Category Archives: Uncategorized

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 486) Magic Swirling Ship — “He’s Coming Part 2” OK, I couldn’t find a photo of the band, so I used one of Dylan, whom the band members seemingly named themselves after!* Hold on, “He’s Coming” is the maniacal, fuzz-drenched garage rock B-sideContinue reading “Magic Swirling Ship — “He’s Coming Part 2”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 16, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 485) Jerry Jeff Walker — “Courage of Love” Yet again, I feature a song by a Walker who wasn’t really a Walker* — this a lovely, quiet and reflective song from Jerry’s third album (’69), which was “by and large . . .Continue reading “Jerry Jeff Walker — “Courage of Love”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 15, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 484) The Bee Gees — “I Don’t Know Why I Bother with Myself” “I Don’t Know Why”, an album track off of Spicks and Specks (‘66) (the Bee Gees’ second studio album) was the first song credited to Robin Gibb. It is aContinue reading “The Bee Gees — “I Don’t Know Why I Bother with Myself”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 14, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 483) Gary Walker & the Rain — “The View” “The View” is a stunning number from Album No. 1, one of Great Britain’s great lost pop psych albums — only it wasn’t really lost, as it was released in Japan, and it wasn’tContinue reading “Gary Walker & the Rain — “The View”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 13, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 482) Nueva Democracia — “Hey, Hey” Shimmering sunshine pop from sunny Spain! Mundo & Mr. Toytown tell us that: After winning the famous La Voz Del Mino radio show contest, they moved to Madrid to play some shows and record a 45 .Continue reading “Nueva Democracia — “Hey, Hey”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 12, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 481) 49th Parallel — “Lazerander Filchy” Another song from Calgary’s 49th Parallel (see #367). This is the one and only psych classic about a creepy taxidermist (who might possibly be applying his craft to people) — which one would think to be aContinue reading “49th Parallel — “Lazerander Filchy”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 11, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 480) Jun Mayuzumi— “Black Room” The French yé-yé girls had nothing on Japan’s Jun Mayuzumi. Sheila Burgel tells us that: Once the [Group Sound] boom hit . . . “Koi No Hallejujah” [was] a monster hit for a little-known singer named Jun Mayuzumi.Continue reading “Jun Mayuzumi — “Black Room”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 10, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 479) Jan & Dean — “Mulholland” In my mind, this is the greatest ode to a street in song since “Penny Lane.” Terry Staunton sees “a formidable sophistication to . . . the epic LA poetry of Mulholland.” (https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/carnival-of-sound). Domenic Priore & MarkContinue reading “Jan & Dean — “Mulholland”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 9, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 478) Minnie Riperton — “Rainy Day in Centerville” Today, I feature a second track from Minnie’s glorious debut album (see #23), the soaring “Rainy Day in Centerville.” Derek Anderson says that: [T]he lyrics have a wistful, melancholy sound when sung by Minnie. .Continue reading “Minnie Riperton — “Rainy Day in Centerville”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 8, 2022”

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 474) Nirvana — “Tiny Goddess” Vernon Joynson calls Nirvana’s debut A-side “sad but beautiful” and “outstanding” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) and David Wells calls it an “impossibly delicate Summer of Love single[.]” (Record Collector: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and StrangeContinue reading ““Tiny Goddess” Special Edition: Nirvana/Françoise Hardy: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 7, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 473) Tyme — “Land of 1000 Dances” OK, we’ve all heard “Land of 1000 Dances” at least 1,000 times. But few of us have heard it transformed into a “raw[-]assed unissued 1967 Connecticut garage PUNK BLASTER!!!!! 100-mile-per-hour screeching fuzzblastin BRUTAL version of the Kenner/PickettContinue reading “Tyme — “Land of 1000 Dances”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 6, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 474) Chris Farlowe — “We’re Doing Fine” Farlowe is “widely regarded as Britain’s finest ever blues and soul singer” (http://www.merseysidermagazine.com/site/features/chris-farlowe-interview/), and boy does he show it here. While he is best known for his iconic cover of the Rolling Stones’s “Out of Time”,Continue reading “Chris Farlowe — “We’re Doing Fine”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 5, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 472) Norman Greenbaum — “Marcy” If the Spirit is willing, let me demonstrate once again (see #46) that Norman Greenbaum was anything but a one-hit wonder. As the renowned rock critic Robert Christgau argued that “[n]or was ‘Spirit in the Sky’ anything likeContinue reading “Norman Greenbaum — “Marcy”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 4, 2022″

471) Harumi — “What a Day for Me” “What a Day for Me” is taken from the self-titled ’68 album by Harumi, who, as Last.fm says, “came from Japan to New York to record an album, and [then] disappeared” (https://www.last.fm/music/Harumi/+wiki). The album is a treasure trove of unique pop psych. Dr. Schluss says that: [TheContinue reading “Harumi — “What a Day for Me”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 3, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 470) Jeff St. John and The Id — “Watch Out” Take this ‘66 B-side and ’67 album track by “Australia’s finest rock vocalist” [Jeff St. John] (https://www.thirdstonepress.com.au/archive-blog/2018/3/20/jeff-st-john-the-id-big-time-operators-1967) outside — it’s smoking! Ian McFarlane says of the song that “[t]he band-penned ‘Watch Out’ opensContinue reading “Jeff St. John and the Id — “Watch Out”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 2, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 469) The Boys Blue — “You Got What I Want” I previously featured the Sorrows’ take on “Take a Heart”, a song written by Miki Dallon and first released by The Boys Blue (see #407). Well, what goes around comes around. Today IContinue reading “The Boys Blue — “You Got What I Want”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — June 1, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 468) Compton & Batteau — “Homesick Kid” After Appaloosa (see #463) broke up, John Parker Compton picked up and drove to California. He and Robin Batteau then recorded In California, a magical album “drenched in lazy West Coast sunshine [which fell] into theContinue reading “Compton & Batteau — “Homesick Kid”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 31, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 467) Black Merda — “The Original Man” “The first black rock group” (see #134). This stuff is intense. It’s the truth! Steve Huey: Black Merda were a funky rock combo with a significant debt to Jimi Hendrix, mixing fuzz-toned, psychedelic blues-rock with folky acousticContinue reading “Black Merda — “The Original Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 30, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 466) Maurice Gibb — “Give Me a Glass of Wine” As I’ve said, some of my favorite Bee Gees songs were written and sung by Maurice and were never (or only barely) released (see #353-54). What are the odds? “Give Me a GlassContinue reading “Maurice Gibb — “Give Me a Glass of Wine”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 29, 2022″

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD 465) The Starfires — “I Never Loved Her” This “brutally awesome” (On the Flip-Side, http://ontheflip-side.blogspot.com/2015/04/southern-california-spotlight-starfires.html) ‘65 A-side by the L.A. garage band the Starfires is so groovy that “[o]riginal copies sell for over $1,000 . . . . It’s believed only 25 copiesContinue reading “The Starfires — “I Never Loved Her”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — May 28, 2022″