Jimmy Cliff - Sooner Or Later (1971)

One of the giants of reggae music passed away on 24 November 2025, and so as a small tribute to his pioneering work in popularising reggae music in the Western world here is a collection of rare b-sides and out-takes from the late 60's and early 70's. 

Jimmy Cliff was born James Chambers on 30 July 1944 in Saint James, Colony of Jamaica, the second youngest of nine children. He began writing songs while still at primary school in St. James, listening to a neighbour's sound system, and when he was 14, his father took him to Kingston, where he adopted the stage name Jimmy Cliff. He sought out producers while still going to school, trying without success to get his songs recorded, and he also entered talent contests. One night he was walking past a record store and restaurant as they were closing, and he went in and convinced Leslie Kong to go into the recording business, starting with himself. After two singles that failed to make much impression, his career took off when 'Hurricane Hattie' became a hit when he was aged 17, and later local hit singles included 'King Of Kings', 'Miss Jamaica', and 'Pride And Passion'. 

In 1964 he was chosen as one of Jamaica's representatives at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and before long he was signed to Island Records, and he moved to the United Kingdom. Island initially (and unsuccessfully) tried to sell Cliff to a rock audience, but his career took off with his debut album 'Hard Road To Travel', which was released in 1967. It received excellent reviews and included 'Waterfall' (composed by Nirvana's Alex Spyropoulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons), which became a hit in Brazil, and won the International Song Festival. More hits followed with 'Wonderful World, Beautiful People' in 1969 and 'Vietnam' in 1970, and one of his most popular songs of the time was 'Many Rivers To Cross', about his struggles with the music industry. In 1972, Cliff starred as Vincent "Ivanhoe" Martin (known as Rhyging) in Perry Henzell's classic reggae film 'The Harder They Come', and the soundtrack album sold well around the world, bringing reggae to an international audience for the first time. It remains one of the most internationally significant films to have come out of Jamaica since the nation's independence from the United Kingdom, and is one of the things that Cliff will forever be remembered. 

After a series of albums, Cliff took a break and travelled to Africa, where he subsequently converted to Islam, taking the name of El Hadj Naïm Bachir. Quickly returning to music in the 1980's, he toured for several years before recording with Kool & the Gang, and he had a big hit with 'Reggae Night' in 1983. In 1986 he provided backing vocals on The Rolling Stones' album 'Dirty Work', and he also co-starred in the comedy film 'Club Paradise', with Robin Williams and Peter O'Toole, as well as contributing several songs to the soundtrack. He continued to sell well in Jamaica and, to a lesser extent, the UK, returning to the mainstream pop charts in the U.S. and elsewhere in 1983 with a version of Johnny Nash's 'I Can See Clearly Now' from the 'Cool Runnings' soundtrack album. In 1995 he released the single 'Hakuna Matata' as a collaboration with Lebo M, which was taken from the soundtrack of 'The Lion King', and he continued to record and tour throughout the next thirty years, with his most recent album 'Refugees' being released in 2022. On 24 November 2025, Cliff's wife announced that he had died that morning from pneumonia, after he had been hospitalised following a seizure. He was was 81 years old.  

Track listing

01 Where Did It Go (The Song We Used To Sing)
02 Better Days Are Coming
03 My World Is Blue
04 Give A Little, Take A Little
05 Pack Up Hang Ups
06 Be Aware
07 She Does It Right
08 Honey Hush
09 Let Your Yeah Be Yeah
10 Those Good Good Old Days
11 Sooner Or Later
12 When You're Young
13 Dreaming
14 Struggling Man

Middle Of The Road - Lingering Sounds (1975)

Middle Of The Road are the epitome of a bubblegum pop group, although that wasn't the aim when the group was first formed in April 1970 by vocalist Sally Carr, drummer Ken Andrew, guitarist Ian McCredie, and his bassist brother Eric McCredie. They had already played together under the name Part Four since 1967, and later in Latin American style under the name Las Caracas, and it was under this name that they won the UK TV talent show 'Opportunity Knocks'. They moved to Italy in 1970 because they had not found the success they wanted in the UK, and it was there that they met Italian music producer Giacomo Tosti, who gave the band their distinctive sound, and with it their international break. The group had their first and biggest hit record in the UK with their debut UK single, 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep', reaching No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1971, and staying there for four more weeks. Originally the band were reluctant to record the song, feeling that if anyone in the UK heard it, they would never be able to hold their heads up in public ever again, but Carr thought it was really catchy and finally persuaded the rest of the group to come on board. Following the worldwide success of 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep', it was obvious to Tosti that more, similar material was needed to follow up this first hit, and so writers and arrangers Mario and Giosy Capuano joined the production team. 

'Tweedle Dee Tweedle Dum' followed in much the same style, and was another huge hit in the UK, but their next single, 'Soley Soley', broke the mould of nonsense songs, as it was written by a Spanish songwriter, Fernando Arbex, with lyrics co-written by Carr. It was recorded in Madrid and became the summer hit in Europe that year, reaching No. 2 in the  UK after a belated release in time for Christmas. 'Sacramento' and 'Samson And Delilah' were their last main hits in the UK, and this might have been partly caused by the oil crisis of the period. With vinyl being short supply, their UK record label apparently turned its back on 'the foursome from Italy', the band’s perceived country of origin, with the result being that the UK public were given no further opportunity to follow the Scots group. In 1974, early Bay City Rollers member Neil Henderson joined the band on guitar, and he wrote and co-wrote songs for the group, including the singles 'Rockin' Soul' and 'Everybody Loves A Winner', but the moment had passed and they failed to trouble the UK charts. However, they were still extremely popular in Europe, and released a further four albums in Germany via Ariola Records. Although most of their early music was written by outside writers such as the Capuanos and Marchetti/Stott, members of the group were allowed to contribute to the odd b-side or album track, and these tend to be some of their best work, as they weren't trying to have a hit single with them. As well as that, the Capuanos could sometimes come up with something that showed them in a completely different light, such as the lovely 'Louise' (My Little Ship)', and so if you only know the band from their annoyingly catchy singles, then this album shows another side to Middle Of The Road, which might just surprise you.  

Track listing

01 On This Land (Capuano/Capuano/Stott)
02 Lingering Sounds (Marchetti/Stott)
03 Far Away (Wales/O'Reagan)
04 Winter's Sun (I McCredie)
05 Read Between The Lines (I McCredie/Henderson)
06 The Sun In Your Skin (Marchetti/Stott)
07 Sacremento (Rubirosa/Capuano/Capuano/Stott)
08 Louise (My Little Ship) (Capuano/Capuano/Stott)
09 Gone's The Time (I McCredie)
10 It's The Rain (Henderson/Peebles)
11 Eve (McCredie/McCredie/Carr)
12 Writing On The Wall (I McCredie)
13 To Remind Me (Capuano/Capuano/Carr)
14 Give It Time (Capuano/Capuano/Carr)

Kelly Clarkson - Wasting Kisses (2011)

After winning American Idol in 2002, Kelly Clarkson released her debut album, 'Thankful' in 2003, which showed strong commercial success and established her as a rising pop vocalist. In 2004 she began shifting toward a more rock-influenced sound while preparing her next album, and 2004's 'Breakaway' became her commercial and critical peak of the decade, winning two Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album. In 2007 she released 'My December', which was a darker, more personal rock album, and it was at this time that she famously fought for artistic control, which caused tension with her label. Though less commercially successful than 'Breakaway', 'My December' was praised for its authenticity and songwriting depth. Her fourth album, 'All I Ever Wanted' appeared in 2009, and marked a return to a more mainstream pop-rock sound, and it included the hit 'My Life Would Suck Without You', which broke the record for the biggest jump to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2011 she released 'Mr. Know It All', the lead single from her upcoming album 'Stronger', which signalled a shift toward soulful pop and inspirational themes, and over the course of these five records Clarkson transitioned from reality-show winner to internationally recognized pop-rock star. During the sessions for these albums there were often tracks left over, and so over the years she has built up a vault of unused recordings which have yet to see the light of day, so here is a collection of the best of them from the early years of her career.  

Track listing

01 With A Little Bit Of Luck
02 Close Your Eyes
03 Can We Go Back
04 So Far Apart
05 Empty Handed
06 Don't Ever Give Up On Me
07 Call Me
08 Where Are You Now
09 Wash Rinse Repeat
10 One Day
11 Wasting Kisses
12 I Remember
13 Cleopatra
14 Whoever Did That Wasn't Me
15 After The Love

Murry The Hump - Pigs On Parade (2001)

Murry The Hump was formed in Aberystwyth in the late 1990's by singer Matthew Evans, guitarist Gwion Rowlands, bass guitarist Curig Huws, and drummer Bill Coyne, taking their name from the gangster Llewellyn Morris "Murray The Hump" Humphreys, and early on in their career they competed in a Battle of the Bands contest against Muse. Garnering early interest by way of indie singles 'Green Green Grass Of Home', which was an NME "Single of the Week", and a song about marijuana rather than a cover of the song made famous by Tom Jones, and 1999's 'Thrown Like A Stone' on Shifty Disco, they gained support from BBC Radio 1 DJs Steve Lamacq and John Peel, recording three sessions for the latter, and securing an appearance at industry showcase In The City. A publishing deal from Townhill Music swiftly followed, and the band were heralded as the best new band in Wales, and by Alex James of Blur as the best new band in Britain. In fact, James, artist Damien Hirst and the late Joe Strummer preferred Murry The Hump over Coldplay when they saw both acts perform at a record label showcase gig. In 2000 the band signed to Too Pure, whereupon they joined new label mates Hefner on a whistle-stop tour of the UK, after which they began work on their debut album, 'Songs Of Ignorance', and they performed some of the new material for Radio 1's One Live in Cardiff. 

The band's first release for Too Pure was a split single with Hefner, featuring their 'The House That Used To Be A Ship', and they followed this with the Guardian Guide single of the week 'Cracking Up', gaining much support from Xfm with a John Kennedy Session. A second single for the label, 'Don't Slip Up', preceded the debut album, which was described by Andy Gill in The Independent as displaying "a warmth and charm to the group's jangly indie-pop that's entirely engaging". Despite seeming to be on the verge of mainstream success, in September 2001 the band announced that they had split up, although they played one final concert in October that year as part of the BBC Radio 2 Live in Cardiff festival. Evans, Rowlands, and Glyn re-remerged in 2002 as The Keys, after asking fans to choose a name for the new band, and they were described as "Duane Eddy jamming with the Jesus and Mary Chain". The new band released a self-titled debut album in 2003, two EPs in 2009 and their second album 'Fire Inside', in 2010. They have released a further four albums and numerous singles since then, and so it does seem that calling a halt to Murry The Hump was the right decision, but I still cherish those early singles, and 'Songs Of Ignorance' makes a regular return to the decks. As a reminder of the band here is a collection of rare singles, b-sides and John Peel sessions, including the live one from The Union Chapel in London in 2000. 

Track listing

01 Blue Bottle (from the 'Colouring Book' EP 1999)
02 Pussy Willow (from the 'Colouring Book' EP 1999)
03 One Fine Day (John Peel session 1999) 
04 Silver Suit (single 2000)
05 Cracking Up (John Peel session 2000)
06 Don't Slip Up (John Peel session 2000)
07 Booze And Cigarettes (John Peel session 2000)
08 Five (John Peel session 2000)
09 Walking In A Winter Wonderland (John Peel Xmas session 2000)
10 Pigs On Parade (b-side of 'Don't Slip Up' 2001)
11 Kebab Or Shag (b-side of 'Don't Slip Up' 2001)
12 No Girl No Sex (b-side of 'Cracking Up' 2001)
13 Travel (b-side of 'Cracking Up' 2001)

Bruce Springsteen - Murder Incorporated (1983)

The recording sessions for Bruce Springsteen's 'Born In The U.S.A.' album spanned a two year period, and produced the largest quantity of completed song recordings of any session of his career. The sessions took place in four phases, with the January thru May 1982 sessions featuring The E Street Band with Steve Van Zandt, the January thru late April 1983 sessions featuring Springsteen alone on multiple instruments, and the rest being with The E Street Band, but no Van Zandt. Between seventy and eighty songs were recorded over the entire period, and thanks to information from Sony's studio logs, we now have a far better understanding of the sheer scale of Springsteen's output at this time. Songs were recorded at the Power Station and the nearby Hit Factory over the course of the first half of 1982, but as we know, he was not happy with the way that some band versions of his acoustic demos turned out with E Street backing, and so by early April he began actively exploring the possibility of releasing some of these solo demos as an acoustic album. 'Nebraska' duly appeared in September 1982, and the band versions of those songs were then locked away until they surfaced this year on the 'Nebraska 82' box set. The May-July 1982 period saw the effective departure of Steve Van Zandt as a member of The E Street Band, and following his decision to release 'Nebraska' and stop recording with the band, Springsteen spent the summer of 1982 in New Jersey making numerous guest appearances, that became affectionately known as his '1982 Jersey Shore Bar Tour'. 

However, that came to an end in early October, soon after the release of 'Nebraska', and during November-December 1982 he had Mike Batlan install a home recording studio at his house in Los Angeles, where he recorded more than an album's worth of songs over the early months of 1983, playing all the instruments himself, except for a drum machine. Although none of these Los Angeles recordings ultimately ended up on the album, two of them - 'Shut Out The Light' and 'Johnny Bye Bye' - were issued as b-sides in 1984/85, while tracks such as 'The Klansman', 'Unsatisfied Heart' and 'Richfield Whistle' remain unreleased. At this point, brief consideration was given to releasing an album, tentatively entitled 'Murder Incorporated', and a document exists from around March 1983 revealing his then-selections for the record, as well as his choices for b-sides of the singles to be released from it. However, instead of settling on that song line-up, he opted for more sessions, and began a new round of recording with The E Street Band at The Hit Factory in New York in May 1983. Of the proposed track-listing for 'Murder Incorporated', only six songs eventually appeared on the 'Born In The U.S.A.' album, with ten of them being rejected, and so by replacing those six released tracks with the songs that he'd earmarked as b-sides, we can hear all of the otherwise unreleased recordings from his sessions up to May 1983, other than 'Johnny Bye Bye' and 'Shut Out The Light' which slipped out as a b-sides, but which I'm still including anyway. 

Track listing

01 Murder Incorporated
02 Sugarland
04 One Love
04 This Hard Land
05 My Love Will Not Let You Down
06 Johnny Bye Bye

07 Shut Out The Light
08 Don't Back Down
09 Frankie
10 Little Girl
11 Follow That Dream

Hard-Fi - Sick Of It All (2010)

Hard-Fi formed in 2003 in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, and consisted of Richard Archer (lead vocals and guitar), Ross Phillips (guitar and backing vocals), Kai Stephens (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Steve Kemp (drums and backing vocals). Archer had returned to his hometown of Staines, crushed by the lack of success of his former band Contempo, and by the death of his father from cancer. While Archer was making demos to produce an album, he went into the Staines hi-fi shop where Ross Phillips worked, simply so he could listen to his latest demos on the shop's better equipment. Philips apparently asked Archer who had played guitar on his demos and Archer said that it was himself. Phillips said it was "shit", and was therefore recruited to play guitar for the new group. Steve Kemp was already an old friend of Archer, while it took Kai Stephens little persuasion to leave his job as at Rentokil. The band were signed to newly formed independent label Necessary Records, and most of the album was recorded in a disused mini cab office, which cost them about £300, and is known to this day as the "Cherry Lips" Studio. 1,000 copies of this record were pressed, with only 500 going on public sale, and the initial plan was to sell 1000 each time. 

However, it quickly sold out, receiving critical acclaim and radio play, proving a lot more successful than the band had imagined. In 2004 the band were licensed to the major label Atlantic Records, and they were given the chance to re-record the album in the renowned Abbey Road Studios, but they went back to the cab office to maintain their sound. The band were one of the acts opening for Green Day on their two-day residency of the Milton Keynes Bowl in June 2005, having been booked as a last minute replacement for Simple Plan, who had cancelled only a few weeks before the show. The re-issue of the 'Stars Of CCTV' album re-entered the official UK album chart at No. 4 on 1 January 2006. two places higher than it originally went in on the week of its release, and it finally got to No. 1 on 22 January. The band's re-release of 'Cash Machine' entered the official Top 40 singles chart at No. 14 on 1 January, and 'Stars Of CCTV' was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. The band expanded the Cherry Lips "studio", making more room for equipment after having searched fruitlessly for a space, and the first single from the new album was 'Suburban Knights', released on 20 August 2007. 

'Once Upon A Time In The West' was released two weeks later, and the album cover was an orange background with the album title at the top, and "NO COVER ART." written in large, white letters below, being described by art designer Peter Saville as "a 'White Album' for the digital culture". It went straight in at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart, and received positive reviews, including five stars from The Observer Monthly, and four stars from Q Magazine. During the 2008 Christmas period, Hard-Fi  announced that they would be back in the new year with "a wicked new album", but by February 2011 only six of the eleven album tracks had been mixed. On 28 April, their latest single, 'Good For Nothing', was premiered on Zane Lowe's Radio 1 show, and this was followed by 'Fire In The House' on 7 August, preceding the 'Killer Sounds' album by a couple of weeks. In March 2012, Archer told Gigwise that Hard-Fi were hoping to release their next album in a shorter interval than the four years between 'Once Upon A Time In The West' and 'Killer Sounds', although no estimated release date was set, and the next release from them was a greatest hits compilation album called 'Hard-Fi: Best of 2004–2014', which appeared on 27 January 2014. 

Although they had released no new music since 2011, Archer insisted that the band had not broken up, but were on a hiatus, and in April 2022, posters appeared in various London underground stations featuring the band's trademark yellow and black camera logo, with the text "London 01.10.22", suggesting the band will be playing their first live show since 2014, and following that gig at London's O2 Forum on 1 October, the band announced their first tour in eleven years, playing at venues across England and Scotland during October 2023. They've released their first new single since 2011, with 'Don’t Go Making Plans' coming out in November 2024, and they are still touring, even though they have little new music to promote, so with the recent 20th anniversary re-issue of 'Stars Of CCTV', it seems the perfect time to tidy up their discography with a collection of their rare b-sides and oddities. 

Track listing

01 Sick Of It All (b-side of 'Cash Machine' 2005)
02 Seven Nation Army (b-side of 'Cash Machine' 2005)
03 Peaches (Radio 1 Live Version) (b-side of 'Living For The Weekend' 2005)
04 Stronger (b-side of 'Hard To Beat' 2005)
05 Polish Love Song (b-side of 'Better Do Better' 2006)
06 The Money Song (Hard-Fi vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Flying Lizards vs. Abba vs. Jay-Z 2006)
07 You And Me (b-side of 'Suburban Knights' 2007)
08 These Four Walls And I (b-side of 'Can't Get Along (Without You) 2007)
09 Pain In My Heart (b-side of 'I Shall Ovecome' 2008)
10 Empty Streets (b-side of 'I Shall Ovecome' 2008)
11 1969 (from the '1969 Key To Change' charity album 2010)

Soulseek update

I've tried port forwarding again but am getting nowhere, so I've bitten the bullet and completely uninstalled Soulseek and then downloaded the latest version. Luckily it didn't delete all my files, so anyone who hasn't managed to get it to work in the past few weeks can try again now and see what happens. 

pj

The Cleaners From Venus - A Picture Of Emmiline (2021)

If there's one band that I've wanted to post on the blog since ever I started it, it's The Cleaners From Venus, but they don't release singles and so I couldn't do a b-sides collection, and they release regular best of's and rarities collections themselves. Recently, after a few years away, they are back, and they've been issuing EP's and albums through Bandcamp since 2014, so I can finally post something from them. The Cleaners From Venus started in Wivenhoe, Essex,  in November 1980, recording their music on minimal equipment, using cheap or sometimes home-made instruments. Lol Elliott and Martin Newell, both in their 20s at that time, didn't expect much to come of their chaotic endeavours and weren't particularly concerned about the matter, but a year or so later, equipped with a new 4-track Portastudio, their second cassette album received minor attention in the music press of the time. In 1983 Elliott moved to Bath in the west of England, leaving Newell to continue on his own, with guest members dropping in occasionally to play on recordings. Despite primitive production methods, The Cleaners from Venus gradually became known for high-quality song-writing, which leaned towards mid-1960's pop influences, driven by punk energy. 

Newell realised at this time that even when given access to better studio facilities, he actually preferred recording on 4-track machinery, and this discovery became an important factor in the Cleaners musical style. In 1985, a German record label, Modell, persuaded Newell to let them release the Cleaners fifth cassette album, 'Under Wartime Conditions' as a vinyl record, and it became something of an indie hit in Germany, even receiving a couple of good reviews in the UK. The band, now joined by a young keyboard player, Giles Smith,  made a promotional video and began recording their sixth cassette album, 'Living With Victoria Grey'. In spring of 1986, because of an earlier association, Newell became lyricist for Captain Sensible, ex-guitarist for The Damned, who at that time was enjoying a solo pop career. This collaboration led to a deal with a London record company, Ammunition, for whom The Cleaners From Venus made two albums. In 1988, The Cleaners From Venus Mk 2 broke up, with Smith becoming a newspaper journalist, and Newell returning to work as a gardener in his home town. Within a few months, however, he'd formed an acoustic rock duo, The Brotherhood Of Lizards,  with another former Cleaner From Venus, Nelson 'Surfquake' Nice. 

The pair soon secured a record deal with a new indie label, Deltic, releasing an album, 'Lizardland', and famously, in autumn of 1989, they toured England by bicycle to promote the record, gaining much media attention in the process. In early 1990, after Nelson accepted an offer to join the band New Model Army, Newell left music for a while to become a performance poet and writer, and he was soon regularly contributing his work to national newspapers, as well as appearing on TV and radio shows. For the next few years, with several books of his poetry published, he toured as a spoken-word artist, performing at theatres, arts centres and literary festivals, and during one of these tours he visited my hometown of Norwich, and because Martin knew me from our correspondence when I was buying his tapes, he crashed at my flat after the gig. He hadn't abandoned music entirely, however, and between 1993 and 2007, Newell also made six solo albums: two for Humbug Records and four for Cherry Red. The best known of these, 1993's 'The Greatest Living Englishman', was produced by XTC's Andy Partridge, and was well-reviewed, especially in the USA, and is now regarded as something of a rock classic. In 2010, he was about to settle down to writing another book, when once again, the unexpected happened. 

Somewhat to his surprise, Newell learned that the old Cleaners From Venus cassette albums he'd made almost thirty years earlier had become cult items. Over many years, fans of his music had copied and then circulated the imperfect recordings among themselves, sometimes posting them on the internet, in order to keep the band's name alive. I was one of those who have championed the band for the last 40 years, and still have every cassette tape that they recorded, mentioning Newell's name as an undiscovered genius whenever I could. By now,  small record labels on both sides of the Atlantic were taking an interest in these recordings, and with the bemused Newell's permission, began reissuing the records in small runs; sometimes in their original cassette format. Within a couple of years, nearly the whole Cleaners From Venus 1980's catalogue had been re-released on vinyl and CD by a New York label, Captured Tracks, whom Newell had appointed as licensees. In 2012, he acquired a small 4-track digital recorder and returned to making Lo-fi recordings, with these new offerings being released by a UK micro-label, Soft Bodies. 

Eight years and eight albums later, The Cleaners From Venus are better-known globally than they've ever been. In August 2019, 'Upstairs Planet', a film made by Graham Bendel about Newell's life, enjoyed its premiere in London's West End at the Regent Street Cinema. It was well-received, and a new documentary, 'The Jangling Man', was planned for a later release. Newell has been releasing albums and EP's through Bandcamp since 2014, and currently has 58 records for sale on the site. Some of these are EP's, featuring one or two tracks from an album, with a couple of unreleased songs filling them out, so this post collects the non-album songs from six of these EP's, spanning 2019 to 2021. A few of them are Christmas-themed, so it's perfect timing, and if you enjoy this music then I urge you to check out their back-catalogue, and discover one of the indie music scene's best-kept secrets of the past 40 years.   

Track listing

01 Clarendon Lane
02 Rudy Moon
03 A Picture Of Emmiline
04 Springtown
05 Could Be Christmas Eve
06 She's Mad About You
07 Queen Of The Green

08 Autumn's Doorstep
09 Flowers Of December (Down River Mix)
10 A Kitchen Porter's Tale
11 King Inglorious
12 Christabel's Party
13 Symphony In Cellophane
14 Love Shine A Light

Rell - The Remedy (2002)

Wilbur Gerrell Gaddis, better known by his stage name Rell, was born on 22 July 1976 in Bowman, South Carolina. He signed to Roc-A-Fella Records in 1997, being the first male R&B singer to sign to New York City-based label, and he began work on his debut album which was tentatively titled, 'Medicine'. Rell got his break in 1998, appearing in Jay-Z's rap cult flick 'Streets Is Watching', and contributing the club banger 'Love For Free' to the movie's soundtrack. Within the latter part of 1998, he renamed his debut 'The Remedy', and re-released 'Love For Free' as the lead single. In 1999, two other singles, 'When Will U See' and 'Darlin'', were released as radio buzz singles for the album, but within the first quarter of that year 'The Remedy' was shelved due to the failed charting of the singles. Still signed to the Roc-A-Fella, he went on to sing hooks for nearly every one of the label's MC;s since, including Freeway's 'Victim Of The Ghetto' and appearing on 'The Message' featuring Mary J. Blige, from Dr. Dre's '2001'. In 2001, he met agreeable terms with Jay-Z, and began retooling his cancelled debut, and the project spawned a new and official lead single titled, 'If That's My Baby'. While the album was scheduled for a September release, after a second single, 'It's Obvious' was released, the album was re-scheduled to be released in spring 2002, but in early 2002 the reworked version of 'The Remedy' was shelved again. 

In 2004, Rell began work on yet another project, titled 'Long Time Coming', and for a promotion of the album, he released several leftover tracks from the cancelled 'The Remedy' project on numerous mixtapes and limited Roc-a-Fella EP samplers. In 2005 Rell released 'Real Love' as the lead single for 'Long Time Coming', but in the midst of the release, he was moved from the Roc-A-Fella label to Dame Dash Music Group, and under the new label, 'Long Time Coming' was scheduled to be released in May 2006. Unfortunately disagreements and lack of promotion from the new label ended up with Rell's second album being shelved, and he initially split from the label. In 2007, he appeared on collaborations with Latin reggaeton artists Don Omar and Zion, and he also wrote the title track for Usher's 2008 album 'Here I Stand'. In 2009, he teamed with Tre Williams to form 'The Revelations', who released their debut album, 'The Bleeding Edge', in October 2009, but Rell has yet to release an album under his own name, so to "remedy" that, here is the first of his shelved albums.

Track listing

01 If That's My Baby

02 Bring It On Home

03 Cloud 9

04 Get Up

05 Ghetto Stash

06 Never Knew A Love

07 Never Stop

08 Serious

09 Say It Ain't So

10 It's Obvious

11 The Reason

12 U And Me

13 When Will You See

14 Next Train

The Kingsbury Manx - Pelz Komet - The Best Of The Kingsbury Manx (2013)

The Kingsbury Manx emerged in 1999 from the same North Carolina indie rock scene that spawned the Archers Of Loaf and Superchunk before them. Band members Ken Stephenson (guitar/vocals), Bill Taylor (guitar/vocals), Ryan Richardson (drums/vocals), and Scott Myers (bass/keyboards) attended middle school together in Greensboro before going separate ways during their college years. Stephenson and Myers enrolled in creative writing studies at Wilmington while Taylor and Richardson both landed at UNC, Chapel Hill, but during visits back home, the quartet began writing and recording music for a demo. Their break came when Overcoat Recordings owner (and former Thrill Jockey employee) Howard Greynolds heard the tape and agreed to fund their debut. 'The Kingsbury Manx' was released by the label in 1999 to so little fanfare that it ended up creating a small amount of mystery. Managing to stay independent from any particular scene, the band cultivated a sound simultaneously derivative and original, with influences from such timeless artists as early Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, and The Byrds, but they were handled with such loving care and attention to detail that they were rendered largely insignificant. The album became one of the underground indie successes of 2000, landing in the year-end polls of NME (Top 50) and Magnet ("Ten Great Albums Buried in 2000"), and a short tour of the U.S. followed in support of Elliott Smith. 'Let You Down' followed in 2001, with it's Japanese issue including two bonus tracks in 'Dirt And Grime' and 'My Shaky Hand'. Their next release was an EP entitled 'Afternoon Owls', which arrived in late 2003, and the band toured in support of it with The Sea And Cake. Additional shows with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci coincided with the release of the band's third album, 'Aztec Discipline', later that year, and this was the first to include new band members Paul Finn on keyboards and bassist/drummer Clarque Blomquist, who took over from the departing Stephenson and Myers. In 2004, The Kingsbury Manx started working on tunes for their next album at their practice space (Pine Manor) in Chapel Hill, travelling up to Michigan to record the songs at the Key Club studios, and in early 2005 they left longtime label Overcoat Recordings to sign with local North Carolina label Yep Roc Records. The band took the Key Club tapes to Chicago, where Wilco member Mikael Jorgensen mixed the album, and the result was their 2005 release, 'The Fast Rise And Fall Of The South'. After taking a long break, the band returned in 2009 with the simpler, folkier 'Ascenseur Ouvert!', which was released on Finn's Odessa label, and working at a leisurely pace again, their sixth record, 'Bronze Age', came out in 2013. The band never officially broke up, but just drifted apart as they grew older, and so as an introduction to one of my favourite band's of the early-to-mid 00's, here is a collection of some of their best work. 

Track listing

01 And What Fallout! (from 'The Fast Rise And Fall Of The South' 2005)
02 Pageant Square (from 'The Kingsbury Manx' 1999)
03 Pelz Komet (from 'Aztec Discipline' 2003)
04 Glass Eye (from 'Bronze Age' 2013)
05 Grape To Grain (from 'Aztec Discipline' 2003)
06 Walk On Water (from 'Ascenseur Ouvert!' 2009)
07 Piss Diary (from 'The Kingsbury Manx' 1999)
08 Custer's Last (from 'Bronze Age' 2013)
09 Well, Whatever (from 'Ascenseur Ouvert!' 2009)
10 Whether Or Not It Matters (from 'The Kingsbury Manx' 1999)
11 Greenland (from 'The Fast Rise And Fall Of The South' 2005)
12 Courtyard Waltz (from 'Let You Down' 2001)
13 Harness And Wheel (from 'The Fast Rise And Fall Of The South' 2005)
14 Rustic Stairs (from 'Let You Down' 2001)
15 Half Man (from the 'Afternoon Owls' EP 2003)
16 How Cruel (from 'The Kingsbury Manx' 1999)

Blondie Chaplin - The Fragile Thread (2001)

Terrence William "Blondie" Chaplin was born on 7 July 1951, in Durban, South Africa, and both Chaplin and drummer Ricky Fataar were members of Durban-based rock band the Flames, which they joined at ages 13 and 9, respectively. Their 1968 album 'Soulfire' produced a hit in South Africa, with the band's cover of 'For Your Precious Love' being No. 1 on white South African radio for thirteen weeks. Beach Boy Carl Wilson heard the Flames while the band was performing in London, and he signed them to the Beach Boys' Brother Records label, and produced their album 'The Flame' (changed from Flames, to avoid confusion with the Famous Flames who were backup singers with James Brown), which featured soulful rock-pop songs in the vein of the Beach Boys and Badfinger. Chaplin, along with Fataar, joined the Beach Boys when original drummer Dennis Wilson suffered a hand injury that left him unable to play the drums for almost two years. For the Beach Boys, it was a period in which long-time member Bruce Johnston had departed the band, and one-time leader Brian Wilson's participation in the group was very limited. As a result, Chaplin and Fataar joined as full-fledged members and not merely as backing musicians. Chaplin sang lead on various Beach Boys songs from two studio albums, 'Carl And The Passions – "So Tough"' and 'Holland', and plays on the live album 'The Beach Boys In Concert', and 'Sail On, Sailor' from 'Holland' is considered his signature song. 

Chaplin left the group in 1973 after a dispute with the Beach Boys' management, and Fataar left the following year. Following his time with the Beach Boys, Chaplin recorded a self-titled album, released on Asylum Records in 1977, and he also performed on Rick Danko's self-titled début album, as well as producing David Johansen's third solo album 'Here Comes The Night', on which he played guitar and sang backing vocals, and co-authored seven tracks. During the 1980's, he toured as guitarist and vocalist with a band featuring Rick Danko and Paul Butterfield, as well as contributing a tune as songwriter on Butterfield's last studio album in 1986, 'The Legendary Paul Butterfield Rides Again'. His own solo discography has been fairly sparse, with only three albums appearing between 1977 and 2023, but in 2001 it was announced that his new solo album was nearing completion, with the title being 'The Fragile Thread'. The performing credits included Anton Fig on drums and Keith Lentin on bass, as well as guest appearances from Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Chuck Leavell, and Morris Goldberg. Two songs were mentioned in particular, with 'Don't Ask Me' featuring a haunting pipe melody, and 'Stop The Rain' being a medium tempo driving song with great drumming, but in end the album was shelved, and it was to be a further five years before he released the 'Between Us' album in 2006, with 'The Fragile Thread' remaining unreleased.  

Track listing

01 Don't Ask 
02 Where I Should Always Be
03 Buteh Hey! 
04 When I'm Walking 
05 We Hurt 
06 Fish Out Of Water
07 52 Letters 
08 Cry For Help 
09 You Got The Magic 
10 Stop The Rain 
11 Semolina 
12 When We Break 
13 Love You 'Til I Die 
14 Follow Your Heart 

The cover is based on the painting 'A Fragile Thread' by Catherine Sperling Dreyer.

The Final Solution - Misty Mind (1966)

Earth Mother And The Final Solution, later shortened to The Final Solution, were formed in 1965, and featured Ernie Fosselius on lead guitar, John Yager on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, John Chance on drums, and Bob Knickerbocker on bass guitar. Regarding the group's potentially offensive name, which have been taken as a reference to Nazo Germany's genocide of the Jews in World War Two, the band insisted it referred to the phrase "There is no final solution", a cryptic but otherwise meaningless statement, and music historian Alec Palao later explained "With their solidly middle-class backgrounds, none of the group had any idea of the slogan's implications". Stylistically, the band bore the closest similarity to the Great Society, with raga rock influences and minor-keyed melodies, although in other aspects they made a concerted effort to remain apart from their San Franciscan contemporaries, performing downbeat material penned by Fosselius and Knickerbocker, and dressing in a way that did not exhibit the hippie vibe of the city. They opened for several bands in San Francisco, in venues such as the Matrix and the Fillmore Auditorium ,throughout 1965 and 1966, completing approximately 50 live performances during their existence, and they were also the house band at the Red Dog Saloon for a month in 1966. 

Despite never recording during their existence, The Final Solution have gained the attention of fans of psychedelic rock after a bootleg circulated of a 1966 gig at The Matrix, which was later officially released by High Moon Records. This performance was almost not recorded as the group was a last-minute replacement for The Great Society, who had been forced to cancel the gig, and Peter Abram was running his tape deck that night and so captured a dynamic set that shows the band's diversity and musical chops. Rehearsal tapes have also surfaced of some of their songs, but despite recording demos for Mainstream Records in San Francisco, the band never managed to secure a recording contract, despite their live set showing that they were the equal of many other SF bands of the time. Had they managed to get a label interested, and laid down some of their songs in 1966, then their debut album could have sounded very much like this mix of live and rehearsal takes of some of their songs. As the guitar was buried so far in the mix at the rehearsals (and on 'Blacklist') that you could hardly hear it, I've brought it to the front so that we can clearly hear the acid-fried guitar solos.  

Track listing

01 If You Want
02 Tell Me Again
03 Just Like Gold
04 So Long Goodbye
05 The Time Is Here And Now
06 Bleeding Roses
07 You Say That You Love Me
08 Misty Mind
09 Nothing To Fear
10 Backlash

The Delines - The Drowning Life (2023)

Now that my recent post of 'The Best Of The Delines' has been up for a few weeks, I'm hoping that I've introduced the band to a raft of new fans, and so for them, as well as people who already knew of this superb group, here is a collection of their rare singles, b-sides and bonus tracks from throughout their career. 

Track listing

01 Walking Alone (b-side of 'The Oil Rigs At Night' 2014)
02 Slim And Margy (b-side of 'The Oil Rigs At Night' 2014)
03 What One Bottle Can Do (from the 'Colfax Bonus Tracks' EP 2014)
04 Eight Floors Up (single 2019)
05 Wait For Me (b-side of 'Eight Floors Up')
06 A Room On The 10th Floor (single 2019)
07 The Drowning Life (b-side of 'A Room On The 10th Floor')
08 Myrna And McCaughey (b-side of 'Little Earl' 2021)
09 The Movies (from 'The Imperial Sessions' EP 2019)
10 I Missed You So Bad I Thought My Heart Would Stop (from 'The Imperial Sessions' EP 2019)
11 Roll Back My Life (Version No. 2) (from 'The Imperial Sessions' EP 2019)
12 Pretty Perdita (flexi-disc included with Southwest Review magazine 2022)
13 The Golden State (from 'The Lost Duets' 2022)
14 My Blood Bleeds The Darkest Blue (from 'The Lost Duets' 2022)
15 Christmas In Atlantis (single 2023)
16 Waiting On A Bus Out Of Dallas (b-side of 'Christmas In Atlantis')
17 San Leandro Lament (b-side of 'Christmas In Atlantis')