The Rutles - Past Masters - Volume Two (1969)

For this second volume of 'Past Masters' from The Rutles, we've once again raided the back catalogues of The Flames, Neil Innes, GRIMMS, Timebox and The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band for 'singles and b-sides' that didn't appear on their albums. The Flames contributed some tracks that actually were from 1965 and 1966, and Neil Innes filled in the gaps from the later years. I'd already used every contemporary song from the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, but in a recent post of theirs I unearthed a recording that they'd made for a radio session which actually fitted on here quite well, and so by adding that, plus the one suitable unused song from GRIMMS and two from Timebox, we now have a second volume of rarities from the Pre-fab Four, which finally completes their discography.

Track listing

01 Blue Colour (b-side of 'Hold My Hand' 1963) 

02 Bring Back The Time (single 1963) 

03 Stop, Look And Listen (b-side of 'Ouch!' 1964) 

04 Tell It Like It Is (b-side of 'Between Us' 1965)  

05 Busy Day (b-side of 'Nevertheless' 1966)  

06 Lost (single 1966)  
07 You've Got The Chance (b-side of 'Piggy In The Middle' 1967) 
08 Stoned On Rock (single 1967) 
09 We're Gonna Bring It On Home (b-side of 'Good Times Roll' 1967)
10 Feel No Shame (b-side of 'Hey Mister!' 1968)  
11 Black Dog (b-side of 'Get Up And Go' 1969) 
12 City Of The Angels (b-side of 'Easy Listening' 1969)    
13 Oo-Chuck-A-Mao-Mao (b-side of '9-5 Pollution Blues' 1969) 
14 Rock Of Ages (single 1969) 
 
PERFORMERS
 
*The Flames - 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 
*Neil Innes - 5, 8, 10, 12, 14
*The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band - 9
*Timebox - 7, 11
*GRIMMS - 13

The Rutles - Past Masters - Volume One (1969)

I thought I'd finished my series of Rutles albums, but I kept getting requests for more of them, with a 'Past Masters' set being mentioned more than once. I couldn't really see how that would be possible, as the original 'Past Masters' albums were a mopping-up exercise of all the non-album singles, b-sides and rarities from the Beatles catalogue, and we've never really considered The Rutles as a singles band, so there wouldn't be any 'non-album' songs to use. But bearing in mind that this is a fantasy project, we can ignore those rules, and so what we need to find are any songs from The Flames, Neil Innes, The World, GRIMMS, Timebox, or The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band that haven't already been used in the main discography. Obviously there can be no actual Rutles songs as we've already used every single thing they ever recorded, but after a bit of research I did manage to find just enough songs that sounded like they covered the period from 1963 to 1969, and could have been singles and b-sides for the band. The chronology is purely subjective, as I just listened to the song and tried to imagine when it could have been released in this alternative universe, so The Flames actual songs from 1965 and 1966 were easy, and the rest just slotted in as I felt fit, with Innes himself contributing four tracks, and there being just one each from Timebox and The World, as I'd already stripped their catalogue for suitable songs for the albums. So this, and you'll be pleased to know, a second volume later, will have to be the final Rutles albums that I will post.

Track listing 

01 A Place In The Sun (b-side of 'Number One' 1963)
02 Love's Made A Fool Of You (single 1964)
03 When Something's Wrong With My Baby (b-side 'Now She's Left You' 1964)
04 Nobody (single 1965)
05 Ummm Oh Yeah (b-side of 'I Must Be In Love' 1965)
06 Not Getting Any Younger (b-side of 'It's Looking Good' 1966)
07 Don't Make Your Children Pay (single 1966)
08 Another Day Like Heaven (b-side of 'Doubleback Alley' 1967)
09 Dreams Shine Through (b-side of 'Love Life' 1967)
10 Lead Us (b-side of 'Living In Hope' 1968)
11 Here We Go Again (b-side of 'Let's Be Natural' 1968)
12 Barnabus Swain (b-side of 'Another Day' 1968)
13 9-5 Pollution Blues (single 1969)
     

PERFORMERS

*The Flames - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8
*Neil Innes - 6, 9, 11, 13
*The World - 10
*Timebox - 12

Timebox - Moose On The Loose (1969)

When I was posting my series of Rutles albums, a number of the songs included on them came from Timebox, which was because drummer John Hasley played Barry Wom in the original film, and guitarist Ollie Halsall was part of the band which Neil Innes put together to play the songs. Timebox themselves had something of a chquered career, starting out as The Take 5 in 1965, and including vibraphone player/guitarist Peter 'Ollie' Halsall, Chris Holmes on keyboards, lead guitarist and vocalist Kevan Fogarty,  Clive Griffths on bass, and drummer Geoff Dean. The band turned professional in 1966, and after moving to London soon found work on package tours with The Kinks, The Small Faces, Tommy Quickly, and Lou Christie. In 1967 they added US singer Richard Henry, changed their name to Timebox (an American term for a prison cell), and after signing to Piccadilly Records they released their debut single 'I'll Always Love You'/'Save Your Love'. Following this, Henry returned to the United States, and when Geoff Dean contracted tuberculosis he was replaced by Andy Petre on drums. This line-up released the instrumental single 'Soul Sauce'/'I Wish I Could Jerk Like My Uncle Cyril', before they recruited Mike 'Patto' McCarthy as vocalist and songwriter, and when Petre quit, the drum stool was filled by John Halsey. This is the line-up that recorded their best music, which has since built them a reputation as being one of the best, but also the most unappreciated, bands of the late 60's.
They recorded five singles for Piccadilly and Deram between 1967 and 1969, but their only UK Singles chart entry was with their cover version of The Four Seasons' track 'Beggin'', which peaked at number 38 in July 1968. After their last single failed in 1970, Chris Holmes left and the remaining members continued under the name Patto, releasing a string of acclaimed albums throughout the early 70's. In 1976 a compilation album entitled 'The Original Moose On The Loose' appeared on an obscure label, which collected all of their later singles with Patto as lead vocalist, but it didn't include other songs recorded at the same time which might have been destined for an album that could have been released in 1969. In 2018 the Ollie Halsall website posted news that an album was to be released using songs recorded in 1968/1969, entitled 'Moose On The Loose', and a proposed track listing was published, with downloadable links to the songs. However, nothing has since turned up, so using that track listing and adding a couple of contemporary songs to make it nearer the 40-minute mark, this is what Timebox could have released in 1969 as their debut album. Thanks to the Ollie Halsall archive for the info and the great cover.

Track listing 

01 Yellow Van
02 Tree House
03 Poor Little Heartbreaker
04 Baked Jam Roll In Your Eye
05 Black Dog
06 Country Dan & City Lil
07 Eddie McHenry
08 Barnabus Swain
09 Promises
10 Stay There
11 You've Got The Chance
12 Timebox
13 Love The Girl
14 Gone Is The Sad Man