Ambiorix Top 100 – 1965

IMMINENT PSYCHEDELIC BREAKTHROUGH!!!
In the two previous years, I had to struggle through the releases of 1963 and 1964 just before the New Year rush. This year it’s 1965’s turn! There was no shortage of innovative sounds sixty years ago, right in the middle of the sixties. America began to gnaw at the hegemony of the British (mostly Mersey) beat bands with advancing hordes of garage bands and bubbling psychedelic shades. That the Americans of The Seeds take the top spot with “Can’t Seem To Make You Mine” (#1) illustrates this perfectly!

Exactly half (50) of the hundred selected tracks are still of British origin, although they come from only 20 different acts. The Beatles (9x), The Stones (6x) and The Yardbirds (5x) alone account for 20 songs! This stands in stark contrast to the American representation: 40 selected songs spread across no fewer than 26 different artists, and—as already mentioned—mainly garage bands with occasional psychedelic influences. And that’s how we like them (cf. The Barbarians / Beau Brummels / The Brogues / The Castaways / Five Americans / Kim Fowley / The Knickerbockers / The Leaves / The Nightcrawlers / Paul Revere & The Raiders / The Seeds / The Sonics and The Standells).

Our northern neighbors also take a sizeable slice of the pie this year, with 7 places. Four of those go straight to the legendary Boudewijn de Groot! “Een Meisje van 16” (#10), “Welterusten Meneer De President” (#29), “Noordzee” (#36) and “Er Komen Andere Tijden” (#75) were all released as singles from the magnificent, self-titled debut album. With this, Boudewijn clearly helps pave the way taken by a growing wave of protest singers.

Only three artists still manage to smuggle non-English youth sentiment into the list: for France, Jean Ferrat (#47 “La Montagne”) and Guy Mardel (#88 “N’avoue Jamais”). Italy completes the list in terms of nationalities: Jimmy Fontana perhaps evokes the strongest memories of all with “Il Mondo,” beautifully immortalized in the romantic sci-fi tragicomedy About Time (2013). Highly recommended!

The remaining, customary end-of-year lists will follow in due time; I’m just trying to spread them out a bit more this year. You’re welcome! 😉

(Jan VH)

Playlist

1. Seeds – Can’t Seem to Make You Mine
2. Rolling Stones – Satisfaction
3. Beatles – You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
4. Otis Redding – That’s How Strong My Love Is
5. Them – Here Comes the Night
6. Beau Brummels – Just a Little
7. Leaves – Hey Joe
8. Ivy League – Funny How Love Can Be
9. Animals – It’s My Life
10. Boudewijn de Groot – Een Meisje van Zestien
11. Barry McGuire – Eve of Destruction
12. Beatles – It’s Only Love
13. Seeds – Pushin’ Too Hard
14. Simon & Garfunkel – Sound of Silence
15. Yardbirds – Heart Full of Soul
16. Bob Dylan – Like a Rolling Stone
17. Who – My Generation
18. Byrds – Turn! Turn! Turn!
19. Motions – Wasted Words
20. Donovan – Universal Soldier
21. Yardbirds – You’re a Better Man Than I
22. Beatles – You’re Going to Lose That Girl
23. Byrds – Mr. Tambourine Man
24. Rolling Stones – The Last Time
25. Yardbirds – For Your Love
26. Animals – We’ve Gotta Get Out of This Place
27. Knickerbockers – Lies
28. Rolling Stones – As Tears Go By
29. Boudewijn de Groot – Welterusten Meneer de President
30. Yardbirds – Still I’m Sad
31. Hollies – Look Through Any Window
32. Marianne Faithfull – Come and Stay With Me
33. Bob Dylan – Love Minus Zero
34. Nightcrawlers – The Little Black Egg
35. Sonics – Psycho
36. Boudewijn de Groot – Noordzee
37. Beatles – The Night Before
38. Mamas & Papa’s – California Dreamin’
39. Bob Dylan – Positively 4th Street
40. Spencer Davis Group – Keep on Running
41. Byrds – I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better
42. Johnny Lion – Sophietje
43. Rolling Stones – I’m Free
44. Who – I Can’t Explain
45. Kinks – A Well Respected Man
46. Beatles – Ticket to Ride
47. Jean Ferrat – La Montagne
48. Sonics – Strychnine
49. Yardbirds – Evil Hearted You
50. Hedgehoppers Anonymous – It’s Good News Week
51. Barbarians – Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?
52. Bob Dylan – Mr. Tambourine Man
53. Brogues – I Ain’t No Miracle Worker
54. Animals – Bring It On Home to Me
55. Jimmy Fontana – Il Mondo
56. Byrds – All I Really Want to Do
57. Otis Redding – I’ve Been Loving You Too Long
58. Beatles – Another Girl
59. Dave Berry – This Strange Effect
60. Manfred Mann – If You Gotta Go, Go Now
61. Crispian St. Peters – You Were on My Mind
62. Bob Dylan – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
63. Marianne Faithfull – Summer Nights
64. Rolling Stones – Get Off My Cloud
65. Wayne Fontana & Mindbenders – The Game of Love
66. Danny Hutton – Roses and Rainbows
67. Kinks – Tired of Waiting for You
68. Beatles – Help!
69. Het – Ik Heb Geen Zin Om Op Te Staan
70. Wilson Pickett – In the Midnight Hour
71. Kinks – Set Me Free
72. Rolling Stones – Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
73. Hollies – I’m Alive
74. Zombies – Tell Her No
75. Boudewijn de Groot – Er Komen Andere Tijden
76. Beach Boys – California Girls
77. Beatles – We Can Work It Out
78. Donovan – Catch the Wind
79. Herman’s Hermits – A Must to Avoid
80. Animals – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
81. Castaways – Liar, Liar
82. Marianne Faithfull – This Little Bird
83. Ivy League – Tossing and Turning
84. Kim Fowley – The Trip
85. Dave Clark Five – Over and Over
86. Supremes – My World Is Empty Without You
87. Kinks – Till the End of the Day
88. Guy Mardel – N’Avoue Jamais
89. Standells – Dirty Water
90. Donovan – Colours
91. Paul Revere & the Raiders – Just Like Me
92. Bob Dylan – Maggie’s Farm
93. Sonics – Have Love Will Travel
94. James Brown – I Got You (I Feel Good)
95. Five Americans – I See the Light
96. Supremes – Stop! In the Name of Love
97. Lou Christie – Lightnin’ Strikes
98. Nina Simone – Feeling Good
99. Beatles – Yesterday
100. Goldie & the Gingerbreads – Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat

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