Rick Miller - The Lost Years - The Best Of Rick Miller (2024)

Rick Miller is a Canadian composer and multi-instrumentalist, who made his debut effort as a solo artist back in 1983 with the new age production 'Starsong', which shifted a highly respectable 30.000 units at the time. He followed up this venture with 'Windhaven' in 1987, and his efforts 'Interstellar Passage' from 1998 and the EP 'No Passion, No Pain' from 2009 would continue exploring similar musical territories. After honing his craft working at Sound Design Studios in Toronto throughout the 80's and 90's, Miller wanted to have a go at his true musical love, which was atmospheric progressive rock inspired by artists such as Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues and Steve Hackett. In 2003 he released his first album in this new genre, with 'The One' appearing on his old New Age record label Calaban Music, but his next three albums were released through the MALS label. These efforts cemented Miller's reputation as an inventive and competent progressive rock musician, and in 2009 he was signed by Canadian indie label Unicorn Records, with his first release for them being the 'Falling Through Rainbows' album. However, by his next album, 2011's 'In The Shadows', he was back with MALS Records, sticking with them for his next six releases. In 2020 he signed to Progressive Promotion Records, who have released some of his best music over the past five years, in particular 2020's 'Unstuck In Time' and 2024's 'One Of The Many'. As an introductions to his work, here is a small selection of tracks hand-picked from the last decade, which will give you an idea of what to expect should you decide to try any one of the seventeen superb prog-rock albums that he's released since 2003.  

Track listing

01 The Garden Of Forking Paths (from 'Delusional' 2018)
02 Don Quixote (from 'Old Souls' 2022)
03 State Of Emergency (from 'Unstuck In Time' 2020)
04 The Lost Years (from 'One Of The Many' 2024)
05 Guinevere (from 'Old Souls' 2022)
06 Borrowed Time (from 'Altered States' 2023)
07 Rats In My Darkness (from 'Immortal Remains' 2013)
08 Breaking Point (from 'Breaking Point' 2016)
09 She Of The Darkness (from 'One Of The Many' 2024)
10 Blood Of The Rose (from 'Heart Of Darkness' 2014)
11 Haunt Me (from 'Old Souls' 2022)
12 The Need To Believe (from 'Belief In The Machine' 2020)

The Cowsills - Cocaine Drain (1978)

The Cowsills are an American singing group from Newport, Rhode Island, with the six siblings noted for performing professionally and singing harmonies at an early age. The band was formed in early 1965 by brothers Bill, Bob, and Barry Cowsill, with their brother John joining shortly afterwards. Originally Bill and Bob played guitar and Barry played the drums, but when John learned to play drums and joined the band, Barry began playing bass, and after their initial success, the brothers were joined by their siblings Susan and Paul along with their mother, Barbara. A handful of singles were released on JODA Records, a label owned by Danny Sims and Johnny Nash (of 'I Can See Clearly Now' fame), and Philips Records in 1965 and 1966, to only modest success. After Leonard Stogel took over management of the band, they were signed to MGM Records in 1967, and Barbara joined the group just in time to record the band's first album, including the hit single 'The Rain, The Park & Other Things', which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold record. The band quickly became a popular act in the U.S., and achieved significant airplay in Britain and other parts of Europe, and the band released five albums in all for MGM Records between 1967 and 1970. Following the success of 'The Rain, The Park & Other Things' and their eponymous album, the title track from their second album, 'We Can Fly", peaked at number 21 in the spring of 1968, by which time Susan had been added to the group. 

Later that same year they scored another Top 10 hit with the song 'Indian Lake', produced by Wes Farrell, which reached No.10 on the US charts. It's parent album, the psychedelically-influenced 'Captain Sad And His Ship Of Fools', was produced by Bill and Bob, and was the first to feature Paul as a member of the group. From 1968 through 1972, the band played an average of 200 performance dates per year, and they even had their own comic book published by Harvey Comics in 1968. In February 1970, after they had an argument over Bill's association with Waddy Wachtel (whom Bud did not approve of), Bill left the group and Bob took over as the leader, releasing the album 'II x II' just a few weeks after's Bill's departure. Musically, it heavily featured Bill since he'd been present for the recording sessions and had written a number of the songs, and it spawned three singles, two of which were minor hits, but the album as a whole failed to get into the Billboard 200. The group parted ways with MGM in 1970, and 'On My Side' was released on London Records in February 1971, barely scraping into the Billboard 200, peaking at number 200. 

By 1972, Barbara, Paul and Susan had left the group, and shortly afterward, The Cowsills stopped playing together as a band altogether, with the individual members going on to various career attempts in and out of the music industry. In 1978 several of the Cowsills, including Paul, John, Barry, Bob and Susan, recorded an album called 'Cocaine Drain' with producer Chuck Plotkin, after the group had reportedly signed with Columbia Records and "were setting the stage for a nearly completed album". In March 2008 a digital version of the album was finally released, remastered from an acetate under Bob Cowsill's direction, but it was not cleaned up particularly well, and surface noise was noticeably evident on some tracks. It also included six previously unreleased tracks tacked onto the end, and so for this post I've taken that original digital release and cleaned it up to remove much of the surface noise, as well as removing the six bonus tracks, so that we just have the original album as it was intended to be released. Finally, I've tweaked the cover art so that the pictures are more defined and the text only refers to the original album. 

Track listing

01 Cocaine Drain
02 Give Me A Chance
03 Thinking Of You
04 Is Your Love Alive?
05 I Will Always
06 Gettin' Ready
07 Bitter Jest
08 That Particular Way
09 Part Of Me
10 Dance In A Dream

Thanks to Tom for the heads-up about this album. 

The Misfits - 12 Hits From Hell (1980)

The Misfits were formed in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by Glenn Anzalone (aka Glenn Danzig), and were named after Marilyn Monroe's final film, 'The Misfits'. Danzig's first recruits were drummer Mr. Jim and bassist Diane DiPiazza, however, after DiPiazza never showed up and Mr. Jim was replaced by Manny Martinez, these two practiced in Martínez's garage, with Danzig on electric piano and Martínez on drums. The duo soon encountered Jerry Caiafa, who had just received a bass guitar for Christmas, and although he was still new to the instrument, he joined the band. Danzig, Martínez, and Caiafa rehearsed for three months without a guitarist, using Danzig's electric piano to provide the songs' rhythm, and they played their first gig at CBGB in New York City in April 1977. In May that year, they recorded their first single, 'Cough'/'Cool', which they released through their own label Blank Records that August, and after Caiafa's surname was misspelled on the record's sleeve, he insisted that in future he was to be credited as "Jerry, only Jerry", with Jerry Only becoming his pseudonym for the rest of his career. In August 1977, guitarist Frank Licata joined the band under the pseudonym Franché Coma, allowing Danzig to phase out the electric piano and focus on singing, while pushing the band's sound in a punk rock direction. 

After Danzig and Only deemed Martínez unreliable, he was replaced by the returning Mr. Jim, and the band found a recording opportunity when Mercury Records wanted to use the name Blank Records for one of its subdivisions and offered Danzig thirty hours of studio time in exchange for rights to the name. Danzig accepted, and in January 1978 the Misfits entered a New York recording studio to record 17 songs, 14 of which were mixed for the proposed 'Static Age' album. The band were unable to find a record label interested in releasing it, so they issued four of the songs in June 1978 as the 'Bullet' single on their own new label Plan 9 Records, named after the classic sci-fi film 'Plan 9 From Outer Space. Following the 'Static Age' sessions, the Misfits began a shift in song-writing and appearance, with Danzig writing more songs inspired by B horror and science fiction films, and he painted skeletal patterns on his performance clothing, while Only began applying dark makeup around his eyes and styling his hair in a long point hanging from his forehead between his eyes and down to his chin. This style became known as a "devilock" and both Danzig and Only's brother Doyle would eventually adopt it, forming the beginnings of the subgenre "horror punk". 

While in Canada in October 1978 promoting the 'Bullet' single, Coma quit the band because he did not enjoy touring, after which Mr. Jim also quit once the tour was over, citing a distaste for the horror direction in which the band was heading. Within two months the pair were replaced by drummer Joey Poole, under the pseudonym Joey Image, and guitarist Robert Kaufhold, also known as Bobby Steele, and the new line-up continued to evolve the horror elements of the band, releasing the 'Horror Business' single in June 1979. The cover featured a skeletal figure inspired by a poster for the 1946 film serial 'The Crimson Ghost', and this figure would become a mascot for the band, with its skull image serving as the Misfits' logo for the rest of their career. In June 1979 the Misfits performed as openers for The Damned in New York City, and after Only spoke with singer Dave Vanian about the possibility of the Misfits touring the UK with The Damned, they flew to England, only to find that Vanian had not taken his conversation with Only seriously and had not planned on having the Misfits on the tour. He did attempt to arrange for them to take part in the tour, but the band members were unhappy with the situation and left after only two shows.

Image then quit the band and flew back to the United States, but with their return flights not scheduled until late December, the remaining band members stayed in London. Upon their eventual return to the US they released the 'Beware' EP in January 1980, then took a four-month break before adding Arthur McGuckin as their new drummer under the pseudonym Arthur Googy. During this time Only's younger brother Paul Caiafa, a longtime fan of the band who went by the nickname Doyle, began learning to play guitar with help from Danzig and Only, and The Misfits began working on an album which they planned to release through their Plan 9 label, recording twelve songs in a studio in August 1980. Following a further six month hiatus, the band reconvened and selected three of the twelve songs from their August 1980 album sessions for release as the '3 Hits From Hell' EP in April 1981. Throughout the rest of 1981 they continued to record tracks for a full-length album, to be titled 'Walk Among Us', and although they had planned to release it through Plan 9, they instead accepted an offer from Slash Records, and decided to rework the album before its release. 

In October 1981 they released two more tracks from the August 1980 sessions as the 'Halloween' single, and in March 1982 'Walk Among Us' was released through Ruby and Slash Records. A national tour in support of the album followed, and the band's performances began to grow more intense and violent, with Danzig and Googy frequently clashing, and after a heated argument at a McDonald's restaurant Danzig kicked Googy out of the band. The vacant drummer position was offered to their friend Eerie Von, who had served as their occasional roadie and photographer, but as he had already committed to drumming for Rosemary's Babies, Henry Rollins recommended former Black Flag drummer Robo, who flew to New Jersey to join the Misfits in July 1982. In September they embarked on a national tour with The Necros, during which they stopped at a studio to record the instrumental tracks for their next EP. However, they were arrested in New Orleans on charges of grave robbing while attempting to locate the grave of voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau, before bailing themselves out of jail and skipping their court date to drive to their next performance in Florida. By this time Danzig was growing increasingly dissatisfied with the Misfits and had begun writing songs for a new band project, and in June 1983 he confided to Henry Rollins that he planned to quit the group. In July 1983 the Misfits finished recording their next EP, and Danzig decided to record two more songs that he had intended for his new project, turning the EP into a full album, and 'Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood' demonstrated the increasing influence of hardcore punk and heavy metal on the band's sound. 

On 29 October 1983 the Misfits played their annual Halloween performance at Greystone Hall in Detroit with the Necros, featuring new drummer Brian Damage (real name Brian Keats), although he was so drunk before the show that he couldn't play properly, and so Todd Swalla of The Necros had to fill in for the remainder of the performance. This was the final straw for Danzig, who announced to the audience that it would be the band's final show. Upon returning to Lodi the band members went their separate ways, with Danzig launching his new band Samhain, moving away from punk rock, and toward more experimental heavy metal with a grim atmosphere. In 1986 the band signed to Def American Recordings and Danzig replaced most of the rhythm section, renaming the group Danzig, and recording albums in a variety of styles, from blues rock-influenced heavy metal to industrial rock. Despite five tracks eventually being given an official release from their 1980 sessions, the album itself remains unreleased, and so here it is to fill the gap in this history of Glenn Danzig's early career. As a special bonus, this post includes 'Who Killed Marilyn!', which was originally planned for release on Plan 9 Records, but when Danzig determined that it would be too expensive to release it as a 12“ single, he considered a two- song 7“ with 'Who Killed Marilyn' / 'Where Eagles Dare', but the project was never completed and only a 12“ acetate exists.

Track listing 

01 Halloween  
02 Vampira  
03 I Turned Into A Martian 
04 Skulls 
05 London Dungeon  
06 Night Of The Living Dead  
07 Horror Hotel  
08 Ghouls Night Out  
09 Astro Zombies  
10 Where Eagles Dare  
11 Violent World 
12 Halloween II  
13 Who Killed Marilyn!

Levitation - Origins (1991)

Following his departure from The House Of Love in 1990, Terry Bickers began forming a new band with drummer David Francolini, having met during Bickers' last tour with his previous band in December 1989, on which Francolini was playing with support band Something Pretty Beautiful. They first enlisted Christian Hayes, who was currently playing guitar in Cardiacs and working as a courier, and Hayes' former bandmate in Ring, keyboardist Robert White soon joined, along with bassist Joe Allen and violinist Johnny T. Levitation first played low key shows in France supporting Ride, and in Belgium supporting Galaxie 500, but soon afterwards Johnny T left the band, along with Allen, who was replaced by former Jazz Butcher bassist Laurence O'Keefe. The band signed to the independent label Ultimate Records and released their debut single in April 1991, and the 'Nadine'/'Coppelia' EP was made "Single of the Week" in Melody Maker, although it received a negative review in the NME. In August 1991 the band released the 'After Ever' EP, which again made "Single of the Week" in Melody Maker, who described the EP as "blessed genius", and the following month they released the low-key single 'Squirrel' via the new Rough Trade mail-order 7" vinyl singles club. 

Through 1991 the band toured extensively, supporting the likes of Pere Ubu, All About Eve, the Psychedelic Furs and Hawkwind, but they were dropped from a tour supporting Transvision Vamp, officially because their equipment required too much stage space, but reports suggested that the headliners were worried about being overshadowed by Levitation, who were receiving a lot of press due to Bickers' profile from his work with The House Of Love. The band also received further press attention from outlandish and eccentric comments Bickers would make to the press, which often displayed a fondness for conspiracy theories, leading him to be labelled "Bonkers Bickers". In November 1991 a compilation album, 'Coterie', was released, collating tracks from the band's previous releases along with new live recordings, and following this the band left Ultimate and signed to Rough Trade. Their debut album, 'Need For Not', was released in May 1992, but the band didn't tour the album in the US as Bickers refused to go, with O'Keefe commenting that "Terry was acutely paranoid of America and failed to join us in New York and started to be a real drag". Following the collapse of Rough Trade, Levitation signed to Chrysalis, and they began working on their second album, 'Meanwhile Gardens', but after recording so much material towards it, the band decided it would be released in two parts, 'Summer' and 'Autumn'. 

However, after the release of the lead single 'Even When Your Eyes Are Open' in April 1993, Bickers announced his departure from the band onstage at the Dome in Tufnell Park, London In May. A mailout to the band's fanclub featured a statement from Hayes, in which he described Bickers' departure as "an unfortunate but necessary stick in the spokes... Terry no longer wishes to be in Levitation, feeling no excitement for the material and therefore uncomfortable within the band", but Bickers would later admit that his mounting depression had much to do with the manner of his departure. The album was shelved and a string of shows were cancelled, including a headline slot at the Phoenix Festival. Determined to continue, Levitation set about auditioning new singers, and in August 1993 the arrival of American singer Steve Ludwin was announced. Instead of working on new material, the band decided to remix the existing 'Meanwhile Gardens' album and overdub new vocals by Ludwin, removing most traces of Bickers, as Hayes stated that the band really liked the material, and as they'd spent nearly two years writing it, it seemed such a waste to just dump it. 

The new version received a low key release in Australia, along with a single release of 'King Of Mice' in Germany, but the band were reportedly plagued by continuing and escalating rows, and it was announced in October 1994 that they had finally split up. In 1992 a limited edition 800-copy fan-club only cassette appeared, which included demos recorded between 1989 and 1991, some of which have yet to appear on record. 'Nadine', 'Smile' and 'Rosemary Jones' were subsequently re-recorded in Oct 1990 and appeared on the 'Coppelia' EP as the first official Levitation release on Ultimate, while 'Firefly' first appeared on the 'After Ever' EP recorded in May 1991. A further version of 'Smile' and definitive versions of 'Arcs Of Light And Dew', 'World Around', 'Embedded' and 'Coterie' can be heard on Levitation's first album 'Need For Not', and the instrumental 'Jay' can only be found on the Rough Trade single 'World Around', released prior to the debut album. 'Origins', 'Mantra' and 'Day By Day' are exclusive to the cassette. 

Track listing

01 Mantra
02 Nadine
03 Firefly
04 Arcs Of Light And Dew
05 Smile
06 Origins
07 Jay
08 Rosemary Jones
09 Day By Day
10 World Around
11 Embedded
12 Coterie

Band Of Horses - Warning Signs - The Best Of Band Of Horses (2022)

Ben Bridwell formed Band of Horses with bassist Chris Early and drummer Tim Meinig in 2004 after the break-up of his previous band Carissa's Wierd along with bassist Chris Early and drummer Tim Meinig. They were soon joined by former Carissa's Wierd bandleader Mat Brooke on guitar and vocals, and under the name Horses they received attention from Sub Pop, after opening for Iron & Wine during Seattle area shows. In 2005 the band released the 'Tour EP', which was sold at shows and on Sub Pop's website, and later that year they recorded their first full-length album, 'Everything All The Time', which was released by Sub Pop in March 2006. It included new versions of five of the six songs from the 'Tour' EP along with five brand new songs, and was a minor hit in Scandinavia, entering the lower reaches of the Swedish and Norwegian album charts. During the recording the the album Bridwell found that there was a personality clash between himself and Meinig and Early, and they left soon after the recording finished, being replaced for the subsequent tour by Joe Arnone on guitar and keyboards, Rob Hampton on bass and guitar, and Creighton Barrett on drums. Before recording their second album, Bridwell decided to relocate the band from Seattle to his native South Carolina, and after losing Arnone and recruiting Matt Gentling on bass, Robin Peringer on guitar, and Ryan Monroe on keyboards they recorded their second album, 'Cease To Begin', in Asheville, North Carolina. 

It was released by Sub Pop Records in October 2007, and gave Band Of Horses their first hit in the U.S. by reaching number 35 on the Billboard 200. Following the release of 'Cease To Begin', Monroe became a permanent member of the band, along with new recruits Tyler Ramsey on guitar and vocals and Bill Reynolds on bass. Third album 'Infinite Arms' was released worldwide between May 14 and 19, 2010 on the Columbia, Brown, and Fat Possum labels, and was the first to be self-produced by the band, with additional production from Phil Ek. On 20 April 2010 the band appeared on the BBC television series 'Later... with Jools Holland', and following this appearance, the band's two earlier albums entered the UK Albums Chart for the first time. The band toured Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and opened for Pearl Jam and Snow Patrol, and in 2011 'Infinite Arms' was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Alternative Album category. In April 2012, Bridwell announced that the band's fourth studio album was scheduled for release in late 2012 and would be produced by Glyn Johns. 

In July the album's title was confirmed as 'Mirage Rock', and following the release of 'Knock Knock' as the debut single from it, the album appeared in September 2012. In July 2015 Bridwell and Sam Beam of Iron and Wine released a covers album titled 'Sing Into My Mouth', and the next year saw the appearance of the fifth Band Of Horses studio album, 'Why Are You OK', produced by Jason Lytle of the band Grandaddy, and issued through Rick Rubin's American Recordings and Interscope Records. Over the next five years the band went through numerous line-up changes, and in October 2021, they issued the single 'Crutch' as a taster for their sixth record 'Things Are Great', which was released in March 2022. Despite their music being generally well-received by the critics, and having a Grammy nomination to their name, Band Of Horses have yet to break through to the mainstream, particularly in the UK, and so I hope this this selection of their best work will tempt you to try some of their albums.  

Track listing

01 The Funeral (from 'Everything All The Time' 2006)
02 No One's Gonna Love You (from 'Cease To Begin' 2007)
03 Is There A Ghost (from 'Cease To Begin' 2007)
04 Laredo (from 'Infinite Arms' 2008)
05 Weed Party (from 'Everything All The Time' 2006)
06 In A Drawer (from 'Why Are You OK' 2016)
07 Infinite Arms (from 'Infinite Arms' 2008)
08 NW Apt (from 'Infinite Arms' 2008)
09 Slow Cruel Hands Of Time (from 'Mirage Rock' 2012)
10 Marry Song (from 'Cease To Begin' 2007)
11 The Great Salt Lake (from 'Everything All The Time' 2006)
12 Factory (from 'Infinite Arms' 2008)
13 Crutch (from 'Things Are Great' 2022)
14 Warnings Signs (from 'Things Are Great' 2022)
15 Knock Knock (from 'Mirage Rock' 2012)

JoBoxers - Skin And Bone (1985)

JoBoxers were formed in London in 1982, when former Subway Sect members Rob Marche (guitar), Dave Collard (keyboards), Chris Bostock (bass), and Sean McLusky (drums) teamed up with England-based American singer Dig Wayne (aka Timothy Wayne Ball)who, under the name of Buzz Wayne, had previously fronted the New York–based rockabilly band Buzz and the Flyers. Adopting a working-class look complete with caps, suspenders, and work shoes, JoBoxers got their first break appearing on the BBC television series 'Oxford Roadshow', and were then signed to RCA Records. Their debut single, 'Boxerbeat', came out in 1983 and peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, at the same time that the group were the opening act on the Madness Rise and Fall tour. However, it was their next hit, 'Just Got Lucky', that broke the band internationally, selling over 250,000 copies, and making the UK top 10, and the US top 40. The third UK hit, 'Johnny Friendly', is a homage to the Marlon Brando film 'On The Waterfront', and British boxer Frank Bruno appeared in the promotional video for the song. The next single was the double A-side 'Jealous Love'/'She's Got Sex', with the latter song later being covered by on Samantha Fox's double platinum-selling album 'Touch Me'. The band's debut album, 'Like Gangbusters', appeared later in 1983, and featured all of the abovementioned hits, reaching the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. In 1985 The band released another single, 'Is This Really The First Time', which was the lead track from their second album 'Skin And Bone', but record company interference meant that it was shelved, and so the band moved on to start on their third album, 'Missing Link', but they ended up splitting during the sessions, and so that record was also consigned to the vaults. Sean McLusky joined Rob Marche in the indie-dance band If?, which Chris Bostock joined David A. Stewart to form his post-Eurythmics group, the Spiritual Cowboys, achieving two gold albums in France. A number of tracks from the aborted 'Skin And Bone' later appeared on 1996's 'Essential' compilation, but it's taken until now for the remaining few to appear, so that we are now finally able to piece together that abandoned second album. 

Track listing

01 Is This Really The First Time (You've Been In Love)
02 Strictly Business
03 Some Kind Of Heart
04 Don't Keep The Ladies Waiting
05 Cry Uncle
06 Don't Add Up 
07 Lon Chaney Jr.
08 My Best Friend
09 Dead End Streets
10 One In A Million
11 Skin And Bone

12 Two Weeks Notice

The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are Four Long Lines (2024)

The Besnard Lakes are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Canada, who were formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, and the band are currently a six-piece, featuring  Kevin Laing  on drums, Richard White on guitar, Sheenah Ko on keyboards and Robbie MacArthur on guitar. Centered around the atmospheric songs of Lasek and Goreas, whose expansive sound draws from numerous aspects of rock 'n' roll history, their name comes from Besnard Lake in North-Central Saskatchewan. They released their first album, 'Volume 1', on their own Breakglass Records label in 2003, and after signing to Jagjaguwar Records, their second album, 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse' was recorded at singer Lasek's own Breakglass Studios, with members of Stars, The Dears and Godspeed You! Black Emperor/Silver Mt. Zion making guest appearances, This was my introduction to their unique sound, and I was not at all surprised when it was nominated for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. It was followed in March 2010 by 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night', and it was preceded by a 12" single featuring album track 'Albatross' and the non-album 'Four Long Lines' in February. Once again, the album was shortlisted as a nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. The band next wrote their first film score for the film 'Sympathy For Delicious', from actor/director Mark Ruffalo, and they also wrote and performed the score for the National Film Board of Canada web documentary 'Welcome To Pine Point', which they released as a 12" EP entitled 'You Lived In The City'. 

A new studio album, 'Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO', was released in April 2013, and inevitably it was longlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize. In 2014, guitarist Richard White removed himself from the band's touring line-up, although he continues to play on their albums, and he was replaced for live performances by guitarist Robbie MacArthur. Following the completion of the 'Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO' tour, both MacArthur and touring keyboardist Sheenah Ko joined the band's full line-up, and the six-piece began work on their fifth studio album, 'A Coliseum Complex Museum', which was preceded in late 2015 by an EP entitled 'The Golden Lion'. After a gap of two years, the band reappeared with the 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Divine Wind' EP, but it was to be another four years before we heard any new music from them, and so 'The Last Of The Great Thunderstorm Warnings' was gratefully received by their fans. A 27-minute long EP, entitled 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Prayers For The Death Of Fame', came out in October 2022 on Full Time Hobby, and their most recent release was the 14-track live album, 'The Besnard Lakes Are A Live', which appeared just a few months ago. The Besnard Lakes have been one of my favourite bands ever since I first heard '...The Dark Horse' album, and having now collected and listened to these non-album singles, b-sides and covers, I love them even more.  

Track listing

Disc I - 2004-2010
01 Life Rarely Begins With Tungsten Film #2 (single 2004)
02 Aviation (b-side of 'Life Rarely Begins With Tungsten Film #2')
03 Would Anybody Come To Visit Me (single 2005)
04 Casino Nanaimo (single 2007)
05 The Beautiful Ones (Prince cover 2008)
06 Love You (from 'The Madcap Laughs Again!' 2010)
07 Four Long Lines (b-side of 'Albatross' 2010)
08 I've Got A Feeling (from the MOJO compilation 'Let It Be Revisited' 2010) 

Disc II - 2011-2015
01 We're Here For A Good Time (Not A Long Time) (from the 'You Lived In The City' EP 2011)
02 Holiday Sin (from the 'You Lived In The City' EP 2011)
03 Some Colour In The Sky (from the 'You Lived In The City' EP 2011)
04 The Corner (from the 'You Lived In The City' EP 2011)
05 You Make Loving Fun (from 'Rumours Revisited' 2013)
06 The Motorway (b-side of 'Golden Lion' 2015)
07 In The Forest (b-side of 'Golden Lion' 2015)

Disc III - 2017-2024
01 Laura Lee (from '...Are The Divine Wind' EP 2017)
02 The Divine Wind (from '...Are The Divine Wind' EP 2017)
03 Superego (free 7" single with 'Thunderstorm Warnings' album 2021)
04 She's An Icicle (from '...Are The Prayers For The Death Of Fame' EP 2022)
05 A Jackey For A Rainy Lady (from '...Are The Prayers For The Death Of Fame' EP 2022)
06 Silver Shadows (from '...Are The Prayers For The Death Of Fame' EP 2022)
07 (Dizzy) Eagle (single 2024)

Thanks to _ilovebeans for providing the copy of 'Aviation'. 

Mike Solof - Off The Beatle Track - Episode 44 (2019)

This episode of 'Off The Beatle Track' has come personally recommended by Mike himself as one of his favourites. Older visitors to the blog might recall a US comedy show from the late 70's called 'WKRP In Cincinnati', about a small local radio station. I remember it fondly, and have gone back and watched a few episodes of it here after Mike jogged my memory about it. This show is his tribute to the series, and the whole show was done as if by DJ Venus Flytrap, who is being forced to do a daytime show (he was usually the midnight to 6am DJ) because construction work was being done on the toilets at night. So he brings his mellowness to the daytime shift and decides to do an all jazz Beatles show. It was one of Mike's favourites to do, not only because of the comedy which he loved doing (as well as slowing down his voice), but because he found so many cool jazzy Beatles tunes to fill it with. 

Track listing

01 Episode 44 - Tribute to 'WKRP In Cincinnati'

The Mamas And The Papas - Welcome To Our World (1971)

In February 1967 The Mamas And The Papas released their 'Deliver' album, followed in October by the non-album single 'Glad To Be Unhappy', which reached No. 26 in the US, but did nothing in the UK. The group had cut their first three albums at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, while subsequent records were recorded at the eight-track studio that John and Michelle Phillips had built at their home in Bel Air. While having his own studio gave Phillips the autonomy he craved, it also removed the external discipline that may have been beneficial to a man who described himself as an "obsessive perfectionist". Denny Doherty, Cass Elliot and producer Lou Adler found the arrangement uncongenial, with Elliot complaining to Rolling Stone magazine that Phillips had spent one whole month recording the vocals for just one song, 'The Love Of Ivy', and inevitably the recording sessions for the fourth album stalled. In September 1967 John Phillips called a press conference to announce that the Mamas And The Papas were taking a break, which the band confirmed on The Ed Sullivan Show that aired on 24 September. Concerts had been planned at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Olympia in Paris before taking time out on Majorca to "get the muse going again", but when the group docked at Southampton on 5 October, Elliot was arrested for stealing two blankets and a hotel key when in England the previous February. 

The case was dismissed in the West London Magistrates' Court the next day, but later at a party hosted by the band to celebrate Elliot's acquittal, John Phillips interrupted her as she was telling the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger about her arrest and trial, and a screaming match erupted, with Elliot storming out of the room. The Royal Albert Hall and Olympia dates were cancelled, and the four went their separate ways. John Phillips and Elliot reconciled to complete 'The Papas & The Mamas', which was released in May 1968, but it was the band's first album not to go gold or reach the top 10 in America. In June 1968 'Dream A Little Dream Of Me' was released as a Cass Elliot solo single, although credit to Mama Cass with The Mamas & The Papas against John Phillips' wishes, and it reached number 12 in the US and number 11 in the UK, which was higher than any of the band's recent singles. The success of the single confirmed Elliot's desire to embark on a solo career, and by the end of 1968 it appeared that the group had split. John Phillips, Doherty and Elliot all recorded solo albums immediately after the split, with Elliot, billed as Mama Cass, releasing her second solo album 'Make Your Own Kind Of Music - It's Getting Better' in 1969, Phillips released 'John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.)' in 1970, and Doherty followed with 'Watcha Gonna Do?' in 1971. Michelle Phillips took time away from music, and didn't release a solo album until 1977, although she did record a few tracks earlier in the 70's. 

In mid-1971 the band were sued by Dunhill Records, who were determined to get the group's contractually obligated last album, for which it had given them an extension until September 1971. A lawsuit and countersuit between the band and label were settled out of court, and it was determined that the group would record under John Phillips's label, Warlock Records, distributed by Dunhill Records. Phillips wrote a collection of songs, which were arranged, rehearsed, and recorded throughout the year, depending on the availability of the other group members, but they were rarely together at one time, and most tracks were dubbed, one vocal at a time. The Mamas And The Papas last album of new material, 'People Like Us', was released in November 1971, but the sole single, 'Step Out', only reached No. 81 in the US, with the album peaking at No. 84 on the Billboard 200, making it the only record by the group not to reach the top 20 in the US. Considering that three of the four members of the group had recorded an album's worth of material before that ignominious final record was released, they could have made a very different album in 1971 by cherry-picking the best of their individual songs, so this album does just that, and imagines what a pre-lawsuit 1971 album from the group could have sounded like, with the addition of a mid-70's single by Michelle Phillips so that she was not completely left out.  

Track listing

01 Make Your Own Kind Of Music
02 Captain
03 Tuesday Morning
04 Move In A Little Closer, Baby
05 Got A Feelin'
06 No Love Today
07 Mississippi
08 It's Getting Better
09 Sail The Waterway
10 Holland Tunnel
11 Where's Mine
12 Neighbours
13 Welcome To The World

Fundisha - Lessons (2002)

Fundisha Johnson is an American R&B singer, who started her musical career back in 1998 as background singer for artists such as Lauryn Hill, Tyrese, Lil Bow Wow, Fabolous and Jermaine Dupri. In 2002 she began releasing her own records, with 'Live The Life' becoming a minor R&B hit as the lead single from her first album 'Lessons'. The album was originally scheduled to be released on 18 June 2002 but was cancelled shortly after her label So So Def merged with Arista Records, resulting in a large number of releases being shelved. She never get to release an album, and leaves just one single of her own and a few collaborations as her legacy. It could have been so different if this album had actually been released, so here it is for you to check out. 

Track listing

01 Intro 
02 You Make Me
03 Black
04 Never Taught, Never Told
05 Party Joint
06 Gotta Be Me
07 Married Man
08 Live The Life
09 Wanna Be Intro
10 Wanna Be
11 Commitment Interlude
12 Pull A Left Eye
13 Daddy
14 Lessons
15 Don't Judge Me

Updates 4

As usual I took a number of these albums on holiday with me to listen to on headphones, and you might not be surprised to hear that two of them were the recent U2 and Bruce Springsteen albums. U2 was pretty good, but I just felt the gap between the first two tracks could be a few seconds shorter, and I've trimmed the beginning to 'Smile'. Springsteen was pretty much perfect, but the extended coda I had to add to the end of 'Reason To Believe' had some noticeable joins, so I've smoothed them out.

The only other album that I felt could do with an upgrade was 'I Need A New Adventure 'by Television, where I've trimmed the beginning to 'Last Night', and also to 'The Dream's Dream', as well as removing the acetate surface noise at the beginning, and giving it a better ending. 

Most of the others sounded fine, but I haven't actually listened to all of them yet, so if I do find anything wrong later I'll upgrade them and let you know. 

Lastly, Paul over at albumsthatshouldexist has found an extra couple of tracks that I could have included in my recent post from Sade, so I've added those in to make a more acceptable 49-minute album. 

All post are updated on Soulseek, and new links for all four posts are in the download folder.

Elizabeth & The Catapult - Happy Pop - The Best Of Elizabeth & The Catapult (2021)

Elizabeth & the Catapult is a Brooklyn–based project by the American singer-songwriter Elizabeth Ziman, who grew up in Greenwich Village, and trained from youth as a classical pianist, writing her first songs on an upright piano at age 6. She attended the Berklee College of Music on a scholarship to study classical composition, and her original plans to pursue film scoring were changed in 2002 when Patti Austin came to Berklee to recruit background vocalists for an Ella Fitzgerald tribute tour. Ziman toured with Austin for 18 months, causing her subsequent compositional style to draw heavily from jazz vocalists such as Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan. She met fellow students Dan Molad and Esperanza Spalding at a party during their final semester at Berklee, and they began performing together shortly afterward. Spalding left the band soon after and another Berklee student, guitarist Pete Lalish, later joined the band after Ziman saw him performing at a Boston bar and invited him to collaborate, with the band moving to Brooklyn in early 2005 after they'd completed their studies. Using Molad's home studio, the band financed, recorded and produced an EP, 'Elizabeth & The Catapult' in 2006, which led to them being signed to Verve Records in 2008. 

Having been popular on New York's Lower East Side, the band achieved a measure of national notoriety in the spring of 2009 with their first Verve album, 'Taller Children', which the band had chosen to record at Mike Mogis' studio in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2009, Ziman was commissioned by John Schaefer of NPR's Soundcheck to write a song cycle for a Lincoln Center show, and having gone through a band breakup, Ziman turned to Leonard Cohen's poetry collection 'Book Of Longing', recording demos for much of the new album as a duo at Molad's father's home in Austin, Texas. Following their record label's suggestion of working with a producer, Molad suggested Tony Berg, and the band moved into the studio to complete the album. 'The Other Side Of Zero' was released in October 2010, and featured Gillian Welch and David Rawlings on the title track. In 2014 she performed at Madison Square Garden opening for Sara Bareilles, and later that year the band released their third album 'Like it Never Happened' on Thirty Tigers Records, which was produced by Dan Molad, Peter Lalish, and Paul Loren with string arrangements by Rob Moose. 'Keepsake', the fourth album from Elizabeth & the Catapult and the first on Compass Records, was released in October 2017, followed by 'sincerely, e' in March 2021. Despite releasing five albums over a twelve year period, Elizabeth & The Catapult are still something of an unknown quantity to most people, so I hope that this collection will introduce the band to a wider audience. 

Track listing

01 Underwater (from 'Keepsake' 2017)
02 Rainiest Day Of Summer (from 'Taller Children' 2009)
03 Right Next To You (from 'Taller Children' 2009)
04 Salt Of The Earth (from 'Like It Never Happened' 2014)
05 Time (We All Fall Down) (from 'The Other Side Of Zero' 2010)
06 Something More (from 'Keepsake' 2017)
07 Open Book (from 'The Other Side Of Zero' 2010)
08 Pop The Placebo (from 'sincerely, e' 2021)
09 Race You (from 'Taller Children' 2009)
10 Happy Pop (from 'Like It Never Happened' 2014)
11 Complimentary Me (from 'Taller Children' 2009)
12 Julian, Darling (from 'The Other Side Of Zero' 2010)
13 Apocalypse In A Major (from 'sincerely, e' 2021)
14 You And Me (from 'The Other Side Of Zero' 2010)
15 Ambrosia (from 'Keepsake' 2017)

Whiskeytown - Forever Valentine (1997)

After performing punk rock with a band called The Patty Duke Syndrome, Ryan Adams founded Whiskeytown in 1994 in Raleigh, North Carolina, with the music of country-rock artist Gram Parsons serving as his inspiration. The band initially consisted of Adams, violinist Caitlin Cary, drummer Eric "Skillet" Gilmore, bassist Steve Grothmann and guitarist Phil Wandscher, and after signing to Mood Food Records, they released their debut album, 'Faithless Street', in 1995, establishing the group as one of the genre's leaders, thanks to glowing reviews in publications such as No Depression, This helped the band score a major-label record deal with the Geffen Records imprint Outpost, who re-released 'Faithless Street' in 1998 with nearly a dozen bonus tracks from the era, including previously unreleased tracks, and songs that had been released on earlier albums and EPs. One track, 'Oklahoma', was removed, and Adams claimed that the reason for the re-release was the muddy sound of the original version, and his distaste for 'Oklahoma', which was added to the album despite his objections. Whiskeytown's 1997 major-label debut, 'Strangers Almanac', helped to establish Adams' reputation as a songwriter, but in the midst of the album's recording, Gilmore and Grothman left, with Wandscher following soon after the album's release. 

The band cycled through numerous members throughout the next year, including Jeff Rice and Steven Terry, both of whom were involved in the recording of 'Strangers Almanac' but left later that year. Despite the band's internal strife, '...Almanac' was a successful album with critics, with the tracks '16 Days' and the Replacements-esque 'Yesterday's News' receiving significant radio play, and Rolling Stone magazine praised them as the Nirvana of alternative country. During the tour to promote the album most of the band was fired or quit at a concert in Kansas City, with the only people who started and finished the tour being Adams, Caitlin Cary, and tour manager Thomas O'Keefe. The band managed to add a new core member in multi-instrumentalist Mike Daly, who contributed significantly to the band's sound. This new line-up quickly recorded an album without their record label knowing about it, since it fell outside of the terms of their contract at that time. 

Produced by Chris Stamey, it also featured his his bass-playing, alongside Ben Folds on piano and ex-Firehose member Ed Crawford on guitar, 'Forever Valentine' was recorded between their 'Strangers Almanac' and 'Pneumonia' albums, and music critic Steven Hyden of Grantland ranked it with Adams's best Whiskeytown material. Work then began on their third album, 'Pneumonia', but possibly because of the band's constantly changing dynamic, the traditional country was largely replaced with a more sophisticated country-rooted pop sound, very similar to Wilco's 1999 album 'Summerteeth'. Despite the album's completion and Whiskeytown's sizable fanbase, Outpost Records closed during the merger between Polygram and Universal, and as a result the album stayed in limbo for nearly two years, effectively ending the band. Lost Highway Records, the roots-minded label imprint of Universal Music, picked up the album after signing Adams, following the recording of his highly acclaimed debut solo record 'Heartbreaker' on indie label Bloodshot Records, and they released 'Pneumonia' in May 2001. 'Forever Valentine' remains one of Ryan Adams's great lost albums, and so here it is so that you can hear what could have been Whiskeytown's official third record. 

Track listing

01 Anyone But Me 
02 Don't Wanna Know Why
03 Easy Hearts
04 Sittin' Around
05 Rays Of Burning Light 
06 Ghost Without Memory
07 Runnin' Out Of Road
08 Can't Take A Lover
09 I Don't Care What You Think About Me
10 Crazy Lonesome (A Memory Away)
11 Caroline