The Stooges - The Stooges [1969]

The Stooges - The Stooges [1969]

Band: Americana

Producer: John Cale, Jac Holzman, Don Galluci and Iggy Pop

Band Lineup: Iggy Pop – Dave Alexander – Ron Asheton – Scott Asheton

Billboard Position: Not Found

60's Hotel: Stooges is a strange band to talk about. Or rather, not so much: they could be called an electric abortion. They were as indifferent on stage as the audience that came to see them, so much so that they transformed their first performances into political and humorously incorrect happenings, reaching the quintessence of bizarreness in their moments of exhibitionism, suicidal dives into the middle of the audience and eccentric rituals of self-flagellation - on Mr. Iggy's part. They were discovered by an executive from Elektra Records, Denny Fields, who went to Detroit in search of the MC5 and, after being impressed by their performance, ended up inviting Iggy Pop's gang to record an album for the label.

The first problem: for an album, they only had five songs - which, by the way, was the band's entire repertoire.

The second: having to compose four more. Iggy tried in vain to convince the producer, John Cale (yes, that's right), Lou Reed's partner on the best Velvet Underground albums, to record the songs, the true epitome of noisy, garage and elementary rock (I Wanna Be Your Dog and its four chords) of the best (worst?) kind - which would become the greatest characteristic of Punk Rock - with the same live performance, but they were promptly rejected.

With no other option, in record time they composed, rehearsed and recorded "Real Cool Time", "Not Right" and "Little Doll". Cale mixed the album, and the record company was not at all pleased with the result. It was up to Iggy, together with the label owner, Jac Holzman, to save that damned, abject, stinking and snotty fetus and release it. Result: the album went unnoticed. Just like its successor, Fun House. And that's what happened.

At the time, no one heard it, no one commented; it literally went unnoticed. In other words, it was an abortion that had every chance of failing, right? Wrong. It would only be about four years later that anyone would stop to listen to bangers like "No Fun", "Ann" and the super-ultra-cool "Not Right". But time took care of undoing such injustice. As everyone knows, years later they would be considered the creators of punk avant le lettre. The Stoogian wah wahs showed that the dying and worn-out flower power was already on its last legs (the last straw would be in Altamont), only those who didn't want to see it didn't see it.

Tough luck for the purists: the truth is that the Stooges were right all along, and for those who listen to this album today they can say that, of course, they are simple songs with few chords, lots of distortions, crazy performances, but we cannot forget that we are talking about 1969, a year in which bands went through all the virtuosity and madness of psychedelia, and the Super Stooges, of course along with other bands in my opinion, were projecting something that almost ten years later would take hold and would be the primordial transformation and cultural and musical revolution in history - Punk Rock.

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David Bowie – Space Oddity [1969]

 

David Bowie – Space Oddity [1969]

Band: British
Producer: Gus Dudgeon
Band lineup: Rick Wakeman, Mick Wayne, Herbie Flowers, Terry Cox, Magic Bowie
Billboard position: #124 (original release), later #5 (1973 re-release)

60’s Hotel: As always, everything around Bowie had to be extraordinary—even his second album. I’m grateful that these stories find a home here at the 60’s Hotel.

Bowie first created Space Oddity in February 1969 for a self-promotional film called Love You Till Tuesday, which was shelved and only released nearly 15 years later. That version also appears in The Deram Anthology 1966–1968, from the label Deram, which initially had Bowie on its roster.

In June 1969, after parting ways with Deram, Bowie’s manager Kenneth Pitt landed a great deal with Mercury Records, a British subsidiary of Philips, for his debut album—with options for a second and third. Bowie approached George Martin—the legendary Beatles producer—to handle the album, but Martin eventually backed out, leaving the production in the hands of Gus Dudgeon.

Space Oddity was recorded at Trident Studios right after the deal was signed. The sessions featured Rick Wakeman (keyboards, Mellotron), who would later rise to fame with the band Yes, Mick Wayne on guitar, Herbie Flowers on bass, and Terry Cox on drums.

The song tells the story of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who falls into a state of despair during a space mission. Of course, Major Tom would return in future Bowie albums.

What stands out in Bowie’s second album is how, from the very beginning, he was surrounded by incredible musicians and a deeply thought-out creative environment—where everything seemed to go beyond just music. Listening to this record—especially knowing the albums that would follow in the 1970s with his dramatic characters and vivid storytelling—it all feels like a rehearsal for the extraordinary work to come.

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The Hollies - Butterfly [1967]

The Hollies - Butterfly [1967]

Banda: Inglesa

Produtor: Ron Richards

Formação da Banda: Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Eric Haydock, Tony Hicks e Bobby Elliot

Posição na Billboard: não encontrado

60's Hotel: Este album do Hollies se trata de seu segundo registro dentro do ano de 1967, posterior ao Evolution... O destaque maior que o disco e o ultimo gravado com Graham Nash no Line-up que acaba saindo depois de finalizar o disco para se juntar aos amigos Crosby, Stills e Young (Aquelas coisas e encontros cósmicos que só o universo explica, seu começo e seu fim)... 

O Hollies é formado em Manchester em 62... Como toda banda dos anos 60 começaram com covers básicos e com o tempo, evoluíram do R&B e do rock-pop para um elaborado folk rock com pitadas de psicodelia. Onde encontraram sua identidade e trouxe a personalidade para a banda ter seu destaque na cena do rock inglês.

 Foram quase tão famosos quanto os Beatles - Pra época e dentro de um cenário; inclusive tocaram bastante no Cavern Club antes de serem descobertos. Tiveram um longa carreira como banda que perdurou durante os anos seguintes.

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Dave Clark Five – Glad All Over [1964]

Dave Clark Five – Glad All Over [1964]

Banda: Inglesa
Produtor: Adrian Clark
Formação da Banda: Dave Clark, Mike Smith, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley e Denis Payton

Posição na Billboard: 1º

60’s Hotel: Dave Clark era o líder-band e também o baterista, talvez não se tenha visto algo assim entre as bandas desta época que os tornassem únicos por esse detalhe, nas apresentações a bateria era posicionada ao centro e a frente deixando de lado guitarras e teclados e etc, mas não é isso que fez do Dave Clark Five uma banda de sucesso, o fato que a música e a banda eram na época um das poucas a ameaçarem comercialmente os Beatles.

O grupo se formou no início da década de 60 no norte de Londres. O grupo consistia de Dave Clark (bateria), Mike Smith (vocais e teclado), Lenny Davidson (guitarra), Rick Huxley (baixo) e Denis Payton (saxofone, gaita e guitarra).

Seu primero sucesso foi em janeiro de 1964, quando a música "Glad All Over" atinge o #1 nas paradas britânicas. O sucesso continuou com "Because", "Bits and Pieces", "Over and Over" (#1 nos Estados Unidos) e a banda ainda se apresentou mais 18 vezes no The Ed Sullivan Show.

Depois de um sucesso incrível alcançado depois de uma participação no filme Catch Us If You Can, de 1965 e um especial de TV de 1967, e dos sucessos com as músicas "Ninetten Days" e "You Got What It Takes" a banda começou seu declínio devido à recusa de abraçar a nova moda psicodélica dos hippies.

Todavia tentaram ao final da década seguir o gosto do público, como mostra a canção "Everybody Get Together", cujo vídeo é parecido com "All You Need is Love" dos Beatles. Embora tenham tido êxito com a música, o grupo já havia caído muito e não conseguiu sobreviver por muito tempo. Em 1970 eles se separaram.

Depois do fim da banda Clark montou uma companhia de mídia, comprando os direitos do lendário programa pop dos anos 60 "Ready, Steady, Go!". Clark fez com que a série fosse reeditada para que cada episódio apresentasse uma performance da Dave Clark Five.

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