Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys (1960-1965) – 8 Fan Albums & Alternate History

For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.

The Beach Boys in 1961

This project has been a long time coming. For years I’ve wanted to do a comprehensive Beach Boys fan album series, but was just so overwhelmed by the history. I’ve done a lot of research, but even then feel like I’m missing something. Originally I wanted to include every song ever, but that sacrifices listenability due to what’s simply not good or in really poor quality. I also don’t want to be working on this forever. I’m not a big fan of Mike or Al, so it’s difficult to really care much about them, especially because Mike has a huge and convoluted solo career.

The main goal is to better represent the works of the three Wilson brothers. I find their material consistently interesting and worth listening to in an easier way, instead of being spread across multiple artist names and levels of obscurity. In terms of the other members, I’m not sure what to do, but I have ideas. For the long term members of Mike, Al, and Bruce, anything I like will be a Beach Boys release. The stuff I don’t might be relegated to something else? Maybe in this universe, things like Mike’s re-recordings of Beach Boys songs are considered so bad they can’t be released under the official name? The exception is pre-Beach Boys Bruce, which I like, but find too out of step with the early Beach Boys. For David, Ricky, and Blondie, their outputs were at most minimal and not very much like the Beach Boys. Thus, they will be treated as just helpers who were always more prioritized with other projects, not unlike the various session or touring members.

While I have a way of not finishing things, at least not in a timely manner, this project is dauntingly intended to go up to the current day Beach Boys recordings. I’m really looking forward to it, as I think these album sequences are better than the official ones, feeling a lot more cohesive. The albums here I particularly like are The Beginning of the End, The Survivors, Shut Down Volume 2, and especially All Summer Long. If these sequences were officially released, I think All Summer Long would be considered the group’s first masterpiece. The other four are fine, but have a bit too much filler. The material on Brian’s Bag has been some of my least favorite of this era, but it works better as is here than interspersed with excellent cuts that deserve to thrive as much as possible. It’s also easier to appreciate those lesser tracks this way as they feel at home. As an example, I love surf rock that only cares about being danceable, and the Beach Boys have many successes in that field, but that doesn’t fit with the lush and warm ballads about aspects of life. And now, without further ado…

“Do You Love Me, Do You Surfer Girl?”

In 1961, California teenager Brian Wilson began to learn and sing songs with his family and friends. Clearly a standout among his brothers or most kids his age, his father Murry sought to obtain him a record contract. Eventually, it was arranged for him to perform live. However, at the show, he had such stage fright that he decided to merely be part of a backing group. At his mother’s insistence, his cousin Mike Love and brothers Carl and Dennis were added to his band idea. They were rounded out by friend Al Jardine. Brian wanted girlfriend Judy Bowles to participate, mainly as an excuse for her to take Mike’s place, but she wasn’t interested. As retribution, Brian’s mother said Mike got to sing the first song they recorded and pick the subject. Mike was going to suggest a song based on his job, sheet metal working, but when Dennis added in surfing, Mike went with that, but still took the credit. Mike would go on to claim he was an avid surfer to friends, even doctoring images of Dennis surfing with his own face.

This song ended up being “Surfin’”. The lineup was set to be Mike on vocals and sax, Carl on lead guitar, Dennis drums, Al rhythm guitar, and Brian bass and keyboard. After months of agonizing rehearsing, with Brian taking the proceedings very seriously, they arranged to have a recording session with producers Hite and Dorinda Morgan. Some of the material consisted of ballads and others more rocking tracks reminiscent of what other teen groups were doing. Despite ostensibly being led by the Morgans, Brian more and more exerted control over the project. Even on what was to be their first single, Brian was unsatisfied with Mike and Dennis’ playing, so he played drums himself and excised saxophone entirely.

“I sometimes wish I could play without these guys.” He said.

With prompting from his family, Al left the band. Friend David Marks replaced him, though Al still helped out. David seemed less comfortable with singing. Brian often experimented with including or excluding certain people to get a particular sound. Even Al Jardine was recruited briefly. It was decided that tracks “Surfin’” and “Luau” would be the a and b-side to their first record respectively. Despite going by the name “The Pendletones”, when the single was finally released, it was credited to “The Beach Boys” and was a reasonable hit. This was considered either a decision of a nameless record executive or someone poorly spelling “Brian’s Band”. If it’s the latter, it couldn’t have been a higher up due to their proclivity to eating apples. Ultimately, Murry arranged for Brian to be given a recording contract for an LP. When his aversion to singing on tour became apparent, it was decided Mike would be the lead singer due to singing on the record, while Brian was still the leader. Only the Wilsons and Mike Love were signed to Capitol as official members. This created animosity between them and Al and David, especially as Capitol refused to pay six members, resulting in Al leaving again, declaring he’d never return.

As the group recorded their first album, Brian became more comfortable singing, though he was more interested in the romantic ballad tracks. Capitol, wanting a pure teen rock album, didn’t want these cuts included. Regardless, the group still recorded several. When all was said and done, Capitol created a tracklist which only included the “fun” songs. Surf Songs For Beach Lovers was released in summer 1962 to mixed reviews and little fanfare. Troubles increased when Al sued to be credited as an official member. This was granted to keep the peace. Despite this, he did not rejoin the group. The record credited David Marks as “Al”, due to not having the ability or desire to take photographs with Jardine. Despite their initial hit, the album was considered too underwhelming to keep the band on. The Beach Boys broke up.

Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys – Surf Songs For Beach Lovers (1962) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Surfin’ Safari”
2. “County Fair”
3. “Chug-A-Lug”
4. “Summertime Blues”
5. “Land Ahoy”
6. “Luau”
7. “Beach Boy Stomp (Aka Karate)”

SIDE B

1. “Surfin’”
2. “Shut Down”
3. “Judy”
4. “Ten Little Indians”
5. “409”
6. “Moon Dawg”
7. “The Shift”

PERSONNEL

• Brian Wilson – bass guitar, lead vocals, co-producer, keyboard, drums
• Carl Wilson – lead guitar, vocals
• Dennis Wilson – drums, vocals
• Mike Love – lead vocals, saxophone
• Al Jardine – guitar, bass (occasional)

Friends

• Nick Venet – co-producer, carnival barker
• Hite Morgan – co-producer
• Dorinda Morgan – co-producer
• Murry Wilson – manager, producer (latter uncredited)
• David Marks – guitar
• Andrea Carlo – voice of girlfriend
• Gary Usher – car sound effects

Brian had started making efforts to assist other artists in recording. Carl and Dennis in turn played on a few records for other people while David typically stayed home rehearsing more and more complex pieces. Mike counted his pennies, hoping to put off returning to his job.

In need of more product for the fall season, Capitol compiled the other more serious songs for a throwaway release. The result, The Beginning of the End, was highly successful among fans of more soulful teen music. This resulted in the track from the first album, “Shut Down”, being released as a single and becoming a huge hit. Thus, the first LP was rereleased to be named after that single. Due to the recent progress, the Wilsons, Love, and Marks reformed. At a celebration party, Brian proposed to his girlfriend. Despite this, he was taken aback by a girl he was interested in producing, Marilyn Rovell.

Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys – The Beginning of the End (1962) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “The Beginning Of The End”
2. “Heads You Win, Tails I Lose”
3. “Barbie”
4. “What Is A Young Girl Made Of”
5. “Lonely Sea”
6. “Lana”

SIDE B

1. “Lavender”
2. “Cindy, Oh Cindy”
3. “Stoked”
4. “Little Girl (You’re My Miss America)”
5. “Cuckoo Clock”
6. “Visions”
7. “Happy Birthday Four Freshmen”

PERSONNEL

• Brian Wilson – bass guitar, lead vocals, co-producer
• Carl Wilson – lead guitar, vocals
• Dennis Wilson – drums, vocals
• Mike Love – lead vocals
• Al Jardine – guitar (occasional)

Friends

• Nick Venet – co-producer
• Hite Morgan – co-producer
• Dorinda Morgan – co-producer
• Murry Wilson – manager, producer (latter uncredited)
• David Marks – guitar

To follow up on “Shut Down”, Brian reluctantly penned another song that he said “lacked substance”. “Surfin’ USA” was an even bigger success than Shut Down, which resulted in Capitol seizing work on Brian’s ballads. Not willing to give them up, Brian agreed to do one album of fun songs, then after another of serious songs. Capitol agreed. Following trends, and at the insistence of the group’s jam rock fans of David, Carl, and Dennis, the next record featured many surf instrumentals. Mike Love was annoyed at his lack of presence, but no one cared. His arguing got him a vocal cameo on “Stoked”, which ultimately ended up being an outtake. Jardine was almost completely absent from the group’s first three LPs. For the first two, he’s only represented by the short time he was in the group before leaving. For the third record, he was brought in to appear on the inconsequential “Boogie Woodie”, as he needed to be present in order to keep being credited. Surfin’ USA was released in May 1963 to reasonably positive reviews.

Judy considered the song “Marie” a declaration of Brian’s feelings towards Marilyn and “Mother May I” about the former’s mother. Judy then broke up with Brian in a semi-public place. Passerby purported hearing Brian cry and breakdown, insisting he couldn’t live without her. Despite this, later that day he announced to his friends and family he was in a relationship with Marilyn. Brian would never mention Judy again.

Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys – Surfin’ USA (1963) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Surfin’ USA”
2. “Let’s Go Trippin’”
3. “Noble Surfer”
4. “Honky Tonk”
5. “Side Two”
6. “Marie”
7. “Misirlou”

SIDE B

1. “Farmer’s Daughter”
2. “Surf Jam”
3. “Punchline”
4. “Mother May I”
5. “Finders Keepers”
6. “Boogie Woodie”

PERSONNEL

• Brian Wilson – lead vocals, keyboard, bass guitar, co-producer
• Carl Wilson – lead guitar, vocals
• Dennis Wilson – drums, vocals
• Mike Love – lead vocals
• Al Jardine – bass guitar (occasional)

Friends

• Nick Venet – co-producer
• Murry Wilson – manager
• David Marks – rhythm guitar
• Frank DeVito – drums

The band were disappointed with the album’s cover being similar to the others. As such, Brian sought to take control over that and make them more artistic. He didn’t get full control, so things would generally be a back and forth process. He also saw the group’s real strength as vocalists, finding the many instrumentals boring. He thus decided to tour less and spend the time making more and more complex works. He was quoted as saying, “Our records are our legacy. That’s what history will remember us by.” The other band members found this pretentious, especially those that loved instrumental rock. Mike supported Brian, though it’s suspected only because he wrote much of the band’s lyrics and didn’t partake in the instrumentals. He also supposedly said the Beach Boys weren’t really the Beach Boys without him. “We should be called Mike Love & The Beach Boys”.

For the fourth record, Brian was always working in the studio. This included occasionally replacing members with session players. Jardine was brought in to help, enthused by his friends’ success. It was suspected that the reason he finally became a prominent member was because Brian wanted to move away from the more surfing style, which never strongly spoke to Jardine. Still, this upset the other members that didn’t want to be used less, especially now that they’re sharing the spotlight with Jardine. Dennis was the most positive about the change, wanting to support whatever will make the best art.

Carl and David both began working on material for the band, which the label rejected due to not having the commercial viability of Brian’s. Brian, not wanting to start conflict with anyone, didn’t challenge Capitol. He did want to push the boundaries of pop music and if he was going to he would need to play ball as often as he could afford. The Survivors was released in December to lesser commercial success, but increased critical acclaim. It followed with the single “Pamela Jean”/“Hawaii”. The former only featured one Beach Boy, Brian.

Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys – The Survivors (1963) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Pamela Jean”
2. “Surfer Girl”
3. “In My Room”
4. “Ballad Of Ole’ Betsy”
5. “Spirit Of America”
6. “First Rock And Roll Dance”
7. “Little Surfer Girl”

SIDE B

1. “Back Home”
2. “A Young Man Is Gone”
3. “Hawaii”
4. “The Surfer Moon”
5. “Thank Him”
6. “Your Summer Dream”

PERSONNEL

• Brian Wilson – lead vocals, keyboard, bass guitar, producer, guitar
• Carl Wilson – lead guitar, vocals
• Dennis Wilson – drums, vocals
• Mike Love – lead vocals
• Al Jardine – bass guitar, vocals

Friends

• Murry Wilson – manager
• David Marks – rhythm guitar
• Hal Blaine – timbales
• Bob Norberg – guitar
• Dave Nolan – possible guitar
• Rich Peterson – possible percussion

During the then unnamed fifth album sessions, Marks began to feel more and more left out, not being an official member and being disliked by Murry. He especially hated having his guitar parts recorded by Carl or session men. Marks’ parents advocated for him and even wanted more involvement in managing the group, which Murry was unwilling to do. Pressures mounted with Capitol wanting the record done as fast as possible due to the recent comparative lack of success, with Brian fulfilling that by throwing out some filler. Still, he included more strong vocals and proficient playing, among other touches to give it the stamp his work was beginning to have. To his dismay, one instrumental track was renamed “Shut Down, Part II” and the album was promptly called “Shut Down Volume 2”, which was a title he hated. “At least people might know the record was junk. The best stuff was on the singles.” The album was another hit.

With Dennis penning new tunes, Carl felt them, Al, and David could start a new project focused more on rocking instrumentation. He was inspired by surf bands of the time. Due to the demands of constantly being on the road, this project did not take off. Carl in a 1991 interview expands on this:

“I of course love Brian, but I just needed to do something else, as well. Denny and I may not have been matching him, but we were doing numbers. It seemed all we ever got to do were a few little things like The Tri-Five and The Four Speeds. I was even tempted to quit the band, but I couldn’t do that to the family. Dad and Capitol wanted us to stick together as much as possible. We insisted on a vote between the band [on whether to form a spinoff group]. Dennis, David, and Brian were on my side, while Mike, Dad, and Al weren’t. I think Al was only against me because he would have been risking getting fired. Mike also probably did because he wouldn’t have been in our band and was mad. What a joke. That all also exacerbated tensions with David as his vote wasn’t counted and dad said he wins out in a tie. Thus, we mostly all stayed together, though you know what happened with Dave.”

Shut Down Volume 2’s cover was mostly the doing of the label, being in stark contrast with the more experimental previous cover. It was considered a necessity to never again blur the band’s face.

Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys – Shut Down Volume 2 (1964) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Fun, Fun, Fun”
2. “Little Deuce Coupe”
3. “Catch A Wave”
4. “South Bay Surfer”
5. “Rocking Surfer”
6. “The Baker Man”
7. “Gonna Hustle You”

SIDE B

1. “Cherry, Cherry Coupe”
2. “Surfers Rule”
3. “Our Car Club”
4. “No-Go Showboat”
5. “Shut Down, Part II”
6. “Custom Machine”
7. “Be True To Your School”

PERSONNEL

• Brian Wilson – lead vocals, keyboard, producer
• Carl Wilson – lead guitar, vocals
• Dennis Wilson – drums, vocals
• Mike Love – lead vocals
• Al Jardine – bass guitar, vocals

Friends

• Murry Wilson – manager
• David Marks – rhythm guitar
• Hal Blaine – tambourine, drums
• Steve Douglas – tenor saxophones
• Jay Migliori – baritone saxophones
• Ray Pohlman – 6-string electric bass guitars
• Maureen Love – harp

“Well then, the next album will have loads of our faces! LOADS!”

While still to have many commercial flairs, Brian was determined to include more lavish production and introspective lyrics. Introspective lyrics meant one thing, less Mike. Mike was bitter about barely being used or credited for songwriting, but Brian threatening to kick him out the studio one day was considered a veiled threat to have him fired from the band. Mike would cool off, though still declared to others he was just as talented as Brian.

In a move often criticized as one of Murry’s lowest moments, he began doing whatever he could to make David feel demoralized. He reduced his pay, made him sleep separately from the others in hotels, and encouraged them to record without him. This caused Marks to quit early in these sessions. While he soon wanted back in, Murry forced him to stick to his word, acting like it would be too problematic to reinclude him. Brian later said, “I felt bad for him. I wanted to do something, but my dad was so threatening to me I felt I couldn’t do it. On top of that, I began using the guys less for the instrumentals and turning to session players. David was never that good of a singer, so he basically would’ve had nothing to do even if he had not quit.”

While Murry had intended to exert more control, now with one opponent gone, this actually backfired for him. Brian was taking more and more control from Murry for himself. Seeing as he was getting older, he felt he needed and wanted less input from his dad and others respected him more, no longer interested in supporting or listening to Murry. Brian eventually told Murry to wait outside for some sessions, to which he said no. It was suspected their confrontation could have become physical, but Brian simply walked out the room. Brian initially worked in secret from his father. Soon enough, he grew tired of this and fired him. He had Marilyn do the deed of telling the bad news.

All Summer Long was very successful, but not as much as some other records. Murry blamed the lesser benefits on his absence, though Brian noted the critics still loved it. The symbol of the sun would become an icon in the Beach Boys fandom, coined by Mike as the “Love symbol”. He would go on to say the supposed reference to his last name was coincidental and that he was just thinking about “Peace and Mother Earth”.

Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys – All Summer Long (1964) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Beryl Left Me” (Actually “Bobby Left Me”, title changed to be about a woman)
2. “I Do”
3. “The Warmth Of The Sun”
4. “Hushabye”
5. “Keep An Eye On Summer”
6. “We’ll Run Away”

SIDE B

1. “After The Game”
2. “Why Do Fools Fall In Love”
3. “Things We Did Last Summer”
4. “Girls On The Beach”
5. “Don’t Worry Baby”
6. “All Summer Long”

PERSONNEL

• Brian Wilson – lead vocals, keyboard, producer, marimba
• Carl Wilson – lead guitar, vocals
• Dennis Wilson – drums, vocals
• Mike Love – lead vocals, drums (Calm down, it’s just one track.)
• Al Jardine – bass guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals

Friends

• Murry Wilson – manager (uncredited)
• Hal Blaine – drums, percussion, bell-tree
• Glen Campbell – 6-string bass guitar
• Ray Pohlman – 4 & 6-string bass guitar
• David Marks – rhythm guitar
• Steve Douglas – tenor saxophones
• Jay Migliori – baritone saxophones, piccolo or fife
• Leon Russell – piano
• Bill Pitman – archtop acoustic guitar
• Tommy Tedesco – electric guitar
• Jimmy Bond – double bass
• Frank Capp – glockenspiel, temple blocks, castanets
• Al de Lory – piano
• Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone
• Bob Norberg – guitar
• Dave Nolan – possible guitar
• Rich Peterson – possible percussion

The due date for the next album was moved up, causing Brian to rush yet again. “Some visionary”, as quoted by a mysterious source. The result is considered one of the band’s weakest early albums. Among the most mixed reception are Carl and Dennis’ contributions. When asked why the resulting works were so middling, Carl said, “We were still holding out hope on our own project, so saved the best stuff for it.” This did them no favors, with the serious critics that had been consistently praising Brian feeling reinforced in saying he was the only talented member. Brian would refute this, though denied the idea of including more of his brothers’ material on the albums, saying The Beach Boys was simply “His thing”. This comment angered his bandmates, prompting Brian to spend less time around them. They also blamed him for the Brian-centered cover, arguing Brian could’ve stopped it if he cared.

Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys – Brian’s Bag (1964) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Karen”
2. “Denny’s Drums”
3. “I Get Around”
4. “This Car Of Mine”
5. “In The Parkin’ Lot”
6. “Pom Pom Play Girl”
7. “Louie Louie”

SIDE B

1. “Little Honda”
2. “Carl’s Big Chance”
3. “Drive-In”
4. “Do You Remember”
5. “Don’t Back Down”
6. “Wendy”
7. “Denny’s Drums, Part II”

PERSONNEL

• Brian Wilson – lead vocals, keyboard, bass guitar, producer
• Carl Wilson – lead guitar, vocals
• Dennis Wilson – drums, vocals
• Mike Love – lead vocals, saxophone
• Al Jardine – bass guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals

Friends

• Hal Blaine – drums, timbales with brush, rim with thin stick
• Glen Campbell – 6-string electric bass guitar
• Steve Douglas – tenor saxophone
• Jay Migliori – baritone saxophone
• Ray Pohlman – 6-string electric bass guitar
• The Honeys (Marilyn Rovell, Diane Rovell, Ginger Blake) – backing vocals
• Murry Wilson – manager (uncredited)

In preparation for the season, Brian released a Christmas record. The reviews were generally positive and the commercial results especially strong. Brian was on top of the world. As a show of good grace for his band, Brian is notably not clearly visible on the cover, which he had to fight to get. This did little to change their view, as Brian was in response prominent on the back. Regardless, while Carl, Al, and Mike were still upset by that and feeling increasingly like Brian’s backing singers, they couldn’t deny the money or musical quality (Well, maybe Mike could). Despite the massive success, Brian was up another enemy after Dennis told him he desperately wanted to write a “real song” for an album and was told no. Brian’s reasoning was that he would drop the “silly” songs and make something truly daring and personal. He continued he would try again to get a deal going for him, Carl, and Al, though when nothing came of this he was considered to have not actually done anything.

Helped on by Cero

Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys – The Lord’s Prayer (1964) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Auld Lang Syne”
2. “Christmas Eve”
3. “Little Saint Nick”
4. “The Man With All The Toys”
5. “Santa’s Beard”
6. “Jingle Bells”
7. “Christmas Day”
8. “Merry Christmas, Baby”

SIDE B

1. “Frosty The Snowman”
2. “We Three Kings Of Orient Are”
3. “Blue Christmas”
4. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town”
5. “White Christmas”
6. “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”
7. “The Lord’s Prayer”
8. “Denny’s Message (Auld Lang Syne)”

PERSONNEL

• Brian Wilson – lead vocals, keyboard, bass guitar, producer
• Carl Wilson – lead guitar, vocals
• Dennis Wilson – drums, vocals
• Mike Love – lead vocals
• Al Jardine – bass guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals

Friends

• Dick Reynolds – orchestra
• Al Viola – guitar
• Cliff Hils – double bass
• Jimmy Rowles – grand piano
• Jack Sperling – drums
• Eddie Rosa – flute and/or alto saxophone and/or tenor saxophone
• Chuck Gentry – soprano clarinet, alto clarinet, tenor clarinet, and/or bass clarinet and/or baritone saxophone
• William Hinshaw, Richard Perissi, Arthur Briegleb – French horns
• Henry Laubach, John Audino, Conrad Gozzo, Raymond Triscari – trumpets
• Harry Betts, Francis Howard, George Roberts – trombones
• George “Red” Callender – tuba
• Edgar Lustgarten, Jesse Ehrlich, Nathan Gershman, Alfred Wohl, Margaret Aue – violins, violas, cellos, and/or double basses
• Benjamin Barrett – orchestra master
• Dick Reynolds – orchestra conductor

Later that day, Brian came home from the studio and crashed on his couch, falling asleep. He awoke to Marilyn exasperated by a love song he heard he was making about her sister Diane. He insisted he wrote it as a favor to Carl, who wanted his girlfriend named in a song. This would not initially quell Marilyn, though eventually she apologized.

“I’ll change the name in the song, how about Rhonda?”

The Beach Boys in 1964

This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!

My Attempt To Be As Accurate As Possible For A Stars Fan Album Series (& Alt History Story)

For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.

Various people, including myself, that have tried to resurrect Syd Barrett’s lost band for at least an album have had to make severe liberties. While I cannot avoid those, this project attempts to be as accurate as possible. My currently unfinished other project more so embraces how absurd this “band” could become due to the nature of the recordings we have.

I was attracted to a certain story on alternatehistory.com by someone named Massacote. Seeing as Barrett had a proper output that is also distinct from Pink Floyd from 1968-1972, this project moves the band back from forming in 1972 to 1969 and ultimately dissolving in 1972. My idea was, what would the output look like if the group still formed in 1972? Thus, any material released by these members before 1972 will not be included, as it would’ve been already released mainly as solo albums. At the same time, I wanted these albums to coexist with Massacote’s project, so this could basically represent a reunion. Note: Massacote’s project does use material from the early solo albums. You can essentially pick which timeline you want this to follow from.

Most of the tracks I’m covering are essentially one person’s solo work. Still, I think there’s enough cohesion to make them interesting listens. Also, these tracks at least at the time were unloved, so you could imagine that if the band was working together at this time, they might have been pleased to have some place to gather all these little oddities. This creates the issue that it would’ve taken until 1977 to get a studio album out by them considering how little there is to work with. It is nice that a few of the cuts here do feature collaboration between Stars members, so it’s not as solo-y as it could be.

The real band’s bassist, Jack Monck, had such little presence in available recordings that Massacote replaced him with Steve Took. The purist in me feels weird about this, especially because the actual Took seemed to basically never play bass. My resolve is to retcon the story. Monck may have left before the group’s first album, but he soon rejoined as just a helper. We can also say there are various bassists on the albums. Took would stay on to service other roles. While Took was never a Star in real life, he was friends with and worked with the members, so it’s not hard to believe he would’ve been involved, especially as we’re really scraping together a presence for Syd Barrett. Maybe he’d be used in lieu of more prominent Syd? The fourth and final album in the Massacote series actually features Monck a healthy amount, so we can say before that fourth album he once again was an official member. With the three albums I did, he is still official. There are some other minor retcons.

Lastly, while the first three Massacote albums all use recordings that were on solo albums or are otherwise unusable, the fourth, Live Extracts: Six Hour Technicolor Dream, doesn’t overlap and its material was recorded and given an imagined release in 1972. Thus, we can say that it is the first album in the universe where the band started in 1972.

Here is a link to Massacote’s telling: https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/rock-albums-from-alternate-timelines.369850/page-14

Without further ado:

After the Live Extracts project, everyone was excited to keep going other than Syd Barrett, who seemed tired and demoralized, especially after hearing bad reviews. Despite how uncommon they were, they caused him to be more reclusive. Long-term members Steve Took, Twink, and Jack Monck were unwilling to continue without him. Newer singer Bruce Paine was more excited to do more, especially another live album. He was voted out. Barrett was extremely awkward in the studio, but more comfortable in either informal jam sessions or live. Thus, Paine got his way. The material was not as fruitful as anyone hoped, as Barrett was unreliable. With the help of outtakes, the album was completed.

“I’m starting to understand why [Pink] Floyd fired him.” – Bruce Paine, 1972

STARS – L.A TO LONDON BOOGIE

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Sea Cruise” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
2. “Baby Lemonade” (Sounds of the Seventies)
3. “L.A To London Boogie” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
4. “Ice” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
5. “Dominoes” (Sounds of the Seventies)
6. “Nadine” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)

SIDE B

1. “The Snake” (Pink Fairies John Peel Session)
2. “Drinkin’ That Wine” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
3. “Sweet Little Angel” (Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge 1972)
4. “Love Song” (Sounds of the Seventies)

L.A to London Boogie was released to mixed reviews. This caused Barrett to become somewhat nervous and upset that he quit the band and wouldn’t come back. Seeing as the three remaining original members were unwilling to continue without Barrett, Paine left for other groups. Twink and Took continued to work on ideas and record tracks, either for a hopeful Barrett reunion or their own duo album; they weren’t satisfied and got caught up in other bands. Every now and then, they would give another shot at things, sometimes with Monck.

In 1974, primarily after the recent hits by Pink Floyd and T. Rex, interest renewed in those bands and its members. Various artists cited Stars as an influence. Thus, Polydor sought to get the band back together to make more records. Twink and Took agreed if they could get Barrett and Monck agreed on that condition and that he could get some of his songs included, as he failed to get them out as a solo artist. After checking in on Barrett, the members agreed they should wait a little longer. When approached in late 1965, Barrett seemed reluctant, but was a little more interested after a jam session with the other members. Still, Barrett was unwilling to commit to the degree everyone hoped for. This included not writing new songs, claiming he hadn’t done so in many years.

Barrett recorded guitar for the others, often separately from them, but he did provide unfinished recordings of him with Pink Floyd, which were finished by the other Stars often without him. For this album and the next, Barrett more enthusiastically contributed his paintings to be album covers. Despite how many recordings were started years prior, Flophouse Blues was praised for how cohesive it is. Still, it was considered behind the times, despite about half the album having been written shortly before production. The then current members of Pink Floyd demanded to not be credited, as they weren’t satisfied with their original contributions. Stars agreed. It is often a point of debate which elements were by Floyd and which were redone by Stars.

STARS – FLOPHOUSE BLUES

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Flophouse Blues (In The Mountain Grill)” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)
2. “I Wanna Be Free” (The Rings)
3. “Four Letter Words” (Jack Monck – Inside The Whale)
4. “Automobile” (The Rings)
5. “Butterfly” (Pink Floyd)
6. “Leaden Day” (Jack Monck – Inside The Whale)

SIDE B

1. “Teenage Rebel” (The Rings Rehearsal Tapes)
2. “Syd’s Wine” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)
3. “Double O Bo” (Pink Floyd)
4. “I Wanna Get High” (The Rings Rehearsal Tapes)
5. “Lanky (Part One)” (Syd Barrett – Opel)
6. “Flophouse Blues (Reprise)” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)

For their next record, the band attempted to be more current, embracing more punk, while not abandoning their roots. Ironically, the lead track was “Do It ‘77”, though the album ultimately wasn’t released until 1978. While the band wanted to keep going, Barrett was so disinterested that it seemed wiser to quit while they were ahead, while still first finishing the album. Some stray guitar tracks performed by Barrett were found or recorded anew. While those demos were criticized by many, with one person calling it “Junk”, they were liked by Stars. They overdubbed it and thought it made for the perfect final chapter of the group.

STARS – VEGETABLE MEN

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Do It ‘77” (Twink And The Fairies)
2. “Lucky Charm” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)
3. “Back On The Train” (1st Version) (Jack Monck – Inside The Whale)
4. “Enter The Diamonds” (Twink And The Fairies)
5. “Vegetable Man” (2010 Mix) (Pink Floyd)
6. “Blues For Ray” (1st Version) (Jack Monck – Inside The Whale)
7. “Psychedelic Punkeroo” (Twink And The Fairies)

SIDE B

1. “Molecular Lucky Charm” (Steve Took – Crazy Diamond)
2. “Junk” (Syd Barrett 1974 recordings by Richard Hall)

Though Vegetable Men received mixed reviews and less than stellar commercial success, it and the band’s other albums gained massive cult followings and were considered underappreciated classics. The group spoke highly of their time, especially being pleased with it being a wakeup call they should work to get Barrett some help.

“We loved Syd. He was the soul of the band and we didn’t want to lose that. Floyd’s song about him hit us like a ton of bricks and we just knew we had to be there for him.” – Twink, 2005

LINKS

1. Lean Out Your Window (1970) – YouTube
2. Beautiful Deceiver (1971) – YouTube
3. Uncle Harry’s Last Freak Out (1972) – YouTube

Below Is All That Is Canon To The Started In 1972 Timeline

1. Live Extracts: Six Hour Technicolor Dream (1972) – YouTube
2. L.A to London Boogie (1973) – YouTube
3. Flophouse Blues (1977) – YouTube
4. Vegetable Men (1978) – YouTube

This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!

Pink Floyd 1971-1977 Stray Tracks Review

Pink Floyd 1973

Pink Floyd released the equivalent of one album a year in the years 1967, 1968, and 1970. They did the equivalent of three in 1969. They were managing similar amounts of material in the first three mentioned years as 1969, but just not releasing a lot of it, or at least not on their main albums. This changed in 1971. For starters, they started putting more time in developing what got on their albums and the albums became more acclaimed and culturally significant. Thus, you’d think that the strays would be at least very solid, especially considering how few there were. Note that a few times I had so little to say that I wrote on more than one track at once.

“Pink Blues” aka “Blues”

This is one of the more concentrated pieces, having very good interplaying. The power and energy causes “Blues” to continuously build momentum.

“Corrosion in the Pink Room”

Has some pleasant atmosphere, but is very unfocused. It features some of the band’s trademarks, creepy keyboard, stuttering cymbals designed to create a large backing, and Roger’s vocalizing. These tropes are a little too stale for the track’s good. The keys aren’t too bad, though.

“Mortality Sequence” & ““La Vallee” – Instrumental”

These are amusing enough experiments, but do feel like a joke. There’s a lot of nonsense sounds, like AI generated Pink Floyd. The section without the vocalizing on Mortality isn’t too bad.

“The Hard Way”

A pleasant and extremely incomplete experiment. “The Hard Way” has a nice groove and diversity in sound, but doesn’t go anywhere. Wouldn’t be bad on a noise album, but not so much on a Floyd one, except for one problem. Despite being so short, it’s pretty repetitive.

“On The Run (outtake)” & “The Travel Sequence”

These are fun, but once again directionless and feeling like no one knows what’s going on. They have an infectious sense of fun and rhythm, so they’re worth listening to, but were rightfully not put on an album.

“pink floyd unreleased track 1973” (4:14) aka “Flanger”

This sounds like a test. “Hey Nick, play a little so we can see if the recorder is working.” Still, a little drumming isn’t the worst thing in the world. This is like the Pink Floyd version of the Beach Boys track, “Denny’s Drums”.

“Mexico 70”

Can’t believe how many of these tracks have random noises in them. There’s some nice guitar noodling, but it goes on forever doing the same thing. It’s easy to imagine this could’ve been worked on more and included on an album. Maybe on Wish You Were Here to demonstrate Syd going mad? Faneditors, get on that.

“Wine Glasses”

This is pretty, but inessential on its own. Of course, it would be used to great effect on “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” in a better form.

“You’ve Got To Be Crazy”

Roger’s vocal is really flat, sounding like a demo. Of course that can be forgiven due to this obviously being a work-in-progress not intended for release. The playing isn’t too bad, though falters in some ways. That’s something that could be fixed with more rehearsing. Lyrics like “Sometimes it seems as if I’m just being used” are way too heavy handed. The released version on Animals is very solid.

“Raving and Drooling”

This one starts with what sounds like the Doctor Who theme. This track is especially fun due to the punk-esque nature of its riffs and intensity.

“Message From The Sheep (Field Recording)”

Just some sheep baaing.

“Drift Away Blues”

This takes a little from “Pink Blues”. David gets to show off a little with his guitar playing, with a little bit of fun moments for Rick and Nick, but as previously stated it’s something that should’ve been incorporated in a more rehearsed and fleshed out album if at all. The aforementioned “Pink Blues” is better due to being short and sweet.

OVERVIEW

Despite being known for their innovation, Pink Floyd often got stuck in formulas. Fortunately, that stuff generally got unreleased around the start of the early 70s, with much better material properly getting on the albums. A super fan should listen to these tracks just for the sake of it, but a casual fan can live without what amounts to mostly live fiddling. Still, there are a few gems.

Pink Floyd August 1967-February 1968 Stray Tracks Review

“In the Beechwoods (August 1967 + Mix Nick Mason interview)”

The music interrupts Nick talking. Still, it’s a quality instrumental. There’s no reason to listen to this for the music, as it was released officially in better quality.

“Vegetable Man (August 1967 Mix with ASoS)”

This is basically the studio version, but once again in poor sound quality. The extended ending is quite nice.

“Vegetable Man Jam (August 1967 with ASoS)”

This jam is a lot of fun, feeling mostly distinct from the studio version.

“Scream Thy Last Scream (Jenner 1974 Mix – August 7th, 1967)”

The elements here feel really distant. It’s a very awkward mix, though it also has a nice extended ending.

“Scream Thy Last Scream (Jenner 1987 Mix – August 7th, 1967)”

The mixing is similarly poor. A prime example is the “She’ll be scrubbing bubbles on all fours” line, with everyone stepping on everyone else.

“Reaction In G – Studio Clip (German Beat Club video – August 15th, 1967)”

A really catchy tune. It’s a shame it’s not longer.

“No Title – Experiment – Sunshine (September 4th, 1967)”

This feels like a lead-in to an epic track with sharp guitar parts and powerful lyrics. It’s perhaps the most missed track only available in a fragmentary form. Still, what we have is a very nice instrumental. This is similar to the solo Syd Barrett song, “Opel”, which has fantastic lyrics.

“Tonarskvall 3 Radio Interview Roger Waters (September 4th, 1967)”

It was funny when Roger refused to explain the music.

September 10th, 1967 Show at Gyllene Cirkeln, Stockholm, Sweden

This recording is almost completely instrumental due to the vocals mostly being not recorded properly. It’s in high quality, so this is a fun way to hear some of the layers of these songs. “Reaction In G” and “See Emily Play” work really well as they are here. G is a fresh instrumental jam that the group was putting work into. Due to the good quality, this is about the closest we’ll get to a studio version. Play can be appreciated due to its soaring guitars. “Matilda Mother” is another favorite. It’d be fun to see the alternate vocal added to this one, it’d give a different vibe. The other four tracks are more take-or-leave. Other than the lack of vocals, they don’t seem as fresh or distinct from their studio counterparts. There are minor exceptions, like the opening riff on “Interstellar Overdrive” being reminiscent of 1950s guitar lines. The three highlights are the only ones I’m likely to revisit often, though every track here is fine.

Also, Pink Floyd isn’t nice.

September 13th, 1967 Show at Star Club, Copenhagen, Denmark

A common issue with live boots is that the vocals are an important part of the song and you can’t hear them. The instrumentals fare better. Listening to the tracks with studio versions, it makes you just want to put on that higher quality version. Such a thing is preferable to listening to these. It is nice hearing the more pronounced guitar on “Arnold Layne”, which in the beginning sounds like “Interstellar Overdrive”. Highlights are “Reaction In G”. It’s a solid number and not like the September 10th version. “One In A Million” has a great gothic sound. It’d be nice to have a studio version, especially in place of the similar “Corporal Clegg”. It comes off a little silly due to the quiet “shout”-esque vocals, but the track overall works due to the heavy playing. The last three tracks aren’t that special, though “Astronomy Domine” is a little better due to the vocals not being what makes that song so great. Note that the two highlights don’t have a studio recording version.

September 25th, 1967 Show at The Playhouse Theatre, London, UK

This recording is a cut above most of the others due to being recorded for the BBC. The audio quality is better than typically. It’s always a treat to hear more prominent keyboard, as is the case with “Flaming” and “Matilda Mother”. “The Scarecrow” and “The Gnome” feel more relaxed and lowkey here, to great effect. An announcer pronounced the “G” in “Gnome”. “Matilda Mother”’s vocals are sadly less than stellar, especially at the end. “Reaction In G” for whatever reason only survives in a brief fragment. It basically is little more than an announcer quipping. It’s interesting that this is the second version of the song that is extremely fragmented. “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun” sounds off with such poor sound quality. It give-or-take requires a sonic landscape it can’t take advantage of here.

The weak sound quality of almost every track discussed here makes them a little hard to appreciate, but the increased legibility for this show makes a decent representation of the live sound of the band and thus this set is really worth hearing. “Flaming”, “The Scarecrow”, and “The Gnome” are very good and “Matilda Mother” is mixed due to being more similar to the studio version and the muddy vocals, but personally, I overall enjoy it. The other two don’t do much.

“Vegetable Man (Jenner 1974 Mix – October 11th, 1967)”

Feels novice, but that adds a haunting quality to it. Definitely worth a listen. It’s about tied with the proper studio version personally.

“Vegetable Man (Jenner 1987 Mix – October 11th, 1967)”

The laughter is fun to hear, but overall this doesn’t have the technical proficiency of the official version or the charm of the 1974 version.

“Early Morning Henry – William “Billy” Butler (Acetate excerpt – October 23rd, 1967)”

A lovely light ballad with silky vocals. It’s a shame it isn’t available in its entirety.

“Flaming (November 2nd, 1967 Tower Mono 45)”

Just seems like the original, but less polished.

“Dick Clark Interview (‘American Bandstand’, Los Angeles, USA – November 7th, 1967)”

One of the more vapid interviews.

November 13th, 1967 Show at Hippy Happy Fair, De Oude Ahoy Hallen, Ahoy Heliport, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

“Tuning up” might’ve been a fun way to open a live album. It’s a not too shabby way to build atmosphere. It is literally just the band getting tuned up. While the similar criticism of “not being distinct/interesting enough” can be levied at “Scream Thy Last Scream” and “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun”, the other three recordings are more special. “Reaction In G” is another snazzy instrumental that doesn’t sound much like the other versions. The “buildup” part is a favorite moment. “Pow R. Toc H.” feels like a proto “Careful With That Axe, Eugene”, due to the Roger yells. It has almost nothing to do with other versions of this tune. “Interstellar Overdrive”’s guitar and drum solo is an immense highlight. There are moments of a nice “chaotic” guitar line. Both show immense proficiency in the band. It’s fun hearing the audience cheering and really into the song. Furthermore, this isn’t like other versions of the track. It’s nice we get so many new versions of songs this set.

“Interstellar Overdrive: ‘Science Fiction – Das Universum Des Ichs’, The Roundhouse, London, 1967”

The announcer sounds tired.

“Jugband Blues (Different Video Mix, Possibly Canceled Single Mix – December 1967)”

Sounds like the studio version, though the quality is so poor that it’s hard to say for sure.

“Green Onion – Tomorrow’s World (Mike Leonard’s House, Stanhope Gardens, London, England – December 12th, 1967)”

Of the rare instrumentals, these aren’t among the more essential ones, but they are very enjoyable, with grooving or hammering guitar and jazzy-instruments. It’s a novelty to hear a rare Pink Floyd cover.

December 20th, 1967 Show at Maida Vale Studios, London, United Kingdom

“Vegetable Man” and “Pow R. Toc H.” both are close to their studio counterparts, though the latter has harsher vocals and more bombastic playing. There’s more of that added “edge” on “Scream Thy Last Scream”. More emphasized guitar licks and especially Syd having lead vocals make this one of the most fascinating live tracks here. “Jugband Blues” is the most different. The spacious keyboard and vocals make a new kind of atmosphere from the studio version. There’s almost pain in the guitars and more of the band’s live flairs in the instrumentation, such as when it goes into a new section. The most notable change is replacing the brass with the almighty kazoo. It’s something that has to be heard to be believed. Is a kazoo better? Certainly not, but it’s still so much fun. Especially because Richard Wright’s keyboard is more in focus here to help compensate for the missing elements. These recordings are invaluable due to the unique things they have to offer, and on top of that relatively better sound quality.

“Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (Belgian TV – February 18th, 1968)”

Sounds like the studio version except with louder vocals. Roger Waters isn’t the most adept singer, so the studio version is better.

OVERVIEW

There’s a surprising amount of little gems and oddities present. Due to the number of quality live recordings, it’s a shame there wasn’t a live album or two from this era of Pink Floyd. If they can fight through the poor quality, imagine how they’d sound with good quality. You get a stealth new instrumental album if you were to collect all the material not replicated elsewhere, like the versions of “Reaction In G” that may as well not bear that name. This material is worthwhile for at least a listen if you really love this group. The September 25th and December 20th shows are good starting places.

Pink Floyd 1966-July 1967 Stray Tracks Review

Syd’s mustache

Syd Barrett sadly has yielded very few recordings. What he has done has been culled over for the benefit of his fans. The listed music below at worst is charming, but inessential and something a fan will still appreciate. At best it’s stylish and moving work that deserves more appreciation. As a Syd Floyd fan, these are worth at least one listen while some are worth and have gotten several. Tracks like “Arnold Layne (Acetate – January 28th, 1967)”, “See Emily Play (Acetate Record – Alternate Mix – May 23rd, 1967)”, and See Emily Play (Live on ‘Top Of The Pops’ – July 6th, 1967)” sound too like the studio track, except in lower quality.

Lowlights include: “Interstellar Overdrive (Live at UFO Club – January 27th, 1967)”, “Interstellar Overdrive (Take 2 – French EP mix – February 27th, 1967)”, and “Interstellar Overdrive (Take 6)”. Those are among the more bland entries here, perhaps due to how short they are? They’re not bad, but feel redundant when compared to better versions that do the same sorts of stuff. The UFO version has a version with and without an announcer talking over it. The French version doesn’t end with the bombastic finale this composition usually gets. With “K4 Discotheque Live Jam (Brighton – April 15th, 1967)”, I was hoping this would be a new piece of music, but I think a version of “Overdrive” had this incorporated, not certain though. “Interview with Nick Mason (SRP3 Stockholm FM Radio Broadcast – March 1967)” is among the more awkward interviews. The interviewer doesn’t seem to know what he or Nick are talking about. “Chapter 24 – CBC Radio Interview with Peter Jenner (May 1st, 1967)” appears to end right before Jenner might’ve discussed something more interesting. Who knows? We just get a little of him praising the music. These are essentially only really worthwhile in hearing how the band developed and how people of the time were taking this music.

Some highlights are the “It’s yoooouuuu” part of “Candy And A Currant Bun Multitracks Discussion (January 29th, 1967 – Broadcast October 7th, 2011)”, the October 1966 and January 1967 “Interstellar Overdrive”, “Nick’s Boogie”, “Untitled Instrumental (January 22nd, 1967)”, Pow R. Toc H. + Astronomy Domine (Live on ‘The Look Of The Week’ – May 14th, 1967)”, “See Emily Play (Piano Bit @16RPM – May 21st, 1967)”, and “See Emily Play (Acetate Record – Alternate Ending – May 23rd, 1967)”. Those versions of “Overdrive” are pretty unlike the Piper at the Gates of Dawn version or each other. Roger Waters is the most interesting interviewee. He doesn’t seem as uncomfortable as Syd is and the others don’t seem to have as much interesting information to talk about.

“Interstellar Overdrive (October 31st, 1966 version)”

The drum tones and beat seem surf inspired. At a little over the six minute mark, there appears to be a false ending, with that killer surf drumming intensifying. This seems like a logical extension and conclusion to the 1964-1965 garage-y Pink Floyd tracks. There’s a blend of that and psychedelia here. There’s great little “sections” to the piece, one favorite being the staccato bit. The return of the main riff at the end isn’t as grand or big as it could be, it feels a little tacked on.

“Interview + Interstellar Overdrive (December 1st, 1966 version)”

The bit of “Overdrive” clearly heard seems more R&B-inspired. I don’t think this version has been released uninterrupted, which is a shame. It’s nice hearing the whole band be interviewed.

“Interstellar Overdrive + Nick’s Boogie (January 11th-12th, 1967 version)”

These two tracks are great showcases of the band’s longform jam side. These are a little bluesier and jazzier than a lot of their other works, creating essentially “psychedelic jazz”. Such a sound is so interesting. “Boogie” showcases Nick’s playing, but both give all four members excellent space, love the brief instrumental freak outs. On the album with these two cuts, these tracks should be swapped, as “Overdrive” is the better finale. For the record, there might be an alternate version of “Boogie”.

“Let’s Roll Another One Rehearsal + Untitled Instrumental (January 22nd, 1967)”

“Roll” is very similar to “Candy And A Currant Bun”. The drum beat is a highlight. It feels unnecessary to listen to as “Currant” is essentially the same thing, but complete, better quality, and a better performance. The second track is unnerving and works with the poor sound quality.

“Matilda Mother (Live at UFO Club – January 27th, 1967)”

The poor quality has a good garage-sound to it. The talking over it makes for an amusing representation of the times. The intense vocals and guitars are punk-esque. It’d be nice to hear these alternate lyrics louder.

“Candy And A Currant Bun (Acetate – January 28th, 1967)”

The vocal performance is noticeably weaker here. The vocals and drums are a little “punk”. Once again, it is fascinating to hear alternate lyrics or versions to Syd’s songs. It seems this would’ve been a great era to get a live album from.

“Arnold Layne Multitracks Discussion (January 29th, 1967 – Broadcast October 7th, 2011)”

Amusingly, there basically is a review of the song in the talking bits. There’s a lot of fascinating stuff to learn about the track and the band through analysis of its elements. The bass and drums track is really badass.

“Instrumental Improvisation – Die Jungen Nachtwandler (with a bit of Interstellar Overdrive (February 24th, 1967)”

This is a great spacey instrumental. It’s a shame there’s talking in the middle of it. It captures the raw energy of the band’s improvisational nature, doing great otherworldly jams. The opening segment seems like some kind of “Interstellar Overdrive” rehearsal before an awkward cut to the main part.

“Pow R. Toc H. + Astronomy Domine + Interview with Roger Waters and Syd Barrett (Live on ‘The Look Of The Week’ – May 14th, 1967)”

The vocals are a little flat, but the instrumentation is great. The guitar sound is so grand, soaring out at you. The interview is one of the better ones, with the interviewer really not understanding them and the band trying to explain their shtick to comedic effect. It’s amusing hearing someone criticizing the band.

“Apples and Oranges (Stereo Mix)”

Syd sounds tired here. It’s nice to hear the little differences from the main version, but overall it’s pretty close. A favorite part is the guitar on the “See you” bit and the harmonized vocals.

“See Emily Play (Piano Bit @16RPM – May 21st, 1967)”

This eclectic nonsense is right up my alley. It’s not for everyone, but it captures a raw feeling of the band at work. It’s good for similar reasons as the multitrack discussions.

“See Emily Play (Acetate Record – Alternate Ending – May 23rd, 1967)”

The different ending is beautiful, but wouldn’t work with “See Emily Play”. It could’ve been removed and added to something else.

Pink Floyd – 1969: Dramatis/ation (2016) Review – Except It’s More So Me Fangirling Over “The Man and The Journey”

Pink Floyd in 1969

Pink Floyd’s weakest two years have seemed to be 1968 and 1969. If you remove the 1967 tracks from the group’s second album, A Saucerful Of Secrets, then what’s left and the two 1969 albums are among the group’s most tedious. A lack of direction and reverse-engineering of their sound makes the once and later great band seem like a poorly thought out Rutles-styled parody that misses the mark. 1970 and 1971 both progressed out of this slump, with some truly great material present, though there were still misfires. Anyone just listening to the studio albums may think that they simply forgot how to make good music for two years, though there are some inessential gems in the mix. The Early Years box set offers an interesting nuance to that story by including rare and/or non-album material. Painting their escaping of the shadow of former leader Syd Barrett far more explicitly.

The 1969 volume is especially fascinating, as it has significant strengths and also weaknesses over 1968: Germin/ation. It damn-near forces me to throw out my bible on when the band was or wasn’t good. For disc one, we’re treated to a bundle of psychedelic experiments that hit strange tones. “Hollywood” is a novel instrumental that features what feels like nice noodling. It pays from being very short. The “Theme from Film ‘More’ – Beat Version” starts with a good groove. The bass gets some time to shine, but the track drags too long on too little an idea. The same can be said for an alt version of “More Blues”. “Seabirds” feels like a modified version of one of the band’s best post-Syd instrumentals, “A Saucerful Of Secrets”. What’s here is good, but just listen to the Saucerful track. They’re so close, except “Seabirds” isn’t as strong. It has this eerie whir that you can take or leave. I’m in the middle. The track naturally benefits from building atmosphere, succeeding better than other songs that force it in. “Embryo” is the last studio track. It fails from feeling too much like an idea and not a coherent piece of music.

Next is “Granchester Meadows”, which makes use of really tasteful crisp vocals and guitar playing. “Green Is the Colour” works for similar reasons, while “Cymbaline” and “The Narrow Way” suffer for the main complaint I’ve levied at this era. The last five tracks of disc one are nice versions of the band’s best long and ethereal tracks. The riffs are consistently really nice and seem to breed better concepts than their weaker experiments. They have simple ideas and engross you with their playing that feels very thought-out.

Disc two covers the live concept album, The Man and The Journey. While it can be off putting that it features some of the same tracks as the groups’ weaker albums, this is easily the best Floyd album between the Syd Barrett-era and The Dark Side Of The Moon. The key difference is that this album has a point. The tracks make use of silence or repetition to build emotions and strong feelings, not because they need to concoct a factory-made Pink Floyd song. The group is very fluid and in-line, which is ironic as the album they decided to work on instead of Man featured only solo tracks by members of the band. Man would benefit from a studio recording, so the instruments could really leap out and maybe more vocals, but what we have is an engaging experience that feels very 60s and very Pink Floyd, instead of trying to go for what could be “trendy”. It tackles an idea the band will return to, criticizing Capitalism and relating to the human experience, though in a different way. The instrumentals capture the vibe of what someone might go through.

A stand-out track is “Work”, which features unconventional instruments that sound like someone working, while being very rhythmic. It sounds like what the never completed Floyd album, Household Objects, might’ve sounded like. Here, the band does versions of songs generally not done very well on other recordings. One example is “Cymbaline”. That track is now called “Nightmare” and really does feel like one. Apparently that’s what it needed to be emotional? You need more than just yelling the name of the song! This second disc is a great series of music that, in a sense, negates their second to fourth albums by doing better versions of tracks from those albums. You could call it a highlight reel, though it stands on its own. You’d have a better experience going from the group’s first album, then Man, then their fifth; than listening to the first five studio albums.

OVERVIEW

It feels like an insult to give most of the praise for the first half to tracks that they did on studio albums better. It proves they still had the ability to be good and meaningful, but struggled to make and showcase something new that works. Even The Man and The Journey does take from some excellent earlier cuts, though not very much. The Man and The Journey is the definitive 60s Pink Floyd project without Syd Barrett and proves they had something going right. Similarly with my review of the 1969 compilation, this is a nice album for a Pink Floyd fan that wants to know what the band was up to, but doesn’t need an ungodly amount of redundant tracks. If that concept album at the second half was released at the time without the audience noises and with light overdubs to give more “pop”, it would probably be seen as a classic rock album and an essential listen, unlike the similarly-lengthed Ummagumma they worked on instead. Even what we have is an essential listen, despite it not being in the most obvious of places. While 1969: Dramatis/ation has some of the most tired Floyd tracks, it has enough good material to be worth a visit. This review should be a good guide for what is and isn’t pleasurable to listen to.

The Rolling Stones – Aftermath (1966) UK Album Review – The Rolling Stones On Their Own

Could You Walk On The Water?

The Rolling Stones’ first album of original material has become a rock monolith of sorts. It’s an iconic piece of music that has stood the test of time, even at its length of 52-minutes. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards certainly had great ability and style in their songwriting, but couldn’t keep a consistent quality control. Someone had the right idea, as there are plenty of outtakes. There’s in fact five, six if you include “Paint It Black”. In an alternate universe, those six were included and released as an early double album, but that isn’t the case here. All the better for it, as the album as-is loses steam too fast. The tracks trend from best to worst.

“Mother’s Little Helper”, “Stupid Girl”, and “Under My Thumb” are among the best 60s Stones songs. All capture an aggressive British wit about a man who has it all figured out in his own head, all featuring lyrics that have a negative view towards women. The guitar work, especially on tracks like Mother’s, feel like it’s on the verge of a mental breakdown; the drumming sounding like a mix of a heartbeat and an oncoming train; and the bass your psyche about to give up entirely. There’s a surreal and frightening aura to it all. Its spirit is proto-punk and dreamlike. “Lady Jane” is a poorly placed ballad. Its preceding track, “Stupid Girl”, asks to be continued by something with more trouble and bizarreness and the album stops to include this instead. It’s a nice enough track, though not as exceptional. “Flight 505” continues the cursed charm of the other three. It celebrates its own dark comedy, being upbeat despite some dark lyrics.

Most of the material here feels like interesting enough experiments that’d make nice bonus tracks, though a few are great. Their diversity gives the record an identity crisis, like it doesn’t know what it’s trying to make you feel. “Out Of Time” is a psychedelic plea, as if the singer is losing control of their emotions. “Take It Or Leave It” is folk-esque, as are “Doncha Bother Me” and “High And Dry”. The latter two benefit from distancing themselves more from that, as the Stones can’t capture the right “folk feeling”. They’re too much of a rock group. Doncha is reminiscent of Link Wray and is among the more novel Stones works. The last three cuts, Take It, “Think”, and “What To Do”, feel like demos. The vocals are a little flatter, in addition to a lack of feeling to the backing band. The songs somewhat devolve into “just say the name of the song over and over”. The album was recorded in two short periods. These come off as the last thing they recorded, once they were burned out. Imagine Take It with some muscle in the guitar playing. It’d be much better. “What To Do” is the last track. It needed either to not be the last or have some finality. It’s just a bit of fluff. All the “experiments” on the album are wildly inconsistent, which makes sense. Some are great and all feel like the Stones are trying to make their statement.

Every track on the album can’t be called bad as the playful innocence of this rebel gang of youngsters gives enough charm to stop strong negative feelings. That doesn’t stop problems from being prevalent, but that makes them more forgivable. Representative of the whole album is the last track of side-a, “Goin’ Home”. It starts with a bluesy little song that goes at a nice pace before the track degrades into an improvisational jam. Conceptually, it’s not bad, but the track simply loses steam. It feels like no one knew what to do, especially Mick Jagger. He just says little things throughout. This song is a more dramatic show-stopper, as it goes on for eleven and a half minutes, at the cost of the pacing. This demonstrates the lyrical theme of “we’re too brave to not do what we want”. No one thought to cut this bad boy down, which is a shame.

OVERVIEW

Someone wanting to listen to Aftermath should listen to it as is, so as to get the artistically-intended experience. One way to basically respect that and also give a better ending is to include “Paint It Black” after “What To Do”, as if it was the last track. It’s a much better closer than what we got. It was also included as the opener to the American version of the album. That American version is a little better for cutting some of the filler. “Goin’ Home” is its final track and that makes more sense than the UK’s ending. The shorter tracks can maintain tension and then it all seeps out at the end. It’s still not a great song, but it fits more at the end of side b than side a. For fun, I included a version of the album I constructed, cutting out the tracks best left off.

1. “Mother’s Little Helper”
2. “Stupid Girl”
3. “Under My Thumb”
4. “Doncha Bother Me”
5. “Flight 505”
6. “High And Dry”
7. “Out Of Time”
8. “It’s Not Easy”
9. “Goin’ Home” (Start fading at 3:15)
10. “Paint It Black”

Pink Floyd – 1968: Germin/ation (2016) Review

Pink Floyd in 1968

Pink Floyd has one of the most interesting trajectories in terms of quality. Many bands start alright, get to great, then fall to bad. Pink Floyd started great, went to bad, great again, then finally bad again. Music that breaks the convention is sprinkled throughout. The first “bad” era started in 1968, Pink Floyd’s second year of significant recording. The reason is one of rock music’s great tragedies, the mental decline of the band’s leader Syd Barrett. While he was able to make good music in his far too brief solo career, the rechristened Pink Floyd needed time, despite being armed with a better guitar player in David Gilmour. The 2016 boxset The Early Years 1965–1972 chronicles highlights of the group’s recordings post-Syd. As a set, it’s admirable, giving you the gist and necessary recordings without being too tedious. Those that want to hear what the band were up to in 1968 outside their LP A Saucerful of Secrets should give this a listen. As the music itself goes, tedium is an issue.

The band, especially with David Gilmour, succeeds at long and ambitious tracks that have the time and scope to fulfill what they’re going for. The format of releasing singles is very limiting, which the group soon realized. After two post-Syd singles, they essentially stopped doing them. The first four tracks are those singles and flip-sides, while the fifth and sixth are studio tracks that seem like they could have been recorded with the intention of being singles. Much of these feel like they may have either been intended to be longer, but then too shortened; or intended to be shorter, but lengthened to fit in with their sound. Either way, there’s a sense of directionless-ness. The group wanted to prove they could still be a good band and more importantly pay the bills. The product of that is it seems like someone had a riff or idea that’s very ambient or ethereal, then it was stretched to the length of two and a half to six minutes.

“It Would Be So Nice” in a sense feels like an album. Tempo changes and different sections litter it. A psychedelic vocal makes it feel like a parody of its genre and Pink Floyd specifically. Its b-side “Julia Dream” captures a similar tone, with double tracked lead vocals and air-y sound beyond belief. Neither feel like the band had an interest in even doing the music, but instead reverse engineered it after listening to other psychedelic bands like The Zombies. They turned up the trends to the max. Flutes and organs and everything blast at you, despite also featuring many slow and quiet moments. It’s everything, and thus nothing. The next single is “Point Me at the Sky”. While a little cheesy with Roger Water’s yell-esque singing style, it doesn’t outstay its welcome and captures its mood well. David Gilmour’s guitar and Richard Wright’s organ have a magical way of giving life to the music. The organ somewhat emulates Church music, without taking too much from it. It’s a nice touch to mix that Church-style with psychedelia. The track is quite nice and breezy, being the best studio cut here. “Careful with That Axe, Eugene” has good potential, but doesn’t do much with it. It’s cold and trippy, but doesn’t have an impact. At one point Roger screams and it feels like just another thing there. Perhaps the band realized the error of their ways because their Ummagumma album features a much longer and much better version. The studio version does go past its welcome at almost six minutes, but not too badly.

The last two studio tracks, “Song 1” and “Roger’s Boogie”, feel like demos, possibly being so. You could believe the band were just noodling and playing around one day, these being the product. The very coarse voice on Boogie is irritating, though not gratingly so. Neither are essential, but they are much better than Nice and Dream, as at least they’re straightforward. The final seven tracks were recorded for BBC Radio, some being of the studio tracks prior. While they are similar to the studio versions, there are some flourishes. The guitar on “Julia Dream” resonates more and would’ve benefited the studio version. “The Massed Gadgets of Hercules (A Saucerful of Secrets)” trims down the studio version of it on its s/t album. Due to the similarities, if you like a studio version of a song, you’ll probably like the live version here. The only notable one is “Interstellar Overdrive”, which is quite different from the Piper at the Gates of Dawn version. Other than using a little bit of the original, it’s basically a different song. This ends the album well. The room to let the ideas breathe and epic feeling make it a good finale. Despite the more muddled sound quality, the guitar and drums’ moments to stick out soar quite well. It feels like a creepy and fun little trip into rock space.

OVERVIEW

Pink Floyd has seen better days. For the sake of having the most consistent catalog, it would be better to leave most of these on the cutting room floor. This is still a good document, despite the downfall of making you think that what wasn’t included must’ve been even worse than the lowlights here. Whether that’s true, who knows? I have a soft spot for “The Committee” soundtrack, fortunately remastered by Albums That Should Exist. Those interested in what I personally would recommend and re-listen to should check out both versions of “Point Me at the Sky”, “The Massed Gadgets of Hercules”, and “Interstellar Overdrive”. The rest is best left aside.