The Best Rock ‘n Roll Albums of 1967

Midjourney Prompt

As songwriters and aficionados of classic rock, journalists and our followers often ask us our influences from different eras.

This ongoing series of “best of” articles is designed to give a glimpse into the rock albums that were pivotal in our musical evolution.

Cool, so what are the best rock albums of 1967?

Here is our list of our top ten favorite rock 'n' roll albums from 1967, along with the band members, a few notable songs, and an interesting fact for each:

1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced

- Band Members: Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding, Mitch Mitchell

- Notable Songs: "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady," "Hey Joe"

- Interesting tidbit: “Hey Joe” was actually a Billy Roberts song which Jimi was performing when he was discovered by Chas Chandler, former bassist of the Animals. This was serendipitous as Chandler had been hoping to promote a version of that very single.

2. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

- Band Members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr

- Notable Songs: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "A Day in the Life," "With a Little Help from My Friends"

- Interesting tidbit: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band was the first pop album to be mastered without the momentary gaps that are typically placed between tracks as a point of demarcation.

3. The Rolling Stones - Between the Buttons

- Band Members: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman

- Notable Songs: "Ruby Tuesday," "Let's Spend the Night Together," "She Smiled Sweetly"

- Interesting tidbit: The album cover photoshoot was conducted in November 1966 on Primrose Hill, located in North London. Renowned photographer Gered Mankowitz, known for capturing the band photos for the cover of "Out of Our Heads," helmed this session. The unconventional timing saw the shoot commence at 5:30 in the morning, immediately following an all-night recording session at Olympic Studios. Using a unique homemade camera filter composed of black card, glass, and Vaseline, Mankowitz skillfully crafted an effect that seemed to dissolve the Stones into their natural surroundings. The primary objective of this endeavor, in Mankowitz's own words, was “to capture the ethereal, druggy feel of the time; that feeling at the end of the night when dawn was breaking and they'd been up all night making music, stoned.”

4. The Doors - The Doors

- Band Members: Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore

- Notable Songs: "Light My Fire," "Break on Through (To the Other Side)," "The End"

- Interesting tidbit:

5. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico

- Band Members: Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker

- Notable Songs: "Sunday Morning," "Venus in Furs," "Heroin,” “All Tomorrow’s Parties”

- Interesting tidbit: Pop artist Andy Warhol paid for the recording sessions and designed the iconic peel-off banana album cover.

6. Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

- Band Members: Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Nick Mason

- Notable Songs: "Astronomy Domine," "Lucifer Sam," "Interstellar Overdrive"

- Interesting tidbit: Pink Floyd gained a reputation, often sensationalized by tabloids, as creators of music tailored for LSD enthusiasts. The widely-read broadsheet, News of the World, published a story just nine days prior to the commencement of the album's recording sessions, asserting that "The Pink Floyd group specialized in 'psychedelic music,' meant to encapsulate LSD experiences." Despite this portrayal, it's worth noting that only Syd Barrett was confirmed to be using LSD. Authors Ray B. Browne and Pat Browne maintain that he was the "only member of the band known to indulge in drug use."

7. The Who - The Who Sell Out

The Who - The Who Sell Out

- Band Members: Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Keith Moon

- Notable Songs: "I Can See for Miles," "Tattoo," "Armenia City in the Sky,” “Odorono,”

- Interesting tidbit: Structured as a concept album, "The Who Sell Out" presents itself as a broadcast by pirate radio station Radio London, with fake commercials and public service announcements interspersed among unrelated songs. Notably, the second track, "Heinz Baked Beans," as alluded to on the cover, adds to the overall zaniness and tongue-in-cheek quirkiness. The album's reference to "selling out" introduces an element of intentional irony. During this phase of their career, The Who had ventured into creating actual commercials, and intriguingly, some of these advertising ventures are featured as bonus tracks on the remastered CD.

8. Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow

Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow

- Band Members: Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden

- Notable Songs: "Somebody to Love," "White Rabbit," "Today"

- Interesting tidbit: With Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane is credited with releasing the first breakthrough psychedelic rock album, introducing American and international listeners to the San Francisco bohemian counter-culture sound. This was the first blockbuster record release that fully represented the Haight-Ashbury ethos, which began back in the early 1950’s with the beat poets and musicians such as Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg; and flourished in the 1960’s as a new generation of baby boomer youths began to seek alternative means of expression and artistry, often influenced by marijuana and cocaine, as well as newly emergent psychoactives such as LSD, peyote, and psylocibin.

• How it got its name: This is one of VEX’s favorite album titles of all-time and it is attributed to Grateful Dead bandleader and lead guitarist/songwriter Jerry Garcia, who played guitar on “How Do You Feel,” “Plastic Fantastic Lover,” and “Today.” At some point during the sessions, Garcia said the music was “surrealistic as a pillow,” the iconic title was born and the rest, it can be said, is surrealistory.

9. Cream - Disraeli Gears

Cream - Disraeli Gears

- Band Members: Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker

- Notable Songs: "Sunshine of Your Love," "Strange Brew," "Tales of Brave Ulysses"

- Interesting tidbit: The Disraeli Gears sessions were produced by Mountain’s bassist Felix Pappalardi.

• How it got its name: According to drummer Ginger Baker, the name was a malapropism stumbled upon while Clapton was discussing a racing bicycle with roadie Mick Turner, who cracked the joke “Disraeli gears” as a play on 'derailleur gears,’ which are part of the bicycle. Apparently everyone cracked up and the bandmates immediately agreed that would be the album title.

10. The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed

The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed

- Band Members: Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Graeme Edge

- Notable Songs: "Nights in White Satin," "Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)," "The Afternoon: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)"

- Interesting tidbit: Though the album was released in 1967, the record did not gain popularity until 1972, when it reached #2 on the Billboard album chart.

• How it got its name: This is a concept album that endeavors to take the listener through a single working day by way of song.

Conclusion

These albums represent a cross-section of the diverse rock 'n' roll landscape in 1967 and this list includes some of the most influential and enduring works of that year. Please remember that there were many more significant rock albums released in 1967, and this list provides just a snapshot of the era.

What do you think?

What are some other rock ‘n roll albums from 1967 that you consider to be the best of the year? Who did we leave out?