The British Invasion revolutionized rock music in the 60s. As the decade progressed, British rock groups progressed in terms of the depth and ambition of the music. And it all reached a peak in 1969. The year 1969 witnessed the release of several groundbreaking British rock albums. These four LPs rose to the top of the heap.
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‘Abbey Road’ by The Beatles
Nobody, not even the group themselves, knew that this would be the last album recorded by The Beatles. (It wouldn’t be the last LP they released; that honor went to Let It Be, which arrived in 1970 even though it was recorded prior to Abbey Road.) Yet the air of finality surrounding the record is difficult to miss, especially when it comes to the brilliant medley on the second side. Paul McCartney seemed to use his songs within that batch to comment on the sad but inevitable end. Elsewhere, George Harrison delivered two stone-cold classics in “Here Comes The Sun” and “Something”. Ringo Starr chipped in with his best Beatle original (“Octopus’s Garden”). And John Lennon offered a bluesy winner (“Come Together”).
‘Tommy’ by The Who
Little by little, Pete Townshend pushed the music of The Who towards artistic statements that were far vaster than just a single. Whether that was by mini-song suites (“A Quick One, While He’s Away”) or sneaky album concepts (The Who Sell Out), it became clear that he was pushing his group towards something grand. Tommy culminated those efforts. Although not The Who’s best album (Who’s Next deserves that honor) or even their best thematic LP (that goes to Quadrophenia), Tommy still holds up extremely well as a template-setter for all grand rock album-length efforts to come. The exposition gets in the way occasionally of the flow. But individual moments like “Pinball Wizard” and “Sally Simpson” carry the day.
‘Let It Bleed’ by The Rolling Stones
No band thrived amidst turbulence quite like The Rolling Stones. In 1969, they fired founding member Brian Jones, who then died not long after. Mick Taylor was whisked in to replace him, but a bit too late to be anything more than a partial contributor to the album they recorded. Yet somehow, Let It Bleed, recorded primarily in that calendar year, perfectly followed up the gritty brilliance of Beggars Banquet from the previous year. The bookends on the album are impeccable. “Gimme Shelter” captures the tumult of the times better than any song of its era. And “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” offers a resigned epitaph to the entire decade. In between, the group tackled a typically heady blend of roots-rock genres with effortless aplomb.
‘Led Zeppelin II’ by Led Zeppelin
The other three albums on this list came from well-established British rock acts. Led Zeppelin were the upstarts in that respect. But they made every second of 1969 count. We easily could have chosen their debut record from earlier in 1969 for this list of albums. But Led Zeppelin II takes everything just a bit further, showing off the band’s incredible craft as much as its blunt force. Of course, “Whole Lotta Love” can peel your face off. But Jimmy Page’s studio legerdemain raises the level of the recording to the point where it can withstand endless listens. The band was also starting to find its footing as songwriters, as on the thrilling one-two combo of “Heartbreaker” and “Living Loving Maid.” Led Zep came through with a tour de force on just their second time out under intense time pressure.
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