acid-in-the-grass

[acid-in-the-grass]

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Mr. Bad Luck (1969)

Tracklist:

Side One: (21:00 Minutes)

Look Over Yonder (TTG Studios, October 1968)

My Friend (Sound City, March 1968)

Tax Free (Record Plant, January/May 1968)

Somewhere (Sound City, March 1968)

South Saturn Delta (Record Plant, June 1968)

Side Two: (21:50)

Stone Free (Record Plant, April 1969)

Cherokee Mist (Record Plant, May 1968)

Taking Care of No Business (Olympic, May 1967)

Getting My Heart Back Together Again (Hear My Train A Comin') (Record Plant, April 1969)

Explanation

TTG Studios: October 1968

If I were a Reprise records executive in 1969 when the Jimi Hendrix Experience boke up, I would have put this album together. After Electric Ladyland, Hendrix was short on complete compositions. Thus the Experience's first sessions after turning in Electric Ladyland, in TTG Studios in Hollywood, CA, in October 1968 comprising mainly of instrumental backing tracks and jams. A number of instrumentals had been attempted by the Experience in the past, but a majority of Hendrix's 1968 TTG recordings are interesting instrumentals that seem to largely just be Hendrix trying to work out some backing tracks to use later. Of the songs recorded at TTG, only one, "Look Over Yonder" seems to have gotten legitimate attention. "Look Over Yonder" is a re-recording and slight re-working of an earlier song attempted early in the Axis: Bold as Love sessions titled "Mr. Bad Luck", which I decided to use for the title of the album. Outtakes from TTG Studios include, among others:

Messenger (Instrumental)

Calling All the Devil's Children (Instrumental except for spoken word crowd overdubs on the outro)

Untitled Basic Track (Instrumental)

Here He Comes (Lover Man) (Live in studio)

Gloria (Jam, explicit)

Peace in Mississippi (Instrumental)

Hear My Freedom (Jam)

New Rising Sun (Excellent instrumental solo Jimi recording, out of place here)

Electric Ladyland Outtakes (1968)

I used as many completed Electric Ladyland outtakes as I could, the ones I left off were

The Noel Redding songs (Sorry! I don't know which one to pick! I'd feel bad picking just one, too. If you don't want "South Saturn Delta" then I recommend one of these)

Little One (Lacks vocals)

Three Little Bears (Tedious Jam with bullshit vocals and he fucks off halfway through)

My problem with so many of the instrumentals from this period is I can't help but think that they were intended to have vocals and lyrics at some point. There's a few where I suspect that wasn't the case, though. "Cherokee Mist" is an instrumental theme Hendrix would revisit time and time again, but as far as has been released this is the most complete version of the track, dating to the Electric Ladyland Sessions. "Tax Free" and "South Saturn Delta" are both Jazz-infused instrumentals from the Ladyland sessions, with the overdub work on them leading me to believe that they were under consideration for release.

"South Saturn Delta" is the song I've had the hardest time justifying to myself, but with the Horn arrangements, I'd hate to see it go to waste. I think it fits well here. I hesitate however because another Electric Ladyland outtake, "Sweet Angel," was intended to have vocals. Earlier demos as well as later studio attempts of "Sweet Angel" received vocals, so I fear that "South Saturn Delta" may share the same fate, but there's no way of confirming that these days. An instrumental it shall remain.

"My Friend" and "Somewhere" are both outtakes from Electric Ladyland recorded without the Experience, both featuring roughly the same pick-up band featuring Stephen Stills on bass. Electric Ladyland featured songs recorded without the whole Experience lineup, so I think they're fair game! "Somewhere" features overdubs recorded by Mitch Mitchell in 1971, but the other released recording, to my knowlede, is a composite of different recordings done in the modern day, so the 1971 overdub doesn't bother me too much; plus Mitch was Jimi's drummer, those two were as tight as musically could be, I trust him for the most part.

Axis: Bold as Love Outtake (1967)

"Taking Care of No Business" comes from the early Axis: Bold as Love sessions, but seeing as this album has two re-recordings of older songs (Look over Yonder and Stone Free), I'd imagine he could have included an older recording. Electric Ladyland, released October 1968, included "Burning of the Midnight Lamp", a single from summer 1967. As a song, the recording takes the same kinda "Barroom blues" atmosphere as "My Friend" earlier in the album, but with the singer having been thrown out of the tavern and lamenting in the alleyway. Within the album, I put it before "Hear My Train" because, like, he's kicked out of the bar so he'll take the next train to the next tavern in the next town. Also, the placement in the album kind of mirrors the placement of "My Friend" earlier in the album.

1969 Sessions

"Stone Free" and "Hear My Train A Comin" both date back to the final Experience sessions in April of 1969, and both are extremely solid performances. "Stone Free" was under consideration to be included on the US version of Smash Hits, but was passed on. "Hear My Train A Comin'" (or "Getting My Heart Back Together Again," as Hendrix called it) originated in roughly the October-December 1967 period, this composition had been performed acoustically for film and electrically for radio, and had been tried out in the studio a handful of times before, but it seems like they saved the best for last.

From roughly the same sessions was an instrumental called "Midnight" which had been tried out a few times in the first third of 1969, but was abandoned thereafter, It's not bad, but it's a wall of heavy guitar for about five minutes, and I think that as far as his instrumentals go, "Midnight" would be served better in a home with other instrumentals Jimi was kicking around with various live-in-studio instrumental cuts. Another outtake from around this time is the tune "Ships Passing in the Night" which would go on to be re-worked and re-developed into the track "Night Bird Flying" on what would go on to be The Cry of Love in reality, and First Rays of the New Rising Sun in the unrealized future that haunts us.

TLDR: Summary and Conclusions

All together, this album more or less represents the finished leftovers of the Jimi Hendrix Experienced, excluding demos and jams and focusing on his polished compositions. Six vocals, three instrumentals. Three new recordings, five Electric Ladyland outtakes, and one Axis: Bold as Love outtake. Everything else are either instrumental backing tracks or alternate versions of songs he would more fully develop later. To my knowledge. Lowkey creates a loose concept about Mr. Bad Luck coming to town, telling his stories in the tavern, and being kicked out and forced to take the train away. The life of a wandering minstrel.

[acid-in-the-grass]

Jimi Hendrix's First Rays of the New Rising Sun: Revision

Tracklist:

Side One (23:30)

Dolly Dagger [Rainbow Bridge, Final Mix 8/24]

Night Bird Flying [Cry of Love, Final Mix 8/24]

Room Full of Mirrors [Rainbow Bridge, Rough Mix 8/20]

Freedom [Cry of Love, Rough Mix 8/24]

Ezy Ryder [Cry of Love, Final Mix 8/24]

Astro Man [Cry of Love, Rough Mix 8/22]

Side Two (23:30)

Drifting [Electric Lady Studios, Alternate Version, Rough Mix 8/20]

Straight Ahead [Cry of Love, Final Mix 8/22]

Drifter's Escape [Electric Lady Studios, Rough Mix 8/22]

Come Down Hard On Me, Baby [Jimi Hendrix Experience (Purple Box), Rough Mix 8/22]

Beginnings [Electric Lady Studios, Take 5, Posthumous Mix(?) Recorded 7/1]

Izabella [First Rays of the New Rising Sun/War Heroes, Posthumous Mix 1/31/1971)

Side Three (23:30)

Angel [Electric Lady Studios, Take 7, Posthumous Mix(?) Recorded 7/23]

Power of Soul [Both Side of the Sky, Rough Mix 8/22]

Lover Man [Jimi Hendrix Experience (Purple Box), Posthumous mix, Recorded 7/20]

Bleeding Heart [Electric Lady Studios, Alternate Mix, Rough Mix 8/22]

Message to Love [West Coast Seattle Boy, Rough Mix 8/22]

In from the Storm [Electric Lady Studios, Alternative Mix 8/24]

Side Four (24:00)

Earth Blues [Jimi Hendrix Experience (Box Set), Rough Mix 8/22]

Stepping Stone [First Rays of the New Rising Sun/War Heroes, Posthumous Mix 12/1970]

Bolero/Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) [Electric Lady Studios, Rough Mix 8/22]

Belly Button Window [Cry of Love, Rough Mix 8/24]

So all but three of these songs were worked on in August of 1970 by Jimi Hendrix and engineer/co-producer Eddie Cramer. 19 of them received rough mixes, of which 16 are presented here. Original rough mixes of "Angel", "Drifting", and "Beginnings" have not been released officially, and I don't know of any unofficial releases with them.

The songs that *weren't* mixed in that period were all either recorded or overdubbed Summer 1970. "Lover Man" had been a staple of Hendrix's since the formation of the Experience, with dozens of versions being released over the years (both live and in the studio), but the Purple Box version is the final and most concise version of the song to see release. "Stepping Stone" and "Izabella" had an interesting journey, with these versions being re-hauls of the single versions released in April 1970 featuring re-recorded drums by Mitch Mitchel and several guitar overdubs from Hendrix.

All of these songs were worked on Between June and July. If you wanted to, you could easily cut those three songs and get some slightly shorter vinyl sides, but I don't think that's very worthwhile. I decided to swap those three in for Cherokee Mist because I think that composition deserves to be on its own release with other Electric Ladyland outtakes, which I'll be working on later. For now, these represent the final released and available work of Jimi Hendrix. In my opinion, these are his best songs in terms of composition, lyrics, and sonic fidelity.

[acid-in-the-grass]

honest togod i thought the white stripes members were related

[acid-in-the-grass]

Wii Sports soundtrack on white vinyl

[acid-in-the-grass]

Sufjan Stevens: Oregon and the Carrie & Lowell extended universe

In December 2012, Sufjan Stevens got a phone call. He was on tour for his Christmas release Silver & Gold, an extravagant affair that featured oversized decorations and a large wheel. The phone call was from his aunt. Sufjan's mother, Carrie, had died of the cancer she'd been fighting for a short time.

Sufjan's relationship with his mother, as far as he has openly discussed, was strained. He only saw her consistently for a few years during the summers in the early 80s, and once she split from his stepfather Lowell Brahms, his contact with her would become intermittent at best. According to Sufjan, Carrie struggled with substance abuse and mental health problems, and spent a period of time homeless.

His relationship with her (or lack thereof) would be an occasional subject in Sufjan's songwriting, most notably in his 2003 song "Romulus," which explores the subject, but it had never been a focal point. Sufjan's songwriting up to 2012 could be roughly sorted into three categories:

Personal (Age of Adz, Michigan, Illinois, Seven Swans, A Sun Came)

Historical (Michigan, Illinois)

Religious/Mythological (Seven Swans, Michigan, A Sun Came)

Among his personal songs, while his relationship with his mother would appear as an occasional topic, more frequently songs will cover Sufjan's sexuality or his memories tied to locations. With this understanding, one can look at the album Carrie & Lowell and see how it was, at one point in time, an album about The Great State of Oregon, which is where Sufjan spent the most time with his mother as a child. Naturally, the album Sufjan set out to write — about either Oregon or his mother — was about his relationship with both.

There are eleven songs released on Carrie & Lowell, sonically varying from lo-fi to elaborate studio productions, recorded between 2013 and 2014 at a number of locations, from New York City to Oregon itself. Almost every song, however, shares a number of key traits. Most songs are on acoustic guitar or simple keyboards, with very sparse accompaniment. Lyrically, not only do landmarks, cities, and historical figures from Oregon appear, but frequent allusions to greek/roman myth, birds, horses, drowning, and (of course) Carrie's motherhood.

Over the years, a number of additional compositions from the Carrie & Lowell writing sessions have come to light, either in their original or re-recorded forms. Shortly after the release of the Carrie & Lowell LP, Sufjan released the "Exploding Whale (Epic Fail)" single, which explores the addiction problems discussed in album cut "No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross" and how they impact his relationships, potentially leading to the confrontation discussed in "Drawn to the Blood" (which itself goes back to "No Shade…"'s addiction lyrics: "How? Heart of a dragon" vs "Inhaling its fire, I'm chasing the dragon too far")

The second release was the famous "Mystery of Love" which was originally identified by its references to Oregon's Rouge River, the bird imagery of "Running like a Plover," and the same use of the mystery metaphor as used in the album track "John My Beloved." Later on the demo was released as a part of the tenth anniversary edition of Carrie & Lowell.

in 2017, Sufjan also released The Greatest Gift mixtape, which held a number of remixes, demos, and four outtakes. "Wallowa Lake Monster," "City of Roses," "The Hidden River of My Life," and the title track "The Greatest Gift." This batch of songs firmly place themselves in Oregon's landscape, with all but the "Greatest Gift" itself having direct references to Oregon locations in their titles. Barring Wallowa Lake Monster, the remaining three tracks don't have any direct relation to Carrie's death, or even necessarily the fallout. Two affirm Sufjan's kinship to the land of his mother and the other is a broad affirmation of love among people. "Wallowa Lake Monster" I suspect was left off as it covers the same emotional ground as "Fourth of July" in a less direct fashion.

in 2020, Sufjan released his song "America," a ten minute ode to organized religion corrupting the soul of America. Per Sufjan's own words, the song began as an outtake from Carrie & Lowell, though what developments the song undertook before its final release are unknown to me at this time. The b-side was the equally epic 12 minute "My Rajneesh," which also had its origins during the Carrie & Lowell sessions, has more direct ties to the theme's of Carrie's parenthood and mental illness: "Hallucination accede my need, my Rajneesh," which also references Oregon's infamous Rajneeshpurham cult.

It wouldn't be until the release of Javelin in 2023 that more songs from Carrie & Lowell would see the light. The Rough Trade edition of the album came with an additional CD with "Five Unreleased Songs" (Later receiving a limited vinyl run) that almost all are certainly from the recording of Carrie & Lowell.

Opening track "Malthusian Mistress" is the most sparse among them, but continues the Horse theme from several other Carrie & Lowell tracks.

"Is It My Fault?" also shares the Horse theme by referencing Bonnie McCarroll, an Oregon rodeo horse rider who died being thrown from a horse.

"Fireproof" references the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Oregon.

"Old Man of the Lake" is a story about Sufjan, his cousin, and his brother getting pulled over and beaten by a park ranger at Oregon's Crater Lake, which has a giant very old tree trunk floating in it called "the old man of the lake"

"The Kiss of Niobe" draws comparisons to Carrie's motherhood and Elizabeth Diane Downs, who shot her three children in Oregon in 1983 before driving them to the hospital.

So there are thirteen songs from Carrie & Lowell's writing and recording sessions released outside of the album proper. But I'm not done. In 2015 Sufjan Stevens showed a short film about a rodeo that had happened in Oregon (That Bonnie McCarroll performed at!) called Round Up! After the short film, Sufjan came out and performed a song titled "Wild Horses" (Not to be confused with The Rolling Stones song "Wild Horses") which as the title implies carries on the horse theme established in "Death With Dignity"'s line referring to Carrie as a "Tired old mare." "Wild Horses" pulls together many threads from Carrie & Lowell, from opening line "I came looking for disaster" tying into "Is It My Fault"'s line "Set myself right up for disaster", "Catching roses by the mouthful" in the City of Roses, "Wild choices in the light" after he "followed the light to the City of Roses"

With fourteen additional songs to work with, expanding Carrie & Lowell into a double album which explores Sufjan's positives and (mostly) negative experiences related to Oregon and what happened to him in Oregon. I haven't used "America" because although it was written during the Carrie & Lowell sessions, the available recording and lyrics bear little resemblance to the rest of the songs (Even My Rajneesh starts with an acoustic guitar before descending into Synth sections and "Vesuvius" reprises)

Movement One: Made in Oregon

An exploration of Sufjan's relationship with his childhood summers in Oregon, and later Oregon-based experiences

1 - Malthusian Mistress

Malthusian Mistress is one of the few songs that have nothing to do with Oregon as far as I'm aware. The song serves as an introduction into Sufjan's insecurities with fame and celeberty, valuing his privacy regarding sexuality and religion.

2 - Carrie & Lowell

The song most directly about Sufjan's Oregon summers, recounting some of his experiences with his mother and her time in Oregon.

3 - Eugene

Again, Sufjan recounts his childhood in Eugene, Oregon

4 - The Kiss of Niobe

Exploring Sufjan's mixed feelings about being abandoned as his mother's mental health worsened

5 - My Rajneesh

Drawing comparisons between Carrie's mental health problems and the cult of Rajneeshpurham

6 - Old Man of the Lake

Some of Sufjan's Oregon adventures

7 - City of Roses

Sufjan goes to the big city, Portland, which is also known for being quite accepting of lgbt folks. By "Following Delight" to Portland, he is maybe metaphorically accepting his queerness?

8 - Hidden River of My Life

Sufjan affirms his allegiance to Oregon with a whole barrage of references

9 - Fireproof

In a crisis, Sufjan doesn't know if he is stoic or broken

10 - Wallowa Lake Monster

Drawing on local legend, history, and personal memory, Sufjan paints his mother as being plagued by monsters that only subsided with her death

Movement Two: Death with Dignity

in which after Carrie's death Sufjan struggles to cope

11 - Fourth of July

Carrie dies.

12 - Death with Dignity

Following Carrie's death, Sufjan doesn't know where to begin

13 - Should Have Known Better

Sufjan turns to the things around him, the river, the neighbors, his fresh niece, to distract him from his regrets and grief

14 - The Only Thing

As Sufjan's depression worsens, he turns to the beautiful and mundane for support: Natural beauty, spiritual signs, messages, whatever he can hold

15 - The Mystery of Love

Sufjan turns to love to save him from his sorrows

Movement Three: Mysteries of Love

in which Sufjan enters a toxic relationship as a way to cope with his grief

16 - Is It My Fault?

Sufjan finds himself in love, even though he knows it's doomed

17 - John My Beloved

A bleak portrait of pursuing a half interested partner out of desperation and loneliness

18 - All of Me Wants All of You

Sufjan ruminates on the relationship and his partner neglecting him.

19 - No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross

Sufjan Succumbs to his negative tendencies and indulges in opioid abuse and self-harm

20 - Drawn to the Blood

Sufjan's partner finds out about the drug use and self harm and reacts violently. How? Heart of a dragon.

21 - Blue Bucket of Gold

Sufjan expresses his shock and grief over the ended/wounded relationship

22 - Wild Horses (Live)

Sufjan reflects on his mother's influence on his actions after her death

23 - Exploding Whale (Epic Fail)

Sufjan tries to come to terms with his shortcomings, the tragedies that have occurred, and recognizes various aspects of it.

24 - The Greatest Gift

Sufjan tries to find a light at the end of the tunnel

[acid-in-the-grass]

Jimi Hendrix's First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1970)

Dolly Dagger [Rainbow Bridge, Final Mix 8/24]

Night Bird Flying [Cry of Love, Final Mix 8/24]

Room Full of Mirrors [Rainbow Bridge, Rough Mix 8/20]

Belly Button Window [Cry of Love, Rough Mix 8/24]

Freedom [Cry of Love, Rough Mix 8/24]

Ezy Ryder [Cry of Love, Final Mix 8/24]

Astro Man [Cry of Love, Rough Mix 8/22]

Drifting [Electric Lady Studios, Alternate Version, Rough Mix 8/20]

Straight Ahead [Cry of Love, Final Mix 8/22]

Power of Soul [Both Side of the Sky, Rough Mix 8/22]

Message to Love [West Coast Seattle Boy, Rough Mix 8/22]

Drifter's Escape [Electric Lady Studios, Rough Mix 8/22]

Come Down Hard On Me, Baby [Jimi Hendrix Experience (Purple Box), Rough Mix 8/22]

Beginnings [Electric Lady Studios, Take 5, Posthumous Mix(?) 7/1]

Cherokee Mist [Both Side of the Sky, Electric Ladyland Outtake, 5/2/68]

Angel [Electric Lady Studios, Take 7, Posthumous Mix(?) 7/23]

Bleeding Heart [Electric Lady Studios, Alternate Mix, Rough Mix 8/22]

Earth Blues [Jimi Hendrix Experience (Box Set), Rough Mix 8/22]

In From The Storm [Electric Lady Studios, Alternate Mix, Rough Mix 8/24]

Bolero/Hey Baby (New Rising Sun) [Electric Lady Studios, Rough Mix 8/22]

Jimi Hendrix tried four times to record a fourth album. At the end of his fourth attempt, he made it as far as mixing before he asphyxiated in his sleep at the age of 27 after a fatal combination of drugs and alcohol. By that point, four songs were mixed and mastered for a planned single release. The album had no strict track list planned, and Hendrix had a vast backlog of original songs to choose from.

By its very nature, it can't be known what tracks were under consideration by Hendrix for the release. Hendrix was under pressure to release an album by Christmas 1970, as well as being required to contribute a soundtrack to the film "Rainbow Bridge." Looking at what he was last working on, I believe, we can get a good idea.

Jimi had been working on basic backing tracks since November 1969 with his BoG band, with recording and overdubs continuing until August 1970. Between those months, Hendrix released a live album, fired drummer Buddy Miles and reformed The Jimi Hendrix Experience with BoG bass player Billy Cox on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums. Mitch would go on to overdub a handful of Buddy Miles' drum parts, but several would remain as parts of the basic tracks.

As the summer drew on, Hendrix's personal studio, Electric Lady Studios, became his base of operations. After recording and overdubbing all summer, Hendrix and engineer Eddie Kramer took a week in late august to review and mix the previous year's work. A number of songs were left on the cutting room floor (including personal demos, jams, and a handful of nearly finished songs) and almost two dozen tracks received attention that August.

As far as speculation goes, I'm pretty confident in my selection. I believe that these songs were the most likely to make the album, and the handful of tracks that didn't make the cut that summer could have theoretically been revived for his owed Rainbow Bridge Soundtrack. I think, though, if he wasn't working on it in August 1970, then why would he have come back to it for his next album? He had more than enough for a double, and I had to carefully arrange the tracklist to balance out the vinyl sides so that no side would be longer than 24 minutes.

Only a handful of anachronisms exist in this release. Preventing the album from strictly the August 1970 mixes is the fact that the people in charge of the Hendrix estate have neglected to release them. Perhaps they no longer survive.

Cherokee Mist

Hendrix had been fucking with this composition since late 1967, and an outtake from the 1968 Electric Ladyland recording sessions is the recording I use. Other versions released are either parts or larger jams or edited versions of this one, and didn't seem to be actual dedicated performances.

Angel (Take 7)

Beginnings (Take 5)

These two tracks are modern mixes as far as I can tell. Beginnings existed for a long time as a composite of two takes, but the Electric Lady Studios box set released a complete single take. Likewise, Angel has only existed with posthumous drum overdubs by Mitch Mitchell, but (Take 7) restores the original. I'm not sure if it's a vintage mix or not. I'm pretty sure these are modern mixes though? Could be from the days they were recorded tho. The point is that they eschew posthumous overdubs and edits.

There were two track lists from Hendrix's lifetime, to my knowledge. One he wrote that had upwards of 25 songs on it, and another that had three sides of a double album sketched out with a couple repeats in someone else's handwriting. I went with the tape box because all of the songs mentioned were from the August mixing sessions. By adding the rest of the songs from August in the blank spaces, I got a good length double album stacked with bangers. Hendrix's vintage mixes largely sound very good, and I think minimal mixing was needed. That being said, I prefer the posthumous mix of Earth Blues on Rainbow Bridge, the lead guitar lines are much more prominent; and the posthumous mix of Bolero on West Coast Seattle Boy, since it mixes out the horribly out of time hand Percussion (I suspect Juma Sultan).

Outtakes from this album would then be

Stepping Stone [June]

Izabella [June]

Lover Man [July]

Burning Desire [Backing Track, January '70]

Midnight Lightning [Informal Jams/Solo Demo]

Send My Love to Linda [Informal Jams/Solo Demo]

Valleys of Neptune [Informal Jams/Solo Demos]

Heaven Has No Sorrow [Rough Demo]

Which then might have been the Rainbow Bridge Soundtrack, who knows. As it stands, "Stepping Stone", "Izabella", and "Lover Man" are all the most complete of the outtakes, having received months of overdubs and finalized vocal takes.

The only thing Burning Desire needed was a vocal. I made a rough edit where I extracted the vocals from live and rehearsal versions of the song and laid them over the studio track, but I need to re-do it.

Three songs had been at least jammed on by the group in the studio, but didn't receive formal studio takes. Hendrix was known to include the occasional jam in his album, looking at "Voodoo Chile" on Electric Ladyland, for instance. However, seeing as none of these got much attention in the mixing/sequencing stage, to my knowledge. The songs that were only jammed and demoed can and have been combined to create a more fully realized song in some cases, like with "Send My Love" on Both Sides of the Sky and "Valleys of Neptune" on the album of the same name. Additionally, "Heaven Has No Sorrow" remains a tantalizing taste of what Hendrix's next major ballad could have been.

"Getting My Heart Back Together Again (Hear My Train A Comin')" hadn't seen the studio since April '69, with a number of other Experience era outtakes (later used to pad releases of 4th LP materials), so I tend to exclude that one from the contention. I've got other plans for that one.

[acid-in-the-grass]

Panic! at the Disco: Little Secret EP [2014]

Hooked On A Feeling

All the Boys

Little Secret

One This Time (Stuck in the Middle)

Turn It Back Around [Lofi source, Optional bonus track]

Can't Fight Against the Youth

I Really Wouldn't Do That (If I Were You)

Praying

Panic! at the Disco, like a lot of bands these days, record a *lot* more than they release. Their debut is the exception, since it was more or less recorded as they wrote it, but each album the band has released since is known to have at least several finished songs left on the cutting room floor. In 2014, they released an EP with two unreleased songs from the previous year's Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die lp. They decided to make the title track of the EP the worst song from the LP and exclude much better outtakes; in my opinion, anyway.

Of the outtakes that we have access to in one form or another, the ones from this period include two 2012 demos produced by Daniel Ledinsky

Praying

Hooked On A Feeling

Two leaked LP tracks from 2012-2013

One This Time (Stuck in the Middle)

Turn It Back Around

An outtake from the EP itself

Little Secret

And a 2014 Demo/Outtake

I Really Wouldn't Do That (If I Were You)

The two leaked LP cuts were originally both audience recordings of playback at a Panic! lounge, but One This Time has since been leaked in its studio quality.

All of these songs are finished, essentially. The "Demos" are very polished and clean, and Panic! have officially released demos as bonus tracks in the past that sound this complete. The songs in this collection span the breadth of the Too Weird album cycle, from early recordings to post-release promotion. Together, though, they have a consistent sound that I think rivals anything on the final album for musical quality. With two more songs, this collection could act as a another album. As is, these eight songs clock in at about 27 minutes, and could be released on a 10" record with four songs on each side.

[acid-in-the-grass]

Lost albums, re-organizing discographies, and music hyperfixations

Hello! I am obsessed with music and shit and do deep dive research for a lot of the music I listen to. I have a particular interest in studio outtakes and unreleased music, and I like putting them together into hypothetical releases based on when and where they were recorded and with whom.

A lot of my focus is on classic rock for a couple reasons.

I was raised on it and it constitutes a lot of what I listen to

Being older recordings, I benefit from anniversary releases, copyright extension releases, and 40-50 years of bootlegs

That being said, I extend my research to other genres and eras. One of my latest obsessions has been working out an Oregon album out of Sufjan Steven's 2015 album Carrie & Lowell, using outtakes, demos, and live recordings. Panic! At The Disco's unreleased recordings from 2012-2016 blow their officially released tracks out of the water in most cases.

Anyway, hopefully this can be a place I corral those songs, albums, and playlists into this joint.