Classics

Spent a small but profitable part of the day listening to the 'A' side CD from Dusty Springfield Complete A and B Sides 1963-1970. Confirmed my sense that the idea of the 60s as a golden age of popular music has a lot going for it, though I'm not in love with the production values on some of the material, especially the early singles, in the same way that I am with stuff from Motown or Stax of the same period. It's only with the Memphis sound of Son of a Preacher Man that I start to get really comfortable.

Amazingly some outstanding material performed only so-so in the charts of the period. How Can I Be Sure?, which would now be seen/heard as a stone cold classic, didn't even go top 30. What were people listening to? The funny thing is that I'm sure Ms Springfield was well aware of just how good that single was, and one or two others like it. I think she just gave up on the idea of taking the charts seriously. I heard a similar story in relation to The Who's I Can See For Miles, with Pete Townsend, knowing he'd created something of rare beauty and power, becoming entirely disillusioned with the record-buying public on its relative failure in the popular arena.

So whilst we had our golden age I'm not entirely sure we deserved it - which is usually the way of these things.