Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊

Shirley Ellis — “Don’t Let Go”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 10, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,234) Shirley Ellis — “Don’t Let Go”

How am I featuring this song as obscure when it was a #2 R&B hit and reached #13 on the pop charts? Well, that was Roy Hamilton’s original in ‘58. I am championing Shirley Ellis’ irresistibly clap your hands, slap your thighs ‘65 version, which is utterly marvelous and should have been a #1 hit but had to settle for album cut status. Hoodoo You Love proclaimed that:

First heard this incredible Shirley Ellis (and best) version of this timeless song on Tom Petty Radio on the XM radio during Benmont Tench’s show. Thank you Benmont Tench for introducing me to this stellar version of the classic “Don’t Let Go”! I don’t understand how this song wasn’t a bigger hit . . . . The beat is so infectious and her singing style along with the great background singers just transform this song into something even more grand than it had ever been . . . !

Hoodoo I love? Shirley Ellis! Aw shucks, I wouldn’t stop listening to her take for a million bucks!

As to Ellis, Malcolm Baumgart and Mick Patrick write:

[S]he was funky yet classy, sophisticated but sassy. Unjustly pigeonholed as a novelty act by many rock historians, Shirley was a unique talent who could rock the joint with the best of ’em, then spin on a dime and hold a packed house of hip nightclubbers in the palm of her hand, spellbound by her cool mastery of a jazzy ballad. A clever songsmith of Caribbean ancestry . . . . the Bronx-based teen won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem while also performing as a member of the Metronomes and getting spliced to group leader Alphonso Elliston. Hubby managed the Heartbreakers whose 45 “One, Two, I Love You” was a[n] example of Shirley’s creative prowess. It was through a songwriting cousin of Alphonso’s that Shirley forged a partnership with Lincoln Chase. Spectacularly unsuccessful as a record star, Chase was one of the biggest writers of the 1950s, supplying stars like Chuck Willis, Big Maybelle and Ruth Brown with top of the range songs and scoring hits for the Drifters and LaVern Baker with “Such A Night” and “Jim Dandy”, respectively. In 1959, Chase became not only Shirley’s songwriting partner but also her manager and, later, her producer. The symbiosis was immediate; he saw in her the raw stuff that stars are made of, while she sensed his innate ability to mould her into one. The pair worked ceaselessly together over the following years on perfecting every aspect of her talent. A tentative release for the small Shell logo in 1961 marked the recording bow of Shirley Elliston – nobody cared. False start. It was not until the fall of 1963 that the years of preparation paid off with the diminutive thrush’s Congress label debut, the incredibly exciting “The Nitty Gritty”. . . . Chase fashioned the hippest slice of au-go-go, street-smart madness of 1963 or any year since. . . . Shirley Ellis, after years of grooming, became an overnight Top 10 hitmaking sensation. . . . [A] soundalike follow-up stalled in the lower reaches of the chart and, after the no-show of the vastly superior “Takin’ Care Of Business” and a “Nitty Gritty”-style revival of Chase’s “Such A Night”, it seemed that the Ellis bandwagon had ground to a halt. . . . Shirley bounced back onto the charts with . . . . [t]he convoluted craziness of “The Name Game” . . . [which] would become the singer’s biggest hit. . . . [H]er wildly percussive follow-up began an equally impressive chart run while breaking Shirley Ellis internationally. Her third Top 10 smash finally brought the star recognition in Britain and many other territories but “The Clapping Song” would prove impossible to top. . . . Shirley was then signed by Columbia. She registered her chart swan song with the memorable “Soul Time” . . . . A June 1967 Columbia album, her third in all, was the last we heard from Shirley.

https://spectropop.com/ShirleyEllis/

As to Roy Hamilton, Ron Wynn writes:

An extremely influential vocalist despite having a rather short career, Roy Hamilton had both classical training and gospel experience. Hamilton studied commercial art in high school and was a heavyweight Golden Gloves boxer before starting his music career as a member of the Searchlight Singers. During the mid- and late ’50s, Hamilton’s dramatic, searing voice and treatments of such songs as “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “If I Loved You,” “Ebb Tide,” and “Unchained Melody” were enormously popular. “You’ll Never Walk Alone” topped the R&B charts for two months in 1954, while “Unchained Melody” topped the R&B charts for three weeks, and was his only Top Ten pop hit. Jackie Wilson and Roy Brown were among the singers whose sound was affected by Hamilton, while the Righteous Brothers did their own versions of “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “Ebb Tide,” and “Unchained Melody” . . . . Hamilton had to retire from 1956 to 1958 due to exhaustion. He suffered a stroke in 1969 and died at age 40.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/roy-hamilton-mn0000290040#biography

Here is Roy Hamilton:

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Africa — “Paint It Black”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 9, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,233) Africa — “Paint It Black”

A “mind-blowing, conga-driven” (liner notes to the CD reissue of Music from “Lil Brown”) “inspired” and “slinky Latin-tinged psychedelic soul cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” (Richard Metzger, https://dangerousminds.net/comments/we_all_know_music_from_big_pink_by_the_band._what_about_music_from_lil_brow) that “significantly expand[s] upon the psychedelic elements of the original[] . . . prov[ing] surprisingly ripe for lysergic interpretation”. (Jason Ankeny, https://www.allmusic.com/album/music-from-lil-brown-mw0000939664)

Max writes:

There’s some very soulful psychedelia–or is it psychedelic soul–on this slab of vinyl. From the opening of the 1st song (Paint It Back) this is clearly a keeper–the song starts with some Latin percussion (nice set of congas) & a few well placed guitar chords. Then it adds a soulful electric guitar to carry the melody, a bass break, some weird laughing & what sound like a guy popping his mouth with his finger. There are a few vocal snippets (some seem to be in Spanish but I can’t really tell since they’re not all that clear). Later you do get some other vocals that are clearly distinguishable in the mix: some of the nah-nah-nah chorus, a “paint it black” chant, someone singing about being “out of my mind,” a bit of the rest of the chorus (“I see a red door…”) . . . . Really though it’s the instruments that carry the song–all very laid back and hip and both soulful and trippy. The rest of the record doesn’t disappoint although Paint it Black remains my favorite track.

https://playitagainmax.blogspot.com/2006/07/africa-music-from-lil-brown-1968.html

Richard Metzger remembers hearing Africa’s “Paint It Black” for the first time:

As it went on, and on—it’s 7:35—I fell deeper and deeper under its jammy hypnotic conga drum-led spell. Not to imply any sort of improvisational looseness to the proceedings. The musicians were clearly professionals, the music was well-rehearsed and it was entirely planned out, not spontaneous in any true sense. It wasn’t like some hacky sack hippie jam band covering the Stones, but it wasn’t entirely obvious what it was. Or what vintage it was either.

https://dangerousminds.net/comments/we_all_know_music_from_big_pink_by_the_band._what_about_music_from_lil_brow

As to “this soulful, funky, psych-tinged stew” (liner notes to the CD reissue of Music from “Lil Brown”) of an LP, Jason Ankeny says:

Although performed by former members of the Los Angeles doo wop group the Valiants, produced by Lou Adler and titled in response to the Band’s classic Music from Big Pink, Africa’s Music from “Lil Brown” defies its pedigree by delivering Latin-tinged psychedelic soul covers of some of the era’s biggest pop hits. Credit all involved with pushing and pulling these familiar songs to their breaking points. . . . Equally noteworthy is the relentless conga drumming that galvanizes virtually every cut — excellent, imaginative stuff.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/music-from-lil-brown-mw0000939664

John contemplates the band and the album:

[T]he members of Africa didn’t have a big pink house to record in, just a lil brown shed in someone’s backyard in a locale that is quite clearly in Southern California. . . . This album is classic late 60s southern Cali psychedelic garage soul/rock with the expected Latin rock influences . . . . [T]heae guys had been around since the 50s as a doo-wop group and then somewhere along the way added psychedelic guitar, tons of African and Latin percussion, a monster reverb unit and other groovy 60s type trappings. The music on here is classic south-central LA melting pot music with bits of soul, Latin rock and California psychedelia . . . . Despite this album’s Latin/African leanings, the raw garage-ish nature of this album gives it something in common with early Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, the first two Funkadelic albums or countless other psychedelic garage bands all around the world at that time. Of course the arrangements are loose and exact tuning is not a priority, but all of this just adds to this album’s charm. Often Africa will use simple repeating riffs with free ensemble improvisations making them the Los Angeles answer to the 60s German experimental bands known as “krautrock”. . . . [T]hey don’t play these [covers] as much as use their melodic material for repeating chants and loose improvisations . . . .

https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/album/africa/music-from-lil-brown

Marv Goldberg gives a detailed history of the group in its various incarnations, starting in the 50’s and leading up to:

[I]n late 1968, they all became the soul group Africa, recording for Lou Adler’s Ode label (a subsidiary of Columbia). . . . They recorded eight sides for Ode, which were released on an album. “We used to rehearse at Gary Pipkin’s house and he had this little brown shack, a playhouse in the back yard, for his kids.” So, probably as a tribute to The Band’s recent album, Music From Big Pink, they decided to name the album Music From ‘Lil Brown’. . . . Lou Adler got a mobile recording studio . . . . A large mural of Africa’s photo was painted on the outside of the Whiskey à Go Go on the Sunset Strip in order to promote the album; it remained there for several months. Five years later, Africa recorded ten more tracks for MGM, but all remain unreleased.

https://www.uncamarvy.com/Valiants/valiants.html

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The Electric Toilet — “In the Hands of Karma”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 8, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,232) The Electric Toilet* — “In the Hands of Karma”

A tragic story, a questionable band name, but a glorious song: “a down-tempo fringe-shaker lifted onto a whole new plane by a richly melodic Gospel chorus” (Rob Fitzpatrick, https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/aug/21/popandrock) from a “[d]riving bluesy LP with southern twang, growly lead vocal with black baptist church choir style backing, sound effects and trippy acid guitar work”. (https://www.discogs.com/artist/779214-Electric-Toilet)

Music hearts.fm calls ET:

Stone cold classic US ’60s heavy psych rock Band. The band came from Memphis. Buddhist vibes meet Southern hippy rock with cosmic sound effects and trippy acid guitar work. Fantastic.

https://musichearts.fm/artist/23869-electric-toilet-the/

Rob Fitzpatrick writes of the album:

[A] fantastic record . . . . [S]omething raucous was clearly going down wherever the Toilet hung out as . . . their mix of country-inflected, choogling blues-rock and acid-fuzz still sounds quite remarkable. . . . [The LP] was released . . . in minute quantities, an original will cost you about $400 . . . .

https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/aug/21/popandrock

Of the band’s sadly truncated history, Jeremy Simmonds tells us:

Lead vocalist and Wurlitzer/Moog-master Grady Pannel . . . teamed up with guitarist Johnny Wigginton to form the psychedelic Tupelo-based Electric Toilet — named after Pannel’s penchant for flushing toilets while on the telephone to his pals. The band was completed with the addition of another guitarist, Wayne Reynolds, their pulsating sound augmented by songwriting input of Dave Hall and Dickie Betts . . . . [It’s d]ebut album . . . pick[ed] up airplay on Memphis radio as the band began to develop some momentum in 1969. . . . [But they got into] an auto crash as they embarked upon their first major tour the following year [on June 23, 1970]. . . . Pannel — who was engaged to be married — and Reynolds — who left a wife and children — died . . . . [T]heir funeral drew a crowd of over 2,000.

The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches

* “That band name is so hilariously terrible it made me curious enough to listen.” (Judge Judy, https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/bands-that-really-should-have-called-themselves-something-else.956207/)

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Jeff St. John and the Copperwine — “Teach Me How to Fly”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 7, 2024

Jeff St. John and Copperwine performing the single ‘Teach Me How To Fly’ on the ABC-TV program Hit Scene – broadcasted in 1970.

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS ,EVER HEARD

1,231) Jeff St. John and the Copperwine — “Teach Me How to Fly”

If you are from Australia, where Jeff St. John (see #470) is justly legendary and beloved, read no further — as this song was a national hit (#11 (Badger45, https://www.45cat.com/record/cr214au)). Jeff was “one of the best rock vocalists [Australia] has ever produced” (Paul Culnane, MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975, http://www.milesago.com/Artists/jeffstjohn.htm) with “performances . . . memorable not only for his strong, soulful vocals but for the wheelstands and spins he would execute with his wheelchair.” (Sidney Barnes, https://poparchives.com.au/jeff-st-john-and-copperwine/teach-me-how-to-fly/)

This soaring and inspiring, “smoothly confident, organ-led cover of Rotary Connection’s ‘Teach Me How To Fly’ (featuring a berserk guitar solo . . . ) propelled the band to #12 in Melbourne and . . . #3 [in] Sydney . . . . St John’s dazzling vocal performance on this record is probably the main reason why.” (Paul Culnane, MILESAGO, http://www.milesago.com/Artists/jeffstjohn.htm)

Steveowens403 reveals how the recording came to be:

[St. John] came to Orange when I was there at 2GZ in 1969 and came to a party at my place after the show at the Amoco Centre. I played the him the Rotary Connection albums. He had never heard of them. I suggested he record “Teach me How to Fly” and gave him the words a friend had written out. I knew how popular the Rotary Connection were, as I played them nearly every night. He went back to Melbourne [and] recorded the song . . . .

As to JSJ&C, Glenn Baker writes:

Word soon spread about this mind-blowing funky band and their freak-voiced singer who could scorch the paint off walls with his high notes. Every night the venue would be packed to the gunwales and each night the roaring, finely-controlled voice of Jeff St John would win more converts for life. Jeff St John’s Copperwine was hailed as “a truly magical outfit”, with an exhilarating mixture of fine musicianship, intense emotional vocals and a definite uncompromising direction. They soon trekked across the continent to become founding fathers, with Tully and Tamam Shud, of a flowering Sydney progressive concert scene. These bands ruled the all-important ‘head’ circuit, including the pioneering and pivotal 1970 Ourimbah festival.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/jeff-st-john-rock-musician-who-battled-spina-bifida-to-perform-20180308-h0x6nw.html

As to JSJ’s early years, Paul Culnane tells us in the definitive MILESAGO: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975:

Jeff St John was named Jeffrey Leo Newton when he was born . . . . [He] was diagnosed at birth with spina bifida, a congenital disability that causes malformation of the spine and resultant posture and walking difficulties. For much of his youth, Jeff walked with a caliper on his right leg, and underwent numerous painful operations. . . . Aged just 8, Jeffrey first performed in public in a kids’ talent quest on Sydney’s radio 2GB. By age 15 he had secured a guest spot on Channel Nine’s TV teen talent showcase, Opportunity Knocks . . . and he appeared regularly on the show between 1961 and 1963. A couple of years afterwards, by this time almost constantly supported by crutches because of his worsening condition, Jeff joined forces with an established Sydney blues-rock outfit called The Syndicate . . . . [It] soon evolved, via The Wild Oats, into The Id . . . with Jeff also adopting the stage name* he has used ever since. This powerhouse band quickly became a leading attraction in Sydney . . . and also made inroads in the Melbourne scene . . . with its powerful, brass-augmented repertoire and Jeff’s rich and soulful vocals. . . . [and earned a] reputation as one of the country’s top R&B bands . . . . On record, Jeff and The Id are probably best remembered for their scorching, brass-laden smash single, “Big Time Operator” . . . . Jeff parted ways with The Id. . . . [and] put together . . . Yama . . . . [which] folded prematurely around May 1968 . . . . St John underwent a series of . . . operations that . . . le[ft] him wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life. Undeterred, Jeff returned to live performance after a lengthy recuperation, and actually transformed his liability into his own trademark, executing ‘wheelies’ and pirouettes across the stage as he sang! . . . St. John unveiled his new band, Copperwine (aka Jeff St John’s Copperwine), in early 1969 . . . . Copperwine soon commanded a rabid following in [Sydney’s] fast-developing ‘head’ scene. . . . St John wowed punters at the Ourimbah “Pilgrimage For Pop”, Australia’s first major outdoor rock festival . . . at the end of January 1970. The band’s dynamic repertoire mixed quality prog-flavoured group originals with powerful [covers] . . . . [The LP] Joint Effort won considerable critical acclaim, but failed to generate significant sales. . . . A[] single [“Teach Me How to Fly”], issued on Spin in November 1970, fared extremely well. . . . An ‘insane” (as Jeff puts it) schedule of touring, concentrated in the eastern states, sustained Copperwine throughout 1970-71. . . .

http://www.milesago.com/Artists/jeffstjohn.htm

* Christie Eliezer: “St John would later tell this writer, ‘Some of the band were upset for me that I’d been asked to change my name. But for a kid who lived this life which consisted mostly of going to hospital, getting a stage name, a stage persona, was fantastic, a way of living the dream.'” (https://themusicnetwork.com/vale-jeff-st-john-april-1946-march-2018/)

The 45:

Live at The Pilgrimage For Pop Festival at Ourimbah (from the 1970 movie “Once Around The Sun”):

Live ‘75:

Rotary Connection:

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Amory Kane — “Candy Queen”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 6, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,230) Amory Kane — “Candy Queen”

An American in London gives us some delicious ear candy, from a “brilliant UK Acid/Folk/Psych LP” with “plenty of great tracks ranging from psych/pop to floating acid/pop”, most written by said American and “produced by no other than John Paul Jones” with “the typical heavy guitar of Jimmy Page as well”. (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/amory-kane-memories-time-unwound-mega-154286151) Of course, “despite being chosen as Melody Maker’s pop LP of the month in January 1969, [the album] was not a commercial success” (https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/Amory_Kane)

As to Amory Kane, the John Peel Wiki tells us:

Jack Daniel Kane Jr. . . . is an American singer-songwriter, mostly known for his work in Britain in the late 1960s. He was born in San Francisco. His father was a military attaché, and as a child he lived in Britain before returning with his family to live in Texas and then back in San Francisco. He became involved in the local music scene in the mid-1960s, as a singer and guitarist, before hitchhiking around Europe and ending up in London. There, he adopted the name Amory Kane (derived from “American”) and played in folk clubs. His self-penned single “Reflections (Of Your Face)”, released by MCA Records in 1968, was covered by artists such as P.J. Proby. Kane worked as a session musician in London, playing on recordings credited to bands such as The Magic Lanterns, and met David Bowie, who performed on stage with him at the Wigmore Hall in 1969. He released two solo albums: Memories of Time Unwound [from which I selected “Candy Queen”], released in 1968 on MCA, which featured then session musicians Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones; and Just to Be There, released in 1970 by CBS . . . . Failing to achieve commercial success in Britain, Kane returned to the U.S. in 1972, and started a new career as a restaurant chef.

https://peel.fandom.com/wiki/Amory_Kane

Oh, and Kane told Michael Bjorn at Shindig Magazine that he played at Led Zeppelin’s first session as a foursome, backing PJ Proby (see #1,186). (https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/98063/page/38) Why did he leave SanFran? “The streets were crowded with people hitch-hiking to the city and sleeping on the streets, and there was violence and people dying from overdoses of heroin. I remember being at the airport and hearing ‘Let’s Go To San Francisco’ . . . . I was bucking the tide, leaving.” (https://reader.exacteditions.com/issues/98063/page/38)

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I Shall be Released: Howard Tate — “Give Me Some Courage”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 5, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,229) Howard Tate — “Give Me Some Courage”

Here is an unreleased-for-decades gem by soul great Howard Tate (see #259, 261, 652), whose voice — and courage — were unmatched.

Richie Unterberger tells us that:

Howard Tate had some minor success with the Verve label in the late ’60s. The singer brought a lot of blues and gospel to his phrasing [and Jerry Ragovoy brought] the Northeast soul production [and] also wrote much of Tate’s material. Howard made the R&B Top 20 three times in the late ’60s (with “Ain’t Nobody Home,” “Stop,” and “Look at Granny Run Run”). However, he’s most famous to rock audiences as the original performer of “Get It While You Can,” which became one of Janis Joplin’s signature tunes. . . . Tate sang with the Gainers, a North Philadelphia doo wop group that also included future soul star Garnet Mimms. . . . Ragovoy was urged to check out Tate by [one] of . . . Mimms’ backup singers. He recorded about ten singles with Tate between 1966 and 1969 . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/howard-tate-mn0000280445/biography

Joel Rose says that “Ragovoy told me . . . . ‘The potential of [Tate’s] range was extraordinary. . . . I thought that Howard was maybe the only artist that I heard who could execute what I had in my mind as a writer.’” (https://www.wunc.org/2011-12-05/howard-tate-soul-singer-dies-at-72)

Rose also talks of the tragedy and triumph of Tate’s later years:

Tate walked away from the music business in the 1970s and got a job selling insurance. Tragedy struck his family . . . when his 13-year-old daughter died in a house fire. Tate’s marriage fell apart, and he turned to cocaine . . . . For about a decade, Tate lived on the streets of Camden, New Jersey . . . . [I]n 1994, Tate checked himself into a rehab clinic . . . . was born again. . . . [and] started working as a preacher. After 2003, Tate enjoyed a second career, recording a handful of albums and playing to appreciative crowds around the world . . . .

https://www.wunc.org/2011-12-05/howard-tate-soul-singer-dies-at-72

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Perry Leopold — “The 35th of May”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 4, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,228) Perry Leopold — “The 35th of May”

This “gorgeous” (Stanton Swihart, https://www.allmusic.com/album/experiment-in-metaphysics-mw0000722983) song has a “zen-like beauty perhaps equalled only by Nick Drake. [Was Perry Leopold (see #293) a] homeless troubadour or the true soul of american music?” (JamesAnderson-cj1mi, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QpMNoq1slbE&pp=ygUdUGVycnkgbGVvcG9sZCB0aGUgMzV0aCBvZiBtYXk%3D) Both? If the U.S. Patent Office issued patents for rock sub-genres, he would likely have one for acid folk.

Patrick Lundborg writes that:

Experiment in Metaphysics is the original downer folk masterpiece, and remains a yardstick against which recent finds are measured, and usually found lacking. Recorded in an altered state of mind . . . Leopold succeeds in creating a truly psychedelic, profound experience using just acoustic guitar and his voice, like a Tim Hardin [see #457] from the underworld. The moods shift from world-weary vagabond testimonies to heavy hallucinogen visions, and even the instrumental tracks are more psychedelic than five layers of Sgt. Pepper tape loops. . . . [The LP] is one of the few records to actually live up to the term [acid folk] — indeed Leopold even used it on the original record label . . . and should rightly be credited as inventor of the genre.

The Acid Archives (2nd ed.)

Patrick The Lama notes that: “A person in attendance remembers it as “. . . one incredible evening of altered and accentuated creativity . . . Perry Leopold sounds as big a star as Tim Buckley. He was inventing a genre, and he may even have known it.” (https://dyingforbadmusic.tumblr.com/post/119469150153/perry-leopold-the-absurd-paranoid-i-really)

Stanton Swihart gives the backstory:

At a time when the antiwar movement and the LSD-based drug culture were inseparable and indistinguishable from the counterculture, Leopold was entirely invested in the culture, living on the streets of Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, crashing in the apartments and barns of a wide-ranging net of friends, playing on street corners by day and small coffeehouses at night. In June 1970, he recorded the Experiments in Metaphysics LP, which was printed in a single run of 300 copies. . . . [It was] an accomplished and unique piece of progressive folk with political overtones. [M]ost of the . . . albums . . . were given away on a Philadelphia street corner in one afternoon in August . . . . [It was r]ecorded live during a five-hour session in the basement of a shoe-repair shop . . . . [T]he music is gorgeous, first-rate progressive folk. . . . Leopold creates a proto-gothic ambience full of dark and brooding imagery that is much less cartoonish than most of what passes as “acid,” while maintaining that music’s visceral punch. . . . exquisitely intelligent and forward-looking. Leopold’s mood is much more pious than most music that came out of the psychedelic era . . . there is something aged and wise about Leopold’s music. . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/perry-leopold-mn0000262816#biography

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Q’65 — “So High I’ve Been, So Down I Must Fall”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 3, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,227) Q’65 — “So High I’ve Been, So Down I Must Fall”

This classic ‘67 garage rock B-side from the Netherlands is “spectacular”. (marcodona, https://www-freeforumzone-com.translate.goog/mobile/d/4559078/Q-65-/discussione.aspx?p=1&_x_tr_sl=it&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc) I wonder whether the band got eight miles high?

Jeff Jarema and Jim Wynand calls the ‘65* (see #108, 557, 913, 1,164) ugly, slobs, and less intelligible than a New York cab driver, and they mean that as a compliment!:

Dutch punks from the ’60s [were] an entire generation of long-haired, kicks-crazed maniacs who invented “punk” . . . . One listen to [Q’65’s] lead vocalist is as good as a thousand when you’re talkin’ about comprehending Wim Bieler’s “command” of the English language. If articulation is your bag, you’d be better off hanging out with a New York cab driver! . . . [T]hese guys are damn ugly. . . . [and] are worshipped on a cult level worldwide largely due to their wild looks and pre-punk approach to playing R&B. In their heyday, they were in direct confrontation with the Outsiders [and there were] fist fights between their opposing fans at shows . . . . Q’65 were total slobs in their aggression; unintelligible forerunners of the Stooges. . . .

https://hightimes.com/culture/dutch-punk-in-the-1960s/amp/

Bruce Eder gives us some history:

The Dutch quintet could have held their own with [the Pretty Things or the Yardbirds] or the Animals without breaking a sweat . . . . Q 65 have remained one of Europe’s best-kept star-caliber musical secrets for more than 30 years. . . . [They] first got together in 1965, in the Hague . . . “the Liverpool of the Netherlands,” with a music scene that had been thriving since the end of the ’50s. . . . The group’s professed influences were American soul acts . . . yet somehow, when they performed, what they played came out closer in form and spirit to the likes of the Pretty Things . . . and the Yardbirds than it did to any of those soul acts, at least at first. . . . With two successful singles under their belt, the group’s debut album, Revolution, followed in 1966. [It] was a powerful blues-rock album . . . . The album sold 3,500 copies, a respectable number in the Netherlands, and established the group sufficiently to rate a spot playing with the Small Faces, the Spencer Davis Group, the Kinks, and the Pretty Things when they toured Holland. During 1967, they didn’t release any LPs, but did get a solid extended-play single out called Q Blues, which did well at home. Their music during this period reached what was arguably its peak . . . . The group continued trying to make it as a blues-rock band for most of 1967. Their sound began to change late in the year, just as music was turning psychedelic, and around the time just before Wim Bieler was drafted into the army. His exit heralded the end of the Q 65’s classic period. [The band, with some new members, formed] a new, more psychedelic-oriented outfit, which eventually evolved into a group called Circus, which lasted, in varying lineups, for the year of 1968. . . . In 1969, a second Q 65 album was released, entitled Revival and made up of singles and latter-day tracks. The music was still powerful and very intense — perhaps too much so — if not as accessible. Had the lineup stayed intact, the group might even have found an audience. . . . [T]he Q 65 split up at just about this point.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/q-65-mn0000379341

* “Apparently, it was [guitarist Joop] Roelofs who came up with the catchy band name Q65, based on two Stones classics: Susie Q and Route 66. However, Q66 did not sound appealing enough, so it was changed into Q65.” (https://urbanaspirines.blogspot.com/2023/07/q65-discography-1966-2002.html)

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RO-D-YS — “You’d Better Take Care of Yourself”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 2, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,226) RO-D-YS — “You’d Better Take Care of Yourself”

The Dutch (Oude Pekela, Groningen) band’s first A-side (‘66) is a fantastic pop rock confection. “The nasal vocals . . . were striking, in English with a Groningen accent. The b]and . . . often communicated [with their Dutch producer] in English, because [he] did not understand the Groningen accent[!]” (Wikipedia (courtesy of Google Translate), https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ro-d-Ys)

Richie Unterberger tells us that:

Stylistically, they favored, like many Dutch groups, a very British-influenced sound with a slightly raw and sardonic edge . . . . At various points, their songs (all written by lead singer and guitarist Harry Rijnbergen) incorporated prominent streaks of mod rock, soul, and late-’60s British pop-psychedelia, the lyrics often informed by archly phrased anti-establishment youth viewpoints. . . . When the Ro-d-y-s broke up at the end of the 1960s, some of the members, including Rijnbergen, were in another Dutch band, Zen.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ro-d-y-s-mn0000517865#biography

The band’s website adds (courtesy of Google Translate):

The Ro-d-Ys started their musical journey in 1965 as the Popular Pipers Boys Band at the ULO school in Oude Pekela, Groningen. With Harry Rijnbergen, Joop Hulzebos, Wiechert Kenter and Berend Groen as their core, they mainly played covers of bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Kinks. In 1966, Harry Rijnbergen, from De Sputniks, joined the trio and changed the band name to The Rowdies. When it turned out that another band with that name already existed, it eventually became Ro-d-Ys. With manager Wim Zomer at the helm, the band quickly began to gain national fame through frequent performances and efficient promotion. Harry Rijnbergen distinguished himself as a composer and singer, attracting the attention of record company Phonogram. Their first single “You Better Take Care of Yourself” was released in late 1966, followed by the hit “Take Her Home” in May 1967. The Ro-d-Ys rapidly released singles and toured Europe, but kept their home base in Oude Pekela, where they wrote new material in a farm. Their first album “Just Fancy” was critically acclaimed upon its release in September 1967. Despite line-up changes and an experimental album in 1968 called “Earnest Vocation”, the band’s popularity began to decline. After a series of less successful singles, the band split up in 1969. Harry Rijnbergen and Bennie Groen joined the Amsterdam band Zen.

https://www.ro-d-ys.com/biografie.html

Finally, Wikipedia (courtesy of Google Translate):

They were discovered by Wim Zomer, who attended drama school in Arnhem . . . . In the summer the band broke away from their then manager . . . who was a hotel, theater and cinema owner and mainly saw them as a suitable backing band for his son . . . . Zomer organized pop concerts in Arnhem under the Mod agogo label, thus giving the band their first performances outside the region. He also managed to interest Hans van Hemert, who worked for Phonogram, in the group. Van Hemert . . . took the group under his wing, and the first single You Better Take Care Of Yourself . . . was released in December 1966. . . . A number of singles followed in 1967, mainly played by Radio Veronica. The group toured Italy and England, and the records also sold well in Germany and Belgium. The first LP Just Fancy received good reviews. 1968 was supposed to be the big year for Ro-d-Ys. A concept album was planned under the title Earnest Vocation , which was based on the novel De kleine Johannes by Frederik van Eeden. Producer Van Hemert approached Bert Paige, who took care of the orchestration of the songs. The result of this production method was that only Rijnbergen could be heard as a band member on the recordings. The album, which fit into the psychedelic era of that moment, was well received, but the singles that were released from the album had little success.

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ro-d-Ys

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Adjéèf the poet, his girl(s), his friend(s) & the rest of the world(s) — “IEEK! I’m a . . . Freak”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 31, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,225) Adjéèf the poet, his girl(s), his friend(s) & the rest of the world(s) — “IEEK! I’m a . . . Freak”

Today, let your freak flag fly as this “killer heavy gonzo psych/freakbeat” (Happening45, https://www.45cat.com/record/ac1003) ‘67 A-side by a mysterious Dutchman invades the windmills of your mind!

As the Pebbles comp tells us:

The young Dutchman must’ve been really flying on something when he created this monstrous two-sider. Of the two, [“Freak”] comes closest to recognizable music: you can hear traces of better Dutch fuzz-R&B bands like the Outsiders [see #615, 664, 1,218] or the Zipps [see #378] at work behind the nutty lyrics about mushrooms, green dogs and the collecting of frogs . . . . Was this guy the Kim Fowley of Utrecht?

liner notes to the CD comp Pebbles Vol. 3: The Acid Gallery

The Kim Fowley (see #89, 449) of Utrecht? No greater honor can be bestowed!

Happening45 adds:

[This is a]n amazing 45 and very rare. . . . almost too good to be true. Nice private label, killer heavy gonzo psych/freakbeat A side (with Group 1850 guesting) coupled with even more gonzo psychedelic sound collage B side. This one goes with me into the afterlife, just in case the devil doesn’t have a copy yet.

https://www.45cat.com/record/ac1003

Who was Adjéèf The Poet? According to funnyfreakparade:

Adjeef, alias Adje Visser started out as producer for a record company, in the meantime making this single for the Action label (The Pop-Arts were the backing up band). In 1969, he was d.j. of the great SUPERCLEANDEAMMACHINE radio show before he turned into a complete other direction: VJ for Dutch weekly Top 40 program TOPPOP.

Visser’s own website tells us the full story:

Ad Visser presented AVRO’s TOPPOP every week from 1970 to 1985. He was number 1 in the popularity polls for many years. The weekly show was a TV hit. Viewing density regularly 4 to 5 million viewers…. He started out as a singer-songwriter and avant-garde pop artist, was presenter of the historical TV program “Toppop” for 15 years, made controversial radio with his “Superclean Dreammachine” and wrote the science fiction novel “Sobrietas”. This internationally published novel was a multimedia project avant-la-lettre, because Ad interwove his own musical compositions into the story and added it to the soundtrack CD of the same name. Ad’s many records and CDs (27 albums) reached the charts in several countries…. 33 sensational, international Art projects, in which he turns a Boeing 747 into a musical instrument, a tram into a Contrambas, a series of cars, The Car Philharmonic Orchestra, etc. For several years now he has been a Singer-Songwriter again with a unique style & depth of Dutch songs. Such as The Parade Of The Heavenly Tragedy, a song of 1050 verses, duration 8 hours 39 min. 39 sec. (published in book form, among others)

https://www.advisser.nl/#toppop, https://www.advisser.nl/#bio

By the way, the B-side is “Sqaufreckleman Comes Back”:

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The Motions — “For Another Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 30, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,224) The Motions — “For Another Man”

This ‘65 A-side is a “simple but compelling ballad” (Mike Stax, liner notes to the CD comp Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond 1964-1969) that is also “the best and most tuneful track” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/an-introduction-to-the-motions-mw0001199444) on their first LP. I daresay that John and Paul would have been proud to write this Merseybeat gem (written by guitarist Robby van Leeuwen, yeah that Robby van Leeuwen).

Richie Unterberger calls the album — Introduction to the Motions — “fair but derivative mainstream British Invasion-style rock, neither too pop nor too R&B-oriented. . . . usually . . . brash rock with echoes of both Merseybeat and early mod rock . . . . simultaneously moody and exuberant, yet a little anonymous-sounding”. (https://www.allmusic.com/album/an-introduction-to-the-motions-mw0001199444)

As to the Motions, Unterberger is similarly dismissive:

A pretty typical Dutch “beat” group of the 1960s, the Motions were pretty popular in their native land, releasing seven albums and over 27 singles in their eight-year career. Far from the best Dutch group, and far from the worst, most of their hits were fairly ordinary fare, ranging from dippy folkish ballads to tough mod rockers. Their best cut is the positively ferocious mod stomper “Everything That’s Mine” (1966), with a searing feedback break worthy of the early Who. They’re really most remembered for their lead guitarist and songwriter, Robby van Leeuwen, who left in 1967 to form Shocking Blue [see #1,214], and penned . . . “Venus.”

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-motions-mn0000479965#biography

I disagree. Had they been an English group, the Motions would have been huge in the UK and revered to this day.

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Bintangs — “See Me Waitin'”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 29, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,223) Bintangs — “See Me Waitin'”

This delightful ’67 B-side is poppier than is the Bintangs’ norm, but still features a stinging guitar solo. Robert Haagsma writes (courtesty of Google Translate) that their music was “[b]last furnace rock. . . . hard, raw, honest and unadorned” and notes that “Due to the tireless efforts during the concerts, the band has become one of the most beloved live casts in the Netherlands. The band held its own when it played as support act for The Rolling Stones in Den Bosch in 1966 in front of 10,000 frenzied fans.” (liner notes to the CD comp Bintangs: The Golden Years of Dutch Pop Music (courtesy of Google Translate))

As to the Bintangs, Wikipedia tells us:

The Bintangs (after the Bahasa Indonesia word for “star”) were established in 1961 as an indorock band, performing covers at live venues . . . . The original lineup was Frank and Arti Kraaijeveld on bass and guitar, respectively (both performed vocals), Meine Fernhout on guitar, and Jimmy Jansen on drums. . . . [S]oon the band began mixing in R&B influences, in part inspired by The Rolling Stones and in part to differentiate their sound from that of the many bands playing in the vein of The Shadows. In 1965 they recorded their first single, on Muziek Express, Willie Dixon’s “You Can’t Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover” . . . . A loyal fanbase had, by the mid-sixties, risked life and limb to paint the band’s name on a gas [storage tank] in Beverwijk. By 1969 they had opened for the Rolling Stones and the Kinks and released several further singles . . . . In 1969 . . . [they] released their first album, Blues on the Ceiling. Their greatest hits, “Ridin’ on the L & N” and “Travelling in the U.S.A., were released in 1969 and 1970, respectively. . . . An album, Travelling in the U.S.A., was released in 1970 . . . . By 1969 Arti was not as active with the band, and in 1972 he and Frank created their own short-lived band, the Circus Kraaijeveld . . . . In 1974 Frank returned, without Arti. . . . In the year 2021, Bintangs [was] the oldest playing, recording band from The Netherlands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bintangs

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O.M.P.C. — “The Head”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 28, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,222) O.M.P.C. — “The Head”

Here’s a laid back number from O.P.M.C.* (see #790), a laid back “Dutch hippy blues-folk band”. (discogs, https://www.discogs.com/artist/918956-OPMC) Pop psych? Folk rock? Soft rock? Who knows, but it’s groovy. Oh, and O.P.M.C. was actually a Dutch/Scottish hippy blues-folk band that sounds like it came from L.A.

Soundohm tells us:

O.P.M.C. centered around Barrie Webb and Teun van der Slikke with different line ups during their existence. . . . Even ex-Outsiders’ [see #615, 664, 1,218] legends Leendert Busch and Appie Rammers were at once among the O.P.M.C. line up! Amalgamation was their first LP, released in 1970 and featuring a mix of psychedelic folk, drugged-out spacy guitar and haunting melodies that some sources have considered to be vaguely reminiscent of Love’s Forever Changes.

“These two young men could have had the music world at their feet. If you listen the songs on this OPMC album, it will become apparent to you that they both loved the Beatles, yet they still managed to make their own style of music with ‘A little help from their friends’” · Robbie Dale Robinson (Admiral MBF. Retired)**

https://www.soundohm.com/product/amalgamation-3

Richie Unterberger adds:

Teun van der Slikke and Scotsman Barrie Webb were the pair behind O.P.M.C., who issued an obscure album in Holland that’s variously dated as having been released in 1970 and 1971 in different discographies.

Though this is usually classified as a Dutch rock album by the few collectors who are aware of it, this early-’70s LP in fact seems like a more natural emulation of British (and sometimes American) folk-rock music than many such productions of the era from Continental Europe. In this case, there’s a good reason for that, as O.P.M.C. featured the talents of a Scotsman (Barrie Webb), along with those of Teun van der Slikke. The LP is fair, though not outstanding, folk and folk-rock with a moody streak and a stylistic unevenness that almost create the impression of being the work of more than one artist. . . . It’s an undoubtedly diverse effort that lacks distinction more due to its average material than its eclectic scope.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/opmc-mn0002120051/biography, https://www.allmusic.com/album/amalgamation-mw0001282367

Hey, Richie, I think O.P.M.C. is fairly outstanding!

* Soundolm tells us that O.P.M.C. stands for “Oldest Professional Music Company”, “as they were living in the famous Amsterdam Red Light District in those days”. (https://www.soundohm.com/product/amalgamation-3)

* * “Robbie Robinson . . . better known by the name Robbie Dale and nicknamed The Admiral, was a British radio disc jockey who was the chief DJ of Radio Caroline during the 1960s.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Dale)

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Brainbox — “Down Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 27, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,221) Brainbox — “Down Man”

The band’s first A-side was a blistering number that “swagger[s] like [a] stevedore[]”. (Marco Rossi, https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/brainbox) It is “a prime example of their sound, which can be described as ‘progressive blues with folk influences’”. (elgreco, https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/brainbox-remaster-focus-or-brainbox.184910/) And it hit #13 in the Netherlands.

Ian Gledhill (Vibrationbaby) calls the song “[c]lassic sixties psychedelic blues from the Netherlands (vibrationbaby, https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3372) and goes on to say:

Right in your face complainin`blues. This [single] features two of the meanest blues tracks from the late ‘60s that you’ve never heard. Those who are curious as to what guitar maestro Jan Akkerman was up to before making guitar freaks drool in the early seventies with his fret melting licks with Focus should check this out. . . . [They] demonstrate how accomplished a player he was in the sixties and combined with singer Kaz Lux’s soul ripping vocals this could easily be mistaken for something from the British blues explosion in the latter half of the sixties. . . . These tracks, recorded in 1968, were also the first two recordings made by the band before they acquired a bass player (Akkerman plays bass on both cuts).

https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3372

As to BB, Ian Gledhill tells us:

[W]ith their harder edged blend of psychedelic rock and Chicago blues, Dutch band Brainbox paid hommage to both American and British Contemporaries while at the same time developing their own more progressive brand of pop music. [F]ormed in 1968 shortly after guitarist Jan Akkerman and drummer Pierre van der Linden joined 19 year-old singing prodigy Kazmierz ” Kaz ” Lux to lay down a couple of demos after the latter had won a talent contest sponsored by the Dutch Record label Bovema. . . . Lux had previously sang with several Dutch pop bands but his heartfelt vocal deliveries were closer to the soul of Howlin’ Wolf and Leadbelly . . . . Akkerman ha[d] become one of the most famous young musicians in his homeland with a hit single, “The Russian Spy And I” in 1966 while playing with a band called “The Hunters”. . . . [H[e had developed a distinctive rock guitar sound which drew more from jazz and classical sources . . . . Van der Linden had also played with Akkerman in one of his earlier groups “Johnny And His Cellar Rockers” . . . . While Lux’s emotive voicings sounded similar to contemporary blues rocker counterparts . . . such as Rory Gallager . . . and Joe Cocker, when fused with Akkerman’s immaginative guitar the result was a blistering meltdown of emotive blues and heavy rock with jazz attitudes. . . . Akkerman’s adventurous guitar work gave the band a progressive aspect wth his extensive soloing and intricate rhythms . . . . Akkerman’s appetite for more explorative and complex instrumental music saw him jamming with another young Dutch musician, Thijs van Leer, who possessed similar aspirations which resulted in Akkerman’s dismissal from the band by the end of ‘69. He subsequently formed “Focus” along with Van Leer . . . . He was followed by Van der Linden into “Focus” a few months later with the remanants of Brainbox forging on with new musicians.

https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3372

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Les Baroques — “Such a Cad”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 26, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,220) Les Baroques — “Such a Cad

If you are from the Netherlands, read no further — this song reached #8 on the Dutch charts in ‘66! It is “a brilliant pop song … extra special thanks to the prominent role played by … a bassoon and a harpsichord” (Ben van Althuis, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBTduigvFKM), and “bizarre . . . a strange punky original with bassoon fills and a great . . . vocal performance”. (Jason, https://therisingstorm.net/les-baroques-les-baroques/) Oh, and it is also a “[p]erfect fusion of baroque pop and garage… like if you crossed Left Banke with The Seeds [see #116, 446]” (1234gab4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gyGCw8Hj1Y) That vision just blew my mind! The band should have called itself the Seeds Banke!

Of Les Baroques, Peter Marston writes:

The story of Les Baroques goes all the way back to 1959, shortly after American rock ’n’ roll hit the continent. Five or six similarly inspired Dutch boys . . . started up a beat group called The Modern Teenage Quartet. A name change to The Hurricane Combo, and a few more years working the local dance circuit, brought the band up to the British Invasion, when another name change—to Les Baroques—and forays into original material led to a contract with Europhon for two singles.

https://popgeekheaven.com/lost-treasures-les-baroques/

Richie Unterberger tells us:

[The band was a] standout in the annals of Continental 1960s rock, with its twisted, somber variations of the organ-R&B-pop sound of Them and the Animals. . . .

One of the strangest and best Dutch bands of the mid-’60s, Les Baroques always seemed out of sync with the real world. They had a French name, a lead singer with an obviously anglicized pseudonym (Gary O’Shannon, real name Gerard Schoenaker), and played R&B-tinged pop/rock with odd streaks of European folk tunes and corny orchestral arrangements. Their reputation hinges chiefly upon their first four singles and self-titled 1966 LP, all recorded . . . before the singer left the group at the end of 1966. At his best, O’Shannon could sound like a less polished, neurotic version of Van Morrison, delivering songs that, like much Dutch beat of the mid-’60s, were sullen and minor-keyed. . . . At other times, they espoused an earthier, R&B-based sound more in line with some British groups of the time . . . . But … O’Shannon had to leave the band for military service. Les Baroques did continue for five more singles and a second LP with Michael Van Dijk as lead singer, but it wasn’t the same . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/album/such-a-cad-the-complete-story-of-les-baroques-mw0000962642, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/les-baroques-mn0000253480#biography

Jason adds that O’Shannon’s “tortured vocals and unique personality that set the group apart from the competition. . . . remind[ing] me of an early Van Morrison on speed whose vocals are carelessly sloppy but somehow compelling and original”. (https://therisingstorm.net/les-baroques-les-baroques/)

Interestingly, "unlike all other Dutch bands of that time - they sang in good English, which was partly due to . . . (O'Shannon's) English mother . . . She was also the band's manager."(https://muizenest.nl/2017/11/04/les-baroques/, courtesy of Google Translate)

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Sandy Coast — “I See Your Face Again”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 25, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,219) Sandy Coast — “I See Your Face Again”

This soaring ballad, a ‘68 A-side from Voorburg’s own Sandy Coast Skiffle Group, no make that Sandy Coast Five, no make that Sandy Coast Rockers, jeez, just call them the Sandy Coast (see #236), was the band’s first big hit in the Netherlands, reaching #12.

LastFM tells us that:

Sandy Coast was a beat/rock/pop band from Voorburg, The Netherlands, fronted by Hans Vermeulen. . . . [who] formed The Sandy Coast Skiffle Group in Voorburg in 1961, aged 14. With the name abbreviated to Sandy Coast the group got a recording contract . . . in 1965. Their début single, 1965’s “Subject Of My Thoughts”, failed to chart but is now regarded as an early ‘Nederbeat’ gem. Début album, And Their Name Is . . . Sandy Coast (1967), featured a melodic brand of sixties beat, 1968’s From the Workshop was a bluesy, psychedelic album, whereas Shipwreck (1969) was an ambitious concept album about a shipwreck in 1739. The biggest Sandy Coast chart hits of the 1960s were “I See Your Face Again” (1968) and “Capital Punishment” (1969), both of which hit #12 in the Dutch Top 40. Sandy Coast’s greatest chart success came in the 1970s, when the group had developed a more radio-friendly sound, akin to the the “west coast sound” of California. 1971’s ‘True Love That’s A Wonder’ became their biggest Dutch hit (#3) and the self-titled Sandy Coast album a big seller.

https://www.last.fm/music/Sandy+Coast/+wiki

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The Outsiders — “Do You Feel Alright”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 24, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,218) The Outsiders — “Do You Feel Alright”

The Outsiders (see #615, 664) were “Holland’s greatest beat/punk group . . . . [w]ith their unheard-of long hair and wild stage presence . . . in a class by itself [with] a weird combination of folk, R&B and punk.” (Jeff Jarema and Jim Wynand, https://hightimes.com/culture/dutch-punk-in-the-1960s/) They gave us this “inspired rocker with an amazing pounding sound” (Patrick “Gullbuy”, http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-outsiders-strange-things-are.html?m=1), “a superb 45 . . . based on a friend of [singer Wally] Tax who terrorized his rich father for money!” (Richard Mason, https://www.furious.com/perfect/outsiders.html) Compare that to Dutch superstars the Golden Earrings, who simply asked daddy to buy them a girl! (see #163)

Mason adds that: “[T]he lyrics are superb, including a bizarre reference to Roger Moore, and the music is its equal, the feature here being [Ronald] Splinter’s exemplary lead guitar”. He even threatens that “The Outsiders were one of the all-time greats of rock music and anyone who says different had better be outside in the car park in 10 minutes. I’ll be waiting.”!!! I think he’s going to need Perry Mason.

Mark Deming tells us:

The Amsterdam-based combo were one of the most popular homegrown bands in the Netherlands from 1965 to 1967, and have since become a favorite among historians of the beat music era; Richie Unterberger wrote that the Outsiders “could issue a serious claim for consideration as the finest rock band of the ’60s to hail from a non-English-speaking nation[.]”. The Outsiders were formed in 1964 by Wally Tax (vocals and rhythm guitar), Ronald Splinter (lead guitar), Appie Rammers (bass), and Lendert “Buzz” Busch (drums); the band embraced an eclectic style that made room for R&B, folk-rock, pop, and beat influences, as well as psychedelic accents as the decade wore on. . . . the Outsiders disbanded in 1969.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-outsiders-mn0001620705/biography

Mason again:

This was an extraordinary, incomparable group who’ve remained unduly neglected for too long. . . . Their following was as committed and wild as their music and stage act, with the result that the band and their fans were banned from several Dutch venues. . . . [T]hey had supported (and, according to Tax, blew off stage) The Rolling Stones . . . .

https://www.furious.com/perfect/outsiders.html

Live:

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Group 1850 — “Mother No Head”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 23, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,217) Group 1850 — “Mother No Head”

“Frere Jacques” freakout from the delightfully unhinged Group 1850 (see #516), whose “thoroughly weird[]-sounding contenders for infamy upon the [Netherlands’] singles charts . . . includ[e] the disquieting, almost Zappa/Mothers-esque (ahem) ‘Mother No Head’ . . . . [full of] hugely experimental, forward-thinking, heavy song ideas”. (Lenny Helsing, https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2019/09/group-1850-purple-sky-the-complete-works-and-more-2019.html) Ashratom ponders “why the psychedelic era had so much infatuation with the French nursery rhyme Frere Jacques”, noting that “[a]pparently the name [Mother No-Head] is a bastardization of the Dutch ‘Vader Jacob’ with some free association to English”. (rateyourmusic.com/release/single/group-1850/mother-no-head-ever-ever-green/)

Popsike raves:

Constantly changing, constantly evolving, Group 1850 were musical extremists on a do-or-die mission to explode all expectations. Sparks flew, ideas flared, feedback swirled through misty nights, the dead walked, skeletons danced, flies buzzed, mountains fell, words rained fire from angry purple skies. Group 1850 raised all kinds of Hell. My god, were they good. Although the group made two deservedly revered albums, Agemos Trip to Mother Earth (1968) and Paradise Now (1969), some of their best work can be found on their singles, where their borderline insane hyper-creativity was focused into highly-concentrated, radically potent three-minute songs like . . . “Mother No-Head”.

https://www.popsike.com/GROUP-1850-MOTHER-NOHEAD-THEIR-45S-2-LPspsychdelic-RockPseudonymfoc/282415685698.html

As does Lenny Helsing:

Between 1966 and 1976 Group 1850 blazed an unforgettable path across the Dutch music scene. With mercurial singer/keyboardist Peter Sjardin at the helm, they made some of the most dark, daring, strange, subversive, mind-altering, barrier-smashing progressive music of the era.

https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2019/06/group-1850-interview.html

Richie Unterberger adds:

Group Eighteen Fifty is an interesting, if sometimes exasperating, late-’60s Dutch band who ranks among the most accomplished and original Continental rock acts of the era, though they made little impression in English-speaking territories. Starting as a more or less conventional beat band in the mid-’60s, they had taken a turn for the more psychedelic and bizarre by 1967. Determined to drive into the heart of the psychedelic beast, their songs (performed in English) are quite eclectic for the era, shifting from doom-laden tempos with growling vocals to sunny, utopian passages with breezy harmonies. The group could be roughly labeled as a mixture of the early Mothers of Invention . . . and Pink Floyd without much of a sense of humor; their songs are intriguing and not without powerful hooks, and the lyrics ambitious (if often inscrutable) . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/group-1850-mn0000536530/biography

Drummer Beer Klaasse reminisces that:

One event was very influential in particular on Peter Sjardin. It was in 1967 in Paradiso, Amsterdam. That night, Pink Floyd performed in Paradiso and we were asked to be their support act and now 52 years later I recall every second of that evening! Because we were support act, we could stand on stage, so when Pink Floyd was playing, I stood two meters behind them and saw and heard everything that happened that evening. It’s one very special evening in my life . . . .

When I joined the band they were totally clean, not even a beer, but than we met a group of Dutch poets who were a few years older and performed with jazz and poetry, but they wanted to do, Beat and Poetry with us and one of them gave us our first blow and haha, now 55 years later I still like it. But LSD and other psychoactive substances none of us use. . . .

Shortly after the opening night of Paradiso in Amsterdam on the 30th of March 1968 [same concert mentioned above?], we were supporting act of Pink Floyd. The dressing rooms in those days were behind the stage down the stairs in the cellar of the building. And while Pink Floyd were performing, we came upstairs and stood on stage two meters behind them watching them. Can you imagine what an experience that was for us?! On that night we were inspired by Pink Floyd and we slowly started to change our music, we started to improvise more since that night and our songs became longer. . . . On the 24th of September 1967 we had another spectacular gig in Amsterdam in “The Concertgebouw”. On that night we were supporting act of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention . . . . One year later we supported at “The Concertgebouw” in Amsterdam another special musician. We were the support act for Janis Joplin!!!

https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2019/06/group-1850-interview.html

By the way, Klaasse explains how the band got its name:

Before I joined the band, they already existed and called themselves “The Klits”. On the first of January 1966 they asked Hugo Gordijn to become their manager and he decided that they need another name, because “The Klits” went to far according to Hugo. The singer, Peter Sjardin, had an old watch from his grandfather with the year 1850 engraved on it and they decided to call themselves Groep (is dutch for group) 1850. . . .

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Boudewijn de Groot — “Voor De Overlevenden”/ “For the Survivors”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 22, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,216) Boudewijn de Groot — “Voor De Overlevenden”/“For the Survivors”

The Dutch Master Boudewijn de Groot (and I’m not talking about cigars) is a “[t]roubadour with a Dylan-esque impact, who shoots to fame in [the Netherlands in] the ’60s and ’70s” (https://en.muziekencyclopedie.nl/action/entry/Boudewijn+de+Groot) (see #107, 161, 305, 989). As to this beautiful track and the album of the same name from which I take it, de Groot recalls (courtesy of Google Translate):

Unattainable love, the eternal theme and subject of many highlights, especially in literature, has always been a source of inspiration for Lennaert [Nijgh, his frequent lyricist]. He met her in the Waagtaveerne . . . . Her name was Joke and she had long blond hair and dreamy eyes. But she was unreachable and a few years later she would move permanently to England. . . . [H]e dedicated a complete song cycle to her and called it ‘For the Survivors’. Not all songs are about her, but they all come from the same feeling. The cycle, and thus the album, is dedicated to her. . . . [T]he feeling from which he wrote the text was, as he once put it, ‘a feeling from six floors out the window’. Mainly despair, despair and longing. And both of those concepts set the tone of the entire record, from ‘For the Survivors’ to ‘Do You Know That Country’. It also somewhat foreshadows what would erupt in full force a year later: the mysticism and ‘shangri-la’ of the flower power era. . . . Our method was simple. Lennaert wrote a text, I pinned it to the wall, stood in front of it with my Spanish guitar and whistled a melody, I put it on a tape . . . then I waited for the next text, after which the ritual was repeated; When everything was on the tape, I took it to Tony Vos, who said it was beautiful; then we went to Bert Paige, where we played the tape. Then I explained to Bert how the arrangement should be, uttering shouts such as “here twelve trombones and there six cellos and then a male choir” and I occasionally whistled something when I knew what an instrument should play. . Finally, I gave him the texts, after which Tony and I left, probably leaving Bert in despair. Our arranger would disappear into his office, sit behind the piano or writing desk and come up with one beautiful arrangement after another. He was responsible for at least three quarters of the atmosphere, feeling and expressiveness of our repertoire.

https://www.boudewijndegroot.nl/component/discografie/?id=2

As to de Groot through the 60s (courtesy of Google Translate):

Boudewijn de Groot was born on May 20, 1944 in the Japanese internment camp Kramat in Batavia (now Jakarta) ithe former Dutch East Indies. A few months later . . . the family was transferred without the father to the Tjideng women’s camp . . . where his mother died . . . . In May 1946, Boudewijn left for the Netherlands with his father, sister and brother, where he lived with an aunt in Haarlem. . . . Lennaert Nijgh, a school friend of Boudewijn’s stepbrother . . . also lived in the same street. . . . In 1961 . . . both of them were interested in film. After graduating, Boudewijn began studying at the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam . . . . In 1963 Lennaert wrote and directed a short 8 mm feature film . . . . Boudewijn played the role of troubadour, for which he wrote two songs himself. The video was shown at home and the then newsreader Ed Lautenslager was present at one of those performances. He was particularly impressed by the two songs, especially the singing and the music, and he advised the pair to do something together in that direction: Lennaert the lyrics, Boudewijn music and singing. Lautenslager was able to arrange a recording through a relationship with the record company Phonogram. Four songs were recorded there . . . . [and] were released on two singles, both of which flopped, but did result in an invitation to the television program “Nieuwe Organisatie” . . . . Boudewijn won first prize from the professional jury. . . . The record company tried to achieve success by combining the two singles and releasing them on an EP . . . . When there turned out to be no market for that either, producer Tony Vos presented Boudewijn with a choice: quit or record a commercial song. For the latter, Tony had ‘Une enfant’ by Aznavour in mind. After much hesitation and with great reluctance, Boudewijn agreed to this, after which Lennaert provided a Dutch translation. The single was released and became a success. After working for a year and a half as a warehouse clerk . . . to support his family . . . Boudewijn was finally able to make a living from his career as a singer. After the success of ‘A girl of sixteen’ [see #305], an LP was . . . put together . . . including ‘Good night, Mr. President’. . . an indictment of the war in Vietnam . . . [and] . . . President Lyndon B. Johnson[. It] was released as a single in ’66 and was the first self-penned hit by the duo De Groot/Nijgh. . . . In 1966 the first LP was released with exclusively the De Groot/Nijgh duo’s own material. . . . “For the Survivors”, received a gold and a platinum record and also an Edison. ‘Het Land van Maas en Waal’ was released as the second single. . . . [and] became the first Dutch-language record to reach number 1 in the Top 40. It was 1967 and the hippie era was beginning. The LP ‘Picnic’, inspired by the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, . . was a success, achieved gold and platinum and a second Edison. . . . Boudewijn thought he could continue experimenting. Together with a friend from the film academy he wrote the quasi-mystical epic ‘Witches’ Sabbath’, the main component of the LP “Nacht en ontij” (1968). . . . After some wanderings in Belgium and the Netherlands, Boudewijn decided in November 1969 to retire to a farm . . . with a number of musicians to start a beat band and sing English songs. This formula turned out to be unsuccessful. . . . Boudewijn . . . renew[ed] artistic ties with Lennaert. . . . Between 1971 and 1975 he produced records . . . . In ’73 he himself made a new LP . . . which includes the song ‘Jimmy’, named after his son born in ’72. This LP went platinum and Boudewijn received an Edison for this.

https://www.boudewijndegroot.nl/biografie

Live, many years later:

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Golden Earrings — “I Am a Fool”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 21, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,215) Golden Earrings — “I Am a Fool”

Here is a lovely, “effectively moody” (Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/album/just-earrings-mw0000454482) ballad off the Earrings’ (see #63, 163, 319) first LP, 65’s Just Ear-Rings. The Golden Earrings are my favorite British beat group . . . from Holland! But not only could they sound just as if they had washed up on a bank of the Mersey, a feat in and of itself, they also wrote great songs. Unlike some groups, they didn’t have the luxury of having Lennon and McCartney donate to the cause. The Earrings have earned a lot of good will in my book — everything that happened in the 70’s is forgiven!

Mark Deming writes that:

Golden Earring were hailed as one of the hottest new bands in America when the song “Radar Love” . . . was released in 1973. Funny thing was, Golden Earring were hardly a new band; while they weren’t well known outside the Netherlands, in their native Holland they were major stars who had been scoring hits for eight years. Just Earrings was their first LP, recorded in 1965 when they were still billed as the Golden Earrings, and it’s fine British Invasion-style beat music that suggests the group was still formulating a sound of its own, but had absorbed the influences of [the usual suspects] and had fashioned the bits and pieces into a sound that was powerfully tuneful and engaging. The Golden Earrings wrote nearly all their own material at a time when even the U.K. bands they modeled themselves on performed a fair percentage of covers . . . . George Kooymans and Peter De Ronde were a great guitar team, bassist Rinus Gerritsen and drummer Jaap Eggermont push the music forward with energy and imagination, and Frans Krassenburg’s vocals show both attitude and aptitude, especially since he’s singing in English (though the lyrics don’t always survive close scrutiny). If Just Earrings had been recorded by a British band, chances are good the group could have scored that first hit in America a lot sooner — the album is certainly on a par with the work of most of the U.K. bands that were storming the U.S charts at the time, and if it took longer for America to warm to rock & roll from Holland, this is fun stuff that swings in any time zone.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/just-earrings-mw0000454482

Kieron Tyler talks of the album and the band’s formation:

They were always melodic, always focused, always immediate, their music combined the tough chunkiness of The Who and The Kinks with the minor-key, brooding melodies of The Zombies. . . . Where bands like the rough-hewn Outsiders defined the edgy sound of Amsterdam, the more polished Golden Earrings defined the sound of The Hague. . . . Just Earrings . . . stands as one of Europe’s best beat-era albums. and that includes the UK. Beyond displaying a top-drawer songwriting talent, the album included only one cover version. Who else was that confident in 1965? . . . The roots of The Golden Earrings lie in The Tornados, a band formed by 13-year-old George Kooymans and 15-year-old Marinus Gerritsen in 1962. . . . An instrumental outfit, their repertoire included Shadows and Ventures numbers. . . . The Hague . . . was stuffed with rock ‘n’ roll bands and competition was tough. . . . [The] boom was fuelled by bands made up from Indonesian immigrants. Indo-Rock had been born. . . . The Tornados – due to their youth – started out playing school parties. . . . [then] they’d begun playing clubs. After the British Tornados’ Telstar became a Dutch hit in late 1962 . . . . the band chose The Golden Earrings, from the standard that Peggy Lee had a hit with in 1948. . . . [B]y the end of 1963, it became clear that the shifting musical climate meant the band would have to incorporate vocals. Frans Krassenburg became their singer in early 1964. . . . The Dutch bands were well aware of the desire for beat music that was on their doorstep. Pirate radio station Veronica was broadcasting from a ship moored off the Dutch coast . . . . The[ir] break came in July 1965 . . . . Freddy Haayen saw the band at their regular venue Club 192 . . . . Haayen said he worked for Polydor Records and that he wanted to record them. Actually, he was an architecture student who also worked as a trainee at Polydor’s warehouse. The Golden Earrings didn’t know this and duly turned up at Hilversum’s Phonogram Studio on the afternoon of 8 August to record four tracks . . . . Haayen had made good on his bluff and scored a deal with Polydor. Released in September, Please Go immediately started climbing the Dutch charts, reaching number 10 . . . . As momentum built, The Golden Earrings were billed with visiting British bands . . . . In September they played with The Who; November saw them teamed up with The Kinks. . . . [T]he band completed their first album, Just Earrings. Released November 1965, the album showcased the band’s supreme confidence.

http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2011/11/the-golden-earrings-just-ear-rings-1965.html?m=1

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