Author Archives: georgefishman2

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,056) Octopus — “Thief” ‘70 B-side and album track from this UK late psych group (see #759) “is a fast-paced rocker, complete with some nice rattling bass playing and cool riff” (Tom Ozrik, http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=5623) that “sounds like a rather nervously (in a goodContinue reading “Octopus — “Thief”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 23, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,055) Affinity — “I Am and So Are You” This stunning UK jazz-rock album track (and A-side in Portugal and B-side in France) was written by Alan Hull (founding member of Lindisfarne) with brass arranged by John Paul Jones (liner notes to theContinue reading “Affinity — “I Am and So Are You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 22, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,054) Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends — “Don’t Take Your Time” This ’68 B-side and lead off album track is a delighfully horn-y sunshine pop confection by the master. Matthew Greenwald says: A great example of up-tempo, West Coast MORContinue reading “Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends — “Don’t Take Your Time”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 21, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,053) Bobak, Jons, Malone — “House of Many Windows” This house is “built from a dramatic opening (very similar, incidentally, to the first few seconds of the Kaleidoscope single “Flight From Ashiya” [see #552]) to a fully-fledged psychedelic/progressive crossover epic, with more evocativeContinue reading “Bobak, Jons, Malone — “House of Many Windows”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 20, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,052) Les Charlots — “Hey Max” Les Charlots, the French crazy boys, gave us this ’67 A-side parody of French rock icon Johnny Hallyday’s version of “Hey Joe” (which in turn turned the song’s murderous rage into passive aggression). It’s a hoot, an homageContinue reading “Les Charlots — “Hey Max”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 19, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,051) John Williams — “Ramblin’ Boy” This is not Tom Paxton’s “Ramblin’ Boy” or even Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” (though John Williams (see #402, 784, 857, 858) did play with Jimmy Page).  Rather, it is an exquisite ’67 Brit folk number about a ramblin’Continue reading “John Williams — “Ramblin’ Boy”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 18, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,050) Rare Earth — “Eleanor Rigby” People either love or hate Rare Earth’s (see #869) cover of “Eleanor Rigby”. You get “[o]ne of the best rock versions of this song ever” (60seczmusicvideos86, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1_wwr_Slck&t=344s) and “[h]ow to make the beatles better just add some smoothContinue reading “Rare Earth — “Eleanor Rigby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 17, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,049) Reparata and the Delrons — “Boys and Girls” I love Reparata and the Delrons (see #258, 389, 578, 740) — and not just because they got together in ‘62 (the year I was born!) at St. Brendan’s Catholic School in Brooklyn (whereContinue reading “Reparata and the Delrons — “Boys and Girls”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 16, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,048) Yellow Bellow Room Boom* (Godley & Creme) — “Easy Life” The B-side of future 10cc’ers Godley & Creme’s first single (‘68) is a “droll” (David Wells, liner notes to Frabjous Days: The Secret World of Godley and Creme 1967-1969) and wonderful song. ”SuchContinue reading “Yellow Bellow Room Boom (Godley & Creme) — “Easy Life”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 15, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,047) Maxine Brown — “Love in Them There Hills” From “one of the most underrated soul and R&B vocalists of the ’60s” (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/maxine-brown-mn0000396154#biography) comes the definitive and killer version of this early Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Roland Chambers rich/poor loveContinue reading “Maxine Brown — “Love in Them There Hills”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 14, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,046) The Tokens — “Animal” This crazy, wild, frisky song belongs in a zoo or on a Kim Fowley (see #89, 449) album. Wait, is there are difference? But an A-side?! I am not surprised that it flopped! Wikipedia tells us that “In 1968, The Tokens (seeContinue reading “The Tokens — “Animal”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 13, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,045) Samantha Jones — “Ford Leads the Way“ Well, after playing Georgie Fame’s “Getaway”, I need to play Samantha Jones’ “Ford Leads the Way”, “a pretty swinging number” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/surrounded-by-a-ray-of-sunshine-the-ua-recordings-mw0000069372) and “Ridiculously Infectious!!” (SuperXavier30, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7p5mCutB20) Georgie’s song originated “as a jingle [heContinue reading “Samantha Jones — “Ford Leads the Way”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 12, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,044) Georgie Fame — “Getaway” WARNING: If you are from the UK, do not read any further as “Getaway” hit #1! However, it only reached #70 in the U.S. It had “[t]he perfect sound for the emerging summer of love with its carefreeContinue reading “Georgie Fame — “Getaway”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 11, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,043) The Kinks — “Lavender Hill” Turn on, tune in, and drop out Kinks-style. DJ Stereo Faith tells us: “Lavender Hill” is a gorgeous, yearning music hall meets psych rarity . . . . Initially recorded during the late ’60s, during the WeContinue reading “The Kinks — “Lavender Hill”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 10, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,042) Samantha Jones — “Today Without You” No, not from Sex and the City! This slinky “hideously rare and hard to find but brilliant” (doowopmike, https://www.45cat.com/record/pen703) and unforgettable Brit Girl classic inexplicably failed to become a megahit in the UK. Well, it didContinue reading “Samantha Jones — “Today Without You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 9, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,041) The Petards — “Rainbows and Butterflies” Get hoisted by Germany’s own Petards with this ‘68 B-side, a pop psych masterpiece and “psychedelically-propelled opus” (liner notes to the CD comp Electric Sound Show: An Assortment of Antiquities for the Psychedelic Connoisseur). The bandContinue reading “The Petards — “Rainbows and Butterflies”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 8, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,040) Iron Butterfly — “So Lo” Heavy metal founding fathers Iron Butterfly’s first LP is appropriately titled Heavy. Yet it contained this lovely ditty — “CLA-HA-HA-HAS-IC!! one of a kind. unique. dark, happy, spooky, in a psychic tongue-in-cheek and merry way…”. (starcloud49595, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-6cGbHKC934&pp=ygUUSXJvbiBodXR0ZXJmbHQgc28gbG8%3D)Continue reading “Iron Butterfly — “So Lo”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 7, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,039) Módulos — “Nada Me Importa”/”Nothing Matters” Magical ‘69 B-side from Spain’s giants Módulos (see #947). “Fantastic theme. I ‘ll never forget. It was one of the songs that marked me the most during my youth. Thank you, Modules, for creating it.” (raulvelazquezgordillo5308,Continue reading “Módulos — “Nada Me Importa”/”Nothing Matters”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 6, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,038) Washington DCs — “Any Time” A Liverpool band named the Washington DCs? Well, I’m just glad they didn’t burn down the White House as a publicity stunt. If they’d been managed by Andrew Loog Oldham, they probably would have! “Ring me anytime,Continue reading “Washington DCs — “Any Time”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 5, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,037) Andwella — “She Taught Me to Love” This number from Northern Ireland’s Andwella (see #714, 770) starts off with a Paul McCartney/Wings sort of vibe and then blossoms into a grand 70’s-sounding power ballad. How it is not on heavy rotation at everyContinue reading “Andwella — “She Taught Me to Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — December 4, 2023”