AllMusic Loves '65!!!
Jan. 26, 2010
Arriving a year after the British Invasion kick-started and two years before the Summer of Love, 1965 sometimes gets overlooked among the great years of the '60s, but a convincing case could be made that it showcases how creatively fertile the decade was almost better than any other year. That's because 1965 isn't about one style or sound: every genre produced timeless music, whether it was Miles Davis settling into his second classic quintet, Motown's hit machine not slowing down, Bakersfield electrifying country music, B.B. King captivating at the Regal, or American rock & roll bands pounding out responses to the British Invasion from their own garages while the Who made their debut. And, of course, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds all released multiple classic albums, including Rubber Soul, Highway 61 Revisited, Out of Our Heads, Today!, and Mr. Tambourine Man -- records that defined just what rock & roll could do. If that doesn't make a contender for the greatest year of the '60s, then what does?
Sean Westergaard
Choosing favorites for 1965 was kind of an odd exercise for me. It's the year I was born, so I wasn't making the musical choices but I was definitely listening to music at the time. My dad really dug the Beatles and the Beach Boys and a bit of surf music like the Marketts and the Astronauts, so I was hearing that and whatever else my parents chose to listen to on the radio. And while some of my favorite artists released albums in 1965 (sometimes multiple albums), they aren't my favorites among those artists' albums. So my list is made up of albums either recorded or released in 1965 that I still listen to today, regardless of when I discovered the album. Surprisingly enough, the artist who appears the most on the album list did not actually lead a date but saxophone genius John Gilmore appears on 3 of these albums. This is also one of the rare times I have included singles just because some of those songs are so great and not necessarily represented in my album choices.
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Beatles - Help!
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - 'S Make It
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
John Fahey - The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death
John Fahey - The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites
Grant Green - His Majesty King Funk
Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas
Andrew Hill - Compulsion!!!!!
Skip James - Today!
The Roland Kirk Quartet - Rip, Rig and Panic
Buck Owens and His Buckaroos - I've Got a Tiger by the Tail
Big John Patton - Let 'em Roll
Sun Ra - Secrets of the Sun
The Ventures - Live in Japan '65
Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band - Hoodoo Man Blues
Davie Allan & the Arrows - "Apache '65"
Fontella Bass - "Rescue Me"
James Brown - "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"
Cannibal & the Headhunters - "Land of 1000 Dances"
Ray Charles - "I Gotta Woman, Pt. 1"
Dick Curless - "A Tombstone Every Mile"
Dave Dudley - "Truck Drivin' Son-of-a-Gun"
Marvin Gaye - "Ain't That Peculiar"
George Hamilton IV - "Truck Driving Man"
The Kinks - "Who'll Be the Next in Line"
The Ramsey Lewis Trio - "The 'In' Crowd"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
Roger Miller - "Do-Wacka-Do"
Lee Morgan - "The Sidewinder, Pt. 1"
Elvis Presley - "Do the Clam"
The Shangri-Las - "Give Him a Great Big Kiss"
Allan Sherman - "The Drinking Man's Diet"
Edwin Starr - "Agent Double-O-Soul"
The Strangeloves - "I Want Candy"
The Yardbirds - "For Your Love"
Tim Sendra
1965 was all about abundance. So much good music everywhere you looked: from Motown to the U.K., from the studios of L.A. to the last gasp of the Brill Building. Where the action really was though was in the garages of America. Every town big enough to have a store that sold instruments had at least ten bands locked up in garages, basements, and rec rooms trying to figure out the chords to "Louie Louie" or the words to "Wooly Bully." Maybe someone was even hip enough to have a Zombies or Small Faces record they could rip off. And every third band was named the Starfires or the Outcasts. Of course, most of these groups were pretty bad and most came and went without recording their cover of "Farmer John" or the one original tune they managed to cobble together using borrowed melodies and words written for 11th grade English assignments. Some bands did make it in front of microphones and miraculously a fair number of them turned out to be borderline brilliant. Lack of documentation and the passage of time (and a fair amount of laziness) mean that I need to fake my list of great garage rock singles of 1965. Let's just say it feels like all these songs were released in 1965...maybe some of them even were.
The Sonics - "Boss Hoss"
The Paragons - "Abba"
The JuJus - "You Treat Me Bad"
The Outcasts - "I'm in Pittsburgh (And It's Raining)"
One Way Streets - "We All Love Peanut Butter"
The Auctioneers - "No One Wants Me"
The Underdogs - "Friday at the Hideout"
Ty Wagner with the Scotchmen - "I'm a No-Count"
The Magic Plants - "I'm a Nothing"
The Niteriders - "With Friends Like You Who Needs Friends"
Jesters of Newport - "Stormy"
The Dirty Wurds - "Why"
The Breakers - "Don't Send Me No Flowers (I Ain't Dead Yet)"
The Elite - "One Potato"
The Elite - "Two Potato"
The Starfires - "Linda"
Joey Gee & the Come Ons - "She's Mean"
Larry & the Blue Notes - "The Night of the Phantom"
The Grodes - "Cry a Little Longer"
The Lyrics - "So What"
James Christopher Monger
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Beatles - Help!
Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch
Martin Carthy - Martin Carthy
Johnny Cash - Sings the Ballads of the True West
The Beach Boys - Today!
The Beach Boys - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
John Fahey - The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death
Four Tops - Second Album
The Sonics - Here Are the Sonics!!!
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
The Staple Singers - Freedom Highway
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Watersons - Frost and Fire
Merle Haggard - Strangers
The Who - The Who Sings My Generation
Jackson C. Frank - Jackson C. Frank
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Temptations - The Temptations Sing Smokey
Huey "Piano" Smith - "Don't You Just Know It"
The Easybeats - "Friday on My Mind"
Unit 4+2 - "Concrete & Clay"
The Strangeloves - "I Want Candy"
The Barbarians - "Are You a Boy, or Are You a Girl"
Roger Miller - "King of the Road"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
The Miracles - "Tracks of My Tears"
Buck Owens - "Buckaroo"
The Zombies - "Tell Her No"
The Rolling Stones - "Get Off of My Cloud"
Barry McGuire - "Eve of Destruction"
The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Petula Clark - "Downtown"
Bob Dylan - "Like a Rolling Stone"
Herman's Hermits - "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"
New Christy Minstrels - "Chim, Chim, Cheree"
Manfred Mann - "Come Tomorrow"
Donovan - "Sunny Goodge Street"
Uncle Dave Lewis
For this reviewer, 1965 is the year of the Shangri-Las, the first full year of ESP-Disk, and the birth-year of groups that contributed to the development of punk such as the Velvet Underground, the Troggs and MC5, even though most such groups didn't begin to make records until later. Despite that the music biz was still a singles-driven market and most albums were short, 1965 was packed with great albums, especially in the field of jazz. Relatively few of them have been released on CD in their original form, being recompiled into non-existence, long delayed, or never re-released. While in some cases discs listed here incorporate material from other years, the great stuff from '65 is somewhere present within.
The Beatles - Beatles '65
The Fugs - The Fugs First Album
Françoise Hardy - The Yeh-Yeh Girl from Paris!
The Shangri-Las - Shangri-Las-65!
Roger Miller - The Third Time Around
Albert Ayler - Bells
Bill Evans Trio - Trio '65
The Roland Kirk Quartet - Rip, Rig and Panic
The Sergio Mendes Trio - Brasil '65
Wes Montgomery - Bumpin'
The Pee Wee Russell Quartet - Ask Me Now!
Patty Waters - Patty Waters Sings
John Fahey - The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites
Son House - Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions
Antal Dorati, BBC Symphony - Bartók -- Miraculous Mandarin/Divertimento
Eden and Tamir - Music for Two Pianos
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus Musicus Wien - English Consort Music
Vladimir Horowitz - The Historic Return -- Carnegie Hall 1965
Wilhelm Kempff - Beethoven - Piano Sonatas
Raymond Lewenthal - Piano Music of Alkan
The Shangri-Las - "Out in the Streets"
Roger Miller - "Kansas City Star"
Raymond Lewenthal - Alkan: Les festins d'Esope
Andrew Leahey
Melody ruled the roost in 1965. It was the year of the Zombies' debut; the Shangri-Las' dominance; the Beatles' embrace of folk-rock, psychedelia, and LSD; and the British Invasion's unrelenting storming of American shores. It was also the year that the Hollies released "Look Through Any Window," one of my favorite songs of all time.
The Hollies - Hear! Here!
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
Willie Nelson - Country Willie: His Own Songs
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Shangri-Las - Shangri-Las-'65!
The Beatles - Help!
The Zombies - The Zombies
The Beach Boys - Today!
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn!
Herman's Hermits - Introducing Herman's Hermits
The Hollies - "Look Through Any Window"
The Shangri-Las - "Out in the Streets"
The Beach Boys - "And Your Dream Comes True"
The Byrds - "Feel a Whole Lot Better"
Gerry & the Pacemakers - "Ferry Cross the Mersey"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
The Beatles - "I've Just Seen a Face"
The Hollies - "I'm Alive"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
The Shangri-Las - "Maybe"
Lou Christie - "Lightnin' Strikes"
Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders - "Game of Love"
Them - "Baby, Please Don't Go"
The Righteous Brothers - "Unchained Melody"
The Beatles - "If I Needed Someone"
Andy Kellman
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
The Roland Kirk Quartet - Rip, Rig and Panic
Archie Shepp - Fire Music
Andrew Hill - Point of Departure
The Horace Silver Quintet - Song for My Father
Otis Redding - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
Bobby Hutcherson - Dialogue
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
Grant Green - Idle Moments
Wayne Shorter - JuJu
The Staple Singers - Freedom Highway
The Supremes - More Hits by the Supremes
Miles Davis - E.S.P.
Wes Montgomery - Bumpin'
Joe Henderson - In 'n Out
Martha & the Vandellas - Dance Party
The Temptations - The Temptin' Temptations
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Astrud Gilberto - The Astrud Gilberto Album
The Supremes - "I Hear a Symphony"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
Otis Redding - "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)"
Nina Simone - "See-Line Woman"
The Temptations - "My Girl"
Marvin Gaye - "Ain't That Peculiar"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
Fontella Bass - "Rescue Me"
Wilson Pickett - "In the Midnight Hour"
The Impressions - "People Get Ready"
The Who - "Can't Explain"
Jr. Walker & the All Stars - "Shotgun"
The Rolling Stones - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
Four Tops - "I Can't Help Myself"
The Ramsey Lewis Trio - "The 'In' Crowd"
The Zombies - "Tell Her No"
The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Little Anthony & the Imperials - "Hurt So Bad"
Kim Weston - "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)"
Shirley Bassey - "Goldfinger"
Greg Heaney
Jorge Ben - Big Ben
Herbie Mann & Joao Gilberto - With Antonio Carlos Jobim
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Toots & the Maytals - The Sensational Maytals (aka Sensational Ska Explosion)
Prince Buster - It's Burke's Law
The Sergio Mendes Trio - Brasil '65
The Roland Kirk Quartet - Rip, Rig and Panic
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
João Donato - The New Sound of Brazil
Luiz Bonfá & Maria Toledo - Braziliana
Sambalanço Trio - Improviso Negro
The George Benson Quartet - It's Uptown
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Miles Davis - E.S.P.
Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band - Hoodoo Man Blues
Richard "Groove" Holmes - Soul Message
Françoise Hardy - The Yeh-Yeh Girl from Paris!
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
For me, trimming 1965 to the basics was the hardest of all the AMG Loves features we've yet done and it all comes down to the singles. Sure, there were an abundance of great albums in '65 -- the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Byrds, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys all released two classic LPs apiece this year, for starters -- but it was an embarrassment of great singles, too many to list in the space we have here. My rough list weighed in at well over 100 and I trimmed it back to this snapshot, following three rules: 1) There could be no artist duplication between the albums and singles lists (the better to cover more territory). 2) No artist could have two singles on the single list (hence Chuck Berry's "Dear Dad" not making the cut). 3) Everything on the list is something I'd want to hear right now, no hesitation.
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
The Beatles - Help!
The Who - The Who Sings My Generation
B.B. King - Live at the Regal
Miles Davis - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965
The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Miles Davis - E.S.P.
Merle Haggard - Strangers
Frank Sinatra - September of My Years
The Rolling Stones - December's Children (And Everybody's)
Big John Patton - Let 'em Roll
The Yardbirds - Having a Rave Up
Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band - Hoodoo Man Blues
Larry Young - Unity
The Sonics - Here Are the Sonics!!!
The Everly Brothers - Beat & Soul
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Hank Mobley - A Caddy for Daddy
Lee Morgan - The Rumproller
The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones, Now!
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
Chuck Berry - "The Promised Land"
The Walker Brothers - "Make It Easy on Yourself"
The Zombies - "Tell Her No"
Mouse & the Traps - "A Public Execution"
Paul Revere & the Raiders - "Steppin' Out"
Sir Douglas Quintet - "She's About a Mover"
The Swingin' Medallions - "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)"
Charlie Walker - "Close All the Honky Tonks"
The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
The Miracles - "The Tracks of My Tears"
Lee Dorsey - "Ride Your Pony"
Fontella Bass - "Rescue Me"
Roy Head - "Treat Her Right"
The Impressions - "People Get Ready"
Barbara Lewis - "Baby I'm Yours"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
The Seeds - "Can't Seem to Make You Mine"
The Contours - First I Look at the Purse"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
Roger Miller - "King of the Road"
Little Anthony & the Imperials - "Hurt So Bad"
The Castaways - "Liar, Liar"
Dick Curless - "A Tombstone Every Mile"
The Beach Boys - "California Girls"
George Jones - "Things Have Gone to Pieces"
Matt Collar
Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights
The Beach Boys - Today!
The Beach Boys - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn!
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Miles Davis - E.S.P.
Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Sam Rivers - Contours
The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads
The Horace Silver Quintet - The Cape Verdean Blues
The Horace Silver Quintet - Song for My Father
Frank Sinatra - September of My Years
The Sonics - Here Are the Sonics!!!
The Walker Brothers - Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers
Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band - Hoodoo Man Blues
The Who - The Who Sings My Generation
The Zombies - Begin Here
John Bush
The Beach Boys - Today!
The Beach Boys - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
The Beatles - Help!
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
Paul Clayton - Paul Clayton, Folk Singer!
Bill Cosby - Why Is There Air?
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Astrud Gilberto - The Astrud Gilberto Album
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Willie Nelson - Country Willie: His Own Songs
Otis Redding - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Tom Rush - Tom Rush
Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil
Mel Tormé - That's All
The Who - The Who Sings My Generation
OST - Thunderball
The Bobby Fuller Four - "Let Her Dance"
Dave Clark Five - "Any Way You Want It"
Charlie Rich - "Mohair Sam"
Donovan - "Sunny Goodge Street"
Françoise Hardy - "Ce Petit Coeur"
The Beach Boys - "California Girls"
The Beatles - "Day Tripper"
George Jones - "Love Bug"
James Brown - "I Got You (I Feel Good)"
The Lovin' Spoonful - "Do You Believe in Magic"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
The Rolling Stones - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
Them - "Here Comes the Night"
The Miracles - "The Tracks of My Tears"
The Who - "My Generation"
The Shangri-Las - "Out in the Streets"
Billy Stewart - "Sitting in the Park"
Tom Jones - "What's New Pussycat?"
Gary McFarland - "Bloop Bleep"
Frank Sinatra - "It Was a Very Good Year"
Sean Westergaard
Choosing favorites for 1965 was kind of an odd exercise for me. It's the year I was born, so I wasn't making the musical choices but I was definitely listening to music at the time. My dad really dug the Beatles and the Beach Boys and a bit of surf music like the Marketts and the Astronauts, so I was hearing that and whatever else my parents chose to listen to on the radio. And while some of my favorite artists released albums in 1965 (sometimes multiple albums), they aren't my favorites among those artists' albums. So my list is made up of albums either recorded or released in 1965 that I still listen to today, regardless of when I discovered the album. Surprisingly enough, the artist who appears the most on the album list did not actually lead a date but saxophone genius John Gilmore appears on 3 of these albums. This is also one of the rare times I have included singles just because some of those songs are so great and not necessarily represented in my album choices.
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Beatles - Help!
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - 'S Make It
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
John Fahey - The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death
John Fahey - The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites
Grant Green - His Majesty King Funk
Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas
Andrew Hill - Compulsion!!!!!
Skip James - Today!
The Roland Kirk Quartet - Rip, Rig and Panic
Buck Owens and His Buckaroos - I've Got a Tiger by the Tail
Big John Patton - Let 'em Roll
Sun Ra - Secrets of the Sun
The Ventures - Live in Japan '65
Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band - Hoodoo Man Blues
Davie Allan & the Arrows - "Apache '65"
Fontella Bass - "Rescue Me"
James Brown - "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"
Cannibal & the Headhunters - "Land of 1000 Dances"
Ray Charles - "I Gotta Woman, Pt. 1"
Dick Curless - "A Tombstone Every Mile"
Dave Dudley - "Truck Drivin' Son-of-a-Gun"
Marvin Gaye - "Ain't That Peculiar"
George Hamilton IV - "Truck Driving Man"
The Kinks - "Who'll Be the Next in Line"
The Ramsey Lewis Trio - "The 'In' Crowd"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
Roger Miller - "Do-Wacka-Do"
Lee Morgan - "The Sidewinder, Pt. 1"
Elvis Presley - "Do the Clam"
The Shangri-Las - "Give Him a Great Big Kiss"
Allan Sherman - "The Drinking Man's Diet"
Edwin Starr - "Agent Double-O-Soul"
The Strangeloves - "I Want Candy"
The Yardbirds - "For Your Love"
Tim Sendra
1965 was all about abundance. So much good music everywhere you looked: from Motown to the U.K., from the studios of L.A. to the last gasp of the Brill Building. Where the action really was though was in the garages of America. Every town big enough to have a store that sold instruments had at least ten bands locked up in garages, basements, and rec rooms trying to figure out the chords to "Louie Louie" or the words to "Wooly Bully." Maybe someone was even hip enough to have a Zombies or Small Faces record they could rip off. And every third band was named the Starfires or the Outcasts. Of course, most of these groups were pretty bad and most came and went without recording their cover of "Farmer John" or the one original tune they managed to cobble together using borrowed melodies and words written for 11th grade English assignments. Some bands did make it in front of microphones and miraculously a fair number of them turned out to be borderline brilliant. Lack of documentation and the passage of time (and a fair amount of laziness) mean that I need to fake my list of great garage rock singles of 1965. Let's just say it feels like all these songs were released in 1965...maybe some of them even were.
The Sonics - "Boss Hoss"
The Paragons - "Abba"
The JuJus - "You Treat Me Bad"
The Outcasts - "I'm in Pittsburgh (And It's Raining)"
One Way Streets - "We All Love Peanut Butter"
The Auctioneers - "No One Wants Me"
The Underdogs - "Friday at the Hideout"
Ty Wagner with the Scotchmen - "I'm a No-Count"
The Magic Plants - "I'm a Nothing"
The Niteriders - "With Friends Like You Who Needs Friends"
Jesters of Newport - "Stormy"
The Dirty Wurds - "Why"
The Breakers - "Don't Send Me No Flowers (I Ain't Dead Yet)"
The Elite - "One Potato"
The Elite - "Two Potato"
The Starfires - "Linda"
Joey Gee & the Come Ons - "She's Mean"
Larry & the Blue Notes - "The Night of the Phantom"
The Grodes - "Cry a Little Longer"
The Lyrics - "So What"
James Christopher Monger
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Beatles - Help!
Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch
Martin Carthy - Martin Carthy
Johnny Cash - Sings the Ballads of the True West
The Beach Boys - Today!
The Beach Boys - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
John Fahey - The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death
Four Tops - Second Album
The Sonics - Here Are the Sonics!!!
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
The Staple Singers - Freedom Highway
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Watersons - Frost and Fire
Merle Haggard - Strangers
The Who - The Who Sings My Generation
Jackson C. Frank - Jackson C. Frank
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Temptations - The Temptations Sing Smokey
Huey "Piano" Smith - "Don't You Just Know It"
The Easybeats - "Friday on My Mind"
Unit 4+2 - "Concrete & Clay"
The Strangeloves - "I Want Candy"
The Barbarians - "Are You a Boy, or Are You a Girl"
Roger Miller - "King of the Road"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
The Miracles - "Tracks of My Tears"
Buck Owens - "Buckaroo"
The Zombies - "Tell Her No"
The Rolling Stones - "Get Off of My Cloud"
Barry McGuire - "Eve of Destruction"
The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Petula Clark - "Downtown"
Bob Dylan - "Like a Rolling Stone"
Herman's Hermits - "I'm Henry VIII, I Am"
New Christy Minstrels - "Chim, Chim, Cheree"
Manfred Mann - "Come Tomorrow"
Donovan - "Sunny Goodge Street"
Uncle Dave Lewis
For this reviewer, 1965 is the year of the Shangri-Las, the first full year of ESP-Disk, and the birth-year of groups that contributed to the development of punk such as the Velvet Underground, the Troggs and MC5, even though most such groups didn't begin to make records until later. Despite that the music biz was still a singles-driven market and most albums were short, 1965 was packed with great albums, especially in the field of jazz. Relatively few of them have been released on CD in their original form, being recompiled into non-existence, long delayed, or never re-released. While in some cases discs listed here incorporate material from other years, the great stuff from '65 is somewhere present within.
The Beatles - Beatles '65
The Fugs - The Fugs First Album
Françoise Hardy - The Yeh-Yeh Girl from Paris!
The Shangri-Las - Shangri-Las-65!
Roger Miller - The Third Time Around
Albert Ayler - Bells
Bill Evans Trio - Trio '65
The Roland Kirk Quartet - Rip, Rig and Panic
The Sergio Mendes Trio - Brasil '65
Wes Montgomery - Bumpin'
The Pee Wee Russell Quartet - Ask Me Now!
Patty Waters - Patty Waters Sings
John Fahey - The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites
Son House - Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions
Antal Dorati, BBC Symphony - Bartók -- Miraculous Mandarin/Divertimento
Eden and Tamir - Music for Two Pianos
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Concentus Musicus Wien - English Consort Music
Vladimir Horowitz - The Historic Return -- Carnegie Hall 1965
Wilhelm Kempff - Beethoven - Piano Sonatas
Raymond Lewenthal - Piano Music of Alkan
The Shangri-Las - "Out in the Streets"
Roger Miller - "Kansas City Star"
Raymond Lewenthal - Alkan: Les festins d'Esope
Andrew Leahey
Melody ruled the roost in 1965. It was the year of the Zombies' debut; the Shangri-Las' dominance; the Beatles' embrace of folk-rock, psychedelia, and LSD; and the British Invasion's unrelenting storming of American shores. It was also the year that the Hollies released "Look Through Any Window," one of my favorite songs of all time.
The Hollies - Hear! Here!
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
Willie Nelson - Country Willie: His Own Songs
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Shangri-Las - Shangri-Las-'65!
The Beatles - Help!
The Zombies - The Zombies
The Beach Boys - Today!
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn!
Herman's Hermits - Introducing Herman's Hermits
The Hollies - "Look Through Any Window"
The Shangri-Las - "Out in the Streets"
The Beach Boys - "And Your Dream Comes True"
The Byrds - "Feel a Whole Lot Better"
Gerry & the Pacemakers - "Ferry Cross the Mersey"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
The Beatles - "I've Just Seen a Face"
The Hollies - "I'm Alive"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
The Shangri-Las - "Maybe"
Lou Christie - "Lightnin' Strikes"
Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders - "Game of Love"
Them - "Baby, Please Don't Go"
The Righteous Brothers - "Unchained Melody"
The Beatles - "If I Needed Someone"
Andy Kellman
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
The Roland Kirk Quartet - Rip, Rig and Panic
Archie Shepp - Fire Music
Andrew Hill - Point of Departure
The Horace Silver Quintet - Song for My Father
Otis Redding - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
Bobby Hutcherson - Dialogue
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
Grant Green - Idle Moments
Wayne Shorter - JuJu
The Staple Singers - Freedom Highway
The Supremes - More Hits by the Supremes
Miles Davis - E.S.P.
Wes Montgomery - Bumpin'
Joe Henderson - In 'n Out
Martha & the Vandellas - Dance Party
The Temptations - The Temptin' Temptations
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Astrud Gilberto - The Astrud Gilberto Album
The Supremes - "I Hear a Symphony"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
Otis Redding - "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)"
Nina Simone - "See-Line Woman"
The Temptations - "My Girl"
Marvin Gaye - "Ain't That Peculiar"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
Fontella Bass - "Rescue Me"
Wilson Pickett - "In the Midnight Hour"
The Impressions - "People Get Ready"
The Who - "Can't Explain"
Jr. Walker & the All Stars - "Shotgun"
The Rolling Stones - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
Four Tops - "I Can't Help Myself"
The Ramsey Lewis Trio - "The 'In' Crowd"
The Zombies - "Tell Her No"
The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
Little Anthony & the Imperials - "Hurt So Bad"
Kim Weston - "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)"
Shirley Bassey - "Goldfinger"
Greg Heaney
Jorge Ben - Big Ben
Herbie Mann & Joao Gilberto - With Antonio Carlos Jobim
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Toots & the Maytals - The Sensational Maytals (aka Sensational Ska Explosion)
Prince Buster - It's Burke's Law
The Sergio Mendes Trio - Brasil '65
The Roland Kirk Quartet - Rip, Rig and Panic
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
João Donato - The New Sound of Brazil
Luiz Bonfá & Maria Toledo - Braziliana
Sambalanço Trio - Improviso Negro
The George Benson Quartet - It's Uptown
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Miles Davis - E.S.P.
Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band - Hoodoo Man Blues
Richard "Groove" Holmes - Soul Message
Françoise Hardy - The Yeh-Yeh Girl from Paris!
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
For me, trimming 1965 to the basics was the hardest of all the AMG Loves features we've yet done and it all comes down to the singles. Sure, there were an abundance of great albums in '65 -- the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Byrds, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys all released two classic LPs apiece this year, for starters -- but it was an embarrassment of great singles, too many to list in the space we have here. My rough list weighed in at well over 100 and I trimmed it back to this snapshot, following three rules: 1) There could be no artist duplication between the albums and singles lists (the better to cover more territory). 2) No artist could have two singles on the single list (hence Chuck Berry's "Dear Dad" not making the cut). 3) Everything on the list is something I'd want to hear right now, no hesitation.
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
The Beatles - Help!
The Who - The Who Sings My Generation
B.B. King - Live at the Regal
Miles Davis - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965
The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Miles Davis - E.S.P.
Merle Haggard - Strangers
Frank Sinatra - September of My Years
The Rolling Stones - December's Children (And Everybody's)
Big John Patton - Let 'em Roll
The Yardbirds - Having a Rave Up
Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band - Hoodoo Man Blues
Larry Young - Unity
The Sonics - Here Are the Sonics!!!
The Everly Brothers - Beat & Soul
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Hank Mobley - A Caddy for Daddy
Lee Morgan - The Rumproller
The Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones, Now!
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
Chuck Berry - "The Promised Land"
The Walker Brothers - "Make It Easy on Yourself"
The Zombies - "Tell Her No"
Mouse & the Traps - "A Public Execution"
Paul Revere & the Raiders - "Steppin' Out"
Sir Douglas Quintet - "She's About a Mover"
The Swingin' Medallions - "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)"
Charlie Walker - "Close All the Honky Tonks"
The Animals - "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"
The Miracles - "The Tracks of My Tears"
Lee Dorsey - "Ride Your Pony"
Fontella Bass - "Rescue Me"
Roy Head - "Treat Her Right"
The Impressions - "People Get Ready"
Barbara Lewis - "Baby I'm Yours"
Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come"
The Seeds - "Can't Seem to Make You Mine"
The Contours - First I Look at the Purse"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
Roger Miller - "King of the Road"
Little Anthony & the Imperials - "Hurt So Bad"
The Castaways - "Liar, Liar"
Dick Curless - "A Tombstone Every Mile"
The Beach Boys - "California Girls"
George Jones - "Things Have Gone to Pieces"
Matt Collar
Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream & Other Delights
The Beach Boys - Today!
The Beach Boys - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn!
John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
Miles Davis - E.S.P.
Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Sam Rivers - Contours
The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads
The Horace Silver Quintet - The Cape Verdean Blues
The Horace Silver Quintet - Song for My Father
Frank Sinatra - September of My Years
The Sonics - Here Are the Sonics!!!
The Walker Brothers - Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers
Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band - Hoodoo Man Blues
The Who - The Who Sings My Generation
The Zombies - Begin Here
John Bush
The Beach Boys - Today!
The Beach Boys - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
The Beatles - Help!
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
Paul Clayton - Paul Clayton, Folk Singer!
Bill Cosby - Why Is There Air?
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
Astrud Gilberto - The Astrud Gilberto Album
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Willie Nelson - Country Willie: His Own Songs
Otis Redding - Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Tom Rush - Tom Rush
Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil
Mel Tormé - That's All
The Who - The Who Sings My Generation
OST - Thunderball
The Bobby Fuller Four - "Let Her Dance"
Dave Clark Five - "Any Way You Want It"
Charlie Rich - "Mohair Sam"
Donovan - "Sunny Goodge Street"
Françoise Hardy - "Ce Petit Coeur"
The Beach Boys - "California Girls"
The Beatles - "Day Tripper"
George Jones - "Love Bug"
James Brown - "I Got You (I Feel Good)"
The Lovin' Spoonful - "Do You Believe in Magic"
Martha & the Vandellas - "Nowhere to Run"
The Rolling Stones - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
Them - "Here Comes the Night"
The Miracles - "The Tracks of My Tears"
The Who - "My Generation"
The Shangri-Las - "Out in the Streets"
Billy Stewart - "Sitting in the Park"
Tom Jones - "What's New Pussycat?"
Gary McFarland - "Bloop Bleep"
Frank Sinatra - "It Was a Very Good Year"