Category Archives: Uncategorized

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,378) Red Dirt — “Memories” A timeless song and so ahead of its time, this jewel really gets under your skin. “Memories I have inside me driving me insane” Jim Carroll Band anybody? Ian Shirley writes that from “a lost classic” LP, theContinue reading “Red Dirt — “Memories”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 25, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,377) Paradise Hammer — “She Is Love” Right off the bat, Noel Gallagher did not plagiarize this ’70 B-side. Maybe he should have, though the crescendo/climax part is a bit too Queenishly silly. Co-written by lead singer and former Unit Four Plus TwoerContinue reading “Paradise Hammer — “She Is Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 24, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,376) SST — “Soft Soul Transition” Bossa nova meets laid-back California pop and leaves a smile on your face as wide as San Francisco Bay. From a privately pressed LP of “[b]reezy sunshine-pop, soft-rock, psych-pop from California . . . . [with] awesomeContinue reading “SST — “Soft Soul Transition”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 23, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,375) Doug Ashdown — “He’s All These Things to Me” Delirium-inducing acid folk by Australia’s Doug Ashdown. I think the song is about God. It was written by Dave Gard, and according to Discogs it Gard’s only credit, writing or otherwise. (https://www.discogs.com/artist/2852589-Dave-Gard) CouldContinue reading “Doug Ashdown — “He’s All These Things to Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 22, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,374) Petticoat and Vine — “Riding a Carousel” ’70 UK A-side is a delightful, “wonderful sunshine pop gem!” (David Arrigotti, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY_14r2XOOU) Spice Girls style . . . or at least Mel C’s mother’s style! The band’s website tells us: At the end ofContinue reading “Petticoat and Vine — “Riding a Carousel”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 21, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,373) Marisol — “Corazón Contento”/“Happy Heart” I’ve already featured what I called “surely the greatest of all pre-MTV videos” — all by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity (see #1,031-33). Well, here is a challenger worthy of the title. At the veryContinue reading “Marisol — “Corazón Contento”/ “Happy Heart”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 20, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,372) Carla Thomas — “He’s Beating Your Time” Carla’s (see #432) ‘69 A-side is a soulful warning to wayward men from her ‘69 album Memphis Queen: “If you want to keep me, you better learn how to treat me”, “You’re making a big mistake,Continue reading “Carla Thomas — “He’s Beating Your Time”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 19, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,371) The Ones — “Lady Greengrass” Before he had a tangerine dream, Edgar Froese and the Ones gave us a “psych-pop delight” (Stephen Troussé, https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/film-reviews/nostalgia-2-141731/), “[a] splendid slice of German psyche”, (Baronrhubarbpostoffice, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jHKKjjn5FDw&pp=ygUYVGhlIG9uZXMgbGFkeSBncmVlbmdyYXNz), “an excellent slice of the Psychedelic Rock movement . .Continue reading “The Ones — “Lady Greengrass”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 18, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,370) The Rokes — “When the Wind Arises” This ’68 B-side, by a British group that made it big in Italy, is a dramatic, brooding and “splendid example of early psychedelic pop” (Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/album/lets-live-for-today-the-rokes-in-english-1966-1968-mw0000800756), and the group’s “most impressive recording”. (David Wells,Continue reading “The Rokes — “When the Wind Arises”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 17, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,369) George & Beathovens — “Víc než nic”/”More than Nothing” From the ’70 LP Kolotoč Svět/Carousel World, a grand Czech pop rock pocket symphony that would have made Brian Wilson proud — by a band persecuted by the secret police for expressing sympathyContinue reading “George & Beathovens — “Víc než nic”/“More Than Nothing”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 15, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,368) St. Davids Road — “Strange Loves Of Gwyneth” A delightful ’70 UK pop psych B-side — I guess about a prostitute. As Dr. Doom says, “A fun bit of Welshsploitation Pop-Sike. How on earth this ended up with a US only releaseContinue reading “St. Davids Road — “Strange Loves Of Gwyneth”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 15, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,367) The Guess Who — “Silver Bird” One of the last songs recorded by the Guess Who (see #758, 1,140, 1,335) before Randy Bachman left, this “beautiful folk-rock ballad that has ‘hit’ written all over it” wasn’t released until ‘76. (Riron63, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-guess-who/the-way-they-were/) BeautifulContinue reading “The Guess Who — “Silver Bird”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 14, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,366) Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot — “Ford Mustang” ‘68 B-side and track from the Initials B.B. (that’s Brigette Bardot) LP, this classic Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot duet is a sly, sultry and sexy paean to the Ford Mustang . . . well, that and otherContinue reading “Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot — “Ford Mustang”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 13, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,365) Elli — “Never Mind” This ‘67 A-side is “a wonderful commercial effort marrying jazz time changes with Summer of Love harmonies. Why it was not properly promoted is criminal.” (Jon “Mojo” Mills, https://www.allmusic.com/album/elli-mw0001005297) One of the many crimes against Swinging London. JonContinue reading “Elli — “Never Mind”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 12, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,364) Affinity — “You Met Your Match” From a UK jazz rock group (see #1,055) that released one legendary album, here is a Stevie Wonder song transformed into a mod barn burner — unreleased at the time — with very much of aContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Affinity — “You Met Your Match”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 11, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,363) “Loving, Sacred Loving” I’ve played the A-side (see #131), here’s the glorious ‘68 B-side, “an immaculately crafted slice of English psychedelic whimsy that boasted an opening harpsichord salvo from Nicky Hopkins”, oh and with “blissed-out lyric[s]”. (David Wells, Record Collector 100 GreatestContinue reading “The End — “Loving, Sacred Loving”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 10, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,362) The Barrier — “Dawn Breaks Through” This ’68 “[B]-side of The Barrier’s debut single on the independent Eyemark label is . . . essential to check out . . . a[] high octane pop psych gem, unfortunately buried on the flip ofContinue reading “The Barrier — “Dawn Breaks Through”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 9, 2024″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,361) France Gall — “Faut il que je t’aime”/“Do I Have to Love You” This sublime and “groovy Farfissa driven” (Third Man Records, https://thirdmanrecords.com/blogs/news/third-man-records-releases-reissues-of-three-classic-france-gall-albums?srsltid=AfmBOoqJMpvgzBZbIMU_mJn-ahtYd_-j1Wr62HkVe9Spbufb71G4vpxs) song shared the A-side of a ‘66 EP with “Baby Pop” and was on the Baby Pop LP. WrittenContinue reading “France Gall — “Faut il que je t’aime”/”Do I Have to Love You”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 8, 2024″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,360) Maxine Brown — “You Do Something to Me” This ‘65 B-side is a stunning ballad by Maxine Brown (see #1,047) about how she just can’t get an unworthy man out of her mind. Michael Jack Kirby tells the story of Maxine Brown:Continue reading “Maxine Brown — “You Do Something to Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 7, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,359) The Easybeats — “Happy Is the Man” ’67 LP track and ’68 EP A-side by Australia’s Easybeats (see #201, 1,310) is a magnificent and defiant pop rock anthem. “They say I’ve been sinning ’cause I like good looking women. They don’t knowContinue reading “The Easybeats — “Happy Is the Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 6, 2024”