Category: Playlists

There was a time when I just didn’t understand the fascination people had with The Velvet Underground. I had heard ‘a best of’ album when I was at school and I just didn’t get it. Maybe it was down to the fact that I was spending my time listening to Hendrix, Cream, Traffic, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and little else. The guitarists in those bands were some of the best that have ever lived. The guitar playing in VU was not up to their high standard. Too much noise, not enough clean notes, that sort of thing. However, three things happened to change that. First up, I heard Candy Says on a documentary about Andy Warhol and I thought that was a good song. Then, a friend at University played me Sunday Morning, the opening song on the debut album and I also thought that was good too. However, it was when I was working in a shop after leaving University that I heard the Loaded album. I really enjoyed this and could not believe it was The Velvet Underground. This was around the time when that album was released in a Deluxe Edition called The Fully Loaded edition which I snapped up and played quite a lot at the time. 

This was it, until a few years later when I saw the Peel Slowly and See box set at a reduced price, so I took a punt. I was quite surprised by the first disc, which contained demos of some of the songs I had found impenetrable back in my school days. It was as though the early line up of VU were a folk band.  There were multiple takes of the same songs, but with a bit of editing, I am sure these would make a good EP release for Record Store Day or equivalent (see below). I then worked my way through the entire box and I found that I enjoyed a number of the songs that in the past I would not have listened to. These include Heroin, Venus in Furs and Run, Run, Run. It was with this box set that I made my first attempt at a career overview, limiting myself to what was in the box and the Fully Loaded edition of Loaded. Like many others, songs from the Squeeze album were not considered for inclusion. It was not until the internet became a part of my life that I even knew that the band continued on for a few years after Lou Reed left. 

The band can be split into two distinctive eras, the first with John Cale and the second with Doug Yule. The Cale era is definitely the more experimental, and it was due to Cale’s desire to go even further with the experimentation that led to his firing. Reed, being the principal songwriter, wanted the band to become more than just an underground act, so adopting a more commercial sound was necessary. Cale didn’t fit in with these plans, so he was out.  CD1 covers the more experimental side, whereas CD2 covers the more commercial sounding material. The band did not achieve commercial success during their lifetime, but due to some notable fans (such as David Bowie), they have been an influence on those who came afterwards and the records have sold steadily ever since. It just goes to show how popular the band has become as not every band gets to have the majority of their albums re-released in multi disc box sets. 

With the release of the 45th Anniversary editions of the four key albums (once again, Squeeze was not part of the reissue campaign), I decided to look again and see if the different versions of the songs including mono mixes, demos and alternative takes/mixes would improve the compilation. What you hear are the results with the different versions listed next to the title. What does surprise me is that all of the versions of these songs are available on Spotify, so both discs can be heard through that platform. The cover artwork was one I found online many moons ago so I cannot acknowledge who made it. 

Disc 1

1. All Tomorrow’s Parties (Mono)
2. I’m Waiting For The Man (Mono)
3. Run Run Run (Sceptre Sessions Acetate)
4. Stephanie Says
5. There She Goes Again (Mono)
6. Femme Fetale (Mono Single Mix)
7. I’ll Be Your Mirror (Mono)
8. The Fairest Of The Seasons*
9. These Days*
10. Winter Song*
11. Chelsea Girls*
12. Heroine (Alt. Version)
13. Venus In Furs (Mono)
14. Here She Comes Now
15. Guess I’m Falling In Love (Live)
16. Sister Ray

* These songs are from Nico’s album, Chelsea Girl. When this was compiled, the sleeve notes from the 45^th Anniversary Edition of The Velvet Underground & Nico album were used. Those notes suggested that the Velvet Underground played on every song of that album. This does not appear to be the case but I liked this mix of songs so I am going to keep it as it was. 

Disc 2

1. Who Loves The Sun
2. Sweet Jane (Full Length Version)
3. Rock & Roll (Full Length Version)
4. Cool It Down
5. Lonesome Cowboy Bill
6. Head Held High (Alt. Mix)
7. Foggy Notion
8. Jesus (Closet Mix)
9. New Age (Full Length Mix)
10. What Goes On (Closet Mix)
11. I Can’t Stand It
12. Beginning To See The Light (Closet Mix)
13. Pale Blue Eyes (Closet Mix)
14. Candy Says (Closet Mix)
15. I’m Set Free
16. Ride Into The Sun(Demo)
17. Ocean
18. Oh! Sweet Nuthin’

Bonus EP

As mentioned above, I said that the demo’s the band recorded before the release of their first album would make a good EP, so I thought I would put it together. I listened to all of the songs and picked what I considered to be the best take. The song Prominent Men only has one take so that limited the choice with that one. It also sounds nothing like anything else that the Velvet Underground ever did, being as it sounds as though it is Lou Reed trying to be Bob Dylan, harmonica and all. These acoustic versions are not the best sonically, being as they were outside of the studio environment, but there is a certain charm about them and show what the band could have been if they had decided to be a folk trio instead of the band that they became once drummer Mo Tucker came on board. 

Annoyingly (even though we should be thankful these exist at all), on each take of Venus in Furs there is some sort of background noise. Be it a car going past outside the loft apartment in which they recorded them, or the squeaking of what can only be assumed to be a chair of some sort. Luckily, this is the only song affected in this way. As these songs were demos recorded in a loft, the arrangements are different from what they would become on the debut album. The arrangement for Heroin is already in place, building the tension and releasing again. All Tomorrow’s Parties sounds like Reed is once more channelling his inner Dylan where as I’m Waiting For The Man is reminiscent of a pre World War 2 blues record, with slide guitar accompaniment (and a spoken version of the lyrics, courtesy of John Cale by the sounds of it). 

The artwork for this EP uses a logo found on line over the picture of the tape box that was used as the cover to the CD box in the version of the Peel Slowly and See compilation I bought all those years ago. I assume that it was the same box that contained the tape on which the songs were recorded. The songs are all on Spotify but have not been edited down into the individual takes. I have supplied the take and the time it starts.

1. Venus In Furs (Demo) Take 3 – 10:24-15:36
2. Prominent Men (Demo) Take 1
3. Heroin (Demo) Take 5 – 8:33-13:31
4. I’m Waiting For The Man (Demo) – 5:20-9:49
5. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (Demo) Take 12 – 9:50-15:30 
6. All Tomorrow’s Parties (Demo) Take 6 – 9:48-12:13

Even though these are demos, this EP would clock in at an impressive 27 minutes and 52 seconds. If this were to be released on vinyl, a 12 inch record would be needed. 

The Squire Presents YouTube Channel

Back in March, I posted a what-if about Derek & The Dominos’ Layla album had been a double disc expanded edition with the best of the off cuts from the first and second album sessions, with a couple of bonus’ thrown in for good measure. Derek & The Dominos only released the one album during their short life time, but a second album did come out early 1973. This was not the fabled second studio album though, even though the tapes from the 1971 sessions had  occasionally been dusted down and listened to up until 1974, when Clapton released his sophomore solo album. This was the live album ‘In Concert’. After completing the Layla seasons, the band went on a tour of the USA with support coming from Toe Fat and a relative unknown by the name of Elton John. Bobby Whitlock, the band’s keyboardist, has said that like the album sessions that preceded it, there were a good number of drugs being consumed during the tour. Elton John noted though that this did not affect their performance whilst on stage, where he would watch from the sidelines to see what they were doing, especially Whitlock. 

The band played a number of shows on the 23rd and 24th October at the Fillmore East in New York City. All of these shows were recorded (supposedly without the band’s knowledge) and as it would turn out, these are the only record of the band live that is not an audience recording/bootleg. After playing the Layla album to death, I was surprised to find that there was a live album. In the pre-internet age, it was not easy to find out about artists discographies. You had to hope that your local record shop had it in stock. This album also received heavy rotation on my CD player even though I would eventually replace it, along with the Layla CD with original pressings of the vinyl. These early CDs were notorious for that lack of care and attention that record companies had taken with their back catalogues, and would release a version from whatever master tapes they had lying around. I remember the amount of hiss on some of the Cream CDs from the time had the same problem, especially when it came to Fresh Cream (nice clean sound) and Disraeli Gears (sounded like it had been recorded with Dolby on and then transferred via five tape machines to attain maximum hiss. If you listened carefully, you could hear some music in there somewhere).

What surprised me about ‘In Concert’ was the lack of Layla. Was it down to the fact that Duane Allman, so instrumental in the sessions for the parent album only joined them for a couple of shows on the tour and this was not one of them. Without that second guitar player, would the song have worked in a live setting? What was a surprise was hearing songs that were not on Layla. These included Got To Get Better In A Little While (destined to be recorded during the second album sessions) and Roll It Over (the B-side of the band’s withdrawn first single). Having only released one album, the band were reliant on playing songs from Clapton’s back catalogue including songs that he had played during his days with The Powerhouse, Cream, Blind Faith and his first solo album. 

Due to the constraints of the vinyl LP, there were a number of songs that were recorded but not released. Some of these would appear later on 1988’s Crossroads boxset and 1994’s ‘Live at the Fillmore’. Having liked the ‘In Concert’ album so much, I thought it was time to put together an extended live album for the band using all of these sources. This did leave me a little short on the second CD but with the release of the 40th Anniversary boxset, there was a live bonus in the complete set of songs that the band had played on The Johnny Cash Show; the only television performance the band made. All four songs recorded for the show (even though only two were broadcast) have been included at the end as bonus tracks. 

Disc 1

1. Why Does Love Got To Be So Bad?
2. Got To Get Better In A Little While
3. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down & Out
4. Roll It Over
5. Key To The Highway
6. Tell The Truth
7. Blues Power
8. Have You Ever Loved A Woman

Disc 2

1. Bottle Of Red Wine
2. Little Wing
3. Crossroads
4. Presence Of The Lord
5. Let It Rain
6. It’s Too Late (Johnny Cash Show)
7. Got To Get Better In A Little While (Johnny Cash Show)
8. Matchbox (Johnny Cash Show)
9. Blues Power (Johnny Cash Show)

The front cover is similar in design to the Layla Expanded Edition from March, but instead of a black background, I went for red. The photos are taken from the Live at the Fillmore front cover, with an added picture of Clapton playing to cover over the credits on the original release. 

A Spotify playlist could not be produced due to one or more songs not being available on that platform.

The Squire Presents YouTube Channel

We now move to the third and final of my Bowie playlist CDs. I have not gone any further because I could just about listen to Bowie’s 80s output but found what he produced from Tin Machine onwards was not to my tastes. Anyway, I digress. Bowie left the hedonistic lifestyle that head fuelled his work in Los Angeles and moved to Europe to clean up; but had also become interested in German bands such Neu and Kraftwerk. He would also find inspiration from the album Epsilon in Malaysian Pale, a solo record from Tangerine Dream guitarist/keyboardist Edgar Frosse. Brian Eno became a collaborator and Bowie moved away from the Blue Eyed Soul of his L.A. work to one of electronica and ambient. What is different from Bowie’s previous work is the number of instrumentals on what became known as the Berlin trilogy of albums. These albums have a very distinct sound, but the songs on Bowie’s first album of the 80s (Scary Monsters and Super Creeps) have a similar sound, so those from this album that were used have been placed on disc one.

Disc two takes us into Bowie’s commercial 80s period. Let’s Dance was released in 1983, three years after the release of Scary Monsters which was at that point, the longest gap between new Bowie LP releases. The album’s title track would be a number one hit single in UK, US and numerous other territories. The album also sold over 10 millions copies and at the time was Bowie’s most successful album. However, this could be argued to be the first time that Bowie tried to second guess his audience, especially as he had gained so many new ones. The two albums that came after Let’s Dance, Tonight and Never Let Me Down were all commercial successes. However, they weren’t particularly well received by fans and critics, and Bowie distanced himself from them as early as 1990. It is easy to see why. They are well produced and very commercial, but the contrast with the experimental music featured on disc one of this collection is the most striking of all of the Bowie collections. Whilst disc one is full of audio landscapes, disc two became a generic mix of over production and session men. It’s therefore no great surprise that Bowie called this his Phil Collins years. One surprise on the second disc must be the inclusion of the song, Too Dizzy. Written as a homage to the 50s, Bowie came to dislike the song so much that it was deleted from all reissues of the record. Nevertheless, it finds a place here.

CD 1 is Bowie at his most experimental, and CD 2 at his most commercial. It goes to show more than any other of the Bowie collections I have posted the ever evolving nature of his music and craft.

The cover image was taken during the Berlin years and perfectly captures the nature of the music recorded during those years.

Disc 1

1. Moss Garden
2. Speed Of Life
3. Fashion
4. D.J.
5. Weeping Wall
6. V-2 Schneider
7. Sound & Vision
8. Be My Wife
9. Warszawa
10. Breaking Glass
11. Boys Keep Swinging
12. Blackout
13. Ashes To Ashes
14. The Secret Life Of Arabia
15. Look Back In Anger
16. Heroes
17. Always Crashing The Same Car
18. Teenage Wildlife

Disc 2

1. Let’s Dance
2. China Girl
3. Without You
4. Criminal World
5. Bang Bang
6. Neighbourhood Threat
7. Blue Jean
8. I Keep Forgetting
9. Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
10. Time Will Crawl
11. Too Dizzy
12. Zeroes
13. This Is Not America
14. Loving The Alien
15. Absolute Beginners
16. As The World Falls Down

The playlist for disc one is available on Spotify, but disc two could not be re-created because one or more songs were not available on that platform.

With the release of 1972’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album, Bowie had achieved the success he had been working towards for the previous decade. 1972 was a busy year for Bowie as he helped to produce Lou Reed’s Transformer album, released John, I’m Only Dancing as a stand-alone single, and donated the song All The Young Dudes to Mott the Hoople. The Ziggy Stardust tour also traversed the world so with that workload, it is not a surprise that the Aladdin Sane album has been notorious down the years for a serious lack of bonus tracks. It would seem that Bowie just didn’t have the time to record anything other than what was necessary, or those songs were all he had. The inclusion of a Rolling Stones cover hints at the direction Bowie would take for his next record. Aladdin Sane is a continuation from the Ziggy Stardust album, as it still has a number of glam elements but combines this with a tougher rock sound. There were even some influences from jazz and cabaret. The majority of the Aladdin Sane tracks are used in the second half of the CD. 

Pinups was to follow and only two songs were used from it, the single Sorrow and it’s B-Side Port of Amsterdam. I must admit to finding this album a bit difficult to listen to because in my opinion his covers are not as good as the originals that inspired Bowie. The first half of CD one is taken up by recordings from Diamond Dogs, Bowie’s attempt to adapt the book 1984 before the family of George Orwell refused to sell him the rights. Included is the song Dodo from the Diamond Dogs sessions which was not on the parent album but was performed live in Bowies 1973 variety programme, The 1980 Floor Show. The studio version would not surface until 1990. The demo version of Candidate was used which is not only different musically from the version originally released but also contains different lyrics. The one anomaly (if that is the right word) is a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City, which is believed to have been an outtake from the later Station to Station album. There is some conjecture though that it was recorded for the Diamond Dogs album as Bowie had recorded another Springsteen song in Growin’ Up (also included here) in the same period. It sounds like it should go in Bowie’s glam period so that is where it has been placed.

CD two moves into Bowie’s mid 70s period when he embraced Soul music. Young Americans fully embraced it whilst its follow up did contain some soul elements but also showed hints of the direction he would go in after that. Young Americans was the first time since he had become a star that Bowie had changed musical style so severely. This meant that Bowie did lose a portion of his UK fan base but with the single Fame reaching number one on the US singles charts, he was cementing his status on the other side of the pond. It was also during this period that Bowie developed a serious cocaine habit, the results of which could be seen in the way he looked. This is not called his Thin White Duke period for nothing. Bowie claims that he knew he was in Los Angeles whilst recording this because he read he was. Guitar players Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar have also testified to the quantity of drugs taken during this period. There aren’t too many outtakes from this period so the run time on disc two is a little short. The cover is an outtake form the Aladdin Sane photo shoot with a Diamond Dogs era Bowie logo added to it.

Disc 1

1. Future Legend
2. Diamond Dogs
3. Panic In Detroit
4. We Are The Dead
5. Sweet Thing
6. Candidate
7. Sweet Thing (Reprise)
8. Rebel Rebel
9. The Jean Genie
10. Dodo
11. Big Brother
12. Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family
13. Port Of Amsterdam
14. Growin’ Up
15. Watch That Man
16. It’s Hard Toe Be A Saint In The City
17. Candidate (Demo)
18. Rock ‘n Roll With Me
19. Drive-In Saturday
20. Sorrow

Disc 2

1. Station To Station
2. Golden Years
3. Fascination
4. TVC 15
5. Fame
6. Somebody Up There Likes Me
7. Can You Hear Me?
8. Young Americans
9. Win
10. Who Can I Be Now?
11. Wild Is The Wind
12. It’s Gonna Be Me

Neither of these playlists could be reproduced on Spotify, as they contain songs not available on the platform at this time.

For the second compilation, we have David Bowie using songs from his debut album up to and including Ziggy Stardust. Bowie had been on vinyl as far back as 1964 but none of these early singles made the cut. To my ears, they are not very good and pretty derivative of the period in which they were recorded. However, by the time his first album came out in 1967, there were a couple of songs that didn’t sound out of place. Most of these were stereo but some mono mixes were used all thanks to the deluxe edition of his debut album which was a goldmine of interesting cuts and BBC sessions. A couple of these early songs are presented by BBC recordings as they had a bit more life to them than the studio cuts. 1971 re-recording of Holy Holy was also included here as this was the version I heard first and I prefer it to the original single mix. The first disc does highlight the fact that Bowie was really trying to find his voice and style.

Disc 2 is where this changes and the gold starts to flow. Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust are great albums and it was hard leaving songs off. However, it is all about the flow when putting a compilation like this together. I included the demo of Quicksand instead of the studio cut as I like the simplicity of it. It is also quicker and fits in better. Looking for a Friend is the unreleased single mix from Bowie’s Arnold Corns project and some period songs that were either released as B-sides later on (Velvet Goldmine) or unreleased at the time (Sweet Head). The disc finishes with a bang by using the single version of John, I’m Only Dancing. Well the version without the saxophone on it anyway. For the cover, I used a fresh faced Bowie from his debut album but with any reference to the record label taken off.

Disc 1

1. Space Oddity
2. Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed
3. The Man Who Sold The World
4. Running Gun Blues
5. Janine
6. God Knows I’m Good
7. Let Me Sleep Beside You (BBC Version)
8. Black Country Rock
9. Come & Buy My Toys (Stereo Album Mix)
10. Letter To Hermione
11. Holy Holy (1971 Re-Recording)
12. An Occasional Dream
13. In The Heat Of The Morning (Mono Vocal Version)
14. Sell Me A Coat (Original Mono Album Mix)
15. Silly Boy Blue (BBC Version Recorded For Top Gear)
16. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Rare B-Side Version – 2003 Digital Remaster)
17. After All
18. Cygnet Committee
19. Memory Of A Free Festival

Disc 2

1. Changes
2. Oh! You Pretty Things
3. Eight Line Poem
4. Life On Mars!
5. Kooks
6. Fill Your Heart
7. Andy Warhol
8. Song For Bob Dylan
9. Queen Bitch
10. Quicksand (Demo)
11. Looking For A Friend (Single Version)
12. Moonage Daydream
13. Starman
14. It Ain’t Easy
15. Lady Stardust
16. Star
17. Hang On To Yourself
18. Velvet Goldmine
19. Ziggy Stardust
20. Suffragette City
21. Sweet Head
22. Rock & Roll Suicide
23. John, I’m Only Dancing (1972 single version, new 1990 remix)

The playlist for Disc 1 is available on Spotify, but disc 2 could not be re-created  because one or more songs were not available on that platform.

First up, we start with the legendary Small Faces. I was first introduced to the band during the Britpop Years when many of those acts said how much of an influence and inspiration they were. Unfortunately, compilers have poorly served the band and record companies down the years, especially after the mess that was the Immediate label. However, at least in the 2010s, there have been some efforts to rectify this with deluxe editions of their 60s catalogue as well as a four disc box set. At the time of writing though, the Autumn Stone compilation has yet to be a part of this programme but hopefully this will not be the case for too much longer.

I have split this band overview over two discs, neatly divided into the Decca and Immediate years. This is not quite as neat a division as it should have been as Eddie’s Dreaming, which ends Disc One was the last song on the first Immediate album. To my ears, none of the Decca material sounded like a last song on an album track, and with the story of Happiness Stan Suite finishing Disc Two, this would have been a track too good to miss off.; hence it goes there. Just Passing on Disc Two was recorded during the period where the band was moving between Decca and Immediate, but it sounds more like the second labels material so it went there. In my opinion, the band also sounded better in Mono so the majority of the songs here are in that format, except for the songs taken from Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake. Being the most psychedelic of their albums, stereo seems to be the best way to listen that material. Stereo was also the way in which I first heard that album, so mono just doesn’t sound right to me. The exception being Song of a Baker which sounds a bit odd in stereo to my ears, due to the drums being in the left channel instead of the centre. Red Balloon has never been released in mono. The front over is a classic mod shot of the band from their early years which was borrowed from a very early Small Faces website back in the early years of this century.

Anyway, stay tuned for more playlists coming over the following weeks.

The Small Faces – The Collection

Disc 1 – The Decca Years

1. What’Cha Gonna Do About It (Mono)
2. What’s A Matter Baby (Mono)
3. Take This Hurt Off Me (Mono/Different Version)
4. I Can’t Make It (Session Version – Mono)
5. Jump Back (Mono/BBC Saturday Club Version)
6. Shake (Mono)
7. Hey Girl (Mono)
8. Almost Grown (Mono)
9. Own Up Time (Mono/Alt Version)
10. Come On Children (Mono)
11. Understanding (Mono)
12. E Too D (Mono)
13. You Need Loving (Mono)
14. One Night Stand (Mono)
15. It’s Too Late (Mono)
16. All Or Nothing (Mono)
17. Don’t Stop What You’re Doing (Mono)
18. My Mind’s Eye (Mono)
19. Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow (Mono)
20. That Man (Mono)
21. I’ve Got Mine (Mono)
22. You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me (Mono)
23. Eddie’s Dreaming (Mono)

Disc 2 – The Immediate Years

1. Tin Soldier (Mono)
2. Something I Want To Tell You (Mono)
3. Here Comes The Nice (Mono)
4. Itchycoo Park (Mono)
5. I Feel Much Better (Mono Single Mix)
6. Become Like You (Mono)
7. Talk To You (Mono)
8. Things Are Going To Get Better (Mono)
9. Afterglow Of Your Love (Stereo)
10. Songs Of A Baker (Mono)
11. Just Passing (Mono)
12. Feeling Lonely (Mono)
13. All Our Yesterdays (Mono)
14. Lazy Sunday (Mono)
15. The Universal (Mono Single Mix)
16. My Way Of Giving (Mono)
17. Show Me The Way (Mono)
18. I’m Only Dreaming (Mono)
19. Wham Bam Thank You Mam (Mono)
20. Red Balloon (Alt Stereo Mix)
21. The Autumn Stone (Mono Single Mix)
22. Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire (Mono)
23. Happiness Stan (Stereo)
24. Rollin’ Over (Stereo)
25. The Hungry Intruder (Stereo)
26. The Journey (Stereo)
27. Mad John (Stereo)
28. Happy Days Toy Town (Stereo)

I was not able to add a Spotify playlist because one or more songs were not available on that platform.