The Squire Presents

The inspiration for this project came from two songs that I had just happened to listen to that dealt with a similar subject. That it, the tale of a fading musician. The first, ‘Mr. Richland’s Favourite Song’ by Harry Nilsson. It tells the tale of a once popular singer who would once play to hoards of adoring fans but then they grew up, found others things to occupy their time and so the singer ended up singing his songs in a bar when he has so few fans that he now knows them all by name. The second is ‘The King of Rock ’N’ Roll’ by Prefab Sprout which involves the singer of a one hit wonder who ends up singing the same song over and over again because no one wants to hear anything else that they did. 

That got me thinking. What happened to some of those early musical pioneers after The Beatles turned up and blew most of the old guard away. Did they disappear into a Las Vegas hinterland or did they continue to produce music, even if the sales were not a match to what they had been? Here are number of artists who fit that category on a double album that I felt would have been released by the kings of the compilation album, K-Tel.

Side 1

1. Moon Talk – Tommy Roe
2. Mary Jane – The Everly Brothers
3. Be My Friend – Del Shannon
4. Fire & Brimstone – Link Wray
5. Purple Haze – Dion
6. Edge Of Reality – Elvis Presley

Side 2

1. Born To Be A Rolling Stone – Gene Vincent
2. Somebody Saw You – Little Richard
3. Lady Madonna – Fats Domino
4. Come Back When You Grow Up – Bobby Vee
5. Bathroom Wall – The Tokens
6. Something’s On Her Mind – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

Side 3

1. Marshmallow Skies – Rick Nelson
2. For A While – Frank Sinatra
3. I’ve Got A Feeling – Bo Diddley
4. Hushabye Mountain – Julie London
5. Questions – Bobby Darin
6. July, You’re A Woman – Pat Boone

Side 4

1. I Love Her, I Love Her – Chuck Berry
2. Southbound Jerico Parkway – Roy Orbison
3. Goodbye Victoria – Chubby Checker

As all of these artists come from across the pond, all of the chart information is based on how successful these artists were on the US charts. 

Moon Talk – Tommy Roe (From the LP ‘It’s Now A Winter’s Day’ 1967)

Tommy Roe hit big with the single ‘Sheila’ in 1962. Over the next couple of years he had some more hits, but by the time 1964 came around, his singles were just about breaking the top 40, if they charted at all. He made a come back in 1966 with two singles ‘Sweet Pea’ and ‘Hooray for Hazel’, both of which made the top ten and were produced by Curt Boettcher. By the time 1967 came along, Roe was continuing to release good music but the record buying public were not buying enough of them to make the charts. ‘Moon Talk’ is the second song on the rather fine LP, ‘It’s Now A Winter’s Day’. Roe would make another come back with the mega hit ‘Dizzy’, which was released in 1969.  

Mary Jane – The Everly Brothers (From the LP ‘The Everly Brothers Sing’ 1967)

The late 50s and early 60s was a golden age for chart hits by the Everly Brothers. These included ‘Bye Bye Love’, ‘Wake Up Little Susie’ and ‘Cathy’s Clown’. It was just before the rise of The Beatles that their chart fortunes waned. This did not mean they stopped making good music and they even tried to bolster sales by recording the album ‘Two Yanks in England’ where the majority of songs were written by members of The Hollies. They continued to follow contemporary trends, such as the song ‘Mary Jane’ with its obvious drug connotations. Even though they would need to wait until they reunited in the mid 80s, after a bitter split 10 years earlier, for a return to the charts, their ‘Roots’ LP could be said to be one of the earliest examples of country rock. 

Be My Friend – Del Shannon (From the LP ‘The Further Adventures Of Charles Westover’ 1968)

Del Shannon burst onto the scene in a big way with the massive hit single, ‘Runaway’. Even though he continued to release successful singles , by 1966 his 7”s were struggling to break the top 100. This did not mean he had been forgotten by the industry. In 1967, he recorded ‘Home & Away’ for ex Rolling Stones produce, Andrew Loog Oldham. It was meant to be the British answer to ‘Pet Sounds’, but only a number of singles were released at the time. He followed this up with ‘The Further Adventures of Charles Westover’ which meant with good reviews but minimal sales. After this, Shannon would turn his hand to production and founding a publishing company to administer the songs he had written. At the time of his self inflicted death, Shannon had seen a rise in his popularity due to ‘Runaway’ being used as the theme for the TV Show, Crime Story. He was also recording an album with Jeff Lynne and was rumoured to be the replacement for Roy Orbison in the Travelling Wilbury’s.  

Fire & Brimstone – Link Wray (From the ‘Link Wray’ 1971)

Link Wray was almost thirty by the time he released his first record, having already served in the Korea War and been hospitalised for a year suffering from tuberculosis. His first hit was ‘Rumble’, once described by Bob Dylan was “the best instrumental ever”. Wray didn’t trouble the charts too often after this but continued to release new music until the late 90’s. 

Purple Haze – Dion (From the LP ‘Dion’ 1968)

Dion started releasing records in 1957 and form 1958, he was backed by The Belmonts. Going solo in 1960, his become more successful releasing classics such as ‘Runaround Sue’ and ‘Ruby Baby’. Like so many others, Dion’s star wained in 1964 after the arrival of Beatlemania. He continued to release some excellent music, and even reunited with The Belmonts. In 1968, he got himself clean from heroin and was asked by his record company to record the song ‘Abraham, Martin and John’. The single reached number 4 in the US charts, but this would be the last time one of his records broke the top 50. The follow up, a folkie version of Hendrix’s ‘Purple Haze’ was a brave move, but did not translate into sales. 

Edge Of Reality – Elvis Presley (B-Side of the single ‘If I Can Dream’ 1968)

Elvis may not have had the same collapse in sales after the arrival of The Beatles that other artists on this compilation suffered, but by the late 60s, his record sales were nowhere near as high as they had been. He was mostly releasing soundtracks to his films and even though there was some gold contained within the grooves, there was also a lot of dross. Presley did not buy into the whole psychedelic scene and ‘Edge Of Reality’ was the most psych thing he ever recorded. The ‘TV Special’ from 1968 brought about the end of the movies, but it would ultimately lead to the Vegas years.  

Born To Be A Rolling Stone – Gene Vincent (From the LP ‘Gene Vincent’ 1967)

Gene Vincent, like Link Wray, had served in the armed forces in the Korean War but his naval career came to an end due to a leg injury that caused him pain for the remainder of his life. Turning to music, Vincent formed the backing band The Blue Caps and released ‘Be-Bop-a-Lula’ which became a top ten hit. By 1958, the hits dried up and after some tax problems, Vincent moved to Europe. He was still having hits in the UK in the early 60s and was in the car accident that killed Eddie Cochrane. This accident further damaged Vincents leg. He continued to record and tour but years of hard living had taken a toll on his body. He died in 1971, aged just 36. 

Somebody Saw You – Little Richard (From the LP ‘The Rill Thing’ 1970)

Little Richard released his first record in 1951 but it would take another four years and the release of ‘Tutti Frutti’ for him to break into the charts. From there he released numerous classic singles with some being more successful than others. However, Richard had a religious conversation in the late 50s and stopped making secular music for a while. This lead to a drop in record sales and even though Richard returned to secular music, his record sales were never the same even though he was still producing some excellent music. 

Lady Madonna – Fats Domino (From the LP ‘Fats Is Back’ 1968)

Though his first record was released in 1949, it would take another six years until Fats Domino was able to break into the US Hot 100. That was with ‘Ain’t That A Shame’ and he would rack up a number of hits including ‘Blueberry Hill’ and ‘Walking to New Orleans’ before his hit making days wained into the early 1960s. He continued to release records throughout the decade including ‘Lady Madonna’, which had been written by Paul McCartney and was itself inspired in part by the works of Fats Domino. 

Come Back When You Grow Up – Bobby Vee & The Strangers (From the LP ‘Come Back When You Grow Up’ 1967)

Bobby Vee began his musical career in 1959 filling in for the recently decreased Buddy Holly. His performances lead to him releasing his first single, ‘Susie Baby’ which was notable in that was recorded in the Holly style. By 1960, his singles were breaking into the top 10 and in 1961, ‘Take Good Care Of Mt Baby’ reached the top spot. By mid 1963, the singles were just about making it into the top 100. This continued to be the case until the release of this song which made number 3 in 1967. Now, this compilation is meant to include songs after the hits had dried up but this is a bonafide hit. I decided to include it anyway as I thought it was a perfect title for the compilation. 

Bathroom Wall – The Tokens (B-Side of the single ‘Animal’ 1968)

The Tokens released their first record in 1956, with Neil Sedaka as one of the original members. Sedaka left in 1958 and the band took until 1961 to release another single. This was arguably their year as two of their singles broke the top 20. The first was ‘Tonight I Fell in Love’, but the second was ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ which reached number 1. The group spent the remainder of the 60s and the majority of the 70s releasing more records, but they failed to troubled the top 40. Like many of the other artists on this compilation, it didn’t mean they were recording poor material. It’s just a shame no one was paying too much attention at the time. 

Something’s On Her Mind – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons (From the LP ‘The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette’ 1969)

Frankie Valli started his recording career as a solo artist in 1953 and with an early version of The Four Seasons three years later. Between 1962 and 1964, the group achieved four number one hit singles as well as a number of top ten hits. However, they seemed to have suffered like so many from the arrival of The Beatles. They still had some hits and did return to the top 20 on a number of occasions between 1966 and 1967, but the end of the decade, the big hits dried up. The band continued to make some good records though and in 1969, the band changed their sound producing ‘The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette’ LP. The album changed the subject of the songs from those about love to war and racial tension. It’s a great album, but at the time, it was pretty much ignored. The Four Seasons would stage a bit of a comeback in 1975 when their singles ‘Who Loves You’ and ‘December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)’ were both top 3 hits and Valli would also appear in the film ‘Grease’ in 1978.  

Marshmallow Skies – Rick Nelson (From the LP ‘Another Side Of Rick’ 1967)

Ricky Nelson started off as a radio and TV actor in the series, ‘The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet’ which also starred his older brother and parents. He also started a recording career and achieved numerous top ten singles in the late 50s and 60s, but like so many others on this compilation, his star had started to fade by the time The Beatles showed up. To move away from his teen heart throb image, he shortened his name to Rick an released ‘Bright Lights & Country Music’, one of the first albums that could be considered country rock. He would also embrace psychedelic music on his ‘Another Side of Rick’ album, but this experiment did not yield any success in the charts. He did make a minor come back in the early 70s with his song ‘Garden Party’ written in response to Nelson being booed whilst playing the 1971 Rock ’n’ Roll Spectacular Volume VII concert. He was annoyed as he thought he was being booed by the audience for playing his more contemporary music and not just his early hits. 

For A While – Frank Sinatra (From the LP ‘Watertown’ 1970)

Frank Sinatra first committed his vocals on disc back in 1939 alongside the Harry James Orchestra and released his final recordings in 1994. With a career that long, there was bound to be so periods where Sinatra was not as popular as others. One of these periods was the late 1960s and early 1970s. His albums sold in solid, if not spectacular numbers during this period but after the ‘Something Stupid’ duet with daughter Nancy, which reached number 1, his single sales rarely broke the top 40. It was during this time that he released ‘Watertown’, a concept album written by Bob Gaudio of The Four Seasons and his co-writer Jake Holmes. The story concerned a man raising his sons after his wife left him for the big city. The LP met with poor sales and mixed reviews, but since then, it has been re-evaluated and is now considered one of his finer works. 

I’ve Got A Feeling – Bo Diddley (From the LP ‘The Black Gladiator’ 1970)

Bo Diddley distinct style of playing his guitar, utilising African rhythms and a charging beat that became his signature. He influenced genres such as rock ’n’ roll, rock and hip hop as well as artists such as Buddy Holly, The Beatles and The Clash. His record sales did not match his influence though with only one top 40 single hit and one LP in the top 200 Billboard charts. ‘The Black Gladiator’ has been compared with ‘Electric Mud’ (by Muddy Waters) as an old blues man turning the electricity up, but it mostly sounds like any other Bo Diddley album. 

Hushabye Mountain – Julie London (From the LP ‘Yummy, Yummy, Yummy’ 1969)

Julie London combined an acting and music career in a career that spanned over 30 years. Her music career started with a bang when her recording of standard ‘Cry Me A River’ broke into the top ten single chart. This was her only single to break the top 100 and even though her albums were initially successful, by 1958, she was no longer recording music that charted. ‘Yummy, Yummy, Yummy’ was her last album. Released in 1969, the album contained a number of songs by up and coming songwriters such as Laura Nyro and Margo Guryan as well as more established artists such as The Beatles. 

Questions – Bobby Darin (From the LP ‘Born Walden Robert Cassotto’ 1968)

Bobby Darin started to release singles in 1956 but it would take until he put out ‘Splish Splash’ two years later that he would break into the charts. He would release multiple singles between 1958 and 1963 with some being more successful than others, but he would then become another victim of the arrival of The Beatles onto the scene. Between 1964 and his last single in 1973, only one would break into the top 30. His albums faired little better which is a shame as the two he put out on his own Direction label have a number an excellent songs dealing with subjects such as the environment, the Vietnam War and the death of Robert Kennedy. Darin had suffered from poor health throughout his life and any chance of making a comeback were stopped by his untimely death at the age of 37.   

July, You’re A Woman – Pat Boone (From the LP ‘Departure’ 1969)

Pat Boone was a very successful recording artist in the mid to late 50s, covering many songs by black artists such Fats Domino, Little Richard and Ivory Joe Hunter. He would have considerably more success with those songs than the original artists. These days, the originals are the ones people tend to listen to but this should not take away from Boone’s success, even if his covers were insipid compared to the originals. Like so many others, by the time The Beatles showed up, his days as a major chart artist had passed. He continued to record and by the 1970s, he was pretty much recording gospel music. He did release a rather bizarre album in 1997 called, ‘In A Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy’ which included covering heavy metal songs in a big band style. 

I Love Her, I Love Her – Chuck Berry (From the LP ‘From St Louie To Frisco’ 1968)

Even though he was nearly 30 years old when he released his first solo records, Chuck Berry is arguably one of the architects of rock ’n’ roll music. He released numerous classic records but by 1961, his career stalled after he was arrested and sent to prison for allegedly having sexual relations with an under age girl. By the time he started releasing records again, the British Invasion had occurred and though he was an influence to many of these groups, he records sales dropped after a strong start with ‘No Particular Place To Go’ and ‘You Never Can Tell’. He would continue to draw large crowds when he was touring but his record sales dropped off until he released ‘My Ding-A-Ling’, a novelty song with very suggestive lyrics. For an artist as influential as this, it is a shame that ‘My Ding-A-Ling’ was his only number 1 hit single. 

Southbound Jerico Parkway – Roy Orbison (B-Side of the single ‘My Friend’ 1969)

Roy Orbison saw conferrable chart action in the late 1950s and 1960s and even though it looked like he would ride out the British Invasion with his single ‘Pretty Woman’ which was a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic. However, he suffered along with many other artists with diminishing record sales. He would contuse to make some great music including this rather interesting B-Side to his 1969 ‘My Friend’ single. Orbison would have a dramatic career resurgence in the late 1980s with this solo work and as a member of the super group The Travelling Wilbury’s. He was not able to enjoy he resurgence for long as he died of a heart attack at the end of 1988. 

Goodbye Victoria – Chubby Checker (From the LP ’Checkered!’ 1971)

Chubby Checker started to release music in 1959 but it was a year later that his signature song, ‘The Twist’ came out. This was the start of a run of massive hits but he was yet another artist to struggle after the British Invasion. ‘Chequered!’ came out in 1971 and was a stylistic change for Checker, embracing psychedelic sounds three years after that genre had passed its prime. The album was not a success but like so many other on this compilation, he produced some great music that was all but ignored by the record buying public. 

The artwork for this compilation was adapted from a piece of work I found on Behance, but I did not make a note of the artist. 

As this was also planned to be a double LP, I produced a gatefold sleeve.

Not long after posting our annual Christmas podcast, I found out that friend of The Squire (and personal friend too boot), Darryl Bullock had passed away.  I had got to know to know Darryl through our shared love of what can be best described as ‘outsider’ music, or at worst, just terrible tunes. Over time, we bonded over our shared love of The Beatles as well as Laurel & Hardy.

It has taken me some time to come to terms that he is not there on the other end of the phone to share a new ‘bad’ record I have come across, or to check my information on a piece of music or band that I have been writing about is correct. 

I wanted to mark his passing and do something to remember him by, so I have compiled a rarities set from arguably his favourite band, The Beatles. This is a companion piece to the original UK ‘Rarities’ LP that initially came as part of the ‘The Beatles Collection’ box set in 1978. 

It amazes me still that a band such as The Beatles would still have enough material knocking around that was officially rereleased that could still be considered to be rare. With the numerous re-issue programmes they have put out since the mid 90s, you would have through that they would have been rereleased but it would seem not. A good starting point was the B-Sides to the 90s singles, ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love’ that came out as part of the ‘Anthology’ programme. I did not want to include any of these B-sides if they had been subsequently released e.g. the live version of ‘Baby’s In Black’ from the ‘Real Love’ single came out later on the 2016 version of ‘Live At The Hollywood Bowl’ album. 

I also included two additional songs as a bonus single (as it were) as I thought this would come out as an LP, so I would have to work with the time constraints that format gave me. I also did not want to include any songs on the rarities discs I compiled back in July of 2020 (https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/the-beatles-the-long-winding-road/).

I am sure that Darryl would seen this and gone “you could have included such and such, or this would have been a better choice”. My thoughts go out to all those who knew Darryl. I miss him greatly.

Side 1

1. I Saw Her Standing There
2. Devil In Her Heart
3. All My Loving
4. This Boy
5. I Feel Fine
6. And I Love Her
7. Eight Days A Week

Side 2

1. Help!
2. Yellow Submarine
3. Here, There & Everywhere
4. I Am The Walrus
5. Free As A Bird
6. Real Love

Bonus Single

1. Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
2. Movie Medley

I Saw Her Standing There (Take 9) – Taken from ‘Free As A Bird’ CD

The count from this version was used on Take 1, which was released on the ‘Please Please Me’ album. 

Devil In Her Heart – Taken from ‘Baby It’s You’ 7”/CD

To promote the release of the ‘Live At The BBC’ album in 1994, an EP came out over six months earlier. What was a nice touch was that each of the four songs featured a lead vocal from one of the individual Beatles. At the time. only the title track would come out on the parent album. ‘Boys’ and ‘I’ll Follow The Sun’ would eventually see the light on 2013’s, ‘On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2”, but ‘Devil In Your Heart’ is still unique to the original EP release.

All My Loving (Hi-Hat Intro) – Taken from Please Please Me (West German Version)

A slightly longer mix of the song featuring a hi-hat introduction.

This Boy(Takes 12 & 13) – Taken from ‘Free As A Bird’ CD

Two incomplete takes that both break down in laughter. 

I Feel Fine (Whispered Intro) – Taken from 1962-1966 (1973 Version) 

Virtually identical to the true stereo mix of the song which has the whispered words ‘low enough’ spoken at the beginning of the track.

And I Love Her (Stereo Extended End) – Taken from Something New (West German Version)

This extended mix of this song repeats the riff from the end of the song six times instead of the usual four.

Eight Days A Week – Taken from +1

This 2015 remix does not have the fade in that the store common version has. 

Help!

Taken from the US soundtrack album for the film, ‘Help!’, this includes an instrumental introduction that is based on the James Bond theme. 

Yellow Submarine – Taken from ‘Real Love’ CD

This includes a Ringo spoken word introduction with marching sound effects. The other sound effects were mixed higher in this version.

Here, There & Everywhere– Taken from ‘Real Love’ CD

A combination of take 7 (with a mono mix of the basic track with a McCartney guide vocal) with harmony vocals from take 13 superimposed added at the end. 

I Am The Walrus – (US Mono Single Version)

This includes an extra bar of music before the lyrics, “yellow matter custard”. 

Free As A Bird (2015 Remix) – Taken from +1

This remix cleans up John Lennon’s vocal with better technology for completing the task than was available in 1994 when the original version was prepared. Other changes were to push McCartney’s lead vocal more prominently in the second verse and a different version of Harrison’ lyric from ‘life’ to ‘love’ as well as Lennon saying ‘turned out nice again’ which was switched to play the correct way around. It was played backwards on the 1994 recording. 

Real Love (2015 Remix) – Taken from +1

This remix cleans up John Lennon’s vocal with better technology for completing the task than was available in 1995 when the original version was prepared. The harmonium and harpsichord are more prominent in this mix as well some additional lead guitar phrases and drum fills. 

Christmas Time (Is Here Again) (Edit) – Taken from ‘Free As A Bird’ 7”/CD

A unique edit of this track that originally appeared on a fan club flexi disc in 1967. After the song fades out, it includes some of the speech taken from 1966 Christmas disc and then a poem from the 1967 recording. 

Movie Medley

It was a bit of a thing back in the late 70s and 80s to cut and paste several songs together with a similar drum beat in the background. This originally came out in conjunction with a compilation of Beatle songs taken from song of their films called ‘Reel Music’. This was initially only a US released as Parlophone UK thought it was “tacky”. However, import copies were selling in good numbers so they eventually relented and it would be a reasonable hit on both sides of the Atlantic. It seems that Apple Records have tried to forget this ever existed, as it did not appear on 2019s ‘The Singles Collection’. However, it did appear in the 1982 equivalent.  

The cover is based upon the original Beatles ‘Rarities’ compilation (UK version) from 1978. My skills are not good enough to replicate sleeve exactly I’m afraid. This is as close as I could get.  

The Beach Boys had gone from being an act that performed songs about cars and surfing to producing the pop masterpiece of ‘Pet Sounds’ in the space of four years. Musicians and song writers moved quickly in the 1960’s. Just look how much Dylan and The Beatles changed their sounds in the same time. Anyway, with the collapse of the ’Smile’ project, (which I looked at in a previous post https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/the-beach-boys-smile-redux/), the band recorded the lo-fi album ‘Smiley Smile’, a record which showed that Brian Wilson’s control over the recording process was diminishing. 

The band had also dropped out of performing at the Monterey Pop Festival where the great and the good of the counterculture turned up to herald in a new age of music, something that with the failure of the ‘Smile’ album to appear meant that The Beach Boys were seen as out of step with the times. In response, the band booked the Honolulu International Centre Arena to perform a couple of concerts that that would lead to a live album and concert film. 

Things did not go smoothly. Bruce Johnson refused to go, saying that the whole situation had got too weird. To make up the numbers as it were, Brian Wilson was persuaded to go. Wilson had not performed live for nearly three years and said that he would come along if he could bring his Baldwin organ. This meant that he would not be covering bass duties as he had before which meant that Carl Wilson or Al Jardine would need to take on that responsibility. The band were also under rehearsed and this can be clearly heard on the recordings. To counteract this, the band tried overdubbing to rescue the recordings but these proved unsatisfactory. They then went to recording studio in San Fransisco to produce a ‘live’ record where the audience noise would be edited in later. These recordings were also abandoned as the band felt that it was ready to record what would become their ‘Wild Honey’ album. 

These recordings would remain in The Beach Boys vault until the early 80s when some of them started to see the light of day. Finally in 2017, both of the shows were released and it from these that this what if has been compiled. I have looked to include the best version of each song which was not an easy task as these performances are very poor. Most come from the second night but where they do not, I have marked them with an asterisk. 

It is clear to see why this was not released by just hearing it. The band not only sound underrehearsed but disinterested in what they are doing. Maybe they were too stoned? It also shows how ill equipped they were to perform the complex songs that Brian had been producing in the studio over the last couple of years in a live setting. This is by far the weakest what if album I have posted on the site. The Beach Boys would produce better live albums than this in future. 

Side 1

1. Hawthorne Boulevard
2. Hawaii
3. Help Me Rhonda
4. You’re So Good To Me
5. California Girls
6. Wouldn’t It Be Nice
7. Gettin’ Hungry*
8. Surfer Girl
9. Surfin’

Side 2

1. Sloop John B
2. The Letter
3. God Only Knows
4. Good Vibrations
5. Heroes & Villains
6. Barbara Ann*

The front cover was taken from https://idesignalbumcovers.tumblr.com

All performances from the 26th August 1967 Performance except where noted.

*25th August 1967 Performance

After 1983’s ‘The Final Cut’, it looked as though Pink Floyd were unlikely to release an album of new material any time soon, if at all. ‘The Final Cut’ was essentially a Roger Waters solo album and even though it was commercially successful, each band member spent the next couple of years releasing solo records. This included the no longer officially a member even though not everyone released it until seeing the lack of a credit for him on the back of ‘The Final Cut’, Rick Wright.  

Whatever the causes, the mid 80s would see a number of law suits flying about which would finally be resolved (sort of) by the end of 1987 by which time, the ‘Momentary Lapse of Reason’ album had been released which did not contain Roger Waters. With all that uncertainty, I am surprised to see that a compilation did not see the light of day during that period just to keep the Pink Floyd name alive. I therefore decided to have a go myself at putting together a spiritual follow up to their classic ‘Relics’ compilation from 1971. In a moment of inspiration, I decided that the name ‘More Relics’ would be a good choice. 

The original ‘Relics’ was a bit of a clearing house contains single A and B sides as none of these were included on any albums at the time, some album tracks and one unreleased song. I have tried to follow this but instead of album tracks, I decided to focus on some more rarities instead. So, what do we get. All of the 1960s singles that were not on the original ‘Relics’, some rare European single mixes, a couple of stray tracks and one unreleased song. 

Side A

1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond – Part 1 (French Jukebox Single Edit)
2. It Would Be So Nice (Single B-Side)
3. Apple & Oranges (Single A-Side)
4. Candy & A Current Bun (Single B-Side)
5. Wish You Were Here – with Stephane Grappelli (Previously Unreleased)
6. Point Me At The Sky (Single A-Side)

Side B

1. Pigs On The Wing – Parts 1 & 2 (8 Track Version)
2. Money (1981 Promo Single Edit)
3. Young Lust (Italian Single Version)
4. Another Brick In The Wall (Single Version)
5. Embryo
6. Give Birth To A Smile

Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 1) – Released as a single in France. 

It Would Be So Nice – The first single A-Side to be released that was not written by Syd Barrett, even though the band were still trying to channel his way of writing. It didn’t chart and many members of the band thought it was down to it being awful. 

Apple & Oranges  – The last A-Side recorded with Syd Barrett and their first not to chart in the UK. Roger Waters blamed the production and it does sound a bit of a mess. 

Candy & A Current Bun – B-Side to their debut single, ‘Arnold Layne’. 

Wish You Were Here – with Stéphane Grappelli– The one previously unreleased song on the compilation. An alternative version of the classic ‘Wish You Were Here’ with added violin by legendary player, Stéphane Grappelli. It could be argued that this is a better version than the one that was originally released. 

Point Me At The Sky – The last single released by Pink Floyd in the UK during the 1960’s. Roger Waters called it a ‘notable failure’ and that the band would therefore concentrate on albums because they were ‘no bloody good’ at writing singles.  

Pigs On The Wing – Parts 1 & 2  – Originally released on the ‘Animals’ album. On there, the song was divided into two parts which bookended the LP. When the 8-Track cartridge version was prepared, it was decided to make use of the loop-play function of that format which is where the end of the recording looped back to the beginning. This meant that the album could be played continuously. Part 1 and Part 2 were therefore edited together and a linking guitar solo added, which was played by touring guitar player, Snowy White. 

Money – This version of ‘Money’ was re-recorded for the compilation, ‘A Collection of Great Dance Songs’. Dave Gilmour recorded the whole track because one record label would not give the rights to another one to release the original version, or something along this lines. Gilmour played every instrument on the track himself except for the sax part. That was recorded by Dick Parry who had played the part on the original recording. This version came out on a promo single. 

Young Lust  – Released in Italy on the B-Side of their version of ‘Another Brick In The Wall’, this extended version of the song which runs to 3 minute and 58 seconds. It restores the full 12-bar intro which was cut during production. It also has the full, clean outro without the phone call. At about the 2 minute and 50 second mark as the guitar solo ends, a scream can be heard. This is Roger Waters and it was mixed out of most other versions.

Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) – The single version of the song which was their first single in the UK for over twelve years. It was also their biggest hit in the UK (and many other markets) when it hit the Number 1 spot. 

Embryo – Record in late 1968 and possibly unfinished. It would be released on a couple of compilations. The first being the Harvest Sampler LP, ‘Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air’ and the US compilation, ‘Works’. This was a concert table for a couple of years in the early 1970s. 

Give Birth To A Smile – Taken from the soundtrack album, ‘Music Form The Body’. This was composed and performed by Roger Waters and Ron Geesin but the last song on the LP features the remaining members of pink Floyd. 

The album cover is from the Behance website and was created blu Javi Montilla. 

As an added bonus, I did have a second ‘More Relics’ sleeve prepared. Like the original ‘Relics’, this is a hand drawing. This one could be seen as an alternative sleeve for the South American market.

Welcome to 2025 and here is a project I have been looking forward to sharing. Anthony Phillips was the original guitar player in Genesis, playing on their first two albums. ‘From Genesis To Revelation’ and ‘Tresspass’ with his tenure lasting from 1967 to 1970. It was he who was most instrumental in the band becoming professional and a live band. They had not supported their first album with live shows as Phillips, as well as vocalist Peter Gabriel were still at school at the time. The irony of this was that Phillips would develop stage fright. He thought the stage fright would pass but that and a case of bronchial pneumonia brought about his departure from the band. Phillips kept in touch with the his old band mates, and would continue to write with Mike Rutherford. He would also collaborate with Harry Williamson (son of Tarka the Otter author, Henry Williamson) as well as training as a music teacher, studyed orchestration and continuing to write music.

Throughout the seven year period between leaving Genesis and releasing his first solo album, Philips would continue to record demos and was looking to work on a project with old band mate Mike Rutherford. The pair would meet up sporadically due to Rutherford’s commitments to Genesis. The first fruits of this collaboration to partially see the light of day was ‘Silver Song’, a song that the pair had written in 1969 as a farewell to departing Genesis drummer, John Silver. Phillips and Rutherford brought in Phil Collins who was then in the Genesis drummer’s stool to not only provide percussion, but lead vocals. A B-Side was quickly written in the form of ‘Only Your Love’ but with everything ready to go, the Charisma label who had financed the recordings decided against releasing the record. To this day, no one is sure why. 

However, what if this single was scheduled for a release in 1975 when Genesis were taking a break after the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway tour and the departure of vocalist Peter Gabriel? This could be the prelude to an Anthony Phillips solo album to be released the same year, two years before his official 1977 debut, ‘The Geese & The Ghost’. But what should be on it?

Well, since 2014 Cherry Red Records and the people who have been curating Phillips’ tape archive have been doing a sterling job re-releasing his back catalogue. Each set comes with one disc of unreleased material which is of such a high quality, I am surprised these have not seen the light of day before. I was also surprised by the amount of material that has come out that was written and recorded before 1977 that was not included on his first album. 

With this album following on from the proposed 1975 release of the ‘Silver Song’, this was going to be a a more stripped down affair due to the fact that Mike Rutherford would not have been able to spend much, if any time with Phillips due to his commitments to Genesis and the ‘Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ Tour. I also looked to follow the template of ‘Geese & the Ghost, so we get some vocal and instrumental tracks. Very few of these songs have been re-recorded since they were laid down in demo form. One that did see the light of day before was a re-recording of ‘Stranger’ which appears on the first ‘Private Parts & Pieces’. Another was ‘Take This Heart’ which would be recorded in 1975 by the Charterhouse Choral Society for the Charisma release, ‘Beyond An Empty Dream’. That version is very different from the original demo. As the majority of these are demo recordings, some of the fidelity is not studio quality. However, these are the only recordings I had to work with. 

Side A

1. Queen Bettine (1972 Demo)
2. Picardy Pictures (1972 Demo)
3. Rowey Song (1972 Version)
4. Child Song (1973 Demo)
5. Stranger (1970 Demo)

Side B

1. Guitar Song (1973 Demo)
2. Variation On A Theme Of Fantoms (1973 Demo)
3. Windmill (1971 Demo)
4. Take This Heart (1972 Demo)
5. Rowey Reprise (1972 Version)
6. Master Of Time (1973 Demo)
7. Will The Last Man Off The Ice Rink (Please Turn Out The Lights) (Recorded 1973) 

Single

1. Silver Song (Recorded 1973)
2. Only Your Love (Recorded 1973)

None of the songs really lent themselves to a title except for ‘Variation on a Theme of Fantoms’ so I decided that should be what the album you’d have been called. Phillips has used the artist Peter Cross for many of his sleeves, but I did not have a piece of his artwork I could use. I therefore used a picture I took on a very cold December morning near the village of Moggerhanger, Bedfordshire in the UK.

I was not able to recreate this playlist on Spotify.