Just about every weekly radio show does a Christmas special this time of year, and for several years now Stuck In the Psychedelic Era has been no exception. There is a problem, though, and that is the unavoidable fact that for the most part the artists I generally feature on the show never got around to recording any Christmas songs. There are exceptions, of course, and this week you'll hear some of those by Jethro Tull, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, and others. But, unless I wanted to spend over half the show on Beach Boys Christmas songs (and there are nearly enough of those for an entire show), I knew I would have to take an entirely different approach to selecting the songs. After a couple of years of experimenting around with various approaches I finally decided to just pick out the coolest holiday tracks I could find, regardless of genre or year they were recorded, and have been doing it that way ever since. As a result, on this year's show we'll be hearing tunes that span from 1948 through 1983. One unintended consequence of doing it this way is that nearly every track used on the show tonight is from a CD.
So prepare to be Stuck with the Hermit at Yuletide without any scratchy records this year.
Artist: Mannheim Steamroller
Song Title: Hark! The Herald Trumpets Sing
Source: CD: A Fresh Aire Christmas
Release Year: 1988
I was looking for something that was both pompous and cool at the same time to start the show. Mannheim Steamroller seemed to fit the bill. Besides, Chip Davis wrote it to be an introduction, so I figured why not?
Artist: George Thorogood and the Destroyers
Song Title: Rock and Roll Christmas
Source: CD: Billboard Rock and Roll Christmas
Release Year: 1983
George Thorogood has always said that his group was at heart a bar band. As a bar band is just a step away from being a garage band, this seemed like as good a place as any to get into the actual meat of the show.
Artist: Beatles
Song Title: Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
Source: CD single: Free As a Bird
Release Year: 1967/1997
Every year the Beatles would record a special Christmas message to go out to members of their fan club, and mail it out on what was then known as a floppy disc. This was not the same as a computer floppy disc, however. In fact, the medium the Beatles used eventually came to be known as a flexi-disc, just to keep things from getting any more confusing. Regardless of what you called it, the things tended to wear out after just a few plays and I doubt there are many playable copies of these discs left in the universe. Luckily for us, George Martin had the foresight to hang on to everything the Beatles ever recorded, including this tune, which was chopped up and used for the 1967 Christmas Greeting. When the Beatles Anthology was released in 1997, the piece was included on the Free As a Bird CD single, and we got to hear the piece in its uninterrupted entirety for the first time.
Artist: John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Song Title: Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Source: CD: New Gold on CD
Release Year: 1972
Largely overlooked when first released, this song has since acquired classic status.
Artist: Beach Boys
Song Title: Morning Christmas
Source: CD: Beach Boys Ultimate Christmas
Release Year: 1977
Dennis Wilson was not hanging around with the rest of the clan in 1977, but did want to make a contribution to their new Christmas album that year, so he sent in this recording. The album ended up not being released, but the track finally did see the light of day on the Ultimate Christmas collection issued four or five years ago.
Artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Song Title: Silent Night/7 O'Clock News
Source: CD: Complete Works (originally released on LP: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme)
Release Year: 1966
This track is unique for several reasons. The most obvious is that it uses two unrelated recordings to make an ironically chilling point. It is also a unique use of stereo, in that each of those two recordings is in mono, and each one plays through a different speaker, with their rendition of the Franz Gruber classic starting off at full volume and slowly fading away as the spoken newscast continues to get louder, until only the somewhat sobering newscast is heard at the end of the piece. What's also unusual is that this well-known Christmas carol is not featured on a Christmas album at all; instead it appears as the final track on a side of a regular album.
Artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Song Title: A Hazy Shade of Winter
Source: CD: Complete Works (originally released on LP: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme)
Release Year: 1966
I wish I could take credit for putting this and the previous track together. The truth is I don't know who came up with the idea; my best guess is someone from Westwood One radio, as I first heard it done on one of their syndicated programs. Still, it's not a bad idea, and I happened to have a copy of the Westwood One version of the tracks, so there it is.
Artist: Jethro Tull
Song Title: Ring Out Solstice Bells
Source: LP: Songs From the Wood
Release Year: 1976
Until the late 1940s the predominate form of recorded music was the 78 RPM (revolutions per minute) record, which was either 10 or 12 inches in diameter and made of a brittle material called shellac. The 10 inch version was the standard for popular music, with a running time of about 3 to 4 minutes. RCA Victor developed a direct replacement for the 78 that was 7 inches in diameter and ran at 45 RPM. Meanwhile, RCA's top rival, Columbia Records, developed a slower long-playing record that used something called microgroove technology that allowed up to half an hour's worth of recorded material per side. Somewhere along the way somebody decided to try the microgroove approach to the 45 and the Extended Play (EP) record was born. In the US, EPs were somewhat popular in the 1950s, but pretty much died out by the time of the Beatles, except for specialized formats such as children's records and low-budget cover labels that would hire anonymous studio musicians to re-create popular hits. In the UK, on the other hand, the format remained viable up through the mid-70s. Jethro Tull took advantage of the EP format to release a Christmas record in December of 1976. Ring Out Solstice Bells was the featured song on the EP, and would not be released in the US until the following spring, when it was included on the album Songs From the Wood.
Artist: Ed "Cookie" Byrnes
Song Title: Yulesville
Source: CD: Cool Yule
Release Year: 1959
The ABC TV network was a perennial also-ran that was just starting to find a winning formula in the late 50s with shows targeted toward a younger audience. The most popular of these was 77 Sunset Strip, starring Ed "Cookie" Byrnes. He and co-star Connie Stevens, staying in character, cut a hit novelty record called "Cookie, Cookie," which played on Cookie's propensity for combing his hair. Byrnes, again in character, followed it up with this hip retelling of the classic poem Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Artist: Bobby "Boris" Pickett
Song Title: Monster's Holiday
Source: CD: New Gold on CD
Release Year: 1962
Bobby Picket scored big with his Halloween hit Monster Mash in 1962, and quickly followed it up with this sequel set around the Christmas holidays. Legendary producer Gary Paxton was responsible for both recordings making it onto vinyl and on the air.
Artist: Foghat
Song Title: All I Want For Christmas Is You
Source: CD: Billboard Rock and Roll Christmas
Release Year: 1981
Foghat was formed when all the members of Savoy Brown except leader Kim Edmunds decided to form their own band in the early 70s. After a moderately successful run, founding member Dave Peverett was all set to call it quits in 1981, but not until after he wrote and recorded this holiday tune.
Artist: Johnny Preston
Song Title: (I Want a) Rock and Roll Guitar
Source: CD: Cool Yule
Release Year: 1960
Johnny Preston recorded his signature song in 1960, the classic Running Bear, penned by J.P. Richardson, the Big Bopper. The pair teamed up again for this Christmas song later the same year. Interesting enough, by the middle of the decade, a guitar was exactly what many kids were indeed asking for. I should know; I got my first guitar (and amp) as a Christmas present after badgering my parents mercilessly for months. I think between the two they might have run about $100, which made it the most expensive Christmas I ever had.
Artist: Kinks
Song Title: Father Christmas
Source: CD: Billboard Rock and Roll Christmas
Release Year: 1977
There are not many socially-conscious Christmas songs, especially slightly twisted ones like this Kinks classic from 1977. I guess by then getting a guitar was kind of passe anyway.
Artist: Charles Brown
Song Title: Please Come Home For Christmas
Source: CD: Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1955-Present)
Release Year: 1961
By now just about everyone is familiar with the Eagles version of this tune. Not everyone, however, knows the song was written by blues great Charles Brown. Even fewer have actually heard Brown's 1961 original, which is a shame, as it blows the Eagles version clean out of the water.
Artist: James Brown
Song Title: Santa Claus, Santa Claus
Source: CD: Cool Yule
Release Year: 1968
Few people would ever accuse James Brown of being a blues artist, but this recording from 1968 shows what it would have sounded like if he was.
Artist: Clarence Carter
Song Title: Back Door Santa
Source: CD: New Gold on CD
Release Year: 1969
Clarence Carter is an icon of the beach music (for you non-Carolinians, beach music has nothing to do with surf music) crowd. For everyone else, he is a moderately successful soul artist known mostly for his mid-70s hit Slip Away. Regardless of where you might know him from, this song will surprise you with its get down and get funky energy.
Artist: Jimmy McCracklin
Song Title: Christmas Time
Source: CD: New Gold on CD
Release Year: 1961 (?)
Jimmy McCracklin recorded one of the catchiest, yet underplayed, tunes of the 50s when he did The Walk. This song from a few years later actually sounds like beach music. Go figure.
Artist: Chuck Berry
Song Title: Run Rudolph Run
Source: CD: Chuck Berry Chess Box
Release Year: 1958
Chuck Berry established a reputation in the 60s for reworking his old songs from the 50s, giving them new lyrics and sometimes new guitar rifts. Probably the best-known example of this was No Particular Place To Go, which is a reworked version of School Day. His first reworking of a previously-recorded song was 1958's Run Rudoph Run, which was virtually identical to Little Queenie, released earlier the same year. To me it sounds like he actually used the Little Queenie instrumental tracks rather than to re-record the song. This kind of cost-cutting measure would be consistent with his later practice of using pick-up bands rather than incurring the travel expenses of having his own band on the road.
Artist: Jack Scott
Song Title: There's Trouble Brewin'
Source: CD: Cool Yule
Release Year: 1963
Jack Scott is best known for his love ballads, but ramped it up for this 1963 holiday rocker that starts off the second hour of the show in style.
Artist: Cheech and Chong
Song Title: Santa Claus and His Old Lady
Source: CD: Billboard Rock and Roll Christmas
Release Year: 1971
I heard this on the radio the year it was released and managed to find a copy of the 45 only to have it disappear on me a few years later. Luckily, the folks at Rhino somehow knew of my dilemma and included it on their Rock and Roll Christmas CD. Well, I can dream, can't I? Incidentally, the B side of that old 45 was Dave's Not Here from Cheech and Chong's first album.
Artist: Ray Stevens
Song Title: Santa Claus Is Watching You
Source: CD: New Gold on CD (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Release Year: 1962
I've mentioned something called the Grab Bag before. Basically, it was a sealed paper bag (sometimes with a clear plastic front) containing four 45 RPM records, generally "cut-outs" that were no longer in print. The one my family bought for Christmas of 1964 had a Sing Along With Mitch Christmas EP in the front. This song was on one of the other three records, although I seem to remember it being slightly different that the version heard here. One thing that both versions had in common was the presence of Clyde the Camel from Stevens's first hit Ahab the Arab. And speaking of Clyde...
Artist: Drifters
Song Title: White Christmas
Source: CD: Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits (1955-Present)
Release Year: 1955
The Drifters were a kind of early R&B doowop supergroup made up of ex-members of other R&B groups such as Billy Ward's Dominoes. The most distinctive voice of the original Drifters was high tenor Clyde McPhatter, for whom Ray Stevens's famous camel was named. Over the years the lineup changed many times and led to several former members forming competing groups, all using the Drifters name. Over time, members of these offshoots would in turn form their own Drifters, despite having virtually no connection to the original group. This is why it sometimes seems that half the doowop singers in the world claim to be former members of the Drifters.
Artist: Chipmunks
Song Title: The Chipmunk Song
Source: CD: Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits 1955-Present
Release Year: 1958
In 1958 pop-jazz composer/bandleader Ross Bagdasarian decided to play around with a variable-speed tape recorder and came up with the novelty hit Witch Doctor. He followed it up by using multiple tape machines to create a trio of sped up voices that he called the Chipmunks, and released this smash hit in time for the Christmas season. The success of this record led to a Saturday morning cartoon series and a series of albums for the Liberty label. His son, Ross Bagdasarian Jr. has revived the concept in recent years, although not with the same level of success.
Artist: Spike Jones and His City Slickers
Song Title: All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)
Source: CD: Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits 1935-1954
Release Year: 1948
Spike Jones and His City Slickers were a highly talented bunch who made music out of sound effects, toy instruments, and whatever else it occurred to them to use. Their forte was the novelty record, and no one did it better.
On New Year's Eve 1947, with a musician's strike about to go into effect on January 1st, Jones took the band into the recording studio to cut two holiday tunes, All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) and their own skewed take on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It turned out to be a fortuitous move, as the musician's strike lasted the entire year, making this the only new Christmas record released for the 1948 holiday season.
Artist: Beach Boys
Song Title: Little Saint Nick (stereo single version)
Source: CD: Beach Boys Ultimate Christmas
Release Year: 1963
When the Beach Boys first recorded Little Saint Nick they were the hottest surf music band in the country. A year later Beatlemania had set in, and a new version of Little Saint Nick was recorded for the Beach Boys Christmas Album. The new version put a greater emphasis on the vocals, and much of the original instrumentation was deleted from the arrangement. That is the version that usually gets heard on commercial radio every year. In the mid-70s, Carl Wilson, who by then had stepped into the leader's role formerly held by older brother Brian, pulled out the original 1963 tapes and created a new stereo mix of the song heard here. The instruments have greater prominence in this version and include the distinctive sound of sleighbells that were completely exorcised from the 1964 version.
Artist: Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans
Song Title: Here Comes Santa Claus
Source: CD: A Christmas Gift For You
Release Year: 1963
One of the lesser known groups in the Phil Spector stable was Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans, who contributed this version of the Gene Autry classic to Spector's 1963 Christmas album.
Artist: Jethro Tull
Song Title: Christmas Song
Source: CD: This Was (bonus track originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Release Year: 1968
I wanted to play one set made up entirely of songs from the psychedelic era performed by artists that I feature on the show on a fairly regular basis. One of these artists is the band Jethro Tull, led by flautist/acoustic guitarist/vocalist Ian Anderson. This track, originally recorded in 1968, did not appear in the US until 1973's Living In the Past album.
Artist: Canned Heat
Song Title: Christmas Blues
Source: CD: Billboard Rock and Roll Christmas
Release Year: 1968
Although Steve Miller originally hailed from Chicago, it was Canned Head that emerged as the San Francisco Bay area's electric blues band of choice. With Robert "Big Bear" Hite fronting the band on blues harp and vocals, they recorded this Christmas treat in time for the 1968 Yule season.
Artist: Sonics
Song Title: Santa Claus
Source: CD: Cool Yule (originally released on LP:
Release Year: 1966
The Pacific Northwest was home to several bands that can only be described as proto-punk (think Louie Louie). One of the top bands on the scene up there was the Sonics, who recorded raw hard-driving songs with titles like Psycho, the Witch and Strychnine. Santa Claus is very much in the same vein, making it the punkiest Christmas song of the sixties, if not all time.
Artist: Chuck Berry
Song Title: Merry Christmas, Baby
Source: CD: Chuck Berry Chess Box
Release Year: 1958
Chuck Berry did not record too many cover tunes, as he was a prolific songwriter himself. However, for the B side to Run Rudolph Run, he cut this tasty version of Charles Brown's "other" Christmas song.
Artist: Solomon Burke
Song Title: Presents For Christmas
Source: CD: Cool Yule
Release Year: 1966
Solomon Burke was a staple artist for the Atlantic label at a time when Atlantic itself was being overshadowed by the Stax/Volt labels that it distributed. Nonetheless, Burke had several R&B hits throughout the sixties and was highly respected by his fellow artists. Presents For Christmas captures Burke at his peak in 1966.
Artist: Eartha Kitt
Song Title: Santa Baby
Source: CD: Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits 1935-1954
Release Year: 1953
Eartha Kitt has one of the most unique voices in the history of jazz, and put it to good use on the original 1953 version of a tune that has in recent years become associated with Madonna. Nearly 60 years later, Kitt is still performing with nearly as much energy as she had in the 50s.
Artist: Rufus Thomas
Song Title: I'll Be Your Santa Baby
Source: CD: New Gold on CD (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Release Year: unknown
Rufus Thomas had a long and storied career, first with his "dog" hits in the early 60s (Walking the Dog being the most famous) and then later as a member of the Stax/Volt stable of artists. This song, recorded for Stax, was released sometimes in the late 60s around the same time that his daughter Carla was making a name for herself with hits like B-A-B-Y and (with Otis Redding) Tramp.
Artist: Cadillacs
Song Title: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Source: CD: New Gold on CD (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Release Year: 1956
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has been recorded by a lot of different artists over the years, but this version by the Cadillacs stands out for its pure sense of fun. Doo-wop was at its peak of popularity in 1956 and the Cadillacs were among the best of the doo-wop groups.
Artist: Marquees
Song Title: Christmas In the Congo
Source: CD: Cool Yule
Release Year: 1958
You have to hear this one to believe it. 'Nuff said.
Artist: King Curtis
Song Title: The Christmas Song
Source: 45 RPM vinyl
Release Year: 1966
King Curtis was one of the most in-demand saxophone players of the first wave of rock and roll. His best known work was on the song Yakety Yak by the Coasters in 1958. In the sixties he became the music director for the Atlantic Records group, appearing on a variety of recordings by artists such as Solomon Burke and occassionally released material on the Atco label under his own name. Tragically, his life was cut short when he was the victim of a stabbing when he attempted to stop junkies from shooting up on his front steps in New York.
So there it is: the Hermit's own take on Yuletime. I hope you enjoy the show. Next week we take a look back at Stuck in the Psychedelic Era's first year as a syndicated radio show.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
playlist delayed
I just wanted to let you know that the playlist for this week's show (Stuck with a hermit at Yuletide) won't be going up until after the weekend. It's not that it isn't done; rather, I didn't want to spoil the surprise(s). So, enjoy the show and have a Cool Yule!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Show # 1030 playlist
Before I get into the playlist I want to mention that this is the last regular show of the year. Next week it will be your chance to be stuck with a hermit at Yuletide, and the following week I plan a kind of "best of 2010" edition (which is kind of weird when you consider that all the music on the show was recorded about 40 years ago).
Now that I've got that out of the way let's check out a progression through the years 1966-69.
Artist: Kinks
Title: Sunny Afternoon
Source: CD: Face To Face
Year: 1966
My family got its first real stereo just in time for me to catch this song at the peak of its popularity. My school had just gone into split sessions and all my classes were over by one o'clock, which gave me the chance to explore the world of top 40 radio for a couple hours every day without the rest of the family telling me to turn it down (or off).
Artist: Chocolate Watchband
Title: Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)
Source: CD: No Way Out
Year: 1967
The Love-In was a cheapo teensploitation flick from American International that included a clip of the Chocolate Watchband performing this tune. As both the Watchband and AIP's soundtracks were on Tower Records it was a perfect fit.
Artist: Monkees
Title: Porpoise Song
Source: LP: Nuggets Vol. 9-Acid Rock (originally released on the soundtrack album to the movie Head)
Year: 1968
In 1968 the Monkees, trying desperately to shed a teeny-bopper image, enlisted Jack Nicholson to co-write a feature film that was a 180-degree departure from their recently-cancelled TV show. This made sense, since the original fans of the show were by then already outgrowing the group. Unfortunately, by 1968 the Monkees brand was irrevocably tainted by the fact that the Monkees had not been allowed to play their own instruments on their first two albums. The movie Head itself was the type of film that was best suited to being shown in theaters that specialized in "art" films, but that audience was among the most hostile to the Monkees and the movie bombed. It is now considered a cult classic.
Artist: Jefferson Airplane
Title: 3/5 of a Mile In 10 Seconds
Source: LP: Bless It's Pointed Little Head
Year: 1969
Jefferson Airplane's first live album was released in 1969 and featured ramped-up versions of several tunes from their early studio albums. 3/5 of a Mile In 10 Seconds is the first actual song on the album, although there is a barely audible track called Clergy, recorded off the band's PA system, that actually opens the album.
We head back to 1965 for a second progression through the years, this time just a bit more focused on album tracks and B sides.
Artist: Rolling Stones
Title: Hitch Hike
Source: CD: Out of Our Heads
Year: 1965
The Rolling Stones early albums consisted of about a 50/50 mix of cover tunes and Jagger/Richards originals. Marvin Gaye's Hitch Hike was one of the cover songs on the album Out of Our Heads, the same album that featured the #1 hit of 1965, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.
Artist: Standells
Title: Why Did You Hurt Me
Source: 45 RPM single B side
Year: 1966
The Standells were generally content to let their producer, Ed Cobb, find material for them to record. As was often the custom in the mid-60s, however, band members were given the chance to write their own material for the B side, as those tracks were usually considered to be throwaways anyway. Why Did You Hurt Me, by lead vocalist/drummer (and former mousketeer) Dicky Dodd and guitarist Tony Valentino, was issued as the B side of their second single, Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White.
Artist: Music Machine
Title: The Eagle Never Hunts the Fly
Source: LP: Nuggets Vol. 2-Punk (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl and re-issued on LP: Bonniwell Music Machine)
Year: 1967
The Music Machine was by far the most advanced of all the bands playing on Sunset Strip in 1966-67. Not only did they feature tight sets (so that audience members wouldn't get the chance to call out requests between songs), they also had their own visual look that set them apart from other bands. Dressed entirely in black (including dyed hair), and with leader Sean Bonniwell wearing one black glove, the Machine projected an image that would influence such diverse artists as the Ramones and Michael Jackson in later years. Musically, Bonniwell's songwriting showed a sophistication that was on a par with the best L.A. had to offer, demonstrated by a series of fine singles such as The Eagle Never Hunts the Fly. Unfortunately, problems on the business end prevented the Music Machine from achieving the success it deserved and Bonniwell eventually quit the music business altogether in disgust.
Artist: Spirit
Title: Water Woman
Source: CD: Spirit
Year: 1968
The first Spirit album was the most eclectic album the band ever recorded, featuring a healthy dose of jazz stylings (thanks to drummer Ed Cassidy) mixed with progressive rock and odd (but nice) tunes such Water Woman, written by lead vocalist Jay Ferguson.
Our second show segment starts off with a pair of tracks from artists known for combining folk and rock, albeit in entirely different ways.
Artist: Neil Young
Title: There's A World
Source: CD: Harvest
Year: 1970
Neil Young had previously worked with arranger Jack Nitsche while still with Buffalo Springfield, but There's A World is the first solo Young track to use the London Symphony Orchestra to the exclusion of all other instruments.
Artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Title: America
Source: 45 RPM single B side (song originally released on LP: Bookends)
Year: 1968/1972
Four years after the release of Bookends (and two years after the breakup of Simon and Garfunkel), Columbia decided to release the song For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her, from their final album Bridge Over Troubled Water, as a single, to coincide with the release of their Greatest Hits album. For the B side, they went even further back, pulling out the original tapes for the song America. The tracks on the Bookends album were deliberately overlapped to form a continuous audio montage, making this the first standalone version of America to be released.
Artist: Who
Title: Whiskey Man
Source: 45 RPM single B side
Year: 1966
Although the Who had previously issued a pair of singles in the US, the first one to make any kind of waves was Happy Jack, released in late 1966 and hitting its peak the following year. The B side of that record was the song Whiskey Man. Like all the Who songs penned by bassist John Entwhistle, this one has an unusual subject; in this case, psychotic alcohol-induced hallucinations.
Artist: Shadows of Knight
Title: Gloria
Source: CD: Even More Nuggets
Year: 1966
The original Them version of Van Morrison's Gloria found itself banned on the majority of US radio stations due to controversial lyrics. With minimal changes, the suburban Chicago punk-blues band Shadows of Knight turned it into a huge hit and a garage band standard.
Artist: Yardbirds
Title: Still I'm Sad
Source: LP: Great Hits (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1965
The most influential Yardbirds song on US garage bands, as well as their biggest UK hit, was their version of Bo Diddley's I'm A Man, which hit the top 10 on both sides of the ocean in 1965. The B side of that record was Still I'm Sad, notable for its use of Gregorian-style chant throughout the song.
Artist: Country Joe and the Fish
Title: Porpoise Mouth
Source: LP: Electric Music For the Mind and Body
Year: 1967
Starting off a trio of album tracks from 1967 we have an unusual song from Country Joe and the Fish from their first album for Vanguard.
Artist: Traffic
Title: House For Everyone
Source: CD: Mr. Fantasy
Year: 1967
Another odd little song, this time from the pen of Dave Mason, whose early Traffic material helped define British psychedelic music.
Artist: Chambers Brothers
Title: Please Don't Leave Me
Source: CD: The Time Has Come
Year: 1967
Our third 1967 album track is a gospel-flavored tune from George of the Chambers clan. Nice stuff.
Artist: Ultimate Spinach
Title: Gilded Lamp of the Cosmos
Source: LP: Behold and See
Year: 1968
Finishing out the first hour we have this song from Ian Bruce-Douglas, who wrote all the material on the first two Ultimate Spinach albums. Although the group would continue after Bruce-Douglas's departure, they were essentially an entirely different band stylistically, with almost all new personnel as well.
Artist: Savoy Brown
Title: Poor Girl
Source: CD: Looking In
Year: 1970
Our opening track for the second hour is probably Savoy Brown's best known recording. Shortly after Looking In was released, the entire band except for leader Kim Simmonds left Savoy Brown to form a new band: Foghat.
Artist: Bob Dylan
Title: I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Source: CD: Best of the Mono Recordings (originally released on LP: John Wesley Harding)
Year: 1968
Up until 1966, stereo mixes of popular songs were done almost as an afterthought. Not only were almost all radios in use at the time AM only, but the majority of record players were single-speaker machines as well. Additionally, stereo versions of LPs generally were priced 30-40% higher than their single-channel counterparts. Gradually more attention was payed to stereo mixes, but the most popular artists continued to put a lot of effort into their mono mixes through at least 1968, when the record companies began to issue the albums only in stereo, often with the words "also playable mono" on the cover. John Wesley Harding was the last Dylan LP to have seperate mono and stereo mixes, and Columbia has recently re-issued the mono version on CD, along with mono versions of Dylan's previous albums.
Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Title: Ooby-Dooby
Source: LP: Cosmos Factory
Year: 1970
Ooby-Dooby was originally recorded by Roy Orbison for Sun Records in the 1950s and was a minor hit at the time. The Creedence version follows the original fairly faithfully, albeit with better production quality.
Artist: Jethro Tull
Title: Cat's Squirrel
Source: CD: This Was
Year: 1968
Probably the Jethro Tull recording with the least Ian Anderson influence, Cat's Squirrel was recorded at the insistence of record company people, who felt the song was most representative of the band's live sound. The traditional tune was arranged by guitarist Mick Abrahams, who left the band due to creative differences with Anderson shortly thereafter.
Artist: Wishbone Ash
Title: Queen of Torture
Source: 45 RPM single B side
Year: 1970
Stuck in the Psychedelic Era often does progressions through the years. Here we have a regression instead, starting with the year 1970.
One of the first bands to use dual lead guitars was Wishbone Ash. When the band's original guitarist had to leave, auditions were held, but the remaining members couldn't come to a consensus between the two finalists so they kept both of them, or so the story goes.
Artist: Iron Butterfly
Title: In the Time of Our Lives
Source: LP: Ball
Year: 1969
One of the most eagerly-awaited albums of 1969 was Iron Butterfly's followup to In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Although Ball was a strong seller, it overall left the listener feeling vaguely disappointed, and was the last album to feature Eric Brann on lead guitar.
Artist: Rose Garden
Title: Here's Today
Source: CD: Where the Action Is: L.A. Nuggets 1965-68 (originally released as a 45 RPM single B side)
Year: 1968
One of many new groups signed to Atco in the late 60s, the Rose Garden was generally disposed to recording light pop tunes with radio airplay in mind. Here's Today was an attempt to move the group in a slightly different direction.
Artist: Circus Maximus
Title: Lost Sea Shanty
Source: LP: Circus Maximus
Year: 1967
Circus Maximus was formed in Greenwich Village by keyboardist Bob Bruno and guitarist Jerry Jeff Walker. Although Bruno's compositions initially got the most airplay on progressive FM radio, it was Walker who ultimately went on to become a star as a solo artist. This early Walker tune may well be his first recorded work.
Artist: Hollies
Title: I Can't Let Go
Source: CD: Best of the Hollies
Year: 1966
Of all the early Hollies hits, it is this track that most showcases the voice of Graham Nash, singing a high counterpoint that Paul McCartney reportedly mistook for a trumpet part the first time he heard the song.
Artist: Jimi Hendrix
Title: Star-Spangled Banner/Purple Haze/Woodstock Improvisation
Source: CD: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm
Year: 1969
The most famous Woodstock moment was actually witnessed by a relatively small portion of the crowd, as most of the festival goers had left by early Monday morning, when Jimi Hendrix took the stage with a group of musicians he had been jamming with.
Artist: Love
Title: 7&7 Is
Source: CD: Comes In Colours
Year: 1966
If any one song has to be singled out as representative of the underground club scene in late 60s Los Angeles, this track, the most popular song by the undisputed kings of the Sunset Strip, would have to be the one.
Artist: Santana
Title: Everybody's Everything
Source: single
Year: 1971
Just to confuse everyone, Santana's third album was called simply Santana. The problem is, their first album was also called Santana. The guitar solo on Everybody's Everything, by the way, is not by Carlos Santana. Rather it was performed by the then 17-year-old Neal Schon, who, along with keyboardist Greg Rolie would leave the band the following year to form Journey.
And that's it for this week. A final reminder: next week you can get stuck with a hermit at Yuletide, and the week after that we'll try to do something special for the New Year's holiday. Have a cool yule!
Now that I've got that out of the way let's check out a progression through the years 1966-69.
Artist: Kinks
Title: Sunny Afternoon
Source: CD: Face To Face
Year: 1966
My family got its first real stereo just in time for me to catch this song at the peak of its popularity. My school had just gone into split sessions and all my classes were over by one o'clock, which gave me the chance to explore the world of top 40 radio for a couple hours every day without the rest of the family telling me to turn it down (or off).
Artist: Chocolate Watchband
Title: Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)
Source: CD: No Way Out
Year: 1967
The Love-In was a cheapo teensploitation flick from American International that included a clip of the Chocolate Watchband performing this tune. As both the Watchband and AIP's soundtracks were on Tower Records it was a perfect fit.
Artist: Monkees
Title: Porpoise Song
Source: LP: Nuggets Vol. 9-Acid Rock (originally released on the soundtrack album to the movie Head)
Year: 1968
In 1968 the Monkees, trying desperately to shed a teeny-bopper image, enlisted Jack Nicholson to co-write a feature film that was a 180-degree departure from their recently-cancelled TV show. This made sense, since the original fans of the show were by then already outgrowing the group. Unfortunately, by 1968 the Monkees brand was irrevocably tainted by the fact that the Monkees had not been allowed to play their own instruments on their first two albums. The movie Head itself was the type of film that was best suited to being shown in theaters that specialized in "art" films, but that audience was among the most hostile to the Monkees and the movie bombed. It is now considered a cult classic.
Artist: Jefferson Airplane
Title: 3/5 of a Mile In 10 Seconds
Source: LP: Bless It's Pointed Little Head
Year: 1969
Jefferson Airplane's first live album was released in 1969 and featured ramped-up versions of several tunes from their early studio albums. 3/5 of a Mile In 10 Seconds is the first actual song on the album, although there is a barely audible track called Clergy, recorded off the band's PA system, that actually opens the album.
We head back to 1965 for a second progression through the years, this time just a bit more focused on album tracks and B sides.
Artist: Rolling Stones
Title: Hitch Hike
Source: CD: Out of Our Heads
Year: 1965
The Rolling Stones early albums consisted of about a 50/50 mix of cover tunes and Jagger/Richards originals. Marvin Gaye's Hitch Hike was one of the cover songs on the album Out of Our Heads, the same album that featured the #1 hit of 1965, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.
Artist: Standells
Title: Why Did You Hurt Me
Source: 45 RPM single B side
Year: 1966
The Standells were generally content to let their producer, Ed Cobb, find material for them to record. As was often the custom in the mid-60s, however, band members were given the chance to write their own material for the B side, as those tracks were usually considered to be throwaways anyway. Why Did You Hurt Me, by lead vocalist/drummer (and former mousketeer) Dicky Dodd and guitarist Tony Valentino, was issued as the B side of their second single, Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White.
Artist: Music Machine
Title: The Eagle Never Hunts the Fly
Source: LP: Nuggets Vol. 2-Punk (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl and re-issued on LP: Bonniwell Music Machine)
Year: 1967
The Music Machine was by far the most advanced of all the bands playing on Sunset Strip in 1966-67. Not only did they feature tight sets (so that audience members wouldn't get the chance to call out requests between songs), they also had their own visual look that set them apart from other bands. Dressed entirely in black (including dyed hair), and with leader Sean Bonniwell wearing one black glove, the Machine projected an image that would influence such diverse artists as the Ramones and Michael Jackson in later years. Musically, Bonniwell's songwriting showed a sophistication that was on a par with the best L.A. had to offer, demonstrated by a series of fine singles such as The Eagle Never Hunts the Fly. Unfortunately, problems on the business end prevented the Music Machine from achieving the success it deserved and Bonniwell eventually quit the music business altogether in disgust.
Artist: Spirit
Title: Water Woman
Source: CD: Spirit
Year: 1968
The first Spirit album was the most eclectic album the band ever recorded, featuring a healthy dose of jazz stylings (thanks to drummer Ed Cassidy) mixed with progressive rock and odd (but nice) tunes such Water Woman, written by lead vocalist Jay Ferguson.
Our second show segment starts off with a pair of tracks from artists known for combining folk and rock, albeit in entirely different ways.
Artist: Neil Young
Title: There's A World
Source: CD: Harvest
Year: 1970
Neil Young had previously worked with arranger Jack Nitsche while still with Buffalo Springfield, but There's A World is the first solo Young track to use the London Symphony Orchestra to the exclusion of all other instruments.
Artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Title: America
Source: 45 RPM single B side (song originally released on LP: Bookends)
Year: 1968/1972
Four years after the release of Bookends (and two years after the breakup of Simon and Garfunkel), Columbia decided to release the song For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her, from their final album Bridge Over Troubled Water, as a single, to coincide with the release of their Greatest Hits album. For the B side, they went even further back, pulling out the original tapes for the song America. The tracks on the Bookends album were deliberately overlapped to form a continuous audio montage, making this the first standalone version of America to be released.
Artist: Who
Title: Whiskey Man
Source: 45 RPM single B side
Year: 1966
Although the Who had previously issued a pair of singles in the US, the first one to make any kind of waves was Happy Jack, released in late 1966 and hitting its peak the following year. The B side of that record was the song Whiskey Man. Like all the Who songs penned by bassist John Entwhistle, this one has an unusual subject; in this case, psychotic alcohol-induced hallucinations.
Artist: Shadows of Knight
Title: Gloria
Source: CD: Even More Nuggets
Year: 1966
The original Them version of Van Morrison's Gloria found itself banned on the majority of US radio stations due to controversial lyrics. With minimal changes, the suburban Chicago punk-blues band Shadows of Knight turned it into a huge hit and a garage band standard.
Artist: Yardbirds
Title: Still I'm Sad
Source: LP: Great Hits (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1965
The most influential Yardbirds song on US garage bands, as well as their biggest UK hit, was their version of Bo Diddley's I'm A Man, which hit the top 10 on both sides of the ocean in 1965. The B side of that record was Still I'm Sad, notable for its use of Gregorian-style chant throughout the song.
Artist: Country Joe and the Fish
Title: Porpoise Mouth
Source: LP: Electric Music For the Mind and Body
Year: 1967
Starting off a trio of album tracks from 1967 we have an unusual song from Country Joe and the Fish from their first album for Vanguard.
Artist: Traffic
Title: House For Everyone
Source: CD: Mr. Fantasy
Year: 1967
Another odd little song, this time from the pen of Dave Mason, whose early Traffic material helped define British psychedelic music.
Artist: Chambers Brothers
Title: Please Don't Leave Me
Source: CD: The Time Has Come
Year: 1967
Our third 1967 album track is a gospel-flavored tune from George of the Chambers clan. Nice stuff.
Artist: Ultimate Spinach
Title: Gilded Lamp of the Cosmos
Source: LP: Behold and See
Year: 1968
Finishing out the first hour we have this song from Ian Bruce-Douglas, who wrote all the material on the first two Ultimate Spinach albums. Although the group would continue after Bruce-Douglas's departure, they were essentially an entirely different band stylistically, with almost all new personnel as well.
Artist: Savoy Brown
Title: Poor Girl
Source: CD: Looking In
Year: 1970
Our opening track for the second hour is probably Savoy Brown's best known recording. Shortly after Looking In was released, the entire band except for leader Kim Simmonds left Savoy Brown to form a new band: Foghat.
Artist: Bob Dylan
Title: I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
Source: CD: Best of the Mono Recordings (originally released on LP: John Wesley Harding)
Year: 1968
Up until 1966, stereo mixes of popular songs were done almost as an afterthought. Not only were almost all radios in use at the time AM only, but the majority of record players were single-speaker machines as well. Additionally, stereo versions of LPs generally were priced 30-40% higher than their single-channel counterparts. Gradually more attention was payed to stereo mixes, but the most popular artists continued to put a lot of effort into their mono mixes through at least 1968, when the record companies began to issue the albums only in stereo, often with the words "also playable mono" on the cover. John Wesley Harding was the last Dylan LP to have seperate mono and stereo mixes, and Columbia has recently re-issued the mono version on CD, along with mono versions of Dylan's previous albums.
Artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival
Title: Ooby-Dooby
Source: LP: Cosmos Factory
Year: 1970
Ooby-Dooby was originally recorded by Roy Orbison for Sun Records in the 1950s and was a minor hit at the time. The Creedence version follows the original fairly faithfully, albeit with better production quality.
Artist: Jethro Tull
Title: Cat's Squirrel
Source: CD: This Was
Year: 1968
Probably the Jethro Tull recording with the least Ian Anderson influence, Cat's Squirrel was recorded at the insistence of record company people, who felt the song was most representative of the band's live sound. The traditional tune was arranged by guitarist Mick Abrahams, who left the band due to creative differences with Anderson shortly thereafter.
Artist: Wishbone Ash
Title: Queen of Torture
Source: 45 RPM single B side
Year: 1970
Stuck in the Psychedelic Era often does progressions through the years. Here we have a regression instead, starting with the year 1970.
One of the first bands to use dual lead guitars was Wishbone Ash. When the band's original guitarist had to leave, auditions were held, but the remaining members couldn't come to a consensus between the two finalists so they kept both of them, or so the story goes.
Artist: Iron Butterfly
Title: In the Time of Our Lives
Source: LP: Ball
Year: 1969
One of the most eagerly-awaited albums of 1969 was Iron Butterfly's followup to In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Although Ball was a strong seller, it overall left the listener feeling vaguely disappointed, and was the last album to feature Eric Brann on lead guitar.
Artist: Rose Garden
Title: Here's Today
Source: CD: Where the Action Is: L.A. Nuggets 1965-68 (originally released as a 45 RPM single B side)
Year: 1968
One of many new groups signed to Atco in the late 60s, the Rose Garden was generally disposed to recording light pop tunes with radio airplay in mind. Here's Today was an attempt to move the group in a slightly different direction.
Artist: Circus Maximus
Title: Lost Sea Shanty
Source: LP: Circus Maximus
Year: 1967
Circus Maximus was formed in Greenwich Village by keyboardist Bob Bruno and guitarist Jerry Jeff Walker. Although Bruno's compositions initially got the most airplay on progressive FM radio, it was Walker who ultimately went on to become a star as a solo artist. This early Walker tune may well be his first recorded work.
Artist: Hollies
Title: I Can't Let Go
Source: CD: Best of the Hollies
Year: 1966
Of all the early Hollies hits, it is this track that most showcases the voice of Graham Nash, singing a high counterpoint that Paul McCartney reportedly mistook for a trumpet part the first time he heard the song.
Artist: Jimi Hendrix
Title: Star-Spangled Banner/Purple Haze/Woodstock Improvisation
Source: CD: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm
Year: 1969
The most famous Woodstock moment was actually witnessed by a relatively small portion of the crowd, as most of the festival goers had left by early Monday morning, when Jimi Hendrix took the stage with a group of musicians he had been jamming with.
Artist: Love
Title: 7&7 Is
Source: CD: Comes In Colours
Year: 1966
If any one song has to be singled out as representative of the underground club scene in late 60s Los Angeles, this track, the most popular song by the undisputed kings of the Sunset Strip, would have to be the one.
Artist: Santana
Title: Everybody's Everything
Source: single
Year: 1971
Just to confuse everyone, Santana's third album was called simply Santana. The problem is, their first album was also called Santana. The guitar solo on Everybody's Everything, by the way, is not by Carlos Santana. Rather it was performed by the then 17-year-old Neal Schon, who, along with keyboardist Greg Rolie would leave the band the following year to form Journey.
And that's it for this week. A final reminder: next week you can get stuck with a hermit at Yuletide, and the week after that we'll try to do something special for the New Year's holiday. Have a cool yule!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Show # 1029 playlist
After spending the bulk of last week's show in the years 1968-70 I thought it might be a good idea to get centered with a set from 1967, the core year of the psychedelic era.
Artist: Grateful Dead
Title: Beat It On Down the Line
Source: CD: Grateful Dead
Year: 1967
This track from the first Dead album is fairly typical of the band's sound in the early days, having only recently gotten off the (Kesey) bus and established themselves as crowd favorites around the various San Francisco ballrooms and auditoriums.
Artist: Doors
Title: Horse Latitudes
Source: LP: Strange Days
Year: 1967
Although credited to the entire band (as were all the tracks on the Doors early albums), Horse Latitudes is obviously a piece of Jim Morrison poetry set against a audio soundscape background and can be seen as a precursor to the band's most ambitious project, the legendary Celebration of the Lizard.
Artist: Beau Brummels
Title: Two Days 'Til Tomorrow
Source: CD: Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-70 (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1967
For a short time in 1965 San Francisco was seen as America's Liverpool, with bands like We Five and the Beau Brummels sounding more British than some of the British Invasion bands themselves. By 1967 the city had established an altogether different musical reputation. The Brummels, however, continued to record in a more British-influenced style, as this single for Warner Brothers demonstrates.
Artist: Procol Harum
Title: A Whiter Shade of Pale
Source: 45 RPM single
Year: 1967
Often credited as the first progressive rock band, Procol Harum drew heavily from classical music sources, such as the Bach inspired theme used by organist Matthew Fisher as the signature rift for A Whiter Shade of Pale. The song itself hold the distinction of being the most-played song on the British airwaves of the past 70 years.
Artist: Jethro Tull
Title: Beggar's Farm
Source: LP: This Was
Year: 1968
Parallels can be drawn between the early recordings of Jethro Tull and the American band Spirit. Both showed jazz influences that would for the most part disappear from later albums, but that helped both bands stand out from the pack on their respective debut albums.
Artist: Butterfield Blues Band
Title: No Amount Of Loving
Source: CD: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm
Year: 1969
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was one of a handful of groups to play at both Monterey and Woodstock, albeit with a considerably different lineup by 1969. Gone were both Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop, yet new guitarist Buzzy Feiten was more than capable of holding his own in the legendary band. Unfortunately, technical problems prevented the audience from hearing Bloomfield's vocals.
Artist: Animals
Title: Baby Let Me Take You Home (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Source: CD: Best of the Animals
Year: 1964
This debut single by the Animals was not a major hit on either side of the Atlantic, but it did establish the boys from Newcastle as R&B purists. The band would continue this approach through 1966, when the original group disbanded, to be replaced by a more psychedelic "New Animals" (known officially as Eric Burdon and the Animals).
This week's second segment begins with a progression through the years 1966-70, followed by a shorter progression through the show's core years 1966-68.
Artist: Herman's Hermits
Title: Dandy (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Source: CD: Their Greatest Hits
Year: 1966
A few weeks ago I played the British hit version of this tune by the Kinks. This time around it's the version of Candy that was released as a single in the US, but not in the UK, despite Herman's Hermits being a British Invasion band. This was probably because the Kinks were much more commercially viable in their native land than in America, while Herman's Hermits were targeted more toward the US market.
Artist: West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Title: Carte Blanche
Source: LP: Volume 2
Year: 1967
The liner notes on the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's second album for Reprise included a line from band leader Bob Markley stating that the album was done exactly the way the band wanted it to be done, with no interference from the label. This is not difficult to believe when listening to this track.
Artist: Steppenwolf
Title: A Girl I Knew
Source: CD: Steppenwolf
Year: 1968
Some artists tend to branch out into a variety of styles as their career progresses. Others, like Steppenwolf, move in the opposite direction, finding out early what works best then concentrating on continuing in that vein. A Girl I Knew (co-written by bandleader John Kay) is an example of a type of song that was tried early on, but then abandoned in favor of a harder rock sound on subsequent albums.
Artist: Mountain
Title: Theme From An Imaginary Western
Source: CD: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm
Year: 1969
Keyboardist Felix Pappaliardi worked closely with the band Cream in the studio, starting with the album Disraeli Gears, so it was only natural that his new band Mountain would perform (and record) at least one song by Cream's primary songwriting team, Jack Bruce and Pete Brown. If Mississippi Queen was guitarist Leslie West's signature song, then this was Felix's, at least until Nantucket Sleighride came along.
Artist: Spirit
Title: Mr. Skin
Source: CD: Best of Spirit
Year: 1970
This track, originally released on the album The Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus, shows just how far Spirit had moved away from the jazz influences heard on their first LP in the space of only a couple of years.
Artist: Love
Title: You I'll Be Following
Source: CD: Where the Action Is: L.A. Nuggets 1965-68 (originally released on LP: Love)
Year: 1966
When the Byrds decided to tour heavily to support their early hits Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn!, Arthur Lee's band Love was more than happy to fill the void left on the L.A. club scene. The group quickly established itself as the top band on the strip, a title it would hold until the scene itself died out in 1968. From Lee's perspective, the secret to keeping that title was staying close to home, a policy that would prevent them from achieving any kind of major national success. Ironically, Love ultimately had their greatest success in the UK, where they managed to build an ever-growing following despite never having played there.
Artist: Balloon Farm
Title: A Question of Temperature
Source: LP: Nuggets vol. 1-The Hits (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1967
Few, if any, bands managed to successfully cross bubble gum and punk like the Balloon Farm with this 1967 classic, originally released on the Laurie label. Band member Mike Appel went on to greater fame as Bruce Springsteen's first manager.
Artist: Johnny Winter
Title: Rollin' and Tumblin'
Source: LP: Progressive Heavies (originally released on LP: The Progressive Blues Experiment)
Year: 1968
Johnny Winter's first album was originally released in 1968 on the Texas-based Sonobeat label. A ctitical success, it was picked up and reissued on the Imperial label a year later.
Our third segment of the night starts with a nine-minute track from....
Artist: Jefferson Airplane
Title: Streetmasse
Source: LP: After Bathing At Baxter's
Year: 1967
After the success of their second LP, Surrealistic Pillow, the Airplane had the clout to take an entirely different approach for their next album. Instead of a series of short unrelated songs, the band chose to put together a series of five suites, with the songs within each suite overlapping to form a continuous barrage of sound. The result was After Bathing At Baxter's, generally considered to be the most psychedelic of all their albums.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: Fearless
Source: LP: Meddle
Year: 1971
If you were to ask several Americans in the sixties to name a psychedelic band you probably would receive several answers. If you asked several Englishmen during the same era you likely would have gotten the same answer from all of them: Pink Floyd. By 1971 the band was well on the way to establishing the sound that would define them throughout the decade. Fearless, from Meddle, is typical of that sound.
Artist: Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Title: Lucky Man
Source: CD: Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Year: 1970
By 1970 a trend was developing in rock music that continues to this day. That trend was for musicians to leave their original bands after a couple years and form new "supergroups" with other like-minded musicians. One example was Emerson, Lake and Palmer, made up of former members of the Nice, King Crimson and Atomic Rooster. Their biggest hit was Lucky Man, written by bassist and lead vocalist Greg Lake.
Artist: Rolling Stones
Title: Congratulations
Source: CD: Singles Collection-The London Years (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1964
This early Rolling Stones B side was one of the first Jagger-Richards compositions to be released on 45 RPM vinyl. The A side was Time Is On My Side, the first Stones song to hit the US top ten.
Artist: Fat
Title: Journey
Source: LP: Fat
Year: 1970
Urban legend has it that RCA Victor released only 400 copies of this Boston band's only LP. Somehow, we managed to get hold of a copy.
Tonight's final segment consists of a set from 1966 and a set from 1968. Along with 1967 (which we started the show with a set from) these years represent the heart of the psychedelic era.
Artist: Paul Revere and the Raiders
Title: (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
Source: LP: Midnight Ride
Year: 1966
Predating the Monkees version by about six months, this track was almost chosen for release as a single. If it had we probably would be talking about the big four from the Raiders instead of the big three (Just Like Me, Hungry and Kicks) hits released during the peak of their popularity.
Artist: Music Machine
Title: Talk Talk
Source: CD: More Nuggets (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl and on LP: Turn On The Music Machine)
Year: 1966
The Music Machine was one of the most sophisticated bands to appear on the L.A. club scene in 1966, yet their only major hit, Talk Talk, was deceptively simple and straightforward punk-rock, and still holds up as two of the most intense minutes of rock music ever recorded.
Artist: Seeds
Title: Rollin' Machine
Source: LP: A Web of Sound
Year: 1966
Sky Saxon had one of the most distinctive voices ever recorded, and wrote nearly all the Seeds' material to boot. This track from the band's second album show's his sly sense of humor.
Artist: Monks
Title: Complication
Source: CD: Nuggets-Original Artyfacts from the Psychedelic Era
Year: 1966
In 1964 a group of American GIs stationed in Germany decided to get together and form a rock band. After their respective tours of duty ended they decided to stay in the country and in 1966 recorded this single for Polydor. Knowing that a large segment of their audience had a rudimentary grasp of English at best, they deliberately crafted a tune that would be easy to comprehend with clear, almost chanted lyrics. To take the chanting concept a step further they all had square patches shaved off the top of their heads and dressed in brown robes.
Artist: Who
Title: Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde
Source: CD: Magic Bus: The Who On Tour
Year: 1968
The Who were blessed with not one, but two top-notch songwriters: Pete Townshend and John Entwhistle. Whereas Townsend's songs ranged from tight pop songs to more serious works such as Tommy, Entwistle's tunes had a slightly twisted outlook, dealing with such topics as crawly critters (Boris the Spider), imaginary friends (Whiskey Man) and even outright perversion (Fiddle About). Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde was originally released in the US as the B side to Call Me Lightning. Both songs were included on the Magic Bus album.
Artist: Big Brother and the Holding Company
Title: I Need a Man To Love
Source: Cheap Thrills
Year: 1968
Big Brother and the Holding Company's most successful album, Cheap Thrills, was a mixture of live and studio tracks. I Need A Man To Love, written by band members Janis Joplin and Sam Houston Andrew III, was recorded at the Fillmore West.
Artist: Amboy Dukes
Title: Journey To the Center of the Mind
Source: Nuggets-Classics From the Psychedelic 60s
Year: 1968
We finish out the night with one of the signature songs of the psychedelic era from Ted Nugent's band the Amboy Dukes. After over forty years the song holds up amazingly well.
Artist: Grateful Dead
Title: Beat It On Down the Line
Source: CD: Grateful Dead
Year: 1967
This track from the first Dead album is fairly typical of the band's sound in the early days, having only recently gotten off the (Kesey) bus and established themselves as crowd favorites around the various San Francisco ballrooms and auditoriums.
Artist: Doors
Title: Horse Latitudes
Source: LP: Strange Days
Year: 1967
Although credited to the entire band (as were all the tracks on the Doors early albums), Horse Latitudes is obviously a piece of Jim Morrison poetry set against a audio soundscape background and can be seen as a precursor to the band's most ambitious project, the legendary Celebration of the Lizard.
Artist: Beau Brummels
Title: Two Days 'Til Tomorrow
Source: CD: Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-70 (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1967
For a short time in 1965 San Francisco was seen as America's Liverpool, with bands like We Five and the Beau Brummels sounding more British than some of the British Invasion bands themselves. By 1967 the city had established an altogether different musical reputation. The Brummels, however, continued to record in a more British-influenced style, as this single for Warner Brothers demonstrates.
Artist: Procol Harum
Title: A Whiter Shade of Pale
Source: 45 RPM single
Year: 1967
Often credited as the first progressive rock band, Procol Harum drew heavily from classical music sources, such as the Bach inspired theme used by organist Matthew Fisher as the signature rift for A Whiter Shade of Pale. The song itself hold the distinction of being the most-played song on the British airwaves of the past 70 years.
Artist: Jethro Tull
Title: Beggar's Farm
Source: LP: This Was
Year: 1968
Parallels can be drawn between the early recordings of Jethro Tull and the American band Spirit. Both showed jazz influences that would for the most part disappear from later albums, but that helped both bands stand out from the pack on their respective debut albums.
Artist: Butterfield Blues Band
Title: No Amount Of Loving
Source: CD: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm
Year: 1969
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was one of a handful of groups to play at both Monterey and Woodstock, albeit with a considerably different lineup by 1969. Gone were both Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop, yet new guitarist Buzzy Feiten was more than capable of holding his own in the legendary band. Unfortunately, technical problems prevented the audience from hearing Bloomfield's vocals.
Artist: Animals
Title: Baby Let Me Take You Home (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Source: CD: Best of the Animals
Year: 1964
This debut single by the Animals was not a major hit on either side of the Atlantic, but it did establish the boys from Newcastle as R&B purists. The band would continue this approach through 1966, when the original group disbanded, to be replaced by a more psychedelic "New Animals" (known officially as Eric Burdon and the Animals).
This week's second segment begins with a progression through the years 1966-70, followed by a shorter progression through the show's core years 1966-68.
Artist: Herman's Hermits
Title: Dandy (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Source: CD: Their Greatest Hits
Year: 1966
A few weeks ago I played the British hit version of this tune by the Kinks. This time around it's the version of Candy that was released as a single in the US, but not in the UK, despite Herman's Hermits being a British Invasion band. This was probably because the Kinks were much more commercially viable in their native land than in America, while Herman's Hermits were targeted more toward the US market.
Artist: West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Title: Carte Blanche
Source: LP: Volume 2
Year: 1967
The liner notes on the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's second album for Reprise included a line from band leader Bob Markley stating that the album was done exactly the way the band wanted it to be done, with no interference from the label. This is not difficult to believe when listening to this track.
Artist: Steppenwolf
Title: A Girl I Knew
Source: CD: Steppenwolf
Year: 1968
Some artists tend to branch out into a variety of styles as their career progresses. Others, like Steppenwolf, move in the opposite direction, finding out early what works best then concentrating on continuing in that vein. A Girl I Knew (co-written by bandleader John Kay) is an example of a type of song that was tried early on, but then abandoned in favor of a harder rock sound on subsequent albums.
Artist: Mountain
Title: Theme From An Imaginary Western
Source: CD: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm
Year: 1969
Keyboardist Felix Pappaliardi worked closely with the band Cream in the studio, starting with the album Disraeli Gears, so it was only natural that his new band Mountain would perform (and record) at least one song by Cream's primary songwriting team, Jack Bruce and Pete Brown. If Mississippi Queen was guitarist Leslie West's signature song, then this was Felix's, at least until Nantucket Sleighride came along.
Artist: Spirit
Title: Mr. Skin
Source: CD: Best of Spirit
Year: 1970
This track, originally released on the album The Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus, shows just how far Spirit had moved away from the jazz influences heard on their first LP in the space of only a couple of years.
Artist: Love
Title: You I'll Be Following
Source: CD: Where the Action Is: L.A. Nuggets 1965-68 (originally released on LP: Love)
Year: 1966
When the Byrds decided to tour heavily to support their early hits Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn!, Arthur Lee's band Love was more than happy to fill the void left on the L.A. club scene. The group quickly established itself as the top band on the strip, a title it would hold until the scene itself died out in 1968. From Lee's perspective, the secret to keeping that title was staying close to home, a policy that would prevent them from achieving any kind of major national success. Ironically, Love ultimately had their greatest success in the UK, where they managed to build an ever-growing following despite never having played there.
Artist: Balloon Farm
Title: A Question of Temperature
Source: LP: Nuggets vol. 1-The Hits (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1967
Few, if any, bands managed to successfully cross bubble gum and punk like the Balloon Farm with this 1967 classic, originally released on the Laurie label. Band member Mike Appel went on to greater fame as Bruce Springsteen's first manager.
Artist: Johnny Winter
Title: Rollin' and Tumblin'
Source: LP: Progressive Heavies (originally released on LP: The Progressive Blues Experiment)
Year: 1968
Johnny Winter's first album was originally released in 1968 on the Texas-based Sonobeat label. A ctitical success, it was picked up and reissued on the Imperial label a year later.
Our third segment of the night starts with a nine-minute track from....
Artist: Jefferson Airplane
Title: Streetmasse
Source: LP: After Bathing At Baxter's
Year: 1967
After the success of their second LP, Surrealistic Pillow, the Airplane had the clout to take an entirely different approach for their next album. Instead of a series of short unrelated songs, the band chose to put together a series of five suites, with the songs within each suite overlapping to form a continuous barrage of sound. The result was After Bathing At Baxter's, generally considered to be the most psychedelic of all their albums.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: Fearless
Source: LP: Meddle
Year: 1971
If you were to ask several Americans in the sixties to name a psychedelic band you probably would receive several answers. If you asked several Englishmen during the same era you likely would have gotten the same answer from all of them: Pink Floyd. By 1971 the band was well on the way to establishing the sound that would define them throughout the decade. Fearless, from Meddle, is typical of that sound.
Artist: Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Title: Lucky Man
Source: CD: Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Year: 1970
By 1970 a trend was developing in rock music that continues to this day. That trend was for musicians to leave their original bands after a couple years and form new "supergroups" with other like-minded musicians. One example was Emerson, Lake and Palmer, made up of former members of the Nice, King Crimson and Atomic Rooster. Their biggest hit was Lucky Man, written by bassist and lead vocalist Greg Lake.
Artist: Rolling Stones
Title: Congratulations
Source: CD: Singles Collection-The London Years (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1964
This early Rolling Stones B side was one of the first Jagger-Richards compositions to be released on 45 RPM vinyl. The A side was Time Is On My Side, the first Stones song to hit the US top ten.
Artist: Fat
Title: Journey
Source: LP: Fat
Year: 1970
Urban legend has it that RCA Victor released only 400 copies of this Boston band's only LP. Somehow, we managed to get hold of a copy.
Tonight's final segment consists of a set from 1966 and a set from 1968. Along with 1967 (which we started the show with a set from) these years represent the heart of the psychedelic era.
Artist: Paul Revere and the Raiders
Title: (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone
Source: LP: Midnight Ride
Year: 1966
Predating the Monkees version by about six months, this track was almost chosen for release as a single. If it had we probably would be talking about the big four from the Raiders instead of the big three (Just Like Me, Hungry and Kicks) hits released during the peak of their popularity.
Artist: Music Machine
Title: Talk Talk
Source: CD: More Nuggets (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl and on LP: Turn On The Music Machine)
Year: 1966
The Music Machine was one of the most sophisticated bands to appear on the L.A. club scene in 1966, yet their only major hit, Talk Talk, was deceptively simple and straightforward punk-rock, and still holds up as two of the most intense minutes of rock music ever recorded.
Artist: Seeds
Title: Rollin' Machine
Source: LP: A Web of Sound
Year: 1966
Sky Saxon had one of the most distinctive voices ever recorded, and wrote nearly all the Seeds' material to boot. This track from the band's second album show's his sly sense of humor.
Artist: Monks
Title: Complication
Source: CD: Nuggets-Original Artyfacts from the Psychedelic Era
Year: 1966
In 1964 a group of American GIs stationed in Germany decided to get together and form a rock band. After their respective tours of duty ended they decided to stay in the country and in 1966 recorded this single for Polydor. Knowing that a large segment of their audience had a rudimentary grasp of English at best, they deliberately crafted a tune that would be easy to comprehend with clear, almost chanted lyrics. To take the chanting concept a step further they all had square patches shaved off the top of their heads and dressed in brown robes.
Artist: Who
Title: Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde
Source: CD: Magic Bus: The Who On Tour
Year: 1968
The Who were blessed with not one, but two top-notch songwriters: Pete Townshend and John Entwhistle. Whereas Townsend's songs ranged from tight pop songs to more serious works such as Tommy, Entwistle's tunes had a slightly twisted outlook, dealing with such topics as crawly critters (Boris the Spider), imaginary friends (Whiskey Man) and even outright perversion (Fiddle About). Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde was originally released in the US as the B side to Call Me Lightning. Both songs were included on the Magic Bus album.
Artist: Big Brother and the Holding Company
Title: I Need a Man To Love
Source: Cheap Thrills
Year: 1968
Big Brother and the Holding Company's most successful album, Cheap Thrills, was a mixture of live and studio tracks. I Need A Man To Love, written by band members Janis Joplin and Sam Houston Andrew III, was recorded at the Fillmore West.
Artist: Amboy Dukes
Title: Journey To the Center of the Mind
Source: Nuggets-Classics From the Psychedelic 60s
Year: 1968
We finish out the night with one of the signature songs of the psychedelic era from Ted Nugent's band the Amboy Dukes. After over forty years the song holds up amazingly well.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Show # 1028 Playlist
The psychedelic era can be divided into two parts: before and after the summer of love. From 1964 through 1966 the British Invasion was the dominant force in popular music. Motown came into its own during this period, as did the Memphis soul sound and the L.A. underground club scene. From all over the country new bands were popping up, generally staying together long enough to cut one or two hit records before fading off into obscurity. After 1967, the music got more serious, reflecting the counter-culture it had come to represent. Most of the music on this week's show comes from this latter part of the psychedelic era, with the exception of the final segment, which features a progression through the years 1966 through 1969 and closes with a set of tunes from 1967.
Artist: Leaves
Title: He Was A Friend Of Mine
Source: CD: Hey Joe
Year: 1966
Before getting into the late psychedelic era we start with a quick visit to the L.A. club scene, where we find the Leaves doing their version of a traditional folk song that by 1966 had become a folk-rock standard. Although best known for their rave-up version of Hey Joe, the Leaves were at heart a folk-rock band, and this track, more than anything else they recorded, shows them in their element.
Artist: Buffalo Springfield
Title: Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing
Source: CD: Retrospective (originally released on LP: Buffalo Springfield)
Year: 1966
One of the most influential folk-rock bands to come out of the L.A. scene was the Buffalo Springfield. The Springfield had several quality songwriters, including Neil Young, whose voice was deemed "too weird" by certain record company people. Thus we have Richie Furay singing a Young tune on the first album.
Artist: Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys
Title: Good Old Rock and Roll
Source: CD: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-Vol. 1 (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1969
By 1969, folk-rock had morphed into what would come to be called country-rock. One of the early country-rock bands that is usually overlooked is Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys. This is probably because their only hit, the 50s tribute song Good Old Rock and Roll, was not at all typical of the band's sound.
Artist: Insect Trust
Title: Ducks
Source: LP: Hoboken Saturday Night
Year: 1970
It has often been said that critics are just wannabe artists. The Insect Trust, however, featured New York rock critic Bob Palmer on saxophone, as well as future record company executive Nancy Jeffries on vocals. Ducks is a mostly instrumental track from the band's second LP.
Artist: Otis Redding
Title: The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)
Source: CD: Very Best of Otis Redding
Year: 1968
One of the great tragedies in the history of American music was the plane crash that took the lives of Otis Redding and most of the Bar-Kays in early 1968. In the months following the crash, several "new" Otis Redding singles were released, including this one, co-written by guitarist Steve Cropper.
Artist: B. B. King
Title: The Thrill Is Gone
Source: 45 RPM single
Year: 1970
Back when there was still room for blues artists on the rhythm and blues charts, one of the names regularly seen was B.B. King, who had gotten his start as a DJ in the early 50s. It wasn't until 1970, though, that he finally found mainstream success with The Thrill Is Gone. Now in his mid-80s, King is considered a living legend and a national treasure.
Artist: Crosby, Stills and Nash
Title: You Don't Have To Cry
Source: CD: Crosby, Stills and Nash
Year: 1969
After the breakup of Buffalo Springfield in 1968, Stephen Stills spent some time in the studio cutting demo tapes as well as pitching in to help his friend Al Kooper complete the Super Session album when guitarist Mike Bloomfield became incapacitated by his heroin addiction. He then started hanging out at David Crosby's place in Laurel Canyon. Joined by Graham Nash, who had recently left the Hollies, they recorded the first Crosby, Stills and Nash album. Several of the tunes Stills had penned since the Springfield breakup were included on the album, including this one addressing his own breakup with singer Judy Collins.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
Source: CD: Works (originally released on LP: A Saucerful of Secrets)
Year: 1968
With Sid Barrett's mental health quickly deteriorating, the remaining members of Pink Floyd recruited guitarist David Gilmour to take up the slack. One of the first efforts from the new lineup was this tune, written by keyboardist Roger Waters and sung by Gilmour.
Artist: Steve Miller Band
Title: Brave New World
Source: LP: Homer soundtrack (originally released on LP: Brave New World)
Year: 1969
A couple weeks ago we heard a track from the Steve Miller album Number 5. This time around we have the title track from number four.
Artist: Country Joe and the Fish
Title: Summer Dresses
Source: CD: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm
Year: 1969
Although not politically correct by today's standards, Summer Dresses is typical of the "rock and soul" direction Joe McDonald's music had taken by 1969. As the rest of the popular music world was moving in a different direction at the time, most of the Fish material from Woodstock remained unreleased until Rhino's 40th anniversary set in 2009.
Artist: Public Nuisance
Title: America
Source: CD: Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-70
Year: 1968
On the subject of unreleased material we have Public Nuisance, a band that was about ten years ahead of its time. Looking and sounding a lot like the Ramones would in the late 70s, Public Nuisance found itself the victim of unusual circumstances that led to the cancellation of their only LP in 1968. Producer Terry Melcher, who had risen to fame as producer of Paul Revere and the Raiders, had made the mistake of rejecting tapes sent to him by a wannabe rock star named Charles Manson. When Manson achieved the fame and notoriety that had eluded him as a musician (by killing a bunch of people), Melcher felt it prudent to go into hiding, shelving the Public Nuisance project in the process.
Artist: Jan and Dean
Title: Ride the Wild Surf
Source: 45 RPM single (reissue)
Year: 1964
Just to shake things up a bit we have this title track from the film Ride the Wild Surf, co-written by Brian Wilson. This and Dead Man's Curve, heard on the show a couple weeks ago, should take care of the Jan and Dean quota for 2011.
Artist: Lyme and Cybelle
Title: I Will Follow You
Source: LP: Nuggets-Original Artyfacts from the Psychedelic Era (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1966
Before coming to the realization that he could become famous using his own name, Warren Zevon (along with Violet Santangelo) recorded this track as Lyme and Cybelle. They also wrote the song using their real names, presumably because nobody wants to see their potential royalties diverted to a fictitious stage name.
Artist: Them
Title: Waltz of the Flies
Source: LP: Time Out! Time In! For Them
Year: 1968
Once you get past the facts that 1) this a band best known as the starting place of a singer (Van Morrison) who was no longer with the group by the time this album was recorded, and 2) this album came out on Tower Records, the audio equilivant of AIP movie studios, you can appreciate the fact that Time Out! Time In! For Them is actually a pretty decent album.
Artist: Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks
Title: How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away
Source: CD: Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-70 (originally released on LP: Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks)
Year: 1969
As one of the founders of the legendary San Francisco band the Charlatans, Dan Hicks has a special place in rock history. One song recorded (but not released) by the Charlatans was this tune, which became sort of a signature tune for Hick's new band, the Hot Licks.
Artist: Pentangle
Title: Jack Orion
Source: LP: Cruel Sister
Year: 1970
The showpiece of the 1970 Pentangle album Cruel Sister was this 18 1/2 minute version of the old English folk song. Done in a theme and variations type of format favored by classical composers, this song was first recorded by Pentangle member Bert Jansch on a solo LP.
Artist: Blues Project
Title: Goin' Down Louisiana
Source: LP: promo sampler
Year: 1966
The first Blues Project LP, Live at the Cafe Au-Go-Go, was a collection of mostly cover tunes recorded over a four-day period in November of 1965 and released in early 1966. Although even at that point the Project was becoming known for its extended jams, the performances were deliberately kept short to placate nervous record company executives. Guitarist Danny Kalb sings lead on this Muddy Waters tune.
Artist: West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Title: Shifting Sands (single mix)
Source: CD: A Child's Guide To Good and Evil (bonus track originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1967
Despite releasing six albums over a five-year period, the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band never had a hit record. One attempt was this tune from 1967.
Artist: Grass Roots
Title: Feelings
Source: LP: Nuggets Vol. 9-Acid Rock (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1968
The Grass Roots, on the other hand, had several hit records. Oddly enough, Feelings was one of the few that failed to chart, despite being one of their better songs.
Artist: Beatles
Title: Abbey Road Medley #2
Source: CD: Abbey Road
Year: 1969
The Beatles had been experimenting with songs leading into other songs since the Sgt. Pepper's album. With Abbey Road they took it a step further, with side two of the album containing two such medleys. The second one consists of Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End, with Her Majesty tossed in as a kind of "hidden" track at the end of the album.
Artist: Donovan
Title: Mellow Yellow
Source: LP: Mellow Yellow
Year: 1967
Our 1967 set starts with a song originally released as a single in 1966, but only in the US. Due to a contract dispute with Pye records, none of Donovan's 1966 recordings were released in his native country until 1967, when the Mellow Yellow album came out in both the US and the UK.
Artist: Standells
Title: Try It
Source: LP: Nuggets Vol. 2-Punk (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl and on LP: Try It)
Year: 1967
Probably the Standells track with the most commercial potential, this song was derailed when programmers got it into their heads that it was a call for teenage girls to surrender their virginity.
Artist: Chocolate Watchband
Title: Sweet Young Thing
Source: CD: Nuggets-Original Artyfacts from the Psychedelic Era (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1967
Along the same lines we have this single from early 67, written and produced by Ed Cobb, who also produced the Standells (and wrote Dirty Water).
Artist: Moby Grape
Title: Mr. Blues
Source: LP: Moby Grape
Year: 1967
Bassist Bob Mosley wrote and sang on this tune, one of ten songs released on 45 RPM vinyl from the first Moby Grape album. It was a marketing disaster that forever tainted a talented band.
Artist: Byrds
Title: Renaissance Fair
Source: CD: Younger Than Yesterday
Year: 1967
Younger Than Yesterday was David Crosby's last official album with the Byrds (he was fired midway through the recording of The Notorious Byrd Brothers) and the last one containing any collaborations between Crosby and Jim (now Roger) McGuinn. Renaissance Fair is one of those collaborations.
Artist: Leaves
Title: He Was A Friend Of Mine
Source: CD: Hey Joe
Year: 1966
Before getting into the late psychedelic era we start with a quick visit to the L.A. club scene, where we find the Leaves doing their version of a traditional folk song that by 1966 had become a folk-rock standard. Although best known for their rave-up version of Hey Joe, the Leaves were at heart a folk-rock band, and this track, more than anything else they recorded, shows them in their element.
Artist: Buffalo Springfield
Title: Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing
Source: CD: Retrospective (originally released on LP: Buffalo Springfield)
Year: 1966
One of the most influential folk-rock bands to come out of the L.A. scene was the Buffalo Springfield. The Springfield had several quality songwriters, including Neil Young, whose voice was deemed "too weird" by certain record company people. Thus we have Richie Furay singing a Young tune on the first album.
Artist: Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys
Title: Good Old Rock and Roll
Source: CD: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-Vol. 1 (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1969
By 1969, folk-rock had morphed into what would come to be called country-rock. One of the early country-rock bands that is usually overlooked is Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys. This is probably because their only hit, the 50s tribute song Good Old Rock and Roll, was not at all typical of the band's sound.
Artist: Insect Trust
Title: Ducks
Source: LP: Hoboken Saturday Night
Year: 1970
It has often been said that critics are just wannabe artists. The Insect Trust, however, featured New York rock critic Bob Palmer on saxophone, as well as future record company executive Nancy Jeffries on vocals. Ducks is a mostly instrumental track from the band's second LP.
Artist: Otis Redding
Title: The Happy Song (Dum-Dum)
Source: CD: Very Best of Otis Redding
Year: 1968
One of the great tragedies in the history of American music was the plane crash that took the lives of Otis Redding and most of the Bar-Kays in early 1968. In the months following the crash, several "new" Otis Redding singles were released, including this one, co-written by guitarist Steve Cropper.
Artist: B. B. King
Title: The Thrill Is Gone
Source: 45 RPM single
Year: 1970
Back when there was still room for blues artists on the rhythm and blues charts, one of the names regularly seen was B.B. King, who had gotten his start as a DJ in the early 50s. It wasn't until 1970, though, that he finally found mainstream success with The Thrill Is Gone. Now in his mid-80s, King is considered a living legend and a national treasure.
Artist: Crosby, Stills and Nash
Title: You Don't Have To Cry
Source: CD: Crosby, Stills and Nash
Year: 1969
After the breakup of Buffalo Springfield in 1968, Stephen Stills spent some time in the studio cutting demo tapes as well as pitching in to help his friend Al Kooper complete the Super Session album when guitarist Mike Bloomfield became incapacitated by his heroin addiction. He then started hanging out at David Crosby's place in Laurel Canyon. Joined by Graham Nash, who had recently left the Hollies, they recorded the first Crosby, Stills and Nash album. Several of the tunes Stills had penned since the Springfield breakup were included on the album, including this one addressing his own breakup with singer Judy Collins.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
Source: CD: Works (originally released on LP: A Saucerful of Secrets)
Year: 1968
With Sid Barrett's mental health quickly deteriorating, the remaining members of Pink Floyd recruited guitarist David Gilmour to take up the slack. One of the first efforts from the new lineup was this tune, written by keyboardist Roger Waters and sung by Gilmour.
Artist: Steve Miller Band
Title: Brave New World
Source: LP: Homer soundtrack (originally released on LP: Brave New World)
Year: 1969
A couple weeks ago we heard a track from the Steve Miller album Number 5. This time around we have the title track from number four.
Artist: Country Joe and the Fish
Title: Summer Dresses
Source: CD: Woodstock: 40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm
Year: 1969
Although not politically correct by today's standards, Summer Dresses is typical of the "rock and soul" direction Joe McDonald's music had taken by 1969. As the rest of the popular music world was moving in a different direction at the time, most of the Fish material from Woodstock remained unreleased until Rhino's 40th anniversary set in 2009.
Artist: Public Nuisance
Title: America
Source: CD: Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-70
Year: 1968
On the subject of unreleased material we have Public Nuisance, a band that was about ten years ahead of its time. Looking and sounding a lot like the Ramones would in the late 70s, Public Nuisance found itself the victim of unusual circumstances that led to the cancellation of their only LP in 1968. Producer Terry Melcher, who had risen to fame as producer of Paul Revere and the Raiders, had made the mistake of rejecting tapes sent to him by a wannabe rock star named Charles Manson. When Manson achieved the fame and notoriety that had eluded him as a musician (by killing a bunch of people), Melcher felt it prudent to go into hiding, shelving the Public Nuisance project in the process.
Artist: Jan and Dean
Title: Ride the Wild Surf
Source: 45 RPM single (reissue)
Year: 1964
Just to shake things up a bit we have this title track from the film Ride the Wild Surf, co-written by Brian Wilson. This and Dead Man's Curve, heard on the show a couple weeks ago, should take care of the Jan and Dean quota for 2011.
Artist: Lyme and Cybelle
Title: I Will Follow You
Source: LP: Nuggets-Original Artyfacts from the Psychedelic Era (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1966
Before coming to the realization that he could become famous using his own name, Warren Zevon (along with Violet Santangelo) recorded this track as Lyme and Cybelle. They also wrote the song using their real names, presumably because nobody wants to see their potential royalties diverted to a fictitious stage name.
Artist: Them
Title: Waltz of the Flies
Source: LP: Time Out! Time In! For Them
Year: 1968
Once you get past the facts that 1) this a band best known as the starting place of a singer (Van Morrison) who was no longer with the group by the time this album was recorded, and 2) this album came out on Tower Records, the audio equilivant of AIP movie studios, you can appreciate the fact that Time Out! Time In! For Them is actually a pretty decent album.
Artist: Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks
Title: How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away
Source: CD: Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-70 (originally released on LP: Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks)
Year: 1969
As one of the founders of the legendary San Francisco band the Charlatans, Dan Hicks has a special place in rock history. One song recorded (but not released) by the Charlatans was this tune, which became sort of a signature tune for Hick's new band, the Hot Licks.
Artist: Pentangle
Title: Jack Orion
Source: LP: Cruel Sister
Year: 1970
The showpiece of the 1970 Pentangle album Cruel Sister was this 18 1/2 minute version of the old English folk song. Done in a theme and variations type of format favored by classical composers, this song was first recorded by Pentangle member Bert Jansch on a solo LP.
Artist: Blues Project
Title: Goin' Down Louisiana
Source: LP: promo sampler
Year: 1966
The first Blues Project LP, Live at the Cafe Au-Go-Go, was a collection of mostly cover tunes recorded over a four-day period in November of 1965 and released in early 1966. Although even at that point the Project was becoming known for its extended jams, the performances were deliberately kept short to placate nervous record company executives. Guitarist Danny Kalb sings lead on this Muddy Waters tune.
Artist: West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Title: Shifting Sands (single mix)
Source: CD: A Child's Guide To Good and Evil (bonus track originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1967
Despite releasing six albums over a five-year period, the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band never had a hit record. One attempt was this tune from 1967.
Artist: Grass Roots
Title: Feelings
Source: LP: Nuggets Vol. 9-Acid Rock (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1968
The Grass Roots, on the other hand, had several hit records. Oddly enough, Feelings was one of the few that failed to chart, despite being one of their better songs.
Artist: Beatles
Title: Abbey Road Medley #2
Source: CD: Abbey Road
Year: 1969
The Beatles had been experimenting with songs leading into other songs since the Sgt. Pepper's album. With Abbey Road they took it a step further, with side two of the album containing two such medleys. The second one consists of Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End, with Her Majesty tossed in as a kind of "hidden" track at the end of the album.
Artist: Donovan
Title: Mellow Yellow
Source: LP: Mellow Yellow
Year: 1967
Our 1967 set starts with a song originally released as a single in 1966, but only in the US. Due to a contract dispute with Pye records, none of Donovan's 1966 recordings were released in his native country until 1967, when the Mellow Yellow album came out in both the US and the UK.
Artist: Standells
Title: Try It
Source: LP: Nuggets Vol. 2-Punk (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl and on LP: Try It)
Year: 1967
Probably the Standells track with the most commercial potential, this song was derailed when programmers got it into their heads that it was a call for teenage girls to surrender their virginity.
Artist: Chocolate Watchband
Title: Sweet Young Thing
Source: CD: Nuggets-Original Artyfacts from the Psychedelic Era (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Year: 1967
Along the same lines we have this single from early 67, written and produced by Ed Cobb, who also produced the Standells (and wrote Dirty Water).
Artist: Moby Grape
Title: Mr. Blues
Source: LP: Moby Grape
Year: 1967
Bassist Bob Mosley wrote and sang on this tune, one of ten songs released on 45 RPM vinyl from the first Moby Grape album. It was a marketing disaster that forever tainted a talented band.
Artist: Byrds
Title: Renaissance Fair
Source: CD: Younger Than Yesterday
Year: 1967
Younger Than Yesterday was David Crosby's last official album with the Byrds (he was fired midway through the recording of The Notorious Byrd Brothers) and the last one containing any collaborations between Crosby and Jim (now Roger) McGuinn. Renaissance Fair is one of those collaborations.
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