The Third 100 from 1969. #1: Everyday People (2 Viewers)

[Pip's Invitation]

As promised, here is a third set of extraordinary songs from 1969 following Tim's list and Bracie's list.

These are my 100 favorite songs from 1969 that didn't make either of their lists. It was a loaded year so there should be plenty of stuff to intrigue you. 

@timschochet's list was heavy on the legendary classic rock stuff, while @Bracie Smathers's was more geared toward high-impact singles, supplemented by legendary classic rock, a lot of it from the last three months of 1968 (As a reminder, both are included at the bottom of this post). Mine will have a different vibe -- there's a lot of representation of second- and third-tier artists who did excellent work in 1969 but didn't show up much (or at all) on the other two lists. (Some of them put out two albums in '69, and one put out three.) The "Big Four" of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin, who are all over the other lists, combine for only seven selections here -- Tim and Bracie took their best stuff. 

There's one jazz song and one song that's hard to categorize but might be considered jazz, both of which are here because they played major roles in developing my musical tastes. But frankly I don't know a whole lot about jazz that's not on the fusion side of things, so I mostly left it aside. 

My criteria are a little different from theirs. Anything that was released as a single or on an album in 1969 counts. If it was on a 1968 album but not released as a single until '69, it counts. If it was released as a single in '68 but appeared on a non-greatest hits album released in '69, it counts. If it was an older song re-released as a single in '69, it counts. Just being from late '68 doesn't count unless one of the other criteria are met. These criteria make sense in my head because my friends and I have always discussed songs/albums in terms of release date. Some of us have been doing this for almost 35 years and so this is how my brain processes things. 

After I compiled all the songs I wanted to consider, I went through the list to mark the ones I wanted to rank highly. There were 31 of those, and they are in a pretty logical order of preference. There isn't as much rhyme or reason to the order of the other 69 songs. 

Real or perceived obscurity did not factor into my choices, though most of the stuff at the top are songs you already know very well. 

And yes, Neil Young appears. 

The year was so loaded that there are another 100 or so songs that I considered but didn't include. I may list those at the end. 

I hope to post four entries per day, and when possible, will write them the night before so I can actually get some work done during the day. 

So here we are, the third 100 from 1969.

100. Amazing Journey/Sparks -- The Who

99. Wonderful World, Beautiful People -- Jimmy Cliff

98. Bird on the Wire -- Leonard Cohen

97. Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa) -- MC5

96. Baby, Baby Don't Cry -- Smokey Robinson and the Miracles

95. Rock and Roll Queen -- Mott the Hoople

94. Rich Kid Blues -- Terry Reid

93. Smiling Phases -- Blood, Sweat and Tears

92. Theme for an Imaginary Western -- Jack Bruce

91. Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By -- Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

90. Love Buzz -- Shocking Blue

89. Plynth (Water Down the Drain) -- The Jeff Beck Group

88. The Old Laughing Lady -- Neil Young

87. We Can Be Together -- Jefferson Airplane

86. Featherbedding Lover -- Nazz

85. Medicated Goo -- Traffic

84. Christine's Tune -- The Flying Burrito Brothers

83. Ibiza Bar -- Pink Floyd

82. Treat -- Santana

81. Your Saving Grace -- The Steve Miller Band

80. Loan Me a Dime -- Boz Scaggs

79. Sea of Joy -- Blind Faith

78. 49 Bye-Byes -- Crosby, Stills and Nash

77. Share Your Love with Me -- Aretha Franklin

76. Traces -- The Classics IV

75. I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City -- Harry Nilsson

74. Nothing Is Easy -- Jethro Tull

73. Poem 58 -- Chicago

72. Singing Cowboy -- Love

71. Till You Get Enough -- Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

70. Walk on By -- Isaac Hayes

69. Sugar Mountain -- Neil Young

68. Yester-me, Yester-you, Yesterday -- Stevie Wonder

67. Make Me a Smile -- Poco

66. 1969 -- The Stooges

65. Wild Child -- The Doors

64. A Salty Dog -- Procol Harum

63. Dark Eyed Woman -- Spirit

62. Across the Great Divide -- The Band

61. My Dark Hour -- The Steve Miller Band

60. Take a Look Around -- The James Gang

59. Who Knows Where the TIme Goes? -- Fairport Convention

58. Beginning to See the Light -- The Velvet Underground

57. Pre-Road Downs -- Crosby, Stills and Nash

56. I Still Wonder -- Love

55. I Turned You On -- The Isley Brothers

54. It's Been a Long Time Coming -- Delaney & Bonnie

53. Bring It on Home -- Led Zeppelin

52. Sing a Simple Song -- Sly & the Family Stone

51. Seeing -- Moby Grape

50. Hot Burrito #1 -- The Flying Burrito Brothers

49. I Threw It All Away -- Bob Dylan

48. Black Hearted Woman -- The Allman Brothers Band

47. Mother Popcorn (You Got to Have a Mother for Me) -- James Brown

46. Wooden Ships -- Jefferson Airplane

45. Because -- The Beatles

44. Cissy Strut -- The Meters

43. Rag Mama Rag -- The Band

42. Listen -- Chicago

41. I've Been Waiting for You -- Neil Young

40. Jesus Is Just Alright -- The Byrds

39. Gypsy (of a Strange and Distant Time) -- The Moody Blues

38. Rock Me -- Steppenwolf

37. Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) -- Janis Joplin

36. And When I Die -- Blood, Sweat and Tears

35. How Many More Times -- Led Zeppelin

34. Commotion -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

33. I'm Set Free -- The Velvet Underground

32. Run Away Child, Running Wild -- The Temptations

31. Let Me! -- Paul Revere and the Raiders

30. That's the Way God Planned It -- Billy Preston

29. Sour Milk Sea -- Jackie Lomax

28. I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothin (Open Up the Door, I'll Get It Myself) -- James Brown

27. Hot Burrito #2 -- The Flying Burrito Brothers

26. 1984 -- Spirit

25. Sweet Dream -- Jethro Tull

24. I'm a Man -- Chicago

23. August -- Love

22. Twenty-Five Miles -- Edwin Starr

21. King Harvest (Has Surely Come) -- The Band

20. Peaches En Regalia -- Frank Zappa

19. A Sailor's Life -- Fairport Convention

18. Under the Ice -- Nazz

17. The Acid Queen -- The Who

16. Darkness, Darkness -- The Youngbloods

15. Space Cowboy -- The Steve Miller Band

14. Live with Me -- The Rolling Stones

13. In the Court of the Crimson King -- King Crimson

12. Stand! -- Sly and the Family Stone

11. Stone Free -- The Jimi Hendrix Experience

10. Soul Sacrifice -- Santana

9. Had to Cry Today -- Blind Faith

8. Dreams -- The Allman Brothers Band

7. I Am Not Willing -- Moby Grape

6. It's All Too Much -- The Beatles

5. Volunteers -- Jefferson Airplane

4. It's About That Time -- Miles Davis

3. The Loner -- Neil Young

2. Long Time Gone -- Crosby, Stills and Nash

1. Everyday People -- Sly and the Family Stone

Tim's list

100. “Octopus’s Garden” The Beatles 

99. “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” Neil Diamond 

98. “Candy Says” The Velvet Underground 

97. “Lodi” Creedence Clearwater Revival 

96. “Feelin’ Alright?” Joe Cocker 

95. “I’ll Be Here In The Morning” Townes Van Zandt 

94. “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” Neil Young with Crazy Horse 

93. “21st Century Schizoid Man” King Crimson 

92. “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” Steam 

91. “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” Dionne Warwick 

90. “Eli’s Coming” Three Dog Night 

89. “Come and Get It” Badfinger 

88. “Living In the Past” Jethro Tull 

87. “A Boy Named Sue” Johnny Cash 

86. “You Got the Silver” The Rolling Stones 

85. “Something In the Air” Thunderclap Newman 

84. “Wedding Bell Blues” The 5th Dimension 

83. “The Unfaithful Servant” The Band 

82. “Everybody Is a Star” Sly & the Family Stone 

81. “Cinnamon Girl” Neil Young with Crazy Horse 

80. “Venus” Shocking Blue 

79. “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)” Led Zeppelin 

78. “Presence of the Lord” Blind Faith 

77. “Be Careful With a Fool” Johnny Winter 

76. “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” BJ Thomas 

75. “Green River” Creedence Clearwater Revival

74. “Good Times, Bad Times” Led Zeppelin 

73. “Give it Up Or Turn It a Loose” James Brown

72. “Kozmic Blues” Janis Joplin  

71. “Sweet Caroline” Neil Diamond 

70. “The Thrill Is Gone” B.B. King 

69. “Up On Cripple Creek” The Band 

68. “Down On the Corner” Creedence Clearwater Revival 

67. “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” Chicago 

66. “Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel” Townes Van Zandt 

65. “Hey Bulldog” The Beatles 

64. “Some Kinda Love” The Velvet Underground 

63. “Tonight I’ll Be Staying With You” Bob Dylan 

62. “Victoria” The Kinks 

61. “Communication Breakdown” Led Zeppelin 

60. “Ballad of Easy Rider” The Byrds

59. “Bad Moon Rising” Creedence Clearwater River 

58. “No Time” The Guess Who 

57. “Hot Fun in the Summertime” Sly & The Family Stone 

56. “Badge” Cream 

55. “I’m Free” The Who 

54. “Suspicious Minds” Elvis Presley 

53. “Put a Little Love In Your Heart” Jackie DeShannon

52. “Let It Bleed” The Rolling Stones 

51. “Beginnings” Chicago 

50. “What Goes On” The Velvet Underground 

49. “The Ballad of John and Yoko” The Beatles 

48. "Chelsea Morning" Joni Mitchell

47. “Cowgirl In the Sand” Neil Young with Crazy Horse 

46. “Helplessly Hoping” Crosby, Stills & Nash 

45. “Can’t Find My Way Home” Blind Faith

44. “Lady Lady Lay” Bob Dylan 

43. “Evil Ways” Santana 

42. “Kick Out the Jams” MC5

41. “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” Sly & the Family Stone 

40. “Heartbreaker” Led Zeppelin 

39. “Monkey Man” The Rolling Stones 

38. “Pale Blue Eyes” The Velvet Underground 

37. “My Way” Frank Sinatra 

36. “Fortunate Son” Creedence Clearwater Revival 

35. “Dazed and Confused” Led Zeppelin 

34. “Don’t Let Me Down” The Beatles with Billy Preston 

33. “Spirit in the Sky” Norman Greenbaum 

32. “Ramble On” Led Zeppelin 

31. “Handbags and Gladrags” Rod Stewart 

30. “Questions 67 and 68” Chicago 

29. “Down By the River” Neil Young with Crazy Horse 

28. “My Cherie Amour” Stevie Wonder

27. “Across the Universe” The Beatles 

26. “Whipping Post” The Allman Brothers Band 

25. “Someday We’ll Be Together” Diana Ross & The Supremes 

24. “What Is and What Should Never Be” Led Zeppelin 

23. “Honky Tonk Women” The Rolling Stones 

22. “I Can’t Get Next to You” The Temptations 

21. “It’s Your Thing” The Isley Brothers 

20. “I Want to Take You Higher” Sly & the Family Stone 

19. “Pinball Wizard” The Who

18. “Proud Mary” Creedence Clearwater Revival 

17. “Here Comes the Sun” The Beatles 

16. “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” Led Zeppelin 

15. “Midnight Rambler” The Rolling Stones 

14. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” The Who 

13. “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” Crosby, Stills & Nash 

12. “Get Back” The Beatles with Billy Preston 

11. “Space Oddity” David Bowie 

10. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” The Rolling Stones 

9. “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” The Band 

8. “Abbey Road Medley” The Beatles

7. “Come Together” The Beatles  

6. “The Boxer” Simon & Garfunkel 

5. “Both Sides Now” Joni Mitchell

4. “Whole Lotta Love” Led Zeppelin 

3. “I Want You Back” The Jackson 5

2. “Gimme Shelter” The Rolling Stones

1. “Something” The Beatles 

Bracie's list

100. Backfield in Motion - Mel and Tim

99. One -- Three Dog Night

98. Hooked on a Feeling -- BJ Thomas

97. Good Golly Miss Molly -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

96. Too Busy Thinking About My Baby -- Marvin Gaye

95. Little Green Bag -- George Baker Selection 

94. All Together Now -- The Beatles

93. Baby It's You -- Smith

92. Wrap It Up -- Sam and Dave

91. Israelites -- Desmond Dekker & The Aces

90. Easy to Be Hard -- Three Dog Night

89. Wichita Lineman -- Glen Campbell

88. I'm So Tired -- The Beatles

87. You Don't Have to Cry -- Crosby, Stills and Nash

86. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window -- Joe Cocker

85. Celebrate -- Three Dog Night

84. Black Mountain Side -- Led Zeppelin

83. Well Alright -- Blind Faith

82. Mother Nature's Son -- The Beatles

81. Cross Town Traffic -- The Jimi Hendrix Experience

80. Marrakesh Express -- Crosby, Stills and Nash

79. Have You Heard Parts 1 and 2/Voyager -- The Moody Blues

78. Dear Prudence -- The Beatles

77. Born on the Bayou -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

76. Hitchin' a Ride -- Vanity Fare

75. For Once in My Life -- Stevie Wonder 

74. Jennifer Juniper -- Donovan 

73. Smile a Little Smile for Me -- The Flying Machine

72. Time Is Tight -- Booker T. and the MGs

71. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother -- The Hollies

70. Spinning Wheel -- Blood, Sweat and Tears

69. I Want You (She's So Heavy) -- The Beatles

68. Soulful Strut -- Young-Holt Unlimited

67. Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town -- Kenny Rogers & the First Edition

66. Carolina in My Mind -- James Taylor

65. People Got to Be Free -- The Rascals 

64. Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In -- The Fifth Dimension

63. Rocky Raccoon -- The Beatles 

62. Give Peace a Chance -- Plastic Ono Band

61. Hey Tomorrow -- Jim Croce 

60. Moby **** -- Led Zeppelin

59. Superstar -- Murray Head with the Trinidad Singers 

58. In the Beginning/Lovely to See You -- The Moody Blues 

57. Sugar Sugar -- The Archies

56. The Lemon Song -- Led Zeppelin

55. Tommy Can You Hear Me -- The Who 

54. Blackbird -- The Beatles

53. Riverman -- Nick Drake

52. Wooden Ships -- Crosby, Stills and Nash

51. Elenore -- The Turtles

50. Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes -- Edison Lighthouse

49. I Will -- The Beatles

48. Build Me Up Buttercup -- The Foundations

47. Love Child -- Diana Ross and the Supremes

46. Living in the USA -- Steve Miller Band

45. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) -- The Jimi Hendrix Experience

44. White Bird -- It's a Beautiful Day

43. With a Little Help from My Friends -- Joe Cocker

42. While My Guitar Gently Weeps -- The Beatles

41. Guinnevere -- Crosby, Stills and Nash 

40. I Wanna Be Your Dog -- The Stooges

39. Everybody's Talkin' -- Harry Nilsson 

38. The Midnight Special -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

37. O Happy Day -- The Edwin Hawkins Singers

36. Birthday -- The Beatles 

35. Oh Well pt. 1 -- Fleetwood Mac

34. Barabajagal (Love Is Hot) -- Donovan 

33. Cloud Nine -- The Temptations

32. Undun -- The Guess Who

31. More Today Than Yesterday -- Spiral Starecase

30. Never Comes the Day -- The Moody Blues 

29. Happiness Is a Warm Gun -- The Beatles 

28. What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) -- Junior Walker and the All-Stars

27. He's My Sunny Boy -- Diana Ross and the Supremes

26. Grazing in the Grass -- Friends of Distinction

25. Laughing -- The Guess Who 

24. Good Morning Starshine -- Oliver

23. You've Made Me So Very Happy -- Blood, Sweat and Tears

22. Ramblin' Gamblin' Man -- Bob Seger System

21. I Got a Line on You -- Spirit

20. Crystal Blue Persuasion -- Tommy James and the Shondells

19. These Eyes -- The Guess Who

18. I Heard It Through the Grapevine -- Marvin Gaye

17. Touch Me -- The Doors

16. Oh Darling -- The Beatles 

15. Time of the Season -- The Zombies 

14. Your Time Is Gonna Come -- Led Zeppelin 

13. Leavin' on a Jet Plane -- Peter, Paul and Mary 

12. Son of a Preacher Man -- Dusty Springfield 

11. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face -- Roberta Flack

10. Thank You -- Led Zeppelin

9. Get Ready -- Rare Earth 

8. Crimson and Clover -- Tommy James and the Shondells

7. Revolution -- The Beatles 

6. Get Together -- The Youngbloods

5. All Along the Watchtower -- The Jimi Hendrix Experience

4. Magic Carpet Ride -- Steppenwolf

3. Street Fighting Man -- The Rolling Stones

2. Sympathy for the Devil -- The Rolling Stones

1. Back in the USSR -- The Beatles 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

100. Amazing Journey / Sparks -- The Who (from Tommy)

I'm counting these two as one entry because they segue together seamlessly on record and in concert. Pete Townsend designed them to represent Tommy's inner psyche resulting from the trauma that left him deaf, dumb and blind, More importantly to me, they contain Tommy's best instrumental passages and were highlights every time Tommy has been featured on tour. Both feature some of Keith Moon's best drumming, which is saying a lot (his drums are basically the lead instrument on Sparks). 

Another reason to put them together is because there's not a good answer on where the freaky instrumental passage that precedes the main theme of Sparks belongs. Some pressings/sound files have it as the end of Amazing Journey, others (as the links above) as the beginning of Sparks. 

The individual studio versions are linked above. Here is a combined file from Live at Leeds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNzOA_sy5DE

 

[Doug B]

The "Big Four" of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin, who are all over the other lists, combine for only seven selections here -- Tim and Bracie took their best stuff.

Between them, Tim and Bracie took only only one Jethro Tull track. IMHO, there are three others for sure that are worth a slot in a top few-hundred list.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

ine will have a different vibe -- there's a lot of representation of second- and third-tier artists who did excellent work in 1969 but didn't show up much (or at all) on the other two lists.

Looking forward to the list and I'm expecting lots of deep AOR.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Between them, Tim and Bracie took only only one Jethro Tull track. IMHO, there are three others for sure that are worth a slot in a top few-hundred list.

I do have some Tull on the list. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

99. Wonderful World, Beautiful People -- Jimmy Cliff (from Wonderful World, Beautiful People aka Jimmy Cliff)

This song is pure joy, and is one of several tunes by Cliff that helped reggae get a foothold in the US. It first appeared on his self-titled 1969 album, which was renamed after it when it was later released as a single. In addition to the great groove that all the best reggae songs have, it makes fantastic use of strings.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

98. Bird on the Wire -- Leonard Cohen (from Songs from a Room)

This much-covered tune (sometimes listed as "Bird on a Wire") is one of Cohen's most legendary songs. It was inspired by, literally, Cohen seeing a bird on a phone wire, the first thing he saw after his girlfriend handed him his guitar and suggested he play it to get out of a depressive funk. He began the song that day in Greece and finished it later in a motel in Hollywood. It (and the rest of Songs from a Room) was recorded in Nashville, and not surprisingly, the melody/arrangement is quite country by Cohen's standards. 

The lyrics depict someone who's haunted by his past:

For like a baby, stillborn
Like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me
But I swear by this song
And by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee
&

This is the first of two songs in this countdown whose first released version was not by the author, but on a 1968 Judy Collins album. In addition to Collins, it has been covered by Joe Cocker, Tim Hardin, Fairport Convention, The Neville Brothers, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and k.d. lang, among others. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

And here we have the diametric opposite of a sad Leonard Cohen song. 

97. Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa) -- MC5 (from Kick Out the Jams)

Glorious chaos! The title track wasn't the only thing from Kick Out the Jams that shook your face off. I particularly love Dennis Thompson's drumming here. 

As with much great rock and roll, it's about sex. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

96. Baby, Baby Don't Cry -- Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (from Time Out for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles) 

Co-written by Robinson and Motown writers Al Cleveland and Terry Johnson, this song hit the top 10 on the pop and R&B charts in '69. I love how the tempo and strings kick up around 55 seconds, and the chorus is infectious. There are also two spoken-word passages. I wonder if Barry White was listening. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

been a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time since i enjoyed this much '69

 

[FairWarning]

been a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time since i enjoyed this much '69

Same here

 

[Pip's Invitation]

been a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time since i enjoyed this much '69

It was nice to see another "hot chicks from communes" story from you yesterday. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

95. Rock and Roll Queen -- Mott the Hoople (from Mott the Hoople)

The initial concept for Mott the Hoople was to sound like Bob Dylan fronting the Rolling Stones. The band was given a contract by Island (and signed to a management deal by Island producer/executive Guy Stevens) on the condition they change their name and replace their singer, and frontman Ian Hunter was recruited in part because his voice fit this Dylan/Stones dynamic. 

The standout track from their 1969 self-titled debut is Rock and Roll Queen, which starts out as ragtag Stonesy rock and explodes into something that wouldn't sound out of place on an MC5, Stooges or Bob Seger System album. It was written by lead guitarist Mick Ralphs, who eventually left Mott to form Bad Company, for which he wrote absolutely nothing that sounded like this. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

It was nice to see another "hot chicks from communes" story from you yesterday. 

twas a reheat for a noob. i only got like three anyways. fortunately i just got a notebook alert of the 5-yr mark since my last groupie story, so expect a recycle of my 8-women-@-once-on-a-Little-Feat-tour tale any time now

 

[Pip's Invitation]

94. Rich Kid Blues -- Terry Reid (from Move Over for Terry Reid aka Terry Reid)

I'm not sure how Terry Reid sleeps: He turned down offers to front Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Jimmy Page offered him the Zeppelin gig in '68, but Reid was booked to open for the Rolling Stones at the same time as the then-New Yardbirds had to tour Scandinavia to fill dates booked for the Old Yardbirds. Reid said he'd consider it if Page called Keith Richards to tell him why Reid had to cancel. Page declined to do that, so Reid recommended Page check out a singer named Robert Plant, whose group Band of Joy had opened for Reid. Ritchie Blackmore offered him the Deep Purple gig in '69 after firing original vocalist Rod Evans. But Reid had a pretty ironclad management/production deal with Mickie Most and wanted to stick with his solo career.

Rich Kid Blues is the closer to and highlight of Reid's 1969 album, released as Terry Reid in the UK and Move Over for Terry Reid in the US. He displays a plaintive wail that immediately makes apparent why Page and Blackmore wanted to work with him, and the song's shifting dynamics show off a variety of impressive vocal talents and some hard-driving guitar and organ work. 

I first heard this song when the Raconteurs covered it on their second album. It took work from both Brendan Benson and Jack White to cover Reid's vocal range. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

93. Smiling Phases -- Blood, Sweat and Tears (released as a single)

Here's a loophole song. BST's second self-titled album was released in December 1968. This track was released as a single in 1969 -- in France and Scandinavia. Good enough for me.

What appeals to me is not their handling of the song itself -- Traffic's original is better on that front, IMO Steve Winwood's vocal and the slower tempo serve the song better than what BST did here -- but the jazz instrumental in the middle of it. It's executed thrillingly and marks one of the first forays into a new genre, jazz-rock. 

 

[Bracie Smathers]

And yes, Neil Young appears. 

Neil Young -Sold Half Of His Song Catalog To An Investment Firm

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Neil Young -Sold Half Of His Song Catalog To An Investment Firm

I presume they bought the good half? 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

92. Theme for an Imaginary Western -- Jack Bruce (from Songs for a Tailor)

The best-known version of this song is by Mountain, but it was written by Bruce and Pete Brown and included on Bruce's debut solo album. Felix Pappalardi, who had produced Cream, also produced Songs for a Tailor and was so smitten with Theme that he brought it to Leslie West for their fledgling band, Mountain. They performed it at Woodstock -- that version was included on the festival's second soundtrack -- and released a studio version in 1970, which became one of their signature songs.

Bruce's version is just as grand as Mountain's. Both rustic and sweeping, it makes great use of keyboards and Bruce's vocal range. The lyrics appear to evoke the American pioneers of the 1800s (apparently Bruce played this for Cream in their final months and Eric Clapton told him it sounded too much like The Band) but are actually about Bruce's former bandmates in The Graham Bond Organisation. 

 

[zamboni]

99. Wonderful World, Beautiful People -- Jimmy Cliff (from Wonderful World, Beautiful People aka Jimmy Cliff)

This song is pure joy, and is one of several tunes by Cliff that helped reggae get a foothold in the US. It first appeared on his self-titled 1969 album, which was renamed after it when it was later released as a single. In addition to the great groove that all the best reggae songs have, it makes fantastic use of strings.

Love this as one of the bigger Cliff fans on this  board. There are a few other great tunes on the album.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

91. Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By -- Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (from Easy)

Easy, the final duet album by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, was controversial. Terrell was very ill due to a brain tumor that would kill her a year later, and Gaye thought Motown was being exploitative when it asked them for another duo album. He relented only when told that some of the proceeds would go towards her medical bills. Most of the songs, including Good Lovin' Ain't Easy to Come By, the album's most successful single, were written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Gaye claimed Terrell's vocals were actually performed by Simpson, but Simpson has always denied it. It could very well be that what Gaye remembered was Simpson performing guide vocals that Terrell sang over later.  

Regardless of who Marvin is singing with, the vocal interplay is heavenly.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

90. Love Buzz -- Shocking Blue (from At Home)

The Dutch band Shocking Blue is regarded as a one-hit wonder in the US (that hit, Venus, appears on Tim's list), but their legacy endured in other ways. Notably, Love Buzz, from the 1969 album At Home, was covered by Nirvana and included on their first record, Bleach. The Shocking Blue version is fascinating in its own way -- the slow sections sound a bit like Nico with the Velvet Underground, and the use of sitar make it more attention-grabbing than a lot of similar efforts from the time. I'm also a big fan of the fast part that starts at 1:27, which sounds kind of like a raga.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

89. Plynth (Water Down the Drain) -- The Jeff Beck Group (from Beck-Ola)

Beck-Ola is a sloppy but fun record. In retrospect it seems like a cross between Led Zeppelin and the Faces. Its strengths are encapsulated in this song, which takes a Motown-ish song structure and grafts elements of blues and heavy rock on top of it. There's intriguing interplay between Beck and Nicky Hopkins, and great use of percussion, while Rod Stewart turns in the kind of vocal that made his work with the Faces and on his early solo albums so compelling. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

88. The Old Laughing Lady -- Neil Young (from Neil Young)

No one can remember the exact release date of Neil Young's debut solo album (silly hippies), but most accounts say January 1969, and the Rolling Stone guides always listed it as a 1969 album, so I'm counting it. (What we do know is that the first edition was mixed terribly, and a reissue to fix those problems occurred in November '69.) This is the one record where Neil wasn't really Neil as we know him. At this juncture, he was perceived as just one of three singer/songwriters from the recently disbanded Buffalo Springfield, and not someone who had enough clout to be inoculated from the trends of the time. (Contrast this with his entries in my 1975 countdown; very little of what he did on Tonight's the Night and Zuma bore any resemblance to the dominant sounds of the time.) Thus, the debut album sounds like a lot of other material you'd expect to find in 1969. Many of the songs have layered, string-laden arrangements that we'd never get from him again. 

But Neil's unique voice was already emerging. One example was The Old Laughing Lady, a haunting piece that ends side 1. I rated it #115 in my Neil countdown and wrote there: "A song that sounds like no others in Neil's catalog, the studio version employs electric piano and female singers to create something creepily soulful." It still gives me chills every time I listen to it. 

 

[zamboni]

88. The Old Laughing Lady -- Neil Young (from Neil Young)

No one can remember the exact release date of Neil Young's debut solo album (silly hippies), but most accounts say January 1969, and the Rolling Stone guides always listed it as a 1969 album, so I'm counting it. (What we do know is that the first edition was mixed terribly, and a reissue to fix those problems occurred in November '69.) This is the one record where Neil wasn't really Neil as we know him. At this juncture, he was perceived as just one of three singer/songwriters from the recently disbanded Buffalo Springfield, and not someone who had enough clout to be inoculated from the trends of the time. (Contrast this with his entries in my 1975 countdown; very little of what he did on Tonight's the Night and Zuma bore any resemblance to the dominant sounds of the time.) Thus, the debut album sounds like a lot of other material you'd expect to find in 1969. Many of the songs have layered, string-laden arrangements that we'd never get from him again. 

But Neil's unique voice was already emerging. One example was The Old Laughing Lady, a haunting piece that ends side 1. I rated it #115 in my Neil countdown and wrote there: "A song that sounds like no others in Neil's catalog, the studio version employs electric piano and female singers to create something creepily soulful." It still gives me chills every time I listen to it. 

Love this one, especially the backup singers. There’s another one from the debut album that I like even more, but given your Neil-dom, I won’t mention yet.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

88. The Old Laughing Lady -- Neil Young (from Neil Young)

I'm far from a Neil fan and have never heard this one but I like this mellow tune.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Love this one, especially the backup singers. There’s another one from the debut album that I like even more, but given your Neil-dom, I won’t mention yet.

I don't think I'm really spoiling anything to say that this is not the only selection from Neil's debut album on this list. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

87. We Can Be Together -- Jefferson Airplane (from Volunteers)

This song was radical in many ways, even by 1969 standards. Most obviously, it was one of the first songs to contain the word "mother####er." Also, while it nodded to the hippie peace-and-love sentiments of the Airplane's older work, it offered a much more disconcerting message:

We are forces of chaos and anarchy
Everything they say we are we are
And we are very
Proud of ourselves
Up against the wall
Up against the wall mother####er
Tear down the walls
&

Against all this was a thrilling, driving arrangement, with soaring lead guitar work by Jorma Kaukonen and biting communal vocals from Marty Balin, Grace Slick and writer Paul Kantner.

Volunteers was a fantastic album and I'm surprised there were no entries from it on either of the previous lists. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

86. Featherbedding Lover -- Nazz (from Nazz Nazz)

@Binky The Doormat alert! 

Nazz, now mainly remembered as the band that introduced Todd Rundgren to the world, had an ambitious idea for a follow-up to their successful debut album, which produced two moderate but memorable hits in Open My Eyes and the original version of Hello It's Me. For the follow-up, the band recorded a double album called Fungo Bat, half of which continued the psychedelic rock sounds of the debut, and the other half of which featured intricate ballads styled after Laura Nyro, whose music Rundgren was obsessed with. Their record company had no interest in issuing such a massive project from a relatively unproven band, and instead released most of the rock songs in April 1969 as the single LP Nazz Nazz. Frustrated by that decision, Rundgren left the band soon after the album was released. The remainder of Fungo Bat was released in 1971 as Nazz III after Rundgren became a successful solo artist. 

Despite it not being what the band intended, Nazz Nazz is a damn good record, one of my favorites from the year that doesn't get the attention it should. One of the standout tracks is Featherbedding Lover, which powerfully melds blues and rock in a similar way that Led Zeppelin did on their first album a few months earlier. But this was no carbon copy; the Zep record wasn't out when Nazz recorded this material. Instead, this was their own progression of what Cream was doing. Rundgren's guitar playing is fantastic, as are Thom Mooney's drum fills and use of cowbells. (Mooney was an incredible drummer who should have gotten higher-profile work after Nazz broke up. I'll have more to say about him later.)

 

[zamboni]

Volunteers was a fantastic album and I'm surprised there were no entries from it on either of the previous lists. 

Surprised as well. There is one I really like even more from the album, which I’m guessing won’t make the countdown.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Surprised as well. There is one I really like even more from the album, which I’m guessing won’t make the countdown.

I considered more than half of its tracks for my list, so you never know. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

85. Medicated Goo -- Traffic (from Last Exit)

The first incarnation of Traffic split in early '69 after two albums so Steve Winwood could join Blind Faith, a supergroup with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Ric Grech. Later that year, Island issued Last Exit, which consisted of leftover studio tracks on side 1 and live tracks on side 2.

Medicated Goo was initially released as a non-album single in December '68 in the UK and February '69 in the US (the B-side, Shanghai Noodle Factory, was also included on Last Exit). Soulful, propulsive and featuring a fantastic guitar solo from Winwood, Medicated Goo may be the Traffic track that most recalls the band which made Winwood a star, The Spencer Davis Group. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

84. Christine's Tune -- The Flying Burrito Brothers (from The Gilded Palace of Sin)

Yesterday we had three albums that are among my favorites from the year but had no selections on the two previous lists. Here's another one. While it gained very little commercial traction, The Gilded Palace of Sin is a monumentally influential album and was one of the first country rock records. 

The Burritos were formed by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman to continue the ideas they (and Roger McGuinn) developed on the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo. For their debut, they brought with them a bunch of originals (and two covers) that fused not only country and rock, but soul, gospel, folk and psychedelia. Their secret weapon was steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow, who frequently used unusual jazz- and swing-style tunings, and on some songs used a fuzzbox to sound like a distorted electric guitar. 

Christine's Tune, the album's opener, sounds like a typical tale you'd find in a country song set to a driving beat until about 1:00, when Kleinow's fuzzbox magic kicks in. It set a template that would be followed with great success -- for other people -- for the next few years. 

 

[Bracie Smathers]

93. Smiling Phases -- Blood, Sweat and Tears

I liked Undisputed Truth's version.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

83. Ibiza Bar -- Pink Floyd (from the More soundtrack)

The More soundtrack is one of Pink Floyd's more obscure releases, but it has always fascinated me. The music they produced for Barbet Schroder's debut film is mostly atmospheric and blissed-out. But cutting through the mellowness are the two hardest-rocking songs they ever recorded. They make a huge impact given their surroundings. Ibiza Bar is an exhilarating wall of noise not too dissimilar from the grunge music we'd be hearing more than 20 years later. In fact, there's a great cover by grunge band Love Battery.

 

[zamboni]

83. Ibiza Bar -- Pink Floyd (from the More soundtrack)

The More soundtrack is one of Pink Floyd's more obscure releases, but it has always fascinated me. The music they produced for Barbet Schroder's debut film is mostly atmospheric and blissed-out. But cutting through the mellowness are the two hardest-rocking songs they ever recorded. They make a huge impact given their surroundings. Ibiza Bar is an exhilarating wall of noise not too dissimilar from the grunge music we'd be hearing more than 20 years later. In fact, there's a great cover by grunge band Love Battery.

Whoa - nice. Didn't expect anything from More. As with others, I'm going to suspend mention of my favorite on the album unless you say that's it for this album. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

92. Theme for an Imaginary Western -- Jack Bruce (from Songs for a Tailor)

The best-known version of this song is by Mountain, but it was written by Bruce and Pete Brown and included on Bruce's debut solo album. Felix Pappalardi, who had produced Cream, also produced Songs for a Tailor and was so smitten with Theme that he brought it to Leslie West for their fledgling band, Mountain. They performed it at Woodstock -- that version was included on the festival's second soundtrack -- and released a studio version in 1970, which became one of their signature songs.

Bruce's version is just as grand as Mountain's. Both rustic and sweeping, it makes great use of keyboards and Bruce's vocal range. The lyrics appear to evoke the American pioneers of the 1800s (apparently Bruce played this for Cream in their final months and Eric Clapton told him it sounded too much like The Band) but are actually about Bruce's former bandmates in The Graham Bond Organisation. 

Bruce will never get the props he deserves. if he werent such a prickly ####, people could have stood him well & deeply enough to make their own Cream with him.

a truly original melodic sense, one that has influenced mine as much as Bach or Sondheim. i saw him tour behind one of his later solo albums in the early 70s. it was a short set, but then he came out for the encore and replayed his album with entirely different arrangements (and, often, melodies). exploded my brains on every wall...

i had a client who was obsessed w Bruce, so i studied Songs for a Tailor and Harmony Row to develop a language with her. that examination ended in a lifetime of Bruce-ing songs i liked in order to better understand their structure. i'm pretty sure you could give me any song and i could sing it back to you as he would have. deeply recomment his solo work

 

[wikkidpissah]

89. Plynth (Water Down the Drain) -- The Jeff Beck Group (from Beck-Ola)

Beck-Ola is a sloppy but fun record. In retrospect it seems like a cross between Led Zeppelin and the Faces. Its strengths are encapsulated in this song, which takes a Motown-ish song structure and grafts elements of blues and heavy rock on top of it. There's intriguing interplay between Beck and Nicky Hopkins, and great use of percussion, while Rod Stewart turns in the kind of vocal that made his work with the Faces and on his early solo albums so compelling. 

great mescaline/whisky-in-parents-basement album

ETA: in fact, i think ima leave the rest for a big chunk o' listening. see if i can induce me a flashback....

 

[Pip's Invitation]

deeply recomment his solo work

I'm not too familiar with it beyond SFAT, so I need to check it out. 

I never understood why Bruce's star faded so quickly after Cream. Being too much of a ##### for other musicians to get along with would certainly explain it. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

82. Treat -- Santana (from Santana)

Santana's first album must have been truly mindblowing when it came out. The band mixed sounds and genres together in a way that had never been done before -- and inspired a whole bunch of other bands to do the same in the early '70s. Leading up to the recording of the debut, Santana relied heavily on instrumentals and improvisation, only tailoring their sound to song formats (at the advice of manager Bill Graham) because it would be easier for the public to digest that way. The musical freedom that was their ethos is captured well on Treat, an instrumental that swings like the best sambas but is as well-constructed as any major jazz work of the time. Gregg Rolie's piano playing really shines here. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

I'm not too familiar with it beyond SFAT, so I need to check it out. 

I never understood why Bruce's star faded so quickly after Cream. Being too much of a ##### for other musicians to get along with would certainly explain it. 

Harmony Row remastered. I'll put "Smiles and Grins" against any prog of the age.

i dont specifically remember, but I must have acid-slammed the album when it first came out. i was a runaway at the time and, for some reason, i found the ballads ("Can You Follow", "There's a Forest" and "Folk Song") rememberable enough to sing away the barking of my dogs with during all the walking involved in hitching from place to place. to this day, i sing them when the arthritis calls and i dont want to take another pill. can't think of a better compliment than that

 

[Pip's Invitation]

81. Your Saving Grace -- The Steve Miller Band (from Your Saving Grace)

The Steve Miller Band put out two albums in 1969, neither which were represented on Tim and Bracie's lists (Bracie picked a song from their late 1968 album Sailor). Your Saving Grace was the second. It's mostly nothing special, but the title track is a gem. 

The thing about the Steve Miller Band is that they were actually a democratic band for their first five albums, with other members sharing songwriting and vocals. Your Saving Grace was written and sung by drummer Tim Davis, who had a real knack for songcraft and deserved better than to be in a band named after someone else. (After leaving SMB, he released two solo albums that got no notice and pretty much disappeared from the music scene after 1975 until resurfacing in 1984 to co-write a couple of songs with Miller. He died in 1988 of complications from diabetes). Your Saving Grace had a lot of the elements of the best psychedelic pop -- a jaunty, memorable organ line, a compelling vocal melody, a freaky middle section and a big finish. It is one of my favorite SMB tunes regardless of era. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

80. Loan Me a Dime -- Boz Scaggs (from Boz Scaggs)

Long before he became one of the prime purveyors of yacht rock, blues was Boz Scaggs' thing. He was an original member of The Steve Miller Band, which had started as a blues band, and left after their second album, Sailor. (Despite this and the previous entry, I'm not doing "Miller minus Miller" shtick. We'll get to Steve himself later.) His early solo records stayed in the blues milieu for the most part. 

His debut solo album, released in August '69, had an odd choice of producer (Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner) but a great choice of supporting cast -- The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and Duane Allman. Its crowning achievement is a lengthy cover of Fenton Robinson's Loan Me a Dime, which features an extended jaw-dropping solo from Allman, one of the best things to come out of the melding of blues and rock that was happening in the late '60s. 

 

[Bracie Smathers]

a great choice of supporting cast -- The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and Duane Allman

With a name like 'Boz' and a rhythm section like that and Duane it had better be blues of this caliber.  

Born William Royce Scaggs from Canton Ohio so that qualifies as a poor black chiiile. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

79. Sea of Joy -- Blind Faith (from Blind Faith)

@zamboni alert!

This song doesn't get the attention it deserves because side 1 of this album is <chef's kiss> and side 2 has this and a bunch of screwing around. But I've always loved it. It blends the players' rocking and rustic sides effortlessly. The guitar solos from Eric Clapton and the violin solo from Ric Grech play in my head all the time, and Steve Winwood's vocals are at their ethereal best here.

 

[zamboni]

79. Sea of Joy -- Blind Faith (from Blind Faith)

@zamboni alert!

This song doesn't get the attention it deserves because side 1 of this album is <chef's kiss> and side 2 has this and a bunch of screwing around. But I've always loved it. It blends the players' rocking and rustic sides effortlessly. The guitar solos from Eric Clapton and the violin solo from Ric Grech play in my head all the time, and Steve Winwood's vocals are at their ethereal best here.

Attaboy  This song doesn't get the recognition it should.

Always liked this 1969 live version from London's Hyde Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOZ5VcQIiFc

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Attaboy  This song doesn't get the recognition it should.

Always liked this 1969 live version from London's Hyde Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOZ5VcQIiFc

I've seen the whole Hyde Park show, good stuff.

I was fortunate to be at one of the shows of the Winwood/Clapton MSG run in 2008 (which resulted in this album). It was the closest we ever got to a Blind Faith reunion, and I was hoping they'd do Sea of Joy, but they did not. They did do all of side 1 and Sleeping in the Ground, a Sam Myers song that was an outtake from the BF album and was played in their 1969 sets. 

 

[Pip's Invitation]

78. 49 Bye-Byes -- Crosby, Stills and Nash (from Crosby, Stills and Nash)

More than anyone else I can think of, Stephen Stills writes songs by putting together fragments that initially had nothing to do with each other. The closer to the first CSN album is no exception, being a combination of two songs Stills had named 49 Reasons and Bye Bye Baby (the juncture happens at 2:28). While this album is considered one of the birthplaces of country rock, this song IMO is the culmination of the folk rock genre that began with the Byrds. It's got the trademark shimmering guitars, soaring harmonies and story-based lyrics, adding bright organ flourishes and lead guitar parts with crazy effects (more on those later). When they send us off with "TELLLLLLLLLLLLLL me baby", you feel like you've just had a musical orgasm. 

 

[Binky The Doormat]

79. Sea of Joy -- Blind Faith (from Blind Faith)

@zamboni alert!

This song doesn't get the attention it deserves because side 1 of this album is <chef's kiss> and side 2 has this and a bunch of screwing around. But I've always loved it. It blends the players' rocking and rustic sides effortlessly. The guitar solos from Eric Clapton and the violin solo from Ric Grech play in my head all the time, and Steve Winwood's vocals are at their ethereal best here.

love it so much.  

man - you are zinging through these ...got to keep catching up.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

78. 49 Bye-Byes -- Crosby, Stills and Nash (from Crosby, Stills and Nash)

More than anyone else I can think of, Stephen Stills writes songs by putting together fragments that initially had nothing to do with each other. The closer to the first CSN album is no exception, being a combination of two songs Stills had named 49 Reasons and Bye Bye Baby (the juncture happens at 2:28). While this album is considered one of the birthplaces of country rock, this song IMO is the culmination of the folk rock genre that began with the Byrds. It's got the trademark shimmering guitars, soaring harmonies and story-based lyrics, adding bright organ flourishes and lead guitar parts with crazy effects (more on those later). When they send us off with "TELLLLLLLLLLLLLL me baby", you feel like you've just had a musical orgasm. 

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