Mansun - My Idea Of Fun (2004)

Paul Draper and Stove King met in the early 1990's, whilst working in the printing industry as photo re-touchers for rival companies situated opposite each other on the same industrial park in Little Stanney, on the outskirts of Chester. Through their shared love of David Bowie and 1980's new wave bands, including Duran Duran and ABC, they started socialising together at weekends, going to gigs in Liverpool and playing along to drum loops together in their bedrooms, formenting the desire of forming a band together. While King was a relative newcomer to playing bass, Draper had previously formed and fronted the electronic duo Grind with programmer-keyboard player Steve Heaton while studying at Thames Polytechnic, and they were often accompanied live by school friend Carlton Hibbert on drums. Grind released one 12" single in 1991 on the small What's In It For Me Records label, and they gigged around London at venues such as The Rock Garden and The Brain, and once supported Beverley Craven at the Mean Fiddler. Following the split of Grind, Draper applied for a grant from The Prince's Trust and set up a music company called Ambiance Productions, producing relaxation tapes to be sold in "hippie shops" across the north-west of England. In early 1995 Draper and King enlisted Maidstone expat Dominic Chad, who was the bar manager at the Fat Cat pub on Watergate Street in Chester, and with the aid of a drum machine, the trio began rehearsing at Crash Rehearsal Studios in Liverpool. 

They were spotted by passing A&R scouts Mark Lewis and Alan Wills, who were there to see Cast, and overheard the band through their rehearsal room door. They were offered a publishing contract with Polygram Music Publishing four days after reluctantly handing over a demo tape that had cost £150 to record, featuring 'Take It Easy Chicken', 'Skin Up Pin Up', 'Moronica' and 'She Makes My Nose Bleed'. Grey Lantern, as they were called at the time, after Draper's DC Comics influenced alter ego, which helped him overcome his nervousness on stage, soon changed their name to Manson, after the cult leader Charles Manson. Their self-financed debut release 'Take It Easy Chicken', came out in September 1995 on their own Sci-Fi Hi-Fi Recordings label, and it soon attracted the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJs Steve Lamacq and John Peel. Despite not having played a single gig, and later admitting that they couldn't play together as a band very well, they found themselves at the centre of a record label bidding war, resulting in them signing to Parlophone's sub-label Regal Recordings, releasing the follow-up single 'Skin Up Pin Up'/'Flourella' in November 1995. By this time they had changed their name to Mansun, following threatened legal action from the Charles Manson Estate, but when it was later reported that Charles Manson had started spelling his name with a "u", Draper joked that they should sue him in return. 

Following the release of their single, the band were moved up to the main Parlophone label, and released several EP's, including an expanded re-release of the debut single. The first line-up of the band alongside Draper, King and Chad had featured former Grind drummer Carlton Hibbert and drum machine programmer Mark Swinnerton, but after five months of touring, Swinnerton left the band in January 1996. As a four piece, the band continued touring, including support gigs with Cast, Audioweb and Shed Seven, until Hibbert was sacked in May 1996 following a series of rows with an inebriated Chad, that resulted in a bizarre incident that involved a pineapple being thrown at Chad's face in Cambridge. Throughout the early days of the band, Chad was involved in a string of violent alcohol fuelled incidents, and at one point the entire group was banned from every outlet of the now defunct roadside restaurant chain Happy Eater, all Hard Rock Cafes worldwide and every Holiday Inn hotel in the UK, because of his antics. Despite this, it was Hibbert who had to go, to be temporarily replaced by ex-Kinky Machine drummer Julian Fenton. In August 1996 Andie Rathbone joined as a permanent drummer, and February 1997 saw the release of the band's critically acclaimed debut album 'Attack Of The Grey Lantern'. Although the band had finished recording most of the album prior to Rathbone joining, they went back into the studio to record new songs 'Taxloss' and 'Mansun's Only Love Song', and to re-record several drum tracks. 

The album appeared to contain a conceptual storyline, which Draper referred to as "small town weirdo observations", and it was influenced by The Goon Show and Monty Python, whilst ending with a hidden track, "An Open Letter To The Lyrical Trainspotter", proclaiming (reportedly sarcastically) that "the lyrics aren't supposed to mean that much". Following the release of the standalone 'Closed For Business' EP in October 1997, the band found themselves short of songs when going into the studio sessions at Olympic Studios to record their second album 'Six'. Suffering from writer's block, Draper took inspiration from books that Chad had taken out with him on tour, such as '120 Days Of Sodom' by Marquis de Sade, 'The House At Pooh Corner' by A. A. Milne, and 'Dianetics: The Modern Science Of Mental Health' by L. Ron Hubbard, Quickly scanning them to get the gist of the books, he then formed lyrics based on them, with many of the musical ideas being assembled during soundchecks on the previous US tour. With the lack of complete songs going into the album sessions, Draper set out to put together works-in-progress at the weekends, so that there was enough material each week for the band to work on. Through constant touring, the band were now more confident about recording in the studio, and set out to replicate their live sound, making the album heavier and more guitar based than the more commercial sounding drum loop and synthesiser based sound of the debut. 

The album was preceded by the singles 'Legacy', which provided the band with the highest-charting single, and 'Being A Girl', while several more singles followed its release, including 'Negative' and a re-recording of the album's title track, 'Six' produced by Arthur Baker. The album was released in the UK and Europe on 7 September 1998, and in the US on 20 April 1999, with an alternative running order, different artwork, and the re-recorded single version of the title track. Draper wasn't happy with the album, and described it as being "commercial suicide", with many of the best tracks being relegated to b-sides. Mansun's third studio album, 'Little Kix' (early working titles included 'Magnetic Poetry' and 'The Trouble With Relationships') saw Draper and Chad decamp to the south of Spain in March 1999 where they wrote and demo'd ideas for the album. Draper claimed that following the commercial and critical disappointment of 'Six', he didn't feel any pressure to follow it up and therefore set out to go in a different direction with the new album, going for a more "acoustic-guitary" sound. Despite initially feeling happier with the new record, Draper refused to tour or promote it, and although 'I Can Only Disappoint U' gave the band their biggest selling single to date, Draper's refusal to promote the album led to it stalling at number 14 in the charts. 

Draper later claimed that he was demoted as the band's producer for 'Little Kix', as the rest of the band wanted to ensure he didn't go off on another tangent as with 'Six', and so former XTC and Police producer Hugh Padgham was drafted in, resulting in a more commercial sounding third album. In January 2001, prior to the final single 'Fool' being released off 'Little Kix', Draper announced that the band were set to enter the studio in March or April and that they wanted to release new material as soon as possible. By May they were considering whether to release an EP or to hold the material back for a full album, but in August, Chad posted on the band's official website to inform fans that the band had abandoned plans for an EP and were now halfway through recording their fourth album, which would be "harder" than 'Little Kix'. In March 2002, and with no sign of new material, it was claimed that the delay in the new album being finished was due to Chad injuring his hand after falling into a fire grate, keeping him from playing for four to five months, but it was later confirmed that the real reason was that Draper had been diagnosed with cancer during recording sessions at Rockfield Studios, after a blister appeared on his left hand middle finger that kept bleeding. 

He was diagnosed with Bowenoid malignancy, and responded positively to five cycles of chemotherapy, although he was unable to play for several months after his finger swelled up following treatment. Following Draper's recovery, the band embarked on a short UK tour during April and May, but by October there was still no sign of the new album. Following extended delays in the band delivering it to Parlophone, rumours spread in December 2002 that the band had been given an ultimatum that if they didn't complete the album by early in the new year, they would be dropped. In January 2003, a posting on the band's official Yahoo list claimed that a member of the band had quit, did not want to rejoin, and the remaining members did not want him back", and that as a result of this, the band had split up. Following months of speculation, the split was officially announced on 2 May 2003, and it was revealed that it was Stove King's departure that had resulted in the band's dissolution. With news of the split being confirmed, and with the knowledge that most of the self-titled fourth album had already been recorded, an online petition was set up by fans to persuade Parlophone to release the material. The tracks were then released in September 2004, along with some non-album singles and a selection of b-sides, in a 3 CD box set entitled 'Kleptomania'. This post expands that release by including every non-album track recorded by the band during their career, including one final single from the unreleased fourth album in 2004.  

Track listing

Disc I - 19995-1996
01 Take It Easy Chicken (original single 1995)
02 Skin Up Pin Up (single 1995)
03 Flourella (b-side of 'Skin Up Pin Up')
04 Ski Jump Nose (b-side of 'Egg Shaped Fred' 1996)
05 Lemonade Secret Drinker (b-side of 'Egg Shaped Fred' 1996)
06 Thief (b-side of 'Egg Shaped Fred' 1996)
07 Untitled (b-side of 'Egg Shaped Fred' 1996)
08 Drastic Sturgeon (b-side of 'Take It Easy Chicken' re-issue 1996)
09 The Greatest Pain (b-side of 'Take It Easy Chicken' re-issue 1996)
10 Moronica (b-side of 'Take It Easy Chicken' re-issue 1996)
11 Rebel Without A Quilt (b-side of 'Wide Open Space' 1996)
12 Vision Impaired (b-side of 'Wide Open Space' 1996)
13 The Gods Of Not Very Much (b-side of 'Wide Open Space' 1996)

Disc II - 1996-1997
01 No One Knows Us (b-side of 'Stripper Vicar' 1996)
02 The Edge (b-side of 'Stripper Vicar' 1996)
03 The Duchess (b-side of 'Stripper Vicar' 1996)
04 An Open Letter (b-side of 'Stripper Vicar' 1996)
05 Things Keep Falling Off Buildings (b-side of 'Stripper Vicar' 1996)
06 The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail (b-side of 'She Makes My Nose Bleed' 1997)
07 The Most To Gain (b-side of 'She Makes My Nose Bleed' 1997)
08 Closed For Business (single 1997)
09 K.I.Double S.I.N.G. (b-side of 'Closed For Business')
10 Everyone Must Win (b-side of 'Closed For Business')
11 The World's Still Open (b-side of 'Closed For Business')
12 Grey Lantern (b-side of 'Taxloss' 1997)
13 The Impending Collapse Of It All (b-side of 'Taxloss' 1997)

Disc III - 1998-1999
01 GSOH (b-side of 'Legacy' 1998)
02 Can't Afford To Die (b-side of 'Legacy' 1998)
03 Spasm Of Identity (b-side of 'Legacy' 1998)
04 Check Under The Bed (b-side of 'Legacy' 1998)
05 Face In The Crowd (b-side of 'Legacy' 1998)
06 Been Here Before (b-side of 'Being A Girl (Part One)' 1998)
07 Hideout (b-side of 'Being A Girl (Part One)' 1998)
08 Railings (b-side of 'Being A Girl (Part One)' 1998)
09 I Care (b-side of 'Being A Girl (Part One)' 1998)
10 I Deserve What I Get (b-side of 'Negative' 1998)
11 When The Wind Blows (b-side of 'Negative' 1998)
12 King Of Beauty (b-side of 'Negative' 1998)
13 Church Of The Drive Through Elvis (b-side of 'Six' 1999)
14 But The Trains Run On Time (b-side of 'Six' 1999)
15 What's It Like To Be Hated (b-side of 'Six' 1999)

Disc IV - 2000-2004
01 Decisions, Decisions (b-side of 'I Can Only Disappoint U' 2000)
02 Repair Man (b-side of 'I Can Only Disappoint U' 2000)
03 My Idea Of Fun (b-side of 'I Can Only Disappoint U' 2000)
04 Golden Stone (b-side of 'I Can Only Disappoint U' 2000)
05 I've Seen The Top Of The Mountain (b-side of 'Fool' 2000)
06 Promises (b-side of 'Fool' 2000)
07 Fade In Time (b-side of 'Fool' 2000)
08 Black Infinite Space (b-side of 'Fool' 2000)
09 The Drifters (b-side of 'Electric Man' 2000)
10 The Apartment (b-side of 'Electric Man' 2000)
11 Slipping Away (single 2004)
12 Getting Your Way (b-side of 'Slipping Away')

Christina Aguilera - Too Beautiful For Words (2006)

Christina Aguilera's recording career began in 1997, when she moved to Japan from the US, and recorded a duet with Japanese singer Keizo Nakanishi, with whom she performed in concert shows around the country. Their song, 'All I Wanna Do', was released as a single but failed to have any commercial success, and so in June 1997 she went on to Romania to represent the United States in a singers contest during the Golden Stag Festival, although she failed to win over the audience. On her return to the US she recorded numerous demo tapes, sending them to record labels such as Walt Disney Records, and they chose her to record 'Reflection', the theme song from the animated 1998 film 'Mulan'. Following the attention she received for this, she caught the ear of Ron Fair, the A&R executive from RCA Records, who consequently signed her to the label. In late 1998 she began to record her debut studio album, into which the label reportedly invested over $1 million worth of writers, producers and vocal lessons. It was around this time that her first solo recording was released, with 'I Come Undone' appearing on the 'The Scene Compilation – So. Cal Edition 3' various artists album. In May 1999, Aguilera released 'Genie In A Bottle', the lead single from her long-awaited debut album, and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks, and became the second best-selling single of 1999. The song became an international success, increasing Aguilera's popularity worldwide, and from this point on her career was assured. Her self-titled debut album, 'Christina Aguilera', was released on 24 August 1999 to critical praise, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, and it was promoted by the release of a non-album promo singe, 'Dreamy Eyes'. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she tended not to add non-album songs to the b-sides of her singles, and so most of her rare recordings are songs recorded exclusively for film soundtracks, or are collaborations with other artists, and so I've collected the best of them here, including a couple of b-sides, a track from a joint EP with Justin Timberlake, an exclusive recording for a Mercedes Benz promotional campaign, and some guest appearances with Ricky Martin, Herbie Hancock, and P. Diddy. 

Track listing

01 All I Wanna Do (single featuring Keizo Nakanishi 1997)
02 I Come Undone (from 'The Scene Compilation – So. Cal Edition 3' 1998)
03 Dreamy Eyes (promo single to promote 'Christine Aguilera' 1999)
04 We're A Miracle (from the film 'Pokemon: The First Movie' 1999)
05 Don't Make Me Love You ('Til I'm Ready) (from the film 'The Next Big Thing' 1999)
06 Too Beautiful For Words (b-side of the German edition of 'What A Girl Wants' 1999)
07 Nobody Wants To Be Lonely (feat. Ricky Martin) (from 'Sound Loaded' by Ricky Martin 2000)
08 Lady Marmalade (with Lil' Kim, Mýa and P!nk) (from the film 'Moulin Rouge' 2001)
09 I Will Be (b-side of 'Dirrty' 2002)
10 That's What Love Can Do (from the 'Justin & Christina' EP 2003
11 Car Wash (feat. Missy Elliott) (from the film 'Shark Tale' 2004)
12 Hello (exclusive recording for the Mercedes Benz Promotional Campaign 2004)
13 A Song For You (feat. Herbie Hancock) (from 'Possibilities' by Herbie Hancock 2005)
14 Tell Me (feat. P. Diddy) (from 'Press Play' by P. Diddy 2006)

Guns N' Roses - P.R.L. (2000)

One of the tracks that Guns N' Roses recorded during the early sessions for 'Chinese Democracy' was titled 'P.R.L.', and for some time no-one really knew what this stood for, with suggestions including Please respect...life? Peace, respect, love? People really low? Practice, rough, love? But perhaps in keeping with the Chinese theme of the eventual release, the general consensus is that it stands for Legend Red Panda backwards, and although this might stretch credulity a bit, fans have accepted this and used it to design covers featuring the animal, for an album entitled 'Legend Of The Red Panda'. I didn't really like any of them so have designed my own for this second volume of outtakes from the 'Chinese Democracy' sessions, and once again it's a mix of vocal takes and instrumentals, with 'Going Down' being sung by Tommy Stinson, and I've included 'Oh My God', from the 'End Of Days' soundtrack, as it was recorded during the same time period as the other tracks.  

Track listing

01 P.R.L.  
02 Eye On You  
03 Going Down  
04 Mustache  
05 Oh My God  
06 Shadow Of Your Love  
07 Quicksong  
08 Zodiac 13  
09 The Blues ('Street Of Dreams' demo) 
10 There Was A Time (demo)

Damozel - You Don't Know Me Like That (2000)

Damozel was an R&B girl group from the early 2000's that was put together by hip-hop\R&B artist Kelli "K-Ball" Ball, and included Brandy Merchelle, Tasha Goodner, Lisa Ball and Tamisha "Tish" Lotterberry. In 2000 they released their debut single, 'You Don’t Know Me Like That', which featured rapper Rah Digga, and which failed to make any impact on the charts, but their follow-up single, 'Everyday's A Party' did much better, and peaked at #34 on Billboard’s Hot R&B\Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart. It was also later featured on the soundtrack to the 2001 film, 'Two Can Play That Game', and this seemed enough for their record label MCA Records to offer them an album deal, which they recorded throughout 2000, but the offer was later withdrawn and the album was shelved. After this it seemed as if Damozel faded into obscurity, although they did start performing together again around the 2010's, and released music on their ReverbNation page, but nothing much has been heard from them since about 2014. As usual with these scrapped R&B albums, there is nothing at all wrong with it, and so fans with long memories who fondly remember those two singles can now hear what would have been Damozel's debut album from 2000.

Track listing

01 Intro
02 Could I
03 You Don't Know Me Like That
04 Best Friend
05 Sunshine
06 This Is How We Roll (feat. Memphis Bleek)
07 No More
08 Disrespectful 
09 Trials & Tribulations 
10 She Don't Love You 
11 Give It to Me Straight 
12 Outro 

Genesis - Six Of The Best (Redux) (1982)

Time for another guest post from Mike Solof, and it's an upgrade to a unique album by one of the favourite bands of both of us...Genesis

This project came about because I always loved this 1982 reunion concert but was always disheartened that it was never properly recorded at the time, and that the only versions of it that exist are mostly mid, to fairly decent, audience recordings… UNTIL NOW! What a lot of people don’t know is that four days before the concert, the group gathered together at the Hammersmith Odeon concert hall and professionally recorded the rehearsal of almost the entire concert! I stumbled across these recording years after I had purchased the original bootleg of the live concert, and I was stunned. It contained beautiful, clear, stereo recordings of almost every song they played live just a few days later, with only 'Turn It On Again' and I' Know What I Like In Your Wardrobe)' missing. My friend Paul from Albums That Should Exist (I often guest post there too), recently took the original bootleg of the live concert and remastered it. He did a beautiful job, but still the source was only a fairly decent audience recording, and so there is only so much he could do to improve the sound quality. But then I had a thought. 

Let me digress for a moment. I have lots of bootlegs. And by lots I mean 14TB’s worth. And many times, when the bootleggers couldn’t make a complete concert from one source, they would use a second one (or third or fourth or in some cases even a fifth) to fill in the missing spots so that you got the entire concert with nothing left out. This meant you had the entire show, but often the sound quality varied from source to source. To hear the entire concert you just had to deal with the sound quality changes as it went along. And that’s when I had a thought - why couldn’t I take the fair sounding live concert, and mix in the phenomenal sounding rehearsal recordings to get a really cool sonic upgrade. So that was the Genesis (lol) of this project! I wanted to be as true to the live source as I could…and yet replace as much as I could with the upgraded soundboard recordings. So what you have here is my hybrid version mixing the live and soundboard rehearsal recording. What I ended up doing was first listening to the live recording and seeing which part of each song had that live feel, meaning which parts the audience participated in the most. Sometimes that was clapping out the beat. Other times it was singing along with Gabriel during the chorus’s. And others it was just applauding and cheering in between songs. I wanted to really capture the essence of those original live recordings, but as we all know (or at least hope), crowds don’t yell and scream throughout the entire songs of a concert, usually they just do it at the beginnings and endings, and occasionally other key parts too. 

That gave me my way into this project. I have taken the parts with the audience (usually the beginnings and endings)… and then mixed in the soundboard material as much as possible for the remainder of the song. So the entire concert ended up being about 25% live and 75% soundboard. And, amazingly, it turned out to be a seamless mix! Ok, that’s a lie. It actually turned out to be a semi-seamless mix most of the time. I tried my best to make the transitions between live and soundboard as smooth as I could, but the problem was thqat the live cuts were well...live, and the soundboard was in a perfectly quiet concert hall, so occasionally the transitions are glaringly apparent. I did as much as I could to smooth these spots out by overlapping parts and then fading in and out the tops and tails of the switches and they ended up being mostly successful. The most unsuccessful of these attempts unfortunately occurs during the first song, 'Back In N.Y.C.'. I had a double problem with that one. On top of trying to mix live and soundboard, the rehearsal version of this track cuts in about a third of the way into the track mid sentence, so not only did I have to include a lot more of the fair sounding live version than I would like, but the edit also comes mid sentence. There was no way to smooth this over. It just suddenly happens. BUT THAT’S THE ONLY TIME IT HAPPENS! So be forewarned. It gets much better after the first track! I’m really happy with how this turned out. I think it offers a great alternative to the commonly found live concert and puts its own unique spin on that incredible night. So please, sit back and enjoy this NEW version of 'Six Of The Best' in hopefully the best way you’ll ever hear it! It is certainly an eye and ear opening experience!!        Michael

For my part I thought that this new version deserved it's own unique cover, and so I located an article about the concert in Prog Magazine, which has a superb cover picture, and I've adapted that for the artwork to the album.       pj

Track listing

01 Intro by Jonathan King

02 Back In N.Y.C.

03 Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (Opening Section)

04 The Carpet Crawlers

05 Introduction by Peter Gabriel

06 Firth Of Fifth

07 The Musical Box

08 Solsbury Hill

09 Turn It On Again

10 The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

11 Fly On A Windshield / Broadway Melody Of 1974

12 In The Cage

13 Tube Story

14 Supper's Ready

15 I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)

16 The Knife

17 Closing Words

PS. You guys all know I love to include info packed PDF’s for each of my projects, and this one is no different. In the folder is the original PDF info as provided by Paul on his site. (Check it out… it’s an amazing sister site to this one!) He did such a great job on it that I knew I couldn’t do better, so he’s generously letting me just repost it here. Thanks Paul!! 

Michael 

Vain - All Those Strangers (1991)

Vain was an American glam metal band from San Francisco Bay Area, California, formed in 1986, and consisting of Davy Vain (lead vocals), Dylana Nova Scott (guitar), Danny West (rhythm guitar), Ashley Mitchell (bass) and Tommy Rickard (drums). From 1986 to 1987 the band proceeded to play shows in San Francisco, before playing regularly in Los Angeles where they also opened for Guns N' Roses prior to their success. After showcasing to major record labels, including Geffen Records, Vain signed with Island Records in 1988. They released their debut album the following year, with 'No Respect' peaking at number 154 on the Billboard 200. The record was critically well received, and the band fearured on the covers of both Kerrang! and BAM magazines. They began recording their second album, titled 'All Those Strangers', with producer Jeff Hendrickson, and its release was advertised in Japan, while a number of pre-release cassettes were released. However, when Island Records were bought by PolyGram in 1991, Vain were dropped by the label, and 'All Those Strangers' remains unreleased. The same year, West and Rickard departed the band, being replaced by Shawn Rorie and former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler, after which Vain renamed themselves Road Crew, although that band split up before the year was out. Vain reformed in 1993 and went through a number of line-up changes for the release of their next two studio albums, and by 2005 Scott and West had returned to the band, with Rickard rejoining in 2009. In all, Vain recorded seven albums between 1989 and 2017, although only six of them gained an official release, and to to complete the set here is the cancelled 'All Those Strangers' from 1991.

Track listing

01 Love Drug
02 Planet’s Turning
03 Shooting Star
04 Too Bad
05 Far Away
06 Wake Up
07 Freak Flag
08 Here Comes Lonely
09 Shouldn’t Cry
10 Do You Sleep With Strangers?
11 Looking Glass

Leona Lewis - Unreachable (2009)

After Leona Lewis won the third series of The X Factor in 2006, her winning song was released as a single on 17 December 2006, and 'A Moment Like This' broke a world record after being digitally downloaded more than 50,000 times in less than 30 minutes, becoming the UK Christmas number-one single for that year. In February 2007 she signed a £5 million five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, with Simon Cowell and Davis working together in a "first-of-its-kind" partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, 'Spirit'. When the record was released in November 2007 it entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and the UK's fourth-fastest selling album of all time. Lewis's second single, 'Bleeding Love', produced by Ryan Tedder and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released in October 2007 in the UK, giving her a second number one single, remaining at the top of the charts for eight weeks. In August 2008, Lewis performed 'Whole Lotta Love' with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. Work on her second album, 'Echo', took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake, Max Martin, Arnthor Birgisson, Kevin Rudolf, and John Shanks, and it was recorded in Los Angeles and took nine months to produce. It was released in November 2009, and reached reached number one in the UK Albums Chart, as well as the top ten of Austria, Ireland and Switzerland. She also recorded the theme song for the 2009 science fiction film 'Avatar', with 'I See You' being nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards. The Sessions for 'Echo' produced more recordings than could be included on the album, and in recent years a number of unused tracks have leaked, and there are enough from 2009 alone to make a companion album to 'Echo' from the same time-frame, so here are the best of the 2009 outtakes, including a studio version of 'Whole Lotta Love', the theme from 'Avatar', and one left-over from 'Spirit', so as not to waste 'Stay Tonight'.   

Track listing

01 Scene Of The Crime
02 Drive
03 Stay Tonight
04 Fly Here Now
05 You Don't Care
06 Whole Lotta Love
07 Strangers
08 Let Somebody Love You
09 Nowhere Left To Go (feat. Cassidy)
10 I See You
11 Unreachable
12 Intervention 
13 Perfect Stranger
14 Danger Made Me

Guns N' Roses - 2000 Intentions (2000)

'Chinese Democracy' was the sixth studio album from Guns N' Roses, released on November 23, 2008, and it was their first studio album since the 1993 covers album 'The Spaghetti Incident?', and their first album of original studio material since 'Use Your Illusion' I and II came out in 1991. It languished in development hell for eight years, delayed by personnel and legal problems, label interference, and the perfectionism of vocalist Axl Rose, and it was the first Guns N' Roses album without Izzy Stradlin, Slash, and Duff McKagan. After the Use Your Illusion Tour ended in 1993, Guns N' Roses spent several years rehearsing ideas for a new album, but several members left following creative and personal differences with Rose, and no music was released. In 1998, Rose, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarists Paul Tobias and Robin Finck, drummer Josh Freese, bassist Tommy Stinson and multi-instrumentalist Chris Pitman began writing and recording new songs, originally intended for a 1999 release. The album was recorded and rerecorded, and delayed multiple times, while the line-up shifted numerous times, incorporating guitarists Buckethead, Richard Fortus, and Bumblefoot and drummers Brain and Frank Ferrer. The band recorded over 50 songs, intending to release multiple albums, but with costs reportedly exceeding $13 million ($21 million in todays terms), it became the most expensive rock album ever produced. 

'Chinese Democracy' missed it original release date of March 2007, eventually appearing in November 2008, but when it arrived it received generally favourable reviews, achieved international chart success, and sold over one million copies in Europe. Writing and recording had begun in 1994, but most of the material was scrapped, as Rose had become obsessed with electronica and industrial rock, particularly the work of Nine Inch Nails, and wanted Guns N' Roses to move towards a more contemporary musical direction. Other members did not agree, causing a rift, and Slash left in 1996 following creative differences with Rose, being replaced in January 1997 by former Nine Inch Nails touring guitarist Robin Finck. Duff McKagan, who had recently become a father, left in August 1997, frustrated with the lack of progress, and more line-up changes followed, so that by early 1998, Guns N' Roses comprised Rose on vocals, Stinson on bass, Freese on drums, Finck on lead guitar, Tobias on rhythm guitar, and Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman on keyboards. By mid-1999, Guns N' Roses had recorded over 30 songs, and the album was tentatively titled '2000 Intentions'. In November 1999 they released their first original song in eight years, with the industrial metal song 'Oh My God' featuring in the film 'End Of Days', although it received mixed reviews from critics. In early 2000 the album was nearly complete, but after Rose hired Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker to replace original producer Sean Beavan, he was persuaded to do re-recording work on the entire album.

 In February 2001, Jimmy Iovine, the head of Geffen Records, asked Tom Zutaut, whom the label had fired two years previously, to help Guns N' Roses complete 'Chinese Democracy'. Zutaut estimated that Guns N' Roses had 50 or 60 songs in development, and he went through each with Rose, trying to decide which were worth finishing, and during his time with the band they completed versions of 'The Blues', 'Madagascar', 'Chinese Democracy' and 'Atlas Shrugged'. In November 2002 it was announced that the album would be released by June 2003 and that there were only "a few odds and ends left to do", but by mid-2003, Guns N' Roses had reportedly started rerecording the re-named 'Chinese Democracy' again, and by 2004 Geffen had removed 'Chinese Democracy' from its release schedule and withdrawn funding, stating that it was now Rose's obligation to fund and complete the album. Rose held listening parties in several New York bars in 2006, showcasing ten new songs, and in October Rolling Stone said the album had a firm release date of 21 November 2006. Rose recorded the final vocal tracks in January 2007, and mixing had begun, with a planned release date of Christmas 2007, but in January 2008, rumours arose that 'Chinese Democracy' had been handed to Geffen but was delayed because the label and Rose could not agree on the marketing, and it was finally released on 23 November 2008. 

By the time 'Chinese Democracy' was released, only three of the 14 songs had not been leaked or played live, and this continued after its release, with around 120 demos leaking online in 2019. Apparently Zutaut had allowed a storage unit containing 19 CDs of recordings to expire, its contents were auctioned off, and the winner sold them to a fan, who circulated them online. Some tracks had been completed, with 'Atlas Shrugged', featuring Brian May on guitar, being cut at the last second because of CD playing-time constraints, while other songs mentioned by those involved in the recording that did not make the final album include 'Oklahoma', 'Thyme', 'The General', 'Elvis Presley And The Monster Of Soul', 'Leave Me Alone', 'Ides Of March', 'Silkworms', 'Down By The Ocean', 'Zodiac', 'Quick Song' and 'We Were Lying'. In the first of two posts from the band I've collected some of the best recordings from the leaked tracks, posted here under their original title of '2000 Intentions'. 

Track listing

01 Madagascar (demo)

02 Atlas Shrugged  

03 Perhaps 

04 Shankler's Revenge (instrumental)

05 Chinese Democracy (demo)

06 Prostitute (demo) 

07 Tonto 

08 State Of Grace 

09 Catcher In The Rye (demo)

10 Real Doll.com 

11 Silkworms

Britney Spears - Abroad (2011)

'Abroad' is a fan-made compilation featuring demos and unreleased songs from Britney Spears, covering most of her career, from 2001's 'Britney' through to 2011's 'Femme Fatale'. The original track listing included a few tracks that I'd already used in my previous posts for 'Original Doll' and 'Whiteout', but I was able to substitute them with some leftovers from her 2003 album 'In The Zone', including one piece which was recorded with producer Ryan Leslie as an interlude for his debut mixtape 'The Talented Mr. Leslie'. The original 'It Feels Nice', which features Spears rapping over an infectious beat, was just over a minute long, but with some judicious editing I've stretched it to a full 2'24". It also features a ballad version of 'Gasoline', from 'Femme Fatale', which is significantly different to the released take, and which is definitely worth hearing. Despite the ten year timespan of these tracks, they hold up pretty well as an album, and they are a nice mix of pop, dance and ballads. 

Track listing

01 Dangerous 
02 Telephone 
03 Get It  
04 Rock Star 
05 Burning Up 
06 Mad Love 
07 Pleasure You (feat. Don Philip) 
08 Tell Me (Am I A Sinner) 
09 Everyday 
10 It Feels Nice 
11 When I Say So (feat. Wildchild) 
12 Gasoline (Ballad Version) 
13 Abroad

As a footnote, I was going to include one more 2003 outtake, but when I checked back on the site I found that I had already added 'When You Gon' Pull It' on 'Whiteout'. Not only that but I had also included another track called 'Pull Out' on the same album, and it wasn't until I was researching these track that I found that they were in fact the same song, but no-one seems to have noticed and let me know. I've therefore removed 'Pull It' from 'Whiteout' and replaced it with Spears' version of the Otis Reading classic 'I've Been Loving You Too Long', which was recorded for a tribute album and then scrapped. Updated versions of 'Whiteout' are on both Soulseek and Mega. 

Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Terminally Groovie (2006)

Ned's Atomic Dustbin was formed by frontman John Penney in Stourbridge, West Midlands, in November 1987, alongside Gareth "Rat" Pring on guitar, Dan Worton on drums, and somewhat uniquely, two bassists in Alex Griffin and Matt Cheslin. They took their name from an episode of 1950's radio comedy programme 'The Goon Show', and quickly gathered a strong fanbase after being offered a support slot by local heroes The Wonder Stuff on their 1989 and 1990 UK tours. It wasn't long before they were snapped up by Birmingham-based indie label Chapter 22 Records for their debut release, 'The Ingredients' EP, followed by a single, 'Kill Your Television', which reached number 53 in the UK singles chart. The single also topped the UK independent singles chart, and combined with their acclaimed live reputation, they drew a huge crowd to their afternoon appearance on the main stage of the Reading Festival in August 1990. The buzz created was significant enough to pique the interest of major record labels, and so after one final single for Chapter 22, they signed to Sony Records, on the proviso that they be allowed to release their music through their own Furtive label, thus keeping a higher degree of creative control while still enjoying the benefit of the major label's distribution and advertising clout. In March 1991 they found themselves in the UK top 20 with their next single, 'Happy', proving that keeping artistic control was the right decision. 

Their debut album, 'God Fodder', was released in April 1991, reaching number 4 in the UK top 40 albums chart, and by July they had also started to make their mark in the US. The band released a new UK single, 'Trust', towards the end of 1991, while America got the 'God Fodder' versions of 'Kill Your Television' and 'Grey Cell Green', and the band toured around the world with, amongst others, Mega City Four, Senseless Things and Jesus Jones. They released their second album 'Are You Normal?' in 1992, and having headlined the NME stage at the Glastonbury Festival that year, they spent the next couple of years on a worldwide tour, and released a compilation of older non-album material. In 1995 they decamped to Wales to record their final album, 'Brainbloodvolume', which boasted a heavier, more diverse sound than their previous releases, moving away from the distinctive twin bass set-up to incorporate samplers and keyboards. Sony released the album in America before the UK, meaning that most die-hard fans bought it on import, and this damaged its UK chart position when it was eventually released domestically, increasing tensions between the band and their label. The first single from the album, 'All I Ask Of Myself Is That I Hold Together', made the UK top 40 in 1995, and following a final appearance on 'The Word', 'Stuck' became the band's final single, making the BBC Radio One B-list. 

In 1995, after an extensive US tour to support 'Brainbloodvolume', Ned's Atomic Dustbin split up in New York City following what would be their final show. Singer Penney formed a new band, Groundswell, featuring Ned's Atomic Dustbin guitarist, Rat, and recorded one single, 'Corrode', and a studio album 'Plausible/Infeasible' for New Jersey-based indie label, Gig Records, but they disbanded shortly afterwards, with the album being released posthumously. In 2000 Ned's Atomic Dustbin took to the stage for the first time since their initial breakup for a show in Dudley, with Groundswell members Andy King and Martin Warlow taking the place of Matt Cheslin and Rat. Originally billed as "the last 30 minutes of Ned's Atomic Dustbin," it was intended as an opportunity to say a proper goodbye to British fans who never got to see a final Ned's show, but the resounding success convinced members of the band to continue working together, and they've carried on performing sporadically ever since. 2004 saw them perform two new songs, 'Hibernation' and 'Ambush', and in June 2006 the former song became their first new single in 11 years. Although the Ned's didn't enjoy the massive success of some of their Birmingham contemporaries like The Wonder Stuff and Pop Will Eat Itself, they are fondly remembered by their fans, and they released enough non-album material on the flips of their singles to make up this two-disc collection.   

Track listing

Disc I - 1990-1991   
01 That's Nice (b-side of 'Kill Your Television' 1990)
02 Sentence (b-side of 'Kill Your Television' 1990)
03 Kill Your Remix (b-side of 'Kill Your Television' 1990)
04 Flexible Head (b-side of 'Until You Find Out' 1990)
05 Bite (b-side of 'Until You Find Out' 1990)
06 Aim (from 'The Ingredients EP' 1990)
07 Plug Me In (from 'The Ingredients EP' 1990)
08 Terminally Groovie (from 'The Ingredients EP' 1990)
09 Twenty Three Hour Toothache (b-side of'Happy' 1991)
10 45 Second Blunder (b-side of'Happy' 1991)
11 Trust (b-side of 'Grey Cell Green' 1991)
12 Titch (b-side of 'Grey Cell Green' 1991)
13 Faceless (b-side of 'Grey Cell Green' 1991)
14 I've Never Been To Me (from the 'Ruby Trax' compilation 1992)

Disc II- 1992-2006
01 Prostrate (b-side of 'Intact' 1992)
02 Swiss Legoland (b-side of 'Intact' 1992)
03 NAD V. NDX = Intact (b-side of 'Intact' 1992)
04 Cut Up (The Tartan Shoulders Mix) (b-side of 'Not Sleeping Around' 1992)
05 Scrawl (b-side of 'Not Sleeping Around' 1992)
06 Saturday Night (single 1993)
07 Capsize (b-side of 'All I Ask Of Myself Is That I Hold Together' 1995)
08 Take Me To The Cleaners (b-side of 'All I Ask Of Myself Is That I Hold Together' 1995)
09 A Tempted Fate (b-side of 'Stuck' 1995)
10 Hibernation (single 2006)
11 Ambush (b-side of 'Hibernation')

Keisha Buchanan - Gimme Pressure (2009)

Keisha Kerreece Fayeanne Buchanan was born on 30 September 1984 in Westminster, London, and first met and befriended future Sugababes member Mutya Buena in primary school. In May 1998, Siobhán Donaghy and Mutya Buena, both aged just 13, had been signed as solo artists, but decided to work together after performing at the same showcase. While working in the studio, Buena invited her best friend Keisha Buchanan to watch them, and their manager Tom decided the three girls would make a good trio, likening their different appearances to the United Colors of Benetton campaign. Originally dubbed the Sugababies, the group's name was tweaked to Sugababes when they were signed by London Records, and their debut single, 'Overload', peaked at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart in 2000, and was nominated for a BRIT Award for Best Single. The band's debut album, 'One Touch', was released later that year, and it peaked at number 26 on the UK Albums Chart, but despite the album producing three more top 40 hits, the sales of 'One Touch' did not meet London Records' expectations, and so they dropped the group in 2001. 

During a Japanese promotional tour in August 2001, Donaghy left the group, citing disagreement and in-fighting amongst the group's members, and she was replaced former Atomic Kitten member Heidi Range. Having already started work on a second album with new member Range, the trio looked for a new record label, eventually signing to Island Records, and their first single for them, 'Freak Like Me', scored the group their first UK number 1. On the back of this success, the group's second album, 'Angels With Dirty Faces', debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and was later certified triple platinum. The group's third album, 'Three', was released in late 2003 and reached number 3 on the UK Albums Chart, earning the group a BRIT Award nomination for Best Album, while the lead single 'Hole In The Head', became their third UK number 1. 2004 was a difficult year for the group, with alleged backstage catfights, and continuous rumours of in-fighting within the group and constant split reports. After a hiatus, Sugababes released their thirteenth single, 'Push The Button' in October 2005, and it was another number 1 hit for them in the UK, while its parent album 'Taller In More Ways' became the group's first UK number 1 album. 

Following an apparent illness that prevented Buena from promoting follow-up single 'Ugly', it was announced on 21 December 2005 that she had left the group, and Amelle Berrabah joined in late December. After a Greatest Hits Tour, Sugababes released 'Change', their fifth studio album, and the first to feature Berrabah on all tracks. 'About You Now' was released as the album's lead single in September 2007, and on its release  it became their sixth UK number one hit, and first Hungarian chart-topper. In October 2007, 'Change' became the group's second UK number 1 album, and following the Change Tour, the band returned to the studio to write and record tracks for their sixth studio album, the provocatively titled 'Catfights And Spotlights'. After the release of the single 'No Can Do', the group announced that there would be no 2009 tour in support of 'Catfights And Spotlights', as they wanted to focus on writing and recording material for their seventh studio album, 'Sweet 7'. They travelled to the United States to work on the record, and in April 2009 they signed a contract with Jay-Z's label Roc Nation, which gave them access to high profile producers. However, in September 2009 it was officially announced that Buchanan had left the group, being replaced by former Eurovision entrant Jade Ewen. 

Buchanan revealed on Twitter that it was not her decision to leave, resulting in some journalists describing her as having been "sacked", but public opinion was mostly positive for her, with Digital Spy running an article titled "Keisha Buchanan, We Salute You", in which they thanked her for her contribution to "incredible pop songs". Her first recording after leaving the group was a feature on Jay Sean's single 'Far Away', after which she began work on her debut solo album. She later revealed that she had recorded 50 tracks for the album as of August 2011, but considering that only a handful have leaked I think this was somewhat of an exaggeration. The album was initially supposed to be released in 2011, however according to Buchanan, "every time we lock down there's always someone else who wants to work with me", and so it has suffered constant delays, and is still yet to appear. Despite the fact that there are supposed to be around 50 songs recorded, only three have ever surfaced, and so in order to make up an album's worth of music I've added a few of those collaborations, plus the five tracks from Sugababes 'Sweet 7' album which featured her lead vocals, and which were wiped and re-recorded by Ewen when Buchanan left the group. 

Track listing

01 Under Control
02 No More You
03 Gimme Pressure
04 Whatever Makes You Happy
05 Dreamin' (feat. Political Peak)
06 About A Girl
07 Fearless
08 Wear My Kiss
09 Give It Up (feat. Asher D)
10 Wait For You
11 Anything's Possible (feat. Wayne Williams & J Gunn)
12 Miss Everything

Tracks 2, 6, 8, 10 & 12 are songs from Sugababes 'Sweet 7' album with Buchanan on lead vocals 

Michael Jackson - Shout! (2001)

When Michael Jackson recorded his last studio album he employed 10 producers and over 100 musicians, including Carlos Santana, The Notorious B.I.G., and Slash, and it was reported to have cost $30 million to record, making it the most expensive album ever made. Prior to the release of 'Invincible', Jackson had not released any new material since the remix album 'Blood On The Dance Floor: HIStory In The Mix' in 1997, and his last full studio album was 'HIStory' in 1995. 'Invincible' was therefore viewed as his "career comeback", and recording began in October 1997, and finished with 'You Are My Life' being recorded only eight weeks before the album's release in October 2001. The music encompasses R&B, pop and soul, and even included a couple of tracks that featured (deliberately) unknown rapper Fats, and it was reported that the album had a budget of twenty five million dollars set aside for promotion, but despite this, due to conflicts between Jackson and his record label, little was done to promote the album, and there was no world tour to promote it. The album received mixed reviews from professional critics, although fans loved it, and it has sold between 8 and 10 million copies. However, in retrospective reviews, 'Invincible' has gained more positive acclaim, and the track 'Heartbreaker' has even been cited as an early development of dubstep. Producer Rodney Jerkins has commented that there was stuff they didn't put on the album that he wishes was on there, and since the out-takes have started to surface from the sessions we can now hear some of these tracks. Whether their inclusion over some of the songs that made it would have improved it's critical reception is open to debate, but when you listen to these tracks on their own stand-alone record you realise that there is some great stuff on here, including guest appearances from Lenny Kravitz and Ice Cube which didn't really deserve to be cut.  

Track listing

01 Another Day (feat. Lenny Kravitz)
02 Fall Again       
03 Beautiful Girl  
04 Shout
05 What More Can I Give
06 Save Our Galaxy?
07 In The Back
08 People Of The World
09 We Be Ballin' (feat. Ice Cube & Shaquille O'Neal)
10 Get Your Weight Off Me
11 We've Had Enough

Alexandra Slate - Edge Of The Girl (2003)

Alexandra Seightholm is a Canadian singer, who self-released her LP 'Half Full', when she was just 16. As a teenager she wrote songs and worked in coffeehouses in her hometown Toronto, and in 1999 she performed at the Canadian Music Week, which led to a deal with Management Trust, Ltd. She had a side-stage performance at the Lilith Fair in Toronto in August 1999, and performed again at the Canadian Music Week in 2000, later signing with Hollywood Records. She began working on her album 'Edge Of A Girl' with Rob Cavallo, under the name Alexandra Slate. The result could be compared to confessional female songwriters like Liz Phair, Tracy Bonham and Alanis Morissette, and lead single, 'Bad Girl', appeared on the ;Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life' soundtrack. Advance copies were sent out in 2003, and received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising her rich, sultry vocals, while others criticised the album for its similarities to Lucy Woodward's music released at the same time. For reasons unknown, the album was never granted a commercial release, although some of the promo copies soon appeared on ebay, so here it is for you to try to work out why Hollywood Records had so little faith in it. 

Track listing

01 Bad Girl
02 No Vacancy
03 Edge Of The Girl
04 Guilty
05 Die Awake
06 At 2
07 Can't Hold The World
08 Blinding The Universe
09 Get Used To It
10 I Apologize
11 Clumsy On The Wall