Today, we turn to our 1967 mix highlighting all the great going-ons in England that year - Meanwhile, Across The Pond - and take a listen to the only two songs on the mix that won't end up represented in our Best Songs or Best Albums of the year rankings.
The first of those two songs needs little introduction, even today.
The Who's Pictures Of Lily, which guitarist Pete Townsend considers one of the first "power pop" recordings, is one of the all time great songs thematically dedicated to masturbation (and there have been many through the years, hundreds if not thousands, including another wanking masterpiece on this mix). The song was released in April, 1967 in the UK (late June in the US), and reached #5 on the UK charts, but didn't crack the top 50 stateside on its initial release.
The next single comes to us from another famous mod act, The Small Faces, who would later change their names to just the Faces after some personnel changes that included the addition of Rod Stewart.
But the band at this time were driven by two fantastic singer/songwriters in guitarist Steve Marriott and the one-of-a-kind bassist Ronnie Lane, each of whom would pen a '67 classic. Lane's tune will make our best songs of the year list, so we'll touch on that later.
Marriott's classic, Tin Soldier, was released as a single in December of 1967. A song of sexual pursuit, it was written by Marriott to specifically impress one woman, model Jenny Rylance, who would become his first wife the following year.
Ironically, Marriott almost turned the song over to American soul singer P.P. Arnold, with whom it is rumored he had just ended a brief affair, but ultimately decided the song was too good to give away.
However, Arnold was still enlisted to perform backing vocals on the song, and appears in some initial televised performances. Though never a monster hit in the states, the song is still revered in the UK, often charting in all-time polls as one of the 10-20 best songs the island nation has ever produced.
The first of those two songs needs little introduction, even today.
The Who's Pictures Of Lily, which guitarist Pete Townsend considers one of the first "power pop" recordings, is one of the all time great songs thematically dedicated to masturbation (and there have been many through the years, hundreds if not thousands, including another wanking masterpiece on this mix). The song was released in April, 1967 in the UK (late June in the US), and reached #5 on the UK charts, but didn't crack the top 50 stateside on its initial release.
The next single comes to us from another famous mod act, The Small Faces, who would later change their names to just the Faces after some personnel changes that included the addition of Rod Stewart.
But the band at this time were driven by two fantastic singer/songwriters in guitarist Steve Marriott and the one-of-a-kind bassist Ronnie Lane, each of whom would pen a '67 classic. Lane's tune will make our best songs of the year list, so we'll touch on that later.
Marriott's classic, Tin Soldier, was released as a single in December of 1967. A song of sexual pursuit, it was written by Marriott to specifically impress one woman, model Jenny Rylance, who would become his first wife the following year.
Ironically, Marriott almost turned the song over to American soul singer P.P. Arnold, with whom it is rumored he had just ended a brief affair, but ultimately decided the song was too good to give away.
However, Arnold was still enlisted to perform backing vocals on the song, and appears in some initial televised performances. Though never a monster hit in the states, the song is still revered in the UK, often charting in all-time polls as one of the 10-20 best songs the island nation has ever produced.
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