Way Way Out 1966

Simon & Garfunkel's first masterpiece, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was also the first album on which the duo, in tandem with engineer Roy Halee, exerted total control from beginning to end, right down to the mixing, and it is an achievement akin to the Beatles' Revolver or the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album, and just as personal and pointed as either of those records at their respective bests. After the frantic rush to put together an LP in just three weeks that characterized the Sounds of Silence album early in 1966, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme came together over a longer gestation period of about three months, an uncommonly extended period of recording in those days, but it gave the duo a chance to develop and shape the songs the way they wanted them.

One gets the feeling that, as 1966 drew to a close amid an incredible acceleration of innovations in the pop and rock world, the Hollies felt the need to prove themselves capable of artistic growth despite having established a very winning formula. For Certain Because… was their first album entirely composed of original material, and it echoed pop's increased sophistication with fuller, more adventurous arrangements and more personal, folk-rock-influenced compositions. Such was the intense competition of the time that this record couldn't hope to take on Revolver, Aftermath, or Face to Face, but it nevertheless remains an admirable effort that may stand as the group's most accomplished album (greatest-hits packages excepted) of the '60s.

One of the long-standing collaborations of the British folk revival, Bert Jansch and John Renbourn's Bert and John sees the masterful Pentangle guitarists sparing together through their trademark steel-string guitar styles. Their respective solo careers established them both as leading troubadours of British Isles folk, with little debate and few peers, besides maybe Wizz Jones and Ralph McTell. On this album the duo finds good company in each other's techniques, which are quite indistinguishable in both guitar playing and singing through traditional adaptations, blues, and originals in the Anglo-folk style. The duo plays beautifully together in a candid setting.

The Mascots had a reputation for doing some of the best faux British beat-style music to come out of Europe during the 1960s, but one can't fully appreciate how good they were at it until one hears this album. Issued in 1966 and intended to appeal to the English-speaking market, it includes a few single sides intermixed with tracks done especially for 12" release, and the results are kind of eerie, mostly because they are done so well in a British beat mode by musicians who are obviously coming to the music from the outside. The fuzz-laden rockers such as "I Close Your Eyes" could have passed muster as proper British freakbeat circa 1965-1966, like a more commercial version of the Creation's sound, while folkie-based pieces such as "The Proud Crowd" come off as a variant of the folk-rock sound embraced by John Lennon on "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," except the inspiration is less Bob Dylan than, maybe…

Sonny Rollins And The Big Brass (1958), Sonny Rollins On Impulse! (1965), Alfie [OST] (1966).
Sonny Rollins And The Big Brass (1958). Big Brass is an appropiate name for the large ensemble arranged and conducted by Ernie Wilkins that accompanies the huge sound of Sonny Rollins. The energy within the leader's gospel-flavored shout "Grand Street" is considerable, while a swinging but no less powerful version of George & Ira Gershwin's "Who Cares" features a choice solo by guitarist Rene Thomas. Also added to this compilation are trio recordings with bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Specs Wright, including a brilliant leisurely stroll through "Manhattan," along with Rollins' tour de force unaccompanied tenor sax on "Body and Soul"…

One gets the feeling that, as 1966 drew to a close amid an incredible acceleration of innovations in the pop and rock world, the Hollies felt the need to prove themselves capable of artistic growth despite having established a very winning formula. For Certain Because… was their first album entirely composed of original material, and it echoed pop's increased sophistication with fuller, more adventurous arrangements and more personal, folk-rock-influenced compositions. Such was the intense competition of the time that this record couldn't hope to take on Revolver, Aftermath, or Face to Face, but it nevertheless remains an admirable effort that may stand as the group's most accomplished album (greatest-hits packages excepted) of the '60s. The Hollies were very much a pop group and didn't let their somewhat more sober and introspective compositions stand in the way of their glittering harmonies and jangling guitars…

One of the less essential '60s albums by the Hollies, whose capabilities were arguably stretched by the two-album-a-year-pace-in-addition-to-three-hit-singles model established by the Beatles during this time. Their version of Paul Simon's "I Am a Rock" is nice, but the soul and early rock covers of Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, and Chuck Berry are pretty dispensable; the Hollies were not the Stones or the Animals, lacking their soul and interpretative imagination. Some of the originals are pretty ho-hum too (including the pathetic "Fifi the Flea," which was covered by the Everly Brothers). But every Hollies album of the '60s has some strong overlooked tracks. On this one, they're the surprisingly tough folk-rockers "Hard, Hard Year" and "I've Got a Way of My Own." The ultra-catchy "Don't You Even Care," written by Clint Ballard, Jr. (also responsible for their number one British hit "I'm Alive," as well as "The Game of Love" and "You're No Good"), is the real obscure gem here and could have well been a hit under its own steam…

A live document of the Brian Jones-era Rolling Stones sounds enticing, but the actual product is a letdown, owing to a mixture of factors, some beyond the producers' control and other very much their doing. The sound on the original LP was lousy – which was par for the course on most mid-'60s live rock albums – and the remasterings have only improved it marginally, and for that matter not all of it's live; a couple of old studio R&B covers were augmented by screaming fans that had obviously been overdubbed…

Simon & Garfunkel's first masterpiece, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was also the first album on which the duo, in tandem with engineer Roy Halee, exerted total control from beginning to end, right down to the mixing, and it is an achievement akin to the Beatles' Revolver or the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album, and just as personal and pointed as either of those records at their respective bests. After the frantic rush to put together an LP in just three weeks that characterized the Sounds of Silence album early in 1966, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme came together over a longer gestation period of about three months, an uncommonly extended period of recording in those days, but it gave the duo a chance to develop and shape the songs the way they wanted them.