Jerry Garcia - ...and on guitar (1974)

Jerry Garcia's musical career is inevitably closely intertwined with The Grateful Dead, but he also spent a lot of time in the recording studio helping out fellow musician friends in session work, often adding guitar, vocals, pedal steel, sometimes banjo and piano and even producing. Artists who sought his help included the likes of Jefferson Airplane (most notably 'Surrealistic Pillow', where he was listed as their 'spiritual advisor'), and where he also played uncredited guitar on 'Today', 'Plastic Fantastic Lover' and 'Comin' Back to Me'. He also added guitar to 'The Farm' from their 'Volunteers' album, as well as helping out Tom Fogerty, David Bromberg, Robert Hunter, Paul Pena, Peter Rowan, Warren Zevon, Country Joe McDonald, Pete Sears, Ken Nordine, Ornette Coleman, Bruce Hornsby, Bob Dylan, It's a Beautiful Day, and many more. He played pedal steel guitar for fellow-San Francisco musicians New Riders Of The Purple Sage from their initial dates in 1969 through to October 1971, when increased commitments with the Dead forced him to opt out of the group, but he does appear as a band member on their debut album 'New Riders Of The Purple Sage', and produced 'Home, Home On The Road'. He contributed pedal steel guitar to the enduring hit 'Teach Your Children' by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, and also played it on Brewer & Shipley's 1970 album 'Tarkio', and despite considering himself a novice on the pedal steel, he routinely ranked high in player polls. This album is just a snapshot of the many artists that he's appeared with, covering just the years 1969 to 1974, and yet it still had to be a double album. 

Track listing 

Disc One
01 The Farm (from 'Volunteers' by Jefferson Airplane 1969)
02 Oh Mommy (from 'Tarkio' by Brewer & Shipley 1970)
03 Teach Your Children (from 'Déjà vu' by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 1970)
04 Starship (from 'Blows Against The Empire' by Paul Kantner/Jefferson Starship 1970)
05 Soul Fever (from 'Papa John Creach' by Papa John Creach 1971)
06 What Are Their Names (from 'If I Could Only Remember My Name' by David Crosby 1971)
07 Man In The Mirror (from 'Songs For Beginners' by Graham Nash 1971)
08 Change Partners (from 'Stephen Stills 2' by Stephen Stills 1971)
09 When I Was A Boy I Watched The Wolves (from 'Sunfighter' by Kantner/Slick 1971)

10 Hickory Day (from 'Rowan Brothers' by Rowan Brothers 1972)

11 Sick And Tired (from 'Excalibur' by Tom Fogerty 1972)

12 Southbound Train (from 'Graham Nash - David Crosby' by Crosby & Nash 1972)

Disc Two
01 Looks Like Rain (from 'Ace' by Bob Weir 1972)
02 Deep, Wide And Frequent (from 'Rolling Thunder' by Mickey Hart 1972)
03 Venutian Lady (from 'New Train' by Paul Pena 1973)

04 Expressway (To Your Heart) (from 'Fire Up' by Merl Saunders 1973)
05 Walkin' (from 'Baron von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun' by Kantner/Slick/Freiberg 1973)
06 Down In The Willow Garden (from 'Angel Clare' by Art Garfunkel 1973)
07 Tuscon, Arizona (from 'Be What You Want To' by Link Wray 1973)
08 Someone Else's Blues (from 'Wanted Dead Or Alive' by David Bromberg 1974)
09 Standing At Your Door (from 'Tales Of The Great Rum Runners' by Robert Hunter 1974)

Joe Walsh - ...and on guitar (1974)

Joseph Fidler Walsh was born on November 20, 1947, in Wichita, Kansas, and lived in Columbus, Ohio, for a number of years during his youth. When Walsh was twelve years old, his family moved to New York City, then later to Montclair, New Jersey, where he attended Montclair High School, playing oboe in the school band. He got his first guitar at the age of 10, and on learning The Ventures' 'Walk Don't Run', he decided that he wanted to pursue a career as a guitarist. Inspired by the success of the Beatles, he replaced Bruce Hoffman as the bass player in the New Jersey group The Nomads, and after high school he attended Kent State University, where he spent time in various bands playing around the Cleveland area. One of these bands, The Measles, recorded two songs which appeared on The Ohio Express's 'Beg Borrow And Steal' album, as well as an instrumental for the b-side of one of their singles. Walsh majored in English while at Kent State, and was present during the Kent State massacre in 1970, which was something that profoundly affected him, leading him to drop out of university to pursue his musical career. Around Christmas 1967, James Gang guitarist Glenn Schwartz decided to leave the band to move to California, where he ended up forming Pacific Gas & Electric, and just days later Walsh knocked on Jim Fox's door and asked to be given a tryout as Schwartz's replacement. Walsh was accepted and the band continued as a five piece for a short time until Phil Giallombardo left. In May 1968, the group played a concert in Detroit at the Grande Ballroom opening for Cream, but at the last minute Silverman informed the others that he would not join them at the show, so the other three took to the stage as a trio, and they liked their sound so much that they decided to remain as a three-piece. In 1968 the band signed with manager Mark Barger, who put them in touch with ABC Records staff producer Bill Szymczyk, and he signed them to ABC's new Bluesway Records subsidiary in January 1969. The James Gang had several minor hits and became an early album-oriented rock staple for the next two years, releasing one live and four studio albums before Walsh left in 1971. He was invited to move to England and join Humble Pie by Steve Marriott, since Peter Frampton had left the band, but declined his offer, instead moving to Colorado and forming Barnstorm with drummer and multi-instrumentalist Joe Vitale and bassist Kenny Passarelli. Walsh and Barnstorm released their debut album, the eponymous 'Barnstorm' in October 1972, which garnered critical praise which unfortunately did not translate into commercial success. The follow-up 'The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get' followed in June 1973, and although officially a Barnstorn album it was marketed under Walsh's name, and was their commercial breakthrough, peaking at No. 6 on the US Billboard chart, and including the classic 'Rocky Mountain Way'. Throughout his busy career Walsh has always been ready to add his prodigious guitar skills to a variety of albums, with soul maestro Jimmy Witherspoon, blues legend B.B. King and folkies Stephen Stills, Dan Fogelberg, and America. He also rocks out with REO Speedwagon and Rick Derringer, as well as re-uniting with his old Barnstorm band-mate Joe Vitale on his 1974 solo album, and playing on Michael Stanley's 'Rosewood Bitters', which he later covered on his own 1985 album 'The Confessor'. This collection takes us up to the point that Walsh joined The Eagles in 1975, as Bernie Leadon's replacement, but despite the extra workload this entailed, he was still able to help out on albums by Keith Moon, Al Kooper, Andy Gibb, and Randy Newman throughout the rest of the 70's.

Track listing

01 Stay With Me Baby (from 'Handbags And Gladrags' by Jimmy Witherspoon 1970)
02 Rosewood Bitters (from 'Michael Stanley' by Michael Stanley 1972)
03 Midnight (from 'L.A. Midnight' by B.B. King 1972)
04 Sweet Maria (from 'She Is A Song' by Rick Roberts 1973)
05 Down The Road (from 'Down the Road' by Stephen Stills / Manassas 1973)
06 Uncomplicated (from 'All American Boy'by Rick Derringer 1973)
07 Green Monkey (from 'Hat Trick' by America 1973)
08 Open Up (from 'Ridin' The Storm Out' by REO Speedwagon 1973)
09 Shoot 'Em Up (from 'Roller Coaster Weekend' by Joe Vitale 1974)
10 Better Change (from 'Souvenirs' by Dan Fogelberg 1974)
11 The Gambler (from 'The Whole Thing Started With Rock & Roll Now It's Out of Control' by

                                                                                                                   Ray Manzarek 1974)
12 You Are So Beautiful (from 'The Kids & Me' by Billy Preston 1974)

Eric Clapton - ...and on guitar (1970)

Throughout the 60's Eric Clapton's reputation as one of the greatest British guitarists grew and grew, as he moved through some of the UK's best bands, from The Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, and finally Blind Faith. With a workload like that, and the constant touring that it involved, it's not surprising that he didn't have a lot of spare time to go into the studio and offer his services as a guest guitarist, so it wasn't really until 1968 that he started to appear on records by other artists. His most famous guest appearance was in 1968 on The Beatles' 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', at the request of George Harrison, who asked him to play on it following the two guitarists collaboration on Harrison's Wonderwall Music' album, and that seems to have given him a taste for popping into the studio to help out friends, acquaintances, and artists that he admired. Also in 1968, while Cream were touring the US, Atlantic supremo Ahmet Ertegun asked him if he would play guitar on a record by a fellow Atlantic artist, and so the other guitarists were pulled out of the studio and a nervous Clapton laid down the lead guitar on Aretha Franklin's 'Good To Me As I Am To You'. The Beatles' recording followed later that year, and the Apple Records connection led to him playing on the b-side of Jackie Lomax's 'Sour Milk Sea' single, and also on Billy Preston's 'Do What You Want To' single from the same year (Preston had played on the 'Get Back' sessions, and on John Lennon's 'Cold Turkey' single). He was also one of the many, many guest artists on Martha Velez's 'Fiends & Angels' album, and by 1970 he was in the studio with other artists more than ever, helping out King Curtis, Jonathan Kelly, Shawn Phillips, and Leon Russell. One of my favourite guest appearances of his was on the 'Labio-Dental Fricative' single by Vivian Stanshall, and especially it's b-side 'Paper Round', where his guitar-work really shines. After adding his guitar to songs by Doris Troy and Stephen Stills, we end this album in 1970, after a flurry of guest appearances spanning just a three-year period. Once his solo career started to take off he cut back on the moonlighting, but rest assured that before that happened there are more than enough for a second volume.        

Track listing

01 While My Guitar Gently Weeps (from 'The Beatles' by The Beatles 1968)
02 Good To Me As I Am To You (from 'Lady Soul' by Aretha Franklin' 1968)
03 The Eagle Laughs At You (b-side of 'Sour Milk Sea' single by Jackie Lomax 1968)
04 Do What You Want To (b-side of 'That's The Way God Planned It' by Billy Preston 1969)
05 Cold Turkey (single by John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band 1969)
06 I’m Gonna Leave You (from 'Fiends & Angels' by Martha Velez 1969)
07 Teasin' (single by King Curtis 1970)
08 Don't You Believe It (single by Jonathan Kelly 1970)
09 Man Hole Covered Wagon (from 'Contribution' by Shawn Phillips 1970)
10 Prince Of Peace (from 'Leon Russell' by Leon Russell 1970)
11 Paper Round (b-side of 'Labio-Dental Fricative' single by Vivian Stanshall 1970)
12 Ain't That Cute (single by Doris Troy 1970)
13 Go Back Home (from 'Stephen Stills' by Stephen Stills 1970)

Jimi Hendrix - ...and on guitar (1970)

Considering the many, many hours of Jimi Hendrix recordings that exists, including both studio and live tapes, it's surprising at just how little there is of him collaborating with other artists in the later years of his career. There's the famed bootleg of him jamming with members of Traffic, and one album from Irish psyche-poppers Eire Apparent, for which he acted as producer and played guitar, but apart from those his guest appearances were limited to helping out friends Robert Wyatt, Arthur Lee and Stephen Stills, doing a favour for Paul McCartney, and appearing with a stellar cast of mates on two sessions, for Lighting Rod and Timothy Leary. 
Eire Apparent (a pun on their Irish heritage) hailed from Northern Ireland, and launched the careers of both Henry McCullough and Ernie Graham, but their main claim to fame is getting Hendrix to act as producer and play guitar on their sole album 'Sunrise' in 1968. The link is that both artists were managed by ex-Animals bassist Chas Chandler, and at one point both were signed to Track Records, for whom Eire Apparent recorded one single. Following this the band were sent to tour America, firstly with The Animals, and then later with Soft Machine and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and while in Los Angeles they recorded songs for their debut album 'Sunrise', with Hendrix producing and playing on the record. 'Sunrise' went the way of a lot of albums of the late 60's, selling a moderate number at the time, but being re-discovered in the 80's as a 'lost classic', and original copies now go for large sums, helped quite a bit by the Hendrix connection. 
Also is 1968, Roger McGough and Mike McGear were members of hit Liverpool art/rock/poetry band The Scaffold, and fancied doing a duo album of their own stuff. They roped in Mike's brother Paul McCartney to produce it, and between them they managed to engage the services of Hendrix to provide guitar on two of the more song-orientated tracks, both of them mid-to-late 60's pop/psyche offerings.
At the end of the tour, on which Eire Apparent supported Hendrix and The Soft Machine, The Experience gave Robert Wyatt access to their recording studios after hours, so that he could record some demos, and Hendrix added guitar to one of them, 'Slow Walkin' Talk'. 
In 1969, The Last Poet's member Lighting Rod was perfecting one of the earliest example of rapping, and wanted to record his outlandish tale of the prostitute 'Doriella Du Fontaine', so persuaded Buddy Miles and Hendrix to improvise in the studio with him. They recorded a basic 8 minute take which was eventually released as a 12" single in 1984, together with an edited four minute instrumental version of the track.
In 1970, Hendrix provided guitar on one song from Stephen Stills' debut solo album. The pair had known each other for years, and there's an hour-long jam session of the two of them in Stills' basement in 1968 available on Youtube, and during the sessions for the album the pair also recorded a jam called 'White Nigger', which Stills later turned into 'High And Dry' for his Manassas project. This was actually a re-acquaintance of the two in a recording studio, as the previous year Hendrix had invited Stills to a session at New York’s Record Plant, and it was there that Stills performed the Joni Mitchell song 'Woodstock' for the first time, a year before it would appear on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's album ‘Déjà vu’. Stills and Hendrix then recorded a version of the song, along with a take on Stills' '$20 Fine', both with Stills on vocals. 
Also in 1970, Hendrix was invited by Love's Arthur Lee to contribute to his band's album 'False Start'. Hendrix returned to Olympic Studios, the recording facility where he'd recorded 'Are You Experienced' and 'Axis: Bold As Love', and he and percussionist Remi Kabaka joined Love in recording 'The Everlasting First'. The three musicians recorded sixteen takes before a basic track met Lee's approval, and they also taped two takes of Hendrix's own 'Ezy Rider', before they took part in an extended instrumental jam session, later titled 'Loon', before departing. This album doesn't aim to include everything that Hendrix was involved in outside The Experience or Band Of Gypsys, but it's more of an overview of his collaborations, so I've picked just two songs from Eire Apparent's album, on which his guitar-playing is particularly up-front, along with the two 'McGough & McGear' songs, three with Stephen Stills, the Robert Wyatt demo, and the recording with Love. The Timothy Leary recording is nice to hear once, but doesn't really warrant repeated plays, so if you want to hear it you can do so here. I  haven't included the Love versions of 'Ezy Rider', as Hendrix sings on them and so they just sound like normal Hendrix out-takes, and 'Loon' is just a ten-minute jam, and I've also omitted '$20 Dollar Fine' which is available on the 'Both Sides Of The Sky' album. If you like the two Eire Apparent tracks then do check out their album as it really is excellent stuff.  

Track listing

01 The Clown (from 'Sunrise' by Eire Apparent 1968)
02 Mr. Guy Fawkes (from 'Sunrise' by Eire Apparent 1968)
03 So Much (from 'McGough & McGear' by McGough & McGear 1968)
04 Ex Art Student (from 'McGough & McGear' by McGough & McGear 1968)
05 Doriella Du Fontaine (by Lightning Rod 1969)
06 Old Times Good Times (from 'Stephen Stills' by Stephen Stills 1970)
07 White Nigger ('Stephen Stills' out-take 1970)
08 Woodstock (out-take with Stephen Stills 1969)
09 Slow Walkin' Talk (from ''68' by Robert Wyatt 1968)
10 The Everlasting First (from 'False Start' by Love 1970)

Now that this has turned into a series, I've updated the artwork on this post to match the others, although I've left the original cover in the file. If you want this cover then just right-click and save it from the post.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Everybody's Alone (1969)

For a complete lowdown on unissued Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young songs then head over to Paul's site for CSN and CSNY, but I wanted to post this album as I've had this bootleg CD for many years and it's probably the unofficial album that I play the most. Crosby, Stills & Nash's first self-titled album was released in May 1969 and was an immediate hit, spawning two Top 40 hit singles and receiving key airplay on the new FM radio format. With the exception of drummer Dallas Taylor, Stills had handled the lion's share of the instrumental parts himself, and although it was a testament to his talent, it left the band in need of additional personnel to be able to tour, now a necessity given the debut album’s commercial success. Retaining Taylor, the band decided initially to hire a keyboard player, and Stills at one point approached Steve Winwood, who declined. Atlantic label head Ahmet Ertegün suggested Canadian singer/songwriter Neil Young as a fairly obvious choice, and despite initial reservations by Stills and Nash (Stills owing to his history with Young in Buffalo Springfield, and Nash due to his personal unfamiliarity with Young) the trio eventually expanded to a quartet with Young a full partner. With Young on board, the restructured group went on tour in the late summer of 1969 through the following January. Between tour dates the band convened at Wally Heider's Studio between June and November 1969, and laid down some tracks for a proposed second album, although as it turned out most of the songs remained unreleased until the box sets started to appear. The recordings are all in superb quality, and highlights include beautiful alternate recordings of 'Triad' and 'The Lee Shore', a gorgeous in-studio take of 'Blackbird', and a lovely rendition of the Fred Neil track 'Everybody’s Talkin’', which Harry Nilsson made popular on the 'Midnight Cowboy' soundtrack. I've made a few edits to some of the songs and trimmed the track listing, but I've kept the basic layout of the cover, and just upgraded it by replacing the black and white photos with colour ones. I've also re-titled it, as 'Studio Archives 1969' was a bit bland. Paul has spread these songs over a number of his albums, so you could treat this as a sampler, and if you like what you hear then there's loads more out there for you to enjoy. 

Track listing

01 How Have You Been (John Sebastian cover) Recording Date Unknown 
02 Everyday We Live (Stephen Stills) Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio 1969 
03 Everybody's Talkin' (Fred Neil cover) Recording Date Unknown 
04 Sea Of Madness (Studio Take) Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio 1969 
05 Triad (Acoustic Studio Take) Recording Date Unknown
06 The Lee Shore (Different vocal take) Recorded at Stephen Stills' Home Studio 1969 
07 I'll Be There (Stephen Stills) Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio 1969 
08 Blackbird (Beatles cover) Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio 1969 
09 Ivory Tower (Stephen Stills) Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio 1969 
10 Everybody's Alone (Neil Young) Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio 1969. 
11 You're Wrong Baby (Graham Nash) Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio 1969
12 30 Dollar Fine (Stephen Stills) Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio 1969

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Ohio (1970)

On May 4th, 1970, the Ohio National Guard open fire on college students at Kent State University who were protesting the slaughter of innocent Cambodian civilians by the US military industrial complex. Neil Young wrote a song about it and CSNY rush released it as a single at the end of the month, with 'Find the Cost Of Freedom' as the b-side, and it turned out to be the last CSNY studio recording for 18 years. Despite being banned from many radio stations, it soon became the anthem to the protest movement, so here we'll expand the non-album single into a full-length LP using their solo albums recorded that year, with each track having to include at least two of the members. This is my third revision of the album, and this time I decided to add 'Southern Man' from Neil's solo album 'After the Gold Rush', as it was a regular part of CSNY's set list and includes Stills on background vocals. I removed Stills' 'We Are Not Helpless' which now seems a bit over the top on this otherwise rather somber and serious album, which was recorded during a year of political turmoil, personal heartbreak and Richard Nixon.
Side one opens with the promiscuity anthem 'Love the One You're With', recorded in London by Stills who then added Crosby and Nash's background vocals later on back home. Nash's heartbreaking 'Simple Man' is about his breakup with Joni Mitchell, providing a stark contrast to the upbeat opening number, and taking us deeper into the emotional caverns of the album. 'What Are Their Names?' comes next, providing a rather ominous segue into the title track featuring all four members, followed by the b-side that had actually been played at Woodstock the previous August, but not recorded until May of 1970. That would make a good end to an album side right there, but we'll fill up the remaining space with another heartbreaking Nash song featuring Jerry Garcia on pedal steel guitar and a gospel-infused Stills number.
Side two begins with 'Music is Love' with both Crosby and Young on vocals, followed by Crosby, Young and most of The Grateful Dead on 'Cowboy Movie'. and the album ends with 'Southern Man', which most likely contains Stills on background vocals, and fits nicely into the overall theme of domestic turmoil, both at the national and personal level. The cover is based on the US 'Ohio' single picture sleeve.

Track listing

01 Love the One You're With

02 Simple Man 

03 What Are Their Names

04 Ohio

05 Find the Cost of Freedom

06 I Used to Be a King

07 Sit Yourself Down 

08 Music is Love 

09 Cowboy Movie

10 Southern Man 

From The Album Fixer October 2016. All notes and opinions are his.

Manassas - Down The Road Apiece (1973)

Manassas released a debut album in 1972 that more than lived up to the promise of the coming together of Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor and Al Perkins among others, and so expectations were high for the follow-up. When it arrived, it was a solid, but generally unexceptional album - some have even classed it as poor. There are certainly some fine songs on there, but it just didn't live up to the potential of that debut, and so suffered in comparison. With the release of the 'Pieces' mopping up operation in 2009, we found that there were more songs recorded for those two albums which didn't make the cut at the time, but were actually better than some of the songs on the released versions. Fans have been proposing revised tracks lists for quite a few years, and so I've taken the general consensus of what would be the best songs to include, tracked them down on 'Pieces' and an out-takes bootleg that's doing the rounds, and put together this reconstruction, which hopefully is now the definitive version of Manassas' second album. I've titled it 'Down The Road Apiece' as it's a combination of songs from 'Down The Road' and 'Pieces'. 

Track listing

01 Witching Hour
02 Isn't It About Time
03 Lies
04 Pensamiento
05 So Many Times
06 Like A Fox
07 Down The Road
08 Do You Remember The Americans
09 Guaguanco De Vero
10 Love And Satisfy
11 Rollin' My Stone
12 Thoroughfare Gap
13 High And Dry
14 I Am My Brother

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - War Songs (1972)

With the sad demise of Album Fixer's site we've lost a massive library of great imagined and reconstructed albums. He always put a lot of work into the concepts and sequencing of his posts, and although he didn't include links to the albums, part of the fun was tracking down the songs and compiling them yourself. In doing this I've always found the Russian site http://musicmp3spb.org invaluable, as it has a database of literally millions of albums, and they are split out into album tracks, so that you can download a song at a time if that's all you need. It's great not to have to download a whole album just to get one song, and so this one was relatively easy to put together.
The story behind the album is that in May 1972 Neil Young called up Graham Nash and asked him to come over and sing on a new song he'd written called 'War Song', which was written to support George McGovern's anti-Vietnam War presidential campaign. It didn't help as McGovern lost in a landslide defeat, but the premise was - what if Young and Nash had called in Crosby and Stills to record some more protest/political songs for an album named after the single.
CSNY have always had a lot to say for themselves, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that this could have happened, and this is what it could have sounded like.

 Track listing

01 Immigration Man 
02 Johnny's Garden 
03 War Song 
04 Games 
05 Military Madness 
06 Where Will I Be?
07 Change Partners 
08 Chicago/We Can Change The World 
09 Page 43 
10 Stranger's Room 
11 Soldier
12 Sugar Babe
13 Southbound Train 

In memory of Album Fixer I might post a few more of his reconstructions later, with links to my attempts to compile them. Bob Dylan's 'Down In The Flood' was one of his better efforts, and also one of mine in doing the cover, so I might do that one next.