Albums for a generation

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Rock critic Nelson George says these are the classic boomer albums:

Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (1965).

Going electric rankled folk fans, but Dylan expanded his audience and influenced a generation with songs that have been analyzed (and lionized) ever since.

The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967).

The culmination of years of artistic maturation and bold experimentation. The original rock concept LP.

Marvin Gaye, What’s Goin’ On (1971).

The sexy love man embraced civil rights and inner-city turmoil as subject matter, changing the tone of R&B, lyrically and musically.

Carole King, Tapestry(1971).

King’s songs of love lost, found and wasted spoke to the Me Generation’s turn toward introspection.

Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (1971).

Mystical and bombastic, acoustic and brash, Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album defined ’70s rock (and FM radio).

The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street (1972).

Incorporating blues, soul, country and even gospel, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards dug deep into the era’s spiritual malaise and made the Stones’ most emotional album.

Stevie Wonder, Innervisions (1973).

The best of a series of innovative, hit-filled albums Wonder made in a 1970s creative surge, it changed the sound of popular music.

Eagles, Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (1976).

Anchored by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, this Southern California band was romantic and cynical, diluting any sweetness with a bitter edge that reflected the compromises of adulthood.

Bob Marley & the Wailers, Exodus (1977).

The sensual, spiritual album that helped make reggae one of the most popular musical genres in the world.

Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (1977).

The percolating rhythms of disco acts like K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Tavares and, of course, the Bee Gees captured the zest, decadence and hustling of the dance boom.

Family, Pages 33 on 01/22/2014