Back in September 2023, I posted about cult band Sun Dial. If you want to read more about how I discovered the band and a potted history, the link to that post is below. Anyway, that post was essentially a best of the outtakes as well as a live LP post.
This post is a different beast all together. It is a box set compiled to celebrate 35 years since the band released their first album, ‘Other Way Out’.
As I noted back in September 2023, Sun Dial have been releasing a steady stream of records since 1990, sometimes in extremely limited numbers so it has been a case of getting them when they come out because if you miss them, you will need to be lucky to pick them up later and they will most probably be quite expensive. For example, the two ‘Exploding In Your Mind’ EPs from 2021 where limited to 30 copies each. In the days before social media, finding out if Sun Dial were releasing new music was a case of buying the correct magazine/newspaper and seeing the record is mentioned. With the advent of social media, this has come a lot easier, especially since the band started an official Facebook page.
The aim of this box set is to highlight to earliest years of the band when they were at the most Psychedelic. ‘Other Way Out’ is the greatest psych album not made in the 1960s, and the follow up which was called ‘Return Journey’ followed in a similar vein, even though it did not come out until they had released one other album, ‘Reflector’.
There are numerous takes, demos, rehearsals and mixes spread over so many releases, I felt it would be great to have them all in one place. Fireball takes the record for the most versions. So many in fact, that I filled an entire disc with just that song.
Disc 1
- Plains Of Nazca – 1
- Exploding In Your Mind – 1
- Magic Flight – 1
- World Without Time – 1
- She’s Looking All Around – 1
- Lorne Blues – 1
- Plains Of Nazca (EP Edit) – 2
- Exploding In Your Mind (Single Mix) – 3
- Disitation (Bucket Of Brains Single) – 2
- Visitation (Bob 7”) – 4
- Other Side – 2
- Fireball (Early Take) – 5
- Slow Motion (EP Version – Instrumental) – 2
- Through You – 2
- Poster Painted Skies (Original Version) – 2
- I Can See What You Are – 2
Disc 2
- Plains Of Nazca (First Version) – 7
- Exploding In Your Mind (Orange Injection Mix) – 7
- Magic Flight (Alternative Version) – 8
- Worlds Without Time (Early Mix) – 5
- She’s Looking All Around (Early Mix) – 5
- Lorne Blues (Ruby Mix) – 8
- Other Side (Alternative Mix) – 7
- Visitation (First Contact) – 7
- Hole In The Sun – 6
- Inner Space – 6
- Sunset Park – 6
- Exploding In Your Mind (Blue Injection Mix) – 8
- Silver Dust – 2
- Never Fade (Take 2) – 5
- Poster Painted In Skies (Orignal Version) – 4
Disc 3
- Plains Of Nazca (First Take) – 2
- Exploding In Your Mind (Anthology Version) – 2
- Magic Flight (Early Mix 1) – 5
- She’s Looking All Around (Take 2) – 5
- Lorne Blues (Take 1) – 5
- Astral Vision – 2
- Never Fade (Early Version) – 5
- Phaser Song – 2
- Carousel – 2
- Atom Heart Lover – 2
- Dark Into Light – 2
- Other Side (Alternative Mix) – 2
- Dark Into Light – 2
- Visitation (Long Version) – 2
Disc 4
- Plains Of Nazca (Monitor Mix) – 5
- Exploding In Your Mind (Early Mix) – 5
- Magic Flight (Early Mix 2) – 5
- She’s Looking All Around/Crystal Fountain – 8
- Lorne Blues (Take 2) – 4
- Magic Potion (Acme Mix) – 4
- Astral Vision – 10
- Visitation (Other Way Out Version) – 2
- Slow Motion (Vocal Version) – 2
- You’re So Real (Vocal Version) – 2
- Exploding In Your Mind (Colour Mix) – 2
- Slow Motion (Version 1) – 5
Disc 5
- Plains Of Nazca (Take 2) – 5
- Exploding In Your Mind (Take 2) – 5
- Lorne Blues – 3
- Other Side (Unedited Version) – 5
- Fireball (Alternative Version) – 5
- Fountain (Take 1) – 5
- Never Fade (Alternative Mix) – 5
- Only A Northern Song (Early Mix) – 5
- Astral Version (Take 2) – 5
- U.V. (Early Mix) – 5
- Never Fade (Take 3) – 5
- You’re So Real (Take 1) – 5
- Slow Motion (Early Version) – 5
- Visitation (Early Mix) – 5
Disc 6
- Pains Of Nazca (Take 3) – 5
- Exploding In Your Mind (Take 3) – 5
- Fountain (Take 2) – 5
- Only A Northern Song (Alternative Mix) – 5
- Slow Motion (Take 2) – 5
- You’re So Real (Take 2) – 5
- Fountain (Take 3) – 5
- Never Fade (Monitor Mix) – 5
- Other Side (Take 2) – 5
- You’re So Real (Take 3) – 5
- Slow Motion (Take 3) – 5
- Fountain (Take 4) – 5
- Never Fade (Take 4) – 5
Disc 7
- Fireball (Home Demo 1) – 5
- Fireball (Home Demo 2) – 5
- Fireball (Instrumental) – 5
- Fireball (Relapse Mix) – 4
- Fireball (Mix 1) – 5
- Fireball (Mix 2) – 5
- Fireball (Mix 3) – 5
- Fireball (Mix 4) – 5
- Fireball (Mix 5) – 5
- Fireball (Mix 6) – 5
- Fireball (Mix 7) – 5
- Fireball (Mix 8) – 5
- Fireball (Mix 9) – 5
- Fireball (Take 2) – 5
- Fireball (Take 3) – 5
- Fireball (Take 4) – 5
- Fireball (Overspill EP Original Mix) – 11
Disc 8
- Magic Potion (1993 Acme Mixes) – 9
- North Eastern (1993 Acme Mixes) – 9
- Fireball (1993 Acme Mixes) – 9
- U.V. (1993 Acme Mixes) – 9
- Sunstroke/Mind Train (1993 Acme Mixes) – 9
- Only A Northern Song (Overspill EP Original Mix) – 11
- Never Fade (Overspill EP Original Mix) – 11
- Overspill (Overspill EP Original Mix) – 11
- Fireball (Overspill EP Alt Mix) – 9
- Only A Northern Song (Overspill EP Alt. Mix) – 9
- Never Fade (Overspill EP Alt. Mix) – 9
- Overspill (Overspill EP Alt Mix) – 9
- Outer Limits To Your Brain – 9
- Un-Named Jam – 5
Disc 9
- Samanthas’s Scene (CR Studios Demo 1) – 5
- Magic Potion (2005 Relapse Mixes) – 9
- North Eastern (2005 Relapse Mixes) – 9
- Fireball (2005 Relapse Mixes) – 9
- U.V. (2005 Relapse Mixes) – 9
- Sunstroke/Mind Train (2005 Relapse Mixes) – 9
- Through You – 9
- Slow Motion – 9
- Samanthas’s Scene (CR Studios Demo 2) – 5
- Mind Train Jam – 9
- Jam 2 – 5
Disc 10
- Fireball (2010 Mix) – 9
- Slide (2010 Mix) – 9
- Magic Potion (2010 Mix) – 9
- North Eastern (2010 Mix) – 9
- Vortex (2010 Mix) – 9
- Lucky Star (2010 Mix) – 9
- Never Fade (2010 Mix) – 9
- Sunstroke (2010 Mix) – 9
- Mind Train (2010 Mix) – 9
- Astral Vision (Third Eye Studios Take) – 5
- Carousel (Third Eye Studios Take) – 5
- Exploding In Your Mind (CR Studios April 91) – 5
Disc 11
- Fireball (CR Studios Rehearsal April 91) – 5
- Other Side (CR Studios Rehearsal April 91) – 5
- Astral Vision (CR Studios Take 1) – 5
- Carousel (CR Studios Demo 1) – 5
- Astral Vision (CR Studios Take 2) – 5
- Cathedral (CR Studios Demo) – 5
- Slow Motion (CR Studios Take 2) – 5
- Carousel (CR Studios Demo 1) – 5
- Fireball (CR Studios Rehearsal) – 5
- Carousel (CR Studios Rehearsal) – 5
- Fireball (CR Studios Take) – 5
- Slow Motion (CR Studios Take 3a) – 5
- Carousel (Early CR Studios Take) – 5
- Slow Motion (CR Studios Take 3b) – 5
The two different listings of Slow Motion (CR Studios Take 3a/b) are actually both listed as Take 3 on the box set. However, on listening to them, they do sound different, hence why they are now listed at 3a and 3b.
Disc 12
- Visitation Jam Part 1 (November 90) – 5
- Mind Train Jam – Unedited (December 90) – 5
- Visitation Jam Part 2 (November 90) – 5
- Voodoo Jam (Third Eye December 90) –
Sources Used
1 – Other Way Out
2 – Other Way Out – Deluxe Edition
3 – Shares Of God – The Best Of Sun Dial
4 – Astral Visions
5 – Exploding In Your Mind – 13 Disc Box Set
6 – Plains Of Nazca – The Lost EP
7 – Exploding In Your Mind EP (1)
8 – Exploding In Your Mind EP (2)
9 – Return Journey – The Lost Second Album Session 1991
10 – Other Way In
11 – Never Face: A Collection of EP’s 1990-1992
The cover includes an Eye of Horus symbol that the band have used on some of their archival releases so I felt it would be appropriate to include here. The image itself was found on the internet but I forgot to make a note of the person who made it.