Jay-Z - Can't Stop Won't Stop (2004)

After the release of 'The Blueprint' in 2001, Jay-Z collaborated with Chicago singer R. Kelly to release a joint studio album, 'The Best Of Both Worlds', in March 2002, and he followed that with his seventh studio release, the double album 'The Blueprint2: The Gift & The Curse' in the November. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one, selling over 3 million units solely in the U.S., and surpassing 'The Blueprint'. After visiting the south of France, he announced work on his eighth studio album, 'The Black Album', at the opening of the 40/40 Club, on which he worked with several producers including Just Blaze, The Neptunes, Kanye West, Timbaland, Eminem, DJ Quik, 9th Wonder, The Buchanans, and Rick Rubin. Notable songs on the album included 'What More Can I Say', 'Dirt Off Your Shoulder', 'Change Clothes', and the classic '99 Problems'. 'The Black Album' was released in November 2003, and is one of the rapper's best-loved works, and was in fact my first exposure to him when Dangermouse use the beats from it for his Beatles/Jay-Z mash-up 'The Grey Album'. At the same time as the album came out, he held a concert, billed as a "retirement party", at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which was later the focus of his 2004 documentary, 'Fade To Black'. All proceeds went to charity, and it featured a host of the best rappers and R&B artists of the time, but while it had been intended to allow him to retire from making new studio albums, various side projects and appearances soon followed. These included a greatest hits record, a second collaborative album between Jay-Z and R. Kelly, and an EP recorded with rock group Linkin Park, with the remix EP 'Collision Course', which featured mashups of both artists' songs, and which sold over one million copies in the U.S. Later in 2004, Jay-Z was named president of Def Jam Records, which led to him, Dash and Biggs selling their remaining interests in Roc-A-Fella Records and Jay-Z taking control of both of the companies. Despite 2004 being fairly light on the release of new material, there were the usual slew of out-takes by the end of the year, with some going back to 2002, so here is the fifth in this series of rarities from the career of Jay-Z.

Track listing

01 Early This Morning 
02 Hold Up (feat. R Kelly)
03 Roc Army (feat. The Roc)
04 Alone In This World (Remix) (feat. Faith Evans)
05 Hovi Baby (Remix)  
06 Get My Shit Off (feat. Timbaland)
07 You Rock My World (Remix) (feat. Michael Jackson) 
08 Can't Stop Won't Stop (Remix) (feat. Young Gunz 
09 Get Your Money Right (feat. Dr. Dre & The Game) 
10 I Can't Get Wid That (feat. Sauce Money & Jaz-O) 

11 Stop
12 PSA II 
13 Hell Yeah (Remix) (feat. Dead Prez)

Tina Charles - Nothing In The World (1974)

Tina Charles was born Tina Hoskins on 10 March 1954, in Whitechapel, London, England, and got her start is show business at the age of 15 singing on TV commercials, after which she wound up signing a deal with CBS Records. Her first single, the Northern soul-leaning 'Nothing In The World', was produced by Alan Hawkshaw and featured Elton John on piano, although further singles like 1969's 'In The Middle Of The Day' and 'Good To Be Alive', along with 1970's 'Bo-Bo's Party', didn't trouble the charts. They did, however, get her noticed by the BBC, and she began appearing on The Two Ronnies TV show, and then scored slots on tours by Tom Jones, Mud, and Engelbert Humperdinck. She shifted over to Gordon Mills' MAM label in 1971, who issued the single 'Baby Don't You Know Anymore', and as a sideline she got a job recording vocals on the 'Top Of The Pops' and 'Hot Hits' series of albums, where anonymous artists covered contemporary hits. She released the 1974 single 'One Broken Heart For Sale' on Bell Records, and put in more studio time as a session vocalist, memorably joining Linda Lewis to sing backing on Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel's 1975 hit single 'Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)'. She had previously sung in an unrecorded band called Northern Lights with Martin Jay, and the pair reteamed in 1975 under the name Airbus and issued a single, 'Bye Love', which caught on once DJs flipped it over to find the disco-fied 'I'm On Fire' on the other side. The song was reissued as a single in it's own right, with that band rebranded as 5000 Volts, and the song headed toward the top of the charts around the globe, reaching the Top Five in the U.K. and the Top 30 in the U.S. 

Charles quickly left the group for a solo career and teamed up with producer Biddu, who was red hot following the chart success of Carl Douglas' massive hit 'Kung Fu Fighting', and he decided to cast her as a powerful disco diva, which was a role that she filled perfectly. Her first single in this new guise was 1975's 'You Set My Heart On Fire', and while that song was moderately successful, it was her next release, the monumental disco anthem 'I Love To Love (But My Baby Just Loves To Dance)', which reached number one on the U.K. singles charts in February 1976, and scored in the upper reaches of many other countries. It even won a Juno Award for best-selling international single of the year, and an album of the same name was released in March 1976, going on to achieve similar success to the single. A second album, 'Dance Little Lady', which was made up of the same mix of up-tempo disco tracks and ballads, followed before the end of 1976, and it spawned two hit singles, the title track and 'Dr. Love'. To see how she eventually reached the top of the charts, here are those early, unsuccessful singles from the late 60's and early 70's, which show that she had the talent, but just needed someone to take her under their wing and spur her on to greater success. 

Track listing

01 Nothing In The World (single 1969)
02 Millions Of Hearts (With A Single Player) (b-side of 'Nothing In The World')
03 In The Middle Of The Day (single 1969)
04 Rich Girl (b-side of 'In The Middle Of The Day')
05 Good To Be Alive (single 1969)
06 Same Old Story (b-side of 'Good To Be Alive')
07 Bo-Bo's Party (single 1970)
08 Madame, Madame (b-side of 'Bo-Bo's Party')
09 Baby Don't You Know Anymore (single 1971)
10 Joe (b-side of 'Baby Don't You Know Anymore')
11 Love Me Like A Lover (single 1971)
12 Smarty Pants (single 1973)
13 One Broken Heart For Sale (single 1974)
14 Great Male Robbery (b-side of 'One Broken Heart For Sale')

The Good Natured - Prism (2013)

The Good Natured were formed in 2008, by Berkshire schoolgirl Sarah McIntosh, who was the songwriter and front-woman, alongside her brother Hamish McIntosh on bass, and George Hinton on drums. Following a couple of self-relreased singles in 2008 and 2009, they released an 8-track mini-album titled 'Your Body Is A Machine' through Fastcut Records in Japan only, and following this they signed to Parlophone/Regal in 2011, releasing their first EP, 'Skeleton', that year. Reviews commented on Sarah's compellingly mature command of the nuances of serious pop music, combined with the darker, and often more sensual, emotional and lyrical content of the gothic. The band had been making a name for themselves with their early EP's, and in particular with their cover of Sufjan Stevens' 'For The Widows In Paradise', which they reworked as 'For The Fatherless In Ypsilanti', and they'd recorded their debut album for Parlophone in 2012, but before it could be released they were dropped by the label in 2013, and 'Prism' was shelved. After this disappointment the trio of Sarah, Hamish, and George became the more upbeat, pop-oriented Lovestarrs at the beginning of 2014, but Hinton left in 2015, and so Sarah & Hamish then successfully crowdfunded a pair of EP's and an album. In 2017, after the album's release on a label that promptly went defunct, the duo rebranded again, releasing and re-releasing selected tracks on streaming services under the name Sazzie. To see how they got to that point in their career, here is the abandoned 'Prism' album from their first band The Good Natured. 

Track listing

01 Your Body Is A Machine
02 Handprints
03 Sirens
04 5-HT
05 Lovers
06 Fire In The Back Of My Head
07 Skeleton
08 Arcade Love
09 Sting
10 Video Voyeur
11 Wolves
12 Dreaming Of Your Love

The Blow Monkeys - The Grantham Grizzlers (1990)

The Blow Monkeys formed in 1981 when Scottish singer, songwriter, guitarist, bassist, and piano player Bruce Robert Howard returned to the United Kingdom after having spent five years in Australia. Taking the name Dr. Robert from The Beatles' song 'Doctor Robert', he recruited bassist Mick Anker, saxophonist Neville Henry, and drummer Tony Kiley, while he took on the vocal duties. Behind the band's stylish veneer lay something else, which became increasingly apparent from Howards' witty and incisive lyrics, and while some of the Smash Hits generation avoided politics with a capital P, The Blow Monkeys openly criticised the policies of the Conservative government, railing against social injustices and adopting an openly left-of-centre stance on issues of the day. They released their first single 'Live Today Love Tomorrow' in 1982 through the small Parasol Records label, which attracted attention from the majors, and before long they'd signed to RCA Records, who released their second single, 'Go Public!' in 1984. 'The Man From Russia' came out three months later, followed later that year by their debut album 'Limping For A Generation'. This was an edgy mix of sinister post-punk, sensual glam rock, and dramatic late 60's pop, melding Howard's teenage obsession with Marc Bolan and T Rex with a love of Australian band the Laughing Clowns, which was a legacy of his teenage years spent down under. 

The band's sole release of 1985, 'Forbidden Fruit', introduced a more confident, well-rounded sound, and in 1986 the band released their second album, 'Animal Magic'. This was to prove to be their breakthrough record, as it included the single 'Digging Your Scene', which became their first hit record, reaching number 12 in the UK singles chart, and peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their third album 'She Was Only A Grocer's Daughter' (whose title is a reference to then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher), was released in January 1987, and like its predecessor it included a song which was to become a massive hit for them, with 'It Doesn't Have to Be This Way' reaching No. 5 in the UK and No. 28 in Italy, and it was featured in the movie 'Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol'. Also in 1987, the band were asked to contribute to the soundtrack of the film 'Dirty Dancing', and given the shortest of sessions, they chose to cover Leslie Gore's 'You Don't Own Me'. They quickly forgot all about it, until the movie became the biggest-grossing film of its time, and the soundtrack stayed at No. 1 on the US charts for a staggering 18 weeks, earning the group some much appreciated royalties. Outside the group, Robert Howard released a single, 'Wait', which featured early Chicago House singer Kym Mazelle on lead vocals, and when it reached No. 7 on the UK chart, it was included on band's fourth album, 'Whoops! There Goes the Neighbourhood'. 

At the start of the new decade, dance music felt like the future, and The Blow Monkeys offered their own unique twist on it with their fifth album, 'Springtime For The World', which was released in 1990, but which turned out to be their least successful record, and shortly after its release the band split up. After briefly recording with Dee C. Lee as Slam Slam, Dr. Robert went solo, although he did contribute to Paul Weller's solo debut album, and co-wrote material with both Weller and Lee. On 18 November 2007, the original band members announced the reunion of The Blow Monkeys, as well as a new album, 'Devil's Tavern', and a tour in 2008. The record was released on 8 September 2008, being funded by pre-orders placed by fans, and its more mature sound received a favourable review in Q magazine, saying, "Their first album in 18 years still finds the frontman in fine voice; Robert continues to sound like he dresses only in velvet and smokes cigarillos." Their second album after reforming was the more upbeat 'Staring At The Sea' in 2011, and it was promoted by a new single, 'Steppin' Down', which was written about Robert's father, and they continue to tour and record, with their latest album coming out this year. As a reminder of how good the band were at their peak, here is a collection of their stand-alone singles, b-sides, and their contributions to the 'Dirty Dancing' soundtrack and an NME charity album.  

   

Track listing

Disc I - 1982-1986
01 Live Today Love Tomorrow (single 1982)
02 In Cold Blood (b-side of 'Live Today Love Tomorrow')
03 Rub-A-Dub-Shanka (b-side of 'Go Public!' 1984)
04 Resurrection Love (b-side of 'The Man From Russia' 1984)
05 Slither (b-side of 'The Man From Russia' 1984)
06 Kill The Pig (b-side of 'Atomic Lullaby' 1984)
07 My Twisty Jewel (b-side of 'Atomic Lullaby' 1984)
08 It's Not Unusual (b-side of 'Wildflower' 1985)
09 My America (b-side of 'Forbidden Fruit' 1985)
10 The Optimist (b-side of 'Forbidden Fruit' 1985)
11 It Doesn't Have To Dub That Way (b-side of 'It Doesn't Have To Be This Way' 1986)
12 Ask For More (b-side of 'It Doesn't Have To Be This Way' 1986)
13 Walking The Blue Beat (b-side of 'Wicked Ways' 1986)

Disc II - 1986-1990
01 Superfly (b-side of 'Don't Be Scared Of Me' 1986)
02 The Grantham Grizzler (b-side of 'Out With Her' 1987)
03 You Don't Own Me (from the soundtrack of the film 'Dirty Dancing' 1987)
04 Sweet Obsession (b-side of 'Some Kind Of Wonderful' 1987)
05 Huckleberry (b-side of 'Some Kind Of Wonderful' 1987)
06 This Day Today (b-side of 'This Is Your Life' 1988)
07 Let The Big Bad Dog Eat It (b-side of 'This Is Your Life' 1988)
08 Hingway! (b-side of 'It Pays To Belong' 1988)
09 Choice? (single 1989)
10 Oh Yeah! (b-side of 'Choice?')
11 Slaves No More (single with Sylvia Tella 1989)
12 Follow That Dream (from 'The Last Temptation Of Elvis' NME charity album 1990)

Antoinette - Little Things Mean A Lot (1966)

Marie Antoinette Daly was born in 1951 in Southend, Essex, and she landed her first recording contract with the Decca label in 1964, at the age of just 13. Her debut single, 'Jenny Let Him Go', included a young Jimmy Page on guitar, and was produced by Charles Blackwell, who worked on a number of gems for girl singers of the period, including French yé-yé singer Françoise Hardy and Britain’s Samantha Jones. It sounded like a cover of an American song, albeit with a distinctly British twang, and it suited Antoinette’s bratty vocals perfectly. She switched to the Piccadilly label for her next single, the Britgirl classic 'There He Goes (The Boy I Love)', which was released in September 1964, and this Shangri-Las-esque song was arguably one of Blackwell's best compositions. When it also flopped, Piccadilly turned to the US for inspiration, and she covered the Sapphires' 'Thank You For Loving Me' for her next single, which was released in 1965, as was the follow-up record 'Our House'. In 1966 she recorded her version of another US soul hit, and this time it was Tami Lynn's 'I'm Gonna Run Away From You', retitled 'Why Don't I Run Away From You', but despite suiting her effervescent style, she still couldn't get the hit that she wanted. She gave it one last try later in 1966, with her take on US girl group the Poppies' 'Lullaby Of Love' being her final 45 for Piccadilly, after which she switched labels again, this time to Columbia. Her one record for that label was a cover of Italian singer Caterina Caselli's 'L'uomo D'oro', retitled as 'Like The Big Man Said', and this time it was released under her real name of Toni Daly. When this record went the same way as the rest of her singles she was let go by Columbia, and her short career as a recording artist was over. It's a shame, as most of the songs on her records were fine examples of 60's girl pop, as you can hear on this collection of all of her mid-60's singles. 

Track listing

01 Jenny Let Him Go (single 1964)  
02 Please Don't Hurt Me Anymore (b-side of 'Jenny Let Him Go')
03 There He Goes (The Boy I Love) (single 1964)
04 Little Things Mean A Lot (b-side of 'There He Goes (The Boy I Love)')
05 Our House (single 1965)
06 What's-A Happening To Me (b-side of 'Our House')
07 Thank You For Loving Me (single 1965)
08 If You Really Love Me (b-side of 'Thank You For Loving Me')
09 Why Don't I Run Away (single 1966)
10 There's No One In The Whole Wide World (b-side of 'Why Don't I Run Away')
11 Lullaby Of Love (single 1966)
12 I'm For You (b-side of 'Lullaby Of Love')
13 Like The Big Man Said (L'uomo D'oro) (single as Toni Daly 1966)

The Onyx - Tamaris Khan (1971)

For anyone who enjoyed the recent post by The Onyx, and who wondered where all of the singles were that I mentioned in the notes, the simple answer is that I was saving them up for this post, which includes both sides of all of their singles from 1968 to 1971, including that classic title track.

Track listing

01 You've Gotta Be With Me (single 1968)
02 It's All Put On (b-side of 'You've Gotta Be With Me')
03 My Son John (single 1968)
04 Step By Step (b-side of 'My Son John')
05 Tamaris Khan (single 1969)
06 So Sad Inside (b-side of 'Tamaris Khan')
07 Time Off (single 1969)
08 Movin' On (b-side of 'Time Off')
09 The Next Stop Is Mine (single 1971)
10 What's That You Say (b-side of 'The Next Stop Is Mine') 
11 Our House (single 1971)
12 Air (b-side of 'Our House')

Bebe Rexha - Kill Me Back To Life (2015)

Bleta  "Bebe" Rexha was born on 30 August 1989, in Brooklyn, New York City into an ethnic Albanian family from North Macedonia. She took lessons and learned to play trumpet, and subsequently taught herself to play guitar and piano, and she attended Tottenville High School on Staten Island, where she sang in the choir and took part in a variety of musicals. As a teenager she submitted a song to be performed at the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences' annual "Grammy Career Day" event, and earned the "Best Teen Songwriter" award, beating around 700 other entrants. As a result, she signed a contract with talent scout Samantha Cox, who encouraged her to enrol in song-writing classes in Manhattan. In 2010 she met Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz and worked with him for a time in the band Black Cards, and when she left the group in 2013, she signed as a solo artist with Warner Bros. Records. Some of her songs had been recorded by artists like Selena Gomez and Nikki Williams, but her most prominent song-writing credit was for Eminem's and Rihanna's 'The Monster', which was released as the fourth single from Eminem's album 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2' in 2013. In March 2014 she released her debut single, 'I Can't Stop Drinking About You', which peaked at number 22 on the US Top Heatseekers chart, and in December she released two more singles, 'I'm Gonna Show You Crazy' and 'Gone'. 

On 12 May 2015 she released her debut EP, 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up', and she also co-wrote and was featured on David Guetta's single 'Hey Mama', alongside Nicki Minaj and Afrojack. After meeting Minaj's manager, Gee Roberson, she asked if Minaj would contribute to a new song, and in March 2016 they released the single 'No Broken Hearts'. In October Rexha released 'I Got You' as a taster for her upcoming album, which was also to include 'No Broken Hearts', but the direction changed from a full studio album to a multi EP project, and 'No Broken Hearts' was scrapped, making 'I Got You' the first and only single from 'All Your Fault: Pt. 1', which was released on 17 February 2017. The EP peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200, and she began her first solo headlining tour, promoting the EP across North America and Europe. This wasn't the first time that Rexha had ditched recordings from a proposed release, as while the 2015 EP 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up' did feature five tracks, that was only about a quarter of what was recorded for it, and so here are the other fourteen songs which were rejected at the time. Rexha does have a witty turn of phrase in her song titles, and so this album is called 'Kill Me Back To Life'. 

Track listing

01 Cry Wolf
02 Kill Me Back To Life
03 Bad Bitches Don't Cry
04 Die Tonight (Kiss Me)
05 Mistake Like You
06 Worst Way
07 24/7
08 Rome Is Burning (feat. Sam James)
09 Starlight
10 Over This Love
11 You're A Bitch
12 The Lucky Ones
13 Dead Man Walking
14 Battle Cry (feat. Havana Brown)

Tintern Abbey - Vacuum Cleaner (1968)

Tintern Abbey were formed by Don Smith after meeting David MacTavish at the Overseas Visitors Club in Earl's Court London, and each of them added another member to the group, with Smith bringing in John Dalton, and MacTavish introducing Stuart MacKay into the band. After discovering a mutual love of the poems of William Wordsworth, and in particular his 'Tintern Abbey', the group named themselves after the poem. They released only one 45rpm single on Deram Records, with a re-titled 'Busy Bee' as the lead track, and 'Beeside'/'Vacuum Cleaner' came out in December 1967. However, the Jonathan Webber-produced single failed to sell, and so although the proposed follow-up record 'Snowman' had reached mastering stage, Smith left the group. After Smith's departure, Paul Brett was added as a guitarist, and he was joined by organist Terry Goldberg, originally of the Mark Leeman Five, with this new line up recording what would have been their second single 'How Do I Feel Today'/'Do What You Must', which was slated for an April 1968 release, although in the end it never appeared. A full-length album was allegedly meant to follow in August 1968, and although recording sessions took place at Tony Pike's studios in Putney, London, by the time August rolled around the group had disbanded, and the album never appeared. Since the band's breakup, the 'Beeside'/'Vacuum Cleaner' single has been highly sought after by collectors, selling at £1000 plus, and it's been hailed as one of the best examples of British psychedelia. As such, the band has become something of a cult favourite among fans of British psyche, and so an album from them would have been most welcome. In 2006 a 7" vinyl EP of tracks recorded in 1968 was released by Paul Brett and John Dalton as a charity benefit for Oxfam, while other recordings have also since surfaced, and so we are now in a position to take the best of these 1967 and 1968 sessions and imagine what an album from the band would have sounded like if it had appeared as intended in 1968.

Track listing

01 Vacuum Cleaner
02 Tanya
03 Seeds Of Discord
04 Bodmin Blow
05 Black Jack
06 It's Just That The People Can't See 
07 Busy Bee
08 Hookah
09 Do What You Must
10 My Prayer
11 How Do I Feel Today
12 Snowman
13 Let The Wind Blow

The Settlers - On The Other Side (1976)

The Settlers started as a trio, consisting of Cynthia Kent on vocals and tambourine, Mike Jones on vocals and guitar, and John Fyffe on banjo, but almost immediately they expanded by adding Mansel Davies on double bass, although he left in 1965 to pursue a career in teaching, and was replaced by Geoff Srdzinski. The group were initially known as the Birmingham Folk Four, but after their first single, 'Settle Down', was a moderate success, they changed their name to The Settlers, and before long they were offered a six-month residency on a BBC television series, 'Singalong', which led to support bookings on tours with, among others, Dusty Springfield, Roy Orbison and The Small Faces. Although they are generally thought of as a folk group, like the successful Australian group The Seekers, with which they shared marked similarities, they also performed material which gravitated towards mainstream pop. Like contemporaries Peter, Paul and Mary, We Five, and The Byrds, they readily absorbed folk influences in various ways in the mid-1960's, and their melodic style was largely ingrained before the advent of British folk-rock in the guise of Fairport Convention and Pentangle later in the sixties. The group's first single as The Settlers was 'Sassafras', released in 1964, and they followed this with a four-track EP of Lionel Bart songs, including 'Maggie, Maggie May' and 'The Ballad Of The Liver Bird'. 

In 1966 they had a hit with their rendition of The Beatles' 'Nowhere Man', and together with The Overlanders' 1966 UK No.1 hit, 'Michelle', and the Truth's version of 'Girl', these were among the best known covers of songs from the Fab Four's 'Rubber Soul' album. However, although 'Nowhere Man' reached a high of No.5 in Radio London's non-sales-based Fab 40 in March 1966, and the group's spirited version of Gordon Lightfoot's 'Early Morning Rain' received a good deal of airplay in May 1966, The Settlers did not succeed in enjoying a Top 40 hit during the 1960's, and it was to be 1971 before 'The Lightning Tree' reached No. 36 in the UK singles chart, helped in no small way by its use as the theme tune of the British TV series 'Follyfoot'. Kent, like Judith Durham of The Seekers, attracted attention as the most recognizable face of the group, and was originally known for her fine singing voice, photogenic good looks, and tendency to wear mini-skirts, although later her public espousal of Christianity became the media focus, particularly when it brought her into contact with Cliff Richard, and she was later ordained as a priest in the Church of England. 

Shortly after recording a religious album, 'I Am Your Servant', in 1973, she left the group, and the remaining members transitioned from acoustic four-part pop folk harmony, to a more contemporary five-piece electric sound, with Mike Jones being joined by Kent's replacement Andie Sheridan, plus Paul Greedus on guitar/vocals, Chris Johnstone on bass/vocals, and George Jeffrey on drums. In 1974 they recorded an album for York Records, entitled 'The New Sound Of The Settlers', but this line-up only lasted two years, disbanding in 1976, with Jones then setting about recruiting replacements. He asked Steve Somers-Smith, a young singer/songwriter from Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, who had won the National TV talent show 'New Faces', to join him, and together they searched for a new singer, eventually finding Valery Ann (also known as Valeryan, or Valerie Anne Lawrence), who had released a single on Decca in 1965 while she was still at school. This new line-up of Valery Ann, Jones, Greedus and Jeffry then went into the studios to record 'Whichaway Billy' for Riverdale Records, and this was released as a single in October 1976, by which time Valery Ann had already left to pursue a solo career, after only nine months with the group. The band soldiered on with numerous other female singers until Patty Vetta, a rising talent on the British folk scene, joined them, but their glory days were now behind them, and so as a reminder of their heydey in the 60's, here is a selection of singles and b-sides, unfortunately omitting their first three records, which are now impossible to track down. 

 
Track listing

01 Woman Called Freedom (single 1965)
02 I Know I'm Right (b-side of 'Woman Called Freedom')
03 Nowhere Man (single 1966)
04 Call Again (b-side of 'Nowhere Man')
05 Early Morning Rain (single 1966)
06 Without You (b-side of 'Early Morning Rain')
07 On The Other Side (single 1966)
08 Can't Stop Following You (b-side of 'On The Other Side')
09 Always On My Mind (single 1966)
10 You Can't Win (b-side of 'Always On My Mind')
11 'Til Winter Follows Spring (single 1966)
12 Do You Want To Know The Reason (b-side of ''Til Winter Follows Spring')
13 Major To Minor (single 1967)
14 I Love Oo Kazoo Cos O Love Me (b-side of 'Major To Minor')
15 Penny To My Name (b-side of 'As Long As There's Love' 1968)
16 Nessie The Monster (single 1970)
17 Whichaway Billy (single 1976)
18 Hobbit Land (b-side of 'Whichaway Billy')

Thanks to Unknown, who suggested a Settlers post, and which I shot down as being too hard to track down their original material, but I stumbled on a stash of their singles, so here it is. 

 

Rickie Page - I Cry Inside (1965)

Rickie Page was born June Evelyn Kuykendall in Lindsay, Oklahoma on 7 November 1929, and she began singing as soon as she could talk, singing along to the radio, accompanied by her father. The whole family would often get together for hoe downs, where it seemed everyone could either sing, play some instrument, or both. The family moved to Fresno while June was growing up, and she had dreams of becoming a songwriter, which led her to leave home for Hollywood in search of fame and fortune, with nothing in her pocket but ten dollars cash. She took a job waiting tables at a Jewish deli that was popular with folk in the music business at the time, and it was there in 1956 that she served a milkshake to a guy who gave her a five dollar tip and then asked the hostess about her. He was George Motola, and after hearing about June's aspirations as a songwriter, he invited her up to his office for an interview. She eventually went with a friend to accompany her, and she was surprised to find that he worked in the same office as Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, who were writing material for the Coasters and Elvis Presley. She played Motola some of her compositions, but he wasn't very interested in them, and instead he liked her voice enough to offer her the chance of becoming a singer, and it was at this point that she decided to pick a stage name that sounded youthful, and came up with Rickie Page. In the end Motola relented, and he and Page starting writing songs together, coming up with over 100 between them. 

One of the many songs they wrote together was 'Johnny Johnny Johnny' for the G Notes in 1958, with all vocals being done by Page, and with Eddie Cochran sitting in and playing guitar on the session. He loved the song and asked permission to record it, which he did, changing the name to 'Jeannie Jeannie Jeannie' and it was almost a top 30 hit in the UK. Page's singing career took off in the late 50's, with releases on Liberty, Dot, Zephyr, and Rendezvous, sometimes recording with her sister Sonya, and sometimes with some combination of her three daughters. She also released records under a number of aliases on the Con, Landa, Decca, Epic, Era, Fleet, Hit, Landa, Spar, United Artists, and VIP labels, using a huge variety of names, including The Georgettes, The Bermudas, Joanne And The Triangles, The Majorettes, Beverly And The Motorscooters, Becky And The Lollipops, June And Joy, and The Page Sisters. Even her own records appeared under a variety of name, with solo releases as Rickie Page, Ricky Page, and even Ricki Page. She worked with many other artists and producers over the years, including Darlene Love and Phil Spector, The Blossoms, The Righteous Brothers, and Sonny And Cher, and throughout 1963 Page and Motola also ran their own record label, Troy Records. In September 1965 the pair moved to Nashville, and in 1968 she did a budget cover of Jeannie C Riley's 'Harper Valley PTA' on Spar Records, which managed to get a lot of local airplay in Seattle and Vancouver. This spurred her on to a later career in country music, and she became a member of The Nashville Edition, singing with the Jordanaires, and appearing regularly on the Hee-Haw television show. This collection of her music concentrates on her solo career under the various spellings of Rickie Page, her pseudonyms Bridget, Cinders, Sheila North, and Rick And Al, as well as an early recording by The Page Sisters, and a duet with Bill Carey. 

Track listing

01 Sweet Sweetheart (single by The Page Sisters 1957)
02 Wee Willie (single 1957)
03 I'm Old Enough Now (b-side of 'Wee Willie')
04 Never Like This (b-side of 'Toy Telephone' 1958)
05 (It's No) Sin (single 1958)
06 I Promise (single as Bill Carey & Ricky Page 1958)
07 Forever (single 1959)
08 Yes I'm Lonesome Tonight (single 1960)
09 Standing On A Mountain Top (b-side of 'Yes I'm Lonesome Tonight')
10 I Understand (Just How You Feel) (b-side of 'Every Time (You're Mine)' 1961)
11 Why Did You Lie (b-side of 'Je Vous Aime' 1961)
12 Little Boy (single as Bridget 1962)
13 All I Do Is Dream Of You (single as Rick And Al 1963)
14 My Boyfriend (single 1963)
15 I Won't Play Second Fiddle (single as Sheila North 1964)
16 Golly Gee (b-side of 'I Won't Play Second Fiddle')
17 I'll Follow You (single as Cinders 1964)
18 I Cry Inside (single 1965)
19 I'm His Girl (No One Knows Him But Me) (b-side of 'I Cry Inside')

Kanye West - Donda: With Child (2021)

A month after 'Jesus Is King' was released in 2019, Kanye West began working on his tenth studio album, and after calling on producer BoogzDaBeast to join him, in March 2020 they began recording new music in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, before he returned to Wyoming with his family due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial version of 'Donda' was set for release on 24 July 2020, under the title of 'God's Country', but it experienced multiple delays and continuous alterations to its songs and track-list prior to its final release. The album's style has been described as an amalgamation of hip hop, gospel, progressive rap, and pop, and incorporates elements of trap and drill. It is both minimalist and maximalist, with darker lyrical content and production in comparison to West's prior efforts, in addition to a reduced use of drums and complete absence of profanity. Themes explored include the convergence of West's Christian faith, righteousness, his estrangement from his then-wife Kim Kardashian, and his late mother Donda West, after whom the album is named. After missing the first release date, West held further recording sessions at Bighorn Mountain Ranch in Greybull, Wyoming in July 2020, with Lil Baby recording a verse for 'Hurricane', and in September he recorded music with Buju Banton and Saint Jhn in Jamaica. Work on the record was then postponed until March 2021, when he resumed recording amid his divorce from his wife Kim Kardashian, and in July he held a listening event for the re-named 'Donda' at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, after which he took up temporary residence in one of the locker rooms, converting it into a studio for finishing the recording and mixing with producer Mike Dean. 

After failing to meet the album's scheduled release date of 23 July 2021, West continued to record and live in Mercedes-Benz Stadium up until the second listening party held there on 5 August 2021. 'Donda' was released on 29 August 2021 by GOOD Music, after experiencing several delays to it's release date, and it was West's last release with the label, following the expiry of his contract. The album was met with polarizing reviews from music critics, with some criticizing it mercilessly, while others hailed it as the rapper's best album since 'Yeezus'. The 'Donda: With Child' era has a lot of unreleased content, the majority of which would leak around September 2023, and fans have been compiling alternative running orders for an expanded album ever since. Some are happy just to use the original leaks, while others have remixed them, or added extra instruments, but for this post I've listened to a number of different versions, and tried to use just the music that West recorded. I haven't used any tracks that appeared on the official release under the same title, even if the music was drastically different, and that means that this album is a completely stand-alone piece, possibly more in line with the original 'God's Country', as it includes a number of songs from those sessions. The cover is the original iconic green-red-blue artwork that ended up being replaced with an all-black image on the album's official release. 

Track listing

01 Donda / Blood Of The Lamb 
02 With Child / Precious 
03 Run (Cops Flash Put 'Em Up) 
04 Life Of The Party 
05 In God's Country 
06 God's Country 
07 Alien 
08 Welcome To My Life 
08 New Body 
10 12,000 Acres  
11 Our King 
12 Eternal Life 
13 This Is The Glory
14 Wake The Dead 
15 Spread My Wings/Off The Meds

Denim - Denim Take Over (1997)

Denim were formed in the early 90's following the disbanding of Lawrence Hayward's first band, the highly-regarded Felt. Known for the frequent disputes with his bandmates during the decade-long run of his first band, it came as little surprise that for his next project, he was not merely the uncontested leader, but the sole constant member. Denim was not a band in the traditional sense, but instead, Hayward worked with a revolving cast of musicians for Denim's various studio projects and live appearances. The band also found Hayward setting aside the lush but wiry guitar-based pop that was Felt's calling card, and instead founded a new sound inspired by glam rock, 70's pop, and distaff offshoots of early new wave, with the eclectic music tied together by Hayward's dryly witty, often bitterly satiric lyrics. Denim made its debut in 1992 with the album 'Back In Denim', in which Hayward celebrated the '70s with the song 'The Osmonds', and revealed his contempt for what followed on 'I'm Against the 1980's'. Recorded over the space of two years and released by Boys Own Records, the album fared well with critics but didn't sell especially well, and it wasn't until 1996 that Denim released their second record, the sprawling and eclectic 'Denim On Ice', which was issued by Echo Records, a UK imprint affiliated with Japan's Pony Canyon Records, but once again, record buyers proved less enthusiastic than critics. In early 1997, Denim shifted labels once again, this time to EMI, and their label debut was the collection of b-sides and unreleased tracks, 'Novelty Rock', but by late summer of 1997 Denim were gearing up for the release of their third album, 'Denim Take Over', and in advance of its release they planned to release 'Summer Smash' as the lead single. Copies were sent to radio and press in anticipation of an early September release date, but while initial reaction suggested Denim might have had a hit on their hands, the single was derailed by the death of Princess Diana in a car crash on 31 August 1997. Following Diana's death, EMI decided that releasing a song called 'Summer Smash' would be in poor taste, and they not only cancelled the release of the single and destroyed all copies still in their hands, but they shelved 'Denim Take Over' permanently. Following this frustrating turn of events, Hayward retired Denim, though he did re-record a few songs from the unissued album with his subsequent project, Go-Kart Mozart, but if you have fond memories of Denim and want to hear that third album, then here it is. 

Track listing

01 Denim Take Over
02 Island In The Sun
03 Delta Echo Echo Beta Alpha Neon Kettle
04 Lorra Laughs, Cilla
05 Summer Smash
06 West Brom Blues
07 Olly Olly
08 Transgressions
09 Sun's Out
10 City Centre
11 Synth Wizard
12 Robot Voice
13 City Of The Dead
14 Men Look At Women

Tuesday's Children - Bright Eyed Apples (1969)

Tuesday's Children were formed in 1966 by Phil Cordell, Mick Ware and Derrick Gough, who had been in a North London band called Steve Douglas And The Challengers, who later changed their name to The Prophets. The Prophets did some recording with producer Joe Meek, but nothing was ever issued, and when Steve Douglas and Freddie Fields left, the remaining members reformed the band as Tuesday's Children, adding Paul Kendrick on bass guitar and Derrick Gough on drums. The band signed to E.M.I. in 1966, and their debut single, 'When You Walk In The Sand', was written by Phil Cordell and was recorded at Maximum Sound studio in The Old Kent Road, London. It was released on the Columbia label in August 1966, and the flip was another Phil Cordell-penned track, 'High And Drifting'. 'When You Walk In The Sand' was in the Radio London Fab Forty for 2 weeks, but despite this moderate success, Cordell quit the band in summer of 1967 and subsequently had solo hits as Springwater. In August 1967 Tuesday's Children re-formed, drafting in Bob Hodges on Hammond organ, Phil McKenzie on tenor sax, and Roger Davies on baritone sax. Trumpet player Hilary Roy also joined and did four gigs with the group in September 1967, and 'Baby's Gone' was recorded at Abbey Road studios in September/October 1967, with the whole band playing on the session, alongside some brass players from producer Jack Dorsey's band. The song was written by Peter Callander and Mitch Murray and was released on the Pye label in November 1967, backed by Mick Ware's 'Guess I'm Losing You'. By December 1967, Tuesday's Children had become a four-piece again with the departure of Roger Davies and Phil McKenzie, and this line-up recorded two songs at the Chappel studio in New Bond Street in July 1968. By then the band were signed to Philips Records, who released their final single 'Bright Eyed Apples', but this song was relegated to the b-side after the other track 'She' had featured in the short film '29', which starred Alexis Kanner of the TV series 'Softly Softly' and 'The Prisoner'. By 1969, Tuesday's Children were changing direction, adapting to the new sounds and trends of the music scene, and they eventually renamed themselves Czar, and purveyed a much heavier sound, releasing a classic self-titled album in 1970. Had Tuesday's Children had a bit more luck after the, albeit, limited success of that first single then they might have stuck around long enough at Philips/Mercury to release this album.  

Track listing

01 In The Valley Of The Shadow Of Love
02 She
03 Doubtful Nellie
04 Ritual Fire Dance  
05 Mr. Kipling
06 When You Walk In The Sand
07 Bright Eyed Apples
08 High And Drifting
09 Baby's Gone
10 Guess I'm Losing You
11 Strange Light From The East
12 Ain't You Got A Heart