Monthly Archives: September 2022

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 596) Mike Furber — “Watch Me Burn” From a ’69 double-A side, Ian Marks calls the incendiary “Watch Me Burn a “fiery” and “wild[]” song “with TWIN lead guitars (one fuzz and one wah-wah) wailing away beneath Furber’s excellent vocal performance.” (Tomorrow isContinue reading “Mike Furber — “Watch Me Burn”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 30, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 595) Thomas and Richard Frost — “Open Up Your Heart” This ’70 A-side is glorious pop/rock with a yummy bubblegum flavor, by Thomas and Richard Frost (actually Thomas and Richard Martin). The Frosts recorded one of the greatest “lost” album of the ’60’s,Continue reading “Thomas and Richard Frost — “Open Up Your Heart”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 29, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 594) The Bee Gees — “I.O.I.O” One of the great unsung Bee Gees songs (see #291, 353, 354, 439, 466, 484, 497, 570) — well it did reach #49 in U.K. and #94 in the U.S. (https://www.musicvf.com/Bee+Gees.art). To Bruce Eder, “I.O.I.O”, released whenContinue reading “The Bee Gees — “I.O.I.O”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 27, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 593) Dogfeet — “Armageddon” (demo) With Putin in mind, today I play “Armageddon”, a haunting prog/psych/hard rock song. Elenius65 says that the Shrewsbury, Shropshire, band “formed in the late sixties as a heavy blues band, but after bagging a record deal, changed toContinue reading “Dogfeet — “Armageddon” (demo): Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 26, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 592) The Dry Grins* — “She’s a Drag” Chris Bishop calls this late ’65 A-side a “teen loser lament.” (https://garagehangover.com/rogues-dry-grins/) A girl makes fun of this guy in public and he knows she’s right, but has the presence of mind to tell herContinue reading “The Dry Grins — “She’s a Drag”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 25, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 591) The Peppermint Rainbow — “Pink Lemonade” Sunshine pop from Charm City by a band originally named the New York Times?! Yes, a wonderful ‘68 sunshine single from Baltimore protégés of Mama Cass. Wow, could they sing. J. Scott McClintock says that: Baltimore’sContinue reading “The Peppermint Rainbow — “Pink Lemonade”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 24, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 590) Tom Parrott — “Autumn Time in Grenada” In honor of the fall equinox — it couldn’t have come soon enough! Tom Parrott (see #202) was a frequent contributor to Broadside (a key publication of the folk revival, founded in ‘62 — theContinue reading “Tom Parrott — “Autumn Time in Grenada”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 23, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 589) Led Zeppelin — “That’s the Way” Off the acoustic side of Led Zeppelin III comes the band’s gorgeous Pastoral Symphony written at the Bron-Yr-Aur (hill of the gold) cottage in Wales. It features the best, most timeless lyrics (to my mind) thatContinue reading “Led Zeppelin — “That’s the Way”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 22, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 587) Puff — “Go With You” The Rockin’ Ramrods — one third of Boston’s garage rock trinity — transform into Puff. They show off their sensitive side with a touching love song from an exquisite album of what Ritchie Unterberger calls “light, sophisticatedContinue reading “Puff — “Go With You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 21, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 587) The Downliners Sect*— “Glendora” UK mod/freakbeat revival of a Perry Como chestnut about a guy’s infatuation with a . . . mannequin turns it into a “pounding, proto-psychedelic” stunner (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/album/sectuality-mw0000465479) Mike Stax says: The band’s rough-handed delivery and perverse senseContinue reading “Downliners Sect — “Glendora”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 20, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 586) The Millennium — “It Won’t Always Be the Same” Sunshine pop went supernova with the Millennium (see #397, 506), a 60’s sunshine supergroup that created Begin, the greatest sunshine pop album ever recorded. As to the sublime “It Won’t Always Be theContinue reading “The Millenium: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 19, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 585) Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Schwartz— “God Said” Bernstein created mass hysteria in ‘71 with his MASS, a “theater piece for singers, players and dancers,” that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis asked him to compose for the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center forContinue reading “Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Schwartz — “God Said”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 18, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 584) The Main Ingredient — “Magic Shoes” Glorious B-side and track from the MI’s second LP. Don’t play the fool, put on your magic shoes and listen to this one! Phyl Garland got it exactly right in Ebony: On their second album releaseContinue reading “The Main Ingredient —“Magic Shoes”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 17, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 583) Susan Christie — “Rainy Day” Scandalously unissued in its day, “Rainy Day” is one of an album’s-worth “exquisitely beautiful examples of what could only be called acid folk.” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/susan-christie-mn0001215020/biography). Jeanette Leech calls the album that never was (until 2006!) “oneContinue reading “Susan Christie — “Rainy Day”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 16, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 582) Winston’s Fumbs — “Real Crazy Apartment” The greatest ever freakbeat ode to a Swinging London bachelor’s pad. OK, maybe the only one. No Norwegian wood here! Joynson says that “Apartment” is “a manic rocker”. (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) Mike Stax callsContinue reading “Winston’s Fumbs — “Real Crazy Apartment”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 15, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 581) The United Travel Service — “Wind and Stone” Before Portland was hip Portlandia, it was this college band’s mission to bring the sounds of San Francisco to the stodgy Northwest! Vernon Joynson and Max Waller call “Wind and Stone” “excellent soft psych-rockContinue reading “United Travel Service — “Wind and Stone”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 14, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 580) Thoughts and Words — “Go Out and Find the Sun” From Pandamonium comes . . . deep, calming Thoughts and Words and a bewitching song of affirmation and encouragement that should have been as ubiquitous in the early ‘70’s as the happyContinue reading “Thoughts & Words: “Go Out and Find the Sun”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 13, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 579) The Rolling Stones — “My Obsession” I have to admit that when I recently heard “Obsession” on Little Steven’s Underground Garage, I thought “what is this super-cool Stones song that I have no recollection of ever having heard before?!”. Was it fromContinue reading “The Rolling Stones — “My Obsession”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 12, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD (song first featured as) #113) John Lennon — “Love” On this 21st anniversary of 9/11, the only thing I could think of to play that was remotely appropriate was John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band‘s “Love” from 1970, one of the mostContinue reading “John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band— “Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 11, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 578) Reparata and the Delrons — “We’re Gonna Hold the Night” I love Reparata and the Delrons (see #258, 389) — and not just because they got together in ‘62 (the year I was born!) at St. Brendan’s Catholic School in Brooklyn (whereContinue reading “Reparata and the Delrons — “We’re Gonna Hold the Night”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 10, 2022″