My Favorite Albums of 1966


1966, with the Beatle's invasion influence well under way was the year music really changed. Love's Love L.P. with Arthur Lee, lead singer, the one who first produced Hendrix and gave his look to. It was an early example of a bi-racial band. Some believe the seeds of punk rock were sown here. Burt Bacharach gasped when he heard their version of My Little Red Book. Signed D.C. sounds like it may have been channeled later in the Moody Blues' Nights in White Satin.

Beach Boys' Pet Sounds is a psychological masterpiece not even matched by John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band album. Brian Wilson layered on the music better than any one before him, and he had only one good ear, nice theramin too.

The Mothers of Invention's Freak Out freaked a lot of people out, but in a good way as they parodied the early rock days from '55 to the beginning of the psychedelic era. We got to know all we needed about Suzie Creamcheese and started watching out for the brain police while pretending to be rocks.

The Beatles' Revolver made us not want to preach empty sermons, get faces out of jars, or party with Peter Fonda.