Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog

Great moments in rock 'n' roll memorials: Sly Stone and Brian Wilson edition

Two major figures of 1960s and 1970s rock music, Sly Stone ("Sly & the Family Stone") and Brian Wilson (primary songwriter and arranger for "The Beach Boys") both died this week.  I confess to not having been a big Beach Boys fan, but they undoubtedly had some splendid songs.  I was more partial to Sly & the Family Stone, especiall the albums from 1968 and 1969.  A few clips follow, but feel free to add links to your own favorites by either in the comments.

Here's the 1968 official music video of what is probably Sly & the Family Stone's best-known song, "Everyday People":

Great moments in obscure blues that Led Zeppelin "borrowed": Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy, "When the Levee Breaks," 1929

While poets, according to Harold Bloom, suffered from the anxiety attending the influence of earlier poets, Led Zeppelin suffered nothing similar, borrowing rather freely (and sometimes without attribution) from the American blues canon.   The originals are often forgotten.  Here's one, with the Zeppelin version below the fold:

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Terry Reid, "Tinker Tailor," 1968

Terry Reid was the British blues rock singer who was Jimmy Page's first choice as lead singer for the band he was forming that became Led Zeppelin.  Reid turned Page down, and recommended Robert Plant, and the "rest is history" as they say.  Reid recorded many albums and singles, but never achieved significant success.  But you can hear what Page and others admired about his voice in this number from his debut album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Family, "Emotions," 1969

ORIGINALLY POSTED APRIL 23, 2016

These Brits are not quite as obscure as some of the others recently featured, but they hardly achieved the success they probably warranted.  Psychedelic, "progressive," even some British folk influences.  This is one of my favorite tunes by the band, though their first album, Music in a Doll's House, is probably their best, though their second album, from which "Emotions" comes, is quite good too.  It's downhill after that, however!

 

5/10/25 UPDATE:  Feel free to post links to other favorite Family songs in the comments, including live performances.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Rory Gallagher, "Bullfrog Blues," live in 1976 and 1980

ORIGINALLY POSTED AUGUST 13, 2016

From the band Taste in the late 1960s, through his solo performances into the 1990s, the great Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher was a "big name" throughout Europe, but never got the same level of recognition on this side of the Atlantic.  A fabulous rock, blues and slide guitarist, as well as phenomenal stage performer, these two versions of one of his live staples, the "Bullfrog Blues," give a fine taste for those not familiar.  The first, from 1976, is a live performance on an old BBC show, in which each member of the band gets his moment in the spotlight:

 

The second version was recorded live in 1979, and is several minutes shorter, because it's all Rory (and the audience)--it doesn't really start until a minute in:

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Sweet Thursday, "Jenny," 1969

The great studio musician/pianist Nicky Hopkins was the core of this short-lived band, which produce one album, from which this nice song comes:

Feel free to link to other Sweet Thursday songs, or other favorite Nicky Hopkins performances with other bands.

Great moment in obscure rock 'n' roll: The Mohawks, "The Champ," 1968

British studio musician Alan Hawkshaw, before he joined forces with Alan Parker in Rumplestiltskin, fronted The Mohawks, with his hammond organ featured prominently on their best-known song (mostly due to sampling in hip-hop in later years), "The Champ":

Feel free to add links to other Mohawks or Alan Hawkshaw songs.

Great moment in obscure rock 'n' roll: Woody's Truck Stop, "People Been Talkin'," 1968

Philadelphia-based blue rock band (with a bit of Grateful Dead flavor as well), it started in 1966, and early line-ups included Todd Rundgren, who left to form the Nazz before Woody's Truck Stop's first and only album from 1968 (you can learn ore than you want about the band and its history here); this is the lead track from that album:

 

Great moment in obscure rock 'n' roll: Mint Tatoo, "Wrong Way Girl," 1969

Several former members of Blue Cheer formed Mint Tatoo in 1968, and produced one album, from which this catchy tune comes:

Feel free to post links to other Mink Tatoo or obscure Blue Cheer numbers in the comments.

Great moment in obscure rock 'n' roll: Ugly Custard, "Feel This," 1971

Like Rumplestiltskin, Ugly Custard was a group of British studio musicians, led by guitarist Alan Parker, who recorded one album, from which this nice instrumental comes:

Feel free to add links to other Ugly Custard songs, or other work by Alan Parker.

 

A YouTube channel featuring everything under the "Great Moments in Obscure Rock 'n' Roll" category...

...courtesy of reader Rafael Martins, which I learned about in the comments here.  Thanks to Mr. Martins for curating this!

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: the best finds of 2024

I didn't do as many this year, since I think I may have finally exhausted the genre of obscure blues-based rock.  But here were a couple of good finds that I enjoyed:

    Argent, "Keep On Rollin'," 1972

    Gun, "Race with the Devil," 1968

    Jo Jo Gunne, "Broken Down Man," 1973

Feel free to add links to obscure rock 'n' roll that you think deserves notice.  Those that strike my fancy may be used, with acknowledgment, in future "Great moments" posts on the blog.

ADDENDUM:  Please include the name of the band and a URL for a video of the song!

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Gun, "Race with the Devil," 1968

This British band had a top ten hit in the U.K. with this number, their only brief success--the Gurvitz brothers, the core of Gun, later formed Three Man Army, and then later in the 1970s teamed up with ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker to form the Baker Gurvitz Army.  

Feel free to add links to any favorite numbers by Gun, Three Man Army, or Baker Gurvitz Army.

Great moments in rock 'n' roll covers: D.O.A., "Taking Care of Business," 1987

This Vancouver punk band (the "Canadian 'Dead Kennedys'" as they are sometimes called) did this distinctive version of the great 1973 BTO rocker in 1987:

Feel free to post links to your favorite punk rock covers of more conventional rock and pop songs.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Tin House, 'Endamus Finallmus,' 1971

MOVING TO FRONT FROM NOVEMBER 3, 2018--WHAT A GREAT NUMBER THIS IS, I STILL HAVE IT AS A REGULAR ON MY SPOTIFY ROTATIONS

We haven't featured this short-lived Florida hard rock/blues band in some time, but here's another fine number from their debut album:

2024:  Comments are now open for links to other favorite Tin House songs/performances.

Great moments in rock 'n' roll (and blues) covers of traditional American folk songs: "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad"

From the pre-rock era, here's Woody Guthrie's rendition of something more like the "traditional" folk version:

Of course, the song was also a favorite of blues guitarists and singers; here's my favorite, the instrumental version by the great Piedmont blues guitarist Etta Baker, in which you can hear inklings of the later blues rock versions:

 

Great moments in rock 'n' roll covers: Joe Cocker & friends, "Honky Tonk Women," 1970

Joe Cocker, one of the great (maybe the greatest) British blues and soul singer to emerge in the 1960s, does what is probably my favorite cover of any Rolling Stones song with a cast of friends, including Leon Russell on guitar, Carl Radle on bass, Bobby Keyes on saxophone, and Rita Coolidge on backing vocals, among others.  And, of course, it includes Cocker's famous spasmodic movements:

Post links to your favorite covers of Rolling Stones songs in the comments (or your favorite Joe Cocker numbers, esp. covers).

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Fat, "Country Girl," 1970

ORIGINALLY POSED JULY 6, 2019--ONE OF MY FAVORITE DISCOVERIES IN THIS SERIES

Western Massachussetts band that never made it nationally; this is from their debut album:

10/5/24 UPDATE:  Ahmet Ertegun reportedly thought Fat would be the American answer to The Rolling Stones.  It didn't work out that way for them, alas.  Feel free to add links to favorite Fat songs.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Tear Gas, "Lay It On Me," 1971

ORIGINALLY POSTED AUGUST 8, 2020--COMMENTS NOW OPEN

Another great rollicking number from the Scottish rock band:

2024 UPDAT:  Feel free to add links to other Tear Gas favorites or live performances (the latter are hard to come by!).

Great moments in (somewhat) obscure rock 'n' roll: Argent, "Keep on Rollin'," 1972

Former Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent's band Argent had one huge hit from their 1972 album All Together Now, but the great second number on that album has disappeared from rock radio:

Feel free to add links to your favorite Argent songs or performances.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Jo Jo Gunne, "Broken Down Man," 1973

We haven't featured this California band (started by ex-Spirit members) since 2018.  This rollicking number comes from their second album:

Feel free to add links to favorite Jo Jo Gunne songs/performances.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Jericho Jones, "Freedom," 1971

We haven't featured this Israeli rock band in several years, which also performed at times under the name "The Churchills" and sometimes just "Jericho."   This is another number from their 1971 album memorably titled Junkies Monkeys & Donkeys:

Please feel free to add links to any favorite numbers by Jericho Jones/Churchills/Jericho.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Flower Travellin Band, "How Many More Times," late 1960s

ORIGINALLY POSTED JUNE 29, 2019--COMMENTS NOW OPEN

They don't get much more obscure than this Japanese pscyhedelic/progressive/hard rock band of the late 1960s and early 1970s, that enjoyed no commercial success even in Japan, but has long had a small cult following.   They began by doing covers of various British blues rock numbers, of which this is one--a rather distinctive version of the song Led Zeppelin ripped off from Howlin' Wolf and Albert King and made famous:

If anyone knows the precise year of this recording, please post in the comments, along with links to any other "Flower Travellin Band" favorites!

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Redwing, "The Underground Railway," 1971

Reader Dave Wasser tipped me off to this California-based band active in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, that had something of a local following, but never made it nationally.  (They aren't even on Spotify!)  The style is sort of rockabilly, but also calls to mind The Byrds, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and others of the era.  This is the lead number of their debut album:

More information about Redwing or recommendations of other songs welcome.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, "Sure 'Nuff 'n' Yes, I do," 1967

The lead number on the eccentric Captain Beefheart's debut album, I find it quite a bit more likable than anything from the 1969 album for which he is "famous" (at least among diehard fans of the period), Trout Mask Replica:

Feel free to add links to your favorite Captain Beefheart performances/songs.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Universe, "Spanish Feeling," 1971

ORIGINALLY POSTED NOVEMBER 4, 2017

It doesn't get any more obscure than the British band "Universe" (background here); the whole album is worth a listen for fans of the rock of that period, but here's a favorite of mine:

 

Great moments in (fairly) obscure rock 'n' roll: James Gang, "Stop," 1969

The James Gang was Joe Walsh's first band in the late 1960s and early 1970s, perhaps best-known for the brilliant Rides Again album of 1970, one of the best rock/blues albums of a very good year for such albums.*  Their less successful 1969 debut concludes with their version of a Ragovoy/Shuman number recorded by a number of acts in the 1960s, but this is, for my money, the best version, which then evolves into a long jam:

Feel free to add links to your favorite James Gang numbers, studio or live, in the comments.  (I first posted this song in January 2018, but it appears that version has disappeared from YouTube.)

*Other very good albums in that genre from 1970 include Black Sabbath's debut album and Paranoid; The Who's Live at Leeds; the debut from Cactus; Mountain's debut, Climbing; Grand Funk Railroard's Closer to Home;  Deep Purple in Rock; The Doors, Morrison Hotel, Allman Brothers' Idlewild South, and Free's Fire and Water.  The Sabbath debut album was probably the best of the year, but Rides Again has a claim on being #2 in the blues/rock genre.

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Grannie, "Leaving," 1971

LAST POSTED SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

This is one of the very first obscure numbers I posted several years ago, but it's such a great tune by a forgotten British band that I'm putting it up front again (a mix of Blind Faith and Traffic, as it were):

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Jeronimo, "Understanding," 1971

ORIGINALLY POSTED APRIL 13, 2019--STILL LIKE THIS NUMBER!

German hard rock band that had some success in Europe in the early 1970s.  This song is a bit atypical, and better than their standard fare (which I found a bit tedious):

 

Great moments in rock 'n' roll covers: Lemmy does AC/DC

Lemmy (of Motorhead fame) recorded this version of AC/DC's lead track, "It's a Long Way to the Top if You Want to Rock 'n' Roll" (from 1975) in 2006. It's hard to top the original, but this one is pretty good:

Feel free to add links to other favorite AC/DC covers.

Great moments in rock 'n' roll covers: Belly does Jimi Hendrix

Belly is best-known for their early 90s hit "Feed the Tree," but they also did this fine cover in 1994 of Hendrix's 1967 "Are You Experienced?" song:

Feel free to add links to your favorite Hendrix covers in the comments.

Great moments in rock 'n' roll covers: Joan Jett does Sly & the Family Stone

From 1983:

And the original:

Great moments in (somewhat less) obscure rock 'n' roll: Wayne Kramer memorial edition

Wayne Kramer, one of the two lead guitarists for the proto-punk band the MC5, has died.  (Only the drummer from the original band is still alive.)   The Michigan rock band was best-known for the 1969 live album "Kick Out the Jams," and recorded two other studio albums.  They enjoyed modest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but are now widely acclaimed as the progenitors of punk rock music.   Here's a few clips of the band, starting with Mr. Kramer's best-known number, "Ramblin' Rose," on which he also sings the lead in his strange falsetto; this is live in 1970:

Great moments in rock 'n' roll covers: the Sex Pistols do Frank Sinatra

The original is slightly different, but the song is still recognizable in the Sex Pistols version:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll (and obscure covers): the best finds of 2023

As readers will know, there were fewer new obscure finds this year (I think I have come close to exhausting what's actually worth flagging here!), so I expanded to posting some relatively obscure number as well as obscure "covers" of great rock numbers, and recycling "great moments" from prior years.  Here, in any case, are my four favorite really obscure discoveries from this past year:

Creepy John Thomas, "Ride a Rainbow," 1969

Frijid Pink, "State Line Boogie," 2011

Head Over Heels, "In My Woman," 1971

Sweetwater, "Why Oh Why," 1968

And here are four other obscure (but not as obscure) numbers I realy enjoyed from the past year:

Atomic Rooster, "Devil's Answer," 1971

Bonnie & Delaney & Friends, "Comin' Home," 1971

Budgie, "Homicidal Suicidal," 1971

Ry Cooder, "Billy the Kid," 1972

Feel free to add your own favorite "obscure" (or fairly obscure) rock 'n' roll finds over the past year; you can just cut and paste the URL into the comment, it will convert automatically.  I may take some of your suggestions for next year!  (Two of the four on this year's "really obscure" list were suggested by reader Dave Wasser.)

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll covers: Parker James, "High Falootin' Woman," 2019

Parker James has only a couple of dozen listeners on Spotify, but he sure does a fine rendition of this number from the Grand Funk "Red Album" from 1969:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Frijid Pink, "State Line Boogie," 2011

We haven't featured this Detroit-based blues rock band of the late 1960s and early 1970s in several years (e.g., here and here).  This number only appers, to my knowledge, on this 2011 collection by a reformed version of the band, although I believe it's one that was part of their much earlier live sets--it certainly soundsl ike it could have come from the "original" band.

Feel free to add links to other favorite Frijid Pink numbers (and if anyone knows the origin of this particular number, please feel free to add that too).

 

Great moment in obscure rock 'n' roll: Culpeper's Orchard, "Mountain Music (Part I)," 1970

Reader Ian York tipped me off to this Danish progressive rock band, that recorded several albums in the early and mid-1970s, with some modest success in Europe.  This comes from their debut:

Feel free to post links to other Culpeper's Orchard favorites.

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll covers: Paul Gilbert, "Great White Buffalo," 2016

Paul Gilbert is probably best-known as the guitarist for the 1990s hard rock band Mr. Big, but this cover comes from a more recent solo album.  His version of the old Ted Nugent/Amboy Dukes song is really quite good, I think (unlike Nugent, one can understand the lyrics in Gilbert's rendering--although I usually prefer not to understand rock lyrics, given the low intellectual level of the genre, to put it politely):

Feel free to add links in the comments to either your favorite Ted Nugent covers, or to your favorite Gilbert or Mr. Big songs/performances.

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll covers: Popa Chubby, "What Is and What Should Never Be," 2010

"Popa Chubby" is the stage name of Ted Horowitz, a nice Jewish boy from the Bronx, who has been active since the late 1980s as a rock blues guitarist.  This is his very fine cover of the Led Zeppelin number:

Feel free to add other Popa Chubby favorites in the comments.

Great moments in (somewhat) obscure rock 'n' roll covers: Hollywood Vampires, "Heroes," 2019

A cover band comprised of Alice Cooper, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, and actor Johnny Depp, plus a rotating cast of other well-known rock musicians, this is their version of my personal favorite David Bowie song, with Depp on vocals:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll covers: Marcy Playground, "The Needle and the Damage Done," 2012

Marcy Playground had one very successful album in the late 1990s, but this cover of the Neil Young song from a 2012 album is uncanny in how much it sounds exactly like the original!

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll covers: The Stealers, "Parachute Woman," 2021

The Stealers are a British band from Brighton, with not even 50 regular "listeners" on Spotify! But they have a great cover of this Rolling Stones number from 1967 off the classic Beggars Banquet:

 

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Sweetwater, "Why Oh Why," 1968

This Los Angeles-based band (active in the late 1960s and early 1970s) was supposed to be the opening act at Woodstock, but got stuck in traffic, so they performed after Richie Havens (whose performance made the movie).  This was the closing number of their debut album, and a nice one:

Comments are open for those who want to share links to other Sweetwater favorites.

Great moment in (somewhat) obscure rock 'n' roll: "Comin' Home," 1971

The duo Delaney & Bonnie had a lot of prominent friends with whom they played, and they enjoyed some modest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, mostly for work with Eric Clapton.  This is a song co-written with Clapton, which they recorded live with Clapton, but also in this studio version, which I prefer:

Feel free to add your favorite Delaney & Bonnie links in the comments.  I always enjoy seeing what readers come up with.  (Submit your comment only once, it may take awhile to appear.)

Great moments in (not so obscure) rock 'n' roll: Robbie Robertson memorial edition

Best-known as the guitarist and primary composer for The Band, he died this week at 80.   The first two albums by The Band really are "classics" in the rock 'n' roll genre.  Here's two of my favorite songs, each written by Robertson, from those albums.  First, "Chest Fever" from 1968:

Great moments in (somewhat) obscure rock 'n' roll: The Kinks, "You Can't Stop the Music," 1975

The Kinks are certainly not an obscure band, but the 1975 album Soap Opera didn't do very well in the U.S. or the U.K., and is hardly one of their better-known efforts.  The album also includes one of my all-time favorite songs by The Kinks (which also didn't do very well as a single, surprisingly I think):

Feel free to add links to other lesser-known and under-appreciated numbers by The Kinks.

 

Great moments in (somewhat) obscure rock 'n' roll: Ry Cooder, "Billy the Kid," 1972

Renowned rock and blues guitarist, Cooder is probably best-known for his work with others (including The Rolling Stones, Doobie Brothers, Rita Coolidge, Arlo Guthrie, Van Morrison, and many others).  But he also produced many solo albums.  This song comes from his second solo effort:

Feel free to post links to other Ry Cooder favorites in the comments.

Great moments in (somewhat) obscure rock 'n' roll: Dr. John, "Stack-A-Lee," 1972

A leading figure of "New Orleans blues," famed for his live performances, this comes from his fifth album, right before his 1973 hit "Right Place Wrong Time":

Feel free to post other Dr. John links in the comments, or other New Orleans blues/soul favorites.

 

Great moments in (not quite as) obscure rock 'n' roll: Velvet Underground, "What Goes On," 1969

This probably isn't the Velvet Underground's best-known song, but it is certainly my favorite:

I also love this cover by Elizabeth Mitchell, from 2006: