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

997) The Crazy World of Arthur Brown — “Devil’s Grip”

“Devil’s Grip” is “a haunting and powerful track that showcases [Arthur] Brown’s [see #783, 797] ability to captivate listeners with his unique blend of rock and theatricality. . . . [It] delves into the darker side of Brown’s music, incorporating elements of psychedelia and showcasing his ability to create a mood of mystery and suspense.” (https://oldtimemusic.com/most-popular-arthur-brown-songs/) The song had “creepy-yet-catchy black mass organ riffs” and “was put over by Brown’s vocals, shakily gentle . . . rising into stentorian high-pitched yelps at the most dramatic crescendos. . . . ‘[T]he record that introduced all that [satanic] imagery to the rock field, in England at least,’ [Brown] claims.” (Richie Unterberger, http://www.richieunterberger.com/brown.html)

Perry Jimenez contends that:

If it wasn’t for this underrated one-hit-wonder we wouldn’t even have Shock Rock, That’s Right, as in No Alice Cooper seducing snakes and Killing chickens, No Ozzy Osborne biting off the heads of Bats and turning into a werewolf, no Kiss and Gene Simmons Bleeding from his tongue and breathing fire, and no Marylin Manson turning into a demonic hermaphrodite, let’s take some time to truly appreciate the legacy this man had made, and to think he did it by singing with fire in his head, Thank Mr. Arthur Brown, you have changed Rock and Roll for generations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KlQLJri-a4

As to Arthur Brown, Vernon Joynson writes that:

[He] was undoubtedly one of the memorable figures of British psychedelia. . . . [The Crazy World] had become a very popular attraction around London’s underground clubs, like the UFO . . . . They had a flamboyant stage act which often involved Brown appearing in a flaming helmet with bizarre facial make-up. Indeed, their act was so expensive to stage that Brown eventually [went] broke.”

The Tapestry of Delights Revisited

Mark Deming gives us some Crazy World history:

Arthur Brown burst out of obscurity in 1968 with “Fire,” an energetic and forceful fusion of blues, jazz, psychedelia, and embryonic hard rock . . . invoking the dangers of the dark side. . . . [I]t was the defining song of his career, but Brown’s oeuvre was impressively diverse. . . . The common thread that ties [it] together is his big, booming voice, over-the-top vocal theatrics, and a willful eccentricity that boosts the power of his music. . . . He was a member of the Ramong Sound [later to become the Foundations of “Build Me Up Buttercup” fame] . . . . [E]ager to launch a project that would match his outsized stage persona, he left the band to form the Crazy World of Arthur Brown . . . . Kit Lambert and Peter Townshend were part of the production team for their self-titled debut album. . . . [and] captured a grandiose sound full of drama and menace . . . . “Fire” . . . became a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic. The[ir] live show, which featured Brown wearing a helmet that spit fire and occasionally taking the stage naked, help spread the word about the group, and Brown became one of the most talked-about characters in British rock. In the wake of the success of their debut, [they] cut a second album, Strangelands. It was originally slated for release in 1969, but executives at Atlantic and Track felt it was too experimental for mainstream listeners, and it was shelved. (It received a belated release in 1988.)

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/arthur-brown-mn0000510278/biography

998) The Laurels — “The Devil’s Well”

This “[f]antastic horror prog pop rocker [was] released on UK Pye in 1971” — “[b]rilliant heavy prog pop with diabolical psych leanings”. (Happenings45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMESjEpgYVc, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyKU9EpfT4s) It is “like a pop version of the Satanic rock then being released by the likes of Black Sabbath and Black Widow. Opening with sparse heavy drums and including a mixed cauldron of stinging lead guitar, Glam hand-claps and demonic laughter this 45 is a lot of fun and I only wish I owned a copy!” (Dr. Doom, https://www.45cat.com/record/7n45034) Forget about Black Sabbath, I say that it would have been a mega hit for Def Leppard had they released it in their 80’s prime!

And it was released by the Laurels, an English comedy/variety act! Dig the Fuzz Records tells us:

Originally a comedy act releasing a couple of harmony pop singles on RCA, Hertfordshire’s Laurels signed to Pye and this was their second and last single for that label. . . . [T]he A side, The Devil’s Well, features some mean fuzzy lead guitar in this 7th of this, 7th of that etc… tale of damnation. It’s a fun Eddie Seago/Mike Leander creation and the 3rd verse is made more interesting by featuring some crunching Proto-Glitter handclaps prior to the song dissolving into a Devil’s laugh…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_EaPTN_wSw

And a vintage promotional sheet adds:

[A] combination of vocal harmony, expert musicianship and riotous comedy . . . . From Wakefield to Wiesbaden, Istanbul to Ilford, the Paradise Club in Guideley to the Playboy Club in London’s Park Lane, these four talented young men have covered every major Club venue in Great Britain, plus successful forays into Europe and beyond with their happy highspeed presentation of music, comedy, harmony and impressions. With two single discs to their credit, TV appearances and broadcasts, THE LAURELS are a modern package of quality entertainment which finds appreciation by all classes and most nationalities. Their biggest — and longest — London engagement to date, after headlining all over the Provinces in clubs both great and small, was at the celebrated “Carousel” in Piccadilly, the heart of London’s nightlife, where they starred for a sixteen week season! . . . These four fellows . . . certainly combine musical and vocal talent with well-timed comedy teamwork to give a professionally-presented act which goes from strength to strength — and deservedly so.

http://www.coda-uk.co.uk/laurels2.htm

Quality entertainment which finds appreciation by all classes and most nationalities!

Don Fardon’s ’72 B-side version:

999) Takeshi Terauchi and the Bunnys — “Little Devil”

From “Japan’s premier guitar hero” (AV+ML, http://www.fancymag.com/bunnys.html) comes “[k]iller fuzz!!!” (Nezumi Records, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEOyIkKjk7c) “The fuzz sound is raw, the drums are funky and the singing is snotty and childish, perfect”. (https://www.nezumirecords.com/product/takeshi-terauchi-the-bunnys-7-little-devil-hey-you-stop-1967/) “Oh, no, no, no!!!”

AV+ML:

Little known in the U.S. [,] . . Takeshi Terauchi, affectionately known as Terry[,] . . . started recording electric guitar . . . music in the early Sixties. His best recordings in the mid-to-late Sixties were with two different bands: the adorably named Bunnys and Blue Jeans. Generally, the music itself is Ventures inspired instrumentals accented with fuzzed-out whammy bar acrobatics. What makes The Bunnys and Blue Jeans unique is that they were also influenced by traditional Japanese Minyo, that is, very old rural folk songs. Terry recorded many a Minyo with the electric guitar at the helm in place of traditional instruments like the Shamisen. Terry-san ranks close behind Western contemporaries Link Wray and Davie Allan when it comes to bad-ass guitar riffing. . . . Terry recorded with The Blue Jeans during the early to mid Sixties. The Blue Jeans belted out surf instrumentals with authority and Terry’s guitar is always interesting. Management problems coupled with the need to keep up with changing times triggered Takeshi’s departure from Blues Jeans in 1966. The Beatles invaded and GS, or Group Sounds (Mersey Beat pop sap with vocals), was in. Terry recruited unknown players to form his own GS band, the Bunnys. . . . Terry’s years with Bunnys were brief: – from Dec. of ‘66 through ‘68. Terry’s Bunnys put out 16 singles, and 6 LPs, including a live album. . . . His next move was to add something uniquely Japanese to an otherwise Western sound. Seicho Terauchi-Bushi, released in ’67, is Terry’s interpretation of Japanese Minyo. He replaced the traditional shamisen (3-string instrument) with his powerful electric guitar sound and created fresh and exciting eleki versions of 200 year old songs. This heightened his fame, as he simultaneously exposed his young audience to something from past generations and gained the older crowd’s respect. This was the Bunnys’ most successful record, selling over 100,000 copies and becoming the best selling GS record at the time. 1967 was a busy year for The Bunnys, as they released 8 singles on Seven Seas and 3 LP’s on King. . . . Terry left in the Fall of ‘68 to form his own Blues Jeans . . . .

http://www.fancymag.com/bunnys.html

“[M]usical differences emerged and Terauchi left the [Bunnys], reforming Blue Jeans. Bunnys continued without him for several years . . . finally splitting up in 1971.”(https://www.discogs.com/artist/3425042-Takeshi-Terauchi-And-The-Bunnys)

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

996) Jimmy Campbell — “Forever Grateful”

This blog o’ mine gives me great joy, as when I played as my 22nd song “Michel Angelo”, by Jimmy Campbell (see #22, 648, 736-38) and his band at the time the 23rd Turnoff. I called the song “[o]ne of the most gorgeous songs I have ever heard.” It is certainly the greatest ever pop psych ballad I have ever heard. But the blog also can give me great sadness, as when today, I focus again on Jimmy and how his talents were left to wither by cruel fate and an indifferent public. As dpnewbold comments, “This guy is so under-rated it hurts.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI-KHv7u4qE) Yes, it does.

“Forever Grateful” is such a gentle, vulnerable, fragile and wonderful song, it makes my heart ache. Spencer Leigh writes in Jimmy’s obituary that “he once told me, ‘A lot of my songs are cries for help and I suppose that’s why they didn’t make the grade.’” (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jimmy-campbell-436273.html) “Lend a helping hand to me, and I’ll be forever grateful.” I think it fits.

Matty Loughlin-Day aptly states that:

[Jimmy Campbell is a] songwriter who, for this writer’s money, could go toe-to-toe with any of the more celebrated prodigies from the region, yet who’s name is frequently met with blank faces or a shrug of the shoulders. A writer who, in a sane universe, would be esteemed alongside . . . yes, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Jimmy Campbell is arguably the archetypal lost son of Liverpool. A talent that was never quite reciprocated by the buying public and the victim of some cruel twists of fate, his is a name that is for one reason or another, never quite mentioned when discussing the plethora of musical talent that the city has produced. . . . [H]is songs entice immediately and gradually work their way into the sub-conscious.

https://www.getintothis.co.uk/2019/06/lost-liverpool-25-jimmy-campbell-the-greatest-songwriter-youve-never-heard-of/

Mark Johnston seconds the thought:

Campbell should rightfully be considered closer to a Merseyside Bob Dylan than the sullen working class Nick Drake he is often painted as. He could have been the Poet Laureate of England! How is it that one day of the greatest sonic creations in his fascinating and flawless back catalogue should be gathering dust for the past thirty-three years?

liner notes to the CD reissue of Rocking Horse’s Yes It Is

And Richie Unterberger poignantly sums things up:

[Jimmy was] perhaps the most unheralded talent to come out of the Liverpool ’60s rock scene, as he was a songwriter capable of both spinning out engaging Merseybeat and — unlike almost every other artist from the city, with the notable exception of the Beatles — making the transition to quality, dreamy psychedelia. . . . It seems as if Campbell needed just a bit more encouragement, and his groups just a little more studio time, to develop into a notable British psychedelic group that could combine solid pop melodies, sophisticated lyrics and arrangements, and touches of English whimsy. Unfortunately they didn’t get that chance . . . .

Campbell’s slightly moody yet catchy melodies, as well as his drolly understated lyrics, mark him as perhaps the best ’60s Liverpool rock songwriter never to have a chart record . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-dream-of-michelangelo-mw0000351105, https://www.allmusic.com/album/son-of-anastasia-mw0000811484

To give a touch of Jimmy Campbell’s early and later history, Matty Loughlin-Day writes that:

Campbell’s first band, The Panthers, were formed in 1962 and were at the heart of all things Merseybeat. Legend has it that at one gig, John Lennon stood in front of the band, keen to suss out local competition; one must assume he was impressed, as before long, the band were able to add ‘supported The Beatles’ to their CV. Convinced by Cavern-legend Bob Wooler to change their name to The Kirkbys (in homage to their home suburb) and looked after by Brian Epstein’s secretary Beryl Adams, Campbell et al toured across Western Europe and recorded a handful of songs, including the Rolling Stones-esque stomper It’s a Crime . . . [see #648]. . . . [I]nitial singles found success in, of all places, Finland. . . . [but a]t home, the singles fared less impressively, and a second name change soon followed.  The Kirbys became the 23rd Turnoff, again based in local geography, named after the M6 junction required for Kirkby. . . .

With a short European tour in 1972 backing Chuck Berry . . . and fortunes truly fading, Campbell decided he’d had enough. . . . [A]pparently rejuvenated and able to muster the strength to record a fourth solo album during the 80’s, Campbell, on completing it, went to the pub to celebrate, only to return home to find his house ransacked and the only master tapes of the album gone, along with a range of equipment. The guy, it seemed, could just not catch a break. . . .

By all accounts, a life of hard-living took its toll and he sadly passed away in 2007 after battling emphysema.

https://www.getintothis.co.uk/2019/06/lost-liverpool-25-jimmy-campbell-the-greatest-songwriter-youve-never-heard-of/

Mark Johnston talks about Half Baked, the album from which today’s song is selected:

It would be Dick Leahy, A&R for Fontana, who had originally helped sign Jimmy Campbell to a three record deal with Philips, and who then approached Olav Wyper about releasing the second album on Philips’ subsidiary Vertito. Vertigo was established in 1969 as Philips’ answer to EMI’s Harvest Records and Decca’s Deram progressive subsidiaries. . . . The label change would provide Jimmy with the best opportunity in his career to be heard by a larger audience. . . . The recording would begin in January of 1970 . . . with a solid all-star backing band featuring . . . drummer . . . Pete Clarke, along with Merseybeats [see #725] Tony Crane and Billy Kinsley. . . . Half Baked would be a mix of Jimmy’s very personal songs, many inspired by [his then pregnant wife] Yvonne . . . with lush orchestral arrangements . . . . [It] would be chosen as the inaugural release for the Vertigo label in the U.S.A. The album failed to chart, but it did find fans in New York City, most notably with the Ramones. Although Jimmy played one solos spot at the Marquee . . . there were no tours established to promote the album. The album’s sales suffered, in part, due to the reluctance and inability to get Jimmy on a promotional tour . . . . An appearance performing the melodramatic single “Don’t Leave Me Now”, on the Simon Dee show, fell through when Dee was sacked the day of the broadcast. Dee felt the single was one of the strongest tracks he had ever heard. Such was Jimmy’s luck, as the prime time televised appearance would have given the biggest boost yet to his career. . . . . With the lack of commercial success and the departure of Olav Wyper to RCA . . . the new management of Vertigo saw no compelling reason to pursue a follow-up release with Jimmy.

liner notes to the CD reissue of Half Baked

Live in the studio:

Here is a cover by Ex Norwegian:

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

996) Bobby Fuller Four — “Little Annie Lou”

Bobby fought little Annie Lou and Annie won! Bobby and his brother/bandmate Randy wrote this firecracker of a number that “rattles with rockabilly inspirations” (Beverly Paterson, https://somethingelsereviews.com/2015/02/01/the-bobby-fuller-four-krla-king-of-the-wheels/) and is a fitting B-side to “I Fought the Law”.

Richie Unterberger tells us that:

With his blatant reverence for Buddy Holly, fellow Texan Bobby Fuller was a bit of an anomaly in the mid-’60s. With his Stratocaster guitar and brash, full sound, at his best Fuller sounded like Holly might have had he survived into the ’60s. Cracking the Top 30 in 1966 with a cover of Holly’s “Love’s Made a Fool of You” and the Top Ten with “I Fought the Law” (written by one-time Cricket Sonny Curtis), Fuller had just become a star when he died in mysterious circumstances in a parked car in Hollywood (the police thought it was a suicide, just about everyone who knew him disagreed). Fuller’s relatively short period of national stardom actually crowned a good half-dozen years of recording, during which he released many outstanding tracks. After a few local singles in his hometown of El Paso in the early ’60s, he moved to California with his combo in 1964 . . . . In the short time he recorded for Mustang in 1965 and 1966, he waxed quite a few tracks (most self-penned) in addition to his hits . . . . Rocking, tuneful, and infectiously joyous, they showed Fuller to be a worthy inheritor of early rock & roll and rockabilly traditions without sounding self-consciously revivalist. . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-bobby-fuller-four-mn0000061534#biography

Here they are on TV:

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify. 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

994) Tidal Wave — “Spider Spider”

This soaring ‘69 A-side reached #1 in South Africa. Jay-Z, you need to sample this one!

Brian Currin tells us:

The Tidal Wave was one of South Africa’s foremost exponents of psych-influenced pop music in the late ’60s and early ’70s with hits like “Spider Spider”, “Mango Mango” and “With tears in my eyes”. They also experimented with both brass and prog rock influences and although they existed for a relatively short time the band is regarded by many as the bridge between pop and the then developing ‘underground’ rock scene. . . . Tidal Wave is probably best known for their bubblegum pop hits ‘Spider Spider’ and ‘Mango Mango’ in 1969 and 1970 respectively, but they were so much more than that. Yes, they did play pop and they had a few hits, which were featured on the top radio stations at the time. . . . However, Tidal Wave also played some very interesting psychedelic pop rock enhanced by the fuzz guitar sounds of Mike Pilot, who formed the hard rock band Stingray in the late 70s. . . . It all started with a man named Terry Dempsey, songwriter and record producer. . . . [who was] born in England and came to South Africa in 1968. He wrote and produced The Staccatos first song, ‘Butchers And Bakers’ in 1968. This song had originally been recorded by UK freakbeat band Les Fleur De Lys in 1967, though they called themselves Chocolate Frog at the time. Dempsey recalls; “Early in 1968 I met Roy Naturman at Gallo studios . . . . Shortly thereafter Roy invited me to a popular night spot to hear the band he was playing with, The In Crowd . . . . A few weeks later Roy . . . phoned me to tell me that the band was breaking up and would I be interested in recording a new band he was putting together with the drummer from The In Crowd, Mike Koch, Ken Haycock as bass player and lead guitarist/singer Mike Pilot both of whom came from The Brackets. . . . What a hot unit this proved to be,” says Dempsey about Tidal Wave, “they were the first band to be released on my newly formed independent record label STORM with the title ‘Man On A String’.” . . . [which] was released in 1969 but failed to make an impression on the radio charts at the time . . . . [It] was followed by ‘With Tears In My Eyes’ which also failed . . . . ‘Spider Spider’ [written by Dempsey] saw Tidal Wave go to number one for the first and only time, although ‘Mango Mango’ outsold ‘Spider Spider’ by a long way.” ‘Spider Spider’ hit the number one spot on the Springbok Radio Charts in April 1970 and also achieved number eight on LM Radio. . . . Mike Koch and Roy Naturman left Tidal Wave and the last single was released in 1971 titled ‘Money Baby’ (b/w ‘I’ve Got To Get Away’) . . . . This song went to number 15 on the Springbok charts and did even better on LM Radio going to number nine. After a couple more line-up changes, sadly, Tidal Wave was no more. . . . Tidal Wave is fondly remembered by many . . . .

https://www.retrofresh.co.za/retro-artists-o-z/tidal-wave/

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify. 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

993) Poet and the One Man Band — “The Fable”

Utterly magical and haunting folk rock by some future musical luminaries, including guitar legend Albert Lee and two future members of Sandy Denny’s Fotheringay. “The Fable” has “[s]imilarities to the late-period Zombies, though with a bit more psychedelic pop fantasy/whimsy”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/poet-the-one-man-band-mw0000843418)

The band (see #710, 855) must have been named after the line from Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound”. It doesn’t get nearly the respect it deserves, even from its CD reissue label. The liner notes I got with my CD state:

Poet & the One Man Band try a bunch of approaches vaguely related to late-’60s trends in folk-rock, singer/songwriter-oriented, and psychedelic music on their sole and obscure LP. None of them are embarrassing, but none of them are noteworthy or exciting, either. . . . [S]ome of the stronger tracks are those that get into the moodiest territory . . . . [but it] sure would sound better as sung by Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of the Zombies, though.

liner notes to the CD reissue of Poet and the One Man Band

What kind of marketing is that?! This is Richie Unterberger talking, though the liner notes are uncredited, since the notes are identical to Unterberger’s discussion of the album on All Music Guide (https://www.allmusic.com/album/poet-the-one-man-band-mw0000843418). Anyway, Unterberger goes on to add that it is “a fairly average psychedelic-era album with some slight resemblance to the late-period Zombies, though there’s some typical, and unmemorable, songs in a more straightforward, harder-rocking late-’60s British style.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/poet-the-one-man-band-mn0001060807)

And for some background, Unterberger notes that “Jerry Donahue and Pat Donaldson would soon move on to Fotheringay, the British folk-rock group fronted by Sandy Denny, and play on their sole album; guitarist Albert Lee, Tony Colton, Ray Smith, and Pete Gavin would form Heads, Hands & Feet.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/poet-the-one-man-band-mn0001060807)

Derek Watts says that:

[The band was] essentially a vehicle for the song-writing talents of Colton and Smith. . . . At that time Poet was merely a recording enterprise: there was no band as such, about which Albert was professionally realistic. “Poet was really their album. We were just session players.”

Derek Watts, Country Boy: A Biography of Albert Lee

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

992) Edge of Darkness — “Mean Town”

Sort of a mashup of Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and Scorsese’s Mean Streets. No, really! This A-side from the upstate New York (Oswego) band’s only single, is “[b]rooding ’68 . . . guitar/organ psych with haunting vocal and searing guitar break” (Arf Arf Records, http://www.arfarfrecords.com/bad/records.html), “[o]ne of the coolest upstate 45s ever [with c]ool ambiance, and wicked organ and fuzz guitars”. (Dan, https://theegarage.blogspot.com/2011/02/in-dan-garage52.html?m=1)

Oswego is a “college town situated on Lake Ontario about 45 min. east of Rochester”. (Dan, https://theegarage.blogspot.com/2011/02/in-dan-garage52.html?m=1)

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

991) Focal Point — “Far Away from Forever”

Focal Point is one of the greatest coulda/shoulda-beens in the annals of British pop psych (see #4, 43, 198, 538, 747). This “languid, introspective” (Len, https://therisingstorm.net/focal-point-first-bite-of-the-apple/) and trance-like number was a favorite in Beatleland. Co-band founder Paul Tennant recalls that “[w]e played the demo to Terry Doran [manager of Apple Publishing] and he loved it. He also played it to George Harrison and John Lennon who both loved the song.” (liner notes to the CD comp Focal Point: First Bite of the Apple: The Complete Recordings 1967-68)

The band only released one single, but it all started out like a fairy tale when two guys cornered Paul McCartney walking his dog Martha in Hyde Park . . . . As Tennant recalls:

It was . . . the summer of 1967 . . . . We knew which house Paul lived in due to the large amount of girls hanging about outside. . . . Then all of a sudden the gates opened and a mini shoots out and away. Without a second thought we were on his tail, and there in the back of the car was a large sheepdog . . . . I never let it out of my sight . . . [W]e were at Hyde Park, the mini stopped and out stepped Paul, let the dog out and waved to the driver – Jane Asher and he was away walking the dog. . . . [W]e shouted to [Paul] and he turned around. We then told him . . . we were writing songs and didn’t know what to do with them, could he help? . . . [H]e said to us “I could get you a recording contract just like that” and flicked his fingers. “But why should I?” It was then that he proved to be human by planting a finger up his nostril. Dave [Rhodes] laughed and he laughed. Dave then said . . . “Because we are good, our songs are good.” It was just like that, Paul then wrote down . . . a phone number . . . . “Phone this guy and tell him I sent you[]” and he was then gone . . . . [W]hen we got back to Liverpool, Dave and I phoned . . . . Terry [Doran] listened and told us Paul had told him we were going to ring and when could we go down to London. . . . Out came the guitars and we sang four of our best songs . . . . He said he liked our songs and would like to get acetate done of them. . . . “John loves your songs, he is absolutely going mad over them” said Terry. We were . . . gob smacked. He wants me to play them to Brian”. . . . “Brian agrees with John, your songs are fantastic.” . . . Brian . . . suggested that we should form a band [and] call [it] Focal Point.

http://www.marmalade-skies.co.uk/focalpoint.htm

Stefan Granados notes that “Doran recorded several demos with Tennant and Rhodes . . . who became the first two songwriters signed to Apple after both John Lennon and Brian Epstein responded enthusiastically to the demo recordings.” (liner notes to Focal Point: First Bite of the Apple: The Complete Recordings 1967-68)

Then it all came crashing down. I often talk about the singer/songwriters and bands that became collateral damage in the collapse of Andrew Loog Oldham’s Immediate Records. Focal Point, however, fell victims to the demise of Apple and the Beatles. To read about it, check out Paul Tennant’s fabulous interview at Marmalade Skies and bassist Dave Slater’s great interview at the Strange Brew:

https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/dave-slater-focal-point-apple-the-beatles-pt1; https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/dave-slater-focal-point-apple-the-beatles-pt2/.

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

990) The Heirs — “You Better Slow Down”

I love my moody teenage 60’s garage rock, and here is a fabulous example from Eugene, Oregon — “delicious jangle introduces a moody, melodic beat ballad with haunting backing vocals” (maxmyndblown, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJp8nFMlJks) that “conjures an impressively vivid atmosphere”. (Matt Ryan, http://strangecurrenciesmusic.com/an-introduction-to-pacific-northwest-garage-rock/) This was the only A-side by the Heirs — twice! — an earlier version being released under their prior name the Critters.

Maxmyndblown tells us that:

“You’d Better Slow Down” was retitled “You Better…” and reworked . . . for their April ’66 follow-up on Panorama. By then they were known as The Heirs. Further recordings during the summer failed to secure a release . . . . A final 45 appeared in 1967 after another name change, to X-25.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJp8nFMlJks

Here are the Critters:

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify. 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

989) Boudewijn de Groot — “Aeneas Nu”/“Aeneas Now”

A “[t]roubadour with a Dylan-esque impact, who shoots to fame in [the Netherlands in] the ’60s and ’70s” (https://en.muziekencyclopedie.nl/action/entry/Boudewijn+de+Groot) (see #107, 161, 305), gives us the only A-side I know about Aeneas, Trojan hero from Greco-Roman mythology. Needless to say, it didn’t chart. Maybe he should have tried his luck with brave Ulysses!

The song:

“Aeneas nu” was released as a single in February 1969.  This single was included for free with the first 5,000 copies of De Groot’s album Nacht en ontij. . . . The text of Aeneas now refers to the Greek mythological figure of the same name.  He wants to go out when he’s home, but as soon as he’s out he wants to go home. . . . Aeneas now did not reach the charts.

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneas_nu

Ratelzwatel adds that “[t]he text is originally by [de Groot’s longtime collaborator] Lennaert Nijgh. [De Groot] is said to have changed it so much that he put it in his own name. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-bdAACev3Y)

As to de Groot’s early years:

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

https://www.boudewijndegroot.nl/biografie

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

988) Val McKenna — “House for Sale”

Northern soul doesn’t get much better than this “marvellous and baroquely atmospheric” self-penned ‘68 A-side. (Kieron Tyler, liner notes to the CD comp Sassy and Stonefree: Prime Late ’60s Brit Girl Rock & Soul) Of course, it wasn’t a hit. Paul Pearson says that “[h]er songs, many of which she wrote herself, are . . . hard-driving, straight R&B pieces that the mod population allegedly found appealing.” (http://paul-pearson.blogspot.com/2015/05/song-20150507-val-mckenna.html)

Bruce Eder tell 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-’60s England. Apart from a convincing delivery on numbers like “Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl,” she also benefited from the presence of Jimmy Page on lead guitar on her records, which also included “Baby Do It” and “Now That You’ve Made Up Your Mind,” the latter her own composition and very good indeed.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/val-mckenna-mn0000303369

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

987) Ottilie Patterson — “Spring Song”

Ottilie, “the world’s only Irish blues singer”, wrote this totally unexpected and magical ’69 B-side and album track — “jazzy, laid-back pop that flirted carelessly with psychedelia in the genre’s dying days” and was produced by Giorgio Gomelsky. (liner notes to the CD comp Piccadilly Sunshine: A Compendium of Rare Pop Curios from the British Psychedelic Era, Volumes 1-10)

As to Ottilie, Garth Cartwright writes that:

County Down-born Patterson surely is the finest blues vocalist hailing from these damp isles. She was also an excellent jazz and folk singer, and her mellifluous voice can even be heard singing Shakespeare sonnets and baroque late-60s psychedelia. She blazed a trail that everyone from Dusty Springfield to Amy Winehouse has since followed; the Rolling Stones, Patterson said, “didn’t come out of a vacuum – we paved the way”. 

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/19/ottilie-patterson-the-forgotten-first-lady-of-british-blues

As to the album, 3000 Years with Ottilie, she “explored outside of her more familiar jazz and blues surroundings in the late 1960’s with Giorgio Gomelsky’s Marmalade label.” (liner notes to Piccadilly Sunshine: A Compendium of Rare Pop Curios from the British Psychedelic Era, Volumes 1-10) and “drew on her eclectic musical and literary interests to record . . . an ambitious solo album with strong folk and psychedelic influences, writing several of its fourteen tracks, including songs about her unhappiness”. (James Quinn, https://www.dib.ie/biography/patterson-ottilie-anna-a9903) Cartwright adds that:

[Ottilie] finally recorded without [Chris] Barber and band for the first time, singing her own songs alongside poems and sonnets. Richard Hill orchestrates proceedings and the album has a beautifully late-60s autumnal quality. Its label Marmalade folded in 1970 and a 1971 reissue on Polydor (as Spring Song) achieved little.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/19/ottilie-patterson-the-forgotten-first-lady-of-british-blues

James Quinn gives some background:

[I]n 1949 won a scholarship to study art at Belfast Municipal College of Technology, where a fellow student, Derek Martin, introduced her to Bessie Smith, ‘Empress of the Blues’, and taught her to play boogie-woogie piano. By 1951 she was singing occasionally with Jimmy Compton’s jazz band in Belfast, but, seeking a more bluesy musical outlet, formed The Muskrat Ramblers with Martin and Al Watt in August 1952. After graduating from college, she became an art teacher . . . . Visiting London in summer 1954, she secured an audition with the up-and-coming Chris Barber jazz band, who were immediately impressed by her singing. . . . [S]he joined the band [and] first performed . . . at the Royal Festival Hall on 9 January 1955 and received rave reviews from several newspapers . . . . Audiences and critics were astonished that this small, demure-looking white woman could sing the blues with such power and authenticity. For the next seven years she toured extensively with the Barber band . . . . She . . . became one of the best-known female singers of the day and a key figure in the band’s success. [In] 1959 she and Chris Barber were married in London. When American blues singers such as Big Bill Broonzy, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson toured Britain from the late 1950s with the Barber band, Ottilie performed alongside them and held her own. Visiting artists were impressed – sometimes even astounded – by her singing, and offered encouragement and praise. Ottilie was often compared to Bessie Smith (even by Louis Armstrong) . . . . After a US hit with Sidney Bechet’s ‘Petite fleur’ in 1959, the Barber band toured America regularly. The American press latched onto the novelty of a white Irishwoman singing the blues, the San Francisco Examiner describing her as ‘the world’s only Irish blues singer’. . . . During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ottilie performed regularly on British radio and television. . . . The Barber band played up to 200 dates a year and Ottilie increasingly found their tour schedules gruelling. . . . [A]s the only woman in the band, [she] often felt excluded and ill at ease. Her chatty and gregarious nature masked a troubled and vulnerable personality that was highly sensitive to criticism and prone to anxiety and depression. She both dreaded and loved live performance . . . . She suffered serious bouts of exhaustion . . . and in October 1962 had a nervous breakdown, forcing her to rest for several months. Around this time she began to suffer throat problems, and was sometimes unable to speak. . . . . Taking the opportunity to experiment with her own musical projects, in 1964 she set to jazz and recorded Shakespearean verse . . . . When her health permitted, Ottilie performed occasionally with the Barber band . . . . In 1973 she was diagnosed as suffering from a mild form of epilepsy and retired.

https://www.dib.ie/biography/patterson-ottilie-anna-a9903

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

986) The New Dawn — “Dark Thoughts”

A stunning dark psyche/garage cut from the Pacific Northwest that “is the ultimate in doomy bumblebee fuzz guitar”. (Ron Moore, The Acid Archives (2nd ed.))

Ron Moore calls the New Dawn’s album:

Dreamy downer LP with rhythm-centered (monotonous?) drums, organ, and chiming guitar. Moody heartfelt vocals and buzz fuzz breaks fill out the claustrophobic soundscape. Full of despairing lyrics about dissatisfaction with life and feelings of hopelessness without God. . . . Too deep and dark for some, but could be the pinnacle for soul-searching lounge band sorrow.

The Acid Archives (2nd ed.)

Must have been all that rain!

Isaac Slusarenko tells us about the Dawn:

In 1966, Dan Bazzy . . . ran into bass player Bob Justin and guitarists Larry Davis and Joe Smith, local garage band musicians . . . . Bazzy joined their band and after a brief stint of playng as The Sound Citizens, The New Dawn was formed. By 1967, The New Dawn was essentially a nightclub band, touring throughout the northwest . . . down through California and Nevada, and as far north as Alaska. The band recorded and released their private press album . . . in July of 1970. The songs were composed in the studio and were recorded late at night after gigs. Initially five hundred albums were pressed . . . . [D]istribution was limited since the album was sold mostly at their live shows. Their one chance at the big time came in 1971 when the ABC-Dunhill Records label expressed a serious interest in the demo of three of their new heavier sounding songs. . . . By the end of 1971, the New Dawn faded into the sunset after years of living motel to motel under the disillusionment of their missed opportunity.

liner notes to the CD reissue of There’s a New Dawn

The band’s (apparently no longer active) website adds:

In 1966, Joe Smith and Larry Davis got together and started playing at part[ies]. By the first part of 1967, Bob Justen and Dan Bazzy had joined the group and The New Dawn was born. For the next two years, the band played at part[ies], dances and local bars. In 1969, the group quit their day jobs and signed with a booking agent. They added a fifth member, Bob Green, to front the group and share the lead vocal load with the drummer and lead singer, Dan Bazzy, and went on the road. They played in clubs in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, California, and Alaska. In 1970, Bob Green was replaced by Bill Gartner, and the group recorded and released . . . There’s a New Dawn. By the end of 1971, all the members in the group were married, and a few of the wi[v]es started having babies. Along with the babies came the desire to settle down and start roots. So, the group came off of the road, got “normal” jobs, and settled in to playing in local clubs on weekends. Over the years, most of the original members retired from the group and were replaced by other local musicians.

http://pnwbands.com/newdawn.html

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify. 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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THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

985) The Renegades — “Thirteen Women”

The Renegades “[s]avage[ly] maul[]” (https://www.nortonrecords.com/158-the-renegades-thirteen-women-cant-see-you-158/) Bill Haley and the Comets’ pondering of the age-old question: What happens when there are “Thirteen Woman” but “Only One Man in Town”?

The accompanying promotional video is “a brilliant maniacal clip featuring 4 lunatics having a great time”. (markblahwoof789, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu2pKXSIzr4) Oh, and singer “Kim Brown seems a mixture of Kurt Cobain and Jon Bon Jovi.” (nildonmarquesdasilva8686, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYsRpPImDS0). I want my MTV!

Rich Orlando tells us of the song’s rich history:

Haley’s was a “cleaned up” version of a song that had been released only two months earlier. The original was written and recorded by James Edward “Dickie” Thompson. Thompson was a jazz and R & B guitarist and singer who began working in New York City’s jazz clubs in the late forties. He appears to have had a couple of records released in 1946 and had nothing else released under his own name until Thirteen Women and One Man came out on the Herald label in 1954. . . . [It] appear[s] to have been a little too “forward” in terms of subject matter for [its] time and garnered little airplay. Legendary record producer/ label owner (Commodore) Milt Gabler, working for Decca Records, heard the song and had Haley and his band record it at their first session for the label, which also featured . . . “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock”. [For their first single, “Thirteen Women” was the A-side and “Rock” the B-side. “The single was reissued in 1955 with the sides reversed after the B-side was played over the titles of the movie Blackboard Jungle.”] Gabler changed the arrangement of Thompson’s song but more importantly, he bookended the number with verses indicating that the song was just a dream. . . .

https://smilingcorgipress.com/4-versions-of-thirteen-women/

The song reminds me of the classic exchange from Dr. Strangelove about cave life for the select few after a nuclear armageddon:

General “Buck” Turgidson:

Doctor, you mentioned the ratio of ten women to each man. Now, wouldn’t that necessitate the abandonment of the so-called monogamous sexual relationship, I mean, as far as men were concerned?

Dr. Strangelove:

Regrettably, yes. But it is, you know, a sacrifice required for the future of the human race. I hasten to add that since each man will be required to do prodigious… service along these lines, the women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.

https://www.quotes.net/mquote/26313

As to the Renegades, Discogs reveals that:

The Renegades was formed in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. They never succeeded in their home country, but had a successful career both in Finland and in Italy during the 1960s. Their first single “Cadillac” was released in Finland in January 1964 . . . . The song was credited to be written by the band itself, but it was actually a remake of “Brand New Cadillac” by Vince Taylor And His Playboys. The band performed in Finland for the first time in October 1964. They intended to tour for three weeks, but due to success and demand, they ended up touring for seven weeks. They released the total of four albums in Finland, the last one was released in 1966, after which the band relocated to Italy. The group was disbanded in 1971 . . .

https://www.discogs.com/artist/162749-The-Renegades-3

Orlando adds that: “they recorded a ‘unique’ arrangement of Franz Liszt’s ‘Hungarian Rhapsody’ (titled ‘Hungarian Mod’) for release on an LP sampler of local groups titled “Brum Beat” in 1964.” (https://smilingcorgipress.com/4-versions-of-thirteen-women/) And Vernon Joynson adds that “[i]n 1963 they turned professional and changed their stage outfit radically; they began to use the cavalry costumes of the American Civil War.” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) I guess Finlanders love that stuff! We should send them some F Troop DVDs!

Here are the Renegades with (only 5!) women dancing:

Here are Bill Haley and the Comets:

Here is Dickie Thompson (more risqué):

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

984) P.K. Limited — “My Imagination”

As to this sparkling gem that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, Tony 879 says:

[It] is a lovely summery little pop psyche number with plucked guitar and wistful harmonies that sounds like something off one of those Fading Yellow comps [Well, it is on Soft Sounds for Gentle People Vol. 3!] or that a band of the time like The Association would have come up with. A very cool little Hippy/trippy/Folk/Psych number indeed. An anomaly it seems as the rest of their output seems to be horrendously twee country rock pastiches that should be avoided at all costs. Just get this one and be transported away on gentle clouds in a bright blue sky….baby…

https://www.discogs.com/master/1231713-PK-Limited-My-Imagination

45sUS afds that “[t]his pleasant song was released in March 1970, as a flip side of ‘Ain’t No Way’ and then resumed in February of the following year, as a flip of ‘Shades Of Gray.’ The song was composed by the duo and produced by David Gates.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17d5K5T69sM)

As to P.K. Limited, William Sargent tells us that “[l]ead members were Dan Peyton and Marty Kaniger [who] had formed The Loved Ones in 1965 while in high school. They signed with Colgems as songwriters and later took on the name P.K. Limited.” (Superstar in a Masquerade) 45sUS adds that “[t]his excellent folk-rock duo, despite having produced six singles with a total of eleven tracks between 1969 and 1971, failed to release an album.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17d5K5T69sM)

A number of P.K. Limited’s songs appeared in the ’70 movie Getting Straight, starring Elliot Gould as a “Vietnam vet and former social radical [who] is conflicted by his desire to become a teacher and his sympathy with anti-establishment student protests.” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065775/)

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

983) Peter and the Wolves — “Woman on My Mind”

Oh man, does John Pantry (see #494) kick ass. OK, since he followed his calling and embarked on a notable career in Christian music and broadcasting after the 60’s came to a close, let me just say “Hallelujah” for John Pantry. A singer and songwriter for the ages. Today we have “perfectly crafted pop sike wonderment” (Happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh6YQJs-rNo), a “superb Emitt Rhodes [see #50, 156] like” number. (Jason, https://therisingstorm.net/year/1968/page/5/) David Wells elaborates:

“[A] December 1968 single . . . was altogether darker, an inherently futile attempt to reconcile the two different worlds that Pantry had been inhabiting: the hedonistic pop business, with its slavish adherence to the pleasure principle, and the temperate Christian upbringing that had shaped his character. Lines like “I’m a man and the Lord has made me, body and soul is what he gave me” suggest that the writer was beginning to experience some unease at his lifestyle choices.”

liner notes to the CD comp The Upside Down World of John Pantry Featuring Peter & The Wolves, Sounds Around, Wolfe, The Bunch, Norman Conquest and The Factory

Jason gives us a sense of Pantry’s B.C. history:

John Pantry is one of those artists that deserves to be heard by more people, especially those who value melodic British pop. . . . [He was] a talented studio engineer for IBC Studios (working with Eddie Tre-Vett), producing for the likes of Donovan, The Small Faces, The Bee Gees, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and Cream. He was also a member of Peter & The Wolves, an accomplished mid 60s pop group from Leigh-on-Sea/Southend and had a major hand with many other IBC studio projects of the time: the Factory, Sounds Around, Wolfe, The Bunch and Norman Conquest [see #612]. . . . Besides being a savvy studio technician, Pantry was a gifted songwriter and vocalist and an accomplished musician (. . . keyboards). . . . [O]ne of Pantry’s first groups, Sounds Around. . . . played straight pop with slight soul and psych influences – they released two singles in 1966-1967. Peter & The Wolves came shortly after Sounds Around’s demise (they were essentially the same group). This is the group with which Pantry is most associated, along with The Factory. . . . [Peter & The Wolves’] most productive period was probably the years of 1967-1969, where they released a string of pop gems . . . . It was around this time that John Pantry was asked to write two tracks for The Factory, a legendary psychedelic group who had previously released the classic “Path Through The Forest” 45 [see #5]. Pantry wrote and sang lead on the two Factory standouts, “Try A Little Sunshine” [see #460] and the more folk-like “Red Chalk Hill [see #761].” . . .

https://therisingstorm.net/year/1968/page/5/

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

982) Episode Six — “Jak D’Or”

This ’69 B-side is an ultra-hip and “[g]roovy” (Sids60sSounds, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY_VhAMaZBs) near-instrumental from Episode Six’s (see #811) last single before Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left to join Deep Purple. Why they didn’t score hits is a mystery. As Bruce Eder says:

[T]his reviewer is at a loss to explain how Episode Six never managed to chart a record, even in England . . . . [The band recorded] solidly commercial and eminently listenable British pop/rock of its era, and very nicely done . . . . [T]his is the one precursor unit to Deep Purple that should have charted records in the middle/late ’60s.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/love-hate-revenge-mw0000700513

As to the Six, Richie Unterberger tells us that:

Most famous for including bassist Roger Glover and singer Ian Gillan before they joined Deep Purple, Episode Six managed to release no less than nine British singles between 1966 and 1969 without coming close to a hit record or establishing a solid identity. Also prominently featuring organist/singer Sheila Carter-Dimmock, the group’s 1966-1967 singles were rather light pop/rock harmony numbers, with an occasional ballad and a bit of a soul influence. Light years removed from Deep Purple, Episode Six was nothing if not eclectic in their choice of material, trying their hands at numbers by the Hollies, the Beatles, the Tokens, and Charles Aznavour, as well as a British hot-rod tune (written by Glover). While their repertoire lacked focus, their singles were actually pleasant and their fine cover of Tim Rose’s “Morning Dew” would have been a deserving hit. In 1967, they began to fuse pop and psychedelia with reasonably impressive results, especially the single “I Can See Through You” (written by Glover), one of the finest British psychedelic obscurities. Their final two singles showed the band going in a much more progressive direction and anticipating some of the most indulgent art rock of the ’70s with “Mozart Versus the Rest [the A-side to today’s song],” which assaulted one of the composer’s most famous riffs with manic electric guitars. Episode Six folded in 1969, after Gillan and Glover had joined Deep Purple.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/episode-six-mn0000662154/biography

And Vernon Joynson adds:

In April 1969 the band entered the studio to begin recording tracks for a long-delayed album . . . but it wasn’t to be. Ian Gillan was lured away to replace Deep Purple’s departing vocalist Rod Evans and Roger Glover joined . . . a few days later.

The Tapestry of Delights Revisited

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

981) The Knight Riders — “Where Did I Fail”

A moody garage classic, unfortunately never released in the 60’s, from a bunch of San Carlos hell raisers!

Alec Palao tells us that:

Hailing from San Carlos on the San Francisco peninsula, the group had formed in the surf era and quickly gained a reputation for raising hell. They’d employ their fans to intimidate other kids at Battle of the Bands, openly smoke dope when most of their musical peers hadn’t even gotten their first taste of alcohol, and “borrow” other groups’s amplifiers and stage clothes . . . . The[y were] notable not only for their strong originals, but also for their personnel . . . [including] drummer and leader Mike “Mad Dog” Lentos, a legendary characther prone to lighting cherry bombs underneath unsuspecting victims or happily pilfering equipment from [those] foolish enough to lend it out. While they were very popular on the peninsula at teen spots . . . the[y] rarely ventured from their home turf. . . . [They] audition[ed] for Autumn in June 1965. Despte an attempt at a single (“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”) . . . no release eventuated, and by 1966 the group was no more. Lentos was to die in bizarre dreug-related circumstances a few years later.

liner notes to Nuggets from the CD comp Golden State: Dance with Me: The Autumn Teen Sound

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

980) Chris Britton — “How Do You Say Goodbye”

Troggs’ guitarist Chris Britton released a little known but stunning solo album, As I Am (see #15). “Goodbye” is gorgeous, longing, pop psych gem, languorous in a good way.

Vinyl Kiosk tells us that:

Recording a solo album . . . allowed . . . Britton to take a greater artistic freedom, though [it] didn’t veer too far from The Troggs’ standard blend of poppy psychedelia and garage rock, constructed with a particular English bent. Yet, with Britton composing all of the songs except one (his version of Larry Weiss’ ‘Evil Woman’), the material is surprisingly varied, [from] . . . rocking grooves with
bright brass, Latinesque percussion and a bit of psychedelic phasing [to] “a slinky blues” [to] pure dreamy psych.”

https://stores.vinylkiosk.com/chris-britton-as-i-am-69-uk-psych-new-lp/

Vernon Joynson adds: “[S]ome popsike fans swear by [the album] while others dismiss it as overblown pap. As usual, the truth lies somewhere between. . . . [O]verall this is a varied and unfairly neglected piece of the psych-pop jigsaw.” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited). I swear by it and swear at those who don’t!

Richie Unterberger is Richie Unterberger:

As guitarist for the Troggs, Chris Britton made important contributions to the raw British Invaders’ sound with his crunchy, wiry style. Though Reg Presley was the Troggs’ principal lead singer and songwriter, Britton also took occasional lead vocals and wrote a bit of material on their records, the odd primitive buzzing psychedelia of “Maybe the Madman” and the sultry midtempo rocker “Say Darlin'” (both used on 1968 B-sides) being the highlights in that respect. . . . Though [As I Am] betrayed his modest gifts/limitations as a singer/songwriter, it was an agreeable, varied batch of period British psychedelic pop songs, sung by Britton in his idiosyncratic, diffidently cool and amused style.

Chris Britton’s rare solo album . . . . [is] fairly pleasant psychedelic-tinged late-’60s British pop/rock, delivered with understated, almost laconically sly vocals. Plenty of the period trimmings of British psych-pop . . . can be heard: chirpy Baroque-tinged string arrangements, harpsichord, hints of Eastern exotica, buoyant romantic lyrics, melodic acoustic folky guitar, the odd vaudevillian flavor, Swinging London brass, and the like.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/chris-britton-mn0000105432
https://www.allmusic.com/album/as-i-am-mw0000698634

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

979) Johnnie Taylor — “Time After Time”

Stax’s “Philosopher of Soul” (see #191, 390) gives us a “mesmerizing and very unorthodox spin on the Hollywood classic and Sinatra hit ‘Time After Time’”(Soulmakossa, https://www.funkmysoul.gr/albums-no-review/johnnie-taylor-1970-one-step-beyond/), “an amazing reading of the jazz standard”. (Cook, https://www.allmusic.com/album/one-step-beyond-mw0000185795)

Of the song and Taylor’s hit-filled album One Step Beyond, Soulmakossa tells us that:

‘One Step Beyond’ was cut during an era of transition: music was now regularly recorded in Muscle Shoals as well as in the tried an true Stax studios; ‘outside’ record man Don Davis, hailing from Detroit, was increasingly assigned producing and arranging duties, causing for a rapid deterioration within the once happy Stax Family, with Stax alumnus Booker T. Jones even leaving the label (and the city) in anger. One could assume that these were not ideal settings for recording an album. Nonetheless, ‘One Step Beyond‘ may well be Taylor’s greatest, most coherent waxing. Don Davis was at the helm again, and while the grit and rawness of Southern Soul never dissapeared, the erstwhile guitarist did add a right amount of ‘sweetening’ to procedures, cooking up a trio of stellar, solid albums for Taylor between 1970 and 1974. . . . Johnnie’s in a sweet, pleading bag on the first couple of verses [of “Time After Time”] while a warm, wah-wah guitar strokes gently behind him. Hints of flute, flourishing strings, a delicate but rock steady beat and call-and-response vocalizing with the back up singers provide a magical soundscape for J.T. to testify over. Then, all of a sudden, the mood changes. Roger Hawkins kicks in a fatback rhythm while Eddie Hinton blasts out a sizzling guitar solo. Taylor reappears when the song slides back into that beautiful subdued groove.

https://www.funkmysoul.gr/albums-no-review/johnnie-taylor-1970-one-step-beyond/

Stephen Cook adds:

One Step Beyond qualifies as one of the singer’s best LPs. Captured in his Southern soul prime, Taylor lets loose on fine mix of gospel-inspired ballads . . . countrified mid-tempo burners . . . and breezy stings-and-horns soul . . . . And, yes, there are such unforgettable hits . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/album/one-step-beyond-mw0000185795

Ian McCann notes that Taylor’s “kind of philosophy was strictly down-home, barroom, over the back fence, and sometimes downright no good.” (https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/johnnie-taylor-whos-making-love/) Well, this down-home guy has received a well-deserved honor — he was one of the Blues Foundation’s 2022 Blues Hall of Fame inductees. As his Hall of Fame essay by Jim O’Neal says:

While he once sounded much like Sam Cooke, Taylor developed a more identifiable style incorporating gospel-influenced blues, soul, and funk during his tenure with Stax from 1966 to 1974. The company touted his 1968 hit “Who’s Makin’ Love” as “the fastest-selling single in the history of Stax Records,” and Taylor kicked his touring activity into high gear displaying a mix of polish and grit while continuing to hit the charts with his Stax recordings.

https://blues.org/awards/

Steve Huey fleshes out Taylor’s story:

Nicknamed the “Philosopher of Soul” during his Stax days, that version of Taylor is best remembered for his 1968 R&B chart-topping smash “Who’s Making Love,” but far and away his biggest success was 1976’s across-the-board number one “Disco Lady,” the first single ever certified platinum . . . . When the national hits dried up, Taylor wound up as one of the most prolific artists on the Malaco label, a refuge for many Southern soul and blues veterans whose styles had fallen out of mainstream favor by the ’80s. . . . He began singing in church as a young child and [then] performed with a gospel group called the Melody Kings. . . . [when he] befriended Soul Stirrers frontman Sam Cooke. . . . In 1957, Taylor would replace Cooke in the . . . Soul Stirrers after Cooke departed for a career in secular music. After four years . . . Taylor . . . followed . . . becoming the first artist to sign with Cooke’s label, Sar, in 1961. . . . Cooke was murdered in late 1964, and his labels folded . . . . Taylor . . . signed with the enormously popular Stax label in 1965 . . . . [He] scored a few minor R&B hits . . . . [then hit] big in late 1968 with the gritty, funky “Who’s Making Love,” his first number one R&B hit, which also made the pop Top Five. Taylor was able to land some decent-sized follow-up hits in the years to come, among them “Take Care of Your Homework,” “Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone,” “Steal Away,” and “I Am Somebody.” By the early ’70s, Taylor’s bread and butter had become smooth, elegant crooning . . . . When Stax went bankrupt in 1975, Taylor moved over to CBS/Columbia. . . . [His] first single, “Disco Lady,” was an instant smash, capturing the spirit of the era and selling over two million copies.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnnie-taylor-mn0000198162/biography

Here is Sinatra:

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The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify. 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.

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

978) The Kinks — “Got My Feet on the Ground”

Off the Kinks’ (see #100, 381, 417, 450, 508, 529, 606, 623, 753, 865) second album, Kinda Kinks, Dave Davies sings and co-writes with his brother Ray this infectious and “boisterous” song (https://jhendrix110.tripod.com/Kinks.html), “a fun piece of boogie rock” (John McFerrin, https://www.johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org/kinks.htm) that “blends standard rock rhythms with a dash of twangy country riffs”. (Beverly Paterson, https://somethingelsereviews.com/2020/03/05/kinks-kinda-kinks/)

As to Kinda Kinks, Bruce Eder tells us that:

The Kinks’ second album, Kinda Kinks, was rush-recorded on either side (and in the midst) of a world tour that took them all the way to Australia in the course of bridging the 1964-1965 New Year. Under those circumstances, the fact that every cut but one was an original was no small tribute to the songwriting ability of Ray Davies, even if most of the songs were less than first-rate — because what was first-rate was also highly memorable, and what wasn’t also wasn’t bad. In the space of two frantic late-December and mid-January sessions, and a brutal week in February of 1965, the group cut 11 songs to fill out a long-player that was already destined to contain “Tired of Waiting for You” (a product of the previous summer’s work, held back by producer Shel Talmy for a single). . . . So the resulting record was uneven but filled with promise, and . . . showcased a much more sophisticated sound, Dave Davies’ guitar turned down (and even switched to acoustic in a couple of spots) as Ray Davies began exploring aspects of emotions and storytelling that transcended anything in the group’s prior output — “Nothin’ in This World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout That Girl” . . . put them right in the front of the British Invasion pack for seriousness and complexity, out in front of where the Beatles or almost any of the competition were in early 1965 . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/album/kinda-kinks-mw0000196154

JHendrix110 is less enthusiastic:

There’s a divide between the Kinks’ singles and their albums early on, with the albums cut with filler while the singles had the real action. The band was playing R&B dance music of the era with some slower acoustic ballads rounding things out [on Kinda Kinks], although nothing has the bite of “You Really Got Me.” There’s only two real surprises on the album. First, it’s a bit surprising to hear Dave have a large vocal presence, singing four songs: the best is . . . “Got My Feet on the Ground” . . . . Second, is that the Davies wrote almost all the songs, rather than recording just covers. However, home-grown does not mean good, as the only bona fide classic on Kinda Kinks is “Tired of Waiting For You” – a gentler riff-based song than their big hit.

https://jhendrix110.tripod.com/Kinks.html

But Beverly Paterson enthuses that:

Ray Davies has often named Kinda Kinks as his least favorite album, but don’t let that put you off. There’s no contest: it’s not the band’s greatest recording . . . yet it paints a pleasant picture of the Kinks moving forward. In fact, progressing what was made the band so artistically viable while many of their peers either kept punching the rerun channel, leading to dated tactics, or simply dropped out of sight because they couldn’t adapt to the rapidly changing musical landscape. The Kinks were remarkably brilliant, and this album examines them revolving and evolving in a subtle but sure-footed manner.

https://somethingelsereviews.com/2020/03/05/kinks-kinda-kinks/

Here is The Larry Page Orchestra’s version, released a few months later. It has “some pretty swinging go-go organ and horns”! (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/kinky-music-mw0000855549): 

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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! (“relating 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 entertainment” — dictionary.com).

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify. 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.