Chris Farlowe - BBC Sessions, Volume 2: 1966-1969

A couple of months ago, I posted "Volume 1" of Chris Farlowe's BBC sessions. Then I promptly forgot to post "Volume 2." Luckily, I stumbled across him in my music collection today and remembered. This is more of the same, all BBC studio sessions from the 1960s.

Farlowe was one of those rare 1960s British singers who had some of the soulfulness in his voice of Black American soul singers. This made him very popular around 1965 and 1966, when Britain had kind of a soul music boom. But styles drastically changed in 1967 with the rise of psychedelic music. Farlowe did have one Top Forty hit in 1967 with "Handbags and Gladrags." (Rod Stewart would later have success with that song too.) But after that, the hits dried up.

However, while the careers of other British singers like him petered out entirely, Farlowe would manage to reinvent himself. He would join the band Colosseum in 1970. Its mix of jazz, rock, and blues suited his style. But they would break up in 1971. He then would join the band Atomic Rooster for a couple of years. This BBC collection only concerns itself with his solo music. But I plan on posting a "Volume 3" for when he solo career resumed in the mid-1970s.

Just like with "Volume 1," all the songs here are officially released on the album "Live at the BBC." The one exception is "Knock On Wood" done with Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity, which is taken from a TV show. However, once again I've made changes, to focus on the music. I removed the many short interview tracks from that album. I also removed all the instances of BBC DJs talking over the music, of which there were many. Those are all the songs with "[Edit]" in their titles.

This album is 40 minutes long.

01 North, South, East and West (Chris Farlowe)
02 I Can't Get You Out of My Mind [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
03 My Way of Giving (Chris Farlowe)
04 What Becomes of the Broken Hearted [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
05 Paint It, Black (Chris Farlowe)
06 Yesterday's Papers (Chris Farlowe)
07 I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
08 Summertime [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
09 Moanin' (Chris Farlowe)
10 Reason to Believe [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
11 Do What You Gotta Do [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
12 Knock on Wood (Chris Farlowe & Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity)
13 Gemini [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
14 Dawn [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
15 That's Why [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/M2oswYyK

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/lmQW1I4j648wq7V/file

The cover photo was taken in November 1966. I don't know anything more than that.

Dave Berry - BBC Sessions (1965-1967)

I mentioned some weeks back that I'm making it a point of posting the BBC sessions of some less popular 1960s musical acts, since nobody else seems to be doing it and it fits into my larger big BBC project. Tim Rose, Chris Farlowe, and the Ivy League are some recent examples. Here's another one, Dave Berry.

Berry was a star in Britain and some European countries from about 1963 to 1966. He never had success on the charts in the U.S. His biggest hits were "The Crying Game," "Little Things," and "Mama," all featured here. He's also known for the original version of "This Strange Effect," which was written by Ray Davies of the Kinks but not released by the Kinks at the time. It barely scraped into the Top 40 in Britain, but it was a Number One hit in the Netherlands. His star faded suddenly in 1967, when musical tastes drastically shifted with the rise of psychedelic music. So it's not surprising the last BBC session here is from early 1967.

Everything here is officially unreleased. But the sound quality is excellent, since all but one of the songs come from acetates of the "Top of the Pops" BBC radio show, which survived in pristine condition. The one exception to that is "The Crying Game." That's my favorite song sung by Berry (it also was a hit by Boy George in the 1990s), so I was disappointed to see that no BBC session of him singing it survived. So I had to resort to using a version he sang on the TV show "Shindig!" I believe this had live vocals over the instruments from the record. There were a few minor gaps in that recording, but I patched them up with some audio editing. That's why that song has "[Edit]" in its title.

There are a bunch of other songs with "[Edit]" in their titles too. That's due to the usual problem at the time of BBC DJs talking over the music. (I'm looking at you in particular, DJ Dave Matthew.) As I usually do, I wiped out the talking while keeping the underlying music using the UVR5 audio editing program.

Berry wasn't in the top tier of 1960s artists by any means, but if you like British Invasion music, you should like this. Although these are all BBC versions, I think this also basically works as a "best of" for him.

This album is 52 minutes long.

01 Little Things (Dave Berry)
02 Cadillac (Dave Berry)
03 I've Got a Tiger by the Tail (Dave Berry)
04 The Crying Game [Edit] (Dave Berry)
05 Southern Love (Dave Berry)
06 This Strange Effect (Dave Berry)
07 It Ain't Me, Babe [Edit] (Dave Berry)
08 Roll Over Beethoven (Dave Berry)
09 I'm Gonna Take You There (Dave Berry)
10 Just Don't Know [Edit] (Dave Berry)
11 Now [Edit] (Dave Berry)
12 If You Wait for Love (Dave Berry)
13 Hidden [Edit] (Dave Berry)
14 Mama (Dave Berry)
15 Understand Your Man (Dave Berry)
16 My Heart Skips a Beat [Edit] (Dave Berry)
17 Stranger (Dave Berry)
18 God Bless the Child [Edit] (Dave Berry)
19 It's Gonna Be Fine [Edit] (Dave Berry)
20 Forever (Dave Berry)
21 It's So Easy (Dave Berry)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/9sXYvqdj

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/ldDmXhqjicjI6Nl/file

The cover photo is from 1965.

Various Artists - A Musical Tribute to Woody Guthrie, Carnegie Hall, New York City, 1-20-1968

In October 1967, one of the all-time musical greats, Woody Guthrie, died at the age of 55. His health started declining in the late 1940s, and in 1952 he was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, which causes a gradual decline in motor skills and mental abilities. He was hospitalized continuously from 1956 until his death. From the early 1960s onward, Bob Dylan regularly visited him in the hospital and sang songs for him, but so did Pete Seeger and many other folk singers.

Back in the 1960s, musical tribute concerts weren't really a thing yet, but Guthie was such a towering figure that there actually were three such concerts. I plan on posting all three eventually. This is the natural way to start, since it came first chronologically.

This concert was officially released in full as the album "A Tribute to Woody Guthrie, Part 1," in 1972. In 1970, another tribute concert for him happened, and that was eventually released as "A Tribute to Woody Guthrie, Part 2." Then, decades later, highlights from the two were combined onto one CD simply called "A Tribute to Woody Guthrie." 

Normally, I wouldn't post something that has been officially released in full. But I think in this case I can made a more listenable album by subtraction. What I mean is, the 1968 concert was a combination of songs that were sung and spoken word/poetry that was read, going back and forth between the two. I think the songs have a lot of relistening value, but I don't want to hear the spoken word parts that often. So I deleted almost twenty tracks of that, keeping just the music. If you want the full version, the official album is for you.

In removing those tracks, I was careful to manage the applause at the end of each song, since the spoken word part often started while the cheering was still going on. In some cases, I was able to fade the cheering down to bring it to a natural end. But when it was too short for that, I pasted in some cheering from the ends to other songs.

Now, let's get to the music, which consists entirely of songs written by Woody Guthrie, or cover songs he was closely associated with. This concert is most famous due to the appearance of Bob Dylan and the Band. It was important for several reasons. This was Dylan's first public performance since his motorcycle accident a year and a half earlier. It seems he wasn't actually that seriously injured in that accident, and it certainly didn't take him years to recover. But he'd been living a fast and crazy life of stardom and wanted to step away from all that for a while, and the accident gave him an excuse to go into seclusion. After this concert, Dylan basically went back into seclusion for another year or so. But he considered Woody Guthrie so important to his life that he made this rare public appearance during that time anyway.

Also important was the fact that Dylan was backed by the Band. Most members of the Band had backed him on a 1966 tour, and then during his "Basement Tapes" studio sessions in 1967. But at the time of this concert, they still hadn't made a name for themselves... both figuratively and literally! Since they literally didn't have a name to call themselves yet, for this concert, they were billed as "The Crackers," weirdly enough. Later in 1968, the Band would release their first studio album, "Music from Big Pink," to great critical acclaim. They would continue to back Dylan on other projects, including the 1969 Isle of Wight Festival concert and a 1974 tour. This concert was critical to their early career as well as their evolving musical connection with Dylan.

By the way, in addition to playing three songs with the Band, Dylan sang on two others: "This Train Is Bound for Glory" and the finale, "This Land Is Your Land." His voice is just one of many on the finale. As for "This Train Is Bound for Glory," he sang a verse on his own. Unfortunately, the album only included about a 30-second long snippet of that song, and his part wasn't included. I didn't include that snippet since I found it frustrating to only have a bit of the song. I'm guessing there was a flaw with the recording for much of the song.

The other stars of the concert were some of the biggest names in folk music at the time: Arlo Guthrie (Woody Guthrie's son, who had just hit it big with "Alice's Restaurant" in 1967), Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Odetta, Richie Havens, and Tom Paxton. (I was asked the other day if I could post something by Pete Seeger. I couldn't think of anything worth posting. But then I remembered this concert.)

If you want to know more about this concert, here's an article in Rolling Stone Magazine about it that came out just a month after it took place:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bob-dylan-turns-up-for-woody-guthrie-memorial-197917/

This album is 56 minutes long.

01 Oklahoma Hills (Arlo Guthrie)
02 So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh [Dusty Old Dust] (Judy Collins)
03 Curly Headed Baby (Pete Seeger)
04 Ramblin' Round (Odetta)
05 Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad (Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie & Judy Collins)
06 Pretty Boy Floyd (Tom Paxton)
07 I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water (Richie Havens)
08 Plane Wreck at Los Gatos [Deportee] (Judy Collins)
09 Vigilante Man (Richie Havens)
10 Pastures of Plenty (Tom Paxton)
11 Grand Coulee Dam (Bob Dylan & the Band)
12 Dear Mrs. Roosevelt (Bob Dylan & the Band)
13 I Ain't Got No Home (Bob Dylan & the Band)
14 Roll On Columbia [Edit] (Judy Collins)
15 Jackhammer John (Pete Seeger & Richie Havens)
16 Biggest Thing That Man Has Ever Done [The Great Historical Bum] (Tom Paxton)
17 Union Maid (Judy Collins & Pete Seeger)
18 This Land Is Your Land (Will Geer, Arlo Guthrie, Odetta & Everyone)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/NrqpTP2Z

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/eas3q5bnIYHEX6d/file

What a historic photo for the cover! From left to right, that's Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and Arlo Guthrie. I found a bunch of photos from this concert, but all of them were in black and white. I picked this one, and then colorized it with the Kolorize.cc program. It did a really good job, including picking the colors. I only had to make a few fixes in Photoshop.

Roberta Flack - BBC In Concert, City Hall, Sheffield, Britain, 10-22-1984

When it comes to soul music, I much prefer the music of the 1960s and 70s to that of the 1980s. Disco killed the career momentum of practically all the soul music acts I like, and then the rise of drum machines, synths, and overproduction ruined tons of 1980s soul records. Luckily, this 1984 Roberta Flack is largely free of those problems. Yeah, it can sound a little slick at times, but mostly it's strong songs sung with an excellent voice.

The sound quality is top notch, as you'd expect from a BBC concert. I didn't have to make any changes. Everything here is unreleased.

This seems to be kind of an odd time for a Robert Flack concert. She didn't put out a new studio album in 1984. Her most recent one at the time, in 1983, was a duet album with Peabo Bryson, which she supported by going on tour with him. She wouldn't put out another studio album until 1988. My guess is she did have a greatest hits album that came out in 1984, so maybe she was supporting that. Or maybe she was just touring without any new material. This didn't contain any songs from her album with Bryson, and only one song from the album before that.

This album is 51 minutes long.

01 I Keep Forgettin' [Every Time You're Near] (Roberta Flack)
02 Killing Me Softly with His Song (Roberta Flack)
03 Feel like Makin' Love (Roberta Flack)
04 River (Roberta Flack)
05 Jesse (Roberta Flack)
06 The Closer I Get to You (Roberta Flack)
07 I'm the One (Roberta Flack)
08 Making Love (Roberta Flack)
09 talk (Roberta Flack)
10 Carousel (Roberta Flack)
11 The Water Is Wide (Roberta Flack)
12 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (Roberta Flack)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/9o1kSmVX

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/6mj1OBljBqpIAq3/file

I don't know anything about the cover photo except it's probably from 1984.

Chris Farlowe - BBC Sessions, Volume 1: 1965-1966

British singer Chris Farlowe is a pretty obscure musical act for me, an American. But he's much better known in Britain, where he had a handful of hits, including "Out of Time," which reached Number One in the British singles charts in 1966. So here's the first of three BBC albums I have for him. This one consists entirely of BBC studio sessions.

Around 1964 and 1965, the British public was discovering soul music for the first time. Prior to then, most soul hits in the U.S. didn't get distributed in Europe. Suddenly, there was a big demand in Britain, for singers would could sing truly soulfully, but talented singers in that style such as Steve Winwood were few and far between. But Chris Farlowe could do soul convincingly. As a result, in early 1965, he was signed to Immediate Records, which was mainly steered by Andrew Loog Oldham, the producer and manager of the Rolling Stones at the time. Over the next couple of years, Farlowe was given some songs written by the Rolling Stones that they felt didn't fit their rocking style. That included "Out of Time," which Mick Jagger and Keith Richards specifically wrote for Farlowe.

Farlowe's popularity declined around 1967, when the British public's fascination with soul music was largely replaced by psychedelic music. However, Farlowe kept reinventing himself. Although he didn't write many songs, his soulful voice remained in demand. He was the lead singer of the jazz rock band Colosseum in 1970 and 1971. Then he was the lead singer of the rock band Atomic Rooster in 1972 and 1973. Since then, he's alternated between a solo career and Colosseum reunions.

Here's his Wikipedia page:

Chris Farlowe - Wikipedia

All the songs here are officially released on the album "Live at the BBC." However, I've made changes, to focus on the music. I removed the many short interview tracks from that album. I also removed all the instances of BBC DJs talking over the music, of which there were many. Those are all the songs with "[Edit]" in their titles.

On this album, Farlowe largely performed soul songs, including daring to sing songs associated with Otis Redding and James Brown. However, he also did three songs written by the Rolling Stones: "Think," "Out of Time," and "Ride On Baby."

This album is 36 minutes long.

01 Watcha Gonna Do Baby [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
02 The Fool (Chris Farlowe)
03 Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
04 Think (Chris Farlowe)
05 Don't Just Look at Me [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
06 Mr. Pitiful (Chris Farlowe)
07 Out of Time [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
08 It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)
09 I Got You [I Feel Good] (Chris Farlowe)
10 We're Doing Fine (Chris Farlowe)
11 Ride On Baby (Chris Farlowe)
12 Headlines (Chris Farlowe)
13 Bread [Edit] (Chris Farlowe)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/oqXF2mvY

alternate:

https://bestfile.io/en/0IHIGhsoVx78BHN/file

The cover photo is probably from 1965 or 1966.

Sara Bareilles - Non Sequiturs, Volume 1 (2007-2023) (A MIKE SOLOF GUEST POST)

Have you heard of Sara Bareilles? Up until recently, I had not. But frequent guest poster Mike Solof came to me recently with a proposal to post an album of original, unreleased songs by her. I listened to it and thought it was good, so I approved posting it. But I also wondered how many people will download it if they hadn't heard of it before, like me. So I suggested to Mike that he make an album of cover songs she's done, all from stray tracks, so people who just love good music can listen to her and discover she has a great voice. So that's what this is.

As usual with Mike's post, you can find a lot more information in his PDFs he writes and includes in the downloads. So check that out. And the other Sara Bareilles album I mentioned is in the works and should be posted here too.

This album is an hour and four minutes long.

01 I Want You Back (Straight No Chaser & Sara Bareilles)
02 Single Ladies [Put a Ring on It] (Sara Bareilles)
03 Oh Darling (Sara Bareilles)
04 I Can Let Go Now (Sara Bareilles)
05 In Your Eyes (Sara Bareilles)
06 I've Had the Time of My Life (Sara Bareilles)
07 Fuck You (Sara Bareilles)
08 Truly Brave [Mash-Up of Brave and True Colors]] (Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper & Hoda Kotb)
09 I Don't Know How to Love Him (Sara Bareilles)
10 River (Sara Bareilles)
11 What's Going On (Sara Bareilles, Clarence Bekker & Titi Tsira)
12 What the World Needs Now Is Love (Sara Bareilles)
13 When You Wish upon a Star (Sara Bareilles)
14 Chandelier (Sara Bareilles)
15 Stoney End (Sara Bareilles)
16 You've Got a Friend (Sara Bareilles)
17 California (Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile & Lucius)
18 Come On Eileen (Sugarland & Sara Bareilles)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16631634/SARBARLLES2007-2023NnSqitrsVlum1_atse.zip.html

I have no idea when or where the cover photo is from, and I doubt Mike does either. But he presented a bunch of options to me for the cover photo, and I liked this one the best, so here we are. I'm guessing there are different colors on her because she was sitting near a stained glass window, which I think is a cool effect.

Elton John - Cover Versions, Volume 4: 2000-2002

I've been gradually posting a series of non-album cover versions by Elton John. However, when I posted Volume 3 in this series at the end of 2013, I ran into some copyright violation trouble. The link was taken down. Despite that, I'm going to foolishly post Volume 4 anyway. But there will be no direct download link. Instead, look to the comments section for a link to another website. Let's see how that works out.

It seems Elton John was really into performing cover songs in the early 2000s. Volume 2 stretches over nearly two decades, whereas this volume stretches over only about two and a half years. 

Nearly all of the songs were done in concert. There are only two exceptions, which are from studio albums: "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" and "Teardrops." One more song was done live but has been officially released: a duet of "Stan" with Eminem at the Grammy Awards in 2001. That's from an Eminem greatest hits album. Everything else is unreleased and from concert bootlegs.

During this time period, Elton John was doing many concerts as a co-headliner with Billy Joel. Typically, they played lots of songs together, and sometimes sang each other's songs. Four of the songs here are with Joel. 

There was a glitch in "Piano Man" that I managed to fix. That's why that one has "[Edit]" in the title.

By the way, just a couple of days ago I posted a 2001 Brian Wilson tribute concert. Two of the songs here happen to also be from that.

This album is 47 minutes long.

01 Free Man in Paris (Elton John)
02 Come Together (Elton John)
03 Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On (Elton John)
04 Just the Way You Are (Billy Joel & Elton John)
05 You May Be Right (Billy Joel & Elton John)
06 Stan (Eminem & Elton John)
07 God Only Knows (Elton John)
08 Wouldn't It Be Nice (Elton John & Brian Wilson)
09 Piano Man [Edit] (Billy Joel & Elton John)
10 Teardrops (Elton John & Lulu)
11 Here Comes the Sun (Elton John & Billy Joel)
12 Answering Bell (Elton John & Ryan Adams)

NOTE: There is no download link, as mentioned above, but check out the comments section. You may also find a link to Volume 3 there.

The cover photo comes from a concert in Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 20, 2000.

Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren - Sunday Mornings with Elle & Toni, Volume 15: 2023-2024

Since 2020, I've posted the Sunday Mornings album series of cover versions by Reina del Cid and Toni Lindgren. But since I posted the most recent album in this series (the 14th!), the main singer-songwriter in this duo, Reina del Cid, decided to change her stage name to Elle Cordova. That was her real name all along, and "Reina del Cid" was just a nickname. Of course, that's her right, and I want to respect that, just as, say, "John Cougar" turned into "John Cougar Mellencamp" and then finally "John Mellencamp." 

But I thought it would be strange to have some albums posted under the name "Reina del Cid and Toni Lindgren" and other albums under the name "Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren," so I've just finished renaming ALL of their previous albums. That meant renaming all the songs and changing all the cover art. It was a pain in the rear, but now it's done. So you may well want to redownload all the previous albums, to get with what hopefully will be the permanent name going forward. Note also that they're calling their Sunday morning postings "Sunday Mornings with Elle and Toni," so that's what I'm using as well.

With that out of the way, let me get to this album. That's not much to say that hasn't been already said about previous albums in this series. As usual, it's all unreleased cover versions taken for the duo's YouTube page (which, by the way, is now simply called "Elle and Toni"). Most of the time, just the duo performs on the songs, with occasional extra guests. But for three of the songs, it's just Toni Lindgren, who is stepping up as a lead singer slightly more often.

This album is 48 minutes long.

Here are the original artists for each song: 

01 Never Going Back Again - Fleetwood Mac
02 Clay Pigeons - Blaze Foley / John Prine
03 Your Smiling Face - James Taylor
04 Cuckoo's Nest - traditional
05 Brand New Key - Melanie
06 Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under - Shania Twain
07 Wonderful World - Sam Cooke
08 After Hours - Velvet Underground
09 The Big Rock Candy Mountain - Harry McClintock
10 Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland
11 Will You Love Me Tomorrow - Carole King / Shirelles
12 Cruella de Vil - 101 Dalmations (movie soundtrack)
13 Gentle on My Mind - Glen Campbell
14 Ripple - Grateful Dead
15 You Never Can Tell - Chuck Berry

Here's the usual song list:

01 Never Going Back Again (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)
02 Clay Pigeons (Toni Lindgren)
03 Your Smiling Face (Elle Cordova, Toni Lindgren & Kent Nishimura)
04 Cuckoo's Nest [Instrumental] (Toni Lindgren)
05 Brand New Key (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)
06 Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)
07 Wonderful World (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren with Nataly Dawn & Lauren O'Connell)
08 After Hours (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)
09 The Big Rock Candy Mountain (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)
10 Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)
11 Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)
12 Cruella de Vil (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)
13 Gentle on My Mind (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)
14 Ripple (Toni Lindgren)
15 You Never Can Tell (Elle Cordova & Toni Lindgren)

https://www.upload.ee/files/17363708/ELLECRDVATNILINDRN2023-2024SndyMrnngswthEllTniVlum15_atse.zip.html

alternate:

https://pixeldrain.com/u/RJymKbrW

The cover is a screenshot taken from the video for "After Hours" on this album.

Ron Sexsmith - Reasons to Believe, Volume 5: 2009-2012

Once again, here's another in a long series of stray tracks albums for Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith.

If you like the previous volumes, you should like this one too. I don't have much else to say, other than to explain where the songs come from.

All but the last two songs have been officially released. Those two are from concert bootlegs. The other songs are generally from tribute albums, appearances on albums by other musicians, and bonus tracks. Tracks 7 through 9 are bonus tracks from the 2011 album "Long Player Late Bloomer."

There are more originals on this one than the previous volumes, I think. The three bonus tracks mentioned above are originals. So are the two songs with Carlos Fregtman (tracks 4 and 5). "Love Shines" is another original, from the "Long Player Late Bloomer" album, but track 12 is a solo acoustic version done in concert.

"Day Is Done," originally by Nick Drake, is the sole bonus track. It's a lovely version, but unfortunately it's from an audience concert bootleg, and the sound quality isn't as good as the rest.

Thanks again to Pete BBBB for help in putting this together and figuring out the original artists for each song, as he's done for the whole "Reason to Believe" series.

This album is 45 minutes long, not including the bonus track.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Crayon Angels - Judee Sill
02 Broken in Two - Krista Hartman
03 When I Need You - Leo Sayer
04 Ghost of a Chance - Carlos Fregtman & Ron Sexsmith
05 Thoughts and Prayers - Carlos Fregtman & Ron Sexsmith
06 Broken Hearted People - Guy Clark
07 Next Time - Ron Sexsmith
08 Wooden Toys - Ron Sexsmith
09 Chambermaid - Ron Sexsmith
10 I Surrender Dear - Bing Crosby
11 Give Me Love [Give Me Peace on Earth] - George Harrison
12 Love Shines - Ron Sexsmith
13 Good Old Desk - Harry Nilsson
Day Is Done - Nick Drake

Here's the usual song list:

01 Crayon Angels (Ron Sexsmith)
02 Broken in Two (Krista Hartman & Ron Sexsmith)
03 When I Need You (Albert Hammond with Ron Sexsmith)
04 Ghost of a Chance (Carlos Fregtman & Ron Sexsmith)
05 Thoughts and Prayers (Carlos Fregtman & Ron Sexsmith)
06 Broken Hearted People (Ron Sexsmith)
07 Next Time (Ron Sexsmith)
08 Wooden Toys (Ron Sexsmith)
09 Chambermaid (Ron Sexsmith)
10 I Surrender Dear (Alex Pangman & Ron Sexsmith)
11 Give Me Love [Give Me Peace on Earth] (Ron Sexsmith)
12 Love Shines (Ron Sexsmith)
13 Good Old Desk (Ron Sexsmith & the Silver Ages)

Day Is Done (Ron Sexsmith)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16463657/RONSXSMTH2009-2012ResnstoBliveVlum5_atse.zip.html

The cover photo is from 2011. I don't know the details.

Natalie Merchant - Cover Songs, Volume 3: 2007-2019

This is the third and last album of cover versions by Natalie Merchant, former lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs. I really enjoyed the music here, she has a very interesting and enjoying voice.

This album takes us as close to the current day as I could get. Although it ends in 2019, I didn't find any worthy covers from the next few years. (She has done some in her latest concert tour, but sound quality is an issue.) 

As Merchant's solo career went on, she got increasingly interested in older, more traditional music forms. For instance, in 2003, she released the album "The House Carpenter's Daughter," with entirely consisted of cover songs, the vast majority of them traditional, with the composer or composers unknown. Her next album, "Leave Your Sleep" in 2010, consisted entirely of poetry from the 19th and 20th centuries put to music. I should mention I haven't included any cover songs from albums such as these, just her non-album stuff.

Given all that, it's not surprising that some of her non-album covers are traditional too. Indeed, that's the case with five of the songs here. But she mixes that with a good number of better known songs from the 1960s to more current times.

Only two of the songs here are unreleased. There would have been more, but again I wanted to keep the sound quality standard high. The two happen to both be Beatles covers: "Let It Be" and "I'm Only Sleeping." They're both from concert bootlegs.

As for the rest, most are from a mix of appearances on other artists' albums, various artists compilations, and two songs from an E.P. Additionally, four of the songs (tracks 11 to 14) are from her 2017 album "Rarities (1998-2017)." They were probably recorded at unknown earlier years, but that's when they were released. I've included them because this album is generally only available as part of a ten album box set called "The Natalie Merchant Collection."

This album is 53 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 To Love Is to Bury - Cowboy Junkies
02 If I Only Had a Brain - Judy Garland & Ray Bolger (from "The Wizard of Oz")
03 Political Science - Randy Newman
04 Order 1081 - David Byrne
05 Learning the Game - Buddy Holly
06 Child of a Blind Man - Hazmat Modine
07 Joseph and Mary [The Cherry Tree Carol] - traditional
08 Let It Be - Beatles
09 The Butcher's Boy - traditional
10 Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier - traditional
11 The Village Green Preservation Society - Kinks
12 My Little Sweet Baby - traditional
13 Too Long at the Fair - Joel Zoss / Bonnie Raitt
14 Sit Down, Sister - traditional
15 I'm Only Sleeping - Beatles

Here's the usual song list:

01 To Love Is to Bury (Cowboy Junkies with Natalie Merchant)
02 If I Only Had a Brain (Natalie Merchant)
03 Political Science (Natalie Merchant)
04 Order 1081 (David Byrne & Fatboy Slim with Natalie Merchant)
05 Learning the Game (Natalie Merchant)
06 Child of a Blind Man (Hazmat Modinet with Natalie Merchant)
07 Joseph and Mary [The Cherry Tree Carol] (Natalie Merchant)
08 Let It Be (Natalie Merchant)
09 The Butcher's Boy (Kronos Quartet with Natalie Merchant)
10 Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier (Kronos Quartet with Natalie Merchant)
11 The Village Green Preservation Society (Natalie Merchant)
12 My Little Sweet Baby (Natalie Merchant)
13 Too Long at the Fair (Natalie Merchant)
14 Sit Down, Sister (Natalie Merchant)
15 I'm Only Sleeping (Natalie Merchant)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16391905/NATLIMERCHNT2007-2019CvrSngsVlum3_atse.zip.html

The cover photo is from a concert at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on May 12, 2015.

Garth Brooks - Willie's Saloon, Stillwater, OK, 1986 (A MIKE SOLOF GUEST POST)

This is another Mike Solof guest post, but I have some things to say. First off, I'm surprised to be posting a Garth Brooks album here, because I'm not a fan of his music at all. But Mike was raving about this concert, and when I found out it's a solo acoustic show almost entirely of cover versions, I decided to check it out. I figured this might not have the production issues and other issues that I don't like about his music, and sure enough, that's the case. 

This is an album for even people like me who don't like Garth Brooks. If you like acoustic versions of great, classic songs, this is chock-full of good stuff. Heck, you don't even have to be a country music fan. There are only two Brooks originals, and the vast majority of the covers are folk and rock - Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Bob Seger, etc...

And although it's a bootleg from three years before he even put out his first album, the sound quality is surprisingly good.

It's unclear if this comes from one concert or several. What we do know is that Brooks was playing at small clubs in the town where he was going to college, and he probably was the one who made this recording, in order to show others his musical skills and possibly to give away or sell at his gigs. It basically sounds like a soundboard bootleg, although whether it is or not is kind of a moot point, since it literally sounds like the audience consisted of about a dozen people who were totally quiet during his songs. There's also almost no banter between songs. I'm guessing that was cut out in order to fit more songs on the tape.

Speaking of that audience noise, this version I'm posting here is the first time you can hear the clapping at all. It was way quieter. But I detected faint strains, so I used the MVSEP audio editing program to split the recording into cheering and everything else. Then I boosted the cheering up, waaaay up. Even now, the clapping is still pretty quiet, but at least it can be heard after each song. 

I also made a major edit to one song, "You Never Even Called Me by My Name." Near the end of the song, Brooks had a guest join him on stage and take over singing. He was introduced mid-song as a sports star at the college, so that explains why anyone thought it was a good idea to have him sing. But it turns out he was really bad, really out of tune. I asked Mike if I could edit him out, and Mike responded "KILL, KILL, KILL!" So that's how bad it was. I cut out a minute or two at the end of the song, but still patched in the very end, so hopefully you won't notice there was any editing at all.

As is his usual style, Mike has written some notes which are included in a PDF file with the download. I suggest you check that out to learn more about this unique recording in Brooks' music career. Mike comes at this from a different perspective as a big Brooks fan, and it's thanks to his enthusiasm that I listened to this and liked it enough to suggest that we post it.

This album is an hour and 14 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song. 

01 Tequila Sunrise - Eagles
02 Piano Man - Billy Joel
03 Much Too Young [To Feel This Damn Old] - Garth Brooks
05 Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce
06 Rocket Man [I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time] - Elton John
07 Steamroller Blues - James Taylor
08 Why Do Those Dreams Never Come True - Greg Jacobs
10 House at Pooh Corner - Loggins & Messina
11 Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel
12 Cats in the Cradle - Harry Chapin
13 Come Monday - Jimmy Buffett
14 Please Come to Boston - Dave Loggins
15 Night Moves - Bob Seger
16 Mr. Bojangles - Jerry Jeff Walker / Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
17 The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel
18 Sweet Baby James - James Taylor
19 Turn the Page - Bob Seger
20 Redneck Mother - Ray Wylie Hubbard
21 Only the Good Die Young - Billy Joel
22 Guitar Town - Steve Earle
23 Taxi - Harry Chapin
25 You Never Even Called Me by My Name - Steve Goodman / David Allan Coe
26 That’s the Way Love Goes - Lefty Frizzell / Merle Haggard
27 Which One of Them - Garth Brooks

Here's the usual song list:

01 Tequila Sunrise (Garth Brooks)
02 Piano Man (Garth Brooks)
03 Much Too Young [To Feel This Damn Old] (Garth Brooks)
04 talk (Garth Brooks)
05 Time in a Bottle (Garth Brooks)
06 Rocket Man [I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time] (Garth Brooks)
07 Steamroller Blues (Garth Brooks)
08 Why Do Those Dreams Never Come True (Garth Brooks)
09 talk (Garth Brooks)
10 House at Pooh Corner (Garth Brooks)
11 Mrs. Robinson (Garth Brooks)
12 Cats in the Cradle (Garth Brooks)
13 Come Monday (Garth Brooks)
14 Please Come to Boston (Garth Brooks)
15 Night Moves (Garth Brooks)
16 Mr. Bojangles (Garth Brooks)
17 The Boxer (Garth Brooks)
18 Sweet Baby James (Garth Brooks)
19 Turn the Page (Garth Brooks)
20 Redneck Mother (Garth Brooks)
21 Only the Good Die Young (Garth Brooks)
22 Guitar Town (Garth Brooks)
23 Taxi (Garth Brooks)
24 talk (Garth Brooks)
25 You Never Even Called Me by My Name [Edit] (Garth Brooks)
26 That’s the Way Love Goes (Garth Brooks)
27 Which One of Them (Garth Brooks)

https://www.upload.ee/files/17187633/GARTBRKS1986WllisSlonStllwtrOK__1986_atse.zip.html

alternate:

https://pixeldrain.com/u/4FeuY6H3

The cover photo is of Brooks playing at this very club, probably in 1986. If you look closely, you can even see that his cap has the name of the club on it.

UPDATE: On October 1, 2024, I upgraded the photo with the use of the Krea AI program.

Natalie Merchant - Cover Songs, Volume 2: 1998-2007

Here's another volume of Natalie Merchant performing cover albums that didn't appear on her studio albums.

By this point in her solo career, pretty much all of the songs on her studio albums were entirely written by her. But she still performed lots of cover songs in concert and elsewhere. And she continued to have some very unusual choices.

This time, all but two of the songs are officially released. The two unreleased ones are "Last Goodbye" and "Nowhere Man." Both are from concert bootlegs.

The released songs are the usual mix of songs from other artists' albums, various artists compilations, and the like. Two songs, "Birds and Ships" and "I Was Born" are from the "Mermaid Avenue" albums, where newer artists added music to go with lyrics written way back when by Woody Guthrie. Three songs, "Space Oddity," "After the Gold Rush," and "The Gulf of Araby," are from Merchant's only official live album, simply titled "Live in Concert." For live tracks like these, I used the MVSEP audio editing program to get rid of the crowd noise.

Also, I think Merchant had a hand in writing the song "Because I Could Not Stop for Death." The lyrics were originally written by the famous 1800s poet Emily Dickinson. But I believe the music was composed by Merchant and Susan McKeown, and then put on an album by McKeown.

Merchant has done many, many interesting covers in concert that I couldn't find any good recordings of, because she didn't perform them many times. Examples include "All Right Now" by Free, "Everyday People" by Sly and the Family Stone, and "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas. I found one such surprise choice, "Wonderwall" by Oasis, but the recording was so poor that I could only include it as a bonus track.

This album is 50 minutes long, not including the bonus track.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Birds and Ships - Woody Guthrie / Billy Bragg & Wilco
02 But Not for Me - Ira Gershwin & George Gershwin
03 In the Ghetto - Elvis Presley
04 The Lowlands of Holland - traditional
05 Space Oddity - David Bowie
06 After the Gold Rush - Neil Young
07 The Gulf of Araby - Katell Keineg
08 Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
09 I Was Born - Woody Guthrie / Billy Bragg & Wilco
10 Nowhere Man - Beatles
11 Because I Could Not Stop for Death - Emily Dickinson, Susan McKeown & Natalie Merchant
12 Loch Lomond  - traditional
13 Misguided Angel  - Cowboy Junkies
Wonderwall - Oasis

And here's the usual song list:

01 Birds and Ships (Natalie Merchant)
02 But Not for Me (Natalie Merchant)
03 In the Ghetto (Natalie Merchant with Tracy Chapman)
04 The Lowlands of Holland (Chieftains with Natalie Merchant)
05 Space Oddity (Natalie Merchant)
06 After the Gold Rush (Natalie Merchant)
07 The Gulf of Araby (Natalie Merchant)
08 Last Goodbye (Natalie Merchant)
09 I Was Born (Billy Bragg & Natalie Merchant)
10 Nowhere Man (Natalie Merchant)
11 Because I Could Not Stop for Death (Susan McKeown & Natalie Merchant)
12 Loch Lomond (Dan Zanes with Natalie Merchant)
13 Misguided Angel (Cowboy Junkies with Natalie Merchant)

Wonderwall (Natalie Merchant)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16391902/NATLIMERCHNT1998-2007CvrSngsVlum2_atse.zip.html

The cover photo is from a concert at the Cynthia Mitchell Woodlands Pavilion in Woodlands, Texas, on July 5, 2002.

Fiona Apple - Cover Songs, Volume 4: 2016-2022

Here's the last of four volumes of Fiona Apple performing cover versions. I particularly enjoyed this series, and I wish it could keep going, but this is all I could find with worthy sound quality. This last volume gets us caught up to the present day, more or less (as I write this in early 2024).

All but four of the songs here have been officially released. They're from the usual mix of movie soundtracks, appearances on other artist's albums, and various artists compilations. 

As for the unreleased ones, those are tracks 1, 2, 3, and 9. The first one, "Ain't That a Shame," was done for an Internet show. The next two are from another Internet show, this one hosted by musician Andrew Bird (and they're duets with Bird). I included three other songs from that same show on the previous album in this series. Finally, the ninth song, "The Whole of the Moon," was done for the TV show "The Affair," but it only appeared in the show, not on a soundtrack for it or anything like that.

There are two bonus tracks, "All Night Thing" and "You Don't Own Me." They're both from audience concert bootlegs. Their quality was good enough for bonus tracks (some others didn't even make that cut), but not good enough for the album proper.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Ain't That a Shame - Fats Domino
02 Why - Andrew Bird
03 Oh, Sister - Bob Dylan
04 I Can't Wait to Meet You - Solangie Jimenez & Thomas Cabaniss
05 Your Molecular Structure - Mose Allison
06 It Won't Be Wrong - Byrds
07 In My Room - Beach Bosy
08 Don't Worry 'Bout Me - Katherine Perry
09 The Whole of the Moon - Waterboys
10 7 O'Clock News - Silent Night - Simon & Garfunkel medley, including "Silent Night" by Franz Xaver Gruber & Joseph Mohr
11 Love More - Sharon Van Etten
12 [Remember Me] I'm the One Who Loves You - Stuart Hamblen
13 Where the Shadows Lie - Bear McCreary

All Night Thing - Temple of the Dog
You Don't Own Me - Leslie Gore

And here's the usual song list:

01 Ain't That a Shame (Fiona Apple)
02 Why (Fiona Apple & Andrew Bird)
03 Oh, Sister (Fiona Apple & Andrew Bird)
04 I Can't Wait to Meet You (Fiona Apple)
05 Your Molecular Structure (Tippo All Stars & Fiona Apple)
06 It Won't Be Wrong (Fiona Apple & Jakob Dylan)
07 In My Room (Fiona Apple & Jakob Dylan)
08 Don't Worry 'Bout Me (Jeff Goldblum & the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra with Fiona Apple)
09 The Whole of the Moon (Fiona Apple)
10 7 O'Clock News - Silent Night (Phoebe Bridgers, Fiona Apple & Matt Berninger)
11 Love More (Fiona Apple)
12 [Remember Me] I'm the One Who Loves You (Watkins Family Hour with Fiona Apple)
13 Where the Shadows Lie (Fiona Apple & Bear McCreary)

All Night Thing (Fiona Apple)
You Don't Own Me (Shirley Manson & Fiona Apple)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16345640/FONAAPPL2016-2022CvrSngsVlum4_atse.zip.html

The cover photo was taken at the Ohana Fest in Dana Point, California, on September 9, 2017.

Natalie Merchant - Cover Songs, Volume 1: 1993-1997

I have previously posted two albums of cover versions by the band 10,000 Maniacs. That band's lead vocalist and main songwriter Natalie Merchant left in 1993 to pursue a solo career. Here's a series that picks up right where the 10,000 Maniacs one left off. I have three albums of cover songs by Merchant. Here's the first one.

This album roughly deals with the time period of her first solo album, "Tigerlily." Released in 1995, it sold five million copies in the U.S. alone. There are no songs here from that album proper, but "Take a Look" and "The Work Song" are bonus tracks from it. Furthermore, "Baby I Love You," "All I Want," and "Sympathy for the Devil" are B-sides from songs taken from the album.

Four other songs have been officially released: "I Know How to Do It," "One Fine Day," "Come Take a Trip in My Air Ship," and "Children Go Where I Send Thee." They're from movie soundtracks and various artists compilations. Note that a version of "Children Go Where I Send Thee" also appeared on one of the 10,000 Maniacs covers albums I made, but that was done in a different style.

The remaining seven songs are from concert bootlegs. I stuck with soundboard recordings, so they all sound excellent. I also used the MVSEP program to remove the crowd noise on all the live recordings, which included a couple of the released songs too.

Some of the songs are classics from well known artists such as Joni Mitchell and the Rolling Stones. But other songs are often obscure and go waaaay back. For instance, "Come Take a Trip in My Air Ship" was first recorded in 1904, a couple of years after airplanes first flew. "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" is actually not a traditional, as often assumed, and was composed in 1907. "When They Ring the Golden Bells" was first recorded in 1915.

This album is an hour and two minutes long.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Baby I Love You - Ronettes
02 All I Want - Joni Mitchell
03 Santa Fe Thief - Jimmy Dale Gilmore
04 I Know How to Do It - Dinah Washington
05 Take a Look - Irma Thomas
06 The Work Song - Nat Adderley
07 One Fine Day - Chiffons
08 Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones
09 Come Take a Trip in My Air Ship - Billy Murray
10 Ode to Billy Joe - Bobbie Gentry
11 Fever - Little Willie John / Peggy lee
12 Long Black Veil - Lefty Frizzell
13 Will the Circle Be Unbroken - Ada R. Habershon & Charles H. Gabriel / Carter Family
14 [What's So Funny 'Bout] Peace, Love and Understanding - Brinsley Schwarz
15 When They Ring the Golden Bells - Imperial Quartet
16 Children Go Where I Send Thee - traditional

Here's the usual song list:

01 Baby I Love You (Natalie Merchant)
02 All I Want (Natalie Merchant)
03 Santa Fe Thief (Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Natalie Merchant)
04 I Know How to Do It (Natalie Merchant with Dr. John & Booker T. Jones)
05 Take a Look (Natalie Merchant)
06 The Work Song (Natalie Merchant)
07 One Fine Day (Natalie Merchant)
08 Sympathy for the Devil (Natalie Merchant)
09 Come Take a Trip in My Air Ship (Natalie Merchant)
10 Ode to Billy Joe (Natalie Merchant)
11 Fever (Natalie Merchant)
12 Long Black Veil (Natalie Merchant)
13 Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Natalie Merchant)
14 [What's So Funny 'Bout] Peace, Love and Understanding (Natalie Merchant)
15 When They Ring the Golden Bells (Natalie Merchant with Susan McKeown)
16 Children Go Where I Send Thee (Natalie Merchant)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16344369/NATLIMERCHNT1993-1997CvrSngsVlum1_atse.zip.html

The cover photo was taken in Paris in 1993.

Ron Sexsmith - Reasons to Believe, Volume 3: 2002-2005

This is Volume 3 of my Rox Sexsmith stray tracks collection. It mostly consists of cover versions, but there are a few originals in there.

All but two of the songs are officially release. Those two are "Guess Things Happen That Way" and "Wrecking Ball." They're from concert bootlegs. But they're probably from soundboards, because their sound quality is excellent.

Regarding the officially released songs, six of them come from the 2004 album "Has-Been and Wives:" tracks 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 15. Technically, this album was credited to "the Kelele Brothers," but that's just another name for Sexsmith and his backing band. They did another album in 2001, and I included some songs from that on the last album in this series. As with that volume, I've only included the songs where Sexsmith is the lead vocalist. I've scattered them between some other songs because the sound is ukelele-centric, and I wanted to spread that out.

Regarding the other songs, they're generally from various artists collections and appearances on other artists' albums. For instance, there are songs from tribute albums to Stephen Foster, NRBQ, and Gordon Lightfoot. There's also one song, "All Too Much," that's a bonus track.

Note that the first song, "Wastin' Time," appears on his debut studio album "Ron Sexsmith." But this is a piano-centric version that I figured was different enough to merit inclusion.

As with the rest of this series, thanks to Pete the Greek for help finding the songs and organizing the information about them.

This album is 50 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Wastin' Time [Piano Version] - Ron Sexsmith
02 Maybe This Christmas - Ron Sexsmith
03 Guess Things Happen That Way - Johnny Cash
04 Drifters - Gordon Lightfoot
05 Chick Habit - Serge Gainsbourg / April March
06 All Too Much - Ron Sexsmith
07 Wrecking Ball - Neil Young
08 Father Christmas - Kinks
09 Boredom and Loneliness - Ron Sexsmith
10 Comrades Fill No Glass for Me - Stephen Foster
11 I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore - Randy Newman / Dusty Springfield
12 My Girlfriend's Pretty - NRBQ
13 Blue, Red and Grey - Who
14 Los Mismo Que Yo [If Only] - Alex Cuba & Ron Sexsmith
15 One Brown Mouse - Jethro Tull
16 Song No. 6 - Ane Brun

Here's the usual song list:

01 Wastin' Time [Piano Version] (Ron Sexsmith)
02 Maybe This Christmas (Ron Sexsmith)
03 Guess Things Happen That Way (Ron Sexsmith)
04 Drifters (Ron Sexsmith)
05 Chick Habit (Kelele Brothers [Ron Sexsmith])
06 All Too Much (Ron Sexsmith)
07 Wrecking Ball (Ron Sexsmith)
08 Father Christmas (Kelele Brothers [Ron Sexsmith])
09 Boredom and Loneliness (Kelele Brothers [Ron Sexsmith])
10 Comrades Fill No Glass for Me (Ron Sexsmith)
11 I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore (Kelele Brothers [Ron Sexsmith])
12 My Girlfriend's Pretty (Ron Sexsmith)
13 Blue, Red and Grey (Kelele Brothers [Ron Sexsmith])
14 Los Mismo Que Yo [If Only] (Alex Cuba Band & Ron Sexsmith)
15 One Brown Mouse (Kelele Brothers [Ron Sexsmith])
16 Song No. 6 (Ane Brun & Ron Sexsmith)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16329833/RONSXSMTH2002-2005ResnstoBliveVlum3_atse.zip.html

The cover photo shows Sexsmith at a concert in Bochum, Germany, in 2004.

The Rolling Stones - Some Covers, Volume 2: 1979-1981

I posted "Some Covers, Volume 1" by the Rolling Stones back in September 2021. I planned to post Volume 2 soon thereafter. It's now two and a half years later. Oops! The reason for the delay was that I wanted to post my stray tracks albums for the band's "Some Girls" era, and that got delayed for various reasons I've explained elsewhere. So now I'm finally free to post this one.

Just like "Volume 1," this collects cover versions the band did that they didn't put on their studio albums at the time. But after getting themselves together and making the classic "Some Girls" album in 1978, the band started to split. Lead guitarist Keith Richards finally got off various drug addictions and wanted to take more of a leadership role in the band. But lead singer Mick Jagger didn't like that, and the two of them butted heads.

One result of that was the key members began taking part in more solo projects. There aren't any solo songs from Jagger, but there are two solo songs by Richards, one by guitarist Ronnie Wood, and two more by a short-lived side project band that was headed by both Richards and Wood, the New Barbarians.

Furthermore, Richards sings one of the Rolling Stones songs here, "Your Angel Steps Out of Heaven." As a result of all that, Richards sings four songs and Wood sings two. Normally, Jagger sang the vast majority of the songs for the band. But that leaves only seven songs for him, and two of those are duets with blues legend Muddy Waters. So that's a bit unusual, but that's what the source material gave me. I tried to sort the songs so that it usually alternates between one sung by Jagger and then one sung by Richards or Wood.

Only five of the songs here are officially released. "Going to a Go-Go" is from the rather obscure archival live album "Hampton Stadium." "Let’s Go Steady Again" is a duet between Richards and a lesser known female singer, Kristi Kimsey. This song comes from a Kimsey album called "As I Look Back." "Seven Days," a great Bob Dylan cover, is from a Ronnie Wood solo album. The two songs with Muddy Waters, "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "Champagne and Reefer," are from another fairly obscure archival live album called "Checkerboard Lounge Live."

That leaves the unreleased songs. "Linda Lu," "Your Angel Steps Out of Heaven," and "Sweet Home Chicago" are from studio sessions by the band. "Linda Lu" has "[Edit]" in the title because I thought it went on too long without purpose, so I edited out about a minute of it. The next two songs, "Apartment No. 9," and "Worried Life Blues," are from a soundboard bootleg of a New Barbarians concert. "Twenty Flight Rock" is from a concert in Hartford, Connecticut, during the band's big 1981 tour. Richards has a penchant for weepy country songs, surprisingly enough. The last two unreleased songs, "Oh, What a Feeling" and "Don't," were done by him as solo performances in the studio.

I've collected one more album of covers that deals with the rest of the 1980s. I hope it won't take as long before I post that one.

This album is 51 minutes long.

01 Linda Lu [Edit] (Rolling Stones)
02 Your Angel Steps Out of Heaven (Rolling Stones)
03 Sweet Home Chicago (Rolling Stones)
04 Apartment No. 9 (New Barbarians (Keith Richards & Ronnie Wood))
05 Worried Life Blues (New Barbarians (Keith Richards & Ronnie Wood))
06 Going to a Go-Go (Rolling Stones)
07 Let’s Go Steady Again (Rolling Stones with Kristi Kimsey)
08 Twenty Flight Rock (Rolling Stones)
09 Seven Days (Ronnie Wood)
10 Hoochie Coochie Man (Muddy Waters & the Rolling Stones)
11 Oh, What a Feeling (Keith Richards)
12 Down the Road Apiece (Rolling Stones)
13 Champagne and Reefer (Muddy Waters & the Rolling Stones)
14 Don't (Keith Richards)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16322317/TROLLNGSTNS1979-1981SmeCversVolum2_atse.zip.html

I picked a pretty strange Stones concert poster for the cover art to Volume 1. I did the same with this one. I don't have the details about this poster, but I cropped out much of it so I could focus on the flower with the Stones lips logo.

10,000 Maniacs - Cover Songs, Volume 2: 1993

This is the second and last volume of cover versions by the band 10,000 Maniacs. 

The undisputed star of 10,000 Maniacs was Natalie Merchant, who was the lead singer and wrote the lyrics of all their songs, and most of the music too. She left in 1993 to start a solo career, which was very successful. 10,000 Maniacs found a new female singer and continued without her, but other than one hit, they didn't have much success. My interest in the band ends when Merchant left.

All the songs here are from the last year Merchant was in the band. This album is about the same length as Volume 1, which deals with nine years of the band's career. Perhaps they wanted to go out with a bang, doing lots of covers of their favorite songs. Most of them are classic hits, although there are a few oddball selections. Perhaps the most surprising is "He's 1-A in the Army and He's A-1 in My Heart," which is from 1941, during World War II and have a military theme to the lyrics.

Four of the songs here have been officially released on record, with another three being released only on DVD. The first three are B-sides. "Because the Night" appeared on the band's album "MTV Unplugged." The three songs after that, tracks 6, 7, and 8, appeared on a DVD of the band's MTV show only, and feature David Byrne from the Talking Heads in a supporting role.

The other songs all come from concert bootlegs. Luckily, the band was popular enough by this time for me to be able to find soundboard recordings of all of them.

Although this is the end of covers by 10,000 Maniacs, I like Merchant's voice and her choice of cover songs. So I'll be carrying on with more cover albums dealing with her solo career. There actually are dozens more interesting covers done by 10,000 Maniacs, but I couldn't find recordings of them with soundboard-level quality, or even any recordings at all. But if anyone has more that sound as good as these do, let me know and I'll add them in.

This album is 41 minutes long. 

This is a list of the original artists for each song:

01 Everyday Is like Sunday - Morrissey
02 [Don’t Go Back To] Rockville - R.E.M.
03 To Sir with Love - Lulu
04 Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
05 Because the Night - Patti Smith / Bruce Springsteen
06 Dallas - Jimmy Dale Gilmore
07 Let the Mystery Be - Iris DeMent
08 Jolene - Dolly Parton
09 He's 1-A in the Army and He's A-1 in My Heart - Harry James
10 I Know How to Do It - Dinah Washington
11 Drift Away - John Henry Kurtz / Dobie Grey
12 Band of Gold - Freda Payne
13 The Art of Love - Eartha Kitt
14 Long Black Veil - Lefty Frizzell

Here's the usual song list:

01 Everyday Is like Sunday (10,000 Maniacs)
02 [Don’t Go Back To] Rockville (10,000 Maniacs)
03 To Sir with Love (10,000 Maniacs)
04 Son of a Preacher Man (10,000 Maniacs)
05 Because the Night (10,000 Maniacs)
06 Dallas (10,000 Maniacs & David Byrne)
07 Let the Mystery Be (10,000 Maniacs & David Byrne)
08 Jolene (10,000 Maniacs & David Byrne)
09 He's 1-A in the Army and He's A-1 in My Heart (10,000 Maniacs)
10 I Know How to Do It (10,000 Maniacs)
11 Drift Away (10,000 Maniacs)
12 Band of Gold (10,000 Maniacs)
13 The Art of Love (10,000 Maniacs)
14 Long Black Veil (10,000 Maniacs)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16315886/10_000MNIACS1993CvrSngsVlum2_atse.zip.html

The cover photo is from a concert in Houston on June 6, 1993.

Fiona Apple - Cover Songs, Volume 3: 2011-2016

This is the third album of Fiona Apple performing cover versions. There's one more album to go after this.

If you like the previous volumes, you'll like this one. Once again, Apple surprised with lots of unusual choices for her covers. I have to admit though I did cheat a bit, in that I included three songs written or co-written by Apple. She has so few original songs that haven't appeared on her studio albums that I figure this is the best place to put them in my collection. Those are "Dull Tool," Container," and "Railroad Sam and Slingshot Sue." The last one is a bit odd, because I looked it up and it was written by Apple, another singer-songwriter named Andrew Bird, and a five-year-old boy only identified as Sam!

Five of the 12 songs on this album are officially released (track 2, 3, 6, 8, and 10). "Pure Imagination" is a rather odd case. It was released as an A-side in 2013. It's a song from the first "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" movie, released in 1971. The others are from movie soundtracks and appearances on other artist's albums.

As for the unreleased songs, only two come from concert bootlegs: "Jolene" and "It's Only Make Believe." Unfortunately, "Jolene" sounds a bit worse than the others, coming from an audience boot, but I included it anyway due to it being a strong performance of a great song. The others generally come from TV appearances (track four and nine) or an Internet show (tracks 11 and 12). 

The bonus track, "He's Funny That Way," is a bonus track because it doesn't sound as good as the others.

This album is 44 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original songs for each album:

01 Jolene - Dolly Parton
02 Dull Tool - Fiona Apple
03 You're the One I Love - Everly Brothers
04 Let Me Roll It - Paul McCartney
05 It's Only Make Believe - Conway Twitty
06 Pure Imagination - Leslie Bricusse &Anthony Newley
07 Container - Fiona Apple
08 I'm in the Middle of a Riddle - Anton Karas
09 Tombstone Blues - Bob Dylan
10 Left Handed Kisses - Andrew Bird
11 [I’d Like to Get You on A] Slow Boat to China - Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
12 Railroad Sam and Slingshot Sue - Andrew Bird, Fiona Apple & Sam
He's Funny That Way - Billie Holiday

Here's the usual song list:

01 Jolene (Fiona Apple with Nickel Creek)
02 Dull Tool (Fiona Apple)
03 You're the One I Love (Sara Watkins with Fiona Apple)
04 Let Me Roll It (Fiona Apple with the Roots)
05 It's Only Make Believe (Fiona Apple)
06 Pure Imagination (Fiona Apple)
07 Container (Fiona Apple)
08 I'm in the Middle of a Riddle (Fiona Apple & Maude Maggart)
09 Tombstone Blues (Watkins Family Hour with Fiona Apple)
10 Left Handed Kisses (Andrew Bird with Fiona Apple)
11 [I’d Like to Get You on A] Slow Boat to China (Fiona Apple & Andrew Bird)
12 Railroad Sam and Slingshot Sue (Fiona Apple & Andrew Bird)

He's Funny That Way (Fiona Apple)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16303085/FONAAPPL2011-2016CvrSngsVlum3_atse.zip.html

The cover photo is from a concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 14, 2012.

Marshall Crenshaw - The Human Jukebox, Volume 9: 2019-2023

We come to the end of my long series of Marshall Crenshaw cover songs albums. This is the ninth and last. 

Sadly, you should know this series ends with a bit of a disappointment, because the sound quality isn't up to my usual standards for many of these songs. The problem is, nearly all these songs come from concert bootlegs, and in Crenshaw's later years he's been playing fewer concerts and his popularity has declined some. As a result, there aren't a bunch of soundboard and/or radio broadcast concerts like there were in earlier years, so these generally come from audience boots. Thus, I've had to lower my standards some. I still do have standards, mind you. I rejected a bunch of songs for this. But I also included some that probably would have been demoted to bonus tracks on some earlier volumes.

Only the first song is officially released. It comes from a various artists compilation. As I mentioned above, most, or maybe all, of the rest are from audience bootlegs. 

Crenshaw's song selections are less obscure for this time around. I know most of the songs already, and I'd guess you know most of them too. But he still had a couple of obscurities. For instance, "Lindbergh" is a Woody Guthrie song about Charles Lindbergh and other pro-fascists in the U.S. in the 1930s and 40s. As Crenshaw commented before the song, it's message is a timely one with fascist sentiments on the rise again.

This album is 47 minutes long.

Here's a list of the original artists for each song:

01 What the Hell I Got - Michel Pagliaro
02 Beware of Darkness - George Harrison
03 Tight Rope - Leon Russell
04 No Matter What - Badfinger
05 Rock and Roll - Velvet Underground
06 Kicks - Paul Revere & the Raiders
07 Something - Beatles
08 Rain on the Roof - Lovin' Spoonful
09 Bob Dylan's 115th Dream - Bob Dylan
10 What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
11 I'm Five Years Ahead of My Time - Third Bardo
12 Lindbergh -Woody Guthrie

Here's the usual song list:

01 What the Hell I Got (Marshall Crenshaw)
02 Beware of Darkness (Rich Pagano & Friends with Marshall Crenshaw & Brian Mitchell)
03 Tight Rope (Rich Pagano & Friends with Marshall Crenshaw)
04 No Matter What (Marshall Crenshaw & the Smithereens)
05 Rock and Roll (Marshall Crenshaw & the Smithereens)
06 Kicks (Marshall Crenshaw & the Smithereens)
07 Something (Marshall Crenshaw & the Smithereens)
08 Rain on the Roof (Marshall Crenshaw with the Wild Honey Orchestra)
09 Bob Dylan's 115th Dream (Marshall Crenshaw)
10 What a Wonderful World (Marshall Crenshaw)
11 I'm Five Years Ahead of My Time (Golden Jubilee Band with Marshall Crenshaw)
12 Lindbergh (Marshall Crenshaw)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16303129/MARSHLLCRNSHW2019-2023ThHmnJkebxVlum9_atse.zip.html

The cover photo was taken in Maplewood, New Jersey, on April 12, 2019.

10,000 Maniacs - Cover Songs, Volume 1: 1984-1992

Natalie Merchant, the former lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs, has an interesting and unique voice. It turns out she sang lots of cover songs that generally make it to studio albums when she was with 10,000 Maniacs. There's enough for two volumes. Here's the first one.

Generally speaking, all the songs on the band's studio albums were originals. One key exception is "Peace Train" by Cat Stevens. It first appeared on the 1987 album "In My Tribe," but then it was removed after Stevens made controversial comments about the fatwa on writer Salmon Rushdie. However, the band later included it on their best of collection, "Campfire Songs." I've included a version of the song here, but it's an unreleased, from a concert bootleg.

Only five of the 14 songs here have been released. "These Days" comes from a various artists compilation. "Wildwood Flower," "Hello in There," "I Hope that I Don't Fall in Love with You," and "Starman - Moonage Daydream" are B-sides.

Everything else comes from concert bootlegs. I was very selective about the sound quality. All, or at least most all, of the live songs come from soundboard bootlegs. I also used the MVSEP audio editing program to remove the crowd noise, to make the live tracks fit in with the studio tracks. I additionally used the UVR5 program to boost the lead vocals in the cases where they were low. 

There are a lot of interesting song choices here. For instance, I didn't expect songs from before World War II by the likes of the Andrews Sisters, Vera Lynn, and the Carter Family.

This album is 42 minutes long. 

Here are the original artists for each song:

01 Rum and Coca Cola - Andrews Sisters
02 Burning Airlines Gives You So Much More - Brian Eno
03 Children, Go Where I Send Thee - traditional
04 Peace Train - Cat Stevens
05 Where the Soul Never Dies - traditional
06 From the Time You Say Goodbye - Vera Lynn
07 Wildwood Flower - Carter Family
08 Hello in There - John Prine
09 These Days - Jackson Browne
10 I Hope that I Don't Fall in Love with You - Tom Waits
11 Starman - Moonage Daydream - David Bowie
12 Needle in a Haystack - Velvelettes
13 Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
14 The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff

And here's the usual song list:

01 Rum and Coca Cola (10,000 Maniacs)
02 Burning Airlines Gives You So Much More (10,000 Maniacs)
03 Children, Go Where I Send Thee (10,000 Maniacs)
04 Peace Train (10,000 Maniacs)
05 Where the Soul Never Dies (Natalie Merchant & Tracy Chapman)
06 From the Time You Say Goodbye (10,000 Maniacs)
07 Wildwood Flower (10,000 Maniacs)
08 Hello in There (10,000 Maniacs)
09 These Days (10,000 Maniacs)
10 I Hope that I Don't Fall in Love with You (10,000 Maniacs)
11 Starman - Moonage Daydream (10,000 Maniacs)
12 Needle in a Haystack (10,000 Maniacs)
13 Love Will Tear Us Apart (10,000 Maniacs)
14 The Harder They Come (10,000 Maniacs)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16303015/10_000MNIACS1984-1992CvrSngsVlum1_atse.zip.html

The cover photo of lead singer Natalie Merchant is from 1990. I don't know any details.