435. Nothing But a Heartache by The Flirtations 1968

A Northern Soul classic and a great pop tune that I discovered on one of Decca's world of Hits compilations back in the Seventies. 

Despite being round for the sixties and even being a teenager (just) in 1969 pop music passed by in a parade of latest and greatest hits. Unless I could afford to buy the record this meant a lot of time glued to the transistor radio just waiting for a favourite song to come on. This much devotion meant I also would be sick of the songs by the end of their run of the charts.

However when I really got started buying records in the Seventies I kind of had to start digging through all those sixties hits to find long forgotten songs. Luckily there were tons of sixties compilation records around. And so I came across songs I'd never heard like this one. But this should have topped the charts all round the world it's just so damn good. 

434. Victoria by The Kinks 1969

For all the brilliance of the Beatles and really there is no getting past their hold on popular culture throughout the sixties, I still prefer the journey that The Kinks made from the heavy metal template of You Really Got Me right up to this song in 69. And there was more to come with songs like Apeman and Lola. And I did like the concept albums of the seventies.

Why this song as remained a firm favourite of mine is because quite like Picture Book it rocks with an acoustic guitar blazing the trail. A song made to spin on a turntable. This time from the Arthur album which was not one of my favourites but has grown on me. Maybe it's got something to with the large kangaroo in the gatefold of my copy. And some of the songs were quite odd. But there was this and Shangri La.
I picked up the album at Monash University. Cut out sleeve. Imported from the USA and sold cheap. Cardboard sleeve that weighed a ton.
Never got sick of this song. Even the Fall did a good job of it. Why isn't our state's tourist anthem?

433. How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths 1985

After sorting out my record collection and finding a large chunk of it as disappeared in the last few months I've been steadily refilling the holes left. Still haven't got any idea where the records went but there is a black box I used to carry records to the Lizard lounge to that is no longer with me. Because I basically ignored vinyl for so long these records could have gone anywhere in the last 16 years.
So now I'm back at record fairs and browsing garage sales and the like.
It's kinda peaked my interest in vinyl and now I'm hunting down not only lost records but vinyl I would like to have.
"How soon Is Now?" was a big record at all the clubs I DJed at starting with the Beehive in the mid eighties. The first time I heard it I don't think I was that impressed but Ronny kept playing it and soon I was hypnotized by those strangely psychedelic Bo Diddley rhythms and the slide guitar. And of course the lyrics although brief just seemed so poignant standing on the dance floor. Often surrounded by slow motion groovers awash in this wall of sound. It lacked the pop punch that got people jumping up and down but it had the crowd moving from back bar to front bar.
Quite a magical song that left it's mark on our young impressionable minds.