THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,192)Tangerine Zoo — âWake Up Sunâ
New England heavy rock rollinâ in from somewhere between Bosstown and Rhode Island. â[T]he instrumental breaks strewn throughout the album are marvel to be behold . . . [like] the extended tribal dance in âWake Up Sunââ (MusicGnomeology, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-tangerine-zoo/outside-looking-in)
Paul Martin rhapsodizes:
[âWake Upâ is an] excellent, truly psychedelic tune, full of joy and vitality, jumping off with some hard fuzz guitar runs followed by a killer chorus which repeats the line “Wake Up Sun” like an euphoric evocation. It has a strange but yet awesome rhythmic structure and stunning instrumental breaks that are overflowing with the brilliant haunting drums, almost Prunes-like blistering atonal guitar solos and totally mind-blowing swirling mad organ.
[Their second album Outside Looking In is] superior to the debut [album] but still unexceptional to my ears. The sound is typical New England . . . heavy psych rock with organ, fuzz and slow elephantine songs. . . . [A]fter more than a dozen plays I’m having trouble recalling one single hook or line from the album.”
The Acid Archives, The Second Edition
As to the Zoo, Jason Ankeny tells us:
Boston psychedelic band the Tangerine Zoo formed in 1967 in nearby Swansea, MA. . . . [T]he group renamed itself the Flower Pot, abandoning the Ebb Tides’ garage rock sound in favor of a more psychedelic approach. In addition to serving as the house band at the local Venus de Milo restaurant, the band also opened for the likes of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Van Morrison, and Deep Purple. Their growing popularity was buoyed by a large fan base in Boston, and in late 1967 signed with the New York City-based Mainstream label. While recording their debut LP, label execs demanded another name change, fearing backlash from the obvious marijuana reference in the Flower Pot moniker; after setting on the Tangerine Zoo, the group released its self-titled debut in early 1968. . . . In mid-1969, the Tangerine Zoo was invited to play the Woodstock festival, but were forced to decline due to prior commitments. The band dissolved in 1970, with [singer/guitarist Wayne] Gagnon soon resurfacing in Wadsworth Mansion, which scored a Billboard Top Ten hit with 1971’s “Sweet Mary.”
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An oddity fallilng somewhere between Curt Boettcher-styled sunshine pop, Association type Top 40, and Animated egg exploito. . . . [It was] a full-fledged concept piece. . . . something to do with the concept of escaping the physical body to experience spiritual embodiment. In spite of the goofy title and lyrics (“Today, I saw the sunrise”) and the fact that the arrangements were full of rather spacey instrumentation, virtually all of the songs were quite commercial.
The Acid Archives, The Second Edition
Beverly Paterson adds:
Composed of studio musicians, most notably the late great guitarist Hugh McCracken, who played with everybody from the Monkees to Simon to Garfunkel to Van Morrison to Steely Dan to John Lennon, the Astral Projection existed for just this one album. As their name implied, the band championed leaving the body. . . . The Astral Scene . . . profiles the beauty, joy and warmth attained when discarding our physical being. No chemical substances are promoted, as the lyrics impress such journeys can be attained from within and life itself is a natural high. Heavily orchestrated and glistening with birdsong harmonies and melodies, The Astral Scene rests firmly on the soft-rock wing occupied by the Cowsills, the Association and the Blades of Grass. The production values are clean and sparkly, the structures are adventurous enough to prompt repeated spins, and the performances are disciplined and proportioned. . . . Rhythms drift, float and soar, and the textures of the tunes are flush with color and motion. Pumping big brass sounds, string arrangements and flower pop motifs into a single blender, The Astral Scene rolls in as an early indication of new age music. Brain food for the ears, the disc is certainly a curious period piece.
A conceptual undertaking meant to reveal the wondrous cycle of the telepathic phenomenon of astral projection. The album somehow manages to communicate the complex precepts of astral experience in lay terms and remain deliciously frothy pop at the softest, most easy-listening end of the spectrum. It works the same sonic conceit as the Fifth Dimension (only in lily-white, soul-lite mode) or the stable of bands . . . produced or helmed by Curt Boettcher, only without the countercultural credibility and legitimately trippy factor. That’s because the album, as with dozens of similar efforts from the era, is really a quasi-exploitive cash-in project. Essentially a studio creation conceived and written by Bernice Ross and Lor Crane, who did not take part in the actual recording . . . . The playing was done by ace sessionmen . . . and then the music overlaid with delicate strings, and a brass and woodwind section. In a sense, it entirely missed the thrust of the decade’s more original and exploratory music that it meant to exploit. But in another cosmically ironic sense, it captures the heady era far more vibrantly than those more important artists, partly because the music of the Astral Projection is nowhere near as timeless as the music of those artists. And partly because the explosive creativity of the era filtered in weird and wonderful ways even down to the eternally unhip music business types responsible for this album, giving them carte blanche to experiment with the money formula, but not too much, thereby resulting in this odd hybrid of commercially minded but ultimately uncommercial music. . . . The Astral Scene is largely soft-pop ambience.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,190)Robin Gibb — âDown Came the Sunâ
From Robin’s (see #497) solo album Robin’s Reign, released amidst the fleeting breakup of the Bee Gees (see #291, 353, 354, 439, 466, 484, 497, 570, 594, 717, 861, 962, 1,065, 1,101, 1,125), comes “vintage Robin Gibb[,] a classic beautifully sung tune that recalls the first Bee Gees album” (Dave Furgess, https://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/229/), “includ[ing] some typically intriguing Robin lyrics âYou like to think that you are Admiral Nelson with a gun, a wife and sonâ.” (David, https://lightspots.wordpress.com/tag/robin-gibb/)
I love the song and the album, but it is not for everyone. Bruce Eder writes that “too many of the songs (and ‘Down Came the Sun’ is a perfect example), although very pretty, don’t quite go anywhere — they lack a second idea, or a middle eight, or something, to take them to the ending without being predictable.” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/robins-reign-mw0000840610) That’s a great line about some album. In fact, I may borrow it some day! But it doesnât describe Robin’s Reign!
In any event, Eder tells us:
Although not many people remember it today, there was a moment when the Bee Gees’ lineup literally exploded into pieces — in the wake of the 1969 double-LP Odessa, the sibling music trio split, first into two parts, with Barry Gibb and Maurice Gibb initially retaining the Bee Gees name, and later into three parts, as even they stopped working together. You can judge the depth of the antipathy felt between Robin Gibb and his brothers from the lyrics in “Most of My Life,” the last song on the album at hand, which are steeped in bitterness. Ironically, amid a ton of solo activity by all three brothers that resulted from these breakups, Robin’s Reign by Robin Gibb was the only full-length solo effort by any of them to see the light of day commercially, and it contained a number two U.K. hit in “Saved By the Bell.” What is here is almost as much a “lost” Bee Gees creation as the two-man lineup’s Cucumber Castle album . . . the main problem is the “almost.” . . . Much of Robin’s Reign . . . needed just a little bit more work on the composition side — perhaps the input of another of the Gibb siblings — to reach that same standard. . . . [T]he album couldn’t get far enough away from the Bee Gees’ own roots to count as more than a footnote — albeit an often beautiful and reasonably entertaining one — to their history.
By January 1969 it seemed like the Bee Gees . . . and especially Robin, their vibrato singing teen idol â were on top of the world. . . . But clouds were quickly forming. Rumors of drug addiction swirled around 19-year-old Robin, heightened by a nervous collapse and ongoing personal health crises that forced cancellation of an American tour. The actual cause of Robinâs tenuous physical and emotional condition was actually post-traumatic stress brought on in the aftermath of Robin having survived the Hither Green rail crash in November 1967 where 49 people died. While unharmed, Robin was trapped for a time in his car, forced to watch the dead and injured as they were removed . . . . Adding to his personal insecurities, familial tensions in the form of competition with older brother Barry were reaching a head. Odessa producer Robert Stigwood . . . saw Barry as the group leader and favored his songwriting and singing over Robinâs. The final straw occurred when Stigwood released Barryâs âFirst of Mayâ as the next Bee Gees single, relegating Robinâs âLamplightâ to the B-side. Shortly after this perceived slight, Robin announced his departure from the band.
[During t]he 12-month period of Robinâs absence . . . . Barry and Maurice released Cucumber Castle which, while including the hit single âDonât Forget to Rememberâ, stalled on the UK album chart at #57 . . . . Robin[âs] initial single âSaved By the Bellâ reached #2 on the charts, but its parent album Robinâs Reign charted disappointingly and plans for a follow up record were shelved . . . .
When asked why he chose âSaved by the Bellâ as the A-side, Robin explained that: “Everything I write I write to the best of my ability. That is every song I have written could be a single â I never write A-sides that would be an insult to my ego. . . . All the tracks for my first LP could be singles.” (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/may/21/robin-gibb-classic-interview)
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,189)David Bixby — âMorning Sunâ
From Dave Bixbyâs (see #531, 668) âdefinitive loner acid folk albumâ comes a song that has resonated with a lot of people, judging from the hundreds of comments on YouTube (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ch5lOo5cL1U&pp=ygUXZGF2aWQgYml4YnkgbW9ybmluZyBzdW4%3D) Here are some heartfelt ones: â[o]ne of the most beautiful songs I have ever heardâ (claramae), âholy f*ck i nearly cry every time i listen to this songâ (bilbobagpipe23842â), a âhauntingly touching songâ (lulululululululuul), and âif I die, I want this to be the song that plays when I’m remembering all the memories I had when I was aliveâ. (vanillasmelody93883)
Now, part of the reason for the outpouring is that the song forms the foundation for the A$AP Rocky song CallDrops. Whoâda thunk it?!
Klemen Breznikar tells us that:
Dave [Bixby] played with folk bands in high school before cutting off his hippie hair to join a religious group. . . . Daveâs ⌠Ode to Quetzalcoatl, was recorded following a long period of time [he] spent in what he calls âthe voidâ. A dark, depressive episode after a prolonged period of taking LSD almost daily. Dave came out of the void and turned to God, a journey and transformation Ode to Quetzalcoatl documents. . . . Daveâs lived a vivid and fascinating life, beginning with his leadership within a Michigan-based Christian cult only known as âThe Groupâ. Always a loner and an adventurer, Dave left the group after being sent to various corners of the country to launch new chapters, built a cabin and lived off the land.
For collectors of the downer/loner folk movement of the late â60s . . . the solo debut from Michigan garage rocker-turned-born-again Xian Dave Bixby . . . go[es] for upwards of $2,000 on eBay. . . . Recorded after he spent a year playing solo and experimenting with LSD, Bixby laid down this album in a living room with the bare bones of amenities. . . . Bixby relies on the strength of his deeply faithful lyrics rooted in the Book of Revelations and the artistâs own personal drug-fueled Armageddon to carry his songs through the night.
Winter of 1968 I was not doing so well. Too many acid trips . . . . I quietly freaked out. I was in hell with no way to communicate it to anyone. Some months later my lead guitar buddy Brian MacInness introduced me to Don DeGraff I ended up in a prayer circle. . . . That night I did my own praying, fell asleep and a new spirit was born in me. . . . I saw peopleâs pain and fear, it was just like mine. I knew what to say to give comfort. Songs began to flood in to me, writing them down I sang them everywhere DeGraff had the first Group meeting at his house with about ten to twelve people and the numbers grew every week eventually needing a bigger building; then we out grew that building. I performed songs every Tuesday night at group meetings. These meetings grew to 300 people. I was asked many times to record an album. I selected twelve songs out of thirty I had written. Each song supported the next song in theme. The Quetzalcoatl story of a Christ like man walking the Americaâs captivated my imagination becoming the title for the LP. . . . In the studio it seemed a little lonely. Ode to Quetzalcoatl is a lonely journey so it all worked well. . . . This album is a concept. Each song is a chapter in a book. The theme throughout is one of stepping out in faith and walking through the darkness into the light. . . . Apocalypse. [Asked in what state of mind he was when he recorded it, Bixby said] I felt new, humbled and grateful. When I prayed I got answers and direction. I was moving forward with out doubt. I was going through a metamorphosis with out words to describe my experience. I captured some of it in song.
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The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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This is about as good a 1960s femme psych album as youâll find. Itâs wholly original and unlike a lot of singer-songwriter types of the era, the two women . . . had considerable creative input, and wrote seven of the ten songs. The music is a reasonable cross between British folk-rock and American psychedelia (with a strong Indian influence), and is the most interesting and successful album by a â60âs folkrock-psych duo, male or female. It also rocks with conviction . . . .
The Acid Archives (Second ed.)
Richie Unterberger adds:
Much mystery surrounds Jan & Lorraine, a female duo who recorded an obscure folk-rock album, Gypsy People, in London in October 1969. Jan Hendin and Lorraine Le Fevre [who wrote “Snow Roses”] both sang (often in harmony) on the record, did the ensemble arrangements, and also wrote (working separately) most of the material. . . . Hendin handled electric and acoustic guitars, piano, and organ, and Le Fevre contributed acoustic guitar as well. In part because the LP didnât sound much like other British folk-rock efforts of the time, there was conjecture that [they] might have actually been Americans (and, in fact, it has been reported that the duo hailed from Detroit, Michigan when the album was recorded), despite the record being cut in London. And it does have a greater American influence to its mildly psychedelic late-â60s folk-rock than most British efforts in the genre, with stirring, slightly strident singing; some slight pop accents . . . and some occasional exotic Eastern sounds on tamboura and tabla. The recordâs slightly moody and introspective, though pleasant (and sometimes a little loosely drifting) in feel . . . .
[A]lthough the set was recorded in London, slotting neatly into the contemporary British folk-prog scene, their accents tell another tale, supporting the veracity of at least one report that they hailed from Detroit, Michigan . . . . [I]tâs the intensity of the multi-instrumentalist pairâs delivery that sets Jan & Lorraine apart, with the women attacking both their vocals and guitars in particular with absolute gusto. There are, however, decidedly British elements leaking into the set as well . . . . Although supported by a clutch of guest musicians, Jan & Lorraine still asserted their independence. In a day when women artists had little control over their music, the pair not only penned the bulk of the set, they arranged it all. And itâs here the duo truly excelled, for the use of instrumentation is inspired, each song carefully crafted to create maximum effect. . . . [T[he pairâs past was shrouded in mystery, and once they packed up and left, their future destination was equally unknown. But Jan & Lorraine left behind a stunning, fiery album, as thrilling and exotic as a Gypsy dance.
Janice Grahm was my mother in law. She passed away in 1994. Her daughter (my wife) has a credit on the album as Taki (greek for loved one. Jan was a very accomplished musician (masters degree from Harvard) and a very loving person. Lorraine is living in souther California and teaches guitar in the Palmdale area. . . . Jan and Lorraine were from Detroit MI.
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[It is] cracker of a song . . . with Eddie Hardin sounding uncannily like Steve Winwood with that excellent organ swirling, and lets not forget that wwhhheeessshhhh sound of the flanging/phasing effect that is on this, this is certainly psych inspired but going other places, but its a fabulous song . . . .
[T]he LP showcased Hardin’s Winwood-esque vocals and swirling Hammond organ and York’s forceful drumming. While the duo could create a mighty sound on their own, Hurst thickened their psychedelic R&B sound with background vocalists Sue and Sunny, orchestral embellishments, and musicians including guitarist Vic Flick and bassist Herbie Flowers. Hardin continued to grow as a songwriter, penning most of the album’s original material.
Hardin & York’s debut album was quite competent yet derivative early progressive rock, and derivative of Traffic in particular. At least, however, it came by its influences quite honestly, Pete York having drummed behind Steve Winwood in thr Spencer Davis Group and Eddie Hardin having joined the Spencer Davis Group. after Winwood left. . . . Hardin sings and writes uncannily like Winwood circa Trafficâs âForty Thousand Headmen” period, but while that’s a good standard to shoot for, therein also lies the problem: it’s not quite as good . . . and certainly not as original. . . . [But] this is pretty decent stuff. . . . Hardinâs vocals are impressively rich and gritty, and his piano and organ quite skillful.
The unusual power duo of keyboardist/vocalist Eddie Hardin and drummer Pete York made a few albums in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and were aptly described as a cross between Traffic and Procul Harum . . . . with their blend of hard rock, soul, progressive, and jazz influences . . . . Both . . . left the Winwood-less Spencer Davis Group in October 1968, and teamed up shortly afterward to form a two-man group . . . . unusual in rock to this day, and as far as two-person organ-drum combos go, the only other one of note from that period was used by Lee Michaels . . . . Hardin covered the bass parts with the left hand of his organ, and the result was actually a pretty full band sound for just the two members. However, on their three albums, the duo was sometimes augmented by horns, flute, guitar, backup female vocals, and other orchestration. Although Hardin & York weren’t that big in the U.K. or U.S., they had more success on the European Continent, particularly in Germany, where they were big both on record and as a touring act. . . . In 1971 each member started playing with their own bands as well (the Pete York Percussion Band and Hardin/Fenwick/Newman), occasionally playing in those bands on the same bill as live Hardin & York concerts. . . . [G]uitariat Ray Fenwick . . . joined Hardin & York in mid-1972, at which point the act’s name changed to Hardin, York & Fenwick.
Their stage show was energetic and, with just the two of them, it needed to be to capture the attention of the audience. They did this by using the dynamics of a sole keyboard player along with a jazz rooted drummer who packed a mighty punch, their interplay was dazzling and effusive at times . . . .
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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,186) P.J. Proby — âThree Week Heroâ
Yesterday we heard from a rock star despairing over his fans wanting him to be God and bemoaning that the more he gave, the more people asked of him. Today we hear from a âthree weekâ sensation who finds to his dismay that “I’m no longer mobbed cause my last two records bombed and I squandered all the money that I had.” Wild man P.J. Proby’s â69 B-side “opens with a blues riff . . . and then P.J. in a cod country voice sings, ‘I’m a three week hero, I started with a zero, And I sold a million records on my own.'” (Spencer Leigh, https://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2012/06/pj-proby-three-weeks-hero-1969-uk.html) It’s a hoot. And to top it all off, “Hero” comes from a P.J. Proby LP backed and arranged by John Paul Jones, who was assisted by his friends Jimmy Page, John Bonham and Robert Plant (though only on harmonica) shortly before their first live performance as Led Zeppelin!
Spencer Leigh gives us some background on the LP:
Steve Rowland . . . . formed a group with session singers and musicians including Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood and called them the Family Dogg. They had a Top 10 hit in 1969 with ‘A Way Of Life’. Rowland, an American in England like Proby, became friendly with him and agreed to produce his next album . . . . He asked the Family Dogg to be backing vocalists . . . . [and] recruited Jimmy Page . . . John Paul Jones . . . and their new friends, Robert Plant . . . and John Bonham . . . to accompany him. . . . John Paul Jones wrote most of the arrangements. Although the album is now regarded as P.J.Proby backed by Led Zeppelin, the only track on which they really sound like that is ‘Jim’s Blues’. Three Week Hero is a schizophrenic, even quadrophrenic, album. It has no idea of its market . . . . . [It] was released in October 1969 and sold miserably.
[John Paul] Jones asked if he could bring in his own group for the session, thinking it would serve as a rehearsal of sorts before they went into the studio themselves and Rowland agreed. Jones told Chris Welch: âI was committed to doing all the arrangements for the album. As we were talking about rehearsing at the time, I thought it would be a handy source of income. I had to book a band anyway, so I thought Iâd book everybody I knew.â Itâs not known exactly when the two-day recording commenced, but August 25th, 1968 is probably the correct date, and would mark the very first time that Led Zeppelin, then still-known as The New Yardbirds, would enter a recording studio together.
P.J. himself recalls (in conversation with Corbin at the Finding Zoso: Discovering the Music of Jimmy Page website:
About 1968, a friend of mine from Hollywood, Steve Roland had come over to London and had done pretty well as a producer for . . . Dave, Dee Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. So I went down to Steve and asked him to produce my next album, EMI wanted one out now. . . . [H]e said, âIâll put a band together for you.â So when I got to the studio that day, there was what they called, âThe New Yardbirdsâ. There was Jimmy Page . . . and John Bonham and another guy Paul Jones and Albert Lee. Anyway, we recorded that album, I think it was in two days. We even undershot, we recorded it with about thirty-five minutes left over, and so Roland yelled down, âWhy donât you all busket? We shouldnât waste the studio time.â I told the boys, âYâall start picking and Iâll write as you pick.â So the three last numbers on the album, âIt’s So Hard to Be a N*gger/Jim’s Blues/George Wallace is Rollin’ in This Morninââ, I just made up as the boys played. Afterwards, I said, âMan, yâall did a terrific job. Iâve got some tours coming up, would you back me?â They said, âWeâd love to, weâll be your backing band, but first weâve got two obligations weâve got to honour in California[“] . . . . The boys told me they were going over to play in San Francisco and all that, and I said, âLook, from what Iâve heard and the way you boys played tonight, not only are you not going to be my backing band, Iâm going to say goodbye right now, because I donât think Iâm ever going to see you again. Thatâs how successful youâre going to be. Youâre exactly what they want, you play all that psychedelic stuff and everything. . . . Youâre going to go over there and go down so great I donât think youâre ever going to come home.â
Born and mostly raised in Texas, rock & roller P.J. Proby never really hit it big in his homeland, but his trouser-busting stage antics helped make him a genuine pop star in England at the height of the British Invasion. . . . [I]n late 1963, Proby met British producer Jack Good, who happened to be putting together a TV special on the Beatles that was to feature several other up-and-coming artists. Proby’s demo tape impressed . . . Brian Epstein enough for him to make the cut, and Good outfitted Proby as an aristocratic fop, complete with ponytail, frilly shirt, tight velvet pants, and buckled shoes. After the special aired worldwide, Proby’s first British single, “Hold Me” . . . rocketed into the U.K. Top Five in early 1964. Proby’s next two singles, “Together” and West Side Story’s “Somewhere,” took a similar tack, and both reached the British Top Ten as well. In early 1965, Proby was booked as part of a package tour, and on one of the London dates in late January, his pants ripped open from the knee all the way up. Proby claimed it was an accident, but when the same thing happened at the next show (much to the audience’s delight), the censors descended and banned Proby from performing on television or in theaters. . . . Proby . . . scor[ed] another Top Ten hit with another West Side Story cover, “Maria,” in late 1965. . . . The lack of promotional opportunities began to hurt Proby’s chart placements, though, and he was also beset with financial problems. He attempted to crack the American market in 1967 and actually did land a Top 40 hit with “Niki Hoeky[.]” . . .
P.J. Proby had his run of hits and had wrecked his career by ripping his velvet trousers, perhaps deliberately, on stage. . . . [H]e attributes his wild behaviour as a reaction to the discipline he endured in a military school. He moved to Hollywood and hung out with Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson and Eddie Cochran. He cut scores of demos and wrote “Ain’t Gonna Kiss Ya'” . . . on a hit EP by the Searchers, and “Clown Shoes” for Johnny Burnette. He had had problems with the police and the Revenue in the US [going bankrupt] and he was gratified when Jack Good offered him a guest spot in his UK TV spectacular, Around The Beatles, which was screened in May 1964. Eddie Cochran’s fiancee, Sharon Sheeley, gave him a new name for the show – P.J.Proby, but apart from that, “I created P.J. Proby totally alone. The ponytail, the buckle shoes, the big-sleeved shirts were all me[â] . . . . The TV special drew 8 millions viewers and âHold Meâ which Proby had cut in the UK with . . . Jimmy Page on lead [g]uitar, soared to N.3. Page played a distinctive [g]uitar solo on his follow-up hit, âTogetherâ and he can be heard on several other Proby recordings â âZing! Went The Strings Of My Heart”, “Stagger Lee”, “Linda Lu”, “Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu”, “Let The Water Run Down” and “Hanging From Your Loving Tree”. . . . Proby says that the campaign against him was spearheaded by Mary Whitehouse and that showbusiness moguls wanted him deported as he was an American earning good English money. P.J. Proby’s conspiracy theories are second only to those following Kennedy’s assassination.
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
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WARNING — If you are a QuĂŠbĂŠcois or from France, read no further! Ne lis pas plus loin!This song is a francophone legend!
“‘Ordinaire,’ the heart-breaking cry of a fading show business star . . . ha[s] become [one] of [Robert Charlebois’ (see #44)] most popular songs”. (François Couture, https://www.allmusic.com/album/un-gars-ben-ordinaire-mw0000699064), with a “[m]elody that begins gently, and crescendoes in a plea of ââdesperate words: ‘sublime’ is the only word that fits! UNFORGETTABLE”. (fontclair, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDGNA83mxDo (courtesy of Google Translate) “[A]h the beautiful, desperate song . . . [v]ery painful and magnificent, dizzying and pathetic.” (jmcelse, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDGNA83mxDo (courtesy of Google Translate)) “It is a particularly QuĂŠbecois take on the-travails-of-a-rock-star song, singing as it does about being just an ordinary guy. In 1970, Robert Charlebois won the Sopot International Song Festival with this song.” (https://www.tedmartin.ca/Canada150/Content/Songs/095-Robert_Charlebois-Ordinaire.htm) The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame says that:
Almost an instant classic and now a staple of Quebec music, ‘Ordinaire’ remains a very accurate depiction of todayâs obsession with celebrity and of the negative effect such pressure can have on an artist. Charlebois is still to this day affectionately nicknamed the ‘ordinary guy’ and this song remains, for the Quebec public, one of his greatest.
“You want me to be a God If only you knew how old I feel”
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame adds:
In 1969, Claudine Monfette, a.k.a. Mouffe, wrote this song for Robert Charlebois, her romantic partner at the time. . . . [She] was able to perfectly describe the essence of Charleboisâ spirit and the pressure that was afflicting the artist, this only 2 years after his spectacular flight to stardom in the Francophone artistic community. The song, with music composed by Pierre Nadeau of the Quatuor de Jazz Libre du QuĂŠbec, won first prize at the Sopot Festival, in Poland in 1970. . . . “Ordinaire” was written at the peak of Charleboisâ popularity, after the Osstidâshow, which made him a star and a household name in Quebec. . . . Tired and exhausted, the lyrics to Ordinaire seemed to unmask the false and almost mythical imagery that people and critics in Quebec had quickly made not only of him, but of the Mouffe/Charlebois couple.
Of Charlebois, Sophie BeaulĂŠ writes that he “wrote Quebec’s first psychedelic song, he was the first chansonnier to use an electric guitar, he brought humor into rock — [he] is the musician who pushed the QuĂŠbĂŠcois popular song into the contemporary world.” (An Anthology of French and Francophone Singers from A to Z: âSinginâ in Frenchâ) And François Couture tells us:
Robert Charlebois is one of the most enduring figures in Quebec rock history and surely has been the most influential during his career which spans five decades. During this time he started as a folk singer, shocked Quebec by turning to an extreme psychedelic rocker, came back to a singer/songwriter credo, and evolved as time went by into an adult pop/rock star. . . . [A]s a businessman revolutionized the world of Quebec micro-breweries with his company Unibroue (makers of beers La Maudite and La Fin du Monde) in the ’90s. Charlebois . . . started his career in folk clubs in the early ’60s, while he also explored acting. His first LP won a prize for Best Folk Album in 1965. The young Charlebois was clean-cut, well-spoken, poetic . . . . [and his songs] appealed to the upper-class students and the intellectual elite. . . . In early 1968, he took a trip to California. Experiencing the flower power movement first hand made the cultural and religious yoke he grew up in literally explode. Back in MontrĂŠal, he recorded the seminal LP Robert Charlebois Louise Forestier. Screaming, swearing, wearing outrageous costumes, and presenting his own brand of experimental psychedelic rock, he staged L’Osstidcho, a scandalous anti-show. “Lindberg” became a hit in Quebec and in France, quickly followed by “Ordinaire.” In the early ’70s, he developed a sound somewhere between his days as an unaccompanied folk singer and his extremes of the late ’60s. . . .
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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,184) The New Mix — âEven Brighterâ
This absolutely gorgeous ’68 pop psych/sunshine pop confection (out of North Carolina!) is “a hidden gem” that “still reminds me of glimmering golden orange autumn sunsets”. (MoonChild-zg3gx, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X_XhvZcyBU) Bad Cat Records says that “[i]n spite of the falsetto lead vocals, ‘Ever Brighter’ had a glistening melody that put it in the running for standout performance; at least until the MOR horn arrangement tacked on the end of the tune sank it.” (http://badcatrecords.com/NEWmix.htm) Hey, I love the horns, I think they make the song almost anthemic.
Of the New Mix and its only LP, Bad Cat Records tells us:
[I]t may not be 1968’s most original release, but as someone who is a big fan of sunshine pop and light-psych, it was an album I was happy to discover and repeatedly play. . . . Bassist Karl Jarvi, singer/lead guitarist Dave Brown, drummer Rob Thorne and keyboardist Henry Steele started their professional careers as the Statesville, North Carolina based The Eighteenth Edition. Like so many of their contemporaries, they were heavily influenced by The Beatles and other mid-’60s British bands. The quartet managed to release a pair of interesting psych-tinged singles for the small local Panther label. . . . Complete with paisley and Nehru jackets (and heavy Southern drawls), the second single even got them a shot lip-synching on the Charleston, South Carolina-based Village Square television show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgIMYxGkhAQ By 1968 they band had morphed into The New Mix, scoring a contract with United Artists. Produced by Tommy Kaye, The New Mix featured a collection of all original material with Brown and Steele sharing the writing credits. . . . Imagine a trippier version of The Association and you’d get a pretty good feel for moody tracks such as . . . “Ever Brighter”. . . . Brown and Steele had an undeniable knack for melding strong melodies, hooks and psych touches. . . . Originality was in short supply. You can play spot-the-influence throughout the album. Occasionally the band got full of themselves and while Brown was a capable singer . . . when he tried to get overly sensitive, or started singing in his higher registers, things took a turn for the worse. Still, it’s hard to believe United Artists didn’t even float a single.
Richie Unterberger had a decidedly negative reaction:
This was an era that saw many a generic pop-psychedelic album on major labels, and even in that class, the New Mix didn’t stand out. . . . [O]verall it’s a faceless clash of California freak-out psychedelia, sunshine pop, and a bit of British influence in some of the arrangements and harmonies.
The New Mix’s sole album is stereotypical 1968 pop-influenced trendy psychedelia. The ten original songs favor San Francisco psych-folk-rock-influenced minor keys, Doors-Strawberry Alarm Clock-influenced organ, and the odd screeching distorted guitar. The arrangements also nod to a pop influence with harmonies that sometimes recall the Hollies’ brief psychedelic phase . . . and some fruity instrumentation that might have made it into sunshine pop records by the likes of the Association. It’s a real melange, in other words, and like a salad made up of various excerpts from the week’s leftovers, it doesn’t go together too well or taste too good or fresh. There’s little memorable about the songs, and some of the lead vocals have a distasteful stiff, strident air. Perhaps as a rough comparison, you might liken the New Mix to groups with awkward mixes of pop and freaky psych, like Fever Tree and the Strawberry Alarm Clock, but the band isn’t even close to their level.
In reaction to this commentary, starcloud4959 stated that “it looks like that reviewer is some type of pompous twat”. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X_XhvZcyBU) Now, I don’t agree with Mr. Unterberger here — I think the New Mix’s album tastes real good and real fresh, and I love Fever Tree [see #614] and the Alarm Clock [see #127, 272, 901, 1,111] — but let’s be civil, it’s only rock and roll (and I like it)!
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,182)John Hartford — âThe Six OâClock Train and a Girl with Green Eyesâ
Country? Folk? Either way, this ’68 B-side by the legendary John Hartford is gentle on my mind, “bounc[ing] along like the happy ’60s pop song it is”; from The Love Album, which “finds [Hartford] using slightly bigger arrangements, gaining confidence, and more or less coming into his own.” (Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., https://www.allmusic.com/album/love-album-housing-project-mw0000462545)
Hartford’s website tells us:
John Hartford won Grammy awards in three different decades . . . and wrote one of the most popular songs of all time, “Gentle On My Mind”. . . . He added music and narration to Ken Burnsâ landmark Civil War series, and was an integral part of the hugely popular âO Brother, Where Art Thou?â soundtrack and Down From The Mountain concert tour. But that hardly explains John Hartford [–] an American original [who] was a musician, songwriter, steamboat pilot, author, artist, disc jockey, calligrapher, dancer, folklorist, father, and historian. At an early age, John fell in love with two things: music and the Mississippi River. In 1965 he moved to Nashville. The following year he was signed to RCA Records by the legendary Chet Atkins. It was Atkins who convinced John to add a âtâ to his last name, becoming John Hartford. In 1967 his second RCA release âEarthwords & Musicâ featured the single âGentle on My Mindâ, a song Hartford wrote after seeing the movie Dr. Zhivago. That year, the song earned four Grammy awards. Hartford would take home two awards, one as the writer and one for his own recording of the song. The other two went to Glen Campbell who had heard Hartfordâs version on the radio and decided to record it. Campbellâs rendition became an instant classic, and the song became one of the most recorded and performed songs of all time . . . . Hartford often said that “Gentle On My Mind” bought his freedom. . . . to explore his various creative curiosities . . . . In 1968 John Hartford left Nashville for Los Angeles, where he played on the Byrdsâ classic album, Sweethearts of the Rodeo. He became a regular guest and contributor on CBSâs Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and later on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. He would also earn his riverboat pilotâs license by the end of the decade. John Hartford became mentor and mystic for a generation of pickers, singers, and songwriters. His landmark record, Aereo-plain (1971) . . . bridged a musical gap between traditional bluegrass and a progressive new audience . . . . In 1976, John won another Grammy award for his contemporary folk masterpiece, Mark Twang [which] featured a set of quirky river-centric original songs, presented in stripped down arrangements, typically featuring only Hartford accompanying himself on banjo, fiddle, or guitar while tapping his feet on an amplified sheet of plywood. . . . becom[ing] his trademark sound for many years as a solo act. . . . He died on June 4, 2001, after a long battle with non-hodgkinâs lymphoma.
Hartford was a multi-talented old-time musician, a riverboat captain, a satirical songwriter, a one-man showman of exceptional talents, and one of the founders of both progressive country music and old-time string music revivalism. He was a prolific recording artist who issued no fewer than 33 albums during his lifetime that ranged across old-timey fiddle music, bluegrass and newgrass, folk, blues, jazz, and country . . . . While he never again attained the success of “Gentle on My Mind,” he was quite successful . . . . [He] grew up in St. Louis near the Mississippi River he would always love. His took his first job on a riverboat at age ten. As a boy he liked the traditional country music he heard on the Grand Ole Opry radio broadcast from Nashville, and by age 13 he was an accomplished fiddler and five-string banjo player . . . . Soon he added guitar and mandolin to his repertoire. He founded his first bluegrass band in high school . . . . Hartford made a few singles for small local labels in the early ’60s. In 1965 he moved with his [family] to Nashville, taking a DJ job at . . . . It didn’t take him long to meet the other architects of the city’s songwriting renaissance – Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury, and the Glaser Brothers [see #76], who . . . began promoting Hartford and his songs around Music Row. . . . In 1968 Hartford moved to Los Angeles . . . . By the end of the decade, Hartford also earned his riverboat pilot’s license. Financially secure thanks to “Gentle on My Mind,” he decided to spend the rest of his life pursuing an artistic vision rooted in country music traditions. In 1971, Hartford returned to Nashville and founded a bluegrass band . . . . The all-acoustic Aereo-Plain album . . . featured a free bluegrass feel often cited as seminal both by progressive bluegrass musicians and by adherents of the modern jam band movement. In the mid-’70s Hartford worked out a solo act in which he appeared in a trademark bowler hat and black vest.
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.
Zikkurat Stage Agency gives us a Hungarian rhapsody (courtesy of Google Translate):
IllĂŠs was the Hungarian Beatles, “the” band, the generational band, the new idol that embodied and realized the dreams of a new generation, in which we could imagine all the desires that, in the end, were left out of the lives of many of us. IllĂŠs is a separate chapter in Hungarian youth culture, but perhaps not an exaggeration, also in the Hungarian cultural history of the second half of the century. With their performance, not only did a new era in entertainment begin, but with their music and thoughts, they also changed the face, thinking, and perception of life of a generation. The story of IllĂŠs is also the story of the sixties. With their explosions and failures, their momentum and exhaustion, their “revolutionary” thoughts and their forced compromises. If a summary cultural history or youth sociology work is prepared about the progressive aspirations of this century, IllĂŠsĂŠk’s work, the aspirations identifiable with the name of the band, cannot be missing from it. IllĂŠs appeared with new songs for new times and wanted to turn the world around with the belief of “bright breezes”.
On this side of the Iron Curtain, during the socialism there were two dominant pop bands in Hungary which competed with each other and also with other bands for popularity. These two bands were IllĂŠs-egyĂźttes (or simply IllĂŠs) and Omega [see #195, 644, 766, 832]. IllĂŠs was founded in 1957 by the brothers Lajos and KĂĄroly IllĂŠs (at that time it was fashionable to choose the surname of the founder as the name of the band . . . ). At the beginning, IllĂŠs had Italian and evergreen songs in their repertoire, like those of the Hurricanes for example. They performed the first song composed by themselves only in 1965 because the previously written songs had been banned by the political system. In the same year, the classic line-up of IllĂŠs was created when Levente SzĂśrĂŠnyi joined the band. The members were Lajos IllĂŠs, Levente SzĂśrĂŠnyi, JĂĄnos BrĂłdy, Szabolcs SzĂśrĂŠnyi and ZoltĂĄn PĂĄsztory. The real success came thanks to the song âRohan az idĹâ (Time runs) sung by Zsuzsa Koncz and accompanied by IllĂŠs. IllĂŠs managed to bring something new to the Hungarian musical life: Eastern and Western voices, folk and artistic music were mixed in their songs and their lyrics represented generational problems.
Zikkurat Stage Agency (courtesy of Google Translate) adds:
In the beginning, IllĂŠs, like other beat bands, played Dixieland, popular Italian hits, evergreens, guitar tracks, primarily Shadows and Hurricanes compositions, at high school and university events. . . . [In] 1965 the two SzĂśrĂŠnyi brothers [joined the band, which] is when the band [turnd] into a generational band. Levente SzĂśrĂŠnyi Szabolcs SzĂśrĂŠnyi started his musical career at the SzĂĄrĂłn SĂĄndor High School in VĂĄc, where he and his brother Szabolcs performed in a guitar duo, and already there they created a sensation with their playing: “We were the crazy SzĂśrĂŠnyis.” . . . SzĂśrĂŠnyi finally joined IllĂŠs in January 1965 (he only accepted membership if he could bring his brother too), and the IllĂŠs story continued on a common thread for nearly a decade. . . . However, IllĂŠs’ . . . breakthrough is based on the six-month work that shakes up the ensemble in 1965 and gives birth to the idea – you have to try to win back the audience’s sympathy with your own songs. First, they completely refresh the repertoire (they mainly play Beatles, Kinks, Animals, Pretty Things songs), get a club . . . and finally . . . they have to win a battle in Bosch. . . . [I]n the summer of this year at the GitĂĄrpĂĄrbaj organized in the Kisstadion, where the audience booed the representatives of traditional dance music, distracted them from the stage and cheered the beat bands, of which only IllĂŠs dared to sing in Hungarian. . . . In their songs, they simply open a channel for the emotions, energies, and desires that lie deep inside, and thanks to BrĂłdy’s lucky tone, these songs still have a shocking, mobilizing, and camp-calling power for their age group. After the summer explosion, in December 1966, IllĂŠs led the field with six songs on the Top 10 list of the Youth Magazine. Young people are burning with the fever of the IllĂŠs phenomenon, and the author couple SzĂśrĂŠnyi-BrĂłdy pour out the “generational anthems” with unflagging energy . . . . On October 10, 1967, the band also visited abroad. . . . [w]ith overwhelming success. Their music . . . is significantly influenced by the Beatles’ LP Sergeant [Pepperâs] . . . . By the end of 1967, they were already far behind the beat leader, and in the end-of-year poll, the readers of Youth Magazine and Magyar IfjĂşsĂĄg voted for them. . . . [F]ilmmakers discovered them. They compose soundtracks. Several of their famous songs are heard for the first time in films [including] The Story of M . . . . The first four places on the IM hit list in July 1968 are occupied by IllĂŠs songs. . . . In 1968, the band received 5 of the 11 awards of the Dance and Song Festival, and IllĂŠs, who was looking for new musical sources, received the name “Hungarian National Folk Beat Ensemble” . . . . This “title” highlights two important moments in the band’s life. In their musical pursuits, they finally deviated from the well-trodden paths of the beat, but at the same time, the band slowly moved from the reality of everyday life to the world of myths in the love of the fans. In 1968, IllĂŠs was not only a role model and parable, but also a myth in the life of his generation. . . . [T]hey were able to express what they heard from the hearts of themselves and their generation [and were] spoken of as “the voice of the generation”. In 1968, IllĂŠs found itself right in the middle of the renewal and reform efforts that permeated Hungarian intellectual-cultural-economic-political life. Already in 1966 . . . IllĂŠsĂŠk’s music was characterized by a strong connection to the folklore of Hungary and neighboring countries. . . . The IllĂŠs brought Eastern-Central European and Balkan folk music into the international beat and created Hungarian youth music with a unique character, not only in terms of content and spirit, but also musically. . . . In 1968, the band – even if only for a short time – managed to find an experimental workshop for their political, social and cultural utopia and for the expansion of their concept, taking advantage of the favorable winds and momentary concessions . . . . In September 1968, a youth club was opened in the Capital Community Center. The IllĂŠs club – managed, organized and led by JĂĄnos BrĂłdy – we can safely say – was the most important youth experimental workshop of the late sixties. After the 1968 festival, seeing the IllĂŠs’ political ambitions embracing folk music, prestigious representatives of the intelligentsia . . . also began to support the band. In particular, specialists in public education saw a great opportunity in the use of beat music to guide children from the most diverse social strata to other arts or political culture. In February and March 1970, under the organization of the Marquele-Martin management office, they played 10 days in London . . . . IllĂŠs’ performance was praised by the English magazines, highlighting their particularly national style, their “songs with a political tone”. . . . At home, the band’s first two LPs (NehĂŠz az Ăşt 1969, IllĂŠsek ĂŠs pofonok 1969) were released without any significant critical response, so to speak, during the band’s idolatry and incense at home. . . . The second LP [from which today’s song is taken] is a record of “bitter experiences”. The songs are all situational reports about everyday people, Mr. Advertising, silly girls, beliefs . . . hope for change . . . . This record is the imprint of a showdown with certain illusions and hope fueled by new illusions. A situational assessment and statement, which holds the promise of a next, clean, summary LP. However, the IllĂŠs could not make this record. The scandal . . . in London closed the doors to them. On April 26, 1970, they started shooting their film with MĂĄrta MĂŠszĂĄros . . . but the work was stopped, they were banned from ORI events, they were not allowed to perform in the capital, the HanglemezgyĂĄr did not release their records, Koncz Zsuzsa’s second album, Szerelem, on which compositions of SzĂśrĂŠnyi-BrĂłdy can be heard, was not played on the radio – the record sold out in 100,000 copies anyway! -, they could not appear in public for a year. . . . The group was not officially condemned, the embargo that hit them seemed to be a tacit, yet unified measure. The mystery was then answered in the June 5, 1970 issue of the Magyar IfjĂşsĂĄg by IstvĂĄn TakĂĄcs’ article titled “Wronged saints or IllĂŠs and their slaps”. It turned out that the IllĂŠs chatted recklessly and freely in a BBC program and thereby provided material for enemy propaganda. . . . The accepted, award-winning, adored “saints” were pushed off the rock Olympus and turned into black sheep.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,181) Val McKenna — âYouâve Gotta Tell Meâ
Sweet pop-soul from the UK’s Val McKenna (see #988), whose songs “many of which she wrote herself, are . . . hard-driving, straight R&B pieces that the mod population allegedly found appealing.â (Paul Pearson, http://paul-pearson.blogspot.com/2015/05/song-20150507-val-mckenna.html) Man, âTell Meâ coulda been a hit. But it wasn’t even released!
You ask, tell us about âTell Me”. Well, it was written by The Ministry of Sound’s Micky Keen and Robin Shaw. As John Carter explained:
The Ministry of Sound was really a substitute venture for me when I left The Ivy League[.] I got together with [bassist/singer] Robin Shaw and [guitarist] Micky Keen and we started writing together and recording tracks in Southern Music’s studio. . . . Val McKenna was signed to Southern as an artist and Lesley Duncan was a friend and always around the studio, so it seemed natural that when we needed girl vocals on tracks they would be brought in to guest.
liner notes to the CD comp Dreambabes Volume Six: Sassy and Stonefree
Bruce Eder tells us about Val:
A singer whose career was managed by Ivy League members John Carter and Ken Lewis, Val McKenna was one of the better white female pop soul-style singers to come out of early- to mid-â60s England. Apart from a convincing delivery on numbers like âMixed Up, Shook Up Girl,â she also benefited from the presence of Jimmy Page on lead guitar on her records, which also included âBaby Do Itâ and âNow That Youâve Made Up Your Mind,â the latter her own composition and very good indeed.
Kieron Tyler tells us that “Val later attracted attention from the Northern Sould brigade with her 1970 Spark A-side “Love Feeling” and then went into session singing, and was featured on Rick Wakeman’s 1984 single “Glory Boys” and Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzaneras’s 1990 solo album Southern Cross.” (liner notes to the CD comp Dreambabes Volume Six: Sassy and Stonefree)
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The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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In mid-60s America, every major city had at least one rockânâroll band that ruled the town. Such top-dogs enjoyed a rabidly partisan audience that packed the teen centres, populated the fan clubs and pushed their records to the top of the local charts. In . . . Houston,Texas, that group was Neal Ford and the Fanatics. . . [who] ruled the roost at Houston clubs . . . . [O]nce they signed to Nashville indie Hickory in late 1966, seemed destined for national stardom. . . . [T]he Fanatics were a well-oiled professional machine, capable of putting on a memorable show . . . . Despite the British elements to their music â Kinks chording, Zombies moodiness â theirs was very much an American sound. Lead vocalist Neal Ford had a professed love for vintage rock and R&B, but the groupâs real strength vocally was the three-part harmony of Ford, [guitarist Jon] Pereles and bass player Dub Johnson. When allied to the classic organ and fuzz-driven âVoxâ sound of the group, it was an unbeatable combination. Texas has a well-deserved reputation for some of the most acerbic 60s rock on record, but the state also produced a fair tranche of acts such as Dallasâ Five Americans who excelled in the commercial pop of the time. The Fanatics straddled the fence. . . . [But] once they became regionally successful with âGonna Be My Girlâ and a much more lightweight formula, the groupâs releases stopped representing anything more than the commercial dictates of the record company.
Between 1964 and 1968, Neal Ford and The Fanatics were Kings of the Houston music scene. . . . Their unique and slick fusion of rock, R&B and garage won friends and influenced other groups all over Texas. . . . [It] seemed [they] were riding the crest of a musical wave with their amalgam of American and British music. . . . What [they] really wanted, was to translate this success to a national level. . . . The combination of [NF&F] and Hickory Records looked like a winning combination. Sadly, that wasnât the case. . . .
[Fellow Payne University student] Kim [Espy] and Neal called themselves The Ramadas and started performing live. After that, they recorded their debut single [â] Teenage Dream . . . . in 1963 . . . . [In] 1964, The Ramadas moved to the New World label, where they released a trio of singles. Later in 1964, [they] formed their own label and as the VIPs [and] released another single. . . Neal was drafted into the US Army. When he left the army, [he] set about forming a new band. . . . Neal Ford and The Fanatics[. A]fter the band left Tantara, where they were one of the labelâs biggest acts, their manager decided that . . . nationwide success was where the money was. So, he shopped the band around various labels. . . . [and] the band decided upon the Nashville based Hickory Records. . . . When Joe Ford a DJ at KNUZ radio station played [their B-side] “Gonna Be My Girl”, it became a hit right through the Gulf Coast, selling 20,000 copies and reaching number one in the region. [They] were on the cusp of making a commercial breakthrough. Sadly, it never came. In 1967 . . . [they] released their eponymous debut album. . . . [which] despite the undoubted quality . . . wasnât a commercial success. . . .
Despite their undoubted talent and ability to combine genres and influences, commercial success and critical acclaim eluded them. Thereâs maybe a simple explanation for that. Thatâs that Neal Ford and The Fanatics stood still. Between 1966 and 1967, they were producing cutting-edge music. This continued into 1968. Then when [guitarist] John Stringfellow was drafted. This meant one of the groupâs most important members was missing. They continued to release singles and even opened for Jimi Hendrix. What shouldâve been a momentous evening wasnât. They werenât as well received. Catcalls from the audience [at the Hendrix concert] signalled music had changed. That shouldâve resulted in [their] changing direction. They considered heading in the direction of psychedelia, but didnât. After that their contract with Hickory ran out in 1968. After a one-off single deal with ABC . . . the band split-up in 1970.
[NF&F] showed a deep appreciation for the British Invasion but also found space for swirling, insistent organ and a facility with an R&B groove that wasn’t quite common among other garage bands. Ironically enough, [they] wound up hampered by the very thing that made them distinctive: they were poppier and lighter than their peers . . . and that made labels eager to package them in an even lighter setting, a commercially minded move that never paid off. . . . The group’s third single, “I Will If You Want To,” was, upon its September 1966 release, the group’s most popular to date and they started getting attention outside of Houston, which led to more commercial-oriented sessions that fall. Early in 1967, “Gonna Be My Girl” wound up catching fire in the Houston region and the group seemed poised for a breakthrough but its sequel, “Wait for Me,” didn’t do quite as well. Nevertheless, 1967 saw Neal Ford & the Fanatics playing the gulf region to big audiences and they started to record material for an album . . . . The eponymous album didn’t do well, nor did the singles that followed in 1968, each moving the band closer to the mainstream. Nevertheless, none of these commercially oriented records resulted in an actual hit. . . . [NF&F] harnessed the softer sound of [garage rock]. At times, the Fanatics seem as if they were poised to run away with the ragged variation of the kind of sunshine pop that came beaming out of the West Coast, so comfortable were they with effervescent melodies and lighter textures. But they could still rock . . . . [They] had a facility with melody, an eagerness to get trippy without ever losing sight of home base, and would occasionally thump with a clear knowledge of R&B; their facility with grooves is rarely heard in garage. . . .
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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,179) The Music Machine/Bonniwell Music Machine — âAstrologically Incompatibleâ
This infectious â67 B-side is an absolute Zodiac killer by the original Music Machine lineup (and was also the opening track on the Bonniwell Music Machine LP). It was âinspired by [Sean] Bonniwell’s fascination with astrology” (Alec Palao, liner notes to the CD reissue of The Bonniwell Music Machine) and features a James Bond-y, 60âs lounge horn fanfare.
Of Bonniwell and the Music Machine, Mark Deming tells us:
Sean Bonniwell was the leader of the band the Music Machine, who . . . enjoyed a major hit in 1966 with a sneering anthem of teen-aged alienation, “Talk Talk.” The Music Machine had evolved from the Ragamuffins, an earlier Bonniwell project rooted in folk-rock and British Invasion influences. By the time the band renamed itself the Music Machine, Bonniwell and his band mates . . . had taken on a much darker approach, dominated by sharp fuzztone guitars and peals of Farfisa organ. Bonniwell was the principal songwriter and uncontested leader . . . [W]hile they had minor success with the follow-up single “The People in Me” ([#]66), Bonniwell’s bandmates became weary of his hardline leadership of the group, coupled with tough touring experiences and slow payment of record royalties, and by mid-1967, Bonniwell was the only member . . . still on board. . . . [He] managed to free himself from his contract with Original Sound and signed with Warner Bros. Records as he assembled a new lineup . . . . bec[oming] the Bonniwell Music Machine . . . . Bonniwell began to work on another album. The finished product, 1968’s The Bonniwell Music Machine, featured three songs that began as demos cut with the original band, but for the most part it found Bonniwell pursuing a more eclectic sound . . . with arrangements that included horns and woodwinds and songs that moved from garage rock to folk-rock and even a dash of proto-hard rock. Despite (or perhaps because of) its ambitious approach, [it] was a flop in the marketplace . . . . Warner Bros. dropped Bonniwell, and after briefly launching a third edition of the Music Machine, he dissolved the group and went solo, releasing the album Close as T.S. Bonniwell in August 1969. . . . [which] fared no better commercially . . . and Bonniwell gave up on the music business for the next two decades, never recording another album.
[T]he album was pasted together from some singles (some of which had appeared on Original Sound in 1967) and other tracks, both by the original incarnation and a second outfit that was pretty much a Sean Bonniwell solo vehicle. Accordingly, the tone of the album is pretty uneven, but much of the material is excellent. In fact, some of the songs rate among their best . . . . Some of the cuts (presumably those recorded after the first lineup broke up) find Bonniwell branching out from psych-punk into a poppier and more eclectic direction, sometimes with very good results, sometimes not.
Of his songwriting process, Bonniwell once mused that:
As is true with most (not all) songs that endeavor to capture timeless, mystical enchantment, their creation is guided by the rush of one, epiphenomenal writing sessionâŚa visit for twenty minutes or so with your muse connected â and oblivious to â the sum total of your past and future.
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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
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This “fuzz-Punk masterpiece” (Cory Linstrum, The Rock & Roll of San Francisco’s East Bay, 1950-1980) is “kick-ass proto-punk at its finest” (Stansted Montfichet, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-harbinger-complex-mn0000554526#biography), “propelled by a nasty, fuzz-guitar riff . . . featur[ing] a great, double-tracked Jagger imitation while the crude rhythm section lays down a clumsy, loping groove from way down in the mix”. (Mike Stax, liner notes to the CD comp Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968) It has the âsnarl appeal of the toughest British groups.â (Alec Palao, liner notes to the CD comp With Love: A Pot of Flowers)
Cory Linstrum tells us that:
[The Harbinger Complex was p]robably the coolest and crudest East Bay garage band . . . . not only sound[ing] raw and great . . . also look[ing] raw and great. Its members were tough and thuggish, wore long, unkempt hair . . . and had the snotty attitudes of their heroes: the Stones, the Yardbirds and the Kinks.
The Rock & Roll of San Francisco’s East Bay, 1950-1980
Zolland gives us some history:
Bob Hoyle III and Ron Rotarius began playing guitar together when they were in the eighth grade. By the time they were sophomores together in high school, they had enough talent and musically-inclined friends to put together a band. They called themselves The Norsemen. Unfortunately, in 1965, Hoyle was called to active duty in the Naval Reserves for the Vietnam Conflict. By the time he had come back in 1966, the early stages of The Harbinger Complex had already begun with Rotarius. Hoyle was quickly accepted as the bandâs lead guitarist, while Rotarius performed rhythm guitar duties. Also in the band were Jim Hockstaff on lead vocals, Gary Clark on bass, Jim Redding on drums, and Chuck Tedford on organ. Tedford parted ways with the band before having a chance to record. The band had a huge local following in their hometown of Fremont, California, and they were soon recording singles. . . . When Jim Hockstaff left the band in early 1967, Gary Clark took over the lead vocals. Unfortunately, the band didnât last much longer and they split up before the end of 1967.
The Complex’s publicity shot for [a] pair of performances shows Hockstaff sitting astride a barnyard mule, microphone in hand, looking like a half-crocked itinerant preacher, surrounded by his four bandmates. The accompanying blurb reads thus: “Five muddy bodies lie upon a desolate street. Sudden inspiration doth lendse them well. A Harbinger beckons them. Ominous groans â the anguished sounds of dying animals. Courageous lads, they set forth on a one-way trip. Neglect not your surging blood, pounding pulse, throbbing limbs! Five naked souls untamed, uninhibited, crawl into your head. Walk inside your mind, filling your body with an unknown substanceâŚYou have experienced the Harbinger Complex.”
Apparently, âa drug bust in early 1967 would ultimately destroy the [band], not because of jail time, but for the dissention it caused within the groupâ. (Alec Palao, liner notes to the CD comp With Love: A Pot of Flowers)
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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
Don’t forget to file . . . away these versions of “Taxman” in the box of all-time fab Beatles’ covers!
1,176) The Loose Ends — âTax Manâ
Here is the Loose End’s “superb freakbeat version” (Nick Warburton, https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/the-loose-ends/) of “Taxman”, “hard-hitting but respectful” (John Reed, liner notes to the CD comp Decca Originals: The Freakbeat Scene), with, what are those, bongos? Cool, man! The A-side of the LE’s second and final single, it was released the same day as Revolver. Talk about chutzpah! Learn more about the Birmingham area (Bexley Heath, Kent) band at https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/the-loose-ends/.
Herman Parker Jr. was born at the heart of the blues in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1932. He died tragically young, from a brain tumour in 1971. In between, he produced some of the most soulful blues of the â50s and â60s. Mentored by Sonny Boy Williamson and Howlinâ Wolf and talent-spotted by Ike Turner, Parker started out as Little Junior who, with The Blue Flames cut the riotous Feelinâ Good and the eerie Mystery Train for Sun Records. Parkerâs downhome late-â50s sides for Duke brought him success but when he moved away from hard blues he lost his audience. As a result, most scholars tend to write off Parkerâs later, more soulful sound. This is a shame as his final recordings contain some of the most warm-heated sunshine soul of the period. Cratediggers rate this album . . . because of Sonny Lesterâs clear production, and in-the-pocket groove from Jimmy McGriffâs soul-jazz combo and Parkerâs three Beatles tracks â Taxman, Tomorrow Never Knows and Lady Madonna . . . .
His velvet-smooth vocal delivery to the contrary, Junior Parker was a product of the fertile postwar Memphis blues circuit whose wonderfully understated harp style was personally mentored by none other than regional icon Sonny Boy Williamson. Herman Parker, Jr. only traveled in the best blues circles from the outset. He learned his initial licks from Williamson and gigged with the mighty Howlin’ Wolf while still in his teens. Like so many young blues artists, Little Junior (as he was known then) got his first recording opportunity from talent scout Ike Turner, who brought him to Modern Records for his debut session as a leader in 1952. . . . Parker and his band, the Blue Flames . . . landed at Sun Records in 1953 and promptly scored a hit with their rollicking “Feelin’ Good” . . . . Later that year, [he] cut a fiery “Love My Baby” and a laid-back “Mystery Train” for Sun, thus contributing a pair of future rockabilly standards to the Sun publishing coffers . . . . Before 1953 was through, the polished Junior Parker had moved on to Don Robey’s Duke imprint in Houston. It took a while for the harpist to regain his hitmaking momentum, but he scored big in 1957 with the smooth “Next Time You See Me[]”. . . . Criss-crossing the country as headliner with the Blues Consolidated package . . . [he] developed a breathtaking brass-powered sound . . . that pushed his honeyed vocals and intermittent harp solos with exceptional power. Parker’s updated remake of . . . “Driving Wheel” was a huge R&B hit in 1961, as was the surging “In the Dark” . . . . Parker was the consummate modern blues artist, with one foot planted in Southern blues and the other in uptown R&B. Once Parker split from Robey’s employ in 1966, though, his hitmaking fortunes declined.
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Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,175)Arlo Guthrie — âRunning Down the Roadâ
This is not your father’s Arlo Guthrie, and it certainly ainât Arlo Guthrie’s father’s Arlo Guthrie! Coming out of nowhere, the song’s “guitar freak-out by some studio musicians . . . ought to send 20 white blues bands scampering back to the tars of India” (Robert Christgau, https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=10970), its “harsh blasts of distorted psychedelic guitar and tough, walking-blues stance . . . [make it] a standout”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/running-down-the-road-mw0000120748)
Robert Christgau calls Guthrie’s third LP — also titled Running Down the Road — “[e]asily his best and most musical album, thanks to production-of-the-year by Lenny Waronker and Van Dyke Parks . . . . [c]ontain[ing] two absolutely superb cuts: “Running Down the Road[]” . . . and “Coming into Los Angeles,” which embodies almost perfectly what it means to be young, hip, and temporarily on top of it in 1970 Amerika.” (Robert Christgau, https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=10970) Richie Unterberger adds:
Although this album’s “Coming in to Los Angeles” crossed Guthrie over and into the rock underground, especially via its performance at Woodstock, most of his third record is actually far more laid-back country-rock. Very much a production of its time, in a slightly negative sense, Running Down the Road features Guthrie employing the cream of L.A.’s top country-rock players as session men . . . . The tone is good-natured and easygoing — too good-natured and easygoing sometimes . . . . Guthrie acknowledges his folk roots with covers of tunes by his father Woody Guthrie . . . Peter Seeger . . . and Mississippi John Hurt. These are surrounded by originals that follow the Dylan “back to basics” mold of the late ’60s, both in musical and lyrical concerns . . . . As such, much of the record is inoffensive but inconsequential, although the drug smuggling ode “Coming into Los Angeles” adds a touch of much-needed urgency. The title track is entirely uncharacteristic of the album . . . .
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
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The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,174)Chuck Jackson — âForgive My Jealousyâ
Forgive my incredulity, but how was this irresistible number from Jacksonâs(see #405) first Motown album, â68âs Chuck Jackson Arrives, not a hit? How was it not covered by 100 artists? Heck, it wasn’t even an A-side!
Richard Williams:
Chuck Jackson was a matinee idol among his generation of soul singers in the early 1960s, displaying the looks and the bearing to match the elegance of his singing. He shared . . . an understated masculinity that would be lost in the subsequent decade . . . . Jackson . . . infused the songs he recorded with deep emotions made all the more powerful by the restraint of his delivery.
While it was still active, Jacksonâs official website said:
Possessing one of the most elegant baritone voices in the annals of recorded music . . . . [Jacksonâs] seductive rasp is emblematic of his inimitable style . . . . Tom Jones was heavily influenced by Chuck when he touched down on American soil with the smash that was originally written for Chuck, âItâs Not Unusual.â . . . [I didnât know this!] . . . [Jackson received] the Apollo Theatreâs Hall of Fame Award . . . for headlining more shows there than any artist in the history of the historical Manhattan venue [I didnât know this!]
Richard Williams tells us that “[s]teeped in gospel music from an early age, [Jackson] made his first radio broadcast at six years old and was a choir leader by the age of 11.” (https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/feb/23/chuck-jackson-obituary) Pittsburgh Music History adds that:
At 14 he began sneaking into jazz clubs to watch drummer Art Blakey and pianist Horace Silver. They always kicked him out, but he said in an interview that it was worth it. “Thank God I did it, Because today I incorporate jazz and pop into my rhythm-and-blues performance. It’s a wonderful mix; I picked it up from sneaking in and listening.â
Segregation led him to drop out of a scholarship to South Carolina State College and to move north to Cleveland, where he joined the Raspberry Gospel Singers. Leaving the group after a year, he served in the US Navy before moving in 1957 to Pittsburgh, where he sang The Lordâs Prayer to Joe Aberbach, a local music promoter. Aberbach had little use for gospel music, but secured Jackson a place in the Del-Vikings, a mixed-race vocal group whose national hits included Come Go With Me (1957) and whose baritone singer was leaving. While on tour with the group a few months later, Jackson met the singer Jackie Wilson, already an established star, who encouraged him to follow his own example and strike out as a solo artist. Jackson toured as Wilsonâs support act, performing for the first time at the Apollo theatre in Harlem, and made his first recordings for small labels such as Clock and Beltone before being signed in 1961 by the producer and songwriter Luther Dixon to Florence Greenbergâs Scepter/Wand company . . . .
Working with talented Brill Building writers and arrangers Jackson had 21 hits records on the Scepter/Wand label through most of the sixties. His first single on Wand, “I Don’t Want to Cry”, that he co-wrote with Luther Dixen was arranged by Carol King. It reached number 5 on the R&B charts and broke into the Top 40 in 1961. Scepter/Wand paired Jackson with the budding song writing team of Hal David and Burt Bacharach who wrote his next hit single “I Wake Up Cryingâ which peaked at No. 13 on the R&B Charts. Jackson, Bacharach, and David hit pay dirt with the next single “Any Day Now’. which hit number 2 R&B and No. 23 on the Top 40 in 1962. Scepter paired Jackson in duets with Doris Taylor and Maxine Brown. Jackson and Taylor scored a number 5 R&B hit with the energetic song âBeg Meâ in 1964. Working together Maxine Brown and Jackson recorded the classic tunes “Baby Take Me” and the 1965 number 10 R&B hit “Something You Got”. . . . Smokey Robinson told Jackson that if he ever left Scepter, Motown would sign. Taking Smokey up on the offer Barry Gordon bought out Jackson’s contract from Scepter/Wand in 1967. Jackson recorded three albums on Motown and several successful singles . . . .
Well, not that successful commerically. Richie Unterberger notes that “Jackson was (perhaps understandably) lost in the shuffle during his four years at Motown”(https://www.allmusic.com/artist/chuck-jackson-mn0000103033) and Andrew Hamilton explains:
Chuck Jacksonâs failure at Motown had little to do with the material, and everything to do with the choices for singles and lackluster promotion. â(You Canât Let the Boy Overpower) The Man in Youâ did nothing for either the Miracles or Jackson; it was the only single released from [a] set of 12 above-average tracks. Better choices for singles were [songs such as] . . . .
Yes, any failure had little to do with the material and everything to do with the choices for singles and lackluster promotion. The material, of course, included “Forgive My Jealousy”, and the choices for singles did not include “Forgive My Jealousy”.
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
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From the very first expression of the . . . refrain, [guitarist Oscar] Lasprilla[] . . . bring[s] a kind of savage lunacy to the proceedings. His sound is its own energy field. His recurring . . . answering phrase is delivered with such crisp articulation â and brute force â it literally leaps from the center of the mix to burrow into your cranium. The brief guitar solo is notable for its open spaces, with Lasprilla tossing out unpredictable, contorted twists of phrase and then hanging back to let them sink in. . . . [His lead guitar on the album is] glinting, treble-forward, gorgeously knifelike.
“Be what you want Be what you like Do what you want, baby Do what you like Be cool Be free”
Of the album, “for many is one of the musical jewels of Spanish Rock, fed on many types of musical fuel; From progressive rock/psychedelic, to Funky, to the Latin Rock that was so much heard in the US at the time. The influence of black music is very well reflected in some of its themes.” (https://johnkatsmc5.tumblr.com/post/153820812504/alacr%C3%A1n-alacr%C3%A1n-1971-mega-rare-private-spanish) Thom Jurek rhapsodizes:
Recorded in 1969 and issued with no promotion on either side of the Atlantic, the album nonetheless captured the attention of the youth culture in their homeland and in parts of the rest of Europe. Remarkably, the edginess of the guitars and the deep Latin groove in the rhythms and minor-key melodies draw inevitable — and accurate — comparisons to Santana. Alacran is far more psychedelic and garage-y than the Santana band and, being a power trio, relied on the blues more as well. But nonetheless, this is the sound of Latin rock at the beginning, and the album is stellar. Alacran disbanded when Lasprilla moved to England, and the two remaining members formed the legendary Barrabas. The Alacran disc, however, is better than all of the Barrabas efforts put together. It remains an underground classic in the 21st century.
Powerful hard-rock with West Coast, psychedelic, prog, and Latin-rock touches from Spain, featuring killer lead guitar and organ, sung in English. The missing link between Los Brincos and Barrabas! AlacrĂĄn was a Spanish power-trio formed by legendary drummer, songwriter and producer Fernando Arbex along with guitar/keyboard player Oscar Lasprilla and bass player/singer Ignacio “IĂąaki” EgaĂąa. Fernando and Oscar had previously played in famous Spanish beat band Los Brincos; Fernando was a founding member and Oscar, who came from Colombia where he had been part of Los Speakers . . . . IĂąaki EgaĂąa was an acclaimed bass player who came from psych/blues band Los Buenos. So basically, these are three of the best musicians from the Spanish ’60s-70s scene. When they started to play together, chemistry occurred and soon, guided by Fernando, they entered the studio to lay down some tracks. AlacrĂĄn was the result, the only album by this short-lived power-trio, recorded in 1969 but not released until 1971 (as a self-released edition, distributed by the Zafiro label). It was released in Spain and Brazil but despite the good reviews and interest from some record labels in the US, the band never got to play live and soon they split. AlacrĂĄn was over but Barrabas, featuring Fernando and IĂąaki, was born…
As to the album, Tom Moon is more equivocal (other than regarding Lasprilla):
Thereâs nothing particularly innovative about the self-titled debut . . . . [It] is built on common currency rock drum patterns (spiced by conga, cowbell and other percussion), and typical blues-based rhythm guitar patterns. . . . . [B]y the time [Fernando Arbex] assembled Alacran, he knew how to cast a spell with simple musical devices. Arbexâ songs for Alacran, which are sung in not terribly artful English . . . are mostly vamps. . . . [T]hese carefree tracks . . . would work magic rattling from a transistor radio on a crowded beach on the Spanish coast. It’s easy to dismiss records like this on grounds of copycatism or bandwagon jumping. . . . Not saying itâs an error to do that . . . . But . . . you would miss [Lasprilla] . . . .
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,172)Los Brincos (The Jumps) â âFlamenco”
Trigger Warning â if you are from Spain, read no further! For I am talking about âThe Spanish Beatlesâ, who hit #1 with this song in â64, the first flamenco rock hit? It ârevealed the swagger that would become an essential part of their imageâ. (https://munster-records.com/en/producto/los-brincos/) As Roberto Macho tell us:
Something that they would develop during the first stage of the group is a rogue and cocky vein in their songs, like in . . . the magnificent âFlamencoâ, with an irresistible beginning with the drums and the Spanish guitar, and in which they mix beat sounds with a flamenco rhythm that makes it the best of the work.
[T]he Spanish answer to The Beatles[,] Los Brincos were Spainâs first truly pop band and their songs, image and attitude represented a needed breath of fresh air in a stale music scene and a country under a dictatorship. . . . Thereâd been young bands in Spain since the late 50s, but they were limited by the lack of good instruments, scarce information and the lack of liberty under Francoâs regime. Usually, these bands played cover songs of foreign hits and only released 4-song EPs. Suddenly, Los Brincos took it to another level: they wrote their own songs, and introduced themselves with an amazing debut LP supported by two EPs and two singles (until then a rare format in Spain). Novola, the recently created pop subsidiary of Zafiro, funded the adventure. Everything seemed rather impressive, from the looks â Spanish capes, shoes with bells â to the claim that they were going to cause âBrincosisâ . . . . Obviously, the point of reference was The Beatles, although with clearly nationalist aspects, such as the clothes or the reference to flamenco. There were, of course, no anti-establishment intentions: Juan Pardoâs father was a navy admiral, long hair was not allowed. Theyâd travelled around the world â Antonio Morales, aka Junior, was born in The Philippines . . . . However, their music vocation caused a drama within their conservative families, with the exception of Manolo, brother of the actor AgustĂn GonzĂĄlez. Making fun of that opposition, for a while they thought about naming the band Las Ovejas Negras (âThe Black Sheepâ). However, they had genuine rock credentials: they had been members of Los Estudiantes and the very strong Los Pekenikes; both Juan and Junior had recorded as solo artists. . . .
With their catchy good day sunshine feel + evident sense of humour . . . their music manages to conjure up a more innocent and optimistic era. Which is not bad when you consider that for many Spaniards “the swinging 60s” completely passed them by. Many rock records, films and books were censored or banned and there was no freedom of speech or official opposition to the government. Any form of protest could get you locked up, beaten up or even killed. . . . This seems to make Los Brincos’ achievement all the greater. . . . When I first came across [thr band] . . . I heard the same bright harmonies and perfect pop craftsmanship that can be heard in [The Beach Boys, The Lovinâ Spoonful, The Mama and Papas, and The Turtles]. For me Los Brincos deserve a place in the great 60s pop pantheon . . . . In the 1960s Spain was a corrupt fascist dictatorship morally propped up by a Catholic church with an obvious antipathy towards the new “liberal” rock/pop culture . . . . Spain was cut off and the climate was conservative and claustrophobic. . . . Such was this moral rigidity that even the Beatles were not warmly welcomed by the Spanish authorities when they played Madrid in the summer of 1965. Ringo Starr’s abiding memory of playing in Spain . . . was of policemen beating up their young fans. However, despite all this, and rather amazingly, Spain actually had a thriving beat group scene in the 60s. . . . Los Brincos, who were known in Spain as the âSpanish Beatlesâ (they even had their own version of Beatlemania called Brincosis) were probably the most successful Spanish band of the decade. Over the 6 years they recorded (1964 â 1970) they had string of hits and left behind a body of work which, although varied, and, on occasion, a little too saccharine coated for me, . . . contain[s] some rather glorious 60s powerpop highlights. . . . Their first album . . . [â64âs] Los Brincos [comtaining âFlamencoâ] comes over as a kind of 60s garagerock classic. It mixes influences as varied as RânâB, Doo-wop, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Surf and even proto punk and around half the songs are sung in English. . . . Like the great 60s UK bands they took something essentially American and merged it with their local culture to create something fresh.
As to the bandâs early history, Aloha Criticon tells us:
Los Brincos were created in Madrid in 1964. Fernando Arbex . . . had played as a teenager in a duo with Rafael Castellanos before joining the group Los Estudiantes in 1960. Four years later he met Juan Pardo . . . former Pekenikes, at the Norba nightclub, with whom he planned to form a new group. In this way, Arbex, as singer and drummer, joined the guitarist and vocalist Pardo . . . . [and added] vocalist and guitarist Antonio Morales, âJuniorâ . . . and Manolo GonzĂĄlez, bassist . . . brother of the actor Augustin Gonzalez. . . . Thanks to Luis Sartorius, a close friend of Arbor for having been part of Los Estudiantes, they managed to attract the attention of the Zafiro label to record in Novola, where they contacted the representative and producer MarinĂ Callejo. Unfortunately, Sartorius died in a traffic accident . . . .
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (ârelating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainmentâ â dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the âgreatest songs of the 1960âs that no one has ever heardâ that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.
Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelationsđ 