Volume 2, Track 2
“I Feel Fine” by The Beatles (1964) It is not that I think there are a lot of similarities between “I Feel Fine” and “Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals but I feel that they are each other’s doppleganger. Released a year after The Crystals’ masterpiece, “I Feel Fine” perfectly captures one of the [...]
Volume 2, Track 1
“Lady Madonna” by The Beatles (1968) “Lady Madonna” was the last single The Beatles released before forming Apple Records and it is one of their most liveliest tracks. Between the fluidity of Paul McCartney’s work behind the piano and the marvelous, complimentary work of Ronnie Scott’s saxophone solo, you have a song that is really [...]
Volume 2 Introduction
Volume 2 of this series will consist of a list of Beatles songs and, while it may seem odd that The Beatles would have fourteen entries on a site called “Overlooked Songs,” it is not as far-fetched as it would seem at first glance. To be sure, handpicking overlooked songs from The Beatles’ catalog is [...]
Volume 1, Track 14
“Cosmic Charlie” by The Grateful Dead (1969) “Cosmic Charlie,” the track that ends The Grateful Dead’s third studio album Aoxomoxoa, is a bizarre psychedelic number that attempts to take you into space (but not in an “Interstellar Overdrive” sort of way). The best psychedelic music follows one very simple rule: make the music sound complex [...]
Volume 1, Track 13
“Reflections” by Diana Ross & The Supremes (1967) If you remember the show China Beach in the ’80′s you will remember that this song was its theme but before that it was a huge hit when it was released and it was the first single to be released under the new and improved name, Diana [...]
Volume 1, Track 12
“B-Boy Bouillabaisse” by Beastie Boys (1989) To be sure, lyrics like “Got busy in Frisco, fooled around in Fresno/Got over on your girlie ’cause you know she never says no” are not the stuff of Bob Dylan but the final track that ends Paul’s Boutique is a veritable hodge-podge of brilliantly cut samples mixed with [...]
Volume 1, Track 11
“In A Daydream” by Freddy Jones Band (1994) Every metropolitan city (or large college town) has that one radio station that seems to deal only in eclectic playlists and is always ahead of the curve in finding new artists before the Top 40 and other mainstream stations follow suit. In Chicago, that radio station is [...]
Volume 1, Track 10
“Under The Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991) The second single to be released from Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1992, “Under The Bridge” is probably the defining song of the Chili Peppers’ catalog as they temporarily suspended their funk-punk sound and crafted an amazing and personal song about lead singer Anthony Kiedis’s depression [...]
Volume 1, Track 9
[Note: For the upcoming 4th of July weekend, this list will include four songs that, however varied, represent or paint some picture of America. This is part four.] “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang (1979) Hip hop, like jazz, is a distinctly American form of music and, despite Adam Sandler’s inadvertent efforts to cheapen this [...]
Volume 1, Track 8
[Note: For the upcoming 4th of July weekend, this list will include four songs that, however varied, represent or paint some picture of America. This is part three.] “Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground” by The White Stripes (2001) The track that opens White Blood Cells, the band’s third album, is, to me, a terrific [...]
Volume 1, Track 7
[Note: For the upcoming 4th of July weekend, this list will include four songs that, however varied, represent or paint some picture of America. This is part two.] “America” by Simon & Garfunkel (1968) A few years ago I worked with a Lebanese woman who had been living in America for about twelve years. She [...]
Volume 1, Track 6
[Note: For the upcoming 4th of July weekend, this list will include four songs that, however varied, represent or paint some picture of America. This is part one.] “Rhapsody In Blue” by George Gershwin (1924) The title “Rhapsody In Blue” may mean nothing to you at all. You may not have even realized that it [...]
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