PART 5: THE BARGAIN BIN FEEDING FRENZY CONTINUES.

A Splendid Sampling of the Sixties.

The Rockin’ Sixties across Three Continents.

You may have noticed at this point that I have a minor beef with Greatest Hits collections.

While I stand by that, at the Bargain Bin Feeding Frenzy, I managed to stuff quite a few of them into my shopping bag. So much so that all seven of today’s selections are greatest-hits packages.

They offer diversity in another way. Three are from American acts, two from Britain, and two from Australia. In that respect, they offer some insight into the cultural zeitgeist in these different locales.

The Mamas & The Papas — 16 Of Their Greatest Hits

This one hit me a lot harder than I expected.

California Dreaming, the Sixties precursor to Hotel California, and Monday, Monday always set an appealing melancholic vibe, and it was nice to have those songs back in my collection. Yet, as I listened, there was so much more going on.

If California Dreaming sets the scene for things moving forward, Creeque Alley provides a neat little history lesson laying out the arrival of the folk-rock explosion. Name-checking Barry McGuire (Eve of Destruction), Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) and John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky (The Lovin’ Spoonful), as well as the members of the Mamas and the Papas, the genesis of the folk rock scene is explained. Emerging from the coffee houses and clubs where they were one minute passing the hat and, the very next, breaking out across the country.

And with perfect timing, Nichola Scurry has just published an excellent deep dive on California Dreaming, which has a very interesting Barry McGuire twist. Check it out!

Of all the folk rock acts to emerge, the Mamas & the Papas were at the pop end of the spectrum, incorporating light jazz and showbiz elements in a way even the eclectic Roger McGuinn would never have considered.

Dedicated to the One I Love, Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon), Go Where You Wanna Go, and I Saw Her Again Last Night manage a melodic verve that is remarkably engaging.

Bargain-o-meter: 6 out of 7.

The Best of The Lovin’ Spoonful

More like a rock band than the Mamas, they nonetheless emerged from the same folk circuit.

Featuring their best-known and hardest rocking single, Summer in the City, this collection benefits from The Lovin’ Spoonful having stayed on the same record label throughout their career.

The rest of the selections showcase The Spoonful as one of the best bands of the folk-rock explosion. Daydream, Do You Believe in Magic?, You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice, and Darling Be Home Soon are fresh and heartfelt.

Still, to my tastes, She’s Still A Mystery and Coconut Grove could have easily supplanted some of the other lesser selections like Six O’Clock or Never Going Back.

Bargain-o-meter: 5 out of 7.

Johnny Rivers Golden Hits

To my surprise, this live greatest hits package included a number of covers, including Muddy Water, Memphis, and Maybelline, which were top twenty hits for Johnny. While I can’t compare the live versions to the original singles, they are mostly competent and uninspired, giving Rivers a certain all-around entertainer vibe.

There are some echoes of the Mamas and the Papas, with the album being produced by Lou Adler and the best track being written by PF Sloan, who also wrote Eve of Destruction for McGuire.

That song? Secret Agent Man. It’s fun, groovy, a little silly, but most of all, it’s the only hit that feels like it truly belongs to Rivers.

Bargain-o-meter: 2 out of 7.

The Best of Manfred Mann

A good band with jazz and blues leanings. They also had a very good vocalist in Paul Jones. Yet for all their talent, Jones wasn’t quite a match for Eric Burdon from the Animals, or Mann for Alan Price, for that matter. There was no Clapton, Beck, or Page on guitar, but they lacked the songwriting chops.

Their best songs were written by others, in particular Do-Wah-Diddy Diddy (originally a hit for the Exciters) and Pretty Flamingo. Unfortunately, it feels like too many of the songs are about being in a band called Manfred Mann.

They were enthusiastic interpreters of Bob Dylan, although the two inclusions here, God On Our Side and If You’ve Got to Go, Go Now, were respectively ridiculous and just pleasant. It wouldn’t be until The Mighty Quinn that their Dylan fetish would hit its peak, and sadly, that track is not included here.

Bargain-o-meter: 3 out of 7.

The Small Faces Greatest Hits

One of my favourite bands from the Sixties, I’ve already given the Small Faces the Inner Turntable treatment, which you can read here.

Most of the songs from the Inner Turntable article are here, yet there are problems. Early classics like My Mind’s Eye are missing after jumping from Decca to Immediate. The live version of All or Nothing is interesting but not what I’d come for.

Some of the others, such as Son of A Baker, feel like they’ve been remixed, and not to good effect.

All the later classics are here, though, including Itchycoo Park, Afterglow, Tin Soldier, and Lazy Sunday.

Also included is the rarely heard mod odyssey, Here Comes the Nice, a nice inclusion to the collection.

Bargain-o-meter: 4 out of 7.

The Easybeats Absolute Anthology (1965–1969)

The Easybeats were the best Australian band from the Sixties by such a long stretch it’s embarrassing.

While internationally they’re known for Friday On My Mind, in Australia, they had a string of classic singles that no band could hold a candle to until the arrival of AC/DC, which is no coincidence. Most of their hits were written by Harry Vanda and George Young, George being the older brother of Angus and Malcolm.

From early hits such as Wedding Ring, I’ll Make You Happy, For My Woman, Sorry, and later hits such as Good Times and The Music Goes Round My Head, this double album compilation is packed with excellent music.

A personal favourite is the psychedelic Peculiar Hole in the Sky.

If you’re a fan of the Sixties and not familiar with The Easybeats, they are certainly worth checking out.

Bargain-o-meter: 7 out of 7.

The Very Best of Bobbie & Laurie

There is something strangely Australian about Bobbie & Laurie. They channel a kind of uninspiring professionalism that was prominent on the cultural landscape, and by cultural landscape, I mean the totally crap free-to-air television.

Their big hit was Hitchhiker, which is awful, and frankly, it’s all downhill from there. The seventies couldn’t come soon enough.

Bargain-o-meter: 1 out of 7.

This is the fifth part of the Bargain Big Feeding Frenzy. You can read the fourth here: