Is ‘Self Portrait’ Dylan’s worst album release? Probably not, with 1973’s ‘Dylan’ album most probably taking that title (see footnote). What cannot be argued is that is it bizarre, being made up of folk songs, covers of popular tunes, some originals, live tracks and instrumentals. For a man known as the ‘Voice of a Generation’, putting instrumentals on a Dylan record may well have been the first FU of the project. Dylan himself has been a bit dismissive of this album, saying that he treated as an official bootleg as it full of songs that he and his band would record whilst warming up for a session. At other times, he was looking to get people off of his back as this so called ‘Voice of a Generation’. Whatever the reasons behind it, the album was received with almost universal poor reviews. Is the album really that bad or without merit. Music is subjective so I leave it up to you to make you own mind up. What is without question is that there were good recordings from the sessions. It just took until 2013 for most people to find that out.
That was because in 2013, Volume 10 of the legendary Bootleg Series was released, titled ‘Another Self Portrait’. This included songs that would be released on the original ‘Self Portrait’ and its follow up, ‘New Morning’, but in alternative or demo form. There is a smattering of Dylan originals, songs by his contemporaries and traditional numbers. This was followed in 2020 by ‘1970 with Special Guest George Harrison’ which contained even more outtakes from the same sessions. Having played through these compilations, I wondered if there was enough material to make an albums of traditional songs. Dylan had come from a folk background (just listen to his first album and the ‘Basement Tapes’) and would return to these songs when in need of inspiration. Dylan himself would release two album of traditional songs with 1992’s ‘Good As I Been To You’ and 1993’s ‘World Gone Wrong’. What if he had decided to do this earlier? To complete this record, I would not use any of the recordings used on the ‘Self Portrait’ album.
With the striped backed production, Dylan follows his muse and even though none of these were meant to see the light of day, they stand up quite well. A couple needed to be faded out as the original recordings come to a sudden stop but other than that, the recordings are as they were recorded. With these versions, gone are some of the over top production that plagued ‘Self Portrait’ and the female backing vocalists are now complimenting the recording instead of over powering them. Overall, I believe this to be a more satisfying listening experience.
Side A
Little Sadie (Without Overdubs)*
Come All You Fair & Tender Ladies (Take 1)**
Things About Comin’ My Way**
Days Of ’49 (Without Overdubs)*
Lily Of The West (Take 2)**
Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie (Take 1)**
Side B
Belle Isle (Without Overdubs)*
Alberta #3*
This Evening So Soon*
Pretty Saro*
Tattle O’Day*
Spanish Is The Loving Tongue*
Railroad Bill*
The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969-1971)
** 1970 With Special Guest George Harrison
Even though it is a dreadful cover, I decided to use the original artwork used in 1970 for the ‘Self Portrait’ album, but in a negative form. Dylan did produce it himself.
The ‘Dylan’ album from 1973 is a curious beast, being made of outtakes from ‘Self Portrait’ and ‘New Morning’ albums. None of the songs on this release were sanctioned for release by Dylan himself and it could be argued that he album only came out due to spite from Columbia, Dylan’s label since the start of his recording career. Dylan had temporarily left the label for Asylum Records. He would only stay at Asylum for two records (‘Planet Waves’ and ‘Before The Flood’) before returning to Columbia for ‘Blood On The Tracks’.
This ‘lost album’ could not be recreated on Spotify.
The 1960s were a time where music trends came and went relatively quickly. The music that came out in 1969 was very different from what came out in 1960. There weren’t many artists who went through through the decade without having to follow the trends, because there were artists like Dylan, who were setting them. His first album was a folk record, where he accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. By 1966’s ‘Blonde On Blonde’, he had turned on the electricity and bucked the trend by releasing one of the first rock double albums. The music from the debut, that was only four years old at this point, was lightyears away from what Dylan was producing in 1966. Everyone waited to see what he would do next but then there was nothing for eighteen months. This was the 60s were albums would come out every six months (give or take a month or two). When The Beatles took a few months out in late 1966, there was a rumour that they had split up. That is nothing though compared to Dylan’s break, but what had caused him to take so long between records?
Dylan says that he was involved in a motorcycle accident near his home in Woodstock, New York but there are no records of an ambulance being called or show that Dylan was hospitalised. Whatever the truth, Dylan did write in his autobiography that he needed a break and would not return to touring for another eight years. He retreated to his house, but did not sit around doing nothing. Calling on The Band, who had toured with him the year before, the musicians set about recording numerous covers and new Dylan songs. Dylan would say that the recordings were not for him but for act as guides for other artists to cover, and cover them they did. ‘Quinn The Eskimo/The Mighty Quinn’ and ‘This Wheel’s On Fire’ were both top five hits for Manfred Mann and Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity respectively. The Byrds recorded two of the songs for their ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ LP and Fairport Convention included ‘Million Dollar Bash’ on their ‘Unhalfbricking’ album.
The sessions that became known as the Basement Tapes would appear on rocks first bootleg record, the infamous ‘Great White Wonder’. This intern would lead to a whole industry to spring up around unauthorised releases and Dylan is believed to be the most bootlegged artist in history. He even acknowledged this when his archival releases are called ‘The Bootleg Series’. There was an attempt to beat the bootleggers, six years too late with the release of ‘The Basement Tapes’ album in 1975. However, this was not the complete story as there were multiple songs that were not included on this release and it would take until 2014 when the entire still listenable performances were given the deluxe box set selection.
Hearing these performances, it is easy to see that these were guide performances as there are some out of tune vocals and some loose playing. It only adds to the charm. There were also a lot of performances, especially early on in the recording process where there were a number of cover versions and traditional songs being played as the musicians got used to playing with one another. 138 of these performances would see the light of day on ‘The Bootleg Series Vol.11: The Basement Tapes Complete’. What is quite incredible is the amount of songs that Dylan wrote for these sessions, with not one of them being used on his next album, ‘John Wesley Harding’. The rootsy nature of that album and The Band’s ‘Music From Big Pink’ would usher in a more basic style of recording that would influence artists such as Eric Clapton to leave Cream and The Beatles to pull back on the excesses of their self titled album to go back to simpler style for the ‘Let It Be’ sessions.
What this compilation, we look at what-if Dylan had decided to be even more rootsy and release a selection of the self written material as an album in 1967 and pushed back ‘John Wesley Harding’ until mid 1968. Even though this album would not have seen the light of day in 1967, it would have been interesting how this would have received. A record with mostly short songs with only five on this release clocking in at over four minutes. The loose playing would have also stood out against the majority of music that was being produced in 1967. If you look at the amount of time that The Beatles and Brian Wilson spent recording ‘Sgt Pepper’ and ‘Smile’ to see that these live takes were harking back to a simpler time for reading music.
When compiling this, I thought that it would there would only enough material for a single disc, which is what the record label would no doubt have instead on after the release of ‘Blonde on Blonde’, However, there was so much good material that I felt it would be a waste not to use them. I also had three songs left over and used them as a single (with two B-Sides). How Dylan was able to write this much material without re-recording it shows what a purple patch he was going through from 1963 to 1969. This would all come to a grinding halt with the release of the ‘Self Portrait’ album in 1970, but there would be stacks of great material still to come in the years that followed.
One interesting factor regarding archive releases has been the amount of demos and acetate recordings that have surface. For those who have not heard of an acetate, they are discs that look like vinyl records but they are not and they are not accurately named because an acetate disc does not contain any acetate. They are an aluminium disc covered in a nitrocellulose lacquer. An engraving machine is used to transfer the recording on to the disc. This process was more common before the widespread use of magnetic tape but it was also used by musicians to take a copy of what they had produced in the studio home with them, either to hear what the song sounded like on their turntables or as a way of shopping that song around to labels and/or music publishers.
The most famous acetate recording is arguably ‘It Might As Well Rain Until September’ by Carol King. King had written the song with her then husband, Gerry Goffin for Bobby Vee. However, Vee’s management did not want to release the song as a single but Don Kirshner, music publisher and the man behind The Monkeys heard Kings’ version and released it on his Dimension record label. The record was a reasonable hit in the USA and quite a big one in the UK, but the song was not recorded to tape. It was a demo recorded to acetate which is why it does not sound as good compared to other recordings of the era, especially in the digital age.
For some artists, the only evidence that they recorded anything could well be an acetate because even though they have made the original recording to tape, that might have been wiped or lost in the years since. Even for well known artists, acetates can be the source of an interesting recording, be it and alternative mix or otherwise lost recording. However, acetates are not designed for heavy use and the lacquer starts to wear out after about ten plays. Modern technology can only do so much to improve the sound but it has been great to at least have the opportunity to hear recordings that would otherwise have been lost.
This, Volume 6 in my look at the Psychedelic Years, includes many recordings that were taken from demos and acetates. One of the rare exceptions that isn’t is ‘Love Make Sweet Music’ by Soft Machine. The reason for that is down to the sound of the recording fitting better here than my usual compilations. Many of these tracks come from the ‘Psychedelic Schlemiels’ series which sought out recordings from bands who were all but unknown to anyone who did not have extensive knowledge of obscure names on gig posters for venue listings from the music papers from the era. Another source for tracks was the compilations released by RPM that looked at artists signed to Apple Music. The rest are made up of bonus tracks from band specific archive releases and the awesome Jesse Harper album (real name Doug Jerebine) ‘Guitar Absolution In The Shade Of A Midnight Sun’, arguably one of the great lost albums of any era.
Out of the all of the bands represented on this compilation, most disappeared in obscurity but not all. Soft Machine, one of the pioneers of prog rock as well as jazz fusion and The Iveys, who changed their name to Badfinger had some success during their lifetimes. There are some rough diamonds to be found in these recordings but it is important to remember that the source of the majority of these recordings come from sources with plenty of surface noise.
I have moaned before about the shoddy treatment that Fleetwood Mac’s back catalogue has received down the years, especially on the Reprise label. An album that is screaming out for the super deluxe treatment is ‘Then Play On’ from 1969. It was:
The first Mac LP to appear on Reprise, label having left their original home of Blue Horizon after the unexpected success of the ‘Albatross’ single
The first album to deviate from the straight blues of the first two Mac albums.
The first album to feature guitarist Danny Kirwan even thought he had appeared on songs on the compilation album ‘Pious Bird of Good Omen’ and ‘Fleetwood Mac in Chicago’.
Founding member Jeremy Spencer also contributed very little to ‘The Play On’, only appearing playing the odd bit of piano. More on that later.
Containing fourteen songs in its original UK configuration, the album was also quite long clocking in at just under 54 minutes. For the US market, the album dropped two songs (‘One Sunny Day’ & ‘Without You’) which had appeared on the earlier ‘English Rose’ compilation, and the instrumental ‘Underway’ was edited down by 15 seconds. What difference these 15 seconds made is anyone’s guess.
When the song’ Oh Well’ became a minor hit in the US, the LP order was changed once again. ‘When You Say’ and ‘My Dream’ we dropped and both parts of ‘Oh Well’ were put in their place. When this album was first released on CD back in 1990, both ‘My Dream’ and ‘When You Say’ were put back into the running order and it was in this edition that I first heard this record. I only heard ‘Without You’ and ‘One Sunny Day’ when I managed to find a copy of ‘English Rose’ in a second hand record shop, most probably Reckless Records on Brewer Street in London.
The original UK track listing was only restored when the album was re-released in 2013 Deluxe Edition. I was really looking forward to this edition when I read about it, but I was really annoyed when I found out that this was not that deluxe at all. The only additional tracks being both sides of the ‘Oh Well’ single and the follow up, ‘The Green Manalishi’ and its B-Side, ‘World In Harmony’. What I have tried to do here is to present this album in a Deluxe Edition that it actually deserves.
The band recorded a lot of material during this time, a good deal of it has been released so putting this compilation together has been quite straight forward. Some members of the band also moonlighted in other groups and Jeremy Spencer released a solo album. 1969 and into the early part of 1970 was a busy time for Fleetwood Mac and this box set could have contained even more music if I had decided to include the ‘Blues Jam in Chicago’ songs. However, this was recorded when the band were still on Blue Horizon and was part of ‘The Complete Blue Horizons Session 1967-1969’ box set from 1999. I have also not included any guest sessions that the band made on other Blue Horizon artists such as Otis Spann as I am sure that there would be a rights issue if a set like this was ever attempted.
CD 1 – Original UK Track Listing & Singles
This is the same track listing as the 2013 re-release. That is, the original 14 track UK track listing with the 1969 Oh Well and 1970 The Green Manalishi singles along with their respective B-Sides.
Coming Your Way
Closing My Eyes
Fighting For Madge
Show-Biz Blues
Underway
One Sunny Day
Although The Sun Is Shining
Rattlesnake Shake
Without You
Searching For Madge
My Dream
Like Crying
Before The Beginning
Oh Well (Part 1)
Oh Well (Part 2)
The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown)
World In Harmony
CD 2 – Sessions
The second CD is made up from sessions that took place during and around the recording of the parent album. These include extended or full length versions of the jams that were included in edited form on the original record. Also included is an earlier version of ‘Showbiz Blues’ as well a an updated version of ‘Drifting’ but now called ‘Fast Talking Woman Blues’. ‘
‘Then Play On’ is known as an album that member Jeremy Spencer was shown in the line up picture, but played next to nothing not he record. To make up for this, it was originally planned that Spencer would be able to include an EP of his songs. The EP took the structure of a radio show where numerous different acts would perform, even though in reality, it was just Fleetwood Mac. Spencer was in full imitation mode, with swipes at the rock n’ roll revival scene, Alexis Korner, Texas Bluesmen, Acid Rock and John Mayall. A record consisting of a band playing lots of different types of music was quite a new idea, and I can only think of one other who had done something similar up to this point. That being The Turtles and their ‘Battle of the Bands’ LP which came out the year before.
Fast Talking Woman Blues – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Him & Me (Early Version of Showbiz Blues) – Show-Biz Blues 1968-1970
Jeremy’s Contribution to Doo Wop – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Everyday I Have The Blues – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Death Bells – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Watch Out For Yourself) Mr. Jones – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Man Of Action – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Underway (Full Length Version) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
The Madge Sessions 1 (Full Length Version) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
The Madge Sessions 2 (Instrumental) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
October Jam 1 (Unissued) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
October Jam 2 (Unissued) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) (Alt. Version) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
CD 3 – Sessions & Live
CD 3 is another round up of alternative versions and unreleased songs. However, I have also looked to include songs that the band recorded live in the last year with Peter Green which did not make it onto one of their records. Some of these have yet to be officially released. This disc finishes with a concert taken from the ‘Before The Beginning’ CD set. These performances are clearly from 1970 because ‘The Green Manalishi’ was included in the set list. However, where and when this gig took place is a mystery because the tape boxes were found without any information attached. I am sure with a bit of effort and some more research, the people who put this collection out could have found out the date and place the gig took place.
World In Harmony (Alt. Take) – Show-Biz Blues 1968-1970
Mighty Cold – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Tell Me From The Start – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Although The Sun Is Shining (Demo) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Blues In B Flat Minor (Before The Beginning Instrumental Early Takes) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Leaving Town Blues (Violin Version) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Oh Well (Part 1 – Live) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
Lemon Squeezer – Shrine ‘69
All Over Again (I’ve Got A Mind To Give Up Living) – Previously Unreleased (The Warehouse, New Orleans, 1st February 1970)
One Sided Love – Previously Unreleased (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam 20th April 1969)
Like It This Way – Previously Unreleased (Finish Radio Broadcast 24th August 1969)
Greeny Alone – Previously Unreleased (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam 20th April 1969)
Before The Beginning – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
Madison Blues – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
Can’t Stop Lovin’ – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
The Green Manalishi (With The Two Pronged Crown) – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
CD 4 – Live
This continues with the gig that was started on Disc 3. Some of the songs needed to have some work on them to get rid of as many of the problems that were with the original tapes. For instance, ‘Sandy Mary’ needed an edit due to either a fault in the master, or some shoddy work preparing the tapes for release. There was an annoying jump in the slowed down section, so I edited in a better sounding bit from the next chorus and then edited around it. I hope you can’t hear the join. Some of the flubs could not be edited out though. I have also included a guest sessions on here as there wasn’t room for them anywhere else. First is a cover of the Danny Kirwan penned ‘When You Say’. Both Kirwan and Perfects husband, John McVie play on this version.
Albatross – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
Sandy Mary – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
Only You – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
World In Harmony – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
I Can’t Hold Out – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
Oh Well (Part 1) – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
Rattlesnake Shake – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
Underway – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
Coming Your Way – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
Homework – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
My Baby’s Sweet – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
My Baby’s Gone – Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions
When You Say (Christine Perfect) – Christine Perfect
Disc 5 – Guest Sessions
As has been said before, Jeremy Spencer did not contribute much to ‘Then Play On’, but as was mentioned above, he did get to make an EP songs with Mac backing him. Unreleased at the time, the EP was just a prelude to Spencer first solo album. Released early in 1970, Fleetwood Mac were the backing band even though Peter Green only featured playing the banjo on ‘String-A-Long’. This is, as you would expect from Spencer, parodies of different music styles with a couple of covers thrown in for good measure. ‘Teenage Darling’ was not included on the original LP but was the B-Side to ‘Linda’, the only single released from this album. This is essentially a dry run for Mac’ ‘Kiln House’ LP that would come out later in 1970 after Peter Green had left the band.
The remainder of the songs on this disc is from The Brunnning Sunflower Band, or Brunning Sunflower Blues Band. They seemed to change their name every time they put out a record. This featured Bob Brunning, who was the original bass player in Fleetwood Mac. He had an agreement with Peter Green that if John McVie, who had been Green’s first choice for the role, ever wanted to join, Brunning would step aside. This is exactly what happened. Brunning would form a couple of bands after Mac, including this one. Peter Green is listed as playing on the ‘Trackside Blues’ LP, but as none of the releases of this album have ever had extensive sleeve notes, it is hard to tell exactly what songs he actually plays on so I have included them all except for ‘Sunflower Shuffle’ as the only instrument on it is a piano.
Linda (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
The Shape I’m In (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
Mean Blues (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
String-A-Long (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
Here Comes Charlie (With His Dancing Shoes On) (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
Teenage Love Affair (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
Jenny Lee (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
Don’t Go, Please Stay (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
You Made A Hit (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
Take A Look Around Mrs. Brown (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
Surfin’ Girl (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
If I Could Swim The Mountain (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
Teenage Darling (Jeremy Spencer) – Jeremy Spencer
Uranus – Take 1 (Brunning Sunflower Blues Band) – I Wish You Would
Ride With Your Daddy Tonight (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
Tube Train Blues (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
Simple Simon (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
I Met This Bird In Playboy (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
Ah! Soul (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
It Takes Time (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
Baby You’re The Real Thing (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
If You Let Me Love You (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
North Star (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
Closing Hours (The Brunning Sunflower Band) – Trackside Blues
Disc 6 – Guest Sessions
Tramp was another band that Bob Brunning band but this one included both Mick Fleetwood and Danny Kirwan in their ranks. the band release two albums, ‘Tramp’ (1969) and ‘Put A Record On’ (1974). Only the latter has been included here. The song ‘Too Late Now’ has not been included because neither Kirwan and Fleetwood play on it. What follows is the ‘Man Of The World’ single. This was the only release by Fleetwood Mac on the Immediate label which they were signed to between Blue Horizon and Reprise. I have read that this was only ever a one off deal with Immediate, but with the label in financial turmoil by the time of this release, it can be argued that if the band were signed to a longer deal, it would not have panned out as the label was struggling financially. Immediate were struggling to release what music they already had ready to go (e.g. Billy Nicholas and the legendary ‘Would You Believe’ LP). I have included it more for completeness more than anything else.
Clifford Davis was Fleetwood Mac’s manager between 1967 and 1974. He is also credited as being the co-writer of a number of songs on Mac’s ‘Mr Wonderful’ album under his birth name of Adams. He also tried his hand at being a recording artist, releasing two singles which have are believed to include members of Fleetwood on them. I have included these songs as they fit the correct time period but if anyone can shed light on which members of Mac play on them, if any, I would be grateful. When it comes to his version of ‘Man Of The World’, I am sure that this is the Mac version with Green’s vocals replaced by Adams and some strings added to the mix. This disc is rounded off by some early takes of ‘Man Of The World’.
Own Up (Tramp) – Tramp
Same Old Thing (Tramp) – Tramp
What You Gonna Do (Tramp) – Tramp
Somebody Watching Me (Tramp) – Tramp
Too Late Now (Tramp) – Tramp
Baby What You Want Me To Do (Tramp) – Tramp
Street Walking Blues (Tramp) – Tramp
On The Scene (Tramp) – Tramp
Month Of Sundays (Tramp) – Tramp
Hard Work (Tramp) – Tramp
Another Day (Tramp) – Tramp
Man Of The World – Single A-Side
Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Head Kicked in Tonite (Earl Vince & The Valiants) – Single B-Side
Before The Beginning (Clifford Davis) – Single A-Side
Man Of The World (Clifford Davis) – Single B-Side
Come On Down & Follow Me (Clifford Davis & Friends) – Single A-Side
Homework (Clifford Davis & Friends) Single A-Side
Man Of The World (Takes 1, 2 & 3) – The Vaudeville Years of Fleetwood Mac 1968-1970
I am sure that there is more tracks that could have been included out there but a six CD set is not a bad effort considering that Reprise have only ever released a one disc set for ‘Then Play On’. I would love to do a similar treatment to all of the albums Mac released between 1970 and 1974, but I don’t think there is the material out there to do so.
Fleetwood Mac released their first two albums within six months of each other, but then it took them over a year to released their third. This was the 60s and releasing a new album every six months was not unusual so I wanted to see if there would have been enough material for the band to have released another album early in 1969. If this was to happen, this album needed to follow a certain amount of rules, including adhering to the template of the first two. That is:
Each singing member gets a roughly equal amount of songs to sing.
Some originals and some covers.
The LP would contain twelve tracks like the first two albums did.
What would have been new for this release was Danny Kirwan. He was added to the line up to take some of the burden off of Peter Green because Jeremy Spencer, the other guitar player in the band did not play on the songs Green brought to the band.
Looking through the rather fine ‘Complete Blue Horizon Sessions’ box set, there is the ‘Blues Jam in Chicago’ album. This album was recoded in the legendary Chess Records studio with Fleetwood Mac being joined by a series of blue legends such as Willie Dixon and Buddy Guy. There was enough original material from this release to cover the majority of the songs. To make this a coherent album, I have done some editing to remove studio banter, false starts and the odd bum note (especially true on I Can’t Hold Out where a stray sax notes comes in during Jeremy Spencer’s Elmore James’ influenced intro). With these songs included, there still wasn’t enough material for a complete album. There were a couple of stray songs written by Danny Kirwan that I have included and this meant there was only enough room for one cover. This is ‘Jumping of Shadows’. taken from the ’Live At The BBC’ album. It is a good blues number and the band seems to have played it quite a lot in their live shows around this time.
If the band had chosen to release another LP on the Blue Horizon label earlier in 1969, this could have been what is sounded like. This would also have been the last of a trilogy of Blues albums where the songs were recorded live in the studio. With ‘Then Play On’, overdubs and editing as well as spending more time on the process were the order of the day, but that is a story for another time.
Side A
Watch Out (Blues Jam in Chicago Vol.1
World’s In A Tangle (Blues Jam In Chicago Vol.2)
I Can’t Hold Out (Blues Jam In Chicago Vol.1)
Talk With You (Blues Jam In Chicago Vol.2)
I’m Worried (Blues Jam In Chicago Vol.1)
Without You (English Rose)
Side B
Last Night (Blues Jam In Chicago Vol.1)
Something Inside Of Me – Take 2 (The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967-1969)
Rockin’ Boogie (Blues Jam In Chicago Vol.2)
Homework (Blues Jam In Chicago Vol.1)
I Held My Baby Last Night (Blues Jam In Chicago Vol.2)
Jumping At Shadows (Live At The BBC)
The LP artwork is edited from a Reprise Record release in Germany and the Netherlands from 1973, but with the title edited out. It is quite hard to find artwork of the five man Mac. The title was chosen as it links into the album that followed, even if that did not use the original Shakespeare quote accurately.
Back in the dim distant days of August 2020, I posted a couple of what if albums highlighting two possibly albums by ex Fleetwood Mac guitar player, Danny Kirwan. You can read about those LPs here (https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/danny-kirwan-mind-of-my-own-sands-of-time/) but in a nutshell, this post looked at the imagined story that the Mac split in 1971 when Jeremy Spencer left. Kirwan looked at what songs he had written and employing his ex band members as sessions players, released two albums. Well, this continues that imagined story.
After leaving Fleetwood Mac again after their 1971 tour of the US (where he helped out the band after Spencer had left), Peter Green made some additional recordings before his drug taking and mental illness finally took their toll. Green was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent some time having treatment in some psychiatric hospitals. By 1979, Green was ready to reemerge and got in touch with Mick Fleetwood. Fleetwood had spent the 1970s as a session player along with ex band mate, John McVie. Both Fleetwood and McVie have never been short of work but both had reached the end of the decade and fancied playing in a band again. Green getting back in touch could not have happened at a more opportune moment.
Green, McVie and Fleetwood start jamming and even though they liked the experience, they realised that they need some additional musicians to flesh out the sound. Green was keen to recruit his friend Nigel Watson, who had played on the two Reprise singles that he had released in the early 70s. Fleetwood, feeling that if anything were to come of this re-union, they would need a manager, contacts Clifford Davis. He had been Fleetwood’s Mac’s manager and is more than happy to come on board. Davis has also been representing Danny Kirwan since band split. Kirwan had continued to release albums throughout the 70’s but, like Green, had been suffering from the effects of drink and drugs. Davis felt that having Kirwan and Green playing together would be good for them both. Davis then played Green some live tracks from Mac’s US tour in early 1970 to show how good the two players had been, feeding off each others guitar licks. Green was sceptical, but agreed that having Kirwan in for a jam.
Kirwan looks similar to the last time anyone saw him, it is clear that all is not well with him. Years of alcohol and drug abuse have taken their toll. However, when the four musicians start to relax around each other, the music flows out of them, even if the playing from the two guitar players is not have the fire they once had. Inspired by the jam sessions, both Kirwan and Green agree that they will see if they can come up with some suitable material for an album.
Jeremy Spencer on the other hand has spent the majority of the 70’s working on behalf of the Children of God, recording a good deal of music for the benefit of the organisation. By 1978, he had written some material that he felt should be released on a commercial record. Looking in the organisation for fellow players, Spencer put together the Jeremy Spencer band and they start to rehearse. Hiring entertainment moguls Martin and Steven Machat, the pair are able to secure Spencer a one off deal with Atlantic Records. Sessions begin but Spencer is not happy with some of the results. He feels that instead of the breezy Californian sound he was going for, the record label are trying to steer him towards a disco record. Spencer is close to giving up when Ahmet Ertegun, the Head of Atlantic Records comes down to the studio to play him a visit.
Ertegun has heard that Fleetwood Mac are jamming together and wonders if Spencer would be interested in joining them in a reunion (as well as having the band sign for Atlantic). Spencer is unsure that this would be a good idea, especially as it was him leaving that caused the band to fold in the first place. Ertegun says he would make some enquiries, and contacts Davis. Davis is surprised to hear that anyone has heard that the jam sessions are happening at all, but is excited that there could be a potential Mac reunion with all five members actively involved. Ertegun sweetens the deal by suggesting that a record deal is waiting for them if they choose to accept it, but only if Spencer is involved. A sizeable advance is also mentioned.
Davis tells Green, Kirwan, McVie and Fleetwood about Ertegun’s offer. McVie and Fleetwood are keen to go into the studio straight away, but this was before Davis told them the deal about having Spencer on the recording. Kirwan does not react at all and Green looks horrified. He has not been in a recording studio for years, and his guitar playing is decidedly rusty. The four band members mull it over and even though they each have doubts, the seizable advance is enough to swing it as both Kirwan and Green are short of funds. The money would also mean Kirwan can buy himself out of his contract DJM Records who he still owes an album too. The contracts are signed and the five man Mac meet up and start to rehearse. The first meeting with Spencer is a little tense, but once the formalities are out of the way and they start to play some old blues standards, they all remember how much fun it was to play together.
It has been ten years since they last recorded an album together (even though Spencer hardly played anything on the ‘Then Play On’ album). The three songwriters have changed as people and the music landscape has changed as well. Disco and soft rock are the order of the day. Both Spencer and Kirwan produce some material that is similar to those popular at the time. Green on the other hand, has struggled to come up with material of his own and at one point, almost walked out of the sessions. Fleetwood is able to coerce Green back to at least finish the album but by the end of proceedings, all five realise that this was a mistake. The album sounds good, but the fire is no longer there and the three songwriters are sining from the same hymn sheet as once they were. Unfortunately, they are under contract and the album has too comes out.
The reviews are not kind, with everyone expecting the band from 1969 with their blues rock fusion. Even though concert promotors throw some big money at the band to go on the road, especially if they are going to play their old material, the band decide that going on tour would not be in anyones best interest and they split once again. The album fails to chart anywhere in the world and Fleetwood Mac are once again, no more.
Side A
Flee – Jeremy Spencer Band (Flee)
Wings Of A Dove – Danny Kirwan (Hello There Big Boy!)
Seven Stars – Peter Green (In The Skies)
Caroline – Danny Kirwan (Hello There Big Boy!)
Travellin’ – Jeremy Spencer Band (Flee)
Side B
In The Skies – Peter Green (In The Skies)
Summer Days & Summer Nights – Danny Kirwan (Hello There Big Boy!)
Just For You – Peter Green (In The Skies)
Cool Breeze – Jeremy Spencer Band (Flee)
Apostle – Peter Green (In The Skies)
I was inspired to put this what-if album together after playing Danny Kirwan 1979 album ‘Hello There Big Boy!’ for the first time in years. I remember being incredibly disappointed with this when I first heard it over thirty years ago now but on reflection, it was not as bad as I remember. The playing was solid and there were some half decent songs on it. The production of the record was obviously trying to ape the style of the then current Fleetwood Mac and their massive selling ‘Rumours’ LP. It was then that I remembered that Jeremy Spencer released his ‘Flee’ album in the same year. I had played this record quite a lot when I was younger, especially the B-Side which was also trying to emulate the ‘Rumours’ sound. The B-Side has aged considerably better than the A-Side, which sounds like a poor mans disco record.
Considering I have all Spencer’s and Kirwan’s releases from the 1970’s, I have never bought or even listened to a single Peter Green solo album. Well, from 1979 onwards anyway as I do have ‘End Of The Game’ and the two singles he recorded with Nigel Watson. A Green fan would be disappointed if they were expecting the fiery blues man of just a year or so before. Anyway, I looked at Green’s solo work and found that he had also released an album in 1979. It was just a case of listening to all three and seeing if there was enough self penned material for an album. There was but this, if it had actually happened, I feel it would have disappointed much in the same way the Small Faces re-union releases were earlier in the decade. An interesting experiment though.
The name of the album is a reference to the fake Fleetwood Mac who were sent out on the road in place of the real thing in 1974. You can see a video detailing this incident here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKk692YLB1M). After the fake Fleetwood Mac debacle, that band became Stretch and released the hit single ‘Why Did You Do It?’.
The cover is adapted from the Jeremy Spencer Bands ‘Flee’ album.
It is the fifth month so it must be time for Volume 5 in my series of collections looking back at the Psychedelic Years. Like previous efforts, this one is a collection of well known bands mixed with a lot of obscure (some would say very) artists. The better known include The Rolling Stones with a song from their underrated psychedelic effort, ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’. Fairport Convention were not always the folk rock band and their first record was closer to the Jefferson Airplane than the songs they found at Cecil Sharp House. Genesis also make an appearance in their pre-prog days with a song from their much maligned debut album. Personally, I really like this record.
On the other side, we Bobak, Jons, Malone which included cult producer Will Malone in their ranks. Jessie Taper makes an appearance with ‘Fall Down’ taken from the ‘Guitar Absolution In The Shade of The Midnight Sun’ album. Lifted from the only known acetate of this record, this is possibly the greatest unreleased album of all time. Andy Ellison was a member of the infamous John’s Children before going soloing Kippington Lodge featured a pre-fame Nick Lowe.
More of the same next month.
Disc 1
S. F. Sorrow Is Born – The Pretty Things
Care Of Cell 44 – The Zombies
Tarot (Ace Of Wand Theme) – Andrew Bown
Jenny Artichoke – Kaleidoscope
The Castle Has Fallen – The Ghost
Sueno – The Truth
It’s Alright Ma, It’s Only Witchcraft – Fairport Convention
The Eagle Flies On Friday – The Exception (UK)
Silver Tree Top School for Boys – The Beatstalkers
Good Times – Eric Burdon & The Animals
2000 Light Years From Home – The Rolling Stones
Boy Meats Girl – Paper Blitz Tissue
I Wonder Where My Sister’s Gone – Anán
Trip On An Orange Bicycle – Orange Bicycle
Let’s Live For Today – The Living Daylights
Nodnol – The Spectrum
Hey! Mr. Carpenter – The Fox
Shout It – Kate
And Life Goes On – The Mirage
Fairylights – Bent Frame
Love & Best Wishes – The Uglys
With A Little Help – World Of Oz
Sylvie – The Hills
Lord John – The Bobcats
On A Meadow Lane – Bobak, Jons, Malone
Sunshine – Gun
Disc 2
Rainbow Chaser – Nirvana (UK)
Hey Conductor – The League
I’m Flying – Serendipity
Colour Of My Mind – The Attack
Flight From Ashiya – Kaleidoscope
Wildflowers – The Holy Mackerel
Lydia Purple – Dunn & McCashen
In The Beginning- Genesis
Fall Down – Jesse Harper
House Of Many Windows – Motherlight (Bobak, Jons, Malone)
The summer months are almost upon us so what better time is there to present a compilation looking at the period in the mid 60s where music makers from the USA* were producing tunes that reflected the then more innocent age. There are songs about cars, mopeds, having fun, girls (and boys) and there are hints at the more reflective music that would become more prevalent later int he decade. ‘Guess I’m Dumb’ by Glen Campbell being a good example of that. Brian Wilson’s finger prints are all over this compilation as well. He was churning out so much music in the mid 60s that he recorded with more than just The Beach Boys. These included The Honeys which featured his future wife, Marilyn, within their ranks. The songs by The Survivors, the aforementioned Glen Campbell as well as Jan & Dean have Wilson’s fingerprints all over them.
Future Beach Boys collaborators, Bruce Johnson and Terry Melcher are also represented here, not only under their own names (Bruce & Terry) but as The Rip Chords. Harry Nilsson and Phil Spector are both represented by their writing credits on the song ‘This Could Be The Night’ by The Modern Folk Quartet. Phil Spector also produced the original version of ‘Chapel of Love’ by Darlene Love. This was not released until 30 years after it was recorded. There are numerous other artists, some more well known than others but whenever I play this, it always makes me think of summer.
Disc 1
Let’s Dance – Chris Montez
Johnny Angel – Shelley Fabares
Walk Don’t Run ’64 – The Ventures
Surf City – Jan & Dean
Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann – Road Robin
I Get Around – The Beach Boys
Not The Lovin’ Kind – Dino, Desi & Billy
Three Window Coupe – The Rip Chords
Little Honda – The Hondells
I Live For The Sun – The Sunrays
That’s The Way The World Has Got To Be (Part 1) – Chris Lucey
For You – Rick Nelson
Anywhere The Girl Are – The Fantastic Baggys
Another Saturday Night – Sam Cooke
Strange Love – Darlene Love
Rising Sun – The Deep Six
Everybody Loves A Clown – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
The Big Beat – Bob & Sheri
I’m A Drifter – Joe & Eddie
Meet Me Tonight Little Girl – Philip & Stephan
The Night Has A Thousand Eyes – Bobby Lee
Man With Money – The Everly Brothers
Summer Means Fun – Bruce & Terry
Smokey Joe’s – Donna Loren
Let Me Be – The Turtles
You Say Pretty Words – Ramona King
So Hard To Find – The Critters
Guess I’m Dumb – Glen Campbell
I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound – Dion & The Wanderers
Baby What You Want Me Top Do? – Bob & Bobby
This Could Be The Night – The Modern Folk Quartet
Keep On Dancing – The Ronettes
Land Of The Free – Bonnie & The Treasures
Disc 2
Pamela Jean – The Survivors
Ride Away – Bob & Sheri
Walk Right In – The Moments
Twistin’ The Night Away – Sam Cooke
Hey Little Cobra – The Rip Chords
Tell ‘em I’m Surfin’ – The Fantastic Baggys
Dream For Sale – Joey Paige
The Rebel Kind – Dino, Desi & Billy
Roses & Rainbows – Danny Hutton
That’s How It Goes – Joey Heatherton
Somebody Groovy – The Mamas & The Papas
Haloween Mary – P. F. Sloan
They’re Jealous Of Me – Doona Loren
The Birds & The Bees – Jewel Akens
Many Are The Times – Lee Mallory
Over You – Paul Revere & The Raiders
I’m Sweet On You – Tina & The Mustangs
June Bride Baby – The Goldbriars
The Sh-down Down Song (You Better Leave Him Alone) – The Ginger-Snaps Dandee Dawson
Deep Purple – Nino Tempo & April Stevens
I’m Through With You – Mark V
He’s A Doll – The Honeys
The End – Ian Whitcomb
This Diamond Ring – Gary Lewis & The Playboys
Baby I See You – Deana Martin
Eve Of Destruction – Barry McGuire
Bye, Bye, Bye – The Tikis
What Am I Going To Do – The Dovers
Call Me – Chris Montez
Baby Dear – Wildflowers
Chapel Of Love – Darlene Love
All Summer Long – The Beach Boys
The cover art is adapted from one used by Andrew Sandoval for his podcast of the same name. If you have not heard any of the episodes, I would highly recommend it.
This compilation could not be reproduced on Spotify due to one or more songs not being listed don that platform.
*I think that is where all of the artists on this compilation were from anyway
I was inspired to put this compilation together by an old work colleague who was into, what he called ‘noisy music’. I had only just bought Pink Floyd’s rather pricey but quite comprehensive ‘Early Years’ box set. Lots of psychedelic noodling, progressive jamming and in some cases, just noise was included on the box. I also thought I would use some of the noisy tracks from the official Floyd catalogue (such as Ummagumma), some tracks from the collaboration between Roger Water and Ron Feesin as well some bits and pieces from Syd Barrett, the bands original guitar player.
There was so much material to use that the project soon ballooned to a three disc set, with tracks edited, cross faded and sometimes laid onto of each other. In the end, I produced a work that would be a cohesive sound experience. This is also designed for the playing time of a CD and not vinyl, which is what I normally do.
The releases that were used to complete this project were:
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Stereo Mix)
A Saucerful Of Secrets (Stereo Mix)
More
Ummagumma
Zabriskie Point
Relics
Omay Yad (Bootleg)
Obscured By Clouds
Dark Side Of The Moon (Immersion Box Set)
Wish You Were Here (Immersion Box Set)
London ’66-’67 EP
The Early Years 1965-1972
Music From the Body (Roger Waters & Ron Geesin)
An Introduction to Syd Barrett – Downloadable Bonus Track (Syd Barrett)
Disc 1
John Latham 1
John Latham 2
John Latham 3
John Latham 4
John Latham 5
John Latham 6
John Latham 7
Nick’s Boogie
Rhamadam (Syd Barrett)
Saucerful Of Secrets
Moonhead (Incorporating John Latham 8)
Main Theme For ‘More’
Bike (Sound Effects Only)
Disc 2
The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party Part 2 (Entertainment)
Love Scene (Version 1)
Quicksilver
Careful With That Axe Eugene (Incorporating Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up)
Love Scene (Take 1)
Sysyphus
Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in A Cave & Grooving With A Pict
Love Scene (Version 2)
Heart Beat, Pig Meat
Up The Kyper
Wine Glasses
Seabirds (Incorporating The Womb Bit & Embryo Thought)
On The Run – 1972 Early Mix (Incorporating More Than Seven Dwarfs In Penis Land)
Unknown Song – Take 1 (Incorporating Embryonic Womb-Walk & Jugband Blues)
Cirrus Minor
Disc 3
Love Scene (Version 7)
Interstellar Overdrive – Mono (Part 1)
Fingal’s Cave (Part 1)
Oneone
Explosion
Aeroplane
Pow R. Toc H. (Stereo)
Theme – Beat Version (Alternative Version)
Fingal’s Cave (Part 2)
The Narrow Way (Part 2)
Dramatic Theme
Love Scene (Version 4)
Obscured By Clouds
When You’re In
Heart Beat, Pig Meat (Film Version)
Interstellar Overdrive – Demo (Incorporating John Latham 9)
The title of this compilation takes it name from an improvised instrumental the band did in 1970 for a TV performance, which I didn’t end up using for this.
The cover is very much in the vein of Hypnosis, who did so many of Pink Floyd’s covers but I suspect I found this image on the Twitter site, Images that could be album covers.
Boney M started off as a studio project by West German producer and song writer, Frank Farian. Farian had released a number of songs under his own name before he had a hit with ‘Baby Do You Wanna Bump’, a loose remake of Prince Busters ‘Al Capone’. He released the song under the name of Boney M, but not wanting to appear in the spotlight himself, he hired some performers to take the songs he was writing out on the road. The people who were chosen to front Boney M, all hailed from the Caribbean. These were Maizie Williams (from Montserrat), Bobby Farrell (from Aruba) as well as Liza Mitchell and Marcia Barrett (both from Jamaica). However, Williams and Farrell did not sing on any of the studio recordings, even though they were heard when the group performed live.
The group struggled to follow ‘Baby Do You Wanna Bump’ until they were invited on the German TV show, Musikladen performing ‘Daddy Cool’. This became a big hit in Germany and the group began to have hits in other countries around Europe. Their first album ‘Take The Heat Off Me’ was a modest hit outside of mainland Europe, and the follow up ‘Love For Sale’ improved upon its predecessors sales and chart performance. Their singles up to this point were huge chart successes in all the major markets except the USA but when their third album was released, the groups sales went through the roof.
‘Nightflight To Venus’ came out in July 1978 and contained the double A-Side single ‘Rivers Of Babylon’ and ‘Brown Girl In The Ring’, one of the biggest selling singles in UK history. With the follow up release being the disco classic’ ‘Rasputin’ and they were able to achieve another million selling UK single with the then non-album track, ‘Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Love’. The B-Side of this Christmas related single was ‘Dancing in the Streets’, a new song and not a cover of the Martha & The Vandellas track. This album was also a massive seller, achieving Platinum status in many territories but when it comes to re-releases, these have been thin on the ground. This album is ripe for a deluxe edition and so The Squire is here to provide one.
‘Nightflight to Venus’ lends itself to this format just because of the numerous different versions of the songs that were on the album. Normally when a record comes out, it tends to be definitive version with all of the mixes and edits finalised. However, with ‘Nightlight To Venus’, this was not the case. Four versions of this record were released, most of which were exclusive to Germany. The different versions can be easily identified by the length of the first track, ‘Nightflight To Venus’ which is the only song with a different duration on each version. The opening song was on the first version had a playing time of seven minutes and eleven seconds but by the time the forth, and final version was released, this had been edited down to four minutes and forty six seconds. The song itself is based around Cozy Powell’s ‘Dance With The Devil’ single, but as this was in the era before sampling, I suspect the songwriters did not receive any monetary recompense for this drum pattern. Anyway, I digress.
This fourth and last version is considered to be the finished version and is the one that most people around the world would have heard. This is also the version that was released on CD. So what happened to all of the different versions of the songs that were released before the fourth and final version came out? These seemed to have been reassigned to the archives, for now at least. Apart from these different album version, there was also numerous single mixes. This album was released at the high of disco so not only were there 7” single version, but extended 12” mixes. These singles mixes as well as LP variation would neatly fit onto a three CD release of the album. This would also include the single ‘Mary’s Boy Child/ Oh My Lord’ with its B-Side ‘Dancing In The Streets’ in all its variations as well, as this came out in the same year.
The cover I used is the same as the original with the Deluxe Edition logo also present.
Disc 1
Nightflight To Venus
Rasputin
Painter Man
He Was A Steppenwolf
King Of The Road
Rivers Of Babylon
Voodoonight
Brown Girl In The Ring
Never Change Lovers In The Middle Of The Night
Heart Of Gold
Disc 2 – Single Versions
Rivers of Babylon (Original 7” Version 1978)
Brown Girl In The Ring (Dutch Single Mix 1978)
Rasputin (7” Version 1978)
Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord (7” Version 1978)
Dancing In The Streets (7” Version 1978)
Rivers Of Babylon (US 12” Version 1978)
Rasputin (12” Version 1978)
Dancing In The Streets (12” Version 1978)
Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord (12’ Version 1978)
Rivers Of Babylon (US Promo 12” Version 1978)
Disc 3 – Variations
Nightlfight to Venus (German 1st Pressing)
Rasputin (German 1st Pressing)
He Was A Steppenwolf (German 1st Pressing)
Rivers Of Babylon (German 1st Pressing)
Voodoonight (German 2nd Pressing)
Nightflight To Venus (German 2nd Pressing)
Rasputin (German 2nd Pressing)
Nightflight To Venus (German 3rd Pressing)
Rasputin (German 3rd Pressing)
Painter Man (German 3rd Pressing)
He Was A Steppnwolf (Alternative Full Length Version)
