Zakary Thaks (1966-1969) – 3 Fan Albums

Zakary Thaks has turned out to be one of my favorite obscure bands I’ve discovered lately. They seem to be really well regarded by fans of garage and psych music, so it’s a shame there was not the chance for them to record albums. They started recording music in July 1966, so if they had recorded one album a year, we’d have probably four proper albums and a handful of strays that might add on an album or two. As such, some of these songs come from slightly odd sources and don’t have as much cohesion as I’d like. The first is basically a greatest hits, mostly being singles and b-sides. It is the main reason I love this band, due to the fiery playing with little studio touches. There are some unreleased cuts and interestingly three members of Thaks backing someone else. That singer, Mike Taylor, worked with the band a lot and I think these tracks fit close enough to be considered Thaks songs, especially based on something that will come up later. While my Face to Face album is very close to passing as a proper studio album, it mostly being singles makes it not feel like albums of the time. It does help everything was recorded in just over half a year.

Zakary Thaks – Face to Face (1967) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Bad Girl”
2. “I Need You”
3. “She’s Got You”
4. “It’s the End
5. “People Sec. VI”
6. “Passage to India”

SIDE B

1. “Won’t Come Back”
2. “Weekday Blues
3. “I’d Only Laugh”
4. “Please”
5. “Face to Face”

PERSONNEL

• Chris Gerniottis – lead vocals (tracks 1-4, 6-8, 10-11)
• John Lopez – lead guitar (tracks 1-11) (Possibly not on tracks 5, 9)
• Pete Stinson – rhythm guitar (tracks 1-4, 6-8, 10-11)
• Rex Gregory – bass (tracks 1-11)
• Stan Moore – drums (tracks 1-11)
• Mike Taylor – lead vocals (tracks 5, 9)

The second album comes from a video the band recorded of covers. The recordings were not intended for proper release and thus the quality is a bit poor, but it’s a nice oddity to have. If Thaks was able to do one or two albums a year, this would probably not have been released, though there are some official live albums of the time with poor sound quality. The Summer of Love doesn’t have the excuse of capturing the band playing off a live audience of screaming fans, as this is basically just a rehearsal tape.

Zakary Thaks – The Summer of Love (1967) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “I’ve Got Levitation”
2. “Sock It To Me Baby”
3. “Love Is A Beautiful Thing”
4. “Mustang Sally”
5. “3/5 Of A Mile”

SIDE B

1. “I’m A Man”
2. “My Little Red Book”
3. “Shake”
4. “My Back Pages”
5. “Tell Her No”

PERSONNEL

• Chris Gerniottis – lead vocals (tracks 1-10)
• John Lopez – lead guitar (tracks 1-10)
• Pete Stinson – rhythm guitar (tracks 1-10)
• Rex Gregory – bass (tracks 1-10)
• Stan Moore – drums (tracks 1-10)

Not only is this last album very short, but it spans two years! This draws from a period where the band was changing and not making much music. The earliest tracks are the rest of what was recorded with Mike Taylor singing, though I’m unsure if two of them feature Thaks. I have them here as one unverified source says so and none say otherwise directly. After the final single with the classic lineup, Chris and Rex were both fired, then the band almost immediately broke up. You’d think Rex would be embittered, but it seems not as the two members that wanted him gone most got him back in the fold and they formed a power trio. That trio of Rex, Stan, and John recorded, amusingly having been the three members to also be on the Mike songs. That means the Mike recordings have all of an official version of the band. Chris would rejoin near the end. Note that if you took the “Footsteps” and “Mirror” tracks and moved them to the first album, then erased the Mike songs, you’d have all the studio recordings of the classic lineup. I didn’t end up doing that because I wanted everything in order and for this last studio album to not be so extremely dominated by Mike. That does mean that sadly this great band in its best configuration only managed eleven studio tracks! That’s similar numbers to the Big Three.

Zakary Thaks – Everybody Wants to Be Somebody (1969) – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Can You Hear Your Daddy’s Footsteps”
2. “Mirror to Yesterday”
3. “Gotta Make My Heart Turn Away”
4. “I’m Nobody’s Man”

SIDE B

1. “My Door”
2. “Green Crystal Ties”
3. “My Last Day”
4. “Outprint”
5. “Everybody Wants to Be Somebody”

PERSONNEL

• Chris Gerniottis – lead vocals (tracks 1-2, 8-9)
• John Lopez – lead guitar (tracks 1-9), lead vocals (tracks 5-6) (Possibly not on tracks 3-4, 7)
• Pete Stinson – rhythm guitar (tracks 1-2)
• Rex Gregory – bass (tracks 1-9), lead vocals (tracks 5-6) (Possibly not on tracks 4, 7)
• Stan Moore – drums (tracks 1-9), lead vocals (tracks 5-6) (Possibly not on tracks 4, 7)
• Mike Taylor – lead vocals (tracks 3-4, 7)

The Electric Prunes (1965-1967) – ? Fan Albums

My favorite picture of the band.

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.

Despite my mixed views on psychedelic bands, The Electric Prunes stand as a very quality example of the genre. While they had five albums before their 1990s reunion, that’s not nearly as appealing as it seems. After the third album, the entire band quit and was replaced! Thus, the last two don’t feature the real Prunes at all. Even the third features the band more minimally, with guitarist Ken WIlliams not on every track. The group’s singer only counts the first two of those albums as being kosher. I wanted to see if I could get a fourth (or third) “true” Prunes album from the 60s. In terms of stray tracks, there seemingly was a gold mine of high fidelity demos from 1965. However, the first session, which yielded a perfect twelve recordings, don’t have perfect sound quality and more importantly, aren’t that good of performances, nor do they have the band’s classic psych sound. After a little bit of fire in the beginning, the momentum of the thing kind of dies out. It’s not the worst thing ever, but not that interesting. I don’t even like to think of it as a real Prunes album. I do have a soft spot for teenage garage bands for all their faults. They can’t all be first lineup Kingsmen.

The Sanctions (1965) – Spotify

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Boys”
2. “Long Tall Sally”
3. “Moon Dog”
4. “Somethin’ Got A Hold On Me”
5. “Money”
6. “Love Potion Number Nine”

SIDE B

1. “Jack The Ripper”
2. “New Orleans”
3. “What’d I Say”
4. “Chicago”
5. “You Can Help Yourself”
6. “Louie Louie”

PERSONNEL

• James Lowe – lead vocals, guitar
• Ken Williams – lead guitar
• Mark Tulin – bass
• Michael “Quint” Weakley – drums

After this, there was another demo session that I liked more, feeling like the halfway point between the first twelve recordings and the classic sound. The main issue is the low audio quality being worse than the studio songs. There’s also a few studio strays before the first album and then later on a few after the second album, which I really like. I originally was going to make an album of either every stray track after The Sanctions or at least those in between that and the first album, but problem is they don’t gel together at all. Even if I was to collect them, they’d be a very short twenty-four minutes. Thus, I like to think of them as being released as a series of EPs. Down the line, what if they were released as a compilation called 3Ps?

The Electric Prunes – I’m Free (1965) – Spotify

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “I’m Free”
2. “I’m Down”

SIDE B

1. “Too Many People”

BONUS TRACK

1. “Little (Li’l) Olive”

PERSONNEL

• James Lowe – lead vocals, guitar
• Ken Williams – lead guitar
• Mark Tulin – bass
• Michael “Quint” Weakley – drums
• Dick Hargrave – keyboard

The Electric Prunes – Ain’t It Hard And Three More (1966) – Spotify

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Ain’t It Hard”
2. “Little Olive”

SIDE B

1. “World of Darkness”
2. “I’ve Got a Way of My Own”

PERSONNEL

• James Lowe – lead vocals, guitar
• Ken Williams – lead guitar
• Mark Tulin – bass
• Michael “Quint” Weakley – drums (tracks 1-2)
• James “Weasel” Spagnola – rhythm guitar (tracks 3-4)
• Preston Ritter – drums (tracks 3-4)

The Electric Prunes (1967) – YouTube, Spotify

The Electric Prunes – Underground (1967) – YouTube, Spotify

The Electric Prunes – Shadows (1967) – Spotify

TRACKLISTING
SIDE A

1. “Everybody Knows (You’re Not In Love)”

SIDE B

1. “You Never Had It Better”
2. “Shadows”

PERSONNEL

• James Lowe – lead vocals, guitar
• Ken Williams – lead guitar
• Mark Tulin – bass
• Michael “Quint” Weakley – drums
• Mike Gannon – rhythm guitar

The Electric Prunes – Stockholm 67 (Recorded 1967) – YouTube, Spotify

The Electric Prunes – Mass in F Minor (1968) – YouTube, Spotify

The Electric Prunes – Artifact (2001) – YouTube

The Electric Prunes – Rewired (2002) – YouTube, Spotify

The Electric Prunes – California (2004) – can’t find

The Electric Prunes – Feedback (2006) – YouTube, Spotify

Without Ken Williams:

The Electric Prunes – Return To Stockholm (2012) – can’t find

The Electric Prunes – WaS (2014) – can’t find

Thus, I frankly can’t make a real “fourth Prunes album”. At best we have a few strays which admittedly are sometimes great. As a consolation prize, there is the live album and also a reunion career which originally featured the three main members of the band. Two of them have since left. I haven’t really taken any look at the reunion era. I will say I know there are at least some strays from then, but I don’t know much about them.

“Oh by gee, by gosh, by golly. Life to him was oh so jolly. Dad, what happened to the Toonerville Trolley?”

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!

George Harrison (1961-1973) – Six Fan Albums

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.

Obviously I’m stepping away from some of the more obscure artists I cover to one of the most famous of them all, George Harrison. I’ve been intrigued by him, especially the material from around 1965 onward, which can feel more like a solo George song in a sea of Lennon and McCartney, than part of the same artist. Thus, I decided to make playlists of songs that either have George’s lead vocals or are instrumentals that are basically dominated by him to overall make an alternate history where George was a solo artist from square one. This version of mine is less radical than some others I’ve seen. A common thing is to either cut out songs that don’t seem to fit the mold, sort tracks by essentially when they were written, and things of that sort. I wanted to keep things in recording order and separate the Beatles era from the early solo era, as they feel distinct.

The most radical thing I’ve done is take the All Things Must Pass album and non-album tracks from around that time to make four single disc albums, instead of one triple album. Generally, the earlier the song was written that was recorded in that time period, the earlier it shows up. I think that my version flows much better than the original album. Starting with 1973’s Living In The Material World, Harrison’s albums were single discs and had barely any stray tracks, so they’re left alone. I may do a sequel to this that covers what few strays there were for the last twenty-eight years of George’s career. Immediately below is a brief narrative that also explains some of the strange stuff here. Lots of information here is made up.

The History of George Harrison from 1961-1973 

Liverpool bar band The Silver Beetles toured around trying to hit it big, mostly playing covers. The two clear leaders, bassist Paul McCartney and rhythm guitarist John Lennon, had begun to write songs together and develop a distinct style to lead guitarist George Harrison and drummer Pete Best. Wanting to fit in, George would write a little, but felt it was out of his depth. Soon enough, the differences became too much and the band split. The group remained friends. Paul and John continued to work together, mostly writing songs for others. When they got a record deal with EMI in 1962, then later a hit single, they asked the label to consider George. They agreed, though gave him little creative freedom, which frustrated George. George cut four successful singles, with ample help from John and Paul.

Two of the recent single tracks, “Don’t Bother Me” and “Roll Over Beethoven”, were successful enough to warrant George an LP. At the insistence of EMI, half that LP would consist of live recordings and most of the album would be covers. The live tracks were recorded with John, Paul, and session drummer Ringo Starr. The three made minor appearances on the studio material, with it mostly being filled out with session men. The Burning Hot George Harrison (1964) was released to little attention and George would decide to stop recording for the time being and try to find something that he identified with stronger.

Touring around and trying new styles, George became more confident and wrote many songs. In 1967, he returned to EMI, destined to record an LP of entirely originals. Seeing as this had become more trendy, and with the support of John and Paul, he got his wish. This new project, which George called his first “real” album, still was backed with a mix of John, Paul, Ringo, and session players. It’s All Too Much was a big hit and allowed George more creative freedom for the future. His upcoming albums were the bizarre soundtrack album, Wonderwall Music, which divided him between those that loved Indian music and psychedelia, and those that wanted more conventional music; The Inner Light, which was more conventional and acclaimed than his previous work; and the even more bizarre Electronic Sound. Electronic Sound would be Harrison’s first album to feature no John, Paul, or Ringo and also to receive mostly negative reviews. George endeared himself to some, and garnered hatred from others by saying he just wants to do what he wants while he can and that no matter what he does, he will one day fall off the map.

Harrison had felt he had grown beyond John and Paul, so decided to not use them on his next project. While his close friends, namely Eric Clapton, had appeared on his songs before, here they would be used a lot more. All Things Must Pass garnered mixed reviews, with some saying it came off as incomplete. As much could be said for the side release, Apple Jam. However, 1971’s The Concert For Bangladesh and 1972’s Beware Of Darkness were considered returns to form. Some theorized Harrison was making a point to essentially swap between a “mainstream” release and a polarizing release. This was continued with the extremely stripped-back Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine and the “conventional” Living In The Material World, both from 1973. Both had a more positive reception than his worst regarded material, though less than his best as those that weren’t willing to put up with his weirder tendencies had already gone.

Starting with 1974’s Dark Horse, some would claim Harrison was either trying to make bad, alienating music, or was going commercial. Harrison would often give contradictory answers. The first clue was when he took a break from recording and rereleased some of his early albums with differences. Both Pass and Gang Of Mine featured overdubs to some tracks to make them feel more complete and the latter included a non-album single and b-side. Regardless of Harrison’s intentions, all of his music, especially the 1961-1973 era, has in time become more consistently loved and acclaimed, detailing an artist that didn’t want to follow the rules and was willing to be daring. Some have noted the reason the works might be liked better now is the lesser releases, as well as the proper ones, can be obtained for cheap, instead of being the expensive new releases they once were.

TRACKLIST & LINKS

1963 singles + The Burning Hot George Harrison (1964) – Spotify, YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SINGLES

1. “Don’t Ever Change (Pop Go the Beatles, 27 August 1963)”
2. “Chains”
3. “Do You Want To Know A Secret”
4. “Devil In Her Heart”
5. “Cry For A Shadow”
6. “You Know What To Do”

SIDE A

1. “Don’t Bother Me”
2. “I Forgot To Remember To Forget (From Us to You, 28 May 1964)”
3. “Roll Over Beethoven”
4. “Three Cool Cats”
5. “Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby”
6. “Crying, Waiting, Hoping (Pop Go the Beatles, 6 August 1963)”

SIDE B

1. “The Sheik Of Araby”
2. “Nothin’ Shakin’ (Pop Go the Beatles, 23 July 1963)”
3. “Glad All Over (Pop Go the Beatles, 20 August 1963)”
4. “So How Come (No One Loves Me) (Pop Go the Beatles, 23 July 1963)”
5. “Young Blood (Pop Go the Beatles, 11 June 1963)”
6. “I’m Happy Just To Dance With You”

It’s All Too Much (1967) – Spotify, YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Taxman”
2. “I Want To Tell You”
3. “Love You To”
4. “If I Needed Someone”
5. “Think For Yourself”
6. “I Need You”
7. “You Like Me Too Much”

SIDE B

1. “Within You Without You”
2. “Blue Jay Way”
3. “It’s All Too Much”
4. “Only A Northern Song”

Wonderwall Music (1968) comes here, unaltered – Spotify, YouTube

The Inner Light (1969) – Spotify, YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “The Inner Light”
2. “Long, Long, Long”
3. “Piggies”
4. “Savoy Truffle”
5. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
6. “Circles (Esher Demo)”
7. “Here Comes The Sun”

SIDE B

1. “Something”
2. “Old Brown Shoe”
3. “For You Blue (Naked Version)”
4. “I Me Mine (Naked Version)”
5. “Not Guilty”
6. “Sour Milk Sea (Esher Demo)”
7. “Almost Shankara”

Electronic Sound (1969) comes here, unaltered – Spotify, YouTube

All Things Must Pass (1970) – Spotify, YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Isn’t It A Pity (Version 1)”
2. “Art Of Dying”
3. “I’d Have You Anytime”
4. “Window Window (Day 2 Demo; Take 1)”
5. “Let It Down”

SIDE B

1. “Wah-Wah”
2. “Run Of The Mill”
3. “Dehra Dun (Day 1 Demo; Take 2)”
4. “Isn’t It A Pity (Version 2)”
5. “Nowhere To Go (Day 2 Demo; Take 1)”
6. “All Things Must Pass”

All Things Must Pass (1970) alt version – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Isn’t It A Pity (Version 1)”
2. “Art Of Dying”
3. “I’d Have You Anytime”
4. “Window Window (walrusz version)”
5. “Let It Down”

SIDE B

1. “Wah-Wah”
2. “Run Of The Mill”
3. “Dehra Dun (walrusz version)”
4. “Isn’t It A Pity (Version 2)”
5. “Nowhere To Go (walrusz version)”
6. “All Things Must Pass”

Apple Jam (1970) comes here, unaltered – Spotify, YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Out Of The Blue”
2. “It’s Johnny’s Birthday”
3. “Plug Me In”

SIDE B

1. “I Remember Jeep”
2. “Thanks For The Pepperoni”

The Concert For Bangladesh (1971) comes here, unaltered – Archive.org

Beware Of Darkness (1972) – Spotify, YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Hear Me Lord”
2. “My Sweet Lord”
3. “What Is Life”
4. “Behind That Locked Door”
5. “Beware Of Darkness”

SIDE B

1. “The Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)”
2. “Awaiting On You All”
3. “I Dig Love”
4. “If Not For You”
5. “Apple Scruffs”
6. “I Live For You”

Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine (1973) – Spotify, YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Almost 12 Bar Honky Tonk (Take 1)”
2. “Cosmic Empire (Day 2 Demo; Take 1)”
3. “Get Back (Take 1)”
4. “Going Down To Golders Green (Day 1 Demo; Take 1)”
5. “Mother Divine (Day 2 Demo; Take 1)”

SIDE B

1. “Om Hare Om (Gopala Krishna) (Day 1 Demo; Take 1)”
2. “Tell Me What Has Happened To You (Day 2 Demo; Take 1)”
3. “Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine) (Take 1)”
4. “Bangla Desh”
5. “Deep Blue”
6. “Miss O’Dell”

Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine (1973) alt version – YouTube

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “It Don’t Come Easy”
2. “I’ll Still Love You”
3. “Almost 12 Bar Honky Tonk (Take 1)”
4. “Cosmic Empire (Day 2 Demo; Take 1)”
5. “Get Back (Take 1)”
6. “Going Down To Golders Green (Day 1 Demo; Take 1)”

SIDE B

1. “Mother Divine (Day 2 Demo; Take 1)”
2. “Om Hare Om (Gopala Krishna) (Day 1 Demo; Take 1)”
3. “Tell Me What Has Happened To You (Day 2 Demo; Take 1)”
4. “Wedding Bells (Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine) (Take 1)”
5. “Bangla Desh”
6. “Deep Blue”
7. “Miss O’Dell”

Living In The Material World (1973) comes here, unaltered – Spotify, 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!

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!

The Monks – Three Fan Albums

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 Monks are generally known and defined by their one and only LP, as if nothing else was ever made. While that’s not far from the truth, there is a little more they did. That material is consistently less hard hitting than the famous album. The group are still surprisingly strong at infusing psychedelia and pop, with the drumming a particular highlight. That being said, these aren’t must-listen recordings by any means. While The Sonics managed to get almost a second full length worth of hard edged tracks, and all the way to a third of very quality work, these stray Monks would almost best be described as a different band. If you like the famous Black Monk Time and want more of it, you should go to other bands with a proto-punk style, as Black is all you’ll get from the Monk pot. If you want decent rock tunes and interesting alternate versions of songs, then here you go, what is essentially another group.

These two album names were apparently considered to be the names of potential follow-up albums. I don’t think they’re great titles, especially because of the change in sound for one and the same songs of the other, but I thought it was cute to do. If albums of new material had come out under those names, it probably wouldn’t have been like what’s below, with album-only tracks that were never recorded.

The three “fan albums” are Silver Monk Time, which details demos and live cuts of what’s on Black and also… Gold Monk Time, which features no overlapping songs with Black. The third are stray “modern” recordings by members of the band. Just for fun, also included is the live reunion album and more solo projects, as well as a list of what exists, but I couldn’t find.

THE MONKS – SILVER MONK TIME

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Boys Are Boys (1964)”
2. “Monk Time”
3. “Love Came Tumblin’ Down”
4. “Space Age”
5. “We Do Wie Du”
6. “Boys Are Boys (1965)”
7. “Pretty Suzanne”
8. “Higgle-Dy Piggle-Dy”

SIDE B

1. “Oh, How To Do Now (1965)”
2. “I Hate You”
3. “Boys Are Boys (1966)”
4. “Oh, How To Do Now (1966)”
5. “Complication”
6. “I Can’t Get Over You”
7. “Cuckoo”

THE MONKS – GOLD MONK TIME

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Monk Chant”
2. “I Can’t Get Over You”
3. “Cuckoo”
4. “Love Can Tame the Wild”
5. “He Went Down to the Sea”
6. “Pretty Suzanne”

SIDE B

1. “Hushie Pushie”
2. “There She Walks”
3. “Julia”
4. “P.O. Box 3291”
5. “I Need U Shatzi”
6. “Yellow Grass”
7. “I’m Watching You”

GARY BURGER & DAVE DAY – IT IS CHARLES TIME

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. The Spectors – “Oh, How To Do Now” (1993)
2. Alec Empire & Gary Burger – “Monk Time” (2006)
3. The Fall & Gary Burger – “Higgle-Dy Piggle-Dy” (2006)
4. The Havletones & Dave Day – “That’s My Girl” (2006)

SIDE B

1. Charles Paul Wilp & The Monks – “It Is Charles Time” (2006)
2. Faust & Gary Burger – “Beware (The Transatlantic Feedback)” (2006)
3. Gary Burger – “I Feel Fine” (2013)

LINKS

1. The Monks – Black Monk Time (1966) – Spotify, YouTube
2. The Monks – Silver Monk Time (1966) – YouTube, Spotify (Incomplete)
3. The Monks – Gold Monk Time (1967) – Spotify, YouTube
4. Minnesoda, Featuring Eddie Shaw – Minnesoda (1972) – YouTube
5. Lightning, Featuring Eddie Shaw – “William Tell Overture (The Lone Ranger Theme)” (1975) – Spotify, YouTube
6. The Monks – Let’s Start a Beat – Live from Cavestomp (2000) – Spotify, YouTube
7. Gary Burger & Dave Day – It Is Charles Time (2013) – Spotify, YouTube
8. Eddie Shaw & The Hydraulic Pigeons – Jass In Six Pieces (2013) – Spotify, YouTube
9. Gary Burger – BurgerMONK 2010 (2016) – Spotify, YouTube

MISSING RECORDINGS

1. Dave Day – “I Want The Right To Be Free” (1979)
2. Dave Day – “G.I. Blues” (1979)
3. Dave Day – “Application For Your Love” (1985)
4. Dave Day – “Stars Shining In The Night” (1985)
5. Gary Burger – What’s Your Limit (1992)
6. Dave Day – Having A Party With Dave Havlicek (1994)
7. Dave Day – “I Want The Right To Be Free” (1997)
8. Dave Day – “Don’t Ha Ha” (1997)

THE MONKS ARE

• Gary Burger – lead guitar, lead vocals, tambourine
• Larry Clark – organ, backing vocals, piano, tambourine
• Dave Day – banjo, rhythm guitar, banjo guitar, tambourine, backing vocals
• Roger Johnston – drums, backing vocals
• Eddie Shaw – bass guitar, backing vocals, trumpet, brass instruments

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!

Syd Barrett 1971-1974 Stray Tracks Review

Syd Barrett with Stars in 1972

February 16th, 1971 Show for Sounds of the Seventies

The spacious guitar and vocals are beautiful. The “pleases” sound pleading. An announcer says Syd was writing lots of new songs. That appears to be false, so it’s curious where he got that information from. “Love Song” doesn’t get a chance to really take off as this version is shortened for some reason.

“Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band (‘Cambridge’ – January 27th, 1972)”

It’s hard not to love an audience clapping for Syd as he goes on stage. Musically, all you get is a little noodling, probably not even by Syd. Still, this doesn’t hurt to have.

Last Minute Put Together Boogie Band ‎- Six Hour Technicolour Dream Cambridge Show (Only the tracks with Syd) (January 27th. 1972)

Starting “Drinkin’ That Wine” with the singer saying it’s the sort of track you listen to while going to church and getting drunk is a pretty amusing way to start this, perfectly capturing its tone of a bluesy hippie band. “Number Nine” has a great instrumental section. The singer is very soulful, most notably on “Gotta Be A Reason”. Near the end of Reason, the guitar sounds similar to the playing on “Interstellar Overdrive”.

Steve Peregrin Took Tracks, “Molecular Lucky Charm” and “Syd’s Wine”

Syd’s presence is not confirmed. The sound quality is not great, especially for the vocals. The guitar playing and noises create a really solid atmosphere and seem like something Syd would come up with. The entrancing guitar is reminiscent of “Terrapin”. Syd used a lot of tap percussion, like bongos, which Wine has. I think it’s pretty likely Syd is on these. Regardless of the vaSydity, these are interesting psychedelic folk tracks that also feel like T. Rex for obvious reasons.

The 1974 guitar recordings

The 1974 recordings do feature Syd’s proficiency and unique style. While they are obviously incomplete, they do satisfy an itch for those willing to scratch the bottom of the Syd barrel. These prove that Syd still had guitar talent in 1974. These aren’t nearly as directionless as people say. You can detect some care in the playing. These would work as guitar lines of a full song. I wonder who the bassist is. “Boogie #2” has some cool psychedelic guitar playing in the beginning. “If You Go, Don’t Be Slow #1” has particularly warm sounds, though overall there’s sadly too little going on. Most of the tracks could benefit from more to make them last the time they do, but they’re still nice to listen to and not a bad way to spend twenty minutes.

“Boogie #2 (Fragment – Bernard White ‘94 Mix)”

This is too fragmented to get much out of. It’s certainly far less listenable than the original version of this song. The mix doesn’t even sound very different.

“Was That Okay”

This is just Syd saying he thinks something was okay. No music! Of course this is the best track of the lot!

The 1974 recordings with bass and drums added by Richard Hall

A fan version by a Richard Hall adds bass, drums, and minor effects, which brings this to another level, medleying many songs and amplifying the impact they need. Here you get the softer side of Syd’s playing, the jam side, the meaner side. If this album was finished and released at the time, with Syd then retiring, it might be considered a solid and appropriate send off, with him touching on his various eras, while still being extremely solid all the way through.

OVERVIEW

One of the more elusive Syd projects is Stars, a band with bassist Jack Monck and drummer John “Twink” Alder that was only around briefly in 1972. While some of their shows were recorded, none have surfaced. While I wouldn’t turn down any Syd content, these don’t interest me compared to most of his canon because they were playing songs Syd already recorded in studio with Pink Floyd or for his solo work. That is unless there were really some new songs or new sections for old songs. However, we kind of get some Stars material in the above recordings. While the 1971 stuff’s bassist is usually credited to David Gilmour, Monck has also sometimes been. It’s not impossible it really was Monck. The Took recordings probably have Twink on drums (It’s not for certain as Duncan Sanderson is also credited on drums on the compilation album which features them). The closest we get to Stars is the Boogie Band, which has a concert recording where Monck and Twink are on every track, and Syd is on some.

While these later recordings aren’t as approachable as earlier ones, they still are solid, especially in their guitar playing and offer a fascinating final musical chapter for this otherworldly person. For those interested in more artistic expression from Barrett can go to his painting and sculpting. Every bit of Syd is well worth at least a single listen/experience.

Syd Barrett 1970 Stray Tracks Review

Green Onions

February 24th, 1970 Show for Top Gear

It’s fascinating hearing the acoustic and tap percussion versions of these band or folk tracks. The “Baby Lemonade” vocal is very psychedelic and warm. “Effervescing Elephant” comes off lighter without other instruments. “Gigolo Aunt” is especially interesting because of the different instrumental ending. The guitar sound and percussion perfectly match the tone of “Terrapin”, better than the album version. The instrumental portion manages to feel more intimate. “Two Of A Kind” has all these benefits, plus it’s got no other known version. It makes you wish a whole album was done like this. This warm sound makes this the greatest set of Syd Barrett live recordings available.

“Baby Lemonade (Take 1 – February 26th, 1970)”

An effective version of the track, though not as good as the album version. The singing could be better.

“Baby Lemonade (Take 1 – Alt Mix – February 26th, 1970)”

This is better than last one, as the double-tracked vocals are replaced with single-tracked and a little ambiance. It does go on a little long.

“Maisie (Take 1 – February 26th, 1970)”

Essentially just a few seconds of guitar playing.

“Maisie (Take 2 – Alt Mix – February 26th, 1970)”

Just seems like a more rough around the edges version of the album version, almost like it’s a rehearsal. It’s only really worthwhile for those really interested in hearing these stages of development.

“Waving My Arms in the Air” and “I Never Lied to You (Both Take 1 – February 27th, 1970)”

Very haunting guitar and vocal, especially the “No one in the land, no one” part.

“Gigolo Aunt (Take 9 – February 27th, 1970)”

Clearly different guitar and vocals from on the Barrett album, here more washed out. It’s pretty fun.

“Bob Dylan Blues (February 1970)”

This shows off the playful and worldly folk artist inside Syd, with upbeat singing and plenty of enthusiasm. This was written in 1965, which explains the “youthfulness” compared to his more melancholic lyrics. His singing is beautiful.

“Birdie Hop (Take 1 – Jenner ’74 Mix – June 5th, 1970)”

Really unintentionally creepy vocal and guitar. The sound quality makes it hard to appreciate.

“Birdie Hop (Demo – June 5th, 1970)”

This sounds about the same, though in better quality.

“Rats (Take 1 – Chatter – June 5th, 1970)” and “Wined and Dined (Takes 1 and 2 – Chatter – June 5th, 1970)”

As always, these chatter recordings are not as interesting as they could be, due to being relatively monotonous. Syd calls rats his “fetish”.

“Rats (Demo – June 5th, 1970)”, “Wined and Dined (Demo – June 5th, 1970)”, and “Effervescing Elephant” (Take 2 – July 14th, 1970)”

The folk versions of band tracks are consistently enjoyable.

June 6th, 1970 Show at the Olympia Exhibition Hall, London, England

The guitar on “Terrapin” has a lot of passion, it’s a shame the vocals are hard to hear. As an instrumental, the track goes on a little too long. The guitar is also often more intense, like when it rocks out on “Gigolo Aunt”. It’s easy to imagine Floyd versions of solo Syd, with more powerful playing and improvisation. “Effervescing Elephant” is a strange choice for this show, especially as something other than the first or last song. It’s a step away from being a quick acoustic guitar number, here married to some rocking band tunes. It’s fun hearing this version of “Octopus” that can rock out, though sound quality is as always a limitation. Fortunately, it does have more audible vocals. This show is interesting for it being Floyd-ish, but it’s too difficult to hear to get much out of it.

“Milky Way (Take 5 – June 7th, 1970)”

Not one of the best unreleased tracks, though it does still have the elements that make Syd great, just not as in full effect or utilized as well as they sometimes are.

“Milky Way (Take 5 – Jenner ’74 Mix – June 7th, 1970)”

This sounds very similar production-wise, though it’s a little lower quality.

“Love Song (Take 1 – July 14th, 1970)”

There’s more quietness and shyness, making this track haunting. This is a more depressing number, especially with how the guitar bangs out notes.

“Dominoes (Take 1 – July 14th, 1970)”

Doesn’t go anywhere, essentially a flubbed take.

“Dominoes (Take 2 – July 14th, 1970)”

There is still the added “insecure vocal”, which is not best on the album, but it’s great to have it here in the bonus tracks. The “time goes by” line is a favorite part, emphasizing how sad Syd sounds. He also does the Annette Hanshaw “That’s all.”

“Dolly Rocker (Take 1 – July 14th, 1970)”

It’d be interesting to hear a band version of this, as it seems made for the insecure folk style. The lyrics are fun. Syd wakes up a little with the “ocean” line, showing the innocence in his voice.

“Let’s Split (Take 1 – July 14th, 1970)”

This is one of the weakest available Syd songs, feeling very incomplete. It has plenty of potential to be great, as it does have good elements; it’s just noticeably less polished than album tracks or tracks like “Dolly Rocker”. Fortunately there are fan versions that remove the flubs.

“It Is Obvious (Takes 2, 3, and 5 – July 17th, 1970)”

Take 3 seems designed for a band version, with a deepened voice that seems designed to shout over a drummer! Take 2 is more of a typical folk rendition. Take 5 is the most interesting, with Syd trying to have a warm vocal, as if to evoke how you’d sing to a small child. Based on his state, it’s slightly unsettling, but in a good way.

“Word Song (Take 1 – July 17th, 1970)”

Syd also seems to be going for that “for a child” voice, but not as much. Possibly unintentionally, he is mostly emotionless. The guitar fills in for parts where you’d expect singing, which makes for a cool effect.

“Word Song (Take 1 – Jenner ’74 Mix – July 21st, 1970)”

Very similar to the other version, though the guitar sounds a little different, as if made louder, possibly to try to make it a “guitar song”, instead of a “singing song”.

“In The Beechwoods – Milky Way (Mash-up)” by Doctor Robert

These two tracks fit together surprisingly well. “Milky Way” was probably the intended lyrics for Beechwoods. The more I listen, the less they seem awkward together. That being said, Syd’s 1970 folk vocal doesn’t match up perfectly, though well enough for repeat listens and for this to be my favorite version of “Milky Way”.

“Let’s Split” Edit to Remove Errors

While some of the awkward elements are still present, like the “work in progress” guitar playing, and thus this still feels like a very rough version of the song, the edits for cohesion make it a little easier to appreciate it, especially with the whistling finishing off the tune nicely.

Syd Barrett 1968-1969 Stray Tracks Review

Syd in 1969

“Silas Lang (Take 1 – May 6th, 1968)”

As is practically always the case, the guitar work is fantastic, with some particularly favorite guitar work at the beginning. The guitar playing sounds like it’s being sent from space. Later, it’s surprising for some drums and sax to break out of nowhere. The track meanders in some ways, like when Syd is basically playing the same note, but it’s overall pretty funny.

“Lanky (Part One) (Take 1 – May 14th, 1968)”

The psychedelic percussion is entrancing. This is a playful cut that doesn’t feel its length, a glorious runaround.

“Lanky (Part Two) (Take 1 – May 14th, 1968)”

Apparently this is just an excerpt of the percussion on “Rhamadam” and it feels like it. It’s a hundred seconds of nice percussion jamming, but it’s so bare bones that it seems designed to fit in a longer piece, which it probably was.

“Golden Hair (Take 1) (Three Different Ones) (“Instrumental version” from Opel comp – May 14th, 1968, Dry Mix – May 14th, 1968, and Gareth Cousins ’88 Mix – May 28th, 1968)

Not bad if you’re interested in hearing the individual elements of a song, but they fail at being their own thing, sounding like a work in progress. Listening to these different versions got progressively more and more irritating, due to the repetitiveness.

“Late Night (Instrumental) (Take 2 – May 28th, 1968)”

While this is similarly dry and incomplete, you can at least now more easily appreciate the quality guitar playing and drumming. The “Inside me I feel” part is especially good, due to how much the instruments pop.

“Golden Hair (Take 5 – June 8th, 1968)”

The more childlike and exposed vocal performance is so interesting.

“Swan Lee (Take 5 – Malcolm Jones Alt Mix – June 8th, 1968)”

The guitar playing is a lot poorer here than on the proper track.

“Swan Lee (Take 5 – Backing Track – June 20th, 1968)”

This track being more fully realized makes it quite entrancing in its own right.

“Clowns and Jugglers (Octopus) (Take 1 w/chatter – July 20th, 1968)”

Sounds very rough around the edges, with the guitars stabbing out. For that, it’s inferior to other versions.

“Clowns and Jugglers (Octopus) (Take 1 – July 20th, 1968)”

The guitar and vocals don’t blend well. Syd’s voice awkwardly transitions to and fro the “Isn’t it good to be lost in the woods?” part. 

“Clowns and Jugglers (Octopus) (Take 2 – July 20th, 1968)”

It’s great hearing this by a proficient band like Soft Machine, especially with keyboards now present. That keyboard does add a little more to the unsettling nature, banging along. The vocal seems too unrehearsed, while it is basically perfect on the proper album version. The keys added to the album version would perhaps make for the ultimate “Octopus”.

“Swan Lee (Take 5 Excerpt – April 10th, 1969)”

There’s something brilliantly creepy about this, but the guitar playing could be better.

“Opel (Take 9 Chatter – April 11th, 1969)”

A bit of nothing from a recording session.

“Opel (Take 9 – Jenner ’74 Mix and Opel version – April 11th, 1969)”

This is one of Syd’s many masterpieces. The vocals perfectly portray passion and Syd’s divorced nature from other people. The lyrics blend his poetic wordiness with the more direct representations of his emotional state beautifully. The guitar is light and ethereal, while hauntingly marching on in the back of the piece. The Jenner mix just seems like a lower sound quality version of the Opel release.

“Opel (Orchestral Backing)”

This is a fan mix that I found amusing enough to cover. This makes me wish this was in high quality, preferably with Rick Wright on piano. What we get is some beautifully sonic piano and orchestra, with the violins especially good.

“It’s No Good Trying (Take 5 – April 11th, 1969)”

An effective folk version of this magnetic cut.

“Love You (Take 1 – Jones Mix – April 11th, 1969)”

More than most other folk tracks, this feels like Syd is in the same room as you, running through a track passionately. This is by far the most electrifying and well-constructed alternate version of this classic.

“Love You (Take 1 – Opel version – April 11th, 1969)”

This doesn’t sound anything like the bootleg “Jones mix”. This one feels much more rushed. Thus, I suspect one or both aren’t actually take 1.

“Love You (Take 2 – Jones Mix – April 11th, 1969)”

This one is still enjoyable, but seems less rehearsed.

“Love You (Take 3 – April 11th, 1969)”

Syd sounds tired and depressed. The track really doesn’t seem to work when he sounds as out of it as he does here.

“Rhamadam” (2010 Mix – Possibly Recorded April 23rd, 1969)”

The jazzy bass and drums are very solid. The instruments groove extremely well together. The piece is so warm and approachable that it doesn’t feel its twenty minute length. Especially with the hi-hat, this feels jazz inspired, which recalls some of Pink Floyd’s early recordings. A motor sound showcases the experimental Syd. With the keys, it feels a little like the Residents.

“Swan Lee (Silas Lang) (Take 9 – April 11th, 1969 (Further Overdubs Added April 25th, 1969))”

A great unnerving track with more striking guitar playing and vocals.

“Clowns and Jugglers (Octopus) (Take 2 – May 3rd, 1969)”

This amusingly adds a little funk to this song.

“Octopus (Takes 1 and 2 – June 12th, 1969)”

While take one is flubbed, take two is a moody and striking folk version of the track. There’s a slightly comical vocal on the “Isn’t it good?” part, but it adds an aura of weirdness to it that is likable. We even get some new lyrics.

“Octopus (Take 11 Excerpt – Rough Mix – June 12th, 1969)”

This just sounds like the official version of the track.

“Just Before You Disappear”

Chipmunk Syd. I have a soft spot for this sped up version of Octopus. Not sure why it exists, but it’s novel.

“Golden Hair (Take 6 – June 12th, 1969)”

An initially striking version of the track that loses appeal due to the points that feel like Syd trying to learn the song.

“Long Gone (Take 2 – July 26th, 1969)”

Very good guitar playing, but rough singing.

“Dark Globe (Take 1 Choral – Jenner ’74 Echo Mix & Jones ’87 Dry Mix – July 26th, 1969)

The very fun backing vocals give a new flavor to the track. The vocals on the Jones mix are not layered together as well.

“She Took a Long Cold Look at Me (Take 4 – July 26th, 1969)”

This more youthful vocal makes for an interesting experiment, but it’s not nearly as impactful as the studio album version.

“She Took A Long Cold Look (Take 5 – Jones ’87 Dry Mix – July 26th, 1969)

Obviously a beautiful track, but it basically just is the studio album version.

“Wouldn’t You Miss Me (Dark Globe) (Take 1 – July 26th, 1969)”

This track with Syd’s cold vocal gives such a different and strong vibe that this is one of the crown jewels of alternate versions of Syd songs. The album version feels like a breakdown, while this is trying to avoid that breakdown. Still, it’s not as good as the album version.

“Religious Experience (Take 10 – OOPS Mix – December 18th, 1969)”

While Syd Barrett recorded with the Soft Machine, it was the post-Kevin Ayers line-up. Now, he’s recording with Ayers himself! Note that this is more of an Ayers track with Syd being a guest. This “take 10” version is best left to bootlegs, as it’s very difficult to hear the singing.

“Singing a Song in the Morning aka Religious Experience (Take 103 – December 18th, 1969)”

Despite how repetitive it is, this cut doesn’t get old. There’s such a warm feeling to the “loving jam session at a campfire” vibe, with more and more people joining in.

Syd Barrett – The Madcap Laughs (1970) Review

The Madcap Laughs is the first Syd Barrett solo album, though as far as I’m concerned it’s the second. Madcap is a far more sensible follow-up to The Piper at the Gates of Dawn than A Saucerful of Secrets was. Despite this, Madcap is in many ways a subversion from what you might’ve expected. Instead of getting the type of production on tracks like “Jugband Blues”, you get a much more simplistic style at times, including many pure folk tracks. At the same time, you get some band tracks. Those band tracks, while often keeping at least a toe in folk, have psychedelic elements that make them feel like Pink Floyd, with a big omission being the keyboard. “No Man’s Land”, “Here I Go”, “Late Night”, and especially “Octopus” all seem like a keyboard away from being on a hypothetical Floyd album that follows Piper. Even “Golden Hair”’s light touches make it seem like a reasonable fit. “No Good Trying” and “Love You” of course do have keys, but the different style of keyboardist Mike Ratledge is apparent.

The lyrics are often magically nonsensical, though still make their point just as strong or stronger than more straightforward ones. “Yes you’re spinning around and around in a car with electric lights flashing very fast…” This quality is especially noticeable on the love songs. “Terrapin” is sung slowly with a psychedelic entrancing guitar. “Well, oh baby, my hairs on end about you.” captures the track’s vibe well. That all being said, the song would’ve been a better side-a closer. It’s quite long. “No Good Trying” shows Syd’s still great at doing jam tracks, feeling like it could’ve been a new direction for him that combines the free and lucid Pink Floyd with a more jazz-esque group like Soft Machine. “Love You” captures the spirit of slightly manic and very hard to explain falling-into-love. It’s a lovely lighthearted romper. This ‘love for life’ style is so joyful that it’s sad Syd didn’t do it more. “No Man’s Land” is the half-way point between the last two songs, it’s got great rocking out and feels like an extension of Floyd.

“Dark Globe” overtly discusses Syd’s depression and disillusionment. Arguably we were led into this by the garble at the end of the previous track. That could be seen as the entrance into the darker Syd. Globe seems to be about Syd falling to his death and asking if he’d be missed, with a heart wrenching and angsty vocal. While the next track, “Here I Go”, is on the surface another fluffier cut, Syd’s voice is cold, like he’s trying to relive a teenage experience after feeling emotionally broken. In fact, the song was written in 1965, when he first started writing music. It ends with a great mini-jam. That’s not the most exciting way to end side-a. Side-b’s opener would’ve been a better choice.

“Octopus” is rightfully the most well known track here. Its lyrics describe a mythical fairytale land. The line, “close our eyes to the octopus ride” suggests a darker subject, that you should ignore something approaching in favor of something unbelievable. Syd’s voice then gets colder as he sings about being “lost in the woods”. The lyrics continue to take baby steps into darkness, as does the vocal, which becomes more and more strained, like it needs air. This striking metaphor for Syd creeps under the surface, with the double-tracked vocals and other effects amplifying the otherworldliness. This track is the one you should hear from this album if you only do one and is my favorite.

“Golden Hair” is another highlight, imitating the style of “spacious instrumentals” with Syd’s slow strumming and singing. The lyrics are fantastic, like a bedtime story being read to you. That being said, Syd didn’t write them. This is yet more of a look into his interest in fairy tales and poetry. There’s a sudden transition to the more simplistic “Long Gone”. As if to be an antithesis to the earlier love songs, this one is about a romance crumbling. That cold style of “just singing and guitar” goes on for four tracks. They are understandably very personal and intimidating. The nonsense lyrics now feel like they’re being sung by a man who’s really lost it. To apply a “concept” to the album, it could be about a man who has a relationship he loves, it ends, can’t accept it and lets it consume his mind, with him thinking about the good and bad times and in the case of Hair, a poem from his youth. This is represented in lines like, “You feel me away far too empty, oh so alone. I want to go home. Oh, find me inside of a nocturne – the blonde.” As he loses it more, the lyrics become more strange.

While these four songs are great, they don’t mesh so well with the others due to stylistic differences. It would’ve been nice to get a full album of mostly or all band tracks and another of mostly or all folk tracks. The studio chatter also does remove from the experience, pulling you out of the spell you’re put under. The final track, “Late Night”, is unsettling, with passionate lyrics and a sound atmosphere. The lyrics are very innocent, being about missing a girl and her kisses. The stress in his voice, lines like, “when the rooftops shone dark”, and considering what we’ve just heard make this seem like it’s about a suicide. Still, maybe you can get away with sending this to someone you’re into without the context of what’s come before, as the lyrics are very romantic.

OVERVIEW

The quiet sounds tying off the record might be considered lacking in comparison to the “bigger” “Bike” track of Piper, though it does thematically fit with what The Madcap Laughs is going for. It doesn’t want to blow you out. The biggest strength and weakness is how Syd it is. As a Syd fan, it can be a lot, though it’s still so flavorful and captivating. A non-Syd fan might not be able to appreciate it beyond a few out of context cuts, as it’s like listening to someone’s disturbed thoughts.

Pink Floyd December 1969-1970 Stray Tracks Review

“Who’s For Soccer?”

1970 yielded some fantastic songs for Pink Floyd (and especially for Syd Barrett, but that’s for another day). They have quite a lot of leftovers, possibly due to working on the Zabriskie Point movie and expecting a vinyl release that never came. Hopefully these weren’t too close to how they were supposed to sound, as much of what’s here is forgettable and ill-thought out. That would be more acceptable if these were barely getting off the ground. There’s a track like “Come in Number 51, Your Time Is Up”, which actually got released and seems like just a less cohesive or well-worked version of “Careful with That Axe, Eugene”. There was already a released studio and live version. They couldn’t have put in another? 51 seems like a highlight reel of bits of Eugene. “On the Highway” is a particular favorite outtake, which wasn’t released at the time.

There are many inconsequential jams, which seem to have missed being fully realized. If recorders were more common in the early 60s-1967 version of the band, maybe we’d get stuff like this, pleasant noodling? “Alan’s Blues” is one, showcasing a more traditional rock guitar solo. As much can be said for “Just Another Twelve Bar”. “Love Scene (Version 5)” is when the noodling got more tiresome (don’t listen to these all in one sitting), with it going on with “Love Scene (Version 6)”. “Libest Spacement Monitor” and “More Blues” have some good interplay, like between the guitar and keyboard, but are inconsequential.

“Oenone” just seems like someone, probably Richard Wright, playing around with sounds for possible use of backing a song. “Love Scene (Version 4)” is a pleasant keyboard number. It might not be so bad to have on in the background. “The Violent Sequence”, aka “Us and Them (Richard Wright Demo)” is another track of that sort. While this is definitely on the right track, it feels incomplete and poorly performed, like Rick was just testing out ideas. Of course, this would later become a very nice and finished song.

“Country Song” is more finished-sounding, but like one of the throwaways from an album like More. The vocal is very weak, as if everyone’s sick of it. “Richard Are You Ready Yet?” is too low quality to make out much. It’s not even really a song, strange it’s considered one by fans. “Instrumental Improvisations 1, 2, 3” is incoherent playing and vocalizing. It might’ve been fun to be playing there, but not so much to listen to.

Some of the better tracks include “Rain in the Country”. It has a great light guitar sound, though it goes on forever, not being very interesting beyond the beginning. As much can be said for “Heart Beat, Pig Meat”. The repetitive percussion is at first very captivating, being quite unique. The rhythm and beat are reasonably sharp, though the novelty soon wears off. “Embryo (From Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air)” feels low effort, like a computer generated Pink Floyd song. It has that whisper voice, the drum tapping in the background, and things of that sort. In terms of how good it is, it’s dead average.

“Long Blues” has a good groove and doesn’t quite feel its length, but it lacks a certain spark, like a drive to keep you invested. “Fingal’s Cave” is one of the finest tracks here. It has a good otherworldly quality to it. That being said, what’s with the moaning and sex noises? They’re really uncomfortable. There’s a four minute version that’s just some atmospheric sounds and a much punchier two minute version, which is by far the best, getting to the point of this little jam. The reason this article starts in December 1969 is because I forgot to include “The Merry Xmas Song” last time. It’s very funny, like the sort of novelty track that sometimes is on 60s rock records. Nick has some joy in his voice and in general everyone seems to be having a good time. It’s hard not to love. We got a Pink Floyd Christmas song!

OVERVIEW

What is or isn’t worthwhile here is up to the individual. Personally, the Syd band did no wrong, even with their live instrumentals. He had a certain spark. If you feel that way about this lineup, you might love everything here. If not, a lot of this is tedious, but ‘tis the nature of these rare recordings.