What is the greatest baroque/psychedelic pop album?

Zombies & Piper. Most of this list isn't very Baroque though. The English groups probably are best at this style.

 

Left Banke- Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina

 

The Left Banke...why is this not in the list. The best.

 

Beat me to it!

 

The Cryan' Shames....A Scratch in The Sky...pop rock baroque jazz psych...they had everything.

A Carol For Lorelei

 

XTC | Skylarking

 

nothing, it's a modern work in that it needs a manifesto and explanation to be appreciated, it can't stand up on its own

then again nothing before or since has sounded like Pet Sounds

If not noted earlier, I'll toss in this one, tracks 2 and 5 in my top 10 for 60s acid anthems

 

I voted for other - partly because I'm not quite sure how you define a baroque/psychedelic pop album !

 

Brought down by two clunkers, Lazy Day and especially What Do You Know.

 

The Beatles and Pet Sounds.

 

good stuff, need something new though, if possible

 

lots of fun with the office computer on the blink....

 

The Further Adventures Of Charles Westover (Del Shannon...yes indeed!)
I have a beautiful Canadian pressing...1968

Silver Birch


AllMusic Review by Donald A. Guarisco

This lesser-known cult favorite is not only one of the most musically ambitious outings of Del Shannon's career, but also one of his most all-around consistent albums.

The Further Adventures of Charles Westover finds Shannon embracing psychedelia in a personalized way: Instead of imitating the whimsy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, or the creepy freak-outs of Their Satanic Majesties Request, he uses the cinematic quality of psychedelic pop to provide a vivid backdrop for his songwriting.

For instance, "Silver Birch" uses a swirling mass of horns and densely layered backing vocals to add a haunting quality to its tale of an abandoned bride, and "Color Flashing Hair" uses vertiginous string motifs and churning horns to re-create the feelings of obsessive love described in the lyrics. Shannon's work on this album also differs from usual psychedelic fare because it mixes some earthier textures into its sonic brew: "Be My Friend" enhances its lusty plea for feminine companionship with wailing harmonica and gospel-tinged female backing vocals, and "River Cool" laces its swinging beat with some deliciously soulful organ licks.

The overall effect is stunning, managing to fit the tag of psychedelic pop but still retaining the haunting, emotional kind of songwriting that distinguished Del Shannon's music.

Color Flashing Hair
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARAcJgWFGB4

 

Baroque : The Left Banke - "Walk away Renée/Pretty ballerina"

Psychedelic : The Pretty Thing - "SF sorrow"

 

i was thinking the same regarding the left banke!

 

The Pretty Things...Parachute 1970

Two of the best psychedelic era albums...of all time.

In The Square/The Letter/Rain





Still pretty...50 years on...

The Pretty Things were a prolific former blues, psychedelic band who influenced some of the most celebrated names in rock music, such as Led Zeppelin, the Stooges, and Pink Floyd. Joey Ramone claims that they “invented garage bands” and Bowie covered their music in his seventh studio album Pinups. Their 1968 album S.F. Sorrow was the first rock opera, while the band’s wild behaviour led to press coverage as long haired, LSD doting, pre-punk punks. The founding members of the Pretty Things who went on to perform and release music in the early 60s were Phil May (lead singer), John Stax (bass), Brian Pendleton (rhythm guitar), Dick Taylor (lead guitar), and Viv Prince (drums). By the time their fifth studio album Parachute was recorded in Abbey Road Studios, keyboardist John Povey joined, Stax was replaced by songwriter Wally Waller, Taylor by Vic Unitt, and Prince by Skip Alan. Guitarist Pete Tolson joined later on the album’s bonus tracks. The band’s music has had a seismic influence on generations of musicians right up to the present day. At a gig in The Bowery in 2019, I witnessed a young Dublin band called Classic Yellow perform a cover of a popular Pretty Things banger, ‘Song of a Baker’. They did it justice. This year, the songwriting force of nature Phil May passed away at 75, in the same year that Parachute turns 50. No better reason to celebrate with extra gusto the music of a band that has not stopped giving it to the rock music scene and its fans since 1963.

The lyrics of Parachute collectively deal with the expansion of city living, changing attitudes, loneliness, sex, generational divide, and the decline of the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s. They’re tied up in heady and skillful guitar melodies and shifts between roaring throaty vocals and subdued piano chords. Originally a 13 track album in 1970 with eight on side A and five on side B, it was reissued in 2000 by Snapper Classics with six bonus songs. It’s altogether a somber mood when you focus on the lyrics – brilliant narratives as they are – but the vocal harmonies breath new life into them, urging you to repeat the listening experience over and over again. There’s a seedy, bluesy prog vibe throughout, sitting alongside, and taken over occasionally by Beatles-sounding vocal arrangements veering into upbeat rock n roll. Personally, it overtakes the greatest works from Rolling Stones, The Who and The Beatles, who you tend to hear about tenfold more than the Pretty Things, despite their band members openly admitting being influenced by each other. My introduction to Parachute was ‘Cries from the Midnight Circus’, one of the more popular songs from the album. Now, I’m addicted to ‘The Good Mr Square’, ‘She Was Tall, She Was High’, ‘The Letter’, ‘Rain’, ‘Blue Serge Blues’, ‘Grass’, ‘Circus Mind’, and ‘October 26’.

If you need any more convincing, this review from a fan on allmusic.com should leave you in no doubt as to the untouchable status of Parachute.


Fifty years on and still pretty: Parachute (1970) by the Pretty Things deserves a top shelf spot in rock music history

 

Traffic's debut really needs to be in this list. Grateful Dead's Aoxomoxoa, too.

 

A lot of favorites aren't on this list, but from what's here I'll pick Pet Sounds, Piper, and Satanic.

 

I choose Tim Buckley - "Goodbye And Hello".
and Phil Ochs - "Pleasures Of The Harbor"

And how about Donovan's "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" (sold separately)
and "Hurdy Gurdy Man"?

Also, Chad & Jeremy's "The Ark".

Would any of Zappa's 1960's albums qualify?
"Uncle Meat"? "We're Only In It For The Money"?

 

Don't fix it if it ain't baroque.

 

Sgt. Pepper
Odyssey & Oracle
Days of future past

 

Smile
Pepper
Satanic
Mystery Tour

 

Very hard to narrow it down to 3. I have and love them all. It hurt to not vote for Days of Future Passed and Notorious Byrd Brothers, but I went with Odessey and Oracle and Sgt. Pepper, and changed Forever Changes to Odessa when I noticed that that double masterwork only had 14 votes. I agree that Begin is a glaring omission but including it would make the selection even harder.

 

I voted for Sgt. Pepper, Odessey and Oracle, and Days of Future Passed.

But I agree with some of the others - the Left Banke really belong in this poll (both albums, but especially Walk Away Renee - Pretty Ballerina).