Author Archives: georgefishman2

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 915) The Free-For-All/The Great Scots — “Show Me the Way” It’s been said that the Beatles inspired untold thousands of teenagers across the Americas to buy guitars and head to their garages. Well, if the Beatles actually were a garage band and gotContinue reading “The Free-For-All/The Great Scots — “Show Me the Way”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 6, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 914) The Sparkles — “No Friend of Mine” Straight outta Lubbock, TX, the Sparkles’ “masterpiece . . . [is] an incendiary effort distinguished by [a] snarling guitar lead and [a] remarkably anguished vocal” (Jason Ankeny, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-sparkles-mn0000431652), with “the band . . . onContinue reading “The Sparkles — “No Friend of Mine”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 5, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 913) Q’65 — “I Was Young” This January ’67 B-side by the Dutch wild boys (see #108, 557) is a slow-burner garage classic (assuming there were garages in the Hague). Bruce Eder gives us some history: The Dutch quintet could have held theirContinue reading “Q’65 — “I Was Young”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 4, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 912) The Plague — “Go Away” The Kinks were a snotty garage band from Albuquerque, New Mexico? Well, no, but if they had been, “Go Away” would have been their song. The A-side of the Plague’s only single is an “organ punker withContinue reading “The Plague — “Go Away”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 3, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 891) Edwards Hand — “New York City Rain” (see #151, 663, 813) For song #911, how could I not play “New York City Rain”, a melancholy but brimming with hope soft rock classic by the exquisite Edwards Hand? “NYC Rain” is from theContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Edwards Hand — “New York City Rain”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 2, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 910) Thor’s Hammer — “I Don’t Care” Thor’s Hammer (see #518)— from Iceland, of course — went by the name of Hljómar (The Sound of the Chords) back home. The band gave us mortals this “brash mod stomper[] . . . with snarlingContinue reading “Thor’s Hammer — “I Don’t Care”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 1, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 909) Hendrickson Road House — “I Wondered If You Knew” On gossamer wings, this song takes off for a brief moment, and then the flight is over. It’s from then 19 year old Sue Eakins’ “lost classic of the West Coast psychedelic folkContinue reading “Hendrickson Road House — “I Wondered If You Knew”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 31, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 908) Donovan — “The Land of Doesn’t Have to Be” This “brilliant” (Diego Olivas, https://peanutbutterpope.wordpress.com/2017/07/29/special-review-26-a-gift-from-a-flower-to-a-garden-donovan/), “dreamy and whimsical” (Lorne Murdoch, Donovan: Breezes of Patchouli: His Studio Recordings: 1966-1969) song comes from “Donovan’s 1967 hippie epic ‘A Gift From a Flower to a Garden’.Continue reading “Donovan — “The Land of Doesn’t Have to Be”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 30, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 907) Ralph McTell — “Daddy’s Here” From the “Streets of London” comes a stunning and poignant from the first note song from McTell’s second album (Spiral Staircase). The autobiographical folk song “expresses well [a] child’s anxiety that accompanies the increasingly rare visits ofContinue reading “Ralph McTell — “Daddy’s Here”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 29, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 906) Los Shakers — “Rompan Todo”/”Break It All” I’ve played songs that I’ve called Beatlesque, and I’ve played a song that I called “the greatest early Beatles imitation I have ever heard” (see #849). But hands down, the greatest Beatles fascimile of allContinue reading “Los Shakers — “Rompan Todo”/”Break It All”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 28, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 905) Tony Rivers and the Castaways — “Mr. Sun” Here’s a really neat unreleased in the ‘60s UK pop psych nugget with a total Beach Boys vibe. Maybe if it were named “The Warmth of Mr. Sun” . . . David Wells writesContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Tony Rivers and the Castaways — “Mr. Sun”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 27, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 904) Fortes Mentum* — “Marrakesh, Pt. 1” This is not your daddy’s “Marrakesh Express”! This exquisite ‘69 B-side by London’s Fortes Mentum has more of a “Charge of the Light Brigade” vibe! Maggie Regan tells us that: Danny Beckerman was a staff writerContinue reading “Fortes Mentum — “Marrakesh, Pt. 1”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 26, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 903) Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band — “Hi Hi Hazel” This hilarious A-side by American expatriate soul stomper Geno Washington and his Ram Jam Band reached #45 in the UK, and jumped an additional three spots to #42 when released asContinue reading “Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band– “Hi Hi Hazel”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 25, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 902) Tangerine Peel — “Talkin’ ‘Bout a New Day” From the pen of ’70s superstar songwriter/producer Mike Chapman comes this ode to mindfulness (starting at 20:54 on the album) with a propulsive groove and the immoral words “I walked to the corner, lookedContinue reading “Tangerine Peel — “Talkin’ ‘Bout a New Day”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 24, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 901) The Strawberry Alarm Clock — “Sit with the Guru” This ’68 A-side (reaching #65) and track from the Strawberry Alarm Clock’s second album (see #127, 272) is “jaunty and poppy, with an aggressive guitar vying for supremacy with the lovely, melodic vocalContinue reading “The Strawberry Alarm Clock — “Sit with the Guru”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 23, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 900) Jon Plum — “Alice” UK baroque splendor! “Alice” is “a heavily orchestrated melancholic pop ballad” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) “with [an] intense Barry Ryan-ish vocal and a superb production courtesy of Ray Singer, an acolyte of Mark Wirtz”. (BonContinue reading “Jon Plum — “Alice”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 22, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 899) 1910 Fruitgum Company* — “Mr. Cupid” Not bubblegum — power pop — from 1910 Fruitgum Company, who would rather have been playing Vanilla Fudge anyway! Jason Ankeny tells us: The prototypical bubblegum group, the 1910 Fruitgum Company was the brainchild of BuddahContinue reading “1910 Fruitgum Company — “Mr. Cupid”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 21, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 898) Moby Grape — “Murder in My Heart for the Judge” ’68 B-side and track from the second album Wow is “a tough and funky blues number” Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/album/wow-mw0000780808), “a fabulously hilarious story of being dressed down in a court by aContinue reading “Moby Grape — “Murder in My Heart for the Judge”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 20, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 897) Marmalade — “Kaleidoscope” The Poets (see #47, 86, 223, 489) and Marmalade were Scotland’s greatest bands of the 1960’s. Marmalade’s “Kaleidoscope” is magnificent pop psych — “stupendous and exhilarating” (sara-lorrainegannon8024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KSBhb_ettw), “ transcenden[t] . . . [o]ne of the most overlooked gemsContinue reading “Marmalade — “Kaleidoscope”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 19, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 896) Lemon Fog — “Lemon Fog” The A-side of the first of the Fog’s (see #26) three singles is a “psych-pop flower power masterpiece” (https://www.rockadrome.com/store/lemon-fog-the-the-psychedelic-sound-of-summer-cd.html) “It reached number eight on the regional and local charts in the Houston area.” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-lemon-fog-mn0000091696) EderContinue reading “The Lemon Fog — “Lemon Fog”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 18, 2023″