Monthly Archives: November 2021

268) The Mike Stuart Span — “Children of Tomorrow” “Children of Tomorrow was the Span’s magnum opus (see also #225). Richie Unterberger in All Music Guide describes it as “a classic British psychedelic single [with] driving power chords, squealing guitar leads, and haunting harmonies . . . [striking] a classic midpoint between hard mod-pop andContinue reading “The Mike Stuart Span — “Children of Tomorrow”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 30, 2021”

267) Blonde on Blonde — “Don’t Be Too Long” An impossibly gorgeous track from Blonde on Blonde’s ’69 Contrasts album (see #227).

Barry Ryan passed away two months ago today, on September 28th, at the age of 72. The melodramatic, theatrical and grandly orchestrated — “poperatic” — songs he sang (written by his identical twin Paul, who died in 1992) represent the best of a side of 60’s popcraft that has often been unjustly maligned. I thinkContinue reading “Barry Ryan Remembrance Special Edition: “Eloise”, “Why Do You Cry My Love”, “The Hunt”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 28, 2021”

263) Pete Atkin — “Beware of the Beautiful Stranger” A gorgeous, like nothing else on the air (except for, maybe, Nick Garrie (who wasn’t actually on the air)) song by Pete Atkin with lyrics by Clive James. Christopher Evans says in All Music Guide that: Atkin’s music [drew] on every form of popular music fromContinue reading “Pete Atkin — “Beware of the Beautiful Stranger”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 27, 2021”

262) The Omens — “Searching” Sizzling ‘66 A-side of the first of two singles by the Hammond, Indiana, band, which was led by 16 year old Don Revercomb. The organist (then 15) who played on the demo but not the actual single remembers that: One of my most memorable gigs was at the Purple PoodleContinue reading “The Omens — “Searching”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 26, 2021”

261) Howard Tate — “Look at Granny Run Run” In honor of today’s Thanksgiving family get-togethers and the outpouring of love that readers of my blog sent Howard Tate’s way, here is Tate’s second minor hit — “Look at Granny Run Run.” It performed just about identically to “Ain’t Nobody Home” (#259), reaching #67 inContinue reading “Howard Tate — “Look at Granny Run Run”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 25, 2021”

260) Pink Floyd — “If” From ‘70’s Atom Heart Mother (see #38). Paul Matt’s writes regarding Roger Waters’s “If” that: [I]t is a step in the direction of familiar future Waters issues, such as the madness expressed on Dark Side of the Moon. Some feel the “spaces between friends” line is a reference to theContinue reading “Pink Floyd — “If”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 24, 2021”

259) Howard Tate — “Ain’t Nobody Home” Richie Unterberger says of Howard Tate in All Music Guide: Highly regarded by soul music cultists and virtually unknown by anybody else, Howard Tate had some minor success . . . in the late ’60s. The singer brought a lot of blues and gospel to his phrasing .Continue reading “Howard Tate — “Ain’t Nobody Home”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 23, 2021”

258) Reparata and the Delrons — “Take a Look Around You” Here is a wonderful ’65 B-side by the Delrons. They got together in ‘62 (the year I was born!) at St. Brendan’s Catholic School in Brooklyn (where I was living!). As to their name, Mary O’Leary, their first lead vocalist, explained that their managersContinue reading “Reparata and the Delrons — “Take a Look Around You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 22, 2021”

257) Kaleidoscope — “Please” No, Ashiya, not that Kaleidoscope. This is a ‘67 single from an American band founded by multi-instrumental super-session player (and future leader of El Rayo-X) David Lindley. Lindsay Planer says in All Music Guide that: [Kaleidoscope] synthesized rock & roll with roots and world music, first yielding Side Trips [on whichContinue reading “Kaleidoscope — “Please”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 21, 2021”

256) Justine — “See Saw”  Another wistful and gorgeous song from the all-too-short lived Justine (see #200). Clem of Nazareth perfectly captures the band and the song: Justine were short-lived and quickly forgotten, but the band did manage to put out one really charming and intoxicating record, especially if you’re one of those kind ofContinue reading “Justine — “See Saw”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock) — November 20, 2021”

Earlier this year, Chris Willman noted perceptively in Variety that: How is it that the most idiosyncratic major songwriter of our lifetimes also came to be the most covered? Bob Dylan may be full of songs that are personal, peculiar and sometimes inscrutable, but if anything, that’s made them even more of a magnet forContinue reading “Bob Dylan Cover Special: Them — “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue”, Ben E. King — “In the Midnight Hour/Lay Lady Lay”, Johnny Cash — “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 19, 2021″

252) Montage — “Desiree” OK, please don’t walk away — even you, Renee: this shimmering baroque number was written by the Left Banke’s driving force, but isn’t performed by the Left, rather by four guys from Jersey (even though the Left had recorded it first, after the songwriter had left the Left but wrote itContinue reading “Montage — “Desiree”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 18, 2021”

251) The Electric Banana — “Grey Skies” As I said regarding song #94, the Banana’s “Alexander,” the group was the Pretty Things in disguise, making some much needed money by providing songs for films trying to be hip. David Wells’s liner notes to The Complete De Wolfe Sessions comp explain that: [The] Swinging London phenomenonContinue reading “The Electric Banana — “Grey Skies”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 17, 2021”

250) The Del-Vetts — “The Last Time Around” I don’t honor the Del-Vetts because they hail from my hometown of Highland Park, Illinois, a semi-tony Chicago suburb on the shores of Lake Michigan. OK, it doesn’t hurt. And had they been from Winnetka, it would be a cold day in hell. . . But enoughContinue reading “The Del-Vetts — “The Last Time Around”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 16, 2021”

249) Parliament — “Oh Lord, Why Lord/Prayer” This is where it all began for Parliament (well, it really all began in 1955, but this was the first album). Alongside all George Clinton’s glorious ribaldry and side-splitting antics, the Wizard of Odd drops “Oh Lord,” a stunning “gospel lament . . . [Parliament’s] most reverent andContinue reading “Parliament — “Oh Lord, Why Lord/Prayer”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 15, 2021”

248) The Plague — “The Face of Time” If ever there was a group named for our times . . . A-side of the first of two singles (‘66) by the group all the way from Thunder Bay, Canada. The Plague later evolved into the Lexington Avenue and Jarvis Street Revue variants. Songwriter/singer/sax player TomContinue reading “The Plague — “The Face of Time”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 14, 2021”

247) Thomas and Richard Frost — “With Me My Love” This A-side to their second single (‘69) and putative album track is my blog’s second selection from Visualize, THE great lost American album of the sixties. Richard Frost’s commentary: “The record didn’t do well for us.” I guess I can’t blame Andrew Loog Oldham forContinue reading “Thomas and Richard Frost — “With Me My Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! –November 13, 2021″

246) The Buzz — “You’re Holding Me Down” The legendary Joe Meek produced this song, the A-side of the Edinburgh band’s only single (’66). “Down” is “a frantic piece which almost borders on total mayhem at times” (Vernon Joynson), “a beehive orgy of frenzied guitars” (Richie Unterberger in All Music Guide) with an “almost psychoticallyContinue reading “The Buzz — “You’re Holding Me Down”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 12, 2021″

245) Nick Garrie — “Queen of Spades” Randy ‘68 A-side by the incomparable St. Nick.