The Walker Brothers "Living Above Your Head" (1966) (single)

Living Above Your Head, 7'' single

release date: 1966

format: vinyl

[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]

producer: John Franz

label: Philips - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) "Living Above Your Head" - - B) "Young Man Cried"

Single release by US pop trio The Walker Brothers consisting of John Walker (aka John Maus), Scott Walker (aka Noel Scott Engel), and Gary Walker (aka Gary Leeds) none of which were related. The single is a Spanish, Dutch, and Danish only release with the title track taken from the trio's second album Portrait (1966). The title track is a cover by US pop group Jay & The Americans taken [original] from the album Living Above Your Head (1966) - the B-side is credited Scott Walker and producer John Franz.

This particular Danish print comes from my parents' record collection. I recall playing this at 7-12 years of age, and remember finding it one of my prefered singles. Stylewise, it's vocal harmony-based baroque pop.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Chet Baker Quintet "Groovin' " (1966)

Groovin'
Release date: 1966
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

This is released as The Chet Baker Quintet featuring Chet Baker (trumpet), George Coleman (tenor sax), Kirk Lightsey (piano), Herman Wright (bass), Roy Brooks (drums). The album is another mighty fine Chet collection in his heydays, and again a late hard bop jazz album.

Keld og The Donkeys "Ved landsbyens gadekær" (1966) (single)

Ved landsbyens gadekær, 7'' single

release date: 1966

format: vinyl (X 84 84)

[single rate: 3 / 5] [2,78]

producer: ?

label: HMV - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: A) "Ved landsbyens gadekær" - - B) "Spring ud!"

Single release by Keld og The Donkeys (aka Keld & The Donkeys). The title track is credited Danish songwriter Bror Karlsson (aka Kalle Cederkvist, aka Wilhelm Sörensen), and the B-side is credited 'Joe Halford - Jay Justin - Susanne Palsbo' with the latter having translated the original song "Get That Feeling" by Halford and Justin (released as B-side to Justin's single Reminiscing in 1964). The band existed under various line-ups in the years from 1962 and up until 1980. Initially, the band went under the name of (The) Donkeys (from '65 / '66 as Keld og The Donkeys, shortly after changed to Keld & The Donkeys). For this single, the band consists of band leader, lead vocalist & guitarist Keld Heick, lead guitarist Paul Malmqvist, bassist Norbert Persson, and with Henry Nielsen on drums.

This issue comes from my parents' record collection, and I recall playing this at age 6-10 years old, and I remember actually really enjoyed the title song, which I found sounded much like Cliff Richard / The Shadows, and to some extent as a softer version of The Beatles.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Sir Henry and His Butlers "Times A-Getting Hard" (1966) (single)

Times A-Getting Hard, 7'' single

release date: 1966

format: vinyl (T 7237)

[single rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,64]

producer: Per Sørensen

label: Sonet - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: A) "Times A-Getting Hard" - - B) "Money Honey"

Single release by Danish band Sir Henry and His Butlers. The band is one of many Beatles-inspired bands that saw the light of day in the mid-1960s. Actually, the band was founded as early as 1964 by three ex-members of The 5 Danes: lead vocalist and bassist Ole 'Sir Henry' Bredahl, lead guitarist Carsten Elgstrøm, and drummer Leif Davidsen. The band was expanded to a quartet and then to a quintet and underwent changing line-ups but from 1965 the line-up is the same who plays on this with Bredahl on vocals and bass, Tommy Seebach Mortensen on vocals and organ, Carsten Elgstrøm on lead guitar, Arne Schrøder on rhythm guitar, Jens Bøgvad on drums. Shortly following the recording of this, Elgstrøm left the band and Schrøder took over as lead guitarist.

This single was part of my parents' record collection, and it's a single I knew of at age 6-10 but never really enjoyed that much. Both tracks are covers - the A-side credited Lee Hays, and B-side is credited Smith [?], although, it could be a cover of the Jesse Stone song performed by one Mr. E. Presley.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Joe E. Carter's Group "Half as Much" (1966) (single)

Half as Much, 7'' single

release date: 1966

format: vinyl (EST 104)

[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]

producer: ?

label: Ecco Records - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: A) "Half as Much" - - B) "I'm Gonna Change the World"

Single release by Danish band Joe E. Carter's Group, who had recently won a Rolling Stones competition in 1965. This is the band's third single release.

The single is from my parents' record collection, and it's a single I enjoyed playing when 6-8 years of age.

[ a blog about the band ]

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Nina Simone "Wild Is the Wind" (1966)

Wild Is the Wind
release date: Sep. 1966
format: cd (2006 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Hal Mooney
label: Verve Record - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "I Love Your Lovin' Ways" - 2. "Four Women" (5 / 5) - 3. "Lilac Wine" - 4. "Break Down and Let It All Out" - 5. "Why Keep on Breaking My Heart" - 6. "Wild Is the Wind" - 7. "Black Is the Colour of My True Love's Hair" (live) - 8. "If I Should Lose You" - 9. "Either Way I Lose"

One of vocal jazz biggest female voices with a great example of her ability to mix soul with jazz and standards. Nina Simone is a wonderful vocalist and this album is one of her finest. Lisening to this, I cannot help thinking of modern contemporary artists like Amy Winehouse, Anohni (vocalist of Anohni and the Johnsons), Jimmy Somerville, and Roland Gift to mention just a few who may have listened to and thought of Miss Simone when shaping their own individual sound. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

Astrud Gilberto "Look to the Rainbow" (1966)

Look to the Rainbow
release date: 1966
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Berimbau" - 2. "Once Upon a Summertime" - 3. "Felicidade" - 4. "I Will Wait for You (Love Theme From Umbrellas of Cherbourg)" - 5. "Frevo" - 6. "Maria Quiet (Maria Moita)" - 7. "Look to the Rainbow" - 8. "Bim Bom" - 9. "Lugar bonito (Pretty Place)" - 10. "E preciso aprender a ser so (Learn to Live Alone)" - 11. "She's a Carioca"

4th studio album by Astrud Gilberto (including the collaboration album Astrud Gilberto & Walter Wanderley, also 1966). This is my favorite Astrud Gilberto album. The highly praised debut is in my mind more of an expansion of her vocal jazz and bossa nova music with Getz / Gilberto (1963), but this is more herself. She has turned back to her speciality: the Brazilian bossa nova styled compositions with her quiet fragile vocal guiding the listener through the tracks. There's still a few standards on this album but not the vocal demanding ones as she tried on her second album. She doesn't have the big singing voice but she has a fine jazz understanding which really comes through on this.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

1966 Favourite releases: 1. Otis Redding Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul - 2. Dexter Gordon Gettin' Around' - 3. Astrud Gilberto Look to the Rainbow

The Supremes "The Supremes A' Go-Go" (1966)

The Supremes A' Go-Go
release date: Aug. 25, 1966
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]

2. "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)"


1966 Favourite releases: 1. Otis Redding Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul - 2. Dexter Gordon Gettin' Around' - 3. The Supremes The Supremes A' Go-Go

Frank Zappa / The Mothers of Invention "Freak Out!" (1966)

Freak Out! [debut]
release date: Jun. 27, 1966
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Track highlights: 3. "Who Are the Brain Police" - 4. "Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder" - 7. "Wowie Zowie" - 9. "Any Way the Wind Blows" - 12. "Trouble Every Day" - 13. "Help, I'm a Rock"

Studio debut album released by The Mothers of Invention. Actually, the band members had named the band The Mothers, it was the record company (Verve Records) who added the 'of Invention' to the name. This album is highly experimental and the musical style is unpreceded as Zappa wrote the majority of the tracks as his own combination of classical upbringing with musique concrete (Stockhausen, Varèse, Cage) and experimental, psychedelic art rock bringing it all together in satiric texts criticizing the consumer mentality of America in 1960s as a wake-up call to what is termed pop. Some of the songs like "Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder" and "Wowie Zowie" are almost traditional doo wop, "Any Way the Wind Blows" sounds like The Beatles together with Beach Boys, "You Didn't Try to Call Me", and "Trouble Every Day" are like The Who meets Hendrix, whereas "Who Are the Brain Police", "Help, I'm a Rock" and "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" are out-of-this-world-experiments by Zappa and noting else! The album secured Zappa a considerable crowd of fans, partly in Europe, partly in USA, but a vast majority simply didn't buy his albums, perhaps because the music is highly original and experimental drawing on modern classical compositional theory. Anyway, it's not really music you put on as background sound for a romantic dinner. It's something that needs a mature ear, and broad acceptance. No wonder The Beatles were able to experiment a lot on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), this album inspired many, including The Fab Four. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

Malihini-Kvintetten "Lille sommerfugl" (1966) (single)

Lille sommerfugl, 7'' single

release date: 1966

format: vinyl (45-1130)

[album rate: 2 / 5] [2,18]

producer: ?

label: RCA - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: A) "Lille sommerfugl" - - B) "Maria Elena"

Single release by Danish song-quintet Malihini-Kvintetten, formerly known as Malihini Hawaiians.

The single was part of my parents' record collection and a single I knew as a kid but never found enjoyful.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Best of 1966:Otis Redding "Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul" (1966)

Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul
release date: Oct. 15, 1966
format: cd
[album rate: 5 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" (5 / 5) - 2. "I'm Sick Y'All" - 3. "Tennessee Waltz" - 4. "Sweet Lorene" - 5. "Try a Little Tenderness" (5 / 5) - 6. "Day Tripper" - 7. "My Lover's Prayer" - 8. "She Put the Hurt on Me" - 9. "Ton of Joy" - 10. "You're Still My Baby" - 11. "Hawg for You" - 12. "Love Have Mercy"

5th studio album by Otis Redding. This was to be his last studio album release before his untimely death (Dec. 10, 1967) at the age of 26, and the second studio album in '66. This is his studio album with the highest percentage of his own songs (tracks #1, #2, #4, #7, #8, #9, #11), and the album is like his '65 album, enlisted on several 'All times best albums'.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5 stars ]

1966 Favourite releases: 1. Otis Redding Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul - 2. Dexter Gordon Gettin' Around' - 3. Astrud Gilberto Look to the Rainbow

Dexter Gordon "Gettin' Around" (1966)

Gettin' Around
release date: 1966
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Manhã de Carnaval" - 2. "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)" - 3. "Heartaches" - 4. "Shiny Stockings" - 5. "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" - 6. "Le coiffeur" - 7. "Very Saxily Yours" (Bonus track) - 8. "Flick of a Trick" (Bonus track)

A studio album by Dexter Gordon. It was recorded in 1965 at the lengendary Van Gelder Studio and released in 1966. The 1987 remastered cd version contains two extra tracks from the same recording session. It's not my first Dexter Gordon album but it really falls in the great ones' category. He is one of my absolute favourite jazz artists, and perhaps the first I adored of the genre. The album is recorded and released in his home country but at this point he lived almost permanently, either in Paris or Copenhagen. It contains the type of music, I guess, people in Europe loved him for - cool, emotional, laid back, and... passionate. Absolutely wonderful.

1966 Favourite releases: 1. Otis Redding Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul - 2. Dexter Gordon Gettin' Around - 3. Astrud Gilberto Look to the Rainbow

Otis Redding "The Soul Album" (1966)

The Soul Album
release date: Apr. 1, 1966
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Just One More Day" - 2. "It's Growing" - 3. "Cigarettes & Coffee" (4 / 5) - 4. "Chain Gang" - 5. "Nobody Knows You (When Your Down & Out)" - 6. "Good to Me" (4 / 5) - 7. "Scratch My Back" - 8. "Treat Her Right" - 9. "Everybody Makes a Mistake" - 10. "Any Ole Way" (4 / 5) (tv performance) - "634-5789"

4th studio album by Otis Redding is almost as great as his 1965 album. The style is the same and Redding interprets soul and r&b tracks including three of his own songs (tracks #1, #6, and #10). Only six months later he would do even better.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]