THE BYRDS, 'Byrdmaniax' [LP re-imagined]

The Byrds

BYRDMANIAX   (1971)

• I Trust (Everything is Gonna Work Out All Right)
• Just Like a Woman*
• Absolute Happiness
• Green Apple Quick Step
• I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician
• (Is This) My Destiny
• Lover of the Bayou* (studio)   [[Untitled/Unissued]]
• Willin'*  [[Untitled/Unissued]]
• Pale Blue
• It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)*    [Easy Rider soundtrack]
• Jamaica Say You Will** (alt. mix)    

-----------------------------------All tracks taken from the original LP except where *

The often maligned tenth album by The Byrds has always been a challenge to listen to. Though I have revised my hard stance against Skip Battin somewhat (a song per LP) in my updated Byrds alt-discog. Much like Farther Along that would follow it, the LP is not without its charms. However, only half-an-album's worth of decent tunes does not a good album make. I previously paired these two 1971 LPs together whilst throwing in some of McGuinn's eponymous solo LP from '73. With the awesome new alt-discog sites I've seen over the past few months (Something Creative; Strawberry Peppers, and more you should check out--Ed.), I've gotten the idea to further revise my timeline, heh. I will follow-up with revised takes on The Last Byrds Album and Pheonix in future posts.

So what I did with this album was remove all but one of Skip's songs (the one on here I do like) and "Glory, Glory"--ugh. Anyways, I could see the band going to use leftovers from Pheonix (the actual title for 1970's [Untitled] double LP) like "Lover of the Bayou" and a couple decent Dylan covers. Also, Gene Parsons doesn't have a vocal on the album--so "Willin'" would have a spot here. I also originally considered Clarence White's take on "Think I'm Gonna Feel Better" by Gene Clark...but a proper vocal take was probably never recorded; it remains an outtake for me. However, I am proud of the mix of "Jamaica Say You Will" I made combining elements from the quadraphonic LP version (containing additional woodwind and orchestral flourishes) with the album version. The problem with the latter is a slight pitch problem that flattens White's vocal take. McGuinn's harmony part is also off due to this. You can compare the performance of the two mixes and hear what I mean. The quadraphonic mix has the correct speed but the band's instruments are buried under Melcher's overdubs (even more than the album version). Putting them together makes sense. I also did the same with both versions of "One Hundred Years From Now" from the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. Welp--that's all folks (for now). Special thanks to ernestmannerisms for the cover art!

P.S. Look up 'Byrdmaniax Repaired" on YouTube. That's another live/studio LP combination like '[Untitled]' (which was considered by the band at one point).

THE BEACH BOYS, 'Beach Boys '67' [LP re-imagined]

BEACH BOYS '67 

Heroes and Villains

Vegetables
The Little Girl I Once Knew
Gettin' Hungry
Holidays
Good Vibrations
She's Goin' Bald
Little Pad
Trombone Dixie
Cool, Cool Water
Graduation Day

BEACH BOYS '67 would be released in the summer including the latest single "Heroes and Villains" opening up side A ('the latest and greatest from the group') followed by the new recording of "Vegetables", with the previously released non-LP single "The Little Girl I Once Knew" up next, along with "Gettin' Hungry" (a quirky new R&B track in a stripped down style released as a Brian and Mike duo 45), and an instrumental leftover from the forthcoming 'SMiLE' project entitled "Holidays" as the closer. Side B would mirror the TODAY! LP by featuring a theme of Brian Wilson's latest musical whims (so to speak). Including the Pet Sounds-era instrumental leftover "Trombone Dixie" and a new track from the SMiLE era ("Cool Cool Water") to further remind of what's to come. I think BW would've got a laugh from the irony of "Graduation Day" (a TODAY! outtake from '65) closing the record. I did, anyway.

----Cheers to Scott G. for his excellent mixes that I used.Check his page here.

The Something Creative blogspot has also been a source of inspiration and mixes.

'SMiLE' would be released in the Fall of '67 minus "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes and Villians" (11 tracks including "Our Prayer" as the unlisted intro). 

 

Just as he did with "Help Me, Rhonda" back in '65--BW improves a track from the previous LP in a new 45 with "Vegetables" (released as a double A-side with "Surf's Up")

With all the alternate discography and 'what if' scenarios that I see, things can become very convoluted depending on how OCD you wanna get (lol). One of my favourites is The Alternate Albums and More! blogspot. His mixes of Beach Boys, Beatles, Monkees, etc. are some of my go-to playlists. In perusing some of the various other blogs of this nature--I saw a discussion on what album The Beach Boys could have released in between Pet Sounds and Wild Honey instead of the 'Best of ,( vol. 2)' compilation and SMiLe's  subsequent replacement, Smiley Smile.
I was mostly inspired by this article to make this one happen. 

Cheers!

RYAN ADAMS, 'Commercial Suicide' [re-imagined 2xCD set]

Thank you to MEGA-SUPERIOR-GOLD for the info

Ryan Adams

COMMERCIAL SUICIDE (2001)

According to sonicnet.com, this would have been the tracklisting for Gold if it had been a double album: "New York, New York" "Cannonball Day" "Rosalie Come and Go" "Off Broadway" "Tina Taleda Street Walkin' Blues" "When Stars Go Blue" "Dear Chicago" "Touch, Feel and Lose" "It's Only Going to Make You Love Me More" "I Wish I Had a Sylvia Plath" "Somehow, Someday" "Harder Now That It's Over" "Fool's Gold" "Maralisa" "The Fools We Are as Men" "Firecracker" "Answering Bell" "Wildflowers" "You're Nobody, Girl" "La Cienega Just Smiled" "The Bar Is a Beautiful Place" "From You to Me" "The Rescue Blues" "Sweet Black Magic" "Goodnight Hollywood Boulevard"

Ryan Adams acoustic/electric guitar/harmonica/piano/banjo

Ethan Johns acoustic and electric guitars/drums/bass/chamberlin/glockenspiel/B-3/vibes/mandolin/background vocals/harmonium/mandocellobanjo/ vocals

Richard Causon piano

Chris Stills bass/ background vocals/acoustic guitar/electric guitar

Kamasi Washington saxophone

Benmont Trench piano/ hammond b-3

Jennifer Condos bass

Bucky Baxter steel guitar

Adam Duritz background vocals

Juliana Raye background vocals

Milo De Cruz bass

CC White background vocals

Rami Jaffi accordion

AndreCarter trumpet

Jim Keltner - drums

produced by Ethan Johns

engineered and mixed by Ethan Johns

assistant engineer, Steven Rhodes

mastered by Doug Sax and Robert Hadley at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood),

recorded at the Sunset Sound Factory, Los Angeles

Random Notes

Other Songs Recorded During the Gold Sessions

Dear Chicago - originally recorded for Heartbreaker and the Suicide Handbook, then later released on Demolition

She Wants to Play a Game of Hearts - recorded for the Suicide Handbook and released on Demolition.

Cry on Demand - Also recorded for The Suicide Handbook and eventually released on Demolition.

Off Broadway - Also recorded for The Suicide Handbook and eventually re-recorded and released on Easy Tiger.

Fools Gold - an unreleased gem of a song that sounds like early 70's Bob Dylan.

Other Random Info:

When listening to "When the Stars Go Blue", according to Ryan : "Think of the star as someone hiding away in her Beverly Hills mansion and saying an awful lot. Listen to the song again with that in mind and see what you think." (Los Angeles Times 2/3/02)

"Firecracker" was originally written by Ryan Adams for Lucinda Williams to sing.

"New York New York" was not meant to be anthem for NYC, it was actually written with an old girlfriend in mind and instead of using her name. He switched it with "New York New York". (Although the woman it's written about was living with Ryan in NYC, so it sort of still has to do with with NYC)

"New York New York" was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 2002 Grammy Awards.

Gold was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards.

A picture Ryan age 5, and his older brother - age 9, dressed up as Kiss for Halloween is show the liner notes.

In the liner notes of Gold, Ryan thanks Alanis Morresette multiple times. He supposedly lost a bet with her and that was part of the deal when Ryan lost.

Early versions of "Answering Bell", "La Cienega Just Smiled", "Mara Lisa", "Touch Feel and Lose","Firecracker" and "Wild Flowers" can all be found on the unreleased album - The Suicide Handbook.

"Enemy Fire" has also been recorded for the Pinkhearts album and on the Exile on Franklin Street album.

An early version of "The Rescue Blues" can also be found on The Q Division Demos and Exile on Franklin Street.

An early version of "Rosalie Come and Go" can be found on the unreleased album - Exile on Franklin Street.

The Artwork/Cover

In response to why he picked a flag for the cover of Gold:

"We did the cover shoot out in Los Angeles, and we did a lot of different poses and everything. One of the things we had was this big huge flag, and I thought it just looked powerful - that's what attracted me to it. I also kind of wanted to tweak the whole Bruce Springsteen 'Born in the U.S.A.' thing. Instead of me standing there all tough like Bruce, I'm in my slouchy, twitchy posture, my head down, my hair a mess. We thought it looked cool, but it was also meant to be a bit of a goof." (New York Times Magazine 11/4/01)

---------

Following the release of his 2000 debut for Bloodshot Records, Heartbreaker, the DRA was already writing more songs than anyone could keep up with. In January 2001, he entered Javalina Studios in Nashville and recorded the 21-song often bootlegged Suicide Handbook collection. Those songs were rejected by his new label (Lost Highway) for being 'too dark' and Ryan re-recorded some of the songs as part of a new concept he was tinkering with for what became the album Gold. 

In a previous post, I tackled what a single disc of the Suicide Handbook would be like if it had been released in early 2001. Many fans of Heartbreaker (I also covered an alternate version of this using tracks from its Deluxe Edition) were disappointed in the change in style for Gold. I think releasing SH in between the two would have led to a better overall response for when after Gold was released on Sept. 11 (!) that same fateful year. 

Gold was originally intended to be a 25-song double CD with the concept of Ryan performing in a variety of styles--as in turning the dial across 1970's era radio. Adjusting for acoustic versions of tracks he recorded for the previous project--I mixed in some of the b-sides and leftovers to make a single 17-track CD (for my alt. RA discog). All unreleased tracks and b-sides can be easily found online. Ryan recently shared a demo of "Play With Fire" by The Rolling Stones in tribute to the recent passing of their legendary drummer, Charlie Watts (Rest in Power---good sir). I'm sure a deluxe reissue is just around the corner....

1. Play With Fire (bonus track)*
2. Ghost
3. My Love For You is Real
4. Liar

THE PREACHER'S KIDS, 'Devil's Hitlist' [re-imagined LP]

Preacher's Kids 

THE DEVIL'S HITLIST    (2005)

French Blues (Spanish Boots)

Blow You a Kiss

Devil's Hitlist

Good Times Are Still Yet to Come

Is This Love*  (7" version)

Crooked Road

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

I Wanna Be a Lost Cause

Young Lovers

Two Sides to Every Coin

Childhood on the Rocks

Tonight is Gone Tomorrow**

Haunted By Desire**

This is the third album by singer-songwriter Tyler Keith and his band The Preacher's Kids. It was originally self-released in 2007 belatedly following line-up changes and a split from their label Get Hip! Records (which released their previous album Wild Emotions in 2003). It included 12 songs and there was also a pair of vinyl 45 singles released, as well. "Is This Love" was a different version from the album with backing vocals featured in the mix. The flipside was a cover of "Don't Talk to Me" by G.G. Allin and The Jabbers sung by guitarist Johnny Valiant. "French Boots" was the 2nd single backed with a cover of "20th Century Boy" by T-Rex sung by drummer Frank Coutch. From what I know, the band was recording at Easley Studios in Memphis, TN. There was a fire at the studio at some point...and some of the tapes were thought to be lost. In 2011, a friend of mine (close to the band) revealed to me a CD-R with some rough cuts from the sessions. I heard an unfinished mix of the song "Ghost Writer" (a fan favourite that reportedly ended up having to be sourced from an MP3 rip for the album master) missing the wordless bridge section with its Beach Boy-style falsetto vocals (probably by guitarists Johnny Valiant and Talbot Adams--as well as bassist Van Thompson) along with two unreleased tracks--"Tonight is Gone Tomorrow" and "Haunted By Desire". The latter tune was reportedly intended to close the album but was mixed up with the similar sounding "Our Time to Live".  

To make an awesome album even better...I swap "Blow You a Kiss" for the inferior sound quality MP3 rip of "Ghost Writer" (which TK would later re-cut--among others--for his solo acoustic album Alias Kid Twist) and I add the two outtakes at the end. My only real quarrel with "Our Time to Live" is the hard one-sided mix of the vocal that makes it almost inaudible and definitely unintelligible. "Ghost Writer" is a fucking brilliant tune and the Easley Studio mix is unfortunately unfinished. I propose including that and "Our Time to Live" with rips of the previously mentioned vinyl 45 b-sides for a bonus E.P.

1. Ghost Writer  [Easley Studio mix]**  
2. Don't Talk to Me*   ["Is This Love"  7-inch]
3. 20th Century Boy*    ["French Boots" 7-inch]
4. Our Time to Live   [The Devil's Hitlist]

THE REIGNING SOUND, 'Pill-popping Mom Only Taking What She Needs To Get By' [imagined LP]

The Reigning Sound

PILL-POPPING MOM ONLY TAKING WHAT SHE NEEDS TO GET BY    (2003)

Find Me Now*

If You Can't Give Me Everything*

Medication Blues #1*

Carol*

What Could I Do?*

Funny Thing*

Drowning

-----------

When You Touch Me

Let Yourself Go

Medication

I'll Cry

You Got Me Hummin'

Get It!

Uptight, Tonight

In my continued mission to both find new projects of interest and promote bands I think you should hear...I present to you the lost original 3rd Reigning Sound LP. Now first off, the reason for an 'alternate view' is simply to find a new way to listen some albums I have played out many times. The Reigning Sound is a band I haven't heard do a bad song. Seriously. 

In 2003, the Memphis based quartet had recorded their follow-up to 2002's highly praised Time Bomb High School. Lead singer-songwriter Greg Cartwright had toyed with calling the album 'PILL-POPPING MOM ONLY TAKING WHAT SHE NEEDS TO GET BY' from an article in the medical advice column of the local Memphis paper The Commercial Appeal. Apparently, the writing direction changed and it ended up becoming a much louder record with the appropriate title, Too Much Guitar! This also tied in with the departure of keyboardist Alex Greene. The remaining trio (Cartwright, bassist Jeremy Scott and drummer Greg Roberson) picked up recording at Cartwright's own Legba Records (now Goner Records) store with help from local musicians Jay Reatard (R.I.P.) and Alicia Trout (then both of The Lost Sounds). 

Basically the first half of this was recorded with Greene (including versions of "Funny Thing" and "If You Can't Give Me Everything") but was left off (except "Drowning" and the rest on side 2) in favor of new recordings. Now that the band would be a trio, a new batch of songs was laid down alongside the previous batch (with Greene in the mix) and released in 2004 as the excellent Too Much Guitar! LP. These first songs were later released on the 2005 compilation album Home For Orphans. The transition of "If You Can't Give Me Everything" from the two sessions is something else!  For the compilation CD i just mentioned--I basically switched out songs and adjusted the tracklist for that reconstruction. I won't bother trying to re-construct the cover when the original is fine. Here's the 45 sleeve of their X-Mas single:

The Reigning Sound

HOME FOR ORPHANS   (alt.)

Your Love is a Fine Thing   

We Repel Each Other      

So Easy

If You Can't Give Me Everything*    

Funny Thing*                    

Excedrine Headache #265

------------
Black Sheep*     [Live at Goner Records]
Do Something*     [Live at Goner Records]

I Walk By Your House**      [Time Bomb High School  *CD only]

If Christmas Can't Bring You Home

Pretty Girl

Here Without You

Don't Send Me No Flowers, I Ain't Dead Yet


The first side is from the original Too Much Guitar! LP recorded as a trio. The first couple songs on side 2 were cut from a live show in 2005 at the same Goner Records store (previously Legba Records) they recorded in previously. "I Walk By Your House" I include because of its exclusion from the LP version of Time Bomb High School. I also listen to that album in its LP format (ballads on one side; rockers on the others). You can drop that one for "Do Something", if you please. The other songs made their LP debut on the original Home For Orphans in 2005. 

THE VINES, 'In Miracle Land' [re-imagined LP]

The Vines

IN MIRACLE LAND   (alt.)

Hate the Sound

Sky Gazer

Leave Me Alone

Broken Heart

Annie Jane

In Miracle Land

Waitin

Slide Away

Emerald Ivy

I Wanna Go Down

Gone Wonder

-----

Now this album just came out, but it could do with some re-sequencing to make it the best it could be, IMHO. I usually don't do albums that are this recent--but this should be heard. The Vines make some good tunes. All tracks taken from the new album. I cut "Willow" out and just switched things around for a more cohesive listen. Check it out for yourself?  11 songs at about 31 minutes.

The inability to tour and the diagnosis of frontman Craig Nicholls having Asperger's Syndrome being tied to that have waned the surge of popularity they last saw in 2004. Nicholls has carried on with varying line-ups and made at least three great records since then. 2006's Vision Valley was the follow-up to their 2004 supposed 'sophomore slump' Winning Days. Despite having a hit from that album with "Ride" (used in Nissan commercials), legal problems and the departure of bassist Patrick Matthews cut the supporting tour short. 2008's Melodia grew on me; the diminishing returns in songwriting seem to begin here, though. After 2011's Future Primitive, only Nicholls remained in the band before he would re-group once more. By 2014, not one but two LPs of new stuff was released on the 22-track Wicked Nature--a return to form to my ears. The Vines were now a trio once again and performing live again. This album--their seventh since 2002--was preceded in 2016 by a digital single release of the title track. As of current, Nicholls has reunited with the Winning Days line-up to perform at a couple shows in Sydney with their fellow countrymen Jet. In Miracle Land was released on 29 June of this year. The reviews have been good but mixed so far. Some of the complaints of the album's pacing are what led me to re-evaluate it and now here we are, superstar.

Cheers!

GUNS N' ROSES, 'Chinese Democracy' [re-imagined LP]

Guns N' Roses

CHINESE DEMOCRACY  (1999)

Chinese Democracy 
Better
Street of Dreams
10 Years*     [Believe in Me]
Anxious Disease*     [Anxious Disease]
There Was a Time
Madagascar
---------
Catcher in the Rye   (Brian May lead guitar mix)**
Believe in Me*    [Believe in Me]
Riad n' the Bedouins
Tijuana Jail*   [Pawnshop Guitars]
I.R.S.
Six Feet Under*    [Neurotic Outsiders]
This I Love


All tracks taken from the original 2009 LP except where indicated. I've seen the Garden City reconstruction and the similar Beggars & Hangers On; I thought I'd try one with Axl Rose singing more than one song. Yes, these are exercises in re-imagining history to make an interesting listening experience to an album I've played out, actually. I thought why not make a compromise between the less industrial tracks on said album and combine some possible contributions from the late 90's period where it all started. Slash left the group in 1996 after recording the Snakepit record with the other guys and singer Eric Dover. No offense to him, but he's not singing on this one. Slash contributes to other members' tracks I included to complete the deal. Duff sings "Believe in Me" and "10 Years" from his solo album; Gilby Clarke sings "Tijuana Jail" from his album; West Arkeen contributes the title cut ("Anxious Disease") from the album by his band The Outpatience (which includes Slash and Axl contributing musically on this track). I also included a third song by Duff called "Six Feet Under" from the album by his group the Neurotic Outsiders. 

Everyone will have a different opinion on what should be included to make this accurate for release circa 1999 or so. Don't let that get in the way of a good listen...14 tracks clocking in a little over an hour. Not quite the undertaking of hearing the original CD in one sitting. However, I did leave the heavier tracks for an E.P. release sequel to GNR Lies put together with "Oh My God" and the 'new' version of "Welcome to the Jungle" from a couple soundtrack releases around the time. The fact that Axl owned the name and was very much in control...it's arguable Duff and Gilby Clarke's material would have remained even had they been gone by the time of its release. The presence of their voices lends to the familiarity missing from this 'new GNR' record that alienated older fans. I was a casual fan, but I heard it and loved it!  Appetite is a classic while the Use Your Illusion records could use some trimming, IMHO. The loss of Slash as a songwriter could be filled by Axl and Duff's collaborator and friend West Arkeen; he had contributed in the past and was considered 'the sixth or seventh' Gun. This isn't me saying the void was filled, mind you!  I'm just saying Axl would likely bring him in and allow Duff and even Gilby (say he didn't get replaced by Axl so abruptly this time) to balance out the writing. It can be also argued that the reason the writing of the album took so long was because the lack of collaborative spirit the classic line-up(s) had brought before to the final product. Axl Rose himself was more or less quoted as saying "It has some songs that sound like Guns and some more like an Axl Rose record...but hopefully you'll like some songs on there."