La Matriarca The Libertine (1968)

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.

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…

After his big band experiment, Duke Pearson returned to a smaller group setting, but he didn't scale back his ambitions. The Phantom finds Pearson writing an ambitious set of post-bop that expands the boundaries of the music with Latin percussion and complex harmonies derived from the avant-garde…

Copies of the Smoke's self-titled album are highly valued by collectors of West Coast soft rock and psychedelic music. The album certainly deserves its reputation as one of the masterpieces of 1968. It opens with the organ-driven "Cowboys and Indians," which was producer/songwriter Michael Lloyd's personal homage to Brian Wilson's "Heroes and Villains" and lyrically makes mention of war (obviously the Vietnam War was very much on everyone's minds at the time). Lloyd had met Wilson after Beach Boy Bruce Johnston invited him to the recording sessions for "Good Vibrations." In addition to Beach Boys-style production values, there are also references to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band throughout.

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.

It was never supposed to be like this: "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" was supposed to mark a beginning of a new phase in Otis Redding's career, not an ending. Producer/guitarist Steve Cropper had a difficult task to perform in pulling together this album, the first of several posthumous releases issued by Stax/Volt in the wake of Otis Redding's death. What could have been a cash-in effort or a grim memorial album instead became a vivid, exciting presentation of some key aspects of the talent that was lost when Redding died. Dock of the Bay is, indeed, a mixed bag of singles and B-sides going back to July of 1965, one hit duet with Carla Thomas, and a pair of previously unissued tracks from 1966 and 1967, respectively…

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.