1. DEEP PURPLE - Green Onions/Hush (live) (7:21) Album
: "...From The Setting Sun - Live At Wacken 2013" (2015) (earMusic/Edel) Original
Single Release: "Hush !" (Parlophone) (1968)
That went straight to the top. With the first single from their debut album "Shades Of Deep Purple" they entered the US Top 10 in 1968. Ian Gillan always liked the song, as you can see at the Wacken Festival version. The original singer was Rod Evans.
2. THE NICE - 3rd Movement: Acceptance "Brandenburger" (4:21) Album
: Ars Longa Vita Brevis (1968/2003) (Charly/Immediate/Snapper/Edel)
On "Ars Longa Vita Brevis" THE NICE presented themselves for the first time as a trio. Keith Emerson makes his organ roar and chuckle that it is a joy. Especially strong: the Band-plus-Orchestra-Suite, which in the third movement refers to Bach's "Brandenburg Concertos".
3. THE PRETTY THINGS - S.F. Sorrow Is Born (3:06) Album
: S.F. Sorrow (1968/2018) (Vinyl-Boxset, Release: 27.07) (Madfish/Snapper/Edel)
With the opener of one of the first concept albums in music history, the PRETTY THINGS set psychedelic accents and herald the change in style from rough rhythm'n'blues to more differentiated sounds. The album will be re-released in July in a deluxe edition with extras.
4. H. P. LOVECRAFT - Spin, Spin, Spin (3:20) Compilation
: Dreams In the Witch House (The Complete Philips Recordings) (2013) (RevOla) Appears
also on the album: H. P. Lovecraft II (1968) (Philips)
The cautious, dreamy and floating song stands for the Californian music scene of 1968 and opens a still underrated album full of psychedelic delicacies and creative brilliance. Allegedly it was the first LP where all musicians tripped on LSD.
5. BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST - Early Morning (2:31) Album
: Barclay James Harvest (1970/2018) (Esoteric Antenna/H'Art) Original
single release: Early Morning (Parlophone) (1968)
BJH's first single was released two years before her debut album. The lovely number, which still has a certain Moody Blues naivety in it, didn't make it onto the LP. It was not until the remastered edition that it came into its own and provides a pleasant dash of colour.
6. SMALL FACES - Rene (4:00) Album
: Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake (1968/2017) (Charly/Immediate/Snapper/Edel)
Beat, Twingle Tangle, an unbeatable pop melody - and the second half of the piece loses itself in furious psychedelic rock, improvisation is wild, the whole thing marked by the driving pig organ. The Kinks of that phase absolutely equal, Cockney Rebel is already anticipated.
7. THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP - Short Change (3:52) Compilation
: Taking Out Time: Complete Recordings 1967-1969 (2016) (RPM/Rough Trade) Original
single release: Short Change (United Artists) (1968)
After the departure of frontman Steve Winwood, who founded his own band Traffic, the SPENCER DAVIS GROUP continued in 1967 with the new singer/keyboarder Eddie Hardin. The single "Short Change" sounded slightly psychedelic, but was no hit at the time.
8. CAN - Thief (4:59) Album
: "Delay" 1968 (1981/2014) (Spoon/Rough Trade) (Track recorded 1968)
CAN in the starting blocks. Not all tracks of this much delayed debut album show the size of the band's later albums, but "Thief" with its repetitive hypnotic already has everything that should make a CAN song for a long time.
9. THE RED KRAYOLA - Dairymaid's Lament (2:31) Album
: God Bless The Red Krayola And All Who Sail With It (1968/2011) (Charly/Snapper/Edel)
THE RED KRAYOLA's second album is now considered a milestone in experimental rock music. Conventional song structures are largely avoided. "Dairymaid's Lament" is one of the few songs that can still be called Rock'n'Roll in the broadest sense.
10. EASY CHAIR - Easy Chair (6:32) Mini
Album: Easy Chair (1968/2014) (World In Sound/Rough Trade)
Jeff Simmons, later active as a multi-instrumentalist with Frank Zappa, was the driving force behind EASY CHAIR, whose only (mini) album was released by the micro label Vanco. It stands for the fusion of song structures with a psychedelic and captivating mood.
11. EYES OF BLUE - Largo (3:17) Album
: The Crossroads Of Time (1968/2015) (Esoteric/H'Art)
The Welsh band with later Man and Gentle Giant members clarified on their debut the move from beat-oriented songs to progressively oriented tracks, which was completed on the successor. The track is probably the best example for the metamorphosis.
12. THE OTHERS - Cosy Rosy (3:59) Album
: Kannibal Komix (1968/2003) (Longhair/www.longhairmusic.de )
With "Kannibal Komix" DIE ANDEREN released a cult album of German Beatpop in 1968. Tracks like "Cosy Rosy" captivated with brilliant choirs and groovy arrangements. In the producer's chair sat Giorgio Moroder, as lead guitarist and co-singer you can experience the young Jürgen Drews.
