Even by the standards of the 1960s, it was quite a week: the murder of peaceful-protest civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., resulting riots across the U.S.A., multilateral talk of a ceasefire in the Vietnam war, the fall of Czechoslovakia’s communist government as part of the pro-democracy movement’s ‘Prague Spring,’ the appointment of Pierre Trudeau as Canadian Prime Minister, the release of movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes, and a wide array of now-classic chart hits on both sides of the Atlantic.

Among this episode’s musical attractions:

• Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’
• The Beatles’ ‘Lady Madonna’
• Elvis Presley’s ‘Guitar Man’
• The Move’s ‘Fire Brigade’
• Aretha Franklin’s ‘Sweet Sweet Baby (Since You’ve Been Gone)’
• Donovan’s ‘Jennifer Juniper’
• Otis Redding’s ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’
• The Lemon Pipers’ ‘Green Tambourine’
• James Brown’s ‘I Got the Feelin’’
• Bobby Goldsboro’s ‘Honey’
• The Monkees’ ‘Valleri’
• Cliff Richard’s ‘Congratulations’
• The Delfonics’ ‘La-La (Means I Love You)’
• Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘Dance to the Music’
• Mahalia Jackson’s ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord’
• Cilla Black’s ‘Step Inside Love’

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

“I don’t see too much difference between Rubber Soul and Revolver,” George said in the ‘Beatles Anthology’ documentary. “To me, they could be Volume One and Volume Two.”

Many might think he should have paired Revolver with Sgt. Pepper. But, bearing in mind that George wasn’t nearly as involved with Pepper, let’s view things from his perspective…

In August 1965, John and George took acid intentionally for the first time, together with Ringo. In October and November, The Beatles recorded Rubber Soul. The following month, 10 days after the album’s release, a day after the end of the group’s final UK tour, Paul took LSD for the first time (with Guinness heir Tara Browne). Less than four months later, the Revolver sessions began.

Very different albums, but within just five months of one another: ‘Volume One’ shortly after three Beatles had dropped acid; ‘Volume Two’ after Paul had done so.

Featuring ear-catching, ultra-rare audio clips, this episode will dive deep into how hallucinogens influenced not only The Beatles’ songwriting and studio techniques during this period of unsurpassed group unity, but also the attitudes and instrumentation evident on record.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Just because a record’s a hit doesn’t mean it’s good. And there are many good records that never achieve chart success. This show focuses on the former: 1960s singles that cracked the top 100 in the U.S. and/or U.K.—in certain cases even topping it—yet which are universally condemned or divide opinions: some people love them, others hate them.

Incorporating several of their own choices with those of listeners, Richard and Erik bravely take a trip through an assortment of Sixties stinkers—ranging from novelty records to artistic blunders—and also recruit the Celebrated Mr. K (Allan Kozinn)  to try figure out what in hell the artists and composers were thinking.

Following are the featured tracks. But this is just the beginning—no way can all of the contenders fit into a single episode…

• Ray Stevens — Jeremiah Peabody’s Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills
• Brian Hyland — Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
• The Trashmen — Surfin’ Bird
• Jimmy Cross — I Want My Baby Back
• Freddie and the Dreamers — Do the Freddie
• Elvis Presley — Do the Clam
• Mrs. Miller — Downtown/A Lover’s Concerto
• Sgt. Barry Sadler — The Ballad of the Green Berets
• Esther and Abi Ofarim — Cinderella Rockefella
• Senator Bobby — Wild Thing
• 1910 Fruitgum Company — Simon Says
• Richard Harris — MacArthur Park
• Tiny Tim — Tip Toe Thru’ the Tulips With Me

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Pimps, drug dealers, call girls, kinky orgies involving members of the ruling class, a government minister sharing a mistress with a Russian spy, a suicide… and the Prime Minister’s resignation. This was the scandal that rocked Britain in 1963—along with The Beatles simultaneously providing an alternative form of entertainment.

Among the featured tracks:

‘From Russia with Love’ – Matt Monroe

‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’ – Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas

‘On the Rebound’ – Floyd Cramer

‘Runaway’ – Del Shannon

‘My Bonnie’ – Tony Sheridan & The Beatles

‘You Don’t Know’ – Helen Shapiro

‘Tower of Strength’ – Frankie Vaughan

‘Come Outside’ – Mike Sarne with Wendy Richard

‘Telstar’ – The Tornados

‘All I Do is Dream’ – Mandy Rice-Davies

‘Please Please Me’ – The Beatles

‘Dance On’ – The Shadows

‘Let’s Dance’ – Chris Montez

‘Summer Holiday’ – Cliff Richard

‘The Cruel Sea’ – The Dakotas

‘How Do You Do It’ – Gerry and the Pacemakers

‘From Me to You’ – The Beatles

‘Confessin’ (That I Love You)’ – Frank Ifield

‘(You’re The) Devil in Disguise’ – Elvis Presley

‘She Loves You’ – The Beatles

‘I’ll Get You’ (live) – The Beatles

‘Nothing Has Been Proved’ – Dusty Springfield

PLUS ultra-rare clips of The Beatles performing at London’s Royal Albert Hall and Walthamstow Granada in the spring of 1963.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Not tribute songs. More like honourable mentions. Some made in jest. Some a nod and a wink (nudge-nudge, say no more). All cultural reflections of their era. Listened to and contrasted within their proper context, they tell a fascinating Sixties story, populated with colourful characters and some pretty juicy backstories…

The tracks in this case—The Beatles’ ‘Taxman and Dig It’, Bob Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Free’, Paul Simon’s ‘A Simple Desultory Philippic’, John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band’s ‘Give Peace a Chance’, Donovan Leitch’s ‘Sunny South Kensington’, Dion DiMucci’s ‘Abraham, Martin and John’, Eric Burdon & The Animals’ ‘Monterey’, The Mamas and Papas’ ‘Creeque Alley’, Peter Sarstedt’s ‘Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?’ and Jacqueline Taïeb’s ‘7 Heures du Matin’—reference actors, poets, politicians, fellow musicians and assorted other icons.

These include Brigitte Bardot, Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, Sophia Loren, Phil Spector, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, The Byrds, The Who, Ravi Shankar, The Rolling Stones, John and Robert Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Elvis Presley, Walt Disney, Doris Day, Marlene Dietrich, Liz Taylor, Lenny Bruce, The Grateful Dead, Pablo Picasso, Mary Quant, Timothy Leary… While the names go on and on, this show about them and the songs in which they’re featured is limited by the boundary of time—but not much else.

So, sit back, crank up the volume and dive into what Donovan’s track describes as “a flip out, skip out, trip out” with Erik Taros and Richard Buskin as your groovin’-era guides…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download