Pentangle - The Casbah (1970)

Pentangle were formed in 1967, and the original line-up was unchanged throughout the band's first incarnation from 1967-1973, consisting of Jacqui McShee on vocals, John Renbourn on vocals and guitar, Bert Jansch on vocals and guitar, Danny Thompson on double bass, and Terry Cox on drums, and the name Pentangle was chosen to represent the five members of the band. Pentangle are often characterised as a folk-rock band, although Danny Thompson preferred to describe the group as a folk-jazz band, which is certainly evident when they cover Charlie Mingus's 'Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat' or 'Haitian Fight Song'. John Renbourn also rejected the 'folk-rock' categorisation, saying, "One of the worst things you can do to a folk song is inflict a rock beat on it", and many of their songs used unusual time signatures, such as 'Light Flight' from 'Basket Of Light', whihc includes sections in 5/8, 7/8 and 6/4. Prior to the band's formation, Renbourn and Jansch were already popular musicians on the British folk scene, with several solo albums each and a duet LP, while Jacqui McShee had begun as an unpaid "floor singer" in several of the London folk clubs, and by 1965 was running her own folk club at the Red Lion in Sutton, Surrey, where she met Jansch and Renbourn. Thompson and Cox were well known as jazz musicians and had played together in Alexis Korner's band, and by 1966 they were both part of Duffy Power's Nucleus, alongside John McLaughlin on electric guitar. Although nominally a 'folk' group, the members shared catholic tastes and influences. McShee had a grounding in traditional music, Cox and Thompson a love of jazz, Renbourn a growing interest in early music, and Jansch a taste for blues and contemporaries such as Bob Dylan. Throughout 1967 and 1968 the band undertook tours of Denmark and the UK tour, gradually moving from clubs to concert halls, and their growing reputation led them to be signed to Transatlantic Records, with their eponymous debut LP being released in May 1968. This was an all-acoustic affair, produced by Shel Talmy, and the following month they performed at London's Royal Festival Hall, with recordings from the concert forming part of their second album 'Sweet Child', a double album which was half live and half studio recordings. 'Basket Of Light' followed in 1969, and included their most famous song 'Light Flight', which was a surprise hit single after it was used as the theme music for the BBC television series 'Take Three Girls'. 

By 1970, they were at the peak of their popularity, recording a soundtrack for the film 'Tam Lin', making at least 12 television appearances, and undertaking tours of the UK and America. However, their fourth album 'Cruel Sister' was a commercial disaster, consisting of just four songs, all traditional, and including an 18 and a half minute-long version of 'Jack Orion'. For 1971's 'Reflection' the band returned to a mix of traditional and original material, and this was received with much more enthusiasm by the press and public, but the strains of touring and of working together as a band were readily apparent, and the band withdrew from Transatlantic in a bitter dispute with regarding royalties. The final album of the original lineup was 'Solomon's Seal', released by Warner Brothers/Reprise in 1972, with its release being accompanied by a UK tour, the last few dates of which had to be cancelled owing to Thompson becoming ill. On New Year's Day 1973, Jansch decided to leave the band, and Pentangle were no more. Reunions have been planned for sometimes happened over the next 40 or so years, and incarnations of the band continue to tour today. Their heyday, though was definitely the late 60's/early 70's, and this collection brings together some rare singles, b-sides, soundtrack recordings, and previously unreleased tracks from 1967 to 1970. The band recorded a number of different takes of 'Tam Lin' for the film of the same name, which were scattered throughout the movie, and here they are segued together into two separate tracks. There are also snatches of 'The Name Of The Game' heard in a party scene in the film, and although this was never recorded in the studio, luckily a live take of it has subsequently been discovered, while 'The Best Part Of Me' plays in full over the opening credits. There is also a studio recording of 'Haitian Fight Song' which was only previously available as a live recording on the 'Sweet Child' album, and a much shorter, instrumental version of the notorious 'Jack Orion'. 

Track listing

01 Travellin' Song (single 1968)
02 Poison (previously unreleased 1967)
03 Koan (previously unreleased 1967)
04 The Wheel (previously unreleased 1968)
05 The Casbah (previously unreleased 1968)
06 Haitian Fight Song (previously unreleased 1968)
07 I Saw An Angel (b-side of 'Once I had A Sweetheart' 1969)
08 Cold Mountain (b-side of 'Light Flight' 1969)
09 Jack Orion (previously unreleased instrumental 1970) 
10 Tam Lin - Part I (from the film 'Tam Lin' 1970)
11 Name Of The Game (live version of song from the film 'Tam Lin' 1970)
12 The Best Part Of You (from the film 'Tam Lin' 1970)
13 Tam Lin - Part II (from the film 'Tam Lin' 1970)

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)

Jethro Tull - The Kelpie (1979)

Jethro Tull's twelfth studio album 'Stormwatch' was released September 1979, and is considered to be the last in the trilogy of folk-rock albums by the band, following 'Songs From The Wood' and 'Heavy Horses', but this time with lyrics that touch heavily on problems relating to the environment, oil and money. It was also the last Tull album to feature the classic line-up of the 1970's, as bassist John Glascock died from heart complications during the Stormwatch tour, and drummer Barriemore Barlow and keyboardists John Evan and Dee Palmer all left the band in the months after the tour had concluded in April 1980. Reception for the album was mixed, as the lyrics gave it a darker energy than previous albums, and the music bordered on heavy metal in places, but overall the fans approved. The 40th anniversary re-issue included a plethora of bonus tracks, with a complete 1980 live concert from Den Haag, and fourteen previously unreleased songs. Once I'd removed early versions of some of the 'Stormwatch' tracks and a live 'Sweet Dream', that left exactly 40 minutes of previously unheard material - just enough for a companion album to 'Stormwatch'. One of the bonus tracks was the original nine-minute take of Orion, but as the first four minutes were pretty much identical to the released version, I extracted the coda to make a stand-alone track, now titled 'Orion Revisited'. I also removed 'Rock Instrumental (Unfinished Master)', as that didn't really seem to go anywhere, and so what we're left with is a pretty good selection of songs that the band couldn't find a place for on the album at the time, but which are definitely worth hearing. I've titled it 'The Kelpie' (a mythical Scottish water spirit, often in the shape of a horse), after one of the songs, and that gave me the opportunity to use this magical painting that I found for the cover.      

Track listing

01 Crossword
02 Kelpie
03 A Stitch In Time
04 The Lyrikon Blues
05 A Single Man
06 Broadford Bazaar
07 Orion Revisited
08 King Henry's Madrigal
09 Urban Apocalypse
10 Man Of God

Soft Machine - Soft Machine's Little Red Records (1970)

After touring the first half of 1972, Soft Machine got back together in CBS Studios around the summertime to record their next album. With Robert Fripp at the production helm, the album was conceived as a "musical adaptation of The Little Red Book". Originally the double album was set to be titled 'Soft Machine's Little Red Records' with an accompanying cover parodying a piece of Chinese propaganda artwork. The title and artwork, however, was turned down by Harvest, who feared the potential controversy. "I honestly don’t blame 'em", said Kevin Ayers, "I doubt our original cover would have done us any favours in the US, what with the Cold War and Red Terror and all that. Personally I never really cared that much for Rob's politics either way, so I was sort of unphased by it." The album was then retitled after one of Ayers' songs, 'Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes', and was preceded by the single 'Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes' / 'God Song', which failed to reach the top 40 everywhere except New Zealand. While the album was critically acclaimed, it failed to make a significant commercial impact, reaching only #80 in the US and #16 in the UK. "I think that album, in particular, was very contrasting terms of our songwriting", said Robert Wyatt, "yet that made it work so well. They oddly balance each other a bit, mine being more political nonsense, and Kevin’s being somewhat bohemian and carefree. It almost forms this narrative of sorts, contrasting the complicated matters of politics with the simple pleasures of life." 

I actually preferred the original title and sleeve, so have reinstated them for this pared-down version of the original double album. I omitted 'Nan's True Hole' as a version of that had already appeared on my previous Hatfield And The North post, and I felt a couple of Ayers' songs sounded a bit out of place, so left them off as well, although he is still very well-represented on here. I've also used an alternate, extended take of 'Flora Fidget', and cross-faded and edited where I thought it would improve the flow. The result is a great 50-minute album, so enjoy this new Soft Machine record from an alternate universe where the band never broke up.

  

Track listing

01 Starting in the Middle of the Day We Can Drink Our Politics Away 
02 Marchides
03 Butterfly Dance
04 Righteous Rhumba 
05 Brandy as in Benj 
06 Song From The Bottom Of A Well 
07 God Song
08 Smoke Signal

09 Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes
10 Flora Fidget
11 Hymn

Enormous thanks to The Soft Machine Rigmarole for their notes, and for putting together the original double album from which this abbreviated version is taken. Hope they don't mind me posting this, but I love their site and want to publicise it as much as I can. 

Last Exit - First From Last Exit (1975)

In autumn 1971 Gordon Sumner enrolled at Northern Counties Teacher Training College in Newcastle, where he met and befriended Gerry Richardson who was in the year ahead. Richardson saw him playing, and although not initially impressed, his interest picked up when he learned that Sumner knew a drummer, Paul Elliot, who had access to both a van and a PA, and it didn't take long before the three got together with a female singer to form 'Earthrise', and started rehearsing at the Wheatsheaf pub. Richardson was involved with local bands, including the Phoenix Trad Jazz Band where he filled in on bass, and when he left the band his place was taken by Sumner, and it was at this time that he was given the nickname Sting, because of the black and yellow stripey jumpers that he used to wear. When Richardson finished his stint at Teacher Training College he left for Bristol, but within a year he found himself back in Newcastle, just as Sting finished his spell at college, and at this point they decide to put together a band with John Hedley and Ronnie 'Armour' Pearson, naming themselves Last Exit, after Hubert Selby's cult book 'Last Exit From Brooklyn'. By December 1974 Last Exit, augmented by Derek Lunn on drums and Iwan Williams on keyboards, had secured the job of house band for the 'Rock Nativity' show at Newcastle University Theatre, which is where Sting met his future wife Frances Tomelty. By now Richardson and Sting were starting to write their own material, and by 1975 they were regular visitors to Impulse Sound Studios in Wallsend to record demo tracks. 
The band secured a booking at the 1975 San Sebastian festival in Spain, and the thought of the trip spurred the band into yet more recording activity, and it was decided at short notice to cobble together the demos they'd recorded to produce an album that they could sell at the festival. 'First From Last Exit' is one of the rarest collectibles in the Sting world, containing some of his earliest material, and reworked versions of some songs would later feature on Police albums. The nine track collection, produced by Dave Wood, features the three original Last Exit members along with one track by semi-occasional guest guitarist, Terry Ellis, who was later to replace John Hedley full time. With their 100 demo cassettes ready to be (hopefully) snapped up by eager fans, Last Exit arrived in Spain on 16 July, and played well enough to win the award for best amateur band. In return for accommodation and food the band played another festival on 2 August 1975, and with some additional club dates hastily arranged in Bilbao, the band secured enough money to book places on the ferry back home to Britain. So, graced with some new artwork, here is the first album that Sting put his name to.  

Track listing

01 We Got Something (Sumner) 
02 Truth Kills (Sumner)
03 Whispering Voices (Richardson)   
04 Carrion Prince (Sumner)
05 Savage Beast (Sumner) 
06 I Got It Made (Richardson)  
07 I'm On This Train (Sumner) 
08 Oh My God (Sumner)
09 A Bit Of Peace (Ellis) 

Cliff Richard - Imagine Love (1979)

Over a career spanning 60 years, Cliff Richard has had more than 130 of his singles, albums and EPs reach the UK Top 20, which is more than any other artist. His 67 UK top ten singles is the second highest total for an artist behind Elvis, and he holds the record (with Elvis) as the only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its first six decades (1950's–2000's). While I appreciated his work in the 60's, I wouldn't say that I was a massive fan, but some of his 70's singles did appeal to my tastes at the time, when I was just starting to get heavily into music. In 1973 he sang the British Eurovision entry 'Power to All Our Friends', which finished third, close behind Luxembourg's 'Tu Te Reconnaîtras' and Spain's 'Eres Tú', and this was one of the first singles of his that I really liked. In 1975, he released the single 'Honky Tonk Angel', produced by Hank Marvin and John Farrar, oblivious to its connotations or hidden meanings, and as soon as he was notified that a "honky-tonk angel" was southern US slang for a prostitute, the horrified Richard ordered EMI to withdraw it. EMI agreed to his demand despite the fact the single was expected to sell well, and only about 1,000 vinyl copies are known to exist. In 1976, the decision was made to repackage Richard as a "rock" artist, and with Bruce Welch in the producer's chair, he released the landmark album 'I'm Nearly Famous', which included the successful but controversial guitar-driven track 'Devil Woman', and the ballad 'Miss You Nights'. In 1979, he teamed up once again with producer Bruce Welch for the hit single 'We Don't Talk Anymore', written and composed by Alan Tarney, which hit No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in the US. It was his first time at the top of the UK singles chart in over ten years, and the song would become his biggest-selling single worldwide, selling almost five million copies throughout the world. With the success of 'We Don't Talk Anymore' in 1979, he finally began to receive some recognition in the United States, and in 1980 'Carrie' broke into the US top 40, followed by 'Dreamin'', which reached No. 10. The 70's were a productive period for Richard, and many of his singles included non-album songs on the flip, and I've gathered the best of them here, including that controversial 'Honky Tonk Angel' single, which not surprisingly never appeared on an album.   

Track listing

01 The Days Of Love (b-side of 'Ashes To Ashes' 1973)
02 Celestial Houses (b-side of 'Take Me High' 1973)
03 You're The One (b-side of 'Its Only Me You've Left Behind') 
04 Love Enough (b-side of 'Miss You Nights' 1975)
05 Honky Tonk Angel (single 1975)
06 Love On (Shine On) (b-side of 'Devil Woman' 1976) 
07 Nothing Left For Me To Say (b-side of 'My Kinda Life' 1977)
08 No One Waits (b-side of 'Hey Mr. Dream Maker' 1976)
09 Love Is Here (b-side of '(You Keep Me) Hangin' On' 1974)
10 That's Why I Love You (b-side of 'When Two Worlds Drift Apart' 1977)
11 Needing A Friend (b-side of 'Can't Take The Hurt Anymore' 1978)
12 Imagine Love (b-side of 'Green Light' 1978)
13 Walking In The Light (b-side of 'Hot Shot' 1979)
14 Moving In (b-side of 'Carrie' 1979)

The Family Cat - Got The Cream (1994)

The Family Cat were formed in 1988 by Paul Frederick on vocals and guitar, Stephen Jelbert on lead guitar, Tim McVay on rhythm guitar, John Graves on bass, and Kevin Downing on drums,  - and made their London debut in April 1989, after which they were immediately signed up by John Yates for his new Bad Girl label. Their first release in July of the same year was 'Tom Verlaine', and it was an immediate success, claiming the coveted NME Single of the Week slot. It featured layered guitars meandering over a hypnotic lead and sturdy bassline, and did not disappoint those who had already witnessed the band's blistering live shows. The success of the single encouraged the band to return to the studio with ex-Jam drummer Rick Buckler producing, and they recorded the mini-LP 'Tell 'Em We're Surfin'', which was issued in 1989. It was somewhat critically received, with the lacklustre production being mentioned in reviews, and as a result Buckler was relieved of his production duties, and their next single 'Remember What It Is That You Love' was more representative of their live sound, and performed well in the indie charts. Their distinctive artwork by Iain Stronach was also beginning to attract attention, and the band were soon as recognised as much for their T-shirts as for their music. Two more singles followed on Bad Girl, in the form of 1990's 'A Place With A Name' and 1991's 'Colour Me Grey', after which they left the label and signed with Dedicated. At the same time they released a single on the Clawfist label, which was a singles club where two bands covered each other's songs on both sides of a 7" single, with The Family Cat teaming up with Cud for their offering. After a year of touring and recording, their next single 'Steamroller' appeared in 1992, and was greeted with acclaim from critics and fans alike, while the follow-up 'River Of Diamonds' featured backing vocals from Polly (PJ) Harvey, and yet despite rave reviews in the press, sales were still disappointing. 
The band's second album, 'Furthest From The Sun' was released later that year, but fared no better in the charts, despite being an excellent record. In August 1993 they released 'Airplane Gardens', which just managed to scrape into the bottom of the charts, following which the band embarked on eight months of recording and gigging, before the release of their third album 'Magic Happens' in 1994. Once again the favourable reviews weren't reflected in the sales, although the single of 'Wonderful Excuse', which was taken from the album, did almost reach the Top 40, as did the follow-up 'Goldenbook', which was backed by the provocatively titled 'Bring Me The Head Of Michael Portillo'. This was to be their final record, as frustrated and disillusioned at not being able to gain any commercial success, the band split at the end of 1994. As is so often the case, they became appreciated much more after they split than while they were active, with their work being constantly re-appraised, and fans mourning the fact that they weren't given the acclaim that they deserved when they needed it. They were also very generous with their music, with nearly every single having at least one exclusive song on the flip, and with later releases coming in multiple formats, sometimes as many as four otherwise unavailable tracks. They also released another single on Clawfist, on their own this time with a cover of Big Star's 'Jesus Christ', as well as performing one of Carter U.S.M.'s songs on that band's 'Glam Rock Cops' single in 1994, and they contributed a rollicking 'Rocks Off' to a Rolling Stones tribute album. There was even a free 7" single which came with initial copies of the 'Furthest From The Sun' album, and after unsuccessfully trying to find 'Kolombus' and 'Montague Terrace' online, I checked my vinyl copy of the album and was surprised to find that I'd quite forgotten that I got the free 7" when I bought it in 1992. If you add in three previously unreleased songs which were intended for a proposed fourth album, then there is enough non-album music for another triple disc post, but this time I'm treating it like a box-set, with each album having it's own title and cover, just so that I can get in as many cat puns as I can.  

Track listing

Got Your Tongue

01 Tom Verlaine (12" single 1989)

02 Octopus Jr. (b-side of Tom Verlaine')

03 Remember What It Is That You Love (single 1990)

04 Push Comes To Shove (b-side of 'Remember What It Is That You Love')

05 (Thought I'd Died) And Gone To Heaven (b-side of 'Remember What It Is That You Love')

06 Place With A Name (single 1990)

07 Concrete (b-side of 'Place With A Name')

08 Pass Away (b-side of 'Place With A Name') 

09 Strange Kind Of Love (split single with Cud 1990)

10 Rocks Off (from 'Stoned Again - A Tribute To The Stones' 1990)

11 Fearless (John Peel session 1990)

12 I Must Have Been Blind (b-side of 'Colour Me Grey' 1991)

13 Jesus Christ (single 1991)

Track listing

Has Nine Lives

01 What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (b-side of 'Steamroller' 1992)

02 Across The Universe (b-side of 'Steamroller' 1992)

03 Kolombus (from free 7" single with 'Furthest From The Sun' 1992)

04 Montague Terrace (from free 7" single with 'Furthest From The Sun' 1992)

05 Atmospheric Road (b-side of 'Airplane Gardens' 1993)

06 Mount Pleasant (Mark Goodier session 1993)
07 Prog 4 (b-side of 'Springing The Atom' 1993)
08 Happy To Be Here (b-side of 'Springing The Atom')
09 Lean On Me I Won't Fall Over (guest on single by Carter U.S.M. 1994)

Track listing

Out Of The Bag

01 Unwieldy World (b-side of 'Wonderful Excuse' 1994)

02 Counting Crosses (b-side of 'Wonderful Excuse' 1994)

03 Sign Of The Bloodcell (b-side of 'Wonderful Excuse' 1994)

04 Propeller Blades (b-side of 'Wonderful Excuse' 1994)     

05 Bring Me The Head Of Michael Portillo (b-side of 'Goldenbook' 1994)

06 Gone To Heaven (b-side of 'Goldenbook' CD single 1994)

07 Old Faithful (b-side of 'Goldenbook' 7" single 1994)

08 Goldenboot (b-side of 'Goldenbook' 7" single 1994) 

09 Ace Of Cups (previously unreleased)

10 Snowplough (previously unreleased)

11 Taking Your Sister Home (previously unreleased)             

Peter Cook & Dudley Moore - Pete & Dud On.... (1971)

My first post from the UK comedy legends Peter Cook & Dudley Moore received some positive comments, so I know that there's a fanbase out there that appreciate and miss them. This post came about as I found a 'Pete & Dud' clip on Youtube that I hadn't seen before, and this is bearing in mind that I have every vinyl album that they released, as well as the 'Missing Sketches' DVD, so I thought I'd heard everything that was available to hear. Sometimes previously lost tapes turn up in remote foreign TV studios, where they were sent by the BBC for broadcast in that country, and the studio then forgot to return them, so it's possible that these clips were re-discovered in that way, but however they came to be online, there were nearly an hour's worth of Pete & Dud duologues which had never appeared on any of their records, and so if you're a fan then you're in for a real treat. Because of the age of the recordings there are a couple of glitches here and there, but on the whole the quality is excellent, and if you want to you can search on Youtube to see the actual clips of the shows from which these audio files have been taken.  

Track listing

01 Nighttime Disturbances
02 Women's Liberation
03 U.F.O.s
04 The Worst Bloody Thing That Could Happen To You
05 Reptiles
06 Hollywood Stars

The Charlatans - Sidetracks (1968)

The Charlatans were one of the earliest bands to have an album shelved by their record company, way back in 1966. The band were an American folk-rock and psychedelic rock group that played a role in the development of the San Francisco Haight-Ashbury music scene during the 1960's, often being cited as being the first group to play in the distinctive San Francisco Sound. Exhibiting a more pronounced jug band, country and blues influenced sound than many bands from the same scene, the Charlatans' rebellious attitude and distinctive late 19th-century fashions exerted a strong influence on the Summer of Love in San Francisco. They were formed in mid-1964 by amateur avant-garde musician George Hunter on autoharp and music major Richard Olsen on bass, along with Mike Wilhelm on lead guitar, Mike Ferguson on piano/keyboards, and Sam Linde on drums, later replaced by Dan Hicks, who went on to form Dan Hicks And His Hot Licks after he left the group. One of the most striking things about the band was their penchant for dressing themselves in late 19th-century attire, as if they were Victorian dandies or Wild West gunslingers. This unconventional choice of clothing was influential on the emerging hippie counter-culture, with many young San Franciscans dressing in similarly late Victorian and early Edwardian era clothing, including The Beatles in their 'Sgt. Pepper' period. In the summer of 1965 they were given the chance to audition for Autumn Records, but weren't signed by them, partly due to conflicts between the group and Donahue over suitable material, and partly due to lack of money, as the label was on the verge of bankruptcy. The failed Autumn Records audition proved to be only a minor setback, with the Charlatans signing with Kama Sutra Records in early 1966, home of the Lovin' Spoonful, one of the earliest folk rock bands to find international success. 
The band had recorded a number of songs for the label, and chose to issue 'Codine' as their debut single, but the record company vetoed the release, citing the song's drug connotations. In fact the song was written by folk artist Buffy Sainte-Marie as a warning of the dangers of drugs, rather than promoting their use, but Kama Sutra was adamant and refused to release the single. Instead, two other songs from the Kama Sutra sessions, 'The Shadow Knows'/'32-20', were released by Kapp Records in 1966 as the band's first single, but had little success due to Kapp Records' failure to adequately promote the release. The remaining songs recorded during the Kama Sutra sessions for the Charlatans' debut album, including a couple with lead vocals by Lynne Hughes, remained unreleased until they were officially issued for the first time by Big Beat Records in 1996. Following major upheavals with the line-up, with nearly everyone getting fired and replaced, a new line-up of the band secured a recording contract with Philips Records and released their one and only self-titled album in 1969. The Big Beat issue of the shelved album included everything that they had recorded between 1966 and 1968, which to my ears included a lot of sub-standard material, novelty songs, and music that just didn't sit well with their reputation as one of the first and finest West Coast bands, so I've selected only the very best songs for this post, making a 40-minute album that would have cemented their standing in the history of West Coast music had it been released at the time. 

Track listing

01 Codine Blues
02 By Hook Or By Crook
03 Sidetrack
04 Jack Of Diamonds
05 East Virginia
06 I Saw Her
07 We're Not On The Same Trip
08 Number One
09 Devil Got My Man
10 Walkin'
11 Baby Won't You Tell Me
12 Alabama Bound

Elton John - Top Of The Pops (1970)

I would think that most Elton John fans will know that during 1969 and 1970 he supplemented his income by recording sessions for cheapo various artists albums such as 'Top Of The Pops', 'Hot Hits', and 'Chartbusters'. Even when he had his own hit single in the charts in 1970 with 'Your Song', he still did the sessions, as he's said that he had a ball doing them. There have been a number of compilations of these recordings over the years, but they tended to concentrate on more overtly 'pop' songs, whereas he did also record a number of prog and classic rock tracks which seem to have been ignored. For this collection I've tried to compile a more musically rewarding album, so I've removed the bubblegum pop of 'In The Summertime', 'Neanderthal Man', and 'Snake In The Grass', as well as the embarrassing attempts at reggae, as on Nicky Thomas' 'Love Of The Common People', and replaced them with songs by The Moody Blues, Simon and Garfunkel and The Bee Gees. The most surprising thing about listening to this album is that now that you know it's Elton singing, you ask yourself how you didn't recognise his vocals back in the 70's, as he often made no attempt to try to sound like the original artist. Now we know who was involved, it makes for a nice little collection of 70's pop hits as sung by an emerging superstar, but listening to them now I'm amazed that I was ever fooled into thinking that they sounded anything like the original recordings!

Track listing

01 Natural Sinner (Fairweather)
02 Come And Get It (Badfinger)
03 Let's Work Together (Canned Heat)
04 Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel)
05 Question (The Moody Blues)
06 August October (Robin Gibb)
07 Travellin' Band (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
08 Lady D'Arbanville (Cat Stevens)
09 Spirit In The Sky (Norman Greenbaum)
10 I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top (The Hollies)
11 Up Around The Bend (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
12 It's All In The Game (The Four Tops)
13 Don't Forget To Remember (The Bee Gees)
14 United We Stand (Brotherhood Of Man)

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

Larry Coryell - ...and on guitar (1976)

Larry Coryell was born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III in April 1943 in Galveston, Texas, and was encouraged by his mother to learn piano when he was four years old. In his teens he switched to guitar, and after his family moved to Richland, Washington, he took lessons from a teacher who lent him albums by Les Paul, Johnny Smith, Barney Kessel, and Tal Farlow. He graduated from Richland High School, where he played in local bands the Jailers, the Rumblers, the Royals, and the Flames, and after that he moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington. In September 1965, he moved to New York City, and his first major excursion into professional music was when he replaced guitarist Gábor Szabó in Chico Hamilton's quintet. In 1967–68, he recorded with Gary Burton, and during the mid-1960's he played with the Free Spirits, his first recorded band. In the eary 70's he led the group Foreplay with Mike Mandel, although the albums from this period, 'Barefoot Boy', 'Offering', and 'The Real Great Escape', were credited only to Larry Coryell, but he also lent his guitar skills to albums by Herbie Mann, Jim Pepper, and Leon Thomas, as well as showing that he didn't just play jazz by appearing with Jimmy Webb on his 1971 'And So: On' record. He formed his best-known band The Eleventh House in 1973, and recorded a number of well-received albums with them, and at the same time also managed to fit in guest appearances on records from Michael Urbaniak, Lenny White, and Larry Young. In 1979 he formed The Guitar Trio with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia, and the group toured Europe briefly, but in early 1980, his drug addiction led to his being replaced by Al Di Meola. Coryell died of heart failure on February 19, 2017, in a New York City hotel room at the age of 73. He had performed at the Iridium jazz club in Manhattan on the preceding two days. There were too many great tracks from him to cut them down to a single album, so this is a double disc post, with seven shorter pieces on Disc One, and Disc Two including a couple of extended workouts. 

Track listing

Disc One

01 Green Moss (from 'Nine Flags' by Chico O'Farrill  1967)

02 Rain (from 'Tomorrow Never Knows' by Steve Marcus 1968)           

03 Highpockets (from 'And So: On' by Jimmy Webb 1971)

04 Memphis Underground (from 'Memphis Underground' by Herbie Mann 1969)  

05 Straight No Chaser (from 'You Can't Make Love Alone' by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson 1971)

06 Yon A Ho (from 'Pepper's Pow Wow' by Jim Pepper 1971)

07 C. C. Rider (from 'Blues And The Soulful Truth' by Leon Thomas 1972)

Disc Two

01 Turning Spread (from 'Knirsch' by Et Cetera 1972)

02 The Vamp (from 'Score' by Randy Brecker 1969) 

03 Bloody Kishka (from 'Fusion III' by Michal Urbaniak 1975)

04 Prince Of The Sea (from 'Venusian Summer' by Lenny White 1975)

05 Sticky Wicket (from 'Spaceball' by Larry Young's Fuel 1976)

Bruce Springsteen - Songs To Orphans (1973)

Bruce Springsteen's musical career began as far back as 1964, after he saw the Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and inspired by them he bought his first guitar and started playing for audiences with a band called the Rogues at local venues in Freehold. The following year he went to the house of Tex and Marion Vinyard, who sponsored young bands in town, and they helped him become the lead guitarist and subsequently one of the lead singers of The Castiles, who recorded two original songs at a public recording studio in Brick Township. In the late 1960's he performed briefly in a power trio known as Earth, and from 1969 to early 1971 he was a member of Steel Mill, which included Danny Federici, Vini Lopez, Vinnie Roslin, and later Steve Van Zandt and Robbin Thompson, recording three original Springsteen songs at Pacific Recording in San Mateo. Over the next two years, as Springsteen sought to shape a unique and genuine musical and lyrical style, he performed with Dr. Zoom & the Sonic Boom (early- to mid-1971), the Sundance Blues Band (mid-1971), and the Bruce Springsteen Band (mid-1971 to mid-1972). He came to the attention of Mike Appel and Jim Crecetos, managers of Sir Lord Baltimore, and in April and May 1972 they had him record his entire songbook for them, acoustically. He also recorded some sessions for John Hammond in May and June 1972, which led to his being signed to Columbia Records, where he went straight back into the studio to record his debut album 'Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.' between June and October 1972. Sessions for the follow-up 'The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle' took place between May and September 1973, and there were a number of out-takes left over, including the superb 'Evacuation Of The West'. Many of these recordings have appeared on various bootlegs over the years, and so I've picked the very best of the songs from these sessions which never made it to an official album, and added in a couple of edited live recordings from 1973 of otherwise unrecorded songs, to piece together a record which just confirms what a prolific talent Springsteen was at the start of his long and illustrious career. 

Track listing

01 Seaside Bar Song    
02 The Lady And The Doctor 
03 Bishop Dance     
04 War Nurse
05 Visitation At Fort Horn
06 Hey Santa Ana
07 Songs To Orphans
08 Jazz Musician
09 Thundercack
10 Family Song
11 Saga Of The Architect Angel   
12 No More Kings In Texas (Evacuation Of The West)  

Tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 Media and 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York City 06-07/72
Tracks 1, 6, 12 'The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle' studio sessions 07-08/73
Track 11 Media and 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York City 20/02/1973
Tracks 3, 9  Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley 02/03/73