After compiling Volume 2 earlier, this month, I found that I had enough songs to complete another set. Like Volume 2, this kicks off with a cover of “Gotta Get Up’. After that, there is a mix of songs Nilsson wrote but didn’t always record a version of himself. These include songs from before he signed his contract with RCA such as ‘A Travellin’ Man’ and ‘Paradise’ as wells many recorded afterwards. There is the other side of the single that Kenny Everett released (with the first being included on Vol.2) as well as more performances by The Turtles and Jimmy Cross. George Tipton, Nilsson’s arranger on his early records makes another appearance but there is also room for a novelty recording such as the version of ‘Without Her’ by Telly Savalas. The disc finishes with a special bonus in that it contains the song ‘Little More Rain’ from the ‘New Nilsson Songs’ demo album. As of now, no one has been able to find out who the singer is.
Once again, unlike Ace Record, I do not have access to the original tapes so some of these have been taken from vinyl transfers, so please excuse the pops etc. The sleeve is similar in style to the Ace Records volume. The differences being that I could not match the original font and there are no dates under the title. I decided that that was unnecessary as this was meant to highlight Nilsson songs throughout the years. Its not really the covers you are here for though, but the music. Well, that is top notch. Enjoy!
Gotta Get Up – Marty Finkel
Everybody Philly – The Citations
Maybe – Labi Siffre
1941 – Joel Grey
It’s Been So Long – Kenny Everett
Me & My Arrow – Davy Jones
Wailing Of The Willow – Liza Minnelli
Remember (Christmas) – Johnny Mathis
Countin’ – Mike Clifford
Don’t Leave Me – Robert John
I Guess The Lord Must be In New York City – The New Yorkers
Chicken Track – Jimmie Cross
The Story Of Rock ’n’ Roll – The Turtles
The Puppy Song – David Cassidy
Open Your Window – George Tipton
One – Chris Clark
All My Life – The Walkmen (feat. Allesanora Mario)
Back in 2017, Ace Records released a wonderful collection dedicated to Harry Nilsson, the songwriter, not the performer. The collection was a curious mix of the well known (The Monkees), the family member (his daughter Annie Nilsson) and the down right obscure (Jimmie Cross). The album sleeve said that all of the songs came from 1965-1972, and then opened with a song recorded in 2013. Oh well. That is a bit of nit picking on my part, but Ace Records did a really good job with this compilation as it made some of the pre fame singles that I had only ever heard on scratchy vinyl transfer, available in crystal clear sound for what could have been the first time.
As Nilsson has had his songs covered by a myriad of artists that were not covered by this compilation, I thought I would see if there was enough material to make a volume 2. What I found is there was indeed enough for not only a second volume, but a third as well. I decided to try and follow the template of the original compilation as close as I can, starting the disc with a cover of the song ‘Gotta Get Up’. This is not one of Nilsson’s most covered songs but luckily there were two additional covers I could use. Both discs contain 24 songs and once again, they feature a mix of well known artists as well as the obscure. These include Hugo Montenegros’s rather bizarre cover of ‘Me & My Arrow’; a song from The Walkman, who decided to cover the entire ‘Pussy Cats’ album and are a couple of novelty covers from The Muppets and British DJ Kenny Everett (who on this occasion, plays it quite straight).
Unlike Ace Record, I do not have access to the original tapes so some of these have been taken from vinyl transfers, so please excuse the pops etc. The sleeve is similar in style to the Ace Records volume. The differences being that I could not match the original font and there are no dates under the title. I decided that that was unnecessary as this was meant to highlight Nilsson songs throughout the years. Its not really the covers you are here for though, but the music. Well, that is top notch. Enjoy!
Gotta Get Up – Davy Jones & Mickey Dolenz
Rainmaker – Bobbie Gentry
All For The Beatles (Stand Up & Holler) – The Originals
The Battle Of The Bands – The Turtles
Daddy’s Song – The Casuals
Baby, It’s Over – Debbie Burton
Wailing Of The Willow – Astrid Gilberto
Me & My Arrow – Hugo Montenegro
Super-Dupa Man – Jimmie Cross
Nobody Cares About The Railroads Anymore – George Tipton
Sister Sue – The Soul Men
So Proud Of You – Vivian Roberts
I’d Do It All Again – Dore Alpert
Readin’ Ridin’ & Racin’ – The Super Stocks
Open Your Window – Ella Fitzgerald
Don’t Leave Me – Griffin
One – Three Dog Night
Coconut – The Muppets
Without Her – Kenny Everett
Maybe – Barbra Streisand
Chicago – The Citations
Headlines – The Sunday Funnies
Paradise – The Ronettes
I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City – Sagittarius
Here on the second volume of my Under The Influence Series, the theme is 60’s soul with a smattering of songs that would later become known as Northern Soul.
Disc 1
Seven Days Too Long – Chuck Wood
Sliced Tomatoes – Just Brothers
Tainted Love – Gloria Jones
Losing Boy – Eddie Giles
Wade In The Water – Ramsey Lewis Trio
Bring Your Love Back – Linda Lyndell
Sister Lee – Sam Ward
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher – Jackie Wilson
Do You Love Me – The Contours
Money (That’s What I Want) – Barrett Strong
You Keep Me Hanging On – The Supremes
The Girl Across The Street – Moses Smith
Nothing Can Help You Now – Lenny Curtis
I’ll Do Anything (He Wants Me To) – Doris Troy
Jimmy Mack – Martha & The Vandellas
This Old Heart of Mine – The Isley Brothers
Try It Baby – Marvin Gaye
Everybody Needs Somebody To Love – Soloman Burke
Helpless – Kim Weston
Uptight (Everything’s Alright) – Stevie Wonder
Leaving Here – Eddie Holland
Cool Jerk – The Capitols
Lonely, Lonely Girl Am I – The Velvelettes
Going To A Go-Go – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
How Sweet IS It To Be Loved by You – Jr. Walker & The All Stars
Put Yourself In My Place – The Elgins
Every Little Bit Hurts – Brenda Holloway
Time Is On My Side – Irma Thomas
Disc 2
Moonlight, Music & You – Laura Greene
Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) – Frank Wilson
Soul Time – Shirley Ellis
The Snake – Al Wilson
Bari Track – Doni Burdick
Out On The Floor – Dobie Gray
You Don’t Love Me – Epitome Of Sound
Just A Little Misunderstanding – The Contours
A Lot Of Love – Homer Banks
Long After Tonight Is All Over – Jimmy Radcliffe
Time Will Pass You By – Tobi Legend
Lonely For You Baby –Sam Dees
Come On Train – Don Thomas
Girls Are Out To Get You – The Fascinations
You Shook Me Up – Roy Hamilton
Get Ready – The Miracles
Landslide – Tony Clarke
Hit & Run – Rose Batiste
Breakin’ Down The Walls Of Heartache – The Bandwagon
Looking For You – Garnet Mimms
Here I Go Again – Archie Bell & The Drells
1-2-3 – Len Barry
He Was Really Saying Something – The Velvelettes
Come See About Me – The Supremes
There’s Nothing Else To Say – The Incredibles
Get Out Of Life Woman – Lee Dorsey
Whatcha Gonna Do About It – Doris Troy
Cry Baby – Garnet Mimms & The Encharters
Big Bird – Eddie Floyd
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright – P.P. Arnold
A playlist for this complication could not be produced due to one or more songs not being available on Spotify.
I have tried listening to records by BIlly Bragg and Wilco released without each other, but there was something about them that meant they were never quite made my shopping list. However, I was quite surprised when listening to Bob Geldof on XFM that a song came on which I instantly fell in love with. This was 1998 so I hoped that he would say who the artist was at the end of the record because this was before the internet had really caught on so if I missed it, there was no way I could look it up afterwards to find out who it was. To my (pleasant) surprise, he said that it was Billy Bragg and Wilco. My interest was peaked.
Going a local record shop (these existed in 1998) and buying the CD (this wasn’t released on vinyl in the UK at that time), I gave it a spin and fell in love with it. The limited sleeves notes in the accompanying booklet told me that all of the lyrics had been written by left wing songwriter Woody Guthrie. In the years since his death, his daughter Nora had been running an archive of her father’s work which included over a thousand sets of lyrics that Guthrie had not recorded himself. Nora had an idea of having a number of contemporary artists record these songs to these lyrics and had asked Billy Bragg to come on board after he had taken part in a Woodie Guthrie tribute concert. Braggs reputation as a left wing activist may also have helped Nora make this decision. Guthrie did not write music and apart from some vague notation, there was little in the way of clues as to what these songs should sound like. The reason these songs were left in this state was down to the fact that Guthrie was suffering from Huntington’s disease, which causes the sufferer to lack co-ordination. That and an injury to his arm in the mid 50’s meant he could no longer play his guitar. Guthrie continued to write lyrics until he was unable to hold a pencil. The songs Guthrie was writing ranged from politics, his fantasy’s about actress Ingrid Bergman, nonsense songs for children and reflections on his own childhood.
Bragg did not gather together a cast of contemporary musicians to help work on this project apart from American band Wilco, who were given their own set of lyrics to work on. Natalie Merchant also came on board to provide vocals on a couple of the songs. It was mentioned at the time that there was enough material in the can for another album and in 2000, a second volume was released. It was easy to tell that the A-grade material was used on Volume 1, but this was still a good album. It was when the second collection came out that I put together a compilation taking what I considered to be the best tunes from both of these volume into one extended edition. In 2012, a compilation was released that contained Volumes 1 & 2, along with a third disc of additional outtakes. I did not feel that any of these songs were strong enough to make appearance on this collection, which I had been playing off and on since 2000.
Billy Bragg and Wilco would not be the only artists to make an album using unused Woody Guthrie lyrics. The Klezmatics would release two albums in 2006, Jonatha Brooke in 2008 and Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker with Jim James in 2012. This has also lead to other artists such Sandy Denny having their own archives of unreleased lyrics set to music by modern musicians and released as albums.
The cover is the same as the one used for Volume 1. It did not feel the need anything added to it. The entire collection is available to listen to via Spotify. Enjoy.
Back in the early years of the 21st Century, there was a short lived series of compilation albums where each track was selected by a band or artist to showcase the music that influenced their own work. In response to this, I thought I would put my own series of compilation CDs together which would showcase a particular style of music that could be said to be very influential. On this volume, I focused on music that could be classed as funk and soul as well as being from (but not exclusively limited to) the 1970’s. Judging by the tracks on this first one, Rap, Hip-Hop, R&B etc could be said to have been influenced by what is on this compilation. There are also numerous samples taken from these tracks. I did a slight edit with track 1, ‘What’s Going On’ by Marvin Gaye as I took the introduction from the original album version and edited it to flow into the single mono mix. The single mix had a bit more punch for me (as well as distinctive fake ending). The second disc opens with ‘Ike’s Rap’ by Isaac Hayes, which I changed slightly so it fades in. The third disc concludes with ‘Inner City Blues’, which finishes with reprise of ‘What’s Going On’, brining the compilation full circle.
Disc 1
What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye (Squire mix)
The Boss – James Brown
I Can’t Stand The Rain – Anne Peebles
Kissing my Love – Bill Withers
California Soul – Marlena Shaw
The Message – Cymande
Do The Funky Chicken – Rufus Thomas
Watts Breakaway – Johnny Otis Show
Shack Up (Part 1) – Banbarra
I Got The – Labi Siffre
Apache – Michael Viners Incredible Bongo Band
I Just Want To Celebrate – Rare Earth
What A Man – Linda Lyndell
Be Thankful For What You’ve Got – William DeVaughn
Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms) – The Detroit Emeralds
Hercules – Aaron Neville
Get Up & Get Down – The Dramatics
Supernatural Thing – Ben E. King
Higher Ground – Ellen Mcillwaine
Move On Up (Album Version) – Curtis Mayfield
Disc 2
Ike’s Rap – Isaac Hayes (Squire Mix)
Woman Of The Ghetto – Marlena Shaw
The Payback – James Brown
Respect Yourself – The Staple Singers
S.O.U.L. – Burning Spear
Are You My Woman (Tell Me So) – The Chi-Lites
Wicky Wacky – The Fatback Band
Everyman – Double Exposure
Hot Pants Road – The J.B.’s
Family Tree – The Family Tree
Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide From Love) – The Delfonics
Back Stabbers – The O’Jays
Itch & Scratch (Part 1) – Rufus Thomas
I Think I’d Do It – Z. Z. Hill
Cramp Your Style – All The People
Summer Madness – Kool & The Gang
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) – The Temptations
Inside My Love (Album Version) – Minnie Ripperton
I Forgot To Be Your Lover – William Bell
I Can’t Write Left Handed – Bill Withers
It’s A Shame – Detroit Spinners
Disc 3
Right On For The Darkness – Curtis Mayfield
Funky President (People It’s Bad) – James Brown
Cross The Track (We Better Go Back) – Maceo & The Macks
Down On The Avenue (Slow Ride) – Fat Larry’s Band
The Bottle – Gill Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson
We Are Neighbours – The Chi-Lites
Low Rider – War
Sing A Simple Song – Please
Get Me Back on Time – Wilson Picket
Do The Funky Chicken (Part 2) – Rufus Thomas
Chicken Yellow – Miami
Express Yourself – Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Born to Live With Heartache – Mary Love
Impeach The President – The Honeydrippers
I Walk On Gilded Splinters – Johnny Jenkins
Mighty Mighty Spade & Whitey – The Impressions
The Assembly Line – The Commodores
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) – Marvin Gaye
A play list could not be completed for this compilation due to the unavailability of one on more songs on Spotify.
Well, it is that time of year for numerous cards depicting snow scenes, overindulgence and Slade blaring out of the radio. Christmas is a peculiar time as it is unlike any other time of the year because it has its own soundtrack. No other festival has so many songs written about or for it. The trick seems to be that if you can write a song that is played every year, you can pretty much keep yourself going for when your material is all but ignored. Jona Lewie has said as much about his song, Stop the Cavalry. The irony being the Stop the Calvary was not written as a Christmas record, but a protest song. Anyway, here is my attempt at a top notch Christmas compilation.
There is nothing particularly obscure here and part from some of the later songs on CD2, these were the records soundtracked my childhood Christmas. There aren’t any recordings from before the 1960’s, and CD 1 stops later in that decade. Almost the whole of the Phil Spector Christmas album is here, as well as a number of Elvis records. CD 2 is the heyday of the 70s and 80s where awesome original Christmas records were still being written and released. Once we get into the 90s and beyond, the quota of songs goes right down. This just goes to show (in my opinion) how few great Christmas records have been produced since the 1980s. People are still releasing Christmas themed records every year but to me, they pale in comparison to what has been included here.
There aren’t too many songs I feel missed out on being selected. ‘Feliz Navidad’ by Jose Feliciano would be one, Another would be East 17’s ‘Stay Another Day’. However, like Jona Lewie, this wasn’t written as a Christmas record either and only had a winter themed video as well as jingle bells inserted into it to appeal to the festive market. At least Jona Lewie mentioned Christmas in his song. Well, as the great Noddy Holder would say “It’s Christmas!!!”
Disc 1
White Christmas – Darlene Love
Frosty The Snowman – The Ronettes
Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
Sleigh Ride – The Ronettes
The Bells Of St. Mary – Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! – Dean Martin
Santa, Bring My Baby Back (To Me) – Elvis Presley
Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt
Run Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry
Parade Of The Wooden Soldiers – The Crystals
Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms
Winter Wonderland – Darlene Love
The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Andy Williams
Here Comes Santa Claus – Bob B. Soxx & The Blues Jeans
Sleigh Ride – The Ventures
Little Saint Nick – The Beach Boys
Santa Claus Is Back In Town – Elvis Presley
Marshmallow World – Darlene Love
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer – The Crystals
This Time Of The Year – Brook Benton
I’d Like You For Christmas – Julie London
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – The Crystals
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Darlene Love
What Christmas Means To Me – Stevie Wonder
Blue Holiday – The Shirelles
You’re All I Want For Christmas – Brook Benton
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – The Ronettes
The Christmas Song – Nat ‘King’ Cole
If Everyday Was Like Christmas – Elvis Presley
Disc 2
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – John Lennon & Yoko Ono
River – Joni Mitchell
Stop The Cavalry – Jona Lewie
Last Christmas – Wham!
Driving Home For Christmas – Chris Rea
All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday – Wizzard
Merry Xmas Everybody – Slade
I Believe In Father Christmas – Greg Lake
2000 Miles – The Pretenders
Christmas Wrapping – The Waitresses
Wombling Merry Christmas – The Wombles
Lonely This Christmas – Mud
Do They Know It’s Christmas – Band Aid
Merry Christmas Everyone – Shakin’ Stevens
Mele Kalikimaka (Christmas In Hawaii) – KT Tunstall
Warm This Winter – Gabriella Climi
Silent Night – Jewel
The Little Drummer Boy – David Bowie & Bing Crosby
Fairytale Of New York – The Pogues & Kirsty MacCall
Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End) – The Darkness
There aren’t too many compilations that can be said that have been a major influence on what was to come afterwards as by definition, these types of records are all about harking back to the past. However, the Nuggets double disc set from 1972 is one of, if not the most important and influential. It was compiled by Lenny Kaye, who would become the lead guitarist in the Patti Smith band. At the time , he was a writer and working at Village Oldies record shop in New York. Not only did he compile the record, he wrote the sleeve notes as well. These contained one of the first uses of the term Punk Rock. Many other compilation series would follow including Rubble, Pebbles and Back From The Grave all of which followed the Nuggets template. That is unearthing rare records, mostly from smaller record labels that specialised in garage rock and psychedelic eras.
I never managed to get hold of the original vinyl version of this compilation. However, in 1998 Rhino decided that they would re-release the album on CD, but instead of just putting out the original version, they decided to expand it with an additional 91 songs in a rather fetching box set. Not all of the records were obscure, with some making to top ten in the US and some didn’t fit into the time frame which said all the records were released between 1965-69. For example, Louie Louie by the Kingsmen was released in 1963. That’s just nitpicking though as even with the the addition of 91 songs there are few that could be considered filler. What I wanted to see was if I could reduce this brilliantly curated box set down to one CD, which was also mean that it would fit onto a double LP like the original album.
Let It Our (Let It All Hang Out) – Los Hombres
Fight Fire – The Golliwogs
Wooly Bully – Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
I Want Candy – The Strangeloves
You Ain’t Tuff – The Uniques
Stop – Get A Ticket – Clefs Of Lavender Hill
I Live In The Springtime – The Lemon Drops
Dirty Water – The Standells
Lies – the Knickerbockers
A Public Execution – Mouse
Open Up Your Door – Richard & The Young Lions
Oh Yeah – Shadows Of Night
Pushin’ Too Hard – The Seeds
Don’t Look Back – The Remains
Liar, Liar – The Casterways
Sugar & Spice – The Cryan Shames
My World Fell Down – Sagittarius
Open Your Eyes – The Nazz
Nobody But Me – The Human Beinz
Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White – The Standells
Action Woman – The Litter
I Ain’t No Miracle Worker – The Brogues
Laugh, Laugh – The Beau Brummels
I Wonder – The Gants
Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love) – The Swingin’ Medallions
Run, Run, Run – The Gestures
Psycho – The Sonics
So What! – The Lyrics
The Little Black Egg – The Nightcrawlers
Falling Sugar – The Palace Guard
I could not attached a Spotify playlist as one or more songs were not available on that format.
I had not heard of the Smashing Pumpkins until they made an appearance on a British TV show in which they didn’t seem to know if they should be promoting their new record as slagging each other off. I seem to remember that the show was much missed (by me anyway) Rapido, but I might have got that wrong. The next time they came up in conversation was with a guitar player who told me that the album that they were plugging that day was not their debut, as I had thought, but their second album. The first album was called Gish. Making my way to Kingston Upon Thames and to the Record Shop: my favourite place to buy vinyl and like Rapdio, I have greatly missed it since it closed down at the end of the 90’s. They had a copy of Gish so I thought I would give it a go. Gish was a curious mix of rock, alt rock and psychedelia but I enjoyed it, so I went back and bought the already released Siamese Dream as well.
From 1993, every year was taken up until with a new Pumpkins release. Pisces Iscariot was a rather fine collection of B-Sides and rarities. Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness was the first triple vinyl album I had ever bought. The bonus for us vinyl buyers was that the release had two tracks that were not available anywhere else. That made up fro the fact that I missed out on the bonus single that had been included on the Pisces Iscariot album. I managed to pick up a copy of the Siamese Singles vinyl box set, which was a bit of an indulgent purchase considering I was at University at the time. This included some fine B-Sides not available anywhere else at the time. Then there was another indulgent purchase with the Aeroplane Flies High box set which the first time I had bought any of the bands work on CD. Even though there were a few duff tracks on here ( I think I have managed to get all the way through the Pistachio Medley just the once), it showed there was still gold to be found if looked hard enough. 1997 was a quiet year for releases with only one single coming out, The End is the Beginning is the End from the Batman and Robin film. However, the year was not quiet on the recording front. James Iha recorded his first solo album and the Pumpkins prepared their Adore album. Adore was a real departure from what went before and even though it was not as popular as their previous albums, it did receive critical praise and I liked the new direction the band seemed to be taking. What was curious about the vinyl edition was that it was released in mono. It would take until 2014 and the deluxe edition that I would hear the album in stereo. They would start the new decade with the Machina album, which would also see the end of the original incarnation of the band. The following decade would see a reformation (of sorts) and in the 2010’s, an extensive reissue programme that was meant to encompass all of the albums from their initial phase. As of October 2020, Machina has yet to feature in this programme.
With the Smashing Pumpkins, it would seem that most of the websites that look at lost records go for a reconstruction of the Machina album, seeing as the second part is relatively easy to find due to Billy Corgan himself allowing it be downloaded for free across the internet. Was it available on his website from the turn of the century? I cannot remember but It would not surprise me if it was as Corgan was actually quite generous with rare or unreleased Pumpkins material at the time. The Squire Archive has a number of CD-Rs of material culled from that site. Unfortunately he stopped being so generous a long time ago. Most of these downloads were from the early days of the band, with a lot of it being sessions conducted by the band before it had a record deal. Some of these songs made it on the bonus discs during on the reissues from 2011 onwards but not all of them. What I thought I would do is to produce a discography for the band from the pre-Gish era as if they had produced not only an album, but singles and an EP. What I did not want to do was double up on material so none of these songs appeared on Gish or Pisces Iscariot.
The band was formed in 1988 when Billy Corgan met James Iha whilst the latter was working in a record shop. Soon afterwards, D’arcy Wretzky was recruited on bass and they played a few shows backed by a drum machine. However, after one show at the Cabaret Metro, the owner told them he would only book them again if they had a real drummer. It was at this point that that Jimmy Chamberlain was drafted in after being recommenced by a friend of Corgans’. His recruitment changed the sound of the band immensely as Chamberlain was quite a powerful player, which allowed the rest of the band to, in the words of Corgan “rock harder than we could ever have imagined”.
Corgan had recorded a few songs using equipment in his father’s home studio but in late 1988, they were ready to record some material for an album, which was quite a commitment considering they did not have a record contract. The band had played a number of gigs and had made the decision that they should put all of their earnings towards recording. Through word of mouth they found out about Mark Ignoffo who was a recording studio in the basement of his parents house. The band recorded a number of songs, three of which (I Am One, Daydream and Rhinoceros) would end up on Gish but only after they had been re-recorded. These sessions would be used as the basis for a number of demo tapes that the band would use to either secure gigs or to solicit record labels. Two songs would be used on a compilation called ‘Light Into Dark’ and these were My Dahlia and Sun. They would also contribute tracks to other compilations albums before Gish was released as well as signing with Sub Pop. It was with the release of the ‘My Dahlia’ single that caused enough interest in the record industry for a number of labels to show some interest in them. However, the band decided to sign with Caroline, a subsidiary of Virgin Records.
So, what are we left to play with to make this first LP that never was. I thought I would keep the two single A-Sides that they released prior to signing with Caroline in their original versions. Both of these songs would be re-recorded for Gish. The original B-Side for I Am One is also the same. La Dolly Vita and Honey Spider would be used elsewhere so I used a cover on the flip instead. The Pumpkins didn’t do many covers that were released, but those they did tended to be on the B-Sides of singles. One was Cinnamon Girl which was originally by Neil Young. I was quite surprised to find that Jackie Blue was not a Pumpkins song, but was by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. I suspect that Billy Corgan would have only wanted his own songs or co-writes with second guitar players James Iha on there. However, I did not feel that any of the other songs I tried to replace it with fitted with the flow of the record.
The album itself is made up of songs that made up one of the demo tapes the band shopped around in 1989. It was re-produced for the Pisces Iscariot deluxe edition from 2012. Jackie Blue had been released on the previously mentioned ‘Light Into Dark’. Two of the songs come from the downloads Billy Corgan made available all those years ago. C’Mon and Honey Spider, which may well be the same as the version found on the B-Side of the Tritessa 12” single, but I do not have one of those in the collection so I have not been able to confirm this. There is also a song called Psychodelic which would also see the light of day on an early demo tape which has yet to see a re-release. It is known to the Pumpkins fans as the ‘Moon Demo Tape’. Lastly, there is Cinder Open, which sounded really good as an opening song, but a bit on the long side. I therefore edited it down to two minutes and used the remainder of the song to finish this collection off. Overall, this is a pretty good album.
However, I did have a few songs left over that I felt were too good to ignore but there wasn’t enough for another album, so these could have been released as a special 12 inch single. Seven songs would have been good value for money as well. The majority of these songs came from the downloads Corgan had put on his webpage as well as some of the other songs from the ‘Moon Demo Tape’. There is La Dolly Vita, the missing Tritessa B-Side and Smiley, which was a Gish era demo, but it was not used on the album so it could have found a home for itself here. It is a shame that when the deluxe editions came out that these songs were not on those records. There was certainly room for them on the Gish as this was an album from the last days of the vinyl era and was only 46 minutes long.
For the album cover, I used the same image that was used on 2001’s Greatest Hits compilation. I called it ‘End’ because of not only the road sign that the band are standing in front of, but I thought it would be a bit of a Billy Corgan thing to do to call their first album by a name that sounds like it should be the last. The Vanilla artwork is a recoloured version of their logo from the Siamese Dream era, but I could not find anything else that I liked that had not been used somewhere else before. The band had not quite found their feet at tis time, but this would have been a good introduction of the band if they had secured a record record before they actually did.
Side A
Cinder Open (Edited to 2:00) – Pisces Iscariot (Deluxe Edition)
Blood Records was created by the same people that brought us the subscription vinyl service, Flying Vinyl (you can hear the two podcasts we produced about them by following the links below). Where as Flying Vinyl deals with the joys of the single, Blood Records is all about the 12”, with their release schedule already including LPs and EPs. These releases are exclusive to the site and are for the most part, hand numbered. The quicker you are to order, the lower the number you will receive. They tend to be signed by the people involved as well as coming on all sorts of wonderful shades of vinyl. There have even been a number of LPs pressed on what can only be described as a zoetrope picture disc. These do have to be seen to be believed.
For this months Record Store Day (RSD), I have decided to produce a sampler disc, in the style of the classics such as ‘Nice Enough To Eat’ and ‘El Pea’ that were released by Island Records in the late 60s and early 70s. This sampler covers the period between 2018 and 2019. In that time, Blood Records released ten records but it is impossible to give a complete picture of the label as some of the LPs released were various artists affairs. The songs that have been selected from those albums has just been a case of picking one that I liked as well as fitting into the time limitations fo the format.
The sleeve artwork was taken from the Blood Records Facebook account and is one of the earlier logos with the dates covered by this compilation added.
A second volume of songs from the late 60s US Acid Rock (sort of) scene. A few artists from the first volume make another appearance here as well as some well known faces that did not. There are also some obscure artists like Michelle proving that much like the UK psych scene, there was so much good music coming out at the time that some of it disappeared through the cracks. Enjoy.
Disc 1
Codine Blues – The Charlatans
Rag Mama Rag – The Band
Let’s Work Together – Canned Heat
Combination Of The Two – Big Brother & The Holding Company
Omaha – Moby Grape
Superbird – Country Joe & The Fish
Live & Let Live – Love
Dark Star – The Grateful Dead
Sister Of Mercy – Leonard Cohen
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 – Bob Dylan
Lemonade Kid – Kak
Red Balloon – Tim Hardin
Think Twice – Salvation
Domesday – Stained Glass
Guess Things Happen That Way – Terry Manning
The Pusher – Hoyt Axton
Free Up – The Surprise Package
Doodle – Skip Spence
Disc 2
Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin
Evil Ways – Santana
Time Was – Canned Heat
Roll With It – The Steve Miller Band
California Earthquake – Cass Elliott
Electric Saiilor – Kak
8:05 – Moby Grape
Old Man – Love
Lie To Me – Kaleidoscope
Light Your Windows – Quicksilver Messenger Service
