Monthly Archives: August 2021

88) Paul & Barry Ryan, “Madrigal” Not former House Speaker Paul Ryan, but the twin brother of Brit heartthrob Barry Ryan (and son of singer Marion Ryan). Or, was he? Anyway, a wonderful, wistful song. 89) Kim Fowley, “The Trip” The deliriously deranged Fowley left an indelible mark on L.A. rock history, created the Runaways,Continue reading “Paul & Barry Ryan, “Madrigal”, Kim Fowley, “The Trip”, George Martin, “Here, There and Everywhere”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 31, 2021”

85) Ben E. King, “Don’t Let Me Down” From his little noticed Rough Edges album in ‘70 — but so much better than the innumerable soul versions of “Hey Jude.” John Lennon returned the favor five years later with “Stand By Me.” 86) The Poets, “In Your Tower” The flip-side of “Wooden Spoon,” by Scotland’sContinue reading “Ben E. King, “Don’t Let Me Down”, The Poets, “In Your Tower”, Syd Barrett, “Gigolo Aunt” (Peel session): Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 30, 2021”

82) The Pretty Things, “Walking Through My Dreams” This April ’68 B-side by the incomparable Pretty Things represents British psychedelia at its best. The Rubble comp boldly but accurately stated that “[t]he prime of British flower-power records came out of groups who’d previously grunted their way through rabbblehouse R&B. . . . [T]he cream ofContinue reading “The Pretty Things, “Walking Through My Dreams”, The Jackpots, “King of the World”, The Mojo Men, “Sit Down I Think I Love You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock) — August 29, 2021”

79) Manfred Mann, “Snakeskin Garter” From “Vicar Sweet” to “Snakeskin” slinky, quite an evolution! Manfred Mann Chapter Three, the Mann’s experimental jazz-rock incarnation, didn’t last long (two albums), but it was extraordinary and unlike anything they had done before. “Snakeskin Garter” comes from the first album (in ’69), which wasn’t released in U.S. — theContinue reading “Manfred Mann, “Snakeskin Garter”, Elvis Presley, “Change of Habit”, The Hassles, “Every Step I Take”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 28, 2021”

76) Tompall & the Glaser Brothers, “Set Yourself Free” Wonderful song from the 1970 movie “. . . Tick . . . Tick . . . Tick . . .” — “Racial tensions threaten to explode when a black man [Jim Brown] is elected sheriff of a small, racially divided town in the Deep South.”Continue reading “Tompall & the Glaser Brothers –“Set Yourself Free”, The (Four) Kinsmen — “Glasshouse Green, Splinter Red”, Manfred Mann, –“The Vicar’s Daughter”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 27, 2021”

73) The Carrie Nations (Lynn Carey), “Come with the Gentle People” Another beguiling song from the Meyer/Ebert cult classic film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. 74) Jose Feliciano, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” Feliciano’s version of “Light My Fire” became a #3 hit, but his “Satisfaction” (from ‘70’s Fireworks album) was even better. 75)Continue reading “The Carrie Nations (Lynn Carey) — “Come with the Gentle People”, Jose Feliciano — “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, David Bowie & the Lower Third — “Can’t Stop Thinking About Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 26, 2021”

70) Headstone Circus, “Healer” Best song from a wonderful blues/folk/psych album recorded in ‘68-‘70 but inexplicably not released until decades later. According to Lost.FM, the band describes its naming as follows: “On Halloween night we went to an old cemetery, dropped acid, and spent a very strange night . . . . The tombstones appearedContinue reading “Headstone Circus — “Healer”, O.V. Wright — “You’re Gonna Make Me Cry”, Tomorrow — “Revolution”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 25, 2021”

67) The Fugs, “CIA Man” From the classic ‘66 Virgin Fugs album by the adorable Greenwich Village degenerates. If you are expecting “Secret Agent Man,” please do not listen to this song! 68) McGough and McGear, “So Much in Love” Paul McCartney’s brother Mike gets his psych on, with a little help from his brother’sContinue reading “The Fugs — “CIA Man”, McGough and McGear — “So Much in Love”, Wichita Fall — “Ornamental Sideshow”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 24, 2021”

64) Billy Nicholls, “Girl from New York” Another selection from one of the two greatest “lost” albums of the 1960’s. 65) Nick Garrie, “Can I Stay With You” Another selection from the other towering lost classic of the 1960’s — Nick Garrie’s The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas. 66) The Tokens, “She Lets Her Hair DownContinue reading “Billy Nicholls — “Girl from New York”, Nick Garrie — “Can I Stay With You”, The Tokens — “She Lets Her Hair Down (Early in the Morning)”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 23, 2021”

61) Roberta Flack, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” No, you have not heard this! Three years before her ‘72 mega-hit, she recorded this lovely version in ‘69. The song was actually written in ‘57 by radical Scottish folk singer Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, with whom he was having an affair. 62)Continue reading “Roberta Flack — “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, The Aquarian Age — “10,000 Words in a Cardboard Box”, The Golden Earrings — “Baby Don’t Make Me Nervous”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! August 22, 2021″

58) The Artwoods, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” The Artwoods were founded by, yes, Art Wood, who was the older brother of future Stones guitarist Ron Wood. They were a top touring R&B band, but their success never translated to record. “Brother” was a Depression-era classic made famous by Bing Crosby in 1932. ArtContinue reading “The Artwoods — “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”, The What Four — “I’m Gonna Destroy that Boy”, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore — “The L.S. Bumble Bee”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 21, 2021”

55) Joe Bataan, “Uptown” Richard Pierson says that “[n]o recording artist has more impeccable street credentials” than Bataan, who “grew up in Spanish Harlem, where he ran with Puerto Rican gangs and absorbed R&B, Afro-Cuban, and Afro-Rican musical influences.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-bataan-mn0000117990/biography) 56) It’s a Beautiful Day, “White Bird” This San Francisco psychedelic folk-rock band was ledContinue reading “Joe Bataan — “Uptown”, It’s a Beautiful Day — “White Bird”, The Mike Curb Congregation — “Sweet Gingerbread Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 20, 2021”

52) The Honeybus, “Story” ’70 single and title song of the album released after Honeybus had already split up. Haunting song. 53) Merry Clayton, “Gimme Shelter” Formerly a member of Ray Charles’s Raelettes, Merry’s voice backed the Stones on the iconic “Gimme Shelter.” She then released her own version. I’m not going to say hersContinue reading “The Honeybus — “Story”, Merry Clayton — “Gimme Shelter”, The Peppermint Trolley — “Baby You Come Rolling ‘Cross My Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 18, 2021”

49) Wimple Winch, “Save My Soul” Stone cold classic. Nuggets says this June ’66 single “is a record of such stunning power and velocity it’s practically impossible to resist” and Vernon Joynson calls it “a wild rave-up” that is “one of the most exciting singles ever recorded in the UK.” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)Continue reading “Wimple Winch — “Save My Soul”, The Merry-Go-Round — “Listen, Listen!”, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound — “Daytime, Nighttime”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 16, 2021”

46) Norman Greenbaum, “Good Lookin’ Woman” Norman Greenbaum was no one-hit wonder!  This is just one of his other cool songs. The title says it all. 47) The Poets, “Wooden Spoon” First, let me say that I love Andrew Loog Oldham. I loved his two memoirs — Stoned and 2Stoned. I loved his DJ stintContinue reading “Norman Greenbaum — “Good Lookin’ Woman”, The Poets — “Wooden Spoon”, Lee Hazlewood and Nina Lizell — “Hey Cowboy”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 14, 2021”

43) Focal Point, “Sycamore Sid” This was the B-side of Focal Point’s only single (’68). You can learn the most revealing and interesting things from a band’s liner note comments, such as: Sycamore Sid “is now considered a psychedelic classic, much to our surprise!” and that the song was an ode to John Mayall’s treeContinue reading “Focal Point — “Sycamore Sid”, Robert Charlebois and Louise Forestier — “La Marche du President”, David Peel & the Lower East Side — “I Like Marijuana: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 13, 2021”

40) The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble, “Mr. Tree” If you look up the definition of “twee,” any decent dictionary will cite this song. Twee in a good way — delicate and heart-breaking. Three students at Juilliard formed the band, including Marty Fulterman — who as Mark Snow would compose the X-Files theme! 41)Continue reading “The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble — “Mr. Tree”, Nick Garrie — “St. Tropez Whore”, Joe Tex — “Buying a Book”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 12, 2021”

37) Turquoise, “Woodstock” The band came from the Kinks’s neighborhood of Muswell Hill and the Who’s Keith Moon and John Entwistle loved them, but to no avail. This single had nothing to do with the Woodstock Festival — it was issued in late ’68. But it did include a killer Dylan impersonation. 38) Pink Floyd,Continue reading “Turquoise — “Woodstock”, Pink Floyd — “Summer ‘68”, Jacqueline Taieb — “7h du Matin”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 11, 2021”

34) The Pozo-Seco Singers, “Time” You know the phrase “achingly beautiful”? It perfectly describes this April 1966 #47 “hit” by the Corpus Christi pop/folk group. 35) Tintern Abbey, “Vacuum Cleaner” The B-side to the December ’67 A-side titled “Bee Side.” Is that clear? “In any event, A + B were “arguably the finest one-off UKContinue reading “The Pozo-Seco Singers — “Time”, Tintern Abbey — “Vacuum Cleaner”, France Gall — “Laisse Tomber les Filles”: Brace for the Obscure (60’s rock)! — August 10, 2021”

31) The Ferris Wheel, “Can’t Break the Habit” Per Jim Dunn, the psych-tinged soul band was “one of England’s great lost musical treasures of the mid- to late ’60s — immensely popular among club audiences [but] never able to translate their ability to win over crowds into chart success . . . .” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-ferris-wheel-mn0000763177) ThisContinue reading “The Ferris Wheel — “Can’t Break the Habit”, The Fleur De Lys — “Mud in Your Eye”, The Birds — “You’re on My Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60’s rock)! — August 8, 2021”