Photo credit: Miss Anniela.
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Sand
(How does that grab you / 1966)
Sand is one of the sexiest songs that Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood ever penned together. It tells the story of a woman whose flames of love are small until she meets this cold man called Sand, that sets her on fire. It’s a well known fact that nothing fuels a good flirtation like need and desperation. The rhythm section is particulary interesting, a cross of guitars and what sounds like harps which give the song a certain vibe that I can’t stop relating to beach boys’ “pet sounds” and also a sitar kind of solo in the middle that draws an instant comparison to what would eventually become the most important rock record of the 60’s:
The Beatles - tomorrow never knows
(Revolver / 1966)
This song popped on my car on Wednesday and I was telling my lover how mind boggling it might have been for the Beatles audience (which pretty much means everyone who had ears in the 60’s) to hear Revolver for the first time. I know it’s a trite example but imagine the odds of a pop-icon such as Justin Timberlake to suddenly move to northern Europe, become a heroine drug-addict (which he probably is already) and to come out of the studio one year later with the most influential rock record of the decade under his sleeve. It’s not as if they did a huge step from Rubber Soul to Revolver but every single song on Revolver is a marvellous collage of innovation with restraint. And yet when they lose it, it gets even better, the only time they do it on full scale in here, is on the album closer “tomorrow never knows”, an acid-drenched pleasure trip driven by Ringo’s hypnotizing drumming, a droning sea of backward guitars and sped-up cellos revolving around one single note and John blurting something about taoist lisergic meditation, giving a glimpse on the brilliant career that was just in front of them.
Santana - soul sacrifice
(Santana / 1969)
The 60’s was an exciting time for debuts and Santana’s was amongst the best of them all. The percussion solo on Soul Sacrifice and the vast amount afrocuban percussive elements on his debut turned many of the listeners on to Latin music for the first time, and given thw sheer amount of boasting energy that the album gave to the rock scene, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody.
Nina Simone - funkier than a mosquito’s tweeter
(It Is Finished / 1974)
Nina Simone doing funk! But this is not just your average funk workout, but one that pulls from African soul like Ali Farka Toure, Fela Kuti and Nina’s own high jazz standards to create a 5 minute smoldering groove punctuated intermittently by a soft upright bass and amazing drums. It is subtle nuanced yet undeniably funky with a sophistication and rawness you rarely find in this type of music.
Bo Diddley - elephant man
(The black gladiator / 1970)
The Black Gladiator comes on strong with the opening cut, “Elephant Man,” which rides a primitive three-note riff into gale-force funk as Diddley proceeds to explain how he invented the elephant—that’s right, invented the elephant—constructing the animal piece by piece. After that, Diddley throws up his fist for black power, contemplates the word of God, brags about his sexual prowess, and lays down the law for his wife, telling her “you ain’t going nowhere, put those shoes back under the bed.” (Fred Beldin on “I’d love to turn yo on to Bo Diddley”)
