Beyoncé - Control (2013)

Beyoncé's first solo recording was a feature on Jay-Z's song ''03 Bonnie & Clyde' that was released in October 2002, peaking at number four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, but her own debut solo album was released in June 2003, after her Destiny's Child compatriots Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland had released their solo efforts. The album sold 317,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and has since sold 11 million copies worldwide, with the album's lead single, 'Crazy in Love', becoming the first of many number-one singles for her as a solo artist in the US. Following the 2006 disbanding of Destiny's Child, Beyoncé released her second solo album, 'B'Day', which contained singles 'Irreplaceable' and 'Beautiful Liar', as well as starting a film career, with appearances in 2006's  'The Pink Panther' and 'Dreamgirls', followed by 'Obsessed' in 2009 and 'The Lion King' in 2019. Her marriage to Jay-Z and her portrayal of Etta James in 2008' film 'Cadillac Records' influenced her third album, 'I Am... Sasha Fierce', earning her a record-setting six Grammy Awards in 2010, and spawning the hit singles 'If I Were a Boy', 'Single Ladies', and 'Halo'. After professionally splitting from her manager and father Mathew Knowles in 2010, Beyoncé released her musically diverse fourth album '4' in 2011, and later achieved universal acclaim for her sonically experimental albums, 'Beyoncé' (2013) and 'Lemonade' (2016), the latter of which was the world's best-selling album of 2016, and the most acclaimed album of her career, exploring themes of infidelity and womanism. Throughout her solo career she's recorded many more songs than could fit on her albums, taping up to 40 of them for her debut album alone. After its massive success, she planned to release her second album in 2004 featuring tracks that were cut from it, such as 'Settle For You', 'What's Good With You' and 'Ice Cream Truck', but that never happened. Her third album in 2008 was to be called 'Virtuoso Intellect', and was to be a dance-oriented record produced by Freemasons, but once again this idea was put on the back-burner. When coming up with her fourth album, Beyoncé started writing and producing songs inspired by Afrobeat star Fela Kuti, although the only surviving song from this session is 'End Of Time', and in 2013 her fifth album was to feature songs produced by Major Lazer, and also include some inspired by '60s doo-wop, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross. Before collaborating with Boots and reworking some of the songs for her 'Beyoncé' album, she planned to release a much more diverse record, and although we still got some of the results of those sessions, like 'Partition', 'Grown Woman', and 'Rocket', those Aretha/'60s doo wop/Major Lazer/Diana Ross songs never made it. As none of these albums are ever likely to see the light of day, here's a selection of tracks that could have appeared on them, spanning the decade from 2003 to 2013. 

Track listing

01 Settle 4 U ('Dangerously In Love' out-take 2003)
02 Waiting ('I Am... Sasha Fierce' out-take 2008)
03 Roc ('I Am... Sasha Fierce' out-take 2008)
04 Slow Love ('I Am... Sasha Fierce' out-take 2008)
05 Postcard (New Shoes) ('B'Day' out-take 2006)
06 I'm Alone Now ('I Am... Sasha Fierce' out-take 2008)
07 Baby You're The Only Man ('Dangerously In Love' out-take 2003)
08 Kick Him Put (Next Ex) ('B'Day' out-take 2006)
09 Stop Sign ('I Am... Sasha Fierce' out-take 2008)
10 Forever To Bleed ('I Am... Sasha Fierce' out-take 2008)
11 Control ('I Am... Sasha Fierce' out-take 2008)
12 Ice Cream Truck ('Dangerously In Love' out-take 2003)
13 Wake Up ('Beyoncé' out-take 2013)
14 Standing On The Sun ('Beyoncé' demo 2013)
15 God Made You Beautiful ('Beyoncé' out-take 2013)

Charli XCX - XCX World (2017)

Charli XCX has been writing songs since she was 14, and following her breakthrough debut album 'True Romance' in 2013 she's achieved significant success among young pop fans. Following the success of her second album 'Sucker', and the singles from it 'Break The Rules' and 'Doing It', she began working alongside producers associated with the UK collective PC Music, developing a more experimental sound and image. While working on her third album, she released the 'Vroom Vroom EP' in 2016, and a couple of mixtapes appeared in 2017, with 'Number 1 Angel' and 'Pop 2' both delighting fans. The same year she released the singles 'After The Afterparty' and 'Boys', both of which were to feature on her third album, tentatively titled 'XCX World'. The album was completed in mid-2016, but after being delayed multiple times it was eventually shelved, although it was leaked online in August 2017, ultimately causing its release to be cancelled. Charli XCX then started working on new projects, which eventually became 2019's 'Charli' studio album. The scrapped album's photoshoot, shot by Bradley & Pablo, also leaked in August 2018, so fans now had the complete package of songs and artwork, and she's since admitted that she's aware of the album's popularity amongst her fans, and that she loves the songs that were meant for it, but that the album will likely never be released. Despite its unfortunate fate, Charli XCX repurposed some of the songs, and officially released 'No Angel' and 'Girls Night Out' - previously teased as unreleased songs from the album - as installments from a series of monthly singles in the summer of 2018, and so 'XCX World' has ended up as a mixture of released and unreleased tracks, and what she has described as "the most pop thing, and the most electronic thing" she had ever done. Following this introductory post, I shall be posting a series of albums made up of unreleased songs from the last 14 years, taken from the nearly 200 tracks that she's recorded over that period which have never seen the light of day, including the legendary punk album from 2014 , and a collection of demos that she recorded to offer her songs to other artists. 

Track listing

01 Girls Night Out (feat. TyNi)
01 Taxi
03 Come To My Party
04 The One I Die 4
05 Bounce (feat. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu)
06 Waterfall (feat. Nooie Bao)
07 Down Like Woah
08 Queen Lizzy
09 Good Girls
10 Can You Hear Me?
11 No Angel
12 Boys
13 I Wanna Be With U
14 After The Afterparty (feat. Lil Yachty)

Kendrick Lamar - Compton State Of Mind (2012)

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth was born on 17 June 1987, and was raised in Compton, California, embarking on his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K.Dot, and at the age of 16 releasing a mixtape titled 'Youngest Head Nigga in Charge (Hub City Threat: Minor of the Year)' that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment. He began recording material with the label and subsequently released a 26-track mixtape in 2005 titled 'Training Day', and after receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, he released his third mixtape in 2009, titled 'C4', which was heavily themed around Wayne's album 'Tha Carter III'. Soon after, he decided to no longer go by the stage name of K.Dot and opted to use his birth name. In 2010 he began to gain recognition after his fourth mixtape 'Overly Dedicated' found an audience, and the following year he independently released his first studio album 'Section.80', which included his debut single 'HiiiPoWeR'. By that time, he had amassed a large online following and collaborated with several prominent rappers, subsequently securing a record deal with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, under the aegis of Interscope Records. Lamar's major-label debut album 'Good Kid, M.A.A.D City', was released in 2012 to critical acclaim, recognition and mainstream success. His third album 'To Pimp A Butterfly' came out in 2015, and incorporated elements of funk, soul, jazz, and spoken word, predominantly centred around the Black-American experience. It became his first number-one album on the US Billboard 200 and was an enormous critical success. Before 'To Pimp A Butterfly' propelled Lamar into the hip-hop and rap mainstream, he was still recording songs independently, and in 2012 he released a number of them on a mixtape under the name 'Compton State Of Mind'. This featured all new material which hadn't appeared on his official albums, and this collection bridges the gap between the critically acclaimed 'Good Kid, M.A.A.D City' and the ground-breaking 'To Pimp A Butterfly'.  

Track listing

01 Kendrick Lamar 
02 Today
03 Imagine (feat. Jay Rock and Punch)
04 LMAO 
05 Little Johnny 
06 The Best Rapper Alive 
07 Yung Boys World 
08 Dreams
09 Skill Still Appeal
10 World Negatives 
11 Compton State Of Mind 

Embrace - Feels Like Glue (2004)

Following the release of 'Out Of Nothing' in 2004, Embrace appeared on Radio 1's Live Lounge, and they recorded a version of the D12 rap song 'How Come', which was later included as a b-side on their 'Ashes' single. 2005 was something of a quiet year for the band, and so in October they released their first compilation,'Dry Kids', which featured 18 tracks taken from singles and EPs across their entire career, but bearing in mind just how many rare recordings were tucked away on their singles and EPs up to 2005, it had to be a very selective track list. Later that year the band released the live album 'A Glorious Day - Live In Leeds', and it was promoted with the release of the studio version of 'Glorious Day' from the 'Out Of Nothing' album, which was their only single from that year. This post collects the b-sides of all the singles from the 'Out Of Nothing' album, released in 2004 and 2005. And is it just me, or is the melody of 'Milk And Honey' suspiciously similar to Bad Company's 'Feel Like Makin' Love'.

Track listing

01 Madelaine (b-side of 'Looking As You Are' 2004)
02 I Ache (b-side of 'Looking As You Are' 2004)
03 Soldiers Hours (b-side of 'Looking As You Are' 2004)
04 The Final Say (b-side of 'Looking As You Are' 2004)
05 Enough (b-side of 'Ashes' 2004)
06 Maybe I Wish (b-side of 'Ashes' 2004)
07 Flaming Red Hair (b-side of 'Ashes' 2004)
08 How Come (Live) (b-side of 'Ashes' 2004)
09 Hallelujah (b-side of 'A Glorious Day' 2005)
10 Feel Like Glue (b-side of 'A Glorious Day' 2005)
11 Red Eye Shot (b-side of 'A Glorious Day' 2005)
12 Milk And Honey (b-side of 'A Glorious Day' 2005)

Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Randy Newman (1975)

Like the recent Tony Hazzard post, when Randy Newman's debut album came out in 1968, nearly all of the songs had already been released by groups and artists as singles or album tracks, generally in more fully-realised arrangements than Newman's own versions. Newman had been a professional songwriter since he was 17, and cited Ray Charles as his greatest influence growing up, and his first single as a performer was 1962's 'Golden Gridiron Boy', released when he was 18. The single flopped and so he chose to concentrate on songwriting and arranging for the next several years, with an early writing credit being 'They Tell Me It's Summer', which was used as the b-side of the Fleetwoods 1962 single 'Lovers By Night, Strangers By Day'. This led to further commissions from the Fleetwoods, as well as Pat Boone, and some of his other early songs were recorded by Gene Pitney, Jerry Butler, Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield, Jackie DeShannon, the O'Jays, and Irma Thomas, among others, with his work as a songwriter meeting with particular success in the UK. Top 40 UK hits written by Newman included Cilla Black's 'I've Been Wrong Before', Gene Pitney's 'Nobody Needs Your Love', and 'Just One Smile', and the Alan Price Set's 'Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear'. In fact, Price championed Newman by featuring seven of his songs on his 1967 album 'A Price On His Head'. Newman's eponymous 1968 debut album was a critical success but never entered the Billboard Top 200, and apparently the album sold so poorly that Warner offered buyers the opportunity to trade it in for another record in the company's catalog. It's hard to believe that the album was out of print for over 15 years until it was issued on CD in 1995, as Newman's songs have now been covered by an impressive number of artists, including Barbra Streisand, Helen Reddy, Bette Midler, Alan Price, Van Dyke Parks, Dave Van Ronk, Judy Collins, Glen Campbell, Cass Elliot, Art Garfunkel, the Everly Brothers, Claudine Longet, Bonnie Raitt, Dusty Springfield, Tom Odell, Nina Simone, Lynn Anderson, Wilson Pickett, Pat Boone, Neil Diamond and Peggy Lee, and 'I Think It's Going To Rain Today' has become something of a standard. Ten of the album's eleven tracks were covered both before and after its release, and despite Newman's undoubted songwriting skills, even his most ardent fans couldn't say that his vocals are particularly melodious, and so having professional singers performing his songs adds to them them immensely. As the original album was a bit short, I've added similar covers of half a dozen songs from his 1970 follow-up '12 Songs' to boost it to a very enjoyable 47 minutes.    

Track listing

01 Love Story (The Brothers 1967)
02 No One Ever Hurt This Bad (The Alan Price Set 1967)
03 Living Without You (Keith Shields 1967)
04 So Long Dad (Manfred Mann 1967)
05 I Think He's Hiding (Jack Sheldon 1969)
06 Linda (Jack Jones 1969)
07 Cowboy (Three Dog Night 1970)
08 The Beehive State (The Doobie Brothers 1971)
09 I Think It's Going To Rain Today (Eric Burdon & The Animals 1967)
10 Davy The Fat Boy (Joe Brown 1968)
11 Have You Seen My Baby? (Chris Smither 1970)  
12 Let's Burn Down The Cornfield (Lee Hazlewood 1969)
13 Lucinda (Joe Cocker 1975)
14 Yellow Man (Georgie Fame & Alan Price 1971)
15 Old Kentucky Home (The Beau Brummels 1967)
16 Rosemary (Blood, Sweat & Tears 1973) 

Taylor Scott Band - Summer Moon (2017)

Taylor Scott Band are new to me, and I discovered them after checking out their latest album 'The Hang', and being blown away by how good it was. This was their second album, following on from 2019's 'All We Have', with both being produced by Los Lobos' Steve Berlin, but Scott has actually been around for quite a while. He grew up with a childhood appreciation for country music, and that soon gave way to an obsession with rebellious, guitar-driven rock 'n' roll, but by the age of 16 he'd found a new love: old-school blues music. It was a genre that suited his soulful vocals and hotshot guitar skills, and so he began playing regional festivals while still a high school student, and shortly after graduation he was recruited by Otis Taylor to join the blues legend's band, spending four years touring as Taylor's guitarist. In 2014 Scott met organist Jon Wirtz, and they joined forces in their own band, putting on lively performances throughout their native Colorado, North America, and Europe, and performing alongside greats like Gov't Mule’s Warren Haynes. The band did release a six-track EP titled 'A Closer Look, The Second Glance' in late 2015 and that would have been the first that the record-buying public became aware of Taylor's ability to play an impressive lead guitar, but it wasn't commercially successful, and so it was three years before they would release their debut album.After I'd listened to both albums I searched Youtube to see if I'd missed anything else by them, and what I found was the reason for this post, as in 2014 the band went into KMG Studios in Denver and laid down the most amazing version of William Devaughan's 'Be Thankful For What You Got' that you'll ever hear. For over ten minutes they don't put a foot wrong, and bearing in mind that they'd only just put the band together then it really is outstanding. I had to get this out to a bigger audience, so a bit more research uncovered a couple of singles from 2016 and 2017, neither of which were included on their album, and because the 2015 EP is so hard to find I thought that I'd lump them all together for a primer to the band for anyone who hasn't already heard of them. So if you're into the classic blues-rock sound of The Allmans, Gallagher/Taste and Free wrapped around the classic songwriting of Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and Jerry Jeff Walker then you need to check these guys out.  

Track listing

01 Scarlet Headed Woman (from 'A Closer Look, The Second Glance' 2015) 
02 Summer Moon (single 2016)
03 The Answer (To Your Question) (from 'A Closer Look, The Second Glance' 2015) 
04 & Then I Woke Up (extended version, from 'A Closer Look, The Second Glance' 2015) 
05 Learning Curve (single 2017)
06 Be Thankful For What You Got (live at KMG Studios, Denver 2014)
07 The Walk (from 'A Closer Look, The Second Glance' 2015) 
08 Second Glance (from 'A Closer Look, The Second Glance' 2015)  

Katy Perry - Fingerprints (2007)

As mentioned in the previous post for Katy Perry's '(A) Katy Perry' album, Glen Ballard's Java Records label severed ties with The Island Def Jam Music Group in 2006, and Perry was signed to Columbia Records, where she spent two years writing and recording new material for her first album for the label, to be called 'Fingerprints'. A few songs were left over from the '(A) Katy Perry' sessions, and so these were a starting point for the 'Fingerprints' recordings, and tracks which were confirmed as being on the album included 'Box', 'Fingerprints', 'Thinking Of You', 'Self Inflicted', 'Waking Up In Vegas', 'A Cup Of Coffee', plus 'Hook Up' and 'Wish You The Worst', both from the '(A) Katy Perry' sessions. Four of these songs would eventually end up on her official debut album 'One Of The Boys', while 'A Cup Of Coffee' was included as a bonus track on the re-issue that record. She collaborated with singer Ferras on a couple of songs around this time, but they were only ever performed at the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas in 2007, but as they were from the right period I've included 'Rush' in the track listing. 'Box' was intended to be the first single from the '(A) Katy Perry' album, but when that was cancelled by Columbia as they couldn't figure out how to promote her, it was salvaged to form part of 'Fingerprints', and so now opens the album. 'Sex Sells' is a song that was written with David A Stewart in an effort to experiment with her image after she was dumped by Columbia and 'Fingerprints' was shelved, so I've included it on here are it's from the right time-frame, and remains unreleased. The title track is the un-mastered demo version, and that completes the second album from Katy Perry that her record company didn't feel worthy of release, and I bet they're kicking themselves now at their short-sightedness.

Track listing

01 Box
02 I Can 
03 Fingerprints
04 Psycho Love
05 Spend The Night
06 Rush (feat. Ferras)
07 The Driveway
08 A Cup Of Coffee
09 Sex Sells
10 Look But Don't Touch 
11 I Think I'm Ready 
12 Rock God

Embrace - Caught In A Rush (2004)

Following the release of 'Drawn From Memory', Embrace quickly recorded their third studio album 'If You've Never Been', which was released on 3 September 2001. It reached number 9 in the UK chart, but as before, the critical acclaim did not translate into acceptable sales by the label, and the band were dropped by Hut Records in 2002, amid the confusion caused as Virgin Records (Hut's parent company) were taken over by EMI. The final two singles on Hut included the usual non'album b-sides, but it was too late to save the band, and they needed a new label. Around this time frontman Danny McNamara became tabloid fodder due to a rumoured relationship with 90's pop diva Gina G, and he was also in a brief relationship with journalist Jayne Thompson. In 2004 they were signed by Andy McDonald to his Independiente Records label, and released the album 'Out Of Nothing', which reached number 1 on the UK charts. The 'comeback' single that preceded the album was 'Gravity', which had been written by Coldplay's Chris Martin, after Danny McNamara and Martin had become friends following their 2000 tour with Coldplay as support act. The single was a hit, reaching number seven in the UK Singles Chart, and Coldplay have since recorded 'Gravity' as a b-side for their single 'Talk'. This third collection of non-album tracks covers 2001 to 2004, including a three year period between labels when the band didn't release any new music.

Track listing

01 Anywhere You Go (b-side of 'Wonder' 2001)  
02 Everyday (b-side of 'Wonder' 2001)
03 Today (b-side of 'Wonder' 2001)
04 Caught In A Rush (b-side of 'Wonder' 2001)
05 Fight Yer Corner (b-side of 'Make It Last' 2001)
06 It's You I Make It For (b-side of 'Make It Last' 2001)
07 Giving, Forgiving And Giving In (b-side of 'Make It Last' 2001)
08 What You've Never Had You'll Never Have (b-side of 'Make It Last' 2001)
09 Wasted (b-side of 'Gravity' 2004)
10 Too Many Times (b-side of 'Gravity' 2004)
11 The Shot's Still Ringing (b-side of 'Gravity' 2004)
12 Waterfall (b-side of 'Gravity' 2004)

Monk - Monk (1971)

I stumbled on this incredibly rare acetate of an early 70's progressive rock album the other day on Youtube, and felt that it was a perfect candidate for the blog. I'm just reprinting the comments from undercoverwoo, who found and posted it, as there isn't really much more to add. 

This is an absurdly obscure psych / prog acetate which I found most unexpectedly in 2005 in a charity shop in Camberwell, London. It was hidden away in the cover of a highly generic poptastic sleeve for The Mike Morton Congregation's not particularly sought after 'Non Stop Hits – Volume 4'. The only reason I looked at it was because the contents felt a bit chunkier than usual – and I'm pleased I did. I'm not sure Mike's LPs are great sellers in charityland, so in all likelihood, if I hadn't found it, this music would likely be lying underground in about 5000 jagged shards beneath a tip somewhere on the outskirts of the capital. It was priced at £1 but I think (to my eternal shame) I managed to acquire the record for 50p, as I pointed out to the cashier it was scratched. If you listen to it all the way through, you'll hear that it was an incredible bargain, as I probably got £1000 rather than 50p worth of scratches for my small change. Plus more skips than your average primary school playground on lunchbreak. The record bears an IBC studios label, which is not insignificant. IBC (International Broadcasting Company) studios were used by a succession of A-list sixties musos, including such luminaries as Jimi Hendrix, The Who, The Kinks, mod gods The Action and a lesser group known as The Beatles. As such – and given there are some interesting production flourishes on the record – it'd be very interesting to learn about the talent involved, and why the record doesn't appear to have been released.

Content-wise, the LP is pleasingly eclectic. It ranges from flirtations with pastoral folkism - 'House In The Country' through trippy sound collage – 'Fantasy 2' – to ballsy rock – 'Lover' – and the pulsing reverberations of 'And So To Bed' '. 'Don't Talk To Me' is transcendent heavy cosmic prog. Datewise, I'm guessing this was recorded 1968-73? Given the name of the artist, and track titles like 'The Beast' and 'Jesu', I suspect that this might be a concept album too, and that the group could be of a religious inclination – but there's nothing else to evidence this. I'd be delighted to learn more about the music and the group – who from the evidence herein were a talented bunch and invested a lot of effort in this.
Apologies for the more than occasional pops / skips / jumps – and the irritating grinding background noise throughout side 2. Sadly the record has suffered some audible abuse! But the band plays on ...
So, through a audio haze of sizzling bacon, here's what is likely to be the premiere release of this curio. 

All I've done to it is split out the tracks, run it through my de-clicking programme (and, boy, what a difference that made), and put together a suitably enigmatic cover for it. I've given it a year of recording of 1971 as that what it sounds like to me, and as mentioned above, if anyone knows anything at all about this band then please let us all know.

Track listing

01 Fantasy 1: The Journey
02 Sit Back, Relax
03 House In The Country
04 Lazy Day
05 A Light In The Window
06 Fantasy 2: The Beast
07 Jesu 
08 Lover
09 And So To Bed
10 Intermezzo
11 Don't Talk About Me
12 Through An Electric Glass Darkly

Elvis Presley - Duets (1969)

Someone recently posed an intriguing question, and that is 'Did Elvis Presley ever record a duet on any of his albums'? I can't say that I was surprised that the answer was no, as I certainly couldn't recall one, but it was pointed out that he did record quite a few duets in his films, and some of them then appeared on the subsequent soundtrack albums. I might be a bit cynical here, but could it be that Colonel Tom thought that if Elvis recorded a duet then he'd have to split the royalties? Whatever the reason, you won't find any duets on his official albums, and so I thought that I should gather up the best of them from the films so that we can hear him sharing the spotlight with a variety of male and female artists. Not every duet from a film is worth more than one hearing, so this isn't a comprehensive collection, but all of these songs are good enough that you won't need to skip any when listening to what turned out to be a very enjoyable album. Three of the best tracks are those with Ann-Margret (who also features on the cover) from 1964's 'Viva Las Vegas', and you can just feel the chemistry between them. His duet with Kitty White from 'King Creole' is the earliest track here, from 1958, and we go right through to his penultimate film in 1969, with 'The Trouble With Girls'. Ray Walker features a couple of times from 1966 and 1967, while the duet with Nancy Sinatra from 1968's 'Speedway' is excellent as well, even though she only appears at the end. So enjoy this album of the best of these rarely heard songs from Presley's 60's films. 

Track listing    

 
01 Crawfish (with Kitty White from 'King Creole' 1958)
02 Pocketful Of Rainbows (with Juliet Prowse from 'G.I. Blues' 1960)
03 Aloha Oe (with The Surfers from 'Blue Hawaii' 1961)
04 How Would You Like To Be (with Vicki Tiu from 'It Happened At The World's Fair' 1963)
05 Happy Ending (with Joan O'Brien from 'It Happened At The World’s Fair' 1963)
06 Mexico (with Larry Domasin from 'Fun In Acapulco' 1963)

07 You’re The Boss (with Ann-Margret from 'Viva Las Vegas' 1964)

08 Today Tomorrow And Forever (with Ann-Margret from 'Viva Las Vegas' 1964)
09 The Lady Loves Me (with Ann-Margret from 'Viva Las Vegas' 1964)
10 Spring Fever (with Shelley Fabares from 'Girl Happy' 1965)
11 Frankie And Johnny (with Eileen Wilson & Ray Walker from 'Frankie And Johnny' 1966)
12 Scratch My Back (with Marianne Hill from 'Paradise Hawaiian Style' 1966)
13 Who Needs Money (with Ray Walker from 'Clambake' 1967)
14 There Ain't Nothing Like A Song (with Nancy Sinatra from 'Speedway' 1968)
15 Signs Of The Zodiac (with Marilyn Mason from 'The Trouble With Girls' 1969)

Katy Perry - (A) Katy Perry (2005)

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, a.k.a. Katy Perry, started her career in music at a very early age, briefly having music lessons in facilities rented from the Music Academy of the West, where her singing caught the attention of rock artists Steve Thomas and Jennifer Knapp from Nashville, Tennessee. They took her to Nashville to improve her writing skills, and it was there that she started recording demos, while learning how to write songs and play guitar. She signed with Red Hill Records and recorded her debut album, a contemporary Christian record titled 'Katy Hudson', which was released on 6 March 2001. The album received mixed reviews from critics and was commercially unsuccessful, selling an estimated 200 copies before the label ceased operations in December, so Perry transitioned from gospel to secular music, and started working with producer Glen Ballard, moving to Los Angeles at age 17. In 2003 she briefly performed as Katheryn Perry, to avoid confusion with actress Kate Hudson, and later adopted the stage name 'Katy Perry', using her mother's maiden name. In 2004, she signed to Ballard's label, Java Records, which was then affiliated with The Island Def Jam Music Group, and she began work on a solo record due for release in March 2005, under the working title of '(A) Katy Perry'. The music was to have been much more "rock" than her first album, but the record was shelved after Ballard severed ties with the parent company. He then introduced Perry to Tim Devine, an A&R executive at Columbia Records, and she was signed as a solo artist writing and recording material over the next two years for her Columbia debut. She worked with songwriters including Desmond Child, Greg Wells, Butch Walker, Scott Cutler/Anne Previn, The Matrix, Kara DioGuardi, and Max Martin and Dr. Luke, and the song 'Simple' was used on the official soundtrack for the 2005 film 'Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants', but was not included on her debut album 'One Of The Boys' when it eventually appeared in 2008, even though it had the publicity of being used in a film. This means that none of these recordings from 2005 have officially seen the light of day since they were recorded, and so this can be viewed as a brand new, real debut 'rock' album from the singer, from a time before she 'kissed a girl'.  

Track listing

01 Agree To Disagree
02 Diamonds 
03 Hook Up 
04 Nothing Like The 1st Time 
05 Speed Diallin'
06 Long Shot
07 It's OK To Believe 
08 In Between 
09 Simple 
10 Takes One To Know One 
11 Wish You The Worst
12 The Better Half Of Me 
13 Weigh Me Down 

Embrace - Brothers And Sisters (2000)

After releasing the'Hooligan' single in 1999, Embrace followed this with their second album 'Drawn From Memory' in March 2000, which reached number 8 in the UK Albums Chart. Although the album was supported by a tour with the then-fledgling Coldplay, its sales were relatively low, although critical reception was good, with NME in particular praising the album.  They covered Bob Dorough's '3 Is A Magic Number' on the B-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You', and they also released two other Christmas cover versions of the traditional song 'Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire' and Greg Lake's 'I Believe In Father Christmas'. Three more singles were released from the album in 2000, and as before the b-sides of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You', 'You're Not Alone', and 'Save Me' were exclusive to the those releases, and so here they all are for a non-album collection from 1999 and 2000. 

Track listing

01 I've Been Running (b-side of 'Hooligan' 1999)
02 I Can't Feel Bad Anymore (b-side of 'Hooligan' 1999)
03 3 Is A Magic Number (b-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You' 2000)
04 Top Of The Heat (b-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You' 2000)
05 The First Cut (b-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You' 2000)
06 I Know What's Going On (b-side of 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You' 2000)
07 Get On Board (b-side of 'Save Me' 2000)
08 Still So Young (b-side of 'Save Me' 2000)
09 Brothers And Sisters (b-side of 'You're Not Alone' 2000)
10 Happy And Lost (b-side of 'You're Not Alone' 2000)
11 Come On And Smile (b-side of 'You're Not Alone' 2000)
12 A Tap On Your Shoulder (b-side of 'You're Not Alone' 2000)

Ollie Halsall - ...and on guitar (1992)

Peter John "Ollie" Halsall was born on 14 March 1949, and began his musical career in 1964 playing drums with various local bands such as Pete and the Pawnees, the Gunslingers, the Music Students and Rhythm and Blues Incorporated. In 1965 he taught himself to play the vibraphone and was invited to London to join fellow Southport musicians bassist Clive Griffiths and keyboardist 'Professor' Chris Holmes in pop rock outfit Take Five, which became Timebox, and in 1967 Halsall took up guitar, while the band was augmented by adding Mike Patto on vocals and 'Admiral' John Halsey on drums. Timebox released a number of singles in 1968 and 1969 on the Deram label, but never managed to record an album, and in 1970, following the departure of Holmes, Timebox evolved into the progressive rock band Patto, featuring Halsall on both guitar and vibraphone. Patto were a well-respected band, and released three albums between 1970 and 1972, but in 1973 Halsall left to join Jon Hiseman's Tempest. Tempest were one of the very best jazz-rock fusion bands of the 1970's, and released two superb albums in 'Tempest' (1970) and 'Living In Fear' (1971), but after less than a year he quit, and became an in demand session guitarist, playing on a track for Kevin Ayers' 'The Confessions Of Dr. Dream' album in 1974 which led to a permanent position in Ayers' band the Soporifics. Halsall's UK session work included concerts and recordings with the Scaffold, GRIMMS, Neil Innes, Centipede, Andy Roberts, Mike de Albuquerque, John Otway, John Cale and Vivian Stanshall, and he was even briefly considered as a possible replacement for Mick Taylor following his departure from the Rolling Stones in December 1974. In 1975, Patto staged a brief reunion comprising just three benefit gigs, but the reuniting of Halsall and Patto sparked the formation of Boxer during 1975, and they released two albums on the Virgin label before Patto died of lymphoid leukemia in 1979. 

In 1978 he was invited to join Neil Innes and Eric Idle's spoof Beatles project The Rutles, recording their debut eponymous album in 1978, which reached the top 20 in the UK. He plays many of the instruments on the songs, and provides lead and backing vocals – most notably on the tracks 'Doubleback Alley', 'With A Girl Like You' and 'Get Up And Go'. Eric Idle was cast in his place in the accompanying film and Halsall only featured in a very minor cameo role as Leppo, the fifth Rutle who got lost in Hamburg. During 1976 Halsall had rejoined Ayers with whom he stayed for the next sixteen years, and for much of that time he frequented the town of Deià in the north of the Spanish island of Mallorca, commuting to Madrid on the mainland to produce and play for numerous Spanish artists, including El Primer Tercio, Ronni Urini, and his final work with pop rock bands Radio Futura and Hombres G. In the 1980's he was part of a Spanish synth-pop band Cinemaspop with vocalist Zanna Gregmar, and they released two studio albums, 'Cinemaspop' in 1983, which was a collection of synth-pop covers of classical movie tunes, and 'A Clockwork Orange' in 1984, which included some compositions and vocals by Halsall, as well as a bizarre electronic version of The Troggs' 'Wild Thing'. Halsall died in Madrid from a drug-induced heart attack on 29 May 1992 at the age of just 43. He has been described as an influence by a number of respected guitarists, including Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe, Allan Holdsworth, Kee Marcello of Europe and Cheap Trick's guitarist Rick Nielsen. XTC's Andy Partridge cites Halsall as one of his top three influences, saying "He made the guitar sound more like Albert Ayler or John Coltrane, more like a sort of fluid piano player". The final word has to go to his friend John Halsey, who said "Ollie may not have been the best guitarist in the world, but he was certainly among the top two." 

Track listing

Disc One
01 If Your Love Don't Swing (b-side of 'Midnight Confessions' by Pete Kelly's Solution 1968)
01 Lover's Prayer (with Duffy Power 1970)
02 Speed Well (from 'Andy Roberts And The Great Stampede' by Andy Roberts 1973)
03 Take It While You Can (from 'Rockin' Duck' by GRIMMS 1973)
04 That Girl's Alright (b-side of 'Teenage Love Song' by John Hetherington 1973)
05 Nuclear Band (from 'Fresh Liver' by Scaffold 1973) 
06 Singing A Song Is Easy (from 'How Sweet To Be An Idiot' by Neil Innes 1973)
07 Keep On (from 'Manor Live' by Steve York's Camelo Pardalis 1973)
08 Sweet Mirth (from 'We May Be Cattle But We've All Got Names' by Michael de

                                                                                                                       Albuquerque 1973)
09 Overture (from 'Jesus Christ Superstar' film soundtrack by Rice/Lloyd Webber 1970)
10 This Is The Time To Get Merry (from 'Two Faced' by Bruce Epstein & Jack Fischer 1973)
11 Didn't Feel Lonely Till I Thought Of You (from 'The Confessions Of Dr. Dream' by 

                                                                                                                        Kevin Ayers 1974)

Disc Two
01 Shouting In A Bucket Blues (from 'June 1, 1974' by Kevin Ayers/John Cale/Eno/Nico 1974)
02 Itchy Feet (from 'Fatsticks' by Terry Stamp 1975)
03 The Elf Sires (from 'Some Things Never Change' by David Kubinec 1979)
04 It's A Pain (from 'Where Did I Go Right?' by John Otway 1979)
05 Bum Love (with John Halsey, from 'Miniatures' by Various Artists 1980) 
06 Don't Run Away (single by Zanna Gregmar & Ollie Halsall 1981)
07 Everyday, I Have The Blows (from 'Teddy Boys Don't Knit' by Vivian Stanshall 1981)
08 Sailship (single by Ronni Urini 1983)
09 Ely (from 'Teixido' by Teixido 1989)
10 Instrumental (from 'Veneno En La Piel' by Radio Futura 1990) 
11 Encima De Ti (from 'Historia Del Bikini' by Hombres G 1992)

Thanks to Auran for the suggestion.

For MAC users

Press command+shift+period (to show hidden files) and a grayed out folder '...and on guitar" will appear and the mp3s will be inside. Either drag those to another folder OR rename the folder without any periods at the beginning. Press command+shift+period to once again hide the hidden files.