it's catchy without being too cute. poppy emo punk. lyrics concern trying to figure out why a lover left you for another--great lyrics.

Sylvie Vartan is supposedly one of the cheezier "ye ye" singers, yet I am so in love with this French cover of an American pop classic. It's so charming, the seriousness with which Sylvie Vartan approaches the song. "Must ... Locomotion ... NOW!"

there is something very modern about this song. it's a timeless tune that was later reworked by godzuki on the album pop romantique. brillant song and my personal bardot favorite.

Classic New Zealand psychedelia .... jangly guitar, haunting, evocative lyrics, fragile vocals and an otherworldly feeling which perfecly evokes Dunedin. The best New Zealand pop song ever written.

Ed Harcourt has now committed this song to tape three times in three years. Firstly on the excellent debut mini-LP "Maplewood" in 2000. It was fleshed out and re-recorded for his full-length debut LP, "Here Be Monsters", in 2001, and now surfaces again in 2002 as the a-side of his most recent single. This time it's even better still, and comes accompanied with a great video. This is classic, piano led pop which could have been recorded at any time in the last 30 years. Comparisons to Randy Newman, Nick Drake andTom Waits have been forthcoming, and not unjustified. A great song which just gets better with each trip to the studio.

I'm into blonde women, always have been. Perhaps I share a kindship with the late great Jeff Buckley. I can just imagine where he's coming from, standing on stage, electric guitar amped to rock, all that power in his hands, peering out through the crowd into a yard of blonde girls. How wonderfully empowering! Just think of it? A young man in his prime slashing power chords in front of a legion of women, and leaving this song to remind us of what it's like to live this mythical life. I sing along, dreaming of what it would have been like as a rock star, what kind of pleasure could I derive from the world?

Jeff has certainly proven and disproven his own stylings from the seminal album, Grace, to the somewhat obscure and fragile My Sweetheart the Drunk. What could have been still reverberates through my mind when listening to this song in particular. Its compelling simplicity and catchy chorus, "very sexy, very sexy, okay, okay" beckons my blonde girlfriend to break out into song. The slow thrust of crunching guitars, standard rock 4/4 time, heavy drums sitting on every beat - it's almost glam, almost British invasion, almost cock-rock, but Buckley style. And yes, very sexy, very sexy. Trust me guys, girls will love this song!

Many may already be aware of this samba due to Walter Wanderly's space-age tinged organ instrumental version, but Elis's original vocal version is far more powerful with relentless horn blasts. It also demonstrates her range of emotions put into the performance as she goes from delicate to belting.

A breezy popsong, produced by Anita Kerr... a grrrrrrrreat slice of uptempo sunshine pop...a tune that makes you feel good... isn't that what music is all about ???

Sorry folks, I am not a real David Essex fan, but this guy could sure record a great orchestrated popsong... it has all the right stuff (for me that is). The drive, the energy,
the passion and a thumping orchestration, cracking like a whip on the melody...

no one can resist the poppy sounds of the beautiful Ben Kweller.

This song opens with the great line: "I don't stand a chance in this fucked up world..."

maravillosa recopilaci�n alemana que con frase ir�nica por t�tulo nos presenta una veintena de canciones de diversa musicalidad.
en �l encontramos desde el funky mas setenta a cargo de Heinz Kiessling (petra), el sonido hammond y groove del siempre increible Jack Arel (following you), la diversi�n er�tica m�s lounge de Uschi Moser (love, jet t'aime, l'amour y sunny honey) o el beat ritmico de Gerhard Heinz (look at me), junto con otros temas que recuerdan al pop, la psicodelia, etc...
en conjunto, un disco para pedir ya, con el fantastico libreto repleto de fotos de las peliculas mencionandas que tampoco tiene desperdicio.

An exciting instrumental version of Los Bravos' hit single, done sitar-style. Playing pop music on the sitar must be difficult, since it never was the most melodic of instruments. Lord Sitar is the best I've heard of the psychsploitation musicians that briefly came into vogue around 1967 or so.

This song is such a happy one, without being overly pop oriented. Just Michael Stipe's voice, a piano, simple percussion and the kindest words.

"I read bad poetry
Into your machine.
I save your messages
Just to hear your voice.
You always listen carefully
To awkward rhymes.
You always say your name,
Like I wouldn't know it's you,
At your most beautiful."

Yet another testament to the genius of this much slept on wonder. I have yet to hear an Janko Nilovic song without an initially intriguing introduction, incredible structure, and amazing breakdowns. Shacking Pop is not one of Nilovic's most complex, however the throbbing bass, raging fuzz guitar, and clarity of the drums make this a winner.

my favourite tune on the newest issue of dusty fingers. the dusty fingers series is a compilation of rare and obscure tunes mostly from the 60s and 70s. the styles cover funk, jazz, krautrock and tunes like this one. it's a bombastic pop song with strings and a huge brasssection, which i come to admire more and more in the last time.
the intro is sooo cool. bitter spoken words by nancy about love and pain.
well, take a listen yourself.
last words: check out the dusty fingers series, there are a lot of true gems on them...like this one!

Amazing pop song, no if ands or buts. Period.

The wall of sound covering an amazing pop song is apparent in this gem from My Bloody Valentine.

there is absolutely nothing wrong with the bass in this track, forget about Channel One and the whole history of dub, or the hi hat that gives meaning to the sweet vocal by Loretta, i'll quite happily sink into pop bliss with this tune, and forget Disco or Detroit ever existed. a peach of a lime. never has the obvious sounded so fresh.

The sound is poppy, resembling a more mature 1960s sound than their earlier songs.

a couple of great spy jazz tracks from the movie "si j'etais un espion" by my favourite old pervert..funky guitar/strings combination followed by a morricone-like piano part. (this entire soundtrack seems to be quite inspired by some of morricone�s work...) there's a really nice repetetive bass line that pops up a couple of times during the track.

Japanese group from the early 90's where Cornelius first made his name. This track and especially the album Dr. Head's World Tower are fantastic, bizzare, exciting pop.

pure bubblegum psychedelic soft pop, with lyrics about sucking on "lollipops". the most familiar version of this song is probably the one written for france gall, but i prefer the version where serge himself (in a great faux-na�ve manner)provides the vocals. the sugary strings of the original(?) are replaced by a great subdued wah wah guitar and organ backing on this version, and a lot of little touches wich help make the song a bit more bizarre and playful than the other version. nice for sunny picnics and bicycle rides in the countryside, eh?

Memory's a funny thing. Especially romantic memory.
The first time I heard this song was two days after the first time I fell in love. Everywhere I went, I sang its earnest chorus "And you are always on my mind" in my head, thinking about the one I was in love with. In the shower staring at a bottle of hair conditioner, I sang, "You are always on my mind". On the subway, trying to ignore a potential fistfight about to break out, I sang, "You are always on my mind". In the supermarket produce section, holding the perfect shape of a lemon in my hand, I sang, "You are always on my mind". I was giddy and happy and the song understood. "Hey!" the song said, "Hey!" Will Oldman sang, "I got a new partner now!"
But jacket weather set in and things grew colder and we broke up and I was miserable and I stored the CD away on a top shelf with other memorabilia of that love who's happy power was really freakin' painful for me to think about now.
Things weren't always so bleak and I got me a new love and some years later, when I listened to the song again, I noticed something about the lyrics I hadn't before. See, in reality, the song isn't joyous at all. Will Oldman is singing about a past love, a love who is always on his mind when all the time he is seeing another girl, a different girl from the one always on his mind. He can't be with that girl. He has a new partner now. What I thought was a song about new joy was a song about nostalgic loss.
I didn't see how it was possible that I had suppressed that true meaning for as long as I had, considering how often I sang the song and how much it meant to me at the time. I knew the lyrics like the back of my hand and when I listen to music I dredge up all I can get from the lyrics like I'm a devout scribe interpreting the bible.
One of the beauties of pop songs is that they take on the flavour of your life at the time you listened to them and carry that flavour on to whenever you listen to the song again, while meanwhile you're morphing and changing and discarding what songs you don't want to remember that you loved and making mixed Cd's for long cartrips of the songs you do you do want to remember. This song is weird in that IT seemed to be the one that was morphing the next time I heard it and not me, like it was a person that had changed over time that I was encountering again.
Besides which, what a fucking lovely song it is.

Bridget St John is an english folk singer, whose records were released through Dandelion, DJ John Peel's record label, in the 70's. Her songs remind me of Nico or Nick Drake.
Take notice : surprisingly enough, there are 2 singers called Bridget St John. The 2nd one is an american pop/rock singer

This whole album is really spectacular. My other favorites are "Today It's You" and "Rene De Marie". All capture this beautiful blend of psychy-pop, bossa rhythm, and folky soul. Great blends of patterns, instrumentation, and vocals, I really love this stuff.

I'm not usually too big on this kind of indie pop, but this is just gorgeus. Melancholy lyrics, slow picked guitar, piano, church hall ambience...This could have been just about a zillion bands, yet it manages to have a voice of its own.
Just a great song for me right now.

Sounds eerily similar to Magnet, though.

It sounds weird and great at the same time.

Perfect poppy '60s record, both accessible and arty: Jimmy Webb collides with Brian Wilson and Bacharach, gorgeously arranged for members of the Nashville Philharmonic.

great piece of whiskey-soaked break up pop from our friend lee, here. it's basically driven by guitar and harpsichord, but a warbling hammond organ pops up in the end. really dig the balance between lee's weary voice and the backup singers' purring wordless hums here.

soft, pop-rock. Itis simply beautiful. As good art should be, it is uplifting

It's very 70's with a slow start but picks up and is really fun by the end. Diana DeGarmo sang it on American Idol, season 3.

Romanian pop. Very catchy, upbeat, with trendy romantic lyrics.

glorious piece of alternative pop. Catchy as hell.

A pure joy to listen to. Australias Architecture in helsinki manages to do popmusic that quite no one else at the moment. They never forget to craft a melody like the old masters but at the same time throws in so many new ideas as possible. The owls go is a minisymphony with a childrens choir, horns and could be described as somewhere between maher shalal bash and polyphonic spree.

Better than the avalanches. Few other tracks have made me so glad this year than this song from Japans Handsomeboy Technique. It is virtually the same formula as the avalanches; collage pop from soft rock, disco,hip hop, girl groups etc but with much better song structures than the ava. The album adelie land is also recommended.

If the free design had come from greenwich village and opted for a more folk pop approach they could have sounded like the candian siblings Chuck and Mary. Their songs perhaps doesn´t have the same strong song hooks as "the design" but way more make up for it in their timeless sound and magical voices. Especially on this heartrending track which you can find in an orchestrted version on their second album or acoustic on their first.I´d go for the acoustic one.

If Burt Bacharach would produce a hawain cabaret/ukulele band under the supervision of David Lynch with songs written by aliens and Paul Mcartney they could come close to the music of John Southworth. Confused ? well, but canadian popster Southworth defies description. And it´s not just orginality for orginalitys sake. Southworth is just as interested in crafting a fine melody. Maybe his whiny voice is offputting for some but i find it all the more charming. Girl on the moon is taken from his marvelous debut album (which he sadly hasn´t topped yet although the new Yosemite comes close) Mars, pennsylvania and i believe you can find it for just 1 dollar on amazon. So, what are you waiting for ?

A life full of farewells, everything´s given to be taken away, thank you for making me beg. With song titles that rivals Morrisseys Australias Peter Milton Walsh remains one of pops best kept secrets. Only putting out four albums in 20 years he could be described as the missing link between the more doom laden melodrama of The Triffids and the popstrumming of Go-Betweens. Maybe he is a bit too self absorbed to reach a wider audience but this lovely track, complete with trumpets, finds him in his best form.

Danish pop anyone ? Not that i am an expert in the genre but danish group Gangway made some fine records in the eighties in the aztec camera, prefab sprout vein. Especially this fine track with acoustic guitars that attack you like swarming bees and just the right amount of romantic longing that is the trademark of the genre.

Well, you know the man. But how long is it going to take for rock journalism to acknowledge the genius of Marcos Valles music in the sixties and seventies and give him the rightful respect he so justly earns ? Ok, no harsh words about Caeatano, Milton, Mutantes and the other ones but no one i think could combine the brazilian sound with valles sense of pop melody. Perhaps it is as one reviewer at amazon expressed it while reviewing the essential marcos vol 2 ; A bit too much cheese. Marcos Valle is perhaps a little bit too fun to listen to, not authentic enough. And he´s still got it going. Especially on this fine track where he recycles his wanda vidal track from the seventies

When you´ve overdosed on soft pop and brazilian reissues of the sixties, well, you need something else. So, how about an alt-country concept record, sort of, on child abuse ? Now, don´t runaway because Mountain Goats singer/songwriter John Darnielle is in my opionon the antidote of all the other, look at me how authentic i am singer/songwriters, that have seem to have regular subscriptions in mojos review department. There is a sense of urgency in darnielles songs that he writes songs because he has to. Taken from a fine album overall,The sunset tree, "This year" is the stand out track with a chorus to seek comfort from in the darkest of times; "i am gonna make it through this year if it kills me".

Aaah, the eighties. Everyone´s got their memories, i do and you do too. One who soundtracked my youth was haircut one hundreds singer/songwriter Nick Heyward who went onto a not as succesful solocareer but who yielded many pearls of popsongs for those who cared to look. Tell me why from 88s "I love you avenue" has to be my favorite nick track since it encapsules all his qualties best. Regret, melancholia and longing for the mrs and a piano midtempo verse that leads up to a killer chorus. Avalaible in a bargain bin near you.

To judge by the coverphoto of mrs Shannon this song doesn´t refer to her own personal situation. So, for at least this writer, to see that it was penned by her boyfriend at the time, Blake Wescott, makes a bit more sense. Anyroads, When you live life alone is one of those songs that could have been so much more. A bit properly edited and structured I believe that Burt Bacharach would have considered it among his best. Certainly, the verse is up there with the best burtinspired pop ever. In the chorus though, Barbra Streisand enters the stage and smudders it with a bit too much melodrama to make it the 24 carat gold classic of a song it could have been. But if you have read this far into the text do check it out.

It took me a long, long while to �get� Gorillaz. Oh come on, who didn�t like �Clint Eastwood�? I dunno, having sunshine in a bag is a nice lyric to repeat when people are pissing you and your shit off� yet, �Clint Eastwood� didn�t make me a fan.

No, in fact, no Gorillaz track did more to bring me into the fold than �Dirty Harry�, with its amazing keyboards, bassline and children�s chorale�

It�s just been a while since I�ve come across pop music that was so far off the beaten track, that it redefines what is �mainstream�. This is always fun for music lovers, but once again goes to prove that noone with taste thinks the cookie cutter approach to popular music is the right way.

Well I�m a Gorillaz fan now, maybe three or four years late, but I�m a fan for sure. �Demon Days� has quickly jumped up to �Heavy Rotation� status in my last.fm and musicmobs profiles in a heart beat.

It�s weird, because someone brought a pre-release copy of �Demon Days� for me way back in April, but I listened to it a few times and then ignored it, forgot it for the most part (if you ignore the iconic billboards and posters everywhere across London). I�m famous for that though, I tend to err on the side of not believing the hype, a la Public Enemy.

It was only about three or four weeks ago, after my flatmate�s accidental stop on the �Dirty Harry� video one night, while I was in another room working.

Said keyboards, bass line and chorale, made me stop what I was doing, get up and go into the living room, calling incredulously as I went, �What are you listening to?�

That my friends, is all Big Mami wrote on the matter�

dramatic orchestral pop noir from the sunshine people.
unexpected dept, maybe because Dennis Wilson sings it

psychedelic pop song. Indian inspired lyrics.

This track is so beatiful, and i find it popping up in a lot of degradingly funny places; its one of those tracks you hear in situations that are extremely sexy, though if you watched Nacho Libre, you might have noticed a more ironic use of the track.

First of all let me say that I have been violently blindsided by this group! ...they very quickly entered my favorite 60's pop group stratosphere and have not budged from my rotation for months now. I first got "From you unto us", the singles collection which is good for what it is, but I think the best introduction to the band is the albums themselves, original ordering of songs in this case is vital to the listening experience.
I liked the singles collection OK, but my first impression was muted and okish until I noticed a couple songs later on sticking in my head for hours... picked up the first album on CD (Wondering the whole time if I should be doing this as I have most of the tracks on the comp, CD right? I like the original ordering BEST! Glad I did, no regrets at all...) and have played little else for some time...

I just got Timeless and I'm choosing one off their second album because the first album is one of the few immaculate pop albums of all time IMO and choices there are easy favorites... the second album seems to be less popular, but there are some serious gems here too and It's also a stone cold favorite...

I am choosing Look Away because I think the most distinctive sonic quality of Eternity's Children are these wonderful uplifting bouncy organ driven songs... ET have several tracks that deliver a great song, beautiful and original atmospheric production, great performances in a deeply satisfying way that is rare... This song is pure pop bliss from the opening notes to the end. I honestly can't think of a better compliment than that this song makes me glad to be alive.

For those of you who played in the band and stumble across this:
From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU!

Wow! What a song! It starts off with the mock ice-cream jingle then Billy And The Guys craft a brilliant song. But dont be fulled with the lyric "Today Is The Greatest Day Of My Life" it seems to be upbeat and poppy but it has some dark lyrics

Unbelievably catchy, the most poppy song REM ever did and has to be one of the greatest songs I've ever heard. Period

Smooth pop, It's an audio massage.

pop hip-hop rap pop beat

good pixies song
it's simple and energetic

Doesn't everybody love a good collaboration? It turns out Noah Lennox's beachboy-inspired vocals fit in nicely with the sound-collage electronica of Bradford Cox's offbeat side-project, Atlas Sound. The tight vocal harmonies, and childlike sampled groove compliment each other perfectly.

Nothing too deep in terms of vocal content. It's one of those songs where the chorus is repeated about 800 times, but you can never remember the words.

Instead, this song is all about atmosphere. I'm a sucker for that bleached-out, 70's technicolor vibe lately, and this song captures it more effectively than most. The lo-fi skuzziness, however, only enhances its pop-perfection.

Enjoy before summer ends! This is the perfect doobed-up jam for driving to the beach on a day where you can see the heat. Happy listening.

Really good song not a genre i usually listen to found it on the soundtrack for a game called "borderlands"

It's an interesting and refreshing track from their latest album; very upbeat and powerful with its array of instrumentation, (piano, oboe, especially)
The lyrics are those of one professing their undying love for another. The band manages to keep up their tradition with providing something new to the table by adding a verse from a popular French opera as well as an oboe solo instead of the usual generic guitar.
It's a great listen :)

upbeat, poppy, and fun. i love that it's upbeat and fun. the synthesizer is really unique and adds a nice touch.

Reminiscent of eighties pop, with a good beat and strong vocals. Well paced.

I consider it a mix between britpop and country. However, it sounds great.

Happy dance-pop song about a high school love.

It's very hard to describe Noah and The Whale's music, but I guess it can be considered pop. Really nice song.

I love the little bit of "twang" in her voice mixed with her pop style.

Dubstep with pop flair

electropop, inspiring

Alt-rock, currently popular. It's got a catchy hook but is unique in its sound too. The vocals are especially interesting.

Vocal, pop with elements of classical

It seems unlikely to be able to pick one song from the threepenny opera that stands out above the rest since the thing in itself is so honed to perfection (and never moreso than in the very early recordings). But as a microcosm of the whole this track (track 8) encapsulates perfectly the balance between the borrowed idiom of the popular musical style and the squalor of the lyrics. there is a jaunty middle section in which Mac recalls how he would slip out of bed to let one of the whore Jenny's clients in, mix them a drink and treat them well. Then comes a duet and they sing together of how they long to return to that whorehouse and to those happy times. At the end the music lingers with added, disconnected percussive sounds, in which time the ambivilance and ironies all resonate, creating a moment of perfection for the work as a whole, where all meaning vanishes and mere rhythm persuades.

1930s France is one of my favorite times/places for great popular music making. If you are like minded then you won't want to miss this recording. A gorgeous melody that will have you singing along even if you don't understand a word.

"Strange fruit hanging/from the poplar tree"...one of the most haunting songs ever written. Holiday recorded this song about a lynching several times throughout her career, but this original version features a performance so intense that it is impossible to beat.

NO ONE ELSE could belt it out like that. When she finishes the first chorus,instead of reprising the melody for a second time through, she simply belts a single note (a high C) for an entire 32-bar chorus. Her voice COMMANDED audiences the world over to applaud that song. Celine Dion's got nothing on Ethel. Nothing!

'Laura' has long been my favorite standard. The tune is elegant and haunting, and completely devoid of some of the schmaltzy feel that plagues many popular standards.

Written as an instrumental for the 1944 film of the same name, this was composed as a piano-based number, and so Julie's version is perhaps not the most orthodox recording. However, it's incredibly powerful and atmospheric, and I *think* it's my favorite version.

The entire track lasts just 1 minute and 40 seconds. The first verse is sung as a solo voice without any accompaniment other than the spooky reverberation effect. When the music does come in, it's provided by a small jazz trio led by Barney Kessel. Kessel's delicate jazz chords and picking complement Julie's voice beautifully.

Novelty pop from two American sisters of Italian origin. About their teachers telling them off after a visit to the zoo (?!). Their portrayal of authority figures is very like that in Charlie Brown - "wha wha wha whaaa....".

This is a great twangy pop instrumental, which orginally appeared on the B-side of S & J’s big hit, Sleepwalk. I love Sleepwalk, but in a way I love this even more. It has all the deadly over the top seriousness of a mournful torch song, yet there are no vocals - the emotion is all coming from the steel guitar!

Yes, it's shlocky, but the female voice (Joanie Sommers) goes from syrupy sweet to bad assed babe all in under three minutes. The song is basically about the fact that her boy only talks about his car until she pulls a switcheroo on her sweetness factor. Yes, I said switcheroo,...what of it? It's goofy, but I like it. One for the time capsule to be sure.

Slow-burn, easy-listening intrumental. (Harder to find are the later UK versions by Alan Haven and 'The Now Sound of Vic Templar & His Mood Orchestra'.)

Answers the question, "What would happen if Ennio Morricone did a dramatic, Flamenco-style pop song?" Milva gives a lusty, compelling performance. Fantastic arrangement - love those castanets!

I've tried quite a lot to get into African music and have only got into bits and bobs so far. However, what I have very successfully got into is a white frenchman, with an all french choir, based in Paris, singing songs in an african style. Any amount of race-focussed amateur psychoanalysis can be done on the above I know, but I also know that this song is absolutely fantastic. As far as I can tell, Serge's african work seems to be inspired by a genuine love of african music and singing, but it also has a very pop edge - maybe it is this crossover aspect that makes it so accessible. Anyway, in this one the lyrics are pretty seedy ("ce soir la nuit sera blanche"), but the singing and drumming are just so beautiful - it's a brilliant song.

This recording is utter genius, and I have no idea why I didn't recommend it before. The track opens with some spooky ambient steel guitar sound effects, before some bongoes and vibes set the scene for the tune, which is picked out superbly twangily on the guitar. The great thing about the track is the spooky little effects and chromatic tunes that pop in and out in the background. Some of these are on the steel guitar, but the others could be vocal or vibraphone; it's hard to tell. It's all over in just over 2 minutes, but this really is a delightfully exotic recording.

This is one of those mindblowing tracks that occasionally turns up when you least expect it. I bought a generic looking 'Top TV Themes' EP on the Pye Golden Guinea label, mainly because it had a version of the 'Out of this World' theme, which I've recommended elsewhere on this site. But I was disappointed - it turned out that this 'Out of this World' was exactly the same Tony Hatch version that I already had (the EP does not list any track credits).

I listened on, not expecting much, particularly from 'Maigret', a nice enough theme by Ron Grainer, but one that is a kind of accordian waltz!

Imagine my surprise when this turned out to be some kind of trashy, twangy, swampy surf pop masterpiece! It sounds like one of the very best Joe Meek produced instrumentals from the early 60s.

I'm inferring that this is Tony Hatch, since he did the 'Out of this World' and was a staff arranger at Pye in the early 60s. But if anyone else can shed a different light on this recording, I'd be pleased to hear about it!

One of the few succesful attempts at using a gospel choir on a jazz recording (along with Max Roach's "It's Time" LP from the previous year...which, coincidentally, featured the same chorus), Byrd's "A New Perspective" album was the first time it was really attempted with a small group setting (Roach's was backed by an orchestra). This, the opening track, begins with a vocalese scat by the choir that calls to mind old slave work songs. From there, the incredible band (featuring a very young Herbie Hancock and Kenny Burrell, among others) strikes up, and begins to follow a basic riff with the chorus that takes you through the remaining nine-plus minutes with various tempo changes throughout. An equally impressive edited version appeared as a b-side to the single of "Cristo Redentor", which got to be a minor hit on the pop charts.

Middle-Eastern '60s teenpop! Wild backup singers and a groovy guitar/flute solo add a distinctive, exotic touch to this lovers-from-different-cultures song. Still, it's Gene Pitney's incredible, dramatic singing that pushes this over into the "so weird it's wonderful" arena.

A wild ride down the Nile. If anyone ever accuses the girl group sound of being all innocent or only about boys then just shove this riot in their ears.

Resplendent with one of the greatest nonsense refrains in popular music ("shimmy-shimmy-shimmy-shi-mi-mis-pe-dis") and screams aplenty, this track is a winner on every conceivable level. The instrumentation is clearly designed to sound Egyptian, but instead resembles the soundtrack to a campy exploitation flick about girl gangs among the pyramids (or something).

A highly unusual platter, and deservedly enjoying a greater cult reputation as the years go by.

This is a British artist who does not deserve to be forgotten. She has a free, ranging voice and total charisma. Her trouble was that she got ripped off for life by a lecherous old-guy manager (Ambrose), who was mainly concerned with her considerable charms and the earnings he could siphon off to himself. She is now impoverished, but remains a great past-pop figure, and a great singer. Also a so-called icon of the homo world, where melodramatic performances are always appreciated. She was contemporary with the Beatles, but of a musical world they left behind.

I always love it when older performers "try out" younger, more popular musical forms. In this case we have Doris Day's attempt at Brill Building Pop, the title track for one of her movies. Has she ever sounded sexier?

One of a few especially jazzy and hip tracks by France Gall, I enjoy this one even more than I enjoy her more sugary pop tracks like 'Christansen'. The arrangement is quite spare - basically just France singing with a groovy small jazz combo. She also gets into some very cool scat vocals. Very, very cool.

Lots of Cilla's earlier material was top quality, this Lennon/McCartney song (never actually recorded by the Fabs) knocked me out when I first heard it on my cousin's Dansette in 1964. Spooky melody which almost strays into jazz territory in the instrumental break. Sophisticated pop of the highest order.

I'm no Cilla fan. While I've enjoyed many of her recordings, she was no match as an artist for such contemporaries as Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Lulu, or even Pet Clark, Sandie Shaw, and Jackie DeShannon, all who did very similar material. Still, Cilla had one advantage the others didn't, Lennon-McCartney tunes written with her in mind. I think the Beatles, who knew her well, understood her vocal limitations and provided songs that would show her to best advantage.
"It's For You" is certainly one of the finest recordings she ever made. Its jazzy arrangement, the edgy key changes, and the tempo shifts are as sophisticated as they were unique in 1960s Britpop. The music contributes to a sense of intrigue to the clever, ironic lyrics that pretend to dismiss love only to give it. Cilla rises to the occasion, giving what might well be her best performance ever--stunning!

Bobby Darin - truly one of the smoothest singers the US has ever produced, and there's nothing that showcases this pop-cabaret style like his tenure at Capitol. A singer of great versatility, he swings effortlesly on this album, having great technique and even greater rhythmic feel.

Call Me Irresponsible, something of a standard really, is my favourite. Darin's vocals make you fall in love with his irresponsible, unreliable, unpredictable charm. Accompanied by finger clickin' good Richard Wess big-band sounds. Wow. Whatta man.

The Fleetwoods were an excellent vocal group from the late 50s and early 60s who are best known for 'Come Softly to Me' and 'Mr. Blue'. Both of these are 'classic' oldies tracks, evocative of the late 50s.

'Lonely is as lonely does' came late in their career, and actually sounds much more modern than its 1964 recording date would suggest. This is really a prototype of the 'soft pop' style that would become popular later in the 1960s. The composer, Chip Taylor, went on to write 'Wild Thing' and 'Angel of the Morning'.

The track opens with a nice picked guitar introduction. As in many of my favorite Fleetwoods tracks, Gary takes the lead vocal, with Gretchen and Barbara singing backing vocals. Gary has a very sincere voice. At the beginning the song sounds very routine, but there are some clever chord changes and some cool lyrics. My favorite line is 'As your tears fall, remember this: you're just a kiss away from happiness'.

From the minor key trombone intro to the teenage angst of the lyrics, this is a classic song of the 60's that totally encapulates the innocent era of the UK beat boom. Sandie Shaw was probably the best selling UK female singer from 64 to 69, slightly outselling her contemporaries Dusty, Cilla and Lulu and although she possessed a weaker voice than the others, what she lacked in volume she made up in style and interpretation. Sweet and slightly soulful with a quasi tuneless ache to her voice which epitomised a teenager stood up by some beatnik no hoper, she was only 17 and showed the ways of a woman several years older. In the UK it was the follow up to the massive UK No 1 ''Always Something There To Remind Me'' and was a massive Top 3 hit that should have gone all the way to the top.
I love this record - it sums up an era, it is the beginning of a suit of girl singers who changed then style of singing, from 50's twee to 60's ''dolly bird'' and it remains a classic pop single from a girl who held the record for the most No 1 hits for a ssolo female for 19 years

A super-sweet bossa-pop tune. From one of Burt's solo LPs, but actually sung by an unnamed female trio who do magical things with the hypnotically pretty melody line.

This song is a little more....soulful.. than lots of the stuff I listen to. I find it utterly charming though. Dusty was a goddess, and singing this lovely, simple Goffin/King song she completely slays me. It's a slow arrangement in which Dusty is accompanied by piano, light, gospel-style backing vocals and unobtrusive strings. There's nothing complex or especially clever here; just beautifully executed and perfectly distilled pop.

A classic 60s girl pop vocal, produced by the legendary Joe Meek. It's a heartbreaking tale of infidelity with a typical 60s pop-orchestral backing. Apparently this song never even charted, which is astonishing in view of how catchy and generally wonderful it is.

A very cool and swinging jazzy pop vocal. Michel's range is quite remarkable, and there are some cool backing vocals too. About halfway through of the song, some completely over the top scat vocals kick in, and two different vocal Michels carry out a nonsensical scat 'conversation' until the end. Definitely an unusual way to complete a song, but it works fantastically.

This is a simple but rather bitter pop song, although on the surface it sounds quite sweet. If I recall correctly, it was written about the singer that Twinkle was seeing at the time. The gentle arrangement features acoustic guitar and some brass. It's not hard to hear why Morrissey liked this song enough to cover it with The Smiths.

Twinkle has a lovely clear voice, and much as I respect Moz, this version towers above the one done by The Smiths, which suffers from a strange mix of production styles. That said, I have a strange mix of emotions on hearing the song, since I heard the Smiths version at 14, but only got into this one in the last few years.

This magical track is from a 1965 single produced by Rolling Stones impresario Andrew Loog Oldham. It's a folky pop song with a manically strummed acoustic guitar and constant beat. There's some more full orchestration (brass and strings), but it's slightly hidden in the mix. The charm of this song for me lies in both Nico's bittersweet delivery ("I'm not saying that I love you/I'm not saying that I care/If you love me..I'm not saying that I care/I'm not saying I'll be there when you want me") and the catchy chord sequence in the verse. Some of the bridge sections are slightly corny and obvious musically, but Nico's majestic vocal lifts the song and makes me want to hear it again.

This is a cute, somewhat slight piece of sixties girly pop with a nice Tony Hatch production. The thing that struck me about this tune is how it sounds exactly like the ironic, girl groupy stuff Tracey Ullman did on her 'You Broke My Heart In 17 Places' album. I wouldn't be surprised if Ullman covered this at some point; both singers have a winsome, appealing quality in their voices that overcomes their lack of range.

A pretty 1965 pop song by Danny Hutton a few years before he got big as a member of Three Dog Night, the group which had a long string of hits beginning in 1969. There's a bit too much of that tinkling thing which I thought wasn't so prominent when I heard it on the radio, but maybe I'm wrong ...

But the best thing about the song in my opinion is the drum track! It's probably one of the L.A. session men, but whoever it is puts on an absolute clinic! Best bits: the one at the end of verse two, before the first bridge, which seems to tie up the song to that point in a nice bow, and the one before the second bridge which reminds me of the drums in Tommy Roe's hit 1962 "Sheila".

"Roses and Rainbows" is the first track on the double-CD Three Dog Night best-of.

This track wasn't what I expected. My previous favorite version of this song (although I have many) was probably the one by Mel Torme on his 1962 album 'Right Now'. And since that version was arranged by Ogerman, I had expected this version to be simply an instrumental version like Torme's recording - a cool, finger-clicking, jerky pop number. In fact, there's something much cooler and more sophisticated about this version.

The tune is picked out first by an organ, and then by the brass and woodwinds before returning to the organ, which then jams around the main tune. A really beautiful string section comes in early on, creating some unusual chords that really add to the song and work very well alongside the 'cool' effect of the organ and rhythm. I wish Claus had recorded more songs with this mixture of percussion, jazzy instrumentation and lovely thick string parts. A few tracks on one of his other 60s LPs, 'Latin Rock,' come close, but I'm not sure any of them are as nice as this one.

A powerful, emotional, sophisticated song, the kind that Brit-girl Julie does the best. Without resorting to mawkish affectation, the sheer hush and force of her voice can make tears well up. This was her final single for the Pye label, and a fitting tribute to one of the most consistantly good careers of all the 60's UK female singers.

Ely Arcoverde is a Brazilian organist. His sound is similar to Ze Maria but not as chime-like and almost even a church-organ sound at times. I love this LP because it has a real low meditative sound. It is a quality I find in much of the music from Bahia as opposed to that from the south. The quarteto inludes organ, drums, bass and - a quality that I love alongside the organ - an accoustic guitar. It is mostly instrumental with some vocals similar to the way Jorge Ben would just make repetetive humming and moaning noises in his early LPs. The whole record has a very dark and mysterious feel - sad and lonely the perfect LP for the dark just the light from the stereo tubes flickering. It is available on ebay a lot, it is Ely's most popular LP and it should run you about $50 - 75.

Now THAT'S a title. Honestly, I so wish I was a teen in the sixties. You got to gloom along to the highest-quality pop-soul instead of the early 90's alt.rock that was de riguer in my tender years.

The Exciters are one of the most enduring of the 60's "girl" groups (there's one boy in there). No matter how polished the production was, they remained overwhelmingly vital thanks to the harsh vocal power of Brenda Reid, their main singer. They found mucho favour on the Northern Soul circuit, but I think their stuff is substantially more individual than a lot of the platters on offer in that scene.

"Run Mascara" is about a boy who knows how to hurt and make the tears flow, but gives just enough sweetness to keep Brenda in love. Your classic emotionally-abusive relationship. You would think with a voice like hers Brenda would just wallop him. Or shout at him. That'd shut him up.

Musically it races fast, with the other group members yelling to keep up with the breakneck speed. An outstanding few minutes.

I was utterly smitten with this track when I heard it in the film Jesus� Son. It�s a gorgeously sentimental Philly soul-pop number with Ms Mason cooing sheepishly to her lover that she, �doesn�t even know how to kiss [his] lips� in a moment like this�, before a choir from an ancient realm of heaven peer over the scene and ask if she�s ready to learn, and she says yes she is, she�s ready, she�s ready to, �FALL IN LOVE WITH� [him]��, and how the strings swoop and soar! For good or bad, songs will never sound like this again.

An inspirational ballad written by Victor Moulton about the trials and tribulations of being a one-handed drummer. Moulty tells his story over a lamenting harmonica, then the chorus kicks in and he goes rock n' roll on your ass, urging you to "try to make it, baby!" Don't turn away from this garage gem.

This is total genius. Perfectly formed dramatic faux classical mid sixties pop. Scott does a solo vocal.

An incredible doomy pop masterpiece, 'For one moment' is a dark, haunting ballad, laden with rich strings. I guess what makes it stand out is the recording itself - Lee was a master of studio techniques, and so the whole thing has an uncanny, almost Phil Spector type feel to it.

A dramatic pop number from the 60s in which Mina passionately belts out the tune. The opening is gentle, with a delicate trumpet melody; it then builds up to a huge climax with full orchestra. The song is infuriatingly catchy and familiar; I'm sure I had heard it many times before I finally identified it about five years ago. Very highly recommended.

A beautiful piece of soft pop. Ok, it's corny - the chord sequence is kind of soppy and the lyrics are kind of obvious, but the arrangement and singing are so lovely that I can listen to this song again and again. Opening with a catchy picked acoustic guitar riff, the arrangement soon thickens with with a full orchestra. The singing is deadly serious and amusingly precious throughout the song, and the orchestral arrangement, heavy on oboes and flutes as well as strings, is anything but hip. Still, the song’s simplicity and innocence are really quite charming. I never really got into any of Chad and Jeremy's other songs nearly so much as this one, so any recommendations for similar songs would be welcome. Do me a favor and listen to this and tell me if I’m crazy to love it so much.

This song is an interesting case study into the question of 'why do I like this version of the song more than any other'. I have a half-baked theory that for me, I mostly just like the first version of any great song I hear, regardless of whether or not it is the original or 'best' version. But this track is so different to the Rolling Stones's version that I think it would probably divide people pretty clearly. Produced by Lee Hazlewood/Billy Strange, 'as tears go by' is here recast as a crisp pop bossa nova. They even change the chords slightly (adding a new chord as she sings 'by'). To me, this makes the song vastly superior to the original (or any other I've heard). But I'm not sure anyone has ever agreed with me yet on that one...

Another great dramatic pop number by Mina, this song is from the comic Alberto Sordi film, 'Fumo di Londra'. The backing track is identical to that used in the film, although Mina's version was released separately as a single. What can I say? This is an other deeply affecting dramatic pop number in which Mina belts out the words in a heartfelt manner. If these are the same words I used to describe her track 'se telefonando', then that's because this song is pretty much in the same vein, with a heavy, brass-laden pop arrangement.
ps. a version of this song exists with none other than ME singing in Italian - reverb-laden vocals belted out karaoke style over the same background track.

Interesting early composition/production work from Axelrod. Vaguely calypso-inspired orchestral pop with a very prominent piccolo and what sounds like a French horn solo...I think that I hear a glockenspiel in there, as well. All layered over trademark Axelrod drums and a cool walking bassline.

I had forgotten quite how brilliant this track is until it strangely popped into my head yesterday. It was originally available on Al's superb 'Sounds for Spies and Private Eyes' album, as well as volume 2 of the 'Music to Read James Bond By' series on United Artists records. It's very obviously James Bond rip-off music, but it's so perfectly executed, with cool percussive brass and Al's reverb-laden guitar nicely complemented by a swinging organ, that you can't help but love it.

ever heard of marc bolan? check this out! toured with the who and got thrown off due to a havoc in germany. a psychedelic pop song of highest class.

This is a cover song of a famous tune by Ruby & the Romantics but it's a totally different type of music from the original. Its orchestration and chorus are outstanding and dreamy. Though Roger Nichols is famous now among Japanese pops fan, I don't think many people know him outside Japan. So I want more people to know his tremendous works!!

My personal favorite version of this song. Cilla Black has a very rich and powerful voice that is just right! She sings it with much more feeling than Dionne Warwick's more popular version a year later. Burt Bacharach originally wanted to use this recording on the soundtrack to the film 'Alfie', but Ms. Black declined.

By 1965, Brian Wilson's professional and personal lives were in such a state of constant panic that it was almost inevitable that he would turn to readily available forms of rock star relief. While his self-medication (and underlying mental illness) would ultimately render him into a poster boy for an imaginary DARE campaign, the early, merely marijuanic phase of his regimen yielded a brief but vivid string of almost absurdly gorgeous pop masterpieces. While a couple of these are permanently stamped into the forebrains of all radio listeners over a certain age ("God Only Knows," "Good Vibrations"), some remain almost unknown. Which brings us to "Wonderful," found on the Beach Boys box set, and remade a few years ago as part of the Don Was hagiography. It is a curious, brief (2 minutes) tune, austere in production (harpsichord and vocal) but staggeringly rich in harmonic interest. The melody evokes pure serenity and has no noticeable roots in any previous American pop style. Van Dyke Park's lyric is typically insane; what little one can make of it seems to dovetail with Wilson's growing religiousity, yet feels entirely physical, even pagan -- a sort of boy-loves-wood sprite nature idyll making the first movement of a really great ballet with set design by Maurice Sendak. Or something.

This exceptionally haunting and lyrical song by Quincy Jones has received its definitive interpretion by Astrud Gilberto with arrangement and accompaniment by the Brazilian organist Walter Wanderley. The melancholy urgency of the piece resonates well with the dark/sad tonality that pervades so much of Bossa Nova music, though its character is also reminiscent of certain otherwise very different pieces from the bebop era, which had a formative influence on Quincy Jones' music. There is definitely the remote influence of Charlie Parker and especially Dizzy Gillespie. It's truly a completely unique piece. The drifting melody which seems to skirt over the chord changes has a beautiful inevitability. Only a very gifted and skilled musician could have contrived such a beautiful work. So Quincy Jones deserves especial credit for crafting this song from the film "The Deadly Affair."

Astrud's delivery, so typically limpid and restrained, only serves to heighten the intensity of this darkly passionate song. The subtle but somehow fierce organ playing of Walter Wanderley acheives a sizzling romanticism that perfectly complements the reading of Astrud's apparently detached fatalism.

In my opinion, this track is a true musical masterpiece. Its remarkable economy of means is a testament to the skill of the composer as well as the artistry of the performers. In fact, it's a nearly perfect combination of expressive means and poetic intent. The beautiful resolution, with Astrud's perfect striking of the high B-flat over the half-diminished F-minor seventh, is a moment of sublime dramatic intensity, though profoundly understated, as is typical of her finest artistic moments. One is reminded of Miles Davis. Her poetic skill is rooted in subtlety.

I have listened to this extraordinary track hundreds of times, and always experienced chills rising up on the back of my neck. How amazing that this incredible musical gem was omitted from the original album A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness. Perhaps it was too intense, too heavy; whatever the case, it's a truly remarkable piece of music.

I'm truly grateful to have discovered this great albeit minor musical masterpiece. There's really nothing else quite like it! The sizzling but subtle sensitivity of the rhythm section (Claudio Slon on drums, possibly Joao Gilberto on guitar and Jose Marino on bass) adds an intensity to the piece which helps project the almost existential tone of the song.

I'm really swept away by this obscure and neglected work, which attains -- for me at least -- to a peak of poetic intensity really rare in music. As is usual with Astrud at her best, it accomplishes its artistic ends with what seems like the most minimal of means. But subtlety is always the avenue to the most profound of artistic experiences. I think this is a remarkable example -- one of the greatest -- of the wedding of popular music and high art. It is a truly perfect performance. In my opinion, its greatness increases rather than diminshes with repeated listenings. There is only one word for that -- it's magic!

FROM THE 1966 'LP-FOR CERTAIN BECAUSE'-A HYBRID OF RUBBER SOUL AND THE BYRDS-COMPLETE BLURRED POP PERFECTION IN THE TIME IT TAKES TO MAKE A CUP OF TEA-SAD AND BEAUTIFUL AND A MILLION MILES AWAY FROM THE USUAL BEAT OF THE HOLLIES,IT SHIMMERS IN A SLOW MOTION 12 STRING DAYDREAM AND MAKES ME REALISE WHY I LOVE MUSIC AND WHY I AM STILL AWAKE WHEN I AM AT WORK IN 4 HOURS TIME-SEARCH FOR THIS AND WALLOW IN IT'S SPLENDOUR...........

Alias Blowin' In The Wind.

I don't really care for Bob Dylan, and it is for one reason only; his whingey voice. It just, for me, undermines all the cleverness of his lyrics since he sounds like a child who's dropped his ice cream.

But there's no denying the man writes cracking songs. Virtually every time I hear someone other than him perform a Dylan tune, I find it a great listening experience. Another favourite is Linda Gayle's version of Maggie's Farm (on one of the Girls In The Garage volumes).

Peggy March is famous (if 'famous' isn't stretching it) for a couple of saccharine hits in the early 60's. Few people realise she had a later dimension to her career - great popularity as a German language singer. Her vocal treatment of this Dylan song adds a shyness and grace to the protest, all accompanied by, naturallment, that slight oompah-ness endemic to a great deal of German pop of the period.

charming, catchy norwegian mid-60's beat pop, complete with heavily accentented vocals, simplistic lyrics and mouth harp solos.
not an important recording in any way, but it kind of rocks my boat right now, so i thought i'd share it:)

There's a bit of a story to this one.

Peter Asher, who was the Peter part of this duo, was the brother of Jane Asher who was Paul McCartney's girlfriend at the time of this song, asked Paul to write them a song.

They decided it would be interesting to see if it would be a hit without the Paul McCartney/Beatle stamp on it. So they released this song saying that it was written by a Mr. Bernard Webb.

It only reached No. 28 in the British charts.

Jane Asher, many years later, chose it as one of her 'Desert Island Discs', but she never talks about Paul or her Beatle days and failed to tell the story around the song.

Very nice string arrangement/intro.

This was the early days of using classical instruments in pop songs. I think the classical slant is what appeals to me most about this recording.

A 60's Italian soundtrack tune that magically combines Pop and Renaissance. Harpsichord and wordless vocals (here, by I Marc 4) were not uncommon in the 60's, but here they are together: if only church music really sounded like this! From a killer sountrack album that has several treatments of about three or four excellent base melodies - all of them excellent. Worth every penny.

Possibly the most beautiful and complex pop song ever written. This is the apex of Brians foray into modular music. Loved by Bernstein and McCartney. This song will take you years to sink in. Perfect. I have heard some amazing versions he has done of this equally as powerful.

The Critters really came up with a gem in this 1966 top 40 hit, which seems to have a sort of Brazilian influence. I had the lyrics to this for years in a magazine before I heard the actual song. The greatest hits CD I cited is out of print, but this song may be found on various compilations as well.

Another hit the Critters had was their version of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Younger Girl", which was also
done by the Hondells...I like the Critter's version better.

An unusual take on this classic Burt Bacharach tune, more commonly heard sung by Sandie Shaw. This Swedish vocal group adds a musical phrase to the song which adds something to the atmosphere. The incredibly wide vocal range of the group is used to full effect. The result is a very appealing mixture of 60s pop and vocal jazz.

So groovy. Outstanding popcraft from an outstanding group. Love the contrasts between such pretty music and Chris Dedrick's trenchant lyrics. The arrangement - heavy on the trumpets and harpsichords - is exquisite. Fetch me my paisley nehru jacket, Gweniviere.

A fabulous acid-pop masterpiece featuring one of the most intriguing intros in pop history. Everything I love about psychedelic pop made in the US in the late 6t's comes together in Mrs. Bluebird: the softly mythical, escapist feeling that the harmony and orchestration bring into this music. I frequently use it as a getaway. I think indulging in this music is not sad but it shows you've got the means to make you happy. This song is a Curt Boettcher (The Millennium, Sagittarius) production that cannot have been made while under the influence of drugs!!

Searing r&b cover of the ? & the Mysterians classic. Maybelle almost sounds like she singing this about somebody else, and like she's amused by the pain she's caused. I know it's been comped a number of times, but I'm not sure of where.

The greatest pop song of all time. Without a doubt. I heard this on the radio at about midnight one day in 1979, it took me 10 years to get a copy and that was a bootleg (I know its always been about in the US, but it was impossible to get here).

Is it just me, or do the French really have an inferiority complex? Terrifically silly French girlie-pop with great '60s lyrics comparing all the things that are "Made in England" (Mary Quant, the Salvation Army) with all the things that are "Made in France (not made in England)" (Camembert, Charles Aznavour).

i don't understand a single word of his, but that does not matter in this case. dutronc recorded several garage-pop songs in the 60s. he worked at the legendary label disques vogue. i found this song on the flip of 'il est cing heures, paris reveille' which is rather dull but the b-side delivers! check jacques out!

It's taking me a while to get a handle on Love. Some songs I really like, but some I just can't get engaged in. This song, composed not by Arthur Lee but by bandmate Bryan Maclean, is perhaps my favorite Love song so far. [Turns out my other favorite Love original, "Alone Again Or," is also a Maclean composition. Go figure.] This track's tone is different from what I've heard in the band's other stuff. Softer and poppier, more along the lines of my favorite tracks by Eternity's Children, Free Design, or somebody like that. I love the way the flute just sort of floats over the whole song.

To me this is the coolest recording of the loungey soul pop classic. Dusty's performance is as excellent as ever and it puts a lot of weight on the lyrics that contemplate what to do with an unfaithful man. Saint Etienne built their track "Nothing Can Stop Us" on a sample of the main flute and horn riff.

I love the WCPAEB, they really seem to encapsulate Psychedelia perfectly. Light, blurred and dreamy. And unlike many of their contemporaries seem completely untouched by Garage authenticity. Not that theres anything wrong with garage punk per se, but it means that theres none of blundering of 'talk about girls' to fray those tinted moods.

Oh, it has loud guitars and harmonies right enough, but the whole thing is pitched just right to lift the dregs of any mood enhancers you may have floating around in your bloodstream and send them spinning into your brain.

It's a sad fact that the Bee Gees are a group primarily remembered for only one thing. If this were a perfect world, people would realize what an jaw-droppingly amazing group they once were. To me, their first LP is an orchestral psychedelic pop masterpiece easily the equal of the Kinks' "Village Green" or Billy Nicholls' "Would You Believe", and also just about as close at Britain ever got to replicating "Pet Sounds". On this track, listen for the insane rubber-band bassline, the staccato organ fills, the odd timbre of the voices or the occassional flute bit. It's a song bursting with an enthusiam the likes of which people only had during the middle 60s.

So surprised that the composer, Mr. Bruce Blackman wrote a comment on Mrs. Bluebird's recommendation of this site! And this song "Rumor" ,their first single, was also written by him and Keith Olsen. Beautifully pop melody, intertwined harmony and good sense of guitar arrangement...It's like a comfortable summer breeze. Though I do love "The Other Side of Me", "I Wanna Be With You" and "Mrs. Bluebird" as well, this is the best track in me.

A song that moved and still moves me deeply... like a breath of fresh air... a feel-good song with a lot of tenderness... I would say a typical exponent of the Summer of Love ... a great
underrated song...which moves me to tears (mind you I am a straight male, but music can
play your emotions to the fullest... this is such a song).

Another one of my faves... grrrrrrrreat orchestration, unbelievably well produced and heavenly
vocals in perfect harmony. A song to bring me on my knees... hoping it won't stop... so sweet, yet goes very crescendo... a definite 'two thumbs up' for this one... This group never made an album. It's one of those typical 'studio groups' who produced a sound that could knock you KO (IF you like the positive sound of the late 60s). It takes a genius to arrange a song like that: 'And may my heart be cast into stone" (immediately followed by two short orchestral outbursts pa-taa pa-taa) "And may the world go deaf when I roar" (pa-taa pa-taa)... One word: d e l i g h t f u l

A melancholic, baroque pop song.
It's an hand-made jewel, with this piano scale doubled by the voice, and those gently waves made by the string arrangements.
Your time *perdu*.

Merely one of dozens of killer Simonal tracks (my favorite male Brazilian voice outside of Milton Nascimento), this one is a stellar example of joyous 60s pop, impossible to hear without seeing images of mini-skirt-clad girls dancing away on American Bandstand or something. Handclaps, a "pa-pa-pa-pa-pa" hook in the chorus, Stax-style horns, Simonal's deep, rich wonder of a voice, what more do you want?

I have to write about this song just to defend it. Because,among Szabo fans, this is considered crap...

But for a guy not known for his pop,this is a slammer! Most of this can be attributed to the singers on the session, who incidentally, are from The Love Generation. The Bahler brothers wrote this under the guise of "The California Dreamers", who also did a record the same year for Impulse with Tom Scott... And, whereas the Scott record has become a plunderphonic classic, Szabo's record goes unnoticed for it's lack of "breaks".....

This song is a great groovy stomper much in the tradition of all sunshine pop from the time period. Only with the added bonus of being performed by some of the best west coast session players of the time including Tom Scott himself, alongside Jimmy Gordon, Mike Melvoin, and Carol Kaye. And as with all Szabo's stuff,dark and sexy,with that eastern twist that he added to everything he did.... Bill Plummer added some buzzy sitar to this track too, which makes it a must for indo-pop fans!!

Did I mention the cover art?

One beautifully-constructed, jazz-flavoured number.
Its jazzy chords and conga rhythm are complemented by a set of psychedelic lyrics about Tracy who "had a hard day Sunday" for "she had to be herself and no one else". Real ear-candy for me. One of the best (mildly) psychedelic tracks out there, ever.

one of my favourite ultra pop records from the sixties female vocal era.........harmless

There really isn't a perfect recommendation for this group,all their songs are fantastic!This one just suits my fancy as of now,and has that great "do the monkey" kind of go-go beat that's just plain infectious.This group was capable of tons of emotion,and their influence can be heard a lot in today's indie pop.Harpsichords abound,and their entire works are available on one CD, and it'll never let you down...

Wilson Simonal's mix of Brazilian soft pop and soul cause him to be a pivotal figure in the growth of the "Black Rio" funk scene. This track, classed as one of Brazil's "soul standards" bounces along with a laid back groove, brass and cheekiness.

scratch in the sky is the name of the cryan' shames
album that came out in 1967 from these chicago soft/sunshine pop masters whom also added an amazing dash of psyche to all there recordings...
"a carol for lorelei" starts the album off with bells and association(ish) harmonies!! brilliant
ignore what allmusic.com said about this album they are fools the song writing is up to par with the beach boys and others.
if you dig the Association and The Millennium and other fine sunshine pop groups with that mellow groove get it now. the japanese import is worth the extra for the original back cover art work that the sundazed version didn't recreate faithfully. i love 'em

A brilliant psychedelic dance record mixing over-the-top orchestration and brilliant harmonized vocals. Plus the kind of innocent-meets-intense vocal that I find immensely attractive in pop. Pity it's not officially available on CD, but that could change...

had this on a tape for ages and have recently found a japanese copy of the cd on impulse-awesome jazz/soft/easy vibes straight out of the free design school of harmonies-today [ a jefferson airplane cover i believe] is a jazzy/psych number that makes me half close my eyes and dream of places far away and times past-i would recommend the rest of the album too-all soft pop and sitar jazz...mush better than his fusion nonsense [bar the theme to starsky and hutch] from the 70's.the album is called the honey suckle breeze and is a revelation.

Underrated Monkees pop song with a country feel to it about getting tired of a lover's lies: "times have made me shy of all the things you're saying, times have made me shy of girls and all the games they are playing".

great song. because it starts off in a relaxed easy listening mood, the big paul mccartney chorus caught me completely offguard on first listen. Hasn�t left my playlist since...the demo version is superb, too.

the song is live at the monterey pop festival. it is one of the cleanest, tightest, most rippin' songs i've ever heard from the jimi hendrix experience. one of the best classic rock guitar songs.

Masterpiece! This record, a legend amongst those who know it, with its fine writing, arranging and singing clearly deserves its place in the Pantheon of great pop. It may have failed commercially in its time but the beauty of their pop puts it amongst the best of our times and explains why 37 years after its creation it remains exquisitely artful to our ears. I could write 100,000 words scratching at what I love about this group and their first 4 records, and this song alone.But, the Free Design deserve, rather than my dull hyperbole, a good listen. Rousing and sublime, almost TOO GOOD to have been a big hit. If you read a bit about them you realize that these singing siblings made some naive career choices that favored music over money. Our gain.
Some bonehead on this site claimed The Free Design sound like Stereolab. That writer got it butt backwards. Sadly, Stereolab doesn't have the skill to really reach the musical and spiritual depth of the Free Design. Stereolab's OK, don't get me wrong, but they are often a pale imitation of a much richer source. Letitia from Stereolab cites The Free Design as one of her all-time favorite bands, so at least they have sublime taste and honesty when it comes to revealing their sources.

Guaranteed to lift you up way high.
Buy or download NOW!!!

Fave part: "Wish that I were corny....:

Well, i guess musicaltaste is a rather safe place to recommend some Free Design without getting laughed at. It always strikes me they haven't been more popular back in the late sixties. "Kites Are Fun" is one of their more popular and one of their best tracks for sure. Uber-jolly, playfull, catchy with superb vocal harmonies, gentle guitar, flute, bass and drums and some keyboards.

This track sounds better to me every time I hear it. Ironically, I had a copy of The Association's Renaissance LP for years, but for some odd reason didn't get as far as listening to this song until recently.

It's a very accessible but powerful late 60s pop song with a psychedelic edge. It can't have taken long to write, but the production is excellent, with a nice effect on the vocals, and a wonderful use of early 70s Beach Boys-style swelling vocal harmonies over the vocal phrase 'and all that's left for me to do...is cry'.

Musically, it's an upbeat track with a slightly claustrophobic arrangement. But it's cool - that's all part of the effect! As well as drums, vocals and upbeat guitars, they employ the koto, which adds an unusual edge to the sound.

the words "i could be in love with almost every one/ and i will be alone again tonight with you" are sung in a very intimate high-register, backed by glorious acoustic guitar plucking and horn bursts. two minutes in, the song erupts into an extended horn solo! probably the most perfectly orchestrated pop song.

Super groovy percussive Hammond work-out on the mod-pop Page One label. (The B-side to Puppet On A String.) I got pretty tired of listening to wimp-out Hammond slop, but this is a dancefloor-filling boomer. Costs an arm and a leg on a 7" - anyone know if it's on a compilation?

I almost know nothing about the Chad Mitchell trio, except that John Denver was in the group. I'm not even sure that this is the same guy for that matter. I guess it's really not too suprising that an old folkie would team-up with geniuses like Bob Dorough & Stu Scharf for a little boot in the ass, since those guys seemed to be working a lot of crossover pop material. That's really the reason I picked this up, basically to see what could happen.

The record ends up being incredible actually. Imagine a mix of "golden throat" type schmaltz, Tom Rapp-ish hip folk, Nilssonesque melodrama, and the poetic and jazzy humor of Scharf & Dorough and that will sum it up. It can grow on you for sure.

This track is in the sort of word jazz thing in a highly characterized way hard to describe without taking up too much space... just listen. I think this was a piece from an Alan Arkin LP. Suppose I will have to get one of those now.

For me, simply the most perfect, most luscious piece of pop of its era. I just have to hear the opening downward guitar riff and I'm wrapped up in every note of the song, virtually holding my breath until the premature fade. Wow!