One of the problems with the charts from around this time was that we'd get covers of Beatles records as opposed to the actual Beatles record. In this batch we have 2 acts covering "Michelle" and another covering "Girl". None of them are bad covers but at the same time they're not as good as the originals.
Mersey beat bands the Merseybeats and the Swinging Blue Jeans are just about hanging in there with their respective final hits. Both have left their mersey beat routes behind to make blue-eyed soul records which appears to be the popular sound from around this time.
The Beatles had released "Rubber Soul" at the end of 1965 which whilst not strictly a blue-eyed soul record itself, it drew inspiration from soul artists which in turn inspired this blue-eyed soul trend.
The best record in this batch is a blue-eyed soul record with Chris Farlow making his chart debut with the Jagger/Richards composed "Think". My number 2 record is also a blue-eyed soul and was the 2nd and final Top 40 hit for Len Barry.
We have some authentic soul in 3rd and 4th place with Fontella Bass and The Toys having their respective 2nd and final hits. Then it's back to blue-eyed soul in 5th place with the Mindbenders making their Top 40 debut without Wayne Fontana.
Down the bottom we have The Bachelors with the worst record I've heard of theirs. Not only were they old fashioned for the time but they're doing a song from a musical. Speaking of musicals we have Barbra Streisand making her debut and is the 2nd worst record.
Another notable name making their chart debut was Nancy Sinatra with "These Boots Are Made For Walkin" which is a record I've always found irritating. There's also the debut of Vince Hill with "Take Me To Your Heart Again" which would have fitted in better with the charts 10 years prior. Not irritating, just boring.
Overall I do like the bulk of the records but the problem is none of them are outstanding. None score more than 3 but we do have zeros at the bottom.
Score: 43
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