John Lennon -- "Clean Up Time"

One of the earliest "re-imagined" albums I ever did was this one. From the beginning, I found John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's songs on Double Fantasy to be incompatible. This is ironic because Yoko's songs are in response to John's so theoretically they should fit. But their styles are so different that it's pretty jarring to go from "Starting Over" to "Kiss Kiss Kiss" and then back and forth.

When Milk and Honey was released in 1984, it provided an opportunity to have enough of Lennon's songs from his 1980 recording session to make one complete album.

SIDE A
1. (Just Like) Starting Over
2. I Don't Want to Face It
3. Borrowed Time
4. Nobody Told Me
5. Clean Up Time
6. Watching the Wheels

SIDE B
1. I'm Stepping Out
2. Woman
3. I'm Losing You
4. Forgive Me My Little Flower Princess
5. Dear Yoko
6. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)

I kept the same song that opens Double Fantasy but then arranged the rest differently to fill out the album. I placed the songs that were mostly about Yoko and Sean on the second side.

All these tracks are from the original albums. I didn't include demos or remixes. I also didn't include the version of "I'm Losing You" with Rick Nielsen and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick. I like that version slightly more, but Lennon's "1, 2, 3, 4" count in the middle makes it sound like a rehearsal rather than a completed track.

"Beautiful Boy" has similar opening notes as "Starting Over" and I thought that made for a good way to end the album.

The result? In my opinion, this is far and away a better album than either Double Fantasy or Milk and Honey.

I created the cover using a photo of John in the studio in 1980 and then just added the words. I decided to use this photo because it shows him back at work after a five-year layoff. I can't be the only one who thinks this cover looks like Donald Fagen's The Nightfly. It's pure coincidence.

Electric Light Orchestra -- "The Lost Planet"

In the spring of 1972, the Electric Light Orchestra assembled in the studio to begin work on the band’s second album, tentatively titled The Lost Planet. But Roy Wood, with Jeff Lynne one of the driving forces of the group, had become disillusioned with ELO and soon left to form Wizzard. Another member, Bill Hunt left with Wood. With Wood’s departure, ELO became primarily a vehicle of Jeff Lynne and has been to this day.

With this project, I wanted to create what could have been a second Electric Light Orchestra album if Wood and Hunt had remained with the group. I wanted to keep the album to a single vinyl disc, but with ELO 2 and Wizzard’s debut Wizzard’s Brew there is obviously enough material for a double album (in fact, add in several early ELO and Wizzard non-album singles and outtakes, and there might be enough for a triple album).

SIDE A – 22:28

1. In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2)

2. Wear a Fast Gun

3. Jolly Cup of Tea

SIDE B – 21:16

1. You Can Dance Your Rock n Roll

2. From the Sun to the World (Boogie No. 1)

3. Kuiama

Two tracks from ELO 2 actually feature the original lineup: “In Old England Town” and “From the Sun to the World,” both written by Lynne. So I included both. “Kuiama” is cited by drummer Bev Bevan as one of the best songs the group ever recorded, and it has long been a staple of the band’s live shows. So I included that as well. From Wizzard’s Brew, I chose three songs: “Wear a Fast Gun” (which sounds very ELOish to my ears), the short “Jolly Cup of Tea,” and the leadoff track “You Can Dance Your Rock ‘n’ Roll,” which I use to start the second side here.

Because most of the tracks from both ELO 2 and Wizzard’s Brew are fairly long, it wasn’t that easy getting two album sides of equal length. I had to rearrange the tracks a few times to get it the way I liked. Some may question the exclusion of “Roll Over Beethoven,” the Chuck Berry song that ELO added bits of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and which became a hit single. I see this as a perfect non-album single for the group, and its exclusion from “The Lost Planet” allows the album to be completely written by Wood and Lynne, just as the first ELO album was.

All tracks can be found on Wizzard's Brew and ELO 2.

For a cover, I looked for a picture taken by Apollo 17, which went to the moon in 1972, the same year the tracks for this album were being recorded. I liked this odd shot of Earth with the moon’s horizon shown diagonally. I used the original album title.

Santana's "Moonflower"

Santana's fortunes have been something of a roller coaster since the band's "classic" lineup broke up in 1972. Between 1973 and early 1977, the band issued six albums, including one live album and a greatest hits compilation. Only Amigos of the all-new material albums reached the top 10. In early 1977, the band released Festival, which peaked at No. 27 on Billboard.

When it came to issuing Moonflower in October 1977, I'm not sure what everyone was thinking. It appears the band recorded a studio album, but either the band or the record company or both got cold feet and were unsure of its commercial potential. As a result, Moonflower was issued as a double album with a mix of live recordings of older hits and new studio tracks.

If there was a fear of no commercial appeal, that was soon proven to be unfounded. Propelled by a hit single, a cover of The Zombies' "She's Not There," Moonflower shot up to No. 10, the last of Santana's albums to do so until Supernatural 22 years later.

I remade Moonflower as an all-studio track, single-disc album.

SIDE A

1. Dawn / Go Within
2. I’ll Be Waiting
3. Flor d’Luna (Moonflower)
4. I've Waited All My Life
5. Zulu

SIDE B

1. Bahia
2. Transcendence
3. God Made You (for Me)
4. El Morocco
5. She’s Not There

I kept "Dawn / Go Within" as the opening track, and then rearranged the songs to best fit the two sides. "She's Not There" closes the album. However, the two sides are each about 16 minutes long, which admittedly makes it a fairly short album.

And that brings us to the Ecuador Sessions. This circulating bootleg includes (if the notes are to be believed) sessions from 1976-79. The details are sketchy, but according to the info on the bootleg, a number of songs were recorded at Automatt Studios in San Francisco with the lineup of Carlos Santana, Greg Walker, David Margen, Tom Coster, Armando Peraza, Raul Rekow, Pete Escovedo and Graham Lear. This is the same lineup, with the addition of Peraza, that recorded the studio tracks for Moonflower, which was also recorded at Automatt. It’s definitely not the same lineup that recorded the follow-up album, Inner Secrets – which was recorded in L.A. That leads me to believe that this session was recorded either as part of Moonflower’s sessions or soon after.

Therefore, since we’re short on tracks for Moonflower, I added two from this bootleg: “I’ve Waited All My Life” and “God Made You (for Me).” And that makes each side a little over 20 minutes long. The result is, I think, a much better album -- not plagued with older tracks with the limitations of being live recordings. 

I kept the cover the same.

Some Music Hiding Down There - San Diego Nuggets, 1965-68

In 2007, Rhino released the Love is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets, 1965–1970 box set and followed up that with 2009's Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets: 1965–1968 box set. But so far, there's been no "Nuggets" box set for California's second largest city, San Diego. 

For the uninitiated, San Diego may not seem like a hotbed of musical activity. But this is where Iron Butterfly, The Cascades and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap started. Those three groups alone issued six albums in 1968. San Diego was also home to Bob Mosley of Moby Grape, Joel Scott Hill (of The Strangers and later Canned Heat), and a wide variety of rock, pop, soul and R&B performers.

So below is a track list for a four-CD box set that I'm titling, Some Music Hiding Down There: San Diego Nuggets, 1965-1968. For the most part, these were all A or B sides of singles, and I've arranged them chronologically by year.

DISC 1

1. Why? – The Other Four
2. What Good am I (without You) – Mickie Champion
3. The Animal in Me – The Orfuns
4. So What!! – The Lyrics
5. Sweet Sixteen – Lenni Groves
6. I’m Gonna Get Some Love – The California Sons
7. I Really Love You – The Accents
8. A Million Years Ago – Lenni Groves
9. Duck “All Over Town,” Parts 1 & 2 – Arlene Williams
10. She’ll Love Again – The Cascades
11. I Can’t Get Through to You – The Outcasts
12. The Hurt Still Lingers On – Mickie Champion
13. Bye Bye Baby – Lenni Groves
14. Searching for My Love – The Other Four
15. What Do You Want to Do (Little Darlin’) – The Accents
16. Oh-No – The Man-Dells
17. They Can’t Hurt Me – The Lyrics
18. Rising Sun – The Deep Six
19. Baby Please Dance with Me – The California Sons
20. Kids Together – Ervin Rucker
21. Longer Than Forever – Garnet Sykes
22. Good Show – Lennie Groves
23. Bonnie – The Man-Dells
24. She’s Alright – Ervin Rucker
25. Strollin’ Blues – The Deep Six

In 1965, tiny soul label Musette Records opened up shop and issued about a dozen singles that are highly prized today by collectors. The R&B tracks by Garnet Sykes, Mickie Champion, Arlene Williams and Lennie (aka Lani) Groves are from Musette, as are the two tracks from The Other Four, the only garage rock band on the label. The Deep Six, a folk-pop band, released a self-titled album in 1966 on Liberty Records. The Outcasts was a pre-Union Gap band of Gary Puckett. The Cascades had had a huge hit with "Rhythm of the Rain" in 1962. Although the group continued performing and releasing records through 1972, they would never have anything approaching that initial success. "So What!!" by The Lyrics has become something of a '60s garage rock classic (it was featured on the box set Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era). 

DISC 2

1. I Can Make It with You – The Hard Times
2. Cheryl’s Goin’ Home – The Cascades
3. Hey Love – Mr. Clean and The Soul Inc.
4. Once and For All Girl – The Other Four
5. On the Run – The Accents
6. There'll be a Time – The Hard Times
7. She Didn’t Care – The Contrasts
8. I Wanna Shout – The Deep Six
9. Patricia’s Delight – Willie Bovain and The Rocks
10. Patricia (Here I Come) – Janis And Prince And The Mix Breed
11. Ooh Poo Pah Doo – Esse and the Showmen
12. Cry Baby – The California Sons / The Magic Mushroom
13. All’s Fair in Love and War – The Cascades
14. You’re Bound to Cry – The Hard Times
15. My Son – The Lyrics
16. The Things We Say – The Deep Six
17. He’s the One – The Accents
18. Your Ma Said You Cried in Your Sleep Last Night – The Other Four
19. So Glad – The Lyrics
20. Come to Your Window – The Hard Times
21. Image of a Girl – The Deep Six
22. Run Away – The Outcasts
23. I’m Gone – The California Sons / The Magic Mushroom
24. How Do You Tell a Girl – The Other Four
25. Little Bit of Heaven – The California Suns
26. Baby Can’t You Feel It – San Diego Marauders (with Ervin Rucker)

The Hard Times was a house band for the TV show "Where the Action Is" and recorded one album, Blew Mind, released in 1967. The Accents single "On the Run" b/w "He's the One" was the last by a group that was very popular in San Diego, but never found much success outside of their hometown. Gabe Lapano of the group went on to replace original lead singer John Gummoe in The Cascades. The California Sons/Magic Mushroom/California Suns puzzle took a bit of work to figure out. The California Sons recorded "Cry Baby" b/w "I'm Gone." The exact same song was re-released soon afterward on a different label, but credited to The Magic Mushroom. And then the California Sons changed their group name's spelling to California Suns. See more about them below.

DISC 3

1. These are the Words – The Other Four
2. That’s All I’ll Do – The Hard Times
3. C’mon Baby (Blow Your Mind) – The Deep Six
4. Soul in the Morning – Willie Bovain Trio
5. The Masked Grandma – The California Suns
6. Shake a Tail Feather – The Roosters
7. Say That You Love Me – Love’s Special Delivery
8. Mr. Custer – The Search
9. Hey Little Girl of Mine – The Cascades
10. Baby, I Can’t Stop Myself – Johnny Parris & Co.
11. True Love – Big Daddy Rucker
12. Wait – The Lyrics
13. Too Young – The Search
14. Don’t Look Down on Me – Iron Butterfly
15. Mr. Man – The Lyrics
16. Never to Leave – Two Bits
17. Everybody’s Searchin’ – The Search
18. I’ll Run – Johnny Parris & Co.
19. Rooster Walk – The Roosters
20. Woman, Woman – The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett
21. Flying on the Ground – The Cascades
22. I’m Goin’ Home – Big Daddy Rucker
23. Things Must Change – Two Bits
24. Climate – The Search
25. Don’t Talk to Strangers – Chris Gaylord
26. On the Run – The 7 Sons

From what I've read, "The Masked Grandma" was originally planned as a song for Jan & Dean. But when Jan Berry was hurt in a car crash and the duo went into hiatus, the song was offered to the California Suns. Both Johnny Parris & Co. and Two Bits are actually former Cascades singer John Gummoe and session musicians. "Don’t Look Down on Me" was on the A-side of Iron Butterfly's first single and has never been released on any of the band's albums, compilation or otherwise. Chris Gaylord was the original singer of The Lyrics, but instead of a garage rock shouter, "Don't Talk to Strangers" has him doing his best Bob Dylan impression.  

DISC 4

1. The Direction – Framework
2. Never Hurt Again – Pale Fire
3. Smoking at Windsor Hill – Brain Police
4. Unconscious Power – Iron Butterfly
5. Young Girl – The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett
6. They Said No – The Hard Times
7. Why’d He Go – The Lyrics
8. You’re Going Home – Framework
9. Eye Girl – Pale Fire
10. Wake Up to My Voice – The Lyrics
11. Possession – Iron Butterfly
12. Just Do Your Thing - Big Daddy Rucker
13. Please Help Me – The Generations
14. Lady Willpower – Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
15. My World of Wax – Brain Police
16. Back Home – Pale Fire
17. Give to Me Your Love – The New Phoenix
18. Can’t See You Anymore – The Lyrics
19. I’m Gonna Move – Framework
20. In-a-Gadda-da-Vida [single version] – Iron Butterfly
21. Maybe the Rain will Fall – The Cascades
22. Over You – Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
23. You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want to Discuss It) – Rhinoceros
24. Ups and Downs – Pale Fire
25. Tarnished Angel – Anita May and Interstate 5
26. Set Me Free – The Generations
27. Christmas in the Ghetto – Big Daddy Rucker

"Young Girl" by Gary Puckett and The Union Gap is probably the biggest hit on this collection. It went to #2 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K. And most people don't need an introduction to Iron Butterfly's "In-a-Gadda-da-Vida." I mercifully use the shorter single version :). Rhinoceros featured some former members of Iron Butterfly. Ervin "Big Daddy" Rucker is often confused with Ervin "Big Boy" Groves. It doesn't help that Rucker often worked with Groves and recorded some of his songs. But in fact, they were two different people. I thought a holiday song by Rucker was as good a way as any to end the collection.

There are dozen or so songs that I wanted to include in this collection, but I've sadly been unable to track them down so far. These include the first some rare sides of Musette Records, the first single by the California Sons, B-sides from The Outcasts, and others. But even without these songs, this is a great collection that shows off a wide variety of styles from the growing Navy town on the Mexican border.