The one hundred and fiftieth song: Leader of the Pack - The Shangri-Las
Quite a bit of rebellion in this song - while not a rock song, the leader of the pack would be walking around in his leather jacket, listening to rock 'n roll and driving around on a motor cycle - which is heard on the record. It's melancholic and a bit darker than it seems. The vocals - just as much talking and conversational - add to the effect. It's not a happy love song, but sounds a bit more haunting instead. Still avoiding the wall of sound, and good for it.
The one hundred and fifty-first song: Les copains d'abord - Geoges Brassens
Meanwhile, in France... a chanson about a boat that's not fully translatable, because of the wordplay involved. It's a happy, with just his own guitar to accompany him. I can see this being a song that gets stuck in your head if you can follow the lyrics.
The one hundred and fifty-second song: Samba malato - Nicomedes Santa Cruz
And then we jump to the latin sound, almost the opposite. Again, the lyrics aren't ones I can make sense of, but there's something infectious about the music. The comparatively poor recording quality lets it down a bit, but the music sounds so enthusiastic, it's still good. Most notably, it's something different, not as polished as more western music while sounding more natural with the instruments used and the melody in the vocals.
The one hundred and fifty-third song: Walk On By - Dionne Warwick
Next, our first Burt Bacharach song (the famous not-a-philosopher...). The music sounds somewhat similar, a powerful piano track enhancing Dionne Warwick's lonely vocals. Although there are backing songs, her voice stands out on its own, giving it a lonely edge that enhanced the sad feeling of the lyrics and the feeling she doesn't want to be fretted over.
The one hundred and fifty-fourth song: Don’t Gimme No Lip Child - Dave Berry
Back to a more rock sound - although it sounds like this pop song is also one that influenced punk. It's aggressive - as the title applies and presumptive, very confident. There are some good layered vocals and shrill instruments adding to a darker song that goes somewhere different from other songs we've heard before.
The one hundred and fifty-fifth song: E se domani - Mina
An Italian song now, from Italian star Mina. It goes by to a more classical singer, creating some simple pop. It could be a slower Eurovision song, a simple ballad, nothing sultry, but instead clear and loud. It's a simple message - a ballad about what would happen if she could never see her lover again - but it works effectively because of that still.
The one hundred and fifty-sixth song: The Girl from Ipanema - Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto
The second most recorded song, this is a soft and sweet jazz song, or bossa nova as this mix with the samba is known (not a music expert here). It doesn't swing quite as much as I was expecting, more drawing you into the music slowly. Soft and sweet, like a warm summer night.
The one hundred and fifty-seventh song: A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
This is agood, simple soul song where the music and vocals all enhance the message, one protesting segregation in a world that still had a lot of this - this is the time of Martin Luther King and so on. It's both simple in its setup and complex in the way it varies between verses. An impressive feat that brings the message home.
The one hundred and fifty-eighth song: Dancing in the Street - Martha & The Vandellas
Back to something upbeat then, a song about happiness that predates and predicts disco. Apparently this later became a civil rights anthem, but it's not there in the song, which is really about partying. It's simply there to get you dancing, and it had me bopping along.
The one hundred and fifty-ninth song: I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself - Dusty Springfield
This feels like a good pop song. It's got some big musical moments taht work with the pleasant vocals. It creates a soul song and a range of emotions coming through in the vocals, but also doesn't stand out quite enough for me.
The one hundred and sixtieth song: You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling - The Righteous Brothers
Some more 'blue-eyed soul' and more wall of sound, these two performers (not actually brothers) create a big song that seems to start in the middle of something and never quite stops for a break. The lyrics seem safe enough and the main thing about the song is that it is all big, even if the subject matter generally isn't that as much. The legacy of the wall of sound seem to start or continue here, having plenty of influences, although it's a lot of what we heard before. More an exemplar of the type, really.
The one hundred and sixty-first song: You Really Got Me - The Kinks
Here's some real early punk! And the raw rock sound still exists - it feels like we've lost it a bit in the past few years. It's shouty, raw and loud, with a feeling that the Kinks are enjoying performing this. There's something excited in this, and has a sound that I really like. It's no longer rock and roll - it feels like this is where it becomes rock.
The one hundred and sixty-second song: The House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
Here's a different side of rock. This is a ballad - one that had been around as one for some time - but using rock instruments that give it its loudness. It has a very distinct and unique sounds, in how the vocals come out, nearly shouting at times, how what sounds like an organ is played (I assume this is something electronic) and how the whole song makes it sound somewhat otherworldly. It sounds amazing, one of those song I feel I can really appreciate now.
The one hundred and sixty-third song: Go ‘Way from My window - John Jacob Niles
The recording we had here sounded like it was recorded in the fourties. So did the song. It's a folk ballad sung in a falsetto that sounds weird at times. I'm not sure the vocals work well here - perhaps another performer would come across better - but as something that seemed home recorded, something might be in there. A good accomplishment, well written, but maybe not the best performance.
The one hundred and sixty-fourth song: Amsterdam - Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel one more time, and (again?) with a live version. One that I know as well in the Dutch translations other singers have made. Singing about the port of Amsterdam, the people found there, which he imbues with so much energy in his own way that it get infectious. You can't help but feel involved in the song and the power it has.