Monthly Archives: April 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,193) The Tremeloes — “Till the Sun Goes Down” This May Day, enjoy stunning “soft, acoustic-textured balladry” that “rates right alongside the[ Tremeloes’] best work of the 1960s”. (Bruce Eder (talking about the album as a whole, but I know he meant thisContinue reading “The Tremeloes — “Till the Sun Goes Down”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 1, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,192) Tangerine Zoo — “Wake Up Sun” New England heavy rock rollin’ in from somewhere between Bosstown and Rhode Island. “[T]he instrumental breaks strewn throughout the album are marvel to be behold . . . [like] the extended tribal dance in ‘Wake UpContinue reading “Tangerine Zoo — “Wake Up Sun”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 30, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,191) The Astral Projection — “Today I Saw the Sunrise” “[O]ne of those weirdly compelling pop albums that could have only emanated from the Age of Aquarius. . . . with moments of pure delight that bring the ’60s experience back in fullContinue reading “The Astral Projection — “Today I Saw the Sunrise”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 29, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,190) Robin Gibb — “Down Came the Sun” From Robin’s (see #497) solo album Robin’s Reign, released amidst the fleeting breakup of the Bee Gees (see #291, 353, 354, 439, 466, 484, 497, 570, 594, 717, 861, 962, 1,065, 1,101, 1,125), comes “vintageContinue reading “Robin Gibb — “Down Came the Sun”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 28, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,189) David Bixby — “Morning Sun” From Dave Bixby’s (see #531, 668) “definitive loner acid folk album” comes a song that has resonated with a lot of people, judging from the hundreds of comments on YouTube (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ch5lOo5cL1U&pp=ygUXZGF2aWQgYml4YnkgbW9ybmluZyBzdW4%3D) Here are some heartfelt ones: “[o]neContinue reading “David Bixby — “Morning Sun”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 27, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,188) Jan & Lorraine — “Snow Roses”  “Hauntingly pretty” (PsyVen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_dxXj4agzI) psych folk from a female dynamic duo (see #1,116). “When one considers that these ladies wrote, arranged, sang and played these tracks and then faded into obscurity, it boggles my mind”. (heyday2day, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/jan-and-lorraine/gypsy-people/)Continue reading “Jan & Lorraine — “Snow Roses”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 26, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,187) Hardin & York — “Candlelight” This ’69 A-side and track from the keyboard/drum prog duo’s first album is “an organ driven psychedelic number, regal sounding with thundering bass”. (Kevin Rathert, https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2021/09/hardin-york-cant-keep-a-good-man-down-the-hardin-york-anthology-2021.html) Stuart Robinson tells us: [It is] cracker of a song .Continue reading “Hardin & York — “Candlelight”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 25, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,186) P.J. Proby — “Three Week Hero” Yesterday we heard from a rock star despairing over his fans wanting him to be God and bemoaning that the more he gave, the more people asked of him. Today we hear from a “three week”Continue reading “P.J. Proby — “Three Week Hero”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 24, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,185) Robert Charlebois — “Ordinaire”/”Ordinary” WARNING — If you are a Québécois or from France, read no further! Ne lis pas plus loin! This song is a francophone legend! “‘Ordinaire,’ the heart-breaking cry of a fading show business star . . . ha[s]Continue reading “Robert Charlebois — “Ordinaire”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 23, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,184) The New Mix — “Even Brighter” This absolutely gorgeous ’68 pop psych/sunshine pop confection (out of North Carolina!) is “a hidden gem” that “still reminds me of glimmering golden orange autumn sunsets”. (MoonChild-zg3gx, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X_XhvZcyBU) Bad Cat Records says that “[i]n spite ofContinue reading “The New Mix — “Even Brighter”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 22, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,182) John Hartford — “The Six O’Clock Train and a Girl with Green Eyes” Country? Folk? Either way, this ’68 B-side by the legendary John Hartford is gentle on my mind, “bounc[ing] along like the happy ’60s pop song it is”; from TheContinue reading “John Hartford — “The Six O’Clock Train and a Girl with Green Eyes”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April , 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,162) Illés — “Történet M.-Ről/”The Story of M.” Here is a slice of “magnificent” (attilamarfi9018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WUfRo1ef64 (courtesy of Google Translate)) classic rock from Hungary’s Beatles. Zikkurat Stage Agency gives us a Hungarian rhapsody (courtesy of Google Translate): Illés was the Hungarian Beatles, “the”Continue reading “Illés — “Történet M.-Ről/”The Story of M.”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 20, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,181) Val McKenna — “You’ve Gotta Tell Me” Sweet pop-soul from the UK’s Val McKenna (see #988), whose songs “many of which she wrote herself, are . . . hard-driving, straight R&B pieces that the mod population allegedly found appealing.” (Paul Pearson, http://paul-pearson.blogspot.com/2015/05/song-20150507-val-mckenna.html)Continue reading “I Shall Be Released: Val McKenna — “You’ve Gotta Tell Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 19, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,180) Neal Ford and the Fanatics — “I Have Thoughts of You” This ‘67 A-side is a “sublime” (Lenny Helsing, https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2014/03/neal-ford-fanatics-good-men-2013-review.html) garage rock ballad, “absolutely beautiful . . . [a] masterpiece of pop psych”. (thomassmith8721, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKv0QeGkrxU) It “has a much more thoughtful, etherealContinue reading “Neal Ford and the Fanatics — “I Have Thoughts of You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 18, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,179) The Music Machine/Bonniwell Music Machine — “Astrologically Incompatible” This infectious ‘67 B-side is an absolute Zodiac killer by the original Music Machine lineup (and was also the opening track on the Bonniwell Music Machine LP). It was “inspired by [Sean] Bonniwell’s fascinationContinue reading “The Music Machine/Bonniwell Music Machine — “Astrologically Incompatible”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 17, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,178) The Harbinger Complex — “I Think I’m Down” This “fuzz-Punk masterpiece” (Cory Linstrum, The Rock & Roll of San Francisco’s East Bay, 1950-1980) is “kick-ass proto-punk at its finest” (Stansted Montfichet, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-harbinger-complex-mn0000554526#biography), “propelled by a nasty, fuzz-guitar riff . . . featur[ing]Continue reading “The Harbinger Complex — “I Think I’m Down”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 16, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD Don’t forget to file . . . away these versions of “Taxman” in the box of all-time fab Beatles’ covers! 1,176) The Loose Ends — “Tax Man” Here is the Loose End’s “superb freakbeat version” (Nick Warburton, https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/the-loose-ends/) of “Taxman”, “hard-hitting but respectful”Continue reading “Tax Day Special Edition: The Loose Ends/Junior Parker: The Loose Ends — “Tax Man”, Junior Parker — “Tax Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 15, 2024″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,175) Arlo Guthrie — “Running Down the Road” This is not your father’s Arlo Guthrie, and it certainly ain’t Arlo Guthrie’s father’s Arlo Guthrie! Coming out of nowhere, the song’s “guitar freak-out by some studio musicians . . . ought to send 20Continue reading “Arlo Guthrie — “Running Down the Road”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 14, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,174) Chuck Jackson — “Forgive My Jealousy” Forgive my incredulity, but how was this irresistible number from Jackson’s (see #405) first Motown album, ‘68’s Chuck Jackson Arrives, not a hit? How was it not covered by 100 artists? Heck, it wasn’t even anContinue reading “Chuck Jackson — “Forgive My Jealousy”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 13, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,173) Alacran — “Sticky” From the Spanish Beatles (see #1,172) to the Spanish Santana . . . here is Fernando Arbex’s band Alacran’s “Sticky” with its “irresistibly funky rhythm of the bongos and drums along with the wrenching sound of the guitar”. (https://johnkatsmc5.tumblr.com/post/153820812504/alacr%C3%A1n-alacr%C3%A1n-1971-mega-rare-private-spanish)Continue reading “Alacran — “Sticky”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 12, 2024”