Monthly Archives: August 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,320) Matthews’ Southern Comfort — “Colorado Springs Eternal” A-side by Iain Matthews (see #173, 1,102) is a wonderful folk-rock/country number from the former Fairport Convention singer/guitarist. Of the LP, Stranger writes: Surprisingly the album does not suffer much from [Iain] Matthews’ minimal writingContinue reading “Matthew’s Southern Comfort — “Colorado Springs Eternal”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 31, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,319) Os Mutantes — “A Minha Menina”/”My Girl” Mutants from São Paulo indeed — “Bro, the elements of samba with rock… holy sh*t THAT IS crazy Brazilian rock.” (joaovitorreisdasilva9573,https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XIbJylD_c84&pp=ygUkT3MgTXV0YW50ZXMg4oCUIOKAnEEgTWluaGEgTWVuaW5h4oCd) “The fuzzy guitar riff that forms the backbone of [this] pop-riot . . .Continue reading “Os Mutantes — “A Minha Menina”/”My Girl”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 30, 2024″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,318) John Fitch & Assoc. — “Romantic Attitude” Man, do I love this song! “A MEAN KILLER SOUL TUNE” (MASTERTMUSIC, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H9LvOfJKHDo), “Bitchin funk. Damn.” (neutrinojones3493, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H9LvOfJKHDo). “Absolutely incredible…the first time I heard this track my jaw was on the floor”. (jobeyrm, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CT-SYOTHIak&pp=ygUYSm9obiBmaXRjaCAmIGFzc29jaWF0ZXMu) TheContinue reading “John Fitch & Assoc. — “Romantic Attitude”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 29, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,317) The Common People — “Take From You” Here is an “impeccable pop song[], delivered in [singer Denny] Robinett’s unique growl and imbued with [a] wistful, suggestive atmosphere”, taken from an album — Of the People, By the People, For the People —Continue reading “The Common People — “Take From You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 28, 2024″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,316) Five by Five — “15 Going on 20” From Magnolia, Arkansas, comes a sneering ’69 A-side about a 15 year old Lolita that surely would have been banned had it received wider exposure. Was Bill Clinton in this band? “15” is aContinue reading “Five by Five — “15 Going on 20”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 27, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,315) Winston’s Fumbs — “Snow White” I’ve featured the A-side (see #582), here’s the B-side — from ex-Small Faces keyboardist Jimmy Winston’s group’s classic one-off psych 45. “Aside from kicking ass the vibe of both tracks is more like wizards pulling off darkContinue reading “Winston’s Fumbs — “Snow White”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 26, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,314) Sands — “Mrs. Gillespie’s Refrigerator” I’ve featured the B-side (see #1,066), here’s the groovy Barry and Robin Gibb-penned A-side, a “great pop/psych gem” (liner notes to We Can Fly: UK Psychedelic Obscurities: 27 Track Collection of British Psyche Rarities 1967-72) with “someContinue reading “Sands — “Mrs. Gillespie’s Refrigerator”— Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 25, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,313) Brenda Holloway — “You Can Cry on My Shoulder” Underappreciated (by Motown), Brenda Holloway’s angelic voice took my breath away on this Berry Gordy-penned ‘65 A-side. How it only reached #116 is inexplicable, as is how Brenda didn’t become a superstar. “WowContinue reading “Brenda Holloway — “You Can Cry on My Shoulder”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 24, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,312) Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & Trinity — “Light My Fire” The absolutely fabulous Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & Trinity (see #1,031-33) start quite a conflagration with their “absolute killer version” of the Door’s “Light My Fire”. (John Moschella, https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/brian-auger-trinity-w-julie-driscoll-stunning-video-from-69.790897/) This “head-turning version”Continue reading “Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & Trinity — “Light My Fire” — Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 23, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,311) The Poets — “Some Things I Can’t Forget” ’65 B-side by Scotland’s greatest ‘60’s band (see #47, 86, 223, 489) — “spellbinding” (Lenny Helsing, https://ugly-things.com/george-gallacher-1943-2012/), and, as Richie Unterberger writes, “[o]ne of the [Poets’] most glorious efforts . . . . [r]eminiscent ofContinue reading “The Poets — “Some Things I Can’t Forget” — Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 22, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,310) The Easybeats — “Peculiar Hole in the Sky” Here is the UK/Dutch immigrants to Australia Easybeats’ (see #201) “psych masterpiece” (DK, http://www.milesago.com/RecommenEasysAnthology.htm), recorded in ‘67 as a demo for their friends the Valentines (yes, featuring a pre-AC/DC Bon Scott), released as anContinue reading “The Easybeats — “Peculiar Hole in the Sky”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 21, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,309) Mary Wells — “Operator” Mary had a huge hit with “Two Lovers”, written by Smokey Robinson, reaching #7 (#1 R&B) in December ’62, the month I was born. I wonder if my mother heard it. Here is the wonderful B-side, also writtenContinue reading “Mary Wells — “Operator”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 20, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,308) John Sebastian — “She’s a Lady” John Sebastian’s first solo A-side, featuring Stephen Stills and David Crosby on guitars (Richie Unterberger, http://www.richieunterberger.com/sebastian1.html), is a “string filled” “delicate ballad[]” (William Ruhlmann, https://www.allmusic.com/album/john-b-sebastian-mw0000743465), a “British Invasion-style fey love song . . . that echoesContinue reading “John Sebastian — “She’s a Lady”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 19, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,307) Peter, Paul & Mary — “The House Song” This lovely, wistful, song was written by Noel Paul Stookey, “Paul” from Peter, Paul & Mary, and was a ‘67 A-side for the trio + the B-side of their ‘69 #1 hit “Leaving onContinue reading “Peter, Paul & Mary — “The House Song”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 18, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,306) Jim Sullivan — “Highways” An eerie, prophetic and “beautiful . . . song . . . . What a voice, what a talent sadly lost to the desert forever. . . . Sublime genius.” (drumgold23) Of “Highways”, James Allen tells us: TheContinue reading “Jim Sullivan — “Highways”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 17, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,305) Jacqueline Taïeb — “Le Cœur Au Bout Des Doigts”/”The Heart at Your Fingertips” Tunisian-born yé-yé great Jacqueline Taïeb (see #39) took Paris by storm with “7h du matin”/“7 in the morning”, about a schoolgirl waking up and wishing that Paul McCartney couldContinue reading “Jacqueline Taïeb — “Le Cœur Au Bout Des Doigts”/”The Heart at Your Fingertips”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 16, 2024″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,304) John Carter — “Conversations (In a Station Light Refreshment Bar)” An unreleased joyous gem of a demo by Ivy Leaguer and UK songwriter extraordinaire John Carter (see #1,201). Forget San Francisco, let’s go to a station light refreshment bar! Tim Sendra writes:Continue reading “I Shall Be Released: John Carter — “Conversations (In a Station Light Refreshment Bar)”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 15, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,303) Bobby Jameson — “Metropolitan Man” Who else but Bobby Jameson (see #219, 1,255) would give us an ultra-rare anti-Vietnam War single (“Vietnam”/“Metropolitan Man”), both sides searing indictments seething with anger . . . in early ‘66?! “Jameson’s howl of rage was releasedContinue reading “Bobby Jameson — Metropolitan Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 14, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,302) Barry Fantoni — “Little Man in a Little Box” Here is an “evocative” Ray Davies song (liner notes to the CD comp Piccadilly Sunshine: Volumes 1-10: A Compendium of Rare Pop Curios from the British Psychedelic Era), that “he wrote and producedContinue reading “Barry Fantoni — “Little Man in a Little Box”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 13, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,301) We the People — “My Brother the Man” “Whoop Whoop Whoop Whoop”: We the People (see #495, 850) give us “a smoking, almost-crazed, hard garage-punk number” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/we-the-people-mn0000816941) with a “rip-roaring psych guitar” (The Listening Post Blog, https://thelisteningpostblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/25/song-of-the-day-we-the-people-my-brother-the-man/), a “great pieceContinue reading “We the People — “My Brother the Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 12, 2024”