Looking Forward To A Cheerful 2021
As we look to turn the calendar ahead to a new year, we can find solace in 1969 as a harbinger of happiness that promises to erase our collective sadness.
The 2020 calendar year will certainly live in infamy for Americans. With a year that started with such sudden sadness as Kobe Bryant’s tragic death has only cascaded into one tragic bit of news after another. The promising part of it all is, next year should be great musically. Though Taylor Swift has put out her finest work yet inspired by the pandemic, if history repeats itself as it’s wont to do, we may have a great year musically ahead. With artists sequestered in their musical lairs, we should see and hear some inspiration new music in 2021 especially if it is anything like the cavalcade of fantastic albums that followed America last tragic year 1968.
Few years in American history have experienced such sadness and darkness as 1968. From the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the ill-fated Tet offensive and massive uprisings in cities including the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The year had few bright spots. But man how things can change with a turn of the calendar page. 1969 was truly the dawning of the Age of Aquarius and as a rare brightness shone on political events and culture that still give light to this day. From the Apollo moon landing to three days of peace and music, the year revived not just music but the entire soul of America. So get ready for a New Years' Eve to remember as we try to forget 2020 and look forward to a year like 1969 when the world was blessed with timeless music.
Perhaps as a response to the events of 1968 or as a natural phenomenon that often occurs after a war when art takes on a whole new meaning and direction. Rock music experienced a transcendent year in 1969. Few years can compete with the breath of landmark albums in quality or quantity. Creedence Clearwater Revival alone released three stellar records. Calling one better than the other just becomes a futile task; therefore, here’s a small sampling of the greatness that came that penultimate year of the decade of the sixties.
Beatles- Abbey Road -. The last true studio album from the Fab Four still stands as a lasting testament to their greatness. From the George Harrison penned “Here Comes The Sun” to the last 16 minutes of the album which is forever known simply as “The Medley”, Abbey Road remains the measuring stick by which all albums are compared.
The Who- Tommy — A deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a spiritual messiah in a rock opera? As far fetched as the plot seemed, the intensity of the music, the lasting lyrics that narrate a young rockers rites of passage to the savage drumming and power bass lines, this epic stands alone in its genre.
Rolling Stones- Led It Bleed — Just five years into the band’s career they released their tenth studio record and the polish and skills of the overpowering live band began to emerge in the studio. A rare record that features the last recording of Brian Jones and the first of Mick Taylor as Stones. The album delves into sexy, passionate themes with a rocking, banging beats that never forget the band’s blues roots while extending them into the stratosphere of rock stardom.
Neil Young- Everyone Knows This is Nowhere — A month after the release of his first solo album following his departure from Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young found himself bedridden with a 103 degree fever. In an elated state of consciousness, he wrote three songs in a single day- “Cinnamon Girl”, “Down by the River” and “Cowgirl in the Sand.” Not a bad career of songs in a day.
The Band- The Band — The birth of Americana. A first side that rivals any record’s opening salvos. Fresh from the basement, the musicians of countrified folk ventured to California to produce a masterpiece of the rural simple life trashed in a southern gothic of guitar moans, weeping piano and lyrical truths.
Led Zeppelin1 or 2 — Take your pick. The beginning of heavy metal- the foundation of rock to come. Most bands would have been thrilled to put out one of these records in an entire career. Zeppelin put two epic long playing discs out in one year. That year of course 1969.
So as the calendar days of this dreadful year tick away, may we find solace in the promise of a new year and some new music that hopefully turns away the sadness and discontent of our sorrowful 2020.
