When thinking of albums that have had an important impact on me, this album has to be right up there. I think it may have been the first rock sampler album ever, I don’t know, but it was certainly the first I saw or heard. I think it might also have been the first time I saw the word ‘rock’ that didn’t refer to the Hayleyesque ‘rock ‘n roll’ of my childhood.
Apparently in 1968 (three years before decimalisation) I paid 14/6 (that’s 73p in new money) for this album. A ‘proper’ album would have put me back £1 17s 6d (£1.63p), so it was definitely the bargain offer I remember. But given the quality and variety of the album it was definitely worth it. Tracks carefully sampled from CBS albums of the time introduced me to artists I would otherwise never have known (or at least not for a fair time). As a collection the diversity is eclectic, comprising folk-rock, blues-rock, jazz-rock, country-rock, psychedelia and stuff that was just plain weird. Yet it somehow held together.
Two artists that I was especially turned on to were the short-lived United States of America and Taj Mahal. The United States of America was special for two reasons: they eschewed guitars and enjoyed the participation of the eerily, ethereally voiced Dorothy Moskowitz. Short-lived, yes, but an album still very much worth digging up today for curiosity and/or nostalgia– it’s on Spotify. The other track was by Taj Mahal, later to become a favourite of mine. He was an excellent pianist and guitarist and I had the good luck to see him on stage in Buenos Aires in the 1990s.
Other tracks were by names soon to become favourites too. Dylan was on CBS so he was represented, along with the Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel and Leonard Cohen. These I already knew. Lesser names I was introduced to and that have stayed with me include the Zombies, Tim Rose, the Electric Flag (Mike Bloomfield AND Buddy Miles), Blood Sweat & Tears and Roy Harper, the last of whom I saw regularly on the 60s university folk circuit.
A blast from the past, as they say. The album is available on Spotify, with certain omissions – presumably for reasons of copyright.
Tracklist
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight – Bob Dylan – from the LP John Wesley Harding
Can’t Be So Bad – Moby Grape – from the LP Wow
Fresh Garbage – Spirit – from the LP Spirit
I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife For You, Sugar – The United States of America – from the LP The United States of America
Time of the Season – The Zombies – from the LP Odessey and Oracle
Turn on a Friend – The Peanut Butter Conspiracy – from the LP The Great Conspiracy
Sisters of Mercy – Leonard Cohen – from the LP The Songs of Leonard Cohen
My Days Are Numbered – Blood, Sweat and Tears – from the LP Child Is Father to the Man
Dolphins Smile – The Byrds – from the LP The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Scarborough Fair / Canticle – Simon and Garfunkel – from the LP Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Statesboro Blues – Taj Mahal – from the LP Taj Mahal
Killing Floor – The Electric Flag – from the LP A Long Time Comin’
Nobody’s Got Any Money In The Summer – Roy Harper – from the LP Come Out Fighting Ghengis Smith
Come Away Melinda – Tim Rose – from the LP Tim Rose
Flames – Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera – from the LP Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera