XTC - From The Drunktank (1981)

These drunken sessions from XTC happened after a visit to the local pub in Shipton-on-Cherwell, during the last days of mixing 'English Settlement' in November 1981. After mixing 'Punch and Judy', and only having 'No Thugs' left to do, the band retired to the pub to celebrate early. On their return to the studio they spotted that their instruments were still set up, and so in a somewhat boisterous mood they decided to make a noise, and Hugh Padgham opened up a couple of ambient mics in the room and recorded the whole thing direct to 2-track. It's just the band having a ball, doing irreverent cover versions of some of their favourite songs, and some stream-of-consciousness jamming, but even when drunk these guys make a great noise. 

Track listing

01 Shaving Brush Boogie 
02 Pupil Haze 
03 Community Worker Breakdown
04 Whole Lotta Age
05 Orange Dust
06 Orange Dust (Slight Return)
07 Silver Sewing Machine
08 Do The Dwarf

Canned Heat - Blues (1970)

When I put together my recent Canned Heat post, I wasn't trying to find rare recordings or non-album singles, as what I wanted to hear was an authentic blues album from the band, who were primarily known as the foremost exponents of blues/boogie. They did do straight-forward blues on their albums, but these were usually limited to just one song per record, and so it was actually quite difficult to find enough music to make up a blues album from them. By delving further back into their recordings I found that their aborted 1966 album contained some good stuff, so I was able to complete my project, and the result is a great pure blues album from Canned Heat, with nary a hint of the boogie.   

Track listing

01 Louise 
02 Nine Below Zero
03 TV Mama 
04 Going Down Slow 
05 Story Of My Life 
06 Marie Laveau
07 Mean Old World 
08 Terraplane Blues 
09 Sandy's Blues
10 Down In The Gutter, But Free 
11 London Blues 

Dodgy - Colour Me With Paints (1995)

1994 was Dodgy's breakthrough year, with their 'Homegrown' producing two memorable singles in 'Staying Out For The Summer' (a hit when reissued in 1995) and 'So Let Me Go Far', and despite lacking any discernible image, aside from that of three wide-eyed and unspoiled souls with a fondness for dressing down, their eminently hummable songs meant that they were now welcome guests in both the charts and the pop press. The third post from the band contains b-sides from 1994 and 1995, taken from the singles that were extracted from 'Homegrown', and once again it's astonishing at how many exclusive tracks were gifted to their fans on the b-sides of the many and various editions of their singles.

Track listing

01 A Summer's Day In Mid January (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer' 1994)
02 Don't You Think (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer' 1994)
03 Back To Life (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer' 1994)
04 Colour Me With Paints (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer' 1994)
05 The Snake (b-side of 'Melodies Haunt You' 1994)
06 Watch Out Watcha Doin' (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
07 This Is Ours (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
08 (Get Off Your) High Horse (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
09 Spent All My Time Running (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
10 All The Time In The World (b-side of 'Making The Most Of (New Version)' 1995)
11 (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher (b-side of 'Staying Out For The Summer '95' 1995)

Clifford T. Ward - Intends To Please (1968)

Clifford Thomas Ward was born on 10 February 1944 in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, and was the fifth child in his family, with one older sister and three older brothers. In 1962, shortly after leaving school and supporting himself with a series of clerical jobs, Ward formed a beat band called Cliff Ward And The Cruisers, which won the 1963 Midland Band of the Year contest in Birmingham. They were popular in Birmingham and also in demand at American Army bases in France, and it was during this time away from his family that Ward wrote 'Home Thoughts From Abroad, which would later appear on his second solo album in the 70's. The Cruisers recorded one single before they opted for a name change to Martin Raynor And The Secrets, with Ward in the role of the elusive Raynor. Another single was released under this name, before the fictitious name was dropped and the band continued on as Raynor's Secrets, Simon's Secrets, or just The Secrets, and they went on to tour around Britain and France, achieving moderate success. More singles followed, with three from The Secrets and two from Simon's Secrets, with Ward penning most of the songs himself. In 1967, following the demise of The Secrets, Ward decided he needed to get a real job, and enrolled at Worcester Teacher Training College, subsequently teaching English and Drama at North Bromsgrove High School. In his spare time he continued songwriting, and under the pseudonym of Pat Rollings (using his wife's maiden name) he wrote 'Path Through The Forest', which was later recorded by The Factory, and is now regarded as one of the best UK psychedelic singles of all time. In 1972 he recorded his first solo album 'Singer Songwriter', which was released on John Peel's Dandelion Records just before it went into liquidation. It was exactly as the title stated, and the r'n'b of his early bands had been replaced by a collection of introspective and personal songs, one of which, 'Gaye', went on to sell over a million copies worldwide when released as a single, and reached number 8 in the UK chart in July 1973. 

Ward's second album followed the success of the single, and 'Home Thoughts' was named after the song that he'd written while on tour in Europe in the early 60's. At this point he gave up teaching so that he could concentrate on music full-time, and he released a further nine albums over the next 25 years. He remained a very private person, consistently refusing to tour and perform live gigs, while interviews, photograph sessions, and television appearances were made only when absolutely necessary. In 1984 Ward was diagnosed as suffering from multiple sclerosis, which he kept from his fans for a number of years, until the symptoms could no longer be disguised. In 1992 a stage musical, 'Shattered World', was produced as a tribute to him, based on his life and his battle against MS, with half the songs being his own, and the rest being numbers written by others about him. In November 2001 Ward contracted pneumonia, and died in Tenbury Community Hospital a few weeks later on 18 December. He was a gifted songwriter from the very beginning, which is often overlooked as people tend to think that he only started writing in the early 70's for his solo albums, but this collection shows that the talent was there from the start, and includes all the singles from his various bands, plus his own demo of 'Path Through The Forest'. 

Track listing

Cliff Ward And The Cruisers

01 Rachel (single 1964)

02 No Money Down (b-side of 'Rachel')

03 Ooh Wee Baby (previously unreleased)

Martin Raynor And The Secrets

04 Candy To Me (single 1965)

05 You're A Wonderful One (b-side of 'Candy To Me')

The Secrets

06 I Suppose (single 1966)

07 Such A Pity (b-side of 'I Suppose')

08 Infatuation (single 19670

09 She's Dangerous (b-side of 'Infatuation') 

10 I Intend To Please (single 1967)

11 I Think I Need The Cash (b-side of 'I Intend To Please')

12 Coathanger (demo)

Simon's Secrets

13 Naughty Boy (single 1968)

14 Sympathy (b-side of 'Naughty Boy')

15 I Know What Her Name Is (single 1968)

16 Keeping My Head Above Water (b-side of 'I Know What Her Name Is')

Pat Rollings

17 Path Through The Forest (demo) 

P. P. Arnold - First Cuts (1970)

Patricia Cole was born in Los Angeles, California, on 3 October 1946, and grew up singing gospel songs in the local church. At 15 she became pregnant and went on to marry the child’s father, but the marriage was not a happy one and after being offered an audition to become a member of the Ikettes in 1964, she won a place in the girl group and promptly left her abusive husband and began touring the US with Ike and Tina Tuner. When Ike and Tina Turner's now-classic 'River Deep, Mountain High' flopped in the States but became a top-three hit in the UK in the summer of 1966, the band and their backing group were offered a slot as support act for the Rolling Stones in Britain. During the tour Pat (as she was then known) became friendly with Mick Jagger, who arranged a meeting with his manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, who had just set up a record label with Tony Calder. Cole was signed up with little delay, and it was at this point that she was given the stage name P.P. Arnold. Her first duties at Immediate included supplying backing vocals for Chris Farlowe, but she also went into the studio to cut her own material, and 'Everything's Gonna Be Alright' became her debut solo single in February 1967. Written by Oldham and David Skinner, the song was a soul gem, and though it failed to chart its pounding beat has subsequently made it a favourite on the Northern soul dance scene. While on tour in a package that included Roy Orbison and the Small Faces, her second single was released in April 1967, and the Cat Stevens-penned 'The First Cut Is The Deepest' became her first hit, reaching number 18 in the UK charts.

For promotional appearances she enlisted the backing of another Immediate signing, and so The Nice were her backing band until their success meant that they needed to focus their own efforts, and they were replaced by TNT. 'The Time Has Come' was selected as the follow up single, but if fared less well that its predecessor, just scraping into the UK top 50 charts. In 1968 '(If You Think You’re) Groovy' was issued as her next single, being written by The Small Faces' Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, and the group also performed the musical backing, but it didn't help propel the record into the charts, not being helped by distribution problems with Immediate. Three months later her first album was released, the prophetically titled 'The First Lady Of Immediate', which included her singles to date and a few new tracks, including several that she'd written herself. In July 1968 her version of 'Angel Of The Morning' saw her return to the UK charts, but once again Immediate's distributions problems meant that it only reached number 29, whereas it should have registered much higher. Nonetheless, a second album 'Kafunta' was released in August 1968 on the back of the single’s success, with this one being more ambitious than its predecessor, but perhaps including a few too many cover versions, plus one notable self-penned song 'Dreamin''. Following a surprising decision to re-issue 'The First Cut Is The Deepest' in 1969, Immediate folded the following year, after which Arnold signed to Polydor, where Barry Gibb took over production on 'Bury Me Down By The River' and 'Give A Hand, Take A Hand'. She spent much of the 70's as a backing singer, and in the early 80's she appeared in a number of TV series, including Dallas spin-off 'Knot's Landing', as well as performing in the musical 'Starlight Express', but for fans of a certain age she will always be remembered as 'the first lady of Immediate'.

Track listing

01 Everything's Gonna Be Alright (single 1967)
02 Life Is But Nothing (b-side of 'Everything's Gonna Be Alright')
03 The First Cut Is The Deepest (single 1967)
04 Speak To Me (b-side of 'The First Cut Is The Deepest')
05 The Time Has Come (single 1967)
06 If You See What I Mean (b-side of 'The Time Has Come')
07 (If You Think You're) Groovy (single 1967)
08 Though It Hurts Me Badly (b-side of '(If You Think You're) Groovy')
09 Angel Of The Morning (single 1969)
10 Bury Me Down By The River (single 1969)
11 Give A Hand, Take A Hand (b-side of 'Bury Me Down By The River')
12 Would You Believe (single 1969)
13 Am I Still Dreaming (b-side of 'Would You Believe')
14 A Likely Piece Of Work (single 1970)

Strangers - The Last Glimpse Of Sunlight (2020)

Strangers are a three-piece alternative indie band from Cheshire, who formed in 2017 and have been developing their unique sound ever since. Following the release of 'The Demo Tape' on Soundcloud in 2017, which was where I first heard their great heavy indie rock sound, two further self-produced singles followed over the next two years, where you can hear the band maturing and honing their sound. These were collected onto a mixtape in 2019 and offered on Bandcamp, and this disc adds a further four songs to stretch that out to album length, so that we can hear what an full record from this fine indie rock band could sound like.

Track listing

01 The Last Glimpse Of Sunlight
02 Hibernate
03 Nocturnal
04 Icarus
05 Big Sleep
06 2am
07 Cry Baby
08 Apollo
09 Morning
10 You And I
11 Jaded
12 Hollows/Highways
13 Lonely Animals

The Specials - Rat Race (1984)

To help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the classic 'Ghost Town' single, here is a collection of some of The Specials' rare tracks from the first five years of their existence, bookending all three songs from the 'Ghost Town' 12" single. The band, also known as The Special AKA, formed in 1977 in Coventry, and after some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, Lynval Golding and Roddy Radiation on guitars, Horace Panter on bass, Jerry Dammers on keyboards, John Bradbury on drums, and Dick Cuthell and Rico Rodriguez on horns. The band began around the same time as Rock Against Racism, which was first organised in 1978, and Dammers' vision was that this was intrinsic to the formation of The Specials, with the goal of integrating black and white musicians. They were first called the Automatics, then the Coventry Automatics, and finally settled on The Special AKA, under which name they released their first single 'Gansters', on their own 2 Tone Records label.  After 'Gangsters' became a top 10 hit in the summer of 1979, the band dropped the 'AKA' to become The Specials, and they recorded their eponymous debut album in 1979, produced by Elvis Costello. As well as containing original material, the album also featured covers of classic ska tunes, such as Dandy Livingstone's 'Rudy, A Message To You' (slightly altering the title to 'A Message To You, Rudy'), and songs by Prince Buster and Toots & the Maytals. In 1980, the 'Too Much Too Young' EP was released under the name of The Special A.K.A., and was a No. 1 hit in the UK singles chart, despite controversy over the song's lyrics, which referenced teen pregnancy and promoted contraception. Reverting once again to the name of The Specials for their second album, 'More Specials' was not as commercially successful, and was recorded at a time when conflicts had developed within the band. In the first few months of 1981, the band took a break from recording and touring, and then released 'Ghost Town', which again topped the singles chart, although despite this success, relationships had become so strained within the group that Staple, Hall and Golding announced they were leaving the band, later forming The Funboy Three. For the next few years, the group was in a seemingly constant state of flux, and in 1982 they released 'The Boiler' with Rhoda Dakar on vocals, Dammers on keyboards, Bradbury on drums, John Shipley (from the Swinging Cats) on guitar, Cuthell on brass and Nicky Summers on bass. The single was credited to Rhoda With The Special AKA, and the track describes an incident of date rape, with its frank and harrowing depiction meaning that airplay was severely limited. After going on tour with Rodriguez, the band recorded 'Jungle Music' as Rico And The Special AKA, although this failed to chart when released. After two further mildly successful singles, in 1984 the band finally issued a new full-length album 'In the Studio', once again reverting back to the name The Special AKA. The record was both critically and commercially less successful than previous efforts, although the single 'Free Nelson Mandela' was a No. 9 UK hit, and helped contribute to making Mandela's imprisonment a cause célèbre in the UK, but it wasn't enough to hold the group together, and Dammers dissolved the band to pursue political activism. The Specials were without doubt at the forefront of the whole ska/bluebeat resurgence of the late 70's, and helped bands such as Madness, The Beat, The Bodysnatchers, The Selecter, and even Bad Manners onto their own chart success, and for that they fully deserve this retrospective.   

Track listing

01 Rat Race (single 1980)

02 Rude Boys Outta Jail (b-side of 'Rat Race')

03 Maggie's Farm (b-side of 'Do Nothing')

04 Sea Cruise (John Peel session 1980)

05 Ghost Town (single 1981)

06 Why? (b-side of 'Ghost Town')

07 Friday Night, Saturday Morning (b-side of 'Ghost Town')

08 Raquel (from the free NME cassette 'C81' 1981)

09 Jungle Music (single by Rico And The Special A.K.A. 1982)

10 Rasta Call You (b-side of 'Jungle Music')

11 Easter Island (b-side of 'Jungle Music')

12 Theme From The Boiler (b-side of 'The Boiler' by Rhoda With The Special A.K.A. 1982)

13 Can't Get A Break (b-side of 'What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend' 1984)

Canned Heat - Poor Moon (1970)

Canned Heat was started by a community of blues enthusiasts who used to meet up to trade blues records, and in 1965 they decided to form a jug band. The original line up was Bob Hite as vocalist, Alan Wilson on bottleneck guitar, Mike Perlowin on lead guitar, Stuart Brotman on bass and Keith Sawyer on drums. Perlowin and Sawyer dropped out within a few days, so guitarist Kenny Edwards (a friend of Wilson's) stepped in to replace Perlowin, and Ron Holmes agreed to sit in on drums until they could find a permanent drummer. Another of Hite's friends, Henry Vestine asked if he could join the band and was accepted while keeping Edwards on temporarily. Soon Edwards departed and at the same time Frank Cook came in to replace Holmes as their permanent drummer. Producer Johnny Otis recorded the band's first album in 1966 with the ensemble of Hite, Wilson, Cook, Vestine, and Brotman, but the record remained unreleased until it was issued in 1970 under the title of 'Vintage Heat'. Over a summer hiatus in 1966 Brotman effectively left Canned Heat after he had signed a contract for a long engagement in Fresno with an Armenian belly-dance revue, so he had to be replaced, with Mark Andes taking over for a couple of months before he returned to his former colleagues in the Red Roosters (later adopting the new name Spirits Rebellious, which became shorten to Spirit). Canned Heat finally found a permanent bassist in Larry Taylor, who joined in March 1967, and this line-up started recording their first album for Liberty Records in April 1967, taping a collection of old blues songs. They released 'Rollin' And Tumblin'' backed with 'Bullfrog Blues' as their first single, followed by the album later in July 1967. Frank Cook then left the band, to be replaced by Adolfo de la Parra, completing the classic and perhaps best known Canned Heat lineup. Their second album 'Boogie With Canned Heat' included 'On The Road Again', an updated version of a 1950's composition by Floyd Jones, which was a worldwide success when it was released as a single. The album also included a twelve-minute version of 'Fried Hockey Boogie', credited to Larry Taylor, but rather obviously derived from John Lee Hooker's 'Boogie Chillen' riff, and which allowed each member to stretch out on his instrument while establishing them with hippie ballroom audiences across America as the 'kings of the boogie'. 

In October 1968 the band released their third album 'Living The Blues', which included 'Going Up The Country', another huge hit single and perhaps their best-known song. The album also included a 19-minute experimental track 'Parthenogenesis', which was a nine-part sound collage of blues, ragas, jaw-harp sounds, guitar distortion and other electronic effects, all pulled together under the direction of manager/producer Skip Taylor. Longer still is 'Refried Boogie', clocking in at over 40 minutes, and recorded live at the Kaleidoscope club. In July 1969, just prior to their appearance at Woodstock, they released their fourth album 'Hallelujah', enforcing their reputation as the most convincing of the white electric blues groups. This time most of the material was original compositions, with lyrics relating to the band such as Wilson's 'Time Was', but within days of the album's release, Vestine left the group after an on-stage blow up at the Fillmore West between himself and Larry Taylor. The next night both Mike Bloomfield and Harvey Mandel jammed with the band, and both were offered Vestine's spot in the line-up, with Mandel accepting. The new lineup played just two dates at the Fillmore before appearing at Woodstock in mid-August, where they played their most famous set at sunset on the second day of the festival. Before their European tour in early 1970, the band recorded 'Future Blues', an album containing five original compositions and three covers, with 'Let's Work Together' being chosen as the first single from the record, and with a guest appearance of Dr John on piano. Some controversy was sparked by the moon landing/Iwo Jima album cover, and the upside down American flag, which was Wilson's idea, and was a response to his love of nature, growing environmentalism and concern that humankind would soon be polluting the moon as well as the Earth. Material from their 1970 European tour provided the tracks for 'Canned Heat '70 Concert Live in Europe', later retitled 'Live In Europe', but on returning home from the European tour Larry Taylor left the band to join John Mayall, and was followed later by Mandel. With Taylor and Mandel gone, Vestine returned on guitar, accompanied by bassist Antonio de la Barreda who had played with de la Parra for five years in Mexico City, and the band went on to release another dozen albums over the next 40 years, but for me their best period was between 1967 to 1970, and during that time they recorded a number of tracks which didn't see the light of day until added to deluxe re-issues of those early albums. As well as these rare recordings they also released a few non-album singles and b-sides, so to remind us of what a great band they were, here is a collection of hard to find recordings from their classic period. 

Track listing

01 The Hunter (previously unreleased 1968)
02 Christmas Blues (single 1968)
03 Whiskey And Wimmen' (previously unreleased 1968)
04 Shake, Rattle And Roll (previously unreleased 1968)
05 Fannie Mae (previously unreleased 1968)
06 Gotta Boogie (The World Boogie) (previously unreleased 1968)
07 Human Condition (early version - previously unreleased 1970)
08 Poor Moon (single 1969)
09 Low Down (And High Up) (b-side of 'Time Was' 1969)
10 It's All Right (previously unreleased 1970) 
11 Wooly Bully (single 1970)

Dodgy - Sylvia's Bedroom (1993)

Despite the fact that 1993's 'The Dodgy Album' was filled with buoyant 60s-styled pop tunes, it nevertheless failed to sell, though The Dodgy Club was now being exported as far afield as Amsterdam and Scandinavia. It's one of those albums that has been re-evaluated over the years, and although it's reputation is still as a second cousin to their breakthrough album 'Homegrown', it does contain some fine songs from Clarke, and remains a favourite with me. This second post contains only songs released in 1993, and bearing in mind that they'd used their best dozen or so for the album, it shows just how prolific they were even at this early stage in their career.

Track listing

01 Don't Go Back (To The Beaten Track) (from the 'Homegrown' EP 1993)

02 Let's Wait Until We Get There (from the 'Homegrown' EP 1993)

03 It's Been So Long (b-side of 'Water Under The Bridge' 1993)

04 She Wants My Loving (b-side of 'Water Under The Bridge' 1993)

05 Valuable Fool (b-side of 'Water Under The Bridge' 1993)

06 Big Brown Moon (b-side of 'Lovebirds' 1993)

07 Sylvia's Bedroom (b-side of 'Lovebirds' 1993)

08 Smashed Up In A Flat (b-side of 'Lovebirds' 1993)

09 Never Again (Campfire version) (b-side of 'I Need Another' 1993)

0 If I Fall (b-side of 'I Need Another' 1993)

11 Hendre-DdU (b-side of 'I Need Another' 1993)

Donovan - One Night In Time (1993)

After receiving a poor reception in the UK and US for his 1983 album 'Lady Of The Stars', Donovan retired from the recording studio, although he did continue to perform live concerts. However, as the new decade dawned he found that his 60's hit albums were being released on CD for the first time, and this, along with the release of the live album 'Rising' in 1990 and the box-set compilation 'Troubadour' in 1992, helped renew and increase his fans' interest in new material from him, despite him having no label in the UK or US to issue an album. His manager, Patrick Hehir, who had already invoked Donovan's wrath by selling unreleased albums, such as 1990's 'Celtia', through the 'Donovan's Friends' fanzine that he ran, did it again around 1993/1994 by making the shelved 'One Night In Time' available on cassette through this source. It was reportedly due to the fact that this album was cancelled that Donovan decamped to Ireland in February 1990 to record the 'Celtia' album, although that timeline doesn't seem to add up if 'One Night in Time' was recorded in 1993. Whatever the order they were recorded, 'Celtia' was very much a 'back to the roots' folk effort, whereas 'One Night In Time' is a very different beast altogether, with Donovan being ably assisted by Steve Jones on guitar, Jim Keltner on drums, Matthew Seligman on bass, and Robbie Blunt on slide guitar, and the result is a much more 'rock' sound than we'd heard for a while. It's a shame that this wasn't released when it was recorded, as it might well have kick-started the next phase of his career, whereas we had to wait until 1996 for his next official album 'Sutras'. 

Track listing

01 One Night In Time
02 Dear Heart
03 You Got Me Reeling (Only For You)
04 The Sensitive Kind
05 Runaway
06 When All The World Is Young
07 What's A Girl
08 Forever Your Love
09 You Do Belong (Teenage Suicide)
10 There Are No Roads

IV League - Varsity (2019)

Melbourne-based rockers IV League are Bella Venutti and Lachie Gilmour, a pair of collaborators who are very much still in their formative years, but who possess a deep understanding of music. Kneeling at the feet of 90’s-era heroes like Pixies and The Breeders, they still manage to make music that not only draws from their influences, but also creates something that is refreshingly new and unique, meeting the grunge ferocity with low key and tender moments. They've released three singles, as well as posting songs on Soundcloud since 2016, and their combining of alt-rock and garage-pop-infused fuzz creates big harmonies in a shimmering upbeat style. Bella Venutti launched a solo project in 2019, and the band haven't posted on Soundcloud since then, so it could be that they've now broken up, but they do leave behind an album full of fine indie rock as their legacy. 

Track listing

01 Bleached
02 Varsity
03 Lit Screen
04 Change My Mind
05 Sylvia
06 Superstar
07 Comedown Sensation
08 Lose Me
09 Echo
10 Cola Tooth World

Jackie Lee - Lonely Clown (1967)

Jacqueline Flood was born in Dublin, Ireland on 29 May 1936, and by the age of 14 she was singing on Irish radio and with various dance bands. After moving to London in the early 50s' she worked as a hospital lab technician until joining singing group Ronnie Aldrich’s Squadronaires, performing frequently on BBC radio with them. After changing her professional name to Jackie Lee, she left the group in April 1955 and made her recording debut for Decca Records, but 'I Was Wrong' and her subsequent single were not successful. In 1959 she joined the group The Raindrops as lead singer, but their first single 'Along Came Jones' fared no better than her solo material, and further releases suffered the same fate. In 1962 Lee took part in A Song For Europe to find the UK's entry for the Eurovision song contest, but she lost out to Ronnie Carroll's 'Ring-a-Ding Girl'. in 1963 she recorded her first German-language single 'Tschau, Tschau, Amigo', which was aimed at the lucrative German market, but that also failed to sell, and so she rejoined The Raindrops to appear in the film 'Just For You', performing their version of Little Eva's 'The Locomotion'. Within a year she'd quit the group and released 'I Cry Alone', written by up and coming songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David, but it did no better than any of her other records, as did her next two singles. The quality of her records definitely increased, even if this didn't translate into commercial sales, and both 'The Town I Live In' and 'You Too (Can Have Heartaches)' were strong songs. For her next single she was renamed Emma Rede, but 1967's 'Just Like A Man' also disappeared without trace, although the b-side 'I Gotta Be With You' has since found favour on Britain’s Northern soul scene. Due to the lack of success of 'Just Like A Man', a planned second single, a recording of 'Window Cleaner', only reached acetate stage, and later that year she reverted to the Jackie Lee name for the strident 'Born To Lose', from the film 'Robbery!', to the same response as all her other releases. Undespondent, she kept busy with a variety of engagements as leader of two groups of session singers, Tears Of Joy and the Jackie Lee Singers. In January 1968, under the name Jacky, she released 'White Horses', which was the theme to a Czech children’s TV programme, and she finally got the hit single that she'd spent so long trying to achieve, spending three months in the UK charts in early 1968, peaking at number ten. Even though the follow-up single 'We’re Off And Running' didn't emulate that success, she was able to release the 'White Horses' album off the back of her hit single. She carried on recording and releasing singles well into the mid-70's, but this collection is to highlight the fact that despite their lack of commercial success, her 60's singles are all worth hearing, and as a special bonus there's also an E.P. from her alter ego Emma Rede.  

Track listing

01 There Goes The Lucky One (single with The Raindrops 1962)
02 There's No-One In The Whole Wide World (single with The Raindrops 1962)
03 (I Was The) Last One To Know (b-side of 'There's No-One In The Whole Wide World')
04 The End Of The World (Ended When You Said Goodbye) (single 1963)
05 Goodbye Is Such A Lonely Word (b-side of 'The End Of The World')
06 Down Our Street (single with The Raindrops 1963)
07 My Heart Is Your Heart (b-side of 'Down Our Street')
08 Come On Dream, Come On (single with The Raindrops 1963)
09 Here I Go Again (b-side of 'Come On Dream, Come On')
10 I Cry Alone (single 1964)
11 Cause I Love Him (b-side of 'I Cry Alone')
12 Lonely Clown (single 1965)
13 Love Is Gone (b-side of 'Lonely Clown')
14 I Know Know Know I’ll Never Love Love Love Anyone Else (single 1966)
15 So Love Me (b-side of 'I Know Know Know I’ll Never Love Love Love Anyone Else')
16 The Town I Live In (single 1966) 
17 You Too (Can Have Heartaches) (b-side of 'The Town I Live In')
18 It's A Big Mistake ‎(acetate 1966)
19 Till You Come Back To Me ‎(acetate 1966)
20 Your Other Love ‎(acetate 1966)
21 Born To Lose (single 1967)

Bonus E.P. by Emma Rede

Track listing

01 Just Like A Man (single 1967)
02 I Gotta Be With You (b-side of 'Just Like A Man')
03 Ever Or Never At All ‎(acetate 1967)
04 Window Cleaner (acetate 1967)
05 Someday You'll Love Me (acetate 1967)
06 For The Last Time (previously unreleased)
07 This Is My Love (previously unreleased)
08 When He Wants A Woman (previously unreleased)

Airbag - Speed Of Light (2007)

Norwegian progressive rockers Airbag have been around since a group of friends with similar musical tastes got together in 1994 and formed a band, with the current line-up stablising in 1999. Bjorn Riis is the lead guitarist and main songwriter, with Asle Tostruo on vocals, Jorgen Hagen on keyboards, Anders Hovdan on bass and Joachim Slikker on drums. They spent their early years playing infrequent gigs around Norway, in particular in Oslo, from where there is a live album available from a 2001 concert, and they didn't record their first demo until 2004. They released their first EP 'Sounds That I Hear' in 2007, which blended influences from acts such as a-ha, Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd, managing to create a sonic expression defying normal genre conventions. They allowed the release to be freely downloadable from their website, and within a few months more than 10,000 people had downloaded it, establishing a good-sized, international fanbase in a very short space of time. A second EP was issued the same year, with 'Safetree' also being freely downloadable, and it further extended their popularity among an internet-savvy fanbase. 2007 also saw Airbag's debut as a proper live outfit, opening for acts like Pineapple Thief, Gazpacho and Riverside, and in 2009 they were signed by Karisma Records, with their debut album 'Identity' being issued the same year. It included three re-recorded songs from the 'Safetree' EP, but not the title track which remains exclusive to that release. Since then they have released four more albums of absolutely outstanding progressive rock, and they are currently my favourite prog-rock band alongside Porcupine Tree. If you like Steven Wilson and PT then you really have to hear Airbag, and this collection of the songs from their early EP's which weren't re-recorded for 'Identity' is a great place to start. While putting this together I discovered that Bjorn Riis has also released four solo albums, and they are every bit a good as those from his day job, and so for any fans of Porcupine Tree or Pink Floyd who have never heard of Airbag, then you're in for a real treat.  

Track listing

01 Come On In (from 'Come On In' demo EP)
02 Moon Song (from 'Come On In' demo EP)
03 Take Me (from 'Come On In' demo EP)
04 Crying Out (from 'Come On In' demo EP)
05 Speed Of Light (from 'Sounds That I Hear' EP 2007)
06 Sounds That I Hear (Parts I & II) (extended recording from 'Sounds That I Hear' EP 2007)
07 Safetree (from 'Safetree' EP 2007)