Barney, it might be just happening me, but the second clip in your post is playing for a few seconds then stopping. A pity, because the song (whoever's performing it) is a jazz classic.
Oops, seems like a false alarm.
I've tried again, and it now seems fine. Great track.
theres a 60's appreciation thread, this threads for rare 60's
As one of the main posters to the 1960's Appreciation Thread, I've decided to give it a plug, because it's hidden away on the Music Appreciation sub-forum and you may not know it even exists.
Unlike this thread, the 1960's Appreciation Thread is primarily devoted to the better known tracks of the sixties, i.e. the ones that made the British charts. If those not so rare sixties tracks are more your thing than the rare ones you get on this thread, you may want to check that thread out. Here's a link:-
Nice to see Randy posting again. It's been a fair while. Tbh it's been a fair while since I last posted too!
Best known for their classic 1966 UK Top Ten hit single, Friday On My Mind, the Easybeats are my all time favourite Australian band. We've had quite a few not so well known Easybeats tracks on the thread, but I don't think we've had this one.
Some of the Beach Boys less commercial material from the late sixties, when their chart success in America ran out, is well worth a listen. Wild Honey, Little Bird, Heroes and Villains are light years from their surfing and cars records.
another aniversary reached today... three years now since i started this thread and thanks to you guys its never far away from page #1.
....and the great thing about it is you think there can't be any more new music for you to discover, until someone pops up with a gem you either haven't heard, or one you have and have completely forgotten about !! Long may it continue !!
please post your nominations for rare, forgotten, overlooked, minor hits, from the 1960's...tracks that you remember and like. please DONT post big hits that everyone remembers, the sort you get on 60's compilation albums.
The opening sentence of Rob’s original post on 27th May 2010 never fails to amuse me. Rob very much had his doubts about whether this thread would work and yet here we are today exactly three years later!
Actually, Rob had very good reasons for having doubts. One look at the majority of threads does seem to suggest that the main demographic group on this forum consists of people who are pretty young, are only interested in modern mainstream music and probably view nineties music as being rather passé, eighties music as being distinctly old-fashioned, seventies music as being ancient history and sixties music as being absolutely pre-historic! If that is indeed the case then a thread entirely devoted to sixties music, and obscure sixties music at that, is a very unlikely success story.
So what is the reason for this thread’s longevity? A good question; when the thread began all and sundry were posting, but eventually it was a handful of dedicated posters with a real passion for lesser known sixties music who have made this thread a regular feature on Page 1 of the forum, and I can immodestly and proudly claim to be one of that handful. Of course, it’s all very well those dedicated posters keeping this thread going, but is anyone viewing it? Since the thread has acquired more than 140,000 views over three years then the answer is most definitely Yes. So who are those viewers? Difficult to say; I certainly don’t think those viewers are from the aforementioned main demographic group, so I would hazard a guess that they’re primarily non-members above a certain age.
Of course, the frequency of posts to the thread has decreased significantly over the last year or eighteen months, but that’s only to be expected. However, the thread is never that far away from Page 1, which is more than you can say for the equivalent seventies and eighties threads.
In the past I have often said that I have exhausted my supply of rare sixties tracks that are new to the thread, only to soon afterwards discover some real obscure gems and promptly submit them. However, after three years I now believe that I have finally well and truly exhausted my supply of tracks that had not previously appeared on the thread, although I don't consider that to be too much of a problem given that Rare 60’s Classics is now three years old and it’s been a fair while since we heard some of those brilliant tracks that first appeared when the thread was young; tracks that are definitely worth repeating and hearing again!
Two years ago when Rare 60’s Classics was one year old I decided to a page by page review, making several posts in which I selected five great tracks from each previous page of the thread. I’ve now decided to do a Third Anniversary Review of the thread, but instead of selecting five tracks per page for each post I’m going to select five tracks linked in some other way, e.g. by artist, by band, by producer, by genre or by some other criterion. I’ll be making my first Third Anniversary Review post in two or three days, so look out for that.
Happy Third Anniversary Rob.
Happy Third Anniversary everyone else.
The opening sentence of Rob’s original post on 27th May 2010 never fails to amuse me. Rob very much had his doubts about whether this thread would work and yet here we are today exactly three years later!
Actually, Rob had very good reasons for having doubts. One look at the majority of threads does seem to suggest that the main demographic group on this forum consists of people who are pretty young, are only interested in modern mainstream music and probably view nineties music as being rather passé, eighties music as being distinctly old-fashioned, seventies music as being ancient history and sixties music as being absolutely pre-historic! If that is indeed the case then a thread entirely devoted to sixties music, and obscure sixties music at that, is a very unlikely success story.
So what is the reason for this thread’s longevity? A good question; when the thread began all and sundry were posting, but eventually it was a handful of dedicated posters with a real passion for lesser known sixties music who have made this thread a regular feature on Page 1 of the forum, and I can immodestly and proudly claim to be one of that handful. Of course, it’s all very well those dedicated posters keeping this thread going, but is anyone viewing it? Since the thread has acquired more than 140,000 views over three years then the answer is most definitely Yes. So who are those viewers? Difficult to say; I certainly don’t think those viewers are from the aforementioned main demographic group, so I would hazard a guess that they’re primarily non-members above a certain age.
Of course, the frequency of posts to the thread has decreased significantly over the last year or eighteen months, but that’s only to be expected. However, the thread is never that far away from Page 1, which is more than you can say for the equivalent seventies and eighties threads.
In the past I have often said that I have exhausted my supply of rare sixties tracks that are new to the thread, only to soon afterwards discover some real obscure gems and promptly submit them. However, after three years I now believe that I have finally well and truly exhausted my supply of tracks that had not previously appeared on the thread, although I don't consider that to be too much of a problem given that Rare 60’s Classics is now three years old and it’s been a fair while since we heard some of those brilliant tracks that first appeared when the thread was young; tracks that are definitely worth repeating and hearing again!
Two years ago when Rare 60’s Classics was one year old I decided to a page by page review, making several posts in which I selected five great tracks from each previous page of the thread. I’ve now decided to do a Third Anniversary Review of the thread, but instead of selecting five tracks per page for each post I’m going to select five tracks linked in some other way, e.g. by artist, by band, by producer, by genre or by some other criterion. I’ll be making my first Third Anniversary Review post in two or three days, so look out for that.
well said
yeah theres obviously people viewing but not posting, either cba or non members .
its great to discover new tracks, but they are becoming less frequent now.
i had doubts because id failed to get much interest off retro tracks before. i was a mod on buzzjack when it started, but dispite trying threads to create interest, it failed to take off. i was on totp before that, tried to bring over those fans, but they saw bj as a kids forum, and thats why i doubted the success here as at first glance its a young persons forum.
pleased that theres alot of older music fans, and pleased as punch that you guys have made this thread such a success.
the bbc weather advert this morning has a backing by a very 60's sounding group. 'we have everything' or something like that. ive not got the time atm to investigate, but if anyone else has...
Though I wasn't even born then, lot of 60s records I've heard or others have played for me I like:
most stuff by Julie London, esp. her cover of Wives & Lovers.
ditto Nina Simone
'You Beat Me To The Punch' - Mary Wells (?)
'Harley Davidson' - Brigitte Bardot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Y0W_Rf3n4
another fan of Cilla's 'Love Of The Loved'
and I know they were hits but:
'White Rabbit' - Jefferson Airplane
'Love Me Two Times' - The Doors
Thanks Rob. I believe that may have been my longest post ever on Digitalspy. I know I felt quite exhausted when I completed it, and had to spend the rest of Bank Holiday Monday recovering!
My first Third Anniversary Review post coming soon - probably on Friday.
Though I wasn't even born then, lot of 60s records I've heard or others have played for me I like:
most stuff by Julie London, esp. her cover of Wives & Lovers.
ditto Nina Simone
'You Beat Me To The Punch' - Mary Wells (?)
'Harley Davidson' - Brigitte Bardot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Y0W_Rf3n4
another fan of Cilla's 'Love Of The Loved'
and I know they were hits but:
'White Rabbit' - Jefferson Airplane
'Love Me Two Times' - The Doors
doesnt matter if tracks were hits, as long as they were minor (c #20 or below), or bigger hits that never get aired or found on compilation albums... eg 'il silenzio' by nini rosso
doesnt matter if tracks were hits, as long as they were minor (c #20 or below), or bigger hits that never get aired or found on compilation albums... eg 'il silenzio' by nini rosso
Both "White Rabbit" and "Love Me Two Times" are such well known sixties tracks today that you'd be forgiven for believing that they were big hits back then, but if you check any website devoted to past British singles charts you'll find that neither made the Top 40 (let alone the Top 20) in this country. So, despite neither being exactly "rare", both would qualify for this thread.
Both "White Rabbit" and "Love Me Two Times" are such well known sixties tracks today that you'd be forgiven for believing that they were big hits back then, but if you check any website devoted to past British singles charts you'll find that neither made the Top 40 (let alone the Top 20) in this country. So, despite neither being exactly "rare", both would qualify for this thread.
Just goes to show my ignorance/age . I assumed, as they're both such great tracks, they were hits at the time (at least in the US). But that's why I love this forum, Music Thread and the ToTP thread in TV; bonus musical education (with wit & humour) without having to google everything
Just goes to show my ignorance/age . I assumed, as they're both such great tracks, they were hits at the time (at least in the US). But that's why I love this forum, Music Thread and the ToTP thread in TV; bonus musical education (with wit & humour) without having to google everything
Yes, I think they were big hits in America, but the OP's rule is basically any sixties track that didn't make the British Top 20 qualifies for this thread.
Two years ago when Rare 60’s Classics was one year old I decided to a page by page review, making several posts in which I selected five great tracks from each previous page of the thread. I’ve now decided to do a Third Anniversary Review of the thread, but instead of selecting five tracks per page for each post I’m going to select five tracks linked in some other way, e.g. by artist, by band, by producer, by genre or by some other criterion. I’ll be making my first Third Anniversary Review post in two or three days, so look out for that.
Time to kick off my Third Anniversary Review of the thread. I don't know how many posts I'll be making as part of this review, there's certainly scope for several, I guess I'll stop when I start losing enthusiasm.
Okay, let's get this show on the road.
Vabosity's Third Anniversary Review Of The Thread - Post #1.
I'm going to start this review with five tracks by my all time favourite Soul singer, the late, great Sam Cooke. I've done a search and found that myself and others have submitted 16 separate Sam Cooke tracks to the thread over the last three years. It goes without saying that I absolutely love every single one of them, so picking just 5 from that 16 was a very difficult task indeed. However, I got there in the end and my selection is shown below.
Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come (1964) First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
One of the first tracks I ever submitted to the thread was one of the last ever recorded by Sam Cooke prior to his tragic death in 1964. This track signalled a significant change of direction for Sam, both musically and lyrically, and is imho one of the finest tracks of the entire decade.
Sam Cooke - Little Red Rooster (1963) First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
Very, very different from the chart topping version by the Stones, but imho just as awesome. Sam Cooke on vocals, Billy Preston on electric organ and a song written by Willie Dixon, what more could you possibly want?
Sam Cooke - Bring It On Home To Me (1962) First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
An excellent track that should have been a massive UK hit single back in 1962, but one that the Great British record buying public of the day inexplicably chose to ignore. The Animals recorded a decent cover version three years later, which the Great British record buying public of the day didn't choose to ignore (it made #7 in the UK charts).
Sam Cooke - Having A Party (1962) First submitted to the thread in September 2010.
Another excellent track from 1962 that the Great British record buying public of the day inexplicably chose to ignore.
Sam Cooke - That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On (1961) First submitted to the thread in April 2011.
I was not aware of this track (nor Adele's apparently quite well known cover version) prior to April 2011, when I discovered it (Sam's version) quite by accident and liked it so much that I felt compelled to immediately submit it to the thread. Fabulous track.
My next Third Anniversary Review post will follow in 2 or 3 days time.
Talking of great Soul singers, it's Otis Redding Night on BBC-4 this evening:-
9pm Otis Redding: Soul Ambassador
Documentary about the legendary singer.
10pm Otis Redding and Friends: Stax Revue
Classic concert filmed in Norway during the 1967 Stax tour featuring performances by Otis Redding, Booker T and the MGs, Arthur Conley, Sam and Dave, Eddie Floyd and the Mar-Keys.
11pm (till midnight) Classic Soul at the BBC
Otis is excluded from this one unfortunately, but there are performances by Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Dusty Springfield, Isaac Hayes, Solomon Burke and Percy Sledge.
Lovin' Spoonful should be in everyone's collection! Fantastic band.:)
Spot on, Capablanca!
I find it a sad indictment of the Great British record buying public of the day that such an excellent band (The Lovin' Spoonful) featuring such a brilliant songwriter (John Sebastian) only had two major UK hits (Daydream and Summer In The City). Of course, I could put a positive spin on it, and also say that the Great British record buying public of the day should be thanked for making so many classic Lovin’ Spoonful tracks eligible for this thread.
As with Sam Cooke, I love every single Lovin’ Spoonful track that has been submitted to this thread, but I could only pick five, and they can be found below.
The Lovin’ Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic (1965) First submitted to the thread in May 2010.
Urban Bassman, the poster who first submitted this track to the thread, described it as the perfect pop song. I completely agree with that statement, the perfect pop song is the perfect description.
The Lovin’ Spoonful - Younger Girl (1965) First submitted to the thread in July 2010.
The Critters had a minor UK hit single with this song in 1966 and the Hondells had a minor U.S. hit single with it in the same year. Both are fine covers and are well worth checking out. However, my preferred version is the original album track by the Lovin’ Spoonful.
Here's a very good Lovin' Spoonful track that's not included in Vabosity's "review" post, which is understandable because it's never been on the thread before:-
Vabosity's Third Anniversary Review Of The Thread - Post #3.
In Post #1 of my Third Anniversary Review I featured a legendary American Soul singer, in Post #2 I featured one of America’s finest sixties bands, so for Post #3 it’s definitely time to feature a British act, and I can’t think of any sixties band who were more quintessentially British than the fabulous Kinks.
Despite being a big name act the Kinks had their fair share of minor hits and non-hits during the sixties, as well as recording some superb B-sides and album tracks, so there was no real shortage of excellent Kinks tracks eligible for this thread, and 20 have been submitted to it over the last 3 years. Of course, choosing just 5 tracks from 20 by a band as good as the Kinks was an almost impossible task. Almost impossible, yes, but not completely impossible, and my 5 choices are shown below.
The Kinks - Animal Farm (1968) First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
My favourite track from their highly regarded, albeit non-charting album, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society.
The Kinks - David Watts (1967) First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
Original version of the song that The Jam would have a UK hit with in 1978.
The Kinks - I’m Not Like Everybody Else (1966) First submitted to the thread in August 2010.
Randy Gibbons’ comments when he submitted this track to this thread say it all, so I’ll repeat them: “The b-side to Sunny Afternoon, it shows the strength of Ray Davies' songwriting when they were at their absolute peak that they could toss this fantastic song away as a mere b-side, when practically every other band around would have given up limbs for a song this good.”
The Kinks - Where Have All The Good Times Gone? (1965) First submitted to the thread in March 2011.
Yet another utterly brilliant B-side for which imho Randy’s aforementioned comments would also most certainly apply. Its A-Side was the excellent Till The End Of The Day, which despite being a UK top ten hit, is not really one of their best remembered singles.
The Kinks - You Still Want Me (1964) First submitted to the thread in June 2012
This was the Kinks’ second single. It didn't chart, but imho was a vast improvement on their debut single, a rather lacklustre cover of Little Richard’s Long Tall Sally. The Kinks' third single would be You Really Got Me, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Comments
Oops, seems like a false alarm.
I've tried again, and it now seems fine. Great track.
As one of the main posters to the 1960's Appreciation Thread, I've decided to give it a plug, because it's hidden away on the Music Appreciation sub-forum and you may not know it even exists.
Unlike this thread, the 1960's Appreciation Thread is primarily devoted to the better known tracks of the sixties, i.e. the ones that made the British charts. If those not so rare sixties tracks are more your thing than the rare ones you get on this thread, you may want to check that thread out. Here's a link:-
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1539027
Salt - Lucifer (1968)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEPjgZ2Uz9k
Baker Knight & The Knightmares - Hallucinations (1967)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NIwdw-78Mk
The Glass Family - House Of Glass (1968)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_pIiQUIZoA
Good stuff. I particularly like House Of Glass.
Nice to see Randy posting again. It's been a fair while. Tbh it's been a fair while since I last posted too!
Best known for their classic 1966 UK Top Ten hit single, Friday On My Mind, the Easybeats are my all time favourite Australian band. We've had quite a few not so well known Easybeats tracks on the thread, but I don't think we've had this one.
The Easybeats - St. Louis (1969)
Chris Kenner - I Like It Like That (1961)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVJZKb9SCLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QSjpiXodAY
....and the great thing about it is you think there can't be any more new music for you to discover, until someone pops up with a gem you either haven't heard, or one you have and have completely forgotten about !!
Happy Third Anniversary Rob.
Happy Third Anniversary everyone else.
The opening sentence of Rob’s original post on 27th May 2010 never fails to amuse me. Rob very much had his doubts about whether this thread would work and yet here we are today exactly three years later!
Actually, Rob had very good reasons for having doubts. One look at the majority of threads does seem to suggest that the main demographic group on this forum consists of people who are pretty young, are only interested in modern mainstream music and probably view nineties music as being rather passé, eighties music as being distinctly old-fashioned, seventies music as being ancient history and sixties music as being absolutely pre-historic! If that is indeed the case then a thread entirely devoted to sixties music, and obscure sixties music at that, is a very unlikely success story.
So what is the reason for this thread’s longevity? A good question; when the thread began all and sundry were posting, but eventually it was a handful of dedicated posters with a real passion for lesser known sixties music who have made this thread a regular feature on Page 1 of the forum, and I can immodestly and proudly claim to be one of that handful. Of course, it’s all very well those dedicated posters keeping this thread going, but is anyone viewing it? Since the thread has acquired more than 140,000 views over three years then the answer is most definitely Yes. So who are those viewers? Difficult to say; I certainly don’t think those viewers are from the aforementioned main demographic group, so I would hazard a guess that they’re primarily non-members above a certain age.
Of course, the frequency of posts to the thread has decreased significantly over the last year or eighteen months, but that’s only to be expected. However, the thread is never that far away from Page 1, which is more than you can say for the equivalent seventies and eighties threads.
In the past I have often said that I have exhausted my supply of rare sixties tracks that are new to the thread, only to soon afterwards discover some real obscure gems and promptly submit them. However, after three years I now believe that I have finally well and truly exhausted my supply of tracks that had not previously appeared on the thread, although I don't consider that to be too much of a problem given that Rare 60’s Classics is now three years old and it’s been a fair while since we heard some of those brilliant tracks that first appeared when the thread was young; tracks that are definitely worth repeating and hearing again!
Two years ago when Rare 60’s Classics was one year old I decided to a page by page review, making several posts in which I selected five great tracks from each previous page of the thread. I’ve now decided to do a Third Anniversary Review of the thread, but instead of selecting five tracks per page for each post I’m going to select five tracks linked in some other way, e.g. by artist, by band, by producer, by genre or by some other criterion. I’ll be making my first Third Anniversary Review post in two or three days, so look out for that.
well said
yeah theres obviously people viewing but not posting, either cba or non members .
its great to discover new tracks, but they are becoming less frequent now.
i had doubts because id failed to get much interest off retro tracks before. i was a mod on buzzjack when it started, but dispite trying threads to create interest, it failed to take off. i was on totp before that, tried to bring over those fans, but they saw bj as a kids forum, and thats why i doubted the success here as at first glance its a young persons forum.
pleased that theres alot of older music fans, and pleased as punch that you guys have made this thread such a success.
the bbc weather advert this morning has a backing by a very 60's sounding group. 'we have everything' or something like that. ive not got the time atm to investigate, but if anyone else has...
most stuff by Julie London, esp. her cover of Wives & Lovers.
ditto Nina Simone
'You Beat Me To The Punch' - Mary Wells (?)
'Harley Davidson' - Brigitte Bardot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Y0W_Rf3n4
another fan of Cilla's 'Love Of The Loved'
and I know they were hits but:
'White Rabbit' - Jefferson Airplane
'Love Me Two Times' - The Doors
Dee Dee Warwick - Suspicious Minds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJklwgSwCIE
Another great track from Dee Dee - Foolish Fool
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQwWoNJe_yk
Thanks Rob. I believe that may have been my longest post ever on Digitalspy. I know I felt quite exhausted when I completed it, and had to spend the rest of Bank Holiday Monday recovering!
My first Third Anniversary Review post coming soon - probably on Friday.
doesnt matter if tracks were hits, as long as they were minor (c #20 or below), or bigger hits that never get aired or found on compilation albums... eg 'il silenzio' by nini rosso
Both "White Rabbit" and "Love Me Two Times" are such well known sixties tracks today that you'd be forgiven for believing that they were big hits back then, but if you check any website devoted to past British singles charts you'll find that neither made the Top 40 (let alone the Top 20) in this country. So, despite neither being exactly "rare", both would qualify for this thread.
Just goes to show my ignorance/age
Yes, I think they were big hits in America, but the OP's rule is basically any sixties track that didn't make the British Top 20 qualifies for this thread.
Time to kick off my Third Anniversary Review of the thread. I don't know how many posts I'll be making as part of this review, there's certainly scope for several, I guess I'll stop when I start losing enthusiasm.
Okay, let's get this show on the road.
Vabosity's Third Anniversary Review Of The Thread - Post #1.
I'm going to start this review with five tracks by my all time favourite Soul singer, the late, great Sam Cooke. I've done a search and found that myself and others have submitted 16 separate Sam Cooke tracks to the thread over the last three years. It goes without saying that I absolutely love every single one of them, so picking just 5 from that 16 was a very difficult task indeed. However, I got there in the end and my selection is shown below.
Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come (1964)
First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
One of the first tracks I ever submitted to the thread was one of the last ever recorded by Sam Cooke prior to his tragic death in 1964. This track signalled a significant change of direction for Sam, both musically and lyrically, and is imho one of the finest tracks of the entire decade.
Sam Cooke - Little Red Rooster (1963)
First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
Very, very different from the chart topping version by the Stones, but imho just as awesome. Sam Cooke on vocals, Billy Preston on electric organ and a song written by Willie Dixon, what more could you possibly want?
Sam Cooke - Bring It On Home To Me (1962)
First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
An excellent track that should have been a massive UK hit single back in 1962, but one that the Great British record buying public of the day inexplicably chose to ignore. The Animals recorded a decent cover version three years later, which the Great British record buying public of the day didn't choose to ignore (it made #7 in the UK charts).
Sam Cooke - Having A Party (1962)
First submitted to the thread in September 2010.
Another excellent track from 1962 that the Great British record buying public of the day inexplicably chose to ignore.
Sam Cooke - That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On (1961)
First submitted to the thread in April 2011.
I was not aware of this track (nor Adele's apparently quite well known cover version) prior to April 2011, when I discovered it (Sam's version) quite by accident and liked it so much that I felt compelled to immediately submit it to the thread. Fabulous track.
My next Third Anniversary Review post will follow in 2 or 3 days time.
Talking of great Soul singers, it's Otis Redding Night on BBC-4 this evening:-
9pm
Otis Redding: Soul Ambassador
Documentary about the legendary singer.
10pm
Otis Redding and Friends: Stax Revue
Classic concert filmed in Norway during the 1967 Stax tour featuring performances by Otis Redding, Booker T and the MGs, Arthur Conley, Sam and Dave, Eddie Floyd and the Mar-Keys.
11pm (till midnight)
Classic Soul at the BBC
Otis is excluded from this one unfortunately, but there are performances by Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Dusty Springfield, Isaac Hayes, Solomon Burke and Percy Sledge.
Spot on, Capablanca!
I find it a sad indictment of the Great British record buying public of the day that such an excellent band (The Lovin' Spoonful) featuring such a brilliant songwriter (John Sebastian) only had two major UK hits (Daydream and Summer In The City). Of course, I could put a positive spin on it, and also say that the Great British record buying public of the day should be thanked for making so many classic Lovin’ Spoonful tracks eligible for this thread.
As with Sam Cooke, I love every single Lovin’ Spoonful track that has been submitted to this thread, but I could only pick five, and they can be found below.
The Lovin’ Spoonful - You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice (1965)
First submitted to the thread in May 2010.
This track has a certain naive charm that I find very appealing.
The Lovin’ Spoonful - Do You Believe In Magic (1965)
First submitted to the thread in May 2010.
Urban Bassman, the poster who first submitted this track to the thread, described it as the perfect pop song. I completely agree with that statement, the perfect pop song is the perfect description.
The Lovin’ Spoonful - Full Measure (1966)
First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
Perhaps the most obscure of the five tracks I’ve selected, but an absolute gem.
The Lovin’ Spoonful - Younger Girl (1965)
First submitted to the thread in July 2010.
The Critters had a minor UK hit single with this song in 1966 and the Hondells had a minor U.S. hit single with it in the same year. Both are fine covers and are well worth checking out. However, my preferred version is the original album track by the Lovin’ Spoonful.
The Lovin’ Spoonful - Didn’t Want To Have To Do It (1966)
First submitted to the thread in July 2010
Beautiful, just beautiful.
The Lovin' Spoonful - Six O'Clock (1967)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTGTOHeegDo
And here are a couple of great cover versions of two John Sebastian songs that were originally Lovin' Spoonful album tracks:-
Bobby Darin - Lovin' You (1966)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI9fM51_xgQ
Johnny Cash and June Carter - Darlin' Companion (1969)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aXTvJunAs
In Post #1 of my Third Anniversary Review I featured a legendary American Soul singer, in Post #2 I featured one of America’s finest sixties bands, so for Post #3 it’s definitely time to feature a British act, and I can’t think of any sixties band who were more quintessentially British than the fabulous Kinks.
Despite being a big name act the Kinks had their fair share of minor hits and non-hits during the sixties, as well as recording some superb B-sides and album tracks, so there was no real shortage of excellent Kinks tracks eligible for this thread, and 20 have been submitted to it over the last 3 years. Of course, choosing just 5 tracks from 20 by a band as good as the Kinks was an almost impossible task. Almost impossible, yes, but not completely impossible, and my 5 choices are shown below.
The Kinks - Animal Farm (1968)
First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
My favourite track from their highly regarded, albeit non-charting album, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society.
The Kinks - David Watts (1967)
First submitted to the thread in June 2010.
Original version of the song that The Jam would have a UK hit with in 1978.
The Kinks - I’m Not Like Everybody Else (1966)
First submitted to the thread in August 2010.
Randy Gibbons’ comments when he submitted this track to this thread say it all, so I’ll repeat them:
“The b-side to Sunny Afternoon, it shows the strength of Ray Davies' songwriting when they were at their absolute peak that they could toss this fantastic song away as a mere b-side, when practically every other band around would have given up limbs for a song this good.”
The Kinks - Where Have All The Good Times Gone? (1965)
First submitted to the thread in March 2011.
Yet another utterly brilliant B-side for which imho Randy’s aforementioned comments would also most certainly apply. Its A-Side was the excellent Till The End Of The Day, which despite being a UK top ten hit, is not really one of their best remembered singles.
The Kinks - You Still Want Me (1964)
First submitted to the thread in June 2012
This was the Kinks’ second single. It didn't chart, but imho was a vast improvement on their debut single, a rather lacklustre cover of Little Richard’s Long Tall Sally. The Kinks' third single would be You Really Got Me, and the rest, as they say, is history.