Record Collection: V&A LPs

From Sept. 2016 to Feb. 2017, around 200 LPs from John Peel's Record Collection were part of an exhibition at London's Victoria & Albert Museum, "You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-70".
According to the official V&A website:
:This major exhibition explored the era-defining significance and impact of the late 1960s, expressed through some of the greatest music and performances of the 20th century alongside fashion, film, design and political activism.
A full list of the albums used from Peel's collection was published online by teamrock.com, and is reordered and reformatted below with additional information where known.
Although many of the records chosen would be familiar to listeners to his shows of the 1960s and '70s in particular, a few of the items were seldom or never played on the radio by Peel but illustrate the different topics covered in the exhibition, set out in an introductory article on the V&A website.
While the albums cover a variety of genres, the artist with the highest number of LPs (6) is the Grateful Dead, the band most closely associated with hippy culture. Although Peel still claimed in the 1990s to have retained "something of the old hippy", he rarely revisited the Dead's music after the 1970s and was critical of DJs who did. The exhibition covers the years when Peel became famous, but apart from some memorable records and gigs he didn't seem to look back at the time with special fondness.
His personal favourites of the period, Captain Beefheart and Tyrannosaurus Rex, are only represented in the exhibition by a single album apiece. Other artists who remained in Peel's playlists fare better, including Fairport Convention (4 LPs), John Fahey and Neil Young (3 each).Neil Young also one with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, two with Buffalo Springfield.
== LPs ==
Artist | Album | Year | Record Collection Index (where known) | Discogs
== A ==
*Amon Duul II: Phallus Dei (1969) 
*Albert Ayler: Bells (1965) (According to available tracklistings, Peel played a track by Ayler on 21 August 1968, an early Night Ride show, as noted in a comment in Disc & Music Echo. No other plays of the saxophonist's music are known, but his early LPs for ESP-Disk were available on import in London and he was one of the rare jazz musicians to have an underground following..)
== B ==
*Joan Baez: David’s Album (1969) 075 (Joan Baez was never a major Peel favourite - he preferred her contemporary Judy Collins - and plays of her material on his shows are scarce. But she was an important figure of the era covered by the exhibition, because of her political activism as well as her role in the US folk scene - hence the inclusion of her albums from the late 1960s in the V&A's selection.)
*Joan Baez: Baptism (1968) 072 
*Joan Baez: Any Day Now (1968, 2xLP) 073 / 074 
*Band: Music From Big Pink (1968) 
*Syd Barrett: The Madcap Laughs (1970) 
*Robbie Basho: Venus In Cancer (1970) (Guitarist Basho recorded for John Fahey's Takoma label; Peel praised him in International Times, but doesn't seem to have played anything by him on his shows.)
*Robbie Basho: The Seal Of The Blue Lotus (1965) 
*Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (1966) 
*Beach Boys: Friends (1968) 
*Beach Boys: Smiley Smile (1967) 
*Beatles: Revolver (1966) 
*Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) 
*Beatles: The Beatles (1968, 2xLP) 
*Beatles: Abbey Road (1969) 
*Beatles: Let It Be (Box Set) (1970) 
*Big Brother And The Holding Company: Big Brother And The Holding Company (1967) 
*Big Brother And The Holding Company: Cheap Thrills (1968) 
*Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath (1970) 
*Black Widow: Sacrifice (1970) 
*Blossom Toes: We Are Ever So Clean (1967) 
*Bonzo Dog Band: Tadpoles (1969) 
*Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: Gorilla (1967) 
*Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band: Doughnut In Granny’s Greenhouse (1968) 
*David Bowie: David Bowie (1969) 
*David Bowie: The Man Who Sold The World (1971) 
*James Brown: Say It Loud (1969) 5695 
*James Brown: Live & Lowdown At The Apollo (reissue) 
*Tim Buckley: Goodbye And Hello (1967) 
*Buffalo Springfield: Buffalo Springfield (1966) 
*Buffalo Springfield: Again (1967) 
*Butterfield Blues Band: East-West (1966) 
*Byrds: Mr Tambourine Man (1965) 
*Byrds: Fifth Dimension (1966) 
== C ==
*Canned Heat: Living The Blues (1969) 
*Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band: Trout Mask Replica (1969, 2xLP) 
*Alice Coltrane: Universal Consciousness (1971) 
*Country Joe & The Fish: I Feel Like I’m Fixin' To Die (1967) 
*Cream: Fresh Cream (1966) 
*Cream: Disraeli Gears (1967) 
*Creedence Clearwater Revival: Green River (1969) 
*Crosby, Stills & Nash: Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969) 
*Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Déjà Vu (1970) 
== D ==
*Deep Purple: In Rock (1970) 
*Donovan: Sunshine Superman (1966) 
*Donovan: Mellow Yellow (1967) 
*Donovan: A Gift From A Flower To A Garden (1967, 2xLP) 
*Doors: The Doors (1967) 
*Doors: Strange Days (1967) 
*Doors: Waiting For The Sun (1968) 
*Lee Dorsey: Yes We Can (1970) 
*Nick Drake: Bryter Later (1972) 
*Bob Dylan: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963) 
*Bob Dylan: The Times They Are A-Changin (1964) 
*Bob Dylan: Bringing It All Back Home (1965) 
*Bob Dylan: Blonde On Blonde (1966, 2xLP) 
== E ==
== F ==
*John Fahey: The Yellow Princess (1968) 0502 
*John Fahey: The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party And Other Excursions (1966) 0498 
*John Fahey: Dance Of Death And Other Plantation Favourites (1965) 0497 
*Fairport Convention: Unhalfbricking (1969) 0506 
*Fairport Convention: Fairport Convention (1968) 0504 
*Fairport Convention: What We Did On Our Holidays (1969) 0505 
*Fairport Convention: Liege And Lief (1969) 1987 
*Family: Music In A Doll’s House (1968) 
*Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac: Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac (1968) 
*Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved A Man The Way I Loved You (1967) 
*Free: Free (1969) 
*Free: Fire & Water (1970) 
== G ==
*Marvin Gaye: What’s Going On? (1971) 
*Grateful Dead: Grateful Dead (1971) 
*Grateful Dead: Anthem Of The Sun (1968) 
*Grateful Dead: Aoxomoxoa (1969) 
*Grateful Dead: Live / Dead (1969) 
*Grateful Dead: Workingman’s Dead (1970) 
*Grateful Dead: American Beauty (1970) 
*Golden Dawn: Power Plant (1968) 
== H ==
*George Harrison: All Things Must Pass (1970, 3xLP) 
*Hawkwind: X In Search Of Space (1971) 
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced? (1967) 
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Axis: Bold As Love (1967) 
*Jimi Hendrix Experience: Electric Ladyland (1968, 2xLP) 
*Jimi Hendrix: Band Of Gypsies (1970) 
*Jimi Hendrix Experience / Otis Redding: Live At Monterey (1970) 
== I ==
*Incredible String Band: Be Glad The Song Has No Ending (1970) (Side two of this LP is soundtrack music to Peter Neal's documentary film of the same name, showing the ISB at the peak of their popularity in 1968-69.)
*Iron Butterfly: Heavy (1968) 
== J ==
*Bert Jansch: Jack Orion (1966) 
*Janis Joplin: I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! (1969) 
*Janis Joplin: Pearl (1971) 
*Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow (1967) 
*Jefferson Airplane: Volunteers (1969) 
*Jefferson Airplane: After Bathing At Baxter’s (1967) 
*Jethro Tull: This Was (1968) 
*Jethro Tull: Stand Up (1969) 
*Joujouka: Brian Jones Presents The Pipes Of Pan 3304  (Sometimes credited to "The Master Musicians of Joujouka". Also featured as a Record Boxes: Joe Boyd selection.)
== K ==
*Kaleidoscope: Side Trips (1967) 0795 
*Kaleidoscope: A Beacon From Mars (1968) 0796 
*Kinks: The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968) 
*Kinks: Something Else By The Kinks (1967) 
*Kinks: Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire) (1969) 
*Kinks: Lola (1971) 
*King Crimson: In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969) 
*Jim Kweskin: Jim Kweskin’s America (1971) ( Jim Kweskin's Jug Band were popular on the US folk scene in the mid-'60s and were associated with Joe Boyd, when Boyd was a student at Harvard. Some of their albums were issued in the UK, although no Peel plays are known. After they split up, Kweskin recorded this LP. whose full title is Richard D. Herbruck Presents Jim Kweskin's America Co-starring Mel Lyman And The Lyman Family. Lyman, formerly the Kweskin band's harmonica player, became a notorious cult leader, and his "Lyman Family" commune was the subject of a long exposé in Rolling Stone in 1971.)
== L ==
*Last Poets: The Last Poets (1970) (Peel told Melody Maker in 1971 that he thought this was the "strongest" LP of 1970, but that the BBC wouldn't allow him to play it on the radio because of its "obscene" language. However, it got plenty of exposure on the Monte Carlo-based "underground" radio station Radio Geronimo)
*Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin III (1970) 
*John Lennon & Yoko Ono: Unfinished Music Vol. 2: Life With The Lions (1969) 
*John Lennon: Plastic Ono Band (1970) 
*John Lennon: Imagine (1971) 
*Love: Love (1966) 
*Love: Da Capo (1966) 
*Love: Forever Changes (1967) 
*Lovin’ Spoonful: Daydream (1966) 
== M ==
*MC5: Kick Out The Jams (1969) 0984 
*Moby Grape: Moby Grape (1967) 
*Monkees: Pisces Aquarius Capricorn & Jones Ltd (1967) 
*Moody Blues: In Search Of The Lost Chord (1968) 
*Van Morrison: Astral Weeks (1968) 
*Mothers Of Invention: Freak Out! (1966) 
*Mothers Of Invention: We’re Only In It For The Money (1968) 
== N ==
*Nico: The Marble Index (1968) 
*Nirvana(2): All Of Us (1968) 
*Ken Nordine: Colors: A Sensuous Listening Experience (1966) 
== O ==
*Phil Ochs: I Ain’t Marching Anymore (1965) 1067 
== P ==
*Pink Floyd: A Saucerful Of Secrets (1968) 
*Pink Floyd: Ummagumma (1969) 
*Pink Floyd: The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967) 
*Pretty Things: S. F. Sorrow (1968) 
*Elvis Presley: In Memphis (1969) 
*Procol Harum: Procol Harum (1967) 
*Procol Harum: Shine On Brightly (1968) 
*Procol Harum: A Salty Dog (1969) 
== Q ==
*Quicksilver Messenger Service: Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968) 1146 
*Quicksilver Messenger Service: Happy Trails (1969) 1147 
*Quicksilver Messenger Service: Shady Grove (1969) 2173 
*Quintessence: In Blissful Company (1969) 1852 
== R ==
*Otis Redding: Otis Blue (1965) 
*Otis Redding: Dictionary Of Soul (1966) 
*Terry Riley: A Rainbow In Curved Air (1969) 
*Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967) 
*Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet (1968) 
*Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed (1969) 
*Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers (1971) 
*Rolling Stones: Out Of Our Heads (1965) 
*Diana Ross & The Supremes: We Remember Sam Cooke (1965) 
== S ==
*Santana: Abraxas (1970) 
*Seeds: The Seeds (1966) 
*Seeds: A Web Of Sound (1966) 
*Ravi Shankar: A Sitar Recital (1968) 
*Silver Apples: Silver Apples (1968) (In 1998, Peel put a reformed Silver Apples on the same bill as Blur at the Meltdown festival, after Damon Albarn had asked about the electronic music pioneers during Blur's first visit to Peel Acres.)Margrave Of The Marshes, pg 376.
*Simon And Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970) 
*Simon And Garfunkel: Bookends (1968) 
*Simon And Garfunkel: Parsley Sage Rosemary Thyme (1966) 
*Sly & The Family Stone: Dance To The Music (1968) 
*Sly & The Family Stone: There’s A Riot Going On (1971) 
*Small Faces: Small Faces (1966) 
*Small Faces: Ogden’s Nut Flake Gone (1968) 
*Soft Machine: Soft Machine (1968) 
*Spirit: The Family That Plays Together (1968) 
*Spirit: Spirit (1968) 
*Spooky Tooth: Spooky Two (1969) 
*Al Stewart: Love Chronicles (1969) 
*Rod Stewart: Gasoline Alley (1970) 
*Steve Miller Band: Sailor (1968) 
*Steve Miller Band: Children Of The Future (1968) 
*Stooges: The Stooges (1969) 
*Stooges: Fun House (1970) 
*Structures Sonores Lasry-Baschet: Chronophagie (1969) (Electronic music pioneers who became Peel favourites during the Night Ride era of 1968-69. In International Times Peel imagined them collaborating with Pink Floyd - or, in his dodgy French, "le Floyd presque rouge".)
*Sun Ra: Angels And Demons At Play (1967) 
== T ==
*Temptations: Cloud Nine (1969) 
*Them: The World Of (1970) 
*Third Ear Band: Alchemy (1969) 
*Traffic: Mr Fantasy (1967) 
*Traffic: John Barleycorn Must Die (1970) 
*T Rex: A Beard Of Stars (1970) 
== U ==
*United States Of America: United States Of America (1968) 
== V ==
*v/a: Woodstock Soundtrack (1970, 3xLP) 
*v/a: Zabriskie Point Soundtrack (1970) 
*v/a: Easy Rider (Music From The Soundtrack) (1969) 
*Velvet Underground & Nico: The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) 1436 
== W ==
*White Noise: White Noise (probably a mistake in the listing; the band's first LP, An Electric Storm , was issued in 1969)
*Who: My Generation (1965) 
*Who: A Quick One (1966) 
*Who: The Who Sell Out (1967) 
*Who: Tommy (1969, 2xLP) 
== X ==
== Y ==
*Yardbirds: Roger The Engineer (1966) 13980 
*Neil Young: Neil Young (1968) 
*Neil Young: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969) 
*Neil Young: After The Gold Rush (1970) 
== Z ==
*Frank Zappa: Hot Rats (1969) 1832 
*Zodiac Cosmic Sounds: Zodiac Cosmic Sounds (1967) 1529 
*Zombies: Odyssey And Oracle (1968) 1530 (In 2013, Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of the Zombies discussed the album in a short video interview with John Peel Archive.)
==1-9 ==
*13th Floor Elevators: Easter Everywhere (1967) (The band were little-known in the UK in the late 1960s, and weren't played by Peel on Top Gear or Night Ride, even if  their LPs were among those imported by the London record shops he frequented. However their reputation gradually grew and later they picked up some plays on his shows, as did co-founder Roky Erickson with subsequent projects.)
*13th Floor Elevators: 13th Floor Elevators (1966) 
== See Also ==
*When Hippies Ruled The World; 2002 TV documentary on the era, includes Peel comments and memories.
*1967, 1968, 1969, 1970: available year pages for the period covered by the exhibition, including show calendars.
== Links ==
*(V&A) Official site
*(Guardian) You Say You Want a Revolution review: a dizzying trip to the heart of the 1960s
*BBC Genome Peel presents a "Hippy Night" theme evening on BBC Choice in 1999 to mark the anniversary of Woodstock.
== References ==
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