Although Steven Stills ostensibly remained the band's official leader, Neil Young took a greater hand and Richie Furay also contributed songs to this folk-rock gem. As such, the record contains some fantastic songs, but is a bit disjointed at times. Still, all in all a great place to check out some young superstars in the making.
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Alice's Restaurant Arlo Guthrie 1967 [Reprise]
Following in the footsteps of his famous father, Arlo Guthrie carved out a folk career playing songs of social consciousness often spiced with cuttingly laconic humour. This album's lengthy title song is a draft-dodging Vietnam-era classic, while 'The Motorcycle Song' is just plain pickling fun. Some more serious moments round things out nicely.
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Beggars Banquet The Rolling Stones 1968 [London/ABKCO]
Beginning a string of four classic albums, Beggars Banquet finds the Stones at their bluesy best. Country-roots numbers featuring tambourine and harmonica are the order of the day, with only one song on the album a genuine all-electric rocker. Tragically, this was also Brian Jones' swansong as he headed towards his untimely end.
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Bookends Simon & Garfunkel 1968 [Columbia]
Bookends finds Simon & Garfunkel firmly between the sparser production of earlier efforts and the fully-blown folk-pop of Bridge Over Troubled Water. It contains at least one genuine folk classic in 'America', the 60s coming-of-age anthem 'Mrs Robinson' and the marvellous 'A Hazy Shade of Winter'. A real treat.
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The Circle Game Tom Rush 1968 [Elektra]
Tom Rush took full advantage of the singer/songwriter craze through clever packaging and adept track selection. Only two originals are included in the ten-track lineup, although one of them is the superb 'No Regrets'. Elsewhere Rush does a capable job with tracks from the likes of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Jackson Browne.
Best known for their free-love hippie anthem 'Get Together', here the Youngbloods show their maturity with an alluring mix of folk and rock. Leader Jesse Colin Young contributes the best tracks - including the haunting 'Darkness, Darkness', breezy 'Sunlight' and laidback 'Quicksand'. One of the best of its type and well worth tracking down.
Lambasted by some critics on release, time has proven this to be one of the most enduring folk-influenced albums of all time. A supergroup of sorts, drawing its members from the Byrds, Hollies and Buffalo Springfield. Accentuated by some fabulous guitar playing and remarkably tight high-pitched harmonies, this is not to be missed.
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Happy Sad Tim Buckley 1969 [Asylum]
Buckley's accidental overdose in 1975 ensured his cult status, which was largely revived with son Jeff's rise to fame. Tim's handful of records cover a wide range of stylistic directions - this one perhaps best described as folk-jazz. Happy Sad is holding up remarkably well over time, highlighted by feelgood gem 'Buzzin' Fly'.
