Three obscure, but excellent late sixties tracks that I discovered quite by chance yesterday.

The New Wave - Not From You (1967)
Gorgeous song.

The Sunshine Company - I Need You (1967)
Beautiful cover of a Beatles song that I prefer to the original version.

The Association - Like Always (1968)
Superior album track from imho one of the best American bands of the era.

Great news for fans of the Left Banke (or quality 60s music in general!) They have REFORMED, (minus Michael Brown, although he still may make the odd appearance with the new line up) and following a few low-key gigs they are going to be touring, and hopefully recording new material!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsJodqBURNA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqD1ZYaUquE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3UlP...eature=related

I don't think I prefer it to the Beatles' version, but it's a very good cover and it did impress me enough to go and find out more about the Sunshine Company, who I'd never heard of before.

Here's another great Beatles' cover by the Sunshine Company, again very different from the original:-

The Sunshine Company - Rain (1967)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjbKz...eature=related


"Up Up And Away" was a big hit in this country in 1967 for the Johnny Mann Singers, while a version by the Fifth Dimension was massive in America. Apparently, the first to actually record the song were none other than the Sunshine Company. Here's their version:-

The Sunshine Company - Up Up And Away (1967)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKZBUzQ4dRw



Here's another tremendous, but little known track by the fabulous Association:-

The Association - Standing Still (1966)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpjCGquHHFM

Val McKenna with her cover of Mixed Up , Shook - Up - Girl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-XPI...eature=related


Not a bad cover version at all .

I like that. Good one, Barney.

This was used briefly on BBC Four last night

Pentangle - Springtime Promises

Although the title's about Spring, this is a song for all seasons

Follow up to Mr Mr Lee by The Bobbettes , somehow get the feeling they were not to keen on Mr Lee

I Shot Me Lee - The Bobbettes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT_Yv...eature=related

A late 50's record from Bill Maynard , , a surprisingly good skiffle track .

Bill Maynard - Hey Liley Liley Lo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppt0EFI529w

This post contains several tracks by Love, an American band who were generally ignored in the sixties both here and in their home country, but who attained major cult status in later decades.

As I'm a big fan of this band there is every likelihood that I've submitted some of these tracks before, although I cannot really be arsed to check, but if I have then it's likely to have been more than a year ago, so I see no real harm in submitting them again.

Love - My Little Red Book (1966)
Radical reworking of a Burt Bacharach song. A very different version of the song by Manfred Mann had previously been featured in the Peter Sellers film What's New Pussycat.

Love - Softly To Me (1966)
Early evidence of the band's very unique sound.

Love - Seven And Seven Is (1967)
You could be forgiven for believing that this is a Punk track from the late seventies, but I can assure you it was most definitely recorded in the sixties; it's just a good ten years ahead of its time.

Love - Orange Skies (1967)
Before it destruction in the Time War, the planet Gallifrey, home word of the Time Lords, had orange skies. So, as a massive fan of Doctor Who, how could I possibly not love this song?

Love - She Comes In Colors (1967)
The track that allegedly inspired Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to write She's A Rainbow.

Love - Alone Again Or (1967)
My favourite ever track by Love, and one of my favourite ever tracks by any act. Beautiful song.

Love - Andmoreagain (1967)
Not quite in the same league as Alone Again Or imho, but quite wonderful nonetheless.

Probably my favourite Dylan cover , good idea for a thread , not sure Gaga or Britney have covered Dylan so doubt it will get many takers .

Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash - It Ain't Me Babe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2FJMliXkaU

Thought I would add a Etta James track in response to her death last week .

Etta James - Pushover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIElUwOKtJk

My post today has a bit of an international flavour, with a fine selection of pop tracks by three ladies from Italy, France and the Netherlands respectively.

Betty Curtis - Chariot (1962)

France Gall - Laisse Tomber Les Filles (1964)

Suzie - My Cup Of Tea (1964)

I've just checked and the above gem is the only track by Traffic to be found on this thread. Just one track in twenty months by one of the most creative British bands of the sixties? Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear! I'll definitely have to remedy that situation ...

Traffic - Dear Mr. Fantasy (1967)

Traffic - Pearly Queen (1968)

Traffic - Feelin' Alright (1968)

Traffic - Medicated Goo (1969)

Here's a great cover version that I prefer to Traffic's original:-

Joe Cocker - Feelin' Alright (1968)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gKW4...eature=related

A couple more gems by Traffic:

Traffic - 40,000 Headmen (1968)

Traffic - Shanghai Noodle Factory (1969)

Good stuff!

And welcome back to the thread, Capablanca, it's been a fair while since you last posted.

Oh, and talking of people who haven't posted to this thread for quite some time, what's happened to Randy Gibbons? I always tend to like his contributions.

Hello! I'm taking a bit of a break from DigitalSpy at the moment. I find myself feeling a bit out of step with the majority of the site.

I do still stick my head round the door, so to speak, every few days to check on this thread, 60s classics and Rare 70s, but I don't really feel like contributing right now. I went through a spell pre-Xmas of posting a lot and I think I'm burnt out!

I am of course still slightly obsessed with finding great under-the-radar music, but at the moment I'm going through a bit of a lean patch, so you're not missing much.

Thanks for the thought.

RG

Just to chuck in a little something while I'm here, this might have been posted before, but on the off-chance it hasn't:

The Grass Roots - I'd Wait A Million Years (1969)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMsnsUbG2Rc

Nice to hear from you Randy.

You're not the only who feels a little out of step with the majority on this site, or if not the whole site, certainly this forum. It's difficult to find any common ground with people who call the Beatles a boyband, who think that Jacko is the greatest ever black artist and who think that Britney is more talented than Ella, Billie, Etta and Aretha rolled into one. Had Rob not started this thread and similar retro-threads since, then I think I would definitely be avoiding this forum like the plague!

Yes, that Grass Roots song is new to the thread. Good track.

Looking forward to other obscure gems whenever you get the urge post again on a more regular basis.

Thanks Vabosity...like Randy I was taking a bit of a break and having a crack at improving my guitar skills!

Following on from Traffic, here's a beautiful track by Family from their début album, 'Music From a Doll's House', which was produced by Dave Mason:
Family - Mellowing Grey (1968)

And two surprisingly poppy numbers from their second album, 'Family Entertainment':
Family - Processions (1969)
Family - Dim (1969)

Likewise, good to see some familiar names again.

As we freeze in the arctic blast, some suitably wintry songs from Nico

Winter Song

Roses in the snow

Frozen Warnings

Only one track from me today, but it's a real curiosity.

As you probably know, when the Beatles went to Hamburg in the early sixties they were a five piece group consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison on guitars, Pete Best on drums, and John's art college friend, Stuart Sutcliffe, on bass.

Pete was unceremoniously booted out of the Beatles in 1962 and replaced by Ringo Starr, while Stuart voluntarily left the band in 1961 to stay in Hamburg and resume his art studies, but sadly died of a brain haemorrhage a year later.

I read somewhere that when the Beatles played those seedy clubs in Hamburg, the Elvis Presley song, Love Me Tender, invariably sung on stage by Stuart Sutcliffe, tended to receive a much more enthusiastic reception than any other song the band performed.

The following Youtube clip purports to be a rare recording of Stuart singing that very song. Its authenticity is questionable, it could well be a fake, but for the sake of this post, let's assume it's genuine.

Stuart Sutcliffe - Love Me Tender

It's a real joy when you come across a track that you had completely forgotten about.

This was a big pirate radio hit but never charted in any of the 1960's charts I have access to - which is most of them.

Love Children - Paper Chase

Another one track post, a song I'd completely forgotten about until watching Jonathan Meades' brilliant programme on France, this was banned by De Gaulle in 1967 for suggesting that France owes America its freedom from Nazi rule.

Michel Sardou - Les Ricains

rooms about done, ill have sound soon! got some catching up to do!..

The original American versions of four songs that were big UK hit singles for four British acts.

Earl-Jean - I'm Into Something Good (1964)
Herman's Hermits' cover version topped the UK charts in 1964.

The Tokens - He's In Town (1964)
The Rockin' Berries' cover version reached number 3 in the UK charts in 1964.

Maxine Brown - On No Not My Baby (1965)
Manfred Mann's cover version reached number 11 in the UK charts in 1965.

Diane and Annita - Groovy Kind Of Love (1965)
The Mindbenders' cover version reached number 2 in the UK charts in 1966.

Surprisingly, that record wasn't released until 1970; it sounds like it should have come out a couple of years earlier. Good track.

Some 'soft' US pop gems from me:

The Cyrkle - Reading Her Paper (1968)

The Buckinghams - Are You There (With Another Boy Boy) (1968)

The Buckinghams - You Misunderstand Me (1968)

The Turtles - Too Young To Be One (1967)

And finally a psychedelic classic:

The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Smell Of Incense (1967)