Category: Lost Album

I loaded up YouTube a little while back for my daily dose of new content by one of the creators I subscribe to and found that the algorithm had decided that I liked The Beatles. This is true, but this was something a bit different. The video was called “ABANDONED: This Beatles Jam Was Almost A Masterpiece Pt.1” on a channel called ‘almost beatle songs’. What I got when I clicked on it was some video of the band from the 1969 ‘Get Back’ sessions playing an unreleased/unfinished song called “Watching Rainbows”. The narrator talked about the similarities between it another Beatles song called ‘I’ve Got A Feeling”. The lyric watching rainbows had also been used in a Bee Gees song called ‘Morning Of My Life” which had been recorded in 1968 by Mary Hopkin, who was signed to The Beatles record label, Apple. The video teased that the song could have been a masterpiece if the band had worked on it a bit more and finished it off. Well, the people who produced the video decided to do just that. 

How do you finish off a Beatles song from over 50 years earlier? Well, this story goes back early 1969 when The Beatles met up at Twickenham Film Studio to rehearse material for a potential live concert. It was decided that they would only play new material. Having only just finished the sessions to ‘The Beatles (White Album)’ just over two months previously, there was a dearth of new material. It had also been decided that a film crew would be on hand to record the rehearsals as part of a TV documentary, culminating in the aforementioned live concert. The soundtrack of the film was recorded on two mono Nagra tape recorders. At some point in the 1970’s, these tapes were stolen from The Beatles archive and become a source of numerous bootlegs throughout the years. It was also a treasure trove for Beatles archeologists to hear the band working on new material, some of which never went further than a one off play through. 

So taking these unfinished tracks, using different parts from different takes and in some cases, slicing in some other unreleased material from the sessions, the people behind the channel recorded a more realised take of the song than The Beatles every did. Whilst the video of the song played, dates would appear on the screen showing which date that particular section was taken from. Over the next year, they would release a number of other songs that they had interpreted and it is a selection of these that I present today. 

Side 1

1. How Do You Tell Someone?
2. Rambling Woman
3. I Lost My Little Girl
4. Suicide
5. There You Are, Eddie
6. Watching Rainbows (Melody Version)
7. Taking A Trip To Carolina

Side 2

1. Madman
2. Pillow For Your Head
3. Child Of Nature
4. Window Window
5. Case Of The Blues
6. Woman
7. All I Want Is You

All I Want Is You (Lennon)

The original recording sounds nothing more than the band warming up in the studio. Not a lost classic by any stretch of the imagination but this version takes elements of ‘Hey Jude’ and because of this, it finishes the set off nicely.

A Case Of The Blues (Lennon)

As far as I can tell, this was not presented to The Beatles as a song to record during the ‘Let It Be’ sessions, but predates it by about a year. That does not mean it wouldn’t find a home here. The Beatles would resurrect all sorts of songs during these sessions including ‘One After 909” which was one of the earliest songs Lennon and McCartney wrote together. 

Child Of Nature (Lennon)

Inspired by a lecture given by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi during The Beatles’ stay in India, early in 1968. The song was demoed for ‘The Beatles’ and played during the ‘Let It Be’ sessions. The melody and the tune were kept but the lyrics would be completely changed before being released on Lennon’s 1971 ‘Imagine’ album. 

How Do You Tell Someone? (Harrison)

A quick run through of this song was as far as The Beatles got with this George Harrison song. 

I Lost My Little Girl (McCartney)

McCartney says that this was one of the first songs he ever wrote on a guitar in around 1956. It was played during there ‘Let It Be’ sessions with John Lennon on lead vocals. The version presented here is a lot darker than the Buddy Holly inspired track that McCartney himself would perform on his “Unplugged’ performance in 1991. 

Madman (Lennon)

Attempted at least twice during the ‘Let It Be’ sessions, the song shares certain similarities to another Lennon song, ‘Mean Mr Mustard’.

Pillow For Your Head (McCartney)

Performed twice during the ‘Let It Be’ sessions, this was never attempted again. The folks over at Almost Beatle Songs needed to have an educated guess as to what some of the lyrics were on this one as the original recording, his vocals are really hard to hear. 

Rambling Woman (Harrison)

On the original recording, this sounds like George Harrison is doing his best Bob Dylan impression. 

Suicide (McCartney)

Another McCartney song that dates from the 1950’s, he is said to have offered it to Frank Sinatra to record but with a title such as this, it would seem that Blue Eyes decided to pass. 

Taking a Trip To Carolina (Starkey)

Unlike the original ‘Let It Be’ album, we have included a song written by Ringo. The original snippet of this song was included on the ‘Fly On The Wall’ bonus disc which was included on the ‘Let It Be…Naked’ album from 2003

There You Are, Eddie (McCartney)

McCartney wrote a song about his dog Martha for the ‘The Beatles’ album. As far as I can tell, this was written about his other dog called Eddie. 

Watching Rainbows (Lennon/McCartney)

The tune is similar to ‘I’ve Got A Feeling’ and some of the improvised lyrics hark back to ‘I Am The  Walrus’. 

Window Window (Harrison)

Harrison once again channels his inner Dylan with a bit of Simon and Garfunkel thrown in. Seemingly inspired by his marriage to Patti Boyd. 

Woman (McCartney)

A song that did make it out of the sessions, four years before it was played at the ‘Let It Be’ sessions. McCartney had given this song away to Peter & Gordon but insisted that the writing credit would be for Webb as he wanted to see if the duo would have a hit with a song that was not obviously written by Lennon/McCartney. 

I decided that fourteen songs was the correct amount of songs to include here as the majority of The Beatles UK albums had this number of tracks. There is also a nice balance between the amount of songs the three main songwriters get, including one from Ringo to boot. Listening to these songs lifts the lid on an alternative ‘Let It Be’ album. All songs credited to the member of the band who wrote it. You can find more of the songs recorded by this collective on the aforementioned almost beatles songs YouTube account (https://www.youtube.com/c/almostbeatlessongs), bandcamp (https://elvisorbison.bandcamp.com/album/almost-beatles-songs-vol-2) listed under Elvis Orbison on Spotify as well as their own site (https://almostbeatlessongs.com/). Elvis Orbison is the name used by musician Brett Lyda to complete this project. 

Last month I put together a version of Dennis Wilson’ ‘Hubba Hubba’ album, I wondered if there enough material to put together an album that The Beach Boys could have put out in either late 1974 or sometime in 1975. I have picked this time because after the band released in ‘Holland’ in 1973, they did not release another record of new material until 1976 when they put out ’15 Big Ones’.  What happened in those three years. Well, as was noted last month, they did try to record some new material in 1974 but these sessions went nowhere. The release of the ‘Endless Summer’ compilation meant that the band started to focus more on touring. Murray Wilson, father to the Wilson brothers passed away in 1973 and Brian retreated into his bedroom to abuse drugs and over eat. With all of these factors, the creativity of the band disappeared and the great run of albums they had been making was derailed. 

So what if the record company had demanded a new album? Well, the band did not seem keen to return to the studio so what about an LP of outtakes. As it turns out, there was plenty of material to put together a double, but I felt that a single would be more appropriate. The album also shows how far musical styles had changed. ‘Soulful Old Man Sunshine’ and ‘Loop De Loop (Flip Flop Flyin’ In An Aeroplane)’ bely their late 1960s origins. The album runs in an almost chronological order and if the record company wanted to put out a single from this release, the best song to fit the bill (in my opinion) is ‘Hard Time’. I decided that ‘Loop De Loop (Flip Flop Flyin’ In An Aeroplane)’ would have been an appropriate B-Side. There isn’t any Dennis Wilson material because all of his unreleased material is on the aforementioned ‘Hubba Hubba’ released. 

What were are left with is a good album, showing that the band were keeping some quality material in the archive. Its not a classic but what album of unreleased material is. I do believe that this is a better record than any the band released in real life after ‘Holland’. 

Out In The Country (Version 2 Edit)

Two songs were recorded with the same name. One is an instrumental but this version is a vocals only. It would eventually be released as part of the 1972 sessions CD in the ‘Sail On Sailor’ Box Set. I edited out the studio chatter at the start and then edited the end so that it faded out. 

Soulful Old Man Sunshine

Recorded late 1969, this one of the many songs recorded for the ‘Sunflower’ album which did not make the cut. It remained in the vaults until it came out in 1998 on the ‘Endless Harmony’ compilation. It was said to have been include on the 1993 Box Set, ‘Good Vibrations – Thirty Years of The Beach Boys’ but it was vetoed for this by Carl Wilson. This was because he fluffed his lines somewhat, singing ‘shunshine’ instead of ‘sunshine’.  

H.E.L.P. Is On The Way

There can’t be many songs out there that have the word enema mentioned in the lyrics. It also mentions the Radiant Radish, a West Hollywood health food shop once owned (and sometimes manned) by Brian Wilson. Wilson could be seen serving in the shop wearing a dressing gown and pyjamas as he usually opened the shop up when he could be bothered, normally at night. The subject matter of the song deals with Wilson’s self-image and eating problems. The song was recorded during the ‘Surf’s Up’ sessions but would first see the light of day on the ‘Good Vibrations – Thirty Years of The Beach Boys’ box set. 

Games Two Can Play

The lyrics refer to Joe South and his recording of ‘Games People Play’, but we can only speculate as to what songwriter Brian Wilson meant by games two can play. He once again refers to his weight by saying he is as fat as a cow. This and the previous song on this collection were slated to appear on the unreleased 1977 album, ‘Adult/Child’. The song was recorded during the ‘Sunflower’ sessions but would first see the light of day on the ‘Good Vibrations – Thirty Years of The Beach Boys’ box set

Sweet & Bitter

The song was recorded during the ‘Surf’s Up’ sessions and would first see the light of day on the ‘Feel Flows – The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions’ box set. 

It’s Natural

The song was recorded during the ‘Surf’s Up’ sessions and would first see the light of day on the ‘Feel Flows – The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions’ box set.

Won’t You Tell Me

The song was recorded during the ‘Surf’s Up’ sessions and would first see the light of day on the ‘Feel Flows – The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions’ box set.

Oh Sweet Something

It would be released as part of the 1972 sessions CD in the ‘Sail On Sailor’ Box Set.

Hard Time

The song was recorded during the ‘Holland’ sessions and would first see the light of day on the ‘Sail On Sail – 1972’ box set.

We Got Love

Recorded for the ‘Holland’ album and it did make the track listing until Reprise, the band’s record label at this time decided that the recorded did not have a hit single on it. This song made way for ‘Sail On Sailor’. However, there was a mispress in Germany and a small number of copies with the  original track listing came out. It would eventually be officially released in 2016 as a bonus track on the SACD version of the ‘Holland’ album. 

Where Is She?

There is a resemblance between this song and ‘She’s Leaving Home’ by The Beatles. The song was recorded during the ‘Sunflower’ sessions and would first see the light of day on the ‘Made In California’ box set.

Seasons In The Sun

Recorded prior to the release of the more famous version by Terry Jacks, this song is a reflection by the narrator of the life he has lived and those who spent their time with him. Originally written by Jacques Brel, Jacks rewrote the lyrics and was called into to produce The Beach Boys version. Mike Love said the band didn’t like their version, stating that it was the wrong song for them.  The song was recorded during the ‘Surf’s Up’ sessions and would first see the light of day on the ‘Feel Flows – The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions’ box set.

Loop De Loop (Flip Flop Flyin’ In An Aeroplane)

The song started out as a demo by Carl and Brian Wilson which was recorded for the ’20/20’ sessions in 1969. Al Jardine decided to rework the song, added all sorts of instrumentation and special effects. Jardine was not happy with the vocals and the song remained in the vaults until finally being released with a new vocal on 1998 ‘Endless Harmony’ compilation. This is the original 1969 mix. 

Side A

1. Out In The Country (Version 2 Edit)
2. Soulful Old Man Sunshine
3. H.E.L.P. Is On The Way
4. Games Two Can Play
5. Sweet & Bitter
6. It’s Natural
7. Won’t You Tell Me

Side B

1. Oh Sweet Something
2. Hard Time
3. We Got Love
4. Where Is She?
5. Seasons In The Sun

Single B-Side

Loop De Loop (Flip Flop Flyin’ In An Aeroplane)

I have tried to use as close to the original mix as possible because some of these songs have have updated mixes on recent compilations. 

The cover and title come from Reddit under, Circlonta6a who made a number alternative sleeves for Beach Boy records. 

As I come to the end of my year of Psychedelic playlists, I thought I would throw a reimagined version of one of the great psych albums. That is ‘Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’, the debut album from Pink Floyd. This was the only album to include original guitar player and main songwriter, Syd Barrett when at the hight of his powers. His tenure in the band was short lived, which if you have seen the recent ‘Have You Got It Yet?” film could have been down to a personality disorder exasperated by his drug intake. The album could only have come out in the late 60s, with its songs covering subjects such as the I-Chang, gnomes, bikes and with references to children’s literature. The psychedelic jams are also very much of their time. 

With the Floyd over the past ten years or so finally given the archives a bit of a clear out, it was nice to see what there was to come up with an album that was in my opinion all killer and no filler. That meant including the single A-Sides of ‘Arnold Layne’ and ‘See Emily Play’. Singles at this time were, for the most part, were left off of albums but not always. There is the exclusive B-Side of ‘Arnold Layne’ as well to consider. ‘Candy and a Current Bun’ was originally known as ‘Let’s Roll Another One’. The lyrics and title were changed after pressure from the record company due to their overt references to drugs. It didn’t stop Barrett from including the word ‘Fuck’ in the re-recording in such a way that it was missed by everyone not listening closely enough. For this what-if album, that originally version is included here and is the one song on this compilation that the Floyd have not released officially. Why not I ask, considering a recording of it does still exist and has been present on bootlegs, in edited form. The instrumental middle section always seems to be missing form the persons I have heard. 

I have always found Pink Floyd’s psychedelic noodling became a little tedious after a couple of listens and ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ is no acceptation. Due to the additional tracks, but wanting something to compliment ‘For R. Too H.” I thought about editing down ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ to a more manageable length but on the 40th Anniversary of ‘Piper At The Gates of Dawn’ from 2007, there were a couple of different versions. The ‘French Edit’ fades out but ‘Take 6’ is complete so I used this instead. It doesn’t have the awesome ending the original LP version has but in this case less is more. I have also included an alternative version of ‘Matilda Mother’ which has completely different lyrics.

The rest of the album is as you were, even though I suspect to get the most out of this release, all the songs would have to have been released in mono. 

Side 1

1. stronomy Domine
2. Lucifer Sam
3. Chapter 24
4. See Emily Play
5. Flaming
6. Pow R. Toc H.

Side 2

1. Arnold Layne
2. Interstellar Overdrive (Take 6)
3. The Gnome
4. Let’s Roll Another One
5. The Scarecrow
6. Matilda Mother (Alternative Version)
7. Bike 

The cover was one that I came across online but did not make a note of who the creator was. Whoever you are, thank you especially as this is considerably more psychedelic than the one the original album had. 

Dennis Wilson was not the first member of The Beach Boys to release a solo record. His brother Brian got there in 1966 when ‘Pet Sounds’ song ‘Caroline, No’ came out under his name and not the name of the band. Brian was at it again in 1967 when the ‘Smiley Smile’ song, ‘Getting Hungry’ came out credited to Wilson and band mate/cousin Mike Love. What can be said about his 1970 single, Sound Of Free’ is that is was, arguably, the most surprising. Granted, he had started to write and contribute songs to the last couple of Beach Boys albums, but a solo record? Backed with ‘Lady’, the single only came out in a small number of countries. These were the UK, Netherlands, Ireland, France and New Zealand. The single was not a hit in any of these territories. 

The single was listed as being by Dennis Wilson and Rumbo. Rumbo was the pseudonym of Daryl Dragon, who at this time was playing keyboards in The Beach Boys band. Dragon would be one of a number of co-writers that helped Wilson with his compositions. It would seem that Wilson was not only working on songs to be presented to The Beach Boys, but also had enough material for a solo album. He would work on this material between 1970 and 1971, even pulling his material from the ‘Surf’s Up’ album, which some have said is because he wanted them for his own record. I wrote about the reasons this happened in my previous post. 

A few titles have been put forward for this album, including ‘Freckless’, ‘Poops’ and ‘Hubba Hubba’. The ‘Poops’ name came because Wilson and his second wife, Barbara Charren called each other Big Poop (the former) and Little Poop (the latter). The majority of the songs from this period were inspired by Barbara and Wilson’s love for her. Work continued along with touring commitments, Wilson’s appearance in the film ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’ and work on The Beach Boys albums themselves. Stephen Desper, The Beach Boys studio engineer at this time said ‘ninety percent of it was ninety percent done’. So why didn’t it come out?

No one can quite say. Wilson could have lost interest in the project or it could have been down to the fact some of his songs that he was keeping for this solo album were used for the ‘Carl & The Passions – So Tough’ album. Whatever happened, a good deal of these songs remained in the vault and we have had to wait nearly fifty years for the majority to be released. The wonder box set, ‘Feel Flows’ box set continuing the most of them. Last year, a few sites tried to reconstruct this album but I have come at this at a slightly different time/angle than they did. These others were looking at an album that would have come out in 1971. I propose that this Dennis Wilson album would have come out in 1974 instead. 

Why did I go with this date? Well, The Beach Boys had released at least an album a year up to 1973, but then there was a gap of a couple of years. In 1974, a compilation called ‘Endless Summer’ came out and focused on their surfing and car songs from the mid 60s. The album became a massive hit and made them a major live draw, but it had the knock on effect of  refocusing the band into more of an oldies act than the progressive band they had become. 

There were some sessions in 1974 but the will does not seem to be there to really get to work on a new album. However, a couple of the songs recorded during these sessions were Dennis Wilson originals. What happened if Dennis had taken these songs along with everything he had left in the archive and constructed his first solo album, three years before his cult classic ‘Pacific Ocean Blue’ came out. Well, this is what I came up with.  

Unlike previous efforts to reconstruct this album, I did not want to include anything that had already been released. Therefore, none of the songs that I included on my previous Dennis Wilson post (insert link to previous post here). It needed to be strictly songs that had not seen the light of day before. The majority of the songs do come from the 1971 sessions, but there are a couple of songs from the late 60s which does make the sound of the album a little disjointed. If this had been released at the time, I am sure the 60s songs would have been remixed to make them sound more contemporary. 

Even though this album is a little disjointed in terms of sound, it does prove that Dennis Wilson was an excellent song writer who was going through a hot streak in the early 70s that most artists can only dream about. Why material of this quality were left in the vault is beyond me, even if some of the songs that have come out do sound as though there were unfinished or did not get past demo recordings. 

Side 1

1. The Gong (Edited)* – 1968
2. Barnyard Blues – 1974
3. My Love Lives On – 1974
4. Barbara – 1971
5. It’s A New Day – 1971
6. Hawaiian Dream – 1971
7. Medley: All Of My Love/Ecology – 1971

Side 2

1. I’m Going Your Way – 1969
2. A Time To Live In Dreams – 1969
3. Before – 1971
4. Carry Me Home – 1973
5. 4th of July – 1971
6. (Wouldn’t It Be Nice To) Live Again – 1971

*The Gong seems to be Dennis Wilson mucking around in the studio. However, there was a small section which sounded like a good introduction to this LP. 

The cover is adapted from an article that was included in Shindig Magazine. I’m afraid I am not sure when the article was written though but I think it was in late 2021. None of the titles suggested by Wilson for this were particularly good, but ‘Hubba Hubba’ was already on the cover I used and it considerably better that ‘Poops’. Maybe Dennis should have spoken to Mike Love about this. Love has always maintained that he is a title guy. 

In life, Dennis Wilson was the rock and roll animal sitting behind the drums whilst leading a drug and alcohol induced descent into what was an early death. However, scratch the surface and there was a lot more to this man than first met the eye. He appeared in cult film ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’, inspired Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie to write ‘Only Over You’ about him and was arguably the second best songwriter in The Beach Boys after his brother Brian. 

Dennis had contributed next to nothing in terms of songwriter during the early days on the band but with Brian taking a step back after the ‘Smile’ sessions, the other members of the group needed to step up. Dennis did exactly that and every Beach Boys album from 1968’s ‘Friends’ LP to 1973’s ‘Holland (excluding 1971 ‘Surf’s Up’) included at least one song written by him.

There have been a couple of reasons why Dennis didn’t place any songs on ‘Surf’s Up’. The man himself said that the songs he put forward for inclusion didn’t gel with everyone else songs. Another reason is that there was some inter band fighting going on about how many Wilson brother penned songs were going on the LP, with Carl and Brian already taking up more than half of the album time. The third, and most probably the real reason was that Dennis had been keeping songs back for a solo album. He had already released a solo single in 1970 under the name of Dennis Wilson and Rumbo. Rumbo was a name used by Beach Boys keyboard player, Daryl Dragon, who would later be known as the Captain and be one half of Captain & Tensile. 

I am getting a little ahead of myself here, but December 2023 is the 40th Anniversary of Dennis Wilson passing so in the first of two projects related to him, I have put together a compilation that could have been released by the band as a tribute to him. This would not include his lead vocals on songs prior to 1968 or the two songs he had writer’s credits on before that year either. That is because I wanted to focus on Dennis the songwriter during the period 1968 to 1973. I choose these years because after this, Dennis was focused on recording his two solo albums, ‘Pacific Ocean Blue’ and ‘Bambu’ (only one of which came out in his lifetime). This lead to him not contributing much to Beach Boys projects from 1974 onwards. I also look to only include songs that Dennis either wrote on his own or with one other person. therefore, songs such as ‘Be Here In the Mornin’ don’t make the cut. 

All the songs were released by The Beach Boys except ‘Sound Of Free’ and ‘Lady (Fallin’ In Love)’  which were released as a Dennis Wilson solo single in some European territories in1970.

Side 1

1. Sound Of Free – Solo single A-Side (1970)
2. All I Want To Do – 20/20 (1969)
3. Got To Know The Woman – Sunflower (1970)
4. Lady (Fallin’ In Love) – Solo single B-Side (1970)
5. It’s About Time – Sunflower (1970)
6. Forever – Sunflower (1970)
7. Be With Me – 20/20 (1969)
8. Only With You – Holland (1973)
9. Be Still – Friends (1968)

Side 2

1. Never Learn Not To Love – 20/20 (1969)
2. Slip On Through – Sunflower (1970)
3. Little Bird – Friends (1968)
4. Celebrate The News – Single B-Side (1969)
5. Steamboat – Holland (1973)
6. Make It Good – Carl & The Passions (1972)
7. Cuddle Up – Carl & The Passions (1972)

The cover image is a picture taken from the inner gatefold sleeve of Denny’s album ‘Pacific Ocean Blue’. I like the image so much, I thought I would also make this sleeve a gatefold. The Caribou Records and Brother Record label logos have been added as this were the labels Dennis and the Beach Boys were both on at the time. 

This mythical unreleased first solo album that Dennis Wilson was working on during the early 70s will be something I will be looking at later in the month. 

Between their first recording session in October 1966, and August 1968, the Jimi Hendrix Experience packed a lot in. Numerous tours, non album singles, three LPs (including one double), tv and radio appearances. These guys were really busy. This schedule, coupled with Hendrix’s increased perfectionism in the studio caused tension. Chas Chandler, the man who had brought Hendrix to the UK and produced the Experiences first two albums walked out of the session for ‘Electric Ladyland’, the bands third LP because of it. Hendrix would also invite friends and hangers on to the studio which also contributed to Chandler leaving. He had had enough of these people clogging up the control room. Bass player Noel Redding had also formed the band Fat Mattress, which meant he could not spend as much time in the studio with Hendrix. This would lead Hendrix to play a number of the bass parts during these sessions himself. 

With all of this going on, it is a surprise that anything would be released, let alone an album that would be eventually be hailed as a classic. Using studio techniques such as echo, back masking and flanging, the album took the template of the bands previous albums and expanded them beyond the psychedelic blues of their earlier efforts. There were blues jams, a sci-fi influenced side long studio production, hard rock, social commentary as well as a couple of notable cover version, including ‘All Along The Watchtower’, one of the few occasions where the cover is significantly better than the original. 

Today, it stands as Hendrixs’ defining LP and it was the last studio album he released in his lifetime. However, when it first came out, not all of the reviews were positive. Medley Maker called it “mixed up and muddled”. Rolling Stone commented that the original songs sometimes sound unstructured. That isn’t to say that there were some positives but the double LP’s was still a new concept in 1968, and even today, there aren’t that many artists who put one out. Most suffer from the same criticism in that there is too much padding and substandard songs. With this in mind and to celebrate 55 years since the album was released, I thought I would have a look at turning ‘Electric Ladyland’ into a single LP. 

Side A

1. And The Gods Made Love
2. Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)
3. Crosstown Traffic
4. Come On (Part 1)
5. Long Hot Summer
6. Still Raining, Still Dreaming

Side B

1. Gypsy Eyes
2. House Burning Down
3. All Along The Watchtower
4. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)

Playing this through, this is a tight album that dispenses with the jams (Voodoo Chile) and the science fiction ramblings of “1983…(a Merman I Should Turn To Be)”. Removing both of these save up to around 30 minutes of playing time. That does still mean that a couple of other songs need to go so that the playing time would fit comfortably onto a vinyl record. ‘Little Miss Strange’ is very lightweight 60s pop and does stand out on the album as being one of, if not the weakest track. A B-Side at best. Last to go is ‘Burning Of The Midnight Lamp’. Nothing wrong with this song but it does sound a little out of place as it was already a year old by the point the LP came out, and it had already been released as a single in 1967. It sounds a little different from the rest of the album because it was produced by Chas Chandler. The rest of ‘Electric Ladyland’ was produce (and directed) by Jimi Hendrix. This was also the era were singles tended not to be included on albums so that is why this one has been dropped. 

All in all, a pretty good single album. The front cover was used for the 50th Anniversary Box Set but this is what Hendrix wanted before his record company ignored his wishes. 

For the second in my look at the career of The Beach Boys, I am posting this on the 60th Anniversary of the release of ‘Little Deuce Coupe’. This album came out on 7th October, 1963 and was the third album the group released in that year which meant that this was a very busy time for The Beach Boys and Brian Wilson especially.

First up was ‘Surfing USA’, released in March of 1963 and then in September, out came ‘Surfer Girl’. That meant there was only a months gap between that and ‘Little Deuce Coupe’. Considering an artist in the current climate does well to release a new album every two years, this is quite a turn over in product. This last album was clearly an LP too far because if we look at the track listing for ‘Little Deuce Coupe’, you can see that there was plenty of original material on it, but four of the twelve tracks had appeared on earlier albums. If you consider that their first album came out just over a year earlier on 1st October 1962, Brian Wilson was also writing and producing material for artists outside of The Beach Boys. It is not a surprise that he decided that he wanted to stop going out on the road and concentrate on working in the studio. He was not going to get his wish straight away because even though Al Jardine came back into the band to cover for his, David Marks was not far off leaving. 

So what do we get in this period of The Beach Boys. There are a few covers, which is not a surprise considering how many records the band was releasing as well as Brian Wilson’s side projects. There are a number of instrumentals and when it comes to the ‘Little Deuce Coupe’ LP and recycling of some old material. As a side note, it could be argued that ‘Little Deuce Coupe’ is an early concept album as the majority of the songs on it are about cars. There is also a major step up in the quality of songs that Wilson was writing and the instrumentation he was using. Take ‘In My Room’ a song from the ‘Surfer Girl’ album. It has some harp playing on it, and an early appearance by studio player extraordinaire Hal Blaine on percussion. The song is not about surfing, cars or girls and has melancholy theme. A massive hint on where Wilson would go in a few years time culminating in the masterpiece that is ‘Pet Sounds’. This is also one of the few Beach Boys recordings where David Marks and Al Jardine both perform before the 2012 LP, ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio’.  

Sources for the songs included on this set. 

1 – Surfin’ U.S.A.

2 – Hawthorne, CA: Birthplace Of A Musical Legacy

3 – Unsurpassed Masters Vol.2 (Bootleg) 

4 – Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys (Box Set)

5 – Made In California (Box Set)

6 – Unsurpassed Masters Vol.3 (Bootleg)

7 – Surfer Girl

8 – Stack O’Tracks

9 – In The Beginning (Bootleg)

10 – The Big Beat 1963

11 – Endless Harmony Soundtrack

12 – Surfer Girl (1990 Reissue)

13 – Rarities Vol.1 1962-1968 (Bootleg)

14 – Little Deuce Coupe

15 – Unsurpassed Master Vol.4 (Bootleg)

16 – Shut Down Vol.2

17 – Christmas Sessions (Bootleg)

18 – The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album

19 – The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album (1991 Reissue)

20 – Alternative Dumb Angel Vol.1 (Bootleg)

21 – Legends Of Christmas Past

22 – Christmas Sessions Vol.1

23 – Sounds Of Summer: The Best Of The Beach Boys (Expanded Super Deluxe)

24 – Unknown

Disc 1

1. Surfin’ U.S.A. (Solo Demo) – 4
2. Surfin’ U.S.A. (Instrumental Backing Track) – 2
3. Surfin’ U.S.A. (Vocal Overdub) – 3
4. Surfin’ U.S.A. (Mono) – 1
5. Surfin’ U.S.A. (Stereo) – 1
6. Surfin’ U.S.A. (2021 Stereo Mix) – 23
7. Farmer’s Daughter (1st Stereo Mix, Overdub 2, Take 9) – 3
8. Farmer’s Daughter (2nd Stereo Mix, Overdub 2, Take 9) – 3
9. Farmer’s Daughter (Mono) – 1
10. Farmer’s Daughter (Stereo) – 1
11. Misirlou (Take 12) – 3
12. Misirlou (Mono) – 1
13. Misirlou (Stereo) – 1
14. Stoked (Take 16) – 3
15. Stoked (Mono) – 1
16. Stoked (Stereo) – 
17. Shut Down (1st Stereo Mix) – 3
18. Shut Down (2nd Stereo Mix) – 3
19. Shut Down (2003 Stereo Mix) – 5
20. Shut Down (Mono) – 1
21. Shut Down (Stereo) – 1
22. Shut Down (2021 Stereo Mix) – 23
23. Noble Surfer (Vocal Take 39) – 3
24. Noble Surfer (1st Stereo Mix) – 3
25. Noble Surfer (2nd Stereo Mix) – 3
26. Noble Surfer (Mono) – 1
27. Noble Surfer (Stereo) – 1
28. Honky Tonk (Take 9) – 3
29. Honky Tonk (Mono) – 1
30. Honky Tonk (Stereo) – 1
31. Lana (Vocal Overdubs, Take 11) – 3
32. Lana (Vocal Take 11) – 3
33. Lana (Mono) – 1
34. Lana (Stereo) – 1
35. Surf Jam (Take 8) – 3
36. Surf Jam (Mono) – 1
37. Surf Jam (Stereo) – 1

Disc 2

1. Finders Keepers (1st Stereo Mix, Vocal Take 18) – 3
2. Finders Keepers (2nd Stereo Mix) – 3
3. Finders Keepers (Mono) – 1
4. Finders Keepers (Stereo) – 1
5. Surfer Girl (Instrumental Stack O’Tracks Mix) – 8
6. Surfer Girl (Binaural Mix) – 11
7. Surfer Girl (End Mix Without Fadeout) – 6
8. Surfer Girl (Mono) – 7
9. Surfer Girl (Stereo) – 7
10. Surfer Girl (2021 Stereo Mix) – 23
11. Catch A Wave (Instrumental Stack O’Tracks Mix) – 8
12. Catch A Wave (Panning Mix) – 6
13. Catch A Wave (End Mix) – 6
14. Catch A Wave (Mono) – 7
15. Catch A Wave (Stereo) – 7
16. South Bay Surfer (The Old Folks Home) (Instrumental Take Unknown) – 6
17. South Bay Surfer (The Old Folks Home) (Instrumental Takes 1 & 2) – 6
18. South Bay Surfer (The Old Folks Home) (Vocal Take 2) – 6
19. South Bay Surfer (The Old Folks Home) (Mono) – 7
20. South Bay Surfer (The Old Folks Home) (Stereo) – 7
21. The Rocking Surfer (Good Humour Man) (Takes 1, 2 & 3) – 9
22. The Rocking Surfer – 6
23. The Rocking Surfer (Mono) – 7
24. The Rocking Surfer (Stereo) – 7
25. Little Deuce Coupe (Demo) – 2
26. Little Deuce Coupe (Mono) – 7
27. Little Deuce Coupe (Stereo) – 7
28. In My Room (Demo) – 4
29. In My Room (Takes 3, 4, 5 & 6 – Instrumental) – 9
30. In My Room (Take 13) – 6
31. In My Room (Mono) – 7
32. In My Room (Stereo) – 7
33. In My Room (2021 Stereo Mix) – 23
34. In My Room (German Version) – 12

Disc 3

1. Hawaii (Takes 1, 2, 3 & 4) – 9
2. Hawaii (Take 5) –  9
3. Hawaii (Takes 6, 7, 8 & 9) – 9
4. Hawaii (Vocal Overdub Separated) – 6
5. Hawaii (Vocal Overdub) – 6
6. Hawaii (Mono) – 7
7. Hawaii (Stereo) – 7
8. Surfer’s Rule (Instrumental Take 1) – 6
9. Surfer’s Rule (Instrumental Take 4) – 6
10. Surfer’s Rule (Instrumental Take 5) – 6
11. Surfer’s Rule (Instrumental Takes 6 & 7) – 6
12. Surfer’s Rule (Instrumental Takes 8 & 9) – 6
13. Surfer’s Rule (Instrumental Take 10) – 6
14. Surfer’s Rule (Vocal Take 1) – 6
15. Surfer’s Rule (Vocal Take 2) – 6
16. Surfer’s Rule (Mono) – 7
17. Surfer’s Rule (Stereo) – 7
18. Our Car Club (Rabbit’s Foot) (Takes 1 & 2) – 9
19. Our Car Club (Instrumental Stack O’Tracks Mix) – 8
20. Our Car Club (1st Stereo Mix, Vocal Take) – 7
21. Our Car Club (2nd Stereo Mix, Vocal Take) – 7
22. Our Car Club (Mono) – 7
23. Our Car Club (Stereo) – 7
24. Your Summer Dream (Take 1) – 9
25. Your Summer Dream (Vocal Overdub Separated) – 7
26. Your Summer Dream (Vocal Overdub) – 7
27. Your Summer Dream (Mono) – 7
28. Your Summer Dream (Stereo) – 7
29. Boogie Woogie (Instrumental Take 1) – 7
30. Boogie Woogie (Instrumental Take 2 & 3) – 7
31. Boogie Woogie (Instrumental Take 4) – 7
32. Boogie Woogie (Instrumental Take 5 & 6) – 7
33. Boogie Woogie (Instrumental Take, Piano Overdub) – 7
34. Boogie Woogie (Instrumental Take, Piano-Organ Overdub) – 7
35. Boogie Woogie (Mono) – 7
36. Boogie Woogie (Stereo) – 7

Disc 4

Disc 4 which are the songs exclusively on ‘Shut Down Volume 2’ is a little sparse when it come to outtakes. It would seem that the bootleggers were not able to get their hands on those session tapes or possibly they have gone missing.

1. Ballad Of Old Betsy (Demo) – 10
2. Ballad Of Old Betsy (Instrumental Takes 1, 2 & 3) – 3
3. Ballad Of Old Betsy (Instrumental Take 4) – 3
4. Ballad Of Old Betsy (Mono) – 14
5. Ballad Of Old Betsy (Stereo) – 14
6. Be True To Your School (Mono) – 14
7. Be True To Your School (Stereo) – 14
8. Be True To Your School (Mono Single Version) – 5
9. Car Crazy Cutie (Mono) – 14
10. Car Crazy Cutie (Stereo) – 14
11. Cherry, Cherry Coupe (Mono) – 14
12. Cherry, Cherry Coupe (Stereo) – 14
13. Spirit Of America (Mono) – 14
14. Spirit Of America (Stereo) – 14
15. No-Go Showboat (Mono) – 14
16. No-Go Showboat (Stereo) – 14
17. A Young Man Is Gone (Mono) – 14
18. A Young Man Is Gone (Stereo) – 14
19. Custom Machine (Mono) – 14
20. Custom Machine (Stereo) – 14
21. I Do (Demo) – 10
22. I Do (Instrumental Take 1) – 15
23. I Do (Instrumental Takes 2 & 3) – 15
24. I Do (Instrumental Takes 4 & 5) – 15
25. I Do (Instrumental Take 6) – 15
26. I Do (Instrumental Take 7) – 15
27. I Do (Vocal Overdub Takes 1 & 2) – 15
28. I Do (Vocal Overdub Take 3) – 15
29. I Do (Vocal Overdub Take 4) – 15
30. I Do (Vocal Overdub Take 5) – 15
31. I Do (Unknown Take 1) – 15
32. I Do (Master) – 16
33. Back Home (Take 1) – 13
34. Back Home (Take 4) – 13
35. Back Home – 5

Disc 5

Disc 5 is made up mostly of the two sides of the Christmas single that band put out that year as well as tracks that I did not have room for anywhere else. “Little Saint Nick’ in its single configuration is the same recording as would appear on the 1964 album ‘The Beach Boys Christmas Album’ but the later version is stripped down of some of the production due to the fact that the album had been recording quickly and the original mix would have sounded out of place on that LP. 

1. Punchline (Instrumental) – 4
2. Gonna Hustle You (Demo) – 10
3. Little Surfer Girl – 4
4. Chopsticks Boogie – 13
5. Things We Did Last Summer – 4
6. Let’s Go Trippin’ (Take 8) – 3
7. Let’s Go Trippin’ (Mono) – 1
8. Let’s Go Trippin’ (Stereo) – 1
9. Side Two (Instrumental Take 1) – 3
10. Side Two (Instrumental Take Unknown) – 3
11. Side Two (Instrumental) – 10
12. The Baker Man (Instrumental Takes 1 & 2) – 3
13. The Baker Man (Vocal Take) – 3
14. The Baker Man – 24
15. Little Saint Nick (Takes 2, 3, 4 & 5) – 9
16. Little Saint Nick (Take 6) – 9
17. Little Saint Nick (Vocal Take Stereo Mix) – 17
18. Little Saint Nick (Alt. Mix – More Sleigh Bells) – 17
19. Little Saint Nick (Vocals & Music Rechanneled) – 22
20. Little Saint Nick (Mono Single Mix) – 19
21. Little Saint Nick (Single Remix) – 21
22. Little Saint Nick (Single Stereo Mix) – 5
23. Little Saint Nick (Mono) – 18
24. Little Saint Nick (Stereo) – 18
25. The Lord’s Prayer (Unknown Take 1) – 17
26. The Lord’s Prayer (Unknown Take 2) – 17
27. The Lord’s Prayer (Mono) – 20
28. The Lord’s Prayer (Stereo) – 2

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. 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.