Have A Doo-Wop Christmas 2025

It's almost that time of year again, and so as an alternative to the usual Christmas songs that are played to death on the radio, here's a nice collection of festive Doo-Wop songs to enjoy over the next few weeks.

Track listing

01 The Christmas Tree (The Episodes 1960)

02 You're My Christmas Present (The Skyliners 1959)

03 It's Christmas Time (The Five Keys 1951)

04 Rockin' Santa Claus (The Martels 1959)

05 Don't Cry For Me This Christmas (The Marcels 1961)

06 Christmas Bell Rock (Barry & The Highlights 1960)

07 Christmas Lullaby (Tony & The Daydreams 1961)

08 Happy Holiday (The Jaguars 1959) 

09 Christmas Plea (The Dynamics 1962)

10 I'll Be Home For Christmas (Larry Chance & The Earls 2001)

11 What A Christmas (The Justinas 2000)

12 Christmas Time (The Debonairs 1957)

13 Just A Lonely Christmas (The Moonglows 1953)

14 Like A Kid At Christmas (The Five Boroughs 1992)

15 Christmas Letter (Kitty & The La-Fetts 1957)

16 Merry Christmas (The Cameos 1957)

17 At Christmas Time (The Castelles 1957)

18 Every Heart Is A Home At Christmas (The Five Keys 1957)

19 I Remember (Christmas) (Gerry & The Gems 1963)

20 Whispering Bells (The Del Vikings 1957)

21 C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S (The Rhythm Aces 1962)

22 It's Christmas Time (The Qualities 1956)

23 Can This Be Christmas (The Falcons 1956)

24 Jingle Jangle (The Penguins 1955)

Pink Floyd - If You Don't Eat Yer Meat (1970)

Time for another guest post from geofmcm, with his take on a "lost" Pink Floyd album that could have been. 
This came about because I always felt 'Embryo' deserved to be on an album rather than on a sampler and other collections. Timewise 'Atom Heart Mother' seemed to be about right, but I was wanting a good version of 'Atom Heart Mother' without the choir and orchestra (although I love the versions of AHM Ron Geesin has done live with various orchestras that are on YouTube.) The one on the box set lacked energy and seemed to be one overdub short so seemed to just plod along. Obviously, there was the studio version of 'Embryo', but the one I used was from the 1970 BBC in concert from Paris Theatre. Unfortunately the BBC recorded this concert in mono, and although they artificially created a 'stereo' version for later releases it was still pretty flat. I therefore decided to create my own version by splitting out the stem versions of 'Embryo', 'Fat Old Sun' and 'If' for my side one, and set about creating stereo version. Dave to the left, Rick to the right, Roger and Nick in the centre (giving the drums some width). Tidied up the sounds of the stems, added some extra sounds, and created my new versions. Unfortunately the concert version of 'Atom Heart Mother' was with orchestra/choir so I looked for another version, and chose Santa Monica 1970, where it was called 'The Amazing Pudding', and was in a more bluesy development phase. It also had longer band parts, and was structurally similar to 'Echoes', but it too was in mono, and of a lesser quality. Again I used RipX to break it into stems and cleaned them up,  remixing/mastering a new stereo version. This fills side two and now fits the feel of side one.  The title of the album is from 'The Wall', because of the side two track name: "If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any [amazing] pudding".

Track listing

01 Fat Old Sun
02 Embryo
03 If
04 The Amazing Pudding

John Cale & Liam Young - Loop>>60Hz - Transmissions From The Drone Orchestra (2014)

You may have noticed that I don't tend to post live albums unless they are of historical significance, and I think this one certainly qualifies for that. 

On 13 September 2014 the music of John Cale converged with the speculative architecture visions of Liam Young at the Barbican’s Digital Revolution exhibition, for the first-ever drone orchestra performance. It was a whirlpool of collective, creative energy, coming from a swarm of unmanned flying objects programmed to entertain, instead of kill. 'Loop>>60Hz: Transmissions From The Drone Orchestra' was a collaboration between airborne architecture and music, which came about after Young received a phone call from Cale who had seen an earlier work of his called Electronic Counter Measures, in which wi-fi routers on a flock of drones broadcast a pirated Internet signal, like an "aerial Napster". Young had also begun testing speakers on drones, launching ones at Burning Man that played Wagner’s 'Flight Of The Valkyries', while Cale was an innovator in the music world, intrigued by the opportunity to embed his signature audio style onto a flying multichannel orchestra. As Young and Cale talked, they imagined what a drone could become once it was stripped of its traditional narrative of war and terror, and their vision was to have drones shed their hard technological shells and take on more human-like characteristics, by blending live audio with the mechanical bots. It took two years to find the right venue, as putting these technologies above people’s heads could be really violent, but The Barbican Theatre bravely stepped up to the plate. Cale remixed and reengineered his music for the performance, changing the arrangements to make them much harder, and more urban and colder. This made the voices stand out more, and the singing that much more emotional. 

A few drones from a flock of 15 would carry his voice to different areas in the room during the performance, while additional flying bots were augmented with speakers to amplify the mechanical humming of their motors, generating noise that was then incorporated into the live composition. Software lead Andreas Müller developed an ultrasonic beacon tracking system that could allow the team to manipulate light, create a smoky haze effect, and use the whole of the theatre for their choreography. Like dancers or actors, the drones had their own couture costumes, such as bright green and blue plumage, a coat made from 500 phone charms sourced from Chinese markets, a box-like structure decorated with hazard tape, and even a shiny disco suit made from 4,000 fake nails. Producer Keri Elmsly stood in the orchestra pit during the performance, coordinating take-offs and landings. The original plan for the performance was to have the drones be autonomous, but when the automated system failed, the team had to adjust the show for manual overrides, and a team of pilots took over. With the weights on the bodies of the drones, the batteries drained quickly, within five-to-ten minutes, and so a team of battery changers had to resuscitate the drones periodically during the 80-minute-long performance. Cale's music was a mix of new and old material, including radical reworkings of classic old tracks, such as distorted 'Mercenaries' and 'Sanities' set to a lurching heigh-ho Tom Waits beat, and then towards the end of the concert there was an extended 'Sister Ray', as if rewritten for a disco in hell. There is a bit of wind noise in this recording, as because it was an inside performance, when the drones flew overhead, the down draught was picked up on the recorder, but I've tried to remove as much of it as I can, and it only affected about four of the tracks. 

Track listing

01 Instrumental
02 Mercenaries (Ready For War)
03 If You Were Still Around
04 December Rains
05 Caravan
06 Half Past France
07 Mothra
08 Sandman (Flying Dutchman)
09 Gravel Drive
10 Letter From Abroad
11 Sanities
12 Wasteland
13 Sister Ray
14 Strange Times In Casablanca
15 [Standing Ovation]

Maxïmo Park - My Life In Reverse (2009)

Maxïmo Park was created by guitarist Duncan Lloyd, bassist Archis Tiku, Lukas Wooler on keyboads and drummer Tom English, and is named after Máximo Gómez Park (also known as Domino Park), located in Little Havana, Miami. Initially, the four founding members played several small shows, including Manchester's In the City, which showcases unsigned bands in the UK, but by 2003 they decided they wanted a frontman, as the original singers, Archis and Duncan, wanted to focus on writing the songs. The then-girlfriend of English noticed his friend Paul Smith singing along to Stevie Wonder's 'Superstition', and offered him the job even though they didn't know if he could sing, as they were impressed by his stage presence. Around March 2004, a friend funded 300 copies of a 7" red vinyl single 'Graffiti', which was recorded by Lloyd in his and English's flat in Fenham, Newcastle. The band's second release was a 7" single of their songs 'The Coast Is Always Changing' and 'The Night I Lost My Head', recorded by Paul Epworth. 

After some time of doing gigs around their home town, Steve Beckett of the dance-electronic label Warp Records acquired one of these records and decided to sign the band to his label. In 2005, Maxïmo Park released their debut album, 'A Certain Trigger', which sold over 300,000 copies and was nominated for the Mercury Prize in July. In December 2006, the band were brought to Shanghai by Split Works and were one of the earlier big-name acts from abroad to play in China. In August 2006, the band announced that work had started on their next album, which was produced by Gil Norton and recorded at Rak Studios in London. In March 2007 they released the dingle 'Our Velocity' as a taster for the 'Our Earthly Pleasures' album, which followed in April. In October 2008, the band announced that they had started recording their third album in Los Angeles with the producer Nick Launay, known for his recent work with Nick Cave and Grinderman. 'Quicken The Heart' was released on 11 May 2009, with the first single, 'The Kids Are Sick Again' being released a week earlier. 

That same year the also contributed a cover version of Vincent Gallo's 'When' to the 'Warp20 (Recreated)' compilation, as well as having their own song 'Acrobat' covered by Seefeel. On 28 March 2012, Maxïmo Park announced the fourth album title as 'The National Health', with Smith explaining "We're in a global recession and everyone is being bombarded with bouncy, happy music. The nation is out of control and the record is about taking back control, and being a force for change in your own life". It was released in June 2012, and two month later it was announced that bassist Tiku would be taking time away from touring, to be covered by Paul Rafferty of Hot Club de Paris. The band's fifth album, 'Too Much Information', was released on 3 February 2014, being recorded by Lloyd and produced by the group, with additional production by The Invisible's Dave Okumu on the track 'Brain Cells'. 

Recording originally started as a 5-track EP in Sunderland, with help from Field Music's David and Peter Brewis, before turning into a fully formed album with the extra tracks recorded in the band's studio in Newcastle. 

In January 2017, the band released the title track of their next album as a single, with 'Risk To Exist' debuting on BBC 6 Music's Steve Lamacq Show. They later confirmed via Twitter that Tiku had officially retired, and his live replecement, Paul Rafferty, would play on 'Risk To Exist', although he would not be an official member of the band. In November 2018, keyboardist Wooller announced his imminent departure from the band in order to emigrate to Australia, and he was replaced by touring keyboardist Jemma Freese, converting the official line-up of the band into a trio. In September 2020, the band shared a new single, 'Child Of The Flatlands', followed a month later by 'Baby, Sleep', and then in November a third single 'I Don't Know What I'm Doing', and the 'Nature Always Wins' album was released worldwide on 26 February 2021. It was expected to become their first number one album in the UK, after debuting in that position in the midweek chart, but when the chart was announced on 5 March 2021, it debuted at number two, losing out to Architects' 'For Those That Wish to Exist'. The band released their eighth studio album, 'Stream Of Life', in September 2024, with four singles being taken from it in the run-up to its release. Maxïmo Park are currently promoting the 20th anniversary re-issue of 'A Certain Trigger', and so it's the perfect time to round up all their non-album b-sides for this collection of hard to find music from the band.   

Track listing

Disc I - 2004-2007
01 My Life In Reverse (b-side of 'Apply Some Pressure' 2004)
02 I Want You To Leave (b-side of 'Apply Some Pressure' 2004)
03 Fear Of Falling (b-side of 'Apply Some Pressure' 2004)
04 Isolation (b-side of 'Apply Some Pressure' 2004)
05 Trial And Error (b-side of 'Graffiti' 2005)
06 Hammer Horror (b-side of 'Graffiti' 2005)
07 Stray Talk (b-side of 'Graffiti' 2005)
08 A19 (b-side of 'Going Missing' 2005)
09 A Year Of Doubt (b-side of 'Going Missing' 2005)
10 La Quinta (b-side of 'I Want You To Stay' 2005)
11 I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) (Radio 1 Live Version) (b-side of 'Books From Boxes' 2007)
12 Obstinate Ideas (b-side of 'Books From Boxes' 2007)
13 Don McPhee (b-side of 'Books From Boxes' 2007)
14 Distance Makes (b-side of 'Our Velocity' 2007)
15 Mary O'Brien (b-side of 'Our Velocity' 2007)
16 Pride Before A Fall (b-side of 'Our Velocity' 2007)
17 Robert Altman (b-side of 'Our Velocity' 2007)

Disc II - 2007-2009
01 An Unknown (b-side of 'Girls Who Play Guitars' 2007) 
02 Sandblasted And Set Free (Instrumental Demo) (b-side of 'Girls Who Play Guitars' 2007)
03 Warehouse (b-side of 'Girls Who Play Guitars' 2007)
04 (I Remember) Joe Brainard (b-side of 'Girls Who Play Guitars' 2007)
05 Jean Baudrillard (b-side of 'Karaoke Plays' 2007)
06 Jonathan Cole (Take 1) (b-side of 'Karaoke Plays' 2007)
07 George Brown (b-side of 'Karaoke Plays' 2007)
08 Like I Love You (b-side of 'Karaoke Plays' 2007)
09 Russian Dolls (b-side of 'The Kids Are Sick Again' 2009)
10 Tales Of The Semi-Detached (b-side of 'The Kids Are Sick Again' 2009)
11 History Books (b-side of 'The Kids Are Sick Again' 2009)
12 When (from the 'Warp20 (Recreated)' compilation 2009)
13 That Beating Heart (b-side of 'Questing Not Coasting' 2009)
14 Too Many Letters (b-side of 'Questing Not Coasting' 2009)
15 (Join A Society For) The Destruction Of The Twentieth Century (b-side of 'Questing Not

                                                                                                                           Coasting' 2009)

Eric Burdon & Tovarich - The Man (1971)

On 5 February 1971 Eric Burdon left his band in the middle of their European tour, allegedly due to exhaustion, and after returning home and taking time off, he started working on his next album, to be titled 'Guilty!'. This was a collaboration with blues legend Jimmy Witherspoon, and after Burdon and Witherspoon played seven consecutive Mondays at the Whiskey A Go Go club in July 1971, they decamped to the studio to record the album between July and September. 'Guilty!' was released in late 1971, with Burdon sharing vocal duties 50/50 with Witherspoon, and it was a concept album about getting released from prison, dealing with the survivor’s guilt of being out, and the very real fear of getting hauled in front of an unmerciful judge for something as minor as a traffic violation. Burdon and Witherspoon share the vulnerabilities of victimhood, and every track is intense, honest, and gripping, but despite this meeting of two great bluesmen, it suffered poor sales and received some scathing reviews. Following the release of the album, Burdon decided to take his band from the sessions out on tour, and he named them Tovarich, which is Russian for "comrades". The line-up was John Sterling on guitar, Terry Ryan on organ, George Suranovich on drums, and Kim Kesterson on bass, and they played some gigs around Los Angeles towards the end of 1971. Their show from 10 December was recorded, and shows great chemistry between Burdon and the band, and as only one track from 'Guilty!' was played during their set, mainly because 'Soledad' was a Burdon/Sterling co-write, there was a real possibility that this line-up could go into the studio and record an album of their own. Alas, it was not to be, and Tovarich went their separate ways, with Sterling re-appearing some years later to provide the soundtrack to the 1976 movie 'Revenge Of The Cheerleaders'. The recording quality of the 1971 gig was pretty good, and it got me wondering what a studio album would have sounded like with them playing this material, so I played around with the tracks, removed the audience noise and extraneous chatter from Burdon, added some top end and fades where needed, and ended up with a 47-minute 'studio' album from a band that never really existed. So here is what could have been Eric Burdon & Tovarich's debut album from 1971, 'The Man'. 

Track listing

01 City Boy
02 All I Do Is Wait For You
03 The Man
04 Stop
05 Gotta Get It On Today
06 Funky Fever

07 Soledad
08 Be Mine

T-Boz - Still Cool (2011)

Tionne Tenese Watkins, also known by her stage name T-Boz, was born on 26 April 1970, in Des Moines, Iowa, and as a teen she worked as an apprentice in an Atlanta hair salon, participating in hair shows and competition, and she won her first competition at the age of 14. In 1990 Crystal Jones held auditions for a singing group and chose Watkins, and Lisa Lopes. The group eventually attracted the attention of Perri "Pebbles" Reid and her husband, Antonio "L.A." Reid, head of LaFace Records, and after Jones was replaced with Rozonda Thomas the group were signed to the label as TLC. In order to preserve the TLC name, Watkins is now named "T-Boz", while Lopes became "Left Eye" and Thomas became "Chilli". Having sold over 60 million records worldwide, TLC are one of the five best-selling American girl groups of all time, and Billboard magazine ranked them as one of the greatest musical trios, as well as the seventh-most-successful act of the 1990's. Following the release of their 'Fanmail' album in 1999, they took some time off and pursued personal interests. Lopes was the first to begin recording her solo album, 'Supernova', and Chilli waited until 2006 to begin recording of her shelved album 'Bipolar', while T-Boz had two singles out by 2000, with 'My Getaway' and 'Tight To Def' with Mack 10, who she married later that year. 

She had already released a solo single while still part of TLC, when 'Touch Myself' was included on the soundtrack of the 1996 film 'Fled') and 'My Getaway' was also used for the soundtrack of the 2000 film 'Rugrats in Paris: The Movie', and additionally she was a featured vocalist on songs such as 'Ghetto Love' with Da Brat, 'Changes' with Society of Soul, 'He Say She Say' with Keith Sweat. In 2011 she started work on an album, to be called 'Still Cool', which included some tracks going back as far as 2005, when 'My Heart' was recorded as a warm-up demo, and the material later evolved into more club-themed material. An initial offering, 'Get It, Get It', was leaked to the internet around late 2009, but unfortunately it fell on deaf ears, and so the decision was made to go through a re-recording process to satisfy her creative decisions. By 2013, when the song 'Champion' was released as a single, it was discovered that recording for the album had actually ceased around 2011, and that a completely new album was underway, with a track titled 'Fuck It' to be released as a lead single. Unfortunately, both that album and its single were cancelled as well, but we do have the abandoned 'Still Cool' recordings to hear what T-Boz was up to after she left TLC. 

Track listing

01 Get It, Get It (feat. Too Short & Yung Joc) 
02 U Got Me Open
03 Game Proof (with Chilli of TLC)
04 Champion 
05 Rebel Yell (feat. Lil Wayne)
06 Start Off New
07 Can It Be Love 
08 My Heart
09 Miracles 
10 Someday 

Bruce Springsteen - Fugitive's Dream (1984)

Following the end of the recording sessions in June 1983, major mixing sessions took place, and some in CBS were even talking of the possible pre-Christmas release of a new Bruce Springsteen album. There was certainly no shortage of outstanding material to pick from, and so on 26th and 27th July Springsteen compiled a twelve-song album sequence comprised of three songs carried over from the 1982 sequence, four from the early 1983 sessions and five from the recent E Street Band sessions, however, as had been the case in March, he decided to hold off and continue writing more songs. He felt that his selection lacked cohesion, and the sound quality of the garage tracks jarred in comparison to the studio tracks, and this resulted in yet another final phase of scattered studio sessions from autumn 1983 into the early months of 1984. All too aware that Springsteen was having difficulties making the final selection, Jon Landau took the unique step of creating his own ideal album, based on what had been recorded to date, as he felt that Springsteen had all but abandoned his best songs, which were those recorded in the early sessions in May 1982. Landau's selection covered eleven songs, with the May 1982 songs forming the backbone of the record, with 'Born In The U.S.A.', 'I'm Goin' Down', 'Cover Me', 'My Hometown' and 'Bobby Jean' on side one, and 'My Love Will Not Let You Down', 'Follow That Dream', 'Glory Days', 'Protection', 'Janey, Don't You Lose Heart' and 'I'm On Fire' on the flip-side. 

Suffering from writer's block, Springsteen finally listened to Landau, and figured out his sequence, with one final recording added to the track-listing; perhaps his best known song, 'Dancing In The Dark', which was the last track recorded in February 1984. The final version of 'Born In The U.S.A.' was issued in June 1984, and the unused recordings were tucked away, until some of them later surfaced on the 'Tracks' compilations. This collection includes some of those, but also some rare alternative takes, as well as a few 'Nebraska' out-takes which have been subtly enhanced by Mike Solof. 'Janey, Don't You Lose Heart' has a much longer fade out than other versions, and features Steve Van Zandt on background vocals and guitar. 'Protection' was given to Donna Summer, who was recording an album at the time at the same studio, and a duet vocal version was also recorded at her sessions, although this remains un-circulating. 'Fugitive's Dream', 'Delivery Man', 'The Klansman', and 'Unsatisfied Heart' are all solo recordings from the Los Angeles home studio sessions, while 'Stand On It', 'The Big Payback', and 'Pink Cadillac' eventually made it out as b-sides to singles from the album. 

Track listing

01 Stand On It
02 Janey, Don't You Lose Heart
03 Losin' Kind
04 The Klansman
05 Unsatisfied Heart
06 Child Bride
07 Protection
08 The Big Payback
09 Gun In Every Home
10 Delivery Man
11 Fugitive's Dream
12 Pink Cadillac

Speaking of 'Nebraska', I've now listened to the official 'Electric Nebraska' album, and as I suspected, most of the tracks sound pretty similar to the live band versions, which is no great surprise. I do prefer my version of 'Mansion On The Hill', and as there were only six of the ten tracks included, then my version is still valid. The only song that I felt was better in the true studio version was 'Reason To Believe', as I was never keen on the distorted vocals at the end, and half of the song was just an extended harmonica intro, so I've tried editing my version to something like the box set version, and I'm including three tracks in the folder in case you want to use one of them as a replacement for my original edit. Let me know which one you prefer and I can update the original post. I have my favourite so see if you agree. 

 

The Flying Machine - Takes Off (1971)

The Liberators formed in Rugby, Warwickshire in the early 60's, before becoming The Wild Ones between 1962 and 1965, then changing their name again to Pinkerton's Assorted Colours in 1965, under which moniker they scored a Top 10 hit with their first single, 'Mirror, Mirror', co-written with Terry Stevenson and sung by band member Tony Newman. After their second single they shortened their name to 'Pinkerton's Colours', then to 'Pinkertons', but despite releasing a further five singles on Decca and Pye from 1966 to 1968, lack of any more chart success saw them dubbed one-hit wonders. In 1969, following several line-up changes, they reformed as The Flying Machine, consisting of guitarist Tony Newman on vocals, Steve Jones on lead guitar and vocals, Sam Kempe on vocals, Stuart Colman on bass, and Paul Wilkinson on drums. The group's sound ranged from pop to light psychedelia, and they released a string of singles on Pye in 1969 and 1970, although they would not see any UK hits. However, 'Smile A Little Smile For Me' did get to 5 in the US, and a cover of The Marmalade’s 'Baby Make It Soon' reached number 87 there. 

As Pinkerton's Assorted Colours had not made the US charts, but the Flying Machine did, it gave those involved an interesting chart career of not charting in the US with their first band but having a UK hit, and then having it the opposite way round with their second band. The band did get to record an album in 1970, with 'Down To Earth With The Flying Machine' coming out on Pye Records in the UK, and the re-titled 'The Flying Machine' appearing in the US on Janus Records. Band-member Stuart Coleman, who was in both groups, would see success in the 80's as producer for Shakin' Stevens, Cliff Richard and Billy Fury, as well as finding success as a Radio One DJ. Many of the band's singles and b-sides did not appear on their album, and so by adding some of their demos, there was actually enough quality material for a second album some time in 1971, and this is what it could have sounded like.  

Track listing

01 Look At Me, Look At Me
02 Yes I Understand
03 The Flying Machine
04 If You Were True
05 Hey Little Girl
06 Maybe We've Been Loving Too Long
07 Pages Of Your Life
08 Hanging On The Edge Of Sadness
09 Strawberry Fool
10 The Devil Has Possession Of Your Mind
11 Hard, Hard Year
12 Shadow On A Foggy Day
13 Can't Break The Habit
14 Shine A Little Light On Me

Jimmy Cliff - Sooner Or Later (1971)

One of the giants of reggae music passed away on 24 November 2025, and so as a small tribute to his pioneering work in popularising reggae music in the Western world here is a collection of rare b-sides and out-takes from the late 60's and early 70's. 

Jimmy Cliff was born James Chambers on 30 July 1944 in Saint James, Colony of Jamaica, the second youngest of nine children. He began writing songs while still at primary school in St. James, listening to a neighbour's sound system, and when he was 14, his father took him to Kingston, where he adopted the stage name Jimmy Cliff. He sought out producers while still going to school, trying without success to get his songs recorded, and he also entered talent contests. One night he was walking past a record store and restaurant as they were closing, and he went in and convinced Leslie Kong to go into the recording business, starting with himself. After two singles that failed to make much impression, his career took off when 'Hurricane Hattie' became a hit when he was aged 17, and later local hit singles included 'King Of Kings', 'Miss Jamaica', and 'Pride And Passion'. 

In 1964 he was chosen as one of Jamaica's representatives at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and before long he was signed to Island Records, and he moved to the United Kingdom. Island initially (and unsuccessfully) tried to sell Cliff to a rock audience, but his career took off with his debut album 'Hard Road To Travel', which was released in 1967. It received excellent reviews and included 'Waterfall' (composed by Nirvana's Alex Spyropoulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons), which became a hit in Brazil, and won the International Song Festival. More hits followed with 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People' in 1969 and 'Vietnam' in 1970, and one of his most popular songs of the time was 'Many Rivers To Cross', about his struggles with the music industry. In 1972, Cliff starred as Vincent "Ivanhoe" Martin (known as Rhyging) in Perry Henzell's classic reggae film 'The Harder They Come', and the soundtrack album sold well around the world, bringing reggae to an international audience for the first time. It remains one of the most internationally significant films to have come out of Jamaica since the nation's independence from the United Kingdom, and is one of the things that Cliff will forever be remembered. 

After a series of albums, Cliff took a break and travelled to Africa, where he subsequently converted to Islam, taking the name of El Hadj Naïm Bachir. Quickly returning to music in the 1980's, he toured for several years before recording with Kool & the Gang, and he had a big hit with 'Reggae Night' in 1983. In 1986 he provided backing vocals on The Rolling Stones' album 'Dirty Work', and he also co-starred in the comedy film 'Club Paradise', with Robin Williams and Peter O'Toole, as well as contributing several songs to the soundtrack. He continued to sell well in Jamaica and, to a lesser extent, the UK, returning to the mainstream pop charts in the U.S. and elsewhere in 1983 with a version of Johnny Nash's 'I Can See Clearly Now' from the 'Cool Runnings' soundtrack album. In 1995 he released the single 'Hakuna Matata' as a collaboration with Lebo M, which was taken from the soundtrack of 'The Lion King', and he continued to record and tour throughout the next thirty years, with his most recent album 'Refugees' being released in 2022. On 24 November 2025, Cliff's wife announced that he had died that morning from pneumonia, after he had been hospitalised following a seizure. He was was 81 years old.  

Track listing

01 Where Did It Go (The Song We Used To Sing)
02 Better Days Are Coming
03 My World Is Blue
04 Give A Little, Take A Little
05 Pack Up Hang Ups
06 Be Aware
07 She Does It Right
08 Honey Hush
09 Let Your Yeah Be Yeah
10 Those Good Good Old Days
11 Sooner Or Later
12 When You're Young
13 Dreaming
14 Struggling Man

Middle Of The Road - Lingering Sounds (1975)

Middle Of The Road are the epitome of a bubblegum pop group, although that wasn't the aim when the group was first formed in April 1970 by vocalist Sally Carr, drummer Ken Andrew, guitarist Ian McCredie, and his bassist brother Eric McCredie. They had already played together under the name Part Four since 1967, and later in Latin American style under the name Las Caracas, and it was under this name that they won the UK TV talent show 'Opportunity Knocks'. They moved to Italy in 1970 because they had not found the success they wanted in the UK, and it was there that they met Italian music producer Giacomo Tosti, who gave the band their distinctive sound, and with it their international break. The group had their first and biggest hit record in the UK with their debut UK single, 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep', reaching No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1971, and staying there for four more weeks. Originally the band were reluctant to record the song, feeling that if anyone in the UK heard it, they would never be able to hold their heads up in public ever again, but Carr thought it was really catchy and finally persuaded the rest of the group to come on board. Following the worldwide success of 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep', it was obvious to Tosti that more, similar material was needed to follow up this first hit, and so writers and arrangers Mario and Giosy Capuano joined the production team. 

'Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dum' followed in much the same style, and was another huge hit in the UK, but their next single, 'Soley Soley', broke the mould of nonsense songs, as it was written by a Spanish songwriter, Fernando Arbex, with lyrics co-written by Carr. It was recorded in Madrid and became the summer hit in Europe that year, reaching No. 2 in the  UK after a belated release in time for Christmas. 'Sacramento' and 'Samson And Delilah' were their last main hits in the UK, and this might have been partly caused by the oil crisis of the period. With vinyl being short supply, their UK record label apparently turned its back on 'the foursome from Italy', the band’s perceived country of origin, with the result being that the UK public were given no further opportunity to follow the Scots group. In 1974, early Bay City Rollers member Neil Henderson joined the band on guitar, and he wrote and co-wrote songs for the group, including the singles 'Rockin' Soul' and 'Everybody Loves A Winner', but the moment had passed and they failed to trouble the UK charts. However, they were still extremely popular in Europe, and released a further four albums in Germany via Ariola Records. Although most of their early music was written by outside writers such as the Capuanos and Marchetti/Stott, members of the group were allowed to contribute to the odd b-side or album track, and these tend to be some of their best work, as they weren't trying to have a hit single with them. As well as that, the Capuanos could sometimes come up with something that showed them in a completely different light, such as the lovely 'Louise' (My Little Ship)', and so if you only know the band from their annoyingly catchy singles, then this album shows another side to Middle Of The Road, which might just surprise you.  

Track listing

01 On This Land (Capuano/Capuano/Stott)
02 Lingering Sounds (Marchetti/Stott)
03 Far Away (Wales/O'Reagan)
04 Winter's Sun (I McCredie)
05 Read Between The Lines (I McCredie/Henderson)
06 The Sun In Your Skin (Marchetti/Stott)
07 Sacremento (Rubirosa/Capuano/Capuano/Stott)
08 Louise (My Little Ship) (Capuano/Capuano/Stott)
09 Gone's The Time (I McCredie)
10 It's The Rain (Henderson/Peebles)
11 Eve (McCredie/McCredie/Carr)
12 Writing On The Wall (I McCredie)
13 To Remind Me (Capuano/Capuano/Carr)
14 Give It Time (Capuano/Capuano/Carr)

Kelly Clarkson - Wasting Kisses (2011)

After winning American Idol in 2002, Kelly Clarkson released her debut album, 'Thankful' in 2003, which showed strong commercial success and established her as a rising pop vocalist. In 2004 she began shifting toward a more rock-influenced sound while preparing her next album, and 2004's 'Breakaway' became her commercial and critical peak of the decade, winning two Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album. In 2007 she released 'My December', which was a darker, more personal rock album, and it was at this time that she famously fought for artistic control, which caused tension with her label. Though less commercially successful than 'Breakaway', 'My December' was praised for its authenticity and songwriting depth. Her fourth album, 'All I Ever Wanted' appeared in 2009, and marked a return to a more mainstream pop-rock sound, and it included the hit 'My Life Would Suck Without You', which broke the record for the biggest jump to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2011 she released 'Mr. Know It All', the lead single from her upcoming album 'Stronger', which signalled a shift toward soulful pop and inspirational themes, and over the course of these five records Clarkson transitioned from reality-show winner to internationally recognized pop-rock star. During the sessions for these albums there were often tracks left over, and so over the years she has built up a vault of unused recordings which have yet to see the light of day, so here is a collection of the best of them from the early years of her career.  

Track listing

01 With A Little Bit Of Luck
02 Close Your Eyes
03 Can We Go Back
04 So Far Apart
05 Empty Handed
06 Don't Ever Give Up On Me
07 Call Me
08 Where Are You Now
09 Wash Rinse Repeat
10 One Day
11 Wasting Kisses
12 I Remember
13 Cleopatra
14 Whoever Did That Wasn't Me
15 After The Love

Murry The Hump - Pigs On Parade (2001)

Murry The Hump was formed in Aberystwyth in the late 1990's by singer Matthew Evans, guitarist Gwion Rowlands, bass guitarist Curig Huws, and drummer Bill Coyne, taking their name from the gangster Llewellyn Morris "Murray The Hump" Humphreys, and early on in their career they competed in a Battle of the Bands contest against Muse. Garnering early interest by way of indie singles 'Green Green Grass Of Home', which was an NME "Single of the Week", and a song about marijuana rather than a cover of the song made famous by Tom Jones, and 1999's 'Thrown Like A Stone' on Shifty Disco, they gained support from BBC Radio 1 DJs Steve Lamacq and John Peel, recording three sessions for the latter, and securing an appearance at industry showcase In The City. A publishing deal from Townhill Music swiftly followed, and the band were heralded as the best new band in Wales, and by Alex James of Blur as the best new band in Britain. In fact, James, artist Damien Hirst and the late Joe Strummer preferred Murry The Hump over Coldplay when they saw both acts perform at a record label showcase gig. In 2000 the band signed to Too Pure, whereupon they joined new label mates Hefner on a whistle-stop tour of the UK, after which they began work on their debut album, 'Songs Of Ignorance', and they performed some of the new material for Radio 1's One Live in Cardiff. 

The band's first release for Too Pure was a split single with Hefner, featuring their 'The House That Used To Be A Ship', and they followed this with the Guardian Guide single of the week 'Cracking Up', gaining much support from Xfm with a John Kennedy Session. A second single for the label, 'Don't Slip Up', preceded the debut album, which was described by Andy Gill in The Independent as displaying "a warmth and charm to the group's jangly indie-pop that's entirely engaging". Despite seeming to be on the verge of mainstream success, in September 2001 the band announced that they had split up, although they played one final concert in October that year as part of the BBC Radio 2 Live in Cardiff festival. Evans, Rowlands, and Glyn re-remerged in 2002 as The Keys, after asking fans to choose a name for the new band, and they were described as "Duane Eddy jamming with the Jesus and Mary Chain". The new band released a self-titled debut album in 2003, two EPs in 2009 and their second album 'Fire Inside', in 2010. They have released a further four albums and numerous singles since then, and so it does seem that calling a halt to Murry The Hump was the right decision, but I still cherish those early singles, and 'Songs Of Ignorance' makes a regular return to the decks. As a reminder of the band here is a collection of rare singles, b-sides and John Peel sessions, including the live one from The Union Chapel in London in 2000. 

Track listing

01 Blue Bottle (from the 'Colouring Book' EP 1999)
02 Pussy Willow (from the 'Colouring Book' EP 1999)
03 One Fine Day (John Peel session 1999) 
04 Silver Suit (single 2000)
05 Cracking Up (John Peel session 2000)
06 Don't Slip Up (John Peel session 2000)
07 Booze And Cigarettes (John Peel session 2000)
08 Five (John Peel session 2000)
09 Walking In A Winter Wonderland (John Peel Xmas session 2000)
10 Pigs On Parade (b-side of 'Don't Slip Up' 2001)
11 Kebab Or Shag (b-side of 'Don't Slip Up' 2001)
12 No Girl No Sex (b-side of 'Cracking Up' 2001)
13 Travel (b-side of 'Cracking Up' 2001)

Bruce Springsteen - Murder Incorporated (1983)

The recording sessions for Bruce Springsteen's 'Born In The U.S.A.' album spanned a two year period, and produced the largest quantity of completed song recordings of any session of his career. The sessions took place in four phases, with the January thru May 1982 sessions featuring The E Street Band with Steve Van Zandt, the January thru late April 1983 sessions featuring Springsteen alone on multiple instruments, and the rest being with The E Street Band, but no Van Zandt. Between seventy and eighty songs were recorded over the entire period, and thanks to information from Sony's studio logs, we now have a far better understanding of the sheer scale of Springsteen's output at this time. Songs were recorded at the Power Station and the nearby Hit Factory over the course of the first half of 1982, but as we know, he was not happy with the way that some band versions of his acoustic demos turned out with E Street backing, and so by early April he began actively exploring the possibility of releasing some of these solo demos as an acoustic album. 'Nebraska' duly appeared in September 1982, and the band versions of those songs were then locked away until they surfaced this year on the 'Nebraska 82' box set. The May-July 1982 period saw the effective departure of Steve Van Zandt as a member of The E Street Band, and following his decision to release 'Nebraska' and stop recording with the band, Springsteen spent the summer of 1982 in New Jersey making numerous guest appearances, that became affectionately known as his '1982 Jersey Shore Bar Tour'. 

However, that came to an end in early October, soon after the release of 'Nebraska', and during November-December 1982 he had Mike Batlan install a home recording studio at his house in Los Angeles, where he recorded more than an album's worth of songs over the early months of 1983, playing all the instruments himself, except for a drum machine. Although none of these Los Angeles recordings ultimately ended up on the album, two of them - 'Shut Out The Light' and 'Johnny Bye Bye' - were issued as b-sides in 1984/85, while tracks such as 'The Klansman', 'Unsatisfied Heart' and 'Richfield Whistle' remain unreleased. At this point, brief consideration was given to releasing an album, tentatively entitled 'Murder Incorporated', and a document exists from around March 1983 revealing his then-selections for the record, as well as his choices for b-sides of the singles to be released from it. However, instead of settling on that song line-up, he opted for more sessions, and began a new round of recording with The E Street Band at The Hit Factory in New York in May 1983. Of the proposed track-listing for 'Murder Incorporated', only six songs eventually appeared on the 'Born In The U.S.A.' album, with ten of them being rejected, and so by replacing those six released tracks with the songs that he'd earmarked as b-sides, we can hear all of the otherwise unreleased recordings from his sessions up to May 1983, other than 'Johnny Bye Bye' and 'Shut Out The Light' which slipped out as a b-sides, but which I'm still including anyway. 

Track listing

01 Murder Incorporated
02 Sugarland
04 One Love
04 This Hard Land
05 My Love Will Not Let You Down
06 Johnny Bye Bye

07 Shut Out The Light
08 Don't Back Down
09 Frankie
10 Little Girl
11 Follow That Dream