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10 Unforgettable Debut Albums From 1966

We’re now a quarter into 2016, the 50th anniversary of rock’s greatest year. I could probably use up all of REBEAT’s allotted web space with an article explaining in full why 1966 has well earned that designation, but instead, perhaps I’d be better off approaching the topic piecemeal. So here’s the first of what I hope to be several REBEAT articles throughout 2016 that take on a facet of the golden rockin’ world of 1966.

For starters, I’ll look at… starters. Here’s a look at 10 debut albums 1966 brought us, all well worth a home in your record collection. Now, I chose not to include any bands who released only one or two albums in their original heyday, as enjoyable as the 1966 albums by artists like the Shadows of Knight (we’re not going to count their 1969 album), Count Five, ? and the Mysterians, the Remains, the Leaves, and the Monks are. I also opted not to include the first album by the Small Faces, simply because unlike all the albums listed below which were released around the time the band in question was first garnering national attention, usually in the wake of their first hit single, the first Small Faces album came almost a year after they “hit it big” with their first few hits, so it wasn’t quite the same thing. Hoping you’ll understand that decision.

Stay tuned at the end for a few honorable mentions, too!

1) And Then… Along Comes the Association, The Association (Valiant)

The Association’s first two major hits, the rocking “Along Comes Mary” and the soft slow masterpiece “Cherish,” both on this album, were all you really needed as proof that diversity was the order of the day for the Los Angeles sextet. Sure enough, their first album was a smorgasbord of styles, all tackled splendidly, from the blues/rock of “Blistered” to the jazzy “Round Again,” or from the topical “Enter the Young” to the mildly trippy “Message of our Love.” Their forte was somewhere-in-the-middle softer pop/rock, and they offered several such delicacies in “I’ll Be Your Man” and “Changes.” All the while, their gorgeous harmonies iced their musical cake, guaranteeing a big delight in every bite.

2) Buffalo Springfield, The Association (Atco)

Here are the glorious results of what happened when the multiple talents of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin actually worked together, as opposed to all working more or less independently for the same company, as after this album, their collective work was sporadic, with the albums being filled with tracks that often only featured a smattering of the original quintet, with any number of friends or studio hacks filling the gaps. That wasn’t the case on their first album, which presented a solid team. Neil and Stephen, the two writers of the entire album, each can claim some of its true highlights. We can thank Neil for the mellow but trippy “Out of My Mind” and the Monkees-ish “Burned,” as well as the Furay-sung “Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing” and “Flying on the Ground is Wrong,” while Stephen earns praise for “Sit Down I Think I Love You,” the country-fied “Go and Say Goodbye” and “Pay the Price.” (He also wrote what ultimately became both the album’s and band’s best-known track, “For What It’s Worth,” but that wouldn’t be swapped onto the album until 1967, at the cost of his “Baby, Don’t Scold Me.”)

3) Fresh Cream, Cream (Reaction, UK/Atco, US)

The noted super-group first demonstrated themselves on album in late 1966 (not surfacing in the US until early 1967, with a slightly modified track lineup) with what was ultimately the most bluesy and straight-ahead of their four albums. They would master weaving psychedelia into their musical quilt beginning with their next LP without ever leaving blues completely behind, but Fresh Cream captures three men with their roots right on their sleeves. Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful” was a highlight (albeit one that American buyers missed out on originally, as Atco bumped it to make room for the single “I Feel Free,) and “I’m So Glad” and “N.S.U.” showed they could turn their sound into something pop-radio friendly without sounding like that was the plan (as opposed to the rather horrible “Dreaming” which by contrast sounds like they were trying too hard for pop credentials.) Fresh Cream may not be their best album, but it made for a decent taste of what they could do, and what they could and would grow from for subsequent releases.

4) Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, Jefferson Airplane (RCA)

They weren’t exactly psychedelic yet on their first album, rather more of a strong, deep-thinking folk-rock combo. A few albums later they’d take their sound into the cosmos, but here they’re all about songs. And what songs! Marty Balin had some savory biscuits in the collection’s most pop-friendly track “It’s No Secret” (it’s no secret why “It’s No Secret” was the single) and the somehow-avoids-being-creepy-despite-its-subject-matter “Come Up the Years,” although his “Blues From an Airplane” has the dark shades that were one of the Airplane’s trademarks. Paul Kantner’s “Let Me In” is a jangly joy, and their pre-Grace Slick female vocalist Signe Anderson earns applause on her 12-bar rocker “Chauffeur Blues,” forever the song most associated with her. The follow-up album, the classic Surrealistic Pillow, expanded on what they did here and superbly combined it with hints of what was to come. Still, Takes Off shows that the Airplane began their journey with a smooth flight.

5) Love, Love (Elektra)

Arthur Lee and his band who ruled the Sunset Strip first transferred their sound to long-playing vinyl in the Spring of 1966. Like the Beatles, Love grew impressively and logically in musical style album by album, and just as Please Please Me gives a hint of the Fabs as a rockin’ combo fresh from the Cavern or Star Club, Love’s self-titled debut paints a picture of the (then) quintet as a stage-friendly garage and folk-rock that could rock the walls off of Bido Litos or the Whisky a Go Go. From angry stompers like “My Flash On You” on which you can feel the heat from the tubes of the Fender amps to gentle acoustic-based numbers like “Signed D.C.” and “Mushroom Clouds,” Love delights from start to finish. You’ve heard of Angry Birds? This album sounds like angry Byrds!

6) If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears, The Mamas and the Papas (Dunhill)

They may have sang about brown leaves, grey skies and feeling cold on their first hit single, but the Mamas and Papas provided sunshine, blue skies, and warmth with their impeccable, lush harmonies, gathered for the first time on a long-player with this chart-topping album featuring not only “California Dreaming” but also the #1 single “Monday Monday,” and plenty of other pleasantries that often show up on their numerous comps, including their rocking “Straight Shooter” and their amusing Lennon-approved rethink of the Beatles’ “I Call Your Name.”

7) The Monkees, The Monkees (Colgems)

When picking a favorite Monkees album, many choose Headquarters simply because it’s a true Monkees project or Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, Ltd. for it representing the four at their creative peak, and it’s hard to dispute either choice. All the same, the first album released under the Monkees’ banner was a true party from start to finish. Just as Meet the Beatles isn’t Revolver as far as artistry but still is a joy to the ears, the same can be said for this collection with killers like the chart-topping “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Sweet Young Thing,” “Saturday’s Child,” and the criminally infectious theme song. Produced mostly by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, with most songs featuring their personal set of musician friends on the backing tracks, the album has a raw garage-y sound that actually makes it sound more than any other Monkees album the closest to what a struggling garage band living collectively in a Los Angeles beach house in 1966 would actually sound like.

8) Freak Out, The Mothers of Invention (Verve)

The only world to truly describe this album is “indescribable,” although “brilliant” and “hilarious” work too. Mister Zappa and friends come off sounding like a very intelligent garage band. Cynical but witty, the band’s leader and songwriter is being perfectly Frank. The playing can be rough at times, but the songs themselves are anything but quickly-written filler. A few even work as pop songs, notably “Any Way the Wind Blows” and “You Didn’t Try to Call Me,” though the latter has a comical outro that reminds you not to take the song (or anything) too seriously. All the same, Frank truly meant the sentiments expressed in the lyrics of “Trouble Every Day,” lamenting the Watts riots and how the media handled them. Most of the second disc is rather weird (even by Zappa’s “standards”) but never boring. Surprises come around every corner all through this album… making it the perfect introduction to the phenomenon known as Frank Zappa.

9) The Seeds, The Seeds (GNP Crescendo)

The first of the five ’60s albums by Sky Saxon’s boys, The Seeds is an exercise in maximum minimalism. Chord “progressions” are as basic as they get, and lyrically there was no fear of any professional poets losing their jobs (you can play a drinking game with this album called “Take a shot whenever Sky sings ‘night and day.'” You’ll be drunk by album’s end) And yet the album is a gem. The hits “Pushin’ Too Hard” and “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” share space with the fabulous fuzzfest “Evil Hoodoo” and the snotty snickery of “Excuse Excuse” and plenty other treats for those who like their garage pure and simple. Sky would attempt to get a little deeper and more musically adventurous on the next album, A Web of Sound, and the results impressed more often than not, but this catches him still in his rawk rawk rawk mood.

10) The Young Rascals, The Young Rascals (Atlantic)

They packed a punch right from the start. Their debut album is centered around “Good Lovin'” but their powerhouse performance of “Slow Down,” the sensationally snotty “I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore,” a tasty “Mustang Sally,” and a soulful stab at “Baby Let’s Wait” that makes the better-known Royal Guardsmen version sound like a lullaby make this album a wonderful journey with plenty of stops along the way worth checking out.

Honorable mentions:

The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, (International Artists)
Sugar and Spice, The Cryan’ Shames (Columbia)
Breakthrough, The New Colony Six (Centaur)
Psychedelic Lollipop, The Blues Magoos (Mercury)

Michael Lynch
Michael Lynch of Long Island, New York first began writing about music when he was nine years old (for his self-produced music magazine written on pages of loose-leaf) and has never stopped. Along the way he has written about the music he loves (and sometimes about music he doesn't love) for a variety of magazines, books, blogs, podcasts and radio programs.
  • Tony

    The Seeds? And not Tim Buckley, Tim Hardin, Richie Havens, The Blues Project?