https://exchange.prx.org/p/617562
This week we have a new Advanced Psych segment, along with...but no, we're going to let you find that out for yourself.
Artist: Jefferson Airplane
Title: Let's Get Together
Source: LP: Jefferson Airplane Takes Off
Writer(s): Chet Powers (aka Dino Valenti)
Label: RCA Victor
Year: 1966
Although Dino Valenti recorded a demo version of his song Let's Get Together in 1964, it wasn't until two years later that the song made its first appearance on vinyl as a track on Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. The Airplane version of the song is unique in that the lead vocals alternate between Paul Kantner, Signe Anderson and Marty Balin, with each one taking a verse and all of them singing on the chorus.
Artist: Byrds
Title: Eight Miles High
Source: CD: Psychedelic Pop (originally released on LP: Fifth Dimension)
Writer(s): Clark/McGuinn/Crosby
Label: BMG/RCA/Buddah (original label: Columbia)
Year: 1966
By all rights, the Byrds' Eight Miles High should have been a huge hit. Unfortunately, the highly influential Gavin Report labelled the tune as a drug song and recommended that stations avoid playing it, despite band's insistence that it was about a transatlantic plane trip. The band's version actually makes sense, as Gene Clark had just quit the group due to his fear of flying (he is listed as a co-writer of the song), and the subject was probably a hot topic of discussion among the remaining members.
Artist: Caravelles
Title: Lovin' Just My Style
Source: Mono LP: Pebbles Vol. 8 (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s): The Caravelles (original label: Onacrest)
Label: BFD
Year: 1966
In the mid-1960s it seemed like every local music scene had one guy who could do a dead-on impression of the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger. In Phoenix, Arizona, that guy was John Fitzgerald, although, as can be heard on the Caravelles' Lovin' Just My Style, there was more than a touch of the Yardbirds' Keith Relf in his approach as well. The band itself was managed and produced by Hadley Murrell, a local DJ who is better known for the many Phoenix soul bands he produced. Although more than one member of the Caravelles went on to become associated with more famous bands such as Alice Cooper and the Tubes, it is unclear whether any them were members of the group in 1966, when Lovin' Just My Style was recorded.
Artist: Spencer Davis Group
Title: Hey Darling
Source: CD: I'm A Man (bonus track originally released in UK on LP: Second Album)
Writer(s): Winwood/Davis
Label: Sundazed (original label: Fontana)
Year: 1966
The longest track on the Spencer Davis Group's Second Album, Hey Darling is a soulful slow blues number written by Davis and 17-year-old vocalist Steve Winwood, whom I believe also plays lead guitar on the song. Good stuff!
Artist: Beatles
Title: Flying
Source: CD: Magical Mystery Tour
Writer(s): Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starr
Label: Apple/Parlophone
Year: 1967
1967 was an odd year for the Beatles. They started it with one of their most successful double-sided singles, Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane, and followed it up with the iconic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album and participated in the first worldwide live television broadcast performing All You Need Is Love in June. From there, they embarked on a new film project. Unlike their previous movies, the Magical Mystery Tour was not made to be shown in theaters; rather, the film was aired as a television special shown exclusively in the UK. The airing of the film, in December of 1967, coincided with the release (again only in the UK and Europe) of a two-disc extended play 45 RPM set featuring the six songs from the special. As EPs were at that time considered a non-starter in the US, Capitol Records decided to release Magical Mystery Tour as a full-length album instead, with the songs from the telefilm on one side of the LP and all of the single sides they had released that year on the other. Among the songs from the film itself is Flying, an instrumental track that, unusually, was credited to the entire band.
Artist: Blues Magoos
Title: You're Getting Old
Source: LP: Basic Blues Magoos
Writer: Gilbert/Theilhelm
Label: Mercury
Year: 1968
The Blues Magoos was probably the most successful psychedelic band to hail from America's East Coast (specifically, The Bronx, NY). Unfortunately, that isn't saying much, as most successful psychedelic bands came from either California or Texas in the US, or from the UK. Still, the Magoos had a fair share of decent recordings. The band enjoyed their greatest artistic freedom on the 1968 album Basic Blues Magoos, much of which was recorded at their own home studios. As a result, You're Getting Old does not sound much like anything else the band ever released (although it is still quite psychedelic in its own way).
Artist: Jimi Hendrix/Band Of Gypsys
Title: EZY Rider
Source: CD: First Rays Of The New Rising Sun (originally released on LP: The Cry Of Love)
Writer(s): Jimi Hendrix
Label: MCA/Experience Hendrix (original label: Reprise)
Year: 1971
Ezy Rider was one of the many songs that Jimi Hendrix had recently completed when he died suddenly in September of 1970. Although no one will ever know for sure what his plans for the song were, Ezy Rider, utilizing the lineup that had performed as Band Of Gypsys at Madison Square Garden, was one of the tracks chosen for inclusion on The Cry Of Love, the first post-humous Jimi Hendrix LP. The song, inspired by the film Easy Rider, has since appeared on both Voodoo Soup and First Rays Of The New Rising Sun, CD albums that attempt to piece together what would have been the next Hendrix album had the guitarist lived long enough to complete it.
Artist: Kinks
Title: Don't You Fret
Source: Mono British import EP: Kwyet Kinks
Writer(s): Ray Davies
Label: Sanctuary (original label: Pye)
Year: 1965
The British record market was considerably different than its American counterpart in the mid-1966s. Unlike in the US, where artists were expected to prove themselves with at least two hit singles before being allowed to record an LP, British acts often found themselves recording four or five song EPs as a transition between single and album. Furthermore, British singles were generally not included on British albums. When those albums were released in the US, the American labels often deleted songs that they considered filler from the original LP in favor of hit singles, which were felt to be necessary to generate album sales. This led to a surplus of songs that would appear on US-only LPs made up of material that had been previously released only in the UK. Such is the case with Kinkdom, a collection of singles, B sides, album tracks and the entire Kwyet Kinks EP from 1965. Kwyet Kinks itself was a significant release in that it was the first indication of a change in direction from the early hard-rocking Kinks hits such as You Really Got Me toward a more mellow style that the group would come to favor toward the end of the decade. Songs such as Don't You Fret can be considered a direct precursor to later songs such as Sunny Afternoon and Dedicated Follower Of Fashion.
Artist: Doors
Title: Who Scared You
Source: LP: Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine (originally released as 45 RPM single B side)
Writer(s): Doors
Label: Elektra
Year: 1969
The Doors only released two non-album tracks while Jim Morrison was alive. The first of these was Who Scared You, which appeared as the B side of Wishful Sinful, a minor hit from the 1969 album The Soft Parade. Unlike the songs on that album, Who Scared You is credited to the entire band, rather than one or more of its individual members. The song made its album debut in 1972, when it was included in the double-LP compilation Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine.
Artist: Kinks
Title: Sunny Afternoon
Source: 45 RPM single
Writer: Ray Davies
Label: Reprise
Year: 1966
My family got its first console stereo in late summer of 1966, just in time for me to catch the Kinks' Sunny Afternoon 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 through decent speakers for a couple hours every day without the rest of the family telling me to turn it down (or off). Unfortunately, the debut of Denver's first FM rock station was still a few months off, so the decent speakers were handicapped by being fed an AM radio signal.
Artist: Doors
Title: Soul Kitchen
Source: CD: The Doors
Writer(s): The Doors
Label: Elektra
Year: 1967
Every time I hear the opening notes of the Doors' Soul Kitchen, from their first album, I think it's When The Music's Over, from their second LP. I wonder if they did that on purpose?
Artist: Kinks
Title: Waterloo Sunset
Source: CD: The Kink Kronikles (originally released on LP: Something Else)
Writer: Ray Davies
Label: Reprise
Year: 1967
One of the most beautiful tunes ever recorded by the Kinks is Waterloo Sunset, a song that was a hit single in the UK, but was totally ignored by US radio stations. The reason for this neglect of such a stong song is a mystery, however it may have been due to the fear that American audiences would not be able to relate to all the references to places in and around London in the song's lyrics. The fact that the American Federation Of Musicians refused to issue permits for the Kinks to play concerts in the US between 1965 and 1969 (in all fairness due mainly to the band members' onstage behavior) probably had something to do with it as well.
Artist: Doors
Title: Riders On The Storm
Source: LP: Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine (originally released on LP: L.A. Woman)
Writer(s): The Doors
Label: Elektra
Year: 1971
The last major hit single for the Doors was also one of their best: Riders On The Storm. In fact, it still holds up as one of the finest singles ever released. By anyone.
Artist: Mom's Boys
Title: Children Of The Night
Source: LP: Riot On Sunset Strip soundtrack
Writer(s): Mom's Boys
Label: Tower
Year: 1967
For most garage bands in the mid-1960s the road to success, if it happened at all, would start with their first single. If it did well enough locally they might get the chance to do another one, and if that did well they might even get a chance to record a whole LP. Not so Mom's Boys. Their first recordings were made for movie soundtrack albums such as 1967's Riot On Sunset Strip, which featured the song Children Of The Night. In fact, by the time their first single was released later that year they had changed their name to the 13th Power. The following year, as the 13th Power, they recorded the majority of tunes heard on the soundtrack album for Wild In The Streets, but when the single Shape Of Things To Come was released from that album, it was credited to Max Frost And The Troopers. This was followed by an album of the same name, once again credited to Max Frost And The Troopers, that featured both songs from the 13th Power single as well as several songs that had been on the Wild In The Streets soundtrack. Is it any wonder these guys never became famous as themselves?
Artist: Cream
Title: Pressed Rat And Warthog
Source: CD: Wheels Of Fire
Writer: Baker/Taylor
Label: Polydor (original label: Atco)
Year: 1968
Pressed Rat And Warthog, from Cream's third LP, Wheels Of Fire, is one of those songs you either love or hate. I loved it the first time I heard it but had several friends that absolutely detested it. As near as I can tell, drummer Ginger Baker actually talked that way. Come to think of it, all the members of Cream had pretty heavy accents.
Artist: Electric Prunes
Title: Analog Life
Source: British import LP: Artifact
Writer(s): Harris/Smith
Label: Heartbeat
Year: 2001
The Electric Prunes, like many other bands, recorded, in addition to their own compositions, material from professional songwriters such as Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz. Unlike many groups, however, the Prunes shied away from recording covers of popular tunes, instead going with songs they could rearrange to their own liking. Such was the case with their first single, Ain't It Hard, which had been released as a B side in 1965 by the Gypsy Trips, as well as their biggest hit, I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night), written by the aforementioned Tucker/Mantz team. Some of the songs they recorded, such as Toonerville Trolley and Dr. Do-Good, were a total departure from the band's usual style. The group continued this trend with Analog Life, from their 2001 comeback album, Artifact. The song is credited to Harris and Smith (no first names given), but I have been unable to find any other references to the song other than the Prunes' recording.
Artist: Big Red Ball
Title: Eastern Sky
Source: Stereo 45 RPM single B side
Writer(s): Lisa Raye
Label: Prospective
Year: 1992
Big Red Ball was a Minneapolis band that consisted of Lisa Raye (vocals), Mike Reiter (drums), David Fee Jr. (bass), Jimmy Swan (guitar), Jeff Blitz (bass), Tom Cook (drums), Tom Lischmann (guitar) and Cindy Lawson (vocals). They released three singles and one EP from 1991 through 1995. Eastern Sky is the B side of their second single.
Artist: Infrared Radiation Orchestra
Title: Samovar
Source: CD: Stairs
Writer(s): Draheim/Merrell
Label: GTG
Year: 2026
Kim Draheim calls Samovar, a tune he co-wrote with Stan Merrell for the 2026 Infrared Radiation Orchestra album Stairs "A cautionary tale about the allure, the thrill and the danger of too much caffeine." I'm not sure if he was referring to something in the lyrics of the song or the songwriting process itself.
Artist: Simon and Garfunkel
Title: Bookends Theme/Save The Life Of My Child/America
Source: CD: Collected Works (originally released on LP: Bookends)
Writer: Paul Simon
Label: Columbia
Year: 1968
An early example of a concept album (or at least half an album) was Simon And Garfunkel's fourth LP, Bookends. The side starts and ends with the Bookends theme. In between they go through a sort of life cycle of tracks, from Save The Life Of My Child (featuring a synthesizer opening programmed by Robert Moog himself), into America, a song that is very much in the sprit of On The Road, the novel that had inspired many young Americans to travel beyond the boundaries of their own home towns.
Artist: Redbone
Title: The Witch Queen Of New Orleans
Source: European import CD: Pure...Psychedelic Rock (originally released on LP: Message From A Drum)
Writer(s): Pat and Lolly Vegas
Label: Sony Music (original label: Epic)
Year: 1971
Citing part-Cherokee Jimi Hendrix as an inspiration, brothers Pat and Lolly Vegas, already veteran performers who had appeared several times on ABC-TV's Shindig, among other venues, decided to form an all Native American band in 1969. Their first hit single was The Witch Queen Of New Orleans, from the 1971 LP Message From A Drum. Redbone recorded a total of six albums for the Epic label in the early 1970s, and are known for being the opening act at the first Earth Day event.
Artist: Steve Miller Band
Title: Tokin's
Source: LP: Number 5
Writer(s): Tim Davis
Label: Capitol
Year: 1970
Besides Steve Miller himself, drummer Tim Davis was the only original member of the Steve Miller Band to play on the group's first five albums. His songwriting contributions, however, were limited to one per album until Number 5, on which he had two songs. Davis sang lead on both of them, including the country-rocker Tokin's, which closed out the first side of the original LP.
Artist: Pink Floyd
Title: Grantchester Meadows (1969 BBC session recording)
Source: Mono CD: Cre/Ation-The Early Years 1967-1972
Writer(s): Roger Waters
Label: Pink Floyd/Columbia
Year: Recorded 1969, released 2016
Grantchester Meadows is essentially a Roger Waters solo track that first appeared in studio form on the 1970 LP Ummagumma. The song had previously been used as the opening sequence of The Man And The Journey, a suite of songs performed at various Universities in the UK in 1969. Also in 1969, the song was recorded (minus stereo effects) for John Peel's BBC program. That version was released 47 years later as the lead single from Pink Floyd's The Early Years 1965–1972 box set in 2016.
Artist: Deep Purple
Title: Shield
Source: CD: The Book Of Taliesyn
Writer(s): Blackmore/Evans/Lord
Label: Eagle (original label: Tetragrammaton)
Year: 1968
The story of the original Deep Purple lineup is, in a way, two entirely different stories. At home the band was virtually ignored by audiences and press alike, and struggled to even get their records released. In the US, however, they were overnight sensations, thanks in large part to the success of the single Hush in the spring of 1968. A North American tour was set up, scheduled to begin in October of that year, but their American label, Tetragrammaton, wanted a second album from the band to be on the racks before the tour opened. This meant that the group was in the studio only two months after releasing Shades of Deep Purple, working on what would become The Book Of Taleisyn, despite the fact that Shades of Deep Purple had not even been released yet in the UK. The first song recorded for the new LP was Shield, an imaginative piece incorporating unusual drum patterns from Ian Paice and appropriately mystical lyrics from Rod Evans, along with some nice guitar and organ work from Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord. Although The Book Of Taleisyn was not as big a seller in the US as Shades Of Deep Purple, the tour itself was a huge success. Still, the band still was not getting any respect at home. In fact, The Book Of Taleisyn did not even come out in the UK until mid-1969, by which time Evans and bassist Nicky Simper were no longer members of Deep Purple.
Artist: Who
Title: Pictures Of Lily
Source: Mono CD: Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s): Pete Townshend
Label: MCA (original label: Decca)
Year: 1967
Pictures of Lily was the first single released by the Who in 1967. It hit the #4 spot on the British charts, but only made it to #51 in the US. This was nothing new for the Who, as several of their early singles, including Substitute, I Can't Explain and even My Generation hit the British top 10 without getting any US airplay (or chart action) at all.
Artist: We The People
Title: Mirror Of Your Mind
Source: Mono CD: Nuggets-Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era (originally released as 45 RPM single)
Writer(s): Thomas Talton
Label: Rhino (original label: Challenge)
Year: 1966
We The People were formed when an Orlando, Florida newspaper reporter talked members of two local bands to combine into a garage/punk supergroup. The result was one of the most successful regional bands in Florida history. After their first recording got airplay on a local station, they were signed to record in Nashville for Challenge Records (a label actually based in Los Angeles) and cranked out several regional hits over the next few years. The first of these was Mirror Of Your Mind. Written by lead vocalist Tom Talton, the song is an in-your-face rocker that got played on a number of local stations and has been covered by several bands since.
Artist: Turtles
Title: The Story Of Rock And Roll
Source: 45 RPM single
Writer(s): Harry Nilsson
Label: White Whale
Year: 1968
Harry Nilsson was still an up and coming, but not yet arrived, young singer/songwriter when he penned The Story Of Rock And Roll. The Turtles, always in a struggle with their record label, White Whale, over whether to record their own material or rely on professional songwriters, were the first to record the tune, releasing it as a single in 1968. Although it was not a major hit, the song did set the stage for Nilsson's later successes.
Artist: Iron Butterfly
Title: Flowers And Beads
Source: CD: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Writer: Doug Ingle
Label: Atco
Year: 1968
Sometimes it takes a while for a song (or album) to catch on. A good example is the second Iron Butterfly album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, which was basically ignored for the better part of a year before the title track started getting airplay on some progressive FM radio stations. Once it did, however, the album became a best-seller, and In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida became a household word. As was the case with many albums of the time, people who bought In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida tended to play only that side of the album. As a result, the songs on side one of the LP are far less familiar to most folks. Among those songs is Flowers And Beads, a song that gently condemns the flower power movement of a couple years earlier, yet still comes off as dated.
