The Who's "Lifehouse" - Double Album Version

Back in January, I wrote about my idea of a triple album version of The Who's Lifehouse. By most accounts, Lifehouse was originally supposed to be a double album before it was scaled down to the single disc Who's Next in 1971. So this time around I've compiled a double album version that's significantly different, and not just because it's shorter.

The track list for Lifehouse is hotly debated by a lot of Who fans. Pete Townshend continued working on his Lifehouse concept long after Who's Next was completed. Later songs supposedly connected to the idea ended up on 1975's Who by Numbers and 1978's Who Are You. And Townshend has given conflicting information over the years regarding what tracks were originally part of the concept.

To come up with a track list for a double album version, I decided to look at the order the band performed the songs in concert in 1971. The Who had of course played Tommy songs in order on previous tours, so this made sense to me. Specifically, I used the setlist from the opening dates of the band's 1971 U.S. tour:

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-who/1971/the-spectrum-philadelphia-pa-2bdf008e.html

This isn't a perfect solution as the set list mixed in some older songs, and some Lifehouse/Who's Next songs weren't performed at all. However, I felt the set list gave me a good outline to which I added other tracks to complete a track list for the album. The result is actually quite different from a lot of other attempts I've seen (including my own triple album version), but I think it works pretty well.

SIDE A
1. Baba O'Riley
2. Love Ain't for Keeping [electric version with Pete on lead vocals]
3. Pure and Easy [alternate version]
4. Time is Passing
5. Young Man Blues

SIDE B
1. Going Mobile
2. Behind Blue Eyes [alternate version]
3. I Don't Even Know Myself
4. Too Much of Anything
5. Getting in Tune [alternate version]

SIDE C
1. Bargain
2. Baby, Don't You Do It [alternate version featuring Leslie West on guitar]
3. Water
4. Naked Eye

SIDE D
1. Let's See Action
2. Won't Get Fooled Again [original New York sessions version]
3. The Song is Over

One thing of note is that this version only includes songs recorded by The Who. Most Lifehouse recreations include at least a couple of Townsend demos, specifically "Mary" and "Greyhound Girl," and sometimes "Teenage Wasteland." Not here -- this is all Who.

Also, since I've already presented most of these songs on the triple album version, a new double album version gives us an opportunity to use other versions of songs available on the 2003 Deluxe Edition of Who's Next -- see bracketed [ ] comments.

I should note that there are two versions of "Baby, Don't You Do It" featuring Leslie West on guitar. On the 1995 reissue of Who's Next, there's an edited 5:13 version. That better suits the time restrictions of a vinyl album. But if you're of the mind to say, "To hell with time restrictions," by all means use the full 8:21 version from the Deluxe Edition.

I like how the first three sides each kick off with a strong Who's Next track. The final side mirrors the last side of my triple-album version as I think these three songs perfectly end the album.

The cover is simply the original cover art of Who's Next, minus the title.

Here is a YouTube playlist of the album. Enjoy!

Chuck Berry discography, 1960-66

Chuck Berry's 1960s discography with Chess Records is not dissimilar from his 1950s output in that there was a lot of scrambling of songs from different recording sessions. As I did with my previous post on Chuck Berry last month, I try to rectify that here.


ROCKIN' AT THE HOPS
In February 1960, Chuck recorded seven songs. Not enough for an album. But during his next sessions in March and April, he recorded 14 songs. Now we've got too many! For Chuck's first album of the 1960s, we took his Rockin' the Hops album and rearranged it slightly. We'll use the seven songs recorded that year that were originally on the album, and we'll add the rest of the February session. Most importantly, we do not include the songs that had been recorded the previous year, having already used them on our Let It Rock album.

SIDE A
1. Bye Bye Johnny
2. Worried Life Blues
3. Down the Road a Piece
4. Confessin' the Blues
5. I'm Just a Lucky So and So
6. Mad Lad

SIDE B
1. I Got to Find My Baby
2. Our Little Rendezvous
3. Run Around
4. Sweet Sixteen
5. Driftin' Blues
6. Jaguar and Thunderbird


NEW JUKE BOX HITS
New Juke Box Hits from 1961 is almost perfect, but two songs from older sessions are jettisoned, and two newer tunes take their place. Specifically, I removed "Thirteen Question Method" from the first side and replaced it with "I Still Got the Blues"; and on the second side I replaced "Run Around" with "Crying Steel."

SIDE A
1. I'm Talking About You
2. Diploma for Two
3. I Still Got the Blues
4. Away from You
5. Don't You Lie to Me
6. The Way It Was Before

SIDE B
1. Little Star
2. Route 66
3. Crying Steel
4. Stop and Listen
5. Rip It Up


GO GO GO (EP)
In 1963, Chess released a ridiculous album titled Chuck Berry on Stage. It's ridiculous because not only is it not a live album, but someone took Chuck Berry's songs and audience sounds were overdubbed on the tracks. There were six new songs that Chuck had recorded at this time (and were used on the Chuck Berry on Stage album), but they really don't fit on any album. So, I give you an EP. Six new songs plus a re-recorded version of "Brown Eyed Handsome Man." For the cover, I took the Chuck Berry on Stage album and messed with it.

SIDE A
1. Come On
2. Adulteen
3. The Man and the Donkey

SIDE B
1. Go Go Go
2. Trick or Treat
3. All Aboard
4. Brown Eyed Handsome Man


ST. LOUIS TO LIVERPOOL
The Beatles, Rolling Stones and other British Invasion bands were playing and recording Chuck Berry songs, and Chess saw an opportunity to connect to a new young audience, hence the album title. Quite a few changes were needed to make this an album with contemporary cuts. The first two songs on the first side are changed, and three more are changed on the second side. I can't believe Chess and Chuck didn't include "Big Ben" on this album originally as it connects at least a bit to the theme of the album's title. The cover is the same as the original, but I changed the song titles to reflect the track list changes.

SIDE A
1. Nadine
2. Crazy Arms
3. No Particular Place to Go
4. You Two
5. Promised Land
6. You Never Can Tell

SIDE B
1. Big Ben
2. The Things I Used to Do
3. Liverpool Drive
4. Fraulein
5. O Rangutang
6. Brenda Lee


CHUCK BERRY IN LONDON
In another attempt to jump on the British Invasion bandwagon, Chuck invaded Britain and recorded eight of the tracks in London. The other six tracks originally on this album were recorded in Chicago, so the album title is a little misleading. Originally, this album had 14 tracks, but that's a stretch with some songs included that weren't from this period. Since most of Chuck's albums have 12 tracks, I kept this one with that number as well. I removed the track "Night Beat," which was recorded in 1957, and I've no idea why it was decided to include it here. Other tracks removed include "His Daughter Caroline," "Butterscotch" and "The Song of My Love."

The single version of "Chuck's Beat" has been added. The full-length version is on the album Two Great Guitars, a jam album Chuck recorded with Bo Diddley.

SIDE A
1. My Little Love-Light
2. She Once Was Mine
3. After It's Over
4. I Got a Booking
5. Little Girl from Central
6. You Came a Long Way from St. Louis

SIDE B
1. St. Louis Blues
2. Jamaica Farewell
3. Dear Dad
4. Chuck's Beat
5. Why Should We End This Way
6. I Want to be Your Driver


FRESH BERRYS
Fresh Berrys was released in November 1965, and it was indeed fresh. All the songs had been recorded over two days, Sept. 1 and 2. This, in my opinion, is the only Chuck Berry album Chess Records got right during the period 1955-1965. As such, I didn't change anything.

SIDE A
1. It Wasn't Me
2. Run Joe
3. Every Day We Rock and Roll
4. One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
5. Welcome Back, Pretty Baby
6. It's My Own Business

SIDE B
1. Right Off Rampart Street
2. Vaya Con Dios
3. Merrily We Rock and Roll
4. My Mustang Ford
5. Ain't That Just Like a Woman
6. Wee Hour Blues


VIVA ROCK AND ROLL
In April 1966, Chuck recorded his last songs for Chess Records before switching to Mercury Records. Chuck would return to Chess two years later. During his absence, Chess released one compilation album, but there were enough songs to issue one more studio LP. However, to do so we have to include both his most recent tracks as well as a few leftovers from 1965. I created this "all-new" album, and I really like the cover. Found this picture on the web and knew right away this was the cover.

SIDE A

1. Ramona Say Yes
2. I'm in the Danger Zone
3. Sad Day, Long Night
4. Go Bobby Soxer
5. Butterscotch
6. Shake, Rattle and Roll

SIDE B

1. Viva Rock and Roll
2. Lonely School Days
3. His Daughter Caroline
4. The Song of My Love
5. Honey Hush
6. Little Marie
Bonus: Spending Christmas

NOTE:
 Information about Chuck Berry's recording sessions was provided by
    The Chuck Berry Database at http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/cbdb
    © 2018 by Dietmar Rudolph, Fred Rothwell, Morten Reff

Count Five - "Cartesian Jetstream"

Just a quickie this week.

A few weeks back I created a "new" album for the Count Five, Carburetor Dung. The title came from an essay by writer Lester Bangs in which he fantasized that instead of breaking up after only one album, the band had gone on to record five more, each one better than the last.

In that same spirit, I give you Cartesian Jetstream, an EP with all the remaining Count Five tracks that weren't on the band's debut or my imagined Carburetor Dung.

SIDE A
1. So Much
2. Enchanted Flowers
3. Coconuts

SIDE B
1. Mailman
2. God Alone (Above)
Bonus Track: Psychotic Reaction [alternative version]

For a cover, I Googled "Cartesian Jetstream," and this diagram came up. So I took that and added the band's name and album title.

Alas, there are no other recorded songs that I know of to create Ancient Lace and Wrought-Iron Railings or Snowflakes Falling on the International Dateline, the other two Count Five albums from Bangs' essay.

Next week's entry will be significantly longer.

The Byrds - "Gene Tryp"

In 1969, Roger McGuinn and friend Jacques Levy conceived of a play that would be based on Henrik Ibsen's "Peer Gynt." Titled Gene Tryp, the Ibsen storyline would be loosely followed, but set in the American southwest instead of Norway. According to McGuinn, Gene Tryp would include 23 songs, and supposedly, most if not all would be recorded by The Byrds.

It is unknown how many songs were actually written. What is known is that The Byrds recorded six songs originally intended for Gene Tryp. Four of the songs appeared on the band's "(Untitled)" album, and two more would end up on their next album, Byrdmaniax. So not only was Gene Tryp not completed, but what songs were recorded for the project didn't even end up on the same album.

It wasn't until 1992 that "Gene Tryp" the play was finally performed at the Colgate University Theater, and directed by Jacques Levy. For that performance, apparently only the songs known to have been recorded by The Byrds were included. So perhaps that's all that was actually completed before McGuinn and Levy gave up and moved on to other projects.

This is my attempt to create an album that features all known songs for Gene Tryp.

SIDE A
1. Chestnut Mare
2. All the Things
3. Lover of the Bayou
4. I Wanna Grow Up to be a Politician
5. Kathleen's Song
6. Just a Season

SIDE B
1. Yesterday's Train
2. Hungry Planet
3. Take a Whiff on Me
4. You All Look Alike
5. Well Come Back Home

For this recreated Gene Tryp album, I made all of the first side the "Gene Tryp" concept. From what I've read this is the order the songs were performed in the 1992 production. It's impossible to determine what a 23-song, double album version of Gene Tryp would have sounded like, but I actually like the idea of a truncated version anyway.

I used most of the remaining studio tracks from "(Untitled)" on the second side. This includes songs written by other members of The Byrds and allows the album to be more of a group effort than simply a McGuinn/Levy production.

And I used the cool cover design from http://idesignalbumcovers.tumblr.com.

Bee Gees - "Night Fever"

The Bee Gees have at least four unreleased albums, including three solo LPs and one group album. But the album I'm showing off here was one that was never actually completed. I'm calling it Night Fever.

In early 1977, the Bee Gees began work on their follow-up album to the previous year's Children of the World. But before they got too far, their manager, Robert Stigwood, approached them to provide songs for a film he was producing. Plans for a new studio album were set aside as the group focused on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Of the eight songs the group recorded, half appeared on the soundtrack. Another song, "If I Can't Have You," was covered by Yvonne Elliman for the soundtrack. The Bee Gees' version appeared as the B-side to the "Stayin' Alive" single. Of the three other songs, two were covered by brother Andy Gibb ("(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" and "Warm Ride") and the third, "Emotion,"  was covered by Samantha Sang. 

The Bee Gees' versions of these four songs eventually popped up. "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away," "If I Can't Have You" and "Warm Ride" appeared on the album Bee Gees Greatest, and "Emotion" appeared on Their Greatest Hits: The Record.

The only problem with trying to create a Bee Gees album as originally intended is that it's short, even when including the extended promo version of "Stayin' Alive," which I do. It could use at least one more song, and preferably two or three. But after doing a bit of research, I can't find any other songs from this period that could be included. I think the Bee Gees became so involved in assembling the soundtrack and working on other people's albums at the time, that they never got around to writing and recording additional music for themselves. So we just have to be content with a fairly short album. [*]

SIDE A

1. Night Fever

2. How Deep is Your Love

3. Emotion

4. (Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away

SIDE B

1. More Than a Woman

2. If I Can't Have You

3. Warm Ride

4. Stayin' Alive

This collection kicks off with "Night Fever" and then slows down for the ballad "How Deep is Your Love." Then, those are followed by "Emotion" (the only song with lead vocals by Robin Gibb) before ending the first side with "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away." Side A is about 15 minutes, which is pretty short. It should be at least 17 or 19 minutes long. Maybe someday another song will surface to make it more complete.

The second side starts with "More Than a Woman" and continues with "If I Can't Have You" and "Warm Ride." The album ends with the 12-inch promo version of "Stayin' Alive," which runs 7 minutes, making an epic ending. That puts the second side at just shy of 17 minutes. Still a little short, but what can you do?

I put together the album cover using various images I found on the web. Here's a playlist of the album on YouTube.

--------
* Post Script:
Months after publishing this blog entry, I came upon extended versions of both "Night Fever" and "More Than a Woman" that clock in at 6:43 and 4:41, respectively. Now, the first side is 18:33, and the second side is 18:16. Yippee!

Chuck Berry - Discography, 1956-59

Because singles were king in the 1950s, not much consideration was made when assembling albums of rock 'n' roll and pop acts. At the time, albums were usually just another way to make some cash on mostly already-released songs. Chuck Berry's LP discography was no different, and it's quite frankly a mess.

Chuck signed with Chess Records in 1955, and he recorded his first single, "Maybellene" b/w "Wee Wee Hours" that year. Chuck's first album was After School Session, the title of which is kind of ironic because not all the songs were recorded during the same session, or even the same year. In fact, After School Session was released in May 1957, and by that time Chuck had recorded some 22 songs. And he would go into the studio that month and record five more.

All the Chuck Berry albums released in the 1950s are a mix of various sessions, and some songs that were recorded during this time sat in the vault for decades before being released. So what I've done here is take all the songs Chuck recorded in the 1950s, and reorganize them with albums that could have been released and would have better reflected the recording sessions and the times.


HERE IS CHUCK BERRY
His three recording sessions in 1955 produced 11 songs, enough for an album on its own that could have been released in early 1956. Since this would have been a debut album, I chose to call it Here is Chuck Berry. I found an existing cover for a Berry compilation album and redid it a bit in Photoshop.

SIDE A
1. Maybellene
2. Thirty Days
3. I've Changed
4. Wee Wee Hours
5. Roly Poly

SIDE B
1. No Money Down
2. You Can't Catch Me
3. Berry Pickin'
4. Together We Will Always Be
5. Down Bound Train


AFTER SCHOOL SESSION
Chuck also recorded 11 songs in 1956 over the course of three recording sessions. Among the tunes recorded was "School Days," which gives us a good enough reason to use the After School Session title and original artwork. The original album's first three tracks remain the same here, but then it changes quite a bit. In all, the original and this remake share six of the 11 songs. I wish there was a better title for "Untitled Instrumental," but it appears it was never properly named.

SIDE A
1. School Days
2. Deep Feeling
3. Too Much Monkey Business
4. La Juanda (Espanola)
5. Blue Feeling

SIDE B
1. Roll Over Beethoven
2. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man
3. Untitled Instrumental
4. Havana Moon
5. Low Feeling
6. Drifting Heart


ONE DOZEN BERRYS
Chuck recorded a dozen songs during two recording sessions in 1957, providing us with another full album. Below is a reorganized One Dozen Berrys (using existing cover) that could have been issued in early 1958. Like the previous entry, the original One Dozen Berrys and this re-imagined album share six songs.

SIDE A
1. Sweet Little Sixteen
2. Thirteen Question Method
3. How High the Moon
4. Rockin' the Philharmonic
5. Oh, Baby Doll
6. Guitar Boogie

SIDE B
1. Reelin' n Rockin'
2. Night Beat
3. Rock and Roll Music
4. How You've Changed
5. Time Was
6. Chuckwalk


CHUCK BERRY IS ON TOP
Chuck's first recording session of 1958 included his trademark hit, "Johnny B. Goode." In three sessions in January, February and June, 11 songs were recorded. Again, below is an existing album that has been reorganized track-wise to better reflect what Chuck was recording at the time. I use the existing cover (boy, they really loved the pun on his name). The original album and this new version share nine of the 11 songs.

SIDE A
1. Oh Yeah
2. Carol
3. Beautiful Delilah
4. House of Blue Lights
5. Vacation Time
6. Johnny B. Goode

SIDE B
1. It Don't Take But a Few Minutes
2. In-Go
3. Around and Around
4. Hey Pedro
5. Blues for Hawaiians


BACK IN THE U.S.A.
1958 was a prolific recording year for Chuck. There are enough tracks to create an all-new album when added to newer 1959 recordings to close out the decade. I created a simple cover with a nice portrait I found on the web and added the name, title and Chess logo.

SIDE A
1. Back in the U.S.A.
2. Do You Love Me
3. Little Queenie
4. That's My Desire
5. Anthony Boy
6. Memphis, Tennessee

SIDE B
1. Almost Grown
2. Blue on Blue
3. Jo Jo Gunne
4. Fast B 6
5. Sweet Little Rock and Roller


LET IT ROCK
Chuck's final recording session of the '50s was in July 1959. Only eight songs were recorded, enough for a very short album—more like an EP. But if you consider this to be an end-of-year release (just in time for holiday shopping), you could include the two Christmas songs Chuck recorded for a single the previous year. I found this cover for a compilation album and modified it.

SIDE A
1. Let It Rock
2. County Line
3. I Just Want to Make Love to You
4. One O'Clock Jump
5. Too Pooped to Pop

SIDE B
1. Betty Jean
2. Childhood Sweetheart
3. Broken Arrow
4. Merry Christmas Baby
5. Run Rudolph Run

So, the final count for Chuck's 1950s discography is three reorganized albums and three new ones. I will tackle Chuck's 1960-66 Chess discography in a future blog entry. Stay tuned.

NOTE:
 Information about Chuck Berry's recording sessions was provided by
    The Chuck Berry Database at http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/cbdb
    © 2018 by Dietmar Rudolph, Fred Rothwell, Morten Reff

The Ladders

A lot of people have created the “what if?” Beatles album if the band had stayed together. The usual outcome is to take the best songs from each of the four members' solo albums and assemble them into one cohesive album.

I take a different approach here. After the Beatles broke up, the members split into two sides—Paul on one and John, George and Ringo on the other. There were rumors that John, George and Ringo would form a new band with old friend Klaus Voormann taking up bass duties. There was even a name for the band, The Ladders, floating around. The idea didn’t get very far. John, in particular, wasn’t interested in joining another band after departing the Beatles so recently.

However, both John and George utilized the rhythm section of Ringo and Klaus on both their solo albums. There was a lot of uncertainty lingering about what to do next for the band members. The fact that John and George could have used pretty much any musician in the world and still chose Ringo as their drummer speaks volumes, I think. They wanted to leave the Beatles but weren’t quite secure enough to let go completely just yet.

If you take John’s seven songs with Ringo and Klaus, George’s six songs with Ringo and Klaus from their 1970 solo albums, plus one Ringo song with George and Klaus and you get two sides of a potential Ladders album. John gets his side and George gets his. John had even suggested a similar arrangement for the Beatles’ Abbey Road, with his songs on one side and Paul’s on the other. Think of this album as a stop-gap measure before everyone went completely solo. 

SIDE A

1. Mother

2. Hold On

3. I Found Out

4. Isolation

5. Remember

6. Well Well Well

7. God

SIDE B

1. My Sweet Lord

2. Isn’t It a Pity

3. Wah-Wah

4. If Not for You

5. All Things Must Pass

6. I Dig Love

7. It Don't Come Easy

John’s songs are from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, George’s are from the album All Things Must Pass, and Ringo's was a single and available later on the Blast from the Past compilation album

There’s also a potential non-album single with “Instant Karma!” (featuring John, George and Klaus) backed with “Beware the Darkness” (featuring George and Ringo).

For the Ladders album cover, I used a picture of an old playing board from the game Snakes and Ladders. I thought the theme would work with the band’s name and might be something John, George and Ringo would be familiar with from their childhood. Plus the game’s Indian roots might especially appeal to George.