Author Archives: georgefishman2

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,563) The Hellions — “Tomorrow Never Comes” This “slab of sunshine fun” (Kingsley Abbott, liner notes to the CD comp Ripples, Vol. 1: Look at the Sunshine (British Summer Tyme Pop)) was the second A-side from the Hellions (see # 1,500), a pre-supergroupContinue reading “The Hellions — “Tomorrow Never Comes”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 21, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,562) Thor’s Hammer — “If You Knew” This wonderful uptempo Beatlesque number naturally enough comes from Iceland’s Beatles! — “I was in U.S. Navy stationed at Keflavik in 1967-68 and these guys performed on the base many times. We called them the IcelandicContinue reading “Thor’s Hammer — “If You Knew”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 20, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,561) The Blue Rondos — “Little Baby” I’ve played the B-side (see #351), here is the “utterly magical” (Joe M’Geek, https://www.45cat.com/record/7n15734) A-side by the Blue Rondos, “[a] classic gem which never got the credit deserved”. (Joemeeksyoungestfan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQw9BnDKrs8) “The melody is buoyant and youContinue reading “The Blue Rondos — “Little Baby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 19, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,560) The Golden Earrings — “Call Me” Don’t call Debbie Harry, call the Golden Earrings (see #63, 163, 319, 1,215, 1,504)! They gave us this uncannily Beatlesque ballad on their second LP — Winter Harvest — written by founding guitarist George Kooymans. The EarringsContinue reading “The Golden Earrings — “Call Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 18, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,559) The Mockingbirds — “How to Find a Lover” Maybe he’s gonna buy you a mockingbird, but he couldn’t buy Graham Gouldman’s [see #226] Mockingbirds a hit. This “very catchy” (HorseMouth, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-mockingbirds/how-to-find-a-lover-my-story.p/) “strong, upbeat pop song [is] made distinctive by the stop-and-start arrangementContinue reading “The Mockingbirds — “How to Find a Lover”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 16, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,558) Edwin Starr — “I’m Still a Struggling Man” This ’69 A-side by Edwin Starr (see #693) is a “jewel[]” that “feature[s] one of Starr’s most moving vocal performances, and in its lyric was the distant precursor to the musical/social vision that wouldContinue reading “Edwin Starr — “I’m Still a Struggling Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 16, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,500) Piero Umiliani — “Bob And Hellen” Get ready for an “overload” of joyful and exuberant “coolness” (OakHillAcademy, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ruA_skKro&pp=ygUnUGllcm8gVW1pbGlhbmkg4oCUIOKAnEJvYiBBbmQgSGVsbGVu4oC) from “one of the unsung heroes of soundtrack music”. (Efrén del Valle Peñamil, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/piero-umiliani-mn0000240758#biography) Italy’s Piero Umiliani “[i]ncorporat[ed] styles like jazz, easy listening/lounge, rock,Continue reading “Piero Umiliani — “Bob And Hellen”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 15, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,556) Powder — “Grimbley Leitch” (see #789) Before Thomas and Richard Frost had a minor hit and created one of the great lost albums of the 1960s (see #209, 211, 247, 385, 595, 775, 967), these two Who-obsessed brothers had ignited Powder (as inContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Powder — “Grimbley Leitch”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 14, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,555) Buffalo Springfield — “Expecting to Fly” Off of Buffalo Springfield’s second LP and reaching #98, here is “perhaps the most beautiful melody Neil Young would ever create and the most ethereal singing from just about anyone of his era” (serendipity_, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-buffalo-springfield/expecting-to-fly-everydays/), “perhaps Neil’sContinue reading “Buffalo Springfield — “Expecting to Fly”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 13, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,554) The Artwoods — “Goodbye Sisters” “A great [’65] R&B Freakbeat rocker” (VinylAddict5, https://www.discogs.com/master/924706-The-Art-Woods-Goodbye-Sisters-) by the incredible Artwoods (see #58, 845, 1,241). Yes, they were founded by Art Wood — Ronnie Wood’s older brother — and were a top touring UK R&B band. Alas,Continue reading “The Artwoods — “Goodbye Sisters”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 12, 2025”

“Oh Baby Please” starts at 7:41. THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,553) The Soul Explosion — “Oh Baby Please” Oh baby, “Oh Baby Please” should have been big, big, big! A Granadilla Music press release puts it well: “Detroit? Chicago? Well, no not at all. This 1968 [LP]Continue reading “The Soul Explosion — “Oh Baby Please”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 11, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,552) The Truth — “Who’s Wrong” This infectious ’65 mod A-side is “a snarling self depreciating slab of UK Freakbeat” (Mod Zeb, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bFt2IAwUUDk&pp=ygUVdGhlIHRydXRoIHdobydzIHdyb25n) that “boasts some gutsy guitar work and a good melodic hook” (Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/album/whos-wrong-mod-bedlam-1965-1969-mw0002809900), “a wonderful mixture of fuzz guitar,Continue reading “The Truth — “Who’s Wrong”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 10, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,551) Jason Crest — “A Place in the Sun” Killer UK pop psych that deserves a place in the spotlight! The band’s fifth and final A-side is “[o]utrageous great pop psych – wonderful melotron, superbly crafted, ……and [was] a total flop. Crazy.” (mahatmacote,Continue reading “Jason Crest — “A Place in the Sun”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 9, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,550) Victor Brady — “Brown Rain” This “[h]eavy psych funk fuzz eruption” is the “[b]est track [on the LP] by this outer space psychedelic psteel drummer. (happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPVHAyvVi48, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1eqvcatY6A) “The combination of fuzz psych and steel drums sounds terrible on paper, but reallyContinue reading “Victor Brady — “Brown Rain”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 8, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,549) Focal Point — “Love You Forever” This lovely ballad was the only A-side, though not the band’s choice, from one of the greatest coulda/shoulda-beens in the annals of British pop psych (see #4, 43, 198, 538, 747, 991, 1,094). “Despite . . . beingContinue reading “Focal Point — “Love You Forever”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 7, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,548) The Humblebums — “Saturday Round About Sunday” Here is a Billy Connolly-written song off the first Gerry Rafferty/Billy Connolly Humblebums (see #556, 847) LP — The New Humblebums— pondering why a relationship went bad. “Instead of all those endless plans we shouldContinue reading “The Humblebums — “Saturday Round About Sunday”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 6, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,547) Rick and Sandy — “Lost My Girl” Who’s dat? Super producer to be Alexander “Sandy” Roberton gives us “driving mid to uptempo [‘65] mod beat with very fine ringing and fuzz guitar, powerful drums and an excellent lead vocal” (Bayard, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/rick-and-sandy/lost-my-girl-i-cant-help-it.p/), aContinue reading “Rick and Sandy — “Lost My Girl”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 5, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,546) The Livin’ End — “She’s a Teaser” Texas ‘67 garage bliss. The subject is self-explanatory. “Awesome guitar fuzz. She might have been a teaser but this is a psych pleaser”. “thomassmith8721, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwfB_9EaydA&pp=ygUaTGl2aW4gZW5kIHNoZeKAmXMgYSB0ZWFzZXI%3D) Indeed. Bolt 24 Hot Sounds tells us: Wichita Falls TexasContinue reading “The Livin’ End — “She’s a Teaser”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 4, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,545) The Cherry Slush — “I Cannot Stop You” This “classic [Dick Wagner* written] fuzztastic garage smasher”(narinderdhanjal221, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps7nuiVqr-o) by Saginaw, Michigan’s finest features “angry dismissive lyrics of a formerly rejected boyfriend who just just doesn’t care anymore. Brilliantly introduced by a sweeping FuzzContinue reading “The Cherry Slush — “I Cannot Stop You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 3, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,544) The Impressions — “Ridin’ High” The title track from the Impressions’ (see #118, 285, 1,347) ‘66 LP Ridin’ High tells truth to power — a man who has everything but not love has nothing. I’d add that the man who has everything butContinue reading “The Impressions — “Ridin’ High”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 2, 2025”