Grateful Dead - The Greatest Story Ever Told (1972)

In the last of this trilogy of imagined Grateful Dead albums from 1972, we use the final eight songs which were performed live on the band's US and European tours of 1972, but which were never recorded by the band in the studio. Like the last album, there is one exception to that, as 'Mason's Children' was laid down in the studio in 1970, while the group were recording 'Workingman's Dead', but it was left off the final version of that album. 'Mexicali Blues' is a Bob Weir song, which later appeared on his 1972 solo album 'Ace', alongside 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' and 'One More Saturday Night', and similarly 'Sugaree' and 'Loser' were re-recorded for Jerry Garcia's album 'Garcia' from the same year, but as I said before, it's great to hear full band versions of these songs. 'Empty Pages' is another lovely Pigpen song featuring some understated organ, on which he take the lead vocal, while 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' earns its place as the title track of the album by including the stunning Garcia guitar solo, and 'One More Saturday Night' is a storming closer to the record. As before, the sound quality of these tracks is top-notch for live recordings, and I only had to do a little work on each song to bring it up to the equivalent of being recorded in the studio.     

Track listing

01 The Greatest Story Ever Told
02 Loser
03 Mexicali Blues
04 Mason's Children
05 Sugaree
06 Empty Pages
07 The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion)
08 One More Saturday Night

King Sunny Ade & His African Beats - The Master Guitarist Vol. 6 (1972)

We're up to Volume 6 of the Master Guitarist series from King Sunny Ade & His African Beats, and although this album once again only has two tracks, rather than being a number of songs segued together, these are two eighteen-minute pieces. Note the change of name of the band for this album, and so the track titled 'Our New Sound' was obviously a statement of intent. As the new line-up included a number of his previous Green Spot colleagues, the band are in their usual fine form, and so this joyous music follows on seamlessly from the previous volumes. 

Track listing

01 Ogun
02 Our New Sound

Tangle Edge - Emerald Mound: The Best Of Tangle Edge (2006)

One of the lesser known bands of the 80's Norwegian underground, the ethno-psychedelic prog band Tangle Edge emerged alongside similarly minded bands such as Ozric Tentacles, Violeta de Outano and Djam Karet, only these bands emerged worlds apart and presumably totally unaware of the other's existence. The band formed in the small of Narvik, Norway in 1981 when Ronald Nygård and Hasse Horrigmoe discovered the world of psychedelic music to be the perfect outlet for escaping the vast Arctic wilderness which kept the long sunless days in northern Norway from becoming insufferable. Over the years the duo released a few cassette-only releases, but after adding Rune Forselv, as a trio they recorded and released their debut 'In Search Of A New Dawn' in 1989 on the band's own Mushroom Productions label. This all-instrumental psychedelic delicatessen of a debut showcased the band’s diverse delivery of psychedelia throughout the ages, ranging from guitar driven rock to keyboard saturated Krautrock, Indo-raga rock and extended jams. With nine tracks that add up to over 48 minutes of playing time, it showcased a veritable blend of developed progressive rock techniques in the context of ethnically tinged space rock. In 1992 they released the double CD 'Entangled Scorpio Entrance', which was recorded live in concert in their home town of Narvik in Northern Norway on 1st November 1991, and which was issued exactly as it was recorded, with no overdubs. It captures a very different sounding Tangle Edge than a year before, as former member Svein Hugo Bergvik had left, and with the loss of his flute and sax there was a change of focus to a more flowing and spacious style. 

The following year they released 'Eulogy' on Demi Monde Records, and this was quite different musically to their debut, due to its more elaborate compositions and richer range of styles and sounds, which included progressive, jazz-rock, Arabic folk, psychedelic, pastoral, and space-rock. Consisting of just three tracks, it shows a distinct progression in their music, and contains what would become one of their best-known tracks, 'Walk Of The Frozen Ones'. Four years later saw the appearance of 'Tarka', which included synths and electronics as well as the usual rock instruments. The three parts of 'Yatantah' are the highlights of the album, with 'Yatantah Part 1' including some powerful guitar, and 'Yatantah Part 3' featuring some fine guitar melody. 2002's 'Sumerian Kings And Joyful Doubts' is another live album, recorded in Norway and Denmark in 1994, and 'Cormorama' from 2004 was recorded live at two Italian gigs in 1991. Their first studio album for nearly a decade was 'Serpentary Quarters' in 2006, and the centre-piece was a two part, 33 minute jam called 'Transcendental Virtue', which locked into a serious groove over which the guitar laid down some intense solos. Tangle Edge continue to release music to this day, often consisting of downloads of live recordings through Bandcamp, but for a time in the early 90's they were one of Norway's best-kept secrets, known only to readers of the Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine and aficionados of underground psychedelic space-rock. I hope that this sampler of their work brings them to a new audience some thirty years later. 

Track listing

01 The Cryptic Empire And The Principal Sanctuary (from 'Entangled Scorpio Entrance' 1992)
02 Caesar's Integrated Flaw (from 'In Search Of A New Dawn' 1989)
03 Yatantah - Part I (from 'Tarka' 1997)
04 Yatantah - Part II (from 'Tarka' 1997)
05 Yatantah - Part III (from 'Tarka' 1997)
06 Harem Shuffle (from 'Eulogy' 1993)
07 Isis At The Invisible Frontispiece (from 'In Search Of A New Dawn' 1989)
08 The 7th Heaven O, The 11th Floor (from 'Radio Stroganoff' cassette 1986)
09 Emerald Mound (from 'Serpentary Quarters' 2006)
10 Later Than The Pinworm-Era (from 'In Search Of A New Dawn' 1989)

Darlene Paul - Act Like Nothing Happened (1967)

Darlene Paul started her music career singing with the female trio The Sof-Tones, made up of Paul, Trudy Hancock and Irene Diaz. Their vocal harmony accomplishments include winning a talent contest at West Coast Theater and being featured on Al  Jarvis television show, and they released the 'I Failed' single on Young Recorders in 1958. Later that same year they moved to Los Angeles, California and signed to Specialty Records, where they released three singles in 1958 and 1959 as The Stewart Sisters, as well as adding backing vocals to other Speciality acts of the period, including an appearance on Little Richard's 'The Fabulous Little Richard' album from 1958. At the end of the 1950's Paul decided to go solo, and released her first single on Lute Records in 1960, comprising two self-composed songs, with 'In Darkness, In Daylight' being backed with 'You're Just You'. In 1961 she signed with Kapp Records and released another original song, with her 'On The Other Hand' being backed with a cover of Irving Berlin's 'Say It Isn't So', and this led to a one-off deal with Atlantic Records for her 'All Of A Sudden My Heart Sings' single in 1962. After a two year hiatus she signed with Capital Records, who released her final three singles, with her June 1964 recording of 'All Cried Out' being covered by Dusty Springfield six months later, and providing her with a huge hit single. Paul's swansong was singing the theme song of the 1967 movie 'Tell Me In The Sunlight', after which she bowed out of the music business. It's a shame that she isn't more well-known, as she was writing her own songs from the early 60's, which was very unusual for a female singer of the time, and so in order to try to bring her name into the public arena, here is a collection of all of her recordings, including some with the Sof-Tones and The Stewart Sisters.

    

Track listing

01 I Failed (single by The Sof-Tones 1958)
02 Canadian Sunset (b-side of 'I Failed')
03 The Witness (single by The Stewart Sisters 1958)
04 Movie Magazine (b-side of 'The Witness')
05 Shine On Me, Moonbeam (single by The Stewart Sisters 1958)
06 Comes Dawn (b-side of 'Shine On Me, Moonbeam')
07 In Darkness, In Daylight (single 1960)
08 You're Just You (b-side of 'In Darkness, In Daylight') 
09 On The Other Hand (single 1961)
10 Say It Isn't So (b-side of 'On The Other Hand')
11 All Of A Sudden My Heart Sings (single 1962)
12 Shimmy (b-side of 'All Of A Sudden My Heart Sings')
13 Act Like Nothing Happened (single 1964)
14 A Little Bit Of Heaven (b-side of 'Act Like Nothing Happened')
15 All Cried Out (single 1964)
16 This Is My Prayer (b-side of 'All Cried Out')
17 I'll Get Over You (single 1965)
18 Are You Getting Tired Of Your Little Toy (b-side of 'I'll Get Over You')
19 Tell Me In The Sunlight (theme song from the film of the same name 1967)

Yes - Works (1976) **UPGRADE**

I've been listening to a lot or progressive rock recently, especially Pink Floyd, Genesis and Yes, since I discovered a Youtube channel called This Is Angelica. I'm not usually that interested in "reaction" videos, where you watch someone listen to a piece of music for the first time, but I was drawn in when I saw that the track that she was going to listen to was one of my all-time favourites - 'The Gates Of Delirium' by Yes. It turns out that she has only just discovered 70's progressive rock, and it is enjoyable to see her listen to songs that I've known for the last 50 years, and to realise that this music can still find new fans even after all this time. After listening to a few of her Yes videos it reminded me of a project that I've had on the back-burner for a while, and that's an upgrade to one of my early posts, where I used tracks from the members of Yes's solo albums from 1976 to make an equivalent to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's 'Works' album from the same period. When I first put it together I hadn't started to edit music tracks like I do now, and so I didn't cross-fade the tracks but just joined them together, and I always wanted to re-do it with crossfades rather than just one track after another, and so that's what you now have. Each of the six sides of music is now a suite rather than individual tracks, and hopefully this makes it flow much better than the previous version, so give it a try and see what you think. There are no drastic differences, other than re-arranging the running order of 'Suite 5' for a better listening experience, but I feel that the small changes are an improvement to the original post. And if you are into progressive rock then do check out Angelica's Youtube channel. 

Track listing

Suite 1:

a) Ocean Song  b) Impressions (The Dream)  c) Spring - Song Of Innocence  d) Avakak 

Suite 2:

a) Hold Out Your Hand  b) Solid Space  c) The Nature Of The Sea  d) To The Runner 

Suite 3:

a) Impact > Warmer Hands > The Storm  b) Moon Ra / Chords / Song Of Search

Suite 4:

a) Beginnings  b) Silently Falling

Suite 5:

a) Qoquaq Ën Transic / Naon / Transic Tö  b) Break Away From It All  c) Symphony In                                                                                                      The Space  d) Marching Into A Bottle

Suite 6:

a) Doors Of Sleep  b) Safe (Canon Song)  c) Ram

BBC Concert Orchestra - Prog Rock: A Fanfare For The Common Man (2026)

The BBC Proms season is underway again, and Saturday 18th July's Prom was titled 'Prog Rock: A Fanfare for the Common Man'. Back in the heady days of the late 1960's and early-to-mid 70s, Prog(ressive Rock) was music unconstrained by established forms and conventions of blues, rhythm and blues, or folk music, although it often contained elements of these – and other genres including jazz. Indeed, a number of Prog Rockers had a background in jazz music, and like most musicians in these bands, they could really play. Much of the Prog Rock canon is difficult stuff involving unconventional time signatures, complex structures and harmonies and requires virtuosic playing and singing to pull it off. In a packed Albert Hall, the audience were treated to an aural tour of Prog Rock Land, rather like one of those old LP samplers which gave you tracks from many different bands. On this occasion, the variety of the music was cleverly guaranteed by having enlisted no fewer than seven different arrangers for the twenty songs performed by the always excellent BBC Concert Orchestra. One orchestrator, no matter how skilled, would have given us something more akin to a Prog Rock suite, which would have been less varied and not as interesting. Perhaps inevitably, the concert opened with Emerson, Lake and Palmer's re-working of Aaron Copland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man', arranged by Robert Ames for orchestra and rock band, and he also conducted the whole show. He proved ideal in leading proceedings, as he has a passion for the music and a masterful ability to keep the orchestra on track through tricky changes of tempo, dynamics and time signatures. As a nice touch, Carl Palmer played drums, and has lost none of his impressive ability. Ames then took us through pieces which had been first recorded by Jethro Tull, Genesis, Renaissance, The Moody Blues, Van der Graff Generator, Yes and Mike Oldfield. All were well played and nicely sung by the orchestra and singers Gruff Rhys, Guy Garvey, Jane Weaver, Peter Hammill and The Staves. 

A high point of this first half was Soft Machine’s 'Out-Bloody-Rageous', which lived up to its title with some fiendishly difficult rhythms and a top of the range, largely improvised sopranino sax solo by Andy Findon, while Peter Hamill was another surprise guest, taking lead vocal on his own 'Refugees'. Part two gave us music by Keith Emerson, Genesis, Gentle Giant, The Incredible String Band and Supertramp, and a highlight was a medley of non-UK tracks from Focus, Osibisa and Frank Zappa, all very skilfully orchestrated by Christian Balvig. Fiona Brice's arrangement of three King Crimson songs was equally brilliant and superbly sung by Guy Garvey and Gruff Rhys. As the concert moved towards its conclusion there had to be a taste of Pink Floyd, and there was, with 'The Great Gig In The Sky'. Still poignant and full of longing, the original improvised female vocal part was sung with heart and great skill by Vanessa Haynes. Again arranged by Fiona Brice, the orchestra’s masterful control made for a memorable musical experience for everyone listening. The evening ended appropriately with 'The Great Gates Of Kyiv' from Mussorgsky's 'Pictures At An Exhibition'. The original orchestration of this piano piece was by Ravel, before Keith Emerson arranged it for his rock band, and Robert Ames adapted it further. There’s no doubting the evening’s success, and the programme rightly earned several encores, and brought many in the audience to their feet to deliver rapturous applause. Here is the full concert, with just the announcements removed for a smoother flow, and although I felt that a couple of the tracks didn't work as well as others, it was an innovative idea, and is well worth a listen if you're a prog rock fan. 

Track listing

01 Fanfare For The Common Man - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (arr. Robert Ames)
02 Living In The Past - Jethro Tull (arr. Sam Gale)
03 Out-Bloody-Rageous - Soft Machine (arr. Sam Gale)
04 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) - Genesis (arr. Sam Gale)
05 Northern Lights - Renaissance (arr. Christian Balvig)
06 Nights In White Satin - The Moody Blues (arr. Fiona Brice)
07 Refugees - Van Der Graaf Generator (arr. Adam Dennis)
08 And You And I - Yes (arr. Peter Riley)
09 Tubular Bells, Part One (excerpts) - Mike Oldfield (arr. Adam Dennis)
10 Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Part 2 - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (arr. Robert Ames)
11 Sylvia - Focus (arr. Christian Balvig)
12 Komfo - Osibisa (arr. Christian Balvig)
13 Peaches En Regalia - Frank Zappa (arr. Christian Balvig)
14 21st Century Schizoid Man/I Talk to The Wind/Court Of The Crimson King - King Crimson                                                                                                                              (arr. Fiona Brice)
15 Entangled - Genesis (arr Fiona Brice)
16 On Reflection - Gentle Giant (arr. Sam Gale)
17 Maker Of Islands - The Incredible String Band (arr. Christian Balvig)
18 Great Gig In The Sky - Pink Floyd (arr. Fiona Brice)
19 Crime Of The Century - Supertramp (arr. Christian Balvig)
20 The Great Gates Of Kiev - Emerson, Lake & Palmer - (Mussorgsky arr. Robert Ames)

Performers:
Guy Garvey vocals
Jane Weaver vocals
Gruff Rhys vocals
Carl Palmer drums
Peter Hammill vocals
Vanessa Hayes vocals
The Staves vocals
BBC Concert Orchestra
Robert Ames conductor

Charli Baltimore - The Diary (You Think You Know) (2003)

Following the cancellation of her 1999 debut album 'Cold As Ice', Charli Baltimore left Untertainment Records, and in 2001 she signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, where she hoped to be more successful. After appearing on records by Ja Rule, Christina Milian and Ashanti, she recorded her second album 'The Diary (You Think You Know)', and released the title track as a single. Despite making no impact on any of the Billboard charts, the song was surprisingly nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance, but the lack of success of the other four singles released from the album meant that her second album suffered the same fate as her first, and it was consigned to the vaults, never to see the light of day. For anyone who tried 'Cold As Ice' and wants to hear more from the rapper, then here is her second shelved album, 'The Diary (You Think You Know)'.

Track listing

01 Hey Charli
02 Diary
03 Get It Right, Part II (feat. Caddillac Tah & Ronnie Bumps)
04 Days Like This
05 Charli, Charli
06 Philly's Finest (feat. Eve)
07 I Still Don't Give A Fuck (Interlude) 
08 No One Does It Better (feat. Ashanti)
09 Ghetto Fabulous (feat. Jewell) 
10 Showdown (feat. Caddillac Tah, Black Child & Crooked I)
11 Get At Me Dawg (G-Unit Diss) 
12 You Want Me Dead 
13 Ill Bitch (Lil' Kim Diss)
14 Niggaz Ain't Shit (feat. Quarter & Nina)
15 Down 4 U (feat. Ja Rule, Ashanti & Vita)

Prince - Prince Plays Hendrix (2011)

Jimi Hendrix has long been cited a major creative influence on Prince, but in his early career, Prince brushed aside comparisons between him and Hendrix, saying in 1985 that his style was far closer to the 'prettier' flare of Carlos Santana, and that it was only because Hendrix was black such comparisons were drawn. Prince believed being compared to anybody was an accusation of ripping them off. That aside, he was no doubt flattered by the comparison, and performed Hendrix’s 1967 track 'Red House' in concert on a number occasions from 1986 right up to 2008. In 1999 he recorded his version of the track in the studio and renamed it 'Purple House', after his Kiowa Trail home, which was indeed painted purple. The song is a bluesy cover played in Prince’s inimitable style, captured at Paisley Park Studios alongside Larry Graham on bass. In November 1998 Hendrix's 'Machine Gun' was the inspiration behind Prince's instrumental 'Habibi' - the name given to his new purple symbol shaped guitar - but fearing the comparison was too close to the 1970 original, he edited the track before eventually releasing it on the NPG Music Club on 22 April 2001. He instead reached out to the Hendrix Estate to offer them a cover of 'Machine Gun' free of charge, and then in 2004, the Hendrix estate contacted Prince, and he sent them 'Purple House' for inclusion on the 'Power Of Soul: A Tribute To Jimi Hendrix' album. Prince has also played a number of other Hendrix songs in concert over the years, and so this post collects together live and studio versions of the best of them, so that we can now hear Prince playing Hendrix. 

Track listing

01 Who Knows
02 Red House
03 Machine Gun
04 Villanova Junction
05 Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
06 All Along The Watchtower
07 Purple House
08 Spanish Castle Magic
09 Habibi
10 Foxy Lady

Havana Mena - How Much You Want Me (2000)

Havana Mena is a Latin musician born in Miami, Florida, who signed to Arista Imprint Heat Records in 2000 and released her first single 'How Much You Want Me', which reached #11 on Billboard's top 100 rap singles. It was produced by Cool and Dre, who also produced the majority of the tracks on her debut album of the same name, and which boasted guest features from the likes of ex-labelmates Joe Hound, Rob Brizo, and Sly Kat, alongside previously unsigned acts Dirtbag and Pitbull. It included the single 'Sleep Tight', which was used in 2000 in the 'Dark Angel' episode 'Flushed', and another single 'I'll Die For U', which was featured on the 2002 'Source Youth' compilation album. Two buzz singles were issued from the record, 'Chunk Swang' and 'Get The Champagne', and the official single 'How Much You Want Me' even received visual treatment, with its music video making steady rounds on now-defunct video channel 'The Box', but it wasn't enough to secure the release of Mena's debut album, which was briefly issued on Heat Records but was soon withdrawn and has seldom been seen since. If you recall the banging 'Get The Champagne' and want to hear more then here is Havana Mena's debut long-player from 2000.

Track listing

01 Intro 
02 How Much You Want Me?
03 Live Wire (feat. Sly Kat)
04 My World 
05 Thug & Amprack (Skit)
06 None of This 
07 Pop Life
08 Chunk Swang (feat. Sly Kat & Joe Hound)
09 Sleep Tight
10 Success (feat. Dirtbag)
11 It's O.K. (feat. Joe Hound & Rob Brizo)
12 Cuban Cigars 
13 I'll Die for U 
14 We Don't Play (feat. Sly Kat)
15 Get the Champagne 
16 Ridin' It Raw (feat. Pitbull) 

The Junipers - Dandelion Man: The Best Of The Junipers (2026)

The Junipers are a Leicester-based psychedelic pop band formed in 2000, who are heavily inspired by 1960's acts like The Zombies and The Beach Boys, with their lush, neo-psychedelic sound featuring intricate vocal harmonies, vintage Mellotrons, banjos, and heavily effected pianos. The band was originally formed as a studio project by Joe Wiltshire, Marc Johnston, Pete Gough, Liam Riley, and Stuart Pratt, and operating out of their own Leicester studio, they signed to San Remo Records and released their self-produced, critically acclaimed debut LP 'Cut Your Key' in 2008. This spawned the single 'Callooh Callay!', which earned single of the week on BBC Radio 2. Following a few line-up changes, including the replacement of original vocalist Marc Johnston by Robyn Gibson, and the departure of bassist Liam Riley and drummer Stuart Pratt, who were replaced by Ash Seldon and Ben Marshall respectively, the band released 'Paint The Ground' in 2012. This was the first of a steady flow of releases on a number of indie labels, including 2016's 'Red Bouquet Fair' on Sugarbush Records, 2024's 'Imaginary Friends' on Cuckoo Records, and this year's well-received 'The Solid And The Hollow' album. In 2013 the band also released a four-song EP by their side project, the Junipers' Euphonious Trolley, but despite this impressive catalogue of music, the band are still an unknown quantity for most people, and so I hope that this selection of some of their best work from the last 18 years will bring them to the attention of the wider public. 

Track listing

01 Look Into My River (from 'Paint The Ground' 2013)
02 Red Bouquet Fair (from 'Red Bouquet Fair' 2016)
03 Gordie Can't Swim (from 'Cut Your Key' 2008)
04 Willow And The Water Mill (from 'Paint The Ground' 2013)
05 Annie Almond (from 'Imaginary Friends' 2024)
06 When She Turns (from 'The Solid And The Hollow' 2026)
07 Callooh Callay! (from 'Cut Your Key' 2008)
08 Golden Fields In Golden Sun (from 'Paint The Ground' 2013)
09 Like A Merry Go Round (from 'Red Bouquet Fair' 2016)
10 Where I'm Landing (from 'The Solid And The Hollow' 2026)
11 Out My Pocket (from 'Cut Your Key' 2008) 
12 Hollow Sky (from 'Imaginary Friends' 2024)
13 Burning Pages (from 'Red Bouquet Fair' 2016)
14 Song To Selkie (from 'Paint The Ground' 2013)
15 She Looked Up At The Stars (from 'Imaginary Friends' 2024)
16 Mortimer (from 'Cut Your Key' 2008)
17 Follow Loretta (from 'Red Bouquet Fair' 2016)
18 Fishes (from 'The Solid And The Hollow' 2026)
19 Dandelion Man (from 'Paint The Ground' 2013) 

Novel - The Word (2003)

Alonzo Mario Stevenson, was born on 3 September 1981 in Los Angeles, California, and is professionally known as Novel. He comes from a musical family, with his father, William "Mickey" Stevenson, being a Motown singer/songwriter/producer and the label's first A&R executive, and his mother, Melanie Burke, was a background singer for Chaka Khan, as well as being the grandson of soul music pioneer Solomon Burke. After running away from home at age 14, Novel returned to California where his father set up a recording studio for him, and he released the single 'Peach' on Rawkus Records in 2003, with the video for the song featuring Smokey Robinson, who is a longtime family friend, and Novel's godfather. The single garnered some positive reviews, and his debut album 'The Word' was set to be released in 2003, but was ultimately cancelled when Rawkus split from MCA Records, which folded that year. Following this disappointmenr, he turned to songwriting as a career, writing and producing for artists such as Alicia Keys, Beyoncé Knowles, India.Arie, Joss Stone, Kelis, and Leona Lewis. He signed to Dallas Austin's Rowdy Records in 2007 and released the EP 'I Am... (Future Black President)' the following year, and his debut full-length album, 'The Audiobiography', was given an early 2009 release date, but has so far failed to appear. He's released over half a dozen mixtapes since then, so is still getting his music out there to his fans, and if you're one of them and want to hear his cancelled 2003 album 'The Word', then here it is. 

Track listing

01 Intro
02 Her
03 All My Life
04 Interlude
05 Quiera Me
06 Start 2 Fade
07 Trust
08 Interlude
09 Mama Said
10 Preach
11 Interlude
12 U.R. My Forst
13 6 O'Clock Nigga
14 Slow Me
15 Interlude
16 My State Of Loneliness
17 Interlude
18 Velvet Sky
19 Outro

Grateful Dead - Bird Song (1972)

I was quite pleased at how well my recent Grateful Dead post turned out, with 'Jack Straw From Wichita' sounding like a long-lost Dead studio album from the early 70's. As I mentioned in the notes, the band didn't release a studio album between 'American Beauty' in November 1970 and 'Wake Of The Flood' in October 1973, preferring to embark on extensive tours of the US and Europe. Many of the songs that they wrote during this period were therefore only performed in concert, and became known to fans through the myriad of bootleg recordings that appeared regularly on vinyl and CD in the early days, and more recently on the internet. Since the band released the massive 'Europe 72' box-set, which included the recordings that they'd made of probably most of the concerts that they played in 1972, we now have superb quality recordings of many of these songs, but still no studio versions. Having now obtained a list of all the songs that were performed in concert during 1971 to 1973, and which do not have a studio version by the band themselves, I've done extensive research on various Dead-Head sites to find out what is generally regarded as the best recording of each of the songs, and then worked on them to bring them up to studio quality. In most cases there was not much that needed to be done, other than to remove extraneous crowd noise, and gently fade out the song if I felt that was better ending. There were a couple of tracks where I needed to boost the vocals or the guitar, but generally what you hear is what the audience heard when the songs were played live. The first of these albums features the lovely 12-minute 'Bird Song', which gives the album it's title, as well as a rare Pigpen vocal on his own 'Chinatown Shuffle'. The song 'To Lay Me Down' was actually recorded in the studio in the summer of 1970, and eventually appeared on the 'So Many Roads' box set, so there was no need for me play around with a live version of that one, and it fits so well into the album that it just emphasises the quality of the live recordings that surround it. Some of these tracks eventually ended up on band member's solo albums, such as a truncated 'Bird Song' on 1972's 'Garcia', but it's great to hear full band versions of them from the group at the height of their powers.  

Track listing

01 Looks Like Rain
02 Chinatown Shuffle
03 To Lay Me Down
04 Deal
05 Comes A Time
06 Black-Throated Wind
07 Bird Song

    

Feline - Ultraviolet (2000)

Singer Grog's first band, Flinch, attracted press interest as one of the UK's most promising bands of 1994, following the release of their debut EP 'A Dummy To Love', and winning Best New Act at that years In The City showcase. Two independent singles followed on Dilo! Records, with 'Ordinary (This Can't Be)' and 'Faking' leading to a live recording session in Maida Vale Studios for BBC Radio 1's John Peel at the end of 1994. Flinch submitted the demo for 'Days' for inclusion on the cult 'Volume 12' compilation magazine, alongside notable debut cuts from acts such as Garbage and Catatonia, and in 1995 they released a further two

 singles, 'Jamie D' and 'Skin Deep', as well as recording demos for their debut full-length release, provisionally titled 'Sincere', but they disbanded before it could be released. After the dissolution of Flinch, Grog recruited the band's manager Drew Richards to help write material and perform guitar for her on a solo project, but after adding a further two musicians at the end of 1995, Ted Garcia on guitar and Steve Drew on drums, this solidified the line-up for her next band Feline, whose sound was described by journalist Mike Pattenden as "new goth", a mix of Eighties bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure with contemporary acts like The Smashing Pumpkins. A handful of demos were recorded, and several record labels indicated interest in her new group, with Chrysalis Records winning out and signing Feline to a major worldwide deal. The band recorded the bulk of their debut album, 'Save Your Face', over three weeks in December 1996 at Olympic Studios in London, with producer David M. Allen, known for his work on The Cure's 'Disintegration' and 'Wish'. 

By mid-1997, Feline had procured a management deal with Sanctuary and had recruited a new drummer Mig in time for a summer tour as support act for label-mates Kenickie, and then back on the road headlining rock clubs throughout the UK. In August 1997 Feline's debut single 'Just As You Are' was released in the UK, backed with b-sides 'Highway', 'Shape Changing' and 'Two Minds', and it spent a single week on the Official Charts at No. 81. At the start of 1998, Feline recorded new material produced by Drew, and in March they toured the UK with Radiator in support of Catherine Wheel. In May 1998 a new mix of 'Sun In My Eyes' was released as a single, once again peaking at No. 81 on the singles chart. 'Drama Queen' was scheduled for single release on CD and 7" on 6 July 1998, however the single was cancelled after promos were distributed to the press, and by late 1998 Feline had been dropped by their label, following EMI's clear out of their roster. The band's management suggested changing the band's name to help get them re-signed with another label, and so taking their advice, Feline was duly renamed as Ultraviolet, and material for a second album was recorded by Drew Richards throughout 1999. Sanctuary issued 'Unknown' as a single and a six-track mini-album titled 'Memoirs Of A Psychopath' direct to indie stores during this time. A final four songs were recorded and mixed by Pat Collier before Feline officially disbanded, after which Grog, Drew and Al re-emerged as Die So Fluid, who continue to record throughout the following two decades. Grog became known to pop music fans when she guest performed bass guitar for Melanie C and Kelly Osbourne throughout 2003. As an introduction to this short-lived indie rock band here is Feline's unreleased second album 'Ultraviolet'.

Track listing

01 Alive
02 Unknown
03 Cold Inside
04 Memoirs Of A Psychopath
05 Wish You Were Dead
06 Making Hate
07 Versus
08 Advice
09 I Hope
10 Sever
11 Driven
12 Truth Will Out