This is an interesting album. I... I think I liked it? There are certainly no stand-out tracks. Nothing to point to and say, "that was a great song!" but, at the same time, I really enjoyed listening to it as background music. Nothing disagreeable in the album (apart from a brief saxophone solo which was as tasteful as that sort of thing can be). Nothing great either. So strange. Not entirely sure how to rate it so it's getting a middling 3.
Sublimely lowkey. Great background, great foreground. Sounds unique and yet matches its contemporaries. I love the folk, psychedelic, and Bluesy vibes going on here.
The sound is fantastic from the get go. Loved all the songs, very folksy. In the same breath, it sounds old and contemporary, it's just an excellent album.
I'd never heard of this album, or the band until now, but I'm glad I found out about them. The music is just so good! I can't believe how good this album has been, from start to finish!
Jammy, folksy, but totally not over the top. Light and fluffy like a merengue (am I good at album reviews???)
Already loving the bluegrass feel as soon as the album starts. Anything that sounds like Outlander is good. Singer sounds like Neil Young. It started like bluegrass but now it's turning into late '60s rock. I do like how every song has a different style, and each one is a pleasant little diddy. (Note after listening) Well that was awesome. The album escalated with each song and ended on a very high note. Will 100% listen again.
Great opening song, and the rest of the album is good vibing music, how have I never heard of this band?!?!?!?!!!
5/5 - Like some of this older folk music: it's good for what it is, but not my cup of tea.
From the lyrics to the music, how it plays with rock, and tries different sounds. I liked it.
Black Mountain Breakdown 👌 Seems like folk is pretty timeless accidentally listened to the whole thing twice
Folk rock. Late 60's. Psychedelic rock. Fun songs, love some of the harmonies. Mellow but upbeat. Perfect for helping keep things light and happy while working.
Absolutely beautiful album. My perception is that The Youngbloods are less cited than other popular counterculture musicians but they are great standard bearers for the movement. The lyrics are poetic and still relevant to our culture 50+ years later. I love everything about this album. The instrumentation is dated but that’s fine. It’s of it’s time. So much fun.
Really good album! Groovy blues and funky rhythms. It resembles me a bit of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Monta kuuntelua, aina tuli fiilis, et on pikkukekkulissa lauantaipäivänä auringonpaisteessa
Virkeligt fedt album. En smooth og easy listening plade med en blandet rock/jazz stil. Tæt på 5 stjerner
Great album. Amazing guitar and cool use of a variety of instruments. Definitely listening again
I enjoyed this slightly folkier/jazzier version of the Allman Brothers. Some really solid songs as well as some that were just low key and kind of fun. Favorite Tracks: “Darkness, Darkness,” “Smug,” and “Ride the Wind”
I knew the songs but couldn't tell you their name or the band, they are a classic, nice instrumentation and a powerful voice
Good folk music—fiddling, acoustic guitar, EYC. Sometimes reminiscent of Irish folk music
The little musical interludes were kind of fun breaks to actual tracks and I think set the album up well. I enjoyed the sorta lighthearted vibe, and the sound from these older albums just sounds good, so I really enjoyed it without knowing how to describe it. The Francis Drake one that was long and purely instrumental also caused me to dive into his Wikipedia page, so I’ll add an extra star for the potential LearnedLeague help.
Enjoyed it end to end... the first ~30 seconds were awesome, then from there I liked the bluesy parts, instrumentals, even the little slide whistle and the elevator music opening on the last track. Close to a 5 for me but I just didn’t hear the homerun song
Nog nooit iets van gehoord en aangenaam verrast. Ik hoorde er van alles in: Nick Drake, The Beatles, Aaron Neville etc.
a bit of a blur, but I vaguely recall this as pleasant and old school. need to listen again
Yet another I've never heard of that is incredibly impressive. I don't get all the hullabaloo around the 70s when the 60s seem to have stuff like this
Nice and chili folk rock. I specially liked the track 'on sir Francis drake'. A mellow instrumental whit jazz and psychedelic influences.
Darkness Darkness-Already impressed by the fiddle (?) ish start. The lyrics are so...dark. heh. liking that riff with the main vocals. i really should learn proper music terms lmao. Smug-has a country like melody to it so far. Damn that was so short! On Sir Francis Drake-its an instrumental piece? sounds not bad. and whoops two songs went by without me noticing. Beautiful-chill feel good piece. Rain song- lmao relistening to the album. i like it better than yesterdays bc rock still doesnt jive with me much. this ones like a mix of different genres altogether, jazz, some rock, swing? country, idk. nice tunes regardless. very alternative i think? oh lmao wiki says its folk rock/country rock/psychidelica? sounds about right actually. not bad. maybe this rock i can jive with.
Very trippy, jazzy, cool! Started with kind of a dark hippy Darkness Darkness (later covered by Robert Plant), got into loose jazzy improv-feeling Francis Drake…Beautiful is 60s bluesy Janis Joplin-esque (or JC superstar)
I like this … not listened to them before …. Great opening track … nice bass … Big Tim Buckley fan
This was a cool ass album, need to check it out some more, prob a 3 but ill be generous
25th October 2021 Listened on the living room speaker while working, quiet day. Started fight club work out. I really enjoyed this - combination of folk and Hill Country blues. Right up my alley.
I would listen to this again in a heartbeat, and it is getting saved in my library. Not every song is a masterpiece, but that's okay. I also started to get the vibe that some tracks sound like they could have been made yesterday, which is GREAT. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it sure is mine!
This was delightfully jolly. A surprise that it was as early as 1969....would go 4.5 stars if the scale went there
-"Darkness, Darkness" has an awesome distorted guitar sound -It gets kinda slow across the middle of the record -"If the world was peanut butter, we'd be sticking by each other" is a stunning lyrics from "Don't Let The Rain Bring You Down" -Cool sax and drummery in "Quicksand" -Great guitar and drum jamming in "Sham." It might be my favorite track from the album -Definitely some great moments, but needs more oomph or consistency to get to 5 stars
Five stars loaded in the nerf gun, ready to fire at will. We're overdue for a 1001 miracle. Who are these guys. The name suggests an underground classic. It's 1969. Great band name. It's all almost there. Some of the songs were perfect. Loved the jazzier business. Love anything in 6/8 time. Some Love. Some Canned Heat. Some Fairport Convention. Some of it fell flat, but a nice surprise from 1001. A-
Someone should have told them that delay effects on the first couple tracks sounds toilet
Never heard this one before. It feels like someone tried to distill the sound of 60's rock into a single album. Every song could be on a movie soundtrack to set the period.
What a great album! Weirdly, no one track stood out, bit the bright, free feeling of the whole thing made it zip by in a pleasing mix of crunchy guitar and bouncy organ. Nothing outstayed it's welcome. It was all very fun and joyous! An underrated gem.
Somewhat jazzy. I like it and it's not necessarily what I expected when compared to their biggest hit.
Entre la portada, la época del disco y el nombre de la banda, la neta esperaba más de esa onda de Crosby Stills Nash Young et. al. pero no, nada de eso. Me latió bastante el sonido como de predecesor del rock setentero, con algo como de Alabama como en Sunlight y Double Sunlight, los metales en Quicksand y las guitarras acusticas y pianos en general.
Pretty enjoyable, with two great songs. I do not know why it is a must-listen-to, but I liked it.
Good, fun 60's pop. Not particularly exciting or ground-breaking, but enjoyable and of good quality.
I feel like this is something y’all won’t like, so naturally it is right up my alley. 3.75
I enjoyed every song on this album, with no exception. Trillium was a highlight. I can certainly think of worse ways to spend 39 minutes than listening to solid folk rock.
This album was so nice. Not so much psychedelic as it was folk jazz? Not complaining at all. This was a great album!
When this started out I was thinking \"oh no, not another 60s folk rock album\" but this one really surprised me. Elements of jazz, blues, funk, country. It's quirky and interesting. I kept thinking it was over and Spotify had moved on to a new artist or album but it was the same album.
Super into "Darkness, Darkness." Love this style of folk rock (or whatever subgenre this would be).
Loving the soft vibe of this with its jazzy, bluesy folk rock influences. Favourites: "Darkness, Darkness", "On Sir Francis Duke", "Sunlight"
Its fine, but I dont think im gonna come back to it, and I question its placement on the list a bit. The opening and closing tracks are pretty great though
Not familiar with this band very much at all. The lead track was quite good and I was very surprised to see they from NYC. Solid
I appreciate that it was groovy and short but I didn't think too much of it. I think Elephant Mountain should be a location in Breath of the Wild 2.
This was a good record. Not my favorite, but I didn’t dislike it. Probably wouldn’t listen again, but I can see the influence it has on a lot of artists of that time.
Very fun for background music, but can't say I paid much more attention to it than that. Not sure if that says more about the album or my mindset these past couple days, but a 3 feels fair
I liked this. Darker Darker is a very solid song. As is Sir Frances Drake. I will revisit this album and possibly some of their earlier work
Fine. Never heard of it. Some nice bits. Would not say it's one of the greatest albums of all time though!
At the cusp of psychedelic and country rock lies Elephant Mountain. It feels like a curio the straddles the line between Woodstock and the disillusioned singer-songwriter diaspora that would arise in its wake. Favourite song: Darkness, Darkness
Solid tunes on this one, a little blues-y guitar and folk elements that work really well. "Darkness, Darkness" is a great track, and enjoyed it overall.
The band and the music are new to me. Some of the music remined me of Van Morrison. I could tell that the album comes from the late 60s, but I'm not quite sure how to categorize the music. "Trillium" and "On Sir Francis Drake" caught my attention, and are potential repeats. I enjoyed listening to something new. I would be curious to hear additional tracks from the band, but I don't imagine returning to this album for a second listen any time soon.
From the psychedelia of “Darkness Darkness” to the gentle, soulful “Quicksand,” this shows Jesse Colin Young at his songwriting best. (His later solo work would flutter away into lightweight fluff.) Elephant Mountain would be an outstanding mix of the Youngbloods’ blend of experimental rock and jugband folk if it weren’t for the pointless (and pointlessly long) blues-based instrumental jam “On Sir Francis Drake.” Clearly, the drugs had taken hold when they decided to plop this bore into the sweet space between the jangly “Smug” and the gorgeous “Sunlight.” Sigh.
A bit southern, some Beatles-like sounds, and a few things all over the map. Interesting enough for another listen through.
This is a weird little album, but good to sit around a fire to. Some of the tracks are great (Darkness, Darkness and Trillium) and others are just weird. In a not sexy way, haha.
An interesting mix of influences leads to an LP with a surprise around every corner. Though the instrumentals shuffle on well past their end-by date, each track still blossoms with its own unique sense of adventure.
Simple, cozy little folk songs with the band. You can tell there was some cross-influence with The Doors here, what with the jazzy drums and electric organ freestyle. Nothing too crazy, just nice songs played well.
I’ve never heard of The Youngbloods. And seeing as their Top 8 songs is the same Get Together I doubt I would of stumbled across them. This album is fun, some of the songs trail off to become all over the place. Darkness Darkness is my favourite.
This was pretty good. I wasn’t familiar with the Youngbloods other than their one big hit song. Surprised they didn’t have more success. Some of this is a bit mellow and sounds a bit dated, but overall a solid effort. 3 stars.
3.7 - A fusion of genres that feels airy and unforced. Sunny California folk country that sounds like a blend of the Doors, Byrds and Van Morrison. Some excellent electric piano work on here as well.
Bit of a curate’s egg this one. Like the country/bluegrass/blues. Could live without the light jazz/soul.
A pleasant enough album that feels very transitionary. You can hear late stage Beatles here as well as mid stage Zeppelin. Pseudo Psychadelic and Pseudo Folky.
Very late sixties/hippy indulgence. Not terrible, just not what grabs me. Main grip was they can't really decide what kind of style they are and sound enough like other bands of their era that I would rather delve deeper into those artists.
Started out strong but left me wanting after the A side. I’d listen again, but my expectations are a lot lower now.
I enjoyed this more than most 60's albums on this list. Not saying much as I can't stretch to more than a 3. Satisfactory.
Some decent folk rock here - and some limp folk rock as well. Inconsistent - seems like a good track / bad track album with some dreary attempts at goofy humour a real strain on the ear (Don’t Let The Rain Get You Down) but some nice highlights with the opener Darkness, Darkness and the closer Ride the Wind.
I hadn't heard of this. No immediate standout tracks, but overall I enjoyed it on in the background. Pleasant album.
If I were in my 70's this would've been my era, and I would be listening to their record regularly. But I'm not.
Feels like a precursor of what was to come in the '70s which given the release date isn't a surprise, I found it pleasant to listen to and fairly inoffensive
Cool cover—nice fidelity—good vibes—dug the jams—good for road trips—nothing stood out.
But of a weird one this - not a commercial or critical success either in 1969 or subsequently so not sure who would authorise it's admittance! No big hits a la Buffalo Springfield or Little Feat. Very basic Byrds, bang average.
I’m only familiar with their Woodstock era hit All together, so this record was a pleasant surprise for me. It’s really well written and performed, especially the drumming. I especially like the musical numbers that flit from psychedelic folk to prog to jazz such as Francis Drake and Trillium. I think if I was exposed more to this back in 1969 I would have really dug it man.
A bit of an obscure pick by the 1001 crew. This didn’t sell much or get good reviews. That said the sound is different and hard to categorize, sometimes jazzy or folky or country. A handful of songs start beautifully, like Darkness Darkness, but sound more like run of the mill late 60s rock as they build. Jesse Colin Young is a good singer and listenable for a full album. The electric piano diversions are interesting.
Enjoyable, but I don't remember much about it. Both of these things may have been affected by where my head was at :)
Красивая обложка, отличная музыка, одна сохраненная песня. Подводит качество звучания.(
This album is really interesting, with neat instrumentals that are sort of reminiscent of the Grateful Dead but if those guys did way more coke. 6/10.
There is/was absolutely more to this than meets the eye. ...or...ear. I did not think I'd like this at all...some notes of country rock which prejudiced me before I heard it but it was way more complex musically than calling it country rock (which i don't like). Some really advanced progressions and diversions that are unpredictable. I kind of had a tough time rating this though.... it's never going to be a favourite but there is some deep musicianship and songwriting here that probably will make me put this on again - definitely lacking a killer track or two which is likely what makes me give it a strong 3 rather than a 4. (Also...I am curious as to why this is on the list? The band was a one hit wonder in US, but the hit isn't even on this album.) 7/10 3 stars - Interesting to be sure and may eventually rate higher.
Okay, I think I get this. At first I thought "we JUST heard a late 60s folk/rock band!" Yeah, I vibed a little bit. Def better than the Incredible String Band.
I did like the music and vocals grew on me after a couple of songs. I need to listen to this again, but I feel like it builds energy and gets better as it goes on. Solid 3
Quite a nice album, no brilliant songs, but nothing harsh or unpleasant either. Happy to have on as background music.
I like the general sound of this album but somehow nothing ever seems to stick even after repeated listens. It loses its momentum whenever they wander into a looser instrumental jam section. Cute album cover though.
Unoffensive and uninteresting. Decent enough for background listening when your focus is elsewhere, but really it's nothing more special than that.
Thus was a pretty decent album. Some really fine playing throughout and some pretty fine songwriting as well. Nothing particularly groundbreaking or unique, just some good folk rock 60s style. 3.5
really quite chill psych rock and folk, but leaving very little impression on me. Its pleasant to listen to and has a lot of warm, soothing textures but some of the songwriting here is meandering.
I didn't know of this album - nice discovery, although I don't mind if I never hear it again.
Background music with nothing special. Why is this list like 50% folk rock and 50% all other genres? Also that mountain looks nothing like an elephant.
Low-key and was better than I expected. Actually, I didn't know what to expect, I was always curious how the Youngbloods sounded and they are mellowed than I thought they'd be, but it has a nice groove to it. An interesting listen, for sure.
The album starts out with a touch of country, rock and psychedelic. Then after the jam session double track 'On Sir Francis Drake' the band moves on to a considerably more mellow mix of songs and instrumental tracks. Stand out tracks for me are 'Smug', 'On Sir Francis Drake', 'Trillium', and 'Sham'.
reminds me of Crosby Stills Nash and Young. ok album, but lacks something compelling. first song best song.
3/31/2022 Today's Album: "Elephant Mountain" by The Youngbloods - This album is actually pretty great. The production throughout feels very warm and real, with a consideration of where to put different instruments and sounds in the mix. There's also a great flow to this record, with short intermission tracks breaking up the longer ones, which all seem to vary in style. There's some great folky tunes like Darkness, Darkness, a detour into some renaissance type music with On Sir Francis Drake, some softer acoustic cuts like Sunlight and beautiful, and some more pop-centered tracks like Quicksand. The vocals are nice and remind me of Cat Stephens or Steely Dan. There's some great guitar work throughout this record, the bass really shines at moments, the synths and keys sound great, and the drums are solid. There are some duds in the track list, but the real heart of this record is extremely enjoyable and nice to listen to. Listen to this album if you like music. It's good. That's it I don't have much else to say it's just a solid album Score: 7/10 Solid and Varied Highlights: 'Darkness, Darkness', On Sir Francis Drake, Sunlight, Double Sunlight, Beautiful, Don't Let the Rain Bring You Down, Quicksand
Genre defying, in a good way! I wasn't sure when this was from, and surprised to find out it was a 60s album. Not my favourite on this list, but interesting and experimental.
Very diverse, relaxed collection of tunes. The album contains pieces of country, rock, and soul among others. Nothing breathtaking, but nice enough to listen to in the background. 3/5
Enjoyable from the start, with a few falters. Falls into some hippie cliches but at other times defies expectations and really engaging. Great vocalist. Found out after the fact that this group is a one-hit wonder - a song not on the album but that I definitely know, famously quoted/sampled by Kurt Cobain.
Mostly uninspiring despite oodles of one of my favourite things: Wurlitzer electric piano. They pull a great save with final track Ride The Wind, though...
Ooft. Not the best. I liked that it was a whole bunch of musical styles, but didn’t really like most of those styles.
I enjoyed Smug and Don't let the rain bring you down but I lost interest in between. Tinny lead guitar sound was off putting in places too. I would've enjoyed darkness darkness more if the guitar was lower in the mix and not drowning out the vocals. Also some odd choice of vocal delay on that track. Not awful but as a whole it was just OK rather than good 2*
Nije mi se baš svideo album. NIje mi prijao i ijedna pesmi se nije izdovjila kao posebna.
Easy and quick album to get through - also has a ton of Beatles influence but obviously not as good. Somewhat forgettable. 5/10.
I sometimes like this genre -- which I guess I'd call American folk-rock, or something like that, maybe almost "jam band" but not quite to my ear -- and this album isn't bad; it just didn't really bring me fully in. It has some moments I liked, such as the jams in "Beautiful" and "Trillium."
A weird blending of genres throughout, with some folk-rock, psychedelia, and a few jammy instrumentals throughout. A little all over the map for my tastes, but by no means bad.
The opening track promised so much, the rest of the album delivered so little. Impressed by their ability and range as musicians but I won’t be revisiting
Arranco bastante bien, el pimer y segundo tema, pero despues se puso muy yazzero y algo divagante. Me sorprendió el estilo, esperaba algo mas folk. Los temas estan bien arrglados. Darkness, Darkness y Quicksands
If I was in the que for a beer on a sunny day, some where next to the water. I'd here this tap my foot and smile, I'd take the drinks back to the table and say to my wife. "Nice music" she'd ask if I wanted to buy the CD which the band had displayed for a fiver. "Nah" I'd say and we'd never discuss them again.
A medio camino entre el Country y el Jazz. Me han gustado las más conocidas "Darkness, darkness" y "Sunlight". Otras instrumentales suenan bien, como "Trillium" pero tampoco es un disco que digas que te cambia la vida.
This album is something you could play if your mother in law was coming for dinner. I didn't say it was boring but the music is certainly unobtrusive. This album would also be a good choice if you had a need to play something with a 60s sound that nobody knows. These are clearly not ringing endorsements.
Hi: Darkness Darkness, Sham Lo: On Sir Francis Drake, Turn It Over, Black Mountain Breakdown What if the Beatles and Steely Dan were a jam band? This is the vibe I get from The Youngbloods, with a little elevator music/adult contempo. None of it unpleasant, quite inoffensive. No real standout tracks, a few that I actively disliked. I'm glad to have heard it, but probably won't be returning.
I think I like the band name more than the music. It's pretty average 60's rock. Nothing remarkable, but it's got some decent little jams here and there.
Comienza muy bien el disco y luego es una mezcolanza de... géneros? Si el propósito de la psicodelia es hacer cosas inconexas, este disco lo logra muy bien. Hasta la instrumental On Sir Francis Drake todo parece tener sentido y viene Sunlight que parece más de a-go-go, adulto contemporáneo que folk o psicodelia. Pieza instrumental, otra canción bonita reafirmante con metales que suena más a funk de los setentas, otro pedacito instrumental, otra canción reafirmante, otra instrumental, ¡Quicksand!, otra instrumental, Sham suena bien pero quién sabe qué dice porque para estas alturas me perdieron hace buen rato. En general aburrido. Songs: Darkness, Darkness; Quicksand
Pretty bland really. Ran it in the background a few times over the weekend and nothing grabbed me. Not offensive, not remarkable.
Curious how this one snuck into the top 1,001 as I reckon it's unremarkable, verging on dull. Opener 'Darkness, Darkness' is by far the best cut on this joint but even that is ruined by the 'trippy' production - see Robert Plant for a superior version. A couple of nice modal, folksy riffs can't make up for a whole bunch of blah.
Man, I was really hopeful looking at this album art. But this just never rose above lounge music to me. It's pleasant, but there's no grab to it. As soon as that lead singer started in on 'Darkness, Darkness' - I don't know what I was expecting, but probably just something a little less thin.
Elephant Mountain is a folk/country rock album by The Youngbloods, released in 1969. This album is said to bridge the gap between psychedelia and country rock, because at the time the former was more popular but the latter was just starting to compete with it. The music was very chill, but didn't have any flashy parts that appealed to me. It's a good album to listen to if you're feeling nostalgic for the 60's rock music.
It has some decent moments, particularly Darkness, Darkness, but the album feels like a discount Monkees... nothing very melodic, a bit weird 60's pop noodling. Interesting, but nothing really that needs a repeat listen.
There's also a band called Elephant Mountain. Must be something that I don't truly understand. On Sir Francis Drake is another thing I don't understand. Get on the groovy train would be a better song title. Although another band had a song called groovy train, which is much better than this.
Instrumental track "On Sir Francis Drake" was somewhat funky ride. Other than that,this album is not my jam. Cool band name tho !
Best Song: Trillium. Sunday morning coffee music. Worst Song: Sunlight. The lead singer seems seconds away from crying. Overall: Musically I really want to like it, but the vocalist just sings so goddamn softly. The whole album I just wanted him to let loose, grit his voice up a bit. Show a little passion goddamnit.
I was kind of hoping for something more folky here, but this seems more like your grandpa's favorite jam band. Maybe this stuff works better live and with the benefit of drugs, but the closest I've come to seeing a jam band live was the last time I saw Primus a few years ago and they felt compelled to make every one of their classic songs an extra 8-10 minutes long, and simultaneously infinitely worse because of it. So I'm gonna have to pass on these young, bloods.