Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1985 - (page 203)

GoatersLeftShin said:
Just to highlight how good the music was in this year, here's a list of the songs (not albums) I considered for this year but rejected for various reasons. Every song in the list could easily have been added as they are top class pop songs.

My personal favourite is Kites but either way it's a testament to the writers of these songs:

# Kites - Simon Dupree and The Big Sound

Hauntingly beautiful. Not sure if it was a one-hit wonder but either way, it's a magnificent song and that combination of sound-effects and instrument compliment each other beautifully.

# Alone Again Or - Love

I was very tempted to include the album, but at the expense of which single/album? As I said it's an impossible task. If I'd have included Forever Changes then someone would've complained that Piper was omitted! The music of this year is just so outstandingly good that these songs can be omitted due to the sheer quality of everyone else. It reminds me a bit of Wenger - a great manager who was unlucky to be in an era of other great managers!

# Cat Stevens - Matthew & Son

I love Cat Stevens and this song is one of his absolute finest.

# I'm a Man - Spencer Davis Group

An absolute Grade A1 classic - the percussion alone is magnificent but it's full to the brim of male swagger and menace. I was surprised to learn it was 67 as I had a feeling it was a few years later, but either way it could be played today and still carries potency. The great Stevie Winwood on keyboards and vocals.

# Traffic - Paper Sun

Another magnificent song by another magnificent band.

# Traffic - Hole in my shoe

As a kid, I ADORED this song. I obviously had no idea that it was (probably) a LSD inspired song but I loved the imagery, melody and general silliness of it. I love it to this day. I can't get my head around how it sounds like the melody and drums are being played backwards, that is some band who can do that.

Who can't love these lyrics? :) Imagine Cliff, Elvis, Frank, Engelbert or a million others trying to sing this! :)


# Bernadette - The Four Tops

The great Four Tops were such a great band that I could easily include every song they did in every year. I think Bernadette might be their best, Levi Stubbs' voice just absolutely makes it.

# Happy Together - The Turtles

When I think about how to write a great pop song, this is a song I'd hold up for a template - simple, joyful, beautiful and utterly melodic. You just want to sing it and the way it changes from minor to major is sublime. And those harmonies - not as good as the Beach Boys - but they are bloody close.

# I Can Hear The Grass Grow - The Move

Another psychedelic rocker, what a magnificent song from Roy 'Wizzard/ELO' Wood's first band. It just rocks from root to flower!

# Flowers In The Rain - The Move

As above, just a brilliant pop song.

# New York Mining Disaster 1941 - The Bee Gees

One of the first singles from the magnificent Bee Gees, it's a brilliant pop song.

# Let's go to San Francisco - The Flower Pot Men

If I lived in the UK in 1967, working in some shithole factory making plates I would be dreaming about going to San Francisco and making effort to get there. Songs like this make me dream to this day of what it was like there.

# Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks

Without question, one of Britain's finest bands and songwriters this is a masterpiece. Beautiful, clever, melodic and carrying a twist - everything I love in a pop song.

# The First Cut Is The Deepest - PP Arnold

A brilliant Cat Stevens song, sung beautifully by a great singer.

# San Francisco - Scott McKenzie

I guess this song is similar to the Flower Pot Men, it's just beautiful. Just listen to those lyrics and the idea of having to put flowers in your hair to mix it in just beautiful.

# We Love You - The Rolling Stones

What a brilliant, beautiful protest song. 'We Love You' is a brilliant riposte to those who arrested them for drugs - another psychedelic masterpiece.

# She's A Rainbow - The Rolling Stones

Our wedding song was Here, There & Everywhere by The Beatles but this song is my wife in a song. She's A Rainbow who combs colours into my life. This psychedelic masterpiece is just utterly beautiful and captivating.

# I Can See For Miles - The Who

Ordinarily, in any other year, a song like this would easily be the best of the year. It's a testament to 1967 that you could place it 30th in the list due to the sheer number of utterly brilliant songs and still complain that the song in 40th place is better.

As you can imagine, this is part of my singles list - there are still lots of great singles I've not listed, as well as albums but I think I'm backing up my claim of 1967 as being one of the greatest years for rock EVER!
Click to expand...
We need two playlists, the second for great omitted songs.
Incidently, the Flowerpot Men were formed to promote ‘Let’s Go’ after the song was recorded by session musicians. When they performed the lead singer was Tony Burrows who was also the lead singer of several ‘instant’ groups such as Edison Lighthouse, Brotherhood of Man and White Plains and once appeared on TOTP in two groups on the same show. Burrows was not on the recorded version of ‘Let’s Go.’
 
Last edited:
RobMCFC said:
I’m sure that we can look the other way if you slip a handful of extra tracks in.
But again, part of the challenge is reducing the list and allowing others to fill in the blanks - you can still include lots more in the write-up and leave some out of the initial playlist.
Click to expand...

Oh, I’m leaving loads out. I could easily do a 50+ playlist for 1973 and I won’t be anywhere near that. The gaps and potential to add tracks is huge for all us old timers :-)
 
OB1 said:
Oh, I’m leaving loads out. I could easily do a 50+ playlist for 1973 and I won’t be anywhere near that. The gaps and potential to add tracks is huge for all us old timers :-)
Click to expand...
So the finished playlist can be 50+. Some of the previous years playlists are already approaching that. It just needs everyone to pitch in and make sure that none of the pearls are missed. Just put forward your ten or so and then tick off the ones you omitted as they are nominated by others. If any are missing towards the end, nominate them yourself. Simples!

in 1971 I have counted over 100 albums that could easily be covered. The breadth and quality is just unbelievable.
 
His incredible appearance at Monterrey has already been mentioned and it was the moment Otis Redding went 'global' but tragically this was also the last year Redding would release any music himself :-(

If you've never heard Redding and Carla Thomas together then give the ' 67 track 'Tramp' a listen for what is just brilliant brilliant chemistry. But for this year how can we not have...

Try a Little Tenderness - Otis Redding

(On the subject of Monterrey, a young Laura Nyro appeared on the bill - someone who I'm not sure we've ever talked about in these threads but is deserving of our attention).
 
Last edited:
threespires said:
His incredible appearance at Monterrey has already been mentioned and it was the moment Otis Redding went 'global' but tragically this was also the last year Redding would release any music himself :-(

If you've never heard Redding and Carla Thomas together then give the ' 67 track 'Tramp' a listen for what is just brilliant brilliant chemistry. But for this year how can we not have...

Try a Little Tenderness - Otis Redding

(On the subject of Monterrey, a young Laurio Nyro appeared on the bill - someone who I'm cnot sure we've ever talked about in these threads but is deserving of our attention).
Click to expand...
Hey, no peeking ahead to 1968 allowed, A certain New York City singer/songwriter might just be getting the attention she deserves!
 
Saddleworth2 said:
So the finished playlist can be 50+. Some of the previous years playlists are already approaching that. It just needs everyone to pitch in and make sure that none of the pearls are missed. Just put forward your ten or so and then tick off the ones you omitted as they are nominated by others. If any are missing towards the end, nominate them yourself. Simples!

in 1971 I have counted over 100 albums that could easily be covered. The breadth and quality is just unbelievable.
Click to expand...

Oh, I hope the final list will be 50+.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
So the finished playlist can be 50+. Some of the previous years playlists are already approaching that. It just needs everyone to pitch in and make sure that none of the pearls are missed. Just put forward your ten or so and then tick off the ones you omitted as they are nominated by others. If any are missing towards the end, nominate them yourself. Simples!

in 1971 I have counted over 100 albums that could easily be covered. The breadth and quality is just unbelievable.
Click to expand...

P.S. I’m pretty sure I own over 100 albums from 1973, which I’m doing. Not even thought about my first choice year 1975 but imagine that is similar.
 
threespires said:
His incredible appearance at Monterrey has already been mentioned and it was the moment Otis Redding went 'global' but tragically this was also the last year Redding would release any music himself :-(

If you've never heard Redding and Carla Thomas together then give the ' 67 track 'Tramp' a listen for what is just brilliant brilliant chemistry. But for this year how can we not have...

Try a Little Tenderness - Otis Redding

(On the subject of Monterrey, a young Laura Nyro appeared on the bill - someone who I'm not sure we've ever talked about in these threads but is deserving of our attention).
Click to expand...
Glad you mentioned her TS always been a fan of hers since I heard her song Wedding Bell Blues by the 5TH Dimension who also need to be included in the discussions to come at least I will be.

It was then I got my parents to buy me New York Tendaberry , what a mezzo-soprano voice she has pure silk an album if you haven't listened to I recommend you listen to.

if I recall EHJ only places Nina Simone above her vocally speaking and she is in my 10 best as well albeit Karen Carpenter has no equal IMO.

Lost her way too early to same insidious disease that took her mother at roughly the same age.

Have to have Otis Redding goes without question and I would have picked this myself TS and the song ( listened to it again just last Saturday in fact and never grwo tired of it if you had not and also speaking of Monterey whilst you raised it , we also were introduced to a band known as the Steve Miller Band.

BTW if you have any information on The Group With No Name I would be fascinated outside my knoweldge of Cyrus Fayrar who played in the set.
 
mancity111 said:
Glad you mentioned her TS always been a fan of hers since I heard her song Wedding Bell Blues by the 5TH Dimension who also need to be included in the discussions to come at least I will be.

It was then I got my parents to buy me New York Tendaberry , what a mezzo-soprano voice she has pure silk an album if you haven't listened to I recommend you listen to.

if I recall EHJ only places Nina Simone above her vocally speaking and she is in my 10 best as well albeit Karen Carpenter has no equal IMO.

Lost her way too early to same insidious disease that took her mother at roughly the same age.

Have to have Otis Redding goes without question and I would have picked this myself TS and the song ( listened to it again just last Saturday in fact and never grwo tired of it if you had not and also speaking of Monterey whilst you raised it , we also were introduced to a band known as the Steve Miller Band.

BTW if you have any information on The Group With No Name I would be fascinated outside my knoweldge of Cyrus Fayrar who played in the set.
Click to expand...

I think by the sounds of it we're going to have the opportunity to discuss LN when we get to '68 which makes sense given the album she released that year.

Not a week goes by when I don't play at least a song or two by Redding.

As for the Group With No Name it's all lost in the mist of time isn't it? Supposedly Fayrar's wife (Renee?) and Jules Alexander were part of it but if Alexander was there then why didn't he play with The Association too? I suspect there's a book out there somewhere that sheds more light on it. I know there are books that cover Monterrey in depth and I keep meaning to buy one. You could make a book just out the people who didn't play (and why) let alone the acts that did. Zappa slagging of the SF bands and refusing to appear with them; the various British acts who couldn't get a US visa for various nefarious reasons; Berry Gordy refusing to let any Motown act play at all; Peter Tork having to announce (more than once?) that no The Beatles were not in the crowd in disguise! The Beach Boys heavily involved but then unable to get things together to play. Ry Cooder refusing to let CB take up the invite because he thought they weren't capable of playing well enough at that point. I really wish Arthur Lee had accepted the invite too as we'd have some classic footage to treasure, but maybe again that was part of the LA vs SF spats? John Phillips writing "San Francisco" in part to placate the increasingly narky/twitchy Monterrey local authorities. The boss of ABC, who'd paid big money for the film rights, telling the organisers/film crew they could keep the money but to get out of his office, after they showed him footage of Hendrix's performance!!

Monterrey could easily sustain an entire thread on its own.
 
A few more from my list of rejections!

# Lulu - To Sir With Love

As annoying as Lulu is, this song is a belter.

# Stevie Wonder - I Was Made To Love Her

It's a testament to this year that one of his greatest songs probably doesn't even come in the top 50 songs of the year!

# The Box Tops - The Letter

A brilliant simple, short song - and a classic

# The Bee Gees - Massachusetts

Such a beautiful song from them.

# Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl

I thought this song was from the 70s - it's one of those songs that everyone knows and just seems to have been around forever!

# Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth

A great song from Stephen Stills and such an iconic riff which shows you don't always have to rip up the guitar to make a great riff!

# Engelbert Humperdinck - Release Me

Over the top, crooning and nonsense. But it's also melodic, catchy and one of those songs that is a classic from the time!

# Dedicated To The One I Love - Mamas & Papas

An older song but brilliantly performed by the Mamas & Papas
 
GoatersLeftShin said:
A few more from my list of rejections!

# Lulu - To Sir With Love

As annoying as Lulu is, this song is a belter.

# Stevie Wonder - I Was Made To Love Her

It's a testament to this year that one of his greatest songs probably doesn't even come in the top 50 songs of the year!

# The Box Tops - The Letter

A brilliant simple, short song - and a classic

# The Bee Gees - Massachusetts

Such a beautiful song from them.

# Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl

I thought this song was from the 70s - it's one of those songs that everyone knows and just seems to have been around forever!

# Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth

A great song from Stephen Stills and such an iconic riff which shows you don't always have to rip up the guitar to make a great riff!

# Engelbert Humperdinck - Release Me

Over the top, crooning and nonsense. But it's also melodic, catchy and one of those songs that is a classic from the time!

# Dedicated To The One I Love - Mamas & Papas

An older song but brilliantly performed by the Mamas & Papas
Click to expand...

Some crackers there...

I've already mentioned To Sir With Love and Lulu is actually a really nice lady.

Apart from I Started A Joke, Massachusetts is probably my favourite BGs song

I spent my 40th birthday amongst the lava flows on Etna. I was still so excited that when we got back to our vehicle and Brown Eyed Girl was on the radio I stood there and did a manic dance, which has been known since as my 'lava dance'. I literally cannot hear that song without thinking about lava.

In fact they're all great picks the only one I'd take umbrage with is Release Me, not because it's Engelbert etc but because when I was a toddler apparently my Mum would dance me round the room to The Last Waltz (also '67) so that in my head is the proper Engelbert song.

Add em all to the playlist I say!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top