Bayou Country, Creedence Clearwater Revival

Retrospective Review

Bayou Country, Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969, :34

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

CCR's double-platinum second album is another masterpiece.  Every song, every note is fire on this disc.  A lot of people assume "Proud Mary" is a blues standard.  Nope, it was written by John Fogerty.  There is a cover on this album, though; it's "Good Golly, Miss Molly," made famous by Little Richard.  CCR's version is just as blistering and raw.  To me there are no skips on this record; even the nearly nine-minute "Graveyard Train," a plodding, swampy, languid blues, is delivered with enough growl to keep you listening.  Favorite tracks: "Born On the Bayou," "Bootleg," "Penthouse Pauper."

Original Recordings, Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

Original Recordings, Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks, 1969, :41

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This record is also known by the eponymous title of the band.  Hicks plays a sort of unclassifiable genre that may be (possibly unhelpfully) called neo-swing, heavily influenced by music of the '40s such as the Andrews Sisters but also old-timey finger-pickin' piano-plinkin' general Americana.  His voice is often a fluttering falsetto like Alan Wilson of Canned Heat, but it can also be a sort of laid-back drawl.  His songwriting is marked by a casual insouciance peppered with some wit (like "How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away?").  The "background" women singers are easily as important to his sound as Hicks himself is, often sharing equal time in vocal duties, trading lines, or responding to his lines.  Favorite tracks: "Canned Music," "Evenin' Breeze," "Milk Shakin' Mama," "It's Bad Grammar, Baby."

Weeds, Brewer & Shipley

Weeds, Brewer & Shipley, 1969, :30

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

No "One Toke Over the Line" here (that would come later), but this is a solid folk album.  With smooth vocals, close harmonies, and some country guitar licks, this album is a great example of the smooth late '60s/early '70s West Coast folk sound.  The probably anti-police "Pig's Head" shows that this duo wasn't just about the hippie dreams and the doobies.  To me this is one of those consistently very good albums that doesn't have a lot of super high points but is enjoyable throughout, thus earning four stars.   Favorite tracks: the album's closer, the hippie-dippy "Witchi-Tai-To" (a cover), is a standout; "Lady Like You," "People Love Each Other, "Pigs Head."

U.F.O., Jim Sullivan

U.F.O., Jim Sullivan, 1969, :29

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I never heard of this guy, but find from Wikipedia that "The album was unpopular upon release, but has gained a cult following in part due to the mysterious disappearance of Sullivan."  I found it rather unremarkable but pleasant.  Pleasant arrangement, pleasant voice, nothing exceptional.  It's certainly tempting to read more mystery and depth into the lyrics due to Sullivan's 1975 disappearance, but I found the lyrics, at least on the surface, to be fairly simplistic. Favorite tracks: "Roll Back the Time," "Sandman," "Jerome."

The Gilded Palace of Sin, Flying Burrito Brothers

It's the title word count-up to ten! Five words.

The Gilded Palace of Sin, Flying Burrito Brothers, 1969, :37

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Excellent country-rock played with assured skill. It's quite hard to believe that this was their first album.  Even slower and better known songs are given a deft touch that makes them sound fresh.  "So Right Woman" and "Dark End of the Street" are not my favorite standards, but these guys give them a new polish. The final track, "Hippie Boy," is a talking story-song; it doesn't really fit on the album, but the lads' hearts are in the right place. Favorite tracks: "Christine's Tune," "Sin City," "My Uncle," "Juanita."

Stand!, Sly & the Family Stone

Currently doing one album for each year, 1960-2020. Today: 1969.

Stand!, Sly & the Family Stone, 1969, :41

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

A psychedelic-funk-soul powerhouse with elements of gospel and acid rock. Powerful, energetic, and provocative.  There's some catchy stuff here that grabs you by the ears, but a couple of the jams are perhaps better regarded as snapshots of the era. "Sex Machine" is a skippable 14 minutes of funk noodling. And "Don’t Call Me Nigger, Whitey," a title that has intrigued me for many years, turns out to be lacking the hard-hitting lyrics that I always imagined; instead the title, repeated and distorted, serves as the vocals.  Favorite tracks: "Stand," "Everyday People" (though it's sadly short at 2:22), "You Can Make It If You Try," "Somebody's Watching You."