Monthly Archives: December 2025

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,818) Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera — “Mary Jane” Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera (see #375, 688) — EGVO — it sounds like an olive oil, though I doubt any of them were extra virgin! Anyway, here is “dreamy, potfuelled Edwardianism”* (Jan Zarebski, https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/elmer-gantrys-velvet-opera) withContinue reading “Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera — “Mary Jane”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 18, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,817) Duncan Browne — “Alfred Bell” I’ve played the A-side (see #155), here’s the B-side from Duncan Browne (see also #357), one those beautiful souls who was lost to us all too early (in ‘93). “Bell” is “[p]erfect UK Baroque psych folk” (robison5396,Continue reading “Duncan Browne — “Alfred Bell”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 17, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,816) Blue-erebus — “Willowgreen” From ’67’s killer garage of “Thoughts of a Madman” (see #1,268) to ’68’s gentle and whimsical pop psych of “Willowgreen” — what a difference a year made in 1960s’ Mount Airy, North Carolina! The Nomads’ line-up consisted of “LarryContinue reading “Blu-Erebus — “Willowgreen”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 16, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,815) Renato E Seus Blue Caps — “Para me abandonar”/”To Abandon Me” A wonderful track by Renato E Seus Blue Caps (see #1,011), a Brazilian “Young Guard” group specializing in Portuguese versions of Beatles songs. This is no Beatles song, though it doesContinue reading “Renato E Seus Blue Caps — “Para me abandonar”/”To Abandon Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 15, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,814) Juan and Junior — “Anduriña” Warning — If you are from Spain, read no further, because songs don’t get more famous than this beguiling and mysterious ballad with a melody for the ages. Baladas Inolvidables De Siempre/Unforgettable Ballads of All Time writesContinue reading “Juan and Junior — “Anduriña”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 14, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,813) Cinnamon — “You Won’t See Me Leaving” This “excellent” (http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/642) and “infectious” (Kieron Tyler, liner notes to the CD comp Dreambabes Vol. Six: Sassy and Stonefree) UK blue-eyed “bubblegum soul” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/lets-copp-a-groove-lost-uk-soul-1968-1972-mw0000432434) was written by the great Barbara Ruskin (see #1,078,Continue reading “Cinnamon — “You Won’t See Me Leaving”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 13, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,812) The Astral Projection —  “(Astral Exploration) … Overture Dreams, Shadows, And Illusions” For song number 1812, “Overture Dreams, Shadows, And Illusions” by the Astral Projection (see #1,191), is from “one of those weirdly compelling pop albums that could have only emanated fromContinue reading “The Astral Projection —  “(Astral Exploration) … Overture Dreams, Shadows, And Illusions”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 12, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,811) July — “You Missed It All” You probably did miss this decades ahead of its time (I could swear that’s Beck singing!) nugget from July’s (see #937, 1,117) eponymous LP — “one of the most sought-after British psychedelic sixties albums” (Vernon Joynson, TheContinue reading “July — “You Missed It All”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 11, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,810) The Baroques — “Iowa, a Girl’s Name” I’ve played the B-side (see #555), here’s the A-side from “Milwaukee’s finest ’60s band . . . [a] truly remarkable” (Patrick Lundborg, The Acid Archives, 2nd ed.) song that “starts off as a downbeat fuzzContinue reading “The Baroques — “Iowa, a Girl’s Name”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 10, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,809) The Glass Sun — “Silence of the Morning” Two Michigan brothers restart/rename their band after coming home from Vietnam and crank out an “out of sight [’71] single[] . . . [a] garage-fuzz classic” (Klemen Breznikar, https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2017/09/glass-sun-interview-with-rick-ro.html), “simply amazing heavy psych” (Vinylmusicfan1999, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/glass_sun/silence_of_the_morning___oh_sandy/),Continue reading “The Glass Sun — “Silence of the Morning”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 9, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,808) New Dawn — “Do What You Want To” Heavy psych from the Pacific Northwest. In ’70, the New Dawn (see #986, 1,295, 1,602) gave us “one of the rarest and most exciting psychedelic rock albums filled with fuzz guitar, minor-chord organ dirges, tenderContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: New Dawn — “Do What You Want To”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 8, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,807) Blonde on Blonde — “Spinning Wheel” Welsh band (see #227, 267, 1,089, 1,620) puts on a sitar spectacular with a “great sitar solo”. (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) Psychedelic Paul calls it “sonic Nirvana for the soul!”, adding that: This guitar andContinue reading “Blonde on Blonde — “Spinning Wheel”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 7, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,806) Sugar Cube Blues Band — “My Last Impression“ “Heavy pounding garage psych” (oscarowski, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUgIn98FX-w) from Mississippi — “ominous garage-psychedelia, complete with pounding fuzzy riff, half-shouted surly lyric, quasi-Eastern guitar solo, and swirling organ”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/sugar-cube-blues-band-mw0000957093) It’s like a hurricane hitting theContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Sugar Cube Blues Band — “My Last Impression”(alternate version): Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 6, 2025″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,805) Los Comandos/The Commands — “Eleva tu Mente”/”Elevate Your Mind” This A-side is a cool ’70 psych instrumental by the Peruvian garage rock band. The band’s LP “is filled with totally instrumental Cumbia Peruana* influenced psychedelic rock music.” (CooperBolan, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/los-comandos/moby-dick/) The album isContinue reading “Los Comandos/The Commands — “Eleva tu Mente”/”Elevate Your Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 5, 2025″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,803) Vanilla Fudge — “Where Is My Mind“ Vanilla Fudge “wrote some excellent psych tunes of their own” (Trotsky, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=6795), including this non-LP A-side that reached #73 — a “powerful slice of heavy psych” that “captures all of the band’s somewhat exaggerated sturmContinue reading “Where Is My Mind Special Edition: Vanilla Fudge/Pesky Gee! — “Where Is My Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 4, 2025″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,802) The Human Expression — “Optical Sound” I love L.A. garage psych classics about synesthesia and reassembling one’s shattered mind as the light of sunrise nears. The band’s second A-side is “a brilliantly dark slice of psychedelia: alluringly nightmarish, but tuneful all theContinue reading “The Human Expression — “Optical Sound”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 3, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,801) Serge Gainsbourg — “Initials B.B.” “Initials B.B.” is Serge Gainsbourg’s (see #1,366, 1,788) iconic paean to his departed lover, the iconic Brigitte Bardot. Jeremy Allen writes: If [Jane] Birkin [see #1,604, 1,788] was the defining relationship of Gainsbourg’s life, her arrival wasContinue reading “Serge Gainsbourg — “Initials B.B.”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 2, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,800) The Whyte Boots/Lori Burton — “Let No One Come Between Us” This “excellent girl-group number[]” (Pop Matters, https://www.popmatters.com/lori_burton_breakout-2495674691.html) and Breakout‘s “best tune. . . . Showcasing Burton’s sexiest voice, the song had a breezy, highly commercial blue-eyed soul feel. . . . [that]Continue reading “The Whyte Boots/Lori Burton — “Let No One Come Between Us”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 1, 2025”