Various Artists – The Psychedelic Years Vol.9

It’s the ninth month so it means that it must be time for another Psych compilation. As per usual, there are a number of famous artists including Fairport Convention (who were the British answer to The Jefferson Airplane at this point and not the folk rock band they would become) The Hollies, The Yardbirds and The Spencer Davis Group (even though by the time these tracks were recorded, Steve Winwood had left The Spencer Davis Group and they were not as successful after his departure). There are some artists who would become more famous later on including Graham Gouldman (he’d already written hits such as Bus Stop and For Your Love but he would find success as an artist in this own right as a member of 10cc) and Robert Palmer (then with The Alan Bown! but would find greater success with Vinegar Joe and as a solo artist). There is also a considerable number of artists who have only found success on compilations released many years after the event.

  1. Toyland (Single Version) – The Spencer Davis Group
  2. Mr. Sun – Tony Rivers & The Casterways
  3. Difference Of Opinion – The Monatanas
  4. Magic In The Air – The Attack
  5. Dawn Breaks Down – The Barrier
  6. Soft Winds – Orange Bicycle
  7. Birthday – Peter & The Wolves
  8. Girl Of Independent Means – Honeybus
  9. Skizoid Revolution – Skip Bifferty
  10. I Get So Excited – Real McCoy
  11. A Day In My Mind’s Mind – Human Instinct
  12. Dear Eloise (Mono Single Version) – The Hollies
  13. Upstairs Downstairs – Graham Gouldman
  14. Come On Down To My Boat – Motivation
  15. Keep It Out Of Sight – Paul & Barry Ryan
  16. Pantomime – Tony Rivers & The Catserways
  17. The World Goes On Around You – The Mirage
  18. Mrs Gillespie’s Refrigerator – Sands
  19. Mr Second Class – The Spencer David Group
  20. Rosemary’s Bluebell Day – The Piccadilly Line
  21. Venetian Glass – Infinity
  22. Lavender Popcorn – Scrugg
  23. Gone Is The Sad Man – The Timebox
  24. Just Another Day – Neon Pearl
  25. Soldier – Lace
  26. Moon Beams – The Magical Mixture
  27. Music Soothes The Savage Beast – The Spectrum

Disc 2

  1. Farewell (Mono) – The Yardbirds
  2. Let’s Take A Trip Down The Rhine – Apple
  3. Hide If You Want To Hide – The Cedars
  4. You’ve Got To Hold On – The Deviants
  5. In Your Tower – The Poets
  6. Find The Hidden Door – The Misunderstood
  7. Deflected Grey (Extended Version) – The Pretty Things
  8. Little Girl Lost & Found – Peter & The Wolves
  9. Hyacinth Threads – Orange Bicycle 
  10. Mr. Pinnodmy’s Dilemma – The Attack
  11. Bluebell Wood – Wimple Witch
  12. I Will Not Be Moved – Circle Plantagenet 
  13. Penny For Your Thoughts – The Alan Bown!
  14. Snow White – Winston’s Fumbs
  15. Eiderdown Clown – The Scots Of St. James
  16. It’s All Over Now – Martin Cure & The Peeps
  17. Odd Man Out – The Hi-Fi’s
  18. Crossroads Of Time – Eyes Of Blues
  19. Old Songs For New Songs (Variation On A Theme Of The Breeze) – Family
  20. The Lobster – Fairport Convention
  21. I Am Nearly There – Second Hand (With Dennis Couldry)
  22. Look At Me – The Nocturnes
  23. Armageddon – The Cape Kennedy Construction Company
  24. Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire – Cledonaires

Following Bradshaw’s Descriptive Railway Handbook (1861 Edition) – The Hounslow Loop Line

Bradshaw’s was one of the earliest modern guide books and the earliest editions dealt with railway timetables but by the early 1860’s, information about what was in the area had started to appear. So, armed with my 1861 reproduction of the guide, we are going to be following the Hounslow Loop line to see what was mentioned in Bradshaw’s at each stop and how much of it, if anything remains.

The Faces – Rock Me

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. 

Buckingham Nicks – Buckingham Nicks (Deluxe Edition)

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)

Sun Dial – The Early Years

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. This lead 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 the later band.

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 form 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 in my previous post, 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? 1.

Various Artists – The Psychedelic Years Vol.8

With Volume 8 in this series, there are, as always, a number of well known artists (The Who, Spencer Davis Group, The Rolling Stones), people who went onto be more famous in other groups (The Remo Four included two members who would go on to be in Ashton, Gardner & Dyke) and those who only found belated fame on psych compilations released many years after the event. I used a few more Mono mixes in here including ‘King Midas In Reverse’ which for my money sounds so much better with that mix than in stereo. All that phrasing spoils the song for me. 

Disc 1

  1. Atmospheres – Wimple Witch
  2. I’ll Be Late For Tea – Blossom Toes
  3. All So Long Ago – The Sweet Feeling
  4. Second Production – Mike Stuart Span
  5. Never Care – Eyes Of Blue
  6. Tread Softly For The Sleeper – The Hi-Fis
  7. In The Deep End – The Artwoods
  8. Sycamore Sid – Focal Point
  9. Am I Glad To See You – The In Crowd
  10. Something To Write About – Circus
  11. I Can See For Miles (Mono) – The Who
  12. Day & Night – The Drag Set
  13. ‘Cos It’s Over – The Summer Set
  14. We Love You (Single Version) – The Rolling Stones
  15. In the First Place (Original Abbey Road Mix) – The Remo Four
  16. Nobody Know Where You’ve Been – The State Of Mickey & Tommy
  17. Nightmare – The Gass Company
  18. She – Tuesday’s Children
  19. She Was Perfection – Murray Head
  20. Sanity Inspector (Single Mix) – The Spencer Davis Group
  21. Time & Motion Man – Episode Six 
  22. Cheadle Health Delusions – Felius Andromeda
  23. Lullaby – Grapefruit
  24. Busker Bull – The Truth
  25. Magician – The Amazing Friendly Apple

Disc 2

  1. Loneliest Person – The Pretty Things
  2. Armenia City In The Sky (Mono) – The Who
  3. In Another Land (Single Version) – The Rolling Stones
  4. Through My Eyes – The Creation
  5. Again – the Symbols
  6. Girl I’m Wondering – The Blackbirds
  7. For Your Information – The Cedars
  8. King Midas In Reverse (Mono) – The Hollies
  9. It – The Excelsior Spring
  10. My Kingdom Cannot Lose – Still Life
  11. Lovely People – The Fairytale
  12. Red Sky At Night – The Accent
  13. Mr. Partridge Passed Away Today – Fortes Mentum
  14. Do You Dream? – Circus
  15. Neville Thumbcatch – The Attack
  16. Trot – Turnstyle
  17. So Many Times – Ice
  18. Running In The Water – The Kytes
  19. Is It Love? – Jon
  20. Amanda Jane – West Coast Consortium
  21. Winter Afternoon – The Flies
  22. Ebaneezer Beaver – The Mirage
  23. Reflections Of Charles Brown – Rupert’s People
  24. 10,000 Years Behind My Mind – Focus Three
  25. Teargarden Lane – Jason Crest
  26. Genuine Imitation Of Life – Jackie Lomax
  27. Goodbye – Rainbow Folly

Various Artists – Songs From A Distant Earth

Something a little bit different here and a compilation I put together that is named after a book by Arthur C Clark (with an extra ‘A’ added, because it sounded better to me that way). The book actually has nothing to do with music, but I always liked the title and fancied making a chill out playlist that would share the title. This was inspired by a CD an old flat of mine had. The Ministry of Sound and their ‘The Chill Out Sessions 2” which came out in 2001. I have not been one for these mix CDs as normally I like to hear the songs start and finish without another song coming in over the top. Well, this changed with this compilation. 

I have taken some of the mixes that were made for the ‘Chill Out Session’ CD and made my own by adding songs of a similar nature to the playlist. Not only did I take some songs from there, but from a few other Chill Out CDs I had in the collection. These included number of tunes from the ‘Late Night Session’ series. Anyway, it is time to sit back, relax and float downstream. That could make a good lyric for someone. 

Disc 1

  1. Music For The Funeral Of Queen Mary – Wendy Carlos
  2. Here With Me – Dido
  3. Since I Left You – The Avalanches
  4. Daydream In Blue – I Monster
  5. Bentley’s Gonna Sort You Out – Bentley Rhythm Ace
  6. Giving Up – Hairy Diamond
  7. Worth It – Skinny
  8. So Easy – Röyksopp
  9. Drifting Away – Faithless
  10. Erase/Rewind – The Cardigans
  11. Kelly Watch The Stars – Air
  12. My Friend – Groove Armada
  13. Sweet Harmony – The Beloved
  14. American Dream – Jakarta
  15. Slip Into Something More Comfortable – Kninobe
  16. Give It Away – Zero 7
  17. Because (Vocal Only Mix) – The Beatles
  18. Utopia (Genetically Enriched) – Goldfrapp
  19. Fear & Love – Morcheeba
  20. Les Fleur – 4Hero

Disc 2

  1. Another Green World – Eno
  2. Connjur – School In Seven Bells
  3. Woman – Karen O
  4. I Won’t Hurt You – Anja Garbarek
  5. La Fille De La Ligne 15 – The Limiñanas
  6. Eple – Röyksopp
  7. Keep Asking – Vangelia
  8. Love Song – Olivia Newton-John
  9. Orleans – David Crosby
  10. Everloving – Moby
  11. Breathe – Open Door
  12. At The River (Q Magazine Edit) – Groove Armada
  13. Game Love – Gulp
  14. Some Men – Darkel
  15. 4:33 – Nils Frahm
  16. Missing Photos – Last Days
  17. Pyramid Song – Radiohead
  18. In The Waiting Line – Zero 7
  19. Should I Stay – Gabrielle
  20. Passing Through – Rare Bird
  21. Invisible – Grouper
  22. Shine – Slowdrive
  23. Wind Drive (Alternate Tag Section) – The Beach Boys

The cover is taken from the Twitter account, Images That Could Be Album Covers (@ImagesAlbum).

Crowded House – The Collection

I had heard of Crowded House when their song and debut UK hit, ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ came out in 1986. This was in a period when I didn’t buy much music and so I must have heard it on the radio or one of the few TV Chart Shows we had in the UK at the time. I liked the song but not enough to buy it. Roll on five years to 1991 when I heard the song ‘Fall At Your Feet’. At the time, this sort of well crafted melodic pop song was not the sort of thing I was listening to. Guitar gods such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Peter Green were pretty much all that was being played around this period. I took a punt and popped along to Music Inn in Ashford (Middx), another of the great lost record shops of my youth and duly picked up a copy of the parent LP. 

Putting the vinyl on the deck, I was almost put off playing anymore by the albums opening song, Chocolate Cake. I really didn’t understand what this song was going on about, and how was Tammy Bakker they kept going on about? Turns out she was married to disgraced TV evangelist Jim Bakker but as this was before the days of widespread internet, I only found this out later. It was also the albums lead single which ended up pretty much losing the band its American fan base. Crowded House had been a lot more successful Stateside than the UK with their first two albums but ‘Woodface’ would change all of this. The rest of the alum was stunning, with a set of beautiful songs that lasted stayed in the memory. This album was also quite long for an LP clocking in at over 47 minutes. Not a minute wasted either (apart from Chocolate Cake, and in time Weather With You, a song I grew tired of quite quickly). 

What I didn’t realise at the time is that this album should not have sounded like this. Neil Finn, the band’s main songwriting had delivered an album that the record company had refused to release. Neil had been working on material with his brother Tim for an album that they would release under the moniker of the Finn Brothers. Neil asked Tim if he could use some of this material for the next  Crowded House album, with Tim saying yes as long as he could become a member of the band. The Finn brothers had already been in the band Split Enz. Tim later said he was joking, but Neil took him at his word and Tim became a member, if only for a short time. I actually had a go at recreating this lost LPs back in January of 2022 (https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/crowded-house-tim-finn-1989-1991/).

In time, I would buy the two proceedings album, ‘Crowded House’ and ‘Temple of Low Men’. Neither of these would have the impact on me that ‘Woodface’ did and they did not get a lot of airtime. I missed out on the release of their forth album, ‘Together Alone’ as I feel it just passed me by. 1993 was the beginnings of the Britpop era and that was taking all of my attention. What swung me around to possibly my favourite album by them was the fact that during my University days, I ended up working in an Off License that had a CD player in it. One day a copy of ‘Together Alone’ appeared and from then on I was hooked. A bit different from the albums that preceded it but still full of beautiful songs with well crafted melodies and neat hooks. The band unfortunately split up in 1996 and even though they have reformed and released a number of albums since, none of these have graced my record collection. I’m not sure why. It must just be down to the fact that I am not a great fan of bands that reform and release new music. The Small Faces and Smashing Pumpkins being other examples. The spark they once had is no longer there.

My one regret is that I did not get to see the band live during their first incarnation, especially when Tim Finn was in the line up. Live music also passed me by at that point. I either spend the money on records or going to the gig. I pretty much exclusively spent my money on the records. 

Disc 1

  1. World Where You Live
  2. Love You ‘Till The Day I Die
  3. Something So Strong
  4. Hole In The River
  5. Now We’re Getting Somewhere
  6. Don’t Dream It’s Over
  7. Tombstone
  8. Can’t Carry On
  9. Sister Madly
  10. When You Come
  11. Fame Is
  12. There Goes God
  13. Four Seasons In One Day
  14. Tall Trees
  15. Its Only Natural
  16. Fall Out Your Feet
  17. Whispers & Moans
  18. As Sure As I Am
  19. She Goes On
  20. Into Temptation
  21. All I Ask
  22. How Will You Go
  23. Better Be Home Soon

On my mix of ‘How Will You Go’, the hidden song of ‘I’m Still Here’ was edited out. Unfortunately, Spotify does not give me the option to do this. It does make the end of this playlist a little disjointed.  

Disc 2

  1. Kare Kare
  2. In My Command
  3. Nails in My Feet
  4. Black & White Boy
  5. Scared Cow
  6. Instinct
  7. I Love You Dawn
  8. Fingers Of Love
  9. Pineapple Head
  10. Skin Feeling
  11. Locked Out
  12. Catherine Wheels
  13. Walking On The Spot
  14. Time Immortal
  15. Distant Sun
  16. Help Is Coming
  17. Not the Girl You Think You Are
  18. Private Universe
  19. Together Alone

As far as I can tell, nearly all of the bands LP artwork was produced by the bands bass player, Nick Seymour. Art, like music is subjective and I am not great fan of what he has produced down the years. So I took a shot of the band when Tim Finn was a member and tried to emulate the minimalist approach record companies took in the mid 90s when it came to sleeves as the artwork needed to fit into a CD and/pr cassette box and this is what I came up with.

Elton John – Regimental Sgt. Zippo (Deluxe Edition)

It was thought that the early years of Elton John’s career were well know. Born Reginald Dwight in 1947, he showed aptitude for the piano by being able to play back classical pieces after only hearing them once. He gained a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music but quit before taking his final exams. By 1962, he had formed the Bluesology and backed musicians such as The Isley Brothers and Long John Baldry. The band released three singles before disbanding. Dwight, taking the John from Long John Baldry and Elton from bandmate Elton Dean, created the stage name he would be known as from now on. 

Now know as Elton John, he answered an advert in the New Musical Express placed by Ray Williams,  the A&R man at Liberty Records, looking for talent in the shape of artists, composers, singers and musicians. John was happy in his ability to write melodies and tunes, but was not happy with his lyric writing. Explaining this to Williams, John was handed a bunch of lyrics that had been sent to Liberty by someone else who had seen the advert, a chap called Bernie Taupin. They started off collaborating by post before meeting in late 1967 when Taupin moved to London. 

Through Williams, John was put back in touch with his old Bluesology band mate, Caleb Quayle who was the studio manager of Dick James Music on New Oxford Street. Quayle snuck John into the studio after hours to record demos until they were rumbled. Quayle was able to pursued his boss, Dick James (who had set up Northern Songs to administer the publishing of The Beatles music) that John was a talent that would be of benefit to the company. James listened to the songs and agreed, signing John and Taupin to a publishing and management contract. The first fruits of this contract was the single, ‘I’ve Been Loving You’ which came out in March of 1968 and is listed as being written by John and Bernie Taupin, but was a actually written by John alone. John had given Taupin the co-credit so that his collaborator might have a bit of bit of extra income from the royalties.. The single was not a chart smash, but undaunted, John continued to record and write. They placed songs with Roger Cook and a Eurovision entry for Lulu, which came last out of the 1969 UK entries. John released two more singles in 1969 as well as his debut album, ‘Empty Sky’. It was with his 1970 single, ‘Your Song’ that John scored his first major hit and the rest the say is history. 

However, this turns out not to be the complete story. In 2020, John released a rather fine box set called ‘Jewel Box’. Containing deep cuts and B-sides, it also contained a number of demo recordings from 1965 -1975. This was a treasure trove of songs showing how the songwriting team of John and Taupin developed. The sleeve notes also mentioned an unreleased album called ‘Regimental Sgt. Zippo’. A track listing was included and even though some of the ones had been released before on bootlegs, no one realised that they were meant for an otherwise unreleased LP. One song had been given a legitimate release on a very rare Portuguese EP version of the ‘Thank You For All Your Loving’ single called‘Angle Tree’. 

‘Jewel Box’ contained demos for most of the songs but what was a bigger surprise was that the album existed in a fully realised form. A mono edition was given a limited release as part of Record Store Day in 2021, and then a stereo version came out the following year. Why this album didn’t come out is anyone’s guess. No one really seems to know but it could’t have been that the title track was just a little too similar in name to the behemoth that was ‘Sgt Pepper’ that had come out the year before. It could have been that those involved just felt it wasn’t commercial enough with the record company were struggling to find a single out of the songs that had been recorded. What is nice is that it came out at all, if belatedly. 

But what if the record had come out in 1968? Well, it could have ended up like his true debut, ‘Empty Sky’ as a forgotten part of his career, only really known to his most committed of fans. If it had been released, what would a deluxe edition of this record would have looked like? To answer this, I have taken more traditional route for deluxe edition of records by making this CD based. All songs were originally recorded between 1967 and 1968. Any song recorded later has not been included as these should go in an ‘Empty Sky’ set. A demo of ‘Skyline Pigeon’ was recorded in 1968 but i have not included this also due to a full band recordings appearance on the aforementioned ‘Empty Sky’ LP. 

Disc 1

This would include the stereo mix of the album. It also includes his first single release (which came out in 1968). 

  1. When I Saw Teaby Abbey
  2. And The Clock Goes Round
  3. Sitting Doing Nothing
  4. Turn To Me
  5. Angel Tree
  6. A Dandelion Dies In The Wind
  7. Reginmental Sgt. Zippo
  8. You’ll Be Sorry To See Me Go
  9. Nina
  10. Tartan Coloured Lady
  11. Hourglass
  12. Watching The Planes Go By
  13. I’ve Been Loving You (Single A-Side)
  14. Here’s To The Next Time (Single B-Side)

Disc 2

This includes the mono mix of the album, along with any demos of these songs. ‘Nina’ sounds like the album version but is 10 seconds shorter than both the mono and stereo mix so has been included for completeness. This disc also includes John’s first demos recorded after he had been introduced to the lyrics of Bernie Taupin, some of which were recorded before the two men had even met. 

  1. When I Saw Teaby Abbey
  2. And The Clock Goes Round
  3. Sitting Doing Nothing
  4. Turn To Me
  5. Angel Tree
  6. A Dandelion Dies In The Wind
  7. Reginmental Sgt. Zippo
  8. You’ll Be Sorry To See Me Go
  9. Nina
  10. Tartan Coloured Lady
  11. Hourglass
  12. Watching The Planes Go By
  13. When I Saw Tealby Abbey (Piano Demo)
  14. And The Clock Goes Round (Piano Demo)
  15. Angel Tree (Piano/Guitar/Tambourine Demo)
  16. A Dandelion Dies In The Wind (Piano Demo)
  17. Nina (Band Version)
  18. Scarecrow (Piano/Tambourine Demo)
  19. Velvet Fountain (Piano Demo)
  20. A Little Love Goes A Long Way (Piano Demo)
  21. If You Could See Me Now (Piano Demo)
  22. Mr. Lightning Strikerman (Piano Demo)

Disc 3

A collection of period demos, including ‘Here’s To The Next Time’ which was the B-Side of his debut solo single.

  1. Countryside Love Affair (Piano Demo)
  2. I Could Never Fall In Love With Anybody Else (Piano Demo)
  3. I Get A Little Bit Lonely (Piano Demo)
  4. The Witch’s House (Piano Demo)
  5. Year Of The Teddy Bear (Piano Demo)
  6. Where It’s At (Piano/Percussion Demo)
  7. Who’s Gonna Love You (Piano/Percussion Demo)
  8. Get Out Of This Town (Piano/Tambourine Demo)
  9. Here’s To The Next Time (Piano/Tambourine Demo)
  10. Thank You For Your Loving (Band Demo)
  11. Where The First Tear Shows (Band Demo)
  12. 71-75 New Oxford Street (Band Demo)
  13. Reminds Me Of You (Piano Demo)
  14. I Can’t Go On Living Without You (BAnd Demo)
  15. I’ll Stop Living When You Stop Loving Me (Piano Demo)
  16. Trying To Hold On To A Love That’s Dying (Piano Demo)
  17. Cry Willow Cry (Band Demo)
  18. There Is Still A Little Love (Band Demo)
  19. If I Asked You (Band Demo)
  20. Two Of A Kind (Band Demo)
  21. The Girl On Angle Pavement (Band Demo)
  22. Smokestack Children (Band Demo)
  23. Baby I Miss You (Band Demo)
  24. Bonnie’s Gone Away (Piano/Guitar Demo)
  25. Just An Ordinary Man (Piano Demo)
  26. There’s Still Time For Me (Piano/Guitar/Tambourine Demo)
  27. The Tide Will Turn For Rebecca (Piano Demo)

The sleeve is the same as the one used for the 2021 release but with the deluxe edition banner added. 

Disc 2 could not be reproduced on Spotify

Various Artists – The Psychedelic Years Vol.7

To round out the month, here is Volume 7 of my Psych Years playlists. Unlike previous efforts, this one did not use any of the compilations I have purchased down the years as a base but it does focus on the latter years of the scene. The Rolling Stones, Arthur Brown, Family, Eric Burdon, Al Stewart and early Fairport Convention (where they were a Jefferson Airplane type band instead of the folk behemoth they became) could well be the most famous names here but there are a number of acts where members went on to be more famous elsewhere. These include The Idle Race (Jeff Lynne of ELO), Simon Dupree & The Big Sound (Gentle Giant), The Gods (Greg Lake of ELP & King Crimson) and One In A Million (Jimmy McCulloch (Wings and The Small Faces).  

Disc 1

  1. The River – Octopus
  2. Too Much On My Mind – The Gates Of Eden
  3. A Strange Light From the East – Tuesday’s Children
  4. Shades Of Orange – The End
  5. Double Sight – One In A Million
  6. Riding A Wave – Turnstyle
  7. Evil Woman – Guy Darrell
  8. I Can See The Sky – Fire
  9. Everyday Is Just The Same – The Moan
  10. I Read You Like An Open Book – The Tages
  11. Good Job With Prospects – Actress
  12. Follow Me – The Fruit Machine
  13. Daydream Girl (Album Version) – Billy Nicholls
  14. Two Little Ladies – The Crocheted Doughnut Ring
  15. Sage Of Wrinkled Man – Fortes Mentum
  16. Never Had Girl Like You Before – The Misunderstood
  17. In The Valley of The Shadow Of Lone – Tuesday’s Children
  18. Love – Virgin Sleep
  19. Dear Delilah – Grapefruit
  20. All The Love In The World – Consortium
  21. Where Dragons Guard The Doors – Mortimer
  22. Turn Into Earth – Al Stewart
  23. I Am Nearly There – Denis Couldry & The Next Collection
  24. The First Step On The Moon – The Cape Kennedy Construction Company
  25. Felix – Andwella’s Dream
  26. Daytime Girl (Coda) – Billy Nicholls

Disc 2

  1. Haunted – Peter Thorogood
  2. (Who Planted Thorns In) Miss Alice’s Garden – The Explosive
  3. Gratefully Dead – Eric Burdon & The Animals
  4. Hot Smoke & Sassafras – The Mooche
  5. On Love – Skip Bifferty
  6. Knocking Nails In My House – The Idle Race
  7. Crazy Dreams – The Searchers
  8. Ballad Of Harvey Kaye – East Of Eden
  9. The Way (Single Version) – July
  10. Mellowing Grey – Family
  11. Peter’s Birthday (Black & White Rainbows) – World Of Oz
  12. Devil’s Grip – The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
  13. Sun Shade – Fairport Convention
  14. Linda Love Linda – The Floribunda
  15. Me – Aquarian Age
  16. Theodore – The Silver Eagle
  17. Life Is Just Beginning – The Creation
  18. A Fairy Tale (Alt. Mix) – Second Hand
  19. Too Much In Love – Churchills
  20. I Lied To Auntie May – The Neat Change
  21. Rainchild – Octopus
  22. 14 Hour Technicolour Dream – The Syn
  23. Castle In The Sky – Simon Dupree & The Big Sound
  24. Orignal Sin – Blinker
  25. Plastic Horizon – The Gods
  26. On With The Show – The Rolling Stones