Author Archives: georgefishman2

126) Bob Dylan — “She’s Your Lover Now” Abandoned unfinished in the studio in January of ‘66. One of Dylan’s great caustic/bitter songs, up there with “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Positively 4th Street” and “Idiot Wind.” Do not get crosswise with this guy (or pick through his garbage in Greenwich Village)! “Pain sure brings outContinue reading “Bob Dylan — “She’s Your Lover Now”, The Strawberry Alarm Clock — “Pretty Song from Psych-Out”, The Starlets — “You Don’t Love Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 16, 2021”

123) Los Mac’s — “El Amor Despues De Los Veinte Años” The best psychedelic album (‘67) to ever have come from Chile? Yes! Even the band says so! And definitely recorded in an altered state. 124) Dirty Martha — “Children’s Song” A horn-driven band inspired by Blood, Sweat and Tears (that I presume wasn’t namedContinue reading “Los Mac’s — “El Amor Despues De Los Veinte Años”, Dirty Martha — “Children’s Song”, The Remains — “Don’t Look Back”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 15, 2021”

120) Michel Polnareff — “Mes Regrets” Stunning, from the flamboyant French star’s second album. 121) The (Australian) Playboys — “Sad” Brilliant ‘67 B-side of the only single released by the Aussie band (which had backed Normie Rowe), recorded while in the UK. The A-side, not so much — rockin’ out to “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.”Continue reading “Michel Polnareff — “Mes Regrets”, The (Australian) Playboys — “Sad”, Les Fleur De Lys — “Circles”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 14, 2021”

117) The Blue Condition — “Once There Was a Girl” I don’t know much about this group, but it laid down some mesmerizing garage rock on this ’67 B-side. 118) The Impressions — “I’ve Been Trying” One of those wonderful B-sides overshadowed by the iconic status of the A side — in this case, “PeopleContinue reading “The Blue Condition — “Once There Was a Girl”, The Impressions — “I’ve Been Trying”, Pete Townshend — “Day of Silence”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 13, 2021”

114) The Fantastic Dee-Jays — “Fight Fire” Fantastic garage rock single (’66) by the Golliwogs . . . to become Creedence Clearwater Revival . . . done even better by the Dee-Jays that year. Here is the Golliwogs’s version: 115) Pandemonium — “No Presents for Me” A Brit psych classic, this April ‘67 single wasContinue reading “The Fantastic Dee-Jays — “Fight Fire”, Pandemonium — “No Presents for Me”, The Seeds — “Pushin’ Too Hard”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 12, 2021”

113) John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band — “Love” On this 20th anniversary of 9/11, the only thing I could think of to play that was remotely appropriate was John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band‘s “Love” from 1970, one of the most beautiful, delicate and consoling songs ever written. Even if it isContinue reading “John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band — “Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 11, 2021″

110) Led Zeppelin — “Sugar Mama” Zeppelin unheard?  No way!  Way, as this smoking outtake from their first album wasn’t released until 2015. 111) Marianne Faithfull — “The Sha La La Song” The B (better) side of “Summer Nights,” her last hit single (#24 in Sept. ’65). 112) Buddy Miles — “Memphis Train” Buddy, drummerContinue reading “Led Zeppelin — “Sugar Mama”, Marianne Faithfull — “The Sha La La Song”, Buddy Miles — “Memphis Train”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 10, 2021”

107) Boudewijn de Groot (and Elly Nieman) — “Meester Prikkebeen” De Groot was born in a Japanese prison camp in Java in 1944 (where his mother died the following year). He became a hugely popular singer in the Netherlands, and “under the influence of the upcoming hippie movement as well as being more or lessContinue reading “Boudewijn de Groot (and Elly Nieman) — “Meester Prikkebeen”, Q’65 — “The Life I Live”, Paul Revere and the Raiders — “Midnite Ride”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 9, 2021”

104) Nick Garrie — “Bungles Tour” The great album’s comic relief. 105) The Pipe Dream — “The 5:23” Sunshine pop about commuting on the train — “Book me a ticket on the 5:23.” Written by band member Stephen Schwartz. Stephen Schwartz who wrote Godspell, Pippin and Wicked?! Yes, according to https://whatfrankislisteningto.negstar.com/sunshine-pop-and-baroque/the-pipe-dream-wanderers-lovers-rca-1969/. 106) Dana Gillespie —Continue reading “Nick Garrie — “Bungles Tour”, The Pipe Dream — “The 5:23”, Dana Gillespie — “No, No, No”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 8, 2021”

101) Marmalade, “I See the Rain Again” Before they rocketed to success with their cover of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da,” the Scottish group released this anthemic single in August of ’67. It was Jimi Hendrix’s favorite song that year, and Jimi was spot-on.  The Nuggets comp says it was “as good as British psychedelic pop gets.”  TheContinue reading “Marmalade, “I See the Rain Again”, The Landlords — “I’m Through with You”, Georgie Fame — “Somebody Stole My Thunder”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 6, 2021”

100) The Kinks — “Get Back in Line” From 1970’s Lola album. Shaun Richman wonderfully puts Ray Davies’s “anti-union” song in context: [I]n 1964 . . . . The Kinks were stars, but they were denied the opportunity to tour America while all of their compatriots were making the Ed Sullivan Show their first stopContinue reading “Labor Day Special: The Kinks — “Get Back in Line”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 6, 2021”

97) Third Bardo, “Five Years Ahead of My Time” A-side of their only single (5/67), and the NYC band nailed it.  Garage psych at its best. Supposedly pulled off the air because of presumed drug references. 98) Jeff Monn, “I Need a Friend” Former Third Bardo lead singer Jeff Monn released an incredible album inContinue reading “Third Bardo, “Five Years Ahead of My Time”, Jeff Monn, “I Need a Friend”, The Birds, “No Good Without You Baby”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 4, 2021”

94) The Electric Banana, “Alexander” Actually, the Banana was the Pretty Things in disguise, making some much needed money by providing songs for films trying to be hip. The liner notes to the Complete De Wolfe Sessions comp explain that: [The] Swinging London phenomenon had led to a profusion of groovy movies chronicling life [there]Continue reading “The Electric Banana, “Alexander”, Joe Simon, “I Got a Whole Lot of Lovin’”, Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, “I See the Light”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 3, 2021”

91) The Flies, “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone” MOJO’s Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers comp calls the Flies’ take on the song “almost psychotically venomous.” They were definitely not Monkeeing around. The band became infamous at the storied 14 Hour Technicolor Dream benefit in part by urinating on the audience. Acid Drops concludes thatContinue reading “The Flies, “I’m Not Your Stepping Stone”, Gordon Lightfoot, “I’m Not Sayin’”, Fire — “Father’s Name Is Dad”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 1, 2021″

88) Paul & Barry Ryan, “Madrigal” Not former House Speaker Paul Ryan, but the twin brother of Brit heartthrob Barry Ryan (and son of singer Marion Ryan). Or, was he? Anyway, a wonderful, wistful song. 89) Kim Fowley, “The Trip” The deliriously deranged Fowley left an indelible mark on L.A. rock history, created the Runaways,Continue reading “Paul & Barry Ryan, “Madrigal”, Kim Fowley, “The Trip”, George Martin, “Here, There and Everywhere”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 31, 2021”

85) Ben E. King, “Don’t Let Me Down” From his little noticed Rough Edges album in ‘70 — but so much better than the innumerable soul versions of “Hey Jude.” John Lennon returned the favor five years later with “Stand By Me.” 86) The Poets, “In Your Tower” The flip-side of “Wooden Spoon,” by Scotland’sContinue reading “Ben E. King, “Don’t Let Me Down”, The Poets, “In Your Tower”, Syd Barrett, “Gigolo Aunt” (Peel session): Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 30, 2021”

82) The Pretty Things, “Walking Through My Dreams” This April ’68 B-side by the incomparable Pretty Things represents British psychedelia at its best. The Rubble comp boldly but accurately stated that “[t]he prime of British flower-power records came out of groups who’d previously grunted their way through rabbblehouse R&B. . . . [T]he cream ofContinue reading “The Pretty Things, “Walking Through My Dreams”, The Jackpots, “King of the World”, The Mojo Men, “Sit Down I Think I Love You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock) — August 29, 2021”

79) Manfred Mann, “Snakeskin Garter” From “Vicar Sweet” to “Snakeskin” slinky, quite an evolution! Manfred Mann Chapter Three, the Mann’s experimental jazz-rock incarnation, didn’t last long (two albums), but it was extraordinary and unlike anything they had done before. “Snakeskin Garter” comes from the first album (in ’69), which wasn’t released in U.S. — theContinue reading “Manfred Mann, “Snakeskin Garter”, Elvis Presley, “Change of Habit”, The Hassles, “Every Step I Take”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 28, 2021”

76) Tompall & the Glaser Brothers, “Set Yourself Free” Wonderful song from the 1970 movie “. . . Tick . . . Tick . . . Tick . . .” — “Racial tensions threaten to explode when a black man [Jim Brown] is elected sheriff of a small, racially divided town in the Deep South.”Continue reading “Tompall & the Glaser Brothers –“Set Yourself Free”, The (Four) Kinsmen — “Glasshouse Green, Splinter Red”, Manfred Mann, –“The Vicar’s Daughter”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 27, 2021”

73) The Carrie Nations (Lynn Carey), “Come with the Gentle People” Another beguiling song from the Meyer/Ebert cult classic film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. 74) Jose Feliciano, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” Feliciano’s version of “Light My Fire” became a #3 hit, but his “Satisfaction” (from ‘70’s Fireworks album) was even better. 75)Continue reading “The Carrie Nations (Lynn Carey) — “Come with the Gentle People”, Jose Feliciano — “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, David Bowie & the Lower Third — “Can’t Stop Thinking About Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 26, 2021”