Category Archives: Uncategorized

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 914) The Sparkles — “No Friend of Mine” Straight outta Lubbock, TX, the Sparkles’ “masterpiece . . . [is] an incendiary effort distinguished by [a] snarling guitar lead and [a] remarkably anguished vocal” (Jason Ankeny, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-sparkles-mn0000431652), with “the band . . . onContinue reading “The Sparkles — “No Friend of Mine”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 5, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 913) Q’65 — “I Was Young” This January ’67 B-side by the Dutch wild boys (see #108, 557) is a slow-burner garage classic (assuming there were garages in the Hague). Bruce Eder gives us some history: The Dutch quintet could have held theirContinue reading “Q’65 — “I Was Young”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 4, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 912) The Plague — “Go Away” The Kinks were a snotty garage band from Albuquerque, New Mexico? Well, no, but if they had been, “Go Away” would have been their song. The A-side of the Plague’s only single is an “organ punker withContinue reading “The Plague — “Go Away”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 3, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 891) Edwards Hand — “New York City Rain” (see #151, 663, 813) For song #911, how could I not play “New York City Rain”, a melancholy but brimming with hope soft rock classic by the exquisite Edwards Hand? “NYC Rain” is from theContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Edwards Hand — “New York City Rain”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 2, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 910) Thor’s Hammer — “I Don’t Care” Thor’s Hammer (see #518)— from Iceland, of course — went by the name of Hljómar (The Sound of the Chords) back home. The band gave us mortals this “brash mod stomper[] . . . with snarlingContinue reading “Thor’s Hammer — “I Don’t Care”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 1, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 909) Hendrickson Road House — “I Wondered If You Knew” On gossamer wings, this song takes off for a brief moment, and then the flight is over. It’s from then 19 year old Sue Eakins’ “lost classic of the West Coast psychedelic folkContinue reading “Hendrickson Road House — “I Wondered If You Knew”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 31, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 908) Donovan — “The Land of Doesn’t Have to Be” This “brilliant” (Diego Olivas, https://peanutbutterpope.wordpress.com/2017/07/29/special-review-26-a-gift-from-a-flower-to-a-garden-donovan/), “dreamy and whimsical” (Lorne Murdoch, Donovan: Breezes of Patchouli: His Studio Recordings: 1966-1969) song comes from “Donovan’s 1967 hippie epic ‘A Gift From a Flower to a Garden’.Continue reading “Donovan — “The Land of Doesn’t Have to Be”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 30, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 907) Ralph McTell — “Daddy’s Here” From the “Streets of London” comes a stunning and poignant from the first note song from McTell’s second album (Spiral Staircase). The autobiographical folk song “expresses well [a] child’s anxiety that accompanies the increasingly rare visits ofContinue reading “Ralph McTell — “Daddy’s Here”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 29, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 906) Los Shakers — “Rompan Todo”/”Break It All” I’ve played songs that I’ve called Beatlesque, and I’ve played a song that I called “the greatest early Beatles imitation I have ever heard” (see #849). But hands down, the greatest Beatles fascimile of allContinue reading “Los Shakers — “Rompan Todo”/”Break It All”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 28, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 905) Tony Rivers and the Castaways — “Mr. Sun” Here’s a really neat unreleased in the ‘60s UK pop psych nugget with a total Beach Boys vibe. Maybe if it were named “The Warmth of Mr. Sun” . . . David Wells writesContinue reading “I Shall Be Released: Tony Rivers and the Castaways — “Mr. Sun”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 27, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 904) Fortes Mentum* — “Marrakesh, Pt. 1” This is not your daddy’s “Marrakesh Express”! This exquisite ‘69 B-side by London’s Fortes Mentum has more of a “Charge of the Light Brigade” vibe! Maggie Regan tells us that: Danny Beckerman was a staff writerContinue reading “Fortes Mentum — “Marrakesh, Pt. 1”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 26, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 903) Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band — “Hi Hi Hazel” This hilarious A-side by American expatriate soul stomper Geno Washington and his Ram Jam Band reached #45 in the UK, and jumped an additional three spots to #42 when released asContinue reading “Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band– “Hi Hi Hazel”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 25, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 902) Tangerine Peel — “Talkin’ ‘Bout a New Day” From the pen of ’70s superstar songwriter/producer Mike Chapman comes this ode to mindfulness (starting at 20:54 on the album) with a propulsive groove and the immoral words “I walked to the corner, lookedContinue reading “Tangerine Peel — “Talkin’ ‘Bout a New Day”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 24, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 901) The Strawberry Alarm Clock — “Sit with the Guru” This ’68 A-side (reaching #65) and track from the Strawberry Alarm Clock’s second album (see #127, 272) is “jaunty and poppy, with an aggressive guitar vying for supremacy with the lovely, melodic vocalContinue reading “The Strawberry Alarm Clock — “Sit with the Guru”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 23, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 900) Jon Plum — “Alice” UK baroque splendor! “Alice” is “a heavily orchestrated melancholic pop ballad” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) “with [an] intense Barry Ryan-ish vocal and a superb production courtesy of Ray Singer, an acolyte of Mark Wirtz”. (BonContinue reading “Jon Plum — “Alice”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 22, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 899) 1910 Fruitgum Company* — “Mr. Cupid” Not bubblegum — power pop — from 1910 Fruitgum Company, who would rather have been playing Vanilla Fudge anyway! Jason Ankeny tells us: The prototypical bubblegum group, the 1910 Fruitgum Company was the brainchild of BuddahContinue reading “1910 Fruitgum Company — “Mr. Cupid”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 21, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 898) Moby Grape — “Murder in My Heart for the Judge” ’68 B-side and track from the second album Wow is “a tough and funky blues number” Mark Deming, https://www.allmusic.com/album/wow-mw0000780808), “a fabulously hilarious story of being dressed down in a court by aContinue reading “Moby Grape — “Murder in My Heart for the Judge”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 20, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 897) Marmalade — “Kaleidoscope” The Poets (see #47, 86, 223, 489) and Marmalade were Scotland’s greatest bands of the 1960’s. Marmalade’s “Kaleidoscope” is magnificent pop psych — “stupendous and exhilarating” (sara-lorrainegannon8024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KSBhb_ettw), “ transcenden[t] . . . [o]ne of the most overlooked gemsContinue reading “Marmalade — “Kaleidoscope”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 19, 2023”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 896) Lemon Fog — “Lemon Fog” The A-side of the first of the Fog’s (see #26) three singles is a “psych-pop flower power masterpiece” (https://www.rockadrome.com/store/lemon-fog-the-the-psychedelic-sound-of-summer-cd.html) “It reached number eight on the regional and local charts in the Houston area.” (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-lemon-fog-mn0000091696) EderContinue reading “The Lemon Fog — “Lemon Fog”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 18, 2023″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 895) The Lemon Drops — “Talk To the Animals” This is definitely not Dr. Doolittle talkin’ to the animals! It’s a wild psych/garage freakout from some high school kids from a far northern Chicago suburb who became heroes to their classmates when theyContinue reading “The Lemon Drops — “Talk To the Animals”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 17, 2023″