To paraphrase Charles Dickens (who, I'm pretty sure, had little interest in such things), 1967, now 40 years distant, was both the best of times and the worst of times.

Celebrated as the Summer of Love, 1967 was characterized by fashion, social activism, the emergence of a powerful counterculture and, most important, music. It was the year that saw landmark releases by The Beatles (Sgt. Pepper's), the Stones (Between the Buttons) and a previously unknown guitar player from Seattle named Jimi Hendrix (Are You Experienced?).

Although those acts loom large over the Summer of Love's musical landscape, it also should be noted that '67 marked a particularly fertile period in popular music. Experimentation was the order of the day, but here's the thing about experiments. musical or otherwise: Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail. Below are some of my 1967 favorites, and some tunes that continue to mar the legacy of one of music's more interesting periods.

The good

- So You Want to Be a Rock N' Roll Star - The Byrds: A stinging indictment of the music industry, this song remains topical and tough today.

- Heroin - The Velvet Underground: An unvarnished and unapologetic attempt to musically replicate the experience of shooting heroin, this recording didn't get much play in 1967.

- You're Gonna Miss Me - 13th Floor Elevators: A deceptively simple and straightforward paean to a girl who got away, this sharp little rocker clocks in at less than three minutes, a remarkable achievement in a famously long-winded era.

- Cold Sweat - James Brown: There's nothing in this ferocious and funky track that suggests either turning on or tuning out. It demands attention and, thanks to the famous JB backbeat, more than a little dance-floor wiggle.

- Seven and Seven Is - Love: I don't understand why this heavy-hitting pop classic isn't a staple on classic-rock radio. Infectious and insistent, it is quite simply one of my favorite rock tracks of all time.

The bad

- Aquarius - The cast of Hair: This is the dawning of a mediocre show tune trying to pass itself off as a counterculture anthem, insulting both the theater fans and hippies who embraced it in the process.

- Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock: As important as Sgt. Pepper was, it also has a lot to answer for. I offer this spineless psalm as Exhibit A. Not only is it musically malnourished but it also doesn't seem to have a thematic point. I doubt even chemical enhancement can save this dud.

- Light My Fire - The Doors: I understand there will be some villagers who break out the torches and light my fire when I devalue the Doors, but Light My Fire is an unattractive blend of pretentious music and the absolute worst sort of coffeehouse poetry.

- San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) - Scott McKenzie: I would rather listen to the Rice-A-Roni jingle than this cotton-fluff ode to San Francisco's "beautiful people." Not only is it a bad song but it's also a little bossy. What exactly will happen if I choose to forgo the floral headgear? Will I face the wrath of an angry member of the Jefferson Airplane?

- Mellow Yellow - Donovan: Perhaps I'm more of a Sunshine Superman guy, but this take-it-easy anthem by England's "answer" to Bob Dylan is almost unlistenable. I understand that Big D is mad about saffron, but does he have to share?

Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.