Monthly Archives: June 2022

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 480) Jun Mayuzumi— “Black Room” The French yé-yé girls had nothing on Japan’s Jun Mayuzumi. Sheila Burgel tells us that: Once the [Group Sound] boom hit . . . “Koi No Hallejujah” [was] a monster hit for a little-known singer named Jun Mayuzumi.Continue reading “Jun Mayuzumi — “Black Room”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 10, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 479) Jan & Dean — “Mulholland” In my mind, this is the greatest ode to a street in song since “Penny Lane.” Terry Staunton sees “a formidable sophistication to . . . the epic LA poetry of Mulholland.” (https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/carnival-of-sound). Domenic Priore & MarkContinue reading “Jan & Dean — “Mulholland”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 9, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 478) Minnie Riperton — “Rainy Day in Centerville” Today, I feature a second track from Minnie’s glorious debut album (see #23), the soaring “Rainy Day in Centerville.” Derek Anderson says that: [T]he lyrics have a wistful, melancholy sound when sung by Minnie. .Continue reading “Minnie Riperton — “Rainy Day in Centerville”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 8, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 474) Nirvana — “Tiny Goddess” Vernon Joynson calls Nirvana’s debut A-side “sad but beautiful” and “outstanding” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) and David Wells calls it an “impossibly delicate Summer of Love single[.]” (Record Collector: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and StrangeContinue reading ““Tiny Goddess” Special Edition: Nirvana/Françoise Hardy: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 7, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 473) Tyme — “Land of 1000 Dances” OK, we’ve all heard “Land of 1000 Dances” at least 1,000 times. But few of us have heard it transformed into a “raw[-]assed unissued 1967 Connecticut garage PUNK BLASTER!!!!! 100-mile-per-hour screeching fuzzblastin BRUTAL version of the Kenner/PickettContinue reading “Tyme — “Land of 1000 Dances”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 6, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 474) Chris Farlowe — “We’re Doing Fine” Farlowe is “widely regarded as Britain’s finest ever blues and soul singer” (http://www.merseysidermagazine.com/site/features/chris-farlowe-interview/), and boy does he show it here. While he is best known for his iconic cover of the Rolling Stones’s “Out of Time”,Continue reading “Chris Farlowe — “We’re Doing Fine”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 5, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 472) Norman Greenbaum — “Marcy” If the Spirit is willing, let me demonstrate once again (see #46) that Norman Greenbaum was anything but a one-hit wonder. As the renowned rock critic Robert Christgau argued that “[n]or was ‘Spirit in the Sky’ anything likeContinue reading “Norman Greenbaum — “Marcy”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 4, 2022″

471) Harumi — “What a Day for Me” “What a Day for Me” is taken from the self-titled ’68 album by Harumi, who, as Last.fm says, “came from Japan to New York to record an album, and [then] disappeared” (https://www.last.fm/music/Harumi/+wiki). The album is a treasure trove of unique pop psych. Dr. Schluss says that: [TheContinue reading “Harumi — “What a Day for Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 3, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 470) Jeff St. John and The Id — “Watch Out” Take this ‘66 B-side and ’67 album track by “Australia’s finest rock vocalist” [Jeff St. John] (https://www.thirdstonepress.com.au/archive-blog/2018/3/20/jeff-st-john-the-id-big-time-operators-1967) outside — it’s smoking! Ian McFarlane says of the song that “[t]he band-penned ‘Watch Out’ opensContinue reading “Jeff St. John and the Id — “Watch Out”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 2, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 469) The Boys Blue — “You Got What I Want” I previously featured the Sorrows’ take on “Take a Heart”, a song written by Miki Dallon and first released by The Boys Blue (see #407). Well, what goes around comes around. Today IContinue reading “The Boys Blue — “You Got What I Want”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 1, 2022″