The Beatles - Now And Then (1993)

I stumbled on an interesting compilation on Youtube the other day, consisting of various unreleased songs from all four members of The Beatles from their solo careers. There were demos, out-takes, and rejected recordings spanning the years from 1970, through the 80's, and ending in 1993, and while it was great to hear songs that even I, as a massive Beatles fan, was unfamiliar with, the difference in the sound quality of the demos compared to the studio recordings was somewhat grating. While researching one of the songs to find the year that it was recorded, I found that someone had posted a version of it online with a full band backing over-dubbed onto the piano and vocal demo, and as it sounded pretty good, it prompted me to try to find out if there any more of these fan-made recordings. It turns out that there are, and so I was therefore able to upgrade the solo demos to band versions of a number of the tracks, and when slotted into the studio recordings it made for a much better listen. They are mostly the John Lennon demos that have been augmented in this way, and in some cases more than once, so I've picked what I think are the best versions for this album. 

One McCartney track was given the treatment as well, but the recordings by George Harrison and Ringo Starr were all studio quality and needed no enhancement. The only demo that I've left as it was is Lennon's 'Sally And Billy' from 1970, because as well as the piano and vocal, it also had a click track on it, and so by boosting the bass it gave the whole song a bit more depth, and then I just added a fade to it (which sounds like it was his intention anyway), and it sounded fine.  All of Ringo's contributions are from his aborted sessions with Chips Moman in Memphis in 1987, where he recorded around 14 retro rock covers and original tunes, with Bob Dylan even joining him on harmonica on 'Wish I Knew Now (What I Knew Then)'. With no sign of the album appearing, Starr finally kicked his debilitating alcohol dependence eighteen months later, and he formed the All-Starr Band, touring for the first time since the Beatles quit the road. Moman had bankrolled the aborted sessions to the tune of $146,239 and had nothing to show for his investment, so he decided to issue the LP on his own CRS Records. Starr got wind of the news and offered him $100,000 to halt manufacturing, as he considered the recordings substandard, but Moman refused, believing that he stood to lose $3.5 million, a fanciful figure upon survey of Starr's moribund record sales. Starr therefore sued Moman, and the Court ruled that Starr owed him $74,354, but that the master tapes would the be turned over to Starr, and yet despite him now owning the original copies, five tracks have circulated on bootleg for some years. They certainly don't sound the result of some drunken recording sessions as was claimed in court, and so I've included three of them here. 

George Harrison's contributions mostly come from out-takes that were recorded during his 'Somewhere In England' studio sessions, where four songs were rejected by his record company as being too un-commercial. A re-recording of 'Lay His Head' eventually appeared on the flip of the 'Got My Mind Set On You' single, while two of the songs have only ever appeared on the CD which accompanied the second volume of the book 'Songs By George Harrison'. The fourth song 'Tears Of The World' was originally included on the CD that came with the first volume of the book, along with another out-take 'The Hottest Gong In Town', but that eventually turned up on the soundtrack to the film 'Shanghai Surprise', while 'Tears Of The World' was added as a bonus track to the re-issue of Harrison's 'Thirty Three And A Third' album. Paul McCartney's tracks are a couple of out-takes, an augmented demo, and a live performance of a song that was originally written in 1991, but which was only performed the once at The Liverpool Sound concert in 2008, to celebrate the city's year as the European Capital Of Culture. Although the album is bookended by one song from 1970 and one from 1993, the bulk of the tracks date from 1978 to 1987, and so the album flows nicely through the various musical styles, and if you've already heard the Lennon demos in their original form, then do check out these versions, as they've all been done with much love and respect.   

  
Track listing

01 Now And Then (1978 John Lennon demo augmented by Paul Newell)

02 Sat Singing (George Harrison out-take 1980)
03 Your School (1993 Paul McCartney demo augmented by Octavio Cavalli & Max Gonzales)
04 Hard Times (Ringo Starr, from the Memphis sessions 1987)
05 Hottest Gong In Town (George Harrison, from the soundtrack to 'Shanghai Surprise' 1986)
06 Help Me To Help Myself (1980 John Lennon demo augmented by Carlos Zabai)
07 Yvonne's The One (Paul McCartney out-take 1986)

08 Sally And Billy (John Lennon demo 1970)
09 Lay His Head (George Harrison out-take 1980)
10 I've Changed My Mind (Ringo Starr, from the Memphis sessions 1987)
11 In Liverpool (1991 Paul McCartney song played live once in 2008)
12 Grow Old With Me (1980 John Lennon demo augmented by Anton Popov & Vitaly Flippov)

13 Cruisin' Ahead (Paul McCartney out-take 1979)

14 Wish I Knew Now (What I Knew Then) (Ringo Starr, from the Memphis sessions 1987)
15 Flying Hour (George Harrison out-take 1979)

Soulseek hint - now then aiwe

Ron Wood - ...and on guitar (1987)

Ronald David Wood was born on 1 June 1947 in Hillingdon, London, and made his first appearances on record during the mid-'60s, firstly as guitarist for the Birds, who were an R&B band based in Yiewsley, Middlesex. They were a popular live act with a considerable fan base, releasing several singles in the mid-1960's, and Wood wrote or co-wrote nearly half the songs that the group recorded. By 1967 the Birds had disbanded, and Wood briefly took part in a project called Santa Barbara Machine Head, which included later Deep Purple co-founder Jon Lord (did he file that name away for later use?), before becoming a member of the oft-overlooked mod outfit The Creation, remaining with them for a short while, and appearing on a handful of their singles. After he left The Creation in 1967 he joined the Jeff Beck Group, but as Beck was one of the leading guitarists of the time, Wood switched to bass while with the band, and they recorded two highly respected albums, with 'Truth' appearing in 1968, and 'Beck-Ola' following the next year. Following the release of 'Beck-Ola', the Jeff Beck Group disbanded, with vocalist Rod Stewart embarking on a solo career, and after Steve Marriott left the Small Faces, Wood began working with the remaining members of that group, returning to his instrument of choice, the guitar. This line-up, plus Rod Stewart and former Bird Kim Gardner, teamed up with Wood's brother Art Wood in a group that they called Quiet Melon, and they made a handful of recordings in May 1969. When Quiet Melon folded, Wood and Stewart joined the former Small Faces full-time, changing the band's name to The Faces, and it was most of this band, with the addition of Keith Emerson on keyboards, and Steamhammer's Martin Pugh and Martin Quittenton, that backed Stewart on his first solo album 'An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down' in 1969. 

In the first half of the 1970's, The Faces released four studio albums and were among the top-grossing live acts of the period, and as well as his distinctive guitar work, Wood contributed harmonica, vocals and bass to the band's recordings, and co-wrote many of their songs. In 1972, Wood and Faces bassist Ronnie Lane composed the soundtrack to the film 'Mahoney's Last Stand' with help from Pete Townshend, Ric Grech and Kenney Jones, but the soundtrack album didn't appear until four years later in 1976. In 1973 Wood asked his old friend Mick Taylor to help out with his first solo album, and later that year he collaborated with Mick Jagger on the song 'It's Only Rock'n Roll (But I Like It)', as well as joining David Bowie to record a cover of Bruce Springsteen's 'Growing Up' during sessions for his 'Diamond Dogs' album. When Taylor departed from the Rolling Stones in December 1974, Wood helped out with the band's March 1975 recording sessions for their forthcoming album 'Black And Blue', and although still a member of Faces, he toured North America with The Rolling Stones in 1975. When The Faces announced their break-up in December of that year, Wood was officially declared a member of The Rolling Stones in 1976, playing slide guitar, as Taylor and Brian Jones had done before him, and adding both lap steel and pedal steel guitar to his repertoire. In addition, he often exchanged roles on the guitar with Keith Richards, blurring the boundaries between rhythm and lead, even within a particular song. In 1975, Wood released his second solo album 'Now Look', followed four years later by 'Gimme Some Neck', and to promote it he formed and toured with The New Barbarians, playing 20 concerts in Canada and the US. Throughout the 1980's Wood kept very busy, playing as an official member of The Rolling Stones, continuing his solo career, painting, and collaborating with a number of other artists, including Prince, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Bo Diddley, Ringo Starr and Aretha Franklin. Wood's first guest appearance was actually on Donovan's 'Barabajagal' single, where The Jeff Beck Group acted as his backing band, but as Wood was playing bass and not guitar I'm starting this collection with his appearance on Rod Stewart's 1970 album, and working through his contributions to other artists efforts through to the late 80's, and for the cover I've used a rare self-portrait painted by Wood himself. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 Only A Hobo (from 'Gasoline Alley' by Rod Stewart 1970) 
02 I'm Ready (from 'It Ain't Easy' by John Baldry 1971) 
03 Stop On The Red (from 'Wun' by Gerry Lockran 1972)

04 Just For A Moment (from the soundtrack of the film 'Mahoney's Last Stand' 1972)
05 Brahms (from 'The Academy In Peril' by John Cale 1972) 
06 Fallen Angel (from 'On The Road To Freedom' by Alvin Lee & Mylon LeFevre 1973)
07 Growin' Up (out-take from 'Pin Ups' by David Bowie 1973)
08 Kew (from 'Love Songs' by Billy Nicholls 1974)
09 Shut Up (from 'First Of The Big Bands' by Tony Ashton & John Lord 1974)
10 Ding Dong, Ding Dong (from 'Dark Horse' by George Harrison 1974) 
11 Feet (from 'Stone Alone' by Bill Wyman 1976)
12 Kinky (from 'Lasso From El Paso' by Kinky Friedman 1976)

Disc Two
01 All Our Past Times (from 'No Reason To Cry' by Eric Clapton 1976)
02 What A Town (from 'Rick Danko' by Rick Danko 1977)
03 Slow Screw Against The Wall/A♭ Fry (from 'Ask Rufus' by Rufus feat. Chaka Khan 1977) 
04 Nobody's Child (from 'Puttin' On The Style' by Lonnie Donegan 1978) 
05 Jumpin' Jack Flash (from 'Aretha' by Aretha Franklin 1980)
06 Little Girl (from 'Bump In The Night' Ian McLagan 1981) 
07 Dead Giveaway (from 'Stop And Smell The Roses' by Ringo Starr 1981) 
08 Clean Cut Kid (from 'Empire Burlesque' by Bob Dylan 1985)
09 Go 'Way Little Boy (b-side of 'Sweet Sweet Baby' single by Lone Justice 1985)
10 Love Roulette (from 'Heartbeat' by Don Johnson 1986) 
11 Baby (from 'Dirty Strangers' by Dirty Strangers 1987)
12 The Usual (from the soundtrack of the film 'Hearts Of Fire' 1987)

Thanks to Gil for the suggestion

Jesse Ed Davis - ...and on guitar (1975)

Jesse Edwin Davis was born on 21 September 1944 in Norman, Oklahoma. His parents were both Native Americans, with his father, Jesse Ed Davis II, being Comanche, and his mother's side was Kiowa. His father was an accomplished painter in the "flat-style" tradition of Southern Plains painting, with his works being exhibited in the state capitol in Oklahoma City. Davis began his musical career in the late 50's in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas, with John Ware (later a drummer for Emmylou Harris), John Selk (later a bass player for Donovan), Jerry Fisher (later a vocalist with Blood, Sweat & Tears), Mike Boyle, Chris Frederickson, and drummer Bill Maxwell, amongst others. He graduated from the University Of Oklahoma with a degree in English Literature, but by the mid-60's he was touring with Conway Twitty. He eventually moved to California, living there for 8 years, and through his friendship with Levon Helm, he met Leon Russell, who introduced him to paying session work. As well as playing on sessions, he also joined Taj Mahal's band, playing guitar and piano on Mahal's first three albums. After Mahal's 1969 album 'Giant Step', Davis concentrated on the session work for artists such as Roger Tillison and Leon Russell's band The Asylum Choir, and in 1971 he recorded his first solo album after Atco Records signed a contract with him to record two records with the label. The first was '¡Jesse Davis!', where he called in favours from Gram Parsons, Leon Russell and Eric Clapton to contribute to the recording. He was also close friends with Gene Clark, and in 1971 he played on and produced Clark's second solo album 'White Light', as well as guesting with Russell on Bob Dylan's 1971 single 'Watching The River Flow'. This led to him working with George Harrison, performing at the ex-Beatle's 1971 Concert For Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden, along with Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, Jim Keltner, Eric Clapton and many others. 

Two more solo albums followed, with 'Ululu' coming out in 1972 and 'Keep Me Comin'' in 1973, but he still slotted in the odd sessions here and there, culminating in him playing lead guitar on John Lennon's 'Walls And Bridges' and 'Rock 'n' Roll' albums, and almost completing the full set, he also played on Harrison's 'Extra Texture' and Starr's 'Goodnight Vienna'. In late 1975 he performed with the Faces as second guitarist throughout their final US tour, unfortunately becoming addicted to drugs during this time, and after the tour he continued to work as a session player on albums by Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Keith Moon, Steve Miller, Guthrie Thomas, Harry Nilsson, Ry Cooder, Neil Diamond, Rick Danko, Van Dyke Parks, Cher, and many others. In 1977 he moved to Hawaii, but was back in Los Angeles by 1981, broke and ravaged by drug and alcohol addiction, and was in and out of clinics throughout much of the 80's dealing with his addictions. In the ten years he was with Patti Daley, they never married, but after they split up he married twice, and in 1985, with his second wife, he formed and played in The Graffiti Band, which coupled his music with the poetry of the Native American activist John Trudell. In June 1988 he collapsed in the laundry room of an apartment building following a suspected drugs overdose, and died shortly afterwards. He was 43 years old. In his short life he made his mark on the music of many of his peers, with his contributions on Marc Benno's album in particular being outstanding. This two-disc set is just a brief example of his work, as he also played with many blues legends, such as B.B. King, Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, and Albert King, but I've omitted those as they were all legendary blues guitarists in their own right, and so Davis would only be heard as a backing musician, whereas I wanted to showcase his own exemplary playing on these other recordings from the 70's, when he was at the peak of his powers. 

Track listing

Disc One
01 Funny Honey  (from 'Booker T. & Priscilla' by Booker T. & Priscilla 1971)
02 Poor Girl (from' Feel Your Groove' by Ben Sidran 1971)
03 Sweet Home Chicago (from 'Asylum Choir II' by Asylum Choir 1971)
04 Baby I Love You (from 'Minnows' by Marc Benno 1971)
05 Let 'Em Roll Johnny (from 'Roger Tillison's Album' by Roger Tillison 1971)
06 Rusty Toy (from 'Warm Waters' by Charles Lloyd 1971) 
07 Rollin' Mill Man (from 'She Used To Wanna Be A Ballerina' by Buffy Saint-Marie 1971)
08 Watching the River Flow (single by Bob Dylan 1971)
09 One In A Hundred (from 'White Light' by Gene Clark 1971)
10 Reno Street Incident (from 'Out The Window' by Jim Pulte 1972)
11 Heal Your Heart (from 'Recall the Beginning ... ' by Steve Miller Band 1972) 

Disc Two
01 Doctor My Eyes (from 'Jackson Browne' by Jackson Browne  1972)
02 Crossroads Of The World (from 'Rod Taylor' by Rod Taylor 1973)
03 Gypsy Davy (from 'Last Of The Brooklyn Cowboys' by Arlo Guthrie 1973)
04 Black Magic Gun (from 'Home At Last' by Wayne Berry 1974) 
05 Fair Play (from 'ST-11261' by Brewer & Shipley 1974) 
06 Grinning In Your Face (from 'That's A Plenty' by The Pointer Sisters 1974)
07 Subterranean Homesick Blues (from 'Pussy Cats' by Harry Nilsson 1974)
08 Open Up The Watergate (from 'L.A. Turnaround' by Bert Jansch 1974) 
09 Whatever Gets You Thru the Night (from 'Walls And Bridges' by John Lennon 1974) 
10 Only You (And You Alone) (from 'Goodnight Vienna' by Ringo Starr 1974) 
11 (What A) Wonderful World (from 'Midnight On The Water' by David Bromberg Band 1975) 
12 The Hits Just Keep On Coming (from 'Burnin' Thing' by Mac Davis 1975)

Suggested by Maybe The Devil, Maybe The Lord

For MAC users

Press command+shift+period (to show hidden files) and a grayed out folder '...and on guitar" will appear and the mp3s will be inside. Either drag those to another folder OR rename the folder without any periods at the beginning. Press command+shift+period to once again hide the hidden files.

Dave Gilmour - ..and on guitar Vol. 2 (2004) **UPDATE**

The plan was to finish the '...and on guitar' series on a high with a double disc offering from Dave Gilmour, which follows on very nicely from the first volume. There was one track that I couldn't fit on there as it was too long, and so Supertramp's 'Brother Where You Bound' opens this volume, and is then followed by Gilmour's absolutely stunning contribution to Berlin's 'Pink And Velvet', which I'd never heard before, but must count as one of the very best pieces of work that he's ever done. Add in his contributions to pop songs by Sam Brown, Pete Cetera, Paul McCartney, Elton John and Ringo Starr, as well as more progressive tracks from Phil Manzanera, Rabbit, and Robert Wyatt, and you have a superb collection to round off the series. But as it turns out it's not the end, as a passing suggestion from Maybe The Devil, Maybe The Lord has encouraged me to put together one more collection, and this could well be how it will be in future. Any suggestions will be welcomed for possible additions, but to keep in the spirit of the series it would ideally be a guitarist who has released two or three albums on his own, or with a band, and who has also played guest guitar on other artist's albums. Session guitarists who have never released an album of their own would be outside the scope of what I was aiming for, so let's see if I've missed any that I really should have included.   

A comment by AEC has prompted me to update this post, as they suggested that I could have included Rod Stewart's remake of his 'In A Broken Dream' with Dave Gilmour and John Paul Jones. Although it wasn't actually released until 2009, as part of 'The Rod Stewart Sessions', the recording date of 1992 would slot quite nicely into the second disc on this set, and to be honest it does deserve to be there, as it contains some spellbinding guitar-work from Gilmour. If you've already got this one then just download the last four tracks again to replace in the folder, and the tags will then all be updated.    

Track listing

Disc One

01 Brother Where You Bound (from 'Brother Where You Bound' by Supertramp 1985)
02 Bound To Be (from 'The Dream Academy' by The Dream Academy' 1985)
03 Pink And Velvet (from 'Count Three And Pray' by Berlin 1986)
04 Persona (from 'Persona' by Liona Boyd 1986)
05 Immaculate Eyes (from 'She' by Dalbello 1987)
06 This Feeling (from 'Stop!' by Sam Brown 1988)
07 Conquest (from 'Dream Jungle' by Rabbit 1988)

Disc Two
01 You Never Listen To Me (from 'One More Story' by Peter Cetera 1988)
02 Run Straight Down (from 'Transverse City' by Warren Zevon 1989)
03 We Got Married (from 'Flowers in the Dirt' by Paul McCartney 1989)
04 Como El Agua (from 'Roé' by Roé 1990)
05 Waiting For The Sunshine (from 'Growing Up In Public' by Jimmy Nail 1992)
06 Understanding Women (from 'The One' by Elton John 1992)

07 In A Broken Dream (from 'The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998', recorded 1992)
08 I Think Therefore I Rock 'n' Roll (from 'Ringo Rama' by Ringo Starr 2003)
09 Forest (from 'Cuckooland' by Robert Wyatt 2003)
10 Sacred Days (from '6PM' by Phil Manzanera 2004)

For MAC users

Press command+shift+period (to show hidden files) and a grayed out folder '...and on guitar" will appear and the mp3s will be inside. Either drag those to another folder OR rename the folder without any periods at the beginning. Press command+shift+period to once again hide the hidden files.

Eric Clapton - ...and on guitar Vol. 2 (1976)

We're gradually coming to the end of this series, which started almost a year ago as a one-off post for Jimi Hendrix, and which has grown into what I hope can be viewed as a fairly comprehensive overview of the famous and the obscure guest appearances on record by some of the world's greatest guitarists. Eric Clapton was so prolific in the 70's that the first volume for him covered just the years 1968 to 1970, and so a second volume was always on the cards, and here it is.  

Track listing

01 Sitting On Top Of The World (from 'Sessions' by Howlin' Wolf 1971)
02 I'm Your Spiritual Breadman (from 'The Worst Of...' by Ashton Gardner & Dyke 1971)
04 Washita Love Child (from 'Jesse Davis' by Jesse Davis 1971)
04 Black John The Conqueror (from 'The Sun, Moon & Herbs' by Dr. John 1971)
05 The Scenery Has Slowly Changed (from 'Bobby Whitlock' by Bobby Whitlock 1972)
06 A Man Of Many Words (from 'Play The Blues' by Buddy Guy & Junior Wells 1972)
07 Comin' Home (from 'D & B Together' by Delaney And Bonnie 1972)
08 No-one Knows (from 'Music From Free Creek' 1973)
09 Sugar Sweet (from 'Burglar' by Freddie King 1974)
10 Eyesight To The Blind (from the 'Tommy' soundtrack album 1975)
11 Romance In Durango (from 'Desire' by Bob Dylan 1976)
12 Worrier (from 'Stingray' by Joe Cocker 1976)
13 This Be Called A Song (from 'Ringo's Rotogravure' by Ringo Starr 1976)
14 Kinky (from 'Lasso From El Paso' by Kinky Friedman 1976)

I've omitted a couple of tracks, not only for reasons of space, but also for the fact that Stephen Bishop, for example, has Clapton playing on his song 'Sinking In An Ocean Of Tears' and you can't even hear him (why would you ask one of the greatest ever guitarists to appear on your album and not give him a solo?), and although you can hear him perfectly well on Yoko Ono's 'Don't Worry, Kyoko', that's such an extreme listen that it really disrupted the flow of the album.