Michael Nesmith - The Wild East

In 1968, Michael Nesmith released his first solo album, The Wichita Train Whistle Sings, which was made up mostly of instrumental versions of songs he'd recorded as part of The Monkees. He wouldn't release another solo album until 1970's Magnetic South. 

However, by the end of his time with The Monkees, pretty much all of the group's material was solo recordings released under the group's name. Nesmith recorded a number of songs in 1968-69 meant for Monkees albums that never made the cut. Brought together, this could have been Nesmith's second solo album.

SIDE A

1. Down the Highway - from Missing Links Vol. 2

2. Nine Times Blue - from Missing Links 

3. Little Red Rider - from Missing Links Vol. 3

4. The Crippled Lion - from Missing Links Vol. 2

5. St. Matthew - from Missing Links Vol. 2

6. If I Ever get to Saginaw Again - from Missing Links Vol. 2

SIDE B

1. How Insensitive - from Missing Links Vol. 3

2. Some of Shelly's Blues  - from Missing Links Vol. 2 

3. Hollywood - from Missing Links Vol. 3 

4. Propinquity (I've Just Begun to Care) - from Missing Links Vol. 3

5. My Share of the Sidewalk - from The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees deluxe edition

6. Angel Band - from Missing Links Vol. 3

These "Monkees" versions of the songs eventually saw the light of day on Missing Links compilations issued in the 1990s as shown above, with one track appearing as a bonus to the deluxe edition of The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees, which came out in 2010.

Four of these songs, "Nine Times Blue," "Hollywood," "The Crippled Lion" and "Little Red Rider" were later re-recorded and featured on 1970's Magnetic South. You might think that the inclusion of these songs here would then cause a problem for Magnetic South, but in fact, there were at least five outtakes from that album that could be used to plug the missing spots (the outtakes were issued as bonus tracks to Magnetic South in 1999).

Additionally, "Propinquity" and "Some of Shelly's Blues" were also re-recorded by Nesmith and appear on 1971's Nevada Fighter and 1973's Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash respectively.

For a title to this new album, I thought The Wild East was a similar pun as Magnetic South. And for cover artwork, I found a Nashville street scene circa 1969. I thought that the fact there's nothing going on (no people, no moving cars, etc.) added to the humor of the title.

Howlin' Wolf - 1952-53 Chess Discography Reimagined

Howlin' Wolf's first album was released by Chess Records in 1959. But by that time, he had recorded enough songs for several albums, not counting tracks that were released by RPM Records.

With this blog entry, I put together three Howlin' Wolf albums that could have existed during his first couple of years of recording, including all the songs he recorded at Memphis Recording Service (later to be known as Sun Studio).

 

THE HOWLIN’ WOLF

SIDE A

1. The Wolf is at Your Door (Howlin’ for My Baby)

2. Look-a-Here Baby

3. California Boogie

4. My Troubles and Me

5. Worried All the Time

6. Chocolate Drop

7. Getting Old and Grey

SIDE B

1. Moanin’ at Midnight

2. Smile at Me

3. Mr. Highway Man (Cadillac Daddy)

4. California Blues #1

5. My Baby Walked Off

6. Howlin’ Wolf Boogie

7. How Many More Years

Two of the tracks, "Moanin' at Midnight" and "How Many More Years" were recorded in July 1951 and issued as a single. The remaining tracks were recorded at two sessions in December 1951 and January 1952. So, I can see this album being released in the spring of 1952.

One track I didn't include was "Baby Ride with Me (Ridin' in the Moonlight)," which was recorded in May 1951 at Memphis Recording Service. This is because he recorded it again in September 1951, and this second version was issued on RPM Records (which issued three of his singles and later a compilation album).

Some of his early releases were credited to The Howlin' Wolf, so that's what I titled what would have been his debut album.

 

COME BACK HOME (April 1952-October 1952)

SIDE A

1. Saddle My Pony

2. (Well) That’s All Right

3. Color and Kind

4. Sweet Woman (I’ve Got a Woman)

5. Decoration Day

6. My Last Affair

SIDE B

1. Oh Red

2. Everybody's in the Mood (All in the Mood)

3. Bluebird

4. Dorothy Mae

5. Come Back Home

6. Drinkin' C.V. Wine Blues

All of these tracks were recorded during two sessions, one in April 1952 and another in October 1952. So I can imagine this album being released at the end of the year for the holiday market, or held till early 1953. Both "Saddle My Pony" and "Oh Red" were released as A-sides of singles so I used them to lead off each side of the album. And I used the song "Come Back Home" as the album's title track.

 

ALL NIGHT BOOGIE (Sep 1953 – Oct 1953)

SIDE A

1. I Love My Baby

2. I’ve Got a Woman

3. Just My Kind

4. I’m Not Joking

5. Highway My Friend

6. Work for Your Money

7. Hold Your Woman

SIDE B

1. All Night Boogie

2. Crazy About My Baby

3. My Mama Died and Left Me

4. California Blues #2

5. Streamline Woman

6. Stay Here Till My Baby Comes Back

Howlin' Wolf's final recording sessions at Memphis Recording Service were held in 1953. I'm not sure exactly when during that year, but records show they were mastered in the fall, so this album would likely be released in late 1953. "All Night Boogie" was the only track here released as an A-side of a single, so I used it to lead off the second side and as the title track as well. 

I'm not sure what Wolf's obsession with California was -- he recorded "California Blues #1," "California Blues #2" and "California Boogie." I couldn't find any other song he recorded with a different state named.

The 1953 sessions were kind of the end of an era for Howlin' Wolf. In March 1954, he recorded his first studio session at Chess Studios in Chicago and every subsequent session there (except for one session in London in 1970).

All of these tracks are available on Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960.

NOTE: I don't make any claims about the album cover artwork. I just took existing artwork and altered them a bit.

"American Graffiti" soundtrack - "time corrected"

With Elvis Presley's comeback beginning in 1968, Sha Na Na playing Woodstock in 1969 and Chuck Berry getting his first #1 song ever in 1972, America was ripe for a full-on revival of the early rock 'n' roll era when the movie "American Graffiti" premiered in 1973. The movie was a huge success and there was a spike in "oldies" radio stations, music rereleases and TV specials, along with a bunch of other movies set in the late '50s/early '60s.

Not only was the "American Graffiti" movie a hit, but so was the soundtrack album. However, the soundtrack (featuring most of the music heard in the film) is actually an odd hodgepodge of songs ranging from the years 1953-64. Some songs weren't even released until after the time the film is set (one night in late August 1962). 

I don't know what writer/director George Lucas had in mind when deciding on what songs to use. Maybe he took songs that were easily available, maybe he just chose songs he liked or perhaps he felt certain songs were needed for certain scenes. Or maybe he didn't think using specific songs from 1962 was necessary.

But in reality, this was a time of teenage crazes. Songs (and dances, teen idols, clothing styles, etc. etc.) from even the previous year would have seemed old. So music playing on car radios would almost certainly have been current hits. Therefore, I looked at what songs were popular at the time the movie is set and tried my hand at an alternative soundtrack. Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to lift the Wolfman Jack dialogue that was used in the original. But truth be told, Wolfman Jack wasn't a thing until 1963, the year after the movie takes place. 

SIDE A

1. Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out) - Ernie Maresca

2. Roses are Red (My Love) - Bobby Vinton

3. Palisades Park - Freddy Cannon

4. Little Diane - Dion

5. The Loco-Motion - Little Eva

6. Breaking Up is Hard to Do - Neil Sedaka

7. At the Hop - Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids

8. She's So Fine - Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids

9. The Wah Watusi - The Orlons

10. She's Not You - Elvis Presley

SIDE B

1. Surfin' Safari - The Beach Boys

2. You Don't Know Me - Ray Charles

3. Sheila - Tommy Roe

4. Vacation - Connie Francis

5. Bring It on Home to Me - Sam Cooke

6. Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee and the Starlighters

7. Teen-Age Idol - Ricky Nelson

8. Twist and Shout - The Isley Brothers

9. Johnny Get Angry - Joanie Sommers

10. Do You Love Me - The Contours

11. Things - Bobby Darin

SIDE C

1. Dancin' Party - Chubby Checker

2. You'll Lose a Good Thing - Barbara Lynn

3. Soldier Boy - The Shirelles

4. Gravy (with My Mashed Potatoes) - Dee Dee Sharp

5. Snap Your Fingers - Joe Henderson

6. Playboy - Marvelettes

7. Party Lights - Claudine Clark

8. Don't Play That Song (You Lied) - Ben E. King

9. That's Old Fashioned (That's the Way Love Should Be) - The Everly Brothers

10. Papa Oom Mow Mow - The Rivingtons

SIDE D

1. Uptown - The Crystals 

2. Lolita Ya-Ya - The Ventures

3. I Sold My Heart to the Junkman - The Blue-Belles

4. She Cried - Jay and the Americans

5. Johnny Angel - Shelley Fabres

6. Night Train - James Brown and the Famous Flames

7. Green Onions - Booker T. and the MGs

8. The One Who Really Loves You - Mary Wells

9. Sealed with a Kiss - Brian Hyland

10. Let's Dance - Chris Montez

The approach I took with this project was similar to what I did with the soundtrack to "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

Of the 41 songs on the original soundtrack album, there are actually only two tracks from 1962: "Surfin' Safari" and "Green Onions." The Beach Boys song was released on June 4, so we keep it. And the Booker T and the MGs song was released the first week of September, and that really makes it a week too late, but I decided to keep it anyway. I also considered the six songs on the original album that were released in 1961. But the only one I decided to keep was "Peppermint Twist" because it was such a huge hit in early 1962. 

There are two tracks on the original soundtrack by Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids, the "house band" at a dance in the movie. I included both of their songs since they would obviously stay in the movie no matter what. All five songs that I kept from the original album remain in their respective spots on this version of the soundtrack as well.

Using Billboard charts for the summer of '62, I chose 36 tracks that were the biggest hits of the time to include with the five songs of the original soundtrack. Then I tried to match as best I could with the theme and/or sound.

To replace the opening track of "Rock Around the Clock" (released in 1954 and a hit in 1955), I needed something energetic and I think the best one of the lot for that purpose is "Shout! Shout! (Knock Yourself Out)" by Ernie Maresca. It might not be as iconic as the Bill Haley song, but I think it makes more sense time-wise. The next song on the original soundtrack is "16 Candles," a slow love song from 1958. So I replaced it with Bobby Vinton's "Roses are Red," and so on and so on. 

Some changes were easier than others: "Party Doll" is replaced with "Party Lights" and "Crying in the Chapel" is replaced with "She Cried." "Goodnight, Well It's Time to Go" is replaced with another goodbye song, "Sealed with a Kiss." I thought the best song for the closing credits to replace the Beach Boys' "All Summer Long" was "Let's Dance" by Chris Montez.

So there you are: a new version of the soundtrack that I think is more realistic. 

Bee Gees - "Alone Together"

In March 1969, Robin Gibb quit the Bee Gees, leaving his brothers to carry on and record the album Cucumber Castle. Robin in turn recorded his debut solo LP Robin's Reign. Both acts had hit singles, but their respective albums didn't sell particularly well. Soon after Cucumber Castle's release, Barry Gibb announced he was going solo, leaving Maurice Gibb no other choice than to go solo as well.

All three brothers recorded solo albums in early 1970, and singles were chosen and album cover art created for all three. But it seems that all three Brothers Gibb had second thoughts about venturing out on their own, and all three solo albums were put on hold.

Initially, Robin and Maurice reunited and planned to record a new Bee Gees album, but soon Barry also rejoined the group. They recorded and released 2 Years On in November 1970, and the Bee Gees remained together until Maurice died in 2003.

What's intriguing to me is that the Gibb brothers not only abandoned their 1970 solo albums, but they didn't even re-record any of the songs for Bee Gees albums. Robin's solo album, Sing Slowly Sisters, remained unreleased until 2015 when it was included as part of the compilation Saved by the Bell: The Collected Works of Robin Gibb, 1968-1970. Maurice's and Barry's solo albums, The Loner and The Kid's No Good, respectively, have still not been released to this day.

I wondered what could have been if the group had, instead of starting from scratch, simply taken the best tracks of their solo albums to create a new Bee Gees album. With Barry's and Maurice's albums unreleased, this would have been difficult, except that singles from the albums were released.

SIDE A
1. Sing Slowly Sisters
2. Great Caesar's Ghost
3. I've Come Back
4. This Time
5. One Bad Thing

SIDE B
1. I'll Kiss Your Memory
2. Railroad
3. Engines, Aeroplanes
4. The Days Your Eyes Meet Mine
5. C'est La Vie, Au Revoir

While Barry's album has not been released, a single was: "I'll Kiss Your Memory" b/w "This Time." Other tracks have trickled out on bootlegs. Of those, both "One Bad Thing" and "The Day Your Eyes Met Mine" were co-written with Maurice, so I thought they were good ones to include.

Maurice didn't usually have many lead vocals on Bee Gees albums, which is good because we only have two songs to use. Like Barry, while Maurice's album wasn't released, one single was: "Railroad" b/w "I'll Come Back."

For Robin's contributions, we have the whole solo album to choose from. I decided I wanted to equal the number of Barry's tracks. Two of Robin's songs were originally considered for singles, the title track and "Great Caesar's Ghost," so we include both. I also included "Engines, Aeroplanes" and placed it after Maurice's "Railroad" simply because I thought that was a humorous connection. And "C'est La Vie, Au Revoir" was slated to be the closing song of the album, and seemed appropriate for this as well.

I thought Alone Together was a fitting title for this album. For a cover, I wanted to do something artistic, like creating one face from all three of their faces. However, I was quickly reminded of my limitations as an artist and eventually scrapped the idea. Instead, I used a portrait from about that time period and added titles and the record company logo. It's not great, but it's OK.

The Beatles - "Beatles Again"

In 1969, new Beatles manager Allen Klein negotiated a new contract with Capitol Records that required one compilation album per year. I don't know how they planned to have a new compilation every year for the five-year span of the contract, but the plan for the initial one was to use songs that hadn't appeared on albums (only singles).

Allan Steckler was given the task of deciding which tracks should be included. Ten tracks were chosen, put in chronological order, from 1964-69, and issued (only in the U.S.) as Hey Jude in 1970. With the inclusion of the group's most successful song ever (the title song), the album promptly sold more than 2 million copies.

The problem with the album is that the Beatles' sound had changed so dramatically from the time of their mop top days of 1964 and their hippie days of '69. With a little more care, a compilation album could have been produced with a more contemporary sound using more recent songs, including some still unreleased.

SIDE A

1. Revolution

2. Lady Madonna

3. The Inner Light

4. What's the New Mary Jane?

5. Not Guilty

6. The Ballad of John and Yoko

SIDE B

1. Hey Jude

2. Old Brown Shoe

3. Don't Let Me Down

4. You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)

The first four tracks of Hey Jude are the ones I have the problem with: "Can't Buy Me Love," "I Should Have Known Better," "Paperback Writer" and "Rain." Removing these, I needed a new opener. "Revolution" -- which closes side one on Hey Jude -- seems like the obvious choice to me. I then moved "Lady Madonna" from track 6 to track 2. 

I added three songs to the first side not on the original album: "The Inner Light," "What's the New Mary Jane?" and "Not Guilty." All seem like obvious tracks to include. "The Inner Light" didn't show up on an American or British album until 1978's Rarities and the stereo version wasn't released until 10 years after that on Past Masters, Volume 2. Both "What's the New Mary Jane?" and "Not Guilty" were White Album outtakes that weren't released until Anthology 3 in 1996.

For the final song on the first side, I moved the Hey Jude album closer "The Ballad of John and Yoko" here instead.

The first three tracks of the second side are the same as Hey Jude, but I closed the album with "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)." Originally the b-side of the then-upcoming "Let It Be" single, this track wasn't released on an album until Rarities in 1978.

There were three other tracks I considered: the single edit versions of both "Let It Be" and "Get Back," and the "wildlife" version of "Across the Universe" that had only been released previously on the World Wildlife Fund compilation No One's Gonna Change Our World. But since all three songs in different versions would appear on the Let It Be album released later the same year, it didn't seem to make as much sense as the other options. 

And there you have it, what I consider to be a superior compilation album than Hey Jude. For a cover, I used the shot of the group that was on the back side of the Hey Jude album, and I titled it Beatles Again, which is rumored to have been the original album title. I found this album mock-up on the web.

Led Zeppelin - "Archives"

I was thinking about the remastered Led Zeppelin albums and wondering whether there was enough material out there to create something similar to the Beatles’ Anthology series. Anthology 1, 2 and 3 included alternate takes, demos, live tracks and other odds and ends. While Jimmy Page was likely uninterested in duplicating the product of another band, there’s nothing stopping us from putting something together. Like Anthology, I divided up the songs into track lists for three theoretical CD sets. 

The Beatles’ Anthology 1 included tracks by the Quarrymen and pre-Ringo Beatles. In a similar vein, I decided to use non-Zeppelin songs that featured members of the band prior to its forming. Most of the material I ended up using came from the bonus materials on the deluxe versions of Zeppelin's remastered albums. However, I did snag a few tracks from bootlegs, DVDs and other sources to give a more complete picture. When it came to including non-Zeppelin material, I almost always used songs that included at least two members of the band, the exception being a couple of Yardbirds tracks.

I decided to call the theoretical box set Archives.

I kept the track lists in mostly chronological order. But I decided to kick off the first set with a live version of “Train Kept a Rollin’” from 1969 for the simple reason that it acts as a good introduction, literally and figuratively ("Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the [sic] Led Zeppelin!"). "Train Kept a Rollin'" is supposedly the first song Led Zeppelin rehearsed, and the band then used it to open most of their shows for the first tour. So it seems appropriate to use it to open our set as well. I included Donovan's "Sunshine Superman," and while I'm not positive, it may be the earliest session that both Page and John Paul Jones participated in together.

We then have “Beck’s Bolero,” a Jeff Beck song “written” by Page, and featuring both Page and Jones. It’s been said that during this session the name Led Zeppelin was conjured up by Keith Moon (he said the group would go over like a lead balloon) who also played on the session. I also included the Yardbirds' tracks "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" and “No Excess Baggage” because besides Page, they also feature Jones on bass. And both Page and Jones also played on the track "Burn Up" from an album that was supposed to be the debut of singer Keith DeGroot, but ended up showcasing the more famous session players instead. 

“Hey Joe” is a demo by the Band of Joy that included both Robert Plant and John Bonham. I also added “Dazed and Confused” by the Yardbirds since it would become such a major song for Zeppelin. The eighth track is "Jim's Blues" by P.J. Proby, featuring all four members of Zeppelin backing him, and the first released recording with all four members together. After that, I included various outtakes, backing tracks and alternate mixes that were bonus tracks on the remastered Zeppelin albums, as well as a selection of early live tracks. Also included is the Screaming Lord Sutch song “‘Cause I Love You,” which features Bonham and Page.

Archives 1

1.       Train Kept a Rollin’ [live at Texas International Pop Festival, 31 Aug. 1969] - bootleg

2.       Sunshine Superman [Donovan with Jones and Page, December 1965] - Donovan's Sunshine Superman

3.    Beck’s Bolero [Jeff Beck with Jones and Page, 16 May 1966] - Beck's Truth

4.    Happenings Ten Years Time Ago [The Yardbirds including Page with Jones, October 1966] - Yardbirds' single

5.       No Excess Baggage [The Yardbirds including Page with Jones, Spring 1967] - Yardbirds' Little Games

6.    Burn Up [Keith DeGroot with Jones and Page, late 1967] - No Introductions Necessary

7.       Hey Joe [demo, Band of Joy including Bonham and Plant, early 1968] - Plant's Sixty Six to Timbuktu

8.       Dazed and Confused [The Yardbirds including Page, live on French TV "Boutan Rouge" show, 9 March 1968] - Yardbirds' Cumular Limit

9.      Jim's Blues [P.J. Proby with Bonham, Jones, Page and Plant, September 1968] - Proby's Three Week Hero

10.     You Shook Me [alternate version, Fall 1968] - bootleg

11.   Baby, Come on Home [outtake, Fall 1968] - Coda bonus

12.   Sugar Mama [outtake, Fall 1968] - Coda bonus

13.   Killing Floor [live at Whiskey a Go Go, Los Angeles, 5 Jan. 1969] - bootleg

14.   For Your Love [live at Whiskey a Go Go, Los Angeles, 5 Jan. 1969] - bootleg

15.   What Is and What Should Never Be [rough mix with vocal, January 1969] - Led Zeppelin II bonus

16.   Moby Dick [intro/outro rough mix, January 1969] - Led Zeppelin II bonus

17.   How Many More Times [live at Gadsaxe Teen Club (TV BYEN – Danmarks Radio), Gladsaxe, Denmark, 17 March 1969] - Led Zeppelin DVD

18.   Sunshine Woman [live at Maida Vale Studios, London, 19 March 1969] - BBC Sessions

19.   Dazed and Confused [live on Supershow, Staines Studio, London, 25 March 1969] - BBC Sessions

20.   As Long As I Have You (edit) [live at Fillmore West, San Francisco, 27 April 1969] - bootleg

21.   Whole Lotta Love [rough mix with vocal, May 1969] - Led Zeppelin II bonus

22.   Thank You [backing track, Spring 1969] - Led Zeppelin II bonus

23.   Heartbreaker [rough mix with vocal, Spring 1969] - Led Zeppelin II bonus

24.   Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman) [backing track, Spring 1969] - Led Zeppelin II bonus

25.   Ramble On [rough mix with vocal, Spring 1969] - Led Zeppelin II bonus

26.   Bring It On Home [rough mix, Spring 1969] - Coda bonus

27.   La La [outtake (backing track), Spring 1969] - Led Zeppelin II bonus

28.   The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair [live at Aeolian Hall (BBC), London, 16 June 1969] - BBC Sessions

29.   Somethin’ Else [live at Aeolian Hall (BBC), London, 16 June 1969] - BBC Sessions

30.   Travelling Riverside Blues [live at Maida Vale Studios (BBC), London, 24 June 1969] - BBC Sessions

31.   White Summer/Black Mountain Side [live at Playhouse Theatre (BBC), London, 27 June 1969] - BBC Sessions

32.   ‘Cause I Love You [Screaming Lord Sutch with Bonham and Page, Summer 1969] - Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends

33.   Good Times, Bad Times (intro) / Communication Breakdown [live at L'Olympia Bruno Coquatrix, Paris, 10 Oct. 1969] - Led Zeppelin bonus

34.   Whole Lotta Love [single edit, November 1969] - single

35.   I Can't Quit You Baby [live rehearsal (edit) at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England, 9 Jan. 1970] - BBC Sessions

36.   We’re Gonna Groove [live (edit) at Royal Albert Hall, London, 9 Jan. 1970 (audience removed)] - Coda

 

For the second set, I included various alternate mixes, outtakes and a b-side from the sessions for Led Zeppelin III, the fourth album and Houses of the Holy, plus a couple of live recordings from 1971. 

Archives 2

1.       The Immigrant Song [alternative mix, Spring 1970] - Led Zeppelin III bonus

2.       Friends [backing track – no vocal, Spring 1970] - Led Zeppelin III bonus

3.       Celebration Day [alternative mix, Spring 1970] - Led Zeppelin III bonus

4.       Since I've Been Loving You [rough mix of first recording, Spring 1970] - Led Zeppelin III bonus

5.       Bathroom Sound (Out on the Tiles) [backing track – no vocal, Spring 1970] - Led Zeppelin III bonus

6.       Gallows Pole [rough mix, Spring 1970] - Led Zeppelin III bonus

7.       That's the Way [rough mix with dulcimer and backwards echo, Spring 1970] - Led Zeppelin III bonus

8.       Jennings Farm Blues (Bron-Y-Aur Stomp) [rough mix, Spring 1970] - Led Zeppelin III bonus

9.       Hey, Hey What Can I Do? [b-side of “Immigrant Song” single, Spring 1970]  - Coda

10.   Poor Tom [outtake, Spring 1970]  - Coda

11.   St. Tristan's Sword [outtake, Spring 1970] - Coda bonus

12.   Key to the Highway / Trouble in Mind [outtake (rough mix), Spring 1970] - Led Zeppelin III bonus

13.   Black Dog [basic track with guitar overdubs, early 1971] - Led Zeppelin IV bonus

14.   Rock and Roll [alternate mix, early 1971]- Led Zeppelin IV bonus

15.   The Battle of Evermore [mandolin/guitar mix, early 1971] - Led Zeppelin IV bonus

16.   Stairway to Heaven [Sunset Sound mix, early 1971] - Led Zeppelin IV bonus

17.   Misty Mountain Hop [alternate mix, early 1971] - Led Zeppelin IV bonus

18.   Four Sticks [alternate mix, early 1971] - Led Zeppelin IV bonus

19.   Going to California [mandolin/guitar mix, early 1971] - Led Zeppelin IV bonus

20.   If It Keeps On Raining (When the Levee Breaks) [rough mix, early 1971]  - Coda bonus

21.   Boogie with Stu [Sunset Sound mix, early 1971] - Physical Graffiti bonus

22.   Whole Lotta Love / Boogie Chillun' / Fixin' to Die / That's Alright Mama / A Mess of Blues [live at Paris Theatre, London, 1 April 1971] - BBC Sessions

23.   Rock and Roll [live at Festival Hall, Osaka, 29 Sept. 1971] - bootleg

24.   The Song Remains the Same [guitar overdub reference mix, Spring 1972] - Houses of the Holy bonus

25.   The Rain Song [mix minus piano, Spring 1972] - Houses of the Holy bonus

26.   Over the Hills and Far Away [guitar mix backing track, Spring 1972] - Houses of the Holy bonus

27.   The Crunge [rough mix – keys up, Spring 1972] - Houses of the Holy bonus

28.   Dancing Days [rough mix with vocal, Spring 1972] - Houses of the Holy bonus

29.   No Quarter [rough mix with keyboard overdubs – no vocal, Spring 1972] - Houses of the Holy bonus

30.   The Ocean [working mix, Spring 1972] - Houses of the Holy bonus

31.   Houses of the Holy [rough mix with overdubs, Spring 1972] - Physical Graffiti bonus

32.   Walter’s Walk [outtake, Spring 1972] - Coda

 

The third set includes the remakes of “Four Sticks” and “Friends” that Page and Plant recorded with the Bombay Orchestra, plus more selected live cuts, and rarities from the sessions of Physical Graffiti, Presence and In Through the Out Door. I also included “Rockestra Theme,” which was recorded live for the Concert for Kampuchea by an all-star group of musicians that featured Bonham, Jones, and Plant. A live version of “Train Kept a Rollin’” from the band’s last tour brings the set full circle.

Archives 3

1.       L.A. Drone / Immigrant Song [live at Long Beach Arena and Los Angeles Forum, June 1972] - How the West was Won

2.       Four Hands (Four Sticks) [Page and Plant remake with Bombay Orchestra, October 1972] - Coda bonus

3.       Friends [Page and Plant remake with Bombay Orchestra, October 1972] - Coda bonus

4.       Bring It On Home (intro) / Black Dog [live at Madison Square Garden, New York, July 1973] - The Song Remains the Same

5.       The Ocean [live at Madison Square Garden, New York, July 1973] - The Song Remains the Same

6.       In My Time of Dying [initial/rough mix, early 1974] - Physical Graffiti bonus

7.       Brandy & Coke (Trampled Under Foot) [initial/rough mix, early 1974] - Physical Graffiti bonus

8.       Kashmir [rough orchestra mix, early 1974] - Physical Graffiti bonus

9.       Everybody Makes It Through (In the Light) [early version/in transit, early 1974] - Coda bonus

10.   Desire (The Wanton Song) [rough mix, early 1974] - Coda bonus

11.   Sick Again [early version, early 1974] - Physical Graffiti bonus

12.   Swan Song [demo, 1974] - bootleg

13.   In My Time of Dying [live at Earl’s Court, London, 25 May 1975] - Led Zeppelin DVD

14.   Two Ones Are Won (Achilles Last Stand) [reference mix, Fall 1975] - Presence bonus

15.   For Your Life [reference mix, Fall 1975] - Presence bonus

16.   Royal Orleans [reference mix, Fall 1975] - Presence bonus

17.   Hots On for Nowhere [reference mix, Fall 1975] - Presence bonus

18.   10 Ribs & All/Carrot Pod Pod (Pod) [reference mix, Fall 1975] - Presence bonus

19.   Bonzo’s Montreax [demo, September 1976] - Coda

20. Black Country Woman [live at Seattle Kingdome, 17 July 1977] - bootleg

21.   Fire (Say You’re Gonna Leave Me) [rehearsal, Fall 1978] - bootleg

22.   In the Evening [rough mix, Fall 1978] - In Through the Out Door bonus

23.   Southbound Piano (South Bound Saurez) [rough mix, Fall 1978] - In Through the Out Door bonus

24.   Fool in the Rain [short version, Fall 1978] - radio promo

25.   Hot Dog [rough mix, Fall 1978] - In Through the Out Door bonus

26.   The Epic (Carouselambra) [rough mix, Fall 1978] - In Through the Out Door bonus

27.   The Hook (All My Love) [rough mix, Fall 1978] - In Through the Out Door bonus

28.   Blot (I'm Gonna Crawl) [rough mix, Fall 1978] - In Through the Out Door bonus

29.   Wearing and Tearing [outtake, Fall 1978] - Coda

30.   Darlene [outtake, Fall 1978] - Coda

31.   Ozone Baby [outtake, Fall 1978] - Coda

32.   In the Evening [live at Knebworth Festival, 4 Aug. 1979] - Led Zeppelin DVD

33.   Rockestra Theme [Rockestra including Bonham, Jones and Plant, live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, 29 Dec. 1979] - Rock for Kampuchea

34.   Hot Dog [live at Sporthalle, Cologne, 18 June 1980] - bootleg

35.   Money (That’s What I Want) [live at Festhalle, Frankfurt, 30 June 1980] - bootleg

36.   Train Kept a Rollin’ [live at Festhalle, Frankfurt, 30 June 1980] - bootleg

As one can imagine, a number of these tracks are very long, and if you wanted to fit all these songs on CDs, each set would likely be a three-CD set. The Beatles' Anthology sets were each two CDs, but they didn't perform really long live versions of their songs like Zeppelin did. 

The sources of the songs are listed after each title. I put together the album covers using old photos of Zeppelins, texture backgrounds and a free Led Zeppelin-esque font.

Bob Dylan - "Self Portrait" (single disc version)

To commemorate Bob Dylan's recent 80th birthday, this time around I look at Self Portrait, a double album he released in June 1970. It received some of the harshest reviews of Dylan's career at the time. Made up of a few originals, lots of traditional songs, covers and a couple of live tracks, it's very much a mishmash. 

Dylan has said that at the time he was feeling suffocated by the "voice of his generation" tag he'd had attached to him, and wanted no part of being a leader of the hippie / counter-culture movement. He has said that he thought maybe an album like Self Portrait would force people to look for another leader and let him simply be a musician. Instead, he attracted a lot of hate from critics and fans who felt he'd let them down. 

 

If we strip away the cover tunes and live tracks, we're left with four originals and six traditional songs, which I thought might make a decent one-disc album. 

 SIDE A 

1. All the Tired Horses 

2. Alberta

3. Days of '49

4. House Carpenter

5. It Hurts Me Too

6. Pretty Saro

7. In Search of Little Sadie 

SIDE B 

1. Living the Blues

2. This Evening So Soon  

3. Woogie Boogie

4. Tattle O'Day

5. Belle Isle

6. Railroad Bill

7. Wigwam

One of the reasons Self Portrait was a double album was Dylan decided to release most all that had been recorded during the sessions in an attempt to avoid anything unused being issued on a bootleg album. Somewhat ironically, in 2013, Dylan released The Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969–1971), with outtakes and alternate takes from Self Portrait and other sessions. 

 

On Another Self Portrait, four previously unreleased recordings of traditional songs can be added to our track list, giving us a total of 14 tracks. 

I kept the general order of songs from Self Portrait, divided it into two sides (since it would have originally been issued as a vinyl LP), and inserted previously unreleased songs from Another Self Portrait. So the album still begins with the Dylan-penned "All the Tired Horses," which features no vocal by him, but instead a chorus by female singers. 

"Living the Blues" is the best of the four Dylan originals so I used it to open the second side. He performed the song on Johnny Cash's TV show the previous year, and it's similar to "Singing the Blues," which had been a hit for Marty Robbins in the 1950s. 

I've no idea why Dylan decided to include cover versions of "Early Morning Rain" by Gordon Lightfoot and "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel, as well as songs that had been hits for others such as "Blue Moon" and "Let It Be Me." But their inclusion on the album might have added to the hostility of fans and critics -- Dylan is one of the greatest songwriters of all time so why is he doing covers of contemporaries? Removing these and other covers, plus live versions of his songs "The Mighty Quinn," "Like a Rolling Stone" and "She Belongs to Me," allows this album to be sort of a back-to-basics effort. I think it gives Self Portrait a purpose rather than the grab bag that was actually released. 

I also excluded "Little Sadie" and "Alberta #2" and replaced them with previously unreleased tracks to eliminate repetition. 

I used only tracks from Another Self Portrait except for "Singing the Blues" and "Alberta #1" (which I title simply "Alberta" since we're not including #2 or #3) which are from the original album. The versions of "All the Tired Horses," "In Search of Little Sadie," "Days of '49," "Wigwam" and "Belle Isle" are without overdubs.

The result is not an album that I think critics and fans would have loved, but I believe they may have liked it a lot more than the double album and possibly been a lot less harsh than they were.

Rockpile - "Hours of Pain"

 

Rockpile recorded one album under its own name, but the band had recorded three albums by the time Seconds of Pleasure was released in 1980.

However, because members Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds were signed to different record labels, they recorded solo albums under their names even though they were essentially Rockpile albums. These included Edmunds' Tracks on Wax 4 and Repeat When Necessary and Lowe's Labour of Lust.

The band also backed Carlene Carter (Lowe's wife) on most of her album Musical Shapes.

Finally, in 1980, Edmunds fulfilled his recording contract by releasing Twangin'... (which was made up of outtakes from previous sessions and was performed mostly by Rockpile), and the band was free to record an album under the Rockpile name for the first time. Seconds of Pleasure was released in October 1980, and the band had a hit with "Teacher, Teacher." Besides Edmunds on guitar and Lowe on bass, the band included Billy Bremner on guitar and Terry Williams on drums.
  
But in 1981, there were reported tensions between Lowe and Edmunds, and the band broke up -- or well, it sort of did. Edmunds went off on his own, and the remaining three worked on Lowe's next solo.

After waiting for so long to be able to issue an album as a band, it seems both crazy and kind of sad that when it finally did happen it was so short-lived. I wanted to see what a 1982 Rockpile album could have been had the band remained together.

SIDE A
1. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)

2. Burning

3. Me and the Boys

4. Stick It Where the Sun Don’t Shine

5. Laughter Turns to Tears

6. Warmed Over Kisses (Left Over Love)

SIDE B
1. Let Me Kiss Ya

2. Queen of Sheeba

3. Generation Rumble

4. Tired and Emotional (and Probably Drunk)

5. Zulu Kiss

6. Dear Dad

When it came to determining which songs from Edmunds' D.E. 7th album to include, I checked to see which of the tunes he performed on tour that year. Those were "From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)" (a song given to him by Bruce Springsteen), "Me and the Boys" (by Terry Adams) and Chuck Berry's "Dear Dad." Feeling I needed at least two more tracks to not only fill out the album but to increase Edmunds' contributions, I also added "Warmed Over Kisses (Left Over Love)," which was a hit for Brian Hyland in 1962, and "Generation Rumble" written by Benny Gallagher.

Since Lowe's Nick the Knife is essentially a Rockpile album minus Edmunds, it was fairly easy to choose songs. "Heart" from that album is a remake of a Rockpile song from Seconds of Pleasure, so I didn't see any reason to include that. As with Edmunds, I looked to see which songs from Nick the Knife Lowe performed live that year, and that included three: "Burning," "Stick It Where the Sun Don't Shine" and "Let Me Kiss Ya,"  all of which were released as singles. I felt I needed a couple more tracks, and "Zulu Kiss" is the only other song released on a single (as a B-side). I also added "Queen of Sheeba."

Seconds of Pleasure features two songs sung by Bremner, and I wanted to include tracks with him as lead vocalist as well on this album. But Bremner didn't record a solo album until 1984. However, I've discovered that he released a single in 1982 and that gave us two songs to add to this album: "Laughter Turns to Tears" and "Tired and Emotional (and Probably Drunk)."

I think this is a good album, and it benefits from having three different vocalists, which provides more variety than the solo albums. For an album title, I thought of the previous album's title, Seconds of Pleasure, and came up with Hours of Pain. And for the cover, I took an image of dance steps and added the words.