Waylon Jennings - Walk On Out Of My Mind

RCA 47-9414, 1967

One of his better sides from the '60s, as produced by Chet Atkins.

Musicians on this include Fred Carter, Jerry Reed and Charlie McCoy, to name a few.

The Grass Roots - Let's Live For Today

Dunhill 4084, 1967

A recent score - it's pretty hard to find an original copy (with the radio mix) in good shape these days.

This single marks the beginning of the band's v2.0 phase (Creed's debut on lead guitar, P.F. Sloan and Steve Barry moving on to just producing). For '60s pop, this is about as close to perfect as it gets.



Brilliant use of minor chords in the chorus.

Digable Planets - Where I'm From

Elektra 64674, 1992


Here's proof that mainstream 45s were still being pressed in the '90s, though I can't imagine who would have bought them (especially when cassingles were so readily available).

This features the '7" mix', which seems to be the same edit/mix used for the video.

Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band - Light Reflected Off The Oceands Of The Moon

Epic 14-03190, 1982
 
A non-LP instrumental track on the B-side of "Ice Cream For Crow", which I guess makes this the last thing he released before completely disappearing from the music world.

Fans will notice this is actually "Hey Garland I Dig Your Tweed Coat", sans vocal, with CB working some serious saxophone damage instead.

The Walker Brothers - Love Her

Smash S-1976, 1965
 
Their second single follows the Phil Spector Wall Of Sound Playbook almost to the letter: song by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, orchestration by Jack Nitzsche... the only thing missing is the gun-toting lunatic himself. Instead, the producer is Nick Venet (Beach Boys, Frank Zappa). Pretty slick.

What really stands out here is Scott Walker's lead vocal. The guy was amazing from the very start, making real fire with an otherwise pedestrian pop tune (I doubt Mann & Weil were in the habit of giving away A-list material to unknowns).

James Brown and The Famous Flames - Let Yourself Go

King 6100, 1967
 
One of my favorite JB tracks, from a period full of favorite tracks.

Most people probably know this one from the Star Time box set, which features cleaned up digital remixes of his hits. The CD version is fine, but I still prefer the gritty, reverb-drenched sound of the original single.

Michael & The Messengers - Up Til News

USA 866, 1967 (B-side of "Midnight Hour")
 
That recent Sundazed compilation inspired me to dig out some of my USA singles. So far, this is the only one to turn up (I swear I had more, somewhere). I'll skip the A-side. Just go ahead and buy the comp* for that one, it's worth it.

This is what they call a throwaway B-side. It sounds like the band had a few minutes of studio time left, and nothing to put on the flip - so they just made something up on the spot.



* info on that magnificent Sundazed comp:
www.sundazed.com/lp5245.html

The Beatles - I Am The Walrus

Capitol 2056, 1967
 
This has to do with my first real complaint with the new Beatles remasters.

For some mysterious reason, every released version of this song has two measures chopped out (about 1:30 in, just before "Yellow Matter Custard...") - except for the original US Capitol single. The edit is easy to spot, as it is rather crude and slightly off the beat.

Probably not a big deal to anyone else, it's just that I must have listened to this single hundreds of times before the Magical Mystery Tour album came out (at first, I thought the LP had a skip in that part).

The US 45 version (without the edit):


the edit (from the 2009 mono remaster):



An annoying little mistake(?) gets repeated once again.

The Bee Gees - I've Gotta Get A Message To You

Atco 6603, 1968
 
A huge song, a huge hit - and essentially the end of their run of great '60s pop singles (besides "I Started A Joke", which was not released as a single in the UK for some reason).

This is different from the LP/CD version: slightly longer, different vocal (in parts), and the orchestra is buried in the mix until the final chorus.

Donovan - Sunny South Kensington

B-side of "Mellow Yellow", Epic 5-10098, 1966

I never cared much for the A-side, but this song really has something. Donovan's amusing enough with his portrait of swinging London, but the real star here is John Paul Jones' brilliant arrangement. So many things going on, from the dual electric/upright basses on the intro to the continually changing keyboards (John Cameron, I think): harpsichord to organ to harmonium to piano, and back again.

Do not click on this if you hate having a song stuck in your head for days.

Echo & The Bunnymen - Angels And Devils

Korova (UK) KOW34, 1984
 
B-side of "Silver". This was a one-off, recorded during a break on their '84 North American tour. I remember being really psyched by this when it came out, as it seemed to suggest a return to a simpler, stripped down sound after the lush orchestrations of Ocean Rain and multilayered production of Porcupine. Too bad they didn't pursue this any further and instead went the overproduced, '80s synth route with "Bring On the Dancing Horses" and that awful self-titled LP.

One of their best 7" sides, and the end of a great run.

Herman's Hermits - Leaning On The Lamp Post

MGM Records K13500, 1966
 
Guilty pleasure record here. It's fruity as hell, like most Herman's Hermits tunes, but what are ya gonna do? It's irresistibly catchy Brit invasion bubblegum, something this band cranked out in bulk.

This one reached #7 in the U.S.



The single version is different - different take - than what's on any of their albums (yes, I'll admit it: I have several Herman's Hermits records.)

Eric Burdon & The Animals - Sky Pilot (Parts 1 & 2)

MGM Records K13939, 1968
 
This is the radio version, which I think had a lot more work put into it. Aside from the freaky echo effect on "How high can you fly?", the drums stay in the mix during the middle sonic collage part. The transitions seem to work better, compared to the choppier, bland LP mix (an earlier mix, perhaps?). Plus, the single has some spooky bagpipes at the end.

I'm fairly certain this was the first stereo 45 I ever owned. Lots of cool panning effects during the middle part. As a kid, I loved playing this one on my GE Wildkat stereo and reveling in the total stereo experience (the distressed condition of this record reminds me of this - sorry about that. I'd love to track down a better copy someday).



I have yet to find this version on any CD compilation. The recent remaster of The Twain Shall Meet claims to contain the single version, but don't waste your money - it's just the album mix, folded to mono and cut into two parts.

Jerry Lee Lewis - Let's Talk About Us

Smash S-2202, 1968
 
The Otis Blackwell-penned classic. This isn't the original 1959 Sun Records version, but a late '60s remake Jerry did for Chicago label Smash.

This was recorded after Jerry's transformation from Rockabilly to MOR Contemporary County, with signature production by Jerry Kennedy. I've developed a taste for this period of The Killer's career - forgotten by pop radio, but soldiering on in Country (the A-side of this 45 topped the Country charts in '68). He was a good fit for this style and still rocked it his way.



Dave Edmunds did a nice cover of this a decade later (with Nick Lowe producing) - a version that seems to borrow more from the Smash single than the original.

The Bubble Puppy - Hot Smoke And Sassafras

International Artists 128, 1969
 
It's had quite a few plays, but it cleaned up purty good.

I don't think it made too much of a dent in the national charts, but it was a huge hit on Chicago radio. Always loved this song, despite its psychedelic bubblegum cheesiness. One of the first things I attempted to learn on guitar was that riff.

The Chi-Lites - Stoned Out Of My Mind

Brunswick 55500, 1973
 
A great song. I love the production - if you listen closely, there's really not too much there. Besides the horn section, it's a simple arrangement, almost minimalist. Just a strong bassline and a great vocal. That's all you need.

It's hard to believe it wasn't a bigger hit, considering their track record before this.



The single has a slightly different mix from the LP version I'm used to hearing (more Clavinet!).

Simon & Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy in New York

Columbia 45133, 1970

The single is a little different, in a good way. The lead vocal isn't so heavily processed like on the album (that cheezy ADT effect that makes everyone sound like a robot). Instead there's just some reverb over everything, which is very Classic Rock.

Garfunkel still sounds like a ghost on this one.

The Rolling Stones - Street Fighting Man

London (US) 5N909, 1968

One of my first Stones records. My favorite single of theirs, for sure. I remember finding this in the remainder bin at Woolworth's (39 cents), which was strange because it didn't seem to chart. Never heard it on the radio at the time, either.

Get down!
 
Hey, said my name is called Disturbance
I'll shout and scream, I'll kill the King,
I'll wail at all his servants... 
 
Mick Jagger, 1995:
It was a very strange time [1968] in France. But not only in France but also in America, because of the Vietnam War and these endless disruptions... There was all this violence going on. I mean, they almost toppled the government in France; De Gaulle went into this complete funk, as he had in the past, and he went and sort of locked himself in his house in the country. And so the government was almost inactive. And the French riot police were amazing. Yeah, it was a direct inspiration, because by contrast, London was very quiet...
 
Keith Richards, 1977:
Street Fighting Man was all acoustics. There's no electric guitar parts in it. (Even the high-end lead part was through) a cassette player with no limiter. Just distortion. Just two acoustics, played right into the mike, and hit very hard. There's a sitar in the back, too. That would give the effect of the high notes on the guitar. And Charlie was playing his little 1930s drummer's practice kit. It was all sort of built into a little attaché case, so some drummer who was going to his gig on the train could open it up - with two little things about the size of small tambourines without the bells on them, and the skin was stretched over that. And he set up this little cymbal, and this little hi-hat would unfold. Charlie sat right in front of the microphone with it. I mean, this drum sound is massive. When you're recording, the size of things has got nothing to do with it. It's how you record them. Everything there was totally acoustic. The only electric instrument on there is the bass guitar, which I overdubbed afterwards.
 
There's three mixes of the original recording in existence: the original UK single on Decca (found on the remastered singles box), which is very crude sounding and has an earlier vocal take; there's the common stereo album version, which everyone has heard... and this, the US mono 45, which is similar to the album version except that the drums are brought way up and sound fantastic.



Edit to mention how awesome Nicky Hopkins' piano work is on this track. He was such a huge part of their sound at the time, probably more of a contributor to the band than Bill Wyman or Brian Jones (see Sympathy For The Devil, Salt Of The Earth).

Hawkwind - Silver Machine

United Artists UP35381, 1972
 
I first heard this song in Skipper's Music Store - 1972 is my guess - but I didn't know who it was. I distinctly remember seeing Black Sabbath's Vol. 4 put up on the "now playing" display and assuming that was what I was listening to. I didn't think too much about it then but the song would come back to me afterward - become stuck in my head.

Long story short - many clueless store clerks later, Black Sabbath LPs purchased in vain... a quest that continued for years. A song with something about something machine. The trail ran cold, decades go by...

--

Earlier this year my son sent this record to me to rip to mp3 for him, which he won on eBay. We've both been getting into some early Hawkwind lately, and this 45 sort of slipped through the cracks of their original discography so he was especially keen to hear it.

Anyway, it was one of those weird moments, putting this 45 on. It just started with a weird premonition on the song's fade in. By the first chorus, it all came back. I was back at Skipper's Music, and it all makes sense. That song that was stuck in my head all these years. Hawkwind. Of course.



Skipper's Music always had a great selection of Krautrock, Space Rock and various European ephemera. Can, Guru Guru, Neu etc... I was familiar with all those names and corresponding album covers back then, just from browsing through that store's inventory (though admittedly my 12 year old musical tastes didn't catch up until long after). Totally missed this one, though.

The Thirteenth Floor Elevators - Tried To Hide

International Artists 107, 1966 (B-side of "You're Gonna Miss Me")
 
A recent find. This one is news to me: a completely different version from the LP track. Really fast and rough, with much harmonica. I read somewhere how many of their early recordings were abandoned and rerecorded for what became their first LP. That seems to be the case with this song.




BTW, There's a new 10-CD box set of the Elevators called Sign Of The 3 Eyed Men (anyone?) that has a disk of early sessions called "Headstone". I would bet this track is on it.

The Who - I Can See For Miles

Decca 32206, 1967
 
I've come back to this in part from hearing the remastered CD of The Who Sell Out recently. I've always preferred the sound of the original US single, with its dense mono mix and notably more prominent bass guitar.

Listening to this now, I'm convinced it's a different bass track altogether. On the album mix, John Entwistle stays mostly on the tonic note during the verses, but on the single he follows Pete Townshend's chord changes instead. (Kind of hard to notice the difference with casual listening, especially since the bass line is mixed way down on the album version). It's possible that the the bass on the single may be an overdub, added later to compensate for the poorly recorded original.



Don't bother with the version on the mono The Who Sell Out LP - it's just a reduction of the stereo mix. The single is still the only way to hear this.