Category Archives: Uncategorized

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,294) Jammë — “Strawberry Jam Man” Here is a Beatlesque and Mamas & Papasesque ode to, yes, strawberry jam, with “a great melody [and] lyrics that make me smile” (RDTEN1, https://de.rateyourmusic.com/release/album/jamme/jamme/), a “[s]tandout track[] . . . fun . . . [and] endowed withContinue reading “Jammë — “Strawberry Jam Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 6, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,293) Wizz Jones — “Beggar Man” Gee wizz, Wizz Jones , “[o]ne of the founding fathers of folk in the UK, cutting a dishevelled figure with a beatup acoustic guitar, and influential to many who have followed in his footsteps . . .Continue reading “Wizz Jones — “Beggar Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 5, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,292) Shocking Blue — “Never Marry a Railroad Man” Sorry Venus, this is Shocking Blue’s (see # 1,214) best song. “What a gorgeous melody for such a melancholy song” (vincenzowolfen45833, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ja4Fo7OJws&pp=ygUoc2hvY2tpbmcgYmx1ZSBuZXZlciBtYXJyeSBhIHJhaWxyb2FkIG1hbg%3D%3D) Brian Green writes that: [It] may be their best song altogether. AContinue reading “Shocking Blue — “Never Marry a Railroad Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 4, 2024”

As the album cover features nudity*, here is a YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gR-tEpkpVw THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,291) Freddy Lindquist — “The Green and Pink Little Man” Norway? No way! Yes way! “Back in the 60’s, Freddy Lindquist [see #755] was known as one out of two superContinue reading “Freddy Lindquist — “The Green and Pink Little Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 3, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,290) Mandrake Paddle Steamer — “Strange Walking Man” This UK pop psych classic with “superb trippy lyrics” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) “[f]eatur[ed] mournful guitar and great harmonies [and] was lent its extraordinary coda by producer Robert Finnis, who spliced onContinue reading “Mandrake Paddle Steamer — “Strange Walking Man”Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 2, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,289) Cartoone — “Knick Knack Man”  This Scottish band’s “hook driven” (Joe Reagoso, http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2013/10/cartoone-cartoone-1969-uk-wonderful.html) and “Beatlesque” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/cartoone-mw0000819917) number is, per rockingscots (“a website dedicated to Scottish beat groups and rock bands from the ’60s and ’70s”), a “wonderfully miserable” song withContinue reading “Cartoone — “Knick Knack Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 1, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,288) Public Nuisance — “Strawberry Man” This anti-Vietnam War song “stand[s] out as quite imaginative”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/gotta-survive-mw0001893156) “I love this track it starts off in fine pop/punk style then cuts . . . into a completely new song!” (sf scene, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FrpXNz2HkWI&pp=ygUoUHVibGljIE51aXNhbmNlIOKAlCDigJxTdHJhd2JlcnJ5IE1hbuKAnQ%3D%3D) ItContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Public Nuisance — “Strawberry Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 31, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,287) Sounds of Modification — “Balloon Man” A sunshine pop/baroque pop/pop psych/toytown tribute to balloon men everywhere that’s liable to whisk you up into the air without you even knowing it. The “Man” is “frothy pop-oriented ‘product’”. (RDTEN1, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/sounds-of-modification/sounds-of-modification/) Is that bad? TalkContinue reading “Sounds of Modification — “Balloon Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 30, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,286) Eternity’s Children — “Gypsy Minstrel Man” Eternity’s Children’s (see #706, 1,131) “finest moments rank alongside anything in the soft pop canon. . . . (Jason Ankeny, https://www.allmusic.com/album/eternitys-children-mw0000221884). Here is one of them, a plaintive tale of a gypsy minstrel man ever searching for theContinue reading “Eternity’s Children — “Gypsy Minstrel Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 29, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,285) Timebox — “Gone Is the Sad Man” This ’68 B-side is a “near-perfect piece of English psychedelic pop”, the “exuberant harmonies and . . . soulful lead vocal . . . swoop and glide”. (Mike Stax, liner notes to the CD compContinue reading “Timebox — “Gone Is the Sad Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 28, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,284) Fortes Mentum* — “Saga of a Wrinkled Man” Whimsical UK pop psych . . . as written by Frédéric Chopin! With its “distinctive, quasi-classical piano motifs” (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Psychedelic Pstones III: House of Many Windows: AContinue reading “Fortes Mentum — “Saga of a Wrinkled Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 27, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,283) The Carolyn Hester Coalition — “Buddha (Was Her Best Man)” Carolyn Hester (see #558) — folkie turned psychedelic. OK, she didn’t get booed at the Newport Folk Festival, but she does get her share of grief and eye-rolls. “[S]tarry-eyed idealism and girlish,Continue reading “The Carolyn Hester Coalition — “Buddha (Was Her Best Man)”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 26, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,282) The Tages — “There’s a Blind Man Playin’ Fiddle in the Street” From the best Swedish band of the 60’s (see #286) comes a ’68 pop psych delight and their last A-side to reach the top 10 in Sweden. “Retrospectively . .Continue reading “The Tages — “There’s a Blind Man Playin’ Fiddle in the Street”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 25, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,281) Gary Walker & the Rain — “Thoughts of an Old Man” From their Japan-only LP (and a Japanese B-side), Gary Walker & the Rain (see #483, 601) give us a song that is “distinctly Pepper-ish musically and lyrically” (Len, https://therisingstorm.net/gary-walker-the-rain-album-no-1/), and aContinue reading “Gary Walker & the Rain — “Thoughts of an Old Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 24, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,280) Skip Bifferty* — “Man in Black” From Skip Bifferty (see #288, 1,157), here is a “pulsating rocker . . . [that] firmly eschewed the Technicolor dreamscapes of yore”. (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Real Life Permanent Dreams: A CornucopiaContinue reading “Skip Bifferty — “Man in Black”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 23, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,279) Chris Farlowe & the Thunderbirds — “Paperman Fly in the Sky” This ’68 B-side is a riveting “pop psych delight” (the Monocled Alchemist, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWPwUc_SYD4) by Chris Farlowe (see #473, 1,083), “widely regarded as Britain’s finest ever blues and soul singer”. (Merseysider Magazine, https://vancouversignaturesounds.com/hits/time-chris-farlowe/). WhoContinue reading “Chris Farlowe & the Thunderbirds– “Paperman Fly in the Sky”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 22, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,278) The Searchers — “Umbrella Man” Hand-clappin’ heaven, one of the Searchers’ (see #352, 394, 636) great singles from the latter half of the 60’s. “Umbrella Man” was written by Kenny Young, who wrote “Under the Boardwalk” with Art Resnick (who later recordedContinue reading “The Searchers — “Umbrella Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 21, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,277) The Third Rail — “Invisible Man” Sometimes you feel like an invisible man, sometimes you don’t! Future barons and baronesses of bubblegum, and a future jinglemeister to boot, gave us “Run, Run, Run” of Nuggets fame and an LP whose “songcraft isContinue reading “The Third Rail — “Invisible Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 20, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,276) The Fugs — “Dirty Old Man” I don’t give a fug, but I do give you the Fugs’* (see #67) “timeless, hysterically funny, howlingly scatological, barely musical rant[] and rave[]” (Jim Derogatis, https://www.wbez.org/jim-derogatis/2012/11/28/return-of-the-original-freak-folks-the-fugs), “[s]ung to the tune of Chuck Berry’s “School Days,”Continue reading “The Fugs — “Dirty Old Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 19, 2024”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 1,275) Them — “Dirty Old Man” Belfast’s Them (without Van the Man) give us a ’67 A-side that is “pure 60’s Garage punk!” (HemiVic, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmycGm0c158), fueled by [Kenny] McDowell’s snarling garage punk vocal and a wonderfully angst ridden organ-led middle-eight this is aContinue reading “Them — “Dirty Old Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 18, 2024”