The Squire Presents

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/