Category Archives: Uncategorized

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 615) The Outsiders — “ Happyville” The Outsiders give us a randy and “masterful acid punker[]” (Jason, http://therisingstorm.net/the-outsiders-cq/) off of CQ, their last album (’68) — as only a band from the Netherlands could. And only a Dutch band could write English lyricsContinue reading “The Outsiders — “Happyville”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 21, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 614) Fever Tree — “Love Makes the Sun Rise” This ’69 A-side and album track is, per Richie Unterberger, a luminous “pretty, wistful ballad” by a Houston psych group. Oh, with guitar courtesy of ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons! Richie Unterberger tells us: AContinue reading “Fever Tree — “Love Makes the Sun Rise”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 20, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 613) Herman’s Hermits — “Dream On”/”I Gotta Dream On” Can’t believe Herman’s Hermits never sued Aerosmith over the blatant steal of this song! It is a cool ‘65 album track and B-side that amalgamates a lot of the British Invasion sounds then onContinue reading “Herman’s Hermits — “Dream On”/”I Gotta Dream On”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 19, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 612) Norman Conquest — “Upside Down” This ’68 B-side is one of British musical genius John Pantry’s (see #494) most glorious pop psych confections. Vernon Joynson calls it “dreamy flowery pop.” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) But, was Pantry the lead singer onContinue reading “Norman Conquest — “Upside Down”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 18, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 611) Mercy — “Fire Ball” A horrible ‘69 A-side — treacly pop that reached #2 on the charts, paired with a sensational B-side — one of the best garage-y rock instrumentals of the ‘60’s. WTF? As EastCoastDude says, “Seriously, this is the sameContinue reading “Mercy — “Fire Ball”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 17, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 610) Tim Buckley — “Once Upon a Time” A coulda been ’67 hit single by the troubadour if only the boneheaded record label had deigned to release it. For Buckley, it “is uncharacteristically rocking”. (Joseph Neff, https://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/2016/11/graded-on-a-curve-tim-buckley-lady-give-me-your-key-and-wings-the-complete-singles-1966-1974/) Andrew Sandoval tells us that: InContinue reading “Tim Buckley — “Once Upon a Time”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 16, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 609) Joe Tex — “We Can’t Sit Down Now” I’ve featured my two favorite Joe Tex songs (see #42, 455). Here’s another classic, also off Tex’s magnificent ‘69 album Buying a Book. RDTEN1 says that “[e]ven before he converted to Islam and changedContinue reading “Joe Tex — “We Can’t Sit Down Now”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 14, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 608) The Common Cold — “Come Down” There is Beatlesque, and then there is Invasion of the Beatles Snatchers-level Beatlesque. Of course, there is “Lies” by the Knickerbockers. That was early-Beatles snarching. Well, here is a Beatles psychedelic phase snatch that is simplyContinue reading “The Common Cold — “Come Down”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 13, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 607) Ten Years After — “Working on the Road” This ‘70 A-side and album track is one of TYA’s greatest songs. Dave Swanson calls it their 8th best: A killer rock and roller . . , [it is ] another take on theContinue reading “Ten Years After — “Working on the Road”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 12, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 606) The Kinks — “This Strange Effect” Ray Davies pops up wherever you look. This magical David Lynch-y song has had a strange affect/strange effect (I never know which is right!) on pop culture over the years. As Kurt Wolff tells us, “[f]orContinue reading “Kinks Kopykats (Bet You Didn’t Know This Was Written By Ray Davies) Special Edition #1 — “This Strange Effect”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 11, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 605) The Honeybus — “He Was Columbus” I couldn’t find a song I wanted to feature that featured the term “indigenous peoples”, so here is the Honeybus’ “He Was Columbus”. So sue me. Another glorious track from the glorious Honeybus (see #6, 52,Continue reading “The Honeybus — “He Was Columbus”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 10, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 604) The Holy Ghost Reception Committee #9 — “What Do You Ask of Me” ‘69 Christian psych by kids from NYC’s Regis High School, written to be performed during Mass — and it ROCKS. It’s a miracle! Jason Ankeny gives some history: ChristianContinue reading “The Holy Ghost Reception Committee #9 — “What Do You Ask of Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 9, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 603) Thee Midniters — “Jump, Jive and Harmonize” This ‘67 B-side of “raucous bluesy garage rock” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-mw0000592872) proves that white men can’t jump, jive and harmonize. It also drives some reviewers into paroxysms of ecstasy. Which is fine by me. WeContinue reading “Thee Midniters — “Jump, Jive and Harmonize”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 8, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 602) The Status Cymbal — “Lovin’ Day” Sunshiney ‘67 A-side and album track puts a smile on my face. I bet it’ll put one on yours. Simon Omnes tells us the story: A southern folk music group consisting of Florence [Warner], her brotherContinue reading “The Status Cymbal — “Lovin’ Day”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 7, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 601) Gary Walker & the Rain — “Magazine Woman” Joe Bonomo calls “Magazine Woman” “kaleidoscopic” with “an insanely catchy hook”, “nothing short of a lost classic” (http://www.nosuchthingaswas.com/2021/03/maybe-its-conspiracy.html), while Stephen Cook says it “conjures up . . . the Beatles’ paisley pop” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/love-peace-poetry-british-psychedelic-music-mw0000017209), LenContinue reading “Gary Walker & the Rain — “Magazine Woman”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 6, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 600) Jacques Da Sylva — “Fou”/”Crazy” What should we call “Fou” — freakbeat, mod, pop psych, who knows? But I do know that this crazy-good ‘67 EP track from France is très chic. Now can someone tell me something about Jacques Da Sylva?!Continue reading “Jacques Da Sylva — “Fou”/”Crazy”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 5, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 599) Keith Mansfield — “Powerhouse Pop” We have all have heard his music — used by Quentin Tarantino, Danger Mouse, Gnarls Barkley, the NFL, and on and on — but few know his name. He wrote some of the “funkiest, grooviest and memorableContinue reading “Keith Mansfield — “Powerhouse Pop”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 4, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 598) Mars Bonfire — “Lady Moon Walker” This ’68 album track and ’69 A-side is a tasty pop psych treat from the sole solo album by the writer of Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild.” Let’s call it “Born to Be Mellow.” Richie UnterbergerContinue reading “Mars Bonfire — “Lady Moon Walker”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 3, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 596) Ben E. King — “It’s Amazing” It’s amazing that “It’s Amazing”, sizzling ’68 single by the legendary BEK (see #85,254), unconscionably failed to chart. It’s one of the great “her love saved me” songs, beating Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” to theContinue reading “Ben E. King — It’s Amazing: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 2, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 596) Mike Furber — “Watch Me Burn” From a ’69 double-A side, Ian Marks calls the incendiary “Watch Me Burn a “fiery” and “wild[]” song “with TWIN lead guitars (one fuzz and one wah-wah) wailing away beneath Furber’s excellent vocal performance.” (Tomorrow isContinue reading “Mike Furber — “Watch Me Burn”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — September 30, 2022”