SITPE # 1140 Playlist (starts 10/6/11)

Artist: Third Rail
Title: Run Run Run
Source: CD: Nuggets-Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer: Resnick/Resnick/Levine
Label: Rhino (original label: Epic)
Year: 1967
Run Run Run is actually a studio creation issied in 1967 from husband and wife team Artie and Kris Resnick collaborating with Joey Levine, who sings lead vocals on the track. They only performed the song live once (in Cincinatti, of all places) as the Third Rail. All three would find a home as part of the Kasenetz-Katz bubble gum machine that would make Buddah Records a major player in 1968, with Levine himself singing lead for one of the label's most successful groups, the Ohio Express.

Artist: Rolling Stones
Title: 2,000 Light Years From Home
Source: LP: More Hot Rocks (Big Hits And Fazed Cookies) (originally released on LP: Their Satanic Majesties Request)
Writer: Jagger/Richards
Label: London
Year: 1967
Nowhere was the ripple effect of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band more noticable than on the Rolling Stones fall 1967 release Their Satanic Majesties Request. The cover featured the band members in various sorcerous regalia in a seven-inch picture on the kind of holographic paper used for "magic rings" found in bubble-gum machines and pasted over regular album-cover stock, which was a simple pattern of faded white circles on a blue background (it kind of looked like dark wallpaper). Musically it was the most psychedelic Stones album ever released. Interesting enough, different songs were released as singles in different countries. In the US the single was She's A Rainbow, while in Germany 2,000 Light Years From Home (the US B side of She's A Rainbow) got significant airplay.

Artist: Who
Title: Odorono
Source: LP: The Who Sell Out
Writer: Pete Townshend
Label: Decca
Year: 1967
In early January of 1968 a bunch of us went over to our friend Bob's house to hang out and see what he got for Christmas. Bob's parents had a big Grundig console stereo that opened from the top. When we got there Bob's older brother was on the scene and told us to check out this new radio station that was coming in with some truly amazing sound quality. Sure enough, we heard all sorts of jingles and ads, along with some really tasty tunes none of us had heard before. One of those tunes was about a girl who blew an audition because she didn't use the right deodorant. It was called Odorono, and it wasn't until we heard I Can See For Miles a few minutes later that we realized it was all a put-on. The reality was that everything we had just heard was the new Who album that had been released around Christmastime, including the jingles and ads. As it turned out there really was a Radio London (who threatened the Who with a lawsuit over the unauthorized use of its jingles), but there was no way we could pick up it in Mainz, Germany, let alone sounding as good as it did on that Grundig.

Artist: Mothers of Invention
Title: Big Leg Emma
Source: CD: Absolutely Free (originally released as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer: Frank Zappa
Label: Ryko (original label: Verve)
Year: 1967
Sometime during the creation of the second Mothers Of Invention album, Absolutely Free, the band recorded a pair of stand alone tunes that were released as a 45 RPM single. The B side of that record was Big Leg Emma, a song that was written by Frank Zappa in 1962 and would eventually be added to his live show in the late 1970s.

Artist: Music Machine
Title: Talk Talk
Source: CD: More Nuggets (originally released as 45 RPM single and on LP: Turn On The Music Machine)
Writer: Sean Bonniwell
Label: Rhino (original label: Original Sound)
Year: 1966
When it came time for Sean Bonniwell's band, the Music Machine, to go into the studio, the group decided to go for the best sound possible. This meant signing with tiny Original Sound Records, despite having offers from bigger labels, due to Original Sound having their own state-of-the-art eight-track studios. Unfortunately for the band, they soon discovered that having great equipment did not mean Original Sound made great decisions. One of the first, in fact, was to include a handful of cover songs on the Music Machine's first LP that were recorded for use on a local TV show. Bonniwell was livid when he found out, as he had envisioned an album made up entirely of his own compositions (although he reportedly did plan to use a slowed-down version of Hey Joe that he and Tim Rose had worked up together). From that point on it was only a matter of time until the Music Machine and Original Sound parted company, but not until after they scored a big national hit with Talk Talk in 1966.

Artist: Great! Society
Title: Free Advice
Source: CD: Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-70 (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer: Darby Slick
Label: Rhino (original label: Northbeach)
Year: 1966
It's not much of a stretch to characterize San Francisco's Great! Society as a garage band, despite the obvious talents of vocalist Grace Slick. Grace's role in the band was mostly as a backup/fill vocalist. Her strengths as a lead vocalist would not be evident until she hooked up with Jefferson Airplane in late 1966.

Artist: Shadows of Knight
Title: Gloria
Source: CD: Even More Nuggets (originally released as 45 RPM single and on LP: Gloria)
Writer: Van Morrison
Label: Rhino (original label: Dunwich)
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. By changing one line (substituting "around here" for "up to my room") the suburban Chicago punk-blues band Shadows of Knight turned it into a huge hit and a garage band standard.

Artist: Moby Grape
Title: Funky-Tunk
Source: LP: Wow
Writer: Spence/Miller
Label: Columbia
Year: 1968
After nearly universal acclaim from the rock press for their 1967 debut album, Moby Grape decided to take their time in the studio for the follow, 1968's Wow. Unfortunately, the album itself ended up sounding over-produced as a result. Funky-Tunk, for instance, starts off sounding like a decent enough country rock tune but takes a bizarre turn on the second verse when the lead vocals are done in Chipmunk style.

Artist: Moby Grape
Title: Marmalade
Source: LP: Grape Jam
Writer: Bloomfield/Miller/Stevenson/Mosely
Label: Columbia
Year: 1968
When Moby Grape's Wow album first hit the racks it included a second, free, disk with it's own cover entitled Grape Jam. Recorded between sessions in New York and featuring guest keyboardists Al Kooper and Michael Bloomfield, Grape Jam actually predates (and probably inspired) Kooper's own Super Session album by a few months. Marmalade, the longest track on the album, features Bloomfield, normally known for his guitar work, switching over to piano, while Jerry Miller shows why he has earned the reputation of being "the guitarist's guitarist" over the past 44 years.

Artist: Moby Grape
Title: Motorcycle Irene
Source: LP: Wow
Writer: Skip Spence
Label: Columbia
Year: 1968
Another tune that would have benefited from less production was Skip Spence's Motorcycle Irene.

Artist: Santana
Title: Singing Winds, Crying Beasts/Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen/Oye Como Va
Source: CD: Abraxas
Writer: Carabello/Green/Szabo/Puente
Label: Columbia
Year: 1970
To finish out the first hour we have one of the greatest opening sequences in the history of rock: the first fifteen minutes of Santana's second LP, Abraxas, presented uncut in its entirety.

Artist: Rising Sons
Title: Baby, What You Want Me To Do
Source: CD: The Rising Sons
Writer: Jimmy Reed
Label: Columbia/Legacy
Year: 1965
The Rising Sons and Love were the first interracial rock bands to play the clubs on L.A.'s Sunset Strip. Unlike Love, which performed a hybrid of garage and folk rock, the Rising Sons were firmly rooted in traditional blues. Although the Sons scored a contract with Columbia Records, it was clear from the start that the label had no idea what to do with them. After recording an album's worth of material, the label shelved the entire project. After the band's demise three of the members, vocalist Taj Mahal, slide guitarist Ry Cooder and guitarist/vocalist Jessie Kinkaid, went on to have successful solo careers, prompting Columbia to finally release the recordings in 1992.

Artist: Vagrants
Title: Respect
Source: LP: Nuggets Vol. 2-Punk (originally released on 45 RPM vinyl)
Writer: Otis Redding
Label: Rhino (original label: Atco)
Year: 1967
Didn't I just play this song last week? Feel free to check out last week's post to see.

Artist: Chocolate Watchband
Title: No Way Out
Source: CD: No Way Out
Writer: Ed Cobb
Label: Sundazed (original label: Tower)
Year: 1967
The Chocolate Watchband, from the southern part of the Bay Area (specifically Foothills Junior College in Los Altos Hills), were fairly typical of the south bay music scene, centered in San Jose. Although they were generally known for lead vocalist Dave Aguilar's ability to channel Mick Jagger with uncanny accuracy, producer Ed Cobb gave them a more psychedelic sound in the studio with the use of studio effects and other enhancements (including adding tracks to their albums that were performed entire by studio musicians). One example is the title track from their first LP, No Way Out. Although the song is credited to Cobb, there is an earlier recording of a jam credited to the band that is nearly identical to the tune's instrumental track.

Artist: Jimi Hendrix Experience
Title: Love Or Confusion
Source: LP: Are You Experienced
Writer: Jimi Hendrix
Label: Experience Hendrix/Legacy (original label: Reprise)
Year: 1967
A little-known fact is that the original European version of Are You Experienced, in addition to having a different song lineup, consisted entirely of mono recordings. When Reprise got the rights to release the album in North America, its own engineers created new stereo mixes from the 4-track master tapes. As most of the instrumental tracks had already been mixed down to single tracks, the engineers found themselves doing things like putting the vocals all the way on one side of the mix, with reverb effects and guitar solos occupying the other side and all the instruments dead center. Such is the case with Love Or Confusion, with some really bizarre stereo panning thrown in at the end of the track. It's actually kind of fun to listen to with headphones on, as I did when I bought my first copy of the album on reel-to-reel tape (the tape deck was in the same room as the TV).

Artist: Monkees
Title: The Door Into Summer
Source: CD: Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones, LTD.
Writer: Douglas/Martin
Label: Rhino (original label: Colgems)
Year: 1967
Another one that I played last week. This time around, though, it's an alternate take, mixed in mono. Feel free to scroll down to last week's playlist for more info.

Artist: Cat Stevens
Title: Matthew And Son
Source: CD: The Very Best Of Cat Stevens (originally released as 45 RPM single and on LP: Matthew And Son)
Writer: Cat Stevens
Label: A&M (original label: Deram)
Year: 1967
Although best known as one of the top singer-songwriters of the early to mid-1970s, Cat Stevens actually began recording in 1967, and charted several hits in the UK before achieving international fame. One of the earliest was the title track to his first LP, Matthew And Son. Although the song was released in the US on the Deram label, it failed to chart.

Artist: Iron Butterfly
Title: Termination
Source: CD: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Writer: Brann/Dorman
Label: Atco
Year: 1968
Although most Iron Butterfly songs were written by keyboardist/vocalist Doug Ingle, there were a few exceptions. One of those is Termination, from the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida album, which was written by guitarist Erik Brann and bassist Lee Dorman.

Artist: Stevie Wonder
Title: I Don't Know Why I Love You
Source: 45 RPM single
Writer: Hunter/Hardaway/Wonder/Reiser
Label: Tamla
Year: 1969
The Rolling Stones had a minor but notable hit with their cover of Stevie Wonder's I Don't Know Why I Love You in the early 1970s. I thought I'd pull out a copy of the original version, which was intended as an A side but was eclipsed in popularity by the B side of the record, a tune called My Cherie Amour.

Artist: Spirit
Title: Nature's Way
Source: 45 RPM single
Writer: Randy California
Label: Epic
Year: 1970
Nature's Way is one of the best-known and best-loved songs in the Spirit catalog. Originally released on the 1970 LP The Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus, the song was finally issued as a single in 1973, long after lead vocalist Jay Ferguson and bassist Mark Andes had left the band. The single mix is a bit different from the album version, particularly at the end of the song, which originally ended with a tympani roll by drummer Ed Cassidy. The single version ends with the chord immediately preceding that roll.

Artist: Limey and the Yanks
Title: Guaranteed Love
Source: CD: Where The Action Is: L.A. Nuggets 1965-68 (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer: Paxton/Reed
Label: Rhino (original label: Star-Burst)
Year: 1966
Limey and the Yanks were an Orange County, California band that boasted an honest-to-dog British lead vocalist. Despite being kind of Zelig-like on the L.A. scene, they only recorded two singles. The first one, Guaranteed Love, was co-written by Gary Paxton, best known for his involvement in various novelty records, including the Hollywood Argyles' Alley Oop, which he co-wrote with Kim Fowley, and Bobby "Boris" Pickett's Monster Mash, which was released on Paxton's own Garpax label.

Artist: Tradewinds
Title: Mind Excursion
Source: CD: Psychedelic Pop (originally released as 45 RPM single and on LP: Excursions)
Writer: Anders/Poncia
Label: BMG/RCA/Buddah (original label: Kama-Sutra)
Year: 1966
The Trade Winds were a semi-studio band from New York that first scored in 1965 with the song "New York is a Lonely Town (When You're the Only Surfer Boy Around). A year later, they had their second and last hit, "Mind Excursion," which holds up as one of the best examples of "flower power" pop ever recorded.

Artist: Peanut Butter Conspiracy
Title: Eventually
Source: CD: Where The Action Is: L.A. Nuggets 1965-68
Writer: Alan Brackett
Label: Rhino
Year: Recorded 1966 (unreleased until 2005)
The PBC was one of the more psychedelic of the local L.A. bands playing the various clubs along L.A.'s Sunset Strip during its golden years of 1965-68. As was the case with so many bands of that time and place, they never really got the opportunity to strut their stuff, although they did leave some decent tapes behind, such as Eventually, recorded (but not released) in 1966.

Artist: New Breed
Title: Want Ad Reader
Source: CD: Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-70 (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer: Floegel/Hullin/Phillips/Schmidt
Label: Rhino (original label: World United)
Year: 1966
The New Breed was Sacramento's most popular local band in the mid-1960s. Although they did not score any national hits they did launch the career of Timothy B. Schmidt, who later went on to replace Randy Meisner in Poco (and even later replaced Meisner in the Eagles). The rest of the New Breed didn't do too badly, either. After changing their name to Glad and recording an album for Dunhill (with Schmidt still a member), the group eventually became known as Redwing, recording five country-rock albums in the 70s.

Artist: West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Title: Buddha
Source: LP: Volume II
Writer: Markley/Harris
Label: Reprise
Year: 1967
Although Bob Markley's lyrics will never win any literary achievement awards, they are memorable in a campy sort of way. A perfect example is Buddha, which comes across as a childlike impression of a statue of a Buddha, with some adolescent innuendo thrown in.

Artist: Jefferson Airplane
Title: White Rabbit
Source: CD: The Worst Of Jefferson Airplane (originally released on LP: Surrealistic Pillow)
Writer: Grace Slick
Label: RCA
Year: 1967
A while back a co-worker was asking me about what kind of music I played on the show. When I told him the show was called Stuck in the Psychedelic Era he immediately said "Oh, I bet you play White Rabbit a lot, huh?" As a matter of fact, I do, although not as much as some songs (see the post from show # 1032, in which I run down the list of which songs got played the most in 2010).

Artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Title: Fakin' It
Source: CD: Collected Works (originally released as 45 RPM single and included on LP: Bookends)
Writer: Paul Simon
Label: Columbia
Year: 1967
Fakin' It, originally released as a single in 1967, was a bit of a departure for Simon And Garfunkel, sounding more like British psychedelic music than American folk-rock. The track starts with an intro that is similar to the false ending to the Beatles Strawberry Fields Forever; midway through the record the tempo changes drastically for a short spoken word section that is reminiscent of the bridge in Traffic's Hole In My Shoe. The song was later included on the 1968 LP Bookends.

Artist: McKendree Spring
Title: For What Was Gained
Source: LP: Second Thoughts
Writer: Eric Andersen
Label: Decca
Year: 1970
McKendree Spring, from New York's Hudson Valley, was one of those groups that defied easy classification. Were they a folk-rock band? Sort of. A country band? Well, kinda. Using a mix of traditional acoustic instruments and electronic synthesizers, McKendree Spring was successful enough to issue several albums throughout the 1970s. I remember seeing them live in the early 1970s (on a bill with Jo Jo Gunne and Billy Preston) and performing an instrumental called How Can I Tell You I Love You When You're Sitting On My Face.