Month: September 2023

The Faces are not as well as they really should be. The the original line up consisted of Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenny Jones who had all been in the Small Faces together. They were joined by Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood who had been together in the Jeff Beck Group. The band had a curious arrangement with Stewart as the singer had a solo deal in place and had released his first LP before The Faces had theirs. Titled ‘An Old Raincoat Won’t Ever Let You Down’, it featured both Wood and McLagan as part of the backing musicians. 

Stewart tried to keep the band material and his solo work separate, but in reality he did not do a very good job. Was this down to him trying to promote himself to the detriment of the band or was it down to his management. The best example of this is the track ‘(I Know) I’m Losing You’ from Stewart’s ‘Every Picture Tells A Story LP’. This song was recorded by The Faces and meant to be included on one of their albums. It ended up being on on of Stewart’s instead. The public perception of the band as Stewarts backing band also lead to some resentment from some members. This was not helped by the fact that when Stewart was booked to play his solo hit ‘Maggie May’ on the BBC’s legendary music show, Top of the Pops, The Faces were backing him up. 

The band managed to keep it together for three years, where their tours made them one of the top grossing acts of the time. When it came to recording ‘Ooh La La’, their fourth album, Stewart was showing signs of not being interested anymore. His solo career was really taking off by this stage and he missed the first two weeks of the recording sessions. There is also a notable absence of his lead vocals on the record. Ronnie Lane and Ronnie Wood take on this role on a number of songs including the title track. 

Stewart did not help the already tense atmosphere between members by being very critical of the album in the music press. This annoyed Ronnie Lane so much he decided to leave the band. His place was taken by Tetsu Yamauchi who had replaced Andy Fraser in Free. They continued to tour but the set list was beginning to feature more Stewart solo songs. The band were also being billed as Rod Stewart and The Faces. ‘Pool Hall Richard’, a non album single was released as well as a live album called ‘Coast to Coast: Overture & Beginners’. 

With these two releases, the band took a break from touring with Wood and Stewart both recording solo albums. These works would include Faces Ian McLagan and Kenny Jones as it was possible that the songs they were on were originally slated for the bands next album. As it was, none of them were but they did meet up again to record the ‘You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything’ single before trying to make another album. The sessions did yield some songs but with Lane gone, the songwriting duties feel mostly to Wood and Stewart who, as was mentioned before, kept the majority of their songs for their solo releases. The band officially broke up in November in 1975 but what if the record company had had a look in the archive and decided to release a fifth Faces album. What did they have to work with. 

Well, the album would start off with the single ‘You Can Make Me Dance’. We then have an outtake from the ‘First Step’ sessions with ‘Behind The Sun’. This is followed by a number of outtakes from either the ‘Ooh La La’; sessions as well as those tracks recorded for the proposed fifth LP. We finish with an outtake from the ‘Long Player’ sessions. I decided against including ‘As Long As You Tell Him’ on the album. This song was the B-Side to ‘You Can Make Me Dance’ and even though A-Sides had started popping on to LPs by the mid 70s, B-Sides still tended to stay on the single. 

SIde A

1. You Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything (Even Take The Dog For A Walk, Mend A Fuse, Fold Away The Ironing Board, Or Any Other Domestic Short Comings) – Single A-Side
2. Behind The Sun  – First Step Outtake
3. Getting Hungry – 5th Album Sessions 
4. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right – Ooh La La Outtake

Side B

1. Hi Heel Sneakers/Everybody Needs Somebody To Love – 5th Album Sessions
2. Come See Me Baby (The Cheater) – Ooh La La Outtake
3. Rock Me – 5th Album Sessions
4. Open To Ideas – 5th Album Sessions
5. Whole Lotta Woman – Long Player Outtake

It’s not a great album by any means, but none of The Faces LPs were. It does hold up surprisingly well though but I did have to do a bit of editing to take out some of the studio chatter at the start and end of some of the songs. The only one I was not able to do this for was on the rather curious cover of The Beach Boys ‘Gettin’ Hungry’ song. Stewart gives some studio direction half way through the song. I am sure that if this had been prepared for released, this would have been edited out. 

The cover is adapted from the compilation album ‘You Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything (Even Take The Dog For A Walk, Mend A Fuse, Fold Away The Ironing Board, Or Any Other Domestic Short Comings)’ which came out in 2015. 

In this age of deluxe editions on every conceivable anniversary, here is one that continues to be missed. On the 5th September, 1973, an album slipped out by a Los Angeles based duo called Buckingham Nicks. These were guitar player/singer Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks. The sessions players were not too shabby, with Waddy Wachel (sessions up to this point include the Everly Brothers, Bill Cowsill and Dory Pravin), Jeff Scheff (sessions up to this point include The Association, The Doors and Elvis Presleys’ TCB Band) and Jim Keltner (more sessions that most people have had hot dinners). The band were able to acquire a small but dedicated following in Birmingham, Alabama, but the record failed to make any waves anywhere else and the duo were were forced to find work outside of the music industry to pay the rent. 

That may well have been the end of the story until a year later when a certain Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac was checking out the Sound City studios for his bands next album. Ken Olsen, who had produced the ‘Buckingham Nicks’  decided to use the song ‘Frozen Love’ as a way of demonstrating the studios capabilities. Fleetwood was not only impressed by the sound of the album, he was mightily impressed but the guitar player on the tracks. Fleetwood Mac were in the market for a new guitar player and Fleetwood felt he had found his man. Buckingham was keen to join, but only on the condition that his musical partner Nicks (and then girlfriend) join as well. A bit of a bold move considering Fleetwood Mac were an established name and the ‘Buckingham Nicks’ had sunk without trace. Not wanting to lose this player, Fleetwood said that this could happen as long as the rest of the band agreed to it. The group met with Nicks, who turned up to the meeting in her waitress uniform having come straight from work. The parties got along and Buckingham Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac. Within two years, they had released ‘Rumours’ and the rest is history. 

So who did two members of one of the biggest selling groups in the world have such an obscure record in their back catalogue? There doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer to this. Some of the songs from this album were re-recorded by Fleetwood Mac. ‘Crystal’ appeared 1975’s ‘Fleetwood Mac’, and ‘Don’t Let Me Down Again’ featured on 1980’s ‘Live’ LP. ‘Frozen Love’ was also performed on the tour but did not make the LP. ‘Long Distance Winner’ appeared on Stevie Nicks’ ‘Enchanted’ box set where as ‘Stephanie’ appeared on Buckingham’s ‘Word & Music (A Retrospective)’ promo CD. Both artists have also performed the odd song from this record in their solo shows since the turn of the century. Another song from the period (‘Without You’) was released on Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Extended Play’ EP in 2013.

But what about the album itself. There was talk in 2006 of a Buckingham Nicks tour to support a potential re-release of the album. Neither of these happened. Lindsey Buckingham has said that ‘it was a victim of inertia’. There was talk of a 40th anniversary edition being released back in 2013, but in the end, nothing happened. The record has been bootlegged a number of times, with one even claiming to have been taken form the original master tapes. There is a version that contains demos and studio cuts otherwise unavailable. Some live material from 1975 has also become available down the years but still, a re-release is nowhere to be seen. It might be that we never seen a re-release of the record. Buckingham and Nicks have had a less than harmonious relationship since their romantic partnership broke up during the making of the ‘Rumours’ LP. Even though there has been a thawing of relations down the years, but with Buckingham having been fired from Fleetwood Mac in 2018 (supposedly after an ultimatum from Nicks that either he goes or she goes), it would seem that relations are once again at a low. 

I decided therefore to create my own Deluxe Edition of the album with what is available. Disc 1 is the ten track album with two additional tracks. These are single mixes of ‘Crying In The Night’ (which differs from the album version, especially in the intro where there is more electric guitar) and ‘Don’t Let Me Down Again’ (which is a mono mix).  There were another couple of single releases from the record but I have not been able to find out if there any differences between them and the album mixes. 

Disc 2 is a mix of demos and live tracks. It starts off with ‘See The World Go By’, which might be a solo Nick performance and seems to come from the time between Buckingham Nicks and Fritz,  the band the duo were in from 1968-71. The next nine songs are from a bootleg called ‘The Coffee Plant Demos’. None of these songs appear on the ‘Buckingham Nicks’ LP (even though ‘Sorcerer’ was eventually recorded by Nicks in 2001) and were recorded on a tape machine in the coffee roasting plant Buckingham’s father owned. I almost didn’t include ‘After The Glitter Fades’ because it dates from around the time she joined Fleetwood Mac, but it did not appear on any of the bands records so it found a home here. Nicks would eventually record it for her 1981 LP ‘Bella Donna’. This disc finishes with a number of live recordings. The first six come from a recording made on 28th January 1975 whilst the duo were recording their first Fleetwood Mac album. As has been noted earlier, Buckingham Nicks had had a good following in Birmingham, Alabama and this is where they played their final and best attended shows. The next three are also live recordings but I have not been able to find out where they were recorded. 

Disc 3 is their gig from the Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa on 29th January 1975. The sound on these recordings is a little rough and there are some not too professional cuts, but as an archival release, this is is fascinating especially when you hear Nicks say she has never seen this many people. They also used these shows to preview some material that was about to appear on the forthcoming Fleetwood Mac album in ‘Monday Morning’ and ‘Rhiannon’. The ‘Guitar Instrumental’ track on this disc also has passages that sound as though they were later used by Buckingham in his song ‘Never Going Back’. 

So there is my take on a ‘Buckingham Nicks’ Deluxe Edition. It isn’t perfect but it most probably the best that could be put together with the material available. Maybe we’ll see the album gets it long awaited deluxe edition treatment for its 60th Anniversary. 

Disc 1

1. Crying In The Night
2. Stephanie
3. Without A Leg To Stand On
4. Crystal
5. Long Distance Winner
6. Don’t Let Me Down Again
7. Django
8. Races Are Run
9. Lola (My Love)
10. Frozen Love
11. Crying In The Night (Single Version)
12. Don’t Let Me Down Again (Mono Single Mix)

Disc 2

1. See The World Go By (Demo)
2. Without You (Demo)
3. Candle Bright – Nomad (Demo)
4. That’s Alright (Demo)
5. Garbo (Demo)
6. Sorcerer (Demo)
7. Goldfish & The Ladybug (Demo)
8. Going Home (Demo)
9. Yesterday I Saw The World (Demo)
10. After The Glitter Fades (Demo)
11. Farewell Failure (Live – Alabama State Fairgrounds, Birmingham, AL, 28/1/1975)
12. Sorcerer (Live – Alabama State Fairgrounds, Birmingham, AL, 28/1/1975)
13. You Won’t Forget Me (Live – Alabama State Fairgrounds, Birmingham, AL, 28/1/1975)
14. Blue Letter (Live – Alabama State Fairgrounds, Birmingham, AL, 28/1/1975)
15. Rhiannon (Live – Alabama State Fairgrounds, Birmingham, AL, 28/1/1975)
16. Guitar Instrumental (Live – Alabama State Fairgrounds, Birmingham, AL, 28/1/1975)
17. Lola (My Love) (Live)
18. Races Are Run (Live)
19. Rhiannon (Live)

Disc 3

1. Lola (My Love) (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
2. Monday Morning (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
3. I Don’t Want To Know (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
4. Guitar Instrumental (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
5. Races Are Run (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
6. Rhiannon (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
7. Long Distant Winner (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
8. Django/Sorcerer (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
9. You Wont Forget Me (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
10. Blue Letter (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
11. Heartbreaker (Circles In Times) (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
12. Don’t Let Me Down Again (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
13. Frozen Love (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)
14. Crystal (Morgan Auditorium, Tuscaloosa, AL, 9/1/1975)

As this has been a year celebrating psychedelic music (and with a new album due this month), I thought it was time to turn my attention to Sun Dial. They are a a truly underground band and have spent the last 30 years steadily releasing new records as well as a significant amount of archival releases. They even had their own imprint on Cherry Red Records for a short period of time. Not bad for a band that have never really hit the mainstream but have maintained a dedicated fan base since their first release in 1990. That first release was ‘Other Way Out’, one of the few truly awesome psychedelic albums not produced in the 1960s. The band itself has had a revolving line up since it was first formed in the late 1980s out of the ashes of another band, The Modern Art. Modern Art released numerous records but never played live. Guitar player/singer, Gary Ramon decided to disband the Modern Art and form Sun Dial for the purpose of going out on the road. He has been the only ever present in the band, even though he has been joined by members of The Modern Art in the various incarnations of Sun Dial since.

Other Way Out (Alternative)

‘Other Way Out’ was their first release and came out in 1990 on their own Tangerine label. Some came with a lyric sheet including some that were signed by Ramon. I had never heard of the band because I was a little young in 1990 to be reading the independent music press, and would not have had a chance to see them play live in 1991. I only came cross them by accident having found their first album in The Record Shop in Kingston Upon Thames, an oasis for vinyl hunters in the early to mid 90s when most other record shops had stopped selling that format. One of the staff had written a note which was attached to the record saying that it was a cross between Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd and the Jefferson Airplane. I did not know much about Jefferson Airplane at the time, but Sad Barrett was a different matter. I bought the album and was not disappointed. I was blown away by how authentic it sounded and it was heavy rotation for a number of months, much to the annoyance of everyone else around me. This being 1994, listening to Psych music was not exactly the hip thing to do. 

The album has seen a number of reissues down the years including a 25th Anniversary Edition in 2015 on Record Store Day. What has also trickled out down the years on very limited edition releases are outtakes from the sessions that produced this record. What I have done it is to take different versions of these songs to compile an alternative version of the record. It is not as good as the official release, but it is always nice to have an idea of what it could have sounded like. 

Side A

1. Plains Of Nazca (First Take)  
2. Exploding In Your mind (Anthology Edition)
3. Magic Flight (Early Mix)

Side B

1. World Without Time (Early Mix)
2. She’s Looking All Around (Take 2)
3. Lorne Blues (Take 1)

The cover is the same as the original, but the image had been turned into a negative. 

Sun Dial – Other Way In (Alternative)

As was noted previously, Sun Dial have been rather good at their archive releases, especially from their early period. Their first album, ’Other Way Out’ has had numerous reissues but there have also been a number of records release that contain outtakes from those sessions. One of the first was a vinyl release called ‘Other Way In’ from 2005. There was also a deluxe edition of the album from 2010 as well as a mind bending 13 disc box set from the same year featuring a bewildering amount of outtakes, alternative versions, rehearsals and live songs. 

What was surprising to me was the amount of material that was recorded during the first two years of their existence that never saw the light of day on any future album. Granted, some of these songs never progressed passed the demo stage but that did not mean they could not have been dusted down and rerecorded. What I present here is at least one version of the songs recorded for ‘Other Way Out’ that stayed in the vault at the time. I have also tried not to use material that would have been used for ‘Return Journey’, their abandoned second album. 

Side A

1. Astral Vision (Third Eye Studios Take 3)
2. Carousel (CR Studios Demo 1)
3. I Can See What You Are
4. Samantha’s Scene (CR Studios Demo)

Side B

1. You’re So Real (Take 3)
2. Poster Painted Skies (Original Version)
3. Atom Heart Lover
4. Silver Dust

Side C

1. Other Side
2. Fountain
3. Through You
4. Phaser Song
5. Dark Into Light (Demo Version)

Side D

1. Cathedral (CR Studios Demo)
2. Visitation (Long Version)

Single Sided 7”

1. Visitation (Single Edit)

The cover is the same as the one used for the release of ‘Other Way In’ used back in 2005, but recoloured purple.

Sun Dial – Live At The Playground 1991

All of these songs appeared on the 2010 box set ‘Exploding In Your Mind’. Weirdly, the band released another 13 disc box set that year which contained nothing but live concerts in full. Why they felt they needed to release these separately is a bit bizarre but it did mean I could make a combined double LP version which could have been released in 1991, even though it does sound a bit ropey in places. An archival release for sure. 

Side A

1. Mind Train*
2. Magic Potion (Live Version 2)**

Side B

1. Exploding In Your Mind**
2. It’s All Too Much*
3. Oh Yeah/Jean Genie Jam**

Side C

1. Plains of Nazca**
2. Other Side**
3. Never Fade (Take 2)*
4. Jam/Cold Turkey*

Side D

1. Fireball**
2. Slow Motion*
3. Only A Northern Song**

*April performance

**May performance  

The cover is adapted from one used for a reissue of ‘Other Way Out’ with the band name and title changed so that the fonts match. 

I have no idea where The Playground venue is or was. Any ideas internet?