Author Archives: georgefishman2

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 635) Olympic — “Everybody” The great and pioneering Czech band — going strong after 60 years! — gives us this infectious and buoyant gem off of its second album, ’69’s Pták Rosomák (The Bird Wolverine). Even if it is about a bar fightContinue reading “Olympic — “Everybody”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 9, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 634) Georgie Fame – “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” I love Georgie (see #103, 169), and not just because my mother used to call me Georgie! He has always been, per Max Bell, “the coolest of the cool” (https://www.udiscovermusic.com/artist/georgie-fame/) and it’s beenContinue reading “Georgie Fame — “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 8, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 633) The Basement Wall — “Never Existed” The band’s lone A-side (‘67) was “a keyboard-driven regional smash similar in spirit to Texas punk” (Jason Ankeny, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-basement-wall-mn0000030994/biography). Gilesi enthuses: “Never Existed” is a melodic garage psycher that contrasts a relatively understated verse with aContinue reading “The Basement Wall — “Never Existed”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 7, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD I present three extraordinary and unheralded covers of the Beatles’ classic ballad “I’ll Be Back” — by Cliff Richard, Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends, and The Buckinghams. They each bring out the horns, and each bring out something unique andContinue reading ““I’ll Be Back”: The Beatles, not Arhhnold, Special Edition: Cliff Richard/Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends/The Buckinghams: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 6, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 629) Buddy Miles — “The Segment” Ah, Buddy Miles (see #112, 221, 366). As Jamie Ludwig says, he was a “force of nature as a drummer, vocalist, and bandleader. ” He moves my soul. Ludwig goes on: “The Segment” is a piece ofContinue reading “Buddy Miles — “The Segment”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 5, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 628) Richie Havens — “For Haven’s Sake” A haunting, meditative and unforgettable song, released shortly before Havens made history at Woodstock. Carl Bookstein says it is “a melancholy blues, and beautiful.” (https://pennyblackmusic.co.uk/Home/Details?id=24934) and Hope Silverman calls it: Sad, desperate and determined . .Continue reading “Richie Havens — “For Haven’s Sake”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 4, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 627) Love Sculpture — “In the Land of the Few” This single “flopped” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited), but it is a “superb” (http://www.makingtime.co.uk/lovesculp.html#.Y2M0hHbMK3A) psychedelic “mini-epic” with a “blistering [guitar] solo” (Mike Stax, liner notes to the Nuggets II comp) byContinue reading “Love Sculpture — “In the Land of the Few”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 3, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 626) Paper Bubble — “Being Human Being” How could such a “bouncy, singalong” and “happy-go-lucky” song (Richie Unterberger — who did not meant it as a compliment!, https://www.allmusic.com/album/scenery-mw0000786501) not have been a ’69 UK hit? Well, it wasn’t released as a single! DavidContinue reading “Paper Bubble — “Being Human Being”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — November 2, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD Two songs hand-selected for Halloween — “My Girlfriend is a Witch” and “Warlock” — one goofy pop rock and one an eerie prog apocalyptic vision. 624) October Country — “My Girlfriend Is a Witch” And he seems tickled pink — “What a fate,Continue reading “Halloween Special: October Country/ Paul Brett Sage: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 31, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 623) The Kinks — “Rosy Won’t You Please Come Home” Mia Kulpa! I featured a song yesterday about a Rosy that I thought might have been written by Ray Davies. Turns out it wasn’t. To make amends, here is a song about aContinue reading “The Kinks — “Rosy Won’t You Please Come Home”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 30, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 622) The Rockin’ Vickers — “Little Rosy” A jaunty music-hally number, unreleased for decades, that is distinguished by two facts: 1) the Vickers’ guitarist at the time was the iconic Lemmy Kilmister, Motörhead to be, and 2) the songwriter may have been RayContinue reading “The Rockin’ Vickers — “Little Rosy”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 29, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 621) The Reekers/The Hangmen — “The Girl Who Faded Away” ’65 B-side of the Hangmen’s (see #560) big Washington, DC hit that knocked the Beatles off the top spot on local radio — a wonderful, wistful garage ballad with a complicated history. Oh,Continue reading “The Reekers/The Hangmen — “The Girl Who Faded Away”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 28, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 620) The Hysterics — “Everything’s There” Richie Unterberger says of this ’65 garage rock classic that “[t]hey had a characteristic organ-guitar sound and snarling, immature teen putdown vocals”. (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hysterics-mn0000269897). Yup. Did those teen boys sound put upon! “The Hysterics were from San BernardinoContinue reading “The Hysterics — “Everything’s There”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 27, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 619) Bob Lind — “Eleanor” As we used to say at the University of Michigan, “Oh how I hate Ohio State.” Well, oh how I hate “Elusive Butterfly”. But: 1) I love “Eleanor”! As Joe Viglione says, “when you hear . . .Continue reading “Bob Lind — “Eleanor”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 26, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 618) The Mark Leeman Five — “The Boy Who Walks All Alone” The group’s first demo, circa ‘62, is a haunting and unforgettable mod/northern soul number. The Five had conquered the London clubs and were readying an assault on the realm when theirContinue reading “The Mark Leeman Five — “The Boy Who Walks All Alone”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 25, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 617) Jake Holmes — “Think I’m Being Had” OK, I feel a little dazed and confused after listening to this song, the B-side of Holmes’ first single (’67). It has got to be the greatest “I know you’re cheating on me” song thatContinue reading “Jake Holmes — “Think I’m Being Had”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 24, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 616) The Bonzo Dog Band — “”Humanoid Boogie” The very same year that HAL told David Bowman to take a chill pill and sang “Daisy”, the Bonzos gave us the “Humanoid Boogie”, which “got the humanoid hip-types jumpin’ and-a jivin’”! As Harvey J.Continue reading “The Bonzo Dog Band — “Humanoid Boogie”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 23, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 615) The Outsiders — “ Happyville” The Outsiders give us a randy and “masterful acid punker[]” (Jason, http://therisingstorm.net/the-outsiders-cq/) off of CQ, their last album (’68) — as only a band from the Netherlands could. And only a Dutch band could write English lyricsContinue reading “The Outsiders — “Happyville”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 21, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 614) Fever Tree — “Love Makes the Sun Rise” This ’69 A-side and album track is, per Richie Unterberger, a luminous “pretty, wistful ballad” by a Houston psych group. Oh, with guitar courtesy of ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons! Richie Unterberger tells us: AContinue reading “Fever Tree — “Love Makes the Sun Rise”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 20, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 613) Herman’s Hermits — “Dream On”/”I Gotta Dream On” Can’t believe Herman’s Hermits never sued Aerosmith over the blatant steal of this song! It is a cool ‘65 album track and B-side that amalgamates a lot of the British Invasion sounds then onContinue reading “Herman’s Hermits — “Dream On”/”I Gotta Dream On”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 19, 2022″