Year: 1975
Track: I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU – ART GARFUNKEL
Comment: Well that was better that I expected. I never really liked Art’s slightly mannered vocal style, but that was quite good when he opened up towards the end.
Rating: C+
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Year: 1974
Track: EVERYTHING I OWN – KEN BOOTHE
Comment: Lovers Rock/Reggae classic, still sounds good
Rating: B
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Year: 1973
Track: DAYDREAMER/THE PUPPY SONG – DAVID CASSIDY
Comment: Proper saccharine proto-boyband stuff from the original 70s adolescent dreamboat. To be honest though I hated it at the time, now Daydreamer seems well constructed but inoffensive.
The Double A side Puppy Song is a twee 70’s shite Bugsy Malone reject of a song
Rating: C
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Year: 1972
Track: MOULDY OLD DOUGH – LIEUTENANT PIGEON
Comment: Aaah we are getting into the shit parochial side of the 70’s here. Not exactly artisanal sour dough, more 10 day old Nimble
Rating: E
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Year: 1971
Track: REASON TO BELIEVE/MAGGIE MAY – ROD STEWART
Comment: Oooh first double A side, Everyone remembers Maggie May and no one remembers Reason to Believe. Easy to see why Maggie May is a fine song with it’s mandolin riff, breezy Hammond organ and great lyric. Reason to Believe is a turgid boring country-mess so beloved of the early 70’s
Rating: C (Maggie May A but dragged down by the double A side)
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Year: 1970
Track: BAND OF GOLD – FREDA PAYNE
Comment: Good, more classic Motown. Not quite Four Tops level but still pretty damn good. The ambiguous gay/impotence/sexual inexperience lyric is still edgy.
Rating: B
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Year: 1969
Track: SUGAR SUGAR – ARCHIES
Comment: Type 2 Diabetes
Rating: D
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Year: 1968
Track: THOSE WERE THE DAYS – MARY HOPKIN
Comment: Feels like and early folksy Eurovision entry. Apparently her life used to revolve around an unhealthy obsession with going to the “Tavern”, bit of a party girl. Would not go down with the Daily Mail nowadays (or indeed then)
Rating: C
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Year: 1967
Track: MASSACHUSETTS – BEE GEES
Comment: The first of the Bee Gees on the list. Country hippy feeling but quite enjoyable for all that.
Rating: B
#MusicLists #NowThatsWhatICallMyBirthday
In honor of moving into my 60th year, I’m going to reprint something I did on Facebook going into lockdown a few years ago, a list of the UK number ones from the day of my birth. Along with my very subjective opinion of the track in question.
So with no further ado, here is my first number one, from the year of my birth…
Year: 1966
Track: REACH OUT I’LL BE THERE – FOUR TOPS
Comment: Nailed on gold plated classic. One of Motown’s very best. I have a horrible feeling I’ve peaked at birth here.
Rating: A+