1967 - 1968 Compilation Info

1.	Jackie Wilson - Higher and Higher	Jackie Wilson was a familiar recording artist since 1958. This was his final hit single - it spent 12 weeks on the charts, peaking at #6. A notorious womanizer, Wilson married fashion model Harlean Harris around the time of this record and stayed with her for the rest of his life.
2.	Bee Gees - To Love Somebody	This Austrailian trio of brothers released their debut album of heavily orchestrated pop in July of 1967. This song was one of three top-20 singles to come from it.
3.	Rolling Stones - Mother's Little Helper	An ode to valium addiction. There is no sitar on this song, the middle-eastern riff is played by a 12 string guitar with a slide.
4.	Beatles - Within You Without You	A conceptually heavy George Harrison song that deals with several Hindu ideas. We hear about MAYA, the Hindu belief that all mortals live in a false concept of reality, and which all reality is actually an illusion. Then Dharma, the ethical code of Hinduism. The song also touches upon reincarnation, the eventual destruction of the universe by Shiva, the Destroyer and how ultimately all things are one.
5.	Jimi Hendrix Experience - Purple Haze	Jimi Hendrix's signature song, believed to be about a particular strain of LSD. The lyric "scuse me while I kiss the sky" was often mis-heard as "scuse me while I kiss this guy". Ever the practical joker, Hendrix would often sing the mis-heard lyrics in concert, causing confusion to his fans and plenty of amusement to himself.
6.	Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine	The first song from this psyhedelic band's first album, the only one made under the leadership of mad (yes, literally) guitarist/singer Syd Barrett.
7.	Scott McKenzie - San Francisco	This hippie anthem was written by John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, to promote the Monterey Pop Festival. It reached #4 in the US and #1 in England. The song was also adopted as an anthem to freedom by a 1968 rebellion against Communist rule in Prague.
8.	Sam & Dave - Soul Man	Peaked at #2 on the Billboard chart. "Play it Steve" refers to Steve Cropper, a member of Booker T and the MG's and session guitarist on almost all of the Stax Records soul hits of the era.
9.	Beach Boys - Good Vibrations	According to Paul McCartney, the way Brian Wilson edited this song's various sections together inspired the Beatles to do the same thing in Strawberry Fields Forever and A Day In The Life. The dense symphonic sound features heavy use of the cello, and also a rare appearance of the electro-theremin synthesizer.
10.	The Doors - People are Strange	Very theatrical single from the Doors second album. Reached #12 on the charts.
11.	Judy Collins - Both Sides Now	Songwriter Joni Mitchell's music is heard for the first time by many with this top-10 Grammy-winning single. It was inspired by a passage in the 1959 novel "Henderson the Rain King" by Saul Bellow. Mitchell did not include the song in her own debut, released in 1968.
12.	Beatles - All You Need Is Love	This song was commissioned by the BBC for the first live global television link in history. The show was called "Our World" and it was watched by 350 million people worldwide. The world theme is served by the opening (French anthem La Marseillaise) and the different songs played during the outro. As the song fades out, listen for Bach's 2 Part Invention #8, Glenn Miller's In the Mood, English folk song Greensleeves, Jeremiah Clarke's Prince of Denmark March, and of course the Beatles classic She Loves You.
13.	Love - Alone Again Or	"All You Need is Love"...so here's some Love (couldn't resist). This is the opening track from the band's 3rd album, and probably it's best known song. This record's folky psychedelia captures the mood of 1967, though it sold much better in the UK than here.
14.	Phil Ochs - Small Circle of Friends	The witty protest singer takes a bitter shot at the apathy of the American public. The root of the song lies in the 1964 story of Kitty Genovese, who was killed in front of her New York apartment building while at least 12 witnesses did nothing to help.
15.	Cream - Strange Brew	The first track and first single off the band's breakthrough US album.
16.	Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years from Home	1/2 of a double-A sided single with "She's a Rainbow". After this album the Stones abandoned the psychedelic sound to go back to the hard-driving blues rock for which they were known.
17.	Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin	Unrequited love spawns yet another big hit. This one features the mellotron, an instrument the band became known for using. The album version features a poem at the end of the song.
18.	The Who - I Can See For Miles	Pete Townshend considered this to be "the ultimate Who song" and was disappointed that it only just cracked the top 10. One reviewer at the time called it "the heaviest song ever written".
19.	Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild	Considered by many the first "heavy metal" song, it's an anthem to bikers all over the world.
20.	Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Mom and Dad	This song seems to be referring to a specific incident, but I can't find what it could be. People who don't know any better think it's about Kent State, which of course happened almost 3 years later and it was National Guard, not police who killed the kids. Anyway, it's a horrible scenario with all kinds of messages. Much more somber than most Zappa songs, maybe the darkest song he ever did.
21.	Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman	A #8 hit for the Queen of Soul, and one of her signature songs. It was written by the celebrated songwriting team of Carole King and Gerry Goffin.
22.	Otis Redding - (Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay	Recorded in December of 1967, just a few days before Redding died in a plane crash. The song was released posthumously and reached #1 in March of 1968. It won grammys for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Male Performance in 1968.
23.	Joni Mitchell - Cactus Tree	The final song on her debut album. In the studio, producer David Crosby put her next to an open grand piano so the strings would resonate with her voice.