Led Zeppelin : Rehearsals, Demos And Studio Outtakes

With the re-release of all of the Led Zeppelin albums in deluxe editions with unheard bonus tracks, my hopes were very high. I myself was a huge Zeppelin collector for a portion of my life and had heard some really amazing versions of songs not often heard by others besides Zepheads. The other side to that story is I know how Jimmy Page likes to go back and change his music history by "fixing up the recordings". When he re-released "The Song Remains The Same" and released "How The West Was Won" it just seemed a bit TOO perfect. Sometimes live Mr. Page did not play as well as he had hoped, and in this day and age it is easy to go back into a studio and fix the tuning or whatever is needed to make it perfect. The thing that I don't think he got was, it may not have been perfect but it showed you are a human. Don't get me wrong - sometimes live shows are just, well what can I say, really bad, but when you decided to re-release them they should stay untouched or at least not perfected to this degree. The re-issue of "The Song Remains The Same" soundtrack is just something I can't and will not listen to. Sure, it's nice to get the few extra songs but man, you changed the vibe of the entire thing and I can't stand it.

This brings us to the deluxe edition re-issues of all the studio albums with bonus tracks. Alternate mixes? What a bunch of crap. Yes, I too can go into the studio with the master tape and make an"alternate mix" and just take the vocals out. Great, now I can hear everyone really sing karaoke with Zeppelin??!!! WTF

NO DEMOS
NO DRUM MIXES
NO FUN STUFF

I think Jimmy Page missed a huge portion of historic recordings he could have used. Sure, I've heard the story about him checking with the collectors to see if they had heard certain mixes or songs before but really, this is what you picked?
Sure a few new things have been released, but overall I'm not very happy with what has and will be included in these deluxe editions. I guess everyone is now going to have to buy "Coda" because that is were the Bombay sessions and a few other recordings now show up. 

What you get here is a collection from someone who has heard way too much Led Zeppelin to have these go unheard by the masses. It is a compilation in chronological order and includes MANY historic gems. Enjoy!!

Disc One

Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (alternate take)  

You Shook Me (alternate take)  

Do What Thou Wilt (outtake)  

Baby Please Come Home (original mix)   

Moby Dick (full version - no solo)   

Moby Dick (alternate drum solo only) 

Sugar Mama

Immigrant Song (rehearsal)   

Out On The Tiles (rehearsal)   

That's The Way (demo)   

Bron-Y-Aur (demo) 

Down By The Seaside (demo)   

Gallows Pole (demo)   

Over The Hills And Far Away (demo)  

I'm Gonna Be Her Man (demo)  

The Rover 1 - (demo)  

The Rover 2 - (demo)  

Untitled (demo)  

Friends (demo)

 

Disc Two

Hey Hey What Can I Do (demo)   

Hey Hey What Can I Do  

Blues Jam/That's Alright Mama   

Since I've Been Loving You (alternate mix)    

Friends (Bombay version)  

Four Sticks (Bombay version)   

Four Sticks (full version)

The Battle Of Evermore (alternate mix)   

Stairway To Heaven (demo) 

When The Levee Breaks (alternate version) 

Disc Three

No Quarter (alternate mix) 

In The Light (alternate version)  

Swan Song (outtake) 

The Wanton Song (alternate version)  

Custard Pie (alternate version)   

All My Love (full version)   

Fire (Say Your Gonna Leave Me (rehearsal)  

Wearing And Tearing (drum mix)  

Click Here 

Elway

Sometimes you find music that, when you hear it for the first time, it just has you in it's grip and it will not let go. On the other side, it's familiar in a way that you have not seen or heard in years and you really enjoy the vibe. 

Elway, a band from Fort Collins, Colorado, is the band that band I speak of.

I saw them a few years ago as an opening band, who I later had a chance to talk to, and are just a great group of musicians. They were on tour for their first full album "Delusions" released in 2011.

From the get go I felt and saw something I had not in years. It took me a few songs later to realize what I felt and saw was a mid 80's Minneapolis Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum kinda thing. All in a very GOOD way. The music, the way they joked on stage, the way sometimes they just don't give a f*ck and man do I miss those days.

Here is how I saw the band first...live.

Listen to "Delusions" 

The bands most recent release called "Leavetaking" was released in 2013 and is a great follow up.

Twitter

Bandcamp

Facebook

Toon Tunes

I know as a kid, one of my greatest memories, just like any other kid, was watching cartoons. Growing up in the late 60's and early 70's  is  also something that was sort of perfect timing for many of what would later be called classic cartoons.

These days, some those classics have either ended up on YouTube or on DVD. While many others still have yet to seen official release, they find their way to the public by collectors of cartoons and animation.

Of course, I had my favorites and in the late 90's a CD was released titled "Toon Tunes".
It contained MANY cartoon theme songs on it. On first listen, a lot of favorites popped out, giving me many flashbacks, in a good way, but I also heard others that I forgot about but thought ...Oh Yea and starting singing within a few seconds later. These songs are something that when you just hear them, they can bring an old fashioned grin or a big smile as you remember some of those great childhood memories. Oh, by the way...I still watch cartoons.

What follows are some of my favorites (not in any order)

Spiderman     MP3
Speed Racer     MP3
The Banana Splits     MP3
Underdog     MP3
The Jetsons     MP3
Jonny Quest     MP3
The Pink Panther Theme     MP3
Peanuts     MP3
Atom Ant   MP3
Secret Squirrel     MP3
George Of The Jungle     MP3
Super Chicken     MP3
Dastardly & Muttley In Their Flying Machines     MP3
The Flintstones   MP3
Rockin' Bird     MP3
Bedrock Twich     MP3
Way Outs     MP3
Open Up Your Heat And Let The Sunshine In     MP3
I'm Just A Bill     MP3
Conjunction Junction     MP3
Tom & Jerry     MP3
Woody Woodpecker     MP3
Mighty Mouse     MP3
Casper The Friendly Ghost     MP3
Huckleberry Hound     MP3
Quick Draw McGraw     MP3
Fractured Fairy Tales     MP3
Peabody's Improbable History     MP3
Felix The Cat     MP3
Yogi Bear     MP3
The Bullwinkle Show     MP3
Dudley Do-Right     MP3
Wally Gator      MP3
Magilla Gorilla     MP3

  

Seed - Ling

Sometimes there are bands, that for whatever reason, have a short history but they have left their mark in the music world. In 1994, during the reign of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots and Soundgarden, we also had bands like Jellyfish, The Posies and this band from Austin, TX - Seed, who released one of the most underrated CD's of the 90's titled "Ling".

Drums - Kyle Schneider

Bass/Vocals - Chadwick Salls

Vocals/Guitar - Gabriel Ordonez

Guitar - Dean Truitt

As far as a fan's point of view, this is how I remember it happening in 1994.

The band is seen all over television including MTV 120 Minutes, Conan O'Brian and the Jon Stewart show, promoting the singles "Rapture" and "Doe"  with the release of the CD. The band tours for a short time....They're gone, well the original line-up anyway. I've seen a few videos with a newer line-up in 1996, but really, that's it.
It's also very bizarre in this day and age with the internet, that so little is out there about this band who created some great music I still really enjoy.

Rapture   MP3   WAVE

Virgin   MP3    WAVE

Baa Baa Song   MP3   WAVE

Kids.... This Is Fabulon   MP3   WAVE

Ladybug   MP3   WAVE

Nail   MP3   WAVE

You Should Not Take These Things For Granted   MP3   WAVE

Doe   MP3   WAVE

Tortoise Shell   MP3   WAVE

Fortune *   MP3   WAVE

For Adam    MP3   WAVE

Mariposa **   MP3   WAVE

All Songs Written by Chadwick Salls except * 

by Chadwick Salls and Gabriel Ordonez 

and ** by Chadwick Salls and Dean Truitt

Fan Made Facebook Page

Article about the band

Strontium 90 - Police Academy

I have always been a big fan of the band The Police. From the band's first album Outlandos d'Amour, released in 1978, which includes such songs as "Roxanne", "Can't Stand Losing You" and "So Lonely", I was hooked. The first time I saw them live was on the "Ghost In The Machine" tour which was just amazing. 

As with any band, I enjoy the origins of how they began. In 1997, this CD was released. It gave us a rare look at some music that later would play a big part of MTV and music history. Strontium 90 is a band that included Sting, Andy Summers, Stewart Copeland and Mike Hoowlett. This is Mike Hoowlett's explanation of the band and the contents of the CD, as described on the back of the CD:

I first saw Sting play live in a room above a pub in Newcastle on tyne, England, in the summer of '76. The band was Last Exist, sounding a bit like Weather Report with vocals.  Sting soon moved to london following his best chance instinct.  I had just quit my group Gong and was working on material for my own project.  I asked Sting to sing on the demos I was recording.  Meanwhile I'd bumped into Andy Summers at a party in January '77.  He'd been out of the scene for a couple of years studying classical guitar.  When I asked him to play on my demo, he was glad to do something new.

I needed a drummer.  Sting had met Stewart Copeland, he'd bring him along.  So that's how it happened.  We all met in a studio called Virtual Earth around February 1977.  this was the first time Sting, Andy and Stewart played together.  That session makes up the studio part of this record.

The first gig was in huge circus tent in Paris in front of 6,000 crazy French hippies on May 28, 1977.  It was a reunion of my old group Gong - an all day event with each band member bringing his own current project.  Mine was Strontium 90, and this was the first time we had played live.  That was the first time Sting, Andy and Stewart stood on a stage and played together.  The gig was recorded but only the monitor mix survives which makes up the live part of this record.

Strontium 90 was just a step on the path that ended in The Police.  For the observer of patterns, here is a footnote in the history of popular music.  For the lover of moments of magic, here are a few gems!

1.  Visions of the Night  MP3    WAVE

2.  New World Blues   MP3   WAVE      

3.  3 O'Clock Shot - Live   MP3   WAVE

4.  Lady of Delight   MP3   WAVE

5.  Electron Romance   MP3   WAVE

6.  Every Little Thing She Does is Magic   MP3   WAVE

7.  Towers Tumbled   MP3   WAVE

8.  Electron Romance - Live   MP3   WAVE

9.  Lady of Delight - Live   MP3   WAVE

Andy Summers - Guitar

Stewart Copeland - Drums

Sting - Lead Vocals - Guitar (tracks 2, 6) - Bass (tracks 1, 6, 8)

Mike Howlett - Bass (solos on tracks 5, 7, 8)

Frank Turner - Show #1625

Frank Turner is a English folk-punk singer/songwriter. He, however, began as the singer of the Post-Hardcore band, Million Dead. In 2005, he started his acoustic-based solo career that, in England, was something that caught on very fast. As a few years passed, he became so popular in England that when the Olympics were in London in 2012, Frank played at the opening ceremonies.

In America it was more of a word of mouth thing, finding out about Frank and his fun and talented songwriting and showmanship. In 2012, he released "Last Minutes And Lost Evenings" which is a compilation of songs from his earlier albums. In 2013, he released "Tape Deck Heart"  Both of these CD's opened the eyes in America a little more and soon he was playing everywhere in America and the rest of the world. Hell, I even saw him play on the Ellen Show. 

Patty (my wife) and I have seen Frank a more then few times and have really enjoyed the atmosphere of every one of his shows. We've both seen and heard thousands of bands and  heard lots of music but, at a Frank Turner show, the vibe is like no other I have felt. His audience, at the shows I've been to, has a widely distributed age group. I've seen everything from kids that are 10 years old to 70 year olds, all singing along to the songs.  I urge you to listen to more of  his music and I think this show may encourage it on what was one of the greatest nights of music I've been a part of.

One thing I was always jealous about Frank Turner being big in England, was the stories and videos I saw of him playing acoustic shows in small pubs somewhere in England. Everyone seemed to join in to making every song a sing-a-long, drinking pints of beer at the bar. Well, I guess if you dream enough, some of the craziest things can really happen.

After having a long day at work, I got home and decided to have a few beers, four tall boy Heinekens to be exact, and to listen to some music for a couple of hours . Patty had just gotten home around 9:30 P.M. after a long day at work and a few  hours of volunteer work under her belt, a long and tiring 14 hour day at that point for her; it was time for her to relax and catch up with our daughter. About 30 minutes, later I came back to see what she was doing and I picked up her phone and for some reason it vibrated. I'm not sure how her phone works so I gave it to her and told her, "I'm not sure what I did, but it vibrated." She said that I had turned it on when I picked it up. After the phone loaded, she decided to check Twitter. Next thing I hear is "Oh, shit, Frank Turner is at the Gingerman and doing a free show - you just have to show up." My reaction..."What??!!! Frank Turner is doing a free show now!!! At The Gigerman!! What??! We gotta go!! We gotta go !!!" It's about 10:15 on a Thursday night and we both have to work the next day. The other part of the story is Gaslight Anthem and Cory Branan were playing at the Aragon Ballroom on this night as well, which is a show we wanted to go to, but we both got off of work too late. Alkaline Trio was also playing a four night extravaganza at completely sold out shows, which I also wanted to attend but could not.

The Gingerman or Gman Tavern is located on Clark Street in Chicago. It's in Wrigleyville; well, it's just a few short blocks to the park. It's also just a few doors down from the famous Metro. I think it might hold, at most, 150 people. We got there in less then 30 minutes, lucked out once more with a parking spot directly across the street from the Metro. The line to get in was short, but it was only a 2-out, 2-in kind of thing because the place was packed to begin with. So the question was, are we going to get in? Shortly that was answered with a gleeful YES and we headed to the bar to get a drink from Katie who, we would find out later, had a little something to do with the show. So, from a tweet that happened about an 1-1/2 hour earlier, we were now standing in a bar, with drinks in our hands, on a Thursday night, at midnight and what happened next was a night full of fulfilled dreams, extreme pleasure in the joy of music and one of, if not the greatest nights of music, drinking and singing with a group of people that we've ever had the pleasure to enjoy.

As a bonus, I found out about this a few days after the show. 

It's about 50 minutes of music from this amazing night.

MP3   WAVE

I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous

The Way I Tend To Be

Reasons Not To Be An Idiot

I Am Disappered

Victory Bell (snippet)

?

Plain Sailing Weather
Peggy Sang The Blues

Sustitute

Long Live The Queen

Recovery

I Still Believe

The Balland Of Me And My Friends

American Girl

The show was also talked about online at Punktastic.
It also includes some other great photos from the night.
Just Click Here

Thank you to 

 Frank Turner, Katie & everyone at The Gman!

Robert Plant - Pre Led Zeppelin

Before being asked to join Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant had been working on music since the age of 15 with other bands and had also tried a short-lived solo career.These recordings are rare and are not talked about or heard very often. I came across these many years ago when I was a big Led Zeppelin collector. I did own most of these at some point and always enjoyed playing the super rare 45's.

The other important thing that happened during this time is Robert Plant and John Bonham played and recorded together in the third line up of the Band Of Joy.

 

Robert Plant with The Brum Beats in 1963

In 1966, Robert was signed to CBS Records. His first single was released under the band name, Listen. The label thought a band, instead of a solo artist, was the way to go for Robert.

It was released in the U.K. and in the U.S.

You Better Run   MP3   WAVE

Everybody's Gonna Say   MP3   WAVE

In 1967, Robert released two singles as a solo artist for CBS.

The second single, "Long Time Coming/I've Got A Secret," is rumored to include John Bonham on drums but I have never found anything to verify that. You will notice they have a lot more of a Soul or R&B feel then Zeppelin ever did.

Our Song   MP3   WAVE

Laughin' Cryin' Laughin'   MP3   WAVE

Long Time Coming   MP3   WAVE

I've Got A Secret   MP3   WAVE

Robert Plant and John Bonham had played together in the band, the Crawling King Snakes. Sadly, we have no music or photos from that band or era. We do, however, have the pre-Zeppelin recordings and photos of The Band Of Joy with Plant and Bonham together. My understanding is there were a few different lineups of The Band of  Joy, including the first without John Bonham.

And then music history was changed forever with the third line-up of the Band Of Joy with the early beginnings of the supergroup Led Zeppelin. Luckily, acetate recordings were made of three recordings of the Band Of Joy from this era, including the band's first original song, "Got To Find My Baby". They are very rare and are a big piece of music history that has been missed in the big picture and I thought I'd pass these along to my fellow readers and music geeks.

For What It's Worth   MP3   WAVE

Got To Find My Baby   MP3   WAVE

Hey Joe   MP3   WAVE