Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Whiskeytown, "HAPPY GO BYE BYE" [re-imagined LP]





WHISKEYTOWN

Happy Go Bye Bye   (1999)


  1. Don't Wanna Know Why
  2. Jacksonville Skyline
  3. Tilt-a-Whirl*    [Deserters E.P.]
  4. Mirror, Mirror 
  5. The Ballad of Carol Lynn
  6. What the Devil Wanted
  7. Don't Be Sad
  8. Crazy About You
  9. My Hometown
  10. Reason to Lie
  11. Paper Moon
  12. Under Your Breath

I used the Pneumonia pre-release promo LP mix sans "Easy Hearts", "Bar Lights" and "To Be Evil". If Ryan Adams hadn't taken two years to finish the production with Ethan Johns. The released version on Lost Highway in 2001 was supposed to have twenty songs across a 2xLP set--it was negotiated down to 16 (wouldn't be the first time--lol). The other songs from the sessions "Tilt-A-Whirl", "Choked Up", "Tell Me What Else Can I Do Wrong Tonight", "Listen to the Radio", "In My Time of Need", "A Song For You" (not the same version on the GP tribute) and one song that has not circulated--"Bring Me Down"; probably a loud rock number like "Revenge"...A six-track E.P. was to be released titled Deserters; as a companion disc (to appease RA--no doubt). They did---and they didn't.




Saturday, April 22, 2017

Urge Overkill, "UO"
[imagined LP]

Urge Overkill

UO   (1998)


Zooey Suicide     [Debutante]
City Strikes*   [Electric Airlines  demo]
Dirty Work     [Debutante]
June*   [Electric Airlines  demo]
Los Angelena      [Debutante]
Silk*   [Electric Airlines  demo]
Motion Sickness*   [Electric Airlines  demo]
Queen of the Gangsters   [Debutante]
Remember*   [Electric Airlines  demo]
Black Satin Jacket    [Debutante]
Over the Top    [Electric Airlines  demo]
Rani (Don't Waste It)    [Debutante]
Tracks*   [Electric Airlines  demo]
Blue Wallpaper   [Debutante]


Oh, if only the Urge to carry on was there in 1998. These are the best tracks from Nash Kato's 2000 solo effort, Debutante. That album had several songs co-written with one Blackie Onassis (UO's ersthwhile drummer this period). King Roeser left the band in 1997 due to a split between him and Kato. The remaining duo of Kato and Onassis moved from Geffen to Sony 550 Music while Roeser formed Electric Airlines with his brother John. The latter group's 14-track demo has several Urge-worthy cuts sang by King that immediately hearken back to the group's 1995 swan-song Exit the Dragon (a personal favourite of mine). Balancing King's dark moods with Kato's  fun loving swagger can be found again here!  Blackie O does not play on the tracks; but King Roeser's replacement St. Nils Cyr does. This is the closest we can get to the great lost UO album that could've followed Exit the Dragon. I did enjoy Urge's 2011 comeback record....or at least, some of the tunes ("Effigy", "Quiet Person" and the title track--"Rock n' Roll Submarine"-- are great).  Due to a need for a catchy single, I included Kato's cover "Dirty Work" by Steely Dan (because we need a "Positive Bleeding" on here).  Modelling the tracklist on Saturation (loosely)--we're starting the LP off with "Zooey Suicide" much akin to "Sister Havana"....King sings "City Strikes" (a dark rocker with an Urge worthy hook and riff), then "Dirty Work", and then back to King with "June" (the instrumental break even reminds me of "Back on Me").  Why the hell not?  Sounds just right. With all the many album fixers out there...NO one has done this one....I'm almost positive. Let me know what ya think?  Or don't.

Friday, April 7, 2017

Nirvana, "VERSE CHORUS VERSE"
[imagined LP]


NIRVANA

Verse Chorus Verse  (1994)


You Know You're Right       [Nirvana]
Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam (rehearsal demo)         [With the Lights Out box set]
Do Re Mi     [Sliver: The Best of the Box]
Moist Vagina  (2013 mix)        [In Utero 20th Anniversary edition]
Return of the Rat   [With the Lights Out box set]
Oh the Guilt   [With the Lights Out box set]
Curmudgeon       [Nevermind  re-issue]
Talk to Me*    [With the Lights Out box set DVD]
Verse Chorus Verse    [With the Lights Out box set]
Old Age   [With the Lights Out box set]
Aneurysm (demo)         [With the Lights Out box set]
Even in His Youth    [Nevermind  re-issue]
D-7       [With the Lights Out box set]
Opinion        [With the Lights Out box set]
Ain't It a Shame         [With the Lights Out box set]
Spank Thru*  (Peel Session)     [Outcesticide bootleg boxset*]
Token Eastern Song      [With the Lights Out box set]
Blandest       [With the Lights Out box set]
Clean Up Before She Comes     [With the Lights Out box set]          

                                              

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, "GOODNIGHT ROSE" [LP re-imagined]

RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS

Goodnight Rose  (2007)


GOODNIGHT ROSE
TWO HEARTS
EVERYBODY KNOWS
OH MY GOD, WHATEVER, ETC.
TEARS OF GOLD
THE SUN ALSO SETS
OFF BROADWAY
THESE GIRLS (Rock Version)
I TAUGHT MYSELF HOW TO GROW OLD
---------- Unofficially unreleased but circulating just about everywhere.

AS Ryan Adams calls it, 'The Real Version of Easy Tiger"--regarding the  2007 'CURTAINS OF LIGHT' session. EASY TIGER was hailed as a 'comeback' for Ryan Adams; part of a 'new image' campaign to show he had 'matured' and 'settled' musically. The results some could say is a 'by-the-numbers' Ryan Adams CD. The album was billed as a solo release when actually it was a group effort recorded by The Cardinals as a unit with producer Jamie Candiloro acting as a sixth member on keyboards. Allegedly, over 60 songs or so were chosen from to be voted for inclusion in the final tracklist. It was recorded alongside the (then) unreleased double album III/IV (and probably Ryan's sci-fi metal concept record, Orion, as well). 

Here's a list of other known songs unreleased from these sessions (mostly non-circulating):

"Lonely is As Lonely Does", "HEAVEN", "Rollin' with the Punches", "Party Clown", "24/7", "Temples of God". Two songs, "Alice" and "Nobody Listens to Silence" have been released as bonus track
s.


Saturday, March 25, 2017

THE BYRDS' Greatest Hits, vol. 3 [imagined LP]

THE BYRDS

Byrds' Greatest Hits, vol. 3    (1990)


Love That Never Dies       [The Byrds box set]
Paths of Victory   [The Byrds box set]
Changing Heart       [There is A Season box set]
(See the Sky) About to Rain      [The Byrds]
Bugler   [There is A Season box set]
Tulsa County   [There is A Season box set]
Lay, Lady, Lay**    [Live at The Boston Tea Party,1969  bootleg]
One Hundred Years from Now   [Sweetheart of the Rodeo]
Change is Now   [The Notorious Byrd Brothers]
Have You Seen Her Face     [There is A Season box set]
Everybody's Been Burned      [There is A Season box set]
Lay Down Your Weary Tune     [Turn! Turn! Turn!]
The Bells of Rhymney*    [Cancelled Flytes]
Here Without You    [Mr. Tambourine Man]


Friday, March 24, 2017

THE BYRDS, "Strangers in a Strange Land" [re-imagined LP]


THE BYRDS

Strangers in a Strange Land  (1987)


You Movin'          [You Movin' / Boston  digital 45]
Spanish Harlem Incident     [Mr. Tambourine Man]
Tomorrow is a Long Ways Away    [Preflyte Sessions]
I Knew I'd Want You        [Echoes]
Splendor in the Grass           [Where the Action Is!  L.A. Nuggets 1965-68 compilation]
The Times They Are A-Changin'**  (1965 TV performance)
You and Me      [Mr. Tambourine Man CD re-issue]
Stranger in a Strange Land**            
Oh! Susannah                 [Turn! Turn! Turn!]
Flower Bomb Song**
Wait and See      
[Turn! Turn! Turn!]
Captain Soul (30-Minute Break)    
[Fifth Dimension]
Mind Gardens (instrumental)      [Sanctuary II]
Roll Over Beethoven      
[The Byrds box set]
Don't Make Waves*    
[Don't Make Waves soundtrack]
Milestones  (live, 1967 )*      
[Winterland, SF bootleg]
Feel a Whole Lot Better  (live, 1968)*       
[Live at The Piper Room  bootleg]
Oil in My Lamp     
[The Ballad of Easy Rider]
Buckaroo        
[Live at The Fillmore]
Lover of the Bayou (studio)        
[Sanctuary III]
White's Lightning, pt. 1    
[Sanctuary III]
I Trust  (live, 1971)     
[There Is A Season box set]
She Don't Care About Time*       
[The Alternate Roadmaster bootleg]
Born to Rock & Roll      
[The Byrds]
Mr. Tambourine Man  (live, 1978)**  

We'll Meet Again   [Mr. Tambourine Man]



Wednesday, February 8, 2017

GRAM PARSONS,
GP / Sleepless Nights [re-imagined LPs]

GRAM PARSONS

GP  (alt.)


Still Feeling Blue
We'll Sweep out the Ashes in the Morning
A Song for You
Streets of Baltimore
She
Ooh Las Vegas     [Grievous Angel]
That's All it Took
The New Soft Shoe
Kiss the Children
Cry One More Time
How Much I've Lied
Big Mouth Blues

BONUS
                                                   Country Baptizing (live, 1973)   [Country Baptizing]
              Drug Store Truck Driving Man  (live, 1973)   [Country Baptizing]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GRAM PARSONS with EMMYLOU HARRIS

Sleepless Nights  (1974)


Return of the Grievous Angel    
Hearts on Fire
I Can't Dance
Brass Buttons
$1,000 Wedding     
Sleepless Nights    [The Complete Reprise Sessions]
Love Hurts
Brand New Heartache    [The Complete Reprise Sessions]
In My Hour of Darkness
Sin City  (live WBCN radio performance)     [The Complete Reprise Sessions]
The Angels Rejoiced Last Night    [The Complete Reprise Sessions]

(All songs taken from the Greivous Angel LP except where noted)

GENE CLARK, "Roadmaster" (alt.)

GENE CLARK

Roadmaster  (1973)


Here Tonight      
Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms     [Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
American Dreamer       [American Dreamer 1964-1974  CD import]
I Really Don't Want to Know*   (Hinshaw mix)       [The Alternate Roadmaster* - bootleg]
Bars Have Made a Prisoner of Me    [Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
She Don't Care About Time    [Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
Full Circle Song
In a Misty Morning
Roadmaster*   (Hinshaw mix)       [The Alternate Roadmaster* - bootleg]     
Shooting Star*   (Hinshaw mix)       [The Alternate Roadmaster* - bootleg]
I Remember the Railroad*   (Hinshaw mix)       [The Alternate Roadmaster* - bootleg]
Don't that Road Look Rough and Rocky   [Lost Sessions 1964-1982]

BONUS
I Really Don't Want to Know
She Don't Care About Time
Roadmaster
I Remember the Railroad
Rough and Rocky
One in a Hundred
She's the Kind of Girl
The Alternate Roadmaster**  bootleg

NEIL YOUNG,
"Harvest" (alt.)

NEIL YOUNG

Harvest  (1972)


Out on the Weekend       
Bad Fog of Loneliness   [Archives, vol .1]
Dance, Dance, Dance    [Archives, vol. 1]
Journey Through the Past   [Archives, vol. 1]
A Man Needs a Maid  
Heart of Gold   
Are You Ready for the Country  
Old Man  
Harvest
Love in Mind    [Live at Massey Hall 1971]
Words (Between the Lines of Age)
Soldier   [Journey Through the Past] 
-------
                                     
              There's a World
                   Alabama
                  War Song    [Archives, vol. 1]
        Live at Massey Hall, 1971    

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Gene Clark,
"BACK TO THE EARTH AGAIN" [imagined LP]

GENE CLARK

Back to the Earth Again  (1972)

  • The Awakening Within   [The Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
  • Sweet Adrienne      [The Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
  • Walking Through this Lifetime      [The Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
  • The Sparrow    [The Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
  • Only Yesterday's Gone   [The Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
  • Back to the Earth Again    [The Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
  • The Lighthouse         [The Lost Sessions 1964-1982]
  • For No One     [Here Tonight: The White Light Demos]
  • Jimmy Christ     [Here Tonight: The White Light Demos]
  • Please Mr. Freud       [Here Tonight: The White Light Demos]
  • Winter In    [White Light CD re-issue]
  • Outlaw Song    [The American Dreamer soundtrack]

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Gene Clark, "WHITE LIGHT" (alt.)

GENE CLARK

White Light  (1971)


The Virgin
With Tomorrow
White Light
Because of You
One in a Hundred
For a Spanish Guitar

Where My Love Lies Asleep
Tears of Rage
1975
                                                    Opening Day      [White Light CD re-issue]
                                                         She's the Kind of Girl   [Here Tonight: The White Light Demos]
              Because of You  (alternate mix)   [White Light CD re-issue]
                          Winter In   [White Light CD re-issue]
                 Ship of the Lord  [White Light CD re-issue]
                      Stand By Me   [White Light CD re-issue]

 Here Tonight: The White Light Demos
---------------

Gene Clark's 1971 solo effort White Light is the singer-songwriter record to beat!  Nothing to change but make it a little longer, right?  There are a few outtakes to choose from on the White Light CD re-issue and Sierra Records' recent release of Here Tonight: The White Light Demos. Gene had so many great songs that didn't get their proper due. Thanks to the release of The Lost Sessions 1964-1982, we can imagine how things could have been....STAY TUNED!

Spotify link: White Light (1971)

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

The Flying Burrito Brothers,
"BURRITO DELUXE" (alt.)

The Flying Burrito Bros.

BURRITO DELUXE  (1970)


Six Days on the Road   [Hot Burritos! Anthology - 1969-1972]
Image of Me
To Love Somebody   [Hot Burritos! Anthology - 1969-1972)
If You Gotta Go
Cody, Cody
Wild Horses
The Train Song   [Hot Burritos! Anthology - 1969-1972)
She Darked the Sun   [The Lost Studio Sessions 1964-1982]
Older Guys
Close up the Honky-Tonks  [Sleepless Nights]
High Fashion Queen
Sing Me Back Home   [Sleepless Nights]
---------------
BONUS:

Lazy Days
God's Own Singer
Down in the Churchyard
Farther Along
Here Tonight  [Hot Burritos! Anthology - 1969-1972]
I Shall Be Released  [The Gilded Palace of Sin / Burrito Deluxe CD re-issue]  


The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark (alt.)

DILLARD & CLARK

The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard and Clark  (1968)


Out on the Side
She Darked the Sun
Don't Come Rollin'
Train Leaves Here This Morning
With Care from Someone
The Radio Song
Git it on Brother
In the Plan
Something's Wrong
Lyin' Down the Middle*  [Flying High]


DILLARD & CLARK

Through the Morning, Through the Night  (1969)


Why Not Your Baby*  [The Fantastic Expedition CD re-issue]
No Longer a Sweetheart of Mine
Through the Morning, Through the Night
Don't Be Cruel*   [The Fantastic Expedition CD re-issue]
So Sad
Wall Around Your Heart*   [Flying High]
I Bowed My Head and Cried Holy
Kansas City Southern
Four Walls
Polly
Don't Let Me Down



Friday, January 13, 2017

THE BYRDS, "20c" [imagined LP]


THE BYRDS

20c  (1969)


You Ain't Going Nowhere   [Sweetheart of the Rodeo]
Pretty Polly  [Sweetheart of the Rodeo CD re-issue]
I Am a Pilgrim   [Sweetheart of the Rodeo]
The Christian Life    [Sweetheart of the Rodeo--Legacy Edition]
You Don't Miss Your Water  [Sweetheart of the Rodeo]
All I Have are Memories   [Sweetheart of the Rodeo--Legacy Edition]
Nashville West  [Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde]
Pretty Boy Floyd   [Sweetheart of the Rodeo]
Hickory Wind    [Sweetheart of the Rodeo]
One Hundred Years From Now  (new mix)    [Sweetheart of the Rodeo (alt. version)**  bootleg]
Drugstore Truck Drivin' Man  [Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde]
Your Gentle Way of Loving Me   [Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde]
Flight 713*  [Sanctuary II]
Artificial Energy   [The Notorious Byrd Brothers]
King Apathy III       [Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde]
Bad Night at the Whiskey    [Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde]
This Wheel's on Fire   [Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde]
Child of the Universe   [Candy soundtrack]
My Back Pages/B.J. Blues/Baby What You Want Me to Do    [Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde]
Fiddler a Dram (Moog Experiment)   [Ballad of Easy Rider CD re-issue]
-----------

This is the closest I think one could get to assembling McGuinn's lost double-album opus of the evolution of music. We start with the lead single "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"--another Dylan cover; it's great. We move through the old trad. murder ballad "Pretty Polly", then Chris Hillman singing "I Am a Pilgrim" on to Gram Parson singing the Louvin' Bros.' "The Christian Life" and McGuinn singing the ol' R&B chestnut "You Don't Miss Your Water". Already we've moved from appalachian trad. folk bluegrass to gospel and rhythm & blues!  Kevin Kelley sings his own country song, "All I Have are Memories"--truly an underrated song by an underrated drummer. 

When you are making a double album, it's cool to have some instrumental bits in there. "Nashville West" of course ushers in the electrified string band. "Flight 713" has a kind of James Bond film vibe to it; while "Fiddler a Dram" seemingly combines old school instrumentation and the then-futuristic sound of the Moog synthesizer McGuinn was so hung up on.

As we move through the Sweetheart tracks on to the electric country meets hard rock of the Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde material we do come awful close to a version of what McGuinn could've had in mind. The 'space rock' as he called it comes all the more alive with new lead guitarist Clarence White's string bending fills. Gene Parsons's drums make the transition from the two styles seamless, too.

I mentioned in a previous post about the different mixes of Sweetheart of the Rodeo I've seen discussed among Byrds and Gram Parsons fans. GP's lead vocal on "The Christian Life" certainly bests the original LP version, without question. "Hickory Wind" and "One Hundred Years from Now" are also two highlights of what he brought to the table. I never understood why the CD re-issues could have both the album version sung by Hillman and McGuinn (with GP's lead used a guide in the background) and the version with Gram singing solo--but not a mix featuring both. Until now; thanks to the miracle of programs like Cakewalk and Audacity. I mixed Gram's verses with a combined chorus from both versions. The end result sounds more appropriate for what it should have been--a song by Gram Parsons on a Byrds LP. The same trick works for the LP version of "Jamaica Say You Will" (sung by Clarence White on the Byrdmaniax album) and its elusive quadrophonic mix. Anyhoo...I hope you enjoy this once you put it all together. The pieces are there! 

Special thanks to members/posters of The Byrds Facebook group. I found the cover pic to use from this page: http://idesignalbumcovers.tumblr.com

Gram Parsons, "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" [re-imagined LP]


GRAM PARSONS

Sweetheart of the Rodeo  (1968)


One Hundred Years from Now (rehearsal - take #2)    [Sweetheart of the Rodeo CD re-issue]
Luxury Liner    [Safe at Home]
Hickory Wind  (alt. "Nashville" ver. - take #8)    [Sweetheart of the Rodeo--Legacy Edition]
You Don't Miss Your Water   [Sweetheart of the Rodeo--Legacy Edition]
Miller's Cave   [Safe at Home]
The Christian Life (rehearsal - take #7)    [Sweetheart of the Rodeo--Legacy Edition]
Lazy Days*   [Cancelled Flytes]
Reputation *     [Cancelled Flytes]
You're Still on My Mind     
Blue Eyes    [Safe at Home]
Life in Prison (rehearsal - take #11)   [Sweetheart of the Rodeo CD re-issue]
Satisfied Mind    [Safe at Home]

BONUS
                                                    I Must Be Someone Else You've Known    [Safe at Home]
              Hickory Wind   [Sweetheart of the Rodeo]
One Hundred Years from Now  [SotR - Legacy Edition]
The Christian Life  [SotR - Legacy Edition]
                                    Folsom Prison Blues/That's All Right    [Safe at Home]
                                                       I Still Miss Someone    [Safe at Home]
  Strong Boy   [Safe at Home]
                                        Do You Know How It Feels to Be Lonesome?  [Safe at Home]
                 Knee Deep in the Blues    [Safe at Home CD re-issue]
               The Byrds Live at The Piper Room (1968)**  bootleg
---------------
Let's imagine for a second that Gram Parsons's dilemma with Lee Hazelwood's LHI label was instead resolved by releasing songs he cut with The Byrds together with tracks from the still unreleased Safe at Home album by The International Submarine Band. 'What about The Byrds?!' you ask. Well, check out my next post for that answer!  

Gram's struggle for dominance in the group was ultimately resolved with his departure after McGuinn re-asserted his authority in the group--overdubbing his voice on "The Christian Life", "You Don't Miss Your Water", "One Hundred Years", and even "Hickory Wind" (!). McGuinn had also cut a lead vocal to "You're Still on My Mind" (despite Gram's claim that song wasn't meant to be on the LP). Ultimately, Gram ended up with leads on "Hickory Wind", "You're Still on My Mind" and "Life in Prison" (Gram also claimed this song to be a 'warm-up' and not for the LP). This same struggle happens when trying to figure out what it should have been.

Many Gram/Byrds fans differ on what tracks make up the definitive Sweetheart of the Rodeo LP. We know McGuinn butchered "The Christian Life" on the released Byrds album. Even Gram's version omits an important line that would disappear after rehearsal take #7 regarding his 'friends' -- 'I live without them / How it tortures my soul'. That line helps the listener feel like the singer/narrator of the song isn't a smug holier-than-thou type, ya know? Two more songs Gram brought to the group, "Lazy Days" and "You Got a Reputation", were left in the vault until the 90s CD re-issue. The versions I prefer to use appear on the Cancelled Flytes vinyl 45 box set. "Lazy Days"--I do prefer the 6-string lead guitar in favor of the 12-string McGuinn posthumously overdubbed. The version on Burrito Deluxe just lacks in comparison. The rehearsal take of "Life in Prison" trumps the LP version, too. Just listen to it and see what I mean. I think the rehearsal take of "One Hundred Years" works better as a solo version, too. Wait and see what I did with the two diff LP mixes! 

Like Dylan would sing the next year in Nashville--"You can have your cake and eat it, too". McGuinn's vision was a double-LP history lesson in music. Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman wanted to make a country record. Ultimately, McGuinn would hire new Byrds while Parsons and Hillman would go on to form The Flying Burrito Brothers.



Tuesday, January 10, 2017

THE BYRDS, The Notorious Byrd Brothers (alt.)


THE BYRDS

 The Notorious Byrd Brothers (1968)


Lady Friend   [YTY CD reissue]
Goin' Back
Natural Harmony
Draft Morning
Triad   [NBB CD re-issue]
Wasn't Born to Follow
Get to You
Change is Now
Old John Robertson
Tribal Gathering
Dolphin's Smile
Space Odyssey

BONUS
                                                                               Artificial Energy
                                                                       Moog Raga   [NBB CD re-issue]
                                                                Old John Robertson  (single mix)  [YTY CD re-issue]
                                  Goin' Back (version one)   [NBB CD re-issue]
                                    Universal Mind Decoder (instrumental)  [The Byrds boxed set]
                                      Draft Morning (alt. ending)    [NBB CD re-issue]
                                      Bound to Fall (instrumental)   [NBB CD re-issue]

-------------------------------------------------------
Easily my favourite Byrds LP depending on what day of the week it is. "Lady Friend" and "Triad" are rightfully placed in the album's running order, with the future b-side "Artificial Energy" being the only casualty. No worries, I'm saving it for my next Byrds LP construction!

Special thanks to ernestmannerisms. and AlbumFixer for somehow grafting Crosby's mug onto the NBB album cover!  He then grafted Stills, Nash, and Young in place of the other Byrds and made his Frozen Noses CSNY album. I'm a big follower of his blog and my Spotify list will attest to it :) .

Monday, January 9, 2017

THE BYRDS' Greatest Hits (alt.)

THE BYRDS

 Byrds' Greatest Hits (1967)


My Back Pages
Renaissance Fair
Why   [YTY CD re-issue]
Mr. Spaceman
Eight Miles High
Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)
Chimes of Freedom
So You Want to Be a Rock n' Roll Star
Time Between     [Younger Than Yesterday]
5D (Fifth Dimension)
She Don't Care About Time  (alt. version)*   [TTT CD re-issue]
The Times They are A-Changin'   [TTT CD re-issue]
I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better
Mr. Tambourine Man   (stereo mix)*    [Never Before]

------------------------

This is a much more interesting listen than the original 1967 comp Columbia did. As was custom, I included the most recent single at the top of the running order. We move chronologically backward; starting over to kick off side B with "Rock N' Roll Star". Little differences aside from the tracklist, include the Younger Than Yesterday remake of "Why" and a  (then) previously unreleased version of "She Don't Care About Time" with producer Terry Melcher adding some 'Satisfaction' sounding licks on the piano and drummer Michael Clarke adding a harmonica solo behind McGuinn's Bach-ian guitar break. I made my attempt at a duo-phonic fix of "Tambourine Man"---but you can use the stereo mix from wherever, really!  

THE BYRDS, Younger Than Yesterday (alt.) / GENE CLARK

THE BYRDS

Younger Than Yesterday (1967)


So You Want to Be a Rock N' Roll Star
Have You Seen Her Face
CTA-102
Renaissance Fair
Time Between
Everybody's Been Burned
Thoughts and Words
Psychodrama City  [Cancelled Flytes]
My Back Pages
The Girl With No Name
It Happens Each Day
Don't Make Waves  [YTY CD reissue]

BONUS 
                                   Mind Gardens (alt.)   [YTY CD re-issue]
Why
                                                My Back Pages (reject 45 mix)  [Cancelled Flytes]
Mind Gardens
                                   Don't Make Waves*   [Don't Make Waves soundtrack]

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The Byrds' 4th album was just one in a year full of classic albums released that year. With bassist Chris Hillman helming four songs alone; the songwriting on this album was full of ambition and inspiration that was a veritable living thing wafting through these times that produced them. Another Dylan cover, "My Back Pages", was tastefully done and added to their ever growing repertoire, as well. David Crosby took things to the point of not even having a melody for experimentation's sake!  That's why I'll replace "Mind Gardens" with the then still unreleased "Psychodrama City" from the last LP's leftover heap. Yet, the band re-recorded "Why" instead of finishing "It Happens Each Day"?  A real misstep, I'd say! The missing vocal bits and Hillman's acoustic leads were subsequently added to 1987's Never Before compilation. Let's add "Don't Make Waves"--if for no other reason-- just to keep in the pattern of ending their albums with 'joke' songs (i.e. "We'll Meet Again" on Mr. Tambourine Man, "Oh! Susannah" and "The Lear Jet Song" on the last two albums). I think it's a catchy ass song and that's my reason. Completists should check out the alternate take that went on the MGM soundtrack to the film of the same name it was written for. 

GENE CLARK

Harold Eugene Clark  (1967)



Tried So Hard  
Think I'm Gonna Feel Better  
Is Yours Is Mine 
Keep on Pushin' 
I Found You  
That's What You Want*   [Back Street Mirror  E.P.]
So You Say Lost Your Baby  
Elevator Operator    
The Same One 
Couldn't Believe Her
Needing Someone  
If I Hang Around*    [Byrd Parts, vol. 2]
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Gene Clark's 1967 debut LP for Columbia Records, Gene Clark with The Gosdin Brothers, had the misfortune of being released on the same day as his former bandmates' new LP, Younger Than Yesterday. My re-think of this underrated album first off removes the previously released single, "Echoes"--because it will be saved for my next Gene Clark LP (check back on that). I don't really care for the stereo mixes used on the Echoes compilation; let's use mono mixes from With The Gosdin Bros. and let's throw in the 1966 demo "If I Hang Around" even though overdubbed bass and harmonies from Chip Douglas (he WAS in The Gene Clark Group) were added decades later. Let's also remind 'em this is a GENE CLARK album. Having to share the actual title credit with The Gosdins was surely not an idea Gene himself came up with. Just the same, the Gosdins provide excellent backing harmonies and I'm sure the live performances with this line-up were a treat.  This is a great record by a legendary talent...backed by The Byrds' rhythm section of Clarke and Hilllman, guitar hero Clarence White, and the keyboards and string arrangements of one Mr. Leon Russell. This LP can stand up to Younger Than Yesterday on its own merits!

LUCY DAWN, 'Lost Thoughts in Every Direction' [re-imagined LP]

Newly remastered tracks from the original 2016 album 'WRONG IN EVERY DIRECTION' with selections from the 2017 album, 'LOST THOUG...