My 1966 replay featured a jukebox to allow visitors to listen to the music of the day as they surfed through the box scores and news of the replayed season. As a child of album rock radio in the late 70′s and early 80′s,I am a fan of the music of the late 1960′s,particularly the psychedelic era. I have a complete collection of The Rolling Stones,The Beatles,and Led Zeppelin,but many albums slipped through as the artist was better known to me through a greatest hits compilation.
Since adding the jukebox,I can now include The Beach Boys Pet Sounds,Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde and Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow to my music collection. Paul McCartney credited Pet Sounds as one of the first inspirations for Sgt. Pepper. When you listen to the album in its entirety,I can hear how Sir Paul was so inspired. The second track,“You Still Believe in Me”,features a harpsichord and bicycle bells,something new and different in 1966. Unlike “Sgt. Pepper”,Pet Sounds does have a theme that runs through the album. It tracks the bubbly infatuation phase of love from opening track,“Wouldn’t It Be Nice”,through realization of break up,and ultimately heart break with the finale track,“Caroline,No.”Coincidentally,Brian Wilson credits The Beatles’Rubber Soul as his inspiration for Pet Sounds.
Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow is the latest classic album that has my ear as my baseball replay is in May,1967. “Someone to Love”and “White Rabbit”are the known quantities here,but the rest of the album is fantastic and deserves a listen from start to finish. One of the things lost as we went from albums to CD’s was the completion of sides to an album. As side one of Surrealistic Pillow ends,you can just visualize someone in 1967 hearing it for the first time muttering something like “whoa”. Of course,their ability to get up and turn the record over is likely very impaired.
As the baseball replay runs through the Summer of Love,I would love to hear your comments,jukebox requests,or other classic album suggestions.
