I do love a bit of Harry Nilsson, especially his earlier work. I have posted several playlists devoted to him but I was surprised that I have not done so for over three years. So, here we have another collection of Nilsson written songs inspired by the Ace Records 2017 collection of Nilsson covers. The delay in posting another one of these is no doubt down to the fact that I didn’t think I would be able to find enough material for a volume 4 but it just goes to show how wrong I was and how many people covered Nilsson.
I wanted this compilation to have the same amount of songs as all of the other volumes. That is, 24. No song is to repeated on the disc and the first tune is a cover of ‘Gotta Get Up!’. This will most probably the last attempt at a compilation like this if I follow these rules as I am not sure how many other covers of ‘Gotta Get Up!’ there are. There is also a contribution by early collaborator George Tipton, as well as a very early cover from Little Richard dating back to 1964. There is also a rather curious cover of the ode to dying with your bodily functions in one piece from Czechoslovakia by artist Petr Spálený
Gotta Get Up – The Loulou Sisters
Groovy Little Suzy – Little Richard
Cuddly Toy – The Fruit Machine
One – Al Kooper
The Story Of Rock & Roll – The Collage
Without Him – Julie London
Rainmaker – Cryan’ Shames
1941 – George Burns
Don’t Leave Me Baby – Astrid Gilberto
Without Her – Rick Nelson
(I Guess) The Lord Must Be In New York City – Roslyn Kind
Marchin’ Down Broadway – George Tipton
It’s Been So Long – Ronnie Charles
Wailing Of The Willow – Judith Durham
There Will Never Be – Robert Farnon & Tony Coe
Maybe – Jack Jones
Remember (Christmas) – Florence Warner
Open Your Window – Louis Bellson
Turn On The Radio – Dunn & Rubini
Blanket For A Sail – Davy Jones
Turn Out The Light – Clive Bruce
Jump Into The Fire – Lithium X-MAs
I’ll Be Home – Cass Elliot
Sto Třicet Slok (I’d Rather Be Dead) – Petr Spálený
I remember the first time I saw a Traffic Sound release. This would have been around 1999/2000 and it was in the Psych section of a second hand record shop I used to work near in Twickenham. The shop was mostly made up of vinyl releases so it was quite odd that I should be looking at the CDs as even then I was more interested in analogue music. There was something about the front cover that grabbed my attention and the back told me that this band were from Peru. This CD was also a collection of their first two albums. Supposedly they were highly collectable if you could find the original vinyl. Well, the only place I had the internet was at work and there wasn’t exactly a lot of information about obscure Peruvian bands on there at that time. I remember playing it and not being impressed by the first six songs (except Sueno) as they were all covers which had been done better by other bands. However, the second album was a revelation.
This was nothing like I had heard before. What is classed as South American Psych is very different from the European/North American variety. There were using the same standard instruments as those bands, but Traffic Sound had found their now voice on the second record with a distinct hint of their roots in there. What I didn’t realise was the band had released another two albums after this in Traffic Sound (or Tibet’s Suzettes) and Lux. These albums would prove allusive until I came across a website that specialised in re-issues of music such as this. Annoyingly, I cannot remember the name of it. What I do remember though is that they were one of the first companies I dealt with that went out of business due to the competition from Amazon and the like. Before they went under, I found that they had the two Traffic Sound albums to complete my collection. What I did’t realise until many years was that the editions I had bought came with some B-Sides attached.
These latter albums showed that the band had matured and were becoming more progressive in their sound, as well as adopting some of the Andean folk spirit a lot of websites mentioned they had when I was researching this piece. I’ll take their word for it, but the music was definitely becoming more progressive. That is very clear when listening to it. The last album also contains some political content which could have put the band in danger due to Peru being run by a military government that saw rock music as a dangerous foreign influence on the youth of the country. Unfortunately this would be it for the band as Peru was not a country where a musician could make a living in. The band has reformed for the odd reunion gig but luckily they left a great recording legacy for us to enjoy.
Virgin
Tell The World I’m Alive
Simple
Sueno
White Deal, Poco, Big Deal
Jews Caboose
Meshkalina
Tibet’s Suzettes
Those Days Have Gone
Yesterday’s Game
Empty
Solos
Lux
El Gusano
America
Inca Snow
What Your Need & What You Want
The Revolution
A Beautiful Day
Last Song
One or more songs were missing from Spotify so I could not produce a play list for this entry.
I used the front cover of the first CD I bought from this band as the cover for this compilation.
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
I Saw Her Standing There
Devil In Her Heart
All My Loving
This Boy
I Feel Fine
And I Love Her
Eight Days A Week
Side 2
Help!
Yellow Submarine
Here, There & Everywhere
I Am The Walrus
Free As A Bird
Real Love
Bonus Single
Christmas Time (Is Here Again)
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.
I first became aware of Talk Talk in 1990 when the re-release of ‘It’s My Life’, a single from their 1984 LP of the same name broke into the UK Top 20. This became my song of that summer and I bought the accompanying best of compilation album, ‘Natural History (The Very Best Of Talk Talk)’ as soon as I could afford it. Slowly but surely, I bought all of the albums the band had released up to that point. You could see the progression as time went on. ‘The Party’s Over’, their 1982 debut is very much an album of its time with its New Wave vibe and it did lead to comparisons with Duran Duran, especially as the same producer worked with both bands at the time.
The follow up album, ‘It’s My Life’ moved away from its predecessors synth sound, most probably due two reasonable hit singles and a good chart placing for the debut album meaning recording budgets could increase. This LP would also see the beginnings of front man Mark Hollis’ anti commercial stance came to the fore, especially with the filming of the video for the single ‘It’s My Life’. It consists of stock footage of wildlife interspersed with Hollis in a zoo refusing to mime. EMI, the bands record label ordered a re-shoot. This had the band doing the complete opposite of the original video with some over the top miming. The original video was the one that did the rounds in 1990 and I didn’t know about the second effort until writing this piece. Both, at the time of writing are available on YouTube.
The synth pop style disappeared completely for their third album, ‘The Colour Of Spring’. This included their biggest single to date, ‘Life’s What You Make It’. Follow up single, ‘Living In Another World’ was a sizeable hit in many of the major markets, except for the UK. The parent album sold in enough quantities that the band were afforded an unlimited budget for their next album. EMI were most probably expecting ‘The Colour Of Spring Pt.2’. What they got was ‘Spirit Of Eden’. Taking over a year to record, the sessions comprised of playing in a darkened studio, lit only by candles and oil lamps. The music were based on improvising over the basic song structures with Hollis’s lyrics dealing with spiritual and religious subjects sprinkled over the top. It sounded like nothing before it, and on reflection, there isn’t that much that has sounded like it since. This was a truly original piece of work and the record company were initially reluctant to put it out. However, Hollis would not deviate from his vision and the LP came out as it was conceived.
The band and EMI entered into a period of conflict. Talk Talk wanted out of their contract and felt that the label had not taken up the option to extend it in time. EMI thought they had and the case went to court. The band eventually won and proceeded to sign with Verve. The band were once again given carte blanche to record what they wanted to and after working within a similar recording environment to what they had had with ‘Spirit of Eden’, they delivered ‘Laughing Stock’. It was another uncommercial record that Verve struggled to market. The band then silently disbanded and apart from one solo album in 1998, Mark Hollis effectively retired from the music industry until his untimely death in 2019.
With ‘Spirit Of Eden’ and ‘Laughing Stock’, I felt that these were two heads of the same beast and when replaying them again recently, I wondered if there was a way of sequencing the songs so they could create a new whole. I also played the ‘Missing Pieces’ album, which contained songs from the ‘Laughing Stock’ sessions. ‘The Colour Of Spring’ might have contained their most successful singles but pieces such as ‘Chameleon Day’ did point the way to what was coming on ‘Spirit Of Eden’.
After, I thought, completing this collection, I played Mark Hollis’ only solo album. What I didn’t release until compiling this is that this was originally going to be released under the Talk Talk name, even though only Hollis was the only member left. The band moniker was dropped, but not before some CD-rs had been produced. This solo album continues in the same vein as the last two Talk Talk albums so I wanted to see if I could mix any left over tracks not used on Disc 1 could be utilised with the solo album to make a second disc. Well, there was as well as a couple of songs from ‘The Colour of Spring’ sessions, including a couple of single B-Side.
Disc 1
The Rainbow (Spirit Of Eden)
Eden (Spirit Of Eden)
Desire (Spirit Of Eden)
After The Flood (Laughing Stock)
I Believe In You (Spirit Of Eden)
Ascension Day (Laughing Stock)
Myrrhman (Laughing Stock)
New Grass (Laughing Stock)
Wealth (Spirit Of Eden)
Inheritance (Spirit Of Eden)
April 5th (The Colour Of Spring)
Disc 2
Chameleon Day (The Colour Of Spring)
Taphead (Laughing Stock)
Inside Looking Out (Mark Hollis)
The Gift (Mark Hollis)
The Daily Planet (Mark Hollis)
A Life (1895-1915) (Mark Hollis)
Runeii (Laughing Stock)
A New Jerusalem (Mark Hollis)
Westward Bound (Mark Hollis)
The Watershed (Mark Hollis)
It’s Getting Late In The Evening (B-Side ‘Life’s What You Make It’ single)
John Cope (B-Side ‘I Believe In You’ single)
The Colour Of Spring (Mark Hollis)
Unlike the majority of playlists I produce, this one is not designed to fit on to an LP. The cover art is taken from James Marsh’s website. Marsh was the artist on all of Talk Talk’s discography and it was only fitting that some of his artwork was used as the cover. The title is taken from the one proposed for Hollis’ only solo album, when it was originally going to be released under the Talk Talk banner. This was abandoned when the album was released as under Hollis’ name.
The second disc could not be reproduced on Spotify due to one or more songs not being available on that platform.
I decided against not cutting out the silence at the end of ‘ A New Jerusalem’ as it worked nicely with the fade in used on the song that followed it.
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
Shine On You Crazy Diamond – Part 1 (French Jukebox Single Edit)
It Would Be So Nice (Single B-Side)
Apple & Oranges (Single A-Side)
Candy & A Current Bun (Single B-Side)
Wish You Were Here – with Stephane Grappelli (Previously Unreleased)
Point Me At The Sky (Single A-Side)
Side B
Pigs On The Wing – Parts 1 & 2 (8 Track Version)
Money (1981 Promo Single Edit)
Young Lust (Italian Single Version)
Another Brick In The Wall (Single Version)
Embryo
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
Queen Bettine (1972 Demo)
Picardy Pictures (1972 Demo)
Rowey Song (1972 Version)
Child Song (1973 Demo)
Stranger (1970 Demo)
Side B
Guitar Song (1973 Demo)
Variation On A Theme Of Fantoms (1973 Demo)
Windmill (1971 Demo)
Take This Heart (1972 Demo)
Rowey Reprise (1972 Version)
Master Of Time (1973 Demo)
Will The Last Man Off The Ice Rink (Please Turn Out The Lights) (Recorded 1973)
Single
Silver Song (Recorded 1973)
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.
It is almost the end of 2024, it is time for another collection of pictures I have found on line that look like LP covers. Sorry for not acknowledging where this picture came from this year.
Electric Reaper – You’re Not Suppose To Give Up
Okavanga – As Far As I Can See
Adonai – When A God Looks Down On Creation
Adonai is one of the names of God in Judaism
Alsatia – Fancy Colours
Alsatia was an area just outside of the City of London that, in the 17th Century was known for its lawlessness.
Streamer – Everybody’s Number One To Someone
Colonel Sparrow – I Don’t Really Know What I Am Doing Here
Colonel Sparrow is referencing novelty band, Lieutenant Pigeon who were famous for their hit, ‘Mouldy Old Dough’.
Serenita – Tropical Moon Over Dorking
Serenita is the Italian word for peace.
House Of Dolls – Where Does The Sun Shine?
House of Dolls is a 1953 novel that describes ‘Joy Divisions’, which were groups of women imprisoned in concentration camps during World War 2, who were kept for the sexual pleasure of other inmates.
The Canute’s – Still Waiting
King Canute (or Cnut) was King of England, Norway and Denmark up to his death in 1035. He is said to have sat on a beach to show how limited his power was by being unable to stop the tide.
Empty Horses – The Moon Is Not A Balloon
The title of this fake album is a reference to David Niven’s memoir, ‘The Moon’s A Balloon’.
The Contexts – Metamorphopsia
Metamorphopsia is a type of distorted vision in which a grid of straight lines appears wavy or partially blank.
Catching up with Darryl Bullock for a chat about music is always a pleasure. To finish off the year, we take a look at some of our favourite record purchases over the last twelve months.
Ernest Evans – Pixies
Sam (Specially Edited Version – Promo) – Keith West
Johnny Remember Me (Original Lyrics) – John Leyton
Get Out Your Rock & Roll Shoes – The Crocheted Doughnut Ring
Day – Secret Scream
First Annual Semi-Formal Combination Celebration Meet-The-Monster Population Party – Groovie Goolies
Earn Enough For Us – XTC
Better Than – Saint Saviour
Trans-Europe 18 – Keeley
Never Again (English Version) – Marzella
Titania – Vincent Geminiani
Drop In The Ocean – Sophie May
Starbuster – Fontaines D.C.
Groovin’ (French Version) – The Young Rascals
Out Of The Blue (Raw Studio Mix) – John Lennon
Industrial Disease (Mono Promo Version) – Dire Straits
It’s A Bitch – John Grant
Theme From Harry’s Game – Clannad
I Like ‘Be’ With You – Andy Partridge & Chris Braide featuring Tim Weller
Back in July, I posted a Beach Box 1964 box set looking at the recordings the band made that year. I did note back then get I would have a dedicated post for the Christmas recordings made in that year, so here it is.
As with most recordings made for the festive season, these took place in the summer. More specifically, June of 1964. That is, except for the ‘Little Saint Nick’ single (along with its B-Side, ’The Lords Prayer’) which was recorded in 1963, and therefore, is not be included here. The original album came out on 9th November 1964, but I moved it back a month to be closer to the festive season.
I have included a different version of ‘Little Saint Nick’. Called ‘Little Saint Nick’s Drive-In”, it has the lyrics of ‘Little Saint Nick’ but over the tune of ‘Drive-In’ from the ‘All Summer Long’ album. It was not clear if this was recorded in 1963 or 1964, so I have gone with the latter.
Some for the songs on this compilation were not released at the time and are from later reissues. These tend to be released mixed in stereo only. The takes for the song ‘Christmas Day’ are a bit confusing as to their numbers, but this what the studio engineer seems to be saying on the sessions tracks and what they were listed as on the sleeves on the records.
Merry Christmas everyone.
1 – Complete Christmas Album Era Sessions (Bootleg)
2 – Christmas Sessions (Bootleg)
3 – The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album
4 – The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album (1991 Reissue)
5 – Keep an Eye On Summer: The Beach Boys Sessions 1964
6 – Ultimate Christmas
Disc 1
Little Saint Nick – Drive In Version (Backing Vocal Overdub) – 1
Little Saint Nick – Drive In Version (Vocal Take 1b) – 2
Little Saint Nick – Drive In Version (Vocal Take 3b) – 2
Little Saint Nick – Drive In Version (Vocal Take 4b) – 2
Little Saint Nick – Drive In Version (Stereo) – 4
The Man With All The Toys (Backing Track) – 2
The Man With All The Toys (Instrumental Overdub) – 2
