Seven effervescent and engaging pop albums from 1969
By Chris Guest
Pop music in 1969 wasn’t quite the monolith that it was during the early 1960s or throughout the 1950s, since rock music had fully taken over the airwaves and completely dominated the popular consciousness of music fans the world over by that year.
Despite that, the final year of the 1960s was home to a number of notable pop album releases from top-flight artists who had already established successful careers or were just beginning their musical journey.
Some of these pop albums are quite rocky in their delivery, and others feature unusually strong structures and thematic motifs that were influenced by the booming prog-rock scene.
Classic pop albums in 1969 that prove the genre still had plenty of fans
Either way, these 1969 pop albums have stood the test of time and represent the best albums of that genre from the final year of the 1960s. Read on about these exceptional pop albums celebrating their 55th anniversary this year.
7. Songs for a Tailor – Jack Bruce
Far more exploratory and proggy than any other pop album from 1969, the former Cream bassist delivers a terrific debut album littered with strong, thundering bass lines – as one would expect from the hard rock he produced alongside Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker in his prior musical endeavor.
The exhilarating “To Isengard” (yes, the one they’re taking the hobbits to) begins with a long, stately ballad section featuring Bruce's feathery falsetto but then gives way to a free jazz freakout, which leads into closing track "The Clearout" and introduces a military-style beat with a heavier sound. A seminal yet little-known 1969 album.
6. Harry – Harry Nilsson
A “period piece” of an album inspired by big band music along with "When I'm 64" by The Beatles, this Harry Nilsson album features iconic classics such as "The Puppy Song" and "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City," but also contains incredibly rewarding album cuts such as the lush and beautiful "Open Your Window," as well as a spiffy and fairly straightforward cover of "Mother Nature's Son."
Nilsson is one of the few singers whose voice can approximate the inherent sweetness of Sir Paul McCartney's. The Beatles' influences are certainly apparent throughout, as the members of the group all were impressed by Nilsson and befriended him prior to the recording of this release.