A History of Pop Music – Albums 1968

Featured Album:

Dianna Ross & The Supremes – Greatest Hits

This is a series of articles looking at albums from 1960 to whatever year we end up in.

I will select a featured album for each year and the link for the whole album, Plus list the songs on it.

As before, it is not just about the songs and tunes, it is very much about memories, and good ones, I hope.

Not everyone will like my choices of course, and you may remember some from each particular year that you feel should have been included, so do please post a link to the song.

Before we go on.  Hold the line everyone.  Things are happening in the US.  Still not sure if we get a proper Brexit yet, but we can only wait.  “Teh Vaccine”  meh.  Very few, if any of us here will be taking it, look upon this as a few million people trying for the Darwin Award.

Tonight, as we are having one hell of a ride with what’s happening, let’s play happy tunes!  So, no Phil Collins, and certainly not anything by the Smiths or Morrissey, some of us are feeling a bit down, do not make it worse!

1968 was a turning point for pop music, a lot of people were into psychedelia, not me, apart from the odd tune here and there.

I love the Motown sound, and the featured album of Dianna Ross & the Supremes is not just of its time but is as good today as when it first came out.  Double album as well!

Track listing

All songs produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. All songs written by Holland–Dozier–Holland unless otherwise noted. Superscripts denote original album sources, referenced below.

LP One

Side 1

  1. When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes” a– 2:38
  2. Where Did Our Love Go” a– 2:30
  3. “Ask Any Girl” a, b– 2:44
  4. Baby Love” a– 2:37
  5. Run, Run, Run” a– 2:30

Side 2

  1. Stop! In the Name of Love” b– 2:53
  2. Back in My Arms Again” b– 2:52
  3. Come See About Me” a– 2:42
  4. Nothing but Heartaches” b– 2:57
  5. “Everything is Good About You” (James Dean, Edward Holland, Jr.c– 2:57

LP Two

Side 3

  1. I Hear a Symphony” c– 2:38
  2. Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone” e– 2:46
  3. My World Is Empty Without You” c– 2:33
  4. Whisper You Love Me Boy” b– 2:40
  5. The Happening” (Holland-Dozier-Holland, Frank De Vol) – 2:49

Side 4

  1. You Keep Me Hangin’ On” e– 2:40
  2. You Can’t Hurry Love” d– 2:45
  3. “Standing at the Crossroads of Love” a– 2:27
  4. Love Is Like an Itching in My Heart” d– 2:55
  5. “There’s No Stopping Us Now” e– 2:55

More writings on this album here:  Dianna Ross & The Supremes – Greatest Hits

The Top 10 Albums with a You Tube hyperlink on the title:

Top Tip: Right-click and open in new tab

Top Albums of 1968
   1 Original Soundtrack The Sound Of Music
   2 Tom Jones Tom Jones Live At The Talk Of The Town
   3 Diana Ross & The Supremes Diana Ross And The Supremes Greatest Hits
   4 The Four Tops The Four Tops Greatest Hits
   5 The Beach Boys Best Of The Beach Boys
   6 Tom Jones 15 Smash Hits
   7 Original Soundtrack Jungle Book
   8 Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac
   9 Otis Redding History Of Otis Redding
   10 Bob Dylan John Wesley Harding

The sound of music still in the charts and now No 1, it is still there next year but down to  No 4.  Could easily have chosen Fleetwood Mac, superb group, Rumours of course.  Beach Boys again, awesome tracks on this one.  I was taken to see Jungle Book, do not care what you think, super tunes.  I well remember in 1975 when the SKC showed this in the cinema in Hameln, West Germany, I “borrowed” a pads brat to take them to see it.  I was alone in doing this.  (All children were at all times safe and sound!)

Well worth a listen is Otis Redding includes “Try a little tenderness”.  Smashing songs on the Bob Dylan album, but I just prefer anyone but him singing them!  For proof take Dylan singing “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” then compare with “I’ll be Your baby Tonight” by Robert Palmer and UB40.

I was getting at secondary school. Life was fun and simple.  School during the day, back home and messing around with mates from the street.  Long rambles at the weekend and school holidays.  Spent a week in Skegness 3 times this year, my uncle worked at Butlins and got us lot in for free.

The top 10 albums for 1968 are not in my view the best of the decade, but that is how music goes at times.  In my view the best albums of the year, after the featured one, and the top tunes from each, are:

Some are a bit psychedelic, but that is just the way it was in these days.

Fleetwood Mac – Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac – some awesome stuff on this.  Very much blues, and almost a different band from what they were to become.

Traffic – Traffic

Jeff Beck  – Truth

Small Faces – Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake

Simon & Garfunkel – Bookends – have always loved their stuff.

The Kinks – The Village Green Preservation Society – Always a good listen.

The Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil

Three Dog Night  – Three Dog Night – I just liked them.

The Move – The Move

Scoring:

As you know I like to review your “tunes” that you post.  Scoring this week will be as per my first comment you will not read:

*Note. Anyone scoring a Morrissey (lowest score possible) will be reported and blocked.

Hat tips to:

https://www.albumoftheyear.org/ratings/8-all-music-highest-rated/1968/1  these give the top 100 selling charts for each year

http://www.everyhit.com/chart1.html   these give the top 10 songs for each year

https://www.youtube.com/  you know them.

Next Time: 1969.

Featured image: “dianna ross and the supremes, 20 golden greats,..” by badgreeb RECORDS – art -photos is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
 

© Phil the ex test manager 2020