Monthly Archives: August 2022

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 568) Fickle Pickle — “Saturday” One of those seemingly miraculous Beatlesque songs that seem to have come out of nowhere, “Saturday” from Sinful Skinful is sort of a Saturday in the Park with You. Shindig Magazine says that the album’s “best tracks areContinue reading “Fickle Pickle — “Saturday”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 31, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 566) The Sorrows — “Pink, Purple, Yellow and Red” We’ve heard the Sorrows’ UK hit, “Take a Heart” (see #407), which reached #21 over there in ’65. As Vernon Joynson writes, “[a]fter leaving Britain, because they were not able to repeat the successContinue reading “The Sorrows — “Pink, Purple, Yellow and Red”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 30, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 566) Jack Grunsky — “Figure of the Gothic Age” Lovely, lilting ‘70 folk rock tribute to the gargoyles of the Middle Ages and their makers. I know, I know, not another paean to a gargoyle, but this one is really good and theContinue reading “Jack Grunsky — “Figure of the Gothic Age”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 29, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 565) The Dave Clark Five — “Just a Little Bit Now” I need more than just a little bit of this smoking’ hot DC5 classic right now! Released as a single in the U.S. (’67) — reaching, appropriately, #67 — but not inContinue reading “The Dave Clark Five — “Just a Little Bit Now”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 28, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 564) The Deviants — “Somewhere to Go” Mick Farren and the Deviants rose out of the London underground to blaze the trail for ’70’s punk rock. Ptooff!, their first album, is hailed as an accidental masterpiece. “Somewhere to Go” is not from thatContinue reading “The Deviants — “Somewhere to Go”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 27, 2022”

.”THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 563) The Twilights — “Always” This ’68 A-side is utter perfection. Paul Culnane nails it calling the song “a sumptuous ballad, a rich mix of acoustic guitars, trilling flute embellishments, and . . . haunting lead vocal.” (http://www.milesago.com/artists/twilights.htm) Australia’s greatest live band ofContinue reading “The Twilights — “Always”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 26, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 562) The Honeybus — “Delighted to See You” Another glorious track from the glorious Honeybus (see #6, 52, 207, 434). “Delighted to See You” was the band’s first A-side (’67). Bruce Eder says that “[t]heir debut single . . . sounded more likeContinue reading “The Honeybus — “Delighted to See You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 25, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 561) Little Johnny Taylor — “Sweet Soul Woman” “And woman, I will try to express my inner feelings and thankfulness for showing me the meaning of success.” NOT “My sweet soul woman. She’s a good looking woman. My kind of woman. Whoa, aContinue reading “Little Johnny Taylor — “Sweet Soul Woman”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 24, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 560) The Hangmen — “Dream Baby” The Hangmen “60s’ize” a romantic Roy Orbison classic, mercilessly marching it up the Gallows Pole and down into the garage. OK, OK, I know Orbison released the song as a single in ’62, and that it reachedContinue reading “The Hangmen — “Dream Baby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 23, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 559) Solomon Burke — “Home in Your Heart” “Home in Your Heart” is my favorite Solomon Burke song and one of my favorite soul songs of all-time (thanks, Otis Blackwell!) If it doesn’t stir your soul, baby, you ain’t got one! And IContinue reading “Solomon Burke — “Home in Your Heart”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 22, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 558) The Carolyn Hester Coalition — “Half the World” Folkie turns psychedelic. OK, she doesn’t get booed at the Newport Folk Festival, but she does get her share of grief and eye-rolls. “[S]tarry-eyed idealism and girlish, high-pitched vocals” — yes, guilty as charged.Continue reading “The Carolyn Hester Coalition — “Half the World”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 21, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 557) Q’65 — “Cry in the Night” “Cry” is the B-side to Q’65’s explosive ’66 A-side “The Life I Live” (see #108). It is equally as explosive, and some consider it superior. High Times says that the song “is possibly the most powerfulContinue reading “Q’65 — “Cry in the Night”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 20, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 556) The Humblebums — “Rick Rack”* A beguiling and unforgettable song by Gerry Rafferty from his Humblebum days that seems informed by his relationship with his abusive father. Alan Murray says that “[w]hen Gerry Rafferty [joined the Humblebums,] . . the songwriting andContinue reading “The Humblebums — “Rick Rack”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 19, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 555) The Baroques — “Mary Jane” From the lone single (’67) and the lone album by Milwaukee’s Baroques comes a classic psych/garage track “Mary Jane” that was banned for being a pro-marijuana song. But was it? Matt Kessler calls the song “a stand-outContinue reading “The Baroques — “Mary Jane”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 18, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 554) Dave Barry — “Its Gonna Be Fine” Dave Berry brings to buoyant life a Barry Mann/Cynthia Weill composition that wasn’t done justice by Glenn Yarbrough (who reached #54 with it in ’65) or the New Christy Minstrels. Richie Unterberger says it “sound[s]Continue reading “Dave Berry — “Its Gonna Be Fine”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 17, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 553) Ihre Kinder (Your Children) — “Hilf Mir” (“Help Me”) John Lennon asked for “Help” and a year later Ihre Kinder pleaded “Help Me” — a wonderful folky psychy song with a killer electric guitar solo (think “Sound of Silence”). From the firstContinue reading “Ihre Kinder — “Hilf Mir” (“Help Me”): Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 16, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 552) Kaleidoscope — “Flight from Ashiya” Kaleidoscope was one of the great unsung (until years later) U.K. pop psych bands (see #154, 336) and “Flight from Ashiya” was its first A-side. As Vernon Joynson relates, it was “an amalgam of pop and psychedelia,Continue reading “Kaleidoscope — “Flight from Ashiya”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 15, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 551) Willie Mitchell — “Everything Is Gonna Be Alright” “Alright” is the A-side of one of my favorite double threat R&B singles, hitting #126 in November ’65. I featured its B-side a while back (see #181). No need for a shotgun wedding! “EverythingContinue reading “Willie Mitchell — “Everything Is Gonna Be Alright”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 14, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 550) Pacific Drift — “God Has Given Me” Manchester United! — Pacific Drift was a brief stopover point for members/members-to-be of Wimple Winch, Sponge and Blodwyn Pig. The Drift’s sole album (’70) was, as David Wells describes, “a sparkling, West Coast-influenced amalgam ofContinue reading “Pacific Drift — “God Has Given Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 13, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 548) Barry Booth — “He’s Very Good With His Hands” Before “The Lumberjack Song”, before “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”, before Monty Python, there was an “ode to a shy but dexterous model maker who is taken by a girl,Continue reading “Barry Booth — “He’s Very Good With His Hands”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 12, 2022”