Would? by Alice in Chains (1992)

Okay, so this Alice in Chains' cut is not that deep. Acknowledged. However, it is a three-minute or so time capsule of what the early 90's sounded like. This tune seemed to follow me around back then and it was interwoven into the experiences of my early twenties(for good and bad).

And speaking more generally of Alice in Chains, what a great band. Dirt, Jar of Flies, and Unplugged were in heavy rotation throughout the 90's. Losing Layne Staley to drugs was a big deal that we really don't talk about that much, because it was overshadowed by Kurt Cobain's death. Layne had great vocal range and is missed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB_fNVOPzyM

Heavy Rocker by Brats (1980)

Danish punk rockers, Brats, really knew how to read the tea leaves. Seeing that punk had probably run its course, the band disbanded in 1979 and reformed with many new members by 1980. They were then a "heavy metal" band. It was well-timed.

They didn't end up achieving any large scale success, but made some fun records. Here is a track off of their 1980 album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSPN4o7PQZc

The Dansette Kid/Hartley Jam for Bread by the Keef Hartley Band

Keef Hartley had an interesting musical career. This British drummer started out by replacing Ringo Starr in Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He then played with Jon Lord in the Atwoods before forming his own band, the Keef Hartley Band, which would release several albums and play at Woodstock. He is also credited with teaching Phil Collins how to play the drums.

Getting back to the Keef Hartley Band, this was some heady jazz fusion influenced rock. Check out the debut piece from their second album, The Battle of North West 6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCT3PUIFQek

(Do The) Instant Mash by Joe Jackson (1979)

Now this is what pop rock should sound like to my ears. It's upbeat and recorded with real instruments. Jackson's debut album, Look Sharp!, sounds like a cross between Elvis Costello and Steely Dan.  It was some smart stuff. Of course, I discovered this LP years after it was released. My first exposure to Joe Jackson was the 1983 video for Steppin' Out. This was in heavy rotation on MTV. I didn't love it at first, and loved it less so every time it crossed the airwaves. This was probably why it took me decades to go back and listen to his first album.

Here is a fun track on that debut album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEiAUDwC4Wo

Stop and Listen by The Shag (1967)

Milwaukee garage rockers, The Shag(aka The Shags), were a true one-hit wonder. This song, along with the B side "Melissa" was the only release by the band(that I could find anyway). In any case, it's a good little song with an interesting fuzz guitar intro. Check it out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wltYGxECvhw

It Ain't Easy by Lynx (1978)

Here's another forgotten band. Lynx was a hard rock band with a hint of a prog sound from Toronto. They managed to put out a few albums in the mid-70's before calling it quits.

Check out this succinct track from their second album, 1978's Sneak Attack. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH2GyNSfPqU

Queen of Torture by Wishbone Ash (1970)

Wishbone Ash is a British rock band that has been around, fairly consistently, for the last 45 years. They've managed to keep going despite many personnel changes and limited fame. Still, they are a solid band.

Here is a track off of their first album in 1970. It is pretty good, just a bit lost in the shuffle of all of the great rock coming out at the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J9IXzhPpkc

Satisfaction by Otis Redding (1966)

Otis Redding was the King of Soul. No doubt about it. When I was young, I always loved Dock of the Bay. I just thought that song was about as good as it gets. But, it didn't really give me an accurate picture of the energy that Otis could bring to a song. It wasn't until years later when I discovered his live performances that I really appreciated his work.

To think that he was able to put so much energy into these performances while wearing a suit! Many musicians claim that they "leave it all on the stage". That statement is more true for Otis that probably anyone else...

The link below actually goes to Otis' 1967 Monterey Pop version of Satisfaction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvtbiHYa-LI

Keep the Dogs Away by Thor (1977)

There's something a bit cartoonish about Vancouver's Thor. I mean, the lead singer was a body builder who went on to form a proto-hair metal band(Not that there's anything wrong with that). It's not that heavy, but fun enough for a Friday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy2Q5B0sxOI

The Everlasting First by Love (1970)

Over the years, I've read about Arthur Lee's Love and their influence on the psych rock scene and rock in general. However, whenever I've tried to get into them, I've found their sound a little soft for my liking. The band's self-titled debut and 1967's Forever Changes were good for background mood music, but not for intense headphone listening. Or so that was my initial perception.

I guess that I ultimately needed to be drawn into more of their catalog due to their later collaborations with Jimi Hendrix. Here, on Love's sixth album, Hendrix guests on this opening track and makes his presence know with his distinctive lead guitar. In fact, this song opened the door for me to listen to Love's other work more intently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6qPocCekJE

Dynamo Snackbar by Peter Kaukonen (1972)

After hearing 1972's Black Kangaroo, it's hard to believe that Peter Kaukonen would be content to be a back-up player with his older brother's(Jorma Kaukonen) bands. It sounds to me that Peter could easily have made a name for himself in the heavy blues rock era of the early 70's. Instead, Peter spent most of his peak years supporting Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, and Jefferson Starship, among others.

The track that I have selected is indicative of the type and quality of music on this album. It is definitely worth picking it up if you could ever find it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJnkDThQvmg

To Hell by Tiger B. Smith (1972)

How about some early 70's German power trio for your Tuesday? Okay, the band name is kind of stupid, but these rockers made some intense music through about 1975 before calling it quits. This is some heavy, trippy stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8CdexNkGwk

Thirteen Women by The Renegades (1966)

Now here's a truly unheralded song from an unheralded garage rock band. The Renegades were from Birmingham, England, but found success in the mid-sixties only when they relocated to Finland. There, they became quite the rage. In addition to releasing four albums in about three years, they also appeared in a Finnish movie from which today's clip is culled. Good stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu2pKXSIzr4

Dark Entries by Bauhaus (1979)

I definitely enjoy the darker side of "new wave" or "post punk". So Bauhaus, particularly early Bauhaus, really hits me in the sweet spot. It is mood music for sure. The original incarnation of the band wouldn't last too long. By 1983, they were done. Most of the band would find some future success with the spinoff band, Love and Rockets. I like them, as well, but Bauhaus was special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8n6k8QcU3k

Psychedelic Shack by The Temptations (1970)

By the end of the 60's, Motown decided that it should get it on the Psychedelic scene. So, they got one of their most popular acts to make a "psychedelic" LP. The result was the Temptations' release of the Psychedelic Shack LP in March of 1970. To me, this sounds more funky than psychedelic (creaky door intro notwithstanding).

Whatever you call it, it gets you moving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP_CsXMk-74

Ignore Them(Still Life) by Eddie and the Hot Rods (1977)

Here is another great band out of the UK in the mid-70's. Their music has been ascribed as "punk", but they sound more like straight ahead rock n' roll to me.  The band still tours today(with only one original member.

This is from the second album of their initial incarnation, Life on the Line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7eUfbkY5fw

Borrowed Time by Fanny (1972)

The Runaways weren't the first 70's California band to be constructed, at least partly, because the band members were all women. Producer Richard Perry, who had worked with Harry Nilsson, Barbra Streisand, and Percy Faith, was looking for an all-female rock band to produce. He culled musicians from a variety of garage bands to create Fanny.

The band managed to release a number of rock/glam rock albums in the early 70's. Check out this TV performance of a song from their third release, Fanny Hill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1iTFYIJF5c

She's Easy by Yesterday's Children (1969)

Wow, how was this band not better known? I recently became aware of this 60's Long Island-based "psychedelic" band. "Psychedelic" is in quotations because while there are those psych elements, this feels to me more like a hard rock or proto-heavy metal band. The musicians are talented. Again, it is baffling how these guys didn't get more of a following before breaking up shortly after the release of their only album.

I have selected this longer track to show off their capabilities, but I could have selected a shorter song like Paranoia which shows the band's power. Check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbUM6Y2rBu4

Blind Justice by Agnostic Front (1984)

For me, Agnostic Front was similar to Black Flag in that I thought that their first album was much better than the rest that followed. That doesn't mean that Agnostic Front's(nor Black Flag's) later work wasn't any good. It just means that those initial efforts were phenomenally good. Just a pure explosion of rage.

Listen to Agnostic Front here, from that first album, Victim in Pain. That feels good...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_z72v8Jh8Q

52 Girls by The B-52's (1979)

After five years of not playing any music and focusing on raising his young son, John Lennon took a vacation to Bermuda in 1980. While there, he went to a club and found that a dj was spinning some weird new music that reminded him of his wife's avant-garde stylings. That song he heard was "Rock Lobster" by a new band called the "B-52's". That experienced helped to push Lennon back into recording music for, ultimately, one last time. For more info on the B-52's connection, check out this article.

Rock Lobster was a great track, but here is my favorite B-52's tune, from the same debut self-titled album. It was penned by the late Ricky Wilson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJwQuTqqPvo

Barracuda by The Standells (1967)

The Standells were a L.A. garage band(no not from Boston). Despite recording the unofficial anthem for Boston, Dirty Water, none of the band members had actually been to Boston when the song was recorded. The song was written by their producer, Ed Cobb.

Forgetting Dirty Water, the Standells were a pretty good 60's garage band with no pretensions of much else. Here is a track from their 1967 album, Try It.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jNxAScOlck

Hard Times by The Mutants (1978)

These Liverpudlians just delivered straight ahead punk rock at the height of the genre's popularity. And it true punk fashion, they flamed out after about two years together. Here is a single released shortly before their break up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5v1FKlDArU

Default by Django Django (2012)

Since I've been stuck in the early 70's for the last week, I decided that I would jump ahead over forty years to celebrate a fresh sounding British band, Django Django. I was turned onto their debut self-titled album shortly after its release in 2012 and found myself playing it over and over again. That is rare for me with new music.

I could best describe Django Django as new wave for the 2010's. It just sounds refreshing and the way "pop" should sound(to my ears). They have a new album, Born Under Saturn, which I've yet to check out. In case you want to check it out, go to their website here,

Here is nice representative track from their first album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDjpOrlfh0Y

Thank You by Barclay James Harvest (1972)

Barclay James Harvest is not a person but an English prog rock band of the early 70's. Their first few albums were more proggy than later efforts. In fact their second and third albums included a full orchestra on parts. By the fourth album, Baby James Harvest, the music came down to Earth a bit. Here is a track that has a bit of a bluesy feel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPtEbGABAyM

Illusion by White Witch (1972)

Today's song of the day is another entry into the category of early 70's Southern rock bands who didn't make "Southern" rock.  Here is the short-lived and rather collectible, White Witch. This Tampa band was primarily known for their kitschy, yet controversial, song called "It's So Nice to be Stoned". However, they made some good music on the rest of the debut album that is largely forgotten. One of the good things about this band, I think, is there use of the Moog synthesizer in a good way.

Here is one of their trippier tunes, Illusion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5S4p1ty0Ls

Levee Blues by Potliquor (1971)

Potliquor was a Baton Rouge-based hard rock band from the early 70's who did not manage to sound like "Southern Rock". They actually had quite a following in the Southeast, without ever expanding their popularity to a wider region. That makes it all the more humorous that ZZ Top, Aerosmith, and Billy Joel all opened for them at one point when touring in the South.

Check out this bluesy number, Levee Blues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6ena5GRUY4

Too Much Wine by Dirty Tricks (1975)

Dirty Tricks was a British hard rock band that came of age about 3 years too late. By the time they started to mature, the rock world had turned to punk for anything new and exciting. (Also, that boring album cover couldn't have helped). By the late 70's, Dirty Tricks would call it quits.

But thanks to the passage of time and accessibility afforded by the Internet, this band can be enjoyed alongside the hard rockers that preceded it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRXu8VaJvOY

Smokey Feeling by The Organization (1974)

While Barbados' own Organization could certainly drop the beat and play some reggae, they became much more well known for when they would dial up the funk. You wouldn't have heard this juicy stuff at most West Indian clubs in the 70's.

Enjoy this instrumental funky jam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q6lvk-T9c0

Brainticket, Pt. 1 by Brainticket (1971)

Brainticket was a Krautrock band that combined psychedelia and prog rock. They have managed regroup over the years to tour with various lineups, but the original incarnation of the band lasted from 1968 to 75.

Here is a rather indulgent track off of their debut 1971 album, Cottonwood Hill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOw2U-XqWQQ

Mother Freedom by Bread (1971)

As a used record store crate digger and yard sale scavenger, Bread is often the bane of my existence on Saturday mornings. I mean there is a certain level of disappointment when you see a stack of vinyl at some garage sale only to see that it is filled with likes of Bread, Anne Murray, and Neil Diamond.

Bread had a string of "soft rock" hits in the 70's including "Baby, I'm a Want You" and "The Guitar Man", among others. I am not a fan. However, like many bands, there are some redeeming qualities if you choose to dig deep enough.

Here we have a single from 1971, a year before their first #1 Adult Contemporary hit. I'm not sure that I like this song on its own or if it was just really rockin' for a Bread song. You decide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRNe04kw3Cg

Whatcha Gonna Do About It by Small Faces (1965)

Man, I love the early Small Faces when they played straight ahead garage rock. I don't care for their pop rock work after Itchycoo Park in 1967(with a few notable exceptions-See Afterglow for one such exception).

But, here they are from a few years before with Whatcha Gonna Do About It.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_AVRGJr_7E