The Pretty Things - "She Says Good Morning" (1967)

Not only does the masculine impulse of rock and roll manifest here clearly and strongly, but never, perhaps, was it so successfully aligned with the genre's metamorphosing predilections toward beauty.

"She Says Good Morning" on Amazon.

Pink Floyd - "The Scarecrow" (1967)

Might be the best of Barrett's early lyrics with its coherence, the cadence of the wordplay in the verses, and the sheer poetry of the single line (non-rhyming) chorus. Arrangement is very pleasant: sparse, but also very rich when the two acoustic guitars enter at the end.

"The Scarecrow" on Lala.

Blossom Toes - "When the Alarm Clock Rings" (1967)

Great arrangement carries the listener through the verses into that beautiful chorus.

"When the Alarm Clock Rings" at Anthology Recordings

Michael Angelo - "Bonjour Mr. VIP" (1977)

There is both strength and ease in the way Michael Angelo moved from style to style, keeping them all within his aesthetic. That he managed to accomplish this even with early Dylan was a great achievement!

"Bonjour Mr. VIP" at Anthology Recordings

The Beatles - "For No One" (1966)

Only six chords in the whole song, but still managing not only to mix a real sense of diatonicism with a bVII chord, but also an unusual modulation: the tonicizing of the ii chord in the chorus (returning so simply and easily to the home key by means of its dominant chord).

Brenton Wood - "I'm the One Who Knows" (1967)

Rhyming resourcefulness, everyday language creatively fitting melodies, melodies perhaps even expanding (without stretching too far) to accommodate the language. Masterful execution.

"I'm the One Who Knows" currently available on this CD.

George Harrison - "Dream Away" (1982)

Something characteristic about the melodic line and the harmonic progression but in a song style seemingly unique in his oeuvre, with real compositional economy and propulsion. If the greatest thing about this song is not the chorus, it is surely the bridge, which twice plots its way cleverly through seven lines of text. The greatest Beatle moment of this period.

"Dream Away" on Amazon.

Henry Cow - "Nine Funerals of the Citizen King" (1973)

There is something of theater music in this that makes me consider its stylistic origins in Kurt Weill, though I'm not sure how much Weill as an influence accounts for what goes on here melodically and harmonically. Seemingly a sort of genre unto itself, this song is both an extraordinary composition and an extremely resourceful and beautiful sonic creation.

"Nine Funerals of the Citizen King" on Amazon.

Le Orme - "Milano 1968" (1969)

Some late '60s rock music from around the world shares an emerging progressive aesthetic that's much more rooted in the pop/rock music of the preceding couple of years and, in this way, distinct from early English progressive rock. Le Orme (who would of course evolve into a prog band later on) were quite a talented band in this vein and "Milano 1968," with its compositional structure and instrumental parts, is a nice example of the style.

"Milano 1968" on Lala.

The Incredible String Band - "See Your Face and Know You" (1967)

What must be almost everything that was wonderful about Robin Williamson's early songwriting style in one compact, 2:37 composition: the modal guitar writing, the natural sounding freedom in the meter, the striving after real poetry, the schooled mastery of style.

"See Your Face and Know You" on Amazon.

Wings - "You Gave Me the Answer" (1975)

The vocal with the megaphone effect sits very nicely in the mix so you can really hear the nuances of a virtuosic performance: the crisp hitting of notes, the tremolo, the choice of falsetto or natural voice for high notes.

Instrumental break is elaborate in context, but also efficient and economical. Deviation in the construction of the last verse is, like many other things in the song, very successful in its stylistic evocation.

"You Gave Me the Answer" on Lala.

R.E.M. - "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville " (1984)

Such power in the stylistic evocation, composition, arrangement (piano, tremolo lead guitar) and, grandest of all, execution (vocal harmonies in the chorus). Sweeping in scope.

"(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" on Lala.

Bridget St. John - "The Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity" (1969)

There can be such strength in basic musical units - a chord, a note - in St. John's songs. Here, it's the construction of the one verse repeating for the song's almost four-minute duration: the holding of the chord resulting in the simple metric irregularity of the third line, the final, held notes in the concluding fourth lines.

"The Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity" on Lala.

The Left Banke - "Walk Away Renee" (1966)

The intro is only four notes: 4-3-2-1, which does not constitute a melody. It's only a cadence without anything preceding it.

Where did they come up with this idea? It's not a cadence that's used in any other part of the song. Could it have been the ending of a longer intro, with the beginning edited out?

In any case, it's a powerful moment that encapsulates, in about as small a package as possible, some of the great things about that period's stylistic approach to balance between compositional richness and economy in a 2:40 single.

"Walk Away Renee" on Lala.

Tomorrow - "Three Jolly Little Dwarfs" (1968)

Extraordinary compositional economy, not just melodically/harmonically/structurally but also dynamically: one of the great drum records but with utterly simple parts and fills. Great power of the chorus hinges on at least three factors: 1) the fact that it's preceded by a break, but there's actually an intensification of energy when the song resumes and the chorus begins, 2) the repeat of its first part, and 3) the fact that it continues after the repeat, building on the drum dynamism with an overdubbed mallet on a bass or kettle drum.

"Three Jolly Little Dwarfs" on Lala.