Friday, January 5, 2001

McQ's Best Of 1967 Vol 3 - Meanwhile, Across The Pond

1. David Watts - The Kinks
2. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
3. With A Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles
4. Strange Brew - Cream
5. Miss Amanda Jones - The Rolling Stones
6. Stone Free - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
7. Heaven Is In Your Mind - Traffic
8. Conquistador - Procol Harum
9. Two Sisters - The Kinks
10. Pictures Of Lily - The Who
11. All Sold Out - The Rolling Stones
12. Tuesday Afternoon - The Moody Blues
13. Itchycoo Park - Small Faces
14. All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
15. Love Or Confusion - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
16. Lazy Old Sun - The Kinks
17. Tales Of Brave Ulyssess - Cream
18. Relax - The Who
19. Tin Soldier - Small Faces
20. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - The Beatles
21. Situation Vacant - The Kinks
22. Foxey Lady - The Jimi Hendrix Experience
23. Dear Mr. Fantasy - Traffic
24. Something Happened To Me Yesterday - The Rolling Stones

Track List / Mix Write-up / Spotify /
McQ's Favorite Albums Of 1967
McQ's Favorite Songs Of 1967




About The Albums/Songs On This Mix:

To show how quickly the full-length LP had overtaken the British artistic sensibility of the day, there are only three tracks on this mix that were never tied to an original full-length release.

The first of those songs needs little introduction, even today.

The Who's Pictures Of Lily, which guitarist Pete Townsend considers one of the first "power pop" recordings, is one of the all time great songs thematically dedicated to masturbation (and there have been many through the years, hundreds if not thousands, including another wanking masterpiece on this mix).  The song was released in April, 1967 in the UK (late June in the US), and reached #5 on the UK charts, but didn't crack the top 50 stateside on its initial release.

The next two singles come to us from another famous mod act, The Small Faces, who would later change their names to just the Faces after some personnel changes that included the addition of Rod Stewart. But the band at this time were driven by two fantastic singer/songwriters in guitarist Steve Marriott and the one-of-a-kind bassist Ronnie Lane, each of whom would pen a '67 classic.

Tin Soldier, released in December of 1967, a song of sexual pursuit, was written by Marriott to impress a woman, model Jenny Rylance, who would become his first wife the following year.

Ironically, Marriott almost turn the song over to American soul singer P.P. Arnold, whom it is rumored he also had a brief affair with in 1967, but ultimately decided the song was too good to give away.  Arnold was still enlisted to perform backing vocals on the song, and appears in some initial televised performances of the song. Though never a monster hit in the states, the song is still revered in the UK, often charting as one of the 10-20 best songs the island nation has ever produced.

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