1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die - 1966

What a bunch of greatness!!! I mean... "Sunny Afternoon", "Eleanor Rigby", "Reach Out (I'll Be There)", "Good Vibrations", "Dead End Street" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" are all All Time Supersonic Golden Classics (R).

Yet... There's "God Only Knows" - one of the most glorious recordings ever. So my vote has to go for that one, but I regret not being able to vote for any of the others I mentioned. They would all have deserved it more than most!

Voted Lorraine Ellison, and I really didn't care what else was on the list once I saw it.

(add the fact that "Eight Miles High", "Paint It Black", "River Deep Mountain High", "Firday On My Mind", "I'm a Believer" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On" are all really great songs too. Even though none of them would be close to my pick in this kind of company)

In spite of all this greatness (and the fact that I probably would have gone for "God Only Knows" regardless of competition), I miss "You Can't Hurry Love", "Rain", "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night" and probably many others.

"96 Tears" maybe.

Went with "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" – such intense & emotional vocals!

Plus the flute and the bass and the fucking everything!

Virtually a dead heat between "Substitute" and "Eight Miles High" for me, with at least six more close behind (including Jacques Dutronc, a great left-field inclusion). I guess "Eight Miles High." My five favourite not on the list: the Charlatans' "Alabama Bound," Cream's "I'm So Glad," the Fugs' "Carpe Diem," the Mothers' "Trouble Every Day," and Bob Dylan's turns-out-it's-awful "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35."

"You're Gonna Miss Me" blew my mind when I first heard it, so I'll throw in a vote for that

The Supremes: You Keep Me Hangin' On
The Beatles: Tomorrow Never Knows

Sophie's choice time.

96 Tears, with Tomorrow Never Knows nipping at ?'s ankles.

Substitute vs. Sun Ain't Gonna Shine vs. Eleanor Rigby vs. God Only Knows vs. Season of the Witch for me. I might have to pull my choice out of a hat.

"river deep mountain high" just barely over "god only knows" just barely over at least half of the rest. boomer nostalgia and sixties centric view of pop annoys me to know end but 1966 is the fucking zenith.

Fucking impossible. But because I'm a Who stan (and because "My Generation" inexplicably got fewer votes than "California Dreamin'" in the 1965 poll), I'm going with "Substitute."

(but I'd reeeeally like to vote for "Stay With Me" and "Reach Out" and the Yardbirds)

I looked quickly, voted for "Reach Out, I'll Be There," THEN I saw "God Only Knows". Oh well - I always had the more visceral reaction to "Reach Out" anyway, and even though I love the Beach Boys to pieces - more than the Four Tops, certainly, but probably less than '60s Motown in general - they crossed the threshold from underappreciated to overrated at least 10 years ago. Any time critical opinion starts to feel hegemonic - e.g. the "Pet Sounds" consensus - it's a good idea to start considering alternate possibilities. "Good Vibrations" I always loved, but I dunno, it's such an obvious choice. "7 and 7 Is" is damn tempting - is there a more explosive pop single than this?

Also, I'll cosign that "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" is actually a great, great song, if that's what Clemenza meant. It's Biblical - read between the lines, man. You know, the way we all do with fucking every other Dylan song ever?

no "i fought the law" - bobby fuller four ?? no "hunter gets captured by the game" - marvellettes???

i am APPALLED.

voted "Sunny Afternoon" as a personal favorite although "Tomorrow Never Knows" is objectively better

Well I love that dirty water.

impossibly hard, until you hear River Deep Mountain High again.

seriously, and I'm not even a Spector fan.

Good Vibrations

Summer in the City

I went with Substitute

went w Substitute over "River Deep Mountain High", but really, it's almost a tie between all of these

"Dead End Street" was a really advanced record for '66.

God Only Knows

Had to vote for Good Vibrations.

These are all great songs, but listening to God Only Knows is like watching the galaxy form.

I'm throwing Jacques Dutronc a vote cos I love that song and nobody else seems to be stepping up but it's hard not to vote for "You're Gonna Miss Me" or "God Only Knows"

river deep vs good vibrations vs stay with me vs reach out

not sure i'm gonna vote here

Gonna vote for 7 & 7 is, just to make sure it gets a vote; that, Eight Miles High, Reach Out, Happenings, 96 Tears, Keep Me Hangin On, You're Gonna Miss Me...all of these are among my favourite songs ever.

Just listened to Tomorrow Never Knows for the first time in years and years. Holy moly.

voted Elvis because it's an incredible record, sad & deep in a way you wouldn't have expected Elvis to have yet understood---by 1970, sure, but not in 1966. However: wtf is this song doing here? It wasn't a single, it was on the Spinout soundtrack. It's an absolutely fabulous song, probably top 5 Elvis performances imo, but it's weird that they picked it out for this book.

The proximity of those last two posts had me momentarily wondering if Elvis covered "Tomorrow Never Knows" in 1966...disorienting.

voted mas que nada

XX-post: I was surprised to see an Elvis track from this period and must admit I am not really familiar with the track at all. Elvis was all but forgotten in 1966 and his "comeback" wasn't until 1968-69. However, this doesn't mean there cannot possibly be one track on some obscure soundtrack that was actually quite good.
Some of the picks in this book seem to be rather "alternative" choices, which should fit well with ILM's "contrarian" stance.

Classic poll for voting before closely reading all the choices.

I don't think it's particularly strange that the compilers of the book would throw in some personal favourites

Went with Substitute in the end... I still think Season of the Witch is one of the spookiest pop songs ever, its a shame it has to go up against all these other masterpieces.

In certain contexts, Donovan songs can be downright terrifying.

Like the movies: "Season of the Witch" over the end credits of To Die For, "Atlantis" in Goodfellas. I thought I'd be able to find the first on YouTube, but no luck.

Can't vote. Actually impossible. I'd feel I'd betrayed too many songs I loved if I voted for any single one of them.

I don't think it's particularly strange that the compilers of the book would throw in some personal favourites

If I had made a book like this, I don't know if I'd include "The Landscape Is Changing" by Depeche Mode. Maybe, maybe not. However, if I did it would have been considered a weird pick by most people, possibly even most Depeche Mode fans.

I don't think it's a weird pick because I don't think it's a great song---I think it's top shelf Elvis, which is saying something! But rather I think it's a weird pick because I didn't know it was particularly rated by others, not to mention considered one of the 1001 songs etc.

It's really not a weird pick - it was included on the Sony box set 'Artist of the Century' back in 1999, and that was a selection of his best material, not rarities or anything.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Artist-Century-Elvis-Presley/dp/B00000JILB

tracks here http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/742081/Artist-Of-The-Century/Product.html

cool---looks like a great box set.

If I had made a book like this

One can only imagine.

these are some amazing songs

I still think Season of the Witch is one of the spookiest pop songs ever

This one always freaked me out for some reason... whenever someone says "don't you worry", that's normally the point where I start worrying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cYS_Mi9V0I

The most perfectly honest vote would be "God Only Knows" but I voted for "96 Tears" anyways cause I'd like to see it place highly and sense it needs my help. The most perfect garage song.

^right, did the same (except for "7 & 7 Is" instead of "Eight Miles High")...no offense against Who fans, but it's strange to me that so many are going for "Substitute" in this list...

ugh... between

Lovin' Spoonful: Summer In The City
The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations

no offense against Who fans, but it's strange to me that so many are going for "Substitute" in this list...

Ditto. I love a lot of The Who, but that song I have never been particularly fond of. And in this kind of company even...

I took the name of my radio show from a line in "Substitute": The Simple Things You See ("are all complicated"...). I've always considered it one of the Who's three or four most brilliant songs.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Surprisingly good showing for 96 Tears.

There's only about six songs here that I would have had any problem with topping the poll. Voting felt almost arbitrary with so many songs this good.

kinda wished I'd voted Byrds now as previously planned...

That be me, I'm proud to say...I'm surprised they didn't place somewhere around the Four Tops and Who, even in a field as strong as this.

I love how Townsend liked the word "substitute" in "Tracks of My Tears" and made a song around it

wait what clemenza? are you talking about being the sole Byrds vote?

Yes--as I said in my first post, a slight edge over the Who.

duh, you're why I didn't vote that...

that song & the Yardbirds one were almost Sabbath-like in how pivotal they were in originating the whole 'psych' thing; it's shocking they each got only a single vote

(13th Floor Elevators were for sure pivotal too--and the one-vote for them is even more surprising considering the jizzfests I've read in ILX concerning them--but tbf Ur Gonna Miss Me adds little to garage raunch besides the electric jug)

a) I'm sorry for using the word 'jizzfests'
b) I love 13FE, & think You're Gonna Miss Me is a great song, even though Roller Coaster is my go to song on that album...

c) the numerologist part of me is having a field day w/ this; 7 & 7 Is, Eight Miles High, 96 Tears, Happenings 10 Years Time Ago

Glad other people voted for "I'm A Believer". Stared at the list for ages trying to weigh the import of so many great tracks and eventually just went fuckit it's an utterly joyous pop song, deserves a vote.

Yep, that's the one I went for.

Justice has been served. :)