hey presto, you suddenly have a timeless classic that’s passed from generation to generation and has been dusted off every Christmas for the last 60 years.
Spector’s extreme violence against women - including murder - ensures he’s a difficult subject for many people, but in terms of music, he was a genius.
One of the most technically perfect records I’ve ever heard but it probably belongs in another era.
They weren’t quite there yet but the title track and ‘In My Room’ hinted at the greatness that was to come.
As a biased, massive Elvis fan, I agree that Elvis Presley, That’s The Way It Is is an excellent album. What a performer and singer he was. RIP the King.
Of course coloured by personal taste, but by acclaim in my lifetime too - how does Thin Lizzy’s Live and Dangerous not make any such list? Or Deep Purple’s Live in Japan (not a fan myself but seminal in the ‘70s)? The stall is set out fairly, it’s a personal list, but a total absence of the heavy guitar suggests Mr Comet doesn't do headbanging orgasms. His sad loss.
I was lucky enough to see Dylan in Dublin in 1966. The second half is the greatest performance I have ever seen and I totally agree ‘Balled of a Thin Man’ is sensational. Also, I totally agree Bowie at The Point 2003 was very special.
Live and Dangerous by Thin Lizzy is the best ever.
Viva, by Roxy Music is definitely up there in my top 10, but I totally agree with David Live at number one though.
Humble Pie, Performance Rockin' the Fillmore.
I like your picks, Jim. I would have put A Reality Tour [David Bowie] at the top because I am in the audience at the end of ‘Loving The Alien’ and he was in the best form of his life.
Nice to see David Live get some love, some other contenders - Rory Gallagher, Live in Europe; The Who, Live at Leeds; MC5, Kick out the Jams; Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison; Lou Reed, Rock & Roll Animal; and Deep Purple, Made in Japan are top live albums.
I was delighted to see David Live as one of your favourites. As a fan of his earlier, I have the album in my collection and my two favourite songs are ‘1984’ running into ‘Rebel Rebel’ and ‘Big Brother’, of course. After reading your article while travelling on the train to Dublin, I think I'll give Golden Discs a visit. You can't beat the old classics.
