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10 albums of 1964

Don't think I had forgotten about these! 1964 saw the unstoppable rise of The Beatles, but I did go for a couple of jazz albums and a little national treasure from my homelands that precedes my time on Earth. What are your picks for '64, Sputfam?
1The Beatles
A Hard Day's Night

Parlophone // July 10th, 1964

It's 1964 and the Beatlemania has reached pandemic levels. Conceived as the soundtrack for a film that narrates a day in the unreal life of the Beatles at the time, "A Hard Day's Night" sees them coming back from their first US and Canadian tour as kings, and this soundtrack would only mount up to their already incredibly succesful and frenetically short career. The title track that opens the album, "I Should Have Known Better", "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You", ""And I Love Her", "Can't Buy me Love", "Things We Said Today"... This album is banger after banger and a firm example of the greatness of the Liverpool boys.
2The Beatles
Beatles for Sale

Parlophone // December 4th, 1964

For this entry, I have to start quoting this gold nugget from Wikipedia: "While in New York, the Beatles met American folk singer Bob Dylan, who introduced the band members to cannabis". There's no way I'll be able to listen to this album ever again without imagining them stoned to death while recording "Baby's in Black". Makes all the sense now. In any case, The Beatles were pretty battered when they recorded this album. Their schedule was insane, they were wanted everywhere, and still they managed to churn out enough songs to make another record before the year ended, adding a few covers to meet the bill set by the label, from which Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music" is my favorite. There are too many good tracks to single out, but I basically love this phase of the Beatles. From 64 to 65 the Lennon/McCartney writing combo was at its peak.
3Los Brincos
Los Brincos

Novola / Jolly // December, 1964

The same month The Beatles released "Beatles For Sale", the Spanish answer to the Beatles, Los Brincos, saw the release of their first album, "Flamenco". Nobody knows if the band's choice for a name was a blatant attempt at trying to come as close to The Beatles as possible so people digging the crate with a "B" on it could find them too, but sadly for them, under the dictatorship of Franco, The Beatles albums were translated in Spain and classified as "Los Escarabajos". So epic fail. Nevertheless, Los Brincos were more racous, shameless and deeply rooted in their Spanish roots. In "Dance "La Pulga"" you can hear them practicing some screamo... in 1964, pretty revealing. Los Brincos became a pretty big success in Spain and they would even branch out into different projects and solo adventures in the future. The title track "Flamenco" is hear to believe. Classic.
4Charles Mingus
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus

Impulse! // July, 1964

I feel that Mingus here is unleashed, fully confident of the sound he has found in "The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady" and so he sets up to re-record some oh his classics with the new line-up, and honestly the results are absolutely worth the effort. You know he's deeply immersed in this new sound because you almost don't hear him shouting the band what to do like in previous records (lol). Dolphy is sensational on this, I mean, every musician involved is, but yes, this one is my second favorite album of his after "The Black Saint...", because there's no way anything's gonna beat that.
5Francoise Hardy
Mon amie la rose

Vogue // October, 1964

My Francoise Hardy crush goes on. This is a lovely album, a significant improvement on the somewhat disappointment of her sophomore. "Mon amie la rose" doesn't rely as heavily in whatever was succesful in the US at the time (it was doo wop), and traces back to French pop and folk, with a production job that feels closer to Phil Spector's work with The Ronettes, but we'll get to that in a minute. The first track, "Je veux qu'il revienne", is fantastic, and already sets the tone for the rest of the album. Many consider this one as her best, and yes, it certainly has to be among her best works, but let's not assume anything just yet.
6The Beach Boys
All Summer Long

Capitol // July 1, 1964

I'll go to hell for jamming this album during the freezing nights of January when I should be just blasting black metal like everybody else but if anything, it makes me long for summer, and believe me, I hate fucking summer. This sounds like the Beach Boys, no other way to put it. "I Get Around" is such a great track, the perfect opener. It doesn't even matter what comes next, your mental anus is already open and everything will just flow in and be yours forever. No regrets though, but please someone remind me to revisit this in 6 months.
7The Kinks
Kinks

Pye / Vogue // October 2, 1964

A good start for the Kinks. They were loud, fast, way more caustic than the almighty Beatles. Obviously, there's not a single on Earth that hasn't heard "You Really Got Me" and I was really anticipating to hear it in context for the first time. Turns out, even listening to the whole record from front to back, the all time classic still feels out of place, because it's so much better than anything else on the record. Still, "So Mystifying" is another song I like a lot, and there's plenty more, but I;m looking forward to keep climbing their catalogue and get to the real good stuff.
8The Ronettes
...Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica

Philles // November, 1964

You can say all you want about Phil Spector but what he did with this girl group from Manhattan is the work of a genius. I recently watched a documentary claiming that this album set the bases for shoegaze. It's an interesting theory for sure. I could listen to "Be My Baby" forever, I know Brian Wilson did, and I can't blame him. That song has some sort of melancholic spell that I swear once it touches you it never disappears. Magical album. Wish I could say more, but this is one that needs to be heard.
9Eric Dolphy
Out to Lunch!

Blue Note // August, 1964

This is the first record I hear of Eric Dolphy as main, after hearing him play in mostly every jazz record I've heard from the three previous years. As opposed to Coleman's free jazz incursions, Dolphy's "Out to Lunch" is way easier to digest for me. I can a get a grip of what Dolphy is playing meanwhile listening to Coleman is like hearing a whole block of jazz players playing a different song while being trapped in the elevator. Dolphy had an amazing Blue Note line up with him. Hubbard on trumpet, Bobby Hucherson on vibraphone, no piano which already gives this album a completely different vibe, and then a rythm section composed of Richard Davis on bass, who manages to glue the chaos masterfully and Anthony Davis on drums doing some pretty neat beats with both brushed and sticks. Hope I can get a copy on wax soon.
10The Supremes
Where Did Our Love Go

Motown // August 31, 1964

The Supremes never sounded so good. This is an interesting album to couple with The Ronettes one. While the latter sounds noisy, grand and magnificent, this one has a sort of lovely simplicity to it. Sounds like the perfect Motown record, and it's generously stuffed with great songs. Very front loaded, truth be told, but even the second half withstands itself with tracks like "A Breathtaking Guy" or the uplifting closer "Ask Any Girl". Also, Diana Ross shines on this.
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