Coming Soon: "1966 - The Year the Decade Exploded"

Out Nov. 6, this is a two-CD set compiled by John Savage, author of the forthcoming book of the same title.

Details from the author:

Pop was everything in 1966. It was a way of looking at the world, all funnelled into the single: ideas, attitudes, lyrics and experimentation that in the more indulgent years to come would be stretched out into a whole album. Condensed within the 7-inch format, the possibilities of 1966 were expressed with an extraordinary electricity and intensity – whether it be the flourishing of Holland-Dozier-Holland at Motown, the breakthrough of black American dance culture, the start of psychedelia and the beginnings of rock, or just simple mod pop.

This compilation accompanies my book 1966: The Year The Decade Exploded, which explores the various events and themes of the year in 12 essays, based around one record a month. The record is, of course, a 45 – and some of them are included here, such as ‘The Quiet Explosion’ (Chapter 1: January – CND, Protest and the Conspiracy of Silence) or ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ (Chapter 6: June – The Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol’s America).

It is also designed to stand alone – a mix of the familiar and the obscure, informed by memory. I turned 13 in late summer 1966 and spent much of the year bathed in the music I saw on television and heard on Radio Caroline South. The 45 records beamed in on that station – James Brown’s ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’, the Association’s ‘Along Comes Mary’, ? and the Mysterians’ ‘96 Tears’, to name but three – went very deep, and that mixture of mainstream pop, mod pop, West Coast, soul and Motown has stayed with me as an ideal.

Track list:

Disc: 1
1. The Quiet Explosion - The Uglys
2. Night Time - The Strangeloves
3. The Spy - The Guys From U.N.C.L.E.
4. Little By Little - Dusty Springfield
5. Bad Little Woman (US Version) - The Wheel-A-Ways
6. Walkin' My Cat Named Dog - Norma Tanega
7. Festival Time - The San Remo Golden Strings
8. I Got You (I Feel Good) - James Brown & The Famous Flames
9. Batman Theme - Link Wray
10. Help Me (Get The Feeling) Part 1 - Ray Sharpe With The King Curtis Orchestra
11. Greetings This Is Uncle Sam - The Monitors
12. Barefootin - Robert Parker
13. Substitute - The Who
14. Along Comes Mary - The Association
15. The Other Place - The Seeds
16. Secret Agents - The Olympics
17. Cool Jerk - The Capitols
18. Ain't It Hard - The Electric Prunes
19. Nothin' Comes Easy - Sandie Shaw
20. You're Gonna Miss Me- The Thirteenth Floor Elevators
21. Sock It To Em JB Pt 1 - Rex Garvin And The Mighty Cravers
22. Sock It To Em JB Pt 2 - Rex Garvin And The Mighty Cravers
23. One Of These Days - The Roosters
24. I'll Be Your Mirror (Mono Single, Alt Ending) - The Velvet Underground
Disc: 2
1. Summer In The City - Lovin' Spoonful
2. Working In The Coalmine - Lee Dorsey
3. You Better Believe It, Baby - Joe Tex
4. Seven And Seven Is - Love
5. Love's Gone Bad - Chris Clark
6. Land Of 1000 Dances - Wilson Pickett
7. Psychotic Reaction - Count Five
8. Do You Come Here Often? - The Tornados
9. 96 Tears - ? And The Mysterians
10. I Can't Turn You Loose - Otis Redding
11. Reach Out I'll Be There - The Four Tops (Mono Single Version)
12. I'm A Boy (Must Be Original 45 Mix) - The Who
13. Come On Back - Paul And Ritchie And The Crying Shames
14. Tell Me That You Love Me - James Brown
15. Happenings Ten Years Time Ago - The Yardbirds
16. You Keep Me Hangin On - The Supremes
17. Foolish Woman - The Oxford Circle
18. Love At Psychedelic Velocity - The Human Expression
19. One Hour Cleaners - The Blue Things
20. People! Let's Freak Out - Freaks Of Nature
21. In The Past - We The People
22. The London Boys - David Bowie
23. The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game - The Marvelettes
24. Hang On To A Dream - Tim Hardin