Mars Argo - 2012 (2012)

Brittany Alexandria Sheets was born on 20 April 1988 in Saginaw, Michigan, and is an American singer, songwriter and internet personality, best known by her stage name Mars Argo. After meeting Corey Michael Mixter (a.k.a. Titanic Sinclair) on Myspace, they worked together on the YouTube channels digitalfuntown and grocerybagdottv, and later formed the alternative pop band Mars Argo. The band released their debut album, 'Technology Is A Dead Bird', on 6 November 2009, and this was followed by an acoustic EP, 'Internet Sessions', in 2010, and a second EP, 'Linden Place', in 2011. They began working on a second album with Chicago-based producer, Johnny K, soon after 'Technology Is A Dead Bird' was released, but once a number of tracks had been laid down, the duo put their album on hold and moved to Los Angeles in 2012, where they filmed and released the remainder of the YouTube channel's uploads. More songs were later recorded for the album, but the release was pushed back from 2012 to 2013, and then in 2014 the couple separated, although they continued to work together as a band, performing during the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. After a brief hiatus, and revival in December of the same year, they split up permanently in March 2015 without ever finalising their second album. On 17 April 2018 Sheets filed a 44-page lawsuit against Mixter and his new collaborator Poppy (real name Moriah Rose Pereira), alleging copyright infringement, stalking, and emotional and physical abuse being inflicted upon her by the two, in particular accusing Poppy of stealing her look. The lawsuit was dismissed on 14 September, having been settled out of court with agreements that Mixter and Pereira would not be in contact with Sheets, and with Sheets gaining all rights, title and interest to the Mars Argo music and brand. Despite now owning the rights to the music of Mars Argo, the second studio album has never appeared, and so from the many tracks that they laid down between 2009 and 2014, we can pick the ones most likely to have been intended for the record and piece together what could have been the album tentatively titled '2012', and which would have appeared in that very year. 

Track listing

01 Runaway Runaway
02 Using You
03 Be Easy
04 Doctor (Instrumental)

05 Wet Cigarette
06 Open Up The Door In Your Head 
07 Beauty Is Empty 

08 Stuck on You 
09 Wasting Away 
10 Hear Me Out 
11 Me Today
12 Formal Girl
13 Suicide Birds
14 Love In Black And White

Supersister - Wow (1975)

Supersister was a Dutch progressive rock band formed in The Hague, Netherlands in 1968, from the ashes of The Bulbs, who consisted of Robert Jan Stips on keyboards and vocals, Sacha van Geest on flute, Marco Vrolijk on drums, Ron van Eck on bass, along with Rib Douw and Daniel Denis. The Bulbs were together for about three years from 1965, but when Douw and Denis both left in 1968, the remaining members renamed themselves Supersister and carried on as a quartet. They released their debut single 'She Was Naked' in 1970, and it became their biggest hit, reaching the Netherlands Top 40, and gaining them a record deal with Polydor Records that same year. Their debut album, 'Present From Nancy' appeared later in 1970, and the next two years saw the release of 'To The Highest Bidder' in 1971, and 'Pudding En Gisteren' in 1972. Following the release of that third album, van Geest and Vrolijik both left the group, replaced by Charly Mariano and Herman van Boeyen, respectively, and by 1973 they had started to incorporate more jazz fusion elements into their music, as evidenced by their fourth album 'Iskander'. After its release in 1973, Mariano was replaced by Elton Dean, while Stips left to play keyboard in another Dutch group, Golden Earring. The band decided to split up after the release of their fifth album, 'Spiral Staircase', in 1974, citing diminishing interest in the band's jazz fusion direction, and lacklustre commercial reception. A 2000 reunion included the classic line-up of Stips, van Geest, Vrolijik, and van Eck, and they played Progfest in Los Angeles, later releasing their first official studio album in 26 years, with 'Memories Are New'. One thing that is particularly noticeable about Supersister is that they have never taken themselves too seriously, and this can be heard by listening to the b-sides of some of their singles, such as the spoken word 'Spiral Staircase' and 'The Groupies Of The Band', or their Bonzo's-inspired Elvis take-off single 'Fancy Nancy'. However, they also produced some outstanding progressive rock, and it is for this that they will be most remembered, so enjoy this collection of hard to find singles and b-sides from their classic period of 1970-1975. 

Track listing

01 She Was Naked (single 1970)
02 Spiral Staircase (b-side of 'She Was Naked')
03 Fancy Nancy (single 1970)
04 Gonna Take Easy (b-side of 'Fancy Nancy')
05 Girl Named You (single edit 1971)    
06 Missing Link (b-side of 'Girl Named You')
07 No Tree Will Grow (On Too High A Mountain) (single edit 1971)  
08 The Groupies Of The Band (b-side of 'No Tree Will Grow (On Too High A Mountain)')
09 Dead Dog (b-side of 'Radio' 1972)
10 Wow (single 1973)
11 Drs. D. (b-side of 'Wow')
12 Memories Are New (b-side of 'Bagoas' 1973)
13 Coconut Woman (single as Sweet Okay Supersister 1975)
14 Here Comes The Doctor (b-side of 'Coconut Woman')

Lil' Kim - Notorious 2 (2000)

Kimberly Denise Jones was born on 11 July 1974, and is better known by her stage name Lil' Kim. In her teens, she would freestyle rap, influenced by fellow female hip-hop artists like MC Lyte and the Lady of Rage, and in 1994 she was discovered by fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who invited her to join his group Junior M.A.F.I.A. Their debut album, 'Conspiracy', generated two top 20 singles in the United States and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). After a year with Junior M.A.F.I.A., Lil' Kim began her solo career by making guest performances on R&B albums and recording her debut album, 'Hard Core', which was released in November 1996. The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, the highest debut for a female rap album at that time, and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. In 2001, Lil' Kim reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with the single 'Lady Marmalade' (a remake of LaBelle's 1974 single), alongside Mýa, Pink, and Christina Aguilera, and the song also won her the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. From 1998 to 2000, Lil' Kim continued working under the management of B.I.G.'s best friend, Damion "D-Roc" Butler's Roc Management, touring and modelling for various fashion and pop culture companies including Candie's, Versace, Iceberg, and Baby Phat. On 27 June 2000, she released her second album, 'The Notorious K.I.M.', and this marked a new image and revamped look for the rapper. Despite the limited success of its singles, the album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and was certified platinum four weeks after its release. In 2001 Lil' Kim reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with the single 'Lady Marmalade' (a remake of LaBelle's 1974 single), alongside Mýa, Pink, and Christina Aguilera, and the song also won her the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. While recording tracks for her second album, with production assistance from Timbaland & Stretch Armstrong, various issues caused it to be delayed from its original release date of August 1999, not least the leaking of eight of their tracks. Kim took the opportunity to scrap the pair's contributions and to retool the project by recording 11 fresh songs and dumping nearly all of the leaked content. With pretty much a full album of unreleased and alternate recordings out there, it's no surprise that they have been floating around for a while, and so here they all are collected together to form a sister album to 'The Notorious K.I.M.', from the same time period as the original release of early to mid-2000. 

Track listing

01 K.I.M. (Intro)  
02 Resurrection (All Hail the Queen) (feat. Diddy)
03 Nobody Do It Better than Us (feat. Diddy)
04 Diamonds (feat. Kelly Price)
05 Bad Girl (feat. RuPaul)
06 Revolution (demo feat. Grace Jones & Diddy)
07 Good Time (feat. Lil' Cease) 
08 Makes No Sense (feat. Tanya Stephens)
09 Rockin' It
10 Queen Bitch (Part 2) (feat. Jay Z & The Notorious B.I.G.)
11 Chinatown (feat. DJ Clue, Lil' Cease & Junior M.A.F.I.A.)

12 How Many Licks? (feat. Kelis, Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg & Lil' Cease)

Thunderbugs - Delicious (2000)

Thunderbugs were a British girl-pop band comprising Jane Vaughan on lead vocals, Stef Maillard on bass and backing vocals, Nicky Shaw on drums and backing vocals, and Brigitta Jansen on guitar, and in 1999 they were the latest project of Sony Music (through Epic), who were in the process of funnelling a shedload of cash into the band. This was the second all girl group who played their own instruments that they'd launched that year, and as Hepburn had had two top twenty hits under their belt, Sony were hoping for even greater success with Thunderbugs. Whilst Hepburn's slightly whiny and grungy music fitted well with the Buffy soundtrack it appeared on, in contrast Thunderbugs seemed to be a more traditional pop act, with the first single 'Friends Forever' being a happy, breezy affair. They were a multi-national collective, with a British lead singer and drummer, and a continental element in their French bass player and German guitarist, and after 18 months of pre-chart grooming by First Avenue Management they should have been a huge success. In August 1999 it was 'Thunderbugs Are Go!', as the costly TV advert said, to launch 'Friends Forever' and to preview the upcoming debut album 'Delicious'. It seemed to work, as 'Friends Forever' crashed into the UK top 5, but the follow-up was the slower, but still jaunty 'It's About Time You Were Mine', and while not as instant and powerful a tune as 'Friends Forever', it was a reasonable choice for the next single. In 1999 there had been a pop explosion, and by November Sony was pushing to release albums by A1, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and Destiny’s Child, so Thunderbugs had to wait their turn, but before long it was Christmas with still no release date for their record. Normally this is a good time to release an album which could pick up sales as a present, which was what Sonly hoped would happen with 'It's About Time You Were Mine', but in 1999 there were so many singles on the schedules that Sony had to concentrate on new releases by acts like the Vengaboys, B*Witched, Queen & David Bowie, Tom Jones, Leann Rimes, TLC, The Beastie Boys, and The Charlatans, as well as big club hits by William Orbit and Progress, and so when the new Top 40 was announced, many singles that were expected to chart highly had disappointing sales, while the lesser known acts didn't show at all. Thunderbugs were one of these casualties, and despite having had all that money spent on them, Sony decided there was no point splashing out any more and they were consigned to the vaults. No further singles were released from the album, and 'Delicious' was only issued in the UK on the flop format of the decade, minidisc. As so often happens with these shelved or restricted release albums, the record itself is a perfectly fine collection of late 90's pop, and deserves to be heard even today, where I think it stands up pretty well.  

Track listing

01 It's About Time You Were Mine
02 Friends Forever
03 Walking On Air
04 You Got Something On Me
05 You And Me
06 Does Your Heart Still Break
07 Angel Of The Morning
08 Miracle Baby
09 Jealous
10 Delicious
11 Alright Now

Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Neil Sedaka (1978)

When Neil Sedaka was 13, a neighbour heard him playing and introduced him to her 16-year-old son, Howard Greenfield, an aspiring poet and lyricist, and before long they were part of the Brill Building's legendary composing stable, writing songs together throughout much of their young lives. Before rock and roll became popular, Sedaka and Greenfield found inspiration from show tunes, and when Sedaka became a major teen pop star, the pair continued writing hits for him and numerous other artists. Unlike most of the other Brill Building songwriters, Sedaka was also releasing his own singles at the same time as writing for others, and finally hit the big time in 1959 when 'Oh, Carol' reached number 9 in the Hot Hundred in 1959, followed by his first number one with 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do' in 1962. In 1964 Sedaka's career began a sharp decline, hastened by The Beatles' arrival on the radio and TV, along with the rest of the so-called British Invasion, and following the release of his 'My Yiddishe Momme' album in 1966 he didn't release another long-player for four years, although he was still writing through-out that period. Sedaka worked to revive his solo career in the early 1970's, and in 1971 he reunited with RCA and released the 'Emergence' album, which included the single 'I'm A Song (Sing Me)'. In 1972, he embarked on a successful British tour and was introduced by Harvey Lisberg to the four future members of 10cc, and he recorded his 'Solitaire' album with them as his backing band at their Strawberry Studios in Stockport, with the album being issued later that year by RCA. The title track was successfully covered by both Andy Williams and the Carpenters, while his own single 'Beautiful You' also charted briefly in America, and was his first US chart appearance in ten years. 'Solitaire' was the first collaboration between Sedaka and new song-writing partner Phil Cody, whom Sedaka felt was an ideal lyricist for his music in a singer-songwriter style, and this was proved to be true when by 1978 nearly every song on 'Solitaire' had been picked up and covered by other artists, the best of which are collected here, along with a few from 'Emergence' to make up the album to a satisfactory 42 minutes. 

Track listing

01 That's When The Music Takes Me (Helen McBennett 1978) 
02 Beautiful You (Colin Blunstone 1976)
03 Express Yourself (Adrienne Posta 1973)
04 Home (Vince Hill 1974)
05 Adventures Of A Boy Child Wonder (Ted Neeley 1973)
06 Dimbo Man (Blablus 1976)
07 Trying To Say Goodbye (Dana 1975)
08 Solitaire (The Carpenters 1975)
09 Don't Let It Mess Your Mind (Helen Reddy 1975)
10 Gone With The Morning (Suzanne 1973)
11 God Bless Joanna (Tony Christie 1972)
12 One More Mountain To Climb (David Soul 1976)
13 (I'm A Song) Sing Me, Sing Me (Lou Christie 1971)

Velvet Starlings - Sold Down The River (2020)

Velvet Starlings are an indie rock quartet from Los Angeles, California, who are deeply rooted in 1960's psych, beat and fuzz. They were formed by the then 18-year old Christian Gisborne, and the band has been praised for its ability to fuse 60's garage rock into a sound that is all their own, best described as beach-fuzz-psych with a big cheeky nod to the British Invasion. Their debut self-titled EP on Sound x 3 Records/Rock N Rolla Records was released in late 2018, in collaboration with producer/songwriter Roger Gisborne (leader of 90's Brit Rock band Plastiscene, and Christian's brother). It included the single 'Borrowed Time', which was a clear tribute to the sixties era, while second single, 'Sold Down The River', showcased Dylan-esque lyrics, soulful Hammond B3 organ, gritty guitars and raw blues inspired vocals. They followed this with another EP in 2019, with 'Love Everything, Love Everyone...' containing seven more superb 60's influenced tracks, which were this time produced by Christian Gisborne alongside his brother, and now bandmate, Roger in Los Angeles, with engineer/mixer Josiah Mazzaschi (Smashing Pumpkins, The Kills, Jesus & Mary Chain and Deap Valley). The music adopted a slightly heavier sound, mirroring the band's dynamic live performance, and 'Kids In Droves' was chosen as the lead single from the EP. In late 2020 they released a Christmas single, and the following year they finally issued their debut album, 'Technicolour Shake Down', to positive reviews. I've been a massive fan of the band since the first time I heard 'Sold Down The River', and remember being amazed that someone so young could produce a song so firmly rooted in an era that was over more than twenty year before he was even born. As an introduction to the band, here are their first two EP's, plus their Christmas single, compiled into an album that really deserves a hearing, and if you are as impressed by them as I was then check out their debut album proper on Bandcamp. 

Track listing

01 If Life Ain't Getting You High
02 Borrowed Time
03 Sold Down The River
04 I'll Be There
05 Coming Home
06 No Hard Feelings
07 It's Christmas Time Again
08 Bitter Pills
09 Kids In Droves
10 Rabbit In A Gun
11 Emerald Isle
12 Karmic Lemonade
13 No Soul To Save
14 Broken Soul (Reprise)

Allie X - CollXtion V (2016)

For the third collection of unreleased tracks from Allie X we move on to what I think is an outstanding collection of songs that were recorded in 2016, and which make up volume 5 in this extension of her CollXtion series.  

Track listing

01 Sculpture
02 Why You Wanna (O Chad)
03 Elijah
04 Aurora
05 Glam (Love Me Forever)
06 I Take Ut Back

07 MASTERpeace
08 I'm Not Gonna Tell My Boyfriend
09 Paradise
10 One Day And One Night
11 Tongue Tied
12 Could This Be Destiny
13 Chad Redux

Mike Solof - Off The Beatle Track - Episode 69 (2019)

Time for another episode of Mike Solof's investigations into all things Beatles and Beatles-related, and for this episode he is concentrating on one of the things that the band are best known for - their exquisite harmonies. A lot of the Beatles’ songs followed standard triadic three-part harmony, with John taking the main melody, Paul the higher (a third above John) and George below John, or sometimes in between John and Paul. Paul, being the group’s most natural tenor, took the highest line almost without exception. Some songs, and parts of songs, can include strikingly non-standard harmonies, purposeful clashing or with more complex tonality, including 'Yes It Is', 'I Want To Tell You', and Paul and George’s backing in 'You Can't Do That', and in this episode Mike takes an overview of the band's harmonic highlights, from 1963's 'Ask Me Why', to the sumptuous 'Because' from 1969.

Track listing

01 Episode 69 - The Beatles In Harmony

Soundgarden - Cold Bitch (1994)

Bassist Hiro Yamamoto and drummer/singer Chris Cornell played together in The Shemps in the early 80's, and when the band split up they stayed in touch, teaming up again in 1984 and adding Kim Thayil on guitar to form Soundgarden. Cornell originally played drums while singing, but in 1985 the band enlisted Scott Sundquist on drums to allow Cornell to concentrate on vocals. The band travelled around playing various concerts with this line-up for about a year, and their first recordings were three songs that appeared on the 1986 compilation album for C/Z Records called 'Deep Six', featuring 'Heretic', 'Tears To Forget' and 'All Your Lies'. In 1986, Cornell's then-girlfriend and future wife, Susan Silver started managing Soundgarden, and in the same year Sundquist left the band to spend time with his family and was replaced by Skin Yard's drummer, Matt Cameron. Signing to the newly-formed Sub Pop label, they released their first single, 'Hunted Down' in 1987, with the b-side, 'Nothing To Say', also appearing on the KCMU compilation tape 'Bands That Will Make Money', which was distributed to record companies, many of whom showed interest in Soundgarden. The 'Screaming Life' EP followed on Sub Pop in 1987, and the 'Fopp EP' appeared in 1988, and they were combined in 1990 into 'Screaming Life/Fopp'. Though major labels were courting the band, in 1988 they signed to the independent label SST Records for their debut album, 'Ultramega OK', which was released on 31 October 1988. Although Cornell accused SST's appointed producer of not knowing what was happening in Seattle, the album earned the band a Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance in 1990. 

After touring to promote 'Ultramega OK', the band signed with A&M Records, which caused a rift between Soundgarden and its traditional audience, accusing them of selling out, and losing them some of their early fans. The band later began work on its first album for a major label, but personnel difficulties caused a shift in the band's songwriting process, and Cornell ended up writing a lot of the material, and 'Louder Than Love' was released in September 1989. A month before touring for 'Louder Than Love' was to begin, bassist Hiro Yamamoto, who was becoming frustrated that he was not making much of a contribution, left the band to return to college. After playing a few unsuccessful rehearsals with Jim Tillman from the U-Men, Jason Everman, formerly of Nirvana, officially replaced Hiro Yamamoto on bass, although he only lasted until the tour was finished before he was fired. Bassist Ben Shepherd replaced Everman and the new lineup recorded Soundgarden's third album in 1991, with 'Badmotorfinger' being released on 8 October. Although eclipsed at the time of its release by the sudden popularity of Nirvana's 'Nevermind', the focus of attention brought to the Seattle scene helped Soundgarden gain wider attention. The singles 'Outshined' and 'Rusty Cage' were able to find an audience on alternative rock radio and MTV, and the album received some positive reviews, being nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1992. The band played the 1992 Lollapalooza tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, and Ministry, and in anticipation of their appearance, they released a limited edition of 'Badmotorfinger' with a second disc containing the EP 'Satanoscillatemymetallicsonatas', featuring their cover of Black Sabbath's 'Into The Void', titled 'Into The Void (Stealth)'. 

In 1993, they contributed the track 'Show Me' to the AIDS-Benefit album 'No Alternative', and then began work on their fourth album, 'Superunknown', which was released on 8 March 1994. This was the band's breakthrough album, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart and being driven by the singles 'Spoonman', 'The Day I Tried To Live', 'Black Hole Sun', 'My Wave', and 'Fell On Black Days'. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995, and remains their most successful album. Recording for their next album was fraught with tensions, with Thayil and Cornell allegedly clashing over Cornell's desire to shift away from the heavy guitar riffing that had become the band's trademark, and when 'Down On The Upside' was released on 21 May 1996 it was notably less heavy than the group's earlier albums, and marked a further departure from the band's grunge roots. After completing a tour in support of the record, the band split in April 1997, saying that they had been "eaten up by the business". Soundgarden were undoubtedly one of the best grunge outfits of the 80's/90's, and so here is a collection of rare and hard to find non-album songs from their career from 1986 to 1992, including some choice cover versions hidden away on b-sides and EP's. 

Track listing

01 Toy Box (b-side of 'Flower' 1989)
02 Heretic (from 'Deep Six' compilation album 1986)
03 Come Together (b-side of 'Hands All Over' 1990) 
04 Fresh Deadly Roses (from the 'Loudest Love' EP 1990)
05 Into The Void (Stealth) (from the 'Jesus Christ Pose' EP 1992) 
06 Girl You Want (from the bonus CD with limited 'Badmotorfinger' album 1992)  
07 Stray Cat Blues (from the 'Jesus Christ Pose' EP 1992)  
08 She's A Politician (from 6" flexi-disc with Relfex Magazine 1991)
09 Cold Bitch ('Badmotorfinger' outtake 1992)
10 Show Me (from the 'No Alternative' compilation album 1993, with Ben Sheppard on vocals)
11 Touch Me (b-side of 'Rusty Cage' 1992, with co-vocals by Stephanie Barber)  
12 I Don't Care About You (from the 'Outshined' EP 1992) 
13 Can You See Me (from the 'Outshined' EP 1992) 
14 I Can Give You Anything (from the 'Outshined' EP 1992) 
15 Homicidal Suicidal (from the 'Outshined' EP 1992) 
16 She Likes Surprises (bonus track on Japanese edition of 'Superunknown' 1994)
17 Like Suicide (acoustic) (b-side of 'Black Hole Sun' 1994)

Track 3: Beatles cover
Track 5: Black Sabbath cover
Track 6: Devo cover
Track 7: Rolling Stones cover
Track 11: Fancy cover
Track 13: Jimi Hendrix cover
Track 14: Ramones cover
Track 15: Buzzcocks cover

Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr - Driving Lessons (1976)

Before forming the Cars, members of the band performed together in several different groups. Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr met in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1960's after Ocasek saw Orr performing with his band The Grasshoppers on the Big 5 Show, a local musical variety program. The two were members of various groups in Columbus, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Michigan before moving to Boston in the early 1970's, and once there Ocasek and Orr, along with lead guitarist Jas Goodkind, formed a Crosby, Stills and Nash-style folk rock band called Milkwood. In 1972, they released an album titled 'How's The Weather' through Paramount Records, but it failed to chart, and so Milkwood fell apart and Ocasek and Orr formed a new group called Richard And The Rabbits, a name suggested to them by Jonathan Richman. This band included Greg Hawkes, who had studied at the Berklee School of Music and had played saxophone on Milkwood's album, but when Hawkes left to tour with musical comedy act Martin Mull and His Fabulous Furniture, the duo then performed as an acoustic duo called Ocasek and Orr at the Idler Coffeehouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1974 they recorded demos of a few of their songs using the Richard And The Rabbits line-up, which included Hawkes and Fuzzbee Morse, with the addition of Tom Yates on guitar and Glenn Evans on drums for a cover of Buddy Holly's 'Everyday'. 

Ocasek and Orr later teamed with guitarist Elliot Easton (who had also studied at Berklee) in the band Cap'n Swing, which featured the afore-mentioned Glenn Evans on drums, later followed by Kevin Robichaud, and a jazzy bass player, which clashed with Ocasek's preference for a rock-and-roll sound. Orr was the lead vocalist and did not play an instrument, and they soon came to the attention of WBCN disc jockey Maxanne Sartori, who began playing songs from their demo tape on her show. After being rejected by several record labels, Ocasek fired the bass player, keyboardist and drummer and resolved to form a band that better fitted his style of writing. Orr took over bass guitar duties, and Robichaud was replaced by David Robinson, formerly of The Modern Lovers and DMZ. Robinson's sense of fashion exerted a strong influence on the band's image, and he also suggested the band's new name, and so The Cars was formed in 1976, going on to become one of the best late 70's pop bands. These 1974 demos show a more laid-back style than would later emerge in the power-pop of The Cars, and as the tape is only 29 minutes long I've picked a couple of Cap'n Swing songs that blended in nicely with the other tracks to flesh it out to album length. The title alludes to the fact that this was their learning period before they were allowed out in their own Cars. 

Track listing

01 Harlequin
02 Sam's Decision
03 I Need Spring
04 You're Always Brighter
05 Goes On Sleeping
06 Never Gonna Get Over You
07 Twilight Superman
08 Everyday  
09 Dream Trader
10 Start It All Again

The Neptunes - Big White Spaceship (2006)

In 2001 the Neptunes formed the Star Trak label, which was partially funded by Arista Records (from Bertelsmann Music Group) in a joint-venture. Pharrell Williams would sign longtime friends, Clipse, and release their debut album, 'Lord Willin'', on the label in 2002, led by the hits 'Grindin'', 'When The Last Time', and 'Ma, I Don't Love Her'. After the success of the album, the label would sign Kelis, Vanessa Marquez, Fam-Lay, N.E.R.D and pop rock band Spymob, who had provided backing instruments for N.E.R.D's debut album 'In Search Of....'. The label released a compilation album during the summer of 2003, entitled 'The Neptunes Present... Clones', featuring songs and remixes from various Star Trak artists. In late 2003, Star Trak Entertainment released the highly successful album, Tasty, by Kelis led by the hit single 'Milkshake', and in early 2004, Star Trak linked with EMI's Virgin Records for a new distribution deal. In the second of three compilations of rare and unreleased productions from the Neptunes, here are some of their lesser-known productions from 2002 to 2006.

Track listing

01 SOS Baby (Robin Thicke) 
02 Operator (Ol' Dirty Bastard feat. Clipse & Pharrell Williams)
03 Big White Spaceship (Pharrell Williams feat. Timbaland & Magoo) 
04 Wifey (Usher feat. Pharrell) 
05 My First Time (Beyonce) 
06 Want You To Know (Vanessa Marquez feat. Justin Timberlake) 
07 Another Life (Robin Thicke)
08 If You Keep On Askin' (Vanessa Marquez) 
09 Only One (Usher feat. Pharrell) 
10 Friends Are (Vanessa Marquez) 
11 Locked Away (N.E.R.D.)
12 What's A Guy Gotta Do (Usher)
13 Til the Morning [MJB Demo] (Natasha Ramos)

Holiday Time...

Time to jet off for some much-needed sun in Morocco, so the blog will be taking a short break until I get back. I've posted a few more albums than usual this week to tide you over, and I'll be back in two weeks. Soulseek will be offline while I'm away, so email aiwe2@yahoo.com for the download links if you can't wait for my return. 

Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Paul Williams (1981)

Paul Hamilton Williams Jr. was born on 19 September 1940 in Omaha, Nebraska, and comes from a musical family, with his bother Mentor Williams also becoming a songwriter, composing Dobie Gray's 1973 hit 'Drift Away'. He began his professional song-writing career with Biff Rose in Los Angeles, who he met while the two of them were working together on a television comedy show. They wrote the song 'Fill Your Heart' (later covered by David Bowie) which was recorded by Rose on his first album, 'The Thorn In Mrs. Rose's Side' in 1968, and they later collaborated again on 'I'll Walk Away', which Rose recorded for his third eponymous album. Rose was instrumental in getting Williams his break with A&M Records, which resulted in him working with songwriter Roger Nichols, and together they were responsible for a number of successful pop hits from the 1970's, including several hits for Three Dog Night, with 'An Old Fashioned Love Song', 'The Family Of Man' and 'Out In The Country', as well as Helen Reddy with 'You And Me Against The World', and probably most notably for The Carpenters, giving them 'Rainy Days And Mondays', 'I Won't Last A Day Without You', and 'We've Only Just Begun'. An early collaboration with Nichols was on 'Someday Man', which was covered by the Monkees, for whom he unsuccessfully auditioned on a 1969 single, and he later worked on the music for a number of films, including writing and singing on 'Phantom Of The Paradise' in 1974, in which he starred and earned an Oscar nomination for the music, and also 'Bugsy Malone' in 1976. He also had a successful career as a recording artist, with his first album, 'Someday Man', appearing in 1970, followed by 'Just An Old Fashioned Love Song' being released the following year, and this featured his own versions of songs that had been already been hits for other artists. The album included one cover by him, of Graham Nash's 'Simple Man', so for this collection I've left that off and replaced it with a couple of his other songs from the same time period which were later recorded by Jack Jones and Art Garfunkel. 

Track listing

01 Waking Up Alone (David Soul 1981)
02 I Never Had It So Good (Dobie Gray 1973)
03 We've Only Just Begun (The Carpenters 1970)
04 That's Enough For Me (The Lettermen 1972) 
05 A Perfect Love (Gladys Knight And The Pips 1973)
06 An Old Fashioned Love Song (Three Dog Night 1971)
07 Let Me Be The One (Anne Murray 1971)
08 When I Was All Alone (Colin Blunstone 1974)
09 My Love And I (Mary Travers 1972)
10 Gone Forever (Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77 1971)
11 Talk It Over In The Morning (Jack Jones 1971)
12 Traveling Boy (Art Garfunkel 1973)

Allie X - CollXtion IV (2015)

This second collection of unreleased tracks from Allie X was also recorded in 2015, and forms volume VI in her CollXtion series.  

Track listing

01 Hunter And The Prey
02 Summer '98
03 Boom Boom
04 Double Dutch
05 Not Broken
06 After The Flame
07 Fast Cars
08 Glow
09 Intervention

10 Didn't Start The War (Interlude)

11 Coma

12 Doorbell
13 You Only Live When You Know What You're Dying For

14 Losing My MInd
15 Never Again

16 You Don't Scare Me

Black Sabbath - The Fallen (2007)

Black Sabbath were formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, and are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. Signing to Philips Records in November 1969, they released their first single, 'Evil Woman', in January 1970, and their debut album, 'Black Sabbath', was released the following month. Though it received a negative critical response, the album was a commercial success, leading to a follow-up record, 'Paranoid', later that year. The band's popularity grew, and by 1973's 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', critics were starting to respond favourably. This album, along with its predecessor 'Vol. 4' in 1972, and its successors 'Sabotage' in 1975, 'Technical Ecstasy' in 1976 and 'Never Say Die!' in 1978, saw the band explore more experimental and progressive styles. Osbourne's excessive substance abuse led to his firing in 1979, and he was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who recorded three albums with the band before he too left, and was replaced by former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. 'Born Again' was released in 1983, and the following year the band split up, with Iommi assembling a new version of the group the following year. For the next twelve years, the band endured many personnel changes that included vocalists Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin, as well as several drummers and bassists. In 1991, Iommi reunited with Butler, Dio and Carmen Appice to record 'Dehumanizer' in 1992, though Dio and Appice had both departed again by the end of the year. 

After the release of 'Forbidden' in 1995, which was Black Sabbath's last studio album for eighteen years, the band went on a one-year hiatus until the original line-up reunited in 1997. They released a live album, 'Reunion', the following year, and continued to tour sporadically until 2005, most of which saw them headline Osbourne's annual festival tour Ozzfest. The band went on hiatus in 2006, and in 2007 a compilation CD of material recorded by Black Sabbath during vocalist Ronnie James Dio's tenure in the band was released, which saw the band reunite and record three new tracks for inclusion on it. After the recording was completed, the members decided to tour under the name 'Heaven & Hell', so that the working partnership between Iommi and Dio on the three new songs would not be wasted, and they recorded 'The Devil You Know' album in 2009 before disbanding after Dio's death in the following year. The original line-up of Black Sabbath reunited once again in 2011, though Ward departed prior to the recording of their final studio album and 19th overall, '13'. This collection includes contributions from most of the vocalists who sang with the band, and includes b-sides, outtakes, demos, bonus tracks, and those three Dio recordings from 2007, giving a complete over-view of the history of the band. Although Ozzy only appears on one track here, he was part of the classic early line-up, and so I've used his image on the cover, which was my favourite picture of them that I found. 

Track listing

01 Weevil Woman '71 (outtake of Crow cover 1971)
02 Slapback (demo 1979)
03 The Fallen ('Born Again' outtake 1983)
04 Stonehenge (extended b-side of 'Trashed' 7" vinyl 1983)
05 Black Moon (b-side of 'The Shining' 12" vinyl 1987)
06 Some Kind Of Woman (b-side of 'The Shining' 12" vinyl 1987)
07 Cloak And Dagger (bonus track from picture disc of 'Headless Cross' 1989)
08 Bad Blood (outtake from 'Dehumanizer' 1992)
09 What's The Use (bonus track from Japanese edition of 'Cross Purposes' 1993)
10 Loser Gets It All (bonus track from Japanese edition of 'Forbidden' 1995)
11 The Devil Cried (new recording from 'Black Sabbath - The Dio Years' 2007)
12 Ear In The Wall (new recording from 'Black Sabbath - The Dio Years' 2007)
13 Shadow Of The Wind (new recording from 'Black Sabbath - The Dio Years' 2007)

Anjel - Heavenly (2003)

When original members of Destiny's Child, LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, left the group in 2000, they planned to form a new band called Anjel. They wanted a third member of the group, so Linda Casey, the mother of two members of Jagged Edge, held a talent search in Connecticut, and Natasha Ramos landed the gig. Due to personality differences, Ramos soon left the group, but before leaving she introduced them to Naty Quinones, who auditioned and was added in her place, and in 2001 Tiffany Beaudoin was introduced to them by a mutual friend, and joined after an audition. The new group made one live appearance in 2001 on 'Good Day, NY', where they talked about the album they were working on, and sang part of their song 'Missing You'. They recorded 22 songs for their album in Atlanta, with the assistance of Jagged Edge, and were preparing to release it on Columbia Records through Jagged Edge's production company 581 Productions. However, Jermaine Dupri's leaving Columbia Records caused problems with 581 Entertainment, and while these business issues were being sorted out, the individual members of Anjel decided to look into other projects. Before the issues could be resolved, 581 Records folded in 2003 and the album was cancelled, leading to the break-up of the group. Since the break-up, Beaudoin has appeared on Jagged Edge's 2003 album, 'Hard', while Luckett signed to Capitol Records in 2004 and released her platinum selling debut solo album in 2006. Quinones, now going by the name Nativida or Nati Q., still works with Phar-City and is on an independent label, Soul-Empire, while Natasha Ramos signed to Star Trak in 2005, recording an unreleased album of her own with the Neptunes in 2006. Here are twenty of the songs that the final track listing of their album would have been chosen from had it not been cancelled, and you can hear that Luckett and Roberson put their experience with Destiny's Child to good use on the sessions.  

Track listing

01 Reach The Top  
02 Break (Check This Out)
03 Let Em Know
04 Best Of All Time
05 I Ain't With That
06 Trippin'
07 Be With You
08 Holla Back (feat. Rocky)
09 Me & My Boyfriend
10 Missing U
11 Lonely
12 Lingerie
13 Keep It Real
14 U Can Get It (Feat. Jagged Edge) 
15 Misery Loves Company  
16 Movin On 
17 Officially (Givin' You The Keys To Me) 
18 Cryin' Shame
19 Ain't My Style  
20 Not The Way I Pictured It

Ezra Collective - Chasing The Square (2024)

Before I discovered English Teacher, my new favourite modern band was Ezra Collective, after I stumbled on their 'You Can't Steal My Joy' around two years ago. I was late to the party, as it had been released in 2019, but after getting that album and then being pointed in the direction of the band's previous EP, 2017's 'Juan Pablo: The Philosopher' by my mate in the record shop, I was eagerly awaiting their new album. 'Where I'm Meant To Be' duly arrived in 2022, and was every bit as good as I'd hoped, and it seems that I wasn't the only person to be impressed by it, as it went on to win the Mercury Prize in 2023, as the first jazz act ever to win the prestigious award. The members of the band met at the jazz programme 'Tomorrow's Warriors', run by Gary Crosby, which gave young musicians an opportunity to overcome challenges in succeeding as young jazz musicians in London. Drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso puts down the group's success to being able to freely express their musical influences from their youth, and together with bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison, they fuse elements of afrobeat, calypso, reggae, hip-hop, soul and jazz to produce a unique sound. Their first release was the 'Chapter 7' EP in 2016, followed two years later by the seven track 'Juan Pablo' EP, and their debut album appeared the next year on Enter The Jungle Records. 2020 saw them release a split single with Jorja Smith, where both artists covered a jazz classic as part of the 'Blue Note Re:Imagined' series, with Ezra Collective's choice being Wayne Shorter's 'Footsteps', and they reinforced the connection by covering Smith's 'Little Things' for Radio 1's New Music Show in April 2024. That same year saw them release a new single for Record Store Day 2020, with 'Samuel L. Riddim' being a re-titled re-issue of their 2018 single 'Mace Windu Riddim', which was later added as a bonus track to the Japanese edition of 'You Can't Steal My Joy'. In 2023 the band released their first new music under their own name for two years, with the single 'May The Funk Be With You', and to celebrate the 50th anniversary release of Fela Kuti's 'Shakara' album, they recorded versions of two tracks from it, with 'Lady' being released as a single in 2023. They rounded off the year by recording their take on the Christmas classic 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen', as part of Spotify's Christmas celebration, and if you don't already know the band then this collection will introduce you to one of the best modern jazz groups around, and you can hear just why they scooped last year's Mercury Prize.     

Track listing

01 Enter The Jungle (from the 'Chapter 7' EP 2016)

02 Chasing The Square (from the 'Chapter 7' EP 2016)

03 Chapter 7 (feat. TY) (from the 'Chapter 7' EP 2016)
04 I Have A God (feat. Zara McFarlane) (from the 'Chapter 7' EP 2016)

05 Colonial Mentality (from the 'Chapter 7' EP 2016)
06 Footsteps (split single with Jorja Smith 2020)
07 Samuel L. Riddim (single 2020)
08 Dark Side Riddim (b-side of 'Samuel L. Riddim')
09 May The Funk Be With You (single 2021)
10 Lady (single 2023)
11 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (single 2023)
12 Little Things (live for BBC Radio 1's New Music Show April 2024)

Jade Ewen - Heart Lights (2009)

Jade Ewen was born on 24 January 1988 and grew up in Plaistow, London, and she started singing and taking dance classes before she was even four. She attended New City Primary School, then Brampton Manor Academy, before transferring to the Sylvia Young Theatre School on a scholarship, and while there she appeared in the television productions 'The Bill', 'Casualty', 'Mr. Harvey Lights A Candle' and 'The Ghost Hunter'. At the age of ten she went to an open audition for The Lion King, and was offered the part of Young Nala. In 2005, Ewen became a member of the girl group Trinity Stone, which signed with Sony BMG, but they disbanded in 2007, and she later recorded with rapper Kwamé. She released a digital single, 'Got You', in 2008 under Kwame's Make Noise label, and also co-wrote the song 'A Little Bit' for the girl group Booty Luv, and 'Let Me Be Me' for Jessica Mauboy. In January 2009, Ewen was approached for and participated in the process to select the UK representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, and she was selected to represent the UK with her performance of the song 'It's My Time', composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

She finished in fifth place at Eurovision, but that was the highest placing for the UK since 2002. Having already signed with Polydor Records before the Eurovision selection, she began working on her debut album. In September 2009, Ewen joined Sugababes as the replacement for Keisha Buchanan, and while her single, 'My Man', had already been released in the week she joined the trio, promotional activities for it were cancelled. In an interview with the BBC, she confirmed that her commitment to the Sugababes was her main priority, and that her solo album had been put on hold. Sugababe's single 'About A Girl' debuted at number eight in the UK, and was followed by their 'Sweet 7' album in early 2010, after multiple delays during 2009. Ewen remained with the group until 2013, when it was revealed that Sugababes were no longer recording in the studio together, and that the group was "pretty much done". Following the split, Ewen concentrated on theatre work, and all thoughts of her debut album were put on the back burner. Alongside the two singles which were released in 2009, a few tracks had been laid down before it was cancelled, and so we have enough to reconstruct what her debut could have sounded like had she not joined Sugababes in 2009.  

Track listing

01 My Man
02 Stolen Love
03 Ruthless
04 Got You
05 Got My Shit Together
06 I Had Him First
07 Wake Up
08 Burn It Up
09 Punching Out
10 It's My Time
11 Teardrops

Copperhead - Copperhead 2 (1973)

Following the recording and release of Quicksilver Messenger Service's 'Just For Love' and 'What About Me' albums in 1970, both of which had been recorded in a studio in Hawaii with no electricity, John Cipollina left the band, as he thought that their music had become a little rudimentary, and he also wanted to play more sessions, which didn't sit too well with the other QMS members. He started looking around for a new group to play with, and soon teamed up with Mark Unobsky on guitars & vocals, Jim Murray on guitars, tablas & harmonica, Jim McPherson on piano & vocals, David Weber on drums, and Cyrus on bass, and this ensemble recorded a number of tracks in his home studio, for a proposed album by the newly-christened Copperhead. A second attempt was made in late 1970 and early 1971, with over twenty recordings being laid down in a professional studio, and they also starting gigging around California in 1971 and 1972, building up a reputation as a promising new band. The group's only album, a self-titled effort, was not released until mid 1973, which drummer Dave Weber recalls as being something of a mistake, as by the time it was recorded they were growing tired of playing the songs chosen for it. They also suffered other problems, mostly in that the two main songwriters didn't always see eye to eye, and some of their recorded work didn't reflect the spontaneity of their live shows. Unfortunately the band got caught up in the whole drug scandal episode that surrounded CBS's Clive Davis just after the album came out, and when he was removed from CBS a lot of groups were also dropped from the label, including Copperhead. They had already started recording a second album, but with no label backing it, the band folded, and Cipollina went on to form Raven, and then Terry And The Pirates. In January 1973 they had recorded a number of tracks at Roy Chen's Studio, and a couple of months later they laid down some more at KSAN Record Plant, and these can be added to the four completed songs from their second album sessions to start a reconstruction of that second record. Before they were dropped by Columbia, Copperhead had released a one-off single titled 'Chameleon', and so by adding that we now have 45 minutes of studio recordings, which make up a very creditable follow-up to the 'Copperhead' album. The opening track is a slithering untitled instrumental, which I've named 'Sidewinder', in keeping with the snake theme of the band's name, and had they stayed together and not been dropped by Columbia, then the 'Copperhead 2' album could well have been released in late 1973.  

Track listing 

01 Sidewinder 
02 Chameleon
03 My Own Twisted Way 
04 Read Between The Lines 
05 Drunken Irish Setter
06 Local Color 
07 Puttin' It To You
08 California Blues
09 Heebies Jeebies 

10 Bigelow 6-9000
11 Keeper Of The Flame

The Neptunes - Love, Euphoria (2001)

The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 1992. Williams and Hugo met at a summer camp for the school of the Gifted and Talented in Virginia Beach, where Williams played drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone. On entering a local talent contest in 1992 as the Neptunes, they were discovered by Teddy Riley, whose studio was close to Williams' school, and through working with Riley, the Neptunes wrote Wreckx-n-Effect's 1992 song 'Rump Shaker' while still in school. They also worked with Riley's group Blackstreet, co-writing the single 'Tonight's The Night' from their self-titled debut album. In 1998, they produced New York City-based rapper Noreaga's single 'Superthug', as well as Ol' Dirty Bastard's 1999 single 'Got Your Money' featuring singer Kelis, and this led to the duo producing the entirety of her debut studio album, 'Kaleidoscope', in 1999. In 2000, the Neptunes produced Jay-Z's single 'I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)' from his fifth studio album, 'The Dynasty: Roc La Familia', as well as Mystikal's 'Shake Ya Ass', from his fourth studio album, 'Let's Get Ready', and in 2001, N.E.R.D. released their debut studio album, 'In Search of...', featuring production from the Neptunes. In the same year they gained their first worldwide hit with Britney Spears' single, 'I'm a Slave 4 U', for her eponymous third studio album, 'Britney'. By this time they had also produced a number of tracks from a variety of lesser known artists, many of which remain unreleased, as the artists' record companies couldn't fit them into their release schedules, so in the first of three compilations, here are a dozen Neptunes productions from 1997 to 2001 which have yet to see an official release. 

Track listing 

01 The Funeral (Clipse aka Malice & Pusha T)
02 New Glasses (Alana Davis feat. Pharrell)
03 Make This Run (Royce da 5'9 feat. Pharrell, Le Femme Nikita & Kelis)
04 I Wish It Would Rain Down (Brian McKnight)
05 Hostage (Clipse feat. Tammy Lucas)
06 Seeing Things (Elan feat. Pharrell)
07 I Don’t Know What (Krayzie Bone feat. Kelis )
08 Love, Euphoria (N.E.R.D.)
09 Love Don't Love Me (Eric Benet feat. Clipse & Pharrell)
10 Here Inside (Alana Davis)
11 Got Caught Dealing (Part 1) (Clipse feat. Pharrell & Tammy Lucas)
12 Turn Out The Lights (Tammy Lucas)