Soft Machine - Soft Machine's Little Red Records (1970)

johntest has been busy recently upgrading the artwork for some of the posts on the excellent Soft Machine alternate universe blog https://softmachinerigamarole.blogspot.com, and I think that this one is such an improvement that I'm replacing the original cover on the post and in the album file with this one. If you already have the album then just save it from this page. The illustration of Kevin Ayers is by Neal Anderson. 

Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Van Morrison (2021)

After the commercial failure of his first Warner Bros. album 'Astral Weeks' in 1968, Van Morrison moved to upstate New York with his wife and began writing songs for the follow-up album 'Moondance', attempting to produce a record that would be more accessible and appealing to listeners. The musicians who went on to record 'Moondance' with Morrison were recruited from Woodstock, and would continue working with him for several years, including guitarist John Platania, saxophonist Jack Schroer, and keyboardist Jef Labes. Recording sessions began at Century Sound in New York, accompanied by most of the musicians from 'Astral Weeks' and its engineer Brooks Arthur, but Morrison soon manipulated the situation and got rid of them all. He had his own ideas for how he wanted the music to sound, and so enlisted the help of a horn section and chorus, and brought in the musicians recruited from Woodstock. Recording then moved to Studio A penthouse of A & R Studios in New York from August to September 1969, coming to the studio with only the basic song structures written down, and the song's arrangements in his memory, and they were developed throughout the album's recording. Most of Morrison's vocals were recorded live, and he later said that he would have preferred to record the entire album that way, and the finished album was the first for which Morrison was credited as the producer, later saying that as no-one else knew what he was looking for, he just did it. The resulting album found him abandoning the abstract folk/ jazz compositions of 'Astral Weeks' in favour of more formally composed songs, and its lively rhythm and blues/rock music was the style he would become most known for in his career. 'Moondance' was released by Warner Bros. on 27 January 1970 in the UK and on 28 February in the US, receiving immediate acclaim from critics on both sides of the Atlantic, being hailed by both Greil Marcus and Lester Bangs jointly in Rolling Stone as a work of "musical invention and lyrical confidence; the strong moods of 'Into the Mystic' and the fine, epic brilliance of 'Caravan' will carry it past many good records we'll forget in the next few years." The title track is one of his most covered songs, attracting nearly 250 versions, and some of the other tracks aren't far behind, with soul stars like Ben E. King, Lorraine Ellison, Merry Clayton and Esther Phillips all recognising the soulful quality of the song-writing, so here are some of the very best takes of the songs from Van Morrison's classic 'Moondance'. As it's quite a short collection I've added a track from Miriam Makeba from the same time period to close the album. 

Track listing

01 And It Stoned Me (Jackie DeShannon 1971) 
02 Moondance (Irene Reid 1970)   
03 Crazy Love (Rita Coolidge 1971)
04 Caravan (Lorraine Ellison 1971) 
05 Into The Mystic (Ben E. King 1972)
06 Come Running (Lynn Anderson 1979)
07 These Dreams Of You (Jesse Colin Young 2021)
08 Brand New Day (Esther Phillips with The Dixie Flyers 1970)
09 Everyone (Elizabeth Mitchell 2012)
10 Glad Tidings (Merry Clayton 1970)
11 I Shall Sing (Miriam Makeba 1970)

Allie Hughes - Waiting For The Prize (2006)

Alexandra Ashley Hughes (better known by her stage name of Allie X) was born on 31 July 1985 in Oakville, Ontario, and after studying classical piano and voice at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and graduating from Sheridan College's Musical Theatre Performance program, she started her musical career in Toronto around 2006. At this time she was performing indie pop, indie rock, jazz, and electronic music, and she recorded the 10-track demo album, 'Waiting For The Prize', in 2006, while still in college. The album was pressed up on CD and sold at her early shows in 2006 and 2007, and takes inspiration from both jazz music, and piano-based alternative sounds. Said to be inspired by artists such as Kate Bush, Regina Spektor, and Norah Jones, the album pairs piano-pop and jazz instrumentals with sassy, quirky lyrics. It actually gained a review by John Arkelian for artsforum.ca, who described 'Bad Luck' as "a jazzy, bluesy song that sounds like a show tune from the musical stage", 'That's Just Me' as "an ironic juxtaposition of down-to-earth lyrics and an operatic lament", and 'What Have I Done?' as "a serious reverie on life’s choices, with a hint of the bittersweet". Those early CD's are now impossible to find, so here is Allie X's very first album, while still performing under the name Allie Hughes. 

Track listing

01 That's Just Me 
02 Gorilla Sounds
03 Bad Luck
04 Irish Colcannon 
05 What Have I Done?
06 Oyster Song
07 Perfect Day 
08 Brand New 
09 Fall
10 Something Isn't Right

Once - Once And Once Only (1988)

John Cipollina was a guitarist who was best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. He created a distinctive guitar sound by using a one-of-a-kind amplifier stack, while his Gibson SG guitars had two pickups, one for bass and one for treble, giving a sound which was instantly identifiable as his own. After leaving Quicksilver in 1971, Cipollina formed the band Copperhead with early Quicksilver member Jim Murray, former Stained Glass member Jim McPherson, drummer David Weber, Gary Phillipet (a.k.a. Gary Phillips) on keyboards, and Pete Sears on bass. Copperhead disbanded in mid 1974 after becoming a staple in the SF Bay Area, and Cipollina teamed up with Link Wray to perform a series of shows together along the West Coast, with the Copperhead rhythm section of Hutchinson & Weber, and keyboardist David Bloom. During the 1980's, Cipollina performed with a number of bands, including Fish & Chips, Thunder and Lightning, the Dinosaurs and Problem Child, and he was a founding member of Zero, and its rhythm guitarist until his death in 1989. On 20 February 1988 he put together a band which consisted of his brother Mario Cipollina on bass, former bandmate Pete Sears on keyboards, Tony Johnson on drums, and Alex Ligertwood on vocals, and they performed one gig at SF Musicworks in San Francisco, California. It was one show, one time, so the band was named Once, and they played an hour and half set of classic covers from the 60's and 70's, which enabled Cipollina to adapt his great guitar style to a variety of genres, including rock, blues and reggae. I think the second set was marginally the better, with Cipollina's guitar playing being outstanding on some tracks, while a couple of them didn't work quite as well, so I've taken what I consider to be the best recordings from the night and edited them down into one six-track, 46-minute album of superb music from a true guitar legend, recorded just one year before his untimely death. 

Track listing

01 My Babe
02 Who Do You Love
03 Baby Watcha Wanna Do
04 You Gotta Help Me
05 Stormy Monday
06 Mona / Tequila / Mona

Rashad - Elevator Music (2003)

Hailing From Columbus, Ohio, Rashad Thomas invested years in building a career in music, and from a young age he earned acclaim as an R&B singer, landing his first record deal at age 13, and subsequent major label deals with RCA, Columbia and Universal. In 2002 Universal tested the waters with a promo release of 'Good Luv', and they followed this in 2003 with 'Sweet Misery', both of which were taken from his proposed debut album 'Elevator Music'. The record was to feature guest appearances by Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, Lone Catalysts affiliate P.A. Flex and 106 & Park battle rapper Posta Boy, but as both singles failed to make any impact on the Billboard charts, the album was cancelled by Universal and has remained in the vaults ever since. Thomas is still involved in music, and produced Jack Harlow's album 'Jackman' as recently as 2023, but as I've mentioned before, some of these cancelled albums are too good to stay hidden, and this is a case in point, so here is Rashad's debut long-player, 'Elevator Music', from 2003. 

Track listing

01 Good Luv  
02 Sweet Misery  
03 Stay Or Let Go? 
04 Met U On The Dance Floor  
05 Summ Cut 
06 Fantasy  
07 Naked 
08 Better Go Now  
09 Jasmine  
10 Used 2 Make Luv  
11 Makin' Babies  
12 ...Get II Know U  
13 Eye on U  
14 Why U Gon' Give It Up (To Him?) 
15 Amen  
16 My Heart (Outro) 

Paul McCartney - Simple As That (1989)

Here's a nice little collection of rarities, out-takes and b-sides from Paul McCartney, mostly covering the 80's - that's the 1980's and the 1880's, as it also includes one legendary track from 1972, with the first demo of '1882' dating back to the time that he was recording the 'McCartney' album. That was as a simple Paul-on-piano track, and some of the eventual lyrics weren't yet present, but a second second demo brought Linda in for some backing vocals, and she also vocalized the guitar parts. It was supposed that a studio version was recorded in January 1972, and this did eventually surface on the 4CD re-issue of 'Red Rose Speedway', but it was also played during the 'Wings Over Europe' tour in 1972, and a live version recorded in The Hague was originally slated for inclusion on the band's 'Red Rose Speedway' album. This was initially planned as a double-disc set, and the live recording of '1882' was to be augmented with some studio overdubs, but it was eventually removed from the final track listing, and so this version is the actual recording from The Hague, on which I've reconstructed the intro and given it a suitably bombastic finale. 'On The Wings Of A Nightingale' was written for, and gifted to, The Everly Brothers in 1984, and as their version was so faithful to his original demo, Frank Walker has managed to remix it using the Everly's backing track with McCartney's vocals for this unique version. There are a couple of b-sides from collaborative singles with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, with 'Rainclouds' reputedly being the song he was working on the day that John Lennon was murdered. 'Don't Break The Promise' was written by McCartney and Eric Stewart of 10cc during their collaboration in 1986 for the 'Press To Play' album, and although McCartney recorded it in 1988 with the help of Hamish Stuart, he kept it until 1997 when it was released as the b-side of his 'Beautiful Night' single. The title track is McCartney's contribution to an anti-heroin charity album in 1986, and 'Spies Like Us' was written as the theme to the 1985 film of the same name. It's all housed in a cover based on a wooden sculpture by Wilfred Wood, which you may seen in the news recently, as it caused quite a stir when it was banned from being used for a 7" single released by the Secret 7 charity because McCartney thought it was too "unflattering". I love it, so I'm using it here.  

Track listing

01 Simple As That (from 'It's A Live-In World' charity album by The Anti-Heroin Project 1986)
02 The First Stone (b-side of 'This One' 1989)
03 Good Sign (b-side of 'This One' 1989)
04 Rainclouds (b-side of 'Ebony And Ivory' 1982)
05 I'll Give You A Ring (b-side of 'Take It Away' 1982)
06 Don't Break The Promise (recorded 1988, b-side of 'Beautiful Night' 1997)
07 Ode To A Koala Bear (b-side of 'Say Say Say' with Michael Jackson 1983)
08 On The Wings Of A Nightingale (remixed demo for The Everly Brothers 1984)
09 Hanglide (b-side of 'Press' 1986)

10 Spies Like Us (single 1985)

11 1882 (Live in The Hague, Rotterdam, 1972)

Propaganda - Anonymous (1998)

Propaganda was formed in Düsseldorf, West Germany, in 1982, by Ralf Dörper (a member of the pioneering German industrial band Die Krupps), alongside artist Andreas Thein and vocalist Susanne Freytag. Early recordings in Germany attracted the attention of DJ John Peel and journalist Chris Bohn (aka Biba Kopf), and with the inclusion of classically trained musician and composer Michael Mertens and singer Claudia Brücken, music journalist Paul Morley signed the band to Trevor Horn's newly formed ZTT label in 1983. The group relocated to the United Kingdom and released the single 'Dr. Mabuse', named after the fictional character made famous by filmmaker Fritz Lang, and it reached the Top 30 in the UK Singles Chart. Before the year was out, Thein was asked to leave the band due to musical differences, and with Mertens now filling the gap left by his departure, the band forged ahead with recording their follow-up single and debut album. However, both of these were to be delayed as a result of the unexpectedly huge success of ZTT's most famous signing, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, as the label was forced to spend all its limited resources on promoting and marketing them, meaning that Trevor Horn was not available to produce Propaganda's album. Stephen Lipson took his place along with Andy Richards playing keyboards, and the band's second single, the more pop-oriented 'Duel', was released in April 1985, becoming their most recognisable release. The first week of July 1985 finally saw the release of the band's debut album, 'A Secret Wish', which received considerable critical acclaim and some commercial success, and which reached number 16 on the UK Albums Chart. 

Following a year on the road, a remix album, 'Wishful Thinking', was released in November 1985, and although it was originally intended for the American club market, the album was also released in Europe against the wishes of the group themselves. The year 1986 started positively, with the single 'p:Machinery' gaining the number 1 chart position in Spain, but in late 1985 their management introduced the band to the London-based music lawyer Brian Carr, who explained to the group members that under their current contracts with ZTT, they could go on making records for the rest of their lives and never make any money from them, and so based on this information the band asked ZTT to renegotiate the contracts, which the company declined to do. Soon afterwards Claudia Brücken left Propaganda to pursue a solo career, and after a protracted legal battle, which saw the remaining members of Propaganda under an injunction by ZTT for fourteen months, they were finally released from their contract to ZTT in the summer of 1987. In 1988, the band signed to Virgin and began recording new material, resulting in a new album, released in 1990 called '1234'. In 1998, Mertens, Brücken, and Freytag reunited, signed an options deal with East West, and began working on new material. Several tracks were completed, including one produced by Tim Simenon and featuring Depeche Mode's Martin Gore on guitar, and a video for one song, 'No Return', was produced in Morocco and directed by 'Keyser Soze' in December 1998. However, no album materialized and, in January 2002, Brücken announced, "The reunion was worth a try, but did not work out'. A number of the finished tracks have leaked, and so I've collected them here, resulting in what could have been the band's third studio album, now titled 'Anonymous'. 

 
Track listing

01 Cloud 9
02 Ignorance
03 Who's The Fool
04 Beast Within
05 No Return
06 To The Future
07 Turn To The Sun

08 Anonymous
09 Dream Within A Dream 

Lady May - May Day (2002)

Rhonda Natasha Robinson was born on 6 March 1974, and is better known by her stage name Lady May. She grew up listening to Elton John, Duran Duran and Michael Jackson, but by the age of 15, she stopped attending high school and became a hip hop dancer in music videos for artists such as LL Cool J and Jodeci. Feeling unsatisfied with this as a career, she began rapping in the late 1990's under her stage name Mae West, and her rapping skills would eventually gain notice from fellow producer/rapper, Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, who later renamed her Lady May, and introduced her to Crazy Cat Productions. In 2001 she landed a contract deal with Arista Records, and she released her debut single in 2002, with 'Round Up' featuring R&B singer and former label-mate Blu Cantrell. Her following single was planned to be 'Dick & Doe', and a music video for the song was shot, but in the midst of the pushbacks for her album 'May Day' (first scheduled for a release in May 2002, then to 16 July 2002, then to August 2002), the single and video, as well as the album, were all shelved after the poor reception to 'Round Up'. She was also featured on former label-mate Rob Jackson's 2002 single 'Boom Boom Boom', which was slated to appear on his debut album, 'For the People', but that was eventually shelved as well. In 2003, she was featured on Willa Ford's 'A Toast To Men', and in 2007 she contributed to Jennifer Lopez's 2007 album 'Brave', where she was credited as a songwriter on several tracks. A version of 'May Day' was ultimately released online last year, but it contained a few more interludes that were not present on the original promotional copies that circulated physically, and so here is that 2003 promo so that you can hear this excellent album as it was intended to be heard. 

Track listing

01 We Got it Locked (feat. Memphis Bleek)
02 Right Right
03 Hard 2 Get 2 
04 Dear Richard 
05 My Blues
06 U Ain't Neva Lie
07 Glamorous Girls
08 8 Million Stories
09 Stick N Move
10 Didn't Mean To Turn You On (feat. Cheri Dennis)
11 Round Up (feat. Blu Cantrell)
12 Dick And Doe
13 Unborn
14 What Up (feat. P. Diddy)

Bob Dylan - The Hitmakers Sing 'Another Side Of Bob Dylan' (1993)

In February 1964, Bob Dylan embarked on a 20-day trip across the United States, riding in a station wagon with a few friends and heading towards California, with the primary motivation for the trip being to find enough inspiration to step beyond the folk-song form, if not in the bars, or from the miners, then by peering deep into himself. Dylan spent much time in the back of the station wagon, working on songs and possibly poetry on a typewriter, and it was during this trip that he composed 'Chimes Of Freedom'. With his commercial profile on the rise, Columbia was now urging him to release a steady stream of recordings, so on his return to New York, studio time was quickly scheduled, with Tom Wilson back as producer. The first, and only, recording session was held on 9 June at Columbia's Studio A, and while polishing off a couple of bottles of Beaujolais, he recorded fourteen original compositions, in a single three-hour session between 7pm and 10pm that night. Three were ultimately rejected, with 'Denise Denise', 'Mr. Tambourine Man', and 'Mama, You Been On My Mind' not being considered for the fourth album, although 'Mr. Tambourine Man' was revisited for his next album. As 'Another Side Of Bob Dylan' was being prepared for release, Dylan premiered his new songs at the Newport Folk Festival in July 1964, which was where he first met Johnny Cash. He was already an admirer of Cash's music, and vice versa, and the two spent a night jamming together in Joan Baez's room at the Viking Motor Inn. When the album was released, it was a step back commercially, failing to make the Top 40, and indicating that record consumers may have had a problem with the new music, just as critics had when they first heard the songs at Newport. Dylan soon defended his work, insisting that the songs were insanely honest, and that he and he alone wanted and needed to write them. Years later, mixed reactions over 'Another Side Of Bob Dylan' remained, but not for the same reasons, as critics later viewed it as a 'transitional' album, although contemporary artists could hear the quality of the songs, with nearly all of them being covered by 1968, and here are some of the best of them.  

Track listing

01 All I Really Want To Do (The Four Seasons 1965)
02 Black Crow Blues (The Silkie 1965)
03 Spanish Harlem Incident (The Pozo Seco Singers 1968)
04 Chimes Of Freedom (Julie Felix 1967)
05 I Shall Be Free No. 10 (Paul James 1990)
06 To Ramona (The Alan Price Set 1968)
07 Motorpsycho Nitemare (Strangelove 1993)
08 My Back Pages (The Byrds 1967)
09 I Don't Believe You (Ian & Sylvia 1967)
10 Ballad In Plain D (Michael Chapman 1977)
11 It Ain't Me Babe (The Turtles 1965)

Dua Lipa - Forgiveness (2020)

This final collection of songs from 2020 is another fine album made up of the leftovers from the writing and recording sessions for her 'Future Nostalgia' album. 

Track listing

01 Jealousy
02 Human
03 Don't Wait For Me
04 Pretend I Don't Exist
05 Cherry
06 Hard Days
07 Forgiveness
08 Hi (feat. Pharrell)
09 Protect Me From What I Want
10 Not Over You
11 Sleep No More (feat. Pharrell)

Johnny Cash - Flesh And Blood (1993)

In 1993 Johnny Cash was approached by producer Rick Rubin and offered a contract with Rubin's American Recordings label, better known for rap and heavy metal than for country music. Rubin had seen Cash perform at Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary concert in late 1992, and felt Cash was still a vital artist who had been unfairly written off by the music industry. Suffering from health problems, and recovering from a relapse of his drug addiction, Cash was initially sceptical, but the two men soon bonded, particularly when Rubin promised Cash a high level of creative control. Cash decided to record the first solo album of his career without any accompanying musicians, and so under Rubin's supervision he recorded most of the album in his own Tennessee cabin or Rubin's home in Los Angeles, accompanied only by his guitar, which was a return to his earliest recording style. 'The Beast In Me' was written and originally recorded by Cash's former stepson-in-law Nick Lowe, and Rubin commissioned new songs from several musicians, two of which ended up on 'American Recordings', including Glen Danzig's 'Thirteen'. 'American Recordings' received nearly universal acclaim from critics, with a rave review in Rolling Stone hailing it as one of Cash's greatest albums, because of his self-possessed, "biblically intense" take on traditional folk songs, and Rubin's no-frills production. In fact Cash had recorded many other songs in that fruitful period of playing for Rubin, and it wasn't long before outtakes started to surface, with a number of them being compiled on the 'American Outtakes' album in 1999, which Paul posted on his site back in 2019, but more surfaced later and the second volume was much harder to find. In fact most of these songs finally appeared on the 'Unearthed' box set in 2003, but for this post I'm using the original bootleg versions for most of the recordings, although the difference is probably minimal. It's the perfect accompaniment to 'American Outtakes', as we now have just about all the songs recorded in 1993, from which the 'American Recordings' track list was selected.   

Track listing

01 Long Black Veil
02 Just The Other Side Of Nowhere
03 The Fourth Man
04 Waiting For A Train
05 Flesh And Blood
06 If I Give My Soul
07 Understand Your Man
08 The Caretaker
09 Banks Of The Ohio (with June Carter)
10 Breaking Bread
11 Casey's Last Ride
12 As Long As The Grass Shall Grow (with June Carter)
13 No Earthly Good
14 Two Timin' Woman

Bellefire - Spin The Wheel (2004)

After the UK version of their debut album was shelved, Bellefire did eventually sign to WEA in 2003, and they moved their base to London, where they subsequently recorded a new album entitled 'Spin The Wheel' as a trio, following the departure of Tara Lee. Their first single as a three-piece was 'Say Something Anyway', which was released in early 2004, and which peaked in the UK at No.26, but spent only three weeks on the charts, although it did much better in their native Ireland, reaching No. 2 and going double platinum. The planned follow-up single for the summer of 2004, 'You Were Meant For Me', was shelved, and so the band spent the summer of 2004 promoting their upcoming album release around the UK at various festivals, but due to the release date of the album being continually pushed back, the summer promotion did little to boost their reputation and sales. After the failure of their next single, the title track 'Spin The Wheel', to impact the UK charts in October 2004, the band once again concentrated on the Asian market, where 'Say Something Anyway' was reaching the top of the charts in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines. They completed their tour of Southeast Asia and released their album there, and the UK release of 'Spin The Wheel' and a third single was pushed back several times, until it was eventually cancelled. After the non-release of the 'Spin the Wheel' album in the UK, Bellefire and Atlantic Records parted company, and the group went their separate ways. It was a sad end for a fine girl band, and it's a shame that record company politics once again ruined a promising career for the girls. So that their efforts are not wasted, here is Bellefire's second album that we in the UK and US were not allowed to hear. 

Track listing

01 Say Something Anyway
02 You Were Meant For Me
03 Spin The Wheel
04 What Hurts The Most
05 Nobody Loves Me Like You Do
06 Damn
07 Pieces Of You
08 Sold Out
09 Can't Cry Hard Enough
10 I Need To Be Next To You
11 Stay
12 I'll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me
13 Don't Know Why

The Rolling Stones - Prairie Love (1997)

For the final post in this Rolling Stones' outtakes collection we raid the 'Bridges To Babylon' archives, with some nice offcuts, plus three tracks featuring Keef on vocals, which did eventually make the final track listing once Jagger took over vocal duties. By this time the band were down to a four-piece, following the retirement of Bill Wyman in 1991, and for one last time, here are the notes from the Zen Archer's Aural Surfing Odyssey blog, with a bit of background to the tracks, plus the corrected year of recording. 
01 20 Nil (1991)
A dusty little piece from the 'Bridges To Babylon' sessions (I wonder how deep THAT well is?) – it fits well of the time and would still sound amazing now. An extended, indie-ish intro leads in to an almost primal squall from Mick while Ronnie and Keith ad-lib in the background, taking turns at stripping off levels of slow-burn guitar. Should be 1997. 
02 Dream About (1992)
This might the stray mutt of the collection. A shonky set of lyrics with a very rote drum backing and less than inspiring musical prowess. Thankfully, it was buried in the middle of the set making it easier to forget. Should be 1997.
03 Low Down (Keith Richards vocal 1997)
A Keith vocal for a change, one that was given up to Mick for the final 'BTB' album – Keith’s voice here being buried under the instrumental (though it’s a tight race between such a densely layered production, and I've now boosted them up a fraction), it was the right decision to give the job over. Correct year.
04 Prairie Love (1993)
Prowling funk work out with a breathy vocal line and slinky clockwork bass line. A b-side at best (and considering the glut of danceable remixes that littered CD singles at the time, that's no bad thing). Should be 1997.
05 Sanctuary (1994)
An odd little breathy whisp of a ballad around a curious organ bedding and bongos. As with 'Desperate Man', it draws deeply on Minneapolis's most famous son, but unlike that track, it never seems to go anywhere and opposed to being sexy, sounds a little creepy. There's a lot to be said for experimentation, though and this track is wildly different to what you might expect. Should be 1997.
06 Too Tight (Keith Richards vocal 1997)
A Keith lead track from 'BTB' that was handed back to Mick for the commercial version. Correct year.
07 Desperate Man (1973)
A proto-Prince production of spidery silk slide guitar lines and falsettos. It edges in, stealing from styles as it shifts around too, showing just how versatile the band can be all in the space of a few minutes. Should be 1997. 
08 Might As Well Get Juiced (extended, alternate version 1998)
Borne of static and a moody, looping riff, an electronic throb permeates through this 'BTB' track. This one is around a minute and a half longer than the commercial version. Should be 1997.
09 Flip The Switch (Keith Richards vocal 1998)
From the 'BTB' sessions again, this is a solid Keith vehicle. A wildly different production with a disjointed feel – not that that’s damning it with faint praise – it's a brave move for someone who professes a more blues oriented style generally. As it's 'BTB', it should be 1997. 

Track listing

01 20 Nil
02 Dream About
03 Low Down
04 Prairie Love
05 Sanctuary
06 Too Tight
07 Desperate Man
08 Might As Well Get Juiced
09 Flip The Switch

English Teacher - Songs About Love (2024)

My new favourite indie band is the Leeds quartet English Teacher, who formed in 2020, and consist of vocalist Lily Fontaine, guitarist Lewis Whiting, drummer Douglas Frost, and bassist Nicholas Eden. They have just released their debut album 'This Could Be Texas' to some acclaim from music critics, and after hearing it I was prompted to check out everything else that they had released up to that point, There isn't really that much, as although they've been together for four years they've only released a couple of singles and one EP, although few of those songs later appeared on the album. I've therefore collected them all together, along with a couple of tracks which they posted on Bandcamp, and which have since mysteriously disappeared, plus an exclusive recording for Jo Whiley's Sofa Sessions, and there is enough material for an extremely enjoyable companion album. 'You Won't Believe How Beautiful She Is When It Snowed' was later retitled 'Sideboob' and added to the album, but this is a completely different recording, as is the Theo Verney version of 'R&B', which also appeared on their debut, but the rest are all hard to find tracks from their early days. If you are partial to a bit of intriguing post-punk then give them a try, and if you like what you hear then get the album and support a promising up and coming new band. 

Track listing

01 Valentine (demo 2018)
02 The Treacle Trap Door (single 2020)
03 You Won't Believe How Beautiful She Is When It Has Snowed (Bandcamp 2020)
04 R&B (Theo Verney version) (single 2021)
04 Wallace (b-side of 'R&B')
05 Polyawkward (from the 'Polyawkward' EP 2022)
06 A55 (from the 'Polyawkward' EP 2022)
07 Mental Maths (from the 'Polyawkward' EP 2022)
08 Yorkshire Tapas (from the 'Polyawkward' EP 2022)
09 Good Grief (from the 'Polyawkward' EP 2022)
10 Song About Love (single 2023)
11 New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down (Jo Whiley's Sofa Session 2024) 

Geri Halliwell - Man On The Mountain (2012)

Geri Halliwell was the first to leave the Spice Girls, when she exited the group in May 1998, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Her action aroused controversy as her former group was due to embark on a North American tour, which they eventually completed without her, and despite no longer being part of the group, she featured on two more Spice Girls releases that were scheduled prior to her departure, including the single 'Viva Forever'. After she left, the other girls co-wrote a few songs about her which appeared on their album 'Forever', including 'Goodbye', 'Tell Me Why' and 'Let Love Lead The Way', and in 1999, one year after leaving the group, she launched her solo career and released her debut album 'Schizophonic', along with the lead single 'Look At Me', and this was followed by three further UK number ones, with 'Mi Chico Latino', 'Lift Me Up' and 'Bag It Up'. The album itself reached number four in the UK chart, and was preceded by a 90-minute Channel 4 documentary titled 'Geri', which was a ratings success with 4.5 million viewers. In October 1999 she released the autobiography 'If Only', in which she described her life as a Spice Girl, and the book went on to top the best-seller lists, selling over a million copies in the UK alone. 

In 2001, Halliwell released her second album, 'Scream If You Wanna Go Faster', which emulated the success of its predecessor by reaching number five in the UK, and her cover of the Weather Girls' 1983 hit, 'It's Raining Men', was used on the soundtrack of the film 'Bridget Jones's Diary', and became a major hit worldwide, peaking at number one in the UK, and hitting the top 10 in over 27 countries. In January 2002, she released her second autobiography, 'Just For The Record', detailing her rise to fame and her turbulent celebrity lifestyle, and later that year she joined Pete Waterman and Louis Walsh as a judge on the television series 'Popstars: The Rivals', which created Girls Aloud. In late 2004 she made a return to music with the single 'Ride It', which reached number four in the UK chart, but it was several months before another single was released, during which time she was apparently instructed to record some new tracks for an album by her record company, which was unhappy with what had already been taped. She planned her first solo tour of the UK and Ireland, but due to lack of ticket sales, compounded by the label's pressure on her to record additional songs, led to the cancellation of the tour, and it was some months later that a new single eventually appeared, with 'Desire' being released in 30 May 2005, reaching number 22 in the UK Singles Chart and number one on the UK Dance Charts. Released shortly afterwards, the source album, 'Passion', similarly received little attention from the public or critics and stalled at number 41 in the British charts, and she was dropped by EMI, although she publicly stated that she was not interested in recording another album at that time, and was content with writing children's books and motherhood. 

On 12 April 2007 it was announced that Halliwell had signed a six-book deal with Macmillan Children's Books, for a series of children's novels, titled Ugenia Lavender, which followed the adventures of nine-year-old Ugenia, a character based on herself. Later that year, in June, the Spice Girls regrouped and announced plans for a reunion tour, from which they were said to have earned £10 million each, and they released their first compilation album, 'Greatest Hits'. Following an appearance in the film 'Crank: High Voltage' in 2009, and a few TV spots, she posted a message on her website in April 2010, saying she was back in the studio, and in July 2011 she confirmed she'd been working on her fourth album, and that by February 2012 it was in the process of being mastered. In October 2012 she made her first solo performance in seven years at the Breast Cancer Care, debuting a new track called 'Phenomenal Woman', and in October 2013 she premiered her first solo single in nearly eight years, performing 'Half Of Me' on Channel 9's NRL Footy Show grand final show in Australia. Despite announcing that her fourth album was complete in 2012, she continued to work on new material, and in November 2016 thirteen songs leaked onto the internet, which purported to be from her long-awaited fourth album 'Man On The Mountain'. Apart from the 2017 charity single 'Angels In Chains', to raise money for Childline, nothing much has been heard from Halliwell on the music front for some time, and so as it looks like that elusive fourth solo record is now not likely to make an appearance, here is the leaked album from 2016, along with the Australian only single 'Half Of Me', so that we can hear what she up to in those lost years. 

Track listing

01 Love And Light
02 Humanity
03 Man On The Mountain
04 Beautiful Life
05 Deep Down
06 If You Love Someone
07 Miracles
08 Phenomenal Woman
09 Without Love
10 Sheriff
11 I’ve Got A Name
12 I Am Older Now
13 Get Involved
14 Half Of Me

Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Gordon Lightfoot's 'Summer Side Of Life' (2021)

In May 1971 Gordon Lightfoot released his sixth studio album 'Summer Side Of Life' on the Reprise Records label. The album marked a departure from the sound Lightfoot had established on 'Sit Down Young Stranger' in its use of drums and electric instrumentation, to which he would later return in the second half of the decade, and a song like 'Redwood Hill' even contains elements of bluegrass music. The title track was released as a single and peaked at number 98 on the pop singles chart while 'Talking In Your Sleep' reached number 64, while in his homeland of Canada they were both top 30 hits. Anne Murray took her cover of 'Cotton Jenny' into the top 20 on the U.S. country singles chart, while 'Love And Maple Syrup' was covered by Taylor Mitchell in 2009. Nanci Griffith tackled '10 Degrees And Getting Colder' on her 1993 album, 'Other Voices, Other Rooms', after the song had previously been recorded by J. D. Crowe & The New South on their eponymous album in 1975. As with other albums by Lightfoot in this series, the quality of the song-writing was immediately apparent to other artists, and the majority of the songs from this record had been covered by the following year, and so here is another fine collection of Lightfoot's songs as interpreted by other artists.

Track listing

01 10 Degrees & Getting Colder (Jeffrey Shurtleff 1972)
02 Miguel (Jim Donaldson 2011)
03 Go My Way (Val Doonican 1971) 
04 Summer Side Of Life (Blackie And The Rodeo Kings 2003)
05 Cotton Jenny (Anne Murray 1971)
06 Talking In Your Sleep (Caroline Wiles 2021) 
07 Nous Vivons Ensemble (Martin Peltier 1972)
08 Same Old Loverman (Percy Sledge 1971)  
09 Redwood Hill (The Country Gentlemen 1972) 
10 Love & Maple Syrup (Jack Hudson 1972)  
11 Cabaret (John McLachlan 2021) 

Dua Lipa - Wrong Number (2020)

Here is another great collection of off-cuts from the writing and recording sessions for Dua Lipa's second album from 2020.

Track listing

01 Wrong Number
02 Rich
03 Worst Enemy
04 Tijuana (feat. Pharrell)
05 Lion
06 Who Do You Love
07 Run Together
08 Cry (feat. Pharrell)
09 Complicated
10 Sweet Tooth
11 Shine On Sad World
12 Crocodile Tears

Buckingham Nicks - Without You (1974)

Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks met while they were both attending Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California, south of San Francisco. At the time, Nicks was a senior in high school and Buckingham, one year younger, was a junior, and they first met at a casual, after-school Young Life gathering in 1966, where they found themselves harmonizing on songs, although it would be another two years before they collaborated again. In 1968 Buckingham invited Nicks to sing in Fritz, a band for which he was playing bass guitar, and which included some of his high school friends, although they never performed their own original music. The pair continued to perform with the band for three years until they finally dissolved in 1971, and having developed a romantic relationship in addition to their working partnership, Nicks and Buckingham decided soon afterwards to move from San Francisco to Los Angeles to pursue their dreams of being signed. In 1972, the two continued to write songs, recording demo tapes at night in Daly City on a half-inch four-track Ampex tape machine Buckingham kept at the coffee roasting plant belonging to his father. It was not long before the duo met engineer and producer Keith Olsen, as well as casual entrepreneurs Ted Feigin and Lee Lasseff, and when the three heard some of their music they offered to help them secure a distribution deal with Polydor. Recording sessions took place at Sound City Studios, and the resulting album included c couple of guitar instrumentals, 'Django' and 'Stephanie', which was written for Nicks, who was born Stephanie Lynn Nicks. 

The self-titled album was virtually ignored by the promotional staff at Polydor Records when it was released in 1973, but thanks to airplay by several Birmingham, Alabama disc jockeys, the duo managed to cultivate a relatively small and concentrated fan base in that area. Elsewhere in the country, the album did not prove to be commercially successful and was soon deleted from the label's catalogue, and so the disheartened pair spent much of the rest of 1973 continuing to work outside of the music industry to pay their rent. However, shortly after the album's release, Mick Fleetwood, while evaluating recording studios, heard 'Frozen Love' played back through studio monitors at Sound City by Keith Olsen, and he would go on to invite the duo to join Fleetwood Mac in 1974. Before this, Buckingham and Nicks had toured their album, and bootleg recordings have shown that their set list included songs such as 'Rhiannon', 'Sorcerer', and 'Monday Morning', confirming some of the tracks that they would bring with them to the new band. Buckingham has mentioned in interviews that he would have liked to have made a second Buckingham Nicks album, and they had enough songs from their demos to make a start on it, some of which have since leaked on what has become known as 'The Coffee Plant Demos', which include the otherwise unreleased gem 'Without You', the aptly named 'Cathouse Blues', and the quaint 'Goldfish And The Ladybug'. By adding a couple of tracks written after they moved to LA, plus early versions of Nicks and Buckingham compositions recorded by Fleetwood Mac for their 1977 album, we have enough similar sounding material for a creditable follow-up to 'Buckingham Nicks', which could have appeared around 1974, a year or so after their first record.  

Track listing

01 Monday Morning
02 Cathouse Blues
03 Candlebright
04 Landslide
05 Without You
06 Rhiannon
07 Sorcerer
08 Goldfish And The Ladybug
09 World Turning

10 Garbo
11 That's Alright

12 I'm So Afraid

Paris Hilton - Platinum Blonde (2013)

Paris Whitney Hilton is a polarizing and ubiquitous public figure, and is said to have influenced the revival of the "famous for being famous" phenomenon throughout the 2000's, with critics suggesting that she exemplifies the celebutante — a household name not through talent or work, but through inherited wealth and lavish lifestyle. During her life she's turned her hand to modelling, signing with Donald Trump's agency Trump Model Management; writing, publishing her debut book, 'Confessions Of An Heiress' in 2004; acting, with a major film role in the horror remake 'House Of Wax' in 2005; and music, releasing her eponymous debut studio album, 'Paris', in 2006. The record number six on the Billboard 200, and also produced the successful single 'Stars Are Blind', which attained global success, reaching the top ten in 17 countries. Critical reception of her music was mixed, but she found a new fanbase who supported what she was producing, and over the next few years she recorded more songs for a proposed second album, which should have been released around 2013. 'Good Time' was released as the first single from the album in October 2013, to generally negative reviews from the critics, although it still reached number 18 on the Billboard Hot Dance chart. 'Come Alive' followed in July 2014, this time to a much more positive reception, with mention being made of her growth as a vocalist, but there was no sign of the album which was supposed to follow it. Another single was released in 2015, but this time 'High Off My Love' was not promoted as being taken from her second album, and so that seemed to confirm that it was not going to appear any time soon. Further singles were issued in the following years, and in 2024 it was finally announced that Hilton's second studio album would appear this year. For fans who have waited almost a decade to hear more from her, here is a reconstruction of what that second album might have sounded like had it appeared as intended in 2013. 

Track listing

01 Platinum Blonde 
02 Child Of The 80's
03 Good Time (feat. Lil' Wayne)
04 Jailhouse Baby 
05 Boy, Oh Boys
06 I Wanna Know
07 Globetrottin'
08 Crave 
09 I Need You
10 Last Night (feat. Lil' Wayne & Afrojack)
11 Come Alive
12 My BFF 

The Rolling Stones - Strictly Memphis (1993)

This third album from the superb 'Fully Finished Studio Outtakes' bootleg is a transitional set, using tracks following on from the last post's1982 leftovers, starting with an edited take of a 1983 outtake (I thought the outro just went on too long), followed by half a dozen songs from 1985, one from 1989, and then closing with a couple from 1993, which will lead us nicely into the final post, which will cover 1997. As before, here are notes from Zen Archer's Aural Surfing Odyssey blog, with the correct years of recording, and as well as editing 'Dog Shit', I've also fixed the intro to 'Strictly Memphis'. 

01 Dog Shit (1983)
I guess you'd rather putty in your hands rather than the alternative but this track, which made it's inaugural appearance on 'Foxes In The Boxes' as a thrilling instrumental now features vocals. A storming horn lead thruster with an insatiable appetite for longevity (sounds about right, eh?) is far too good to have been left by the side of the road but here we are. Correct year.
02 Deep Love (1985)
A deep and funky, loose guitar driven track from the 'Dirty Work' sessions. Jagger veers between roar and growl with his vocals. Correct year.
03 Nobody's Perfect (1975)
Apparently from the 'Black And Blue' sessions, I would argue that this track has much more of an 80's feel, as the production is a give away – that and the drive of Charlie’s drumming. Both Ronnie and Keith's licks playfully lap against each other. More likely to be 1985.
04 Putty In Your Hands (1982)
Soul styled romp with Keith starring just as closely as Mick's bellowed vocals. This track has as much sass as the girl who's leading Mick around and up and down. It’s a cover-version of a Shirelles track from 1962 and makes a good fist of attempting to sound like it might. Probably 1985.
05 I Can't See No One Else (1985)
A perfectly packaged double-entendre of a song. Mainly piano led but featuring a stinging Shadows styled guitar with a chugging rubbery bass-line and fabulous call and response harmonies. Correct year. 
06 Don't Lie To Me (1972)
No, not that one but an 80's version instead. Very interesting lyrics referencing a "Monkey Man", this is in the very same style as 'Troubles A-Coming' This re-work sounds like 1985.
07 Strictly Memphis (1985)
This track appears almost fully formed, a soul funk stomp that cuts in on a take that's already in full flow (now fixed). This version adds a little extra brass. Take your pick of ‘Dirty Work' outtake compilations previous – It's probably already featured on there already. Correct year
08 What Am I Gonna Do With Your Love (feat. Kirsty MacColl, Tom Waits & Bobby Womack 1985)
On this 1985 gospel track recorded in New York, the band are joined by guest artists who perform a credible vocal-orientated song. Jagger takes the lead vocals and Richards the backing vocals, while Kirsty MacColl, Patti Scialfa, Don Covay and Bobby Womack do the gospel invocation of "your love". Tom Waits possibly plays the piano, as he was recoding his next album 'Rain Dogs' in New York at the same time, and Keith took time out to play on a couple of tracks. 
09 Giving It Up (1989)
Taken from sessions for the 'Steel Wheels' album, this version features an extra piano line that was later stripped out. Correct year. 
10 Hands Off (1986)
A tough, thundering rocker with a quick, choppy tempo. Really very Stones-of-the-time, and that time is most likely 1993.
11 Ivy League (1994)
A more complete version of the track without some of the overdubs of other versions. Probably one year earlier, at 1993.

Track listing 

01 Dog Shit
02 Deep Love 
03 Nobody's Perfect
04 Putty In Your Hands
05 I Can't See No One Else 
06 Don't Lie To Me
07 Strictly Memphis
08 What Am I Gonna Do With Your Love (feat. Kirsty MacColl, Tom Waits & Bobby Womack) 
09 Giving It Up
10 Hands Off
11 Ivy League