Saturday, February 29, 2020

January 1971 - December 1971: It Was History Repeating Itself in a Strange Way

Pictured above: Colin Blunstone, 1971


Following the breakup of The Zombies, Colin Blunstone briefly worked as a clerk in the insurance business before returning to music in 1970. His debut album was produced by former Zombies Rod Argent and Chris White and even contained a new song written by the duo, Her Song. It was recorded between 1970 and 1971 and released in November 1971, to positive critical reception.


One Year


01. I Hope I Didn’t Say Too Much Last Night (3:29) [1]
02. Misty Roses (5:04) [1]
03. Caroline Goodbye (2:54) [1]
04. Though You Are Far Away (3:24) [1]
05. Mary Won’t You Warm My Bed (3:11) [1]
06. Her Song (3:31) [1]
07. I Can’t Live Without You (3:28) [1]
08. Let Me Come Closer to You (2:24) [1]
09. Say You Don’t Mind (3:22) [1]


Released: November 1971
Track sources:
[1] - One Year, 1971 - 2006/2010 reissue

Pictured above: The Devil’s Triangle, 1971 (Peter Giles not pictured)


Much like what happened many times before, Robert Fripp found himself once more without a full band in 1971. Much like what happened with King Crimson only two years prior, his drummer and woodwinds player left, leaving him with Peter Sinfield and Peter Giles as the only two other members of The Devil’s Triangle. After a brief period of auditioning, Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace were brought along as vocalist and drummer respectively, with Mel Collins returning to work with Fripp for the first time since his leave from King Crimson.


“It was history repeating itself in a strange way. It was the third time I was bandless, but ‘third time’s the charm’, I said to myself at the time.”
- Robert Fripp, 2013


The band spent most of their time together touring, only taking time off to record The Devil’s Triangle’s third album, Islands, in October. Recordings for the album were generally unproblematic, with some mild tension between Fripp and Sinfield being the only problem in the sessions. Sinfield desired to take the band in a more jazz-folk approach, while Fripp wanted a more harsh sound. Following a brief period touring Islands, Sinfield was asked to leave the band by Fripp, citing musical differences and loss in faith in his ideas. The remaining band broke up in rehearsals shortly after due to Fripp’s refusal in incorporating other members’ compositions into the band’s repertoire, which Fripp described as "quality control".


Islands


01. Formentera Lady (10:18) [1]
02. Sailor’s Tale (7:29) [1]
03. The Letters (4:25) [1]
04. Ladies of the Road (5:29) [1]
05. Prelude: Song of the Gulls (4:14) [1]
06. Islands (11:51) [1]


Released: December 3rd, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Islands, 1971


Pictured above: Wings, 1971


After the release of Ram, Paul McCartney decided to form a new proper band, asking Ram studio musicians Denny Seiwell and David Spinozza to join the band. When Spinozza became unavailable due to other session commitments, Hugh McCracken was invited to take his place, yet he declined. The band finally found a guitarist in Denny Laine, with McCartney taking up bass duties and lead vocals.


The last member to join the band was none other than Paul McCartney’s brother, Mike McGear. McCartney told McGear of his new project over lunch. McGear then told of his own band, The Scaffold, and how it was on hiatus. There are conflicting stories on what happened next, yet it is known that either McGear asked to join McCartney’s band or McCartney invited McGear to join.


“Honestly it was nice of him to even join really, I feel like he brought a sense of humor to the group.”
- Paul McCartney, 2001


Wings’ first album, Wild Life, was recorded between July and August of 1971 and included compositions by Paul and Linda McCartney, and Mike McGear. During the sessions, Paul recorded a song for the album titled Dear Friend after listening to the B-side of John Lennon’s Imagine, titled How Do You Sleep?, but the band, and later Paul agreed it was too personal for the album, and the song was shelved.


Wild Life was released to a cold reception by the critics, a response that only fortified the anti-McCartney sentiments among the music press after The Beatles’ break-up. The band itself also struggled to gain artistic credibility in particular due to the inclusion of McCartney’s family members Linda and Mike in the band.


“Ah, the press were being pretty rough to us at the time, which is kind of understandable, y’know. I mean we didn’t really prove ourselves yet and in all honesty, Wild Life isn’t that great of an album looking back.”
- Paul McCartney, 2016


Wild Life

01. Mumbo (3:55) [1]
02. Love is Strange (4:50) [1]
03. Woman (3:04) [2]
04. Wild Life (6:40) [1]
05. Some People Never Know (6:37) [1]
06. Bored as Butterscotch (2:50) [2]
07. I Am Your Singer (2:15) [1]
08. Tomorrow (3:24) [1]
09. Tiger/Strawberry Jam (7:23) [2]
10. Mumbo Link (0:45) [1]


Released: December 7th, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Wild Life, 1971
[2] - Woman, 1972


Pictured above: Badfinger, 1971


Sessions for Badfinger’s fourth album started in January 1971 at Abbey Road Studios, with Geoff Emerick at the production helm. Twelve songs were completed by March, with the band rushing to finish the album before embarking on a two-month US tour booked by manager Stan Polley. The Pete Ham-written Name of the Game was scheduled for a single release, yet it was held back by Allan Steckler, whose primary position at Apple was as a coordinator between Apple and Red Maple.


Knowing that George Harrison was a big supporter of the band, he was assigned to replace Emerick at the engineering-helm, with most of the Emerick-produced songs completely shelved. Harrison was keen to see the band create a more mature work in a similar vein to his own Something, a vision shared by Ham. During Harrison’s sessions, the band would get twelve more songs on tape, including re-recorded versions of some of the Emerick sessions songs.


The band took a break from recording in June due to Harrison working in Los Angeles with Indian musician Ravi Shankar to produce the soundtrack for the film Raga. After starting to organize The Concert for Bangladesh, Harrison informed Badfinger that he would be unable to work further on the album, yet he invited them to participate in the concert.


In September 1971, Apple hired Todd Rundgren to finish Badfinger’s album. In addition to working with Rundgren on recent compositions, the band re-recorded two songs from the Emerick sessions. Rundgren worked quickly on the project, completing the sessions in two weeks, and mixing the whole album. Although admiring his technical skills in the studio, Badfinger were vocal in their opposition to his working methods, which were totally domineering and disrespectful to their ideas, simplifying the production and making the band lose much of their natural energy.


By the end of the sessions, Badfinger had over an hour’s worth of finished songs, which they intended to cut into a single album. Despite this, there was a push from Rundgren to include every song on the album to make the most out of the ELP format. The band hesitantly agreed, and the album was released to mixed reception upon release, yet later being praised as their best album.


Straight Up


01. Take It All (4:25) [1]
02. Baby Blue (3:37) [1]
03. Money (3:29) [1]
04. Flying (2:38) [1]
05. Name of the Game (5:19) [1]
06. Suitcase (2:53) [1]
07. Sweet Tuesday Morning (2:31) [1]
08. Day After Day (3:09) [1]
09. Perfection (5:07) [1]
10. It’s Over (3:34) [1]
11. I’d Die Babe (2:33) [1]
12. Sometimes (2:56) [1]
13. Loving You (2:53) [1]
14. No Good at All (2:08) [1]
15. I’ll Be The One (2:54) [1]
16. Baby Please (3:03) [1]
17. Photograph (2:32) [1]
18. Mean, Mean Jemima (3:43) [1]
19. Get Down (3:46) [1]
20. Sing For The Song (3:17) [1]


Released: December 13th, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Straight Up, 1971 - 2010 remaster


Pictured above: David Bowie, 1971
By 1971, David Bowie had already put out three albums, none of which were a particularly large commercial success. At that point, he had already entered the public consciousness thanks to his hit single Space Oddity in 1969, and his album The Man Who Sold the World gained a positive critical reception at that point, however, he was yet to make his huge commercial breakthrough which would propel him into a true public icon.


His fourth album, Hunky Dory, was recorded between June and August of 1971. It was the first with Ken Scott and himself at the producer helm following Tony Visconti’s replacement by Trevor Bolder on the bass. It was also first to feature the full band lineup that later became known as The Spiders from Mars, consisting of Mick Ronson on guitar, vocals, and Mellotron, Bolder on bass guitar and trumpet, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. The band also featured keyboardist Rick Wakeman, a member of The Strawbs at the time and a noted studio musician.


By the time he finished the album, he was without a recording contract, and as such was unable to release the album. The tapes were soon heard by Licked Records and he was signed to a three-album deal on September 9th, 1971. The album was released later that year in December, to generally favorable reviews and selling reasonably well, however without being a major success.


Hunky Dory


01. Changes (3:37) [1]
02. Oh! You Pretty Things (3:12) [1]
03. Eight Line Poem (2:55) [1]
04. Life on Mars? (3:54) [1]
05. Kooks (2:53) [1]
06. Bombers (2:39) [1]
07. Quicksand (5:07) [1]
08. It Ain’t Easy (2:56) [2]
09. Fill Your Heart (3:07) [1]
10. Andy Warhol (3:56) [1]
11. Song for Bob Dylan (4:12) [1]
12. Queen Bitch (3:18) [1]
13. The Bewlay Brothers (5:22) [1]


Released: December 17th, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Hunky Dory, 1971
[2] - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars, 1972

Pictured above: Timebox, 1971


Timebox’s fourth album was recorded in December 1971, produced by Muff Winwood much like the previous one. Despite poor album sales, the band went all out on the album’s packaging, which was based on a game known as Consequences. The front cover, which featured three cartoon characters, was cut into three sections, allowing flaps to be individually lifted revealing parts of the three cartoon characters on the inside of the gatefold, with the possibility of up to 8 unique sets of characters.


The album would go on to sell slightly better than Patto. It helped further extend their cult following, with some considering it their best album. The album contained more overdubs and experimentation than their previous, and would further cement their musical prowess, which had been polished since Patto. Around the time, they also became well known as an exciting live act due to their energetic performances.


Hold Your Fire


01. Hold Your Fire (8:06) [1]
02. You, You Point Your Finger (4:35) [1]
03. How’s Your Father (4:46) [1]
04. See You at the Dance Tonight (4:56) [1]
05. Give It All Away (4:11) [1]
06. Air Raid Shelter (7:06) [1]
07. Tell Me Where You’ve Been (3:49) [1]
08. Magic Door (4:25) [1]


Released: December 30th, 1971
Track sources:


[1] - Hold Your Fire, 1971

Friday, February 28, 2020

A few updates

Hello everyone. As we approach the end of 1971 in the story, I decided to make a brief post about the state of the blog and some things that have changed.

First of all, I went through with the idea of having storyline labels. You can find info on those here. Secondly, a new SMiLE mix, done by The_Lifehouse, has been added to replace the previous. The post including SMiLE has been edited to account for this. Lastly, I slightly updated the post which includes Pink Fairies' Never Never Land due to there being a change in plans regarding the tracklisting of Stars' 1972 album. Never Never Land is now the same as it's OTL equivalent.

That is all for now. Thank you as always for reading, and have a good day.

Monday, February 24, 2020

April 1971 - November 1971: We Managed to Pull Through

Pictured above: War, 1971


When War returned from their European tour in which Eric Burdon left, they went on to record their third album and the first without Burdon, meant to be an eponymous record. However, Red Maple insisted on the inclusion of at least some songs with Burdon.


“Now I remember being pretty frustrated at the time about that. Looking back I get why they did it, as to sort of ease the transition from being Eric’s band to our band, but it was still frustrating at the time nonetheless.”
- Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan, 2008


The songs with Eric Burdon were taken from previous recordings from 1969 and 1970 that didn’t make it on either of War’s previous albums and with that, the album was released in April 1971 to little commercial and critical success at the time. After the release of the album, the band left Red Maple Records and released their next album, All Day Music on United Artists Records.


Love is All Around

01. Love is All Around (4:14) [1]
02. Sun Oh Son (5:56) [2]
03. Lonely Feelin’ (4:34) [2]
04. Home Dream (7:15) [1]
05. Back Home (6:43) [2]
06. Magic Mountain (4:22) [2]
07. War Drums (3:52) [2]
08. Vibeka (8:03) [2]
09. Fidel’s Fantasy (11:17) [2]
10. A Day in the Life (11:07) [1]


Released: April 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Love is All Around, 1975
[2] - War, 1971

Pictured above: Syd Barrett, 1971


In June 1971, John “Twink” Alder received a phone call from Syd Barrett just 5 days before the Glastonbury Festival, in which he expressed interest in reforming Stars and possibly performing at Glastonbury.


“It wasn’t exactly the best of timing. We hadn’t played together in months, and I was already scheduled to perform with Pink Fairies. Despite that, we managed to pull through.”
- Twink, 2013


Stars and Pink Fairies ended up rehearsing together for the festival and at one point came along the idea of them all performing together. This was partially for time slot convenience and that fact that Twink would have to perform with both bands either way. Among other acts of note performing at Glastonbury were Joan Baez, David Bowie, Gong, Gilberto Gil, Family, Hawkwind, and Traffic.


While the exact setlist is unknown, it is known that among the songs played by the “Star Fairies” supergroup were Do It, Octopus, Still Yawning Still-Born, Lucifer Sam, and Uncle Harry’s Last Freakout. The performance has achieved a cult status due to the bombastic performance and the ambitiousness of the 6-man lineup. However, it would be Twink’s last stint with Pink Fairies, due to him leaving the band soon after to put his focus into Stars, who would spend the rest of the year on a European tour.


Pictured above: The Doors, 1971


On July 3rd, 1971, the music world came into great shock as The Doors’ frontman Jim Morrison was found dead in a bathtub by his girlfriend Pamela Courson. The rest of the Doors had at that point already begun recording a new album, entitled Other Voices. However, after Morrison’s death, the band felt discouraged from using The Doors’ name.


“It just didn’t feel right anymore. Liking it or not we weren’t The Doors without Jim.”
- Ray Manzarek, 2011


The band, unable to think of another name, simply changed their name to the title of the album. They had considered getting a new vocalist, yet instead, Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger took up shared vocal duties. Other Voices was released later that year, to a lukewarm reception and commercial indifference.


Other Voices


01. In The Eye of The Sun (4:46) [1]
02. Variety is the Spice of Life (2:47) [1]
03. Ships w/ Sails (7:30) [1]
04. Tightrope Ride (4:14) [1]
05. Down On The Farm (4:14) [1]
06. I’m Horny, I’m Stoned (3:55) [1]
07. Wandering Musician (6:18) [1]
08. Hang On To Your Life (5:44) [1]


Released: October 18th, 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Other Voices, 1971


Pictured above: Keith Emerson, 1971


On March 26th, 1971 at Newcastle City Hall, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer, recorded a live performance of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, which was a live staple of theirs since their time with King Crimson. Performing the piece was originally the idea of Keith Emerson, who desired to arrange the piece after seeing an orchestral version of it being performed several years prior.


Around the time it was set for release, their record label pressured the band to finally come up with a name for themselves. Originally intending to simply name themselves “Emerson, Lake & Palmer”, they avoided doing so in fear of them being abbreviated to ELP, which could cause confusion with the Extended Long Player. After some more thought, they finally came up with a name: Triton.


Pictures at an Exhibition


01. Promenade (A) (1:58) [1]
02. The Gnome (4:18) [1]
03. Promenade (B) (1:23) [1]
04. The Sage (4:42) [1]
05. The Old Castle (2:33) [1]
06. Blues Variation (4:23) [1]
07. Promenade (C) (1:28) [1]
08. The Hut of Baba Yaga (1:12) [1]
09. The Curse of Baba Yaga (4:11) [1]
10. The Hut of Baba Yaga (1:06) [1]
11. The Great Gates of Kiev (6:37) [1]
12. Nut Rocker (4:25) [1]


Released: November 1971
Track sources:
[1] - Pictures at an Exhibition, 1971


Pictured Above: Billy Preston, 1971


During the sessions between All Things Must Pass and Layla, Billy Preston was recording a solo album of his own, co-produced by bandmate George Harrison. It was originally going to be titled I Wrote a Simple Song, yet after that song was used on Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, it was changed to Billy's Thoughts. Sessions for the album continued after The Ravellers' hiatus, making use of songs that were intended for the next Ravellers album.


"Well after Eric left and the band took a break, I wasn't even sure if we would ever get back together, so I decided to use those songs for my own album."
- Billy Preston, 1981


Other notable musicians on the album were George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voorman, Jim Gordon, Bobby Keys, Carl Radle, Delaney Bramlett, and Davie T. Walker. Despite not generating hit singles, it went on to be well-received as one of his best solo efforts.


Billy’s Thoughts


01. John Henry (3:16) [1]
02. Let The Music Play (2:44) [2]
03. Use What You Got (4:22) [2]
04. Without a Song (4:58) [1]
05. The Bus (3:20) [1]
06. The Same Thing Again (4:32) [2]
07. The Looner Tune (2:40) [2]
09. You Done Got Older (3:03) [1]
10. God is Great (3:28) [1]
11. I Don’t Wanna Pretend (3:28) [2]
12. My Country Tis of Thee (4:32) [1]
13. You’ve Been Acting Strange (3:24) [2]


Released: November 8th, 1971
Track Sources:
[1] - I Wrote a Simple Song, 1971
[2] - Encouraging Words. 1970

A brief explanation for this blog.

This is an archive of the first draft of my music-focused alternate timeline history Something Creative , with every unpublished post republ...