Pilot - Scorpio (1976)

Pilot will probably always be remembered for their two biggest hit singles 'Magic' and 'January', but there was much more to them than that. Founder members David Patton and Billy Lyall had both been in the original line-up of The Bay City Rollers, but they left to form Scotch Mist, who released one Alan Parsons-produced single before reforming as Pilot. With Paton and Lyall seemingly able to write superlative pop songs with ease, their first two albums, 'From The Album Of The Same Name' and 'Second Flight' were great collections of classic 70's pop, but their masterpiece was their third 'Morin Heights'. This has remained one of my favourite 70's albums, with Ian Bairnson's epic guitar on 'Maniac' making it one of the best things they ever did, and it also includes yet another great single in 'Canada'. This collection includes the Paton/Lyall-penned b-side of the Scotch Mist single, a couple of Pilot b-sides, some demos and some unreleased tracks, making for an album which I hope will encourage you to try the rest of the discography of this very under-rated band.

  

Track listing

01 Pamela (b-side of the Scotch Mist single 1974)
02 Magic (Original version)
03 Are You In Love (b-side of 'Just A Smile' 1974)
04 Just Let Me Be (b-side of 'Magic' 1974)
05 Cold Stories (Previously unreleased)
06 January (Demo)
07 Lady Luck (Previously unreleased)
08 You're Devotion (Demo)
09 Goldmine (Previously unreleased)
10 Love Is (Demo)
11 Penny In My Pocket (Demo)
12 Scorpio (Previously unreleased)
13 When The Sun Comes (Previously unreleased)