Neil Young - Ain't It The Truth (1988)

Following the recent post of Neil Young's possible rock album that could have been released between his Bluenotes phase and his return to form on 'Freedom', Mike S wondered if there could have been another record released around the same time, as Young was playing a lot of songs on the Bluenotes tour of 1987/1988 which he never recorded in the studio. One of these was the track 'Sixty To Zero', which did eventually appear on 'Freedom' in a rewritten form as 'Crime In The City (Sixty To Zero Part 1)', but even though that is a lengthy track, earlier versions of the song, when it was still called 'Sixty To Zero', were even longer, going on as long as 11 verses and 20 minutes. Young would play both acoustic and electric versions of the song in concert, though the final released version was heavily acoustic, and so the centrepiece of any album from 1988 would have to be a seventeen-minute, electric version of 'Sixty To Zero'. Also played on that tour were more of his old Squires tracks, including 'Ain't It The Truth', and 'High Heels', which I had to leave off 'Welcome To The Big Room' purely for reasons of space, as well as a call-back to his old Buffalo Springfield days with a rendition of 'On The Way Home'. 'Don't Take Your Love Away From Me' is a superb blues track, of the sort that Young doesn't do nearly enough of, and so in answer to Mike's question, yes there is enough good quality material for a follow-up to 'Welcome To The Big Room'. Here, therefore, is 'Ain't It The Truth', another "studio" rock album from 1988 in an alternate universe. 

Track listing

01 High Heels
02 Fool For Your Love
03 Don't Take Your Love Away From Me
04 Sixty To Zero
05 On The Way Home
06 Ain't It The Truth

The Pandoras - Come Inside (1987)

The Pandoras were formed when singer/guitarist Paula Pierce, a member of the mod/garage/pop Action Now, met singer/guitarist/bass player Deborah Mendoza (a.k.a. Menday), at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga in 1982. Pierce brought in Gwynne Kahn (also known as Gwynne Kelly) on keyboards/rhythm guitar and Mendoza brought in drummer Casey Gomez. After a band meeting in December 1982, the Pandoras were born, though names such as the Keyholes, Hole, the wHolesome, and the Goodwylls were considered first. After recording the 'I'm Here I'm Gone' EP on Moxie Records in 1983, Mendoza left the group and was replaced by Bambi Conway, a childhood friend of Kahn. This line-up recorded the band's debut album in 1984, with 'It's About Time', being released on Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records. In 1984, the Pandoras split into two factions just as 'It's About Time' was being released, with Conway quitting the group, after which Pierce fired Kahn, and then when Gomez left these three now ex-members later reformed as the Original Pandoras' in 2025. Pierce decided to continue as the Pandoras, immediately recruiting three new members who embarked on tour for the 'It's About Time' release. The new line-up consisted of Melanie Vammen on keyboards, Julie Patchouli on bass, and Karen Blankfeld on drums, and momentum began picking up with the release of the 'Hot Generation' single on Bomp! Records in late 1984. Patchouli departed the Pandoras in the spring of 1985, and was replaced in July 1985 by bassist/backing vocalist Kim Shattuck, future founder of the Muffs. The band then signed to Rhino Records and began recording the basic tracks for the 'Stop Pretending' album during the winter of 1985 with producer Bill Inglot, and the record was released in 1986. The band continued to play live and record demos for what would be their next album, and in 1987 Elektra A&R man Steve Pross signed the band to Elektra Records. They group made numerous attempts to record an album to be titled 'Come Inside', but during this period, Blankfeld was forced from the band due to disagreements about band management, and was replaced with Kelly Dillard on drums. Dillard was only in the Pandoras for two months, but during that time she appeared in photoshoots intended for the Elektra cover of 'Come Inside', before she was replaced on drums in November 1987 by Sheri Kaplan. Before the release of the record, which had reached the test-pressing stage, Pross was let go by Elektra Records, and as a result, the label dropped both bands he had signed — Jetboy and The Pandoras — with their respective records being withdrawn from release. Many of the demo recordings the Pandoras made during the Elektra-era eventually surfaced on the 'Psychedelic Sluts' bootleg CD, but test pressings of 'Come Inside' did escape, and so we can now hear the finished album, although the artwork with Kelly Dillard has yet to surface.  

Track listing

01 Run Down Love Battery
02 Take The Lead
03 Just A Picture
04 Hard On Me
05 Again And Again
06 Hungry For You
07 What I Need & What I Don't
08 I Walk Away
09 Wear My Ring
10 Craving For Your Love

Raye - All In (2014)

Time for another collection of songs from that most prolific of years for Raye of 2014, during which she wrote and recorded around 50 or so songs, which her stupid record company refused to allow her to release on an album, and so they've remained hidden away for nearly a decade. Once again, this is a fine collection from the singer, and had it been released in 2014 then it would surely have enhanced the reputation of the burgeoning artist. 

Track listing

01 In The Morning
02 Maria
03 Up In Here (feat. MNEK)
04 All The Way Down
05 Love Sick
06 More_Less
07 We Don't Make Love Anymore
08 Flex
09 I Won't
10 All In
11 It's Cool
12 Keep Going
13 I Don't Know You
14 Scared

Jermaine Stewart - Set Me Free (1992)

William Jermaine Stewart was born in Columbus, Ohio, and in 1972 his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where Stewart took his first steps toward a career in entertainment. Eventually, he gained recognition as a dancer on the locally produced television show 'Soul Train', and while working there he befriended two other 'Soul Train' dancers, fellow Chicagoan Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel. After the show relocated to Los Angeles, the three friends auditioned to become members of the group Shalamar, which was put together by 'Soul Train' creator Don Cornelius and booking agent Dick Griffey. Watley and Daniel were selected for the group as backup/semi-lead vocalists, but Stewart lost out to Gary Mumford during his audition for lead vocalist, although Stewart toured with the new group as a dancer for several years. While in London for a show, he met Mikey Craig of Culture Club, and realizing that Stewart was a talented singer, Craig helped him put together a demo tape, and Stewart was given the opportunity to sing background vocals on Culture Club's song 'Miss Me Blind'. As a result of the combination of a strong demo and his ties with Culture Club, he landed a recording contract with Arista Records. Stewart saw some success in 1984 with the single 'The Word Is Out' from the album of the same name, which peaked at number 90 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, and number 30 on the US R&B Albums chart. 

Stewart's next album was 1986's 'Frantic Romantic', which included the Billboard Hot 100 top ten song 'We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off', which was a global hit, peaking within the top ten of the charts in Canada, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. A second single, 'Jody', was released, the inspiration being his friend Jody Watley, and this reached the US R&B top twenty. Stewart's third album was entitled 'Say It Again', with production handled largely by André Cymone, and supported by international live dates with his band The Party, the title track became Stewart's second US Top 40 Billboard hit, and also reached the US R&B Top 10. Stewart's fourth and final album under contract with Arista Records was 'What Becomes A Legend Most', but the album sold poorly in America, while the lead single 'Tren de Amor' only just reached the top 100 in the UK. In 1991, Stewart teamed up with Chicago producer Jesse Saunders for his last recorded work, an album for Reprise Records called 'Set Me Free'. The title track was released as a single in the US, but sold poorly, and so the 1992 release date was cancelled, and the album remains unreleased. Stewart would later return to his R&B roots and begin work on a follow-up project, but sadly he would pass away from complications of liver cancer aged just 39, before the album was completed. Here is that 1992 album, so that we can hear Stewart's last recorded work before his untimely death in 1997. 

Track listing

01 Intro (The Riot)
02 Set Me Free
03 Conclusion
04 Happiness
05 Dippin'
06 Special
07 Never In A Million Years
08 Shell-Shock
09 Don't Sit Down
10 Friends Like You
11 Good Times
12 I Just Want To
13 Ask No Questions
14 I'm in XTC
15 XTC
16 Set Me Free (Reprise)
17 Money
18 Basement Boy
19 Lifestyle

Linda Ronstadt - Keeping Out Of Mischief (1982)

With her album 'Mad Love', which was released in 1980, Linda Ronstadt's career took a turn away from the country-rock style she'd succeeded with for more than a decade. The album reflected the advent in the later 1970's of punk rock and new wave music, and many veteran acts, including Fleetwood Mac, Carly Simon, Heart, Queen, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, made sincere (and often successful) efforts to revitalize their sound by adopting aspects of the stripped-down, unpretentious D.I.Y. punk and new wave aesthetic. 'Mad Love' was Ronstadt's response to this trend, and the record-buying public proved to be more adventurous than anticipated, making Ronstadt's risk pay off richly. Following that success she performed on Broadway in 1980/81, receiving a Tony nomination for her performance in 'The Pirates of Penzance', and during production of the play in New York she expressed a desire to record an album of standards. In 1981, she went into the studio with producer Jerry Wexler and a small jazz combo for a planned album titled 'Keeping Out Of Mischief', but she was dissatisfied with the results and cancelled its release. Although she would later revisit the concept (and most of the songs she'd attempted with Wexler) for a trilogy of albums with Nelson Riddle, her next album, 1982's 'Get Closer', was recorded to satisfy her label obligations, with Ronstadt working again with producer Peter Asher and returning to the genres that had resulted in her commercial and critical success throughout the 1970's. If you're curious to hear what an album of jazz standards as sung by Linda Ronstadt would sound like, then here's your chance. 

Track listing

01 Falling In Love Again 
02 Crazy He Calls Me 
03 Keeping Out Of Mischief
04 Lover Man 
05 Never Will I Marry 
06 I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You 
07 Someone To Watch Over Me 
08 I've Got A Crush On You 
09 What'll I Do 
10 Goodbye 

Palladium - The Way It's Not (2008)

Palladium was formed by four session players bored of session work with famous, but apparently deeply untalented musicians, although they are coy over who they mean. They've draped themselves in pseudonyms, but singer/bassist Peter Pepper did work with Amy Winehouse, and they played their first gig together under the moniker The Peppernotes, at a Caribbean Restaurant while dressed as Peter Pan in drag. Since then they changed their name to Palladium and played alongside Alphabeat, Mika, The Thrills and The Kooks. They played a ludicrous brand of full-throttle yacht rock which found itself a cult following in London, and their live gigs were hilarious, theatrical and stirring. With their odd names (Peter Pepper, Rocky Morris, Rufio Sandilands, The Fez), peculiar dress sense (golf visors and waistcoats) and a sound that incorporated Prince, Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, Go West, Chaka Khan, and the Police, Palladium were always going to be a difficult sell. Music makes most sense to people when pigeonholed, but here was a band caught between rock and a pop place – too silly for earnest indie rockers to admit to enjoying them, too individualistic for the mainstream pop world to understand. Then again, as might be gathered from a band fronted by a guy in PVC trousers and hippy beads, fitting in wasn't really Palladium's thing. Their anthemic choruses and stadium-sized riffs might have mined the guilty pleasures trove, but their love of their influences was refreshingly genuine. 

They signed a deal with Virgin Records, and released their debut single, 'Happy Hour' in July 2007, and they recorded their debut album later that year, with everything on 'The Way It's Not' being pushed to the max, and performed with unabashed glee. The band members' previous jobs as young session musicians meant they could really play, and you can hear it on the album. 'Midnight Service' gallops along atop a riff as muscular as the one on Pink Floyd's 'Money', while 'Miracles' features tumbling drums and a fist-pumpingly optimistic chorus, and 'Get It Right' is based around one of the giddiest keyboard riffs you'll ever hear. Despite this ringing endorsement from the Guardian music critic, problems with Virgin led to the release date of the album in 2008 being cancelled, and it remains unreleased to this day. One criticism Palladium faced was that they were some kind of ironic in-joke, and it was hard to argue convincingly against this, because part of the appeal was that they were funny and entertaining to watch. They did pull ridiculous rock poses on stage, but that wasn't the main appeal, and the strength of the song-writing and the sheer joy with which they play blows those doubts away. If you like any of the bands named as influences, then it would certainly be worth your while giving this album a listen. 

Track listing

01 Happy Hour
02 High 5
03 White Lady
04 The Way It's Not
05 Somebody, Somewhere, Somehow (feat. Michael McDonald)
06 Midnight Service
07 Miracles
08 Greatest Dancer
09 Get It Right
10 Little Boy Blue
11 Swings And Roundabouts
12 Anna Marie

Edie Brickell And The Slip - Give 'Em The Slip (1996)

Edie Arlisa Brickell was born on 10 March 1966 in Oak Cliff, a neighbourhood of Dallas, Texas, where she was raised with her older sister, Laura Strain. She attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts[3] in Dallas, and later studied at Southern Methodist University, until she joined a band and decided to focus on song-writing. In 1985, Brickell was invited to sing one night with friends from her high school in a local folk rock group, New Bohemians, and she later joined the band as lead singer. After they were signed to a recording contract with Geffen Records, the label changed the group's name to Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, and their 1988 debut album, 'Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars', became a critical and commercial success, including the Top Ten single 'What I Am'. The band's follow-up album, 'Ghost Of A Dog' appeared in 1990, and was a deliberate effort to highlight the band's eclectic personality, and move away from the pop sound of their first record. The band sporadically played gigs after the 'Ghost Of A Dog' album, but it would be sixteen years before the next New Bohemians album, with 'Stranger Things' being released in 2006. Following the release of the second New Bohemians album, Geffen Records pressured Brickell to record a solo album in 1994, and with help from her new husband Paul Simon and producer Roy Halee, she delivered 'Picture Perfect Morning'. While critically praised, it did not achieve massive commercial heights, and so she later recorded material with bandmates under the name The Slip, but despite completing the 'Give 'Em The Slip' album, Geffen refused to release it and then terminated her contract. She did get picked up by Universal Records, who released her second solo album 'Volcano' in 2003, but it was Fantasy Records who got the New Bohemians back together to record their 'Stranger Things' album in 2006. The Slip album, however, remains unreleased, so if you are a fan then you can now hear this previously undocumented period in the career of Edie Brickell.  

Track listing

01 Girl In A Magazine
02 Invisible Man
03 Farmgirl
04 Cannonball
05 Shy
06 Boy Shot Down
07 1873 (Buffalo Diary)
08 8 Foot Tall Man
09 Shenandoah
10 Thank You
11 I Am The Woman You Are Looking For
12 She Never Saw Him
13 You Were A Friend To Me

The Chambers Brothers - O My God (1972)

The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1968 psychedelic soul hit 'Time Has Come Today'. The four bothers were originally from Carthage, Mississippi, and started playing together in 1954, after eldest brother George relocated to Los Angeles after his discharge from the Army. His brothers soon joined him, and they played gospel and folk music throughout the Southern California region, but remained little known until 1965 when they began performing in New York City. By then the group consisted of George on washtub bass, Lester on harmonica, and Willie and Joe on guitar, and after being spotted by Barbara Dane, they secured a spot on the bill of the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Their first single was 'Call Me', which was written by Joe and Willie, and which came out on the Vault label in the US and on Vocalion in the UK. Shortly after appearing at Newport, the group released its debut album, 'People Get Ready', in 1966, and it had a positive review in the 23 April issue of Cash Box. for the recording sessions, the group was too busy playing different instruments to do hand claps, so they had to get a drummer, and after trying out a few they met Brian Keenan and offered him the job. In 1966, the group recorded 'The Time Has Come Today', which was a wild hard driving funky outing, but it was rejected by Columbia, and so the group recorded 'All Strung Out Over You', which was composed by Rudy Clark, and which was released in December 1966. The band scored its only major hit in late 1967 with 'Time Has Come Today', an 11-minute opus written by Joe and Willie Chambers, and highlighted by echoing vocal effects and Keenan's drumming, which gave the song a psychedelic feel. The song was edited for release as a single and spent five consecutive weeks at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Their 'A New Time - A New Day' album was released in October 1968, and was well-received, including positive reviews from Record World and Beat Instrumental. Their next long-player also appeared in 1968, with 'Groovin' Time' coming out on Folkways Records, but for 1969's 'Love, Peace and Happiness' they were back with Columbia, who released this half studio and half live double album, containing what was described at the time as "sizzling music". By January 1971, the group's single 'Funky' from their forthcoming 'New Generation' album had been released, debuting at no. 58 in the Record World R&B Singles Chart. Following the release of the album, the brothers found they were having issues with producers who weren't willing to listen to their ideas, and so they started producing their own material. In 1972, the band's last album for Columbia was to be a gospel album, entitled 'O My God', possibly inspired by the recording of the song 'Did You Stop To Pray This Morning' on the flip of their 1971 Christmas single. Despite '(By The Hair On) My Chinny Chin Chin'/'Heaven' being released as a single, and one of the other tracks appearing on the 'Music People' compilation  in 1972, the album remained unreleased until it sneaked out as a digital-only release in 2022. However, a missed opportunity for Sony was that they didn't include the track that started the whole thing, which was that Christmas b-side, so for two reasons, firstly that people could easily have missed this online only release, and secondly because 'Did You Stop To Pray This Morning' really needs to be on the album, I'm posting it here. 

Track listing

01 Mean Old World
02 What Side Of The Fence
03 Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven
04 (By The Hair On My) Chinny Chin Chin
05 Man Did It

06 Did You Stop To Pray This Morning
07 That Old Doggone Devil
08 This Little Piece Of Land
09 Celebration Of Life
10 Any Old Time

The final cover art upgrades

I've now gone through the whole site and picked out the covers that I felt needed a bit of an upgrade, and some of them weren't actually that bad, and so with a bit of colour adjustment and some tweaks to the brightness and contrast they've come out better than before without needing to run them through the online programmes. So here are those final improvements, and in some cases you might see much difference, but they just look a bit fresher.  

If you see any on the site that I've missed, and you think need looking at then let me know.

    

    

   

   

   

   

    

    

The Sisters Of Mercy - Body And Soul (1993)

The Sisters Of Mercy were formed in Leeds, England, in 1980 by Gary Marx and Andrew Eldritch, driven by their desire to hear themselves on the radio. In their inaugural year, the band experienced several line-up changes, with one early formation including vocalist Keith Fuller and keyboardist Claire Shearsby, who accompanied Eldritch on drums and Marx on guitar. After this line-up disbanded, only Marx and Eldritch remained, both taking on vocal duties, and during this period Jon Langford played keyboard in the band, but left due to infrequent attendance at practice. At the end of 1980 the band, who had named themselves after the Leonard Cohen song from his 'Songs Of Leonard Cohen' album, recorded and released the single 'Damage Done' on their own Merciful Release label, on which Marx played guitar through a practice amplifier, while Eldritch played drums, which he had purchased from Langford. Each member contributed to the song-writing, with Eldritch penned 'Damage Done', while Marx wrote the b-side 'Watch'. The band later regrouped with Craig Adams on bass, while Eldritch's drumming was replaced by a drum machine, christened Doktor Avalanche, allowing him to focus solely on vocals. Eldritch assumed responsibilities for lyric writing, Doktor programming, and record production, while co-writing the music with Marx and, occasionally, Adams. During this early period, the band cycled through two additional guitarists in Tom Ashton and Dave Humphrey, but later in 1981, Ben Gunn was recruited as the Sisters' permanent second guitarist.

Eldritch's melancholic baritone, Craig Adams's pulsating bass, Doktor Avalanche's beat, and Marx's flowing guitar contributed to the band's early underground success, and in 1982, the band recorded their second single, 'Body Electric', this time on the CNT label. Further singles regularly featured in UK independent charts, with some being named single of the week in various UK indie magazines, and 'The Reptile House' EP exemplifies the Sisters' early work, and highlights the maturation of songwriter Eldritch, who wrote, produced, and reportedly played all instruments on the release. Their live performances included many cover versions,  among them being a medley consisting of 'Sister Ray' (by the Velvet Underground), 'Ghostrider' (by Suicide), and 'Louie Louie' (by Richard Berry), but only four covers were ever recorded and released as b-sides on their records. In late 1983, following the highly successful single 'Temple Of Love', the band signed a contract with major record label WEA and simultaneously, Gunn departed amidst an atmosphere of widespread discontent, and he was succeeded by Wayne Hussey, who focused on 12-string electric and acoustic guitars while also contributing as a songwriter. His studio experience with Dead or Alive proved invaluable as the Sisters set out to record their first full-length record. The Black October UK tour solidified the band's underground cult status, but the growing estrangement between Eldritch and the rest of the group became increasingly problematic during the recording of the debut album 'First And Last And Always'. 

Most songs were written and rehearsed by Marx, Hussey, and Adams, with Eldritch stepping in at the final stage to write lyrics and provide vocals. Following the release of 'First And Last And Always'  Marx departed from the band in the midst of a supporting tour, citing an inability to continue working with Eldritch, and The Sisters completed the tour as a three-piece act, bidding farewell to fans with their final performance at London's Royal Albert Hall on 18 June 1985. Shortly after that last gig, Eldritch relocated to Hamburg, where he was soon joined by Hussey, and their intention was to begin working on a follow-up album, tentatively titled 'Left On Mission And Revenge', for which Hussey had written several songs, including 'Dance On Glass' and 'Garden Of Delight', and demo versions of both songs featuring Eldritch on vocals have since surfaced, suggesting that the band worked on the material together. Adams and Hussey then left the new band to form The Sisterhood, and they were replaced by the American singer and bass guitarist Patricia Morrison, ex-The Gun Club. Meanwhile, Eldritch protested against their use of the Sisterhood name as being too similar to the Sisters of Mercy, and in an attempt to stop Hussey's band, Eldritch released the single 'Giving Ground' by his own band, the Sisterhood, and they followed that with the album 'Gift'. Hussey's band eventually named themselves The Mission, and never recorded as the Sisterhood, just using the name when they went out and played some early gigs. 

Left to his own devices, Eldritch recorded 'Floodland', marking a shift away from guitar-based rock toward atmospheric, Wagnerian rock and the keyboard-oriented explorations pioneered on 'Gift'. The next incarnation of the Sisters Of Mercy featured an unknown German guitarist, Andreas Bruhn, whom Eldritch allegedly discovered playing in a Hamburg pub and brought into the band in April 1989. Joining him were bassist Tony James, formerly of Sigue Sigue Sputnik and Generation X, and last-minute guitar recruit Tim Bricheno, formerly of All About Eve. The new line-up kicked off with the 'Vision Thing' album, released in October 1990, which was produced by Eldritch, and which also featured guitarist John Perry. The band launched a world tour from 1990 to 1991 to promote the album, and following the tour bassist James left the group to pursue a solo career, with the band continuing by using a pre-recorded backing track. The US tour fiasco did not help the already strained relationship between Eldritch and the Sisters' new record company EastWest, and conflicts with WEA led to the termination of the band's US record distribution deal circa 1991–92, meaning later recordings became available in the US only as imports. In 1993 Bricheno left the band and was replaced by Adam Pearson, who was the only guitarist on the single 'Under The Gun', which also featured former Berlin lead vocalist Terri Nunn on backing vocals. The track was co-produced by Billie Hughes, who also co-wrote the song, and it was recorded to promote the "greatest hits" compilation, 'A Slight Case Of Overbombing', which was released in 1993. 

Bruhn left the group shortly afterwards, and that single was the last new material to be released by the group. In 1996, the name was revived for several gigs supporting the Sex Pistols, with Bruhn's place initially taken by Chris Sheehan, although during subsequent tours the guitarist position rotated between Sheehan and Mike Varjak. In late 1997, the contract with EastWest was terminated after the company agreed to accept material recorded under the SSV name instead of the two albums for which the Sisters of Mercy had contractual obligations, but Eldritch presented them with an album of techno-like droning featuring mumbling vocals and with no drums. After hearing the record EastWest dumped the band and refused to release it, and the recordings have only ever circulated through pirate MP3s (and on this site). In 2005, the Sisters Of Mercy recruited Chris Catalyst as a guitarist, followed by the addition of Ben Christo on guitar in 2006, and they embarked on a world tour that spanned North and South America and Europe. The group has maintained an active touring schedule ever since, performing at headline shows and music festivals almost every year, showcasing both released and unreleased material, but they have so far avoided the recording studio, and so none of the new songs have appeared on an album. In an interview with Classic Rock magazine, Eldritch has confirmed that he saw no reason to release an album, citing time constraints and a lack of available material as some of the issues involved. As a reminder of the music that they produced during their classic period between 1980 and 1993, here is a 4CD collection of b-sides, non-album singles, radio sessions and unreleased demos.

Track listing

Disc I - 1980-1982
01 Floorshow (from the 'Floorshow' demo EP 1981)
02 Lights (from the 'Floorshow' demo EP 1981)
03 Teachers/Adrenochrome (from the 'Floorshow' demo EP 1981)
04 The Damage Done (single 1980)
05 Watch (b-side of 'The Damage Done')
06 Home Of The Hit-Men (b-side of 'The Damage Done')
07 Body Electric (single 1982)
08 Adrenochrome (b-side of 'Body Electric')
09 Afterhours (b-side of 'Body Electric')
10 Alice (single 1982)
11 Floorshow (b-side of 'Alice')
12 1969 (b-side of 'Alice')

Disc II - 1982-1983
01 Good Things (John Peel session 1982)
02 Driver (previously unreleased 1982) 
03 Anaconda (single 1983)
04 Phantom (b-side of 'Anaconda')
05 Kiss The Carpet (from the 'Reptile House' EP 1983)
06 Lights (from the 'Reptile House' EP 1983)
07 Valentine (from the 'Reptile House' EP 1983)
08 Fix (from the 'Reptile House' EP 1983)
09 Burn (from the 'Reptile House' EP 1983)
10 Kiss The Carpet (Reprise) (from the 'Reptile House' EP 1983)
11 Jolene (Kid Jensen session 1983)

Disc III - 1983-1984
01 Temple Of Love (single 1983)
02 Heartland (b-side of 'Temple Of Love')
03 Gimme Shelter (b-side of 'Temple Of Love')
04 Wide Receiver (unreleased demo 1983)
05 Body And Soul (single 1984)
06 Train (b-side of 'Body And Soul')
07 Poison Door (b-side of 'Walk Away' 1984)
08 On The Wire (b-side of 'Walk Away' 1984)
09 Long Train (flexi-disc 1984)
10 Garden Of Delight (Eldritch vocal) (unreleased demo 1984)
11 Garden Of Delight (Hussey vocal) (unreleased demo 1984)

Disc IV - 1984-1993
01 Serpent's Kiss (unreleased demo 1984)
02 Blood Money (b-side of 'No Time To Cry' 1985)
03 Bury Me Deep (b-side of 'No Time To Cry' 1985)
04 Torch (b-side of 'This Corrosion' 1987)
05 Colours (b-side of 'This Corrosion' 1987)
06 Untitled (b-side of 'Dominion' 1988)
07 Sandstorm (b-side of 'Dominion' 1988)
08 Ozymandias (b-side of 'Dominion' 1988)
09 Emma (b-side of 'Dominion' 1988)
10 You Could Be The One (b-side of 'More' 1990)
11 Knocking On Heaven's Door (b-side of 'Doctor Jeep' 1990)
12 Under The Gun (single 1993) 

Len Barry - It's That Time Of The Year (1966)

Leonard Warren Borisoff, known professionally by the stage name Len Barry, was born on 12 June 1942, and was raised in Philadelphia. He had little thought of a show business career while still in school, as he aspired to become a professional basketball player, and it was not until he entered military service and had occasion to sing with the US Coast Guard band at Cape May, New Jersey, that he decided to make music a career. On his discharge from military service, Barry returned home to Philadelphia and formed the Dovells, with him as the lead singer, appearing on all of the group's best-selling records, such as 'Bristol Stomp', 'Hully Gully Baby', and 'You Can't Sit Down'. 'Bristol Stomp' sold over one million copies and was awarded a RIAA gold disc, and the group toured with James Brown. Barry also made film appearances with the Dovells in films such as 'Don't Knock The Twist', and the band toured the UK with the Motown Revue. Barry left the Dovells in 1964 and signed a solo deal with Cameo Records, who released two singles before he moved to Decca Records in the US and Brunswick Records in the UK. His first single for the new label was the smash hit '1-2-3', which he followed with 'Like A Baby' the same year, and he also co-wrote 'I Struck It Rich' with Leon Huff of the Philadelphia International Records producers, Gamble and Huff. His first two hits also made the Top Ten of the UK Singles Chart, with '1-2-3' reaching number three. He released his first album, also called '1-2-3' in 1965, and he soon became a major singing star in the UK. In 1966 he recorded his second album for Brunswick, and the title track was released as a single. 'It's That Time Of The Year' was another co-write with Leon Huff, and it was backed by 'Happily Ever After', but shortly after that release Barry signed a deal with RCA Records, and so Brunswick cancelled the album. Reportedly only three original copies without artwork exist from the aborted 1966 pressing, and so it has become Barry's most sought after record. It's a great R&B/pop album, very much of its time, and you can now hear what his fans have longed for, complete with contemporary cover art. 

Track listing

01 It's That Time Of The Year
02 I'll Always Need You
03 Soul Concerto
04 It's A Cryin' Shame
05 Happily Ever After
06 Love, Love, Love
07 Somewhere
08 I'm In Love
09 Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
10 Love Is
11 First Kiss To The Last
12 When You Call Me Baby

Nearly there with the cover art upgrades

I've now finished working my way through the whole site, and picked out the albums whose covers could do with improvement, and so here are the final batch that I've run through the programmes that I've been using. There will be one more batch in a few days which I was able to improve just by using colour adjustments and brightness/contrast, and then that will be every post updated. 
While I was adding the new cover the The Who's 'Rock Is Dead...Long Live Rock' I had a nagging feeling that there was something that I wasn't happy with on that album, and it was the fact that I had to use a live recording for the final reprise of the title track, and the sound was therefore a bit muddy compared to the other tracks. I've now boosted the high register to make it sound a bit clearer, and I've also removed the crowd at the end, so that the final chord ends the album in an echoey silence.  

    

    

 

Van Morrison - Hard Nose The Highway (1973)

Van Morrison released his sixth album, 'St. Dominic's Preview', in 1972, and it was warmly received by both fans and critics alike, with Erik Hage writing "it is one of the strongest albums in the Van Morrison canon because it seems to adapt and incorporate all of the lessons and discoveries of the rich period of evolution that came before it while still opening up new windows". Morrison now had to follow that with something as good, or even better, and so he built a recording studio next door to his home in Fairfax, California, and assembled a team of musicians that he felt could bring his new songs to life. This was to be the first album that was completely produced under his control, and during a series of prolific recording sessions, Morrison recorded nearly thirty songs, with at least three quarters of them original compositions. In fact, the new album would be his first solo album since his 1967 debut 'Blowin' Your Mind!' to contain songs not written by Morrison, and covers included the song 'Bein' Green', usually associated with Kermit the Frog, and a take of the traditional song 'Purple Heather'. In the end there was more than enough material to fill a double-album, and so Morrison proposed the idea to Warner Bros. Records, but he was ultimately convinced to release a single LP. A few of the leftover tracks, such as 'Bulbs' and 'Country Fair', were saved and re-recorded for his next album 'Veedon Fleece', but most of them, including 'Madame Joy', 'Contemplation Rose' and 'Drumshanbo Hustle', were consigned to the vaults. On the abridged version of the album, 'Snow In San Anselmo' is the opening song, featuring the backing vocals of the Oakland Symphony Chamber Chorus, and this was followed by 'Warm Love', which was released as a successful single. 'Bein' Green' was the first non-original composition Morrison had included on any album for Warner Bros., and the ten and a half-minute 'Autumn Song' reflects the splendours and moods of the season. The album enjoyed rave reviews at the time of release, although one dissenting critic, Charlie Gillett, didn't think the record lived up to the high standards that Morrison had set himself. If you've ever wondered what a double-album version of this release would have sounded like, then you can now experience just that, as I've slotted back in nine of the songs which were excised to trim it down to a single disc, and as would be expected, considering that they were recorded at the same time as the original eight songs which did make the record, they perfectly match the mood of those other recordings.   

Track listing

01 Snow In San Anselmo 
02 Warm Love 
03 Madame Joy
04 Contemplation Rose
05 Hard Nose The Highway 
06 Not Supposed To Break Down
07 Wild Children 
08 Laughing In The Wind
09 Try For Sleep
10 The Great Deception 
11 Don't Worry About Tomorrow
12 Bein' Green 
13 Wonderful Remark
14 Autumn Song 
15 Lover's Prayer
16 Drumshanbo Hustle
17 Purple Heather