RYAN ADAMS AND THE CARDINALS, 'Class Mythology' [LP re-imagined]

Includes the best of the tracks (IMHO) from the album;plus some b-sides and alternate versions thrown in. 

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

CLASS MYTHOLOGY  (2011)

Born into a Light
Go Easy
Fix It 

Cobwebs*    [2008 AOL Sessions]
Memory Lane*   [import bonus track]
Future Sparrow

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

Your Name is on Fire

Like Yesterday

Invisible Red

Crossed Out Name*    [2008 AOL Sessions]

Go Ahead and Rain (45 version)+

In the Meadow+   [Romeo & Juliet]

 

Titles in bold are the album versions except*. Titles in plain are E.P. tracks.  ** = unreleased

   This is my 'fix' for the Ryan Adams & The Cardinals 2008 album, Cardinology. Aside from a handful of tracks, the album drifts into country rock MOR territory--IMO. Ryan's singing on the album is also mostly unpolished and strained. Despite this, he insists on singing in a high whiny range on too many songs. The backing harmony vocals creates a nice blend that I feel gets muddled in the album's production. The album has some cringe moments in its songwriting, too (see "Magick" and "Sink Ships"). I also am not a fan of the rehab ballad "Stop" (just my own taste). 

The album is not irredeemable, however. The 2011 double vinyl E.P. release Class Mythology offered four great tracks leftover from the Cardinology sessions that would've saved that album--for my ears, anyway. The vocal harmony blend is on display here, especially on "Future Sparrow" with its acapella breaks. The album's bonus tracks also trump the material that ended up on the album. "Memory Lane" and the exclusive 45 single "Heavy Orange" / "Asteroid" (included with more expensive copies along with a comic book?), and some demo recordings Ryan Adams had released through his blog at the time--Foggy. "Jessica" was one of these--written for his ex-girlfriend Jessica Joffe--but never released in any official form. The band's live performances of "Cobwebs" and "Crossed Out Name" on AOL Sessions are also different from their album counterparts. Too many songs on the original album were a bit sleepy i.e. "Evergreen" or "Let Us Down Easy" (with its rather crusty vocal by Ryan)--and the rather slick, clean production didn't help. I felt the album cover and title of the 2011 vinyl double-E.P. release fit better than 'Cardinology'...the title itself was misleading. There's still a double album (possibly) of material RA hinted at that was recorded between Easy Tiger and Cardinology more in the vein of the songs they left on the cutting room floor. The aforementioned 2xLP was to be supposedly split evenly between RA and Neal Casal sharing lead vocals with shared songwriting by the band--all credited to The Cardinals. Needless to say, some folks were disappointed with what we got instead. After recording an album worth of demos for a planned follow-up titled 'Dear Impossible'--Ryan Adams subsequently announced he was taking a break from music in 2009 and the end of The Cardinals following the tour. 

As of March 2023, Ryan Adams and The Cardinals have released a new single, "Dreams of the Working Class", and announced a tour with a new line-up including guitarist-singer-songwriter Chris Stills (son of Stephen Stills and collaborator of Ryan's from the Gold-era); keyboardist Daniel Clarke (Ryan's former backing group, The Shining); producer / bassist Don Was (Was/Not Was). Ryan and drummer Brad Pembertion return from the original line-up.

THE ROSE GARDEN, 'A Trip Through the Rose Garden' [LP re-imagined]

The Rose Garden

A TRIP THROUGH THE ROSE GARDEN   (1968)   

Here's Today*

I'm Only Second*

Look What You've Done

Coins of Fun

If My World Falls Through*

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

Til Today*

The World is a Great Big Playground+

Rider

Long Time

Down to the Wire+

Next Plane to London (live)+   

(* = mono 45 mix / acetate  ; + = previously unreleased)

This is my revision of the band's eponymous 1968 LP for Atco. "Next Plane to London" was a minor hit--although a suitable guitar solo wasn't ready at the time of its recording. The live version included on the recent compilation, A Trip Through The Garden: The Rose Garden Collection resolves that. I included it at the end of the album (as a fitting send-off). The acetate versions of "Til Today" and "I'm Only Second" I included in place of LP mixes for consistency's sake. The non-LP follow-up 45, "Here's Today" and its flipside "If My World Falls Through" I included in place of a couple inferior tracks (IMHO). A couple more outtakes round out the collection, including "Down to the Wire" by Neil Young (!)--that actually features the original Buffalo Springfield backing track. Young himself was said to be present for the overdub session where RG vocalists Diana De Rose and Jim Groshong added their parts to the then-still unreleased epic that Young would finally release with his own vocals in 1977 (as part of his 3xLP retrospective--Decade). Overall, this is a more solid listen than the group's original album. For more info and pics (like the ones I borrowed) you can go here or there. 

 

PENNY ARKADE, "The Penny Arkade" [imagined LP]

Penny Arkade

THE PENNY ARKADE   (1969)   

Isha*     [Ah Feel Like Ahcid! - 30 American Psychedelic Artefacts From The EMI Vaults]
No Rhyme or Reason
Sick and Tired
(She Brought Me) Something Beautiful**   [Swim Through the Darkness: Unreleased Songs]
I Need You*     [Book A Trip: The Psych Pop Sounds of Capitol Records]
Split Decisions
Our Love Has Come**   [Swim Through the Darkness: Unreleased Songs]
----------------------------
Woodstock Fireplace
Sparkle & Shine
I Can't Go On*   [Book A Trip 2:More Psych Pop Sounds of Capitol Records]
Face in the Crowd
Year of the Monkey
Give Our Love (To All the People)

 Special thanks for the unreleased music to Feral House

All other tracks taken from the Sundazed re-issue of Not the Freeze

Chris Ducey met Craig Smith while auditioning and landing starring roles along with Suzannah Jordan in a series pilot

called The Happeners about a Greenwich Village folk trio. They performed their own original songs, and there was an appearance by the Dave Clark Five. ABC never picked up the series, and the pilot itself seems to have aired only once and is currently lost. Craig Smith had been in the Good Time Singers for their two albums on Capitol in 1964. Together Chris and Craig made the pop-psych gem “Isha”, released by Capitol in July of 1966, with “I Need You” on the flip.

They spent nearly a year rehearsing their originals with musicians including Don Glut on bass and Mort Marker on lead guitar. They cut a demo, now seemingly lost, “Rhyme or Reason” (written by Chris) and “(She Brought Me) Something Beautiful” (written by Craig) with John London of the Louis and Clark Expedition.

In 1967, they formed the Penny Arkade with Don “Marvel” Glut on bass and Bobby Donaho on drums. Michael Nesmith backed them with equipment and rehearsal space and they started playing live shows. Nesmith brought them into TTJ studios in Hollywood and Wally Heider’s studio. Late in 1967 they went into RCA studios to record songs for what they anticipated would be their first album, including the twelve-minute “Not the Freeze”.

Also at the end of 1967 the Monkees used a Craig Smith composition, “Salesman” as the opening song for their album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.. Smith placed other songs, such as “Country Girl” with Glen Campbell, and “Holly” with Andy Williams. He co-produced with Bob Thiele a single for Heather MacRae, his girlfriend at the time, writing both songs “Hands of the Clock” / “Lazy Summer Day”, and with the Penny Arkade providing the music.

Enriched by his songwriting royalties, Craig Smith decided to leave the Penny Arkade to travel in South America and Asia. He returned around 1970 a changed man. Monkees producer Chip Douglas ran into Craig in 1971. “He was spaced out and had come back from Peru and had an album he was selling hand to hand. He had a spider tattooed in the middle of his forehead. He was just a nice kid, a nice American boy. To see him years later it was pretty bizarre. He said ‘Remember me. I used to be Craig Smith'”.

Without Craig, the Penny Arkade recorded four more songs, “Woodstock Fireplace,” “Sparkle and Shine,” “Face in the Crowd” and “Year of the Monkey”, and then added a new lead guitarist, Dave Turner. Turner left and they added David Price on rhythm, John Andrews on lead guitar and Bob Arthur, and rechristened the band Armadillo for another year or so of live shows. Craig utilized half a dozen Penny Arkade songs on his early ’70s solo albums, Apache and Inca under his new name, Maitreya Kali. The rest of the Penny Arkade tracks were not released until Sundazed collected what could be found on Not the Freeze, though many other recordings including their masters seem to have been lost. Craig Smith passed away in 2012.

THE BYRDS, "Captain America" [LP re-imagined]

The Byrds

CAPTAIN AMERICA   (1969)   

The Ballad of Easy Rider*   (Long Version)
Oil in My Lamp*  (alt. version)
Tulsa County*   (alt. version)
Mae Jean Goes to Hollywood*
Gunga Din
Stanley's Song*    [Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde]
----------------------
Lay Lady Lay*  (alt. version)       [The Byrds Play Dylan]
Fido**  (alt. mix edited)
There Must Be Someone (I Can Turn to)
Way Behind the Sun*
Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                     Thanks to False Memory Foam for the fab artwork

A re-evaluation of The Byrds' eight album. Produced by Terry Melcher for the first time since 1965's Turn! Turn! Turn! album. I included the extended mix of "Ballad of Easy Rider" as the opener. Clarence White's solo was cutoff from the original LP's edit. I prefer the alternate takes of "Oil in My Lamp" and "Tulsa County Blue" to their respective LP versions. The latter was overdubbed by McGuinn because Melcher said 'he sounded more like a cowboy' than bassist John York (who originally sang it). "Mae Jean Goes to Hollywood" (written by a then-still-obscure Jackson Browne) is a better choice than McGuinn's take on the traditional "Jack Tarr the Sailor." I am not a fan of "Jesus is Just Alright", either. Since I included the 1965 version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" on my version of Turn! Turn! Turn!--I will put those two together as a non-album single. I decided to replace them with a couple of outtakes from their previous LP's sessions. "Stanley's Song" was written in tribute (the title, anyway) to director Stanley Kubrick. Some people hate it, but I'm of the few that don't--so yeah. "Lay Lady Lay" makes a good opener for side two. I had previously included it on my version of Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde--but I saw a fab version of it at the False Memory Foam blog...so I now defer to that playlist. "Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins" is about a waste of tape while "Way Behind the Sun" (another traditional--this time sung by York) remained on the cutting room floor. 11 songs at 33 minutes (with pretty close to even sides) make a pretty decent listen, I'd say. By the way, the version of "Fido" is an edit of the alternate vocal mix from the Sanctuary III compilation. That annoying drum solo is now cut to just a single bar or so (thanks to Audacity) and bring the song's running length down nine seconds to 2:31. York recently said in an interview that Terry Melcher wanted his publishing to the song and when York refused, Melcher 're-cast' McGuinn as lead vocalist on "Tulsa County."

Be sure to check out False Memory Foam for the 'Complete Album' series of The Byrds--amongst all kinds of other cool stuff. Cheers!

.

OASIS, "Stop the Clocks" [imagined LP]

OASIS

Stop the Clocks  (2011)

Lord Don't Slow Me Down*     [Dig Out Your Soul bonus disc]
I Believe in All*     [Dig Out Your Soul bonus disc]
The Roller    [Different Gear, Still Speeding]

Wind Up Dream     [Different Gear, Still Speeding]

Stop the Clocks        [Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds]

Boy with the Blues*    [Dig Out Your Soul bonus disc]

If Had a Gun...    [Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds]

Four Letter Word       [Different Gear, Still Speeding]

Kill for a Dream    [Different Gear, Still Speeding]

Man of Misery*     
Lock All the Doors   [Chasing Yesterday]
Millionaire  [Different Gear, Still Speeding]

(I Wanna Live in a Dream in My) Record Machine    [Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds]

The Morning Son    [Different Gear, Still Speeding]

THE BYRDS, 'The Last Byrds Album' (Updated)

The Byrds

THE LAST BYRDS ALBUM  (1972)

Tiffany Queen   
Bugler
Antique Sandy
Lazy Waters
I'm So Restless*   [Roger McGuinn]
------------------------
Draggin'*    [Roger McGuinn]
Born to Rock and Roll**
Farther Along
Lost My Drivin' Wheel**
Time Cube*    [Roger McGuinn]

All tracks taken from the CD re-issue of 'Farther Along' except where noted

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

The follow up to 1971's Byrdmaniax started out as a band produced offering to be released that same year. Discussions for a reunion of the original line-up of the Byrds were already in motion and McGuinn's dissatisfaction with the latter-day line-up was further compounded with arguments over salary with drummer Gene Parsons. After a disappointing 45 single release of "America's Great National Past Time" (sung by bassist Skip Battin and written by him and lyricist Kim Fowley) backed with the Clarence White led rendition of the traditional "Farther Along" in Nov. 1971, the album originally titled Farther Along would be shelved by leader Roger McGuinn (though the other members would subsequently concur) and put the future of the band's current line-up in doubt.

By July 1972, Parsons had been fired and replaced by session drummer John Guerin. To further cement his return to controlling the group--a single with "Born to Rock and Roll" backed with a cover of "Lost My Drivin' Wheel" was issued as Roger McGuinn and The Byrds. Session musicians had been employed to back McGuinn on at least one of the tracks--but company rules made the recordings be labelled as 'The Byrds' since McGuinn was not contracted as a solo artist with Columbia. Half of the Farther Along tracks were combined with new songs McGuinn had recorded including the sides to the 45 single to make The Last Byrds Album. It's also fitting that Bob Dylan would appear on a song--bringing things full circle--playing harmonica on "I'm So Restless". Clarence White sings lead on "Bugler" and "Farther Along"; Skip Battin sings lead on "Lazy Waters"...McGuinn takes the rest. 

After disbanding the latter-day Byrds in Feb. 1973, McGuinn and the original Byrds would join forces once again to release Full Circle on David Geffen's Asylum label.

1.  Full Circle    [Byrds]
 2. Sweet Mary     [Byrds]
 3. Changing Heart     [Byrds]
 4. For Free       [Byrds]
 5. The Water is Wide     [Roger McGuinn]
 6. Things Will Be Better    [Byrds]
Side B:
 7. Cowgirl in the Sand      [Byrds]
 8. Long Live the King     [Byrds]
 9. My New Woman     [Roger McGuinn]
10. Laughing    [Byrds]
11. Bag Full of Money    [Roger McGuinn]
12. (See the Sky) About to Rain     [Byrds]



In reality, McGuinn had wanted to changed the band name to put his in front, but was discouraged from doing so by whomever at the time. Farther Along was released in Nov. 1971 and the band was reported to be unhappy with it--though Clarence White's vocal on "Bugler" was a highlight. The CD re-issue of this album included versions of "Bag Full of Money", "Born to Rock and Roll" and "Lost My Drivin' Wheel". These songs and versions of "Draggin'", and "I'm So Restless" (reportedly lost) with new drummer John Guerin were left unreleased at the time in 1972. In 1973, McGuinn released his eponymous solo debut and it included remakes of "Lost My Drivin' Wheel", "Draggin'" (featuring Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys on piano and bgv), "I'm So Restless'" (featuring Bob Dylan on harmonica), and "Bag Full of Money" (featuring Crosby on harmony) along with "My New Woman" (with backing by the original Byrds line-up and saxophonist Buddy Emmons) and the traditional "The Water is Wide" (again featuring Crosby). A proposed McGuinn/Crosby LP never happened--though those two songs were great. I included them with "My New Woman" on my mix of the Byrds reunion LP for that reason.

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).