The Summer After

The Summer After

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2008-08-07/music/the-summer-after/

The Summer of Love got all sorts of coverage on its 40th Anniversary.
So where's the love for 1968?

By Lee Zimmerman
Published on August 07, 2008

Considering the fact that 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of a year
that produced countless musical milestones, it's surprising how
little has been made of it so far. While pundits were quick to offer
retrospectives of 1967, the year that ushered in Sgt. Pepper, Jimi
Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Cream­plus the Summer of Love and its
psychedelic soundtrack­they make little reference to the 12 months
that followed. In 1968, trends and changes were established that
resonate even today.

Indeed 1968 found the newcomers from the previous year building on
their debuts, spawning follow-up efforts of equal or greater
importance. Hendrix released the most ambitious album of his meteoric
career, Electric Ladyland. Cream and Jefferson Airplane did the same
with Wheels of Fire and Crown of Creation, respectively. Traffic tied
up the disparate strands of folk, jazz and psychedelic prog rock with
its self-titled sophomore set. Dylan, The Band and The Byrds
redefined Americana, capping a trajectory that began with John Wesley
Harding, Music from Big Pink and The Notorious Byrd Brothers and
culminated with three of the most influential albums of that
era­Nashville Skyline, The Band and Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Radio
finally acquiesced to this musical shift; scattered amid the drivel
dominating the pop charts ("Judy in Disguise" by John Fred & His
Playboy Band, "Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers, "Honey" by
Bobby Goldsboro) were seminal songs: "Hey Jude," "The Dock of the
Bay," "Hello, I Love You," "Mrs. Robinson" and "I Heard It Through
the Grapevine."

Meanwhile, The Beatles and The Stones were also going back to basics
with more modest intentions, as expressed in the disparate strains of
The Beatles' White Album and The Stones' Beggars Banquet. At the same
time, their colleagues on America's Left Coast­The Doors, The Dead
and Buffalo Springfield­were winning raves, even though for the last,
a break-up was brewing. As recompense for that, 1968 would usher in
the next phase in the careers of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, both
solo and as partners in the CSN&Y collective.

Today the indelible imprint of 1968 lives on. You can hear it in the
psychedelic sensibilities of Radiohead and My Morning Jacket, the
outlaw country sound of Steve Earle, the fuzzy folk of Devendra
Banhart, the Stones-speak of blues and bluster proffered by The Black
Crowes, and the die-hard Deadhead mentality that inspires many a jam
band. It resonates with every guitarist who aspires to be the next
Hendrix and every foppish frontman who mimics the sexuality and
suggestion of Jim Morrison.

Unfortunately, in some cases, what was once nouveau cool is now
wearisome and obnoxious. Pete Doherty was busted and branded a
renegade rock star, but in 1968, The Stones were setting standards
for bad-ass behavior. As for you, Amy Winehouse: You may be fodder
for the tabloids, but when it comes to scandalous singers, Grace
Slick and Janis Joplin could easily burst your beehive.

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