Splendid, Soil

Tilled and mulched with care
Evenly raked, furrows drawn
Ready for planting

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly

There are certain bands and albums in the sixties canon that have stood the test of time and others that have faded into relative obscurity. There’s quite a lot of this album that sounds familiar, but that’s because it’s very much a reflection of the time. There are organ riffs that you’d swear are from a Doors album and bits that made me think I was listening to Sunshine of your Love by Cream. If you want a 60s sounding bit of music for your cool indie film about gangsters or serial killers without paying for a big name artist, then you won’t go far wrong with this.

This is very much an album of two halves. The first half is generic late 60s hippie pop where everyone has flowers and beads in their hair, and all the girls are groovy. The second half is a rambling 17 minute acid rock epic, featuring a 3 minute drum solo (seriously, I checked my watch) that would give you enough time for a smoke and a cup of tea. The title of this track and the album comes from a drug addled attempt to say “In The Garden of Eden” which probably tells you everything you need to know about this record.

Clear Water, Beginning

In the beginning
The water was clear until
Privatisation

AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted by Ice Cube

I’m so tired of this. It is eminently possible to produce an album dealing with systematic racism and injustice without including misogyny and casual violence. Look at the many reggae, soul or afro-beat albums on this list, or even the examples of hip-hop albums that can say something moving and important without also bashing another group of people who are also suffering from discrimination.

The only ice cube I want at this point is the one in my drink.

Mulberry

Mulberry mystery
Does dancing around summon
A purple goddess?

That's the Way of the World by Earth, Wind & Fire

This initially seemed like something of a left field choice for the only Earth, Wind & Fire album on this list. It’s actually a soundtrack album for a long forgotten film where the band played a thinly disguised version of themselves (as “The Band”) and it sounds as if it follows the usual beats of a musical faux-biopic drama of this sort.

The end result is satisfyingly funky, with commanding bass rhythms, some noodly synth lines that wouldn’t be out of place on a Herbie Hancock album and some diversions into straight up afro-beat that I really enjoyed. I might listen to the “Best Of” album at some point, but I think that this is one that I will enjoy revisiting, and I’ll make a mental note to watch the movie if it should ever show up on a streaming service that I have.

Tusk by Fleetwood Mac

According to Wikipedia this album took 10 months to produce, cost well over a million dollars and was recorded through a blizzard of cocaine. The personal relationships between the two couples in the band had long since broken down, but they stayed in the band like divorced parents staying together in frosty silence for the sake of the children.

Thus, many of the tracks were recorded individually before being stitched together with the end result feeling curiously flat. The album meanders on over four sides without really ever going anywhere. There are a couple of fun bouncy tracks that weirdly enough reminded me of the sort of thing that Wild Willy Barrett produces, with the difference being that he is working from a shed with instruments salvaged from bits of driftwood and scrap, instead of a million dollar studio.

After the previous album featured a picture that automatically made you think about Mick Fleetwood’s dangly bollocks the title of this one comes from his nickname for his todger. Apparently Stevie Nicks almost left the band when she found out, and maybe if she had we would have spared this snooze fest.