Category Archives: Uncategorized

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 511) Morning Dew — “Crusader’s Smile” Hypnotic gangsta psych off the Morning Dew’s sole album (‘70). Well, at least their label was owned by a gangster — they’re not in Kansas anymore! Mark Deming says that “songs like hard rocking . . .Continue reading “Morning Dew — “Crusader’s Smile”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 10, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 510) David Ruffin — “The Double Cross” “The Double Cross” is a powerful and heart-rending track from Ruffin’s first solo album, ‘69’s My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me). Of course, Ruffin’s foundational days were with the Temptation. As John LoweContinue reading “David Ruffin — David Ruffin — “The Double Cross”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 9, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 509) The Smoke — “No More Now” Nuggets 2 concludes that this ‘67 Kiwi B-side “features some of the most vicious, overdriven guitar performances ever to be released in the Southern Hemisphere. . . . Brett Tauri’s savage slash ‘n’ burn guitar[,] includingContinue reading “The Smoke — “No More Now”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 8, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 508) The Kinks — “Ring the Bells” Glorious album track from the Kinks’ third album — The Kink Kontroversy (’65). As Andrew Hickey says, it “has one of [Ray] Davies’ loveliest melodic ideas, based around a beautiful acoustic guitar riff”. Of TKK, RichieContinue reading “The Kinks — “Ring the Bells”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 7, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 507) KAK — “Lemonaide Kid” I think someone definitely spiked the lemonade on this gentle but epic psych-folk-rock track from Kak’s only album (’68). Gio Arlotta says that: [“Lemonaide Kid” is] one of the most evocative unknown songs of the late ’60s .Continue reading “Kak — “Lemonaide Kid”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 6, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 506) The Millennium — “I Just Want to Be Your Friend” Sunshine pop went supernova with the Millennium, a 60’s sunshine supergroup that created Begin, the greatest sunshine pop album ever recorded. One of the loveliest songs on the album, and B-side toContinue reading “The Millennium — “I Just Want to Be Your Friend”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 5, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 505) The Liberty Bell — “Look for Tomorrow” Scorching hot ‘68 B-side by Corpus Christi garage band. Bruce Eder talks of the band: With a few breaks, the Liberty Bell might have been America’s Yardbirds — as it worked out, however, the groupContinue reading “The Liberty Bell — “Look for Tomorrow”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 4, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 504) Victoire Scott — “4eme” Victoire’s ‘68 A-side, “The 4th Dimension”, “describes hallucinations following an LSD take” (https://www.last.fm/fr/music/Victoire+Scott/+wiki). Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe proclaims in Yé-Yé Girls of ‘60s French Pop that the song “is a baroque pop masterpiece, a Paris Existentialism-meets-American psych rock kind ofContinue reading “Victoire Scott — “4eme”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 3, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 503) Serge Franklin — “Exister” This ultra-cool ‘68 A-side by Alain Patrice Amaraggi (AKA Serge Franklin) is the kind of freaky French freakbeat of which we were blissfully unaware. As Mark Deming says of the comp from which I plucked it: Conventional wisdomContinue reading “Serge Franklin — “Exister”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 2, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 502) Peter Pan & the Good Fairies — “Kaleidoscope” One of the great psychedelic instrumentals. John “Mojo” Mills said of the comp from which I plucked “Kaleidoscope” that it contains “the kind of incidental music to be heard during the trip scene ofContinue reading “Peter Pan & the Good Fairies — “Kaleidoscope”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 1, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 501) Harumi — “First Impressions” “Impressions” is the B-side of Harumi’s only single. Dr. Schluss says it’s “a great track that mixes British style whimsy with the lighter side of San Fran acid rock. Plus it has vibraphone, which as you may know,Continue reading “Harumi — “First Impressions”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 30, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 500) Les Sauterelles — “Heavenly Club” The “Swiss Beatles”! Their pop psych classic “Heavenly Club” asks the eternal question “What if I get to heaven and can’t pay the admission fee?”, and it was the first Swiss song to hit #1 in theContinue reading “Les Sauterelles — “Heavenly Club”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 29, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 499) The Open Mind — “Cast a Spell” Here is the spellbinding B-side to the band’s legendary ’69 A-side “Magic Potion.” (see #148) John “Mojo” Mills says of the Mind that: As a defining point of the U.K. psychedelic/progressive rock crossover, the OpenContinue reading “The Open Mind — “Cast a Spell”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 28, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 498) Etta James — “Just a Little Bit” As Derek Anderson says, “Etta James had one of the most recognizable, charismatic and soulful voices you’ll ever have privilege of hearing.” (see #316) (https://dereksmusicblog.com/2015/02/22/etta-james-at-last-2/) Just a year before Robert Plant announced his scheme toContinue reading “Etta James — “Just a Little Bit”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 27, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 497) Robin Gibb — “Mother and Jack” What an unexpected and cool song by Robin! Bruce Eder calls “Mother and Jack” a “calypso-flavored piece that . . . ended up on the B-side of [Robin’s hit] “Saved By the Bell” and “offered possibilitiesContinue reading “Robin Gibb — “Mother and Jack”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 26, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 496) The Mindbenders — “Schoolgirl” BANNED BY THE BBC. This Graham Gouldman-composed (see #226) ‘67 A-side and album track by the post-Wayne Fontana Mindbenders got banned “over its allegedly lascivious tale of teen pregnancy)”/but “is an astonishingly catchy number that ought to haveContinue reading “The Mindbenders — “Schoolgirl”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 25, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 495) We the People — “You Burn Me Up and Down” This sizzling ’66 B-side by the Orlando, Florida, garage rock “super-group” is “one of the genre’s greatest songs ever”/“a very unique number with a wonderful slide guitar riff to open the song[,Continue reading “We the People — “You Burn Me Up and Down”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 24, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 494) John Pantry — “Mississippi Paddleboat” Oh man, does John Pantry kick ass. OK, since he began a quite successful career in Christian music and broadcasting after the ’60’s came to a close, let me just say “Hallelujah” for John Pantry. A singerContinue reading “John Pantry — “Mississippi Paddleboat”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 23, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 493) Nick Garrie — “David’s Prayer” Today is the great Nick Garrie’s birthday. I have had the honor of featuring more songs of his than anyone else’s on my blog (see #3, 19, 41, 65, 104, 137, 245, 362). “David’s Prayer” is aContinue reading “Nick Garrie — “David’s Prayer”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 22, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 492) The Good Feelins — “Shattered” This ‘68 A-side from the San Bernardino garage band “steals the show . . . an intense, brooding punkadelic stomper with ripping fuzz guitar, in-your-face keyboards, and a wicked dual guitar break.” (Gilesi, https://cosmicmindatplay.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/classic-singles-76-the-good-feelins-im-lost-shattered-1968/) Psychedelicized gives someContinue reading “The Good Feelins — “Shattered”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 21, 2022″