DJTees Classic Rock Blog

Canned Heat - Christmas Blues

Authored By Johnny Blogger November 30, 2015

What do you think are the chances of an out and out Chicago Blues band having a hit in America in 2015 with a Christmas song? The answer is none. But there was a time when America had great taste. This was a hit in Billboard's Christmas Singles chart in 1968. It was recorded at [...]

Gentle Giant Compilation

Vinyl Culture

Authored By Johnny Blogger November 26, 2015

Picked this excellent compilation up yesterday for £5.00. It's an Italian record and comes with a glossy 12-page booklet. The tracks are drawn from the first 4 Gentle Giant records - which are expensive to buy - so it's a very useful all killer, no filler compilation from a band that doesn't have a lot [...]

Davie Jones and The King Bees - Liza Jane b/w Louie Louie Go Home

Authored By Johnny Blogger November 18, 2015

In 1964, the man who was to become David Bowie laid down his first ever recording. David was a callow 17-year-old youth and the record is an inconsequential 2 minutes and 18 seconds of pop music. It didn't sell at all and was soon forgotten by everyone. So much so that when the fella who [...]

Yes - Sweetness b/w Something's Coming

Authored By Johnny Blogger November 11, 2015

Yes's debut single emerged, blinking into the sunlight on Atlantic Records, and to general indifference, on 29th September 1969. You could not have guessed from this 3-minute outing that Yes would become famous for long excursions into the land of prog rock. It's got nice harmonies and is all very pleasant, but with none of [...]

The Who - I Can't Explain b/w Bald-headed Woman

Authored By Johnny Blogger November 10, 2015

Their first single remains a classic of mid-60s rock and a staple live classic ever since. For a record that sold well enough to put it in the top 10 back when you really had to sell a lot to achieve that, it is remarkably valued at £40 for a first pressing, mint copy. The [...]

Pink Floyd - Arnold Layne

Authored By Johnny Blogger November 02, 2015

Pink Floyd's debut single is a gem. Worth £80 in mint condition, a black and white promotional film was made in late February 1967, directed by Derek Nice and featuring the band dressing up a mannequin before showing it around a beach in East Wittering, West Sussex. This promo, made for £2,000, was meant to [...]

Track Records Backtrack Series

Vinyl Culture

Authored By Johnny Blogger November 01, 2015

You'll see these records at every record fair and in secondhand record stores. They have a distinctive and unnecessary picture of a small child, apparently smoking on them. Despite that unpleasant photo, they're lovely records and they sound great. This is the history of them, right? Alright, pour yourself and drink and I'll meet you [...]

Genesis - The Silent Sun b/w That's Me

Authored By Johnny Blogger October 29, 2015

Oh look it's 2nd February 1968 and prog rock hasn't even been invented yet but Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel have written a song to try and keep their manager and future jailbird Jonathan King interested in them (not in that way) It doesn't sound much like the future Genesis really and it hardly sells [...]

Jethro Tull - Sunshine Day b/w Aeroplane

Authored By Johnny Blogger October 26, 2015

Tull's first single appeared in 1967 on the MGM label (always thought that was an odd choice for them) but miscredited it to Jethro Toe and that spelling error created a collectible record that remains one of the holy grails for all truly rare record collectors. As there were so few copies pressed, they now [...]

Deep Purple - Hush

Authored By Johnny Blogger October 25, 2015

Deep Purple - Hush b/w One More Rainy Day. From the swell of the organ to the chunky riff,this was much more like later Purple than much of their first three MK1 albums. Still a bit poppy, but the Blackmore trademark Stratocaster riffola is all present and correct on their reworking of this Joe South [...]

Grateful Dead - Dark Star

Authored By Johnny Blogger October 24, 2015

Grateful Dead - Born Cross-Eyed b/w Dark Star. Culled from their debut album, this was the the band's first UK 7" single and it predictably made no impact on the charts when it was released in 1967. In UK, Dark Star was the 'b' side but in USA it was flipped and made the 'a' [...]

Black Sabbath - Evil Woman

Authored By Johnny Blogger October 23, 2015

Black Sabbath - Evil Woman b/w Wicked World. Written and originally recorded by Minneapolis-based band Crow it appeared on their 1969 album Crow Music. Who wasn't a big fan of Crow? No, me neither. This is in the very early days for the band. Their first show as Black Sabbath took place on 30 August [...]

Queen - Keep Yourself Alive

Authored By Johnny Blogger October 23, 2015

Queen - Keep Yourself Alive/Son and Daugher. Now listen here. It is my, admittedly non-authoritative view, that Keep Yourself Alive, being the first record Queen ever released, is the BEST record they ever released. It is a riff-a-rama of the first water, is not produced to within an inch of its sonic life and is [...]

The Best Selling Triple Album Revealed

Vinyl Culture

Authored By Johnny Blogger October 22, 2015

Before the advent of the longer running time of CDs, the triple vinyl album was a rare and exotic beast and they were never anything less than exciting. It seemed so incredible that you could buy an album and get 2 hours of music on it. Also it required more elaborate packaging, so it felt [...]

Led Zeppelin - Communication Breakdown

Authored By Johnny Blogger October 22, 2015

Led Zeppelin - Communication Breakdown b/w Good Times Bad Times Zep didn't release singles in the UK because it wasn't cool and radio wasn't going to play them anyway. Which reminds me of a famous radio programmer at the time who was asked if he'd play Whole Lotta Love, he responded in the negative. Why? [...]

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