THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,650) The Pipe Dream — “The Middle of the Night”
The Pipe Dream (see #105, 147) gives us absolutely ravishing, “[t]hrilling” and “evocative minor key” sunshine pop (hifrommike2120, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-maO2X9vjw), written by Estelle Levitt and Don Thomas and produced and arranged by Stephen “Wicked” Schwartz (see #585). Franko tells us that Thomas and Levitt were “American 60s songwriters that wrote Herman’s Hermits’ [see #300, 613, 639, 841] ‘This Door Swings Both Ways’, Lulu’s [see #960] ‘Love Loves To Love, Love’, [and] The Seekers’ ‘Music Of The World A-Turnin'”. (Franko, https://whatfrankislisteningto.negstar.com/sunshine-pop-and-baroque/the-pipe-dream-wanderers-lovers-rca-1969/)
“Middle of the Night” is from a “terribly underrated LP” (liner notes to CD comp Soft Sounds for Gentle People Presents: Sounds of She) that is “slightly lightly disturbing, but in the best way possible” with “a lot of glorious melodies and harmonies”. (holynosmoke, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the_pipe_dream/wanderers_lovers/) Franko writes that:
This album breathes 1969. The cover suggests, that there are two women and three men in the band but the female vocalists are more prominent across the whole album. It’s sunshine pop with all its glorious harmonies with some, not surprising, asides and references to theatre and Broadway as well as some bubblegum and psych touches. It is well arranged with a lot of musicality. Lyrically, it is of its time also, questioning, gently cynical (look at the name of the band), with touches of humour. They were aiming at the Fifth Dimension audience but it is also apt to think The Mamas and the Papas or the late 60s Beach Boys [see #667] if they were a Broadway revue, or perhaps, theatre kids discover free love, drugs and class consciousness. Groovy …
Johndoejunior adds:
[Addictive] . . . Songwriting-wise, it’s more intricate than a lot of sunshine pop. Great lyrics. Great vocal arrangements by one of the future kings of musical theater. Steven Schwartz probably forgot all about this record once he was rolling around in his Godspell money. Its well worth owning though.
As to the Pipe Dream, Franko tells us that:
We know that the “group” is three guys and two girls (David, Steve, Pete, Chris and Pat) and it . . . was arranged by, produced by, and largely written by Steve Schwartz. At the age of 21 to get an album deal, as well as write, arrange and produce shows some balls but he had it … after all he had two major Broadway successes under his belt by the time he was 24. Group member . . . David Spangler, is also from Broadway having done Nefertiti the Musical (1977) and worked with Schwartz on The Magic Box (1974). Interestingly he worked with John-Michael Tebelak on the musical Elizabeth 1 (1972).
Godspell money? Wikipedia says that:
Stephen . . . Schwartz is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972), and Wicked (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt (1998, music and lyrics), Enchanted (2007), Disenchanged (2022), and the two-part adaptation of Wicked (2024–2025, music and lyrics).
A fuller description of his amazing career can be found at his website (https://stephenschwartz.com/about/full-bio/).
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
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