La Matriarca The Libertine (1968)

Frank Zappa loved '50s doo wop music. He grew up with it, collected it, and it was the first kind of pop music he wrote ("Memories of El Monte," recorded by the Penguins in 1962). Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, the Mothers of Invention's fourth LP, is a collection of such music, all Zappa originals (some co-written with MOI singer Ray Collins). To the unexperienced, songs like "Cheap Thrills," "Deseri," and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" may sound like an average doo wop song. A closer look reveals unusual chord sequences, Stravinsky quotes, and hilariously moronic lyrics - all wrapped in four-way harmony vocals and linear piano triplets. A handful of songs from the group's 1966 debut, Freak Out, were rearranged ("How Could I Be Such a Fool" and "Anyway the Wind Blows" give the weirdest results), and old material predating the Mothers was recycled ("Fountain of Love"). "Love of My Life" and "You Didn't Try to Call Me" became live staples.

In the Plain by Denmark's Savage Rose has a striking cover photo with psychedelic color coordinated band members surrounded by wild pink lettering of the group name. Inside is innovative music, pretty much living up to the typical Polygram hype from this era written on the back cover…

An integral member of the nonpareil Muddy Waters band of the 1950s and '60s, pianist Otis Spann took his sweet time in launching a full-fledged solo career. But his own discography is a satisfying one nonetheless, offering ample proof as to why so many aficionados considered him then and now Chicago's leading post-war blues pianist.

The Doors released its third studio album, Waiting for the Sun, in July 1968. It was the band’s third platinum album in less than two years, and the first to top the album chart. Since its debut, the album has sold more than nine million copies and contributed to the Doors’ legendary canon with classics like “The Unknown Soldier,” “Five To One” and the #1 smash, “Hello, I Love You.”
Rhino will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the album with Waiting For The Sun: 50th 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. This two-CD collection features a new version of the album’s original stereo mix on both CD which has been remastered - for the first time in 30 years - by Bruce Botnick, the Doors’ longtime engineer and producer. The set also includes a second disc of 14 unreleased recordings of the Doors in the studio and on stage.

An often misunderstood album, this album (aside from the 1971 "reunion" album) was the final record by the Mamas & the Papas. It has held up incredibly well over time, and sounds better today than when it was released in mid-1968. The centerpiece of the album is "Dream a Little Dream," which very well may be the finest cover version that the group ever recorded, and in the end, was a very nice way to end the group's short but incredible career. The album also contains some excellent John Phillips material such as "12:30" (a minor hit), "Rooms," and "Too Late." These three tracks form a mini-medley in the middle of the second side, and add a lot of dimension to the record. Cut at the Phillips' home studio, the album has a simple sound, but when the vocal majesty cuts through on such tracks as "Mansions" (one of the band's lost masterpieces), it's faultless.

Danish rock group founded in 1967 by Anders Koppel and Thomas Koppel with Annisette Hansen, Jens Rugsted, Flemming Ostermann, Alex Riel and Ilse Maria Koppel as a backing-project for a TV-show. Their debut as an established rock-group was in May 1968 on Plænen in Tivoli, Copenhagen. The Savage Rose became rapidly popular in Denmark, but also to some extent abroad. Their lyrics were inspired by Bob Dylan, and the music was a mixture of classical music and US westcoast psychedelic rock, characterized by vocalist Annisette. In fall 1971 The Savage Rose became reduced to a trio on account of musical disagreements – The Koppel Brothers and Annisette wanted to change the musical style towards soul and gospel. The Savage Rose reorganized as a group in 1973, and recorded Wild Child, - but split up in January 1975.