Goodnight, Ladies

I haven't been around in a while. Sorry.

I'm not really sure what to post lately. However, this is as good a time as any.

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The loss of Lou Reed was a really big shock to me. He was one of the untouchables, one of the few who weren't allowed to die.

But, he did. Still something tough for me to swallow. I sort of just have to forget that it happened.

I've never had to deal with the death of someone who has touched me so deeply.

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Warning: this post is probably gonna go nowhere

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The Velvet Underground is a band that I've listened to countless times. They have undeniably changed  me and opened up my musical sensibilities to an entirely new area. Their first album I listened to, White Light/White Heat, was this magical, dirty, dingy world I had never stepped into before. The album was unflinching and uncompromising, it was an all out aural attack upon the listener. And it was so good.

For about a year or two, I listened to The Velvet Underground endlessly. I actually made a friend hate the band without ever listening to them, just because I talked about them so much.

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Anyway....

So, coming to terms with the fact that this person is gone so simply is something that troubles me.

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Here's some solo demos.
Fall 1970 Demos

The Beach Boys: Dumb Angel Rarities, Vol. 1 (1962-1968)

This collection of unreleased material is quite good, and quite hard to find. Luckily, I managed to find it and I am here to share it with you all.

The Smile material is a bit outdated at this point, thanks to the behemoth that is The Smile Sessions, which, if you like The Beach Boys, but don't have it at this point, you should get a hold of. It's a bit pricey, but I truly believe it's worth it. If you can't afford it, I do believe the internet has some dark alleys that await you.
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The songs are largely culled from their earliest material, then skips 1965 and most of 1966 by jumping straight to the Smile Material. After that era is covered, they give a passing glance to Wild Honey, Friends, and 20/20 material.

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Download the full collection.
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Here's the tracklist:
01. Surfin' (Rehearsal)
02. Surfin' Safari (Alternate Version)
03. Barbie (Alternate Take)
04. Chopsticks Boogie (Unreleased Instrumental)
05. Gonna Hustle You (Early Version)
06. Surfin' USA (Demo)
07. Back Home (Take 1)
08. Back Home (Take 4)
09. The Rocking Surfer (Alternate Version)
10. Don't Worry Baby (Stereo Remix)
11. Karen (T.V. Show Theme)
12. Wonderful (Track & Backing Vocals)
13. Holidays (Takes 1-3)
14. Holidays (Known as Tunes)
15. Cabinessence (Track & Backing Vocals)
16. Our Prayer (Tracking Session)
17. Child Is Father Of The Man (1st Mix)
18. Child Is Father Of The Man (2nd Mix)
19. Surf's Up (Tracking Session)
20. Surf's Up (Inside Pop Performance)
21. The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine
22. Vegetables (Alternate Mix)
23. With Me Tonight (Smile Sessions)
24. The Letter (Final Mix)
25. With A Little Help From My Friends (Wild Honey Outtake)
26. I Was Made To Love Her (Extended Version)
27. Bluebirds Over The Mountain (Alternate Mix)
28. Unknown Track (Friends Outtake)
29. We're Together Again (Track)
30. We're Together Again (Track & Backing Vocals)
31. Never Learn Not To Love (Single Mix)
32. Seasons In The Sun (Merry Christmas Outtake)

Paul McCartney: Live at Abbey Road

Live in-studio tracks were recorded during the making of "One Hand Clapping," a TV special planned as a follow up to "James Paul McCartney." They were getting ready for a world tour, but that was cancelled, the TV special was cancelled, and drummer Geoff Britton was fired. Everything had pretty much fallen through, and Paul and Wings moved on to later projects. Some of the footage still exists for "One Hand Clapping" and is scattered out there on the internet.

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The performances themselves are great. There are a few different takes of songs, like "Soily" and "Junior's Farm," but the tracks are sequenced well and it doesn't feel redundant.

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Here's a "Wild Life/Hi Hi Hi" medley:

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Download the full set.

Stevie Wonder: Funkafied Rainbow

Recorded live in London in January of 1974 at The Rainbow, Stevie and the band put on a great show. 

Thankfully, the show was being recorded and, today, I bring these tapes to you.

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For a reason unbeknownst to me, this show was never released. There are a few sources saying that the show was recorded and mixed by Mr. Wonder himself, but ultimately abandoned and left in the vaults.

Which is a shame, because the performances are great. The band really stretches out on these funky tunes and deliver an eleven minute take on "Living for the City" and an even longer "You are the Sunshine of My Life."

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It also helps that these are not only great performances, but great songs. This was recorded during his peak years (usually referred to as Music of My Mind to Songs in the Key of Life,) but he hadn't made Songs in the Key of Life yet, leaving what could have been a great performance of "Sir Duke" to be an empty spot.

But, why complain? The show is great and deserves a listen.

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Here's "Higher Ground"

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Download the full show.

Bob Dylan: Abandoned Love

During 1975, ol' Bob was going strong on his Rolling Thunder Revue. One of his stops was a surprise performance at a small club backing up Ramblin' Jack Elliot. Into a mostly Jack Elliott dominated set, Bob sat down with a guitar in his hands and decided to play a new song.

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It starts with a decent amount of guitar strumming, perhaps to build confidence, and then it goes into a quietly-delivered line. The vocal's volume slowly builds with the reception from the audience: laughing, whistling, cheering, and applauding.

It was considered for Desire, but, in what may be one of the worst decisions in Bob's career, was replaced by Joey. Which is too bad; this song would have fit greatly into the albums mood. It's catchy, has the subject matter of Blood on the Tracks, and the lyrics to match it.

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I'm a big Bob fan, though I don't listen to his music as much as I'd like to. However, when I first heard this song, I must have played it five times in succession, which I something I rarely ever do. It's become one of my favorite songs of his, and it's a terrible shame it didn't make it on that album.

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Here it is...

The Love You Demos

Brian with Harry Nilsson and Van Dyke Parks c. 1974

Brian Wilson had spent a lot of time at home.

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Perhaps the last example of Brian being at a creative peak and leading the band, Love You is quite the odd album. It is very polarizing amongst Beach Boys fans, some people think the album is awful, while others think it's great. Count Peter Buck and I in on the latter.

Before starting the recording, Brian sat down at a piano and demoed his newly written songs for the rest of the band. Which, looking back, was quite brave, considering the material. Brian seemed to realize this, and it resulted in a lot of fumbling on the piano, which only adds to the charm.

The band seemed pretty cold during the demos, but, towards the end, you can start to hear the ice thawing. Mike, who wasn't always the most adventurous Beach Boy, seemed to really come around and began to encourage Brian.

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These demos float around in various bootlegs, but I'm here to give them to you as they happened. Thanks to a certain Beach Boys scholar (Andrew G. Doe,) I have the order in which the songs were played.

1. It's Over Now

2. They're Marching Along (Little Children)

3. Still I Dream of It

4. Love is a Woman

5. Mona

6. Airplane

7. Let's Put Our Hearts Together

8. I'll Bet He's Nice

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Here's "I'll Bet He's Nice:"

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Download it here.

The Beach Boys: Michigan University, 1966

The Beach Boys

In 1964, Brian quit touring with the band for reasons that have been written about more than one would could care to count. However, he did come back for a few concerts in 1965, replacing Glenn Campbell for a week and replacing Bruce Johnston for a show or two.

The more prominent return he made to the stage until the 1967 shows was to the Michigan concerts. He personally flew to Michigan from Los Angeles to produce the concert and rehearsed the band for the live premiere of "Good Vibrations." He also came out for a surprise performance and played on "Johnny B. Goode" with the rest of the band.

Sound-wise, the recording is top notch. The sounds are very crisp and clear and seem to be professionally recorded. Although, there isn't any strong evidence for a commercial release of this album in 1966, the evidence points toward the possibilities. 

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Download the full show

Big Star: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1974

March 31, 1974:

Big Star were in pretty dire straits at this point. Chris Bell had left and Andy Hummel left soon after him. They weren't much of a band anymore and cracks had begun to show in Alex's psyche. And, to make things worst, just before the show, their equipment van was stolen.

However, this proved to make for an interesting concert experience. No material from Third/Sister Lovers was played, unless you count the cover of The Kinks' "'Til the End of the Day." Interestingly enough, the songs were mostly covers, and very interesting ones at that. They covered The Velvet Underground's "Candy Says," T. Rex's "Baby Strange" (a cover I very much enjoy,) Loudon Wainright III's "Motel Blues," the aforementioned Kinks song, and another song I'm not familiar with, titled "We Gotta Go."

The originals included, mostly from Radio City, are fascinating additions. They are Third/Sister Lovers-styled versions of their power-pop classics. "In the Street" is still its familiar self, but with an edgy sheen. "O My Soul" is a great, muscular, guitar workout. "Thirteen" isn't too much different, although the guitar accompaniment sounds different than the original album version.

At the end of "Thirteen," Chilton says "Alright, let's do some more electric songs." And they dive headlong into the abyss.

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Here's "Candy Says:"


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Download the whole show

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Here's some bootleg artwork:

This one I found

This one I made

One of These Things First

On Record Store Day, I was quite eager to indulge and spend an absurd amount on records.

Thankfully, this never came to pass. The record store I went to was crowded and picked through, the most desirable records like Pink Floyd's "See Emily Play" were entirely gone and there was no Captain Beefheart in sight. However, there was one record that seemed to stick to the shelf like glue. That was Nick Drake.


Perhaps it was to be expected, he's an artist that didn't have a huge following in his time, and still doesn't now. It's unfortunate that more people aren't fans, as he is an artist that deserves more recognition for the wonderful music he made.

I grabbed one of the ample copies and was content with my Record Store Day experience. If I couldn't get my hands on all the harder to come by stuff, at least I could get my hands on this.

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Later, I did manage to find more records, Big Star's Nothing Can Hurt Me: Original Soundtrack (the last copy in store!) and Bob Dylan's single promoting The Bootleg Series, Vol. 10. I also found an interesting Bob Dylan album entitled Life and Life Only, which is most likely a bootleg, but looked very professionally made. It includes an interview with Les Crane and numerous live recordings from television and radio performances from 1961 to 1965.

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Included with the Nick Drake album was a very nice shop poster and a download code for a vinyl dub of the entire album. I will share with you one of my favorites (vinyl version):