1967

"Waterloo Sunset" is one of the great pop songs, Ray Davies's masterpiece, and representative of just about everything great about the Kinks (though there's little sarcasm in the track). It's the best song on this mix, and that's saying a whole lot, considering that we are talking about 1967, the year of Purple Haze, and White Rabbit, and Sunshine of Your Love, and Ruby Tuesday, and A Whiter Shade of Pale, and do you get the idea yet?

Rock, pop, and soul all had a towering year, and each track here deserves its due. Not the best Van Morrison song, but "Brown Eyed Girl" is pretty damn good, and while I'm not Doors fan, "Light My Fire" does a pretty good job of just that. I picked "White Rabbit" rather than "Somebody to Love" because I simply like it better, but "Purple Haze" is here instead of "Hey Joe" for time reasons. "Foxy Lady" isn't as good as either of them.

The two biggest songs on this mix are undoubtedly Aretha Franklin's cover of "Respect" and The Beatles' "All You Need is Love." The former is the singer's most famous single, and while I've probably heard it 3.4 million times, it hasn't quite passed the point where I've contemplated suicide when it comes on the radio, unlike similarly overexposed songs. It's undoubtedly lost some of its power, though, and I do wonder: who calls radio stations to hear this song? Haven't they heard it enough? The latter was the track John wrote for the first satellite broadcast, sent around the world in 1967. It's a simple song that he probably tossed off in an afternoon, and its universal appeal and timeless nature illustrates John's genius perfectly. He was never a craftsman in the same way Paul was (though there are plenty of examples of songs John slaved over). Music came to him, and the inspiration he got wasn't from hard work, but from creativity; if John had talent, Paul had skill. The song Paul brought in for the broadcast was "Your Mother Should Know," which was eventually put on the Magical Mystery Tour EP, and I can only imagine what Paul felt like when he heard "All You Need is Love." Probably similar to the way John felt as he watched Paul, alone on stage with his guitar, playing the staggeringly overrated "Yesterday" to screaming crowds. "All You Need is to Have Similar Attitudes and Working Styles."

Anyway, enjoy one of the great years in history, 1967.

Download here.

1. Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks - 3:16
2. Itchycoo Park - Small Faces - 2:49
3. The Letter - Box Tops - 2:02
4. The Rain, The Park and Other Things (Flower Girl) - Cowsills - 2:59
5. Respect - Aretha Franklin - 2:27
6. Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley - 2:21
7. So Happy Together - The Turtles - 2:52
8. You Keep Me Hangin' On - Diana Ross and the Supremes - 2:43
9. I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - 2:48
10. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye - 2:27
11. Higher And Higher - Jackie Wilson - 2:53
12. Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison - 3:03
13. See Emily Play - Pink Floyd - 2:47
14. Purple Haze - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - 2:55
15. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane - 2:32
16. Light My Fire - The Doors - 7:06
17. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream - 4:13
18. Kind Of A Drag - Buckinghams - 2:13
19. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield - 2:37
20. A Whiter Shade Of Pale - Procul Harum - 4:01
21. Ruby Tuesday - The Rolling Stones - 3:19
22. Seven & Seven Is - Love - 2:25
23. Heroin - The Velvet Underground - 7:12
24. All You Need Is Love - The Beatles - 4:00