Playlist 8/6-8/10

Artist: SEEDS
Song Title: "Pushin' Too Hard"
Source: LP: NUGGETS-VOL 1 (The Hits) (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl and on LP:THE SEEDS)
Release Year: 1966 (charted 1967)
One of the defining songs of the psychedelic era.

Artist: BOB DYLAN
Song Title: "Like a Rolling Stone"
Source: 45 RPM VINYL (Stereo reissue) (also appeared on LP: HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED)
Release Year: 1965
Bob Dylan literally rocked the world of folk music with this one, and managed to score a top 10 hit with it despite its six-minute length (convention dictating that anything over 3 1/2 minutes would never get played on top 40 radio.)

Artist: BOB DYLAN
Song Title: "Positively 4th Street"
Source: CD: NEW GOLD ON CD (90s radio series) (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Release Year: 1965
This track, recorded at the same time as the Highway 61 Revisited album, was held back for single release later the same year. The tactic worked, scoring Dylan his second top 10 hit.

Artist: BOB DYLAN
Song Title: "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35"
Source: 45 RPM VINYL (stereo reissue) (also released on LP:BLONDE ON BLONDE)
Release Year: 1966
Dylan's third top 10 hit, making it all the way to the #2 spot.

Artist: PINK FLOYD
Song Title: "Astronomy Domine"
Source: CD: PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN (reissue of original LP)
Release Year: 1967
Sid Barrett reached his zenith with the recording of the first Floyd album. This is the opening track from that album.

Artist: COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH
Song Title: "The Masked Marauder"
Source: LP: ELECTRIC MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND BODY (original vinyl)
Release Year: 1967
Perhaps more than any other band, Country Joe and the Fish capture the essence of the San Francisco scene in the late 60s. Their first two releases were floppy inserts included in the "Rag Baby" underground newspaper. In 1967 they were signed to Vanguard Records, a primarily folk-oriented prestige label that also had Joan Baez on its roster. Their first LP, Electric Music For the Mind and Body had such classic cuts as "Section 43" "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine" and the political parody "Superbird" on it, as well as this mostly-instrumental tune. Not for the unenlightened.

Artist: CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND
Song Title: "I Ain't No Miracle Worker"
Source: CD: THE INNTER MYSTIQUE (reissue of original LP)
Release Year: 1967
Finishing up the 1967 set is one of the few tracks on The Inner Mystique to actually feature the band itself (the majority of the album being done by studio musicians). The song was written by the songwriting team of Annette Tucker and Nancy Mantz, who were also responsible for penning the Electric Prunes classic "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)."

Artist: WHO
Song Title: "I Need You"
Source: CD: A QUICK ONE (reissue of British LP)
Release Year: 1966
The Who have said that they were not happy with the My Generation album. So they decided to do an album that they could be proud of. Released in December of 1966, A Quick One boasted a genuine pop-art cover and included original tunes from all of the band members, including "A Quick One While He's Away," their first attempt at what would come to be called rock opera. The LP was not released in the US until the song "Happy Jack" (which was not on the album) had established itself on US top 40 radio. When the album finally did come out in early 67 the album title was changed to Happy Jack, with the running order of the tracks modified to include the hit song.

Artist: WHO
Song Title: "Early Morning Cold Taxi"
Source: CD: THE WHO SELL OUT (reissue of LP with bonus tracks)
Release Year: 1995 (recorded 1967)
This outtake from the Sell Out sessions was not released until the reissue of the album with bonus tracks in the 1990s. The Who were making money on the side recording jingles, and the Coca-Cola commercial heard here is one of them.

Artist: WHO
Song Title: "Cobwebs and Strange"
Source: CD: A QUICK ONE (reissue of British LP)
Release Year: 1966
One of the features of A Quick One was that every band member was given a chance to write at least one song on it. This is one of Keith Moon's.

Artist: WHO
Song Title: "Odorono"
Source: CD: THE WHO SELL OUT (reissue of LP)
Release Year: 1967
The Who Sell Out was released just in time for Christmas 1967. It was a huge success in England, where Radio London was the most popular pirate station on the air at the time. Incidentally, the inclusion of the various jingles on the album reportedly resulted in a flurry of lawsuits against the Who.

Artist: WHO
Song Title: "Batman"
Source: CD: A QUICK ONE (reissue of British LP) (originally released on British EP: READY STEADY WHO)
Release Year: 1966
Ready Steady Go was Britain's answer to American Bandstand. A hugely popular one-shot special edition of the show called Ready Steady Who aired in 1966. The EP (a 45 RPM extended play record with five songs instead of the usual two) had an entirely different set of songs than the TV special. This version of the Batman TV show theme was credited on the EP to Dean Torrance (Jan & Dean had included a version of their Little Old Lady From Pasedena LP), instead of actual composer Neal Hefti. The entire EP was included in the 1990s CD reissue of A Quick One, with the erroneous song credit fixed.

Artist: CREAM
Song Title: "Sitting On Top Of The World"
Source: LP: WHEELS OF FIRE (original vinyl)
Release Year: 1968
Probably the best-known version of this blues classic, which in its earliest form was written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon and recorded by the Mississippi Shieks in 1930. Cream's cover uses the lyrics from the 1957 version of the song recorded by Chester Burnett, better know as Howlin' Wolf.

Artist: TEN YEARS AFTER
Song Title: "Sugar The Road"
Source: CD: CRICKLEWOOD GREEN (reissue of original LP)
Release Year: 1970
TYA's most successful album led off with this tune.

Artist: BEATLES
Song Title: "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?"
Source: CD: THE BEATLES (reissue of original LP)
Release Year: 1968
Another road song! What's this world coming to?

Artist: BEATLES
Song Title: "I Will"
Source: THE BEATLES (reissue of original LP)
Release Year: 1968
The answer to the previous song.

Artist: IRON BUTTERFLY
Song Title: "In the Time of Our Lives"
Source: LP: BALL (original vinyl)
Release Year: 1969
The opening track of the third Butterfly album is also the opening track of this week's second hour.

Artist: GRATEFUL DEAD
Song Title: "Dark Star"
Source: LOVE IS THE SONG WE SING: SAN FRANCISCO NUGGETS 1965-70 (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Release Year: 1968
Studio recording. Single version. Shortest Dark Star ever.

Artist: JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
Song Title: D.C.B.A.-25
Source: LP: SURREALISTIC PILLOW (original vinyl)
Release Year: 1967
Named for the chords used in the song. As for the "25"...it was 1967. In San Francisco. Paul Kantner wrote it. Figure it out.

Artist: VANILLA FUDGE
Song Title: "People Get Ready"
Source: LP: VANILLA FUDGE (original vinyl)
Release Year: 1967
The first Fudge LP was all cover songs, done in the slowed-down Vanilla Fudge style. This Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions tune was one of the better ones.

Artist: TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS
Song Title: "Travelin'"
Source: LP: TRAVELIN' (original vinyl)
Release Year: 1970
I bet you didn't see this one coming. An instrumental from the founders of bubble gum music, trying desperately to remain relevant in an increasingly progressive environment. The situation was undoubtedly made more tense by the fact that by 1970 Tommy James was the only successful artist left on the once-great Roulette label.

Artist: STEPPENWOLF
Song Title: "Magic Carpet Ride"
Source: LP: NUGGETS VOL 9 (ACID ROCK) (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl and on LP: STEPPENWOLF THE SECOND)
Release Year: 1968
I sure have been playing this one a lot lately. I wonder why.

Artist: J. GEILS BAND
Song Title: "Whammer Jammer"
Source: 45 RPM VINYL (original pressing)
Release Year: 1971
First they were a Boston bar band called Snoopy and the Sopwith Camel. Then they became the J. Geils Blues Band. Finally they dropped the "blues" from the name and became famous. This early B side shows why the "blues" part was there in the first place. "Whammer Jammer" showcases "Magic Dick" Salwitz on lead harmonica.

Artist: OTIS REDDING
Song Title: My Lovers' Prayer
Source: 45 RPM VINYL (Atlantic Oldies Series reissue)
Release Year: 1966
Is this song psychedelic? Nope. Is it worth giving a listen to anyway? You betcha!

Artist: IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY
Song Title: "White Bird"
Source: LP: IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY (original vinyl)
Release Year: 1968
One of the many LPs rescued from the WEOS archives, this copy has obviously seen a lot of play over the years.

Artist: BYRDS
Song Title: "Hey Joe"
Source: LP: 5D (original vinyl)
Release Year: 1966
David Crosby has been saying for years that he was the one who first discovered and popularized this tune on the LA club scene, but that resistance from other band members kept the Byrds from recording the song until after versions by the Leaves, Love, Tim Rose and the Music Machine, among others, had already been released.

Artist: NEIL YOUNG
Song Title: "When You Dance I Can Really Love"
Source: CD: AFTER THE GOLD RUSH (reissue of original album)
Release Year: 1970
This track from Neil Young's first solo album after the release of Deja Vu shows the influence of his new bandmates while still retaining the distinctive Young sound. As solid as it gets.

Artist: CHICAGO
Song Title: "Listen"
Source: LP: CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY
Release Year: 1969
By all accounts, one of the tightest road bands of 1968 was a group called the Chicago Transit Authority. Featuring a solid horn section and three quaality lead vocalists, it was no surprise to anyone who had heard them perform that their first LP was an immediate success. Getting two long-playing discs for the price of one didn't hurt either. "Listen" is a typical track from that album, featuring a memorable bass line from Peter Cetera as well as Terry Kath's distinctive guitar sound.

Artist: FIRST EDITION
Song Title: "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)"
Source: CD: EVEN MORE NUGGETS (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Release Year: 1967
The song that Kenny Rogers is still trying to live down.