Now mushy ballads aren’t especially my thing but I can certainly make an exception for “Your Song” as it’s an incredibly special song. Of course the melody and the twinkling piano part are brilliant but I think it’s the way the lyrics meander round all these analogies and then falter because they aren’t quite right. It’s such a clever and realistic portrayal of someone trying to describe love and not being sure how to do it, and for that reason it trumps George’s gorgeous 2 time chart topper for me.

 

10 Elton John Your Song His 1st hit with one of the greatest songs of its kind ever: the way he can hardly find the words for his feelings is beautiful

9 George Harrison My Sweet Lord 296th #1: a joyous song that is so quintessentially George with the Hare Krishna influence and the soulful folk rock style

8 Carpenters We've Only Just Begun Originally for an advert, this feels like one of their signature songs despite the low peak and it's a gorgeous and warm track

8 Badfinger No Matter What They wrote it without McCartney's help this time but it sounds very Beatles influenced: a very lovely jaunty little number

7 Melanie What Have They Done To My Song Ma This is a slightly silly song but I really enjoy its quirkiness and I think her performance gives it a huge amount of character

7 The Mixtures Pushbike Song A month at #2 and the only hit for this Australian band: reminds me of "In The Summertime" and I love the chugging beat

6 Ashton, Gardner And Dyke The Resurrection Shuffle Only hit for this UK rock trio: feels very Chubby Checker in style and the way it introduces a dance craze, but it's enjoyable

6 The Supremes Stoned Love The only Top 3 hit they managed post Diane: nothing brilliant but a similar style to their earlier stuff and a lovely rich sound

5 Dawn Candida Debut single for this duo featuring Tony Orlando: his performance is good and it's a standard bright and breezy pop song

5 Weathermen It's The Same Old Song Indeed it's the same old song the Four Tops did years ago: not a bad cover though and I particularly enjoy the violins on it

4 Tom Jones She's A Lady You can feel the testosterone raging here: it's well remembered and a good tune and perforamnce, but of its time lyrically

3 Bobby Bloom Heavy Makes You Happy "Sha la loo la lay": 2nd and final hit for him that failed to replicate the "Montego Bay" success and is really quite pedestrian

3 Cliff Richard Sunny Honey Girl A cover of a Pipkins song that didn't chart here: it's not unpleasant but a rather sugary and not particularly interesting song

2 Elvis Presley You Don't Have To Say You Love Me Dusty's version is also a cover but feels definitive, whereas I find his messing with the rhythm odd and don't enjoy this one

2 Tony Christie Las Vegas Crooners are still in demand as this UK singer is just getting his 1st hit; he has a rather brash vocal style and I'm not keen

 

 

 

1971 Group 2:

 

#3676 23/01/1971 Edgar Broughton Band Apache Dropout 33 49-36R(2)-35-35R(4)-{33}R(2)->5

#3677 30/01/1971 Perry Como It's Impossible 4 34-31-13-7-{4}-5-5-5-5-9-9-12-20-24-32-32-38-35-37-38-40-46-46->23

#3678 30/01/1971 Smokey Robinson And The Miracles (Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need 13 38-39-24-17-{13}-15-18-32-49->9

#3679 30/01/1971 Petula Clark The Song Of My Life 32 41-36R(2)-36-38-{32}-36-34-34-34-50-44-50->12

30/01/1971 The Showstoppers Ain't Nothin' But A Houseparty {1970} 33 43-{33}R(2)-36R(2)->3

#3680 30/01/1971 Barbra Streisand Stoney End 27 46-40R(2)-37-33-33-31-37-{27}-33-41-50->11

#3681 06/02/1971 Mungo Jerry Baby Jump 1 32-14R(2)-7-{1}-1-2-4-5-10-13-32-37-42->13

#3682 06/02/1971 Atomic Rooster Tomorrow Night 11 34-37-34-22-12-13-{11}-14-18-27-32-43->12

#3683 06/02/1971 Grand Funk Railroad Inside Looking Out 40 {40}->1

#3684 13/02/1971 The Byrds Chestnut Mare 19 30-38-{19}-22-23-28-32-32->8

#3685 13/02/1971 Dana Who Put The Lights Out? 14 31-40-28-21-{14}-16-17-23-29-39-41->11

#3686 13/02/1971 Martha Reeves And The Vandellas Forget Me Not 11 32-22-15-{11}-15-25-29-43->8

#3687 13/02/1971 The Partridge Family I Think I Love You 18 34-35-{18}-23-24-31-35-35-47->9

#3688 20/02/1971 Chairmen Of The Board Everything's Tuesday 12 26-20-19-{12}-18-13-26-30-40->9

#3689 20/02/1971 Lynn Anderson Rose Garden 3 28-23-10-4-4-{3}-3-3-3-5-12-17-22-28-32-30-37-37-38-48->20

#3690 20/02/1971 Neil Diamond Sweet Caroline 8 30-11-9-{8}-9-8-13-15-22-39-44->11

Will attempt to as usual check some I don't know but probably won't do all but the top 3 are obviously all great and classics!

I turned 13 this week and loved all of the tracks that made it over to Singapore radio. Your Song, wasn't one of them, I got to hear it over the subsequent years quite a bit and it turned into a favourite over time. 9/10 but on the whole I still prefer the flop Border Song of Elton's singles until 1972. My Sweet Lord was a monster global hit, and beloved of me then and now. 10/10. George was the first Fab to grab the top spot. Carpenters also were huge in the Far East, and I love We've Only Just Begun. They were categorised as "Easy listening" along with crooners, but they were timeless 10/10.

 

No Matter What was my top record of the time, loved that tune and performance, and it became bittersweet in retrospect with the early deaths of 2 of the band. Takes me back in time to very happy days. 10/10. Melanie's song was quirky (she was always quirky) but I really like it, as well as the New seekers version. It still is quirky and charming, 9/10. High marks obv going to be a thing for me here!

 

Everybody thought Pushbike Song was Mungo Jerry, still do when it occasionally pops up somewhere, but it didn't cross-over to my ears until the christmas 1971 chart-of-the-year rundown, at which point it was catchy and jolly enough for me to record and keep it, but it wasn't a huge fave as such 6/10. Resurrection Shuffle ditto, except swap catchy for exciting. This one has grown with time for me, love it, but it never gets radio airplay, sadly. 9/10.

 

Ditto The Supremes' Stoned Love, another one I missed at the time but liked when I heard it at christmas. One of my totally top Supremes tracks these days, adore it. 10/10. It ages like a fine wine, the subtlety comes over more and more. Play loud. Candida adn dawn were big faves in early 1971, such a great little pop song, and Tony Orlando was a 60's pop star from before my awareness. Andy williams covered it and I loved that too. I wouldnt call it a classic these days, but it's fun and takes me back. 8/10.

 

Jonathan King starts his pseudonym career with this Weathermen track - his reasoning? radio wouldnt play more than one of his own singles at a time, but they would if they came out under a different name. A terrible singer, but a great hit-maker - he pilfered hit songs here there and everywhere, but hadn't yet set up UK Records to get rich off of it. I like this track though. 5/10. She's A Lady was one that I got to hear and quite liked, 5/10, Heavy makes You Happy I only heard for the first time in 2021 and it's decent enough 4/10.

 

Sunny Honey Girl was another Cliff chart-topper for me then, loved that melody to bits and the little instrumental hooks, and I always thought it was an under-rated single in his back catalogue - long forgotten pretty much by everyone but me, but it does sound of it's time these days. Still fond of it though 8/10. I quite liked Elvis' version of You Don't Have To Say You Love Me at the time cos a) it was Elvis. We loved Elvis. and b) I liked the song. Retrospectively, it's a bit messy, though, come back Dusty. 4/10. Las Vegas I was aware of, but I thought it was Tom Jones initially! It's OK. 5/10.

Great start - 'My Sweet Lord' and 'Stoned Love' are my favourites from this batch

Your Song, My Sweet Lord and We've Only Just Begun are a very strong top 3 there.

Nothing quite so brilliant here but “I Think I Love You” and “Rose Garden” are lovely pop songs, and while “Sweet Caroline” is so overplayed I avoid it there is still a great song lurking there. However I’ve given the win to the song I find the most interesting, which is this really punchy rock song from Atomic Rooster.

 

8 Atomic Rooster Tomorrow Night 1st of a couple of hits for this UK band: this has a brilliant riff and a mesmerising thumping beat; sounds ahead of its time

8 The Partridge Family I Think I Love You A US #1 from the sitcom "The Partridge Family", this is a joyous slice of bubblegum pop with an infectious driving melody

8 Lynn Anderson Rose Garden Only hit for this US country singer: earlier versions had male vocals but she does it wonderfully and it's such a pretty track

7 Neil Diamond Sweet Caroline Reviewing this ignoring the raucous chant it's become is tricky, but it is a well written song with a strong build to the chorus

7 Mungo Jerry Baby Jump 297th #1: very different to "In The Summertime" with its gritty vocals and relentless twanging rhythm, but I do really like it

6 Smokey Robinson And The Miracles (Come 'Round Here) I'm The One You Need This is a little too similar to "Tears Of A Clown" but still very good, with the flute led instrumental and angst ridden vocals

6 Barbra Streisand Stoney End Her 1st hit in a while with a version of a Laura Nyro soul song: it's a good performance with a nice whimsical feel about it

5 Martha Reeves And The Vandellas Forget Me Not Their 2nd biggest hit in fact but I can't promise I won't forget it: a nice charming track though with a fun military style intro

5 Edgar Broughton Band Apache Dropout A mashup of "Apache" and the "Dropout Boogie" by Captain Beefheart: not sure it fully works but I like the snarling vocals

5 Grand Funk Railroad Inside Looking Out Only hit for this US band with an Animals cover: a 10 minute experimental version with disparate sections, but enjoyable

4 The Byrds Chestnut Mare Their last hit, with the usual twinkly strings and warm folky sound: some of it is very nice but the spoken section is too long

4 Chairmen Of The Board Everything's Tuesday Very similar style to their other hits with soulful production and punchy vocals, but I don't find the song memorable enough

3 Dana Chestnut Mare Her 2nd hit after the Eurovision winner: this has quite a nice sultry feel to it but the song ultimately isn't very interesting

2 Petula Clark The Song Of My Life Her 20th and last hit aside from a remix: this is very prim and proper and rhythmically plodding; feels more '50s than '70s

1 Perry Como It's Impossible A Spanish song translated and giving him his 1st hit in 9 years and a big one, but not sure why as it's very dreary and dated

 

 

1971 Group 3:

 

#3691 20/02/1971 Edwin Starr Stop The War Now 33 {33}->1

#3692 27/02/1971 Paul McCartney Another Day 2 24-4-{2}-3-2-4-5-11-17-19-41-42->12

#3693 27/02/1971 New World Rose Garden 15 29-27-17-{15}-15-17-19-35-38-47-50->11

#3694 27/02/1971 T.Rex Hot Love 1 31-17-7-{1}-1-1-1-1-1-2-6-9-17-21-31-34-48->17

#3695 27/02/1971 C.C.S. Walkin' 7 37-39-32-21-20-10-{7}-9-8-10-16-21-36-47-50-42->16

#3696 27/02/1971 Deep Purple Strange Kind Of Woman 8 39-29-22-{8}-18-11-11-17-19-30-39-44->12

#3697 06/03/1971 Frank Sinatra I Will Drink The Wine 16 26-25-19-23-{16}-23-16-31-34-40-49-48->12

#3698 06/03/1971 Hot Chocolate You Could've Been A Lady 22 36-40-27-24-24-{22}-38-35-43->9

#3699 13/03/1971 Ray Stevens Bridget The Midget (The Queen Of The Blues) 2 34-14-9-{2}-2-2-3-6-10-18-29-38-44-40->14

#3700 13/03/1971 Stephen Stills Love The One You're With 37 {37}-38-40-45->4

#3701 13/03/1971 The Sweet Funny Funny 13 38-33-30-28-20-15-14-14-{13}-13-21-37-43-48->14

#3702 20/03/1971 John Lennon And The Plastic Ono Band Power To The People 7 12-12-{7}-8-10-16-21-36-50->9

#3703 20/03/1971 Clodagh Rodgers Jack In The Box 4 23-10-6-{4}-5-10-17-26-35-44->10

#3704 20/03/1971 Olivia Newton-John If Not For You 7 24-22-12-12-8-{7}-11-14-29-33-39->11

#3705 20/03/1971 Elvis Presley There Goes My Everything 6 29-19-8-{6}-7-11-13-21-25-32-48->11

Tomorrow Night I didn't get to hear for years afterwards, but I was aware of Atomic Rooster as someone in Art Class had done a themed Arty "Album" sleeve on the wall of the classroom later in the year. Mine was Storm In A Teacup, which featured a huge teacup, and a storm in it. Wow! I like this track, 8/10. I Think I Love You I was absolutely obsessed by, the TV show was on the TV in Singapore, and the hooks in this Tony Romeo song are just to die for. Mum and dad went out to Singapore City with express instructions to come back with a Partridge Family EP with this on that I had seen in Robinsons superstore record section, using my pocket money, and they came back with Sugar Sugar EP - a great second-best choice they knew I loved, but I wanted The Partridge Family! 10/10.

 

Rose garden, another obsession of mine, great song and strings, loved when it got sampled in the 80's for Edelweiss. 9/10. Sweet Caroline, and another huge fave I was big on. I feel like my nostalgia has been severely trampled on as it's just bloody everywhere now. Honestly, nobody would have credited that - Cracklin' Rosie was his top tune in those days. 8/10. Baby Jump is a great raunchy rock track from a local lad, Ray Dorset. Much rather hear this than any other Mungo hit. 8/10.

 

Smokey's is one I've only really heard once or twice on chart run-downs over the decades, until I played it a lot in 2021. 7/10. Quite nice. I adore Laura Nyro songs, bought most of her albums in the 80's and this remains Barbra's greatest record for me, love it, white soul at it's best. 10/10. Forget-Me-Not ditto wot I said for Smokey, 6/10. I'm still not sure I have ever heard Apache Dropout but I'm guessing a 2/10. Grand Funk 2/10 too.

 

Chestnut Mare is nice, another I caught in later years, 6/10. Chairmen Of The Board were one of my fave soul-funk bands from 1972 onwards, but most of their early stuff I didn't hear until 75/76. S'good though 7/10. Dana? 2/10 is usually a good general assumption for most of her singles until 75/76. Petula, let's say a kind 5/10. It's Impossible I was aware of, and never liked. Perry Como was everything I hated about older people's taste in music. Dreary and dull. My opinion has never really changed, but a generous 3/10 here.

 

 

 

Actually quite a lot I’m not keen on here but feeling very 70s now with the likes of T Rex really making their mark.

 

9 T.Rex Hot Love 298th #1: like "Hey Jude" this has an extended wordless end section, but a great record that marks the '70s truly arriving

8 Olivia Newton-John If Not For You Her 1st hit with a beautiful version of a Dylan song: the slide guitar accompaniment makes it sound beautifully whimsical

8 Paul McCartney Another Day Not the best solo Beatle of the year so far but certainly the winner in this batch: a gorgeous warm track in his own style

7 C.C.S. Walkin' This was written by Donovan: the spoken style takes a bit of getting used to but it's a really great and classy bluesy track

7 The Sweet Funny Funny Debut single for this UK glam rock band, though this is more like well executed bubblegum pop: it's very cute and catchy

6 Stephen Stills Love The One You're With Only solo Top 40 for this US singer; it's a really nice uplifting track given an anthemic feel by the gospel style backing choir

6 Deep Purple Strange Kind Of Woman Their 2nd Top 10 hit and an enjoyable rock track: it sounds relatively safe to me but maybe was pioneering at the time

5 Hot Chocolate You Could've Been A Lady Their 2nd hit: this isn't the most remarkable of songs but has their distinctive style with tight harmonies and production

4 New World Rose Garden 1st hit for this Australian band: it's a perfectly decent version of "Rose Garden" but seems unnecessary after hearing Lynn's

3 John Lennon And The Plastic Ono Band Power To The People Their 2nd Top 10: I must admit these political rally type chants don't do a huge amount for me and I find the song repetitive

3 Clodagh Rodgers Jack In The Box This will come 4th for the UK in Eurovision: it's a similar idea to "Puppet On A String" but nowhere near as good as that

2 Edwin Starr Stop The War Now It's a very similar theme to "War" and musically similar, but the stop start style worked well there and is rather jarring here

2 Frank Sinatra I Will Drink The Wine His only early '70s hit: it's a serviceable crooner ballad but I fail to see anything remotely interesting about any aspect of this

1 Elvis Presley There Goes My Everything Appeared on his country album this year; another cover from quite a few years back and this is really turgid and plodding

1 Ray Stevens Bridget The Midget (The Queen Of The Blues) An oral assault of a novelty song: the voice of Bridget really is unpleasant quite apart from any lyrical taste considerations

 

 

1971 Group 4:

 

#3706 20/03/1971 Andy Williams (Where Do I Begin) Love Story 4 39-28-20-13-6-{4}-8-8-10-15-22-28-30-42-37-39-43-49R(2)->18

#3707 20/03/1971 Creedence Clearwater Revival Have You Ever Seen The Rain? 36 40-41-{36}-40-47-49->6

#3708 27/03/1971 The Fantastics Something Old Something New 9 31-30-21-21-{9}-16-9-23-26-28-45-47->12

#3709 27/03/1971 Shirley Bassey (Where Do I Begin) Love Story 34 39-38-{34}-34-40-38-45-47-50->9

#3710 27/03/1971 Keith Michell I'll Give You The Earth (Tous Les Bateaux, Tous Les Oiseaux) 30 43-42R(3)-48-40-48-{30}-40-40-42-39-46->11

#3711 27/03/1971 The Marmalade My Little One 15 44-37-31-24-22-18-20-{15}-22-23-46->11

#3712 27/03/1971 Dave And Ansil Collins Double Barrel 1 46-21-17-4-2-{1}-1-3-5-10-17-26-30-27-44->15

#3713 27/03/1971 Glen Campbell Dream Baby 39 50-{39}-48->3

#3714 03/04/1971 Gilbert O'Sullivan Underneath The Blanket 40 {40}-48R(2)-42-46->4

#3715 03/04/1971 Diana Ross Remember Me 7 41-28-18-13-9-{7}-7-10-13-24-28-39->12

#3716 03/04/1971 The Sovereign Collection Mozart 40 27 44-37-{27}-28-31-34->6

#3717 03/04/1971 Sakkarin Sugar Sugar 12 48-46-41-37-26-19-{12}-14-14-23-19-33-34-38->14

#3718 03/04/1971 R Dean Taylor Indiana Wants Me 2 50-38-37-30-20-12-6-3-3-{2}-3-10-15-21-35->15

#3719 10/04/1971 Waldo De Los Rios Mozart Symphony No 40 In G Minor K550 1st Movement (Allegro Molto) 5 26-14-6-{5}-5-5-6-12-12-18-20-22-28-31-41-37->16

Think someone might need to tell Scene to pop in for the next batch :P

Think someone might need to tell Scene to pop in for the next batch :P

Indeed and it’s going to be one of my favourite hits of the year. :cheer:

 

There won’t be many songs coming up here with nearly 1.5 billion Spotify streams, but that’s what “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” currently has and I do think it’s there best song. We also have a very important reggae track here in “Double Barrel”.

 

9 Creedence Clearwater Revival Have You Ever Seen The Rain? Incredible that this only reached #36: I do think it's their finest song with a crystal clear delivery of beautiful wistful lyrics

9 Dave And Ansil Collins Double Barrel 299th #1 and the 2nd reggae chart topper after "Israelites": the rhythmic interjections and the keyboard tune are wonderful

8 Gilbert O'Sullivan Underneath The Blanket Not a big hit for him but an excellent and fun track with honky tonk piano, slightly scatted sections and changes of tempo

7 Diana Ross Remember Me A lovely song here with the married Motown duo Ashford and Simpson writing and backing, and Diana performs it very well

7 The Marmalade My Little One This has a beautiful warm folky sound to it with lovely harmonies like "Rainbow"; it's just a little less compelling than that

6 Shirley Bassey (Where Do I Begin) Love Story Originated as an instrumental for the "Love Story" film: this dramatic style suits Shirley very well and I really like this version

6 Waldo De Los Rios Mozart Symphony No 40 In G Minor K550 1st Movement (Allegro Molto) Only hit for this Argentine composer known for pop versions of classical pieces: the guitar on this bit of Mozart works nicely

5 Sakkarin Sugar Sugar An intriguing partly instrumental re-imagination of the Archies chart topper, certainly worth a listen or two but not essential

4 Glen Campbell Dream Baby A cover of the Roy Orbison song: I do like Glen's voice so this is a pleasant listen but he doesn't do much interesting with it

3 The Sovereign Collection Mozart 40 This seems to be a straightforward rip off of the Waldo De Los Rios track and it definitely doesn't sound as well put together

3 Andy Williams (Where Do I Begin) Love Story A much bigger hit than Shirley's version but I don't think this intense and moody style song suits him and it falls rather flat

2 The Fantastics Something Old Something New Only hit for this US soul band who had moved to the UK: I find it rather derivative and uninteresting lyrically and musically

2 Keith Michell I'll Give You The Earth (Tous Les Bateaux, Tous Les Oiseaux) 1st of a couple of hits for this Australian actor best known for playing Henry VIII; this is a very dreary old crooner style song

1 R Dean Taylor Indiana Wants Me He's murdered someone who's insulted his girl and the police are after him with sirens and gunshots: very much not my thing

 

 

 

1971 Group 5:

 

#3720 10/04/1971 Dawn Knock Three Times 1 32-20-18-3-2-{1}-1-1-1-1-2-7-9-15-21-26-28-36-39-38-30-35-36-40-48-45-43->27

#3721 10/04/1971 The Jackson Five Mama's Pearl 25 35-31-{25}-28-27-39-49->7

#3722 10/04/1971 Cliff Richard Silvery Rain 27 36-33-{27}-29-30-40->6

#3723 10/04/1971 The Delfonics Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) 22 43-44R(2)-27-{22}-26-25-25-33-44->9

#3724 10/04/1971 Fame And Price Together Rosetta 11 49-30-15-15-{11}-19-19-36-41-45->10

#3725 17/04/1971 Ringo Starr It Don't Come Easy 4 29-12-7-{4}-4-4-8-15-20-31-41->11

#3726 17/04/1971 Gerry Monroe It's A Sin To Tell A Lie 13 36-29-25-18-17-{13}-15-18-27-29-29-43->12

#3727 17/04/1971 East Of Eden Jig-A-Jig 7 46-34-22-15-8-{7}-7-10-14-21-25-35->12

#3728 24/04/1971 The Rolling Stones Brown Sugar/Bitch/Let It Rock 2 21-4-3-{2}-2-2-5-10-16-18-31-38-46->13

#3729 24/04/1971 Severine Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue 9 45-32-28-11-12-{9}-20-23-28-35-50->11

#3730 01/05/1971 The Four Tops Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) 36 41-37-{36}-37-41->5

#3731 01/05/1971 Bruce Ruffin Rain 19 42-31-27-20-{19}-21-21-25-45-41-46->11

#3732 01/05/1971 McGuinness Flint Malt And Barley Blues 5 45-23-16-9-{5}-7-11-14-19-34-44-49->12

#3733 01/05/1971 The Elgins Heaven Must Have Sent You 3 48-25-14-8-6-{3}-5-8-11-15-20-31-40->13

Hot Love was one of the first new-to-me records I heard when I got back to the UK, my 15-year-old Aunty had bought it. What a classic! 10/10, still love it to bits. Marc Bolan was the number one pop star. Olivia's version of the Dylan song was pretty mucb the same as George Harrison's cover, but pretty good anyway, prob her best hit single in the UK until Sam in '77, but she had loads of way better singles that weren't hits, and I'd just discovered her in the sci-fi 60's musical Toomorrow. Very Swinging 60's London about 4 years too late, plus shoddy aliens. :lol:

 

Another Day a huge fave, loved it immediately, what a melody, it used to make me emotionally ache inside, 10/10 and chart-topper for me. Didnt know Donovan wrote Walkin', but it's a decent track I first heard in 1976. I liked CCS. 6/10. Funny Funny was fun bubblegum, and I was into bubblegum, but I only really heard it was once or twice at the time. 7/10. Ditto Love The One You're With, it took Bucks Fizz (!!) to get me into the song in the 80's, prob a 7/10 too. Crosby Stills & Nash had better records on the whole.

 

Strange Kind Of Woman I got on a K-Tel or Arcade album in '72, but never impressed me like their next single did, mostly a plodding rocker 6/10. Hot Choc's single was another I got to hear around about '76, but I was instant fan of the band from begining to end, love them. It's not as great as the singles either side of it, but it's a goodie anyway - and had more charm than the late 70's more-polished funk version they did.

 

Rose Garden, I taped it off the radio in Singapore without knowing who they were - the Lynn Anderson hit was the bees-knees but the song was still likeable in this version, and New World had better to come. 5/10. Power To The People and Lennon releasing all the wrong tracks as singles by this time, but it's catchy and I agreed with the sentiment, but it's no Give Peace A Chance or Instant Karma. 7/10.

 

Jack In The Box a big radio hit at the time, even in Singapore, harmless pop confection, but not as fab as her 1969 hits, or even her flop 1976 comeback single Save Me. Nostalgia rules though, so 7/10. Stop The War Now is one I picked up on in 2021, it's OK 6/10. Never rated I Will Drink The Wine much, 4/10, There Goes My Everything I liked at the time, but it's not as good as Engelbert's version 5/10. Bridget The Midget has popped up in discussions on BJ before and I remain fond of it, Ray was famous for doing all the voices on his comedy records, but did serious stuff too. The best bit was the fan shouting out "I love you, Bridget!" and having a well-intentioned record featuring a short person as Queen Of The Blues at a time when some actors of short stature were starting to crop up on TV as guest stars in sit-coms (see Phyllis) as people instead of fantasy dwarves and the like. A guest vocal would have been a better choice in retrospect! 7/10.

 

 

 

 

Sorry realise I’d left out the reviews from the last batch - now edited in!

 

Not an absolutely stellar group here but the top half are all worth a listen. “Brown Sugar” on its own would be a 9 but the other 2 are more like 6s. We’ve reached the 300th #1 so we’re definitely getting somewhere!

 

8 East Of Eden Jig-A-Jig Only hit for this UK progressive rock group with rock instruments added to a set of traditional reels: a very interesting piece

8 Cliff Richard Silvery Rain Most of Cliff's hits don't do much for me but occasionally he has a corker like this sultry and shimmering Hank Marvin track

7 The Rolling Stones Brown Sugar/Bitch/Let It Rock "Brown Sugar" is a joyous toe tapping boogie rock song; the other 2 A sides are both good as well but much more ordinary

7 The Delfonics Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) 1st hit for this US soul group: despite being slow and using falsetto heavily it's a gorgeous, heartfelt and sensual RnB track

6 Bruce Ruffin Rain Composed by José Feliciano, the 1st of a couple of hits for this Jamaican reggae artist that really captures the style well

6 Ringo Starr It Don't Come Easy The 4th solo Beatle entering with his debut hit produced by George: it's quite a safe track but a strong and catchy one

5 The Jackson Five Mama's Pearl This is very Jackson Five but a nice track: it has that joyous feeling and soulful orchestral arrangmenent that they do well

5 Severine Un Banc, Un Arbre, Une Rue The Eurovision winner for Monaco this year: I think its appeal is quite specific to that but I do really like its rich sound world

4 McGuinness Flint Malt And Barley Blues Their 2nd and last hit and another Top 5: I do really like the folk rock style and this is nice but somehow fails to excite me

4 The Elgins Heaven Must Have Sent You 1st hit for this US Motown group who is mostly male despite sounding almost identical to The Supremes; pleasant enough

3 Dawn Knock Three Times 300th #1: this does have a simple charm to it and a strong catchy theme, but as a record to listen to now it's very twee

3 The Four Tops Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) It's their usual warm and soulful sound but the song itself is surprisingly limp: Diana is coming to sort them out though

2 Fame And Price Together Rosetta Georgie Fame's last appearance and vocally it's a nice collaboration but the chorus of this song is exceptionally irritating

1 Gerry Monroe It's A Sin To Tell A Lie Like with all his hits I spend the whole time bracing myself for the next big falsetto high note: not a nice listening experience

 

 

1971 Group 6:

 

#3734 01/05/1971 Free My Brother Jake 4 50-24-20-11-{4}-4-6-11-17-27-40->11

#3735 08/05/1971 Neil Diamond I Am... I Said 4 33-28-18-11-6-{4}-9-10-14-19-42-39->12

#3736 08/05/1971 The Arsenal 1st Team Squad Good Old Arsenal 16 44-24-{16}-24-26-36-47->7

#3737 08/05/1971 Tony Christie I Did What I Did For Maria 2 47-34-24-17-8-{2}-3-2-6-7-18-18-27-30-37-46-47->17

#3738 15/05/1971 Stevie Wonder We Can Work It Out 27 33-31-{27}-32-31-36-48->7

#3739 15/05/1971 Perry Como I Think Of You 14 38-27-18-{14}-17-15-20-24-30-34-45->1

#3740 15/05/1971 Elvis Presley Rags To Riches 9 43-23-16-{9}-13-12-14-20-28-28-42->11

#3741 15/05/1971 Chairmen Of The Board Pay To The Piper 34 46-35-{34}-35-35-34-42->7

#3742 22/05/1971 Peter Noone Oh You Pretty Thing 12 34-20-19-{12}-13-12-13-26-39->9

#3743 22/05/1971 The Temptations Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) 8 39-33-27-25-17-13-10-{8}-11-10-15-19-21-27-38-40->16

#3744 22/05/1971 The Hollies Hey Willy 22 41-29-25-{22}-24-28-33->7

#3745 22/05/1971 Tami Lynn I'm Gonna Run Away From You 4 42-26-11-8-5-{4}-7-6-10-14-26-31-34-47->14

#3746 22/05/1971 John Kongos He's Gonna Step On You Again 4 47-45-22-15-7-6-{4}-5-9-13-18-29-36-49->14

#3747 29/05/1971 Mungo Jerry Lady Rose 5 30-13-7-6-{5}-8-10-17-28-31-41-47->12

I thought maybe you were doing a promo for the next batch :)

 

Have You Ever Seen The Rain was far and away my fave CCR record at the time - not that any of them made it over to Singapore that I heard until this one (and Proud Mary/Bad Moon Rising), and was always miffed this one was such a small hit and forgotten until Bonnie Tyler did a good cover. I'm amazed how it's become the biggest of their pretty good back catalogue 9/10. Double Barrel, Xmas Top Of The Pops, and what a great record! I only just recently found out that Dave (as in the current popstar using that same name) wasn't Ansil Collin's brother, as per the confusing act name! This record sounded like nothing else, and the structure and sounds unique. Love it. 10/10.

 

Gilbert's I first heard in 2021, not that memorable but s'OK 4/10. Ashford & Simpson wrote some crackers, and Remember Me was pretty good too, 8/10, but I preferred Aint No Mountain and the next 2 hits. My Little One was a big fave of mine at the time, lovely tune, these days it's not quite up there with Reflections Of My Life, but it's still charming. 9/10. Pure nostalgia for me.

 

I'm not that familiar with Shirl's version, it was all about Andy Williams cover of Where Do I Begin during 1971, but as it's Ms. Bassey she can have a 4/10. Mozart 40 was a big tune for me, loved this track and melody and the first time classical music made a conscious mark on my awareness beyond tedious 1966 Primary School assemblies sat on the floor listening to dull slow endless segments designed to brainwash me into loving the classics and failing miserable. They were literally trying to compete with Beatles at their peak! If they'd played me this, I would have loved some classical music earlier! 9/10.

 

Sugar Sugar was Jonathan King in disguise taking the piss out of Heavy Metal and the whole "we are serious musicians and pop is disposable rubbish" attitude, inferring it's just as "dumb" as the biggest Bubblegum record ever. As I worshipped The Archies at the time, and loved JK records, you might think I'd rate this one..but it's a mildly amusing joke and that's about it 4/10. Glen's version of Roy's hit is decent, but it's not as good as Roy's and not as good as any of his classic singles from '67 through '70 6/10.

 

The Sovereign Collection, and I might be wrong here, I think were a budget label (49p/99p an album range) specialising in cheap and cheerful classical covers 5/10. Andy's version of Love Story has the usual cool, but it's no Home Lovin' Man 7/10. Something Old Something New was a radio staple for quite a while, till it got lost in the mists of time - probably because the production is lacking compared to US Philly tracks of the era - but the song is still basically good. One I loved more at the time than now 8/10.

 

That also applies to Keith Michell's song, a great tune I was very fond of, but it just doesn't sound that great these days 5/10. He was more popular from key appearances on the Morecambe & Wise Show having a laugh - probably how he morphed into Captain Beaky. Indiana Wants Me, I still love (9/10), it's a strong audio cinematic creation and addition to the then-long-running murder-ballad-gets-his-just-reward-and-feels-regret tradition. I can understand why modern audiences don't connect in these literal times, but in those days they were seen very much as morality tale works of fiction and not in any way justifications for violence, but the listener can still sympathise all round for all characters concerned. That said, it's no Ghost In My House or Gotta See Jane, and it's bizarre white Canadian R. Dean was still on Motown (in the UK) for this one!

 

 

 

 

East Of Eden was new to me in 2021, think I'd maybe heard it once in 1976 and that was that. I liked it, 6/10. Silvery Rain is also one I heard at most once or twice, and quite liked, but turns out it's a really good 8/10 and his best single since The Day I Met Marie in 1967!! :o Brown Sugar I just covered in the Stones thread, 4/10.

 

At their best The Delfonics' records are timeless and gorgeous soul gems, and Didn't I is a firm 9/10. Another later discovery on a compilation album that has grown with the years. I really rated the Jose Feliciano version of Rain, the Bruce Ruffin reggae hit I didnt hear for 5 years or more, so it was a surprise to find out I knew the song, and it was the same one - 8/10.

 

Ringo & George = 9/10 for me, Back Off Boogaloo was my first Ringo record, but this got a few plays on radio in the 70's so I gradually got to know it, and love it more now than I ever have over the years. Mama's Pearl a big fave in Singapore, I pretty much taped the entire US top 10 that I came across on a US Forces radio network (I think, as it was an American DJ), this and their next single were both featured. 9/10.

 

Severine, took decades to hear this one, it's not bad actually, 7/10. McGuiness-Flint, I've seen in concert with The Manfreds, and this is singalonga fun, but just a 3/10 from me, never really liked it much. The Elgins hit was a Motown cover of a Motown oldie, and a good 8/10 that I got to rate properly in 2021 after just a few occasional plays here and there.

 

Knock Three Times was a chart-topping fave at the time, loved it, so did Dad - he bought a chinese-language version we heard while having nice fresh cold fizzy drinks on a street stall in Changi Village. The only English bit they kept was "oh my darling" which tickled him. The chorus went "woh ah me" and the band was The Travelers. Dawn's is the better version though! It;'s not dated as well as Candida, I think, 8/10.

 

Just Seven Numbers is also one I missed out on, but caught it when I bought their Greatest Hits album in the 80's I think. It's pretty classy, 8/10. Rosetta, yes it's quite irritating, actually, nowhere near as good as their solo stuff, and was quite happy when their short-lived collab ended around 1972/3. That said, it's jolly enough for a 6/10. Still not keen on Gerry then? :lol: I can't disagree - Sally was great in a kitsch OTT sort of way, the rest are unlistenable. 1/10.

Apparently “He’s Gonna Step on You Again” is the first ever use of a sample with its use of African drumming. I was really tempted to give the win to Neil but I think I have to go with the more innovative track.

 

9 John Kongos He's Gonna Step On You Again 1st of a couple of hits for this South African singer covered by the Happy Mondays: it's a wonderful innovative record

8 Neil Diamond I Am... I Said This might be my favorite song of Neil's: the lyrics are beautifully melancholic and it feels really personal and authentic

8 The Temptations Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) A US #1 here and it's a very lovely soul track: performed beautifully with a gentle tenderness and sad wistfulness about it

7 Peter Noone Oh You Pretty Thing A Bowie penned song giving the Herman's Hermits lead his only solo hit: quite McCartney-esque and a lovely playful song

7 Tami Lynn I'm Gonna Run Away From You Only hit for this US soul singer: she has a lovely voice and it's a good song with a catchy backing singer assisted chorus

6 Free My Brother Jake It's surprising how different this laid back number is from the in your face "All Right Now": very enjoyable in a drowsy way

6 Mungo Jerry Lady Rose This could be a T.Rex song: it's a pretty track with harmonica and strumming but not as compelling as their first two hits

5 The Hollies Hey Willy This is lyrically very silly but I enjoy the track itself, which is a gritty piano and guitar rock number, but it didn't do very well

4 Chairmen Of The Board Pay To The Piper Another polished but rather unremarkable and forgettable one from them, and their next one won't even make the Top 40

3 Elvis Presley Rags To Riches Elvis continues with the '50s covers; his performance on this is good but I'm not sure why we're travelling back in time

3 Stevie Wonder We Can Work It Out This is an interesting attempt at a Beatles cover in a jazzy style, but the song doesn't work without the feeling of urgency

2 Perry Como I Think Of You At least this isn't a horribly lazy cover like "It's Impossible", but it's still very languid and there isn't much of a tune to enjoy

1 Tony Christie I Did What I Did For Maria I find this a grim listen: it's partly the subject matter, partly the brash delivery and partly not enjoying any of it musically

1 The Arsenal 1st Team Squad Good Old Arsenal They'll have some other hits: this is to the tune of "Rule Britannia" complete with the usual raucousness and is utterly dismal

 

 

1971 Group 7:

 

#3748 29/05/1971 Blue Mink Banner Man 3 31-16-9-4-{3}-3-4-8-9-14-23-30-31-41->14

#3749 29/05/1971 Three Dog Night Joy To The World 24 43-34-29-26-{24}-25-27-38-46->9

#3750 29/05/1971 Jonathan King Lazy Bones 23 46-29-24-{23}-23-30-37-45->8

#3751 05/06/1971 Middle Of The Road Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep 1 36-16-{1}-1-1-1-1-2-2-3-8-8-13-22-22-29-24-30-35-39-45-49-49-46-42-43-48-38-39-39-41-42-44-48->34

#3752 05/06/1971 Smokey Robinson And The Miracles I Don't Blame You At All 11 40-32-22-16-{11}-12-15-19-33-50->10

#3753 05/06/1971 Bob And Marcia Pied Piper 11 47-43-27-21-12-{11}-13-17-20-26-31-41-46->13

#3754 12/06/1971 The Sweet Co-Co 2 33-19-9-5-{2}-2-3-3-5-10-14-22-23-38-44->15

#3755 12/06/1971 White Plains When You Are A King 13 49-32-26-16-{13}-14-16-19-22-35-45->11

#3756 12/06/1971 Hurricane Smith Don't Let It Die 2 50-18-8-{2}-3-3-5-9-18-23-32-45->12

#3757 19/06/1971 Gordon Lightfoot If You Could Read My Mind 30 43-39-37-33-{30}-34-36-47-50->9

#3758 19/06/1971 Lobo Me And You And A Dog Named Boo 4 44-32-18-14-5-{4}-4-6-6-13-19-27-34-46->14

#3759 19/06/1971 Slade Get Down And Get With It 16 45-43-32-32-29-25-24-17-17-{16}-18-21-32-43->14

#3760 19/06/1971 St Cecilia Leap Up And Down (Wave Your Knickers In The Air) 12 49-40-29-23-20-23-{12}-15-12-12-16-20-27-24-34-37-41->17

#3761 26/06/1971 Greyhound Black And White 6 30-19-9-{6}-6-8-12-15-20-28-33-44-50->13

John Kongos' is a fab record, very tribal and powerfully driving, still love it way more than the cheerful cover, one I got to love a few years later. His sons popped up this century keeping the Kongos name and sound going briefly. 9/10 I Am..I Said was a personal chart-topper for me at the time, loved it - it takes me back to the wistful sadness I was feeling as our time in tropical Singapore was winding down to return to the cold grey UK. It wasn't just us leaving, either, the RAF were closing down everything to leave and the schools were shutting down and getting rid of library books, everything. So the melancholy song and images of sunny California just seemed to register. 9/10.

 

Just My Imagination I missed at the time, but a radio staple it just sounds better the more you hear. Lovely, great production, classy, 9/10. Oh You Pretty Thing I was aware of a bit, but Bowie still unknown to me. Peter's last hit, sadly, but he still had some good singles to come - and is still touring the US and active on X. He gave an interview at the time, and mentioned Bowie and the problems his brother was going through, which I didn't know about and which may well feed into the creation of Ziggy.

 

Tami Lynn, a 1966 Northern Soul stomper that I missed out on until it was a hit again in 1975, at which point it topped my chart. Fab. 10/10. Tune! I was very disappointed when I finally got to hear My Brother Jake. Still am. 3/10. Lady Rose was one I liked right off, nice tune, but not one that I rate so much these days 7/10. Hey Willy I never did get to hear until 2021 4/10

 

Pay To The Piper is new to me (in 2021) but turns out I really like it 8/10. I generally rate COTB. Rags To Riches is a real belter, and Elvis gives it his all, but it's a bit overblown. Loved it at the time, 5/10 these days. Stevie was a great pop star, but this cover was not a patch on the original and just seemed a bit pedestrian 6/10. Perry Como, yeah 2/10 is about right.

 

I Did What I Did For Maria is one I got to hear at christmas '71, after Las Vegas and Amarillo, and didn't like it as much as I liked those 2. These days I oddly prefer it to either - over-exposure to Amarillo oc. 7/10. 1/10 is generous for the Arsenal "song"!

I feel like we’re reaching the part of the ‘70s where there’s rather a lot of bizarre stuff, and I really don’t love this bunch though the White Pkaivs song really stood out after a few listens.

 

8 White Plains When You Are A King An excellent compellingly atmospheric song here; the accompanying folky instrumental has a slightly dark feeling to it

7 Gordon Lightfoot If You Could Read My Mind 1st hit for this Canadian singer songwriter: a standard ballad but this has a really lovely simplicity and sincerity about it

7 Smokey Robinson And The Miracles I Don't Blame You At All Another good effort from them and again it's an angst ridden vocal performance, though a more gentle one this time

6 Jonathan King Lazy Bones This is a '30s song originally, but an up to date slightly psychedelic and dreamy folk rock version that works very nicely

6 Bob And Marcia Pied Piper A duet cover of this mid '60s song: it is a nicely done well sung version, though lacking the whimsical charm of Crispian's

5 Blue Mink Banner Man Their 2nd Top 3 hit which has a miliatary march feeling to it and yet manages a light bubblegum style at the same time

5 Lobo Me And You And A Dog Named Boo Debut single for this US singer: nothing amazing but a sweet piece of easy listening with some atmospheric production

4 Middle Of The Road Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep 301st #1: debut hit for this Scottish band and it's very catchy but does begin to grate by the umpteenth chorus rendition

4 Slade Get Down And Get With It Debut hit for this glam rock band and you can already hear their style, though this track is a bit disjointed and lyrically naff

3 Hurricane Smith Don't Let It Die 1st hit for this UK singer and producer: I find his rather nasal vocal tone hard to enjoy but otherwise it's not a bad track

3 The Sweet Co-Co A much bigger hit than "Funny Funny" but not better; it has a nice tropical feel to it but the chorus is rather sickly sweet

2 Three Dog Night Joy To The World 2nd and last hit for them: this has a promising rock opening but then turns into a rather drippy happy clappy style track

2 St Cecilia Leap Up And Down (Wave Your Knickers In The Air) An odd novelty song giving this UK band their only hit: this grates on me less than the track below is all I can say for it

1 Greyhound Black And White 1st hit for this UK group: I learned the tune in primary school and it's not for me though there's a racial equality meaning

 

 

1971 Group 8:

 

#3762 26/06/1971 Medicine Head (And The) Pictures In The Sky 22 31-23-{22}-22-27-25-35-42->8

#3763 26/06/1971 The Supremes And The Four Tops River Deep, Mountain High 11 33-22-16-16-{11}-13-16-20-29-37->10

#3764 26/06/1971 Dave And Ansil Collins Monkey Spanner 7 44-17-17-{7}-7-7-9-11-18-24-30-42->12

#3765 26/06/1971 Jim Reeves I Love You Because/He'll Have To Go/Moonlight And Roses 34 49-40-{34}-35-35-40-42-44->8

#3766 03/07/1971 New World Tom-Tom Turnaround 6 26-18-12-8-{6}-7-7-7-11-13-17-27-26-34-46->15

#3767 03/07/1971 The Move Tonight 11 42-25-19-12-{11}-14-16-25-35-46->10

#3768 03/07/1971 The Fascinations Girls Are Out To Get You 32 45-42-{32}-33-37-43->6

#3769 03/07/1971 The Rolling Stones Street Fighting Man 21 47-24-23-{21}-22-25-28-44->8

#3770 10/07/1971 T.Rex Get It On 1 21-4-{1}-1-1-1-3-4-10-13-28-38-40->13

#3771 10/07/1971 The Delfonics La-La Means I Love You 19 29-24-24-21-20-{19}-21-23-32-50->10

#3772 10/07/1971 Atomic Rooster Devil's Answer 4 36-25-20-10-{4}-4-4-7-9-25-23-33-50->13

#3773 10/07/1971 The Who Won't Get Fooled Again 9 41-27-22-17-10-{9}-9-14-15-31-36-42->12

#3774 10/07/1971 Bob Dylan Watching The River Flow 24 47-37-31-30-{24}-24-26-27-41->9

#3775 10/07/1971 The Tremeloes Hello Buddy 32 48-33-{32}-43-45-49-48->7

White Plains never really grabbed me much, but this song is quite nice, touching. 7/10. If You Could Read My Mind is a classic folk ballad of the era, and also touching in it's sentiment. Gordon Lightfoot threw out the odd classic throughout the 70's but this is his most famous song. I remember a club cover version from Viola Wills that still got the odd play in my 2000's clubbing days that a friend was mad on. 9/10. Oddly I don't rate the Smokey Robinson track at all, 3/10, which is odd as all of his other singles from '67 to '72 were much better.

 

Lazy Bones is OK, not one I knew at the time, 4/10. Pied Piper was a song I remembered from my childhood, but I slightly preferred this reggae romp from Bob & Marcia 8/10. Lobo was quite nice, sweet Road Ballad that was always inoffensive and remains likeable 8/10.

 

Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, picture this: in the shower room at school after a hot tropical runaround a rugby pitch and a kid brought his brand new fangled cassette machine in to show off and play the latest hits. This came on and it sounded unearthly and hideously catchy. I was singing it in my head for weeks afterwards till I managed to get a cover version taped off the radio. It was finally released in Singapore after we had packed up all our belongings and sent the crates off, so I bought it and carried it home with me in the hand luggage. And then played it to death around September on my grandma and grandad's stereogram, and then again in November-ish when the crates arrived with our record player in. By which time everyone in the UK was sick of it. I'm still very fond of it 9/10 :)

 

Blue Mink, fabulous, loved that song, so catchy, and usually rate any Roger Cook song - as I've mentioned, I went to see Madeline Bell in concert with an orchestra and choir (with Three Degrees Sheila Ferguson in it) earlier this year, and Roger Cook joined her on stage for a mini-hits of his classics and a Blue Mink singalong of this with the rest of the band on stage as a finale. Herbie Flowers was unsteady on his feet, but loving it and amusing. RIP Herbie. 9/10.

 

My intro to Slade was their next single, but this cover is a belter in-ya-face track, 5/10. Hurricane Smith, Beatles engineer by trade, but he had an odd voice that appealed to me, and especially on this old-fashioned melodic ballad 9/10. Co Co I loved at the time, and liked better than Funny Funny and Alexander Graham Bell, though it's not quite so catchy these days, but for nostalgia-sake it scrapes an 8/10.

 

Three Dog Night never did anything better than a 5/10, and at best I quite liked Joy To The World at the time, but I just find it annoying these days 4/10. St. Cecilia was always rubbish 1/10. Greyhound, though, is my record of the batch and 10/10. I also had to sing it in assembly, but it was a disaster as the kids were trying to do the reggae hit version, quite rightly, as it was relevant to the times and the choir singalongs were always excruciating whatever the song. Greyhound are forgotten faves from the time, the lead singer had a great voice and put on a great performance, all of them now wiped from history. There is existing footage of this one on a Dutch or German pop show, square people sat devoid of any obvious signs of life sitting like bodysnatched pod people while new lead singer Glenroy Oakley was literally busting his trousers trying to get a reaction out of the crowd giving the live vocals his all, and ending emoting on his knees before standing up, realising, and trying to pull his burst zip back up. Sadly seems to have been removed from Youtube spoilsports.

 

Edit, no it's back on but it's been blurred at the end now, and the crowd are clapping along, hooray. :lol:

 

This is worth watching as an exercise in commitment to a performance:

 

I first heard Lynn Anderson's version of 'Rose Garden' while listening through #3s (before the #3 session series) and the bit sampled by Kon Kan helped it stand out, but I think it's really lovely in its own right. My other favourites since I last commented are 'Brown Sugar' and the Delfonics one in the same batch. Another one that finished too low in the Rolling Stones rate for my liking is coming up I see!

Yes the 'Rose Garden' song is good and I first discovered it through the excellent Kon Kan track.