The only of these that I know (and vaguely knew at the time) is Manfred Mann, so that's the one that I get nostalgic about with new lead vocalist Mike D'Abo - he of Handbags & Gladrags, Build Me Up Buttercup as well as Manfred songs. For me, Mike is the singer for my-era Manfred. ROTW.

The Cream track is unexpectedly mellow ragtime. ooeerrr! Eric Burdon sounding like Eric Burdon and the Animals, it's not bad. Chris Farlowe I like it, but the song isnt as strong as Out Of Time, can see why Jagger/Richard gave it away. Ike & Tina I was expecting rock blues so this lush Motown was a surprise. I wonder if Spector was still smarting over River Deep bombing in the US, he reacted very badly, maybe he wasnt concentrating properly for this one, it doesn't quite match up to previous. Kudos to Tina - Spector & Turner and she still comes up smelling of roses.

3rd - 9th November 1966

25. Holy Cow - Lee Dorsey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qANTSHIivRY A soul/blues song in the traditional style with good use of the piano and brass instruments. All four of his hits were in this year and Holy Cow will be the biggest, reaching number 6.

26. Gimme Some Loving - The Spencer Davis Group https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSIj_yhj7hg The organ combined with the guitar riffs makes this a standout with Steve Winwood's vocal the cherry on the cake. It will go as high as number 2.

38. Painter Man - The Creation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTrFqx9Id18 The only top 40 hit for this group is a good one, I like the bowed guitar sounding like a cello. I only knew Boney M's cover version before today. The chorus is very similar to Tesla Girls by OMD.

39. Friday On My Mind - The Easybeats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnqxbdnzlhw The first hit for this Australian group is a faced paced pop/rock song which wouldn't sound out of place in the late 70s as a new wave song.

Record of the week : 15. Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys

The other three singles by groups this week could have won on another week but they were up against the record of the year. Taking eight months to record and costing a lot of money, the results justify the amount of effort put into the song. It's still a joy to listen to with all the different vocals, musical sounds and tempo changes. After their last three singles all reached the top 3, the Beach Boys will now have a deserved number 1, spending two weeks at the top of the chart.

I know all of these for a change! Holy Cow never a fave, but it's OK, Gimme Some Lovin' is a goodie, as you imply it's rifftastic. I knew The Boney M version first too, but Painter Man is a good original for The Creation too. Frank Farian had some bizarre, but good, choices for covers. Friday On My Mind rates among the best of 1966, future Flash & The Pan hitmakers and links to AC/DC included, and this would be my ROTW in most weeks if not for those pesky Beach Boys dropping a game-changing epic in Good Vibrations and Pet Sounds to give the Beatles a kick up the arse for 1967 - forget The Rolling Stones, the real one-upmanship of the 60's was the Brian Wilson vs Lennon-McCartney mutual appreciation society.

'God Only Knows' may be my personal favourite from the Beach Boys but 'Good Vibrations' is right up there too, so innovative as you've both summarised.

I agree 'Friday On My Mind' also sounds ahead of its time and 'Gimme Some Loving' has proven enduring, a strong batch.

10th - 16th November 1966

31. What Would I Be - Val Doonican https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWsPNctuGQw Val's biggest hit, peaking at number 2. The choruses have a faster pace than the verses, a nice enough song from him.

38. It's Love - Ken Dodd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVrf0w-oG2w This is a lot jollier than most of his songs. The chorus with the backing singers joining in is a real singalong with handclapping included.

Record of the week : 35. Green Green Grass Of Home - Tom Jones

Just the three singles this week and all by British/Irish males who made dozens of TV appearances. This wouldn't have had a look-in last week but is the best of today's batch. I've never really listened to the lyrics closely so I'm just realising now that the arrival home is just the dream of a man the morning before he is executed in prison and he will be buried underneath the green grass of home. There's a good arrangement with the piano, strings and backing singers. This cover of a Johnny Darrell song will spend seven weeks at number 1, two more than Distant Drums by Jim Reeves, and sell 1.25 million copies.

'Green Green Grass Of Home' is nice and sounds quite early 50s chart ballad nostalgia but at least you get a bit of a drum beat which you didn't really in early 50s ballads. The vibe of it is rather like a certain guy named after a composer who will appear here soon.

Ken Dodd obviously started off as an early 50s ballad revivialist too but yeah 'Its Love' is way more lively indeed.

And from the previous batch 'Good Vibrations' is an all-time classic and the harmonies are brilliant.

Edited Tuesday at 21:323 days by TheSnake

Don't remember the Ken Dodd upbeat single, bit would have been fun while waiting for the Diddymen to turn up on telly. Val's is one of my faves of his, lovely and smooth and tuneful, but the death-song has to win it for Tom, it was everywhere at the time and quite a while after on Two-Way Family Favourites and Radio 2. I have a lot of nostalgic love for it, though I know fictional-story-songs are long out of fashion.