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The universe of rock and roll continued to expand in 1968, as rock and roll edged closer towards maturity.
The Beatles – “White Album” Jeff Beck Group – Truth The Byrds – The Notorious Byrd Brothers & Sweetheart of the Rodeo + Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison Cream – Wheels of Fire Deep Purple – Shades of Deep Purple & The Book of Taliesyn + The Doors – Waiting For the Sun Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac & Mr. Wonderful + The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland The Kinks – …Are the Village Green Preservation Society * Moody Blues – In Search of the Lost Chord Van Morrison – Astral Weeks Pink Floyd – A Saucerful of Secrets The Pretty Things – SF Sorrow Rolling Stones – Beggars Banquet Steppenwolf – Steppenwolf & The Second + The Zombies – Odessey and Oracle *1968 Album of the Year Below are further descriptions of each album, in the order that we reviewed them. |
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| November 3, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 The Beatles waited until their ninth studio album to use the eponymous title, commonly known as “The White Album”. Although the album was written and recorded during a period of turmoil for the group and many of the songs were “solo” recordings, It is still a highly esteemed recording from late in the band’s career.
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| November 7, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 An incredible confluence of working band experience, style, and circumstance brought the newly christened group The Band to Woodstock, NY in 1967, where they wrote and arranged the material for Music from Big Pink along with Bob Dylan. Half a century later it is still considered one of the most influential albums ever.
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| November 11, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 Steppenwolf arrived like a heavy rock storm in 1968 and produced their most indelible songs on the two albums released that year – Steppenwolf and The Second. With a blend of heavy blues and sonic overload, the band has been credited as the origin of the genre they coined – “heavy metal”.Review of Steppenwolf and The Second |
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| November 14, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 Although it was probably the weakest of the band’s career, The Doors third album Waiting For the Sun is still a minor masterpiece. After the once the intended side-long composition of “Celebration of the Lizard” was abandoned for the record, the resultant project features short and sweet moments of brilliance from the band at the zenith of their popularity.
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| November 19, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 The Pretty Things produced what was arguably the first true rock opera in 1968 with SF Sorrow. Due to lack of label support, being overshadowed by concurrent British releases, and the dark nature of this album’s content, this has unfortunately become a mainly forgotten masterpiece from the late 1960s.
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| November 23, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 Classic Rock Review only covers studio albums, not compilations or live albums. But there will be one exception to this rule –At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash. This totally unique and legendary record, by one of the legendary founders or rock and Americana, may be the most honest album of all time.
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| November 26, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 The only Pink Floyd to include all five members is 1968’s A Saucerful of Secrets. This was due to the album being recorded both before and after the departure of guitarist and songwriter Syd Barrett, whose sad demise is hauntingly documented in real time on this classic album.
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| November 30, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 Arriving on the music scene in 1968, Deep Purple was incredibly prolific in establishing their repertoire and rapidly writing and recording their first two albums, their debut Shades of Deep Purple and the follow-up The Book of Taliesyn. Both albums offer a unique fusion of hard rock jams, original songs, and original interpretations of cover songs.
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| December 5, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 The Zombies second and final original studio albums during their heyday in the 1960s was the slightly-psychedelic, pre-prog-rock classic Odessey and Oracle. Released in 1968 after the group had actually disbanded, this album contains twelve succinct but richly arranged tracks of top notch production done independently by group members.
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| December 9, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 This double album Wheels of Fire by Cream consists of one studio LP and one live LP, and it would go on to become the first ever platinum-selling double album. With wild diversity and eclectic rock, this album would be the creative apex of the short-lived English power trio.
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| December 13, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 Astral Weeks was the second solo album by Van Morrison, and blended of folk, blues, jazz, and classical music, in a complete departure from anything Morrison had done previously. This impressionistic, stream-of-consciousness album of the music has received critical acclaim for four and a half decades and counting.
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| December 17, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 The group Jimi Hendrix Experience were a formidable power trio for a short but important period. Electric Ladyland was the last of three albums by the Experience and this double LP was their creative and musical apex. The only album to be produced Hendrix himself, the recordings spanned over a year in duration and were made on two continents using different technologies.
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| December 21, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 On their 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord, the members of The Moody Blues played approximately 33 different instruments, exploring eclectic sounds from the Indian sitar and tambura to the orchestral oboe, flute, harp, and cello. But at its core, this is still a rock album.
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| December 26, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 After dabbling with psychedelia in 1967, the Rolling Stones returned to their roots with the 1968 album Beggars Banquet, and entered the highest quality period of their long career. While this album may be their finest ever, it is sadly the last on which Stones founder and visionary Brian Jones played any significant role.
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| December 30, 2013 | |||||||||||||||
 Although it barely made a ripple critically or commercially upon its release, the concept album The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society would go on to become one of the most influential in rock history. And, despite the plethora of great albums during the year, we chose this Kinks work as our 1968 Album of the Year. Review of The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society |
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| January 22, 2018 | |||||||||||||||
 The Byrds had a very transitional year in 1968, in terms of both musical approach and lineup changes. During that year, the group released two albums, The Notorious Byrd Brothers and Sweetheart of the Rodeo, which each have their own distinct sound. Review of The Notorious Byrd Brothers & Sweetheart of the Rodeo |
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| February 20, 2018 | |||||||||||||||
 Fleetwood Mac‘s debut has long been considered a highlight of the late-’60s British blues boom, featuring the inspired playing and vocals of Peter Green along with the heavy slide of Jeremy Spencer and a solid, consistent rhythm section. The group’s second 1968 album, Mr. Wonderful, continued the momentum and added some brass and keyboards to the mix.
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| August 4, 2018 | |||||||||||||||
 Jeff Beck‘s 1968 debut album, Truth, was a groundbreaking and influential record which previewed the sounds of numerous players who would rise to superstardom in the 1970s. The album features a diverse set of tracks consisting of dramatic vocalizing, a thunderous rhythm section and Beck’s blistering lead guitar.
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| Final 1968 Poll Results | |||||||||||||||
Q: What is the best album of 1968?
Conducted on our site, November-December, 2013 |
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| ← 1967 All Reviews 1969 → |
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