DeeGees - Hail Satin (2021)

It will be Record Store Day here in the UK in a couple of weeks, and so for this post I'm going back to 2021, and an album that was released as part of that year's Record Store Day. 'Hail Satin' was an album by the DeeGees, a side project of the rock band Foo Fighters. It consists of five cover versions of songs originally written and recorded by members of the Gibb family (four from the Bee Gees and one Andy Gibb solo record) and five songs from the Foo Fighters' 2021 album 'Medicine At Midnight' on the flip of the vinyl, recorded live at Studio 606. The name DeeGees is a play on both the Bee Gees and Dave Grohl's initials, and the album title is also a play on satin (a common fabric of the disco era) and the phrase "hail Satan". Foo Fighters had already performed Andy Gibb's 'Shadow Dancing' during Linda Perry's Rock 'n' Relief livestream, and they also played 'You Should Be Dancing' on Jo Whiley's Sofa Session show on BBC Radio 2, so covering Bee Gees songs wasn't unprecedented. Dave Grohl said that while recording 'You Should Be Dancing' he had never, ever in his life sung like that, but it was the easiest song he had ever sung in his entire life, and that he should have been singing like that for the last 25 years. The covers are played straight and with reverence, and Grohl tackles the vocals in the style of the Gibbs, while drummer Taylor Hawkins provides the lead vocals on 'Shadow Dancing'. The end result is a dancey romp showing off the dynamic potential of this unique blend of alt-rock and disco sensibilities. Original copies are extremely hard to come by, and go for around £150 when they are offered for sale, so here is an easier way to hear this intriguing set of Bee Gees covers. 

Track listing

01 You Should Be Dancing
02 Night Fever
03 Tragedy
04 Shadow Dancing
05 More Than A Woman
06 Making A Fire 
07 Shame Shame
08 Waiting On A War 
09 No Son Of Mine
10 Cloudspotter

The Alchemysts - A Surreal Meal: The Best Of The Alchemysts (2000)

The Alchemysts were a Bridgewater power trio, who formed in the late 80's, and released a three-track cassette in 1991, which contained some superb neo-psyche, and which I still own. By 1995 they has signed a deal with Behemoth Records, who released their debut album 'One Eyed Again', and which included the three tracks from the 1991 cassette. It introduced the Alchemysts to the world as a grunge-tinged nineties update on the previous decade's British neo-psych scene. Trading in spacey tones for muscular crunch, leader Paul Simmons digs hard into the riffs and solos, like he's trying to blend Jimi Hendrix with Ron Asheton. Bassist Jon Guard and drummer Mat Love nimbly keep the propulsion going without ever lumbering. 'Swarm', 'A Road' and 'Blind Side' could have come just as easily out of Seattle in 1991 as the U.K. four years later, and the highlight of the records is the fuzz 'n' feedback epic 'Stoned In Jerusalem'. In 1998 they moved to the Australian psyche label Camera Obscura and released 'Over And Out', which carried on in much the same vein. 'Forget About It' throws in sitars and backwards guitars for a surprisingly sensual opening cut, but then all bets are off. 'Harhowaloy' pounds its hard rock mercilessly, while 'Alpha Centauri' practically overloads on acidic effects. '25th Of July' moves from seething acid folk to explosive power rock, while 'Big Black Beetles' adds swathes of noisy Aussie postpunk to the proceedings, When Bevis Frond leader Nick Saloman's label Woronzow entered into a partnership with NYC's Rubric Records, the heavy psych outfit released a pair of stellar records on Rubric/Woronzow: 'Simeon & the Alchemysts', a strange and oft-stunning collaboration with Simeon of Silver Apples, and 'Zero Zen', a trippy powerhouse that ended up being the band's last, with guitarist Paul Simmons going on to join the Frond. Although the band only released four albums during their lifetime, they are one of my favourite neo-psyche outfits, alongside The Bevis Frond and Sun Dial, and hopefully this collection of some of their best work will introduce them to a new audience.  

Track listing

01 Stoned in Jerusalem (from 'One Eyed Again' 1995)
02 Big Black Beetles (from 'Over And Out' 1998)
03 Magellanic (from 'Simeon & The Alchemysts' 2000)
04 Glass Cars (from 'Zero Zen' 2000)
05 Drop Out! (from 'For The Dead In Space Volume 1' compilation 1987)
06 Bloody Mary (from 'One Eyed Again' 1995) 
07 A Surreal Meal (from 'Over And Out' 1998) 
08 Hydrophobic (from 'Simeon & The Alchemysts' 2000)
09 Thee Head Chemyst (from 'Over And Out' 1998)
10 DMT Blues (from 'Zero Zen' 2000)

A gift from PowerPopTom - Part 9

PowerPop Tom has been busy again, and has sent me nearly three dozen new CD covers should you decide to burn any of these albums to disc. This batch includes some of my recent favourites, such as the Grateful Dead's 'Jack Straw', U2's 'Salome' and 'Songs Of Ascent', and Eric Clapton's 'Higher Power', and many of then also have inserts for the clear plastic disc holder, so dive in if you want ready-made covers for your CDs. 

This batch includes

B52's - Mesopotamia
Bernie Marsden - ...and on guitar
Big Star - Thank You Friends
Blue Aeroplanes - Staring At The Future
Dylan & The Dead - Dead Man, Dead Man
Earth - Warning
Elton John - The Hitmakers Sing
Eric Clapton - ...and on guitar Vol. 1
Eric Clarton - ...and on guitar Vol. 2
Eric Clapton - Higher Power
Frank Zappa - Chalk Pie
GTR - Nerotrend
John Lennon - Ambrosia
Kate Bush - Alchemy
Kate Bush - Under The Ivy
Morrisey - Bonfire Of Teenagers
Pink Floyd - It's All Dark
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Rapid Eye Movement - Paradoxical Sleep
Rod Stewart - ...featuring
Screaming Lord Sutch - Jack The Ripper
Steve Morse - ...and on guitar
Television - Double Exposure
The Beatles - Rubber Soul (Mike's Mix)
The Firm - Full Circle
The Jam - Session
The Smoke - Jack's Back
Three Friends - Three Friends
U2 - Songs Of Ascent
U2 - Salome
XYZ - Telephone Secrets
Yes - Live Tales

Ramones - Rock 'n' Roll High School (1980) **UPGRADE**

I recently found an interesting clip on Youtube which prompted me to revisit my creation of a Phil Spector-less version of the Ramones' 1980 album 'End Of The Century'. When I first put it together I replaced a few of the tracks with demo versions, one other with a film soundtrack take, removed one track completely, and used the album versions of the other five. It wasn't ideal, and I did try to improve it a couple of times without success, so left it as it was. What never occurred to me at the time was that if I wanted the songs with no Spector production then I could have just used live recordings, as they would have been played exactly how the band wanted. I've therefore replaced 'Let's Go', 'I Can't Make It On Time', 'The Ain't Havana', and 'All The Way' with live takes, and for the demos of 'Danny Says' and 'Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio', and also the soundtrack version of 'Rock 'n' Roll High School', I've fixed some vocal drop-outs and boosted the guitar, as I never noticed before just how low in the mix it was. I've only kept the album versions of 'Chinese Rock', 'The Return Of Jackie And Judy', 'High Risk Insurance' and 'I'm Affected' now, but I've stripped them right back to just guitar, bass, drums and vocals. I've also tweaked things where needed, such as toning down the timpani effect on the drums on 'I'm Affected', and speeding it up slightly so that it now sounds more like how the band played it live. As I'd renamed the album 'Rock 'n' Roll High School' then I feel justified in adding 'I Want You Around', as it was included on the soundtrack of the film of the same name, but this is a live electric version to match the rest of the album. Lastly, we have that Youtube track that prompted this whole revamp, and that is a Ramones-ified 'Baby, I Love You', which for once isn't by AI, but by a real person, who has taken the original vocals and sped them up, used the drums from the demo of 'All The Way' which fitted pretty neatly, and then added guitar and bass to give a fine approximation of how the Ramones would have played the song in concert. I'm much happier with this re-working of the album, short though it is, so see if you agree that it's an improvement on my original revamp of the Spector version of 'End Of The Century'.  

Track listing       

01 Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?   
02 I'm Affected   
03 Danny Says  
04 Chinese Rock
05 The Return Of Jackie And Judy   
06 Let's Go
07 Baby, I Love You    
08 I Can't Make It On Time  
09 This Ain't Havana
10 Rock 'n' Roll High School 
11 All The Way

12 I Want You Around  
13 High Risk Insurance  

Van Der Graaf Generator - Forsaken Gardens (1974)

After the release of their 'H To He, Who Am The Only One' album in 1970, Van Der Graaf Generator spent the early part of 1971 on what was known as the 'Six Bob Tour', alongside fellow Charisma labelmates Genesis and Lindisfarne. Despite the complexity of their music, the band were well received on the tour, with Hammill noting that at nearly all the gigs, most of the audience recognised most of the their songs. While on tour, the band started working out compositions between gigs for their next album, which would become 'Pawn Hearts'. The intention was to release a double album, and although the band recorded enough material, for economic reasons the released recording was a single album containing just three tracks. The album was released in October 1971 and was not a success in the U.K, but proved highly successful in Italy, topping the chart there for 12 weeks. Following that commercial success in Italy, the band did a six-week tour there at the start of 1972, and expecting to be playing to half empty venues, they were all shocked by the sheer volume of the crowds that came to see them. By June, they had completed their third Italian tour, and wanted to start recording new material, but the combination of working for too long without a break, combined with a lack of support from Tony Stratton Smith and Charisma, plus continued financial difficulties, caused the band to implode, and Hammill left to pursue a solo career in mid-1972. Songs that were intended for Van der Graaf Generator now ended up on his solo albums, notably 'Black Room' (on 'Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night') and 'A Louse Is Not A Home' (on 'The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage'), and for the majority of both his solo songs and the band's recordings he is now credited as the sole songwriter. Some of his solo albums featured all the members of Van der Graaf Generator backing him on certain tracks, and so if Hammill hadn't left the band in 1972 and had brought his songs to the sessions for their next album, then Van Der Graaf Generator's fifth record could have sounded very much like this. All these tracks feature all four band members of the group, and so it probably wouldn't have sounded much different to this version anyway. 

Track listing

01 Red Shift
02 Rock And Role
03 Forsaken Gardens
04 (In The) Black Room / The Tower
05 A Louse Is Not A Home

Thanks to progarchives.com contributors BaldFriede and BaldJean for having the idea and putting this album together.

The Monochrome Set - Kleine Symphonies (1995)

The Monochrome Set was formed in London in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides, whose members had included Stuart Goddard, later known as Adam Ant. The original line-up consisted of Indian-born lead singer and principal songwriter Bid (real name Ganesh Seshadri), Canadian guitarist Lester Square (real name Thomas W.B. Hardy), drummer John D. Haney (formerly of The Art Attacks) and bass guitarist Charlie X. The band had two more bassists, Jeremy Harrington and Simon Croft, before Andy Warren of the Ants, a childhood friend of Bid, joined in late 1979. Experimental filmmaker Tony Potts began collaborating with the band the same year, designing lighting and stage sets with film projections for their live appearances, and the band's early persona was defined by the shadowy, uncertain stage images created by the films, to such an extent he is often described as being the band's "fifth member". Their music was a witty, urbane take on post-punk that owed a debt to swinging '60s pop and twangy surf music, steered by the darkly clever songs of Bid and the crisp playing of the band. Their first four singles for Rough Trade were smart and offbeat, covering obscure lyrical territory while also delivering snappy hooks. In 1980 they released their debut studio album, 'Strange Boutique', produced by Bob Sargeant for Virgin Records' imprint DinDisc in 1980, which peaked at No. 62 in the UK Albums Chart. Their follow-up effort, the more accessible 'Love Zombies', was produced by Alvin Clark and the band later that same year, after which Haney left the band and was replaced by Lexington Crane. In 1982 the band switched labels to Cherry Red to release their third album, 'Eligible Bachelors', produced by Tim Hart, and Square and Crane left soon afterwards, being replaced by keyboardist Carrie Booth and drummer Nicholas Weslowski. 

This line-up recorded a 1982 single, 'Cast A Long Shadow', for Cherry Red, before Booth was in turn replaced by new lead guitarist James 'Foz' Foster. Following the departure of Square, the Monochrome Set veered even closer to light pop fare on singles like 1985's 'Jacob's Ladder', and the sound subsequently crystallized on the nostalgically themed album 'The Lost Weekend'. When the record met with a dismal commercial response, the group disbanded, although the members did reconvene to serve as Jessica Griffin's backing band on the first album by the Would-Be-Goods, 'The Camera Loves Me' in 1988. This led to them re-forming in 1989 around the nucleus of Bid, Square, and Warren, along with new keyboardist Orson Presence. The 1990 album 'Dante's Casino' did little to raise the band's chart visibility, but they soldiered on, releasing 'Charade' in 1993, 'Misere' in 1994, and 'Trinity Road' in 1995. They broke up in 1998 while Bid formed a new band, Scarlet's Well, but in 2011, members of the Well joined a reunited Monochrome Set, which again featured Bid, Square, and Warren, and they signed to the Disquo Bleu label. This new line-up released 'Platinum Coils' in 2012 and 'Super Plastic City' in 2013, but 2015's 'Spaces Everywhere' found them on their new home of Tapete Records. The group stuck with Tapete for its next studio album, 2016's 'Cosmonaut', which featured Bid playing all the guitars due to Square's departure, although the band had welcomed John Paul Moran and Mike Urban back on keyboards and drums, respectively. This same line-up recorded another album for Tapete, 'Maisieworld', which was released in early 2018 as the band celebrated its 40th year of existence. I still have all their early singles, and the b-sides are universally as good as the A-sides, and so this post collects all of their non-album recordings, including singles, b-sides and John Peel session tracks, into a superbly enjoyable double-disc set from their first two incarnations between 1978 and 1995.    

Track listing

Disc I - 1978-1980
01 He's Frank (single 1978)
02 Alphaville (b-side of 'He's Frank')
03 Eine Symphonie Des Grauens (single 1979)
04 Lester Leaps In (b-side of 'Eine Symphonie Des Grauens')
05 The Monochrome Set (single edit 1979)
06 Mr. Bizarro (b-side of 'The Monochrome Set')
07 Fat Fun (John Peel session 1979)
08 He's Frank (Slight Return) (single 1979)
09 Silicon Carne (b-side of 'He's Frank (Slight Return)')
10 Viva Death Row (John Peel Session 1979)
11 Fallout (b-side of 'He's Frank (Slight Return)')
12 Surfing SW12 (b-side of 'The Strange Boutique' 1980)
13 Fiasco Bongo (b-side of 'Apocalypso' 1980)

Disc II - 1981-1995
01 Ten Don'ts For Honeymooners (single 1981)
02 Straits Of Malacca (b-side of 'Ten Don'ts For Honeymooners')
03 J.D.H.A.N.E.Y. (b-side of 'The Mating Game' 1982)
04 Cast A Long Shadow (single 1982)
05 The Bridge (b-side of 'Cast A Long Shadow')
06 Love Goes Down The Drain (b-side of 'The Jet Set Junta' 1983)
07 Noise (Eine Kleine Symphonie) (b-side of 'The Jet Set Junta' 1983)
08 Andiamo (b-side of 'Jacob's Ladder' 1984)
09 Big Ben Bongo (b-side of 'Wallflower' 1985)
10 Hurting You (b-side of 'Forever Young' 1993)
11 Closing Time (b-side of 'I Love Lambeth' 1995)

Kurupt FM - Kuruption (2021)

Kurupt FM were a UK garage and drum & bass collective formed in 2014, and led by rapper and frontman, MC Grindah, with DJ Beats as the group's main DJ. They were joined by DJ Steves and DJ Decoy, and they juggled broadcasting their music on their pirate radio station, attending live events, and attempting to break into the mainstream music industry. They achieved a small moment of progress with some of their club gigs, but never managed to get much recognition outside of their London base. MC Grindah had big plans for the group, and regarded himself as a visionary MC destined for stardom, and although his best friend DJ Beats was more mild-mannered, he too shared the belief in Kurupt FM's success, although despite their ambitions they just couldn't seem to break into the mainstream. DJ Decoy was producer and technical backbone of the group, and was responsible for most of the music on their self-recorded album, which featured some intricate and catchy beats, and MC Grindah’s charismatic and unique delivery. Despite being a relatively unknown group they managed to rope in some big names for their collaborations, with Craig David, Big Narstie and JayKae & Mist all making an appearance on the record. The production across the board was light and fun, and the  biggest surprise was 'Letter To Grindah', a track from DJ Beats that speaks volumes of the two men's relationship. You might not have heard of this group, but if you're a fan of drum & bass, hip-hop or rap then it's worth a listen. 

 
Track listing

01 Kuruptfminnit
02 Neva Bin
03 Ooze Dat
04 Summertime (feat.Craig David)
05 Blaze It (feat. Big Narstie)
06 Get Out The Way
07 Letter To Grindah
08 Dreaming (feat. JayKae & Mist)
09 Heart Monitor Riddim
10 A Million
11 Suttin' Like Dat
12 Inside (feat. MC Creed & D Double E)
13 A Dis One
14 Original Rudeboyz (feat. General Levy)

Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile Blues (1970)

Just when you think that there can't be any more unheard Jimi Hendrix recordings, a 5CD box set turns up from Midnight Beat, containing a treasure trove of recordings made between 1967 and 1970. As usual with Hendrix bootlegs, it contains a lot of multiple takes of the same tracks, and also unfinished snippets which just stop when they fall apart, and so to save you trawling through the whole thing I've extracted the very best of the recordings into one album. The comprehensive notes in the booklet give a background of when and where the music was recorded, so here is the lowdown on the recordings. 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return) had 15 takes recorded at The Record Plant in May 1968, and I've used the best complete recording, although it did have a very prominent tambourine all the way through, which I've toned down considerably. 'Midnight, Valleys Of Neptune' was recorded at Olmstead Studios in April 1969, and this version is the last of seven takes of the song. An instrumental version of 'Sending My Love To Linda' is another Record Plant recording from April 1969, and is the second of three takes of the track. 'Mannish Boy' is from January 1970 at the Record Plant, and the best of the seven takes was take 3, so that's what we have here, with some outstanding playing as the Gypsies try to cut this tune. 'Closer To The Truth' is an alternate 'Roomful Of Mirrors', and is a home recording from March 1969 at Hendrix's Brook Street, London address. It's an unusual take of the track, with talking and chanting to the accompaniment of taped music of others, which he is controlling on his cassette deck or record player. Vocals were on one channel, while the music was on the other, so I've done a stereo mix to make it easier to listen to. 'I Was Made To Love Her' was recorded in a medley with 'Ain't Too Proud To Beg' at the Playhouse Theatre in October 1967, with Stevie Wonder on drums. Sound quality is excellent, and Jimi lets rip on some great riffs, although there are no vocals. The first half is better than the second, so I've only included the 'I Was Made To Love Her' section. 'Had To Cry Today' is from July 1970 at Electric Ladyland Studios, and is a particularly percussive take on the songs, with conga, drums, and cowbells dominating at the beginning. 'Voodoo Chile Blues' is a May 1968 recording from the Record Plant, and is the last and best of the five takes, although it did include a lot of chatter throughout the recording, most of which I've removed. Experienced collectors might want to consider this since it brings together a lot of favourite booted tracks in one place, and for someone like me, who has quite a number of bootlegs but would not consider myself a fanatic, there was stuff on here that I hadn't heard before, and once the fat was trimmed then it left a really nice hour-long collection. 

Track listing

01 Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (Take 15)
02 Midnight, Valleys Of Neptune (Take 7)
03 Sending My Heart To Linda (Take 2)
04 Mannish Boy (Take 3)
05 Closer To The Truth (Take 1)
06 I Was Made To Love Her (Take 1)
07 Had To Cry Today (Take 2)
08 Voodoo Chile Blues (Take 5)

Guadalcanal Diary - Always Saturday: The Best Of Guadalcanal Diary (1989)

Murray Attaway and Jeff Walls became friends in high school, and had played together in a punk band called Strictly American, which also included Curtis Crowe, the future drummer of Pylon. The two decided to form a new band under the name Emergency Broadcast System, and as Attaway's close friend Rhett Crowe, the sister of Curtis, was learning to play bass with guidance from Walls, she joined the new band. They named themselves Guadalcanal Diary, referencing the 1943 war memoir of that same name, and after auditioning several drummers, Walls enlisted multi-instrumentalist John Poe who agreed to play drums "temporarily", but stayed permanently. Guadalcanal Diary quickly attracted attention with its frequent live shows in the Athens and Atlanta music scenes, and in 1983 they recorded and released a four-song EP called 'Watusi Rodeo' on the small Atlanta indie label Entertainment On Disc. Despite the title of the EP, the song 'Watusi Rodeo' (one of their most famous songs) was not included on this release as Attaway hadn't written it yet. In 1984 the band signed with DB Records and began recording with Don Dixon, releasing their first full-length record, 'Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man', which was well received by critics, and enjoyed significant airplay on US college radio stations, drawing comparisons to fellow Georgia band R.E.M. After touring heavily across the US in support of the album, the band was signed by Elektra Records in 1985, who wanted to immediately record and release new material, but the band convinced the label to first re-release 'Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man' due to the feeling that the initial DB release had not had wide enough distribution. 

In 1986 the group released their second album, 'Jamboree', produced by Rodney Mills and Steve Nye, and although initial reception was not as enthusiastic as their debut effort, with some critics noting a weaker production, the album eventually gained retrospective appreciation among fans. They decided to work again with producer Don Dixon for their next album, '2 X 4', and when it was released in 1987 it featured a harder-hitting sound and greater diversity among the songs, becoming the band's most successful album up to that time. In 1988, Jeff Walls and Rhett Crowe married, and Rhett gave birth to a daughter, Lillian, the following year, after which they recorded again with Don Dixon, and 1989 saw the release of the band's fourth and final studio album, 'Flip-Flop'. While the music video for 'Always Saturday' saw rotation on MTV, critics noted that the album lacked some of the consistency of their previous albums, perhaps due to the band's busy touring schedule. However, with all members contributing to the song-writing, it took on a more diverse and upbeat sound, compared to darker themes of their previous works. Due to new family commitments and exhaustion from heavy touring, the band began to drift apart, and so they chose to break up in order to preserve their friendships. In the early fall of 1989, they played their collective final show in a free performance at Legion Field on the University of Georgia campus, and organized by the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity's Nu Chapter. Despite initial comparisons to R.E.M., Guadalcanal Diary never achieved the same success as their fellow Georgians, although they certainly deserved it, and they retain a loyal following to this day. I hope that this collection of some of their best work will extend that fanbase.  

Track listing

01 Watusi Rodeo (from 'Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man' 1984)
02 Always Saturday (from 'Flip Flop' 1989)
03 Jamboree (from 'Jamboree' 1986)
04 Litany (Life Goes On) (from '2 X 4' 1987)
05 Trail of Tears (from 'Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man' 1984)
06 Cattle Prod (from 'Jamboree' 1986)

07 Under the Yoke (from '2 X 4' 1987)

08 John Wayne (from the 'Watusi Rodeo' EP 1985) 

09 Sleepers Awake (from 'Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man' 1984)

10 I See Moe (from 'Jamboree' 1986)
11 Pretty Is As Pretty Does (from '2 X 4' 1987)
12 Why Do the Heathen Rage? (from 'Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man' 1984)
13 ...Vista (from 'Flip Flop' 1989)
14 Where Angels Fear To Tread (from '2 X 4' 1987)
15 Pray For Rain (from 'Jamboree' 1986)

GTR - Nerotrend (1987)

After Steve Howe left Asia in 1984, he and former Yes manager Brian Lane discussed forming a new group, and Lane approached former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Hackett's last few solo albums had sold disappointingly, and he hoped being part of a new band would sustain his prominence as a guitarist and finance future solo work. They recruited American drummer Jonathan Mover (ex-Marillion), bass guitarist Phil Spalding, and singer Max Bacon, named themselves GTR, and sought to create a contemporary band sound without using keyboards, which Howe felt had become too dominant in Asia. Hackett and Howe's guitars were outfitted with Roland guitar synthesizer pickups, which operated rack synthesizers. While Lane pursued record deals, the band set about recording songs with Howe’s former Asia and Yes colleague Geoff Downes as producer. Howe and Hackett disagreed on method: whereas Howe favoured investment in high-quality studio time, Hackett preferred a relatively low-budget recording approach but greater investment in instruments and technology. Howe's approach prevailed and proved expensive, leaving the group uncomfortably in debt, but the result was released by Arista Records in April 1986, and in the U.S. the album went gold, hit No. 11 on the album charts, and spawned a hit single, 'When The Heart Rules The Mind'. 

While the album was a chart success, it was (and has remained) a work with a mixed and highly debated reputation among rock fans, especially supporters of Genesis and Yes, with accusations of the album containing substandard filler material beyond the two singles, and criticism directed at Max Bacon's strident tenor seeming to be the main issues. GTR toured North America and Europe in 1986, but live rehearsals revealed that the band's "no keyboards" method did not work in concert due to the poor tracking qualities of the guitar synthesizers, and therefore the tour featured keyboard player Matt Clifford in the GTR line-up in order to recreate the studio sound. By the end of the tour the band was falling apart, and his dissatisfaction with both the music and financial management of GTR (as well as a failure to see eye-to-eye with Howe) led to his beginning to question the project. He saw GTR as becoming more of a project than a band, with perhaps the idea of a number of guitarists all getting together, and with this in mind he approached guitarist Brian May of Queen with the suggestion that he join the project. Despite May's initial enthusiasm, the potential collaboration only extended to three tracks demoed with Hackett, and it is unclear whether Hackett ultimately intended May to replace himself or replace Howe. 

The band's debt situation had not improved, and in 1987 Hackett called time on the group, leaving the band and resuming his solo career. Unwilling to give up on the band, Howe tried to continue GTR with Bacon, Spalding, ex-Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler, and a second singer/guitarist, former Hush member Robert Berry. Initial sessions featured both Bacon and Berry as vocalists, but ultimately they were abandoned, with some of the material later resurrected or reused on future albums by group members. Post-GTR, Howe resumed his solo career and rejoined the Yes line-up (initially as part of Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe) while Berry became part of the partial Emerson, Lake & Palmer reunion project 3. Spalding returned to a session career and Glockler returned to Saxon, while Bacon's 1996 solo album 'The Higher You Climb' included some GTR material. The abandoned album was to be called Nerotrend, which was also mooted to be the new name for the band, but nothing ever came of it and so the tapes were locked away, until now. So here is the unreleased second album by GTR, recorded after they fell apart, but before they totally imploded. 

 

Track listing

01 Young Heart
02 Away
03 These Eyes
04 Loneliness
05 Listen To The People
06 Young Blood
07 Running The Human Race
08 Sharp On Attack
09 Endless Nights
10 This World's Big Enough
11 Hungry Warrior
12 You Can't Do That

Mike Solof - Off The Beatle Track - Episode 276 (2024)

I think it's about time for another episode of the Mike Solof radio show 'Off The Beatle Track', and this one looks at the influence of the Fab Four on hip-hop and rap in the 80's and 90's. The most obvious example, of course, is the classic 'Grey Album' from Dangermouse (on the site if you want it), but whereas that was a mash-up of Beatles tunes and lyrics from Jay-Z, other hip-hop and rap artists had been sampling the Beatles on their tracks for a while, and Mike digs them out and plays them for your education and entertainment.

Track listing 

01 Episode 276 - HipHoppin' Beatles

Squeeze - East Side Story (1981)

Squeeze's 1981 album 'East Side Story' was conceived as a double album, with four sides of vinyl each produced by some of British pop/rock’s greatest names at the time: Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds. Ultimately, McCartney had to bow out, and sessions with Lowe and Edmunds produced very little of value outside the superb Edmunds-produced opener, 'In Quintessence', but Costello, who according to legend gave The Attractions copies of 'Argybargy' to emulate, was enthusiastic to work with Squeeze. He would produce nearly the entire album with his engineer Roger Bechirian, and while many of Squeeze's prior sessions were punctuated by frequent trips to the pub – all the better to draw inspiration for Difford’s lyrics – Costello in fact proved to be a stern taskmaster during the sessions, even suggesting changes in diet. He also pushed the band outside their comfort levels, urging them to record tracks like the country-tinged ballad 'Labelled With Love', and he was proved right when this was the album’s biggest hit, reaching No. 4 in the U.K. Costello also made the crucial decision to give Carrack lead vocals on 'Tempted', a soulful tale inspired by unfaithful feelings while on tour. Carrack's lead and organ, all these years later, still make this the go-to song to jog someone's memory when discussing Squeeze, but it's just one of more than a dozen keepers on the album, with Difford and Tilbrook crafting little musical slices of life on 'Is That Love', 'Piccadilly', 'Woman’s World', 'Mumbo Jumbo', and 'Someone Else's Heart'. The album became a landmark of its time, with devout Squeeze fans across the world hailing it as the band’s crowning achievement: singable, iconic, diverse pop/rock helmed by a band in full control of their powers, and a famous producer willing to coax the absolute best from them. Though key track 'Tempted' was never a hit on either side of the Atlantic, it stands as one of the band’s signature songs, although that's hardly scratching the surface with two other singles and a host of key tracks at play. Although we can do nothing about that fact that Costello produced the majority of the released version of the album, we can add various out-takes and Tilbrook demos recorded at the same time but which never made the cut, plus the Smash Hits freebie 'Wrong Way', which was recorded just a few months earlier, to stretch the record out to double-album length. I've slotted the new tracks into a revised running order, and housed the whole thing in a variation of the original sleeve.   

Track listing

Disc I
01 In Quintessence
02 Someone Else's Heart
03 Depression
04 Tempted
05 Piccadilly
06 I Don't Like Love
07 The Axe Has Now Fallen
08 There's No Tomorrow
09 Holiday Makers
10 Heaven
11 Mumbo Jumbo

Disc II
01 Is That Love?
02 Trust
03 Woman's World
04 Wrong Way
05 Misunderstood
06 Looking For A Love
07 Someone Else's Bell
08 Yap, Yap, Yap
09 F-Hole
10 Labelled With Love
11 Vanity Fair
12 Messed Around

Various Artists - Television Time Machine (2025)

I recently came across a 15CD set of classic TV and film themes, and realising that I would never sit down and listen to the whole thing more than once, I've extracted my very favourite TV theme tunes from the 60's and 70's and compiled them into one album. I recognised every one of these from watching the original TV shows while growing up, and so this is a real nostalgia fest for me. I've deliberately not gone for the most obvious choices, so no 'Tales Of The Unexpected', 'The Avengers' or 'Van Der Valk', but a lot of kid's TV and action shows. If you too are of a certain age then give this a listen and relive your childhood, or try not reading the track listing and see if you can guess the show! 

Track listing

01 Theme from 'Joe 90'
02 Left Bank Two (Theme from 'Vision On: The Gallery')
03 Marching There And Back (Theme from 'Screen Test') 
04 Theme from 'Midweek'
05 Theme from 'The Strange World Of Gurney Slade'
06 Theme from 'Captain Scarlet'
07 Theme from 'Animal Magic'
08 At The Sign Of The Swinging Cymbal (Theme from 'Pick Of The Pops')
09 Theme from 'The Champions'
10 The Good Word (Theme from 'Nationwide')
11 Theme from 'Department S'
12 Hit And Miss (Theme from 'Juke Box Jury')
13 Marching Strings (Theme from 'Top Of The Form')
14 Theme from 'The Strange Report'
15 Theme from 'Thunderbirds'
16 Theme from 'Danger Man'
17 Funky Fanfare (Theme from 'The National Screen Service's Feature Presentation')
18 Theme from 'Man Alive'
19 Theme from 'Jason King'
20 Theme from 'Please Sir'
21 Closing theme from 'The Sweeney'
22 Theme from 'Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased)' 
23 Theme from 'Terry And June'