Monthly Archives: March 2022

380) Tom Jones — “Dr. Love” When I last featured a song of Tom Jones (see #330), I proclaimed that Jones’s take on “Hold On, I’m Coming” was so lascivious that he made Sam and Dave sound like choirboys. Well, today’s song by the Voice makes his “Hold On” sound like “Puppy Love.” I giveContinue reading “Tom Jones — “Dr. Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 11, 2022″

379) Hard Meat — “On the Road” Hard Meat hailed from Birmingham, and “were basically a hippie outfit who played a brand of progressive rock”. (Vernon Joynson, Tapestry of Delights Revisited). “On the Road” is from the second of their two ‘70 LPs. The song has an irresistible groove. The band, however, had an unfortunateContinue reading “Hard Meat — “On the Road”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 10, 2022″

378) The Zipps — “Kicks and Chicks” “Well I’m a bloody guy with a knack. I read all the books of Jack Kerouac.” I so love Dutch garage rockers with their over-exuberant use of the English language. “Kicks and Chicks”, a Zipps ‘66 A-side, is “cocky beat-punk rebellion” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/be-stoned%21-dig-zipps-mw0000952858) and a “stone coldContinue reading “The Zipps — “Kicks and Chicks”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 9, 2022”

377) Lazy Smoke — “Under Skys” This previously unknown John Lennon song comes from his lost Lazy Smoke weekend. Don’t believe me? Well, where do you think “People say I’m lazy dreaming my life away” came from? OK, actually, it’s “Beatles-tinged psyche rock, aided largely by a lead singer whose vocals conjure John Lennon” (JitteryContinue reading “Lazy Smoke — “Under Skys”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 8, 2022”

376) Jan and Dean — “Girl, You’re Blowing My Mind” You know those songs of Bruce Springsteen on Tracks that surely would have been iconic hits had they actually been released on or around the time of The River? Well, “Girl, You’re Blowing My Mind” by Jan and Dean SURELY would have been a smashContinue reading “Jan and Dean — “Girl, You’re Blowing My Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 7, 2022″

375) Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera — “Reactions of a Young Man” The opera ain’t over till the fat Elmer sings! This “proto-prog” (https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/elmer-gantrys-velvet-opera) “brilliant ballad” (https://psychedelicized.com/playlist/e/elmer-gantrys-velvet-opera/) came from the Opera’s ’68 “minor masterpiece” of an album. (https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/elmer-gantrys-velvet-opera) The album, and especially “Reactions”, sounds as if it was written yesterday. The song is so wise, andContinue reading “Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera — “Reactions of a Young Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 6, 2022″

374) Paul McCartney — “Heather” How many times has it been said that most musicians would sell their souls to write a “throwaway” composition scribbled by a musical genius as an afterthought or on a whim? Well, I’m not sure, but I do remember that movie Amadeus. Hey, I’m not saying that Paul McCartney isContinue reading “Paul McCartney — “Heather”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 5, 2022″

373) The Great Scots — “The Light Hurts My Eyes” ‘66 A-side from “the most kick-ass garage band ever to don kilts” (https://sundazed.com/great-scots-great-lost-great-scots-album.aspx) and “Canada’s answer to the Beatles”! (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-great-scots-mn0000070866/biography). Utterly fantastic song — compelling riff and the message that sunlight isn’t always the best disinfectant. Cub Koda informs us that: [T]he biggest group fromContinue reading “The Great Scots — “The Light Hurts My Eyes”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 4, 2022”

372) Tim Hollier — “In Silence” A gentle ode to silence and daydreams by the great Tim Hollier (see #298, 299). Think “The Sound of Silence” but without the electric guitar solo the record label stuck in. Paul Cross calls the song “majestic folk-pop.” (http:/rockasteria.blogspot.com/2018_12_12_archive.html) “In silence . . . I hear the truth IContinue reading “Tim Hollier — “In Silence”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 3, 2022”

371) Sharon Tandy — “Hold On” Richie Unterberger gets it right for once, calling Tandy’s ‘68 A-side “galvanizing soul-freakbeat” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/you-gotta-believe-its-mw0000741620) and “storming soul-psychedelia.” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-magic-world-of-ruperts-people-mw0000984861). Nostalgia Central says that “her fiery version of Hold On . . . became her signature tune – with her breathless rasp going head-to-head with searing Yardbirds-like guitars.” (https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-s/sharon-tandy/) The songContinue reading “Sharon Tandy — “Hold On”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 2, 2022″

370) Rupert’s People — “Dream On My Mind” “Dream On” — no, not that “Dream On”!!! — is the B-side of the People’s second of three singles (’67). Claudia A appropriately calls it “a great slice of rock-pop psychedelia” (https://www.music-news.com/review/UK/8862/Read) and 45rpy says it “may be the[ People’s] most definitive statement [with] a driving beat,Continue reading “Rupert’s People — “Dream On My Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 1, 2022″