Various Artists - Rarities Row Vol. 2 (2025)

Welcome back to volume 2! For those that missed it the first time around… Recently I was on the hunt for a rare song in my massive collection of fourteen 14 TB hard drives and as I was searching I thought what a shame it is that I have all this cool stuff and only share bits and pieces here and there when needed. So I thought I would start a new series here that doesn’t just focus on one artist at a time… but various artists from my entire collection. Thus was the birth of Rarity Row. Volume 2 features more great (and less known) artists - folks you might be familiar with, like Prince, Talking Heads, Steely Dan, and the Eagles, and those you might not be as familiar with (but should be!) like The Carpenters and Suzanne Vega. And even a few you’ve never heard of (BUT DEFINITELY SHOULD!) like Millard Powers, and his track is so strong, I chose it as my leadoff for this volume. Millard comes from a family tree that sprouts some of my favourite fun type of music…Power Pop. In other volumes of The Row I’ll feature Owsley, The Semantics and Ben Folds, three more from the Power Pop genre that I dig so much, and I know you will too! But for now, let’s just get on with the music. It was a blast putting this volume together...and to know that there are so many more to come. 

Enjoy! 

Michael 

Track list and a bit more info: 

01 She’s So Clean 

Millard Powers - from 'Millard Powers' (Out Of Print) 

Avery Millard Powers III (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and student at the Grammy-nominated recording engineer. While at  University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the 1980's, he collaborated with fellow student Ben Folds and with Alabama-based singer songwriter Owsley, both of which he continued to work with as a musician and as a producer for the next several decades. Since 2005, he has played bass guitar in the band Counting Crows. Powers released a self-titled solo album in 2001, playing all instruments (bass, guitar, drums, keyboard), recording, producing, mixing, and engineering the album himself in his apartment in Nashville, Tennessee. No other artists were featured on the album.  

02 Get Up Kate (Demo) 

The Eagles 1972 - Rare and Unreleased (mostly Live) - recorded 1971, unreleased. 

A rocker with a Frey lead vocal, 'Get Up Kate' was cut as a studio track for the debut LP but was never officially released. A live version, featuring harmonies by Linda Ronstadt, appears on one of her compilations, and the band’s studio version can be found online. The story goes that after returning from their London sessions with Glyn Johns, the band went back to the studio with producers Bill Halverson and Wally Heider to record additional tracks, but 'Get Up Kate' (written by Frey), was shelved. High harmonies give the choruses snap and the dual-guitar stuff has spunk. The Eagles recorded a record of unreleased songs, covers and originals, at the famous Wally Haider Studios before their debut album was released in 1972 . 'Get Up Kate' was a song that Frey had occasionally sung with Linda Ronstadt's band, and The Eagles also performed it a few times in 1972. 

03 Dallas - Never on CD 

Steely Dan 6-72 Single and Plus 4’s EP 

'Dallas' is the first single by Steely Dan, sung by drummer Jim Hodder. The song was not on the band's debut album 'Can't Buy A Thrill' but was included on the 1978 Japan-only compilation 'Steely Dan'. It, and its b-side, 'Sail The Waterway', was also included on a 12-inch single version of 'Haitian Divorce' released in the UK. It was recorded by Poco in 1975 on their 'Head Over Heels' album. Personnel:

Donald Fagen – electric piano, piano, backing vocals 

Walter Becker – bass guitar 

Jeff Baxter – pedal steel guitar, guitars 

Jim Hodder – drums, percussion, lead vocals 

David Palmer – backing vocals 

Tim Moore – backing vocals 

04 Left Of Center (Live) 

Suzanne Vega 1983 EP 

'Left of Center' is a song written by Suzanne Vega and Steve Addabbo, which was released as part of the soundtrack to the 1986 film 'Pretty In Pink'. It features Joe Jackson on piano and was released as a single in May 1986, reaching No. 35 in Australia, No. 28 in Ireland, and No. 32 in the United Kingdom. 

05 Live To Tell (Demo) 

Madonna 1986 

 'Live To Tell" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album, 'True Blue' (1986), and also featured in the crime drama 'At Close Range', starring her then-husband Sean Penn. In mid-1985, after completing the Virgin Tour, Madonna began working with musician and producer Patrick Leonard, who had served as the tour's musical director. The two first collaborated on 'Love Makes The World Go Round', which Madonna performed at the Live Aid benefit concert in July. Around this time, she married actor Sean Penn, whom she had met on the set of her 'Material Girl' music video. Leonard, meanwhile, was aiming to transition into film scoring, and composed an instrumental piece intended for Paramount's 1986 film 'Fire With Fire'. However, the studio rejected the track, feeling it didn't fit the movie's tone. Madonna, intrigued by the composition, offered to write lyrics for it and proposed using the song for 'At Close Range', a crime drama starring Penn. According to author Rikky Rooksby, she wrote the lyrics "on the spot", crafting a melody and bridge inspired by the film’s themes of family secrets and emotional trauma. "Sometimes when I'm writing songs, I'm just channeling", she later said, adding that the lyrics reflected personal pain and yearning, whether autobiographical or fictional. After recording a demo, she played it for director James Foley and Penn, who responded positively. Penn called Leonard, who at the time was working with Michael Jackson on his 1987 album 'Bad', and invited him to meet. When asked who would sing the song, since the lyrics had been written from a male perspective, Leonard insisted Madonna should perform it. He chose to use the demo vocals, feeling they captured a sense of naivety and emotional rawness that suited the piece. "It was so innocent and so shy. It's as naive, as raw as can be, and that’s part of what gave 'Live To Tell' all its charm", Leonard explained. Recording sessions for 'True Blue' took place at Channel Recording Studios in Los Angeles, where the final version of 'Live to Tell' was completed. 

06 Leave It (A Capella Version)

Yes - 1983 B-Side 

'Leave It' is a song by English rock band Yes. It appears on their 1983 album, '90125', and was released as its second single, following 'Owner Of A Lonely Heart'. The song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 [6] and number 3 on the Top Album Rock Tracks chart.  In the UK, the song rose to number 56 in late March 1984, in a run of five weeks on the chart.  

07 My Fair Share (The Love Them From 'One On One') (Out Of Print Soundtrack) 

Seal And Crofts - 1977 'One On One' Soundtrack 

'One On One' is the soundtrack album to the movie of the same title, starring Robby Benson. The music was written entirely by Charles Fox, with lyrics by Paul Williams, and Seals and Crofts provided the vocals. The single 'My Fair Share (Love Theme from 'One On One')' reached #11 AC and #28 Pop in autumn 1977. It was first released on CD in 2007 by Wounded Bird Records, and digitally by Rhino Records (another label of Warner Bros.) in 2008.

08 It's Probably Me (Alternate Version) 

Sting w Eric Clapton 

'It's Probably Me' is a song Sting rerecorded in 1993 for his 'Ten Summoner's Tales' album, without any of the other musicians, and it was originally released in 1992 as a collaboration by Sting featuring Eric Clapton, Michael Kamen, and David Sanborn. Released from the soundtrack to the action comedy film 'Lethal Weapon 3' in June 1992, the song reached number 20 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and number 12 on Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart. It was more successful in Europe, peaking at number one in Italy, number four in France, and number six in the Netherlands. 

09 People On The Streets (Early Alternative Vocal Version of Under Pressure) 

Queen and David Bowie -1981 

A unique mix of 'Under Pressure', which features a very early vocal take from Freddie Mercury, David Bowie (and Brian May!), likely when the song was under the working title 'People On The Streets'. Roger Taylor recalled in 2002: "David came in one night, and we were just playing other people’s songs for fun and David said, ‘This is stupid. Why don’t we just write one?’ It was originally called ‘People On The Streets’, and that was the basis of it, and we took the multi track tapes to New York, and I spent all day there with David and mixed it that night." Driven by Deacon’s incredible bassline, something which deserves all the praise it receives, both Bowie and Mercury battled in the vocal booth fuelled, as Blake suggests, by the two intoxicants of wine and cocaine. Blake describes the scene, beginning with the recollections of Queen’s guitarist: “‘We felt our way through a backing track all together as an ensemble,’ recalled May. ‘When the backing track was done, David said, ‘Okay, let’s each of us go in the vocal booth and sing how we think the melody should go—just off the top of our heads—and we’ll compile a vocal out of that’.” He continues: “And that’s what we did. Some of these improvisations, including Mercury’s memorable introductory scatting vocal, would endure on the finished track. Bowie also insisted that he and Mercury shouldn’t hear what the other had sung, swapping verses blind, which helped give the song its cut-and-paste feel.” 

10 Chicago 1945 (demo)  

Michael Jackson (leaked unreleased song intended for 'Victory' album 1983) 

'Chicago 1945' is an unreleased song written by American singer songwriter Michael Jackson and Steve Pocarro, who also produced it. It was intended for the 'Victory' or 'Bad' albums, and on 27 January 2023, the track leaked online. Pocarro recalls: “Years ago, Michael and I wrote a song called 'Chicago 1945' – I did the music and Michael the lyrics, he recorded the song twice, but never put it on an album… the instruments were played in a constant rhythm in the 16th note, which was called ‘yada’. When I explained this to Michael, he liked it so much he gave me that nickname!.” It was recorded in 1983 during the 'Victory' sessions, and was intended for said album. However, it wasn't in the final cut. 'Chicago 1945' was revisited again by Jackson in the Spring of 1986 during the 'Bad' sessions with new, live drums being added, and although it had a chance to make it on the album, it again didn't make the cut. 

11 Let It Rain (YouTube exclusive Video) 

The Doobie Brothers w/ Peter Frampton 2020 

The Doobie Brothers and Peter Frampton have partnered for a cover of Eric Clapton’s 1970 track, 'Let It Rain'. The song and its accompanying video were recorded virtually, with Frampton and every member of the Doobie Brothers contributing their parts remotely. 'Let It Rain' is a perfect choice for the Doobies and Frampton, who add a little extra instrumental oomph — especially when Frampton and Tom Johnston start trading guitar solos — but they otherwise remain faithful to the original’s cathartic pop-rock charms. Johnston tells Rolling Stone how the collaboration came together, saying: “A couple of months ago, Peter and I were going over various tunes after deciding to do a song or video together. I tossed out ‘Let It Rain’ by Eric Clapton and he loved the idea. He’s a phenomenal guitarist and a fan of Clapton’s, as am I, so it seemed a great idea to take to the rest of the guys. Peter, Pat, and I took verses and solos and John played some cool pedal steel and helped us put that together with Bill Payne on piano, John Cowan on bass, and Ed Toth on drums. Also Rob Arthur who did all the video work played B3. It was a team effort! We really enjoyed working together on this with Peter.” Frampton added: “It was so much fun playing with my friends the Doobie Brothers even virtually! I look forward to a time when we can, hopefully, play together in person.” The Doobie Brothers have dropped a handful of at-home performances this year after they were forced to postpone their 2020 touring plans because of Covid-19. In April, they shared a socially distanced take on 'Black Water', and a few months later they dropped a rendition of 'Listen To The Music'. In July, they got together with Traffic’s Dave Mason to help him re-record 'Feelin’ Alright'. with additional help from Sammy Hagar, Mick Fleetwood, and Michael McDonald. 

12 Carolina In My Mind (Solo Acoustic Demo)  

James Taylor - James Taylor - Original expanded album 

'Carolina In My Mind' is a song originally written and performed by the American singer-songwriter James Taylor, and it was his second single from his 1968 self titled debut album. Taylor wrote 'Carolina In My Mind' while in England recording for the Beatles' label Apple Records, and the song's themes reflect his homesickness at the time. Released as a single in 1969, the song earned critical praise but not commercial success. It was re-recorded for Taylor's 1976 'Greatest Hits' album in the version that is most familiar to listeners, but the original recording of the song was done at London's Trident Studios during the July to October 1968 period, and was produced by Peter Asher. The song's lyric "holy host of others standing around me" makes reference to the Beatles, who were recording 'The Beatles' in the same studio where Taylor was recording his album. Indeed, the recording of 'Carolina In My Mind' includes a credited appearance by Paul McCartney on bass guitar and an uncredited one by  George Harrison on backing vocals. 

13 Tears Dry On Their Own (unofficial remix) 

Amy Winehouse and Eric Clapton

This is a digital version which was originally released in 2007 and was part of an unofficial Russian CDr (CD-ROM) from 2012: 'Amy Winehouse & Duffy - MP3 Collection'. 

14 Oyster Bay (unreleased demo 1973) 

Billy Joel - 'My Lives' box set

Billy Joel says in the liner notes to 'My Lives' that he can understand why some people don't like his music based off the countless hits he's had. This box set in theory was created to show off the multiple facets to Joel as an artist. One purpose definitely seems to have been a cleaning out of the vaults, so to speak. 23 of the songs here have never been released previously, and there are different versions of old standards. Throw in some B-Sides, live performances, and a live DVD, and I suppose you certainly get a glimpse of the versatility of Joel. One would think though more album cuts would have made the list, instead of demos, although 'Oyster Bay' shows us one of those classic Joel character studies while taking its sound from Elton John-era Elton.

15 Get Together (''Your Navy Presents'' Version) 

The Carpenters live 1970 

Unofficial release of the 1970 US Navy Radio Broadcast Show Presented by Sam Riddle. This release has several interesting and unique performances that they recorded live in the studio. Firstly, there's 'Get Together' sung by Karen, but originally sung by Richard on their debut album 'Offering' (later re-released as 'Ticket To Ride'.) This version was also released on 'From The Top' in 1991 and on 'The Essential Collection (1965 - 1997)' in 2002. 'Love Is Surrender' sounds like an early edit with a few instruments missing that were added before being released on the 'Close To You' album. 'Can't Buy Me Love' and 'Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing & All I Can Do' are unique to this broadcast as they've never been released on any other format. The same goes for 'Cinderella Rockerfella' and 'I Fell In Love', although these were also performed in their early concerts up until 1973. 'Flat Baroque' also sounds like an earlier version that was revised and re-recorded using different instruments for the 'A Song For You' album. 

16 Purple Rain (Unedited 19-minute Movie Version)

Prince (Live In Syracuse, March 30, 1985) 

In the semi-darkness of the Carrier Dome indoor stadium in Syracuse, New York, a voice breaks through: "Hello Syracuse and the world. My name is Prince." That was Prince's address to the city and the world on the evening of 30 March 1985, before beginning his concert, which was filmed and transmitted live by satellite in the United States and several other countries. A little later, TV stations in Europe aired the show, including Antenne 2 (now France 2), on 25 May, in the program 'Les Enfants du Rock'. The venue had been decorated in Prince’s signature purple flowers, with a steady stream of dramatic smoke pouring across the stage whilst lasers shone through the mysterious built-up mist. Prince had just released the album that would cement his place in rock’s rich tapestry, 'Purple Rain', though the ensuing tour would make him one of the game’s legends. Drummer Robert Rivkin noted the preshow ritual, saying: “We’d all gather in Prince’s dressing room, in a circle, and either he would speak, or he would point to one of us, and we would speak of the night. I can remember everybody seemed to rise to the occasion and had very inspiring words against the backdrop of twenty thousand screaming people waiting for us”. “There was always that final moment of togetherness before we hit the stage,” Rivkin added. “We didn’t ever just go out there without first connecting to each other and looking in each other’s eyes and Prince checking us out and us checking him out”. As the curtain began to creep up slowly just before the show, a mysterious yet small figure stood entranced in the fog and shadow. Then, out of nowhere, the band got stuck into ‘Let’s Go Crazy‘, and the audience followed suit, some 38,000 of them. The concert had also been one of the first pay-per-view musical events. Lisa Coleman said: “Prince was our conductor. We took our cues from him. He spoke a lot with his face. You had to rely on that a lot. A lot of the time, he can’t control it, so you learned what was pleasing to him and what frustrated him. And then he did like the ugly funky face when you did something he liked. That was always a good high”. Serving as the first of two encores, 'I Would Die 4 U' and 'Baby I'm A Star' were drawn out into an extended jam session. Sheila E. and her band, Apollonia 6 and Eric Leeds were also in this section of the show. The last encore was 'Purple Rain', which Prince played this over 18 minutes, which included a longer intro, with Wendy encouraging the audience to sing the song's post-chorus "ohh ohh" vocals, and lengthy guitar solos on two of Prince's guitars (both seen in the movie and in videos), including the white Cloud guitar.

Various Artists - Rarities Row Vol. 1 (2025)

Here is something a bit special from Mike Solof - a trawl through his huge collection of rare music, with something to satisfy all tastes, from heavy rock to jazz, progressive rock to powerpop, and bubblegum pop to classic singer/songwriter. They are mostly tracks that you will have heard before, but not in these versions, and so over to Mike to introduce it.

I’m starting up a new series called Rarity Row and this is volume 1! Recently I was on the hunt for a rare song in my massive collection of fourteen 14 TB hard drives and as I was searching I thought what a shame it is that I have all this cool stuff and only share bits and pieces here and there when needed. So I thought I would start a new series here that doesn’t just focus on one artist at a time, but various artists from my entire collection. Thus was the birth of 'Rarity Row'. Each Volume will contain about an hours worth of cool tunes culled from bootlegs, rare B-sides, box sets, rare singles, live cuts and just plain old out of print very hard to find albums. I already have two more volumes lined up but I thought I would see the reaction to this first before posting more. I also am doing a slightly different type of track list, as I’m going to post the name of the song, the source of the song with a picture of the source I used and maybe a tiny bit more about it if I think it’s necessary. But mostly I’m going to let the music speak for itself. I hope you dig Volume One. It was a blast putting it together!

Michael 

Track listing and brief info: 

01 Crying In The Night (Single Mix) 

Buckingham Nicks (1973) Beginnings 

'Buckingham Nicks' is the only studio album by the duo of American rock guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks, both of whom later joined Fleetwood Mac. Produced by Keith Olsen, the album was released in September 1973 by Polydor Records. The album was a commercial failure on its original release, and despite the duo's subsequent success, it has yet to be commercially remastered or re-released digitally. Recording sessions for 'Buckingham Nicks' took place at Sound City Studios, and Olsen took the opportunity to purchase a large Neve console for the facility, as he owned part of the studio at the time, and 'Crying in the Night', the opening song on 'Buckingham Nicks', was the first song recorded on the device. Various session musicians, including drummer Jim Keltner and guitarist Waddy Wachtel, assisted in recording the album, and Buckingham performed two guitar instrumentals on the album: 'Django' and 'Stephanie'. 'Django' was written by pianist guitarist John Lewis in the 1950s to honour jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, while 'Stephanie' was written by Buckingham as a love song for Nicks, as she was born as Stephanie Lynn Nicks. Buckingham wrote the song in late 1971 or early 1972 while recovering from a bout of mononucleosis that forced him to play while lying flat on his back. It was revealed on 22 July 2025 that the album had been remastered and would be released on CD, vinyl, and streaming on 19 September 2025

02 REO Speedwagon - Don't Let Him Go (Demo) 

REO Speedwagon The Classic Years 1978-1990

'Don't Let Him Go' is a song written by Kevin Cronin, and it was originally released as the opening song for REO Speedwagon's #1 album 'Hi Fidelity', and it was also released as a single, reaching #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. 'Don't Let Him Go' has appeared on several REO Speedwagon greatest hits albums, and Cronin recalls that it was the first song he wrote for 'Hi Infidelity'. Like the #1 single from the album, 'Keep On Loving You', the lyrics of 'Don't Let Him Go' are about breaking up with a longtime girlfriend. 

03 Name Of The Game - 1971 unreleased Al Kooper single mix 

1971 unreleased Al Kooper single 

Badfinger's 1971 'Name Of The Game' is the sixth track from the power pop band's  album, 'Straight Up', and was written by Pete Ham. After the release of their album 'No Dice', Badfinger began work on an untitled follow-up, with Geoff Emerick producing sessions for the songs that were to be on the album, among them being 'Name Of The Game'. It was also intended to be released as the lead single from this album, backed with 'Suitcase', a track written by Joey Molland, but despite efforts from George Harrison (who was impressed greatly by the track) to remix the song, the single, as well as the rest of the album, were cancelled due to input from Phil Spector. This single edit appeared on some reissues of 'Straight Up'. When George Harrison returned to produce a new album for Badfinger, one of the songs that he worked on was 'Name Of The Game', but upon his departure to oversee The Concert for Bangladesh, Todd Rundgren came in to finish the album, and on its completion, the album, now titled 'Straight Up', featured 'Name Of The Game' at the end of side one.

04 Stairway To Heaven #6 (with vocals) 

Led Zeppelin Studio Magik - Sessions 1968-1980 

'Stairway To Heaven' is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971 on the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as 'Led Zeppelin IV'), by Atlantic Records. Composed by the band's guitarist Page with lyrics written by lead singer Jimmy Robert Plant, it is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. The initial idea was to have this quite fragile guitar that would open up this piece of music and for something that would accelerate as it went through from beginning to end, but to actually pull this idea off properly was a different story. According to Page "It's all accelerating, it's all moving, but it's not necessarily orchestrating, although it's overdubbing, increasing the texture as it goes through". 

05 Sister Golden Hair (Demo)

America 50th Anniversary The Collection

'Sister Golden Hair' is a song by the band America, written by Gerry Beckley, from their fifth album 'Hearts' in 1975. It was their second single to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, remaining in the top position for one week. Beckley says "There was no actual Sister Gold Hair." The lyrics were largely inspired by the works of Jackson Browne. Beckley commented, "Jackson Browne has a knack, an ability to put words to music, that is much more like the L.A. approach to just genuine observation as opposed to simplifying it down to its bare essentials... I find Jackson can depress me a little bit, but only through his honesty; and it was that style of his which led to a song of mine, 'Sister Golden Hair', which is probably the more L.A. of my lyrics." Beckley adds that 'Sister Golden Hair' "was one of the first times I used 'ain't' in a song, but I wasn't making an effort to. I was just putting myself in that frame of mind and I got those kind of lyrics out of it." 

06 French Song #04 (Alternate Mix, Stereo) 

The Monkees Present US Rhino Box set [2013 Present US Rhino RHM2 535908] 

Musicians

Davy Jones: Lead Vocal

Louie Shelton: Acoustic Guitar

Frank Bugbee: Acoustic Guitar

Michel Rubini: Organ

Max Bennett: Bass

Hal Blaine: Drums

Tim Weisberg: Flute

Emil Richards: Percussion

Producers Davy Jones, Bill Chadwick

Writers: Bill Chadwick 

07 Jack Frost And The Hooded Crow (UK Single)

20 Years of Jethro Tull box Set 

'The Jethro Tull Christmas Album' was much praised on first release, with Rolling Stone noting admiringly: “The originals simmer with eccentric, eclectic, folky energy, rocking ditties threaded through with Celtic stylings, jazzy undercurrents, Ian Anderson’s distinctive flute and wry humour.” Allmusic called it “perhaps the most satisfying Tull releases in 25 years.”  

 

08 Magic Man (Demo) 

Heart - 1975 Strange Euphoria Box Set 

'Magic Man' is a song by the American rock band Heart, released as a single from their debut album 'Dreamboat Annie'. Written and composed by Ann and Nancy Wilson, the song is sung from the viewpoint of a young girl who is being seduced by an older man (referred to as a Magic Man), much to the chagrin of her mother, who calls and begs the girl to come home. In an interview, Ann Wilson revealed that 'Magic Man' was about her then boyfriend, band manager Michael Fisher, and that part of the song was an autobiographical tale of the beginnings of their relationship. In the United States, 'Magic Man' received its first release in summer 1976, after the first US single 'Crazy On You' introduced Americans to the group's sound. It became Heart's first top 10 hit, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 6, 1976. 

09 Runnin' With the Devil 

Van Halen - Complete Zero 

Gene Simmons produced Demos (May 1976) 

In 1976, Gene Simmons of KISS was encouraged to see Van Halen as a possible act for his new label. He produced a demo that included many songs the band would eventually record for their early studio albums, including a version of 'Runnin’ With The Devil'. The demo went nowhere, but Van Halen’s momentum finally became impossible to deny. Producer Ted Templeman got them a deal at Warner Bros. after seeing one of their live performances. The first sound that you hear on the band’s debut album is a rising, ominous blare. It was Gene Simmons’ idea to open 'Runnin’ With The Devil', which is credited to all four members of the band, with a car horn. Eddie Van Halen took the idea and ran with it, improvising a device with the horns of the band members’ cars that he could manipulate for the recording. The horn rises, Michael Anthony cranks out a single repeated bass note, a mysterious piano plinks, and then the crunching main groove kicks into gear. It’s interesting upon listening to 'Runnin With The Devil', which is considered a hard rock classic, just how quiet it is in sections, especially in the verses when the music murmurs behind Roth’s pronouncements. Of course, that makes the refrains, when the undeniable rhythm locks back into place, that much more impactful. The track also limits Eddie’s soloing, just a few quick but impressive bursts. But his ability as a rhythm guitarist is on full display, as he gives the song an unforced funkiness in conjunction with the bottom end of Anthony and Alex Van Halen. There is also plenty of room for Roth’s vocal scatting and general wackiness, another key aspect of the band’s engaging nature that was on display right off the bat. These guys were going to rock out and have a blast doing it, which was in contrast to some of their more stone-faced contemporaries of the era. As for the lyrics? No, there’s nothing satanic about them. The devil is just a metaphor for the high-intensity, high-risk life chosen by the narrator. Roth doesn’t pretend there are no consequences for that choice: Yes, I’m livin‘ at a pace that kills, he boasts. That’s the price you pay when you act like there’s no tomorrow. 

10 Any World That I’m Welcome To 

Steely Dan - Steely Dan Four Outtakes 1972 

early version from demo reel, different from circulating demo 

'Katy Lied' was the first album the group made after they stopped touring, as well as their first to feature backing vocals by Michael McDonald. The album was the first one recorded by Steely Dan after guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and drummer Jim Hodder left the group as a result of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's decision to stop touring and focus solely on recording with various studio musicians. Guitarist Denny Dias, a founding member of Steely Dan, contributed to the album as a session musician, as did vocalist McDonald and drummer Michael Jeff Porcaro, who were both members of Steely Dan's final touring band. Then only 20 years old, Porcaro played drums on every track on the album except 'Any World (That I'm Welcome To)', which features session drummer Hal Blaine. 

11 Copacabana (Demo) 

Barry Manilow - The Complete Collection and Then some… 1992. 

'Copacabana', also known as 'Copacabana (At the Copa)', is a song recorded by Barry Manilow. Written by Manilow, Jack Feldman, and Bruce Sussman, it was released in 1978 as the third single from Manilow's fifth studio album, 'Even Now ' in1978. The same year, "Copacabana" appeared in the soundtrack album of the film 'Foul Play'. The song was inspired by a conversation between Manilow and Sussman at the Copacabana Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, when they discussed whether there had ever been a song called "Copacabana". After returning to the U.S., Manilow - who, in the 1960s, had been a regular visitor to the Copacabana nightclub in New York City - suggested that Sussman and Feldman write the lyrics to a story song for him. They did so, and Manilow supplied the music. The song earned Manilow his first and only Grammy Award for Performance in February 1979. 

12 On A Clear Day - Private Concert Best Male Pop Vocal 

Exclusively for My Friends Box Set 1964 

'Exclusively For My Friends' is a series of originally six albums for the label MPS by Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. The album tracks were recorded live by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer for MPS on the occasion of private concerts with a small audience in his home studio. 

13 All kinds Of People (Unreleased)

Sheryl Crow - Lost First Album 1992 

After signing a contract with A&M Records and not wanting to release her own first attempt at a debut record thinking it was unmemorable, Sheryl Crow finally released 'Tuesday Night Music Club' in 1993. It remains her most successful effort to date and one of the best-selling albums of the 1990s, having sold more than ten million copies internationally by the end of the decade.

14 Avalon (Demo) 

The Semantics Demos 1990? 

The Semantics was an American pop rock band from Nashville, Tennessee  formed by Jody Spence (drums), Millard Powers (bass), and Will Owsley (guitars and vocals), Zak Starkey later replaced Spence on drums. The band recorded one album, 'Powerbill', which was released in Japan. After being dropped by their record label shortly after recording the album, the band members at the time (Powers, Owsley, and Starkey) all went on to successful careers in the music industry. Powers has performed as a bassist with Ben Folds and and has worked as a Counting Crows record engineer and producer. Owsley had a successful solo career before his death in 2010. Starkey has served as the drummer for the bands Oasis and The Who. Jody Spence and Owsley began writing songs after a couple of years of touring with Judson Spence, Jody's brother. Jody and Owsley soon got publishing contracts with Sony Music Publishing which were facilitated by Scott Siman 1990. In 1991, Siman attended a show in North Carolina, where a band called Majosha performed, which featured Ben Folds and Millard Powers. Not long after that, Siman brought Folds to Nashville and Powers later followed. Siman furnished a small demo studio that the Spence brothers, Owsley and Folds would often share. Folds would eventually introduce Millard Powers to Jody Spence and Owsley. Within a month of meeting each other, Spence, Powers and Owsley had written and recorded entire albums worth of songs at the Sony Tree studio, seven of which would later end up on the Geffen Records album 'Powerbill'. 

15 Blow Away (Demo)

George Harrison - 1979 iTunes Exclusive Bonus Track to 'George Harrison'  album 

'Blow Away' is a song by English musician George Harrison that was released in February 1979 on his album 'George Harrison'. It was also the lead single from the album. The end of 'Blow Away', written on a rainy day (that's why first verses are about clouds), was included in 'Nuns On The Run' – a comedy film with Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane. In his autobiography, 'I, Me, Mine', Harrison says that the song arose from feelings of frustration and inadequacy resulting from a leaking roof at his Friar Park home. While viewing the downpour from an outbuilding on the property, he realised that, in surrendering to the problem, he was merely exacerbating it. With this realisation, the episode served as a reminder that he, in fact, "loved everybody" and should seek to be more optimistic. Additionally, he notes that, while he initially felt self-conscious about the song, thinking it "so obvious", the track grew on him when he recorded it. His demo of the song was released as an Harrison iTunes-exclusive bonus track on 'George Harrison'.

16 Moving - Studio Outtake 

Kate Bush - Demos 

'Moving' is a song written and recorded in 1978 by English singer-songwriter Kate Bush for her debut album, 'The Kick Inside'. Written by Bush and produced by Andrew Powell, the song is a tribute to Lindsay Kemp, her mime teacher. The finished version of 'Moving' opens with whale song (missing from the demo) sampled from 'Songs Of The Humpback Whale', an LP including recordings of whale vocalisations made by Dr. Roger S. Payne. In an interview with a magazine, Bush commented, "Whales say everything about 'moving'. It's huge and beautiful, intelligent, soft inside a tough body. It weighs a ton and yet it's so light it floats. It's the whole thing about human communication —'moving liquid, yet you are just as water'— what the Chinese say about being the cup the water moves in to. The whales are pure movement and pure sound, calling for something, so lonely and sad …”. Bush signed a contract with EMI Records in her late teens, but between recording demos with Dave Gilmour as producer and releasing her first album, she pursued her studies and gained maturity in her writing. After seeing an advertisement for Lindsay Kemp's Flowers spectacle, she decided to take mime classes with him, and six months later she took modern dance classes with Anthony Van Laast. Bush began recording her debut album, 'The Kick Inside', in 1977, and she wrote 'Moving' the same year as a tribute to Kemp. "He needed a song written to him," she said in an interview. "He opened up my eyes to the meanings of movement. He makes you feel so good. If you've got two left feet it's 'you dance like an angel, darling.' He fills people up, you're an empty glass and glug, glug, glug, he's filled you with champagne." 'Moving' was released on 6 February 1978 as a single solely in Japan, with 'Wuthering Heights' as b-side, in order to promote 'The Kick Inside'. 

17 Supper's Ready - Peter Gabriel on vocals 

recorded by the sound engineer from the soundboard. 

Genesis Live - Live at Leicester/Manchester Feb 1973 - Dutch Test Pressing 

'Genesis Live' is the first live album from the English rock band Genesis, released on 20 July 1973 on Charisma Records. Initially recorded for radio broadcast on the American rock program King Biscuit Flower Hour, but never broadcast, the album was recorded at Montfort Hall, De Leicester, on 25 February 1973, except for 'The Return Of The Giant Hogweed', which was recorded at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, on the previous day. 'Genesis Live' was the band's first album to enter the top 10 in the UK, reaching No. 9, although following its US release in 1974, it only peaked at No. 105. 'Genesis Live' was issued in the US several months after the release of 'Selling England By The Pound', which upset Gabriel as the album included songs from their old live sets, and was quickly recorded with little care given to the quality of the recordings. When Gabriel reluctantly agreed to have the album released, part of the deal was that it would not be issued in the US. The album was recorded by the Pye Mobile Recording Unit, with engineer Alan Perkins, on the tour promoting their recent album 'Foxtrot'. A handful of early radio promotional double-LP test pressings were created which included a 23-minute version of 'Supper's Ready' from the Leicester show. This album's running order was 'Watcher Of The Skies', 'The Musical Box', 'Get 'Em Out By Friday', 'Supper's Ready', 'The Return Of The Giant Hogweed', and 'The Knife', and included between-song patter by Gabriel. 'Supper's Ready' was not included in the officially released version, even though the front cover photograph was taken during a live performance of the song, with Gabriel donning the "Magog" mask.

Do let Mike know what you think of this selection. Is the mix of genres too wide? Are demos and alternate takes OK, or would you prefer new, unreleased songs? I'm sure all suggestions will be welcomed for future volumes. 

Soulseek hint - solof aiwe

  

Various Artists - Where Have All The Horns Gone?! (1981)

After performing major surgery on a number of albums to remove the excess flab, and cosmetic surgery on a few others to give them a nip and tuck here and there, my attention turned to some of my favourite horn-led songs, and I wondered what they would sound like without their brass sections. Pretty good, as it turns out, as most of them remain great tracks even without the horns, and with some you don't even miss them despite hearing them hundreds of times already in their familiar versions. So purely as a bit of fun, and as an experiment to see what these programmes can do, here is a collection of songs which are famous for their inclusion of a horn section, presented in all their naked glory.  

Track listing

01 25 Or 6 To 4 - Chicago
02 Bitch - The Rolling Stones
03 And When I Die - Blood Sweat & Tears
04 Keep The Customer Satisfied - Simon & Garfunkel
05 No Reply At All - Genesis
06 Spinning Wheel - Blood Sweat & Tears
07 Reward - The Teardrop Explodes
08 Wake Up Boo - The Boo Radleys

09 Questions 67 & 68 - Chicago

10 You've Made Me So Very Happy - Blood Sweat & Tears
11 5:15 - The Who
12 Deacon Blues - Steely Dan

After some back and forth discussions and a bit of re-thinking, I've decided to remove the Moody Blues track, as despite a Reddit post citing it as one of the best rock songs with horns, I now realise that it doesn't actually have any on there, so it shouldn't really be here. 

Michael McDonald - ...featuring (2022)

Time for another post from Mike S, and this time he's been trawling his record collection for recordings that feature one particular vocalist, so over to Mike...

Michael Solof back with you for another round of fun tunes. I was inspired this time by pj's wonderful '...and on guitar' series. I was listening to an old Steely Dan album the other day and I followed it with Christopher Cross’s first album and realized that Michael McDonald was on both albums singing background vocals (and almost co-lead at times) and that got me thinking about how many songs I loved that he'd contributed to over the years. McDonald is known for his distinctive, soulful voice and was a member of two of the biggest bands of the 70's/80's, with stints in the Doobie Brothers from 1975–1982, and Steely Dan during 1973 and 1974. He wrote and sang several hit singles with the Doobie Brothers, including 'What A Fool Believes', 'Minute By Minute', and 'Takin' It To The Streets', and his solo career consists of nine studio albums and a number of singles, including the 1982 hit 'I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)'. However, it's his session work that we're looking at here, as during his long career he's collaborated with a huge number of other artists, including James Ingram, David Cassidy, Van Halen, Patti LaBelle, Lee Ritenour, the Winans, Aretha Franklin, Toto, Grizzly Bear, Joni Mitchell, and Thundercat, and unlike almost all other background vocalists who literally do "disappear into the background", McDonald's voice always broke through that haze and became a unique, distinctive and very important part of each song he contributed to. His beautiful tone just added a lushness to the harmonies that you couldn’t help but notice. I therefore started going through his entire musical catalog and pulling out two different ways that he'd helped many wonderful fellow musicians throughout the years. One way was just as a background vocalist and the other was as a co-lead or guest vocalist (and often times songwriter), and then I broke up the collection accordingly. The first volume is his guest vocals on other artist's songs, while the other two volumes feature his backing vocals for a wide variety of artists over an extra-ordinary 46-year career. 

Track listing

Volume 1
01 Let Me Go, Love (from 'In The Nick Of Time' by Nicolette Larson 1979)
02 I've Got My Mind Made Up (from 'Together?' soundtrack with Jackie DeShannon 1979)
03 Heart To Heart (from 'Heart To Heart' by Kenny Loggins 1982)
04 Arcade (from 'Swing Street' by Patrick Simmons 1983)
05 Let's Stay Together (from 'Tribute To Jeff Porcaro' by Paulette Brown & David Pack 1997)
06 Moondance (from 'Nathan East' by Nathan East 2014)
07 Long Haul (from 'Unfinished Business' by Robben Ford 2014)
08 Night Of Our Own (from 'Someday, Somehow' by Steve Porcaro 2016)
09 Love In The World (from '2' by CWF 2020)
10 Higher Ground (mixed by Tomey Maguarfield, feat. McDonald/Red Hot Chilli Peppers 2022)

Volume 2
01 Any World (That I'm Welcome To) (from 'Katy Lied' by Steely Dan 1975)  
02 See What You Done (from 'Chunky, Novi And Ernie' by Chunky, Novi And Ernie 1977)
03 Strengthen My Love (from 'White Shadows' by Tim Moore 1977)
04 Red Streamliner ('Waiting For Columbus' out-take by Little Feat 1978) 
05 Losing Myself In You (from 'Bish' by Steven Bishop 1978)
06 I Really Don't Know Anymore (from 'Christopher Cross' by Christopher Cross 1979)
07 This Is It (from 'Keep The Fire' by Kenny Loggins 1979)
08 Please Don't Leave (from 'Lauren Wood' by Lauren Wood 1979)
09 Young Blood (from 'Rickie Lee Jones' by Ricky Lee Jones 1979)
10 One Fine Day (from 'Satisfied' by Rita Coolidge 1979)
11 Steal Away (from 'Robbie Dupree' by Robbie Dupree 1980)

Volume 3
01 Why You Givin' Up (from 'Arcade' by Patrick Simmons 1983)
02 I Just Can't Let Go (from 'Anywhere You Go' by David Pack 1985)
03 I'll Be Over You (from 'Fahrenheit' by Toto 1986)
04 A Fool And His Money (from 'Mosaic' by Wang Chung 1986)
05 Never Give Up (from 'Outrageous Temptations' by Tim Weisberg 1989)
06 Same World (from 'Same World' by Henry Kapono 1991)
07 Where Words End (from 'Just Across The River' by Jimmy Webb 2010) 
08 Some Children (from 'Holy Ghost!' by Holy Ghost! 2011)
09 The Best Of Me (from 'Starting Now' by Toad The Wet Sprocket 2021)

McDonald has one of the finest, smoothest, most mellow voices in All of Music. It’s the reason he is still in such high demand over 40 years after his debut.

I hope you like this collection as much as I do.

Mike S

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.

Steely Dan - The Lost Gaucho (1980) UPGRADE

Thanks to king0elizabeth for letting me know that a couple of  fans have attempted to improve the sound quality of  the band version of 'The Second Arrangement' from this album, and reddit user ZestyLemon571 has nailed it by mixing the two restored versions of the song together, while Youtuber Dan The Vault has made it available to the wider audience. It does mean the the lyrics from the first version have now replaced the ones on the band version, but to be honest I'd rather have the hugely improved sound quality. This prompted me to check to see if there was a better version of the other track that let down the album, and I've found a speed/pitch corrected version of 'I Can't Write Home About You' which has also removed much of the muddiness from the vocals, so an updated version of the whole album is now available for download.    

Steely Dan - Snowbound (1994)

After producing six of the very best albums of the 70's with Steely Dan, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen took a break from songwriting for most of 1978 before starting work on their next project 'Gaucho'. The project did not go smoothly, with technical problems, when an assistant engineer accidentally erased most of one of their favourite songs 'The Second Arrangement', and legal issues with their record label meant that the band could not release an album for over a year, with 'Gaucho' eventually appearing in 1980. These problems, plus some personal setbacks for Becker, went some way towards Becker and Fagen's decision to suspend their partnership for over a decade, officially disbanding Steely Dan in 1981. Fagen didn't waste any time, though, and released his first solo album 'The Nightfly' in 1982, giving him a platinum record in both the U.S. and the U.K., and yielding the Top Twenty hit 'I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World)'. However, following this success, and writing the score for 'Bright Lights, Big City' in 1988, he recorded little in the following years. Becker, in the meantime, had moved to Maui, where he stopped using drugs, and became an avocado rancher and self-styled critic of the contemporary scene. Both men occasionally did production work for other artists, with Becker gaining some acclaim for his work with UK indie/pop band China Crisis, who were strongly influenced by Steely Dan. In 1986 Becker and Fagen performed on 'Zazu', an album by former model Rosie Vela, which led to a rekindling of their friendship, and they wrote some new material together between 1986 and 1987, but the results remained unfinished. 
In 1993/1994 the stars must have aligned, as both Becker and Fagen released solo albums at the same time, Fagen's second, and Becker's debut. Not only that, but Fagen co-produced and played keyboards on Becker's, and Becker produced and played guitar and bass on Fagen's, as well as co-writing one of the songs, 'Snowbound'. If only they'd got together a little earlier and considered reforming Steely Dan, they could have pooled their songs to produce an album that fans had been waiting over a dozen years to hear. As they didn't think of it, it's up to me to do it for them, taking what I think are the most Dan-like tracks from each of their solo albums, along with a couple of excellent out-takes from Becker, one from the Japanese edition of his album, and the other which was released by his estate following his passing in 2017. It will never be as good an album as if they had collaborated fully on the writing and arrangement of the songs, but it hangs together pretty well, and shows that neither artist had lost any of their songwriting skills following their decade-long semi-retirement in the 80's. I've named it after the one of the two co-writes on the album, and based the cover on that as well.  

Track listing

01 Snowbound (Becker/Fagan)
02 Book Of Liars (Becker)
03 Junkie Girl (Becker)
04 On The Dunes (Fagan)
05 Love In The 4th (Becker)
06 Teahouse On The Tracks (Fagan)
07 Fall Of '92 (Becker/Fagan)
08 Springtime (Fagan)

There was a slight update to this post, as neplicot suggested a couple of songs that I could have included, one of which I had completely missed. The Becker/Fagan co-write 'Fall Of '92', which was left off Becker's '11 Tracks Of Whack' album, is a great song, and would fit perfectly on here. I'm therefore replacing Becker's 'Medical Science', as while it's also a great track, I never really felt it fitted in with the others, whereas 'Fall Of '92' just slots right in.