Customer Reviews

1965 Blowin' Your Mind - Time Life Classic Rock

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The heavily-promoted and massive Time-Life "mail order only" series of CDs of about 15-20 years ago seemed intent to corner the market on everything from the Big Band Era to Pop, Country, R&B, Soul, Rockabilly and R&R Oldies. In addition to single artist releases, they put out year by year volumes covering the best hits of 1940 to (as far as I can tell) 1969, including this one which was one of at least three covering 1965.

This was the year Winston Churchill passed away, Pope Paul made a historical visit to New York City, and Truman Capote published his now-classic volume In Cold Blood, eventually to be made into a film. Another less-welcome arrival was Hurricane Betsy, a Category 4 storm which ravaged The Bahamas, Florida and Louisiana, making landfall in the U.S. near the mouth of the Mississippi and, in a portent of even worse things to come from another bad girl named Katrina in 2005, caused heavy flooding of the waters of Lake Pontchartrain and on into New Orleans.

In the music world, these 22 hits were among the best of 1965 and here Time-Life adds them to the 45 they issued covering 1965 in the volumes titled 1965: The Beat Goes On and 1965: Shakin' All Over:

1. Here Comes The Night - Them - # 24 Pop June; 2. Game Of Love - Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders - # 1 Pop April; 3. Since I Lost My Baby - The Temptations - # 4 R&B/# 17 Pop Aug; 4. The "In" Crowd - Dobie Gray - # 11 R&B/# 13 Pop Feb; 5. Respect - Otis Redding - # 4 R&B/# 35 Pop Sept; 6. Baby Don't Go - Sonny & Cher - # 8 Pop Sept; 7. The Birds And The Bees - Jewel Akens - # 3 Pop/# 21 R&B March; 8. I'm A Fool - Dino, Desi & Billy - # 17 Pop July; 9. Who'll Be The Next In Line - The Kinks - # 34 Pop Aug; 10. You Tell Me Why - The Beau Brummels - # 38 Pop Aug; 11. Ferry Cross The Mersey - Gerry & The Pacemakers - # 6 Pop Feb; 12. Iko Iko - The Dixies Cups - # 20 Pop/R&B April; 13. Save Your Heart For Me - Gary Lewis & The Playboys - # 2 Pop July; 14. Run, Baby, Run (Back Into My Arms) - The Newbeats - # 12 Pop Oct; 15. Don't Fight It - Wilson Pickett - # 4 R&B/# 53 Pop Dec; 16. Ask The Lonely - The Four Tops - # 9 R&B/# 24 Pop Feb; 17. Laugh At Me - Sonny - # 10 Pop Sept; 18. Agent Double-O-Soul - Edwin Starr - # 21 Pop Aug; 19. You Turn Me On (The Turn On Song) - Ian Whitcomb And Bluesville - # 8 Pop June; 20. Nothing But Heartaches - The Supremes - # 6 R&B/# 11 Pop Aug/Sept; 21. Go Now! - The Moody Blues - # 10 Pop March; 22. Hurt So Bad - Little Anthony & The Imperials - # 3 R&B/# 10 Pop Feb.

As with the other two 1965 volumes mentioned above this is, naturally, heavy on the British Invasion artists who pretty much dominated the Pop charts at least throughtouit 1964 and 1965. Just don't look for any Beatles songs. All have long since come out on other compilations with even better sound (although this one wasn't bad in that regard) and with much more in the way of liner notes. But still a good buy as long as they're not asking an arm and a leg.