Category: Lost Album

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

1. Flee – Jeremy Spencer Band (Flee)
2. Wings Of A Dove – Danny Kirwan (Hello There Big Boy!)
3. Seven Stars – Peter Green (In The Skies)
4. Caroline – Danny Kirwan (Hello There Big Boy!)
5. Travellin’ – Jeremy Spencer Band (Flee)

Side B

1. In The Skies – Peter Green (In The Skies)
2. Summer Days & Summer Nights – Danny Kirwan (Hello There Big Boy!)
3. Just For You – Peter Green (In The Skies)
4. Cool Breeze – Jeremy Spencer Band (Flee)
5. 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. 

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

1. John Latham 1
2. John Latham 2
3. John Latham 3
4. John Latham 4
5. John Latham 5
6. John Latham 6
7. John Latham 7
8. Nick’s Boogie
9. Rhamadam (Syd Barrett)
10. Saucerful Of Secrets
11. Moonhead (Incorporating John Latham 8)
12. Main Theme For ‘More’
13. Bike (Sound Effects Only) 

Disc 2

1. The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party Part 2 (Entertainment)
2. Love Scene (Version 1)
3. Quicksilver
4. Careful With That Axe Eugene (Incorporating Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up)
5. Love Scene (Take 1)
6. Sysyphus
7. Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in A Cave & Grooving With A Pict
8. Love Scene (Version 2)
9. Heart Beat, Pig Meat
10. Up The Kyper
11. Wine Glasses
12. Seabirds (Incorporating The Womb Bit & Embryo Thought)
13. On The Run – 1972 Early Mix (Incorporating More Than Seven Dwarfs In Penis Land)
14. Unknown Song – Take 1 (Incorporating Embryonic Womb-Walk & Jugband Blues)
15. Cirrus Minor

Disc 3

1. Love Scene (Version 7)
2. Interstellar Overdrive – Mono (Part 1) 
3. Fingal’s Cave (Part 1)
4. Oneone
5. Explosion
6. Aeroplane
7. Pow R. Toc H. (Stereo)
8. Theme – Beat Version (Alternative Version)
9. Fingal’s Cave (Part 2)
10. The Narrow Way (Part 2)
11. Dramatic Theme
12. Love Scene (Version 4)
13. Obscured By Clouds
14. When You’re In
15. Heart Beat, Pig Meat (Film Version)
16. 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

1. Nightflight To Venus
2. Rasputin
3. Painter Man
4. He Was A Steppenwolf
5. King Of The Road
6. Rivers Of Babylon
7. Voodoonight
8. Brown Girl In The Ring
9. Never Change Lovers In The Middle Of The Night
10. Heart Of Gold

Disc 2 – Single Versions

1. Rivers of Babylon (Original 7” Version 1978)
2. Brown Girl In The Ring (Dutch Single Mix 1978)
3. Rasputin (7” Version 1978)
4. Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord (7” Version 1978)
5. Dancing In The Streets (7” Version 1978)
6. Rivers Of Babylon (US 12” Version 1978)
7. Rasputin (12” Version 1978)
8. Dancing In The Streets (12” Version 1978)
9. Mary’s Boy Child/Oh My Lord (12’ Version 1978)
10. Rivers Of Babylon (US Promo 12” Version 1978)

Disc 3 – Variations

1. Nightlfight to Venus (German 1st Pressing)
2. Rasputin (German 1st Pressing)
3. He Was A Steppenwolf (German 1st Pressing)
4. Rivers Of Babylon (German 1st Pressing)
5. Voodoonight (German 2nd Pressing)
6. Nightflight To Venus (German 2nd Pressing)
7. Rasputin (German 2nd Pressing)
8. Nightflight To Venus (German 3rd Pressing)
9. Rasputin (German 3rd Pressing)
10. Painter Man (German 3rd Pressing)
11. He Was A Steppnwolf (Alternative Full Length Version)
12. Voodoonight (2nd Verse Edit)

On the 24th April 1998, ‘The Big Labowski’ arrived in UK cinemas. It is the story of the Jeffrey ‘The Due’ Lebowski who is attacked in his home instead of similarly named character with much greater financial means and a trophy wife (who would seem to be the cause of the problems). Through a series of adventures, an amazing cast of characters, catch praises, white Russians and a perfect soundtrack, the film was the Coen Brother’s attempt at developing a story that was inspired by the works of Raymond Chandler. If you have not seen the film, it is well worth a watch.

The music was used by the film makers to represent the characters. For example, a Latino character called Jesus is introduced with the Gypsy Kings cover of ‘Hotel California’. The song is sung moistly in Spanish and when it plays as Jesus bowls, you only see the visuals as well as the music. When the character of Maude Labowski (daughter of the other Labowski) is first seen, the music playing is ‘Walking Song’ by avant-guarde vocalist Meredith Monk. This fits with the character as Maude is an avant-guard artist. They go a step further with the group of German Nihilists. There are references to the actual band Kraftwerk in connection with the Nihilists,  including using a parody of the Man Machine album and naming their band Autobahn. A more in-depth article can be read here on this subject http://dudespaper.com/dude-university/i-am-the-walrus-musical-representation-in-the-big-lebowski/. 

In honour of this wonderful film and the music contained within it, I have decided to put together a 25th Anniversary Soundtrack album. This is not quite a complete soundtrack as there are snippets of songs throughout that are not included here, mostly because it is hard to work out what some of them are. There is the possibility that it would have made this set a little on the long side. Disc 1 is the same as the soundtrack album that was released back in 1998 with Disc 2 being filled with an additional set of songs not included before. 

Disc 1

1. The Man In Me – Bob Dylan
2. Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles – Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band
3. My Mood Swings – Elvis Costello
4. Ataypura – Yma Sumac
5. Traffic Boom – Piccioni
6. I Got I Bad & That Ain’t Good – Nina Simone
7. Theme/Stamping Ground – Moondog
8. Just Dropped In (Top See What Condition My Condition Was In) – Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
9. Walking Song – Meredith Monk
10. Gluck Das Mit Verbleib – Llona Steingruber, Anton Dermota & The Austrian State Radio Orchestra
11. Lujon – Henry Mancini
12. Hotel California – The Gypsy Kings
13. Technopop – Carter Burwell
14. Dead Flowers – Townes Van Zandt

Disc 2

1. Branded Theme Song – Dominic Frontiere & Alan Alch
2. Mucha Muchacha – Esquivel
3. Dick On The Case – Carter Burwell
4. I Hate You – The Monks
5. Tumbling Tumbleweeds – Sons Of The Pioneers
6. Behave Yourself – Booker & The MG’s
7. Run Through The Jungle – Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. Standing On The Corner – Dean Martin
9. Pictures At An Exhibition – Mussorgsky
10. Oye Como Va – Santana
11. Piacere Sequence – Teo Usuelli
12. Peaceful Easy Feeling – The Eagles
13. Lookin’ Out My Back Door – Creedence Clearwater Revival
14. Tammy – Debbie Reynolds
15. We Venerate Thy Cross – The Rustavi Choir
16. Requiem In D Minor (Introitus & Lacrimosa) – The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
17. Viva Las Vegas – Shawn Covin

Another year, another Record Store Day so I thought it was high time I came up with a fantasy release that I hope to one day would come out, even though it is highly unlikely. In 2022, there was a RSD re-release of 1996’s ‘Trailer Park’, the album Beth Orton considers her debut. However, three years before that, she released her true debut, ‘SuperPinkMandy’. Released only in Japan and in limited numbers, this would be an ideal candidate for a re-release, especially as there was not a vinyl version in 1993.

It is unlikely ever to see re-release as Orton does not particularly like the album. In interviews, she claims that ‘Trailer Park’ is her debut and brushes over ‘Superpinkmandy’. There was a little bit of acknowledgement that this album actually exists on her ‘Pass In Time’ compilation. Two songs from ‘Superpinkmandy’ made the album: ‘Don’t Wanna Know Bout Evil’ and ‘Where Do You Go’. A third song, ‘She Cries Your Name’; would be re-recorded and was the opening song on ‘Trailer Park’. So, what would be included on my fantasy RSD release. 

Not only will it include the whole of ‘SuperPinkMandy’, but a collection of songs that she was on that came out before ‘Trailer Park’. This double LP contains collaborations with William Orbit, Red Snapper and The Chemical Brothers. Your can tell that ’SuperPinkMandy’ was released without vinyl in mind as the track listing on the CD, if transferred to an LP would have sides very different in length. The track listing has therefore been changed slightly to accommodate this. 

Some of the contributions Orton made to some of these records is minimal with either just a word repeated over and over again or wordless vocals. This is not a complete collection of Orton’s music before she release ‘Trailer Park’, but it is good representation of what she had produced before that point. 

Side A (SuperPinkMandy)

1. Don’t Worry About Evil
2. Faith Will Carry 
3. Yesterday’s Gone
4. She Cries Your Name
5. City Blue

Side B (SuperPinkMandy)

1. When You Wake
2. Roll The Dice
3. The Prisoner
4. Where Did You Go?
5. Release Me

Side C (Collaborations)

1. Snapper – Red Snapper
2. In Deep  – Red Snapper
3. Million Town – William Orbit

Side D (Collaborations)

1. She Cries Your Name – William Orbit (Strange Cargo Hinterland Version)
2. Kiss The Bee – William Orbit
3. Water From A Vine Leaf – William Orbit
4. Alive Alone – Chemical Brothers

I decided to call it ‘Before Trailer Park’, because that is essentially what it is. The cover is minimal to reflect the era in which it came out, when the artwork of albums had to accommodate cassette and CD packaging. The less the better.

As an added bonus, there is another double album combining two extra projects in collaboration with William Orbit. The first disc is comprised of the Spill EP, and the second is the ‘Water From A Vine Leaf’ EP. None of the versions of ‘Water From A Vine Leaf’ are the same as the one presented on the ‘Before Trailer Park’ album. 

Side A

1. Don’t Wanna Know ‘Bout Evil (Rumble Mix)
2. Don’t Wanna Know ‘Bout Evil (Tumble mix)

Side B

1. Don’t Wanna Know ‘Bout Evil (Danny’s Moto Mix)
2. Don’t Wanna Know ‘Bout Evil (The Groovy Beats)

Side C

1. Water From A Vine Leaf (Edit)
2. Water From A Vine Leaf (Xylem Flow Mix) (Spooky Remix)
3. Water From A Vine Leaf (Acid Bath Mix) (Spooky Remix)

Side D

1. Water From A Vine Leaf (Underwater Mix Part 2) (Underworld Remix)
2. Water From A Vine Leaf (Cromer Chroma Mix)

The cover is adapted from the cover of the ‘Spill’ EP.

I waited the best part of three years for the second season of Hunters to come out. It was one of a number of shows that I enjoyed watching during the first lockdown and I had not seen anything to say that it had been cancelled (unlike some other Amazon shows which came out at the same time e.g. Utopia). Low and behold, the second (and last series) came out with little or no fanfare at the start of 2023 which was a shame as I feel that most people would have missed that (including myself initially). 

In compiling this album, I wanted to follow the template I followed when completing the soundtrack to season 1. That is, the songs must fit onto the vinyl format and they must have been released before the latest year in TV show is set. That year being 1979, which means a number of the songs from this season could not be used. This also meant I could not include any of the incidental music as well. 

Unlike season 1, there seemed to be a lot less music to choose from so this LP would be a single. Whoever was responsible for compiling the music for this show did a rather fine job, with the music reflecting the location the characters were in. For example, when the action is in France, French artists are used and so forth. With the German music, it seems that all of it was pre World War 2. Good work whoever you are. 

Side A

1. La Plus Belle Chanson du Monde – Jacqueline Taïeb
2. Malaguena – Xavier Cugat
3. Barba Costa – Koko
4. Pobrecita – Julito Rodriguez Y Su Trio
5. Ver Der Ershter Vet Lachen – Mike Burstein
6. Can You Tell Me – Heat Exchange
7. Nothing From Nothing – Billy Preston
8. Love Will Keep Us Together – Captain & Tennille

Side B

1. It’s Getting Better – Mama Cass
2. Best Things In Life – The Dreamliners
3. I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song – Jim Croce
4. Geronimo – Bobby Valentin
5. Shabes-Shabes – Jan Bart
6. I’m Gonna Let My Heart Do The Walking (Single Version) – The Supremes
7. Le Temps Est Bon – Isabelle Pierre
8. Green Green Grass Of Home – Tom Jones

https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/0W7Evv1NrBcohku4uZI6ff?utm_source=generator

The cover was direct lift from the official soundtrack with the bottom edited off. 

Check out the soundtrack to season one https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/hunters-original-soundtrack/

Well, here we are with the third and final volume of ‘Endless Bummer’ the worst recordings of The Beach Boys. A quick recap first though. These collections was inspired by ‘Elvis’ Greatest Shit’ Bootleg and one dedicated to The Beach Boys called ‘Endless Bummer, The Very Worst of The Beach Boys’. As I said back in previous two posts on this topic, that Beach Boys sure does live up to its title. There is a drunk Carl Wilson trying to make his way through ‘Good Vibrations’, Mike Love making a quick buck on some adverts, a Spanish language version of their massive mid 80s hit, ‘Kokomo’ as well Brian Wilson’s father berating him in the recoding. However, all of these recording from this have not been released commercially as far as I can tell, and it is unlikely that they ever will be anyway. 

In these collections, I have only looked at songs that the band officially released with this collection looking at the period between 1980 and 1996.

As the Beach Boys entered the 1980s, they were doing well as a concert band but their records of new material were not. One of the reasons for this could date back to 1974 when the compilation ‘Endless Summer’ was released. It was a massive seller, especially in the USA. All of the songs on that record had all been released before ‘Pet Sounds’, so when the public came to watch the band, they wanted to hear those old hits. What were The Beach Boys to do? Play their new material which might lose them their audience, or play those old hits which might struggle to gain them a new one. With the newer albums, should they continue with the method of working that had been artistically satisfying (for most of the band anyway) but did not sell as many records as they had been doing before etc the ill fated ‘Smile’ sessions? They sort of came up with this hybrid of new material and covering oldies. The concerts still sold out but the albums started to flow the law of diminishing returns. 

This does not mean that there wasn’t quality material being recorded. Dennis and Carl Wilson put out solo albums with both either taking time out for the band or leaving, just not permanently. Mike Love was also recording plenty of material. He recorded two solo albums called ‘First Love’ & ‘Country Love’. Neither saw the light of day at the time as well as front another band called Celebration. Bruce Johnston who spent most of the 1970s out of the band also got in on the solo album act. Brian was going through a hard time due to his growing dependency on drink and drugs. He would become engaged in musical projects but he would not see them through to fruition. Dennis Wilson’s life was also spiralling out of control. Only Al Jardine seems to have taken a back seat when it came to putting out an album.

So, as we can see The Beach Boys were a bit of a mess but that does not mean they were going away. First up was the album ‘Keepin’ The Summer Alive’ as well as the only live performance with the six core members of The Beach Boys on stage when they played at Knebworth. Between that album and their next self titled album five years later in 1985, they struggled to escape their past. The band put out a best of compilation of music from 1970 to 1980. Capitol, their original label put out another best of compilation, a rarities album and a mash up single of loads of their  hits. These were all the rage in the early 1980s. 

‘The Beach Boys’ album followed by yet another best of in 1986, but it did at least have two new tracks on it. ‘Still Cruisin’ appeared in 1989 and was made up mostly of material that had been used in films, and could be argued to be a bit of a rip off. Out of the ten songs that made up this record, the last three were all from the 1960s that had been used in films produced up to six years earlier. We then get to ‘Summer in Paradise’. Arguably the worst record the band ever released, and one of the worst records put out by anyone. It is so bad, I could have included the whole record on this compilation and was very tempted to do so. It has been out of print for years and is noticeably absent from streaming services. There have been numerous podcasts and YouTube videos not his record, but this one by Todd in the Shadows is all you need to get an idea of how bad this record truly is (see below). 

The Beach Boys finished the century guesting on a record by Status Quo as well as putting out an LP of reworking of their earlier output with country starts singing the lead vocals. The output of the band significantly slowed after this but there was still enough to collect another worst of The Beach Boys and without doubt, this is definitely the worst of the three. 

Side A

1. Wipe Out (With The Fat Boys) (Still Crusin’)
2. Make It Big (Still Cruisin’)
3. Rock ’n’ Roll To The Rescue – Percadella Mix (12’ Single)
4. Crack At Your Love (The Beach Boys)
5. Male Ego (The Beach Boys)
6. California Calling (The Beach Boys)
7. Happy Endings (7” Single)

Side B

1. Problem Child (CD Single)
2. Crocodile Rock (Two Rooms – A Tribute To Elton John & Bernie Taupin)
3. Surfin’ (Summer In Paradise)
4. Summer Of Love (Summer In Paradise)
5. Remember “Walking In The Sand” (Summer In Paradise)
6. Summer In Paradise (Summer In Paradise)
7. The Warmth Of The Sun (With Willie Nelson) (Star & Stripes Vol.1)

Bonus 12” Single

1. Here Comes The Night (L.A. (Light Album)
2. Beach Boys Medley (7” Single)
3. Rock ’n’ Roll To The Rescue – Beach Party Mix (12” Single)

Wipe Out – The story goes that this was originally meant to be recorded with Run DMC, but then Mike Love stuck a deal with The Fat Boys instead. A huge hit in the UK and a top twenty in the States, The Beach Boys seemed to be happy to trade on their past. The video was full of what could only be described as Beach Boys cliches as it includes women in bikinis, surf boards, opened topped jeeps and a trip to the beach. 

Make It Big – Used in the film ‘Troop Beverly Hills’ (yes I have not heard of it either), the song tries to inspire an aspiring actress to make it in Hollywood. As will become apparent in this compilation, the lyrics were written by Mike Love who has to put in some call backs to the bands 60s heyday, or the music that inspired them. In this case, Johny B. Goode is name checked. 

Rock ’n’ Roll To The Rescue (Percadella Mix) – As I mentioned in the notes to Volume 2, The Beach Boys were once setting the trends. By the 80s, they were following them and this is a case in point here. The production screams 80s which might have seemed modern at the time, but now sounds more dated than the records they put out in the 60s and early 70s. More references to the past in Mike Love’s lyrics with a mention for surfer girls as well as the songs Tutti Fruity and Blue Suede Shoes. The video once again includes surf boards, women in bikinis and a singer in his mid 40s ogling women young enough to be his daughter. You can work out whom. 

Crack At Your Love – not the worst song on here, but this sounds more like a demo than a fully produced record. The drum machine sounds so dated and the rest of the production has not aged well either. 

Male Ego – A bonus track on the CD version of ‘The Beach Boys’ album, the lyrics are all about a man who is all about the ladies and the potential for one night stands. In fact, he is so sure of his prowess as a ladies man that believes he will still be wooing the ladies well into his eighties. Oh dear. 

California Calling – This is most 60s sounding Beach Boys track in, except for the 80s production that is. More call backs to their heyday with references to surfing, woodies and custom cars. I was surprised to find that Mike Love had nothing to do with writing this. It would seem the other Beach Boys were getting in on the act. 

Happy Endings (7” Single) – ‘Still Crusin’ was meant to be an album of songs that The Beach Boys had produced that were used in films. That album came out in 1989 but this track which was used in the 1987 film ‘The Telephone’, which I have only heard of because it was written by Squire favourite, Harry Nilsson. Why wasn’t this used on ‘Still Cruisin’. Could it be that Little Richard who shares vocal duties on this record seems to ruin it with a performance that does not suit the sentiments of the record. Shocking.

Problem Child – This is also another song from a film, the title of which is the same as the tune. The film was a big hit, but this single was not. By the looks it, but only came out on cassette and promo CD. Once again, the production is so of its time, it has dated quite badly. The call back to previous music seems to be Da Do Ron Ron

Crocodile Rock – A band who have spent the previous five years or so writing loads of lyrics referencing the rock and roll era covering a song written in 1972 doing exactly the same thing. You could not make this up. 

Surfin’ – The next four songs come for the ‘Summer in Paradise’ album and I cannot stress enough that I could have included the whole album, it is so bad. This song was their first ever single and the original recording is basic, and so is the song. However, this update has some of the worst programmed drums you can get and why would you want this old song on your album? Surely they could have written something newer? This is so overtop, I am sure that someone on the albums personal list miss being credited with playing the kitchen sink. 

Summer Of Love – Mike Love raps. Now I know that Brian Wilson did the same thing a few years before but that remains unreleased. This however escaped. There should be a bingo card for anyone listening to this song, the amount of references there are to old hits by not only The Beach Boys, but The Mamas & The Papas. This was written as a potential duet between Bart Simpson and Mike Love, but the producers of the TV show wisely turned it down. The producers of Baywatch did not, and the video of this is full of more women in bathing suits, a beach and a surf board. This is getting beyond a joke. 

Remember “Walking In The Sand” – An absolute classic mid 60s pop record, ruined by the production on this record. How not to produce a cover. 

Summer In Paradise – The parent album was said by Mike Love to be a record about environmental protection. Well, ‘Summer in Paradise’ did do its bit for the environment as it reportedly sold less than 1000 copies in the USA and led to the company that distributed it to go bankrupt. This song about environmental protection starts of with a verse about having fun, fun, fun, singing about surfing and rocking with Rhonda and Barbara Ann. Recycling lyrics, that’s environmentally friendly isn’t it. 

The Warmth Of The Sun (With Willie Nelson) – Written in response to the assignation of John F Kennedy, ‘The Warmth of the Sun’ is a beautiful song. The harmonies are great, the production subtle but perfect. The voices of The Beach Boys on the original 1964 recording are an example of harmonies done brilliantly. Well, Willie Nelson has written some great songs but a great vocalist, he is not. It is almost as though he is talking through this rendition. 

Here Comes The Night – Originally released on the ‘Wild Honey’ album, this recoding was made in 1979 when The Beach Boys were releasing disco records, two years later than its heyday and just before the Disco Sucks movement kicked into gear. The original version was just under three minutes but this breaks the ten minute barrier. Sometimes less is more people. 

Beach Boys Medley – Medleys were big in the early 80s. Even The Beatles released one even though you would be hard pushed to find one on a singles collection from after 1982. Anyway, the idea was to take lots of songs, edited them down and then put them to make continuous listening experience. This one made the top 20 in the USA, but really is a novelty that soon wore out. 

Rock ’n’ Roll To The Rescue (Beach Party Mix) – The same as above really, but with more of it. 80s production has a lot to answer for. 

The cover for this was taken from the ‘Keeping The Summer Alive’ and/or ‘Living With A Heartache’ (depending on where in the world you lived) single picture sleeve. It perfectly sums up the band at that time. Bruce Johnson and Mike Love seem to very happy to be there. Brian Wilson looks ill and Carl Wilson looks like he would rather be anywhere else. Possibly where ever Dennis is as it looks like he is off having fun somewhere else. Al Jardine, well I’m not sure. The title and a different logo were added. 

The YouTube video by Todd In The Shadows regarding the ‘Summer In Paradise’ album is well worth a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DoFMALzWZI

Looking at classic albums came out 1973 (because everyone loves a 50th anniversary re-release don’t they), one name really does stand out. That is ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ by Pink Floyd. I had a think about what I could post to celebrate the anniversary of this release? How about a live album based around the concert recorded for the BBC performed at the Empire Pool (now Wembley Arena) back in 1974. Why pick this? Well, up until this point, it has never seen an official release as a stand alone release, having been put out piecemeal on the Immersion Edition’s and ‘Early Years’ box set over the last ten years. If it hd been released back in the day, say early 1975, it would have been a nice stop gap between ‘Dark Side’ and whatever the band were planning on releasing as their next album. I say this because ‘Dark Side’ was such an albatross around the bands neck at this point, they did not have that many ideas knocking about as that what their next album should be. There was a proto version of ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ which would be the centre piece of the next album they would eventually release in the shape of ‘Wish You Were Here’. There was also the infamous abandoned project, ‘Household Objects’ which saw the band used sounds such as wine glasses filled with water, elastic bands tuned to sound like a bass guitar and aerosol cans instead of hi hats. Needless to say, common sense prevailed on this one and the band just picked up their actually instruments and produced another classic album.

So, what material could be included in this release? Well, the whole of the ‘Dark Side of The Moon’ album of course. I was a bit reluctant to follow the actual LP when it came to sequencing this album. That was because the second side of ‘Dark Side’ clocked in at over 31 minutes. Not only is this very long for an LP, especially in the 70s, but Pink Floyd were always keen to present their music in the best sound quality as possible. 31 minutes on an LP would compromise the fidelity some what. Anyway, I would start thing off with ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’. Even at this stage, the song clocked in at over 20 minutes so that would take up the whole side of an LP. Sides 2 and 3 would follow the ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ album. Side 4 would include the encore, ‘Echoes’. 

A double album would be the perfect format for this album. However, it could have been a potential triple because there were two songs which I did not include. These were ‘Raving & Drooling’ and ‘You’ve Got To Be Crazy’, early version of songs that would eventually appear on the ‘Animals’ album. Both were quite long, but ‘Raving & Drooling’ was only 12 minutes long so this additional disc would be quite short in comparison to the other two. Triple albums are quite rare even though not unheard of at the time. For example, ‘Wings Over America’ from Wings was a live triple and that came out in 1976. 

Why did Pink Floyd not release this at the time? Essentially, they would be releasing the same material they had release just over a year before. Even though this was a live version of ‘Dark Side’, this would not have been seen as good value for their fans who had only just purchased the original LP. It would also have released a track that would be on their next album in the shape of ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’. Why put songs out that you may wish to out out on your next album before you have even recorded it?

Anyway, not long after I had written this entry together, Floyd announced that they were putting the ‘Dark Side’ part of this concert as a stand alone release as part of their own 50th anniversary celebrations. It would be interesting to hear what Side 2 sounds like considering how much music there is on there. 

Side 1

1. Shine On Your Crazy Diamond

Side 2

1. Speak To Me
2. Breathe (In The Air)
3. On the Run
4. Time
5. The Great Gig In The Sky

Side 3

1. Money
2. Us & Them
3. Any Colour You Like
4. Brain Damage
5. Eclipse

Side 4

1. Echoes

What amazes me that when I was looking into this is that the band had been performing the ‘Dark Side Of the Moon’ album in its entirety (granted, not in its final form) a whole year before the studio album came out. What successful band these days would preview their new album before it had even been recorded int he studio. They did not learn their lesson as songs previewed during the 1974 tour would contain songs, some of which would not been recorded in the studio until three years later. 

The cover was taken from a post by andrewskyDE on a Steve Hoffman post regarding this album. 

A bit of an odd one here, or just different; I’ll let you decide. I knew that ‘Hey Joe’ was not an original song by Jimi Hendrix but it could be argued that it is the most well know of all of the versions that have been recorded. I must admit that I I wasn’t really aware of any others until I started listening to American Garage bands of the mid 60’s. The excellent ‘Nuggets’ box set from 1998 introduced me to the version by The Leaves, which was considerably faster than the version released by Hendrix. Later on when I started to buy up the expanded editions of The Byrds back catalogue at the turn of the century, they had included a version of the song on their ‘5th Dimension’ album, but this was of a similar speed to The Leaves version. It would seem that any band worth their salt in the Southern California music scene was playing it. 

The authorship of the song has been contested down the years. Some recordings list it as traditional, some by Dino Valenti (which was a pseudonym of Quicksilver Messenger Services’ Chet Powers) or Billy Roberts. 

Roberts copyrighted the song in 1962 and is said to have been performing it for a few years before this. Roberts may well have taken inspiration from other songs for his own, being as he was part of the folk tradition and in that authorship can be a lot more fluid. Just look at some of the works of Bob Dylan. Roberts could well have taken inspiration for his song from the following. ‘Little Sadie’, a traditional folk ballad which does go by a number of other names (such as Bad Lee Brown and Late One Night). It tells the story of a man who is arrested after a shooting a woman, the identity of whom changes depending on the version. The earliest version of this song I could find was released in 1930 by Clarence Ashley. ‘Hey Joe’ by Carl Smith which not only shares the title but the idea of questioning between the characters in the song. Lastly, there is ’Baby Please Don’t Go to Town’ which was written by Roberts’ girlfriend, by Niela Horn.  This last one shares a similar chord progression and melody. 

While the authorship of the song was contested even back in the 60’s, the song itself became a garage rock classic. It it even made its way to the UK when it was recorded by Kenny Barnard, even though he changed the lyrics so he could claim a writers credit for himself. 

It was upon hearing this version by Bernard that inspired me to think about a compilation of the versions recorded before Hendrix did. The Hendrix version is so famous that the slow version became the norm after it was released and the garage rock version played at a much higher tempo has therefore been all but forgotten. I wondered if there were enough versions of it to compile a LP’s worth of material and to my surprise, there was. I have included the demo recording that Roberts made in the early 60s as the opening track followed by The Rogues. This is not strictly ‘Hey Joe’, but seems to be more of an answer record, something we don’t see very often these days. It uses a very similar chord sequence and structure but it is a bit odd to have an answer record to a song that has yet to have a release. 

The version by The Leaves is considered to be the first cover of ‘Hey Joe’ but even this is in dispute as very lo-fi recording by a band called The Swamp Rats seems to have come out first. Strangely, The Leaves version is the only recording of the song to break the top 40 in the US Billboard single chart. The version by the Jimi Hendrix Experience did not even make the charts. 

The remainder of the songs are not in any particular order. They only had to have been recorded before Hendrix released his version. The band, The `Warlocks included here are not the same ones that would change their name to the Grateful Dead. 

Side A

1. Hey Joe – Billy Roberts
2. Wanted: Dead Or Alive – The Rogues
3. Hey Joe – Swamp Rats
4. Hey Joe – The Leaves
5. Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go) – The Standells
6. Hey Joe – Love
7. Hey Joe – Tim Rose
8. Hey Joe – The Music Machine

Side B

1. Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go) – The Byrds
2. Hey Joe – Safaris
3. Hey Joe – Gonn
4. Hey Woman – Kenny Bernard
5. Hey Jo – The Warlocks
6. Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go) – The Cryan’ Shames
7. Hey Joe – The Shadows of Knight

Bonus 7” EP

As this is my compilation, I thought I would include a bonus 7” EP of the songs that could be said to have inspired the original song. I have included an extra song with ‘Penitentiary Blues’ by Buddy Baker. This shares similar lyrics to ‘Little Sadie’ and could be the earliest version of this songs to be recorded. 

Side A

1. Baby, Don’t Go To Town – Neila Miller
2. Hey, Joe – Carl Smith

Side B

1. Penitentiary Blues – Buddy Baker
2. Little Sadie – Clarence Ashley

To find out more on this, I would recommend ‘Hey Joe: The Unauthorised Biography of a Rock Classic’ by Marc Shapiro. 

The front cover based upon the US picture sleeve of the Jimi Hendrix’s Experiences Hey Joe Single. I included the K-Tel logo because I felt that this was the sort of compilation they may well have released if they had had the inclination. I do remember they liked a themed compilation even though I am sure they would not have released one solely based around one song. 

t has been a while since I did a Beatles post, and even longer since I mentioned about the possibility of putting together a compilation of the songs that The Beatles covered on their albums. I actually covered this sort of thing in a podcast back in 2017 when looking at the original versions of the songs*. This play list creates a virtual album of all of the cover version the band released on their studio album, with the exception of Maggie Mae**. 

I took the view that this album would have been one of the numerous compilations that EMI put together in the late 70s after the bands contract ran out. I was surprised when looking into putting this together that EMI didn’t do this themselves back in the day. I pretty much followed the chronology of when these songs came out back in the day, except swapping some around so the length each sides is similar to the other corresponding side. That is down to the fact that this release if it had happened would have been put onto cassette tape. I also made the tracks on mine be the mono versions as these were the mix the band were happiest with. Annoyingly, I could only use stereo versions on Spotify which is the format EMI would have no doubt used if they had put this out themselves.

The cover is taken from an Italian release called The Beatles in Italy. 

Side A

1. A Taste Of Honey
2. Baby It’s You
3. Roll Over Beethoven
4. Anna (Go To Him)
5. Chains
6. Twist & Shout

Side B

1. Please Mister Postman
2. Till There Was You
3. Boys
4. Devil In Her Heart
5. You Really Got A Hold On Me
6. Money (That’s What I Want)

Side C

1. Slow Down
2. Honey Don’t
3. Long Tall Sally
4. Mr. Moonlight
5. Matchbox
6. Rock & Roll Music

Side D

1. Bad Boy
2. Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby
3. Words Of Love
4. Act Naturally
5. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
6. Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!

* http://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/podcast/episode-54-songs-the-beatles-covered/.

** I did use this as part of an album of the covers the band made during the Get Back/Let it Be sessions which iI had a look at back in November 2021.