Monthly Archives: March 2022

400) The Sunliners — “The Land of Nod” This ‘67 A-side “is a superb club dancer psychedelic number, full of fuzz and ‘out there’ lyrics”. (https://www.popsike.com/THE-SUNLINERS-Well-One-Land-Of-Nod-Detroit-rarity/360302205425.html) Yes, indeed, it is. The song is spectacular. Who were the Sunliners and where did they come from? Ken McIntyre explains: In the beginning they were The Sunliners, aContinue reading “The Sunliners — “The Land of Nod”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 31, 2022”

399) McCully Workshop — “Head for the Moon” “Head for the Moon” is the third song I have featured that was inspired (or, possibly, incensed) by Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon. The first — “Whitey on the Moon” by Gil Scott-Heron (see #21) — remarked: “I can’t pay no doctor bill, (but Whitey’s onContinue reading “McCully Workshop — “Head for the Moon”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 30, 2022”

398) The Rolling Stones — “Get Yourself Together/I Can See It” One of the greatest Stones songs never to be released — a Between the Buttons outtake. Martin Elliott calls it a “lively rock and roll jaunt” (The Rolling Stones Complete Recording Sessions 1962-2012) and it is #1 on Ultimate Classic Rock’s list of unreleasedContinue reading “The Rolling Stones — “Get Yourself Together/I Can See It”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 29, 2022″

396) The Millennium — “The Island” A 60’s sunshine pop* supergroup creates Begin, the greatest sunshine pop album ever recorded, one that costs more to make than any other album from ’68 other than The Beatles (the White Album) — and no one buys it (at least until era of CD reissues). As Richie UnterbergerContinue reading “The Millennium — “The Island”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 28, 2022”

396) Scott Walker — “The Old Man’s Back Again (Dedicated to the Old Stalinist Regime)” Scott Walker wrote this song in response to the Soviet-Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in ‘68 — with the “Old Man” of course being Josef Stalin. I can’t think of a more appropriate song to feature today — it appearsContinue reading “In Dedication to the People of Ukraine (and Imprisoned Resisters in Russia): Scott Walker — “The Old Man’s Back Again (Dedicated to the Old Stalinist Regime)”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 27, 2022”

395) Brazilia 70 and the Chico Lopez All-Stars — “Trouble Spot” This instrumental is “[e]xtremely funky fuzzed-out UK rocky jazz with a Mexican twist that works on the dancefloor!” (https://soundsoftheuniverse.com/sjr/product/brazilia-70-and-the-chico-lopez-all-stars-south-of-the-border-1970) Abaraphobia calls the song a “wonderful electric guitar freakout”. (https://fi.pinterest.com/pin/417427459182558852/) As to the label, Discogs informs us that: Deacon was a short lived British budgetContinue reading “Brazilia 70 and the Chico Lopez All-Stars — “Trouble Spot”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 26, 2022”

394) The Searchers — “Sea of Heartbreak” Country star Don Gibson’s original recording of Paul Hampton and Hal David’s classic song was a bona fide hit in the summer of ’61 — #2 on the country chart, #21 overall in the U.S. and #14 in the UK. But it was unbearably schmaltzy. There have beenContinue reading “The Searchers — “Sea of Heartbreak”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 25, 2022”

393) The Action — “In My Dream” Stunning song from the lost demos of the Action, former mods who put down some incredible psychedelic sounds in ’67 in hopes of securing a new record deal. Thankfully, the demos were finally officially released in ’02 as Rolled Gold. As to our pick of the litter, DominiqueContinue reading “The Action — “In My Dream”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 24, 2022”

392) Gordon Lightfoot — “Oh Linda” From his wonderful ‘66 album Lightfoot! (see #92, 167). The lyrics stand in stark contrast to the album’s “I’m Not Sayin’”! “Oh gal, don’t you say goodbye now that I need you by my side” vs. “I’m not saying that I care if you love me . . .Continue reading “Gordon Lightfoot — “Oh Linda”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 23, 2022”

391) Nirvana — “Girl in the Park” No, this is not “About a Girl”! This is the original Nirvana!! The feel-good/feel-bad ‘68 A-side comes from Nirvana’s second album All of Us, which Vernon Joynson calls “an even more poignant collection of dreamy pop songs” than the band’s first, The Story of Simon Simopath (see #287).Continue reading “Nirvana — “Girl in the Park”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 22, 2022”

390) Johnnie Taylor — “Hold On This Time” As Ian McCann notes, while “Stax had dubbed Taylor The Philosopher Of Soul . . . his kind of philosophy was strictly down-home, barroom, over the back fence, and sometimes downright no good.” (https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/johnnie-taylor-whos-making-love/) Well, this down-home guy has received a well-deserved honor — It was announcedContinue reading “Johnnie Taylor — “Hold On This Time”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 21, 2022”

389) Reparata and the Delrons — “Saturday Night Didn’t Happen” Girl group goes psycho! Sorry, that was a typo. Girl group goes psych! This ‘68 A-side by RAD is a “psych pop masterpiece [full of] demented psych (https://www.gullbuy.com/buy/2006/2_1/onekisscanlead.php). Rob Chapman writes that “the chorus plays off denial against desire and wishes that the weekend’s indiscretionsContinue reading “Reparata and the Delrons — “Saturday Night Didn’t Happen”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 20, 2022”

388) Electrified People — “Electrified People” After yesterday’s jazz rock instrumental, here is a super-cool pure rock near-instrumental (well, someone does shout a few things like “Hey mama, I don’t need you no more”!). Chris Bishop writes that: “Electrified People” is a funky instrumental . . . with shameless use of the wah pedal. .Continue reading “Electrified People — “Electrified People”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 19, 2022”

387) Joe Zawinul — “The Soul of a Village, Pt. II” Yes, as Larry says, this song is “a slice of groove perfection”. When he first heard the “laid back but funky drums, and the electric piano . . . and the spooky strings, [his] spidey sense started tingling[!]” (http://funky16corners.com/?p=828) Jim Todd says that “ZawinulContinue reading “Joe Zawinul — “The Soul of a Village, Pt. II”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 18, 2022”

385) The Dovers — “She’s Not Just Anybody” The Dovers were Santa Barbara garage greats — “a group everyone agrees should’ve been big stars. Their four [’65-’66] singles are classics one and all. Yet, although one was picked up for national release by Reprise, nothing came of it . . . .” (liner notes toContinue reading “The Dovers — “She’s Not Just Anybody”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 17, 2022″

385) Thomas and Richard Frost — “Fairy Tale Affair” Another cut from the Frosts’s magnificent Visualize album– this time a horn-driven stomper (see #209, 211, 247). Let me quote Bryan Thomas again: [By 1970,] Thomas and Richard Frost had already recorded a handful of classic pop singles for Imperial and Liberty, including “She’s Got Love,”Continue reading “Thomas and Richard Frost — “Fairy Tale Affair”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 16, 2022”

384) Wimple Winch — “Atmospheres” The band released three singles (see #49). This was to be the 4th A-side. Well, it did sort of sneak out as the B-side of the 3rd single: 1967 Fontana notification to records shops that the Wimple Winch’s 3rd single had been withdrawn. [T]he band’s 3rd single was mis-presssed withContinue reading “Wimple Winch — “Atmospheres”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 15, 2022”

383) The Sir Douglas Quintet — “Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day” How could this pop rock masterpiece not have been a smash hit? Well, being left off the SDQ’s classic ‘69 album Mendocino and not released till two decades later might help answer the question. Think Pleasant Valley Sunday without the ironic social commentary.Continue reading “The Sir Douglas Quintet — “Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 14, 2022″

382) The Rolling Stones/Gene Pitney — “Andrew’s Blues” The Stones, with Gene Pitney providing vocals, “lovingly take the piss out of” their wunderkind manager Andrew Loog Oldham in this raunchy sing-a-long (https://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_rolling_stones_phil_spector_and_gene_pitney_get_drunk), which Stansted Montfichet calls “an obscene studio shtick”. (https://www.allmusic.com/album/black-box-mw0001081820) Ah, ALO. Richard Havers writes that: Oldham masterminded The Rolling Stones rise . .Continue reading “The Rolling Stones/Gene Pitney “Andrew’s Blues”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 13, 2022”

381) The Kinks — “Time Song” A stunning ‘68 meditation on time, lost opportunity, and mortality. Ray Davies didn’t actually mix the song — a Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society outtake — until 2018. Ryan Reed explains that: The Kinks meditate on lazy days and mortality in “Time Song[.]” . . . “TimeContinue reading “The Kinks — “Time Song”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 12, 2022”