Just like last time, in Volume 3 of 'Rarities Row' you’ll probably see names you recognize, like Paul
Simon, R.E.M and Bruce Springsteen, and one or two less so like Pat Metheny and
The Marshal Tucker Band.
My leadoff this time is Paul Simon’s 'Sound Of Silence' redone in a beautiful and
very different way than the original. It almost ties with Disturb’s version as the best
remake I’ve ever heard. It’s unique, yet familiar and haunting, all at the same time.
So, let’s just get on with the music.
As always, It was a blast putting this volume together, and to know that there are
so many more to come.
Enjoy!
Michael
Track list and info:
01 The Sound Of Silence (New Unreleased Version)
Paul Simon - Live At Webster Hall, 2011
In June 2011, Paul Simon thrilled hometown fans with a special club performance
at New York City’s historic Webster Hall.
The show was the culmination of a sold-out and triumphant U.S. tour, and the set list was drawn from Simon's legendary career, and included several songs
that had not been performed live in many years, including 'Kodachrome', 'Mother
And Child Reunion', 'Still Crazy After All These Years', 'Late In The Evening', 'Sounds
Of Silence' and 'The Obvious Child'.
02 Gemini Dream (Live at The Forum)
The Moody Blues - The Forum, Inglewood, California, 1983
A live concert radio broadcast recorded at The Forum in Los Angeles, CA. on the
last night of the North American “Present” Tour, and the third night of their run at
The Forum, on December 3, 1983.
03 Losing My Religion (Demo)
R.E.M -1991
The REM. guitarist, Peter Buck, wrote the main riff and chorus for 'Losing My Religion' on a mandolin. He had recently bought it and was learning how to play,
recording as he practiced while watching television. Buck said that "when I
listened back to it the next day, there was a bunch of stuff that was really just me
learning how to play mandolin, and then there's what became 'Losing My Religion',
and then a whole bunch more of me learning to play the mandolin". He said he
likely would not have written the chord progression in the same way had he not
played it on mandolin. In July 1990, REM. recorded a demo version with the working title 'Sugar Cane' in a studio in
Athens, Georgia, featuring the
banjo and
Hammond organ. Mike Mills wrote a bassline inspired by Fleetwood Mac bassist
John McVie. The final
version was recorded in September at Bearsville Studio A in
Woodstock, New York.
Finding the song lacked midrange between the bass and mandolin, R.E.M. enlisted
the touring guitarist
Peter Holsapple on
acoustic guitar. Buck said, "It was really
cool: Peter and I would be in our little booth, sweating away, and
Bill and Mike
would be out there in the other room going at it. It just had a really magical feel."
Michael Stipe recorded his vocals in a single take. The strings, arranged by
Mark Bingham, were performed by members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at
Soundscape Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, in October 1990.
In the run-up to the 25th anniversary reissue of their 1991 album 'Out Of
Time', R.E.M. shared an unheard demo version of 'Losing My Religion'. The lyrics
are slightly different—a couple of verses are transposed, and the “choosing my
confessions” part is missing. But with fewer words and less studio polish, the
song’s world-weary appeal is perhaps even more evident.
04 Rocket Ship (iPhone app demo)
Adrian Belew - Flux 1 2020
Adrian Belew continues his later age creative renaissance with 'Flux By Belew
Volume One'. These are short snippets that range from folky to crunchy guitar to
cabaret to a Ventures copy to everything in between. I love music like this and this
record has reinforced my belief Adrian Belew belongs on the Mount Rushmore of
accessible left field rock weirdness of which his former boss Frank Zappa has the
largest bust. Singularly creative and decidedly non-conforming, Belew adds to his
incredibly rich musical legacy. Fans of left field idiosyncratic rock will find a ton to
like here, and this is a fine place to enter the solo world of a living master. Belew says “FLUX is ‘music which is never the same twice’, and to accommodate the original
concept FLUX was released on iTunes as a music app for iPhone and iPad
(the only one of its kind, available on iTunes at bit.ly/FLUX_cd). With the app
downloaded, you press Play to activate 30 minutes of music, songs, sounds,
and visuals which will never happen again in quite the same way, because of some very clever algorithms and a huge amount of content. But it is not feasible to have the same thing occur on a CD, so I ask that you
always play the CD in “shuffle” mode. This will give as close an approximation
to the way I intend this music to be experienced as can be offered in this
format. FLUX is not meant to be listened to in the same running sequence
every time, and in order to eventually make all FLUX material available on CD, this will be an
ongoing series, updated as needed. My hope is that you will make your own
playlist from the content of all the CDs, then put the entire playlist in shuffle and
enjoy FLUX: music that is never the same twice!”.
05 Zanzibar (Extended Trumpet Solo)
Billy Joel - My Lives Boxset
'Zanzibar' is a song written by Billy Joel and recorded for his 1978 album '52nd
Street.' The song begins with a short slow section, but then moves to a shuffle
rhythm. It contains two jazz trumpet solos played by the legendary jazz
trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, and the song's bridge begins with a dreamy keyboard
section, which leads into the first trumpet solo. According to Phil Ramone, the
urgency and sexiness of the trumpet part is enhanced by the ascending and
descending line played on bass guitar beneath the solo. The second solo comes
at the end of the song and goes into the fade out. Of playing with Hubbard, Joel
stated that it "was a special treat for me, because I've always admired and
respected jazz players". Joel also recalled that after playing with Hubbard on
the song, drummer Liberty DeVitto claimed that "Now I feel like a grown up". Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine considers the melody of 'Zanzibar' to be
an homage to Steely Dan's Donald Fagen. 'Zanzibar' was also included on the compilation album 'My Lives'. This version
does not fade out the second trumpet solo that ends the song, providing an extra
minute and a half of Hubbard's playing.
According to producer Phil Ramone, Joel had written the music and had decided
he liked the title 'Zanzibar' for the piece, but had not figured out what to say
about Zanzibar. Hearing the music conjured up for Ramone images of people
watching television in a bar, and as a result Joel decided to make the song about
activity in a sports bar named Zanzibar rather than about the island of Zanzibar. The lyrics include a number of contemporary sports references, including to
heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali, baseball player Pete Rose, and the
baseball team the New York Yankees, who were the World Champions at the time. The lyrics also use a baseball expression as a sexual metaphor when the
singer wants to steal second base with a waitress in the bar if the waitress will
allow it.
06 Bright Side Life (Live)
Pat Metheny Group
Recorded in Boston, MA, on September 21, 1976, this Performance of the title track from Metheny’s debut contains a rare solo by keyboardist Lyle Mays. This recording, which includes Mays, drummer Dan Gottlieb and bass player Eberhard Weber, was the first time
3/4 of the Pat Metheny Group performed together. It would take another year until
bassist Mark Egan would join them and they would officially become the Pat
Metheny Group. With 3/4 of the players here, and the official Group
launch only months away, it is impossible not to regard this as a Pat Metheny
Group performance.
07 Love Comes And Goes (Demo)
Nancy Wilson and Peter Frampton - 2021 A&M Release Preview and Almost
Famous Über Deluxe Box Set
Seven demos written for Stillwater, the iconic band in the movie 'Almost Famous'. The LP was pressed on translucent red vinyl and limited to 6800 copies for a Record Store Day 2021 exclusive.
In the movie 'Almost Famous' (2000), the band Stillwater was supposedly an
amalgamation of Poco, The Eagles, Led Zeppelin and a few other bands that
Cameron Crowe had actually written articles about early in his career with Rolling
Stone magazine.
One of them leapt off a hotel balcony into a swimming pool. Another almost
missed a ride on the tour bus after making a detour to an after-show bash. They
met groupies and partook in their share of on-the-road partying, and a newspaper
headline declared that the band “runs deep.
If you think that sounds like Stillwater, the fictional band from 'Almost Famous',
you’d be correct. But those tales also apply to a real-life group of the same name
that existed during the same period. The 1973 moustached collective featured in writer/director Cameron Crowe’s film has a legitimate rock pedigree. Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready is
the real talent behind Russell Hammond, the band’s charismatic lead guitarist
(played by Billy Crudup), while ex Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson (Crowe’s wife)
plays rhythm guitar for the group. What’s more, ’70s vet Peter Frampton penned
several of the Stillwater tunes heard in the movie, and Wilson and Crowe
co-wrote the band’s bass driven anthem 'Feverdog', which made the film’s
soundtrack.
Wilson, who also scored the film, says she recruited talent with classic rock roots
(Frampton) and contemporary know-how (McCready), because she knew she
wouldn’t create a believable sound otherwise. The goal was to make a band ”that’s
really good, but not all the way formed yet,” she tells EW.com. ”An ‘opening for
Black Sabbath' kind of sound”. And she also wanted to complement the movie’s
satirical if loving take on rock & roll Über egos. ”We had to walk the line between
parody and something that sounds legit” says Wilson. The demo nature of it makes it sound like the band is right there with you. Pure
unprocessed analog glory.
08 Havana Daydreaming (Live)
Jimmy Buffett September 10, 1975 The Boarding House San Francisco, CA
Singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band in their first of three nights
at The Boarding House in San Francisco, CA on 9/10/1975. Recorded and
broadcast by KSAN 95 FM from San Francisco, CA.
09 Elected (Early Version)
Alice Cooper - 'Billion Dollar Babies' Expanded
'Elected' is a song by American rock band Alice Cooper, released in 1972 as the first single off their sixth album 'Billion Dollar Babies'. 'Elected' is a
glam rock influenced, hard rock song, and its political theme was inspired by the
1972
United States presidential election. Cooper called the song “total political satire,"
and added “we hated politics, but the idea of Alice, the scourge of the entire world, being president was just too good”. Both the riff and part of the melody were recycled from 'Reflected', which appeared on their 1969 album 'Pretties For You'. Joey Ramone acknowledged the similarity between 'Elected' and his band's song 'I Wanna Be Sedated' according to Alice Cooper, and the song was a favourite of
John Lennon, who called it "a great record", but added that Paul McCartney would've done it better, which Cooper agreed with.
10 Let’s Dance (Live Rehearsal w Stevie Ray Vaughn)
David Bowie with Stevie Ray Vaughn - Dallas 4-26/27-83 Serious Rehearsals 1983
David Bowie and Stevie Ray Vaughan, in a broadcast performance in April 1983
just prior to Bowie's Serious Moonlight Tour, to promote his new album 'Let's
Dance'. Recorded at the Las Colinas soundstage in Dallas with a small audience,
and broadcast on KLBJ FM, Austin, Vaughan was supposed to join Bowie on tour, but the deal was scuttled at the last
minute for various reasons. This is the only known broadcast recording of Bowie
and Vaughan together, less than two weeks after 'Let's Dance' was released. Vaughan's 'Texas
Flood' album with Double Trouble would be released less than two months later, in
June that year. To read a piece written by Bowie on his time with Stevie Ray Vaughan, check out the pdf included with the album.
11 Ring A Ding Ding (Test Recording)
Frank Sinatra 'Ring A Ding Ding' Dec 19 1960
'Ring-a-Ding-Ding!' is the twentieth studio album by Frank Sinatra, released on May 7 1961. It was the inaugural record on Sinatra's
Reprise label and, as the
initial concept was "an album without ballads", it consisted only of up-tempo swing
numbers.
The title track was written specifically for Sinatra by
Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen.
12 Saltwater (Spanish Version)
Julian Lennon (Single -1991)
'Saltwater' by Julian Lennon has a Spanish version titled 'Creo Que Voy A Llorar'.
This version was released in Spain and parts of South America as part of the 'Help
Yourself' album, and the song's Spanish title translates to 'I Think I Am Going To Cry'.
What is little known is that in Spain as well as in selected South American
countries such as Venezuela, the album contained Spanish language versions of
three songs: 'Creo Que Voy A Llorar' ('Saltwater'), 'Corazón de Palmera' ('Take
Me Home') and 'Es Tarde Ya' ('Maybe I Was Wrong'). Although the Spanish version of 'Saltwater' was also released in the UK and Europe on the 12" and CD single
versions of that song, the two others are exclusive to the Spanish/South American
pressings of the 'Help Yourself' album. Those are actually so rare that they are hardly – if ever – mentioned in Julian Lennon discographies.
13 This Ol’ Cowboy (Live)
The Marshall Tucker Band - Stompin’ Room Only: Greatest Hits Live 1974–76
The jams on 'Stompin Room Only' are some of the best ever recorded by the
band, and the record is the long rumored and highly anticipated album of
live material recorded between 1974 and 1976.
Recorded in London, Manchester (during their only European tour), in Milwaukee,
and at Charlie Daniels annual "Volunteer Jam" in Murfreesboro during the years
1974-1976, the album was originally prepared for release in 1977 by producer Paul
Hornsby and included the original line-up. In an unusual series of events, the
album's release was first delayed by Capricorn Records and, ultimately, never
released, as the master tapes could not be found for more than a quarter of a century.
They were recently discovered in pristine condition and that long-awaited album,
the virtual "holy grail" of jam band music, is now available.
14 Jungleland - with violin
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band -The Prodigal Son meets JEMS at the
Main Point (Masters+ Edition) February 5, 1975
One show, held as a benefit for the ~270-seat coffeehouse, with Springsteen &
The E Street Band the sole act on the bill. The show was emceed by DJ
Ed Sciaky
and began just after 9.00pm. It was broadcast by WMMR-FM, but not as a true
simulcast, rather it was broadcast on about a two-hour delay the same night.
Interestingly, Springsteen almost backed out of his promise to allow the show to
be broadcast, as he wanted to play new songs that were still unfinished - songs that
may not be ready for a large radio audience. It took a concentrated effort by
Sciaky on the day of the concert to talk Bruce around. An attendee review of the
show from 1975 by critic David Fricke states the show took place on February 3,
but this appears to be an error by Fricke given detailed interview comments by
Sciaky, and the recollections of other attendees. Press reports suggest that
Springsteen raised over $1,000 for the Main Point. The complete show was
broadcast and the listed 18-song setlist represents the entire concert. Not only is
it one of the longest (160 minutes) single-show gigs up to this point, but it's one of
the most compelling performances of Springsteen's entire career. There are
spellbinding renditions of 'Incident On 57th Street', 'New York City Serenade' and
For You' (in the solo piano arrangement), the earliest known performances of 'Mountain Of Love' and 'Thunder Road' (with work-in-progress 'Wings For
Wheels' title/lyrics) plus a wild, majestic version of Chuck Berry's 'Back In The
U.S.A.'. 'The E Street Shuffle' includes 'Having A Party', while 'Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)' includes a snippet of 'Theme From Shaft' in the midsection. 'A Love So
Fine' includes an interlude of 'Shout', and contrary to myth the police siren heard at
the conclusion of 'Incident On 57th Street' is an audio prop that had been utilized
at a few of Bruce's shows just prior to this one, and was not a real vehicle. Musicians in The E Street Band for this performance were Roy Bittan, Clarence Clemons, Danny Federici, Garry Tallent, Max Weinberg, and Suki Lahav on violin. Lahav is an Israeli violinist, vocalist, actress, lyricist, screenwriter,
and novelist, and was a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band from October 1974 to March 1975 (when her then-husband Louis was Springsteen’s
sound engineer at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York), before returning to
Israel to find success there.
There are full notes about how this 'Masters + Edition' remaster came about in Mike's pdf.
