Fester's Lucky 13 1966

Live Albums: John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard Again
fastnbulbous.com/lucky-66/#live

Traditional Pop & Standards: Frank Sinatra - Strangers in the NIght

Vocal Jazz: Patty Waters Sings

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #musicsky #johncoltrane #pattywaters #franksinatra

1. The Beatles – Revolver
Title's multiple meanings: As the record revolves around the turntable; evolution of the band from regular touring group to studio wizards. More: fastnbulbous.com/lucky-66/

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #beatles #psychpop #baroquepop #musicsky

More: fastnbulbous.com/lucky-66/

2. The 13th Floor Elevators – Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
TX band was first to release a full-on, acid fried freakazoid psych album, which sizzles with dark magic.

fastnbulbous.com/lucky-66/

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #13thfloorelevators #psych #garagepsych #musicsky

3. Bob Dylan – Blonde On Blonde (Columbia)
The most truly surreal, psychedelic lyricist of the era. Naysayser of his vocals know that this album has his best, most expressive singing. The best interpreter of Dylan is Dylan.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #bobdylan #folkrock #psychfolk #musicsky

4. The Kinks – Face To Face
On their fourth album, Ray Davies truly hits his stride as a songwriter. The Kinks really boiled down what it meant, and sounded like, to be British. Top choon: the elegant, psychedelic "Fancy."

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #kinks #poprock #baroquepop #musicsky

5. Otis Redding – Complete & Unbelievable: Dictionary Of Soul
Chock full of hits like "Sad Song," "Tenderness," "My Lover's Prayer" and all the deep cuts are ace too. Who knows what he'd have done had he lived past 26.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #otisredding #deepsoul #southernsoul #musicsky

6. Nina Simone – Wild Is The Wind
"Four Women"! "Lilac Wine"! Simone could turn anything, like traditional pop standards and showtunes into titanic powerhouses. She transcended sublime musicianship to became a sorceress.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #ninasimone #vocaljazz #souljazz #musicsky

7. The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Paul McCartney said "God Only Knows" was the "greatest song ever written" and he wasn't far off. From "Wouldn't it Be Nice" through "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times," the album is just achingly beautiful.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #beachboys #baroquepop #musicsky

8. The Rolling Stones – Aftermath
The album where Jagger-Richards click as consistent, original songwriters. The Stones would continue to get better and filthier, but this is a landmark first of their run of great albums.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #rollingstones #bluesrock #r&B #musicsky

9. Small Faces – Small Faces
What the Who should have sounded like on record in '66. Robert Plant learned how to holler from Steve Marriott on "You Need Loving," and Rod Stewart owes his entire career to him.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #smallfaces #r&b #rocknroll #musicsky

10. John Coltrane – Meditations
A proper sequel to A Love Supreme, full on free jazz, just as intense as Ascension, but with every note feeling like it's fulfilling it's artistic role within the chaos.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #johncoltrane #freejazz #spiritualjazz #musicsky

11. Love – Da Capo
Simultaneiously raw and sophisticated, baroque but wild, they shoulda been stars. And while the 18:56 long "Revelation" has it's detractors, it's a jam. Jim Morrison took copious notes.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #love #psychedelic #garage #baroquepop #musicsky

12. Terry Callier – The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier
Hauntingly ethereal and unique, would eventually be heard from Tim Buckley, Nick Drake and John Martyn in the next few years.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #terrycallier #folk #souljazz #musicsky

13. Otis Redding – The Soul Album
His passion and sincerity has the gravity of entire galaxies. Just be careful who you play "Just One More Day" for, cuz that single track has probably sparked more post-breakup hookups than any other.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #otisredding #soul #stax #musicsky

14. The Byrds – Fifth Dimension
On their third album, they aimed high, mixing psychedelia with John Coltrane (particularly "India") and Ravi Shankar, most notably on "Eight Miles High," hands down the greatest song released that year.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #byrds #folkrock #psych #musicsky

15. Sun Ra & his Solar Arkestra – The Magic City
A perfect balance between is far out explorations and more conventional jazz, though still pushing boundaries of improvisational free jazz. Important report from the Afro-Alien diaspora of Saturn.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #sunra #freejazz #musicsky

16. Cecil Taylor – Unit Structures
Abandon analysis and ride the hurricane that is Taylor's crazy chord shapes that may be wild and unpredictable, yet also feel fairly composed and structured along the lines of some modern classical music.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #ceciltaylor #freejazz #musicsky

17. Wilson Pickett – The Exciting Wilson Pickett
He could scream up-tempo funk like James Brown, swing like Sam Cooke at his most rockin', and get as gritty, earthy and country as Otis. Short of Percy's vulnerability, the complete package.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #wilsonpickett #soul #musicsky

18. Percy Sledge – When A Man Loves A Woman
The country soul legend who helped put FAME studio in Muscle Shoals on the map. The titular single from his first album kicked it all off for one of the greatest soul crooners/wailers of all time.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #percysledge #soul #musicsky

19. Yardbirds – Roger The Engineer
A launching pad for bigger bands (Cream, Led Zep, Jeff Beck Group), this is the closest they got to a great, if not consistent, classic album, top loaded with stunners.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #yardbirds #bluesrock #psych #musicsky

20. Percy Sledge – Warm & Tender Love
His performances are all top tier throughout. On "I'm Hanging Up My Heart for You," it's like he's ripping his heart out of his chest and presenting it to you. The real deal.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #percysledge #southernsoul #countrysoul #musicsky

21. Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep - Mountain High
Tina's gritty, soulful vocals have reached peak performance. On "I Idolize You," there are more layers of irony than a 7 layer cake which Tina cuts through with a hot serrated knife.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #ike&tinaturner #soul #r&b #musicsky

22. The Sonics – Boom
Epitomized the blunt knuckle dragging power of early rock 'n' roll. Here you'll find the early seeds of not only punk, but heavy metal. 2nd album keeps the slavering frenzy from opener "Cinderella" to "Shot Down."

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #sonics #garagerock #musicsky

23. Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil
He's worked with Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Gil Evans and Miles Davis, reaching a peak on Juju (1965) and this one, both infused with a unique vibe of Caribbean exotica and gothic horror.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #wayneshorter #jazz #musicsky

24. Sam & Dave - Hold On, I'm Comin'
The dynamic duo of Sam & Dave were on fire, releasing three albums and several hits in '66. Their second album that year holds together particularly well, well worth hearing front to back.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #sam&dave #southernsoul #musicsky

25. The Who – A Quick One
"Happy Jack," "I'm a Boy" and especially "Substitute" would have rocketed The Who's second album into a contender for best of the year. However, props for boldly tackling a 9:11 minute mini rock opera.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #who #freakbeat #psych #musicsky

26. The Seeds – The Seeds
More proto-indie than punk and a definitive Nuggets band with "Pushin' Too Hard," "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" and "Evil Hoodoo"

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #seeds #garagepsych #protopunk #musicsky

27. Donovan - Sunshine Superman
Weaving jazz, folk, pop, blues and Asian music into a potent form of worldly psychedelia. And "Season of the Witch" is simply one of the best, languidly menacing jams of the year.

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #donovan #musicsky

28. Cream - Fresh Cream

The template for a virtuosic power trio, earning respect from the jazz and blues worlds for their talent, power and precision, a tantalizing glimpse at what was just around the corner with Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.

#aoty1966 #cream #musicsky

29. The Animals – Animalisms
There's no denying the power of songs like "Inside Looking Out," "Don't Bring Me Down," "See See Rider" and their cover of Screaming Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You."

#festerslucky13 #aoty1966 #animals #musicsky