The Seahorses - Minus Blue (1999)

The Seahorses were formed in 1996 by guitarist John Squire following his departure from The Stone Roses, and after recruiting bassist Stuart Fletcher, and vocalist/songwriter Chris Helme. Squire did admit early on that despite liking a couple of Helme's songs, including 'Blinded By The Sun' which he re-arranged for the album, he could see problems later if Helme wanted to record them with the band. In the summer of 1996, Squire rented a cottage in Coniston, Cumbria to write and rehearse with Helme and Fletcher, and after trying out several drummers, they finally settled on Andy Watts, who had previously gigged with Fletcher and also knew Helme. Due to Squire's past work with the Stone Roses, the band were met with intense media interest and speculation before they had recorded or released anything, and even the band name was the subject of various conspiracy theories, after the NME claimed that it was an anagram of He Hates Roses. Just weeks after Watts joined, they all headed to North Hollywood to record with David Bowie/T. Rex producer Tony Visconti, and they released their debut single 'Love Is The Law' on 28 April 1997 via Geffen Records, to whom Squire was still signed following his departure from the Stone Roses. The band's debut album 'Do It Yourself' was released in May 1997, and included the song 'Love Me And Leave Me', which was co-written with Liam Gallagher of Oasis, with whom the band toured in 1997. Shortly before the release of the single it was announced that drummer Andy Watts was leaving the group to spend more time with his family (or had been asked to leave, depending on who you believe), and he was temporarily replaced by session players Mal Scott and Toby Drummond. The band went on to play support slots with The Rolling Stones, U2, and Oasis, and in 1998 they began work on a follow-up album with another new drummer, Mark Heaney, having previewed several new songs during secret fan club gigs and festival appearances, including 'City in The Sky', '700 Horses', 'Tombraid', and two Helme compositions 'Won't Let You Fall' and 'Moth'. The band entered Olympic Studios with producer David Bottrill in January 1999 to record the album, with the working titles of 'Minus Blue' and 'Motocade', but tensions came to a head between Squire and Helme, and Squire walked out of the studio, never to return, resulting in the sessions being abandoned, and the group splitting up. The main arguments between Squire and Helme were to do with the writing process, with Squire becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the material being produced by Helme, until it reached a point where their partnership was no longer possible. Helme was also unhappy with Squire writing the majority of the band's material, and therefore picking up the majority of the publishing money, and due to this he attempted to launch a solo career whilst still in The Seahorses, later claiming that the Seahorses' management informed him that they would sue him if he started touring and playing his own material whilst still a member of the band. In 2005 some of the recordings from the abandoned sessions surfaced, and so we are now able to hear what 'Minus Blue' might have sounded like had the band managed to put their differences aside for a bit longer and complete the album. 

Track listing

01 Night Train
02 700 Horses
03 Anamorphosis
04 I Want You
05 Cocksucker Blues
06 Reach Out
07 Dolphin
08 Something Tells Me
09 What Can You See? (Into The Light)
10 Tombraid

The Incredible String Band - Curlew (1972)

1972 was a pivotal year for The Incredible String Band, as having released a string of well-received albums on Elektra Records, their manager Joe Boyd severed ties with the band in 1971 and returned to the US, while Rose Simpson left the group, to be replaced by Malcolm Le Maistre, formerly of the Stone Monkey troupe. Mike Heron had taken time out to record a well-received solo album 'Smiling Men With Bad Reputations', which featured a host of session guests, among them Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane, Keith Moon, John Cale, Richard Thompson, and Elton John on an unreleased out-take, and in 1972 Licorice McKechnie left, to be replaced by Gerard Dott, an Edinburgh jazz musician and friend of both Heron and Robin Williamson. Williamson himself also recorded a solo album 'Myrrh', which featured some of his most extraordinary vocal performances, and so to a casual observer it would seem that the band was on the verge of falling apart. However, they had managed to secure a deal with Island Records, and following the release of the soundtrack to the film 'Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending', they issued the eclectic 'Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air' in 1971 to renewed praise from the critics. So in 1972 they began laying down tracks for the upcoming 'Earthspan' album, which, compared to its predecessors, was a more generic folk album. The band was continuing its exploration into progressive rock and synthesizers in order to create a more commercial-oriented sound, which was mostly due to Heron's influence over the group, and as a result they would lose much of their trademark style that made them popular in the British underground counterculture of the 1960's. 

They recorded a couple of sessions for the John Peel Show on Radio 1, and previewed unrecorded songs such as 'Secret Temple' and 'Oh Did I Love A Dream', as well as performing a full band version of 'Rends-Moi Demain' from Williamson's solo album. Clive Palmer had left the band in their early days and formed his own group C.O.B. or Clive's Original Band, and had released their debut album 'Spirit Of Love' in 1970, but in the same year that the ISB was preparing to go into the studio for the 'Earthspan' sessions, they released their second album 'Moyshe McStiff And The Tartan Lancers Of The Sacred Heart', bringing him back to the attention of ISB fans who remembered his early involvement with the band. So although things weren't going swimmingly for the Incredible String Band, there was a lot of music from the individual musicians in that year, so I though I'd bring some of it together as a summary of what was going on in their lives. We start with a track from each of the solo albums which were around in 1972 (Heron's having been released a few months earlier), followed by an out-take from the 'Earthspan' sessions, and the un-issued track from Heron's solo album that featured Elton John. An out-take from Palmer's album follows, and then we have the ISB version of Williamson's 'Rends-Moi Demain', and another leftover from Heron's album. Another 'Earthspan' out-take, Licorice McKechnie's 'Secret Temple', is next, followed by Palmer's instrumental out-take 'Falconer's Glove', and then another track from Williamson's 'Myrhh' as he was starting to feel a bit neglected, and finally we round off with the lovely instrumental title track. This is something of an unusual post, as it mixes released album tracks, demos, radio sessions and out-takes, but it captures a moment in time for the members and former members of this unique band.

Track listing

01 Dark Dance 
02 Martha & Mary  
03 Feast Of Stephen 
04 Oh Did I Love A Dream  
05 Make No Mistake 
06 Sweet Spring 
07 Rends-Moi Demain 
08 Lady Wonder   
09 Secret Temple   
10 Falconer's Glove 
11 Cold Harbour 
12 Curlew    

Steely Dan - The Lost Gaucho (1980) UPGRADE

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

Various Artists - Shaken, Not Stirred (2015)

In the next of Mike Solof’s guest posts on the blog, we have his exhaustive investigation into songs which were submitted to the producers of the James Bond films, but which were rejected in favour of those which went on to be forever associated with the franchise. Mike’s main work contains 59 tracks, and, as always, contains a detailed PDF with the background on each song, but to ease you in here is a sampler of that massive work, with notes extracted from his PDF. So over to Mike....

I love James Bond themes. Absolutely adore them, they're some of my favorite songs. So it should go without saying that I find their history and backstory even more interesting. But I think the most intriguing thing about James Bond themes, however, is not the ones that actually made it into the movie, but the themes that don't make it into a film. So over the past few months (since a little while before SPECTRE) I've been collecting as many rejected themes as possible, and I'm going to lay them out here, because who wouldn't want to know about these gems? I'll go through the films in release order, and I've included songs here that I can definitely confirm were rejected, and I'll cite my sources for that.
Thunderball 1965
‘Thunderball' was the fourth Bond film released, and as Shirley Bassey's rendition of 'Goldfinger' really solidified what a Bond theme should be, it should not be a surprise, then, that she was asked to return for 'Thunderball'. John Barry wrote this piece after seriously considering that he could not write a theme with the phrase 'Thunderball' in the title. It was simply too vague for him. So he teamed up with Leslie Bricusse and wrote this 'Goldfinger'-esque piece that focused on Bond rather than the film. The name of the song comes from an Italian journalist, who apparently dubbed James Bond 'Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'. However, there were some issues with Bassey's singing, and so Barry turned to Dionne Warwick to re-record the same theme, and expanded on the instrumental opening to time the lyrics with Binder's opening sequence. Saltzmann and Broccoli heard the song and decided, with very little evidence, that a Bond theme that didn't use the title of the movie would not succeed, and the song was briefly relegated to the closing titles, until Bassey sued and the song was removed. Instrumental versions of 'Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' can still be found on the 'Thunderball' soundtrack.
You Only Live Twice 1967
'You Only Live Twice' actually had a rather rapid theme selection process. As with 'Thunderball' the theme was written pretty early, and the only rejected song comes from a different singer than the final version, except for this one. No one really knows where it came from, apparently Lorraine Chandler recorded it in the 70's, and then in mid-80's RCA was digging through its archives and turned up this recording, and when they released it on vinyl it became a cult hit.
The Man With the Golden Gun 1974
This is one of the more famous rejected themes, for varying reasons, not the least of which was that it was performed by Alice Cooper. But the story behind this song is interesting. John Barry did not return to score 'Live And Let Die', and from what I can gather it was a combination of him being busy, and a disagreement with Saltzman over 'Diamonds Are Forever', and he returned to the series with 'The Man With The Golden Gun'. He set forth immediately writing the title theme, later filled in with lyrics by Don Black and performed by Lulu. It's not a favorite of the franchise, and Barry had consistently stated that it was his least favorite Bond soundtrack. While the producers were courting people to create the title theme, Alice Cooper decided to give it a shot. He would claim for a while that his theme was supposed to be the actual title theme, until it was snatched away at the last minute by Lulu., but this claim seems to be unsubstantiated, and since then Cooper has gone on to say that his song wasn't actually finished by the time the producers signed their contract with Lulu.
For Your Eyes Only 1981
This is one of the strangest rejected themes, as when it came time to write the score for 'For Your Eyes Only', John Barry was unfortunately unable to participate, as he was  dealing with some tax issues, and suggested Bill Conti instead. Produces wanted Debbie Harry to sing a Conti-penned theme, but she refused and wrote her own theme with her bandmates. When it was pitched to Conti, he was less than impressed, turning it down and going on to write his own, originally intended for Donna Summer, but United Artists suggested Sheena Easton, and so a theme was born.
Never Say Never Again 1983
Prior to the release of 'Never Say Never Again' in 1983, Stephen Forsyth and Jim Ryan wrote what was intended to be the film's theme song, but their tune was axed when Michel Legrand, who created the film's score, threatened to sue. Originally Warner Brothers had informed Forsyth and Ryan's attorney that the song was to be used as the title song in the picture, but shortly before its release they were informed that the song could not be used because Michel Legrand, who wrote the score, threatened to sue them, claiming that contractually he had the right to the title song. Phyllis Hyman was their first choice to sing the song, and after hearing it sung to her while she was having breakfast in her manager’s office, she agreed to sing it, and without any rehearsal, and only having heard the song sung once at the breakfast audition, delivered it in one perfect take.
The Living Daylights 1987
The title song of the film was recorded by Norwegian pop group A-ha, but originally British pop duo Pet Shop Boys was asked to compose the soundtrack, but backed out when they learned that they should not provide a complete soundtrack but merely the opening theme song. In a departure from conventions of previous Bond films, the film used different songs over the opening and end credits, and the song heard over the end credits, 'If There Was A Man' by the Pretenders, had originally been considered as film's title song. However, the producers had been pleased with the commercial success of Duran Duran's 'A View to a Kill', and felt that a-ha would be more likely to make an impact in the charts, so 'If There Was A Man' was relegated to the closing theme. 
GoldenEye 1995
'GoldenEye' was sort of a pseudo-reboot of the series. They weren't calling it a reboot, but it was the first film made after the fall of longtime Bond enemy, the Soviet Union. Hence Bond needed to be brought into the modern era, and while looking for a theme for the movie, Ace of Base submitted a demo. Ace of Base were a pretty well known band now, but when 'GoldenEye' was in production it had only been a year since their debut album. It appears that they were really banking on this film being a success to kind of kickstart their career, but their label had other plans, and forced the band to withdraw the submission, since they strongly believed the film would flop and ruin Ace of Base. How wrong they were.
Tomorrow Never Dies 1997
This was the first Bond film to be scored by David Arnold, probably the second most prolific Bond soundtrack composer, after John Barry, and he intended to write a full, brassy, Bassey-eque Bond theme. The producers wanted a more well known name for the theme, and in the end we got Sheryl Crow, but for this movie the producers opened the door for anyone to submit a theme to the movie, receiving offers from, among others, Pulp, Saint Etienne, Swan Lee, The Fixx, Duran Duran, and the one featured here by k.d. lang, which is everything a classic Bond theme should be. It's bold, brassy and sultry, and after the producers chose the new theme, they moved this one to the end credits. Chris Rea was also in contention with his song, 'Shadows Of The Big Man', as the producers were keen to hear from anyone who thought they might have a song worthy of inclusion.
The World is Not Enough 1999
Let's be honest, whatever you think of 'The World is Not Enough', Garbage was a pretty leftfield choice to begin with, but Straw were an indie rock band who only ever released one album, and who submitted this piece for consideration. It was rejected in the end, probably because composer David Arnold and resident Bond lyricist Don Black finally had their chance to write their own Bond theme after the 'Surrender'/'Tomorrow Never Dies' experiment.
Die Another Day 2002
While the opportunity to provide the theme song for 'Die Another Die' eventually went to Madonna, there was a submission by synth-pop duo Red Flag, and although I should mention that I can't confirm this was actually rejected for 'Die Another Day', the evidence certainly points that way, as the production title of 'Die Another Day' was 'Beyond The Ice', and there is also the  blatant Bond references in the lyrics, such as "You only live twice" and "licence to thrill". 
Casino Royale 2006
This song was submitted by Sandra, a German singer who covered the song 'Sleep With Me', originally recorded by Edyta Górniak, and re-titled it 'Casino Royale'. It was apparently up against two other offerings by different artists, but it was one of the ones to be rejected, with Chris Connell eventually getting the gig with 'You Know My Name', which is a shame as it definitely has that 'Bond' feel to it. 
Quantum of Solace 2008
For 'Quantum Of Solace' the producers had three great songs to choose from, with this one from Jo Harrop, as well as Eva Almer's 'Forever' and Shirley Bassey's 'No Good About Goodbye', but they decided to go for 'Another Way To Die' by Alicia Keys and Jack White. However, this is a great song with very much of a 'Bond' feel to it, and it even managed to feature the unusual title in the lyrics.
Skyfall 2012
When Muse recorded 'Supremacy' for their 'The 2nd Law' album, drummer Dominic Howard told The Sun that their track should lead the way for a new Bond flick, as it had a little bit of a Bond vibe – with a crazy 'Live And Let Die' part in the middle. In his view it should be used for the next James Bond film, even hinting that it had been submitted to the filmmakers. However, according to the producers, Adele had always been their first choice, and they've denied that Muse’s 'Supremacy' was ever in contention for the coveted spot.
SPECTRE 2015
Radiohead have said that they were asked to record a Bond theme for SPECTRE and it just didn't work out, as it's likely that it didn't quite capture the theme the studio wanted for the film. Sam Mendes attempted to use the song elsewhere in the film, but decided it would be too distracting, saying it was "an utter nightmare ... we had this beautiful song and we weren't able to use it. But it's somehow cooler for Radiohead to have written a song that wasn't used." 

 
Track listing
 
01 Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - Dionne Warwick (Thunderball 1965)
02 You Only Live Twice - Lorraine Chandler (You Only Live Twice 1967)
03 The Man With The Golden Gun - Alice Cooper (The Man With The Golden Gun 1974)
04 For Your Eyes Only - Blondie (For Your Eyes Only 1981)
05 Never Say Never Again - Phyllis Hyman (Never Say Never Again 1983)
06 Where Has Everybody Gone - The Pretenders (The Living Daylights 1987)
07 The Golden Eye - Ace Of Bass (GoldenEye 1995)
08 Surrender - k.d. lang (Tomorrow Never Dies 1997)
09 Shadows Of The Big Man - Chris Rea (Tomorrow Never Dies 1997)
10 The World Is Not Enough - Straw (The World Is Not Enough 1999)
11 Beyond The Ice - Red Flag (Die Another Day 2002)
12 Casino Royale - Sandra (Casino Royale 2006)
13 Quantum Of Solace - Jo Harrop (Quantum Of Solace 2008)
14 Supremacy - Muse (Skyfall 2012)
15 SPECTRE - Radiohead (SPECTRE 2015)
 
This post is really just a sampler of Mike's full collection, which runs to 59 tracks, and covers many more songs from these and other films, as well as some from the related video games. His full album is also in the folder, under his title of 'James Band's Greatest Misses, Rarities...And Moore', so after the taster, dive in for the main course.

Soulseek hint   shaken aiwe

Andrew Gold - ...and on guitar (1981)

Andrew Maurice Gold was born on August 2, 1951 in Burbank, California, and eventually followed his parents into show business, as his mother was singer Marni Nixon, who provided the singing voice for numerous actresses, notably Natalie Wood in West Side Story, Deborah Kerr in The King and I, and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, while his father was Ernest Gold, an Austrian-born composer who won an Academy Award for his score for the movie 'Exodus'. He began writing songs at the age of 13, and while in school in the UK for one year, the 16-year-old Gold scored his first recording contract on the strength of a selection of demos he submitted to Polydor Records' London office. That contract resulted in the single 'Of All the Little Girls', which was recorded with his friend and collaborator Charlie Villiers, and released in 1967 under the name Villiers and Gold. By the early 1970's, Gold was working full-time as a musician, songwriter and record producer, as well as being a member of the Los Angeles band Bryndle, alongside Kenny Edwards, Wendy Waldman and Karla Bonoff, who released the single 'Woke Up This Morning' in 1970. Four years later he played a major role as multi-instrumentalist and arranger for Linda Ronstadt's breakthrough album 'Heart Like A Wheel', as well as her next two albums. After Ronstadt's 'Hasten Down The Wind', he began a career as a solo artist, but was still loyal to Rondstadt, playing the majority of instruments on her only No. 1 Billboard hit single 'You're No Good', as well as playing in her band from 1973 until 1977, and then sporadically throughout the 1980's and 1990's. In 1975 Gold played most of the instruments on Art Garfunkel's solo hit 'I Only Have Eyes For You' and also released his eponymous debut solo album. His second studio album 'What's Wrong with This Picture?' came out in 1976, and contained the hot single 'Lonely Boy', which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1977. The same year he played guitar on two cuts of Eric Carmen's album 'Boats Against the Current', including 'She Did It', and in 1978 his single 'Thank You for Being A Friend' from his third album 'All This And Heaven Too', peaked at No. 25 in 1978, and later gained more popularity as the theme song for 'The Golden Girls' TV series, as performed by Cindy Fee. His biggest hit in the UK was 'Never Let Her Slip Away', which peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart on two occasions, firstly by Gold himself in 1978 and again by dance-pop group Undercover in 1992, with Gold's friend Freddie Mercury being an uncredited background singer. 

In 1981 Gold produced, co-wrote, sang and played on three songs that appeared as bonus tracks on the re-issue of the hit-making pop-rock band 10cc's 1981 album 'Ten Out Of 10', after which Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman invited him to become a member of the band, but business conflicts prevented him from joining their ranks. In late 1983 10cc broke up, and in the aftermath, Gold and Gouldman formed Wax, who recorded and toured for five years, enjoying international success, particularly in the UK, where the duo had several hits including 'Right Between The Eyes', and their biggest hit 'Bridge To Your Heart'. Gold played on Cher's hit 1989 album 'Heart Of Stone' and during the early '90s he wrote and composed hits for Trisha Yearwood as well as Wynonna Judd, for whom he co-wrote the No. 1 single 'I Saw The Light' with Lisa Angelle. In the 1990's, Gold once again joined forces with ex-bandmates Karla Bonoff, Wendy Waldman and Kenny Edwards to re-form Bryndle and release their first full-length album 'Bryndle', but left the band in 1996 to release the children's Halloween-oriented novelty album 'Halloween Howls With John Waite', featuring the track 'Spooky Scary Skeletons', and the same year he released his sixth solo album '....Since 1951'. In 1997 he released the 60's influenced psychedelic 'Greetings From Planet Love' under the pseudonym 'The Fraternal Order Of the All' on his own QBrain Records label, and if you love what XTC did with The Dukes Of Stratosphere then you really do have to hear this truly brilliant album. Gold essentially played all the instruments and sang all of the vocals on original songs in the style of his favorite 1960's bands such as The Beatles, The Byrds and The Beach Boys, and it's all done with much love and respect. He continued to record and release solo albums in the 2000's, as well as forming a Byrds tribute band Byrds Of A Feather, which performed in the Los Angeles area. In the late 2010's he was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and although he responded well to treatment, on 3 June 2011 he died in his sleep from what is suspected to have been heart failure, at the criminally young age of 59. Gold truly was the consummate musician, being able to play a large variety of instruments, as well as writing and producing hits for himself and other artists, and helping them out whenever he could by playing piano, drums, ukelele and acoustic guitar on their albums, and this tribute includes just a small selection of them where he added his electric guitar to their songs.   

Track listing

Disc One
01 Of All The Little Girls (single by Villiers & Gold 1967)
02 Woke Up This Morning (single by Bryndle 1970)
03 Sweet Turnstyle Blues (from 'Gypsy Moth' by Stephen Ambrose 1972)
04 Train Song (from 'Love Has Got Me' by Wendy Waldman 1973)
05 Isn't It Always Love (from 'Isn't It Always Love' by Karen Alexander 1975)
06 Highway Affair (from 'Farewell Fairbanks' by Randy Edelman 1975)
07 Jesus For Tonight (from 'Michel Polnareff' by Michel Polnareff 1975)
08 Love Out In The Street (from 'Playing Possum' by Carly Simon 1975) 
09 Roll Um Easy (from 'Prisoner In Disguise' by Linda Ronstadt 1975)
10 Looking For The Right One (from 'Breakaway' by Art Garfunkel 1975) 
11 On And On (from 'Careless' by Stephen Bishop 1976)

Disc Two
01 If You Have Crying Eyes (from 'Black Rose' by John David Souther 1976) 
02 Complainte Pour Ste-Catherine (from 'Kate & Anna McGarrigle' by Kate & Anna McGarrigle 1976)
03 I Hear The Laughter (from 'Endless Flight' by Leo Sayer 1976)
04 She Did It (from 'Boats Against The Current' by Eric Carmen 1977) 
05 Isn't That So? (from 'Glenda Griffith' by Glenda Griffith 1977)
06 I Can't Hold On (from 'Karla Bonoff' by Karla Bonoff 1977)
07 Runnin' And Hidin' (from 'Mr. Lucky' by Fools Gold 1977) 
08 Don't Make Me Over (from 'Shot Through The Heart' by Jennifer Warnes 1979)
09 I Did My Part (from 'Heartbreak Radio' by Rita Coolidge' 1981)
10 Runaway (bonus track from 'Ten Out Of 10' by 10cc 1981)

Slipknot - Crowz (1997)

In 1991 drummer Joey Jordison founded a thrash metal band called Modifidious, adding local guitarist Craig Jones after their original one left to join the more well known Atomic Opera. Another drummer, Shawn Crahan, also formed his own band Heads On The Wall, playing funk metal cover songs at clubs and releasing a demo tape in July 1992. A fourth Des Moines band called Vexx played death metal with Anders Colsefni on drums, Paul Gray on bass, and Josh Brainard on guitar and vocals, with Colsefni later taking over vocal duties, and all these bands met up at The Runway club and often jammed together. By 1995, Crahan and Gray had started a band named the Pale Ones, adding vocalist Colsefni and guitarist Donnie Steele, and not long after their inception, Gray invited Jordison to a rehearsal because the band was interested in experimenting with additional drum elements. In late 1995, Jordison suggested changing the band name to Slipknot after their song of the same name, and in December they began recording material at SR Audio in their hometown, financing it themselves to the tune of $40,000. In February 1996, guitarist Donnie Steele, a Christian, left Slipknot after discussions regarding the band's lyrics with the producer, Sean McMahon, and Mick Thomson was brought in as the replacement guitarist. After a complicated time with mixing and mastering, the band self-released 'Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.' on Halloween 1996, receiving a small amount of airplay on local radio stations off the back of the demo, but no interest from record labels. The band returned to the studio to develop new material, and it was at this time that they sought more melodic vocals for their music, and as a result, Corey Taylor was recruited from fellow Des Moines band Stone Sour, relegating Colsefni to backing vocals and percussion, with him eventually leaving in September 1997. The gap on percussion was filled by Greg Welts, and in early 1998 the band produced a second five-track demo tape exclusively for record labels, although they had been recording throughout 1997 with both Colsefni and Taylor on vocals. 

The band began to receive a lot of attention from record labels, and in February 1998, producer Ross Robinson offered to produce their debut album after attending rehearsals in Des Moines, and in late June Slipknot received a $500,000, seven-album deal from Roadrunner Records. Over the years the 1997 demos have been bootlegged, with the 11 track tape with Colsefni earning the name of 'The Gold Disc', due to the colour of the CD that it was pressed on, and the similarly titled 'The Silver Disc' having eight tracks with Taylor on vocals, some of which were sung on top of the Colsefni tracks after his were removed. Some of these recordings have also turned up on bootlegs with the title 'Crowz', which was a word coined by Joey Jordison as an inside joke in October 1995. The band later wrote 'Crowz' on various demos and papers, and even including it in 'Dogfish Rising' on 'Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.', with some people even thinking that it was the title of Slipknot's supposedly scrapped sophomore album. Nowadays, 'Crowz' is generally used as an umbrella term by fans to refer to that era of Slipknot and the songs they produced prior to signing to Roadrunner, and so it's the perfect title for this album, which takes the best tracks from the Gold and Silver discs, to get a very real feel of the emergence of the band at a time where they were in the middle or major line-up changes. This mix of Colsefni's and Taylor's vocals show the more melodic sound that they were aiming for when they recruited the latter, particularly on 'Me Inside', where I've included takes by both of them. I know that Slipknot are very much an acquired taste, and probably won't appeal to a lot of visitors, but I do like a bit of nu-metal now and then, and you can't deny that this band are one of the best of the genre.   

Track listing

01 SlipKnot / Gently (Colsefni demo)
02 Coleslaw (Colsefni demo)
03 Carve (Colsefni demo)
04 Prosthetics (Taylor demo)
05 Do Nothing / Bitchslap (Colsefni demo)
06 Me Inside (Taylor demo)
07 Tattered And Torn (Colsefni demo)
08 Only One (Taylor demo)
09 Gently (Taylor demo)
10 Interloper ('Apple Of My Eyes' demo)
11 Wait And Bleed (demo)
12 The Me Inside (Colsefni demo)
13 Snap (early version)
14 Hate (Taylor demo of old Stone Sour song)

Michael Jackson - Joy (1990)

After the success of his seventh album 'Bad' in 1987, Michael Jackson wanted more independence and control over the creative process, so he separated from longtime producer Quincy Jones to avoid the perception that his success depended on him. Jackson began working on new tracks in 1989 for an album that was conceived as a greatest-hits collection, 'Decade', with a handful of new songs, similar to Madonna's 'The Immaculate Collection'. It was scheduled for a late 1989 release but was delayed several times, and after a November 1990 release date failed to materialise it was dropped entirely, and Jackson determined that his new material would constitute a full album, to be called 'Dangerous'. He enlisted Bryan Loren to co-produce, and throughout 1989 he recorded rhythm tracks with Loren at Westlake Studios, where they taped 'Work That Body', 'She Got It', 'Serious Effect', 'Do Not Believe It', 'Seven Digits', and 'Man In Black'. Loren wanted to recapture the organic R&B feeling of Jackson's albums 'Off The Wall' and 'Thriller', while Jackson was keen to add hip-hop to the record, and so invited LL Cool J to rap on 'Serious Effect' and 'Truth About Youth'. Although Loren's material was strong, it was not up to Jackson's standards, as he was searching for a newer sound that would be as compelling as 'Rhythm Nation' by his sister Janet, and so in the end none of Loren's recordings made the album. Jackson discovered new jack swing, a more aggressive and urban sound, and in June 1990 he hired Teddy Riley to co-produce, and work carried on at Ocean Way Record One in Sherman Oaks, reworking some of Loren's work such as 'She Got It' and 'Serious Effect', and continuing work on 'Jam' and 'Dangerous'. The release date was set for 28 November 1991, Thanksgiving Day, and of the roughly 60 to 70 songs that were recorded for for 'Dangerous', fourteen ended up on the record, while some were released later, including the environmental anthem 'Earth Song', and 'Superfly Sister', 'Ghosts', and 'Blood On The Dance Floor' were released in the remix compilation 'Blood On The Dance Floor: HIStory In The Mix'. Another Loren co-write that was recorded in 1989 was 'Mind Is The Magic', which was written for magicians Siegfried & Roy's 'Beyond Belief Show' in Las Vegas. When they released their German album 'Dream And Illusions' in 1995, Jackson gave them permission to include the song, and it was later released as a single, reaching No. 80 in France in 2010. By adding that to the other Loren out-takes mentioned earlier we can make up an album that would have slotted in perfectly between 'Bad' and 'Dangerous', featuring songs that carried on the sound of 'Bad' and 'Thriller', before Jackson reinvented it to give 'Dangerous' the new jack swing that he wanted.  

Track listing

01 Bumper (Intro)
02 Mind Is The Magic
03 Serious Effect (feat. LL Cool J)
04 Work That Body
05 Someone Put Your Hand Out
06 She Got It
07 Joy
08 If You Don't Love Me
09 For All Time
10 Monkey Business

Boy George - Covers Up (2021)

Boy George has announced that he's recording an album of cover versions several times in his career, but never followed through, although he has often included covers on his albums, as well as gifting them to tribute albums, film soundtracks, and posting them on his Instagram account. As he's never got around to doing it himself then it's up to us to do it for him, and so this collection includes demos, internet leaks and Instagram posts to make George's very own 'Pin Ups', titled 'Covers Up'. The earliest recording on here is from 1988, and the latest is from March 2021, while the choices run the gamut from 60's pop through to 70's glam and 80's electro-pop, and is book-ended by his individual take of a couple of soul classics, so while we wait for the official covers albums to arrive this should tide us over nicely. 

Track listing

01 I Can't Stand The Rain
02 Love Is A Stranger
03 Children Of The Revolution
04 It Ain't Me Babe
05 Somebody To Love
06 Down By The Riverside
07 Sorrow
08 The Crying Game
09 Make Up
10 What Becomes Of The Broken-Hearted

The cover is a superb piece of artwork by Mark Ashkenazi.

Pet Shop Boys - Remix (1987)

I recently discovered a superb 12-minute fan-made remix of the Pet Shop Boys 'Rent' online, and so it didn't take long before I started to wonder if any of their other songs had been given the remix treatment and posted online, and not surprisingly there are literally hundreds of them out there. Their songs seem to be the perfect inspiration for fans to go to town and remix them to within an inch of their lives, from their very earliest recordings right through to some of their most recent work, and you can easily find trance, techno and dance remixes of their songs without too much effort. Undoubtedly my favourite period of theirs was the late 80's, where they produced an outstanding run of hit singles from 1985 to 1989, and so a quick trawl through the net uncovered remixes of six of my favourite tracks, which I then mixed together into one 50-minute hit-filled megamix of the best of the Pet Shop Boys. 

Track listing

01 Rent (remix by Unreleased Versions)

02 Suburbia (remix by gulymix)

03 It's A Sin (remix by themotownboy1)

04 West End Girls (remix by Dinei Silva Master Mix)

05 Always On My Mind (remix by Ramsey Hagar)

06 Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money) (remix by Unreleased Versions)

David Spinozza - ...and on guitar (1976)

David Spinozza was born on 8 August 1949 in Port Chester, New York, and began his professional recording career as a teenager in the 1960’s, swiftly becoming a sought after New York studio musician and soon signing with A&M Records as a solo artist. He has become known for being a versatile musician, with credits that span every facet of the music and entertainment industries, and as well as adding guitar to numerous recordings over the past 50 years, he's also produced, arranged, orchestrated, conducted, co-written and played guitar for a Who's Who of acclaimed artists such as James Taylor, Carly Simon, Garland Jeffries, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, B.B. King, Judy Collins, Jim Croce, George Benson and three out of four Beatles. His guitar is heard on countless classic hits, most notably Don McLean’s 'American Pie', John Lennon’s 'Mind Games', Paul McCartney’s 'Another Day', Paul Simon’s 'Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard' and his iconic solo on Dr. John’s 'Right Place Wrong Time'. One of his earliest gigs was playing with Paul McCartney during sessions for his 'Ram' album in 1971, and when the chance came to work with Lennon two years later, as Yoko Ono prepared her 'Feeling The Space' album and Lennon his 'Mind Games', Spinozza discovered that Lennon was not aware he had previously worked with McCartney, and was afraid he would be fired if Lennon found out, given their recent feuding in the media, but when Lennon did learn of it his only comment was that McCartney "knows how to pick good people". The relationship with Ono carried on after 'Feeling The Space', where he contributed to her 'A Story' album, recorded during 1974 but not released until 1998, served as her bandleader during a residency at Kenny's Castaways, and rehearsed her band to tour her native Japan, although they parted ways when the tour began. In 1978 he released his first solo album 'Spinozza' on A&M, which was a jazz-oriented album with some vocal tracks, and he has also made contributions to the soundtracks of the movies 'Dead Man Walking', 'Happiness', and 'Just The Ticket'. Spinozza has played on literally hundreds of albums in his career, and so for this post I've only selected tracks from 1970 to 1976 where he was a featured soloist, and to show his versatility in a variety of genres I've split this three disc set into one album of jazz, one of soul and one of pop music.   

Track listing

Some Jazz
01 Ahunk Ahunk  (from 'Consummation' by Thad Jones & Mel Lewis 1970)
02 Man's Hope (from 'Push Push' by Herbie Mann 1971)
03 Lover Man (from 'All The King's Horses' by Grover Washington, Jr. 1972) 
04 Monkey (from 'White Elephant' by White Elephant 1972)
05 Hanky's Panky (from 'Superstition' by Shirley Scott 1973)
06 A Sunday Afternoon Feeling (from 'Journey' by Arif Mardin 1974)
07 Draggin' The Line (from 'Until It's Time For You To Go' by Rusty Bryant 1974)
08 Chile Con Carmen (from 'Joy Of Cookin'' by Joe Thomas 1974)
09 Who Knows What Goes When The Doors Close (from 'Brother Where Are You' by 

                                                                                                             Oscar Brown Jr. 1974) 

Some Pop
01 Come To My Bedside, My Darling (from 'Donal Leace' by Donal Leace 1971)
02 Roller Derby Queen (from 'Life And Times' by Jim Croce 1973)
03 Something So Right (from 'There Goes Rhymin' Simon' by Paul Simon 1973)
04 Get On The Right Thing (from 'Red Rose Speedway' by Paul McCartney & Wings 1973)
05 A Man Can't Always Be (from 'Lifesong' by Cashman & West 1974)
06 Rainy Day Man (from 'Streetlights' by Bonnie Raitt 1974)
07 Genesis (from 'The Second Coming' by Jerry LaCroix 1974)
08 Think I'm Gonna Have A Baby (from 'Hotcakes' by Carly Simon 1974) 
09 Me And My Guitar (from 'Walking Man' by James Taylor 1974)
10 Great Big Man (from 'Homeless Brother' by Don McLean 1974)
11 The Closest Friends (from 'Lucy Simon' by Lucy Simon 1975)
12 Angel Spread Your Wings (from 'Judith' by Judy Collins 1975)
13 Let Me Just Follow Behind (from 'Songs For The New Depression' by Bette Midler 1976)
14 Say The Words (from 'This One's For You' by Barry Manilow 1976)
15 Early Evening Light (from 'Marriott' by Steve Marriott 1976) 

Some Soul
01 Too Many Days (from 'Labelle' by Labelle 1971)
02 You've Got A Friend (from 'Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway' by 

                                                                                  Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway 1972)
03 Cold Sweat (from 'Get On The Good Foot' by James Brown 1972)
04 The Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues (from 'Free Will' by Gil Scott-Heron 1972)
05 I'm Only A Woman (from 'Margie Joseph' by Margie Joseph 1973)
06 Right Place, Wrong Time (from 'In The Right Place' by Dr. John 1973)
07 Grind It Out (from 'The Soulful Crooner' by Nick Holmes 1973)
08 As Long As He Will Stay (from 'New Beginnings...' by Morgana King 1973)
09 I Know It's You (from 'Extension Of A Man' by Donny Hathaway 1973)
10 The Masquerade Is Over (from 'Let Me In Your Life' by Aretha Franklin 1974)
11 Somebody New Is Lovin' On You (from 'I'm In Need Of Love' by Lou Courtney 1974)
12 Early Ev'ry Midnight (from 'Feel Like Makin' Love' by Roberta Flack 1975)

Swegas - Swegas (1969)

Swegas was formed in 1969 by Nick Ronai and Joe Spibey, taking their name from a plural form of the Anglo-Saxon word 'sweg', which means 'sound', 'noise', or 'music'. Spibey (trumpet) and Ronai (trombone) had been members of the Fulson Stilwell Band before joining the soul band Cat Road Show, and when they left to form their own band they added Alan Smith on tenor sax and Jonny Toogood on guitar, plus a few other pick up players while they looked for permanent members, and so in mid 1969 they advertised for an organist and bassist, and Keith Strachan and Roy Truman applied and got the gig. They'd played together in various bands since being at college and were looking for something a bit more adventurous, which they found in Swegas, who were attempting to fuse jazz and rock in the manner of Blood Sweat And Tears and The Chicago Transit Authority, who were both in their early stages of development in the US. They secured a deal with B&C Records in October 1969 and recorded an album at Advision Studios in Regent Street, with a line-up of Spibey, Ronai, Smith, Toogood, Strachan and Truman, plus Chris Dawe on trumpet, Nick Thomas on tenor sax, John Legg on baritone sax, and Chrys Chrysostomou on drums. The album was not destined for release, however, and Spibey, Smith and Toogood left the group shortly afterwards, followed later by Chrysostomou. Undeterred, the remaining members recruited Stewart Wilkinson on guitar, Ron Shillingford on tenor sax, and Maurice McElroy on drums, and managed to get a deal with First Class Management, rehearsing endlessly on new material in a room at the London Ambulance Service in Waterloo Road. They signed record and management deals with the Barry Class Organisation in March 1970, and following a tour of Germany they went into Tangerine Studios in Dalston to record their 'Child Of Light' album, which was released in 1970 on Trend Records. A second album 'Beyond The Ox' followed in early 1971, but then things started to go wrong for the band, with their band bus suffering a collision in Hamburg and being virtually written off, following which Barry Class and First Class Management pulled the plug when the band returned from Germany, and after one final gig in Bristol in September 1971 the band broke up. Listening to their records you can hear that they were a very accomplished group, and Ronai had a talent for writing and arranging, but they never had the breaks and so leave just the two albums as their legacy. However, that unreleased first record has since surfaced, and listening to it you can hear that even at that early stage of their existence they were a tight little band, playing all original material, and if they'd just had a little encouragement they could have become the English BS&T.

Track listing

01 Planetarium 
02 There's Nothing In It
03 What You Gonna Do 
04 Old Flames 
05 Over The Points 
06 The Summer Of My Days
07 The Naz 
08 Keep Out Of Sight 
09 Grey Lust

Barry Ryan - Give Me A Sign (1972)

Barry Ryan and his twin brother Paul were born in Leeds on 24 October 1948, the sons of pop singer Marion Ryan and antiques dealer Fred Sapherson. Their father left when Barry and Paul were two, and they were brought up until they were 11 by their grandmother, moving to London when the boys were 16. Their mother suggested they try a career as singers, with her boyfriend and then husband, impresario Harold Davison, managing them, and he secured a contract with Decca Records in 1965 under the name of Paul & Barry Ryan. Within two years they'd amassed eight Top 50 singles in the UK, with their best sellers being 'Don't Bring Me Your Heartaches'. 'I Love Her', and 'Have Pity On The Boy'. Feeling that he couldn't cope with the stress of show business, Paul left the group and Barry continued as a solo artist, enabling his brother to stay out of the limelight and concentrate on writing songs. Their greatest achievement as a composer-singer duo was with the heavily orchestrated and melodramatic 'Eloise', which was a number 2 hit in 1968. Paul reputedly wrote 'Eloise' in three days, after being played the Richard Harris version of 'MacArthur Park' by Harris himself, and being determined to write something as good. In 1969 Barry recorded a whole album of songs written by his brother, with 'Barry Ryan Sings Paul Ryan' being one of his best records, and Paul continued to write nearly all of Barry's singles and albums right up to the early 70's. As well as 'Eloise', four other singles were lifted from the '...Sings Paul Ryan' album, and the titles alone show that Paul was not content just to pen 'moon/june' lyrics, with further singles including 'The Hunt' (1969), 'Magical Spiel' (1970), and 'Kitsch' (1970). Ryan was also popular in Germany and France, with his first solo single 'Goodbye' being almost impossible to find other than in the German version, and he recorded a number of other songs in German and Italian for those markets. Around 1976 he withdrew from singing, and from the late 70's he maintained a successful career as a fashion photographer, with his photographs appearing in such magazines as Ritz and Zoom. Ryan died on 28 September 2021 after complications from a lung disorder, and so this collection of rare singles and b-sides is a tribute to a performer who will forever be associated with his biggest hit, but as you can hear from these songs, had much more to offer than just that one single. 

Track listing

01 Goodbye (single 1968)
02 I'm So Sad (b-side of 'Goodbye')
03 Love I Almost Found You (b-side of 'Eloise' 1968)
04 Love Is Love (single 1969)
05 I'll Be On My Way Dear (b-side of 'Love Is Love')
06 Oh, For The Love Of Me (b-side of 'The Hunt' 1969)
07 Magical Spiel (single 1970)
08 Caroline (b-side of 'Magical Spiel')
09 Lay Down (b-side of 'We Did It Together' 1970)
10 Give Me A Sign (b-side of 'Kitsch' 1970)
11 Loneliest Night Of The Year (b-side of 'Red Man' 1971)
12 Annabelle (b-side of 'It Is Written' 1971)
13 I'm Sorry Susan (single 1972)
14 Bye And Bye (b-side of 'Sanctus, Sanctus Hallelujah' 1972)

Eminem - King Mathers (2007)

After releasing 'Encore' in 2004, Eminem planned to take some time off from recording his own music to become a hip hop producer for other rap acts, especially for the artists signed to his own label Shady Records. However, after cancelling the European leg of the Anger Management Tour in the summer of 2005 because of exhaustion and an addiction to prescription sleeping drugs, he entered something of a hiatus and this was put on hold. The following year, the rapper's remarriage to his former wife Kimberly Scott lasted only eleven weeks before a second divorce, while his best friend and fellow rapper Proof was later shot and killed during an altercation outside a Detroit nightclub. Devastated by both these events, Eminem relapsed into prescription drug abuse and became increasingly reclusive. Speculation on an upcoming album had been reported since mid–2007, both from announcements made by artists 50 Cent and Stat Quo, and also by rapper Bizarre, who stated that the release of his group D12's third studio album was on hold because Interscope Records wanted to release Eminem's album first. With all the problems going on in his life, and with him being more miserable than ever before, it's no surprise that this was reflected in the content of his music, with the songs sounding more serious, and often quite depressing. During a call to the radio station WQHT Hot 97 in September 2007, Eminem stated that he was in limbo and was not sure whether he would release any new material in the near future, although he was constantly working in the recording studio. He said that he had come to terms with his personal issues, but in December 2007 he was hospitalized following an overdose of methadone, and in early 2008 he began a 12-step program to recover from his addiction. The album that he had been working on was scrapped while he recovered, and by mid 2008 he was ready to start recording again with Dr. Dre producing, and following his recovery he'd started writing verses at such a pace that he often took more time to record the lyrics than to write them. There was therefore no need to revisit the music that he'd recorded in 2007, and it remained unheard until YouTuber John Banana assembled various leaks and songs known to be recorded at that time, and put together a possible 'King Mathers' album. If the album had been released in 2007, it could well have divided fans, as it could be considered an improvement on parts of 'Encore', but was nowhere near the quality of his first three albums. Luckily he found his groove again for 2009's 'Relapse', so just enjoy 'King Mathers' for what it is - an album that he needed to make to come back with 'Relapse'. 

Track listing

01 Intro
02 Careful What You Wish For
03 I Get Money (Remix)
04 Everything
05 Cut Back (Freestyle)
06 50 Ways
07 Paul (Skit)
08 Syllables (feat. 50 Cent, Ca$his, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Stat Quo)
09 Give Me The Ball
10 Ballin' Uncontrollably
11 The Apple
12 Difficult (feat. Obie Trice)
13 G.O.A.T.
14 Hip-Hop (Freestyle)
15 It's Been Real