Monthly Archives: January 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,096) Jimmy Campbell — “Lyanna” This blog o’ mine gives me great joy, as when I played as my 22nd song “Michel Angelo”, by Jimmy Campbell (see #22, 648, 736-38, 996) and the 23rd Turnoff. I called the song “[o]ne of the most gorgeousContinue reading “Jimmy Campbell — “Lyanna”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 31, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,095) Scorpion — “We Are Through” Beautiful, delicate, wistful folk rock from Sweden. As to Scorpion’s (see #1,009) album — I Am the Scorpion — SwedishProggBlog tells us that: One of the most legendary albums to come out of the Swedish progg scene,Continue reading “Scorpion — “We Are Through”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 30, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,094) Focal Point — “‘Cept Me” Co-band founder Paul Tennant recalls that this “rough demo” — two guys “in front of a microphone with two guitars” — was “a favorite of John Lennon’s and I can’t say how much that meant to us[,Continue reading “I Shall Be Released: Focal Point — “‘Cept Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 28, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,093) Brazilian Octopus — “Gamboa” Come to a fashion show in Rio accompanied by some absolutely fabulous lounge jazz from some of Brazil’s greatest musicians. “The opening melody shifts from a dreamlike intro to a swinging mid-tempo that recalls everything from Jacques Tati’sContinue reading “Brazilian Octopus — “Gamboa”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 27, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,092) Spirit — “Gramophone Man” Here is a Spirit song not nicked by Zeppelin, but which probably shoulda been! It’s “a tongue-and-cheek stab at radio-inclined music executives [with] a groove in the verses.”  (Sinusoid, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=13042) Boppin’s Blog says: The start is very early Floyd like. IContinue reading “Spirit — “Gramophone Man” — Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 26, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,091) Montage — “The Grand Pianist” After walking away from the Left Banke, Michael Brown ,”who had been the group’s chief artistic force as principal songwriter, arranger, and keyboardist — worked with Montage [see #252] to continue in [a] splendid Baroque pop/rock vein”Continue reading “Montage — “The Grand Pianist”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 25, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,090) The Liberty Bell — “I Can See” Garage gold out of Corpus Christi, Texas, from the Liberty Bell (see #505), who “specialized in a blues-based brand of proto-punk influenced by British groups such as the Yardbirds”. (tasos epit, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUueHSyzV0Q) The unreleased at theContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: The Liberty Bell — “I Can See”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 24, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,089) Blonde on Blonde — “Country Life” This Welsh band’s (see #227, 267) ‘68 B-side is a “wonderful psych-pop song” (https://www.clear-spot.nl/item/506848/blonde_on_blonde_contrasts.html) that “recalls The Moody Blues’ sound”. (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) The song’s “simpler, appropriately rustic charms” as compared to the classicContinue reading “Blonde on Blonde — “Country Life”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 23, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,088) Nick Garrie — “Close Your Eyes” The B-side of Nick Garrie’s (see #3, 19, 41, 65, 104, 137, 245, 362, 493, 871, 965) only single of the 60’s is “[a]bsolutely stunning [UK] pop psych!!” (PsychedelicGuy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPaAiUgFkzc) and “shows the sweetness of some of hisContinue reading “Nick Garrie — “Close Your Eyes”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 22, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,087) The Beatles — “Ooh! My Soul” Ooh, in the blink of an eye, the Beatles do Little Richard proud with one of Paul McCartney’s “all-time greatest rock ‘n’ roll vocal performances”. (The Beatles Bible, https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/ooh-my-soul/) The Good Book goes on: The BeatlesContinue reading “The Beatles — “Ooh! My Soul”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 21, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,086) Murray Head — “She Was Perfection” Forget a night in Bangkok — I’ll take one in Swinging London anytime! ”Perfection” is perfection, a head-on “gorgeous collision of baroque strings and fey harmonies” (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Let’s Go DownContinue reading “Murray Head — “She Was Perfection”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 20, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,085) Billy Nicholls — “Being Happy” Billy Nicholls gave us one of, if not the, greatest “lost” albums of the ’60’s — Would You Believe (see #2, 64, 144, 428, 757, 964). As David Wells says, “lost classic is a much abused term amongst pop historians,Continue reading “Billy Nicholls — “Being Happy”Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 19, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,084) Willie Cobbs — “You Don’t Love Me” There have been some pretty celebrated covers of this R&B classic — Gary Walker & the Rain (#26 in the UK), the Allman Brothers live, Dawn Penn (#3 in the UK, #58 in the U.S.Continue reading “Willie Cobbs — “You Don’t Love Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 18, 2024″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,082) Chris Farlowe & the Thunderbirds — “Dawn” Who else can sing like Chris Farlowe (see #473), “widely regarded as Britain’s finest ever blues and soul singer”? (Merseysider Magazine, https://vancouversignaturesounds.com/hits/time-chris-farlowe/). Don’t know? You’re out of time! The answer is absolutely no one! SayContinue reading “Chris Farlowe — “Dawn”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 17, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,081) Kindred Spirit — “Peaceful Man” Talk about the Johnstown flood! This dam-bursting ‘70 A-side from Johnstown, PA, is a “driving psych fuzz rocker with added brass blasts.” (happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PRLphPTacw). I have added a Facebook page for Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock!Continue reading “Kindred Spirit — “Peaceful Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 16, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,080) Parliament — “The Silent Boatman” This “beautiful dirge” (Mark Montgomery French, https://www.uppitymusic.com/2005/06/parliament-osmium-1970.html) at the end of Parliament’s (see #249, 308, 723) first album is one of the uber funk band’s most atyptical and heartfelt songs. It originated as a Gaelic folk song hundredsContinue reading ““The Silent Boatman” Special Edition: Parliament — “The Silent Boatman”, Ruth Copeland — “The Silent Boatman”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 15, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,079) The Buckinghams — “Can’t Find the Words” (see #409, 413, 632, 730) This great unstoppable ’68 album track and ’69 B-side sees the Buckinghams “flex [their] muscles creatively” (RoyFIve, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjyqKPrazlM) with “a good sing-along chorus”. (https://jhendrix110.tripod.com/Buckinghams.html) It was self-written by lead singer Dennis Tufano andContinue reading “The Buckinghams — “Can’t Find the Words”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 14, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD Two delightful “slightlydelic” ‘68 UK pop rock songs — the first of which started out as a jingle for a cider commerical, the second (bearing more than a slight resemblance) written about a friend who wanted to get enough from a pawnbroker toContinue reading ““Woodpecker, Yes I Would”! Special Edition: Calum Bryce — “Love-Maker”, Barbara Ruskin — “Pawnbroker, Pawnbroker”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 13, 2024″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,076) Aorta — “Strange” I don’t know whether to think of Aorta as a Chicago or Rockford band, but its members later stocked many notable Chicago bands (including, yes, Chicago). The song is a propulsive psych rocker — “You’re acting oh so strange!”– fromContinue reading “Aorta — “Strange”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 12, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,075) The Shadows of Knight — “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” Enshrined in the Nuggets CD collection, this Chicago garage classic by the Shadows of Knight (see #184) is “devastating”, “60’s punk at its sexually charged, aggressive best” with a “searing guitar break”,Continue reading “The Shadows of Knight — “I’m Gonna Make You Mine”Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — January 11, 2024”