Author Archives: georgefishman2

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,589) Doug Ashdown — “Something Strange” Here is one of the firsts songs written by Australia’s folk giant Doug Ashdown (see #1,375). Brilliant. Ashdown tells us of Ashdown: After playing lead guitar in a Shadows/Beatles cover band, I descended into the subterranean worldContinue reading “Doug Ashdown — “Something Strange”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 16, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,588) Click — “Girl with a Mind” “. . . is not easy to find“. Um, that might be a bit touchy today. Anyway, this entrancing and “offbeat” (Billboard (Feb. 3, 1968), Davie Gordon, https://www.45cat.com/record/lr3419) A-side clicks with me, “something between The Cowsills andContinue reading “Click — “Girl with a Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 15, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,587) Glass Family — “I’m Losing It” This killer fuzz-drenched garage/psych stomper wasn’t issued as a single or on the Glass Family’s ’69 LP Electric Band (see #309, 338). Rather, it found its way onto possibly the first 60’s punk/garage rock compilation album,Continue reading “Glass Family — “I’m Losing It”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 14, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,586) Mario Migliardi — “Apollo Beat” A “[m]agnetic and surreal” (exotaras3732, https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=G7AUQxGsmLs) instrumental/wordless choral freakout that starts out in 2001: A Space Odyssey territory before amping up the drums and guitar. Fantastico! We can thank Mario Migliardi, “an Italian composer, pianist and conductorContinue reading “Mario Migliardi — “Apollo Beat”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 13, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,585) Etta James — “Mellow Fellow” Forget King James, here is Queen James, the original Queen of Soul (see #316, 498) “wailing to a stomping beat” (Joe Marchese, https://theseconddisc.com/2012/07/18/the-feeling-is-right-kent-offers-expanded-etta-james-lp-clarence-carter-singles-collection/) on this “[g]reat classic mid-tempo Rnb/Mod dancer”. (https://rhythmlounge.co.uk/product/etta-james-mellow-fellow-argo-demo-vg/) This is no mellow fella! AsContinue reading “Etta James — “Mellow Fellow”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 12, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,584) Maurice Gibb — “Something’s Blowing” An incredible and joyous song from Maurice Gibb’s (see #353, 354, 466, 861, 1,336) lost solo album recorded during the Bee Gee’s split — with a little nick from “Good Morning Starshine” at the end! Bruce Eder explains:Continue reading “I Shall Be Released: Maurice Gibb — “Something’s Blowing”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 11, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,583) The Alan Bown! — “Magic Handkerchief” This A-side by the Alan Bown! (see #1,213, 1,414) is a “REAL gem” (MonkeyHanger, https://www.45cat.com/record/cub1). Dave Thompson calls it a “[b]lissed out mini-classic[ . . . that is] as delightful as only second-division British psych canContinue reading “The Alan Bown! — “Magic Handkerchief”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 10, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,583) The Honeybus — “Girl of Independent Means” From Honeybus (see #6, 52, 207, 434, 562, 605, 764, 1,100, 1,439) 2.0, here is a ’68 A-side “which certainly deserved to do well” (Roger Dopson, liner notes to the CD comp Honeybus at Their Best): “quiteContinue reading “The Honeybus — “Girl of Independent Means”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 9, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,581) The Specters — “Depression” Here is the Worcester, Massachusetts, band’s only A-side, “a killer, Joe Meek sounding dirge with lyrics that’ll drive anyone feelin’ low to throw in life’s towel” (liner notes to the CD comp Teenage Shutdown: Vol. 7: I’m DownContinue reading “The Specters — “Depression”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 8, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,580) Condello — “The Other Side of You” A haunting, spacey pop psych number sounding a decade ahead of its time, sounding like Peter Gabriel wrote and performed it. In fact, I’m thinking that the Progfather did write and record it. The timing’sContinue reading “Condello — “The Other Side of You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 7, 2025”

Starts at 9:03 THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,579) The Lords — “I’m a Hog for You Baby” Germany’s Lords (see #335) take the Coasters’ 1959 #38 hit and camp it up as only the Lords can do with their “inimitable double-time Mersey bastardization[]”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/shakin-all-over-mw0000846529) “TheContinue reading “The Lords — “I’m a Hog for You Baby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 6, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,578) Dave Bixby — “Drug Song” From Dave Bixby (see #531, 668, 1,189) comes “the saddest song I have ever heard in my entire existence” (karlicato190, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0HzNePL-XM), “as a supremely world-weary, echo-laden guy laments on how he screwed himself up with dope”. (Patrick Lundborg,Continue reading “Dave Bixby — “Drug Song”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 5, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,577) Curtis Knight (with Jimi Hendrix) — “How Would You Feel” OK, this April ‘66 single recorded in ’65 or ’66) is “a shameless ripoff” (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/curtis-knight-mn0001473142#biography) of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”, but it is still “brilliant”, “righteous rawkusContinue reading “Curtis Knight (with Jimi Hendrix) — “How Would You Feel”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 4, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,576) The Mirage — “The Wedding of Ramona Blair” From “a fine, unjustly overlooked band” (see #1,012) whose members had “impressive instrumental skills”, “could harmonize beautifully”, were “fine songwriters”, and “seemed close to major stardom more than once without quite grabbing the brassContinue reading “The Mirage — “The Wedding of Ramona Blair”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 3, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,575) King Coleman — “Down in the Basement” This “early 60s, low slung and sleazy R&B dancer[]” from a “larger than life, cult hero” is a “total killer[]” (Sounds of the Universe, https://soundsoftheuniverse.com/sjr/product/king-coleman-down-in-the-basement-crazy-feelin), a “proper sloppy greasy RnB side[] . . . .Continue reading “King Coleman — “Down in the Basement”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 2, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD An impossibly gorgeous British beat ballad written and recorded by a later incarnation of the Tornados (yes, the “Telstar” Tornados) with a little help from Joe Meek, rerecorded a few years later with equally impressive results by Israel’s Churchills, then including co-writer andContinue reading “Too Much in Love Special Edition: The Tornados/The Churchills — “Too Much in Love to Hear”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 1, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,572) The Golden Earrings — “That Day” This song is by my favorite British beat group . . . from the Netherlands. But warning: If you are Dutch, read no further! The Golden Earrings’ (see #63, 163, 319, 1,215, 1,504, 1,560) 3rd A-side, writtenContinue reading “The Golden Earrings — “That Day”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 30, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,571) The Jynx — “How” A mysterious UK band gave us a ‘64 beat classic and then disappeared. Vernon Joynson says “[n]o other details known”. (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) Thankfully, 06m.jones can tell us that the Jynx was “[a] group from BirkhamsteadContinue reading “The Jynx — “How”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 29, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,570) Los Brincos — “Cry” I’ve played their star-making B-side (see #1,172), here is the power ballad (if there even was such a thing in ’64) A-side by “The Spanish Beatles”. Diego Manrique writes: [T]he Spanish answer to The Beatles[,] Los Brincos wereContinue reading “Los Brincos — “Cry”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 28, 2025”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,569) The Applejacks — “What’s the Matter Little Girl” A delightful British Invasion charmer from a band (see #973) that was the first from the Birmingham area to join the hit parade. But they get no respect! Richie Unterberger says that “[w]hile theirContinue reading “The Applejacks — “What’s the Matter Little Girl”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — April 27, 2025”