I was too young to see the New York Dolls in their heyday, though I saw Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers on numerous occasions. The closest I got to David Johansen in those early days was that historically fabulous OGWT in 1973.

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The late Sixties and early Seventies were incendiary times in politics and music – reflected in the fiery brass sections of funk bands like Tower Of Power.

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I’ve only just stumbled upon this deep cut from Thin Lizzy, which seems to have been excavated from the vaults at some point last year.

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Here’s a deep cut from Santana… No, it isn’t. It’s by a school band from Nigeria called Ofege, recorded back in the early ’70s.

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The growling blues-boogie of La Grange gave ZZ Top their big breakthrough in 1973, though they were already on to their third album by then – and would go on to enjoy a second lease of life in the ’80s.

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“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” That one line summed up Kris Kristofferson’s singular songwriting skill. It was like the entire Sixties ethos in a single phrase.

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Even though The Velvet Underground are my favourite band I think I’ve only listened to their fifth album once. Maybe not even once. Until now.

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When I heard this infectious slice of Northern Soul on the radio I thought two things: first that it was by a black dude, and secondly that it was a reaction to the state of the world today. Wrong on both counts.

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There are two equally spellbinding versions of this haunting lament to lost love and innocence, by two different singers, and ever since I first heard them I’ve been unable to decide which is the best. The problem is that they’re not all that different, and of course there’s no need to pick one over the other.

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This was the first tune I heard by Archie Bell & The Drells when it was a hit single in 1973. It’s very different from the sprightly funk jam of Tighten Up which put them on the soul and funk map five years earlier. For that matter it’s different to the Northern Soul stomper Here I Go Again that gave them their first UK hit at the end of 1972.

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