When it comes to these what-if records, Smashing Pumpkins really are the band that just keep on giving, especially when it come to the period between their formation in 1988 and initial breakup in 2000. The scale of the material that the band recorded and did not release must be akin to Bob Dylan, in that the could have quite easily released a number of Bootleg Series style releases, but instead, they focused on placing this material on the deluxe editions of their original albums. The first two, ‘Gish’ and ‘Siamese Dream’ only hinted at what was to come. Maybe main songwriter Billy Corgan felt that the best of the outtakes had already been released on their ‘Pisces Iscariot’ album. With that record also being released in a deluxe edition, it would seem not. As has been mentioned in previous posts on the Pumpkins, Corgan shared a lot of material via his website in the early 2000, some of which have not see an official release either.
It was with the deluxe editions of ‘Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness’ and ‘The Aeroplane Flies High’ that the true depth of material that the band had in the archive become clear. These rereleases included so much music it was impossible to sit through them in one sitting. I already tackled what ‘The Aeroplane Flies High’ would have sounded like if it had been released as a single album in the same manor as ‘Pisces Iscariot’, but what about ‘Adore’?
‘Adore’ came out at a challenging time for the band. Not only was Corgan finding the pressure to produce a record that matched ‘Mellon Collie’, but the band was reeling from the sacking of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin due to drug issues. Band relations were also at a low point with Corgan latter summing up these sessions as the work of a group falling apart. Corgan was also having to contend with the death of his mother as well as going through a divorce. Considering we got anything at all was a minor miracle.
There were clues as to what was coming with ‘Adore’ with their previous releases. The song ‘1979’ included electronic elements as well as stand alone singles ‘Eye’ and ‘The End Is The Beginning Is The End’. ‘Adore’ would not only include the use of drum machines (harking back to the earliest days of the band when they did not have a drummer) but more acoustic guitar and piano. Corgan felt that he was no longer making music for teenagers, but to everyone. Judging by the number of albums sold (which by most peoples standards were quite good), the album lost the band a lot of fans instead of gaining them. Sales were down significantly on ‘Mellon Collie’ and was the first time a Pumpkins album had sold less than the preceding one.
In preparation for ‘Adore’, the band recorded around 30 songs and at one point of its production, it was going to be a double album. As it was, the album was so long that it was decided that the vinyl version would need to use two discs, even though side 4 was left blank. For this, I was tempted to have a go at putting together a double, but I thought it would be better to have a look at what a record of sessions outtakes would sound like, especially as this was the first album since ‘Siamese Dream’ not to have a compilation of sessions material released after it. There wasn’t exactly a shortage of songs on the ‘Adore’ reissue to choose from.
The album itself is based on a vinyl format, so I was limited to about 24 minutes per side. The opening song of the compilation is ‘Let Me Give The World To You’, which was almost on the parent album until Corgan got wind that the record label were keen to release this as the first single. Corgan was adamant that this would not be a single, but the only way to prevent that would be to take the song off of ‘Adore’, which is what he ended up doing. The song was rerecorded for the ‘Machina’ project. It did see a limited release on the ‘Machina II’ album in 2000. As an opening song for this collection, it is a good place to start.
For the rest of the record, I focused on the songs that used minimal electronics. The collection focuses on the acoustic and more mellow of the songs. The more electronic music was relegated to the B-Sides of the single. I would also have the band release one single from this, which would be an alternative version of ‘Do You Close Your Eyes?’. As this was also the era where two CDsingles would come out per release with different B-Sides, there are four extra tracks from the sessions that could have been released.
For the title of the album, I chose ‘Adhor’ as this is the opposite of ‘Adore’ I also used a picture taken by Yalena Yemchuk who took the picture for the original album as well.
As a whole, it works well and once again shows how much quality material Corgan was writing at this time, and how much of it was forgotten about as he moved on to the next project.
Side A
Let Me Give The World To You (Adore Outtake)
Valentine (Sadlands Demo)
Sparrow (Sadlands Demo)
My Mistake (Take 1/CRC Demo)
Chewing Gum (CRC Demo)
Czarina (Take 1/Adore Outtake)
Side B
Do You Close Your Eyes When You Kiss Me? (CRC Demo)
I feel that in the past, I have been a little bit harsh on The Beach Boys with my ‘Endless Bummer’ compilations. Some of the songs they have released are timeless classics. Their story is also one of the great soap operas in music with family feuds, drug abuse, mental health problems and Mike Love. Their story begins in the late 1950’s when a 16 year old Brian Wilson has been soaking up the piano playing of his father, Murray Wilson and the vocal harmony group, the Four Freshman. Brian would teach his family members how to sing the background harmonies, gaining experience for what he would do in the recording studio. In 1958, he received a reel-to-reel tape recorder which he used to overdub his voice along with the aforementioned family.
When his youngest brother Carl received a guitar for Christmas, the pair of them (along with Carl’s friend David Marks) would start playing together. Brian also started to write songs and other people who would become part of The Beach Boys family started to appear on the scene. These were Mike Love, cousin to the Wilson’s and Al Jardine who was a classmate of Brian. Brian suggested that he, Carl, Love and Jardine should team up as a group which was given the name, The Pendletones, a pun on Pendelton which was a style of shirt that was the fashion at the time.
This is where the third Wilson brother comes in to the picture. Middle brother Dennis was the only surfer in the group and it was on his suggestion that the group should write songs about the sport and the lifestyle it inspired. From this came the songs ‘Surfin’ and ‘ Surfin’ Safari’. Murray Wilson had had some experience of the music business and most importantly, some contacts. He introduced The Pendletones to publisher Hite Morgan which lead to the group recording a demo of ‘Surfin’. Murray shopped the demo to Herb Newman who owned the Candix Record label. Candix would release the song (backed with ‘Luau’) but had changed the name of the group to The Beach Boys because the labels promotion man felt it would associate them more directly with the surf-music genre. By the end of 1961, ‘Surfin’ had sold 40,000 copies.
Morgan asked some of The Beach Boys to add some vocals to some backing tracks he had recorded previously with some other musicians. These became the single credited to Kenny & The Cadets’ with Brian on lead vocals, backed with Carl and Jardine along with the Wilsons’ mother, Audree. Another member of Kenny & The Cadets was Val Polite who I believe was a member of the LA based vocal group, The Jaguars. Jardine would leave The Beach Boys to study dentistry and was replaced by David Marks. However, Candix had always struggled with cash flow problems and having a successful single actually didn’t help. Candix would go bankrupt and Murray Wilson tried to find the band a new label. Considering they had had a national hit, be it a small one (‘Surfin’ made number 75 in the Billboard top 100), labels such as Dot and Liberty turned them down feeling that the band where a one minor hit wonder.
Capitol Records eventually signed the group to a seven year contract and work began on their debut album, ‘Surfin’ Safari’ and it because that album is 60 years old this month that I have put together this collection. This project originally started out as deluxe edition of that album. The Beach Boys have been one of the few bands (in my opinion) that in recent years, have served their fans well by opening up the vaults to the gold contained within. However, what they did not do very often was focus on one album releasing session and live tracks for the period. This would have been the first of those deluxe editions but when it came to it, this actually proved to be a bit tricker than it would be for other bands. That is because The Beach Boys put out so much product in a relatively short time, even by the standards of the 1960s. Just to put this into context, they released ten albums between 1962 and 1965. That does not include the single only tracks and the work Brian completed with other artists. He was a very busy man for the majority of the 60s. No wonder he had a break down at the end of the ‘Smile’ sessions.
So instead of a deluxe edition of the albums, what I have put together instead is a collection that looks at a particular year, except with this first collection that covers the first three from their first home demos until the start of the sessions for their second album, ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’. I have looked to include as many variations of a song that I could find. This includes demos, false takes and rehearsals. I took inspiration for these collections on the mighty fine compilation, ‘Becoming The Beach Boys – The Complete Hite & Dorinda Morgan Sessions’. This would take a song and have all of the versions of it before moving on to the next one. Granted, it does make it a bit of a heavy listen after the fifth breakdown of a take.
I would also not normally include any songs that had the hand of Brian Wilson in it that wasn’t released under The Beach Boys name but on this one occasion, I have included those Kenny & The Cadet recordings here. Therefore, all of the other Brian Wilson solo recordings and outside productions are not included here as I think they should have a box set all to themselves. These tracks have also not been presented in the order in which they were recorded. I have followed the running order of the parent albums and added songs that were unreleased at the time where there was space.
Disc 1 – 1960 Home Recordings
The first CD is a collection of home demos showing Brian getting use to working with the tape recorder as well as working out how to get the best performances out of the group. As a final note, it is interesting that there is a version of ‘Sloop John B’ on these early recordings as The Beach Boys would resist this around the time of their masterpiece ‘Pet Sounds’ LP.
All of the songs on this disc were taken from ‘The Garage Tapes’ bootleg, except for track 2 which came from the ‘Hawthorne, CA: Birthplace Of A Musical Legacy’ compilation and track 11 which comes from the ‘Rarities 1962-1968’ bootleg. Even though the years on that bootleg are later than the music contained on this disc, track 11 sounds like the other home demos the band recorded so it goes here instead of later.
Vocal Rehearsal
Happy Birthday Four Freshmen
Surfin #1
Surfin #2
Surfin #3
Surfin #4
Surfin #5
Surfin #6
Surfin #7
Surfin #8
Surfin (Rehearsal)
Bermuda Shorts #1
Bermuda Shorts #2
Sloop John B
Good News
Holly Gully
Happy Birthday
Dream
To Spend One Night With You
Brian At The Piano
July 18th Celebration
White Christmas
Murray Directs Brian At The Organ
Disc 2
Discs 2 & 3 are from the ‘Becoming The Beach Boys – The Complete Hite & Dorinda Morgan Sessions’ with a couple of extra tracks from the earlier compilation ‘Studio Session 61-62*’ which included a couple of takes that were unavailable anywhere else. An alternative version of ‘Barbie’ is taken from the rare Japanese only compilation ‘Still I Dream Of You: Rare Works of Brian Wilson” from 1993 where it was listed at Take 2.
Surfin’ (Demo)
Surfin’ (Takes 1 & 2)
Surfin’ (Take 3)
Surfin’ (Take 4)
Surfin’ (Take 5)
Surfin’ (Take 6)
Surfin’ (Take 7)
Surfin’ (Take 8)
Surfin’ (Master)
Luau (Demo Take 1)
Luau (Demo Take 2)
Luau (Demo Take 3)
Luau (Takes 1 & 2)
Luau (Takes 3, 5 & 6)
Luau (Take 7)
Luau (Takes 8, 9, 10 & 11)
Luau (Take 12)
Luau (Master)
Lavender (Demo)*
Lavender (Rehearsal Take 1)
Lavender (Rehearsal Take 2)
Lavender (Rehearsal Take 3)
Surfin’ Safari (Takes 3 & 4)
Surfin’ Safari (Takes 5 & 6)
Surfin’ Safari (Take 10)
Surfin’ Safari (Overdub Take 1 On Take 6)
Surfin’ Safari (Overdub Take 2 On Take 10)
Surfin’ Safari (Master)
Surfin’ Safari (Stereo Overdub)
Disc 3
Surfer Girl (Take 1)
Surfer Girl (Take 2)
Surfer Girl (Take 3)
Surfer Girl (Take 4)
Surfer Girl (Take 5)
Surfer Girl (Take 6)
Surfer Girl (Master)
Surfer Girl (Overdub Lead Vocal)
Judy (Take 1)
Judy (Take 2)
Judy (Overdub Takes 1 & 2)
Judy (Overdub Take 4)
Judy (Master)
Judy (Demo – April 1962 Guitar Solo)
Beach Boys Stomp (A.K.A. Karate) (Take 1)
Beach Boys Stomp (A.K.A. Karate) (Rehearsal Take 2)
Beach Boys Stomp (A.K.A. Karate) (Overdub Take 1 On Take 1)
Beach Boys Stomp (A.K.A. Karate) (Overdub Take 2 On Take 1)
Beach Boys Stomp (A.K.A. Karate) (Candix Session)*
Beach Boys Stomp (A.K.A. Karate) (Master)
Barbie (Overdub Take 1) – Kenny & The Cadets
Barbie (Overdub Take 2, 3 & 4) – Kenny & The Cadets
Barbie (Overdub Take 5) – Kenny & The Cadets
Barbie (Overdub Take 7) – Kenny & The Cadets
Barbie (Mono Single Master) – Kenny & The Cadets
Barbie (Mono Album Master) – Kenny & The Cadets
Barbie (Alt. Version) – Kenny & The Cadets
Barbie (Stereo) – Kenny & The Cadets*
What Is A Young Girl Made Of (Demo) – Kenny & The Cadets
What Is A Young Girl Made Of (Overdub Take 1) – Kenny & The Cadets
What Is A Young Girl Made Of (Overdub Take 3) – Kenny & The Cadets
What Is A Young Girl Made Of (Overdub Takes 4 & 5) – Kenny & The Cadets
What Is A Young Girl Made Of (Overdub Take 6) – Kenny & The Cadets
What Is A Young Girl Made Of (Overdub Take 7) – Kenny & The Cadets
What Is A Young Girl Made Of (Mono Master) – Kenny & The Cadets
What Is A Young Girl Made Of (Stereo) – Kenny & The Cadets*
Disc 4
Discs 4 & 5 cover the sessions for the ‘Surfin’ Safari’ along with any other song that was recorded in 1962. This does include some versions of songs that would appear on the album that came out the following year. This includes both the mono and duophonic mixes of the album.
** Surfin’ Safari
*** Surfin’ Safari (1990 Reissue)
****Surfer Girl
***** Little Deuce Coupe
^ Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys (Box Set)
^^ Unsurpassed Masters Vol.1 (Bootleg)
^^^ Unsurpassed Masters Vol.3 (Bootleg)
^^^^ In The Beginning (Bootleg)
Surfin’ Safari (Mono)**
Surfin’ Safari (Duophonic)**
Surfin Sarafi (2021 Stereo Mix)+++
Country Fair (Instrumental)^^
Country Fair (Overdub 2, Take 13)^^
Country Fair (Mono)**
Country Fair (Duophonic)**
Ten Little Indians (Mono)**
Ten Little Indians (Duophonic)**
Chug-A-Lug (Mono)**
Chug-A-Lug (Duophonic)**
Little Girl (You’re My Miss America) (Instrumental Takes 1 & 2)^^
Little Girl (You’re My Miss America) (Instrumental Takes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8)^^
Little Girl (You’re My Miss America) (Instrumental Takes 9, 10, 11 & 12)^^
Little Girl (You’re My Miss America) (Instrumental Take 13)^^
Little Girl (You’re My Miss America) (Instrumental Take 15)^^
Little Girl (You’re My Miss America) (Mono)**
Little Girl (You’re My Miss America) (Duophonic)**
409 (Mono)**
409 (Duophonic)***
Land Ahoy (Instrumental Take 1)^^
Land Ahoy (Overdub 1, Takes 2 & 3)^^
Land Ahoy (Overdub 1, Take 4)^^
Land Ahoy (Overdub 1, Take 5)^^
Land Ahoy****
The Surfer Moon (Instrumental Take 1)^^
The Surfer Moon (Instrumental Take 2)^^
The Surfer Moon (Instrumental Take 3)^^
The Surfer Moon (Vocal Overdub, Take 19)^^^^
The Surfer Moon (1st Stereo Mix, Vocal Take)^^^
The Surfer Moon (2nd Stereo Mix, Vocal Take)^^^
The Surfer Moon (Mono)****
The Surfer Moon (Stereo)****
Their Hearts Were Full Off Spring (Demo)^
Disc 5
** Surfin’ Safari
*** Surfin’ Safari (1990 Reissue)
****Surfer Girl
***** Little Deuce Coupe
+ Made In California (Box Set)
++ Hawthorne, CA: Birthplace Of A Musical Legacy
+++Sounds Of Summer: The Best Of The Beach Boys (Expanded Super Deluxe)
^ Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys (Box Set)
^^ Unsurpassed Masters Vol.1 (Bootleg)
^^^ Unsurpassed Masters Vol.3 (Bootleg)
^^^^ In The Beginning (Bootleg) Surfin’ (Mono)**
Surfin’ (Duophonic)**
Heads You Win, Tails I Lose (Overdub 1, Take 13)^^
Heads You Win, Tails I Lose (Overdub 1, Take 14, 15 & 16)^^
Heads You Win, Tails I Lose (Overdub 1, Take 17)^^
Heads You Win, Tails I Lose (Mono)**
Heads You Win, Tails I Lose (Duophonic)**
Summertime Blues (Instrumental, Takes 1 & 2)^^
Summertime Blues (Instrumental, Take 3)^^
Summertime Blues (Instrumental, Take 4)^^
Summertime Blues (Overdub, Take 5)^^
Summertime Blues (Overdub, Takes 6 & 7)^^
Summertime Blues (Overdub, Take 8)^^
Summertime Blues (Overdub, Take 9)^^
Summertime Blues (Overdub, Take 10)^^
Summertime Blues (Overdub, Take 11)^^
Summertime Blues (Overdub, Take 12)^^
Summertime Blues (Mono)**
Summertime Blues (Duophonic)**
Cuckoo Clock (Instrumental)^^
Cuckoo Clock (Overdub 2, Take 12)^^
Cuckoo Clock (Mono)**
Cuckoo Clock (Duophonic)**
The Shift (Mono)**
The Shift (Duophonic)**
Cindy, Oh Cindy (Instrumental, Take 1)^^
Cindy, Oh Cindy (Instrumental, Takes 2, 3 & 4)^^
Cindy, Oh Cindy (Instrumental, 5, 6 & 7)^^
Cindy, Oh Cindy (Instrumental, Take 8)^^
Cindy, Oh Cindy (Vocal Take)^^
Cindy, Oh Cindy***
Lonely Sea (Mono)**
Lonely Sea (Stereo)**
Lonely Sea (Original Long Mono Version)+
Surfin’ U.S.A. (Demo With Drums)++
The cover image was taken at the same photo session that produced the shot used for ‘Surfin’ Safari’ LP sleeve.
Even though the first series of ‘The Boys’ came out in 2019, this was another one of those shows that I did not see until lockdown. Based upon a comic book, ‘The Boys’ is set in a world where superheroes are seen as heroes by the general public but in the background, they are arrogant and/or corrupt. I am not going to say too much more because if you have not seen it, it is well worth a watch.
What I didn’t realise until earlier this month was that there was a spin off series that came out between seasons 2 and 3. It was called ‘The Boys Present: Diabolical’. This series was made up of eight episodes all on a different theme and using a different animation style for each. When looking on line, the only soundtrack I found was based upon the original music created for the series. I wanted one that included all of the songs used in this series so this is it. Unlike the majority of my playlists, this one is not designed to be replicated on vinyl.
Arirang – Hyesu Wiedmann
Kimokawaii – Leo Birenberg & Zach Robinson
Laser Baby’s Day Out – Julie Bernstein & Steven Bernstein
Only Wanna Be With You – Hootie & The Blowfish
Pusher Man – Curtis Mayfield
Boyd In 3d – Sherri Chung
Queso – Pell
An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents – Ryan Elder
Levitating – Dua Lipa
I’m Your Pusher – Christopher Lennertz & Matt Bowen
Gimmie – All Talk
Bffs – Leo Birenberg & Zach Robinson
Take My Picture – Five Knives
Nubian Vs. Nubian – Dara Taylor
Augenbling – Speed
John & Sun Her – Hyesu Widmann
Old Town Road – Lil Has X (ft. Billy Ray Cyrus)
One Plus One Equals Two – Christopher Lennertz & Matt Bowen
Frog Quest 2 – Nervy Talkie
The artwork is taken from the official soundtrack cover.
In October 2020, I put together a couple of Smashing Pumpkins playlists. What this lead to was playing through their back catalogue from Gish to Adore and all points in between. Apart from the stylistic differences between the records (no doubt down increased budgets and Billy Corgan’s ego), the band hit a real purple patch around the recording of the ‘Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness’ album. I say band and not just Corgan because this was the last period where they actually were a band. James Iha contributed a good number of tunes during this period, he and D’Arcy actually contributed musically (instead of having any parts they played replayed by Corgan) and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin even contributed vocals to the song ‘Farewell & Goodnight’. The band dynamic would never be the same after Chamberlin was fired from the band during the Mellon Collie tour after he and touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin both suffered a drugs overdose. Melvin died but Chamberlin, who had struggling with substance abuse for a fews years before this time was given his marching orders to ostensibly protect his health.
Corgan, and the rest of the band to a lesser extent, must have lived in rehearsal rooms and the studio, laying down numerous takes of what feels like 100 tunes before settling on the 28 that made up the original ‘Mellon Collie’ album. With so many musical outtakes left in the can, the Pumpkins ended up releasing many of them at the time as B-Sides to the ‘Mellon Collie’ singles which would be collected into a box set called ‘The Aeroplane Flies High’. I remember seeing this release before hearing about it and its presentation was what drew me in to begin with. The five singles had been collected in a box that look liked the carry cases used to transport 7 inch singles in, included a handle.
The box set also contained some exclusive recordings of cover songs which were included on the ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ single. When I initially played it, I found it impenetrable. There were 33 songs on it and the ‘Pastichio Medley’ seemed to take an eternity to finish. Come to think of it, that first play through of this box set might be the only time I have listened to that track all the way through. This set was not something to play all the way through, but to dip a toe into once in a while to take in the delights that could be unlocked and what delights they were to behold. This is not just some collection of third rate outtakes put out to fleece the fans of their hard earned cash. It proved to be full of A-Grade material that showcased a different dimension to the band and so I come to this collection.
Whilst playing it again recently, I wondered what this set would sound like if it was complied as an album in the style of ‘Pisces Iscariot’. The band’s record label had had a go themselves at this by releasing a 12 track promo album from the box set back in 1996, but when playing the track in that order did not do the parent release justice. I thought that following the template of ‘Pisces Iscariot’ would allow for more songs as that contained 14 tracks. What I didn’t release until putting this compilation together was how long ‘Pisces Iscariot’ was, clocking in 57 minutes. That must have been a strain on the LP version, which as far as I can tell was not edited down.
My version of ‘The Aeroplane Flies High’ clocks in at 51 minutes but is still based on the LP format. Therefore, both sides should match up in terms of side length, because back in the day, you had to take into consideration the cassette buying fans. Like ‘Pisces Iscariot’, there are 14 songs on the record, one written by James Iha (and includes guest vocals from Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt), a bonus 7 inch single (for those lucky enough to get hold of an early copy) and two cover versions. The biggest difference between this and ‘Pisces Iscariot’ is that the bonus single contain the cover versions.
This version does include one song that was released on the LP version of ‘Mellon Collie’ but as this only ever released in the UK back in 1996 and in very limited numbers, this would have been new to most listeners.
What was evident from listening back to the deluxe editions of ‘Mellon Collie’ and ‘The Aeroplane Flies High’ is that Billy Corgan had great musical ideas to burn. If this album had been released instead of the box set, this would have been seen as more than just a spiritual successor to ‘Pisces Iscariot’ and been as big a hit as the box set had been (well, in the USA anyway).
Side A
Blank
Transformer
Set The Ray To Jerry
Marquis In Spades
The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)
Medellia Of The Grey Skies
Side B
…Said Sadly
Mouths Of Babes
Cherry
Jupiter’s Lament
Meladori Magpie
Pennies
The Last Song
Tonite Reprise
Bonus 7” Single
Clones (We’re All)
You’re All I’ve Got Tonight
The front cover has been adapted from The Aeroplane Flies High Promo CD release.
Back in the dim distant past, or before the internet, finding out information about more obscure bands was a very hit and miss affair. Record Collector Magazine was a good place to start but this did depend on if the editor felt that that particular artists would help sell more copies that month, or the odd reference book. In my case, it was whether I or my family knew someone who had a record collection that they had built up throughout their life and didn’t mind me playing them. Even better was when some of these family friends donated their vinyl to archive. One such occasion happened in 1992. This particular collection contained records that mostly dated from the 70s and was full of bands and artists a good many I had never heard of. One of those is the featured artists in this post, and that is the Pink Fairies.
The album in my hands turned out be part of record label Polydor’s Flashback series. The Flashback series was Polydor mining their back catalogue but in a different way from other labels. Whereas other label would produce Greatest Hits or Best Of compilations, Polydor took a different route and produce a good number of budget priced compilations of big names (Cream, Hendrix), bands that had been on the label, or associate label but moved onto pastures new (Fairport Convention), cult acts (Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa) and half forgotten acts (Pink Fairies). Now, at the time, I knew nothing of this. In front of me was an album with a pink background with three hairy looking musicians giving it plenty on stage and a list of songs contained within. The back cover gave a very short history of the band which included a limited list of records the band had released. As soon as I put the needle on the vinyl and the first song played, I knew I was entering into a different world.
The Pink Fairies came out of the Ladbrooke Groove underground scene of the early 70s. They played the first Glastonbury as well as appearing outside the gates of the Isle of Wight festival. On the second of these, the band played outside because not only were they not on the bill, but felt that music should be free. That being said, they did release three albums on a major label in their first incarnation and people would have had to pay for these. Anyway, it from these early years that this collection is drawn from. The music the band produced was a heady mix of good time rock ’n’ roll from their most self written material with the odd cover in there. Original guitar player Paul Rudolph played a mean guitar and it was wild solo on the opening track of the Flashback album that mesmerised me in the first place. That song was ‘The Snake’, and when you hear it you will see what I mean. Rudolph left after the second album to be replaced with first Mick Wayne, who only appeared on the ‘Well, Well, Well’ single and then Larry Wallis who stuck around for the last album, ‘King Of Oblivion’. After this taster, I was after more Fairies records to add to the collection.
Back in the early days of me collecting records, having to find a record by an obscure artist I was getting into was a very hot and miss affair, and mostly it involved misses. That was down to one simple factor; luck. Not only did the second hand record shop you went to have to have it (which was unlikely), I also had to hope that it was within my merger budget. As it was, on my first trip out I picked up a copy of ‘King Of Oblivion’. That might explain why it has more songs on this compilation that the other Fairies records. The original trio of albums were available in the early 90s on some rather pricey Japanese import CDs, but being a student at the time, I was unable to afford them. I did pick up a couple more albums along the way but these were from one or more of the numerous times the band has got back together down the years. None of them held a torch to what the band had produced before and that was not probably the reason why they were so cheap. You live and learn. There was the odd semi legitimate release (most of which came from Italy) which had some live stuff, especially from he archives of the BBC. Then, in 2002, the original albums were dusted off by Polydor and released on CD with bonus tracks. Finally I was able to hear then all for the first time after ten years of waiting. As with most of these things, the anticipation only lead to the hardest of falls. I had already heard most of the best songs on the records I had in the collection already. it did feel like a bit of a let down, but it was great to hear them finally and I was able to put this compilation together that I present to you here. Enjoy.
Thor – Never Never Land
Johnny B. Goode – BBC In Concert Radio Broadcast 1971
The Snake Single – A-Side
Portobello Shuffle – What A Bunch Of Sweeties
Say You Love Me – Never Never Land
Lucille – BBC In Concert Radio Broadcast 1971
City Kids – Kings Of Oblivion
Chromium Plating – Kings Of Oblivion
Raceway – Kings Of Oblivion
Well, Well, Well – Single A-Side
Do It – Single B-Side
Chambermaid – Kings Of Oblivion
Going Down – What A Bunch Of Sweeties (2002 Reissue)
Right On, Fight On – What A Bunch Of Sweeties
I Wish I Was A Girl – Kings Of Oblivion
Street Urchin – Kings Of Oblivion
Out of all of the bands that I have posted about, I thought that this would be another one in which I would not be able to produce a Spotify playlist. Well, it just goes to show how wrong you can be. Every song is on there, even the BBC In Concert session. I was amazed. What that does mean is that you can enjoy this Pink Fairies compilation as much as I have down the years.
The front cover is adapted from their debut release, ‘Never Never Land’.
When I heard that there was going to be a collaborative album between the sweet sounding Campbell with the life lived baritone of Lanegan, I thought it was an April Fool’s. It just goes to show how wrong you can be. The duo produced three albums along with associated singles/EPs between 2006 and 2010. With Lanegan’s passing in 2022, the chance of the pair recording together again has now passed.
Campbell was the driving force behind this pair up, writing most of the songs as well as producing the records but did not want to continue touring. The grind of going out on the road was one of the reasons she had quit Belle and Sebastian back in 2002. The relationship with Lanegan had also become strained but what we got when they did work together, it was a modern version of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. Enjoy.
Dusty Wreath
We Die & See Beauty Again
You Won’t Let Me Down Again
Snake Song
Shotgun Blues
The False Husband
Deus Ibi Est
Ramblin’ Man
Time Of The Season
Something To Believe
Come On Over (Turn Me On)
Cool Water
Saturday’s Gone
Lately
Rambling Rose, Clinging Vine
No Place To Fall
Trouble
Revolver
Keep Me In Mind Sweetheart
The Circus Is Leaving Town
The cover is adapted from the duo’s third and final album, ‘Hawk’. This play list could not be reproduced with one or more songs not being available on Spotify.
I only started buying Isobel Campbell’s solo records once she had left Belle and Sebastian. This occurred after the release of the bands ‘Storytelling’ LPs and it as though her leaving was one of the reasons why some of the tweeness left the band. What I didn’t realise until much later is that she released two album whilst still a member of Belle and Sebastian under the name of The Gentle Waves. These Gentle Waves albums could even be considered lost Belle and Sebastian albums as members of the band provide backing to her songs. Campbell released a number of records until 2006, when she collaborated with Mark Lanegan on a number of albums, but more on them later in the month. After the release of he last Campbell/Lanegan collaboration, there was silence for ten years. That does not mean that Campbell wasn’t doing anything. She had moved to American with her husband and had recorded an album but when her label folded, she spent a long time trying to obtain the rights to her own recordings so she could release them herself. Luckily for us, she did this and when ‘There Is No Other’ came out in 2020, there was an option to buy the album with a different, acoustic mix. Any songs where I have used these acoustic versions have been listed as such. Enjoy.
Disc 1
Milkwhite Sheets
Bang Bang
Hold Back A Thousand Years*
Solace Of Pain*
Renew & Restore*
Time Is Just The Same
Evensong*
Weathershow*
Song For Baby
Argomenti
This Land Flows With Milk
Beggar, Wiseman or Thief?
Hori Horo
O Love Is Teasin’
Are You Going To Leave Me?
Monologue For An Old True Love
Loretta Young*
The Breeze Whispered Your Name (Part 2)
There is No Greater Gold*
Let The Good Times Begin*
There Was Magic, Then…*
Rose, I Love You*
Thursday’s Child (Coda)*
This play list could not be reproduced with one or more songs not being available on Spotify.
Disc 2
City Of Angels
Rainbow (Acoustic)
Ant Life (Acoustic)
Just For Today (Acoustic)
The National Bird Of India
Runnin’ Down A Dream
Love For Tomorrow
Johnny Come Home
Falling From Grace*
Pretty Things*
Flood*
Reynardine
Tree Lullaby*
Yearning
Vultures (Acoustic)
See Your Face Again
Loving Hannah
Willow’s Song
Hey World (Acoustic)
Emmanuelle, Skating On Thin Ice*
Enchanted Place*
The Heart of It All (Acoustic)
A Chapter In The Life Mathiew*
*The Gentle Waves
Some of these songs are from the acoustic version her last album. This play list could not be reproduced with one or more songs not being available on Spotify.
The cover is adapted from the EP, ‘Time Is Just the Same’.
Before I start talking about the band in this era, I will point out that a couple of the tracks on this compilation come from the bands tenure on the Jeepster label. I quite liked the tunes and couldn’t find a place for them on the Jeepster compilation, so I thought I would use them here. They don’t sound out of place which is a bonus.
The bands time on Rough Trade started with intent as they had Uber producer Trevor Horn to work on their ‘Dear Catastrophe Waitress’ LP. It not only signalled a period of time on a new label, but a newish sound. The songs were not as twee as they once were as the songs had a bit more production to them. The instrumentation more diverse and they also started to release singles that was already on an album, which was a change from what had gone before. With Trevor Horn on board, the fact that the band became louder and more mainstream should not have been a surprise.
This period also produced the ‘God Help the Girl’ project. This was initially an album of songs sung by women but written by Belle and Sebastian’s main songwriter, Stuart Murdoch. Though not classed as a Belle and Sebastian album, I have included songs from this project here because they fit in with the overall sound. These records also had a number of people from the band playing on them so that is close enough for me. The project would eventually lead to a film of the same name and because there was such a focus on this, there was only one Belle and Sebastian album released between 2007 and 2015.
Disc 1
Fiction
I Didn’t See It Coming
God Help The Girl*
Come On Sister
The Blues Are Still Blue
Last Trip
Funny Little Frog
I’ll Have To Dance With Cassie*
Pretty Eve in The Tub*
Your Cover’s Blown
You Don’t Send Me
Song For Sunshine
Calculating Bimbo
Dress Up In You
If You Could Speak*
The Psychiatrist Is In*
Baby’s Just Waiting*
Stay Loose
Perfection Is A Hipster*
Mornington Crescent
Fiction Reprise
Disc 2
Act Of The Apostle*
I’m In Love With The City*
Susie In The Graveyard
He’s A Loving Kind Of Boy*
Stop, Look & Listen
Blue Eyes Of A Millionaire
If She Wants Me
Suicide Girl
White Collar Boy
Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Come Monday Night*
Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John
Musician, Please Take Heed*
I Just Want Your Jeans*
Roy Walker
We Are The Sleepyheads
Another Sunny Day
I’m A Cuckoo (Single Version)
I’m Not Living In The Real World
Asleep On A Sunbeam
A Down & Dusky Blonde*
I Took A Long Hard Look
Night Walk
The cover of this compilation is adapted from the album, ‘The Life Pursuit’.
This month, I will be focusing on Belle and Sebastian, as well as the solo career of past member Isobel Campbell. I think the first time I heard of this band was when they won the British Breakthrough act at the Brit Awards in 1999. I did ask myself who they were especially as their victory annoyed Pete Waterman who felt that Steps, a group he produced should have won claiming Belle and Sebastian had rigged the online vote to win. The Brits checked the votes and found nothing wrong, but any band that can annoy Pete Waterman is alright with me. It was not long after this that I read that their first album from three years before was going to be re-released. I was also interested in this release because ‘Tigermilk’ which was the name of the first album had only originally been released in a limited edition of 1000. I went down to my local Our Price (remember them?) and ordered it.
‘Tigermilk’ was a lot more twee than the majority, if not all of the records I owned up to that point but I loved it. It is one of the few albums I can put on and play all the way through without wanting to skip over a single song. From the opening song, ‘The State I Am In’, I was hooked. Considering this album was made as a college project, it is better than a lot of more famous albums that had a lot more money thrown into its production. Just goes to show you that money doesn’t buy you everything. After the first play through, I knew had to find out what other records they had made.
At that point, it included three albums and four EPs which rather quickly made their way into the Squire Archive. The first two albums were both originally released in 1996 and the second was called ‘If You’re Feeling Sinister’. I found this album a bit hard to get into initially but with perseverance, it paid dividends. The band spent 1997 releasing a number of EPs instead of an LP. The first one was ‘Dog On Wheels’, which is essentially the demos that the college heard which lead to the recording of ‘Tigermilk’. Two more EPs followed, each with a number of classy songs but would show the way forward for the group as they contained songs not written by main writer, Stuart Murdoch. This democratic approach would continue into their third record, ‘The Boy With The Arab Strap’.
With all this great music blaring out of my stereo system, I began to look forward to the next album. I did not have to wait long for. “Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant” came out in 2000 and I remember being very disappointed with it but there were still a couple of good tunes on here for me to enjoy. The band ticked over between this and their last album on the Jeepster label by releasing some singles, none of which appeared on any of the LPs. You cannot accuse Belle and Sebastian of not giving their fans value for money. This view all came crashing down with their last album on the Jeepster label which was called ‘Storytelling’. The album was meant to be the soundtrack to a movie of the same name, but only six minutes of music was used. Without looking at it too much, I’m sure I did not use that much more on this compilation either. It was an album of musical cues and most probably a contract filler. The band would sign with the Rough Trade label for their next release.
Even though they could not maintain the quality of the songs (what band can?), there was so much great material during the years they were with the Jeepster label that I could produce a three disc compilation. I love this era of the band and I especially love the music contained on the first two disc. It brings back lots of memories of a time in my life and in their win at the 1999 Brit Awards, showed that manufactured groups did not always get their own way. All of these songs were available on Spotify so the playlists are available to listen to.
Disc 1
The State I Am In
Expectations
She’s Losing it
You’re Just A Baby
Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying
If You’re Feeling Sinister
I Don’t Love Anyone
Photo Jenny
I Know Where The Summer Goes
Mayfly
I Could Be Dreaming
Lazy Line Painter Jane
My Wandering Days Are Over
Mary Jo
Ease Your Feet In The Sea
Like Dylan In The Movies
Beautiful
The Rollercoaster Ride
Disc 2
It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career
Is It Wicked Not To Care?
Seeing Other People
The Loneliness Of The Middle Distance Runner
The Model
Don’t Leave The Light On Baby
The Boy With The Arab Strap
Chickfactor
I Love My Car
Seymour Stein
Women’s Realm
Waiting For The Moon To Rise
A Summer Wasting
Marx & Engels
The Gate
Take Your Carriage Clock & Shove It
We Rule The School
The Chalet Lines
Judy & The Dream Of Horses
Electronic Renaissance
Songs For Children
Disc 3
I Fought In A War
Black & White Lines
Storytelling
Wandering Alone
La Pastie De La Bourgeoise
Me & The Major
Nothing In The Silence
Big John Shaft
The Wrong Girl
There’s Too Much Love
Put The Book Back On The Shelf
Simple Things
Dirty Dream Number 2
Winter Wooksie
A Century Of Fakers
Nice Day For A Sulk
Family Tree
The Boy Done Wrong Again
The Magic Of A Kind Word
The Fox In The Snow
You Made Me Forget My Dreams
This Is Just A Modern Rock Song
The front cover is the same as the cover to the ‘Dog On Wheels’ EP.
By the time Led Zeppelin’s forth album came out in November of 1971, they were well on their way to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world. The band had released four albums in three years since 1969 and during the recording of those albums, some fully formed songs were left in the can. There was talk about putting out their fourth album as a double, or even as a set of four EP’s. This plan was ditched though and fans had to wait until 1973 for their fifth album, ‘Houses of the Holy; to come out. A gap of a year between albums was not unheard of at this point, but was still rare.
In April of 1972, the band moved to Mick Jagger’s home, Stargroves, to record their next LP. Hiring the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, they set to work. They also had to find the time to rehearse for the live shows that took place in Australasia, North America, Japan and the UK. So as to not to lose momentum, what if the band’s management thought that a stop gap album of outtakes would keep the band in the public consciousness, and also find a home for the material the band had been stockpiling*. With the release of the Led Zeppelin box sets in the 1990s and the deluxe edition in the second decade of this century, this task has been made considerably easier.
Looking back at the first album, there was ‘Sugar Mama’. Credited, when it was eventually released, to Page and Plant, this was an old blues standard given the Led Zep treatment. ‘Baby Come On Home’ is also pulled from those first album session tapes. Another song credited to Page and Plant, but was based on a song of the same title written by the legendary Bert Burns so he received a co-writing credit as well. There were no unreleased finished songs from the second album and when looking at the deluxe edition of that album which came out in 2014, it is easy to see why. The bonus tracks on that collection are mostly backing tracks and rough mixes for the songs that were released on the parent album. The second album most probably suffered from a dearth material as they did spend a good deal of 1969 touring. It is amazing they produced anything at all that year, let alone an album with some rock classics on it as ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and ‘Heartbreaker’ on it. The rest of the album isn’t too bad either.
After the hectic touring and recording schedule that was 1969, Page and Plant retreated to Wales to take a break and to write some new material. This lead to a more pastoral sounding album and a number of outtakes, raining from the beautiful ‘Bron-Yr-Sur’ to the reimagined blues medley of ‘Key To The Highway/Trouble in Mind’. The sessions for this album produced the only song to have been released at the time this album could have been compiled, and that is ‘Hey Hey, What Can I Do’. This was the B-Side to the ‘Immigrant Song ‘single, but as this single was not released in the UK, this album (if it had been released) would have been the first time many British fans of the band would have heard it.
There would have been a case for putting on a couple of studio jams, and two could have been put forward. ‘Jennings Farms Blues’ (which would develop into Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp) as well as ‘St. Tristian’s Sword’. Both of these were recorded during the Led Zeppelin III sessions. Both being unfinished run throughs meant that they do not warrant too many repeat listens. However, it could have been felt that putting them in the record as a bonus seven inch record would have made the record better value for money for the bands fans. Doing this would have made this record one of the first to put in a bonus single in this way. Led Zeppelin’s fourth album contributed the rest of the album outtakes but this would not have been enough to fill out an entire album. Another look through the archive would have meant using a song that was recorded for the BBC that had not been released before. ‘Travelling Riverside Blues’ was chosen and ‘We’re Gonna Groove’, which had been recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970, but with some guitar overdubs and the audience noise removed.
One song that was considered for this collection and not used was ‘No Quarter’. An early version of this had been recorded at the fourth album sessions, but had been left unfinished. It would be resurrected for the ‘Houses Of The Holy’ album.
Considering this is an album of outtakes and live tracks, this is a pretty solid collection. With ‘Houses Of The Holy’ not coming out until March 1973, this would have been a perfect stop gap for the band whilst they continued to tour and work on new material. The late summer of 1972 would have been a perfect time to release this, especially as Led Zeppelin would have just finished their North American tour and before they went to Japan and the UK in the October.
Would this album have ever been considered back in 1972? No chance. Considering it has taken the best part of 50 years for some of this material to come out, there was no way this would have come out in 1972. A shame really as I suspect there would have been a few bands back in the day who would have loved such a high quality record being released under their name.
Side A
Poor Tom – Third Album Outtake – Original Released on Coda (1982)
Down By The Seaside – Fourth Album Outtake – Originally Released on Physical Graffiti (1975)
Night Flight – Fourth Album Outtake – Originally Released on Physical Graffiti (1975)
Baby Come on Home – First Album Outtake – Originally Released on Box Set 2 (1993)
Hey Hey What Can I Do – Third Album Outtake – Originally Released on the B-Side of Immigrant Song (1970)
Side B
Key To The Highway/Trouble In Mind – Third Album Outtake – Originally Released on Led Zeppelin III Deluxe Edition (2014)
We’re Gonna Groove – Recorded Live 1970 – Originally Released on Coda (1982)
Sugar Mama – First Album Outtake – Originally Released on CodaDeluxe Edition (2015)
Boogie With Stu – Fourth Album Outtake – Originally Released on Physical Graffiti (1975)
Travelling Riverside Blues – BBC Session – Originally released on Box Set 1 (1990)
Bron-Yr-Aur – Third Album Outtake – Originally Released on Physical Graffiti (1975)
Bonus Single
Jennings Farm Blues – Third Album Outtake – Originally Release on Led Zeppelin III Deluxe Edition (2014)
St. Tristan’s Sword – Third Album Outtake – Originally Release on Led Zeppelin III Deluxe Edition (2014)
Album artwork found on Reddit can created by u/Mellow_404.
*This actual happened when the band completed the sessions for the album Physical Graffiti. They had three sides of music they wished to release and placed some outtakes on there to make up the numbers.
