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Favorite Obscure Songs


bazooka

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The Golden Age of 'album cuts' FM radio is probably gone forever, and you don't hear a whole bunch of great songs that didn't get to be big hits on today's Classic Rock stations. Here's a few that I remember and really miss.

  • Sunny Goodge Street -- Donovan. Other 'lost' Donovan songs are Sunny South Kensington - and - The Trip ('The whole wide human race has taken far too much Methedrine ')

  • Amphetamine Annie -- Canned Heat. This is a song with a message. ('I don't care what a Limey says. I got to get it on! '). Canned Heat's hit Going Up The Country doesn't represent their usual John Lee Hooker Boogie style.

  • Qualified -- Dr. John. From the Right Place Wrong Time album. This and the title track are the two noteworthy songs on the disappointing follow-up to the near perfect Dr. John's Gumbo record.

  • I Don't Want You To Be My Girl - and - Do You Remember -- Siegal-Schwall Band. Frenetic blues with hammy vocals and mandolin. It's an acquired taste.

  • 8:05 -- Moby Grape. ... Omaha , which actually squeaked onto the charts, is another of the simultaneously-released singles from this jinxed band.

  • Section 43 -- Country Joe & The Fish. A psychedelic instrumental masterpiece. Country Joe & The Fish are probably best known for the cheer at Woodstock, but does anybody else remember Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine ?

Got any more?

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" In The Evening " - Led Zepplin from ' In Through the Out Door ' . Classic radio almost exclusively plays only ' All Of My Love ' .

" You Got The Silver " - Keith's often overlooked gem from ' Let It Bleed ' . My favorite Stone's solo by him .

" One Tree Hill " - The best song off U2's ' The Joshua Tree ' , IMO . Never hear it as ' Where the streets have no name ' , and ' Still haven't found what I'm looking for ' dominate .

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"

" You Got The Silver " - Keith's often overlooked gem from ' Let It Bleed ' . My favorite Stone's solo by him .

:thumbsup:

Click Clack ~ Captain Beefheart

Clear Spot ~ Captain Beefheart

Ashtray Heart ~ Captain Beefheart

You can see, I like the obscurity of Beefheart.

[*]Amphetamine Annie -- Canned Heat. This is a song with a message. ('I don't care what a Limey says. I got to get it on! '). Canned Heat's hit Going Up The Country doesn't represent their usual John Lee Hooker Boogie style.

I so agree!

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On the B side of the "Go Your Own Way" 45 was the little-known song left off of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours called "Silver Springs."

I loved that song so much that I had a friend of mine, who worked for a record store called Licorice Pizza, pick up a copy for me at a trade show. The dust cover was in Japanese. I still have that 45, although I no longer have a turntable.

The song has since been re-released as a live version on The Dance, but there was something so magical about that hard-to-get song back in the day... it remains my favorite song of all time.

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It's not exactly obscure, just hard to get. Some years back, the local International TV channel (KIKU TV) broadcast a TBS Japan comedy-drama "Friends/Tomodachi" about Love and the unexpected people and situations that resulted. The theme was "The Rainbow Connection" performed by The Carpenters. At that time, this tune could only be found on "As Time Goes By," an A&M Asia release. Time has made this "Made In America" outtake available on several Carpenters CD compilations.

Here's a new one, also taken from a TBS Japan comedy-drama, "One Boyfriend Down/Divorced Boyfriend." The tune is "Love Storm" by Lisa Loeb, which can't be found on ANY Lisa Loeb music CD. This is a translated version of "Koi No Arashi" by Mariya Takeuchi. I'll have to replay the T-120 and check on the English lyrics after the KIKU Mystery Movie runs.

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[*]Qualified -- Dr. John. From the Right Place Wrong Time album. This and the title track are the two noteworthy songs on the disappointing follow-up to the near perfect Dr. John's Gumbo record.

correction: That 1973 album is titled In The Right Place . And I was a bit harsh in my assessment. Same Old Same Old is another pretty good track, and Such A Night was a minor hit for the Doctor (He performs it excellently in The Band concert movie The Last Waltz )

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"Don't Answer Me" by The Alan Parsons Project.

Yes. One of the best songs ever and I only hear it when I play it ah home or in my mp3

:P

"Tell Me", "Child of the moon", "Who´s driving your plane" are also some dark Stones songs.

And some covers by them: "Poison Ivy" and "You better move on".

Most of the music I love is dark... beautiful tracks hidden among the hits of an album...

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In the same vein...

Where's the Money - Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks - that whole album got played on the radio.

Witchi-Tai-To - Brewer & Shipley

Wooden Ships - the Airplane version

the long version of Oh Well - Fleetwood Mac

Spirit's -

Fresh Garbage

I've Got a Line on You

and

Nature's Way

any and all of Delaney & Bonnie :cool:

Laura Nyro doing her originals instead of the great covers of her songs.

Ride the Wind album - the Youngbloods

World in Changes - Dave Mason

Boogie Chillen, No. 2 - Hooker 'n Heat

Most of Taj Mahal's Giant Step album got played all the time.

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I played the previous episode of "One Boyfriend Down" and this is what I think Lisa Loeb is singing about:

"Koi no Arashi" or Love Storm (Mariya Takeuchi)

My heart is shaking

I'm on fire, tonight

Passionate fingers took me by surprize

I can't go on like this

Aching to feel your kiss

Holding my love deep inside.

I thought we'd always be the best of friends

But now I see that's how our love began

I can't stop thinking of

My first taste of your love

I'm guilty and that's a sin.

Dance, dance, dance

Touching cheek to cheek

Pressing our bodies close

As we keep dancing

Chance, chance, chance

What have we got to lose?

We have the right to choose

Falling in love

(Let's fall in love)

Rain, rain, rain

Falling so hard and loud

But we can't hear it now

Let's the love storm rage.

Pain, pain, pain

Want it so bad I ache

Kiss me again, I pray

Let's fall in love

(Let's fall in love)

...Since this is a translation, it probably loses context. But it reads good enough to quote? :stars:

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I think these are pretty obscure, anyway I’ve never heard them on the radio:

Traffic – Givin’ To You ~ The B-side of Paper Sun. Another version of this instrumental was on the Dear Mr Fantasy album

Free Spirits – Cosmic Daddy Dancer ~ Larry Coryell in fine form

Dantalion’s Chariot – Madman (Running Through the Fields)

The Poets – That’s the Way It’s Gotta Be

Four Pennies – Black Girl

Skid Row – Night of the Warm Witch ~ A 17 year old Gary Moore wild on the guitar

The Fugs – Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out

Rare Bird – Her Darkest Hour ~ From their Epic Forest album. Wonderful!!!

Downliners’ Sect – Little Egypt

The Animals – Going Down Slow

Leslie West – Because You Are My Friend

….and the obscurest of the obscure:

The Electric Toilet – In the Hands of Karma

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Doubly Obscure Dept:

Pagan Baby -- Creedence Clearwater Revival

Not only is this a rarely heard Creedence song but -- as an alumnus of 1950s/60s Catholic grammar school -- I'm pretty sure the title references the Maryknoll Missonaries charity program by which the students in each classroom, after accumulating sufficient donations, were able to choose and "name" a "Pagan Baby" (i.e. contribute to the physical and religious welfare of a child in a Third World country).

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[*]Loan Me A Dime -- Boz Scaggs. At 12+ minutes long, it's not going to pop up on today's radio much. Duane Allman on guitar.

[*]Halfbreed ; The Time Is Near ; Sinnin' For You : Leavin' Trunk -- Keef Hartley Band. Hartley was drummer with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers during the late 60s Mick Taylor-on-guitar period. When Mayall created a drumless acoustic band, Keef got "sacked" without prejudice. Hartley painstakingly put together his own band of top-notch musicians and put out some great albums. The Keef Hartley Band played at Woodstock, although they don't turn up in the soundtrack, movie or extended video edition.

[*]1982-A ; Get High ; Freedom -- The Sons of Champlin. The Sons are little-known outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. Singer/songwriter/keyboard player/guitarist Bill Champlin founded this horn-powered group in 1966. Loosen Up Naturally was their tour de force debut album (a 2 LP set back in the vinyl days).

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How about:

Who Loves the Sun - Velvet Underground - a wierd little Lou Reed pyschedelia from Loaded

Hey Jude by Wilson Picket, with a mean Duane Allman slide guitar

Tripe Face Boogie by Little Feat - nasty Southern Boogie

Willie The Pimp - Zappa - great guitar by Frank

He Gives Us All His Love - A great song about God from Randy Newman, from Sail Away

Car On A Hill - Joni Mitchell from Blue - just a great track

Love Has No Pride - Bonnie Raitt - just a great vocal

Pali-Gap from Jimi Hendrix's Rainbow Bridge soundtrack - smoking guitar from the master

That's just a couple, but there are many more.

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