Monthly Archives: February 2022

369) The Shady Daze — “I’ll Make You Pay” This B-side of the Chicago garage band’s debut single (‘67) is one minute and fifty six seconds of pure mayhem, pure teenage romantic revenge fantasy. Garagebill says: [B]eware, it sounds like your house is being demolished. Between the crashing cymbals which sounds like glass and appliancesContinue reading “The Shady Daze — “I’ll Make You Pay”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 28, 2022”

368) Billy Preston — “Hey Brother“ I offer today’s song as a tribute to the courageous and resolute Ukrainian people fighting for their freedom (and, ultimately, for all of ours), their country and their lives. I think Billy would approve: “Hey, brother, where you goin’ with that stick in your hand? He said, “Goin’ overContinue reading “Billy Preston — “Hey Brother”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 27, 2022″

367) The 49th Parallel — “Missouri” Super-cool ‘68 B-side from Calgary band about being stuck in California missing Missouri! Canadianbands.com says: [B]y ‘67 they had all but outgrown the local circuit. They played the prairies relentlessly for the next year or so, making over a dozen stops in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan at The Temple GardensContinue reading “The 49th Parallel — “Missouri”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 26, 2022”

366) Buddy Miles Express — “My Chant” JP in the Selvedge Yard writes that Buddy Miles was a “blues/rock funkmaster legend if there ever was one.” (see #112, 221) (https://www.google.com/amp/s/selvedgeyard.com/2010/03/25/buddy-miles-the-band-of-gypsys-funky-badass-mother-drummer/amp/) Yes indeed he was. And “My Chant” is such a sweet song that just gracefully lopes along as Miles lays out a young man’s hopesContinue reading “Buddy Miles Express — “My Chant”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 25, 2022″

365) Ray Brown & The Whispers — “Ain’t It Strange” For a few bright shining years, Ray Brown & The Whispers were beat superstars in Australia. “Ain’t it Strange”, their seventh A-side (’66), is such a cool, hypnotic garage rocker with a guitar riff that gives me close to the satisfaction I get from Keith’sContinue reading “Ray Brown & The Whispers — “Ain’t It Strange”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 23, 2022”

364) Marie-Claire — “Un Petit Bigoudi” Classic ye-ye from Marie-Claire’s only EP (’66) — “Un Petit Bigoudi” (” A Little Curler”). Marie-Claire was wise beyond her years. Yes indeed, a little curler looks like many men, desiring to ride, gets pinned. I have added a Facebook page for Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock! IfContinue reading “Marie-Claire Courcel — “Un Petit Bigoudi”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 22, 2022”

363) The Appletree Theater — “You’re the Biggest Thing in My Life” I could swear this wonderful song was an omnipresent 80’s new wave hit, or a demo for Tom Petty’s “You Got Lucky”, but it was actually a ’60’s lark by the Brothers Boylan and the album from which it came “received virtually NOContinue reading “The Appletree Theater — “You’re the Biggest Thing in My Life”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 21, 2022”

362) Nick Garrie — “The Wanderer” It’s been too long — so here’s another of Nick’s wonderful songs (see #3, 19, 41, 65, 104, 137, 245) — sorry Franz, this is my Wanderer Fantasy. I have added a Facebook page for Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock! If you like what you read and hearContinue reading “Nick Garrie — “The Wanderer”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 20, 2022”

361) Chuck Berry — “It’s My Own Business” Who knew that Chuck Berry still wrote classic songs in 1965? Well, he did, and I think the greatest is “It’s My Own Business,” which Bruce Eder calls “a great teen rebellion number.” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/fresh-berrys-mw0000841212) Forget teen rebellion, it is a great FU number to all those peopleContinue reading “Chuck Berry — “It’s My Own Business”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 19, 2022”

360) Kissing Spell — “Gente” Los Pajaros, the ‘70 album by Chile’s Kissing Spell, “is one of the best and most sought after South American psych albums . . . . [It has w]ell-crafted songs with an attractive dreamy quality enhanced by spacey effects, occasional bursts of well-handled fuzz guitar, and strong harmonies . .Continue reading “Kissing Spell — “Gente”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 18, 2022″

359) The Illusion — “Happy Days” This is not your mother’s “Happy Days Are Here Again”, or even Richie and the Fonz’s “Happy Days.” Bruce Eder and John McCarthy say that the song, from the band’s ’69 album Together (as a Way of Life), is “a dramatic mid-tempo number with choral vocals and prominent electricContinue reading “The Illusion — “Happy Days”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 18, 2022”

357) Canterbury Music Festival — “Super Duper Trooper” What more could you want: a super fun fuzz guitar-driven romp of a song “about a psychedelic cop that will pull you over using a light show”? (https://www.gullbuy.com/buy/2003/9_2/canterburymusicfest.php) Contrary to scurrilous rumor, ABBA did not steal “Super Trooper” from the CMF. “Super Trooper” is about a rockContinue reading “Canterbury Music Festival — “Super Duper Trooper”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 16, 2022”

357) Duncan Browne — “The Death of Neil” Duncan was one of those beautiful souls who was lost to us all too early (in ‘93). Bruce Eder says that: [His revered ’68 album — Give Me Take You] was one of the jewels of the Immediate Records catalog, a quietly dazzling work that embraced elementsContinue reading “Duncan Browne — “The Death of Neil”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 15, 2022”

356) Alfredo Luna — “Theme from Claudine ‘69” From Nymphomania: A Collection of Sexy European Go-Go Music from the ‘60’s, Vol. 1 — an exceedingly hard to come by compilation. I have added a Facebook page for Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock! If you like what you read and hear and feel so inclined,Continue reading “Alfredo Luna — “Theme from Claudine ‘69”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 14, 2022”

353) Maurice Gibb — “The Loner” Some of my favorite Bee Gees songs were written and sung by Maurice and were never (or only barely) released. What are the odds? Let’s start with the wonderful “The Loner.” Bruce Eder writes that: Maurice . . . has been almost exclusively a backing vocalist for his four-decadeContinue reading “Maurice’s Gibb-lets Special Edition: Maurice Gibb/Tin Tin: Maurice Gibb — “The Loner”, Maurice Gibb — “Touch and Understand Love”, Tin Tin — “She Said Ride”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 13, 2022”

352) The Searchers — “Popcorn, Double Feature” Oh, the wonderful Searchers. the thought of their signature songs — “Sugar and Spice,” “Needles and Pins,” “Love Potion Number Nine,” “When You Walk in the Room” . . . — always brings a smile to my face. As Bruce Eder writes in All Music Guide: Hailing fromContinue reading “The Searchers — “Popcorn, Double Feature”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 12, 2022″

351) The Blue Rondos — “Baby I Go for You” This Joe Meek* written and produced November ‘64 B-side is some friggin’ phenomenal freakbeat.** Roger Dopson’s liner notes to the Joe Meek Freakbeat comp rightly calls it “magnificent.” Owen Adams calls this one of Meek’s 10 landmark recordings (not including “Telstar”): “Boasting a singer withContinue reading “The Blue Rondos — “Baby I Go for You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 11, 2022”

350) John Bromley — “If You Are There With Me” As much as I love John Bromley’s songs (see #337), I would not have predicted that my blog featuring his classic “Weather Man” would be my second most popular of 2022. Well, as someone once said, “You might need a weatherman to know which wayContinue reading “John Bromley — “If You Are There With Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 10, 2022″

349) Tony Worsley and the Fabulous Blue Jays — “Oh, How Can It Be?” Tony’s ‘65 cover of the Birds’s (see #33, 99, 220) “How Can It Be” is “considered by many to be superior to the original” (Paul Culnane, http://www.milesago.com/artists/worsley.htm) and is “a savage take” on the song (Mike Star, http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2012/07/). Alec Palao’s linerContinue reading “Tony Worsley and the Fabulous Blue Jays — “Oh, How Can It Be?”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 9, 2022″

348) Circus Maximus — “You Know I’ve Got the Rest of My Life to Go” Geoffrey Himes recounts that: [Jerry Jeff Walker] was born Ronald Clyde Crosby on March 16, 1942, in Oneonta, N.Y. He joined the National Guard and went AWOL under the name of Jerry Ferris, thanks to the borrowed ID of aContinue reading “Circus Maximus — “You Know I’ve Got the Rest of My Life to Go”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — February 8, 2022”