Wednesday, October 22, 2025

ABBA - Opus 10 (1982) **UPGRADE**

I fancied listening to a bit of ABBA the other day, and so dug out this album, but on playing it I noticed that a few of the tracks were less than perfect sound quality. Since I originally posted this one, some of these tracks have appeared on a deluxe re-issue of 'The Visitors', so I've replaced those with better quality takes. I've also fixed the beginning and end of 'Every Good Man', as well as extending the mid-section and toning down the bass a bit. I've managed to source a longer version of 'Just Like That', which also didn't start with that incongruous saxophone solo, and I've boosted the vocals on the verses of 'Under Attack', as they were very low in the mix. Lastly I've added in 'Should I Laugh Or Cry' as the final track, as although it was listed on the post, it was somehow omitted from the actual album, and I've rejigged the running order a bit, so with some subtle improvements to the cover as the final touch, here is what I hope is a significant upgrade to this album.  



Track listing

01 Under Attack
02 You Owe Me One
03 The Day Before You Came
04 Elaine
05 Opus 10
06 I Am The City
07 Cassandra
08 Every Good Man
09 Just Like That
10 When The Waves Roll Out To Sea
11 Givin' A Little Bit More
12 Should I Laugh Or Cry

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Soulseek update

I don't know what's going on with Soulseek at the moment, but there seem to be a lot of people who can no longer see my albums on it, which is strange as there are still loads who can, and are able to download them. I did change my broadband supplier a month ago, but I'm pretty sure this was happening before then, so I've spent an hour looking at port forwarding, but I came away none the wiser. I used to be able to see my own albums on another laptop (it appears that you can't search yourself for some reason), but I can no longer find them either, so something is definitely wrong. If anyone has any suggestions, or if the same thing has happened to them and they found a solution, then please let us all know. In the meantime, Mega links are available at the email address on the right for anyone who can suddenly no longer access my files. 

pj


Talking Heads - Tentative Decisions (1975) **UPDATE**

I've just discovered that tracks 6 and 7 of this album were not split correctly, and track 15 was cut before the end, so they have now been fixed and Soulseek and Mega updated. Download again for the correct files.
In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums), formed a band, The Artistics, with fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often providing transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role, with Frantz encouraging her to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band, and they played their first gig as Talking Heads opening for the Ramones at CBGBs on 5 June 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but, surprisingly, considering the quality of the songs, they did not receive a record contract. However, they were building up a following from their live work, and in November 1976 they signed to Sire Records. They released their first single in February the following year, 'Love → Building On Fire', and in March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band The Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals, cementing the classic line-up of the band. So that we can hear what CBS couldn't appreciate, here are those 1975 demos, recorded by the three piece Talking Heads.



Track listing 

01 Psycho Killer
02 Sugar On My Tongue
03 Thank You for Sending Me An Angel
04 I Want To Live 
05 I Wish You Wouldn’t Say That
06 The Girls Want To Be With The Girls 
07 Who Is It?
08 With Our Love
09 Stay Hungry
10 Tentative Decisions 
11 Warning Sign 
12 I'm Not In Love 
13 The Book I Read 
14 Love → Building On Fire 
15 No Compassion 

Ronee Martin - Soul Of My Heart (1997)

Veronica "Ronee" Martin was born on 24 November 1953 in Columbia, Virginia, and upon graduating high school she moved to Washington D.C. to live with her mother. At age six, she became fascinated with music and would begin performing solos in church, with her tastes gradually evolving from gospel to country to Motown, and she would begin performing professionally as she entered adulthood. She worked as a backing vocalist for artists like Wynton Marsalis and Patti LaBelle, and also worked with Van McCoy, who produced the group Destiny that she was a part of. They were the opening act for two more late greats, Aretha Franklin and Eddie Kendricks, and they also toured with Special Delivery. She then moved to California to record demos for Burt Bacharach, Carol Bayer Sager, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Alan Rich, Jud Friedman, and Gerry Stober. She was also a song-writer, and wrote the lyrics for 'This Is Love', which was recorded by Gladys Knight on her 'Good Woman' album. After signing to the Soundwings Record label in 1985, she released her debut album, 'Sensation', which featured guest appearances from Hubert Laws, Joe Sample and Tom Scott. In 1995 Bruce Walker (former general manager of MoJazz and Motown A&R VP), announced that they had just found their very own Anita Baker, and signed her to his label, where she started working on her second album, with a release date set for June/July 1996, later delayed to April 1997. Promotional CDs of 'Soul Of My Heart' were distributed, but the transition at Motown at that time did not favour adult orientated music, and so the album was cancelled and remains unreleased. Nothing much more was heard from Martin for 20 years, until she appeared on the eleventh season of 'America's Got Talent', competing against other artists such as Grace VenderWaal. MoJazz missed a trick in not releasing 'Soul Of My Heart', as it really is an excellent soul/R&B album, and so here it is for you to enjoy. 



Track listing

01 As Long As I'm Loving You  
02 Good To Be Loved  
03 When It Comes To Me 
04 No Trouble At All  
05 Finally Over You  
06 It's Spring Again  
07 I Believe In Love  
08 The Pressure's On  
09 I Can Smile Again  
10 Anything For You  
11 A Better Man 
12 Giving Up  

Friday, October 17, 2025

Various Artists - Rarities Row Vol. 2 (2025)

Welcome back to volume 2! For those that missed it the first time around… Recently I was on the hunt for a rare song in my massive collection of fourteen 14 TB hard drives and as I was searching I thought what a shame it is that I have all this cool stuff and only share bits and pieces here and there when needed. So I thought I would start a new series here that doesn’t just focus on one artist at a time… but various artists from my entire collection. Thus was the birth of Rarity Row. Volume 2 features more great (and less known) artists - folks you might be familiar with, like Prince, Talking Heads, Steely Dan, and the Eagles, and those you might not be as familiar with (but should be!) like The Carpenters and Suzanne Vega. And even a few you’ve never heard of (BUT DEFINITELY SHOULD!) like Millard Powers, and his track is so strong, I chose it as my leadoff for this volume. Millard comes from a family tree that sprouts some of my favourite fun type of music…Power Pop. In other volumes of The Row I’ll feature Owsley, The Semantics and Ben Folds, three more from the Power Pop genre that I dig so much, and I know you will too! But for now, let’s just get on with the music. It was a blast putting this volume together...and to know that there are so many more to come. 

Enjoy! 

Michael 



Track list and a bit more info: 

01 She’s So Clean 
Millard Powers - from 'Millard Powers' (Out Of Print) 


Avery Millard Powers III (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and student at the Grammy-nominated recording engineer. While at  University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the 1980's, he collaborated with fellow student Ben Folds and with Alabama-based singer songwriter Owsley, both of which he continued to work with as a musician and as a producer for the next several decades. Since 2005, he has played bass guitar in the band Counting Crows. Powers released a self-titled solo album in 2001, playing all instruments (bass, guitar, drums, keyboard), recording, producing, mixing, and engineering the album himself in his apartment in Nashville, Tennessee. No other artists were featured on the album.  

02 Get Up Kate (Demo) 
The Eagles 1972 - Rare and Unreleased (mostly Live) - recorded 1971, unreleased. 


A rocker with a Frey lead vocal, 'Get Up Kate' was cut as a studio track for the debut LP but was never officially released. A live version, featuring harmonies by Linda Ronstadt, appears on one of her compilations, and the band’s studio version can be found online. The story goes that after returning from their London sessions with Glyn Johns, the band went back to the studio with producers Bill Halverson and Wally Heider to record additional tracks, but 'Get Up Kate' (written by Frey), was shelved. High harmonies give the choruses snap and the dual-guitar stuff has spunk. The Eagles recorded a record of unreleased songs, covers and originals, at the famous Wally Haider Studios before their debut album was released in 1972 . 'Get Up Kate' was a song that Frey had occasionally sung with Linda Ronstadt's band, and The Eagles also performed it a few times in 1972. 

03 Dallas - Never on CD 
Steely Dan 6-72 Single and Plus 4’s EP 


'Dallas' is the first single by Steely Dan, sung by drummer Jim Hodder. The song was not on the band's debut album 'Can't Buy A Thrill' but was included on the 1978 Japan-only compilation 'Steely Dan'. It, and its b-side, 'Sail The Waterway', was also included on a 12-inch single version of 'Haitian Divorce' released in the UK. It was recorded by Poco in 1975 on their 'Head Over Heels' album. Personnel:
Donald Fagen – electric piano, piano, backing vocals 
Walter Becker – bass guitar 
Jeff Baxter – pedal steel guitar, guitars 
Jim Hodder – drums, percussion, lead vocals 
David Palmer – backing vocals 
Tim Moore – backing vocals 

04 Left Of Center (Live) 
Suzanne Vega 1983 EP 


'Left of Center' is a song written by Suzanne Vega and Steve Addabbo, which was released as part of the soundtrack to the 1986 film 'Pretty In Pink'. It features Joe Jackson on piano and was released as a single in May 1986, reaching No. 35 in Australia, No. 28 in Ireland, and No. 32 in the United Kingdom. 

05 Live To Tell (Demo) 
Madonna 1986 


 'Live To Tell" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album, 'True Blue' (1986), and also featured in the crime drama 'At Close Range', starring her then-husband Sean Penn. In mid-1985, after completing the Virgin Tour, Madonna began working with musician and producer Patrick Leonard, who had served as the tour's musical director. The two first collaborated on 'Love Makes The World Go Round', which Madonna performed at the Live Aid benefit concert in July. Around this time, she married actor Sean Penn, whom she had met on the set of her 'Material Girl' music video. Leonard, meanwhile, was aiming to transition into film scoring, and composed an instrumental piece intended for Paramount's 1986 film 'Fire With Fire'. However, the studio rejected the track, feeling it didn't fit the movie's tone. Madonna, intrigued by the composition, offered to write lyrics for it and proposed using the song for 'At Close Range', a crime drama starring Penn. According to author Rikky Rooksby, she wrote the lyrics "on the spot", crafting a melody and bridge inspired by the film’s themes of family secrets and emotional trauma. "Sometimes when I'm writing songs, I'm just channeling", she later said, adding that the lyrics reflected personal pain and yearning, whether autobiographical or fictional. After recording a demo, she played it for director James Foley and Penn, who responded positively. Penn called Leonard, who at the time was working with Michael Jackson on his 1987 album 'Bad', and invited him to meet. When asked who would sing the song, since the lyrics had been written from a male perspective, Leonard insisted Madonna should perform it. He chose to use the demo vocals, feeling they captured a sense of naivety and emotional rawness that suited the piece. "It was so innocent and so shy. It's as naive, as raw as can be, and that’s part of what gave 'Live To Tell' all its charm", Leonard explained. Recording sessions for 'True Blue' took place at Channel Recording Studios in Los Angeles, where the final version of 'Live to Tell' was completed. 

06 Leave It (A Capella Version)
Yes - 1983 B-Side 


'Leave It' is a song by English rock band Yes. It appears on their 1983 album, '90125', and was released as its second single, following 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart'. The song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 [6] and number 3 on the Top Album Rock Tracks chart.  In the UK, the song rose to number 56 in late March 1984, in a run of five weeks on the chart.  

07 My Fair Share (The Love Them From 'One On One') (Out Of Print Soundtrack) 
Seal And Crofts - 1977 'One On One' Soundtrack 


'One On One' is the soundtrack album to the movie of the same title, starring Robby Benson. The music was written entirely by Charles Fox, with lyrics by Paul Williams, and Seals and Crofts provided the vocals. The single 'My Fair Share (Love Theme from 'One On One')' reached #11 AC and #28 Pop in autumn 1977. It was first released on CD in 2007 by Wounded Bird Records, and digitally by Rhino Records (another label of Warner Bros.) in 2008.

08 It's Probably Me (Alternate Version) 
Sting w Eric Clapton 


'It's Probably Me' is a song Sting rerecorded in 1993 for his 'Ten Summoner's Tales' album, without any of the other musicians, and it was originally released in 1992 as a collaboration by Sting featuring Eric Clapton, Michael Kamen, and David Sanborn. Released from the soundtrack to the action comedy film 'Lethal Weapon 3' in June 1992, the song reached number 20 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and number 12 on Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. It was more successful in Europe, peaking at number one in Italy, number four in France, and number six in the Netherlands. 

09 People On The Streets (Early Alternative Vocal Version of Under Pressure) 
Queen and David Bowie -1981 


A unique mix of 'Under Pressure', which features a very early vocal take from Freddie Mercury, David Bowie (and Brian May!), likely when the song was under the working title 'People On The Streets'. Roger Taylor recalled in 2002: "David came in one night, and we were just playing other people’s songs for fun and David said, ‘This is stupid. Why don’t we just write one?’ It was originally called ‘People On The Streets’, and that was the basis of it, and we took the multi track tapes to New York, and I spent all day there with David and mixed it that night." Driven by Deacon’s incredible bassline, something which deserves all the praise it receives, both Bowie and Mercury battled in the vocal booth fuelled, as Blake suggests, by the two intoxicants of wine and cocaine. Blake describes the scene, beginning with the recollections of Queen’s guitarist: “‘We felt our way through a backing track all together as an ensemble,’ recalled May. ‘When the backing track was done, David said, ‘Okay, let’s each of us go in the vocal booth and sing how we think the melody should go—just off the top of our heads—and we’ll compile a vocal out of that’.” He continues: “And that’s what we did. Some of these improvisations, including Mercury’s memorable introductory scatting vocal, would endure on the finished track. Bowie also insisted that he and Mercury shouldn’t hear what the other had sung, swapping verses blind, which helped give the song its cut-and-paste feel.” 

10 Chicago 1945 (demo)  
Michael Jackson (leaked unreleased song intended for 'Victory' album 1983) 


'Chicago 1945' is an unreleased song written by American singer songwriter Michael Jackson and Steve Pocarro, who also produced it. It was intended for the 'Victory' or 'Bad' albums, and on 27 January 2023, the track leaked online. Pocarro recalls: “Years ago, Michael and I wrote a song called 'Chicago 1945' – I did the music and Michael the lyrics, he recorded the song twice, but never put it on an album… the instruments were played in a constant rhythm in the 16th note, which was called ‘yada’. When I explained this to Michael, he liked it so much he gave me that nickname!.” It was recorded in 1983 during the 'Victory' sessions, and was intended for said album. However, it wasn't in the final cut. 'Chicago 1945' was revisited again by Jackson in the Spring of 1986 during the 'Bad' sessions with new, live drums being added, and although it had a chance to make it on the album, it again didn't make the cut. 

11 Let It Rain (YouTube exclusive Video) 
The Doobie Brothers w/ Peter Frampton 2020 


The Doobie Brothers and Peter Frampton have partnered for a cover of Eric Clapton’s 1970 track, 'Let It Rain'. The song and its accompanying video were recorded virtually, with Frampton and every member of the Doobie Brothers contributing their parts remotely. 'Let It Rain' is a perfect choice for the Doobies and Frampton, who add a little extra instrumental oomph — especially when Frampton and Tom Johnston start trading guitar solos — but they otherwise remain faithful to the original’s cathartic pop-rock charms. Johnston tells Rolling Stone how the collaboration came together, saying: “A couple of months ago, Peter and I were going over various tunes after deciding to do a song or video together. I tossed out ‘Let It Rain’ by Eric Clapton and he loved the idea. He’s a phenomenal guitarist and a fan of Clapton’s, as am I, so it seemed a great idea to take to the rest of the guys. Peter, Pat, and I took verses and solos and John played some cool pedal steel and helped us put that together with Bill Payne on piano, John Cowan on bass, and Ed Toth on drums. Also Rob Arthur who did all the video work played B3. It was a team effort! We really enjoyed working together on this with Peter.” Frampton added: “It was so much fun playing with my friends the Doobie Brothers even virtually! I look forward to a time when we can, hopefully, play together in person.” The Doobie Brothers have dropped a handful of at-home performances this year after they were forced to postpone their 2020 touring plans because of Covid-19. In April, they shared a socially distanced take on 'Black Water', and a few months later they dropped a rendition of 'Listen To The Music'. In July, they got together with Traffic’s Dave Mason to help him re-record 'Feelin’ Alright'. with additional help from Sammy Hagar, Mick Fleetwood, and Michael McDonald. 

12 Carolina In My Mind (Solo Acoustic Demo)  
James Taylor - James Taylor - Original expanded album 


'Carolina In My Mind' is a song originally written and performed by the American singer-songwriter James Taylor, and it was his second single from his 1968 self titled debut album. Taylor wrote 'Carolina In My Mind' while in England recording for the Beatles' label Apple Records, and the song's themes reflect his homesickness at the time. Released as a single in 1969, the song earned critical praise but not commercial success. It was re-recorded for Taylor's 1976 'Greatest Hits' album in the version that is most familiar to listeners, but the original recording of the song was done at London's Trident Studios during the July to October 1968 period, and was produced by Peter Asher. The song's lyric "holy host of others standing around me" makes reference to the Beatles, who were recording 'The Beatles' in the same studio where Taylor was recording his album. Indeed, the recording of 'Carolina In My Mind' includes a credited appearance by Paul McCartney on bass guitar and an uncredited one by  George Harrison on backing vocals. 

13 Tears Dry On Their Own (unofficial remix) 
Amy Winehouse and Eric Clapton


This is a digital version which was originally released in 2007 and was part of an unofficial Russian CDr (CD-ROM) from 2012: 'Amy Winehouse & Duffy - MP3 Collection'. 

14 Oyster Bay (unreleased demo 1973) 
Billy Joel - 'My Lives' box set


Billy Joel says in the liner notes to 'My Lives' that he can understand why some people don't like his music based off the countless hits he's had. This box set in theory was created to show off the multiple facets to Joel as an artist. One purpose definitely seems to have been a cleaning out of the vaults, so to speak. 23 of the songs here have never been released previously, and there are different versions of old standards. Throw in some B-Sides, live performances, and a live DVD, and I suppose you certainly get a glimpse of the versatility of Joel. One would think though more album cuts would have made the list, instead of demos, although 'Oyster Bay' shows us one of those classic Joel character studies while taking its sound from Elton John-era Elton.

15 Get Together (''Your Navy Presents'' Version) 
The Carpenters live 1970 


Unofficial release of the 1970 US Navy Radio Broadcast Show Presented by Sam Riddle. This release has several interesting and unique performances that they recorded live in the studio. Firstly, there's 'Get Together' sung by Karen, but originally sung by Richard on their debut album 'Offering' (later re-released as 'Ticket To Ride'.) This version was also released on 'From The Top' in 1991 and on 'The Essential Collection (1965 - 1997)' in 2002. 'Love Is Surrender' sounds like an early edit with a few instruments missing that were added before being released on the 'Close To You' album. 'Can't Buy Me Love' and 'Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing & All I Can Do' are unique to this broadcast as they've never been released on any other format. The same goes for 'Cinderella Rockerfella' and 'I Fell In Love', although these were also performed in their early concerts up until 1973. 'Flat Baroque' also sounds like an earlier version that was revised and re-recorded using different instruments for the 'A Song For You' album. 

16 Purple Rain (Unedited 19-minute Movie Version)
Prince (Live In Syracuse, March 30, 1985) 


In the semi-darkness of the Carrier Dome indoor stadium in Syracuse, New York, a voice breaks through: "Hello Syracuse and the world. My name is Prince." That was Prince's address to the city and the world on the evening of 30 March 1985, before beginning his concert, which was filmed and transmitted live by satellite in the United States and several other countries. A little later, TV stations in Europe aired the show, including Antenne 2 (now France 2), on 25 May, in the program 'Les Enfants du Rock'. The venue had been decorated in Prince’s signature purple flowers, with a steady stream of dramatic smoke pouring across the stage whilst lasers shone through the mysterious built-up mist. Prince had just released the album that would cement his place in rock’s rich tapestry, 'Purple Rain', though the ensuing tour would make him one of the game’s legends. Drummer Robert Rivkin noted the preshow ritual, saying: “We’d all gather in Prince’s dressing room, in a circle, and either he would speak, or he would point to one of us, and we would speak of the night. I can remember everybody seemed to rise to the occasion and had very inspiring words against the backdrop of twenty thousand screaming people waiting for us”. “There was always that final moment of togetherness before we hit the stage,” Rivkin added. “We didn’t ever just go out there without first connecting to each other and looking in each other’s eyes and Prince checking us out and us checking him out”. As the curtain began to creep up slowly just before the show, a mysterious yet small figure stood entranced in the fog and shadow. Then, out of nowhere, the band got stuck into ‘Let’s Go Crazy‘, and the audience followed suit, some 38,000 of them. The concert had also been one of the first pay-per-view musical events. Lisa Coleman said: “Prince was our conductor. We took our cues from him. He spoke a lot with his face. You had to rely on that a lot. A lot of the time, he can’t control it, so you learned what was pleasing to him and what frustrated him. And then he did like the ugly funky face when you did something he liked. That was always a good high”. Serving as the first of two encores, 'I Would Die 4 U' and 'Baby I'm A Star' were drawn out into an extended jam session. Sheila E. and her band, Apollonia 6 and Eric Leeds were also in this section of the show. The last encore was 'Purple Rain', which Prince played this over 18 minutes, which included a longer intro, with Wendy encouraging the audience to sing the song's post-chorus "ohh ohh" vocals, and lengthy guitar solos on two of Prince's guitars (both seen in the movie and in videos), including the white Cloud guitar.

Yummy Bingham - Black Radio (2005)

Following on from the recent post from Tha' Rayne, here is an album from Elizabeth T. Wyce "Yummy" Bingham, following the band's split. She was born on 7 January 1986 to R&B producer Dinky Bingham, and is the god-daughter of Chaka Khan and Aaron Hall. With a lineage like that it's no wonder she went into the music business, and in 2000, aged 14, she was recruited by producer KayGee to form the group Tha' Rayne, and signed to Arista Records. The group recorded an album, and appeared on a bunch of labelmates tracks, including Jaheim's 'Fabulous' that hit #1 on the US Billboard Adult R&B chart for three weeks from February 2003. Tha' Rayne released the single 'Didn't You Know', which peaked at #76 in September 2003 on the US Billboard R&B chart, but their debut album , 'Reign Supreme', never came out and the group disbanded in 2005. While a member of Tha' Rayne, Bingham was also getting a name for herself as the appointed vocalist of veteran hip-hop group De La Soul, being featured on various of their songs, and accompanying them on tour between 2000 and 2004. From 2003, Bingham started to collaborate with various artists, getting writing and/or vocal credits on songs from Patti LaBelle, P. Diddy, Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Mýa and Monica. At age 18, Bingham became the youngest female CEO of a major-affiliated label, and the youngest female record executive, forming the label "Muzic Park" with Grammy award-winning beatmaker Rockwilder. 
She was the label's first signing, through a record deal with Motown in the US and Island Records in the UK, and released the singles 'Come Get It', 'Is It Good To You' and 'One More Chance', with her debut album 'The First Seed' appearing in the UK in October 2006. She continued writing and recording for other artists, and gave birth to her daughter Aviela in September 2007, after which she took some time out of the record industry to do Gospel/Inspirational music, but eventually returned to secular R&B in 2010 with a new song called 'Circles', that was featured in the movie 'King Of Paper Chasin'. In 2005 she had released a mixtape titled 'Black Radio', which was assembled as part of a planned promotional campaign for 'The First Seed', but due to the album generating a lukewarm single in 'Come Get It', that failed to catapult itself to the top of the Billboard charts, its US release was cancelled, and it was instead only released overseas, leaving 'Black Radio' indefinitely postponed. Many tracks and freestyles on 'Black Radio' do not appear on the album, or anywhere else but this mixtape, and with the addition of an out-take from the album, even fans who already own 'The First Seed' should definitely give this a listen. 



Track listing

01 Rockwilder Intro/It's My Life 
02 Queenz
03 Chaos (feat. K-OZ) 
04 I Know You Want It, Boy (feat. Redman & Rockwilder)
05 Come Get It (feat. Jadakiss)
06 Runnin' (feat. Dion Jenkins) 
07 You Should Be 
08 No Trouble (feat. Cory Gunz) 
09 Just Leave (Freestyle)
10 Just Leave (Lucifer Freestyle) 
11 Man Up (Demo for Amerie)
12 Give It To Ya
13 Never Happened
14 Freestyle/Rockwilder Outro 

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

John Foxx - A Kind Of Wave (1985)

Dennis Leigh, known professionally as John Foxx, was born on 26 September 1948 in Chorley, Lancashire, and attended Harris College of Art in Preston and then the Royal College of Art in London. During his youth in the 1960's he embraced the lifestyles of a mod and a hippy, while he formed his first band Woolly Fish in 1967 in Preston, although he later experimented with tape recorders and synthesisers whilst at the Royal College of Art. Prior to 1973, he was singing and playing a 12-string guitar and occasionally supported Stack Waddy in Manchester, moving to London in order to escape what he saw as a lack of musical stimulus. In April 1974, Leigh formed a band that would eventually be called Tiger Lily, composed of bassist Chris Allen and guitarist Stevie Shears, with Canadian drummer Warren Cann joining shortly afterwards. The band played their first gig at the Marquee Club in August 1974, after which Billy Currie was recruited as violinist a few months later. Tiger Lily released a single in 1975 on Gull Records, the A-side of which was a cover of the Fats Waller track 'Ain't Misbehavin'', while the flip was the group's own song 'Monkey Jive'. Tiger Lily played a few gigs in London pubs between 1974 and 1975, before changing their name to Ultravox!, having played briefly as Fire Of London, The Zips and The Damned. 
The group now fused punk, glam, electronic, reggae and new wave music, and it was at this time that Leigh adopted his stage name of John Foxx, while Chris Allen, who had briefly gone by the name Chris St. John, changed his name again, to Chris Cross. Once the band signed to Island Records, they released three albums during 1977–1978, with their eponymous debut being produced by Steve Lillywhite and the band, with assistance from Brian Eno. It was followed by their second album 'Ha! Ha! Ha!' in October 1977, which included the single 'ROckWrok', while for their third record they abandoned the exclamation mark in their name. 'Systems Of Romance' was co-produced by the legendary Conny Plank, and it featured new guitarist Robin Simon, who had replaced the recently departed Stevie Shears. At the end of 1978 Ultravox were dropped by their record label, following which the band undertook a self-financed tour of the United States in February, during which they performed three new songs, 'Touch And Go', 'He's A Liquid', 'Radio Beach'. At the end of the tour Foxx left the band to return to solo work, and he was replaced by Midge Ure, after which the revitalised Ultravox went on to have a very successful career. 
Foxx, meanwhile, signed to Virgin Records, and achieved two top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart with his first solo singles, 'Underpass' 'No-One Driving', while their parent album 'Metamatic' was released on 17 January 1980, and peaked at No. 18 in the UK Albums Chart. One of the album's songs, 'Metal Beat', takes its name from a CR-78 drum machine sound used on the record, and Virgin used the name for their Metal Beat Records imprint, which was used for all Foxx releases on their label. The non-album single 'Burning Car' followed in July 1980, and was another top 40 hit in the UK, and Foxx then worked on dozens of tracks for two projected albums, with one of these tracks, 'My Face', being released on a flexi-disc given away with Smash Hits magazine in October 1980. His next album was 'The Garden', which was released in September 1981 and reached No. 24 in the UK Albums Chart. Musically it was a departure from the stark electropop of 'Metamatic', to a sound resembling his previous band's 'Systems Of Romance', and it even featured the song of the same name, which had been written during the sessions for Ultravox's third album, but which was never recorded. The lead single 'Europe After The Rain' became Foxx's fourth and last top 40 hit on the UK Singles Chart, during a five-week chart run in August/September 1981. 
In 1982, Foxx set up his own recording studio, designed by Andy Munro, also called The Garden, which was housed in an artists' collective in Shoreditch, East London. In 1983 he provided some music for the soundtrack to Michelangelo Antonioni's film 'Identification Of A Woman', and in September that year he relased his third solo record 'The Golden Section'. Foxx described it as a development of 'The Garden', and a "roots check" of his earliest musical influences, including The Beatles and English psychedelic music. In 1985 he released 'In Mysterious Ways', which was less of a commercial succes than his previous records, as it was not considered a significant advance on the sound of his previous work. After 'In Mysterious Ways', Foxx temporarily left his career in pop music, selling his recording studio and returning to his earlier career as a graphic artist, working under his real name of Dennis Leigh. In the early 1990's he began to find inspiration in the underground house and acid music scenes in Detroit and London, and with Nation 12 he released two 12-inch singles, 'Remember' in 1990, and 'Electrofear' the following year. The first was a collaboration with Tim Simenon, best known for his Bomb the Bass project, and he also worked with LFO, and made the music video for their eponymous debut single. 
On 24 March 1997, Foxx made a return to the music scene with the simultaneous release of two albums, 'Shifting City' and 'Cathedral Oceans', both on Metamatic Records, and 'Shifting City' was Foxx's first collaboration with Manchester musician Louis Gordon, with whom he formed a long-time partnership. On 11 October 1997, Foxx played his first public gig since 1983 at The Astoria, London, and a limited-edition of 1,000 numbered copies of a twelve-track CD entitled 'Subterranean Omnidelic Exotour' was available for purchase by ticketholders. Foxx and Gordon continued to work together, and in September 2001 they released a second album 'The Pleasures Of Electricity', followed two years later by 'Crash And Burn'. In late 2006 the pair released three collaborative albums: October saw 'Live From A Room (As Big As A City)', which was a 'live' studio album from the 2003 tour, the studio album 'From Trash' appeared in November, and a further album, 'Sideways', from the same sessions a few weeks later during the accompanying mini-tour. Foxx has continued to record and release music, and his latest album, 'Wherever You Are' appeared this year, but for fans like me, his classic period was before that first hiatus, from 1979 to 1985, and so this post collects all of his non-album singles and b-sides, plus a few out-takes, from those years.  



Track listing 

Disc I - 1979-1980
01 Young Love (unreleased single 1979)
02 Like A Miracle (unreleased single 1980)
03 Film One (b-side of 'Underpass' 1980)
04 Glimmer (b-side of 'No-One Driving' 1980)
05 This City (b-side of 'No-One Driving' 1980)
06 Mr. No (b-side of 'No-One Driving' 1980)
07 Burning Car (single 1980)
08 20th Century (b-side of 'Burning Car')
09 To Be With You (out-take 1980)
10 Cinemascope (out-take 1980)

Disc II - 1980-1981
01 My Face (free flexi-disc with 'Smash Hits' magazine 1980)
02 Miles Away (single 1980)
03 A Long Time (b-side of 'Miles Away')
04 This Jungle (b-side of 'Europe After The Rain' 1981)
05 Swimmer I (b-side of 'Dancing Like A Gun' 1981) 
06 Swimmer II (b-side of 'Dancing Like A Gun' 1981) 
07 Swimmer III (previously unreleased 1981)
08 Swimmer IV (previously unreleased 1981)
09 Fog (out-take 1981)

Disc III - 1983-1985
01 Dance With Me (b-side of 'Endlessly' 1983)
02 A Kind Of Wave (b-side of 'Endlessly' 1983)
03 A Woman On A Stairway (b-side of 'Your Dress' 1983) 
04 The Lifting Sky (b-side of 'Your Dress' 1983) 
05 Annexe (b-side of 'Your Dress' 1983) 
06 Wings And A Wind (b-side of 'Like A Miracle' 1983)
07 City Of Light (b-side of 'Stars On Fire' 1985)
08 Lumen De Lumine (b-side of 'Stars On Fire' 1985)
09 Stairway (b-side of 'Enter The Angel' 1985)

John Tams - Music From Don Quixote (1990)

John Tams was a member of the Albion Band, and also its offshoot Home Service, but as well as that he was very much involved in theatre, with Home Service first coming together to soundtrack Bill Bryden's National Theatre productions in the 1980's. In 1982 he was asked to supply the music to Bryden's adaptation of 'Don Quixote', starting Paul Schofield, and even managed to blag a role as "leading galley slave" in the production. In 1990 he was interviewed on BBC radio about the play, and this programme included many snippets of music, and geofmcm has edited these to remove vocal over-talking, and then faded them in and out, as well as repeating sections to extend the pieces to listenable lengths. Finally he has remixed the original mono recording into stereo by splitting out the stems, and then EQ'd the whole thing, while I've tidied up a couple of endings, and re-named the six untitled instrumentals after chapter headings from the book. As there never was a soundtrack released for this play, this is a unique version from geofmcm, so thanks for this. 



Track listing

01 Don Quixote De La Mancha
01 The Windmills
01 Don Quixote And The Goatherds
01 Mambrino's Helmet
05 Senor
06 Spanish Guitar
97 Soldat
08 Old Man's Song
09 Pride
10 The Enchanted Bark
11 Life Of A Man
12 Epilogue

Home Service - A Little Night Music (1981)

Home Service is a British folk rock group, formed in late 1980 from a nucleus of musicians who had been playing in Ashley Hutchings' Albion Band, and who had participated in recording 'Rise Up Like The Sun' in 1978. Their establishment was partly out of the confusion caused by line-up changes when the Albion Band were playing as the house band in Bill Bryden's National Theatre productions in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including 'Lark Rise to Candleford'. Members of the group took part in an adaptation of Michael Herr's 'Dispatches' without band leader Ashley Hutchings, and in late 1980, eight members began to rehearse together in Southwark, London and had soon splintered off from the parent band. The original line-up was: John Tams (vocals, melodeon), Bill Caddick (vocals, guitar, dobro), Graeme Taylor (vocals, guitar), Michael Gregory (drums), Roger Williams (trombone, tuba), Howard Evans (trumpet), Colin Rae (trumpet) and Malcolm Bennett (bass), but the large group was somewhat unwieldy and complicated by other projects, including the fact that both Evans and Williams were also members of Brass Monkey. Rae soon left and the remaining members initially chose the name 'The First Eleven' and then switched to Home Service, which had both associations of Britishness/Englishness and of a bygone world in the defunct BBC Home Service radio station. In 1981, two tracks from what was initially intended as a demo session were released as a single, with 'Doing The Inglish', and its b-side 'Bramsley', designed to accompany the group's appearance at the Cambridge Folk Festival, and their transmission on the BBC TV programme 'A Little Night Music'. Bass player Malcolm Bennett then left the band, and was replaced by Jon Davie, following which they returned to the National Theatre as a supporting band. Courtesy of geofmcm, here is the soundtrack to 'A Little Night Music', remixed into stereo, and featuring all the songs broadcast in 1981. Videos can be found on Youtube, which even contain a very rare paper tearing solo, and as this is quite a short album, there's a special bonus post coming up next.   



Track listing

01 Napoleon's Grand March Etc
02 Barmaid Song
03 Auntie Vera
04 Bramsley
05 Doin' The Inglish
06 Conniston Chaconne

Thanks to geofmcm for the idea and music.


Friday, October 10, 2025

Feeder - Living In Polaroid (2008)

In 1992 vocalist and guitarist Grant Nicholas, drummer Jon Lee and bassist Simon Blight, three of the four members of Raindancer, formed Reel, following the departure of that band's other member, guitarist John Canham. However, Blight left Reel later in 1992, and the band played with many session bassists before hiring Taka Hirose in 1994 and re-establishing themselves as Feeder. In 1994 the band sent a demo tape to The Echo Records label, and after sending an employee to see the band play live, they offered the group a record contract. In 1995, Feeder recorded their first EP, 'Two Colours', which was limited to 1,500 CDs and 1,000 7" vinyl singles, and the band sold copies at gigs. In February 1996 Kerrang! and Edge gave away a promo tape the band made with producer Chris Sheldon, called 'Two Tracker', featuring two songs destined for Feeder's debut album. In July, they released their first commercially available release, 'Swim', and following their first appearance at the Reading festival in August, they released their first single, 'Stereo World' two months later. Feeder's debut album, 'Polythene', was released in May 1997, and it was acclaimed by critics, including Metal Hammer and Kerrang!, who placed the album at first and sixth in their respective end-of-year lists. They would go on to release three further singles from 'Polythene', with 'High' becoming their breakthrough single, charting at No. 24. 
In March 1999, Feeder returned with a new single, 'Day In Day Out', which charted at No. 31, while 'Insomnia' hit No. 22 and earned them an appearance on Top of the Pops. Their second album, 'Yesterday Went Too Soon', was released in August 1999, charting at an unexpected No. 8 in the UK Albums chart. The UK music press warmed to the record, making Melody Maker's Album of the Week, and in November, they released a final single from it, with a re-recorded version of 'Paperfaces'. Feeder spent most of 2000 writing and recording for their next album, previewing new material at festivals around the country, and the 'Buck Rogers' single would become the band's first top 5 entry in the singles chart. After a sell-out tour of two legs ending at the London Astoria, the album 'Echo Park' entered at number five in the UK album charts, although the response it received on a critical level was mixed. The album saw the band adopt a more 'commercial' sound, also incorporating synthesizers, and lyrically it contains both a comedic approach, as with 'Seven Days In The Sun', and dark emotions, such as those shown on 'Turn', 'Oxygen', and 'Satellite News'. In July 2001, Feeder's EP 'Swim' was re-released with extra tracks, being a selection of b-sides from their earlier singles, alongside the videos for the Polythene singles 'Crash' and 'Cement'. 
In January 2002 tragedy hit the band when Jon Lee died at home in Miami, and the band kept out of the public eye for most of the year. It was during this time that lead-singer Grant Nicholas wrote a series of songs relating to their emotions and reactions to Lee's death, which formed their fourth album 'Comfort In Sound'. The album focused mainly on themes such as loss, depression, grief and positivity, while dedicating 'Quickfade' to Lee, and it was released in October 2002, to widespread critical acclaim in the British music press. Musically, 'Comfort In Sound' is mellower than Feeder's previous albums, with the use of a string orchestra on 'Forget About Tomorrow', while other tracks also used an accordion, trumpet, and a piano played by their manager Matt Page. The band were later invited to support Coldplay on their UK and Europeean tour, due to their frontman Chris Martin often saying how much he liked the 'Comfort In Sound' album and their live shows. Feeder received their only nomination to date at The BRIT Awards in 2004, in which they appeared in the "Best British Rock" category, before making their only appearance in the charts that year as part of Bob Geldof's Band Aid 20 charity ensemble. Feeder returned to the studio to record their fifth album 'Pushing The Senses', which Nicholas described as an extension to 'Comfort In Sound', as it focused on the same lyrical themes and musical styles. 
When it was released in 2004 it became the band's highest-charting release, reaching number two on the UK album chart, but again the press response was mixed, with Kerrang! being brutal towards the band for all of their review. After a headline slot at 2005's Download Festival, they supported U2 for a brief period on their Vertigo Tour, then played at the Live 8 concert in Edinburgh. However, on 3 December 2005 they were forced to postpone a winter tour, after Nicholas picked up bleeds on his vocal cords the night before during a gig in Brighton, causing the show to be abandoned. After he'd recovered, Feeder returned to the studio to record three new tracks to appear on their then forthcoming singles collection, which came out in 2006. They spent most of 2007 recording, with the resulting album 'Silent Cry' being released on 16 June 2008, and 'Miss You' from the album was given away by the band's official website as a free download in April, gaining over 8,000 downloads on its first day of release. Shortly after the album was released, the band recorded a cover of Public Image Ltd's 1978 self-titled single 'Public Image', for the 'Independents Day'  compilation, celebrating independently released music. The second single from 'Silent Cry' was Feeder's first download-only single, consisting of 'Tracing Lines' and the album's title track, but this failed to make the charts, and it was from this point that the band stopped adding otherwise unavailable tracks to their singles, as they had no 'b-side'. 
In October 2008 the band's bus caught fire on the M62 motorway whilst travelling between Glasgow and Lincoln, destroying it and the crew's personal items. It was also announced by Chrysalis later on in the year, that Echo had been restructured into a copyright exploitation company, in which its main duty is maintaining the copyright on existing releases, while no longer releasing any new records or signing any more artists. As a result, Feeder no longer had a record contract in their own country, while still being signed to their Japanese label Victor and Play it Again Sam as their European label. After ending their tour at the Portsmouth Pyramids Centre, a six track EP titled 'Seven Sleepers' was released in Japan, which included a collection of b-sides from the 'Silent Cry' album. Over the next 15 years Feeder released a further six albums, mostly on their new label Big Teeth Music Ltd, and their most recent release was 'Black/Red' album, their first double album, which came out on 5 April 2024. Between 1997 and 2012, Feeder accumulated 25 top 75 singles, and they've headlined many of the UK's major venues, such as Wembley Arena, Birmingham National Indoor Arena, Birmingham LG Arena, Bournemouth International Centre and the Cardiff International Arena. They are also one of Wales' most popular rock bands, and so for fans who might have missed some of their more hard to find recordings, here is a 5-disc set of all their non-album b-sides and EP tracks up to the time when streaming and downloads took over. 



Track listing

Disc I - 1995-1997
01 Chicken On A Bone (from the 'Two Colours' EP 1995)
02 Pictures Of Pain (from the 'Two Colours' EP 1995)
03 Change (b-side of 'Stereo World' 1996)
04 World Asleep (b-side of 'Stereo World' 1996)
05 Swim (single 1996)
06 Sweet 16 (b-side of 'Swim')
07 W.I.T. (b-side of 'Swim')
08 Shade (b-side of 'Swim')
09 TV Me (b-side of 'Tangerine' 1997)
10 Elegy (b-side of 'Tangerine' 1997)
11 Rhubard (b-side of 'Tangerine' 1997)
12 Rain (b-side of 'Tangerine' 1997)
13 Forgiven (b-side of 'Cement' 1997)
14 Rush (live) (b-side of 'Cement' 1997)

Disc II - 1997-1999
01 Here In The Bubble (b-side of 'Crash' 1997)
02 Undivided (b-side of 'Crash' 1997)
03 High (single 1997)
04 Wishing For The Sun (b-side of 'High')
05 Women In Towels (b-side of 'High')
06 Eclipse (b-side of 'Suffocate' 1998) 
07 Cockroach (b-side of 'Suffocate' 1998) 
08 Spill (b-side of 'Suffocate' 1998) 
09 I Need A Buzz (b-side of 'Day In Day Out' 1999)
10 Don't Bring Me Down (b-side of 'Day In Day Out' 1999)
11 Can't Dance To Disco (b-side of 'Day In Day Out' 1999)
12 Honeyfuzz (b-side of 'Day In Day Out' 1999)
13 Space Age Hero (b-side of 'Insomnia' 1999)
14 Living In Polaroid (b-side of 'Insomnia' 1999)
15 Divebomb (b-side of 'Insomnia' 1999)
16 Fly (b-side of 'Insomnia' 1999)

Disc III - 1999-2001
01 Getting To Know You Well (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
02 Tomorrow Shine (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
03 Rubberband (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
04 Slider (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
05 Oxidize (b-side of 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' 1999)
06 Whooey (b-side of 'Paperfaces' 1999)
07 Crash Mat (b-side of 'Paperfaces' 1999)
08 Purple (b-side of 'Buck Rogers' 2001)
09 Heads (b-side of 'Buck Rogers' 2001)
10 We The Electronic (b-side of 'Buck Rogers' 2001)
11 21st Century Meltdown (b-side of 'Buck Rogers' 2001)
12 Reminders (b-side of 'Seven Days In The Sun' 2001)
13 Forever Glow (b-side of 'Seven Days In The Sun' 2001)
14 Home For Summer (b-side of 'Seven Days In The Sun' 2001)

Disc IV - 2001-2003
01 Come Back Around (b-side of 'Turn' 2001)
02 Bring It Home (b-side of 'Turn' 2001)
03 Bad Hair Day (b-side of 'Turn' 2001)
04 Just A Day (single 2001)
05 Emily (b-side of 'Just A Day')
06 Slowburn (b-side of 'Just A Day')
07 Can't Stand Losing You (b-side of 'Just A Day')
08 Feel It Again (b-side of 'Come Back Around' 2002)
09 Bullet (b-side of 'Come Back Around' 2002)
10 Opaque (b-side of 'Come Back Around' 2002)
11 Broken (b-side of 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' 2003)
12 The Power Of Love (b-side of 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' 2003)
13 Redemption (b-side of 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' 2003)
14 Lose The Fear (b-side pf 'Forget About Tomorrow' 2003)
15 Bring It Together (b-side pf 'Forget About Tomorrow' 2003)
16 Remember The Silence (b-side of 'Find The Colour' 2003)
17 Circles (b-side of 'Find The Colour' 2003)

Disc V - 2005-2008
01 Shatter (b-side of 'Tumble And Fall' 2005)
02 Victoria (b-side of 'Tumble And Fall' 2005)
03 Bruised (b-side of 'Feeling A Moment' 2005)
04 Murmer (b-side of 'Feeling A Moment' 2005)
05 I For You (b-side of 'Pushing The Senses' 2005)
06 Crowd Of Stars (b-side of 'Pushing The Senses' 2005)
07 Feel It Again (b-side of 'Pushing The Senses' 2005)
08 Eclipse (b-side of 'Pushing The Senses' 2005)
09 Shatter (New Version) (single 2005)
10 Everybody Hurts (b-side of 'Shatter (New Version)')
11 Lost And Found (single 2006)
12 High 5 (b-side of 'Lost And Found')
13 Save Us (single 2006)
14 Purify (b-side of 'Save Us')
15 Calling Out For Days (b-side of 'We Are The People' 2008) 
16 Somewhere To Call Your Own (b-side of 'We Are The People' 2008) 
17 Public Image (from the 'Independents Day' compilation 2008)

Dora Flood - Phoenix Rising - The Best Of Dora Flood (2007)

Dora Flood formed in 1983, and were originally called Belladonna, but following a name change inspired by the madam of a brothel in John Steinbeck's classic novel 'Cannery Row', this San Franciscan quintet changed have produced music which is a homage to classic British pop and psychedelic rock. In 1995, they released their debut EP on American Standard Recordings, entitled '1301', named after the strange place they lived in San Francisco, at 1301 Leavenworth. They continued performing around San Francisco and the Pacific Coast, and in 1999 they released their first full-length effort, 'Walk A Lightyear Mile', on Double Play Records. Touring in support of the record saw them playing in Europe, the continental United States, and Canada, despite the fact their tour manager ended up in jail. The band received widespread acclaim for 'Lost On Earth' in 2000, also on Double Play, and by 2002 the group had enhanced its vision and creativity with the sprawling-yet-lovable 'Welcome', an album with influences from the Beatles and the Stone Roses to even Velvet Crush. The fuzzed-out 'Highlands' followed in 2004 with 'We Live Now' landing three years later. Their final release was 'Dream Out Your Window', on their own Dora Flood Recordings in 2008, and then the band was no more. Over the course of their six LPs and one EP, Dora Flood has produced some of the most notable shoegazing dream pop to come out of the United States. Their last effort for Elephant Stone Records, 'We Live Now', is perhaps the group’s heaviest sounding release to date, with nods to late '60s and early '70s interstellar boogie rock spliced into the heady mix. With praise coming from discerning music magazines like The Big Takeover, Skyscraper, Losing Today and Ptolemaic Terrascope, it is no wonder that audiences left Dora Flood's shows feeling that they witnessed something of a secret, psychedelic phenomenon. For anyone unfamiliar with this well-kept secret, here is a collection of some of their best work, in order to ease you gently into the psyche-pop world of Dora Flood.  



Track listing

01 Welcome (from 'Welcome' 2002)
02 Phoenix Rising (from 'We Live Now' 2007)
03 Stargazing (from 'Highlands' 2004) 
04 Black Widow Walking (from 'Walk A Lightyear Mile' 1999) 
05 Lost On Earth (from 'Lost On Earth' 2000)
06 Eraser (from 'Welcome' 2002) 
07 Life's Ironic State (from 'Walk A Lightyear Mile' 1999)
08 Home (from 'Highlands' 2004) 
09 Wanderlust (from 'Lost On Earth' 2000)
10 Starflower (from 'Welcome' 2002)
11 Light (from 'We Live Now' 2007)
12 Down Again (from 'Welcome' 2002)
13 Love Is Brave (from 'Lost On Earth' 2000)
14 A Violent Pair (from 'Walk A Lightyear Mile' 1999) 

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Lush - Outside World (2016)

Lush was formed in 1987 in London, and initially named the Baby Machines (after a line in the Siouxsie and the Banshees song 'Arabian Knights'), with a line-up of Meriel Barham (vocals), Emma Anderson (guitar, vocals), Miki Berenyi (guitar, vocals), Steve Rippon (bass guitar) and Chris Acland (drums). Their influences were diverse, being inspired by Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Beach Boys, the Byrds and the garage rock scene of the Nuggets series. Anderson and Berenyi had been school friends, having known each other since the early 1980's, and together published the Alphabet Soup fanzine, and in 1986, Anderson joined the Rover Girls as bass guitarist and Berenyi joined the Bugs, also as a bass guitar player. Neither band lasted long, and in 1987, they joined Barham and Acland in the Baby Machines. Rippon joined shortly thereafter and the band members decided on a change of name to Lush, making their live debut at the Camden Falcon on 6 March 1988. When Barham left the band to join Pale Saints, Berenyi took over on lead vocals, and in 1989 the band signed to 4AD Records and released their first recording, 'Scar', a six-track mini-album. Critical praise for 'Scar' and a popular live show established Lush as one of the most written-about groups of the late 80's/early 90's UK indie scene, and not long after, the British music press tagged them with the "shoegazing" label. 
The following year, the EPs 'Mad Love' (produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins) and 'Sweetness And Light' (produced by Tim Friese-Greene) were released, with all three EPs later being combined into the 'Gala' compilation album, which was produced mainly for the US and Japanese markets. The band recorded a live session for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show in 1990, and contributed a cover version of 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' later that year to the anti-poll tax album 'Alvin Lives (In Leeds)'. The band's profile was raised by extensive touring, including an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in June 1990 and tours of Japan in late 1990 and the US (with Ride) in the spring of 1991, with the 'Black Spring' EP appearing later that year. Their first full-length album of completely new material, 'Spooky', was released in January 1992, again produced by Guthrie, and it featured a sound very similar to Guthrie's band Cocteau Twins, with walls of sound and a great deal of guitar effects. Reviews were mixed and critics of the album held that Guthrie's production brought the sound away from the band's original creative vision, although it sold well, reaching No. 7 in the UK Albums Chart. Rippon left the band after recording the 'For Love' EP to concentrate on writing, though his book Cold Turkey Sandwich — a fictionalised chronicle of his time touring — was rejected by publishers, and he was replaced by Phil King. 
The band approached Bob Mould to produce their second album, but he was reportedly too busy to produce them, so 'Split' was recorded by Mike Hedges at Rockfield Studios in Wales. Hedges and the band then mixed the recordings, first at Abbey Road Studios, and then at Hedges' studio in Domfront, France, but neither the band nor 4AD's Ivo Watts-Russell 4AD were satisfied with the sound, and  eventually Alan Moulder was hired to remix it. Unusually, the band released two EPs from the album, with 'Hypocrite' and 'Desire Lines' both appearing on 30 May 1994, but neither single broke into the UK Top 40, and when 'Split' was released on 13 June 1994, it was less successful than 'Spooky'. On the advice of their management the band concentrated on the American market, but failed to make a breakthrough, and a third EP from 'Split', to have featured 'Lovelife' as the lead track along with a version of 'The Childcatcher' recorded during the 'Split' sessions, was shelved. 'Lovelife', the band's fourth album, was released in March 1996, and was produced by Pete Bartlett, the band's live engineer. This album represented a change in production, with less reliance on heavy guitar effects, and it became the biggest seller of their career, possibly as it was more in step with the contemporary Britpop style. Instead of capitalising on their success in the UK, the band's management sent them on an ill-conceived American tour with the Gin Blossoms, and with the band members feeling pressured and tired, Anderson discussed leaving, although Berenyi, in particular, was keen to keep the band together. 
In September 1996, the band played their last performance, prior to reuniting, in Japan, but a month later, tragedy struck the band when drummer Acland died by hanging himself in his parents' garden on 17 October. Following this the band effectively went on an extended hiatus, officially announcing their break-up on 23 February 1998. Berenyi went on to work as a production editor at two major magazine publishers, and Anderson formed a new group, Sing-Sing, with singer Lisa O'Neill, but then in September 2015, the music press suggested a reunion might be planned after Anderson posted a cryptic message on social media, and an official band website appeared. On 28 September, Lush announced their reunion on their Facebook page, with the reunited band consisting of Anderson, Berenyi and King with the addition of Justin Welch (ex-Elastica) on drums, who was an old friend of Chris Acland's. They announced a show at the Roundhouse in London on 6 May 2016, and later added a second date, 7 May 2016, after the first show sold out in six hours. On 15 April 2016, the band announced the release of the 'Blind Spot' EP, the band's first new material since 1996, but bassist King left soon afterwards, with Michael Conroy of Modern English playing bass for the final show at Manchester Academy, and they also confirmed that the band would split after the show. As a reminder of one of my favourite bands of the 90's, here's a collection of their non-album EP tracks and b-sides. 



Track listing

Disc I - 1990-1994
01 De-Luxe (from the 'Mad Love' EP 1990)
02 Leaves Me Cold (from the 'Mad Love' EP 1990)
03 Downer (from the 'Mad Love' EP 1990)
04 Sweetness And Light (single 1990)
05 Sunbathing (b-side of 'Sweetness And Light')
06 Breeze (b-side of 'Sweetness And Light')
07 Fallin' In Love (from the 'Black Spring' EP 1991)
08 God's Gift (from the 'Black Spring' EP 1991)
09 Outdoor Miner (b-side of 'For Love' 1991)
10 Astronaut (b-side of 'For Love' 1991)
11 Rupert The Bear (b-side of the 'Lit Up' flexi-disc 1993)
12 Love At First Sight (b-side of 'Hypocrite' 1994)
13 Cat's Chorus (b-side of 'Hypocrite' 1994)

Disc II - 1994-1996
01 White Wood (b-side of 'Desire Lines' 1994)
02 Girl's World (b-side of 'Desire Lines' 1994)
03 Tinkerbell (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
04 Outside World (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
05 Cul De Sac (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
06 Pudding (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
07 Demystification (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
08 Shut Up (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
09 Sweetie (b-side of 'Single Girl' 7" 1995)
10 I Have The Moon (b-side of '500 (Shake Baby Shake)' 1996)
11 Piledriver (b-side of '500 (Shake Baby Shake)' 1996)

Disc III - 1996-2016
01 Matador (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
02 Ex (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
03 Dear Me (Demo) (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
04 Heavenly (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
05 Carmen (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
06 Plums And Oranges (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
07 I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 7" 1996)
08 Out Of Control (from the 'Blind Spot' EP 2016)
09 Lost Boy (from the 'Blind Spot' EP 2016)
10 Burnham Beeches (from the 'Blind Spot' EP 2016)
11 Rosebud (from the 'Blind Spot' EP 2016)

Mila J - Split Personality (2006)

Jamila Akiko Aba Chilombo was born on 18 November 1982 in Los Angeles, California, and her sister is singer Jhené Aiko. At the start of her career, she joined an up-and-coming dance group, bringing her to the attention of Chris Stokes, and through him she auditioned for and starred as a dancer in Prince's 'Diamonds and Pearls' video, released in 1991, when she was just 9 years old. Stokes had begun managing Jamila and her sister Miyoko and eventually led them to form the American R&B group Gyrl, along with third member Paulette Maxwell. The three girls were also back-up dancers under the name Innocence, and they appeared in numerous music videos, such as 'Da Munchies', 'Constantly', and 'I Don't Mind'. In 1995, Silas Records released Gyrl's official debut single, 'Play Another Slow Jam', which peaked at number 74 on the US Hot R&B Singles, staying on the chart for over six weeks, but didn't chart on the US Billboard Hot 100, and after the release of the single, Maxwell left the group. It was not until 1997 that she was replaced by Glorika "Jeanae" Briley and Tai-Amber Hoo, and this new line-up released the single 'Get Your Groove On', featured in the movie 'B*A*P*S'. This single peaked at number 91 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 30 on the US Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for over 14 weeks, and becoming their highest chart appearance at that time. However, despite this success, the group disbanded shortly afterwards, and after a brief appearance in the girl group Dame Four in 2005, Mila took a hiatus from the music industry, saying that due to having been in a variety of girl groups, she did not know who she was as an artist. Upon returning to the music business, she signed with Universal Motown in 2006, and after appearing on tracks by RaRa, IMx, and Omarion, her Chris Stokes-produced debut album, 'Split Personality', was set for a summer 2006 release. That date came and went, and eventually the album was forgotten, and it was not until 2012 that Jamila redefined herself, changing her name and appearance from the soft feminine Mila J to the rough-around-the-edges Japallonia, before reverting back to Mila J for the 'Smoke, Drink, Break-Up' single in 2014. On the shelved album Mila's voice as sweet and young sounding, but it's never flashy or overly demonstrative, and Stokes' production is as solid and complementary as on his previous projects. It's light, endearing R&B that might take a few listens to sink in, but it's strong enough to keep your attention, and so is worth a listen. 



Track listing

01 Wait A Minute
02 No More Complaining
03 Go Public
04 Better
05 Tell Me Where I'd Be
06 Good Lookin' Out (feat. Marques Houston)
07 I've Been Hustled
08 Back In The Day (feat. Young Rome)
09 Things You Do (Long Enough)
10 Are You Happy Now
11 Complete
12 I'm Mi (feat. Omarion)