Tiffany Villarreal - Tiffany Villarreal (2004)

In the final post from the three members of Pharrell Williams' Latina girl group Affair, we have Tiffany Villarreal. Tiffany Villarreal was born into a musical family, and as a teenager her family moved to California, and later Las Vegas, Nevada where she attended a performing arts school. There she met and joined the R&B girl group 702, who introduced her to Missy Elliott. In 1996 she was signed to MCA Records and was preparing to release her debut album, with Missy Elliott as the executive producer, but due to RCA Records folding, the album was never released. In 2003 she was signed to Universal Records, and was featured on rapper Raekwon’s song 'The Hood', and during that same year she released her own debut single 'You, Yourself & You', which was well-received by critics, but had no impact on the charts. Her follow-up singles 'Rewind The Time' (featuring Raekwon) and 'Holla At Me' didn't fare any better, and so when Universal released her self-titled debut album, they only released it in Japan. After her stint with Universal Records, she signed with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment record label as a member of Latina girl group Affair, alongside Vanessa Marquez and Natasha Ramos. When Affair didn't take off, she signed with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment label, and later with Motown Records. After that, nothing solo was released, although she did make appearances on albums by artists such as Flo Rida & Baby Bash, and also co-wrote Fantasia's song 'Trust Him' for her 2010 album 'Back To Me'. Despite Universal's lack of confidence in her album, it's a perfectly acceptable collection of early 2000's R&B, and so if that's your thing, then here it is for you to enjoy.  

Track listing

01 The Real Intro
02 Fire
03 Rewind The Time
04 You, Yourself & You 
05 Erotic Interlude
06 Erotic
07 Go To Work
08 Holla At Me
09 For My Girls
10 Better Woman
11 Us
12 Set U Free
13 Silent Gun
14 Nine Months

Smash Mouth - Old Habits (2005)

Smash Mouth's roots trace back to 1990 when Steve Harwell and Kevin Coleman met, and four years later Smash Mouth was formed by Harwell, who had formerly played in a rap group called F.O.S. (Freedom Of Speech). Coleman was Harwell's manager at the time, and knew guitarist Greg Camp and bassist Paul De Lisle, so he introduced the three musicians to each other, and they bean rehearsing together along with Coleman, who played as the drummer. They soon developed into a band, and named themselves Smashmouth, an American football term, and after a demo of the song 'Nervous In The Alley was played by a San Jose radio station they were signed to Interscope Records, and they changed their name to Smash Mouth. The group's debut album, 'Fush Yu Mang', was released in 1997, featuring another member, as keyboardist Michael Klooster had joined by this time. The album eventually went double platinum, and they enjoyed some success with their first major single 'Walkin' On The Sun'. The band's second album, 'Astro Lounge', was released in 1999 and marked a change in direction, as it had less of the previous ska influence and more of a pop sound, and it ended up being one of the most critically acclaimed albums from the group. Supported by the hit singles 'All Star' (which was featured in several film soundtracks, most notably 'Shrek'), and 'Then The Morning Comes', it was eventually certified as triple platinum. Shortly after its release, drummer Kevin Coleman left the band due to back problems, with the drum-stool initially being taken over by Michael Urbano, who was himself quickly replaced by Mitch Marine for the tour supporting 'Astro Lounge'. 

Their self-titled album came out in 2001, but sold fewer copies than their earlier works, although it was still eventually certified gold. In 2003 they released 'Get the Picture?', which included the singles 'You Are My Number One', 'Hang On' and 'Always Gets Her Way', but Interscope weren't happy with the band and dropped them from the label shortly after the album's release, although they still got their pound of flesh by releasing the greatest hits compilation 'All Star Smash Hits' in 2005. In December 2005, the band released a Christmas album 'Gift Of Rock', which featured covers of Christmas songs by many artists, such as the Kinks and the Ramones, and one original song, 'Baggage Claim'. The band's fifth album was originally to be titled 'Old Habits', and was recorded in 2005 and expected to be released in early 2006. It was purported to be much more like the ska-punk featured on 'Fush Yu Mang', and in September 2005 they performed what was tentatively announced as the album's first single, 'Getaway Car', on 'Last Call with Carson Daly'. However, the album was delayed many times, possibly in the hope of gaining publicity with Harwell's appearance on the reality show 'The Surreal Life', but also because the band wanted to return to the studio to improve the record. In the end 'Old Habits' was shelved, and was replaced by 'Summer Girl', which came out in 2006. This included five remixed tracks from 'Old Habits', but the rest were all new songs, meaning that a lot of the older material remained unreleased, until Greg Camp and Paul De Lisle used some songs for their solo albums. Despite being heralded as a return to their ska-punk roots, 'Old Habits' is a pretty straight-ahead indie-rock album, and for someone like me who is not that familiar with their earlier work it sounds pretty good, so I can't really see why it was abandoned.  

Track listing

01 Hey LA  
02 Getaway Car  
03 The Crawl 
04 Say When 
05 Baby Please Don't Go 
06 Quality Control  
07 Old Habits  
08 Sugar 
09 Beside Myself 
10 Duty Free 
11 Beautiful Bomb 
12 Never Let Me Down Again

The Junket - Alcohol By Volume (2002)

The Junket were formed in Kettering in the mid 90's by Rick on guitar/vocals, Steve Rees on bass/vocals and Rueban Bobcat on drums, and they signed a deal with Deceptive Records, who released their debut album 'Stamina' in 1998, reaching number 4 in the Indie charts, and garnering airplay on BBC Radio 1 .'You're The Same' was extracted from it and released as a single in 1999, followed by the non-album single 'Threefourzero'/'The King Of The Lettuce' later that year. Following a label change to Philter Records, they released their second album 'Lux Safari' in 2000, trying out a different style to 'Stamina', experimenting with a lot of other instruments and sounds, and they were pleased with the result. Their albums had done well in Japan, and so a tour of that country was arranged, supporting Japanese band L'arc en Ciel, who had sold over 7 million copies of their own recent album. The band were in the process of writing and recording their third album when they split up, and in 2004 Captain was formed from the ashes, with the recruitment of Mario Athanasiou on guitar, Clare Szembek on keyboards and Alex Yeoman on bass (see their own post here). Before the split they'd recorded enough music for the album, which was to be called 'Alcohol By Volume', and so as an epitaph to the group, here is that final record from 2002. 

Track listing 

01 Anger's On
02 Secret Surround
03 3:AM
04 The Blue On You
05 Low Pacers
06 Last Ditch Apology
07 G101
08 Underachieving Is A Crime
09 Asha Breathes
10 Loving It And Losing It
11 My Endeavour
12 U.I.C.

Ashnikko - Fight Like A Girl (2022)

Ashton Nicole Casey was born on 19 February 1996, in Oak Ridge, North Carolina, and while growing up her parents exposed her to diverse musical genres, from country music to Slipknot. She became interested in music, specifically rap music, when she listened to Arular by M.I.A. at the age of 10, and she didn't listen to male musicians until she was 16. As a teenager, her family moved to Estonia for her father's studies, and at 18 she moved to London by herself. Using the stage name Ashnikko, she recorded her first song, 'Krokodil', produced by Raf Riley and published to SoundCloud in July 2016. Her first EP was released by Digital Picnic Records, with 'Sass Pancakes' coming out in 2017, followed by her second EP, 'Unlikeable', a year later. Her third EP was 'Hi It's Me' in 2019, and this time it was preceded by the promotional single 'Special', which was launched alongside the EP's title track and lead single, 'Hi It's Me'. The second official single, 'Stupid', featuring Yung Baby Tate, and gained viral popularity on TikTok, reaching number one on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. In 2019 she co-wrote eight songs, two of which she is featured on, on Brooke Candy's debut album, 'Sexorcism', which was released in October 2019, and later she co-wrote 'Boss Bitch' with American rapper Doja Cat, which was included on the 'Birds Of Prey' soundtrack album. In March 2020 she released the standalone single 'Tantrum', and this was followed by her breakthrough record, when 'Daisy' was released in July 2020, charting internationally in countries including Australia, Belgium and the United Kingdom, where it reached number 24 on the UK Singles Chart. In January 2021 she released her debut mixtape 'Demidevil', which she promoted with a North American and European tour in October. After a years hiatus since the release of the two singles 'Panic Attacks In Paradise' and 'Maggots' in September 2021, Ashnikko released her new single, 'You Make Me Sick!', on 8 February 2023, as a taster for her debut album 'Weedkiller', which was scheduled for an August 2023 release. Following the appearance of 'Weedkiller', four more singles have been released from it, and so now is a good time to collect together some of the tracks that she's recorded from as early as 2013 up to last year which didn't make it to the album. There have been many short snippets of songs leaked to Youtube, but for this album I've only chosen completed tracks, plus a few collaborations that she's done along the way. 

Track listing 

01 Fight Like A Girl
02 Cake Face
03 Homicide
04 Wallflower 
05 Nonsense
06 Damsel
07 Hands On The Wheel (feat. Grafomans)
08 Krokodil
09 Creepy
10 Fever (feat. Yurrit & Terrell Morris)
11 Emerald Eyes
12 Coming 
13 Mellow (feat. Firejose & Justicious)
14 Mermaid
15 Kiss Kat (feat. Nightwave)
16 Please Don't Grab My Pussy

My Life Story - Stuck Up Their Own Era (2000)

Jake Shillingford was born on 15 May 1966 in Southend-on-Sea, and he formed his first band in 1980, athough he didn't start a career until the late 80's. In the mid-80's, he briefly attended the Southend Art College, after which he held a job at Dingwalls in Camden, working there during the day and running the Panic Station Club at night, often playing with his band, My Life Story. They released the 'Home Sweet Zoo' EP on the Think Tank label in 1986, but after a few years, he grew bored and left for America on a mission to find himself, returning in 1990 convinced that he would remodel 'My Life Story' as a string-laden, orchestral pop band. Over the course of that year, he assembled a new version of the band, re-hiring his old drummer Aaron Cahill as musical arranger, and adding drummer Steave Searley, bassist Jon King, keyboardist Helen Caddick, violinists Alison Gabriel and Ellie Newton, cellist Judith Fleet, Rob Spriggs on viola, and Rachel Simnett, who played various brass instruments. Playing concerts in underground London clubs, the band slowly built a small following, self-releasing their indie debut EP 'Big' at the end of the year. By 1992, they'd grown to comprise a total of 11 musicians, and they were regularly playing clubs like the 100 Club and the Marquee. In 1993 their profile began to rise considerably when they contributed strings to the Wonder Stuff's 'Welcome to the Cheap Seats' EP, and that led to them signing with Mother Tongue Records, releasing the single 'Girl A, Girl B, Boy C' by the end of the year. Produced by Giles Martin, the son of legendary Beatles' producer George Martin, the record was named Single of the Week by Melody Maker and NME, and My Life Story opened for both Blur and Pulp on their tours during the winter of 1994. 

In February, the group's second single, 'Funny Ha Ha', was released, and a year later 'You Don't Sparkle (In My Eyes)' reached the indie Top Ten, followed by the February 1995 release of their debut album, 'Mornington Crescent'. Although the record received positive reviews, its release was hampered by threatened legal action from London Underground due to breach of copyright, but that issue quickly vanished, and by the end of the year Melody Maker had named 'Mornington Crescent' as one of the year's best albums. However, this critical acclaim didn't translate into sales, and so a distraught Shillingford decided to have My Life Story perform a month-long residency at Dingwalls in February 1996, and if the band wasn't signed to a major label at the end of the four-Sunday stint, he was going to disband the group. His plan worked, and by the end of the Dingwalls residency, My Life Story had signed to Parlophone Records. They recorded their major-label debut during the spring and summer, and played a series of high-profile gigs that increased their profile substantially. Late that summer, the group's first Parlophone single, '12 Reasons Why I Love Her' was released, followed by 'Sparkle' in October and 'The King Of Kissingdom' in February 1997, both of which received mixed reviews in the music press. The band's long-delayed major-label debut, 'The Golden Mile', was finally released in March 1997, and although their audience was larger than ever, a critical backlash had begun, and the reviews for the record were frequently harsh, with Select labelling the record as "the worst album ever made". Despite the bad reviews, 'The Golden Mile' turned out to be the band's peak, although they parted ways with Parlophone after its release, signing with It Records for 2000's 'Joined Up Talking'. 

This album went no further than 126 on the U.K. charts, so Shillingford arranged a series of farewell concerts for My Life Story at the end of 2000, and the band went on hiatus for six year. In 2006 they reunited with the full line-up of thirteen members to play two concerts to celebrate the release for two 2006 compilations: 'Sex & Violins (The Best Of My Life Story)' and 'Megaphone Theology: B-Sides and Rarities'. The reunions so were successful that My Life Story again became a going concern, and further reunions have taken place every two years, beginning with a 2007 show at O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, followed by a 2009 concert where they played 'Mornington Crescent' in its entirety. Shillingford assembled a streamlined edition of My Life Story for a 2013 U.K. tour, and in 2016 the group released their first single in 16 years, '24 Hour Deflowerer'. The next two years found the band playing Brit-pop revival package tours, and all this activity culminated with the 2019 release of 'World Citizen', the band's first album in nearly 20 years, which was crowd-funded with pre-orders from fans. A new album, 'Loving You Is Killing Me',  was released earlier this year, and despite only releasing five long-players, the band didn't waste anything that they recorded during that time, adding over 40 non-albums tracks to the b-sides of their singles and EP's. The 'Megaphone Theology' compilation was a pretty good attempt at collecting these tracks, but it did miss quite a few of them, including all the music from that first 1986 EP, so this post has every non-album track that the band added to their singles.   

Track listing

Disc I - 1986-1996
01 Home Sweet Zoo (from the 'Home Sweet Zoo' EP 1986)
02 Boring Dream (from the 'Home Sweet Zoo' EP 1986)
03 The Sliding Bookcase (from the 'Home Sweet Zoo' EP 1986)
04 Star Colliding (b-side of 'Girl A, Girl B, Girl C' 1993)
05 First Person Singular (b-side of 'You Don't Sparkle (In My Eyes)' 1994)
06 Stood Amongst Friends (b-side of 'You Don't Sparkle (In My Eyes)' 1994)
07 The Lady Is A Tramp (b-side of 'Funny Ha Ha' 1994)
08 These Words Are Haunting (b-side of 'Funny Ha Ha' 1994)
09 Funny Peculiar (b-side of 'Funny Ha Ha' 1994)
10 Checkmate (from the 'Mornington Crescent Companion' EP 1995)
11 Outdoor Miner (from the 'Mornington Crescent Companion' EP 1995)
12 Emerald Green (b-side of 'Sparkle' 1996)
13 Megaphone Theology (b-side of 'Sparkle' 1996)
14 The Garden Fence Affair (b-side of 'Sparkle' 1996)

Disc II - 1996-1997
01 17 Reasons Why I Love Her (b-side of 'Sparkle' 1996)
02 Lover's Recipe (b-side of '12 Reasons Why I Love Her' 1996)
03 Lady Somerset (b-s (b-side of '12 Reasons Why I Love Her' 1996)
04 Silently Screaming (b-side of '12 Reasons Why I Love Her' 1996)
05 Heaven Suitcase (b-side of '12 Reasons Why I Love Her' 1996)
06 A Boy Called Daydream (b-side of 'The King Of Kissingdom' 1997)
07 Stuck Up Your Own Era (b-side of 'The King Of Kissingdom' 1997)
08 I Love You Like Gala (b-side of 'The King Of Kissingdom' 1997)
09 Sir Richard Steele (b-side of 'The King Of Kissingdom' 1997)

Disc III - 1997
01 The Return Of Emerald Green (b-side of 'Strumpet' 1997)
02 Wallpaper (b-side of 'Strumpet' 1997)
03 Welcome To My Archipelago (b-side of 'Strumpet' 1997)
04 Waiting To Explode (b-side of 'Strumpet' 1997)
05 I Faced The Music (b-side of 'Strumpet' 1997)
06 March 9th (b-side of 'Strumpet' 1997)
07 Duchess (single 1997)
08 Birthday Suit (b-side of 'Duchess')
09 Emerald Green Strikes Back (b-side of 'Duchess')
10 Love Scene (b-side of 'Duchess')
11 Cherries (b-side of 'You Can't Uneat The Apple' 1997)

Disc IV - 1999-2000
01 I'm A Statistic (b-side of 'Empire Line' 1999)
02 Paint It Emerald Green (b-side of 'Empire Line' 1999)
03 Sleep (b-side of 'Empire Line' 1999)
04 It's A Boy Thing (b-side of 'Empire Line' 1999)
05 Emerald Green Blah Blah (b-side of 'It's A Girl Thing' 1999)
06 Florence's Theme (b-side of 'It's A Girl Thing' 1999)
07 My Sweet Little Death (b-side of 'It's A Girl Thing' 1999)
08 E.G.M.C.M.X.C.I.X. (b-side of 'It's A Girl Thing' 1999)
09 The History Of The World On Ice (b-side of 'Why Aren't You Dead Yet' download 1999)
10 Holy Deadlock (b-side of 'Walk/Don't Walk' 2000)
11 Self Defence Mechanism (b-side of 'Walk/Don't Walk' 2000)

Vanessa Marquez - Good Girl (2005)

Vanessa Rosalia Marquez was born on 21 December 1968, and is primarily know as an actress, appearing in the first three seasons of 'ER' as nurse Wendy Goldman, as well as her role as Ana Delgado in the 1988 biographical drama film, 'Stand And Deliver'. Her success with 'Stand And Deliver' led to a career in film and television, with roles in the crime drama 'Blood In Blood Out', and the independent film 'Twenty Bucks', both in 1993. In addition to her acting credentials, Marquez appeared as a singer in the 2000 thriller film 'Under Suspicion'. A few years later, produce Pharrell Williams, one half of The Neptunes, had a vision of putting together a Latina R&B girl group, inspired by The Supremes, and as Marquez had been signed as a solo artist to their imprint Star Trak Entertainment since 2001, she was considered for the group. By that point, she'd recorded vocals for Justin Timberlake's 2002 megahit 'Rock Your Body', as well as touring with him to promote his debut album, and she was also featured on 'Good Girl', a single from the compilation 'The Neptunes Present...Clones'. When the idea popped into William's head, Marquez had just started working on her debut album, and so he offered her the chance of joining his group, to be named Affair, along with Natasha Ramos, and later being joined by Tiffany Villareal. 

The timing felt impeccable, as in the summer of 2005, Destiny's Child, the biggest girl group of the 2000's, announced they were parting ways, and while no one could match the trio's groundbreaking contribution to pop, a fresh, talented, and bilingual group seemed like the right way to carry on the momentum that they'd leave behind. The music was going to be in English and Spanish, and they would have the star power of The Neptunes on their side, and as Marquez already knew Ramos there was a connection there from the start. Williams wanted three Hispanic females who could really sing R&B, so a search started for a third member of the group, and after a few try-outs a third girl was picked, but she didn't click with the rest of the group, so the search continued. Meanwhile, Marquez and Ramos had already formed a bond, and with both of them having similar husky voices, the songs sounded complete, and they felt that there wasn't a need for a third member. However, Williams was obsessed with "the power of three. The Supremes. The Trinity. The power of three" and so after six months of auditions, the third slot was filled by Tiffany Villarreal, a Texan of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent. With Affair finally complete, the label sent the group to Hollywood for a few weeks to bond and lay down some tracks. 

Villarreal continued singing with Affair while she waited for her Star Trak contract to be finalized, but a few weeks turned into three months, and doubts started to creep in. While she ruminated on her future with Star Trak, another offer came along, with Dr. Dre wanting to sign her to Aftermath Entertainment, and with no paperwork from the Pharrell side, and a contact ready to go with Dr. Dre, she signed with Aftermath, and the remaining girls found themselves back at square one. They finally accepted that a duo, even with their seamless vocal synergy, wasn’t going to be enough, and so Marquez left the label after her contract expired. Ramos signed as a solo artist after Marquez left, but it only lasted for a few years, and she let her contract expire too. As for Tiffany Villarreal, it didn’t work out with Aftermath, and she, like Ramos and Marquez, went independent. In her short musical career, Marquez had exploded on the scene with her collaboration with Justin Timberlake, and then  featured on The Neptunes' album, but not much else that she recorded was ever released, apart from a guest appearance on Butch Cassidy's debut 'Back B4 You're Lonely' in 2007. A year before Affair's debut album was due to appear in 2005, Marquez was recording her own solo record, and luckily there's enough material out there to piece together what it could have sounded like, so here it is, including a couple of tracks featuring Ramos and Villarreal. 

Track listing

01 Good Girl 
02 Daydreaming 
03 Friends Are (feat. Pharrell) 
04 Rider (feat. Natasha Ramos)
05 Do It Right 
06 Shorties (feat. Natasha Ramos & Tiffany Villarreal)
07 Want You to Know (feat. JR Huston) 
08 If You Keep on Askin' 
09 A View From The Top (feat. Butch Cassidy, Bishop Lamont & Damizza)

10 Runnin' Back (feat. Natasha Ramos & Tiffany Villarreal)
11 You Should Know (feat. Pharrell Williams)

12 One Small Kiss (feat. Damizza) 

Bilal - Love For Sale (2006)

Bilal Sayeed Oliver was born on 23 August 1979 in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and by the age of 11 he was choir director at his mother's church, forming a group at 14 to perform gigs at the Blue Moon Cafe in Philadelphia. He graduated from the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and then attended New York City's The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and he frequented jam sessions set up by the professors and students. At one such event, he met Aaron Comess, a musician from the pop-rock band Spin Doctors, and the two went on to improvise together at Comess's home, which produced a demo that was later heard by Interscope Records, who signed Bilal to a record contract. In 2001 he released his debut album, '1st Born Second', featuring productions by Dr. Dre and J Dilla, and it peaked at number 31 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. The album received universal acclaim from music critics, and garnered rave reviews from publications including The Village Voice, Chicago Sun-Times, and USA Today. He managed to gain a sizable following and high attendance at his live shows, as well as much acclaim and respect from his peers, and the soulful feel of his music caused him to be labelled as "neo-soul", although he dislikes the term. In the following years Bilal appeared on projects by other artists, while recording and developing his follow-up album, once again helmed by Dr. Dre and J Dilla. These plans proved to be changeable, and the final result, 'Love For Sale', was built around live instrumentation and a vibe completely new and different from its predecessor, which was not what Interscope were expecting, and so they rejected his offering. 

Unwilling to start from scratch, he continued to push for its release, but as it neared completion it was leaked in its entirety on the internet. Interscope then shelved the album indefinitely, hinting at the same time that it saw little commercial potential in it. This sent Bilal into a period of distress, and he considered quitting music, but after 'Love For Sale' received over half a million downloads on the internet, he began touring, despite there not being a proper release to promote, with his concerts inspiring awe among audiences. In 2008 he began recording his next album, and after nine years without a properly released record, he made a comeback on 14 September 2010 with 'Airtight's Revenge', released under independent record label Plug Research. He describes it as a retrospective album, that explores his experiences and things he has learned since his last release, but it's also very experimental, blending jazz, hip-hop, electronic, rock, soul, and blues into one raw, genuine collection of music. It was a great comeback after the bitter disappointment of his pervious work being rejected by his record company, and so here is the 'Love For Sale' album for you to listen to, and see if you can hear what Interscope obviously couldn't. 

Track listing

01 Something To Hold On To  
02 You're All I Need (Feels Like Heaven)  
03 Gotsta Be Cool  
04 Make Me Over 
05 Get Out Of My Hair  
06 Lord Don't Let It  
07 All For Love  
08 Hands Of Time  
09 Hollywood  
10 White Turns To Grey  
11 Sorrow, Tears & Blood  
12 Sweet Sour U

Verbalicious - Verbal Issues (2006)

Natalia Noemi "Teddy" Sinclair (née Cappuccini) was born on 15 August 1986 In Bradford, West Yorkshire, and has recorded music under various aliases, most famously as Natalia Kills and Verbalicious. Her family left Bradford when she was a child and she spent her early years traveling between England, Jamaica and Spain. As a teenager she had a troubled childhood, running away from home when she was 14, and trying to set her ex-boyfriend's house on fire while both were in it. Already living on her own in London at 15, and sitting on a hoard of her poems, she began to sneak into clubs to make connections with DJs and managers, to get time in the studio. She began performing in February 2003, recording a series of demos by the time she was 16, and she also developed a strong interest in MC battling, entering a Radio 1 MC Battle in Leeds under the alias Candy Rapper in June 2003, and winning the competition. She was signed to Adventures in Music in August, crediting the exposure and experience from the MC battle for helping her land a record deal, and preparations began for the recording of her debut album. The album's apparent lead single, 'Don't Play Nice', was released digitally on 10 June 2004 on the label's website, and the following month her song 'Next Big Me' was released on the soundtrack of the 2004 film 'Sleepover'. In August 2004 it was reported that her album was slated for a release in the fall, but this would later be pushed back, with a new expected release date being Easter 2005. 

After receiving considerable airplay, 'Don't Play Nice' was then given full-single treatment, with the song being officially released on 21 February 2005. Not long after the release, problems began to arise between Sinclair and her label, and the strained relationship eventually resulted in a severed contract sometime in 2006, thus causing the debut album to be shelved. Sinclair then began a stint of homelessness and eventually rebranded herself to Verbz, a name under which she released a few songs on MySpace. In 2007, while writing music for films, she posted 'Womannequin' to MySpace, receiving two million plays on the website, and she reached the top of the unsigned artists chart. In 2008 she moved to Los Angeles, and while there a DJ introduced her to will.i.am after hearing her demo, and learning that she did not have a record deal. In January 2009 will.i.am signed her to his record label, will.i.am Music Group, and she adopted the stage name Natalia Kills, after her record company advised her that "Natalia Cappuccini" was "indescribable". She released her debut album 'Perfectionist' in Germany in April 2011, following the release of her single, 'Mirrors', which hit the German Top 10. Through 2010 and 2011 she opened for Kelis, Robyn, Kesha, Katy Perry and the Black Eyed Peas over various tours, and was featured in LMFAO's single, 'Champagne Showers', and in Junior Caldera's single 'Lights Out (Go Crazy)'. With an album now out under her new name on her new label, she retired Verbalicious, but as an example of her early work this deserves to be heard, so here is that cancelled album from 2006. 

Track listing

01 New Kid  
02 Sweet As Pie 
03 Wait For Me 
04 Don't Play Nice 
05 Strangers 
06 Butterflies  
07 Life  
08 Born Wrong  
09 Hush  
10 Take It All 
11 Never Going Down 
12 Hey Boy 
13 If I Saw You Now  
14 Ain't My Fault
15 Queen Of The Jungle 

Kasabian - Pan Am Slit Scam (2014)

Kasabian were formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and second vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff and bassist Chris Edwards, and were originally christened Saracuse. They started recording at Bedrock Studios in Leicester, where Edwards had once worked as a sound engineer, and in 1998 they recorded three songs for a demo tape, comprising 'Whats Going On', 'Life Of Luxury' and 'Shine On', and which was produced by Scott Gilbert. Saracuse had several tracks included on a triple CD album called 'RED', which was produced by Bedrock Studios and showcased Leicester bands in late 1999, and they were also invited to take part in the event of the same name at Leicester De Montfort Hall later the same year, but declined following the advice of their then-manager Alan Royland. When they signed to BMG Records by London DJ and producer Sam Young, they changed their name to Kasabian, named after Linda Kasabian, a member of the Charles Manson cult who later went on to testify against Manson at his trial. Their eponymous debut album was released in the UK on 13 September 2004, receiving good sales and generally positive reviews, and the next year the play the Glastonbury Festival 2005 on the "Other Stage". Despite having two prior single releases, with debut single 'Processed Beats' and lead single 'Reason Is Treason', it was their third single release 'Club Foot' that broke them into the UK Singles Chart, and it's become one of their most popular songs, being performed at nearly every Kasabian live performance since its release. 

During this period, various drummers played with the band, including current keyboard player Ben Kealey, DJ Dan Ralph Martin, Martin Hall-Adams, and brothers Mitch and Ryan Glovers, but while recording in Bristol, they met Ian Matthews, who played on a number of tracks on their debut album, and he became a permanent member in April 2005. During the recording of Kasabian's second album, 'Empire', Christopher Karloff, one of the band's chief songwriters, had "artistic and creative differences" and was asked to leave the band, and the album, was released in the UK on 28 August 2006. The title track 'Empire', a Karloff co-write, was released as the first single and reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart, followed by 'Shoot The Runner', which reached No. 17 , and 'Me Plus One'. In late 2007 they released an EP titled 'Fast Fuse', which featured the songs 'Fast Fuse' and 'Thick As Thieves', both of which would later feature on their third album. Work on the record started in late 2007 with producer Dan the Automator, and eighteen months later it was revealed that the album title would be 'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum', with a release date of 8 June 2009. The song 'Vlad The Impaler' was released as a free download for a period of 4 days, as a preview for the album, and latwer singles were picked up by advertisers, with 'Fire' being used as the theme song for the English Premier League from the 2010–11 season onward, and 'Underdog' was used in the mobile and PC game 'Asphalt 8: Airborne', as well as in the movie 'Takers', and in the 2009 TV advert for Sony Bravia 200hz televisions. 

'West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum' reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, spending two weeks there, and was also shortlisted for the 2009 Mercury Prize, as well as being named "Best Album" at the 2009 Q Awards. Kasabian started work on their fourth album, 'Velociraptor!', in November 2010 with Dan the Automator as producer, and promised a 19 September 2011 release date. 'Switchblade Smiles' was the first song to be heard from the sessions, and it was available for visitors to listen to on the Kasabian website, and was available as a download for people who pre-ordered the album. In November 2011 the band went on a full tour of the UK, including two sold-out gigs at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, supported at the shows by Miles Kane and Australian band ME. Following early 2012 dates in Japan, Australia, and Europe, Kasabian launched their North American leg in Dallas on 12 March, with 19 dates in U.S. and Canada until late April. In March 2013, Sergio Pizzorno confirmed via Facebook that touring rhythm guitarist Jay Mehler had left the band to join Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye as a touring bass guitarist, and he was replaced by Tim Carter. In November 2013 they announcing that they had been working on new material for the previous six months, and the resultant Sergio Pizzorno-produced album '48:13' was released in June 2014, being named after the length of the record. 

At the NME Awards 2015 Kasabian were nominated for 9 awards, beating the 2009 Oasis record of 7 nominations, and on this high they played a short tour in May, culminating in two concerts at Leicester City Football Club's ground, the King Power Stadium, to celebrate the club winning the Premier League. In March 2017, it was confirmed that the band's sixth album would be titled 'For Crying Out Loud', and released in May of that year, with the album cover featuring a photograph of the band's guitar technician Rick Graham. In July 2020, it was announced that Meighan was stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent due to personal issues, although it later emerged that he'd assaulted his then-fiancée in April, and in light of the revelations, the band had decided to sever their professional relationship with him. Following Meighan's sacking, remaining band founders Pizzorno and Edwards met to discuss Kasabian's future, and they decided that the band should continue, with Pizzorno taking over lead vocal duties. On 27 October 2021, Kasabian released their first single, 'Alygatyr', in over four years, and followed this with 'Scriptvre' in May, before the parent album, 'The Alchemist's Euphoria', appeared in August. Their latest album, 'Happenings', has just been released, so now is the perfect time to take a retrospective look back at the work of the band by collecting all their non-album b-sides into a two-disc set of rare and hard to find music from them.  

Track listing

Disc I - 2003-2006
01 The Nightworkers (b-side of 'Processed Beats' 2003)
02 Pan Am Slit Scam (b-side of 'Cutt Off' 2004)
03 Beneficial Herbs (b-side of 'Cutt Off' 2004)
04 Out Of Space (b-side of 'Cutt Off' 2004)
05 Trash Can (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
06 Sand Clit (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
07 The Duke (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
08 Bang (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
09 55 (b-side of 'Club Foot' 2004)
10 Lab Twat (b-side of 'L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)' 2004)
11 Doctor Zapp (b-side of 'L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)' 2004)
12 Black Whistler (b-side of 'Empire' 2006)
13 Ketang (b-side of 'Empire' 2006)

Disc II - 2006-2014
01 Stay Away From The Brown Acid Pt. 1 (b-side of 'Shoot The Runner' 2006)
02 Pictures Of Matchstick Men (b-side of 'Shoot The Runner' 2006)
03 Somebody To Love (b-side of 'Me Plus One' 2006)
04 Caught In Her Mind (b-side of 'Me Plus One' 2006)
05 Runaway (b-side of 'Fire' 2009)
06 Julie & The Moth Man (b-side of 'Underdog' 2009)
07 Pistols At Dawn (b-side of 'Days Are Forgotten' 2011)
08 Narcotic Farm (b-side of 'Goodbye Kiss' 2012)
09 Beanz (b-side of 'Eez-eh' 2014)
10 Gelfling (b-side of 'Bumblebee' 2014)

Can - Tim Can Alley (1975)

As I mentioned in the recent 'Finished?' post, after Damo Suzuki left Can there were a number of other vocalists who rehearsed and played live with them before they added Rosko Gee and Reebop to the core line up, but there was one that you would never have thought of in a thousand years - folk-singer Tim Hardin. He joined their ranks for a while at the tail end of 1975, and a trio of recordings survive from their time together, one being a rehearsal and the second a live improvised track, both from a gig at the Hatfield Polytechnic on 21 November 1975, while the third is a soundcheck recorded at the Drury Lane Theatre, London two days later. Their collaboration was very short-lived, as according to author Rob Young in the book 'All Gates Open: The Story Of Can', a huge argument between Hardin and Can occurred after the London concert, during which Hardin threw a television set through a car's windshield, and that was the end of their relationship. It's astounding enough that they got together in the first place, but even more so that 40 minutes of music survives after nearly fifty years, and so here it is, titled after one of my worst ever puns.

Track listing

01 Soundcheck (recorded at Drury Lane, London 23 November 1975)
02 Morning Glory (recorded at Hatfield Polytechnic 21 November 1975)
03 Rehearsal (recorded at Hatfield Polytechnic 21 November 1975)

Mini Viva - One Touch (2009)

Mini Viva was a nu-disco/synthpop duo, comprised of Frankee Connolly and Britt Love, and they were produced by critically-acclaimed production team Xenomania. Manager Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment group negotiated a contract with Geffen Polydor, and their first single, 'Left My Heart In Tokyo', charted at number 7 in England and Finland. Their debut album was originally slated for release on 30 November 2009, but to allow time for the release of a second single this date was pushed back, although the resulting single, 'I Wish', failed to make the UK Top 40. Following this, the duo decided to refine their material and record new songs in the hope of recapturing the success of their first single. Their plan was to release their third and fourth singles, with the debut album to follow, but after their third single, 'One Touch', failed to even make the Top 100 the group disbanded, and their album, which was reportedly finished and in the final stages of planning before release, was ultimately shelved. A 5-track sampler was sent out to music press outlets, and it's possible that there is a full-length press promo copy of the album out there somewhere, although this has not been confirmed, but one press kit did include an extended mix of 'I Left My Heart In Tokyo', which I've included here. 

Track listing

01 Left My Heart In Tokyo (extended version)
02 One Touch
03 Say What You Feel

04 Breakfast Club (Interlude)
05 I'm Hooked
06 Emotions Of Love
07 Bedroom Viber
08 Heartbeat
09 Here 2 Party

10 I Wish
11 One Touch (Christian TV Mix)

Misty In Roots - Salvation (1988) **UPGRADE**

Another album that I listened to recently on headphones was my compilation of Misty In Roots' 12" singles, and as this is one of my very favourite reggae albums that I have posted, it was a bit annoying to hear that I'd had to use scratchy 12" singles as source material for some of the tracks. I have now managed to find CD quality versions of 'Rich Man', 'Salvation', 'Wondering Wanderer' (with corrected spelling), and 'Zapatta', and I've created a much smoother transition from the latter into the dub b-side, 'Viva Zapatta'. I've also located the dub versions of 'Own Them Control Them (Version)' and 'Together', and grafted them onto the singles, so here is a much improved, and extended, version of some hard to find music from one of the UK's best ever reggae bands. 

Track listing

01 Six One Penny (single 1978)
02 Oh Wicked Man (single 1978)
03 See Them Ah Come (single 1979)
04 How Long Jah (b-side of 'See Them Ah Come')
05 Rich Man (single 1979, plus dub)
06 Salvation (b-side of 'Rich Man')
07 Zapatta, Viva Zapatta (single 1980, plus b-side)
08 Wondering Wanderer (single 1981)
09 Cry Out For Peace (b-side of 'Wondering Wanderer')

10 Own Them Control Them (Version) (single 1986, plus dub)

11 Together (single 1988, plus dub)

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Suite (1974) **BONUS**

When I posted Mike Solof's early version of the Genesis classic, 'The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway', a couple of people expressed interest in hearing one of the other versions that he'd put together, with the piece split into five individual suites. It seems that he's currently busy with other projects at the moment - I know that he's attempting to produce an improved version of the band's 'Six Of The Best' concerts - so I've dug out the original file that he sent me, before it was sent over to Captain Acid to work his magic. It still sounds pretty good even in this early version, so it you want to hear Mike's original mixes in a slightly different format, then give this a listen.

Track listing

01 Suite 1: Lamb / Fly

02 Suite 2: Broadway / Cocoon / Cage / Parade / N.Y.C.

03 Suite 3: Hairless / Counting / Crawlers

04 Suite 4: Chamber / Lilith / Waiting / Anyway / Supernatural / Lamia

05 Suite 5: Silent / Colony / Ravine / Light / Scree / Rapids / It