Author Archives: georgefishman2

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,014) Ray Columbus and the Art Collection — “Kick Me (I Think I’m Dreaming)” From New Zealand with a stopover in San Francisco, comes “a classic piece of heavy psychedelic punk rock . . . with . . . monstrous fuzz guitars andContinue reading “Ray Columbus and the Art Collection — “Kick Me (I Think I’m Dreaming)”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 13, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,013) Billy Preston — “Encouraging Words” Grand gospel funk from the Fifth Beatle/Beatle Whisperer #1’s (see #368) second Apple album, produced by George Harrison and with Eric Clapton and Delaney Bramlett on guitar and Ringo Starr on drums. About the album, Bruce EderContinue reading “Billy Preston — “Encouraging Words”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 12, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,012) Portobello Explosion — “We Can Fly” A “Wonderful Piece of Beatles like [UK] Psychedelic Pop” (German68, https://www.45cat.com/record/cns4001), a “charming slice of light psych from this one-off band, who developed from the ashes of Mirage. . . . [and] featured Elton John’s futureContinue reading “Portobello Explosion — “We Can Fly”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 11, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,011) Renato E Seus Blue Caps — “Sem Suzana”/“Without Suzana” This Brazilian “Young Guard” group specializing in Portuguese versions of Beatles songs gives us an utterly gorgeous and magical original ballad that John and Paul could have proudly called their own. Yet, “RenatoContinue reading “Renato E Seus Blue Caps — “Sem Suzana”/”Without Suzana”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 10, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,010) The Dave Miller Set — “Mr. Guy Fawkes” This New Zealand-moved to Australia band’s “psychedelic masterpiece”, a “tour de force” that “continued the great tradition of Aussie bands covering obscure overseas tracks and coming up with versions that far surpassed the originals”, isContinue reading “The Dave Miller Set — “Mr. Guy Fawkes”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 9, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,009) Scorpion — “Hey la, la, la” Good time rock n’ roll, straight outta Sweden? Yeah, and this “freakbeat rumbler”(SwedishProggBlog, http://swedishprogg.blogspot.com/2013/07/scorpion-i-am-scorpion-mnw-1970.html) really hits the spot. I’m not saying that it inspired Outkast’s “Hey Ya!”, but I’m not saying it didn’t! Of the albumContinue reading “Scorpion — “Hey la, la, la”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 8, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,009) The Koobas — “Gypsy Fred” “Great [whimsical] UK 1967 Psych [that] should be mentioned with Pink Floyd[‘s] “Arnold Layne’”& the two Pretty Things Psych 45s”. (Vintage Vinyl Via Valves, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6l2SNjmYVc) “[T]he Koobas [see #178] gr[ew] their hair out, donn[ed] hippy garb andContinue reading “The Koobas — “Gypsy Fred”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 7, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,007) Les Problèmes — “Je Ne Vois Rien”/”I See Nothing” An “[a]bsolutely incredible . . . fuzz garage song[]. . . . one of the best sixties french [45’s]”. (vinylomania, https://www.discogs.com/release/7215663-Les-Probl%C3%A8mes-Je-Ne-Vois-Rien-Passe-Ton-Chemin) France? Absolument! “The Fuzz guitar intro is awesome!! [T]he good times whereContinue reading “Les Problèmes — “Je Ne Vois Rien”/”I See Nothing”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 6, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,006) Tony Colton — “I’ve Laid Some Down in My Time” This self-penned (along with Ray Smith) ’66 A-side dishes some “[e]pic monster freakbeat Modness!” (Narindude, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QU6ggR9Stg) “Amazing how this disc managed to slip past the censorship of the day”. (liner notes toContinue reading “Tony Colton — “I’ve Laid Some Down in My Time”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 5, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,005) The Vejtables — “I Still Love You” Wait, is it a Byrd (song)? Is it a Beatle (song)? No, it’s the first A-side by the San Francisco Bay area band (reaching # 84), “a jangly synthesis of the Beatles and the Byrds”Continue reading “The Vejtables — “I Still Love You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 4, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,004) Bettye Swann — Don’t You Ever Get Tired (of Hurting Me)?” The real Queen of Country Soul reached #102 in ’69 with this killer soulified version of the Hank Cochran song first recorded by George Jones (’65) (and also done country styleContinue reading “Bettye Swann — “Don’t You Ever Get Tired (of Hurting Me)?”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 3, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,003) Fortes Mentum* — “Green Mello Hill” A delicious UK pop psych confection by Danny Beckerman, a “mercurial producer/arranger/writer/musician . . . an archetypically precocious studio whizzkid who was one of [the] Morgan [Blue Town label] owner Monty Babson’s favoured lieutenants”. (David Wells,Continue reading “I Shall Be Released; Fortes Mentum — “Green Mello Hill”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 2, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD I’m not sure I would have believed when I started this blog in July of 2021 that I would hit the 1000 non-hit (in the U.S.) song mark in a little over two years. But here I am. I just hope you haveContinue reading “#1,000 Special Edition!: The Namelosers/The Electric Banana/Millennium: The Namelosers — “Land of 1,000 Dances”; The Electric Banana — “A Thousand Ages from the Sun”; The Millennium — “There Is Nothing More to Say”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 1, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 997) The Crazy World of Arthur Brown — “Devil’s Grip” “Devil’s Grip” is “a haunting and powerful track that showcases [Arthur] Brown’s [see #783, 797] ability to captivate listeners with his unique blend of rock and theatricality. . . . [It] delves intoContinue reading “Halloween Special Edition: The Crazy World of Arthur Brown/The Laurels/The Bunnies: The Crazy World of Arthur Brown — “Devil’s Grip”, The Laurels — “The Devil’s Well”, Takeshi Terauchi and the Bunnys — “Little Devil”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 31, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 996) Jimmy Campbell — “Forever Grateful” This blog o’ mine gives me great joy, as when I played as my 22nd song “Michel Angelo”, by Jimmy Campbell (see #22, 648, 736-38) and his band at the time the 23rd Turnoff. I called theContinue reading “Jimmy Campbell — “Forever Grateful”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 30, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 996) Bobby Fuller Four — “Little Annie Lou” Bobby fought little Annie Lou and Annie won! Bobby and his brother/bandmate Randy wrote this firecracker of a number that “rattles with rockabilly inspirations” (Beverly Paterson, https://somethingelsereviews.com/2015/02/01/the-bobby-fuller-four-krla-king-of-the-wheels/) and is a fitting B-side to “I FoughtContinue reading “Bobby Fuller Four — “Little Annie Lou”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 29, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 994) Tidal Wave — “Spider Spider” This soaring ‘69 A-side reached #1 in South Africa. Jay-Z, you need to sample this one! Brian Currin tells us: The Tidal Wave was one of South Africa’s foremost exponents of psych-influenced pop music in the lateContinue reading “Tidal Wave — “Spider Spider”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 28, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 993) Poet and the One Man Band — “The Fable” Utterly magical and haunting folk rock by some future musical luminaries, including guitar legend Albert Lee and two future members of Sandy Denny’s Fotheringay. “The Fable” has “[s]imilarities to the late-period Zombies, thoughContinue reading “Poet and the One Man Band — “The Fable”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 27, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 992) Edge of Darkness — “Mean Town” Sort of a mashup of Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and Scorsese’s Mean Streets. No, really! This A-side from the upstate New York (Oswego) band’s only single, is “[b]rooding ’68 . . . guitar/organContinue reading “Edge of Darkness — “Mean Town”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 26, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 991) Focal Point — “Far Away from Forever” Focal Point is one of the greatest coulda/shoulda-beens in the annals of British pop psych (see #4, 43, 198, 538, 747). This “languid, introspective” (Len, https://therisingstorm.net/focal-point-first-bite-of-the-apple/) and trance-like number was a favorite in Beatleland. Co-bandContinue reading “Focal Point — “Far Away from Forever”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 24, 2023”