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

Hard-Fi - Sick Of It All (2010)

Hard-Fi formed in 2003 in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, and consisted of Richard Archer (lead vocals and guitar), Ross Phillips (guitar and backing vocals), Kai Stephens (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Steve Kemp (drums and backing vocals). Archer had returned to his hometown of Staines, crushed by the lack of success of his former band Contempo, and by the death of his father from cancer. While Archer was making demos to produce an album, he went into the Staines hi-fi shop where Ross Phillips worked, simply so he could listen to his latest demos on the shop's better equipment. Philips apparently asked Archer who had played guitar on his demos and Archer said that it was himself. Phillips said it was "shit", and was therefore recruited to play guitar for the new group. Steve Kemp was already an old friend of Archer, while it took Kai Stephens little persuasion to leave his job as at Rentokil. The band were signed to newly formed independent label Necessary Records, and most of the album was recorded in a disused mini cab office, which cost them about £300, and is known to this day as the "Cherry Lips" Studio. 1,000 copies of this record were pressed, with only 500 going on public sale, and the initial plan was to sell 1000 each time. 

However, it quickly sold out, receiving critical acclaim and radio play, proving a lot more successful than the band had imagined. In 2004 the band were licensed to the major label Atlantic Records, and they were given the chance to re-record the album in the renowned Abbey Road Studios, but they went back to the cab office to maintain their sound. The band were one of the acts opening for Green Day on their two-day residency of the Milton Keynes Bowl in June 2005, having been booked as a last minute replacement for Simple Plan, who had cancelled only a few weeks before the show. The re-issue of the 'Stars Of CCTV' album re-entered the official UK album chart at No. 4 on 1 January 2006. two places higher than it originally went in on the week of its release, and it finally got to No. 1 on 22 January. The band's re-release of 'Cash Machine' entered the official Top 40 singles chart at No. 14 on 1 January, and 'Stars Of CCTV' was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. The band expanded the Cherry Lips "studio", making more room for equipment after having searched fruitlessly for a space, and the first single from the new album was 'Suburban Knights', released on 20 August 2007. 

'Once Upon A Time In The West' was released two weeks later, and the album cover was an orange background with the album title at the top, and "NO COVER ART." written in large, white letters below, being described by art designer Peter Saville as "a 'White Album' for the digital culture". It went straight in at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, and received positive reviews, including five stars from The Observer Monthly, and four stars from Q Magazine. During the 2008 Christmas period, Hard-Fi  announced that they would be back in the new year with "a wicked new album", but by February 2011 only six of the eleven album tracks had been mixed. On 28 April, their latest single, 'Good For Nothing', was premiered on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show, and this was followed by 'Fire In The House' on 7 August, preceding the 'Killer Sounds' album by a couple of weeks. In March 2012, Archer told Gigwise that Hard-Fi were hoping to release their next album in a shorter interval than the four years between 'Once Upon A Time In The West' and 'Killer Sounds', although no estimated release date was set, and the next release from them was a greatest hits compilation album called 'Hard-Fi: Best of 2004–2014', which appeared on 27 January 2014. 

Although they had released no new music since 2011, Archer insisted that the band had not broken up, but were on a hiatus, and in April 2022, posters appeared in various London underground stations featuring the band's trademark yellow and black camera logo, with the text "London 01.10.22", suggesting the band will be playing their first live show since 2014, and following that gig at London's O2 Forum on 1 October, the band announced their first tour in eleven years, playing at venues across England and Scotland during October 2023. They've released their first new single since 2011, with 'Don’t Go Making Plans' coming out in November 2024, and they are still touring, even though they have little new music to promote, so with the recent 20th anniversary re-issue of 'Stars Of CCTV', it seems the perfect time to tidy up their discography with a collection of their rare b-sides and oddities. 

Track listing

01 Sick Of It All (b-side of 'Cash Machine' 2005)
02 Seven Nation Army (b-side of 'Cash Machine' 2005)
03 Peaches (Radio 1 Live Version) (b-side of 'Living For The Weekend' 2005)
04 Stronger (b-side of 'Hard To Beat' 2005)
05 Polish Love Song (b-side of 'Better Do Better' 2006)
06 The Money Song (Hard-Fi vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Flying Lizards vs. Abba vs. Jay-Z 2006)
07 You And Me (b-side of 'Suburban Knights' 2007)
08 These Four Walls And I (b-side of 'Can't Get Along (Without You) 2007)
09 Pain In My Heart (b-side of 'I Shall Ovecome' 2008)
10 Empty Streets (b-side of 'I Shall Ovecome' 2008)
11 1969 (from the '1969 Key To Change' charity album 2010)

Soulseek update

I've tried port forwarding again but am getting nowhere, so I've bitten the bullet and completely uninstalled Soulseek and then downloaded the latest version. Luckily it didn't delete all my files, so anyone who hasn't managed to get it to work in the past few weeks can try again now and see what happens. 

pj

The Cleaners From Venus - A Picture Of Emmiline (2021)

If there's one band that I've wanted to post on the blog since ever I started it, it's The Cleaners From Venus, but they don't release singles and so I couldn't do a b-sides collection, and they release regular best of's and rarities collections themselves. Recently, after a few years away, they are back, and they've been issuing EP's and albums through Bandcamp since 2014, so I can finally post something from them. The Cleaners From Venus started in Wivenhoe, Essex,  in November 1980, recording their music on minimal equipment, using cheap or sometimes home-made instruments. Lol Elliott and Martin Newell, both in their 20s at that time, didn't expect much to come of their chaotic endeavours and weren't particularly concerned about the matter, but a year or so later, equipped with a new 4-track Portastudio, their second cassette album received minor attention in the music press of the time. In 1983 Elliott moved to Bath in the west of England, leaving Newell to continue on his own, with guest members dropping in occasionally to play on recordings. Despite primitive production methods, The Cleaners from Venus gradually became known for high-quality song-writing, which leaned towards mid-1960's pop influences, driven by punk energy. 

Newell realised at this time that even when given access to better studio facilities, he actually preferred recording on 4-track machinery, and this discovery became an important factor in the Cleaners musical style. In 1985, a German record label, Modell, persuaded Newell to let them release the Cleaners fifth cassette album, 'Under Wartime Conditions' as a vinyl record, and it became something of an indie hit in Germany, even receiving a couple of good reviews in the UK. The band, now joined by a young keyboard player, Giles Smith,  made a promotional video and began recording their sixth cassette album, 'Living With Victoria Grey'. In spring of 1986, because of an earlier association, Newell became lyricist for Captain Sensible, ex-guitarist for The Damned, who at that time was enjoying a solo pop career. This collaboration led to a deal with a London record company, Ammunition, for whom The Cleaners From Venus made two albums. In 1988, The Cleaners From Venus Mk 2 broke up, with Smith becoming a newspaper journalist, and Newell returning to work as a gardener in his home town. Within a few months, however, he'd formed an acoustic rock duo, The Brotherhood Of Lizards,  with another former Cleaner From Venus, Nelson 'Surfquake' Nice. 

The pair soon secured a record deal with a new indie label, Deltic, releasing an album, 'Lizardland', and famously, in autumn of 1989, they toured England by bicycle to promote the record, gaining much media attention in the process. In early 1990, after Nelson accepted an offer to join the band New Model Army, Newell left music for a while to become a performance poet and writer, and he was soon regularly contributing his work to national newspapers, as well as appearing on TV and radio shows. For the next few years, with several books of his poetry published, he toured as a spoken-word artist, performing at theatres, arts centres and literary festivals, and during one of these tours he visited my hometown of Norwich, and because Martin knew me from our correspondence when I was buying his tapes, he crashed at my flat after the gig. He hadn't abandoned music entirely, however, and between 1993 and 2007, Newell also made six solo albums: two for Humbug Records and four for Cherry Red. The best known of these, 1993's 'The Greatest Living Englishman', was produced by XTC's Andy Partridge, and was well-reviewed, especially in the USA, and is now regarded as something of a rock classic. In 2010, he was about to settle down to writing another book, when once again, the unexpected happened. 

Somewhat to his surprise, Newell learned that the old Cleaners From Venus cassette albums he'd made almost thirty years earlier had become cult items. Over many years, fans of his music had copied and then circulated the imperfect recordings among themselves, sometimes posting them on the internet, in order to keep the band's name alive. I was one of those who have championed the band for the last 40 years, and still have every cassette tape that they recorded, mentioning Newell's name as an undiscovered genius whenever I could. By now,  small record labels on both sides of the Atlantic were taking an interest in these recordings, and with the bemused Newell's permission, began reissuing the records in small runs; sometimes in their original cassette format. Within a couple of years, nearly the whole Cleaners From Venus 1980's catalogue had been re-released on vinyl and CD by a New York label, Captured Tracks, whom Newell had appointed as licensees. In 2012, he acquired a small 4-track digital recorder and returned to making Lo-fi recordings, with these new offerings being released by a UK micro-label, Soft Bodies. 

Eight years and eight albums later, The Cleaners From Venus are better-known globally than they've ever been. In August 2019, 'Upstairs Planet', a film made by Graham Bendel about Newell's life, enjoyed its premiere in London's West End at the Regent Street Cinema. It was well-received, and a new documentary, 'The Jangling Man', was planned for a later release. Newell has been releasing albums and EP's through Bandcamp since 2014, and currently has 58 records for sale on the site. Some of these are EP's, featuring one or two tracks from an album, with a couple of unreleased songs filling them out, so this post collects the non-album songs from six of these EP's, spanning 2019 to 2021. A few of them are Christmas-themed, so it's perfect timing, and if you enjoy this music then I urge you to check out their back-catalogue, and discover one of the indie music scene's best-kept secrets of the past 40 years.   

Track listing

01 Clarendon Lane
02 Rudy Moon
03 A Picture Of Emmiline
04 Springtown
05 Could Be Christmas Eve
06 She's Mad About You
07 Queen Of The Green

08 Autumn's Doorstep
09 Flowers Of December (Down River Mix)
10 A Kitchen Porter's Tale
11 King Inglorious
12 Christabel's Party
13 Symphony In Cellophane
14 Love Shine A Light

Rell - The Remedy (2002)

Wilbur Gerrell Gaddis, better known by his stage name Rell, was born on 22 July 1976 in Bowman, South Carolina. He signed to Roc-A-Fella Records in 1997, being the first male R&B singer to sign to New York City-based label, and he began work on his debut album which was tentatively titled, 'Medicine'. Rell got his break in 1998, appearing in Jay-Z's rap cult flick 'Streets Is Watching', and contributing the club banger 'Love For Free' to the movie's soundtrack. Within the latter part of 1998, he renamed his debut 'The Remedy', and re-released 'Love For Free' as the lead single. In 1999, two other singles, 'When Will U See' and 'Darlin'', were released as radio buzz singles for the album, but within the first quarter of that year 'The Remedy' was shelved due to the failed charting of the singles. Still signed to the Roc-A-Fella, he went on to sing hooks for nearly every one of the label's MC;s since, including Freeway's 'Victim Of The Ghetto' and appearing on 'The Message' featuring Mary J. Blige, from Dr. Dre's '2001'. In 2001, he met agreeable terms with Jay-Z, and began retooling his cancelled debut, and the project spawned a new and official lead single titled, 'If That's My Baby'. While the album was scheduled for a September release, after a second single, 'It's Obvious' was released, the album was re-scheduled to be released in spring 2002, but in early 2002 the reworked version of 'The Remedy' was shelved again. 

In 2004, Rell began work on yet another project, titled 'Long Time Coming', and for a promotion of the album, he released several leftover tracks from the cancelled 'The Remedy' project on numerous mixtapes and limited Roc-a-Fella EP samplers. In 2005 Rell released 'Real Love' as the lead single for 'Long Time Coming', but in the midst of the release, he was moved from the Roc-A-Fella label to Dame Dash Music Group, and under the new label, 'Long Time Coming' was scheduled to be released in May 2006. Unfortunately disagreements and lack of promotion from the new label ended up with Rell's second album being shelved, and he initially split from the label. In 2007, he appeared on collaborations with Latin reggaeton artists Don Omar and Zion, and he also wrote the title track for Usher's 2008 album 'Here I Stand'. In 2009, he teamed with Tre Williams to form 'The Revelations', who released their debut album, 'The Bleeding Edge', in October 2009, but Rell has yet to release an album under his own name, so to "remedy" that, here is the first of his shelved albums.

Track listing

01 If That's My Baby

02 Bring It On Home

03 Cloud 9

04 Get Up

05 Ghetto Stash

06 Never Knew A Love

07 Never Stop

08 Serious

09 Say It Ain't So

10 It's Obvious

11 The Reason

12 U And Me

13 When Will You See

14 Next Train