The Boys Next Door - I Could See Me Dancing With You & There Is No Greater Sin - Cameo (1965)

"You boast about how you'll wreck her when you're through." For 1965, this was an unusually direct commentary condemning the sexual conquests of young men. Ah, The Boys Next Door from Indianapolis, Indiana. Sundazed reissued and beautifully remastered their catalogue in 1999, but this completely flew over my radar and the CD, like the vinyl, is long out of print. It's well worth hunting down. It seems that the group toyed with a variety of sounds and images in their mid-60s career. I Could See Me Dancing With You is a distant bt gutsy cousin of Dance Dance Dance by the Beach Boys. There Is No Greater Sin sounds more like a great lost Turtles song with chiming guitar sound throughout. Amazingly, both songs appeared on the same 45, making this one of the great unheard double sided pop singles of the 1960s.

The Boys Next Door - I Could See Me Dancing With You  - Cameo (1965)

The Boys Next Door - There Is No Greater Sin - Cameo (1965)

The Boys Next Door - Cameo (1965) & Sundazed (1999)

Val McKenna - House For Sale - Spark (1968)

House For Sale is a killer from Val McKenna originally released on the Spark label in 1968. Pop tracks like this are often missed by compilers, which is a shame. This is top notch stuff. Amazing lyrics and seductive chorus.

The Zephyrs - There's Something About You - Rotate (1965) Shel Talmy Production

I was on a kick a few years ago to discover other Shel Talmy productions outside of the Kinks and the Who, and discovered this great tune by the Zephyrs. So much good music was coming out of Britain in the 1960s, it wasn't possible for everything that deserved to be a hit to become one. This is another one of those classics that slipped through.

The Zephyrs - There's Something About You - Rotate (1965) Shel Talmy Production 

The Black Sheep - It's My Mind - Columbia (1966)

I know very little about this blistering folk rocker. It's a US band. Rumor was that actor Mark Harmon was in the band, but this turned out to be untrue. It's My Mind was not a hit, but is much better than most garage rock that ends up on comps. Thank you to Opulent Conceptions for turning me onto this track.

The Black Sheep - It's My Mind - Columbia (1966) 

The Black Sheep - It's My Mind - Columbia (1966) 

Gullivers People - Splendor In The Grass & Took This Land - Parlophone (1966)

Glorious Stuff! I first heard this song on the excellent Dream Babes series. Splendor In The Grass was written by Jackie De Shannon and recorded with the Byrds. While Jackie's recordings for Liberty were often glorious and meticulous, her original version seemed a little shambolic. The Byrds were a shortcoming in this case, unfortunately. The all-female group called the Boys recorded the song later, but the Gullivers People version is the best of the three. This is partly due to the stunning production that made mid-60s British recordings so compelling. I also included the b-side, Took This Land, a pop folk protest song which was trendy during this period. Again, the production elevates the song.

Gullivers People - Splendor In The Grass - Parlophone (1966) 

Gullivers People - Took This Land - Parlophone (1966) 

Antoine - Ma Ceinture De Sécurité - Disques Vogue (1971)

Although Ma Ceinture De Sécurité is from 1971, this classic by Antoine tucked away as a C-side on a 3 song single sounds very 60s. The production is fantastic. The song has a cool, laid back beat and a perfect sneer from Antoine. I first heard this song at the Vampyros Lesbos party with DJ Franco (now Voodoo Funk). As Jeff Goldblum says, "It's a scorcher."


Antoine - Ma Ceinture De Sécurité - Disques Vogue (1971) 

Antoine - Ma Ceinture De Sécurité - Disques Vogue (1971)

The Ragamuffins - Don't Be Gone Long - Tollie (1964)

I owe YouTube user sunshinetunes67 a thank you for turning me on to this moody, atmospheric slice of vocal pop. I found a nice clean copy of Don't Be Gone Long, improving the fidelity a bit over the current version on YouTube. This type of song would nearly vanish shortly after 1964 thanks to those pesky mop headed quartets. Gary Zekley wrote and produced for many acts in the 60s, including the Clique, Mama's and the Papa's and Spanky and Our Gang.

The Ragamuffins - Don't Be Gone Long - Tollie (1964) 

The Ragamuffins - Don't Be Gone Long - Tollie (1964)