The Creation - Ostrich Man (1968)

The Creation were formed from the ashes of the beat group The Mark Four, who operated in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire between 1963 and 1966. By late 1963 The Mark Four was a quintet consisting of Kenny Pickett (vocals), Eddie Phillips (guitars), Mick "Spud" Thompson (rhythm guitars), John Dalton (bass), and Jack Jones (drums), and this line-up played regularly in the UK and in Germany, before issuing two non-charting singles on Mercury Records in 1964, 'Rock Around The Clock' and 'Try It Baby'. Dalton then left the band, later joining The Kinks as a replacement for Pete Quaife, and was replaced by new bassist Tony Cooke. Around the same time, Thompson left and was not replaced, and this new four-piece line-up issued two further non-charting singles in 'Hurt Me If You Will' and 'Work All Day (Sleep All Night)'. In April 1966 the group signed a management deal with Tony Stratton-Smith, who promptly suggested replacing Cooke with new bassist Bob Garner, and also asked they change their name. The band took him up on both suggestions, and Pickett came up with the name The Creation, based on a reference he found in a book of Russian poetry. The band's style at this point was loud art pop, similar to early records by The Who, and their first single under the new name was the Pickett/Phillips original 'Making Time', which was the first recording to feature an electric guitar being played with a violin bow, predating the more famous solos by Jimmy Page by some years. The single reached No. 49 on the UK chart, but almost immediately the band suffered another line-up change when Jack Jones was fired and replaced by new drummer Dave Preston, although he was quickly reinstated after the band decided they were unsatisfied with Preston's live work. 

Their next single was released in October 1966, and the more pop-orientated 'Painter Man' became their biggest hit, reaching No. 36 on the UK chart, and breaking the top 10 in Germany. The band took their pop art experimentation even further, with Pickett spray-painting a canvas during their concerts, before a member of the road crew would set fire to the artwork on stage. 'Painter Man' was the last single issued by the original line-up, with Kim Gardner being brought in as their new bassist, and former bassist Bob Garner taking over the lead vocal slot, leaving Kenny Pickett out of the group. This line-up issued its first single in June 1967, but 'If I Stay Too Long'/'Nightmares' was not a success in the UK, although it did well in Germany, and so the band released 'Tom Tom' as a follow-up just in Germany, with their commercial momentum in that country being so strong that an album called 'We Are Paintermen' was released in mid 1967 for the German and continental European market, compiled from previously issued singles and several newly recorded songs. The band tried to break the US market by releasing four singles during late 1966 and 1967, but none of them met with any success, although they continued to remain popular in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. At the end of 1967 they released 'Life Is Just Beginning' in the UK, but almost immediately afterwards guitarist Eddie Phillips announced his departure, and although he was replaced for several European tour dates by guitarist Tony Ollard, within a matter of weeks vocalist Bob Garner also quit the group, and by February 1968 The Creation had officially ceased to exist. 

However, demand was still strong in continental Europe for Creation records and live shows, and almost immediately after the band disbanded, drummer Jack Jones formed a new Creation line-up, bringing back Kenny Pickett as singer and Kim Gardner as bass player, and bringing in his old bandmate from The Birds, Ronnie Wood on guitar. This line-up debuted with the single 'Midway Down', which was released in the UK and Germany in April 1968, but shortly afterwards the band splintered again, and this time it was for good. 'Bonney Moroney' (sic) and 'For All That I Am' were issued as posthumous singles in Germany in 1968, and that was the end of the band. Despite their early demise and lack of hits, The Creation posthumously became highly influential, acknowledged as an inspiration by Paul Weller, Ride, Pete Townshend, and The Sex Pistols, while Alan McGee named his massively successful record label Creation after them, and took 'Biff Bang Pow!' as the name for his own band. For this album I've gathered together all the singles and b-sides that didn't appear on the 'We Are Paintermen' album, as that record is well worth seeking out in its own right, and I've added in a few previously unreleased recordings that have since surfaced on the many retrospectives, plus a couple of live takes, in particular the full length version of 'That's How Strong My Love Is'. If you have this album plus 'We Are Paintermen', then you have everything that the band recorded in their short career, and yet they influenced so many bands that it's hard to believe that this is their entire recorded output. 

Track listing

01 Instrumental #1 (previously unreleased 1966)
02 Life Is Just Beginning (single 1967)
03 Ostrich Man (previously unreleased)
04 I'm A Man (previously unreleased live recording 1966)
05 Midway Down (single 1968)
06 The Girls Are Naked (b-side of 'Midway Down')
07 Sweet Helen (previously unreleased 1968)
08 Bonney Moroney (German single 1968)
09 Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (b-side of 'Boney Moronie')
10 Sylvette (previously unreleased full take 1966)
11 Life Is Just Beginning (longer un-orchestrated version 1967)
12 For All That I Am (German single 1968)
13 Uncle Bert (b-side of 'For All That I Am')
14 That's How Strong My Love Is (previously unreleased live recording) 
15 I Am The Walker (previously unreleased)

The Boo Radleys - Almost Nearly There (1995)

In 1996 the Boo Radleys released their fifth album 'C'mon Kids', and while the group themselves have said that their aim was to try something new in order to keep themselves fresh and interested, critics accused them of deliberately attempting to scare away the fans they'd picked up with 'Wake Up!'. Early in 1997, the band finalized an American contract with Mercury, and 'C'mon Kids' was released in March, a half a year after its initial British release. Their final album 'Kingsize' came out in 1998, with 'Free Huey!' being released as the first single. Plans were under way to issue the title track as the next single, but while these were being finalised the band decided to call it a day, and broke up in 1999, resulting in the release of 'Kingsize' being cancelled. As we've already seen from posts from Elbow, Wah!, Dodgy and (spoiler alert) The Bluetones, indie bands of the 90's treated their fans really well, with exclusive songs on the flips of nearly all of their singles, although the Boos did reign this in a bit during their later years, and the songs on their EPs seldom found their way onto their albums either. They may have only been around for eight years, but they recorded so much music that it was relatively easy to find three dozen songs that never appeared on their albums to make up this trilogy of posts from a much-missed indie band.  

   
Track listing

01 Friendship Song (b-side of 'Wake Up Boo!' 1995)
02 ...And Tomorrow The World (b-side of 'Wake Up Boo!' 1995)
03 Janus (b-side of 'Wake Up Boo!' 1995)
04 Blues For George Michael (b-side of 'Wake Up Boo!' 1995)
05 This Is Not About Me (b-side of 'It's Lulu' 1995)
06 Tambo (b-side of 'It's Lulu' 1995)
07 Donkey (b-side of 'It's Lulu' 1995)
08 From The Bench At Belvidere (single 1995)
09 Hi Falutin' (b-side of 'From The Bench At Belvidere' 1995)
10 Crushed (b-side of 'From The Bench At Belvidere')
11 Almost Nearly There (b-side of 'From The Bench At Belvidere')
12 The History Of Creation Parts 17 And 36 (b-side of 'Wake Up Boo!' 1995)

I've put 'The History Of Creation Parts 17 And 36' at the end as you'll probably only want to listen to it once. 

The cover uses a photo by Elena Jo Melanson

Audience - Indian Summer (1972)

Audience were a cult British art rock band which was formed in 1969 by Howard Werth on nylon-strung electric acoustic guitar and vocals, Keith Gemmell on alto and tenor saxophone, flute and clarinet, Trevor Williams on bass guitar and vocals, and Tony Connor on drums and vocals. They rose from the ashes of a semi-professional soul band called Lloyd Alexander Real Estate, which had included all the Audience members except Connor, and they released one single under that name in 1967, but when Werth, Williams, and Gemmell decided to form their new band, they thought of Connor. Within weeks of starting rehearsals, Audience had acquired management, a publishing contract, a residency at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, and a recording contract with Polydor, with whom they recorded their first album 'Audience', an acoustic guitar-driven album featuring Gemmell's saxophone often electrically altered to resemble an electric lead guitar and with string and horn arrangements by Andrew Pryce Jackman. The band was dissatisfied with the record company's promotional approach and temporarily moved to Switzerland to avoid involvement in proposed publicity stunts, but by the end of the year they were drawing public and journalistic acclaim for their songs, arrangements, and stage act. After the debut album came out on Polydor, Tony Stratton-Smith of Charisma Records spotted the band supporting Led Zeppelin and signed them up to his label immediately, for which they recorded three albums. Their first two records were not issued in the U.S. until Elektra signed them, when their final two albums were issued in America, and although their 1971 single 'Indian Summer' took them into the lower reaches of the U.S. charts, by this time they were exhausted and fractious, having worked virtually non-stop for three years, and Gemmell left the band in January 1972. The unfinished 'Lunch' album was completed with the help of The Rolling Stones and Mad Dogs and Englishmen brass section, Jim Price and Bobby Keys, following which they went straight back on the road with new members Nick Judd on keyboards and Pat Charles Neuberg on alto and soprano saxophone. The band never recovered from Gemmell's departure, with Williams resigning eight months later, and when Judd received an offer to join Juicy Lucy shortly afterwards, the band folded. 'House On The Hill' has long been a favourite album of mine, including a superb remake of the title track from that unsatisfactory first album, and they were one of the great unsung British progressive rock bands, so if you like the sound of this collection then do check out their albums, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Track listing

01 Watcha Gonna Do (When Your Baby Leaves You) (single by Lloyd Alexander Real Estate 1967)
02 Gonna Live Again (b-side of 'Watcha Gonna Do (When Your Baby Leaves You)')
03 Paper Round (previously unreleased 1969)
04 The Going Song (previously unreleased 1969)
05 Troubles (previously unreleased 1969)
06 House On The Hill (original version 1969)
07 The Big Spell (b-side of Belladonna Moonshine' 1971)
08 Indian Summer (single 1971) 
09 Grief And Disbelief (previously unreleased 1972)
10 Hard Cruel World (previously unreleased 1972)
11 Elixir Of Youth (previously unreleased 1972)
12 Buy Me An Island (John Peel session 1972)
13 Trombone Gulch (John Peel session 1972)
14 Barracuda Dan (John Peel session 1972)

Little Quirks - Covers (2020)

I posted a proposed album from Australian folk trio Little Quirks at the beginning of the year as part of this series promoting new bands,and I mentioned in the notes that when they started out they used to busk at food markets, playing covers from The Cranberries, Of Monsters And Men, and Vance Joy. After they'd started to write their own songs they still liked to play covers for fun, often filming themselves and uploading the results to Youtube, and as their repertoire increased they included songs by Coldplay, Green Day, First Aid Kit, and Fleet Foxes, with the latter inspiring them to perform a stunning version of their 'White Winter Hymnal'. Loving the band as I do, I've been collecting these for some time now, and so I think it's about time that I shared some of them, so I've chosen my favourites from the twenty or so that they've uploaded and made this album. It's the perfect way to understand which bands have influenced the girls over the years, and they stamp their own mark on every one of these tracks. It's called simply 'Covers', so that I could adapt the artwork for their 'Cover My Eyes' EP in which to house it, and if you enjoyed their 'Devil's Ivy' album then you must hear this. If you haven't yet experienced this superb band then there's no better place to start, as this could be an easier introduction than just diving in to their self-penned material. 

Track listing 

01 Learn Me Right (Not With Haste) (Mumford & Sons)
02 In The End (Green Day)
03 King And Lionheart (Of Monsters And Men)
04 Hey Ya! (Outkast)
05 White Winter Hymnal (Fleet Foxes)
06 Best Day Of My Life (The American Authors)
07 Flowers In Your Hair (The Lumineers)
08 Zombie (The Cranberries)
09 Hopeless Wanderer (Mumford & Sons)
10 Stay Gold (First Aid Kit)
11 Fix You (Coldplay)
12 Accidentally In Love (Counting Crows)
13 From Afar (Vance Joy)

The Breakaways - That Boy Of Mine (1970)

The Vernons Girls were an English musical ensemble of female vocalists, put together by the Vernons football pools company, eventually settling down to a sixteen strong choir, and recording an album of standards in 1958, and issuing a string of singles throughout the early 60's. In 1962 three of the group decided to break away and form their own trio, and so Betty Prescott, Margo Quantrell and Vicki Haseman left the Vernons and called themselves The Breakaways, because that's what they had done. Heading for London, they found themselves a manager and landed a recording contract with Pye Records, but before they had a chance to record their first single they were roped in to provide backing vocals on Joe Brown and the Bruvvers' 'A Picture of You', which became a top three hit in the spring of 1962. The group’s vocal competence and adaptability soon meant that they were performing back ups for many of the top artists of the day – not just for Pye, but for a host of labels, and it is perhaps as session singers that the girls are best remembered. Their first release under their own name was a somewhat prim version of US girl group the Crystals' 'He's A Rebel', following which Prescott left the group, to be replaced by Jean Ryder. They joined Joe Brown again in the film 'Just For Fun', released in February 1963, and Haseman and Brown hit it off, later marrying and having children, including the 1980's singer Sam Brown. In November 1963 the girls were relaunched with a sexy all-in-black look to promote their new Tony Hatch-penned single 'That Boy of Mine', although for many it's the flip, a version of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich’s 'Here She Comes' which is the better recording. Quantrell followed in the wake of Wendy Richard and Billie Davis by putting in an appearance on a novelty record by Mike Sarne, 'Hello Lover Boy', but the whole group had already backed 'That Was The Week That Was' comedian Kenneth Cope on his 'Hands Off, Stop Muckin' About' 45 earlier in the year. After backing Joe Brown on a Christmas-themed EP they released their third single 'That's How It Goes' in March 1964, while in France the Vogue label issued a four-track EP consisting of all the songs from the group's second and third singles. 

In 1965 they provided backing vocals for Burt Bacharach, achieving a credit as 'and chorus' on the huge hit 'Trains And Boats And Planes', and they also sang on another of his songs 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart' that same year. Displaying a somewhat curious choice of material, they issued a version of 'Danny Boy' in November 1965, but again it's the b-side that has gone on to be more highly regarded, with the Marty Wilde-penned 'Your kind Of Love' being a fan favourite. 1967 saw the release of the sumptuous 'Sacred Love' on CBS, while session work included providing the vocals for the Tony Hatch Sound’s version of Francis Lai's 'Live For Life', and the following year the group donned pink baby doll dresses to back Cliff Richard on the Royal Albert Hall stage in his bid for Eurovision glory with 'Congratulations'. Another label switch in 1968 failed to get them back in the charts, but the session work continued into the 70's, and the girls provided vocals on the Mark Wirtz Orchestra And Chorus album 'Come Back And Shake Me', with Quantrell giving a fine solo performance on 'I Can Hear Music'. They continued to work as session singers over the following years, both together and individually, and Vicki joined her husband's group 'Brown's Home Brew' in the early 70's, and also recorded as part of the Tree People and the New London Chorale, with The Breakaways formally splitting in the mid-70's. Their catalogue is quite a varied mix of Northern soul stompers, novelty records, well-chosen covers, and credited backing to singers like Russ Loader, but it's their perfect vocal harmonies for which they will always be remembered. 

Track listing

01 He's A Rebel (single 1962)
02 Hands Off, Stop Muckin' About (single by Ken Cope And The Breakaways 1963)
03 Why Am I So Shy (b-side of 'Hands Off, Stop Muckin' About')
04 That Boy Of Mine (single 1963)
05 Here She Comes (b-side of 'That Boy Of Mine')
06 All Things Bright And Beautiful (by Joe Brown & The Bruvvers with The Breakaways 1963)
07 The Holly And The Ivy (b-side of 'All Things Bright And Beautiful')
08 That's How It Goes (single 1964)
09 He Doesn't Love Me (b-side of 'That's How It Goes')
10 Danny Boy (single 1965)
11 Your Kind Of Love (b-side of 'Danny Boy')
12 Don't Go Breaking My Heart (single by Burt Bacharach with The Breakaways 1965)
13 Someone To Talk To (from the film 'Darling' 1965)
14 When Your Heart Is Broken (single by Russ Loader with The Breakaways 1965)
15 Live For Life (single by The Tony Hatch Sound with The Breakaways 1966)
16 Sacred Love (single 1967)
17 I Can Hear Music (from 'Come Back & Shake Me' by Mark Wirtz 1970)

Neu! - Neu! 4 (1986)

In 1985 Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger entered a studio together for the first time in ten years, and started recording tracks for a proposed fourth album by Neu!. The music was recorded and mixed between October 1985 and April 1986 at Grundfunk Studio and Dingerland-Lilienthal Studio in Düsseldorf, and at the Michael Rother Studio in Forst, Germany, but the sessions were not completed and the planned album was abandoned. During the 90's, the first three Neu! albums were made available on CD by Germanofon Records, a dubious label allegedly based in Luxembourg who specialized in unauthorized and illegal reissues of otherwise unavailable krautrock albums, who somehow managed to get the Neu! albums into mainstream distribution. As a response to these bootlegs, Dinger released 'Neu! 4' "in an act of despair", and railed against them in the liner notes. 'Neu! 4' was issued by the Japanese label Captain Trip Records, without Rother's input, knowledge or consent, and he only learned what had happened in a telegram congratulating him on the release of the album. This action by Dinger exacerbated the disagreements between Rother and Dinger, preventing an official CD release of the first three Neu! albums until 2001, of which part of the agreement was that all copies of 'Neu! 4' on Astralwerks in the U.S. and Grönland Records in the UK were to be recalled, and it has been out of print ever since. Despite Rother's continued objection to Dinger's original decision to release 'Neu! 4' and his oft-stated opinion that it isn't a real Neu! album, Rother had no objection to fans buying the CD secondhand, and would always leave open the possibility that it could be reissued legally with his consent in the future. Rother and Dinger did attempt to negotiate such a release after the official reissue of the first three albums, but they failed to reach an agreement, and with Dinger's death in 2008, such an agreement seemed unlikely. In early 2010, Rother announced that he had arrived at an agreement arranged with Dinger's heir, Miki Yui, and had completely remastered the album from original multi-track and master tapes to produce 'Neu! '86', which he termed 'our fourth studio album'. The new album shared several tracks in common with the original release, some of which had been edited or remixed, while others had been removed and replaced with some new pieces which were not on the original release. Both versions have their moments, but the general opinion seems to be that Rother removed a couple of tracks which really should have stayed, and edited some which didn't need it, and so by taking the best tracks from each release and sequencing them following a guide from the HeadHeritage website, here is what I hope is the definitive version of Neu!'s fourth album. The only track I've edited myself is the first one, as Rother's edit cut it down so much that it hardly seemed worth including, while the original could afford to have a couple of minutes shaved off it, and it then makes a nice intro to the album. I've created new artwork based on the original cover, which was so close to what I've come up with that I can't believe that no-one saw it at the time. 

Track listing

01 Intro (Nazionale)
02 Bush Drum
03 Crazy
04 Good Life
05 Schöne Welle (Nice Wave)
06 Wave Naturelle
07 La Bomba (Stop Aparthjid World-Wide)
08 Paradise Walk
09 Flying Dutchman
10 Danzing
11 Drive (Grundfunken)

Thanks to martinf for the suggestion

Julie Grant - When The Lovin' Ends (1965)

Vivien Foreman (aka Julie Grant) was born on 12 July 1946 in Blackpool, Lancashire, and she was a keen performer even as a child, making her British stage debut as one of the Siamese children in the original production of 'The King And I' in London’s West End. After winning a talent contest at Brighton’s Butlin’s holiday camp in 1960 (beating none other than Helen Shapiro), she began singing semi-professionally in working men’s clubs in Leeds, where she then lived. Her father shared an accountant with established star Frankie Vaughan, and Julian Grant arranged an audition for her with a manager in London, giving her a new name based on his own, and she was soon signed to Pye Records. Her debut single 'Somebody Tell Him' was released in April 1962 but failed to sell, and subsequent singles 'So Many Ways' and 'When You're Smiling' suffered the same fate. Frustrated that her talent wasn’t translating into sales, Pye bosses turned to the songbook of up-and-coming writers Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and she cut a version of The Drifters' US hit 'Up On The Roof', which resulted in a UK top 40 hit in January 1963. The follow up, the bouncy 'Count On Me', made the top 30, as Grant hit the headlines over her friendship with The Beatles, and rumoured romance with George Harrison. After a change in style resulted in 'That's How Heartaches Are Made' being a flop, she returned to poppier fare with the 45s 'Don't Let Me Down' and 'Hello Love', but they couldn’t recapture her previous success, despite a national tour with The Everly Brothers and The Rolling Stones. It took the subtler 'Come To Me' in 1964 to see her back in the UK top 40, but by the time of her next release 'Baby, Baby (I Still Love You)' in January 1965, Pye had begun to lose interest in her, failing to adequately promote her next three singles, and when they all failed to chart, her contract was not renewed. Shortly afterwards she joined Spanish group The Zaras as lead singer and began touring mainland Europe and the US. She ended up moving to the States permanently, and now runs her own talent agency. While her first few singles were very much formulaic early 60's pop, around 1964 she started to cover US Motown acts, and from then on her music became more soulful, so this collection concentrates on this later, more sophisticated part of her career. 

Track listing

01 Count On Me (single 1963)

02 Then, Only Then (b-side of 'Count On Me')
03 That's How Heartaches Are Made (single 1963)
04 Cruel World (b-side of 'That's How Heartaches Are Made') 
05 Every Day I Have To Cry (single 1964)
06 Watch What You Do With My Baby (b-side of 'Every Day I Have To Cry') 
07 Lonely Without You (single 1964)
08 As Long As He Knows He's Mine (b-side of 'Lonely Without You')
09 You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You (single 1964)
10 I Only Care About You (b-side of 'You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You')
11 Come To Me (single 1964)
12 Can't Get You Out Of My Mind (b-side of 'Come To Me') 
13 Stop (single 1965)
14 When The Lovin' Ends (b-side of 'Stop') 
15 Giving Up (single 1965) 
16 'Cause I Believe In You (b-side of 'Giving Up')    
17 Baby, Baby (I Still Love You) (single 1965)
18 My World Is Empty (Without You) (b-side of 'Baby, Baby (I Still Love You)') 

Andwella - Every Little Minute (1970)

The Method were a heavy psyche/blues trio who were led by David Lewis, with Nigel Smith on bass and Gordon Barton on drums, and who played around the Belfast area in the mid to late 60's. When the band moved from Belfast to London and signed to CBS Records they changed their name to Andwellas Dream, and recorded a stunning debut psychedelic album 'Love & Poetry' in 1968, with its consistently strong melodies and killer Hendrix-style guitar elevating it to classic status. The band also released three singles for the label, two of which were not taken from the album, and both 'Mrs. Man' and 'Mister Sunshine' are excellent period pieces. In 1970 Dave McDougall joined on keyboards, and the band name was shortened to Andwella, with the band moving to the CBS's Reflection imprint for subsequent releases. The first band-related release on the new label was a privately-issued publisher's demo album of songs that Lewis had recorded solo, in order to raise his profile and hopefully get other artists to ask to record his songs, and it included two tracks that had previously been recorded by the band. Andwella released two albums on Reflection, with the first, 1970's 'World's End', being underpinned by McDougall's lush Hammond organ, and although its sound is less psychedelic than 'Love & Poetry', it's more consistent and contains several outstanding songs. Before the third Andwells album, Lewis produced a record by hippie poet David Baxter, with 'Goodbye Dave' being comprised of instrumentals played by Andwella over which Baxter recited his poems. After replacing the rhythm section with Dave Struthers on bass and Jack McCulloch on drums, the final Andwella album proper was 1971's 'People's People', which was a step closer to mainstream rock, but still an enjoyable album. The band split following its release, with Lewis going on to record a couple of solo albums for Polydor in the 70's, and he also wrote 'Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun', which was a hit single for Demis Roussos in 1976. This album collects together the non-album and rare singles and their b-sides, a couple of out-takes, a brace of tracks from Lewis's publishers album, and an example of Andwella's work on David Baxter's poetry album.

Track listing
           
01 Mr. Sunshine (single 1969)
02 Shades Of Grey (b-side of 'Mister Sunshine')
03 Mrs. Man (Single 1969)
04 Felix (b-side of 'Mrs. Man')
05 Every Little Minute (single 1970)
06 Michael Fitzhenry (b-side of 'Every Little Minute)
07 Miles Away From My Baby (previously unreleased)
08 Paradise Isle (previously unreleased)
09 Hold On To Your Mind (single 1970)
10 Shadows Of The Night (b-side of 'Hold On To Your Mind')
11 Because Of The Love You've Give Me (from 'Songs Of David Lewis' 1970)
12 Holding On (from 'Songs Of David Lewis' 1970)
13 Doors (from 'Goodbye Dave' by David Baxter)

Mind Mountain - Singularity (2015)

Mind Mountain were a Liverpool three-piece who formed in 2011 and quickly established themselves on the local, and increasingly national, scene by gaining a reputation for hammering out improvised and musically accomplished live sets which marry the best of the prog and psych traditions. Yet, along with many of their contemporaries in this rapidly emerging scene, Mind Mountain do not sound like throwbacks or a prog/psych tribute band, and while they take in the likes of Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath, they have very much developed their own sound which I find both gripping and mesmerising. In 2015 the band recorded a eponymously named debut consisting of three tracks, all of which are long and heavy chunks of guitar-led psych rock whose riffage at times would not sound out of place at Donnington. The same year they shared a split single with another favourite band of mine, Carlton Melton, and so their 'Astraeus' takes their recorded output to 36 minutes, or just enough for a shortish album length release. The band have long gone now, but at least we have this record of some great heavy psyche-rock that they recorded while they were around. 

Track listing

01 Void
02 Singularity
03 Dune
04 Astraeus

The Boo Radleys - Very Together (1995)

1993 was a big year for the Boo Radleys, with 'Giant Steps' topping Select magazine's album of the year, and coming second to Bjork's 'Debut' in the NME, and the band also recorded a cover of The La's 'There She Goes' for the soundtrack to the 1993 film 'So I Married An Axe Murderer'. Despite this widespread critical acclaim and a cult fanbase, the Boo Radleys were still largely unknown to the general public by the time the Britpop phenomenon broke into the mainstream in 1995. This changed when the band released the upbeat single 'Wake Up Boo!' in the spring of that year, crashing into the UK Top 10 Singles Chart, and remaining on the chart for two months. Their fourth album 'Wake Up!' was issued in 1995, and was the band's commercial peak, and although they openly hated media-generated movements within music, they did gift 'Oh Brother' to the 'Help' charity album, aimed at raising funds for War Child. 

Track listing

01 As Bound As Tomorrow (b-side of 'I Hang Suspended' 1993)

02 I Will Always Ask You Where You've Been...... (b-side of 'I Hang Suspended' 1993)

03 There She Goes (from the soundtrack of the film 'So I Married An Axe Murderer' 1993)

04 Tortoiseshell (b-side of 'Barney (...And Me)' 1994)

05 Zoom (b-side of 'Barney (...And Me)' 1994)

06 Cracked (Lips, Homesick) (b-side of 'Barney (...And Me)' 1994)

07 I Wanna Be (Touchdown Jesus) (b-side of 'Lazarus' 1994)

08 Oh Brother (from 'Help' charity album 1995)

09 Don't Take Your Gun To Town (b-side of 'Find The Answer Within' 1995)

10 Wallpaper (b-side of 'Find The Answer Within' 1995)

11 Very Together (b-side of 'Find The Answer Within' 1995)

12 The Only Word I Can Find (b-side of 'Find The Answer Within' 1995)

The cover uses a photo by Elena Jo Melanson 

Question for Soulseek-ers

I've noticed a spike in the downloads of the Elton John album 'The World Of Regimental Sgt. Zippo', and as hardly anyone seems to leave comments on the site any more, I'm curious as to what brought that particular album to so many people's attention at the same time. Anyone?

Ian Hunter - Don't Let Go (1981)

When Ian Hunter left Mott The Hoople in December 1974, the remaining members carried on under the name of Mott, adding vocalist Nigel Benjamin to replace Hunter. In March 1975 Hunter kick-started his solo career by joining forces with Mick Ronson, his most frequent collaborator until Ronson's death in 1993, and the first single from his eponymous solo album was the stupendous 'Once Bitten Twice Shy', a top 40 hit in the UK. Despite the success of the single and album, Hunter and Ronson then parted ways professionally, reportedly due to Hunter's refusal to deal with Ronson's manager, Tony DeFries. His second solo album 'All American Alien Boy' came out in 1976, and was a more soul-infused work which featured saxophonist David Sanborn and bassist Jaco Pastorius, with Queen providing backing vocals on one track. 'Overnight Angels' appeared in 1977, produced by Roy Thomas Baker, and featured a heavier guitar sound courtesy of former Bowie sideman Earl Slick. This album was actually never issued in the US, as Columbia Records refused to release it until Hunter had replaced his recently fired manager Fred Heller, but that dragged on so long that it became too late to give it an American release. In 1979 Ronson returned as Hunter's guitarist, and also produced 'You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic', which featured John Cale and several members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Two songs from the album became hits for other artists, with Barry Manilow's version of 'Ships' becoming a top ten US hit in late 1979, while the Presidents Of The United States Of America's 1997 cover of 'Cleveland Rocks' was used as one of the theme songs for The Drew Carey Show. 'Cleveland Rocks' is regarded as an anthem in Cleveland, Ohio, where it is sometimes used as a victory song for the city's sports teams, and Hunter also re-recorded it as 'England Rocks', which was released as a stand-alone single in 1979. Following the live album 'Welcome To The Club' in 1980, which actually included some original studio material as well, Hunter's first album of new material in the 80's was 'Short Back 'n' Sides' in 1981, produced in collaboration with Ronson and Clash guitarist Mick Jones. In the seven years between his eponymous debut and that 1981 record he recorded a number of songs which were held back from release, half of them from the sessions for 'Short Back 'n' Sides', and they are collected here, along with the three studio tracks from 'Welcome To The Club', and the 'England Rocks' single, and they're all up to the standard that we've come to expect from this maverick singer/songwriter.  

Track listing

01 Colwater High (out-take 1975)
02 One Fine Day (out-take 1975)
03 England Rocks (single 1977)
04 Don't Let Go (demo 1979)
05 Alibi (out-take 1979)

06 We Gotta Get Out Of Here (studio recording from 'Welcome To The Club' 1980)
07 Silver Needles (studio recording from 'Welcome To The Club' 1980)
08 Man 'O' War (studio recording from 'Welcome To The Club' 1980)
09 Detroit (out-take 1981)
10 Na Na Na (out-take 1981)
11 I Believe In You (out-take 1981)
12 China (out-take 1981, with Mick Ronson on vocal)
13 Listen To The Eight Track (out-take 1981)
14 You Stepped Into My Dreams (out-take 1981)
15 Venus In The Bathtub (out-take 1981)

The Chantelles - I Think Of You (1968)

In 1958 Iris 'Riss' Long wanted to form a vocal trio with her friend Lynne Abrams, so she put an advert in The Stage for a third member, and received a reply from Mary O'Brien, who joined the group as the third singer in The Lana Sisters. They appeared twice at the Royal Albert Hall and toured with Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, and Morecambe & Wise, and their single 'You've Got What It Takes' became a Top 10 hit in Ireland in 1960. When O'Brien left to pursue a solo career under the name Dusty Springfield, firstly with her brother Tom Springfield and another friend Tim Feild to make The Springfields, and then going solo in 1963, Long left The Lana Sisters and formed The Chantelles with two friends, Sandra Orr and Jay Adams. After establishing a name for themselves as a live act, The Chantelles landed a contract with Parlophone, and in April 1965 they issued 'I Want That Boy' as their first 45, being a cover of a song by little-known US singer Sadina. The confident production and spot-on vocal harmonies generated great interest in the record and it made the top 40 of pirate station Radio London's charts. The follow-up 'The Secret Of My Success' was released that summer, and was something of a disappointment, but the girls bounced back in October 1965 with the release of the pop gem 'Gonna Get Burned', with the flip 'Gonna Give Him Some Love' having since found favour on the UK's Northern soul dance circuit. In 1966 the group was invited to appear in the crime caper movie 'Dateline Diamonds', which also featured Kiki Dee and The Small Faces, and in it they performed 'I Think Of You' and 'Please Don't Kiss Me', both of which were issued as a single in April 1966 to coincide with the film's release. Despite some fine single releases, the group didn't enjoy much chart success following that first 45, and so in 1966 they moved to the Polydor label, who issued 'There's Something About You' later that year. When that too failed to chart they moved labels again, this time to CBS, and in 1967, in a somewhat surprising move, they were asked to record an updated version of the Gershwin standard 'The Man I Love'. Even more surprisingly, the group's second and final single for the label in 1968 wasn't even granted a UK release, with 'Out Of My Mind' only appearing in Germany and the US, where the group were billed as The Chantelles Of London to avoid confusion with the American girl group The Chantels. It was a rather ignominious end to a fine UK girl group, and there were few enough of them around, so enjoy this collection of one of the best of them. 

Track listing

01 I Want That Boy (single 1965)
02 London My Home Town (b-side of 'I Want That Boy')
03 The Secret Of My Success (single 1965)
04 Sticks And Stones (b-side of 'The Secret Of My Success')
05 Gonna Get Burned (single 1965)
06 Gonna Give Him Some Love (b-side of 'Gonna Get Burned')
07 I Think Of You (single 1966)
08 Please Don't Kiss Me (b-side of 'I Think Of You')
09 There's Something About You (single 1966)
10 Just Another Fool (b-side of 'There's Something About You')
11 The Man I Love (Single 1967)
12 Blue Mood (b-side of 'The Man I Love')
13 Out Of My Mind (single 1968)
14 More To Love (Than Moonlight) (b-side of 'Out Of My Mind')
15 Weeping Willow (out-take 1968)
16 Leader Of The Pack (out-take 1968)

Sons - The Sermon (2020)

Sons are a post-punk duo made up of Brighton-based brothers Lee and Nick Meldrum. They've been together - musically, at least - for about four years, but have already started to gain a healthy following in and around Sussex. Although there's only two of them, in a similar vein to Royal Blood, their sound is loud and raw, mixing together a ferocious cocktail of punk, grunge and indie rock drenched in venomous energy. They've been posting songs on Soundcloud for four years, although there's been nothing new for more than a year, and so as there is enough music to put together their first album, now is the perfect time to do it.  

Track listing

01 Reptiles
02 Zealot
03 A Love Song?
04 Rise
05 Marco (What's Going On?)
06 P.U.N.K.
07 Natural
08 Cliche
09 The Sermon
10 SWEAT
11 Little Man 
12 The Elite
13 Princess

The Boo Radleys - Feels Like Tomorrow (1993)

The Boo Radleys formed in Wallasey in 1988, comprising Rob Harrison on drums, singer/guitarist Simon "Sice" Rowbottom, guitarist/songwriter Martin Carr, and bassist Timothy Brown, and with their name is taken from the character Boo Radley in Harper Lee's 1960 novel 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. In 1990 the band released their first album 'Ichabod And I' on the small British indie label Action Records, and although not a commercial success, it did bring the band to the attention of Rough Trade Records, to whom they signed. This was also the first record of theirs that I heard, via the John Peel show, and its feedback-drenched sound blew me away, starting a love affair with the band which has lasted ever since, and Peel also had a hand in getting the band signed to Rough Trade. Around this time Hewitt was replaced on drums by Rob Cieka, and the band released their first record on Rough Trade, with the 'Kaleidoscope' EP emerging in 1991. This was followed by the 'Every Heaven' and 'Boo Up!' EPs, but almost immediately after the release of these EPs Rough Trade collapsed, and the Boo Radleys were snapped up by Alan McGee's Creation Records, releasing their debut album for the label with 'Everything's Alright Forver' in 1991. The album was also released in the US through Creation's association with Columbia Records, but didn't gain much attention in America, whereas in England it received favorable reviews and the group began to build a fan base. The penchant for releasing 12" EPs carried on with Creation, issuing the 'Adrenalin' and Boo! Forever' EPs in 1992, quickly followed by the classic 'Giant Steps' album the following year, garnering a 9/10 review in the NME. I've started with the non-album songs from their 'Adrenalin' EP, as if I'd put together their first three EPs I'd have ended up with the actual 'Learning To Walk' album from 1993, so check that out if you want to hear those songs, and you'll also get their great cover of Love's 'Alone Again Or'. Do also seek out the 'Ichabod And I' album, as it remains one of my favourites to this day.

Track listing

01 Vegas (from the 'Adrenalin' EP 1992)
02 Feels Like Tomorrow (from the 'Adrenalin' EP 1992)
03 Whiplashed (from the 'Adrenalin' EP 1992)
04 Boo! Forever (b-side of 'Does This Hurt?' 1992)
05 Buffalo Bill (b-side of 'Does This Hurt?' 1992)
06 Sunfly II: Walking With The Kings (b-side of 'Does This Hurt?' 1992)
07 At The Sound Of Speed (b-side of 'Lazarus' 1992)
08 Let Me Be Your Faith (b-side of 'Lazarus' 1992)
09 Petroleum (b-side of 'Lazarus' 1992)
10 Peachy Keen (b-side of 'Wish I Was Skinny' 1993)
11 Furthur (b-side of 'Wish I Was Skinny' 1993)
12 Crow Eye (b-side of 'Wish I Was Skinny' 1993)

The cover uses a photo by Elena Jo Melanson

Kim Fowley - The Trip (1968)

Kim Vincent Fowley was born on 21 July 1939 in Los Angeles, California, the son of character actor Douglas Fowley and actress Shelby Payne. Entirely coincidentally, when he attended University High School he was there at the same time as singers Jan Berry and Dean Torrence (later of Jan and Dean fame), Bruce Johnston (later of the Beach Boys), and Nancy Sinatra, as well as actors Ryan O'Neal, James Brolin, and Sandra Dee. In 1957 he was hospitalized with polio, and on his release he became manager and publicist for local band the Sleepwalkers, that included Johnston, drummer Sandy Nelson and, occasionally, Phil Spector. Following a spell in the armed forces, he started working in the music industry in 1959 in various capacities for both Alan Freed and Berry Gordy. He got his first producer's credit with 'Charge' by the Renegades, a group comprising Johnston, Nelson, Nik Venet and Richard Podolor, and by the early 60's he was involved as co-producer/co-publisher with a string of successful records produced in Los Angeles, including the novelty song 'Alley Oop', which reached number one in the charts in 1960 and which was credited to the non-existent group the Hollywood Argyles. In 1961 he co-produced the instrumental 'Like, Long Hair' for Paul Revere And The Raiders, and arranged 'Nut Rocker' for B. Bumble And The Stingers, which became a number one hit in the UK in 1962.  The following year he produced 'Popsicles And Icicles' by The Murmaids, which reached number 3 in the charts in 1963, and which was written by a pre-Bread David Gates. During the mid-60's he wrote the lyrics for the song 'Portobello Road', which was the b-side of Cat Stevens' first single 'I Love My Dog', and he also produced the Them spin-off band led by two ex-Them members, brothers Pat and Jackie McAuley, as well as records by the pre-Slade N'Betweens, Soft Machine (he produced 'Love Makes Sweet Music'), and The Lancasters, an instrumental rock group featuring a young Ritchie Blackmore. On occasion he worked as a recording artist in the 60's, issuing albums such as 'Love Is Alive and Well', and in 1965 he wrote and produced a song about the psychedelic experience called 'The Trip'. He was credited for 'hypophone' on the Mothers Of Invention's first album 'Freak Out!', and when asked about this Frank Zappa later said "The hypophone is his mouth, 'cause all that ever comes out of it is hype." In 1968, Fowley joined forces with a young band from Topanga Canyon, California called St John Green, and produced their only album, which contained songs, musical soundtracks, comedy and dark poetry, and in 1969 he produced 'I'm Back And I'm Proud' for Gene Vincent, as well as co-writing Warren Zevon's first solo album, collaborating with his friend Skip Battin during his membership as bassist with the Byrds, and launching The Runaways onto the world in 1976. Alongside all of this he was constantly releasing weird and wonderful singles under his own name in the 60's, and this collections contains some of the best of them, showing the wayward genius that was Kim Fowley. 

Track listing

01 Astrology (single 1963)
02 Mr. Responsibility (single 1965)
03 My Foolish Heart (b-side of 'Mr. Responsibility')
04 The American Dream (single 1965)
05 Underground Lady (single 1965)
06 Pop Art '66 (b-side of 'Underground Lady')
07 The Trip (single 1965)
08 Big Sur, Bear Mountain, Ciros, Flip Side, Protest Song (b-side of 'The Trip')
09 Gypsy Canyon  (single 1966)
10 Music Is The Magic (b-side of 'Gypsy Canyon')
11 Lights (single 1966)
12 Something New And Different (b-side of 'Lights')
13 Strangers From The Sky (single 1967)
14 Don't Be Cruel (To A Heart That's True) (b-side of 'Strangers From The Sky')
15 Beautiful People (b-side of 'The Trip' EP 1967)
16 Curiosity (b-side of 'The Trip' EP 1967)
17 Fluffy Turkeys (single 1968)
18 Young America - Saturday Night (b-side of 'Fluffy Turkeys')

Santana with Eric Clapton - Jam At Wally's Place (1970)

In October 1970 Eric Clapton and the Dominoes arrived in Berkeley for some concerts at the Community Theatre, and while they were there Clapton decided to check out a young teenage kid called Neil Schon, who was creating quite a stir on the local scene. He was recording with Santana down at the Village Recorder in San Francisco, so Clapton and some of the Dominoes went down to check him out, and before long the Santana band and Eric and co were jamming away, although Santana himself has admitted that he was suffering from a particularly bad acid trip at the time and so was unable to participate. Eric was certainly impressed and invited Schon to play with him and the Dominoes at the Berkeley shows, and the results were so good that Clapton asked him to join the band. Schon declined the offer, going on to become a key member of Santana, and when he eventually left he formed the enormously successful Journey. The jam sessions at the recording studio were taped, and are made up of a few Santana songs with Clapton playing along, and a couple of loose jams, all of which feature some excellent playing from all participants, and so are well worth hearing.  

Track listing

01 Just Like You
02 Everything Is Coming Our Way
03 Batuka
04 Jamtana
05 Blues Shuffle Jam
06 Try To Make It Real Compared To What

Aphrodite's Child - Magic Mirror (1970)

By 1967 Vangelis Papathanassiou and Demis Roussos had already been successful in Greece, playing in the bands The Forminx and The Idols respectively, and when they decided to form a band together they invited drummer Loukas Sideras and guitarist Silver Koulouris to join them. The first recording by the as yet un-named band was for George Romanos' 1968 album 'In Concert And In Studio', where they played on four songs and were credited as 'Vangelis And His Orchestra', and in the same year they recorded a two-song demo and submitted it to Philips Records, who released it as the band's first single. It was probably Vangelis's idea that the band should relocate to London, which would be a more suitable environment for their music, as their country had entered a right-wing dictatorship in 1967. This decision, however, was not problem-free, as Koulouris had to stay in Greece to fulfill his military service, and while on their way to London the band got stuck in Paris, partly because they did not have the correct work permits and partly because of the strikes associated with the May 1968 riots. While in Paris the band signed to Mercury Records and were christened Aphrodite's Child by Lou Reizner, who released their second single 'Rain And Tears', and which resulted in them becoming an overnight sensation in France and several other European countries in which the single charted well. In October 1968 the band released their first album 'End Of The World', containing a mixture of psychedelic pop songs and ballads in the vein of Procol Harum or The Moody Blues. The band began touring around Europe, and in January 1969 they recorded a single in Italian for the Sanremo Festival, even though they didn't participate in it, and they then traveled to London to record their second album at Trident Studios, with 'It's Five O'Clock' appearing in January 1970. The band began touring again to promote it, but this time Vangelis wanted to stay in Paris to record the music for Henry Chapier's film 'Sex Power', and so he was replaced on stage by Harris Halkitis. 

In late 1970, with Vangelis back in the fold and Koulouris rejoining after his military service, the band started work on their next album, which was to be a musical adaptation of the biblical Book of Revelation, entitled '666'. Relations between the band members were declining by this point, and things continued to worsen during the methodically slow recording process. This wasn't helped by the other members of the band resenting the fact that Vangelis had taken charge of the concept of the album, bringing in an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris, to help him compose it, and that the music was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything they'd ever done, whereas the rest of the band wanted to continue in the pop direction that had brought them success. Recording was further delayed while Roussos released a solo single and an album, while Vangelis was working on the score for the 1970 French TV documentary 'L'Apocalypse Des Animaux', as well as issuing a single with his then-girlfriend Vilma Ladopoulou, performing with Koulouris under the pseudonym 'Alpha Beta'. When the album was finally completed, Mercury had reservations about its content and so shifted it over to the their Vertigo imprint for release in June 1972, nearly two years after recording had started, and by which time the band had already split up. Despite some positive reviews it didn't sell that well at the time, but over the ensuing 50 years it has become rightly recognised as a classic of progressive rock. Both Vangelis and Roussos had significant solo success following the split, with Roussos pursuing a career in pop music, and Vangelis becoming a highly regarded electronic music artist and movie soundtrack composer. This collection from their first band together takes in that first Phillips single, the 1969 Italian recordings, a couple of non-album singles and their b-sides, as well as one track from their very first session with George Romanos, and a stunning, previously unreleased sixteen-minute instrumental, which should never have stayed hidden away for this long.   

Track listing

01 Otan Moupes (with George Romanos 1968)
01 Plastics Nevermore (single 1968)
02 The Other People (b-side of 'Plastics Nevermore')
03 I Want To Live (single 1969)
04 Magic Mirror (b-side of 'I Want To Live')
05 Quando L'Amore Diventa Poesia (Italian single 1969)   
06 Lontano Dagli Occhi (b-side of 'Quando L'Amore Diventa Poesia') 
07 Chakachak (previously unreleased 1969)
08 Spring, Summer, Winter And Fall (single 1970)
09 Air (b-side of 'Spring, Summer, Winter And Fall')

Dodgy - Speaking In Tongues (1998)

Dodgy's third album 'Free Peace Sweet' was released in 1996, and was a solid record containing some memorable songs, such as 'You've Gotta Look Up' (with shades of the Ad Libs' 'The Boy From New York City') and 'Good Enough', which cracked the top 5 of the UK singles chart in the summer, yet overall the critics felt that it fell short of the greatness that many had expected, with Paul Moody of the New Musical Express summing it up with 'A fine pop album then, but not a great Dodgy album'. With rumours of personality clashes flying around, Clark left the band in June 1998, and the trio’s final single 'Every Single Day' was released in September. Miller and Priest returned in summer 1999 with new singer David Bassey, keyboard player Chris Hallam and bass player Nick Abnett, but the Dodgy that I'd loved was no more, and so I left them to it until the original line-up re-united in 2007 for the live 'So Far On 3 Wheels – Dodgy On The Radio'. In the summer of 2007, they announced a reunion tour featuring the entire original line-up, but these plans were abandoned when Miller fell out of bed and chipped a bone in his arm, with the rescheduled tour taking place in March 2008. Further tours followed, and the band started recording again in 2008, with the fruits of their labours finally appearing in 2012 as the excellent 'Stand Upright In A Cool Place' album. To round off this series we have the b-sides of a couple of singles from 'Free Peace Sweet'. as well as that final single 'Every Single Day', and also their contributions to the HELP charity single, and a Small Faces tribute album. I hope these five albums bring back memories of one of the very best indie-pop bands of the 90's, and don't write them off as they are still producing great music to this day.  

Track listing

01 Is It Me (from the 'Come Together' charity single by the Smokin' Mojo Filters 1995) 
02 Pebblemilljam (b-side of 'If You're Thinking Of Me' 1996)
03 Forever Remain (b-side of 'If You're Thinking Of Me' 1996)
04 Grateful Moon (bonus track on early vinyl copies of 'Free Peace Sweet' 1996)
05 Self Doubt (b-side of 'In A Room' 1996) 
06 Speaking In Tongues  (b-side of 'Good Enough' 1996)
07 I Can't Make It (from 'Worlds Apart: A Tribute To The Small Faces' 1997)
08 Every Single Day (single 1998)
09 The Bridge (b-side of 'Every Single Day')

10 Revolution (b-side of 'Found You' 1997)

John Bongiovi - All Talk No Action (1983)

In the early 80's John Bongiovi recorded a number of songs at the Power Station recording studios, where he worked as a janitor, with guitarist Bill Frank, Mick Seeley on bass and drummers Jim McGrath and Charlie Mills, and they remained hidden away in the vaults for many years until he became famous following a name change to Jon Bon Jovi, and forming the hard rock band that shared his name. They were eventually released in 1998 by his father's first cousin Tony Bongiovi, who had also produced the tracks, and they've been reissued a number of times, usually on short-lived foreign labels, with each new re-issue adding more recordings to the track listing, with the most recent now amounting to 20 songs. Despite these numerous different issues of the album, the recordings are still mostly unknown to all but the most avid Bon Jovi fans, and alongside the single 'More Than We Bargained For', which was released as a promotional item for the album, most issues of this music are still hard to find. The only track to appear on an actual Bon Jovi album is the final instrumental, which with added lyrics became the opening track on their debut album, so whether you're a long-time fan of the band or just appreciate good hard rock, this collection certainly contains some rocking tunes.     

Track listing 

01 Who Said It Would Last Forever
02 Open Your Heart
03 Stringin' A Line
04 Don't Leave Me Tonight
05 More Than We Bargained For
06 For You
07 Hollywood Dreams
08 All Talk, No Action
09 Don't Keep Me Wondering
10 Head Over Heels
11 No One Does It Like You
12 What You Want
13 Don't You Believe Him
14 Talkin' In Your Sleep
15 Bobby's Girl
16 Gimme Some Lovin' Charlene
17 Don't Do That To Me Anymore
18 This Woman Is Dangerous
19 Maybe Tomorrow
20 Runaway (Instrumental Demo) 

Sue & Sunny - The Show Must Go On (1972)

Yvonne (Sue) and Heather (Sunny) Wheatman were born in Madras (now Chennai) in India, and after moving to Britain they eventually settled in Camberley, Surrey, where they set their sights on a career in pop. In November 1962 they signed to the Oriole label, and their first single 'Just Let Me Cry' was issued the following year under the name The Myrtelles. The song had originally been recorded by Italian singer Mina, though the version by Lesley Gore remains the best known. After quitting Oriole they signed to Columbia as Sue and Sunshine, and the Spector-esque 'A Little Love (Will Go A Long, Long Way)' was released in November 1964, with backing on the record by The Breakaways. One further 45 followed, with 'We’re In Love' backed with Sue's own composition 'Don’t Look Behind', but for future releases they adopted the name of Sue and Sunny, with their first single under the new name being a cover of the Carla Thomas song 'Every Ounce Of Strength'. This 1965 record marked the beginning of the more soulful style that the sisters would become known for, with their next single, a cover of Willie Kendrick's 'You Can't Bypass Love' being even better than the last one. With their career in the UK proving a bit of a slog, the pair jumped at the opportunity to play the US air bases in Germany, and while there they cut some records for the lucrative German market, which were issued there in 1967 and 1968, with better songs on the b-side of both releases. They returned to the UK in 1968 and were signed by CBS, but they were becoming much better known for their superlative backing vocals for many of the top performers of the day, including appearances on Joe Cocker's 'With A Little Help From My Friends', and backing Lulu at the 1969 Eurovision song contest in Madrid. They continued to release singles when they could, like 1968's 'The Show Must Go On', with ithe great Kenny Lynch-penned Motown-esque 'Little Black Book' on the flip, as well as recording as The Stockingtops. In 1969 they were finally given the opportunity to record an album, which they filled with original gospel-styled tracks and a nice selection of covers, including Curtis Mayfield's 'People Get ready', Joni Mitchell's 'Michael From Mountains', and Ike and Tina Turner's 'River Deep, Mountain High'. Later that year the sisters joined session group Brotherhood Of Man and scored a top ten UK hit with 'United We Stand in 1970. They stayed with Brotherhood Of Man for a couple of years, and in 1974 Sunny scored a UK top ten hit with 'Doctor's Orders' under her own name. Although they will always be better known in the music industry for their backing vocal work, they did release a number of great singles in their early days as a duo, so enjoy the vocal stylings of the much under-rated Sue And Sunny.  

Track listing

01 Every Ounce Of Strength (single 1965) 
02 You Can't By Pass Love (single 1965)   
03 Hans Und Franz In Germany (single 1967)
04 Shame On You (b-side of 'Hans Und Franz In Germany')
05 Wir Dummen Mädchen Sind Ja Selber Schuld (single 1968)  
06 Spielt Mir Noch Einmal Die Bye Bye Melodie (b-side of 'Wir Dummen Madchen.....)

07 The Show Must Go On (single 1968)
08 Little Black Book (b-side of 'The Show Must Go On')
09 Stop Messing Around With My Heart (b-side of 'Let Us Break Bread Together' 1969)
10 Running Round In Circles (single 1969)
11 Ain't That Tellin' You People (single 1970)
12 Didn't I Blow Your Mind (b-side of 'Ain't That Telling You People')
13 Freedom (single 1971)
14 Break Up (b-side of 'Freedom')
15 I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (single 1972) 
16 High On The Thought Of You (b-side of 'I'm Gonna Make You Love Me')

The Desert - Disappearing Act (2020)

The Desert is headed by frontwoman Gina Leonard, alongside guitarist and producer Tom Fryer, who met her five years ago at the Cambridge Folk Festival, plus fellow band members Jonny and Ryan. Merging the contemplative folky, yet velvet melodies of Leonard with oozing, impassioned progressions, lurching beats and slight electronica, it generates a nostalgia for the trip-hop scene of their native Bristol. A couple of Fryer's favourite albums growing up were 'Mezzanine' and 'Dummy', and this was in part the reason that he moved to Bristol, to immerse himself in that music scene, and you can definitely hear the Portishead influences in the music that they produce today. They've been posting songs to Soundcloud since 2018, with the most recent being an EP last October, and there is now enough material available for an album length release, which would include their impressive take on Kate Bush's 'Cloudbusting', so as it hasn't appeared yet, here's what it would sound like if it was released today.  

Track listing

01 Half Hearted
02 Soulmates
03 Playing Dead
04 Just Get High
05 Gone
06 Winning You Back
07 Distract Me
08 Bitterness
09 Cloudbusting
10 Disappearing Act
11 Cut Out
12 All I Know

XTC - From The Drunktank (1981)

These drunken sessions from XTC happened after a visit to the local pub in Shipton-on-Cherwell, during the last days of mixing 'English Settlement' in November 1981. After mixing 'Punch and Judy', and only having 'No Thugs' left to do, the band retired to the pub to celebrate early. On their return to the studio they spotted that their instruments were still set up, and so in a somewhat boisterous mood they decided to make a noise, and Hugh Padgham opened up a couple of ambient mics in the room and recorded the whole thing direct to 2-track. It's just the band having a ball, doing irreverent cover versions of some of their favourite songs, and some stream-of-consciousness jamming, but even when drunk these guys make a great noise. 

Track listing

01 Shaving Brush Boogie 
02 Pupil Haze 
03 Community Worker Breakdown
04 Whole Lotta Age
05 Orange Dust
06 Orange Dust (Slight Return)
07 Silver Sewing Machine
08 Do The Dwarf