Category: Lost Album

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 in 1970.

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. Guitar player/singer, Gary Ramon decided to disband the Modern Art and form Sun Dial for the purpose of going out on the road. He has been the only ever present in the band, even though he has been joined by members of The Modern Art in the various incarnations of Sun Dial since.

Other Way Out (Alternative)

‘Other Way Out’ was their first release and came out in 1990 on their own Tangerine label. Some came with a lyric sheet including a few that were signed by Ramon himself. 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 Syd Barrett was a different matter. I bought the album and was not disappointed. I was blown away by how authentic it sounded and it was heavy rotation for a number of months, much to the annoyance of everyone else around me. This being 1994, listening to Psych music was not exactly the hip thing to do. 

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

Side A

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

Side B

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

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

Sun Dial – Other Way In (Alternative)

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

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

Side A

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

Side B

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

Side C

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

Side D

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

Single Sided 7”

1. Visitation (Single Edit)

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

Sun Dial – Live At The Playground 1991

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

Side A

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

Side B

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

Side C

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

Side D

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

*April performance

**May performance  

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

The Playground was a rehearsal complex in Camden Town which was redeveloped in the late 1990s and no longer exists.

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

To complement the post from earlier this month, I though that I would take a look at the follow up to ‘Self Portrait’, 1970s ‘New Morning’. ‘New Morning’ was released four months after ‘Self Portrait’ and the rumour at the time was that Dylan had rushed back into the studio after the negative reaction to his previous effort. The truth was that the sessions for ‘Self Portrait’ lay around for a year before coming out and therefore, ‘New Morning’ was already in the can. 

After listening through ‘Another Self Portrait’ and ‘1970 with Special Guest George Harrison’, I was wondering if it would be possible to produce an alternative version of ‘New Morning’ using alternative takes. Dylan is a musician who records many versions of the same song (listen to the Collectors edition of ‘The Bootleg Series Vol.12’ which includes every note recorded during the 1965-1966 sessions to see what I mean. You will have to make your way through over 19 hours of music).  

One song is missing from this collection, ‘The Man in Me’. That is because there was not an alternative version of this released on either ‘Another Self Portrait’ or the Archive release, 1970. I substituted it with an outtake from the a session with George Harrison, ‘Working on a Guru’. 

Side A

1. If Not For You*
2. Day Of The Locusts (Take 2)**
3. Time Passes Slowly #2*
4. Went To See The Gypsy*
5. Winterlude**
6. If Dogs Run Free*

Side B

1. New Morning (With Horn Section Overdubs)*
2. Sign On The Window**
3. One More Weekend**
4. Working On A Guru*
5. Three Angels**
6. Father Of Night (Rehearsal)**

• The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969-1971)

** 1970 With Special Guest George Harrison

The front cover is the same as the one on the original version of ‘New Morning’, but in negative.

One or more of these songs was not available on Spotify.

Is ‘Self Portrait’ Dylan’s worst album release? Probably not, with 1973’s ‘Dylan’ album most probably taking that title (see footnote). What cannot be argued is that is it bizarre, being made up of folk songs, covers of popular tunes, some originals, live tracks and instrumentals. For a man known as the ‘Voice of a Generation’, putting instrumentals on a Dylan record may well have been the first FU of the project. Dylan himself has been a bit dismissive of this album, saying that he treated as an official bootleg as it full of songs that he and his band would record whilst warming up for a session. At other times, he was looking to get people off of his back as this so called ‘Voice of a Generation’. Whatever the reasons behind it, the album was received with almost universal poor reviews. Is the album really that bad or without merit. Music is subjective so I leave it up to you to make you own mind up. What is without question is that there were good recordings from the sessions. It just took until 2013 for most people to find that out. 

That was because in 2013, Volume 10 of the legendary Bootleg Series was released, titled ‘Another Self Portrait’. This included songs that would be released on the original ‘Self Portrait’ and its follow up, ‘New Morning’, but in alternative or demo form. There is a smattering of Dylan originals, songs by his contemporaries and traditional numbers. This was followed in 2020 by ‘1970 with Special Guest George Harrison’ which contained even more outtakes from the same sessions.  Having played through these compilations, I wondered if there was enough material to make an albums of traditional songs. Dylan had come from a folk background (just listen to his first album and the ‘Basement Tapes’) and would return to these songs when in need of inspiration. Dylan himself would release  two album of traditional songs with 1992’s ‘Good As I Been To You’ and 1993’s ‘World Gone Wrong’. What if he had decided to do this earlier? To complete this record, I would not use any of the recordings used on the ‘Self Portrait’ album. 

With the striped backed production, Dylan follows his muse and even though none of these were meant to see the light of day, they stand up quite well. A couple needed to be faded out as the original recordings come to a sudden stop but other than that, the recordings are as they were recorded. With these versions, gone are some of the over top production that plagued ‘Self Portrait’ and the female backing vocalists are now complimenting the recording instead of over powering them. Overall, I believe this to be a more satisfying listening experience. 

Side A

1. Little Sadie (Without Overdubs)*
2. Come All You Fair & Tender Ladies (Take 1)**
3. Things About Comin’ My Way**
4. Days Of ’49 (Without Overdubs)*
5. Lily Of The West (Take 2)**
6. Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie (Take 1)**

Side B

1. Belle Isle (Without Overdubs)*
2. Alberta #3*
3. This Evening So Soon*
4. Pretty Saro*
5. Tattle O’Day*
6. Spanish Is The Loving Tongue*
7. Railroad Bill*

• The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969-1971)

** 1970 With Special Guest George Harrison

Even though it is a dreadful cover, I decided to use the original artwork used in 1970 for the ‘Self Portrait’ album, but in a negative form. Dylan did produce it himself.  

The ‘Dylan’ album from 1973 is a curious beast, being made of outtakes from ‘Self Portrait’ and ‘New Morning’ albums. None of the songs on this release were sanctioned for release by Dylan himself and it could be argued that he album only came out due to spite from Columbia, Dylan’s label since the start of his recording career. Dylan had temporarily left the label for Asylum Records. He would only stay at Asylum for two records (‘Planet Waves’ and ‘Before The Flood’) before returning to Columbia for ‘Blood On The Tracks’. 

This ‘lost album’ could not be recreated on Spotify.

The 1960s were a time where music trends came and went relatively quickly. The music that came out in 1969 was very different from what came out in 1960. There weren’t many artists who went through through the decade without having to follow the trends, because there were artists like Dylan, who were setting them. His first album was a folk record, where he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. By 1966’s ‘Blonde On Blonde’, he had turned on the electricity and bucked the trend by releasing one of the first rock double albums. The music from the debut, that was only four years old at this point, was lightyears away from what Dylan was producing in 1966. Everyone waited to see what he would do next but then there was nothing for eighteen months. This was the 60s were albums would come out every six months (give or take a month or two). When The Beatles took a few months out in late 1966, there was a rumour that they had split up. That is nothing though compared to Dylan’s break, but what had caused him to take so long between records?

Dylan says that he was involved in a motorcycle accident near his home in Woodstock, New York but there are no records of an ambulance being called or show that Dylan was hospitalised. Whatever the truth, Dylan did write in his autobiography that he needed a break and would not return to touring for another eight years. He retreated to his house, but did not sit around doing nothing. Calling on The Band, who had toured with him the year before, the musicians set about recording numerous covers and new Dylan songs. Dylan would say that the recordings were not for him but for act as guides for other artists to cover, and cover them they did. ‘Quinn The Eskimo/The Mighty Quinn’ and ‘This Wheel’s On Fire’ were both top five hits for Manfred Mann and Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity respectively. The Byrds recorded two of the songs for their ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ LP and Fairport Convention included ‘Million Dollar Bash’ on their ‘Unhalfbricking’ album. 

The sessions that became known as the Basement Tapes would appear on rocks first bootleg record, the infamous ‘Great White Wonder’. This intern would lead to a whole industry to spring up around unauthorised releases and Dylan is believed to be the most bootlegged artist in history. He even acknowledged this when his archival releases are called ‘The Bootleg Series’.  There was an attempt to beat the bootleggers, six years too late with the release of ‘The Basement Tapes’ album in 1975. However, this was not the complete story as there were multiple songs that were not included on this release and it would take until 2014 when the entire still listenable performances were given the deluxe box set selection. 

Hearing these performances, it is easy to see that these were guide performances as there are some out of tune vocals and some loose playing. It only adds to the charm. There were also a lot of performances, especially early on in the recording process where there were a number of cover versions and traditional songs being played as the musicians got used to playing with one another. 138 of these performances would see the light of day on ‘The Bootleg Series Vol.11: The Basement Tapes Complete’. What is quite incredible is the amount of songs that Dylan wrote for these sessions, with not one of them being used on his next album, ‘John Wesley Harding’. The rootsy nature of that album and The Band’s ‘Music From Big Pink’ would usher in a more basic style of recording that would influence artists such as Eric Clapton to leave Cream and The Beatles to pull back on the excesses of their self titled album to go back to simpler style for the ‘Let It Be’ sessions. 

What this compilation, we look at what-if Dylan had decided to be even more rootsy and release a selection of the self written material as an album in 1967 and pushed back ‘John Wesley Harding’ until mid 1968. Even though this album would not have seen the light of day in 1967, it would have been interesting how this would have received. A record with mostly short songs with only five on this release clocking in at over four minutes. The loose playing would have also stood out against the majority of music that was being produced in 1967. If you look at the amount of time that The Beatles and Brian Wilson spent recording ‘Sgt Pepper’ and ‘Smile’ to see that these live takes were harking back to a simpler time for reading music. 

When compiling this, I thought that it would there would only enough material for a single disc, which is what the record label would no doubt have instead on after the release of ‘Blonde on Blonde’,  However, there was so much good material that I felt it would be a waste not to use them. I also had three songs left over and used them as a single (with two B-Sides). How Dylan was able to write this much material without re-recording it shows what a purple patch he was going through from 1963 to 1969. This would all come to a grinding halt with the release of the ‘Self Portrait’ album in 1970, but there would be stacks of great material still to come in the years that followed. 

Side A

1. Odds & Ends (Take 2)
2. Please Mrs. Henry
3. Apple Suckling Tree (Take 2)
4.  You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere (Take 2)
5. Crash On The Levee (Take 2)
6. Yea! Heavy & A Bottle Of Bread (Take 2)
7. Nothing Was Delivered (Take 2)
8. I Shall Be Released (Take 2)

Side B

1. Million Dollar Bash (Take 2)
2. Tiny Montgomery
3. My Woman She’s A-Leavin’
4. Santa-Fe
5. Mary Lou, I Love You Too
6. Open The Door Homer (Take 1)
7. Quinn The Eskimo (Take 2)
8. Spanish Is The Loving Tongue

Side 3

1. Silent Weekend
2. Clothes Line Saga
3. Dress It Up, Better Have It All
4. Too Much Of Nothing (Take 2)
5. Lo & Behold! (Take 2)
6. Sign Of The Cross

Side D

1. 900 Miles From Home
2. Goin’ To Acapulco
3. I’m Not There
4. Tears Of Rage (Take 2)
5. One For The Road

Bonus Single

1. This Wheel’s On Fire (Single A-Side)
2. I’m Alright (Single B-Side)
3. Cool Water (Single B-Side)

The front cover of the LP is taken from ‘I Design Album Covers’ website (https://idesignalbumcovers.tumblr.com).