1108 - Mojo 128. The Millennium - Begin (1968)

Track Listing

1. Prelude
2. To Claudia on Thursday
3. I Just Want to Be Your Friend
4. 5 A.M.
5. I'm With You
6. Island
7. Sing to Me
8. It's You
9. Some Sunny Day
10. It Won't Always Be the Same
11. Know It All
12. Karmic Dream Sequence, No. 1
13. There Is Nothing More to Say
14. Anthem (Begin)
15. Just About the Same
16. Blight

Review

A really good album here, this is a bit of a hodgepodge of styles while still being generally within the sunshine pop idiom. That being said it is prefiguring the sound of later Fleetwood Mac, of the Rumours or even Tusk era, while retaining many late 60s elements to the music.

Using the new 16-track technology to great effect the album sounds never less than full, but fortunately never muddled. It sounds pretty amazing actually and has stood the test of time remarkably well.

It owes quite a bit to the Beach Boys and Jefferson Airplane among others but it sounds particularly distinct for its time, it sounds new both for 1968 and now. Has happened with most albums which did that, it never hit it big, but now there's blogs like this to give it its just deserts.

Track Listing

1. Island
2. Anthem (Begin)
3. Just About the Same
4. Prelude

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Begin has gained notoriety throughout the years as being the most expensive album that Columbia Records had released by that time, though critics generally agree that the money was well spent. It is now generally considered to be a classic of sunshine pop.

Island: