Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop compilation/playlist

In 2013, Saint Etienne maestro/ace compiler Bob Stanley published Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop, a 747-page tome surveying pop from Billy Haley to Beyoncé, to borrow the subtitle from the American edition. I read the longer Brit version on my Kindle the moment it came out and intended to make a compilation/playlist of the dozens of songs I highlighted. Then my Kindle broke and I put the project aside until I had time to peer through a half-darkened screen to retrieve my highlights. That snowy night in front of the fire has finally arrived. 

There are some Yeah Yeah Yeah playlists on Spotify. But those are unwieldy beasts totaling thousands of songs in at least one instance. And because Stanley really does write about popular music, that means tracks you know over under sideways down by Elvis, Beatles, and the Rolling Stones lard up the playlists. My condensation below is unwieldy enough - 146 songs running just under eight hours. But the benefit here is that it's comprised almost entirely of songs I'd never heard. And if like me you didn't grow up alongside Stanley in England, you'll share most of these deafspots.

Before it's even a British book, Yeah Yeah Yeah is a messy one which suits its subject matter. Stanley rattles off fave raves like a sugar-high tween and has wedged in witty one-liners in every remaining cranny (on Pink Floyd replacing Syd Barrett with old friend David Gilmour: "Things were so bad, they almost talked to each other about it.") So his Brit slant doesn't bother me. He's put tons of music into my ears and convinced me that I've been underrating skiffle, Joe Meek, and Tommy Steele, of all people. And he's the first critic on the planet to say even the remotest kind word about Mantovani so he's got my attention.

I haven't had a chance to become intimate with each track below. But while I tried to eliminate outright airdales (e.g., Robin Gibb's unlistenable "Moon Anthem"), I don't expect each song to blow me away. Some were included for historical significance (Robin Gibb again reportedly with the first hit record to use a drum machine) or because it taught me something about reggae (Nina Simone and Rosco Gordon, together at last) or because it tripped out Marc Almond (a Cure deep cut so slinky that I'm afraid I'll be disappointed by the album surrounding it). But a few have indeed already blown me away. Barry Ryan's "Kitsch" sounds like a Scott Walker who doesn't take himself so damn seriously. Ray Pollard's "The Drifter" is a heavy-hearted, Northern soul masterpiece currently going for $1,199.99 on Discogs and is worth thrice that. Billy Fury's "I'm Lost Without You" makes me understand why John Lennon asked for his autograph. Vince Taylor was an absolutely astonishing performer (check out his wiggles here) and I now understand why David Bowie (and presumably The Clash) were obsessed with him. The Ace of Cup's "Glue" is proto-Sleater-Kinney. And that can't really be The Supremes singing about "Buttered Popcorn," can it?!?

Each track is an mp3 in glorious 320. A link to a zip file of them all is below at the Kim Roberts entry, a Joe Meek b-side not mentioned by Stanley but too irritating not to include amongst the Meek productions I now love ("Eyes"!). I don't do or even get Spotify but feel free to recreate this playlist there. The tracks appear in the order that Stanley discusses them in the book so that a 1950s cut will appear in a new wave chapter. Enjoy the sprawl!

Peanuts Wilson:    "Cast Iron Arm"
Beach Boys:    "Carry Me Home"
Max Bygraves:    "Cowpuncher's Cantata"
Al Martino:    "Rachel"
Whitfield, David:    "Cara Mia (with The Mantovani Orchestra)"
Jo Stafford:    "You Belong to Me"
Frankie Laine:    "Blowing Wild"
Mantovani:    "Moulin Rogue"
Dickie Valentine:    "Finger of Suspicion"
The Ames Brothers:   "Rag Mop"
The Johnny Burnette Trio:    "The Train Kept A-Rollin'"
Pat Boone:    "I'll Be Home"
Frankie Laine:    "Hey! Joe"
The Everly Brothers:    "Temptation (Single Version)"
The Everly Brothers:    "Nancy's Minuet"
Jack Scott:    "Goodbye Baby"
Jimmy Miller & His Barbecues:    "Sizzling Hot"
Lonnie Donegan:    "Cumberland Gap"
Lonnie Donegan:    "Gamblin' Man"
Jimmy Young:    "Chain Gang"
Tommy Steele:    "Rock With The Caveman"
Billy Fury: "I'm Lost Without You"
Vince Taylor & The Playboys:    "Brand New Cadillac"
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates:    "Shakin' All Over"
Metallics:    "Need Your Love"
Paul Anka:    "Crazy Love"
Gene Pitney:    "Billy You're My Friend"
The Aquatones:    "You"
John Leyton:    "Johnny Remember Me"
The Moontrekkers:    "Night Of The Vampire"
The Honeycombs:    "Eyes"
Buzz:   "You're Holding Me Down"
Kim Roberts:    "For Loving Me This Way"
Paul Hampton:    "Two Hour Honeymoon"
Judy Henske:    "Road To Nowhere"
Ray Pollard:    "The Drifter"
The Mojos:    "Everything's Alright"
Gene Pitney:    "That Girl Belongs To Yesterday"
Barbara Lewis:    "Hello Stranger"
Dee Dee Sharp:    "I Really Love You"
Gladys Knight & The Pips:    "Giving Up (Mono)"
Gladys Knight & The Pips:    "Baby Don't Change Your Mind"
Barbara Lewis:    "Baby I'm Yours"
The Marvelettes:    "When You're Young And In Love"
Jackie Wilson:    "I Get The Sweetest Feeling"
Aretha Franklin:    "Sweet Bitter Love"
Little Esther Phillips:    "Some Things You Never Get Used To"
Irma Thomas:    "It's Starting to Get to Me Now"
Teri Thornton:    "Why Don't You Love Me"
The Ad Libs:    "Giving Up"
Judy Clay:    "Haven't Got What It Takes"
The Sweet Things:    "You're My Lovin' Baby"
Gary Lewis & The Playboys:    "Jill"
Turtles, The:    "Grim Reaper Of Love"
Chob:    "We're Pretty Quick"
The Jelly Bean Bandits:    "Generation"
The Supremes:    "Buttered Popcorn (Stereo Version)"
Little Iva & Her Band:    "Continental Strut"
Mary Wells:    "Bye Bye Baby"
Chris Clark:   "I Just Wanna Be Lovin' You"
Barbara Mcnair:   "Baby A Go-Go"
Brenda Holloway:    "Lonely Boy"
Kim Weston:    "Absent Minded Lover"
The Fairytale:    "Guess I Was Dreaming"
The Ace Of Cups:    "Glue"
Barry Ryan:    "Eloise"
Barry Ryan:    "Kitsch"
Honeybus:    "I Can't Let Maggie Go"
Dorothy Moore:    "Misty Blue"
George Perkins and the Silver Stars:    "Crying in the Streets"
Timmy Willis:    "Easy As Saying 1-2-3"
Doris Allen:    "A Shell of a Woman"
Billy Joe Young:    "I Had My Heart Set On You"
Betty Green:    "He's Down On Me"
Nelson Sanders:    "Tired Of Being Your Fool"
James Carr:    "The Dark End of the Street"
O.V. Wright With The Keys:    "That's How Strong My Love Is"
Betty Harris:    "What Did I Do Wrong..."
Irma Thomas:    "Wish Someone Would Care"
Irma Thomas:    "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)"
Diana Ross:    "I'm Still Waiting"
Thunderclap Newman:    "Something In The Air"
Fresh Air:    "Running Wild"
Fleetwood Mac:    "Man Of The World"
Robin Gibb:    "Saved By The Bell"
Mungo Jerry:    "Baby Jump"
White Plains:    "When You Are A King"
Elton John:    "Young, Gifted & Black"
Tony Burrows:    "Melanie Makes Me Smile"
Tony Burrows:    "Every Little Move She Makes"
Davy Graham:    "Anji"
Lindisfarne:    "Lady Eleanor (Single Version)"
John Cale:    "I Keep a Close Watch"
Keith Christmas:    "Forest And The Shore"
Theophilus Beckford:    "Easy Snappin'"
Johnny Nash:    "Hold Me Tight"
Nina Simone:    "My Baby Just Cares for Me"
Fats Domino:    "Be My Guest"
Rosco Gordon:    "T-Model Boogie"
Rosco Gordon:    "Just a Little Bit"
Marc Bolan:    "Hippy Gumbo"
Stavely Makepeace:    "(I Wanna Love You Like A) Mad Dog"
Lieutenant Pigeon:    "Mouldy Old Dough"
Wizzard:    "Angel Fingers"
Cockney Rebel:    "Sebastian"
The Drew-vells:    "Tell Him"
Baby Dolls:    "Don't Rush Me"
The Three Degrees:    "Collage"
The Chi-Lites:    "You Don't Have To Go"
David Essex:    "City Lights"
David Essex:    "Me And My Girl (Night-Clubbing)"
Bay City Rollers: "Just A Little Love"
Darren Burn:    "Summertime Time"
Barbara Mills:    "Queen Of Fools"
Bobbie Smith:    "Walk On Into My Heart"
Cliff Richard:    "Miss You Nights"
Spunky Spider:    "You Won't Come"
Kipper:    "The Clapham"
The Good Missionaries:    "Keep Going Backwards"
The Good Missionaries:    "Attitudes"
The Regents:   "7Teen"
The Leyton Buzzards:    "Saturday Night Beneath The Plastic Palm Tree"
Tonight:    "Drummer Man"
Donna McGhee:    "Do As I Do (Original 12" Mix)"
Bee Gees:    "Until"
Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra:    "Little Red Monkey"
Kim Wilde:    "Cambodia (Single Version)"
David Bowie:    "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City"
The Dreamweavers:    "It's Almost Tomorrow"
Josef K:    "Chance Meeting"
Brother Beyond:    "The Harder I Try"
Beggar & Co.:    "(Somebody) Help Me Out (12-inch Version)"
The Cure:    "All Cats Are Grey"
Mixmaster:    "Grand Piano"
Starlight:    "Numero Uno (Club Mix)"
Gino Latino:    "Welcome (Radio Version)"
FPI Project Feat. Sharon Dee Clarke:    "Going Back to My Roots (Vocal Version)"
Primal Scream:    "Higher Than The Sun"
Sydney Youngblood:    "If Only I Could"
World Of Twist:   "Sons Of The Stage"
Schoolly D:    "PSK (What Does It Mean)"
Shut Up & Dance:    "5678 (Original Mix)"
Shut Up And Dance:    "£10 To Get In"
Shut Up And Dance:    "Raving I'm Raving feat. Peter Bouncer"
Red Light:    "The Burial"
The Style Council:    "Promised Land"