U2's "The Joshua Tree" - Double Album Edition (1987)

The Joshua Tree is widely considered to be U2's greatest album, and following a three-year hiatus since the release of The Unforgettable Fire, it's since become one of the best selling-albums of all time. Of course, the band had recorded far more material than what was released on the actual album; at least a whole other album's worth of material, in fact! Seven of the remaining songs were released as B-sides during 1987, while an eighth, "Heartland", eventually showed up on Rattle and Hum a year later. Two more outtakes, "Beautiful Ghost" and "Wave of Sorrow", would eventually be released on deluxe editions. Sounds like we have our work cut out for us, then!

The Joshua Tree (1987)

Side A (22:03)

1. Beautiful Ghost/Introduction to Songs of Experience - 3:56

2. Where the Streets Have No Name - 5:38

3. Silver and Gold - 4:37

4. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - 4:38

5. Spanish Eyes - 3:14

Side B (23:10)

6. With or Without You - 4:56

7. Luminous Times - 4:35

8. Walk to the Water - 4:49

9. Bullet the Blue Sky - 4:32

10. Running to Stand Still - 4:18

Side C (23:33)

11. Red Hill Mining Town - 4:52

12. In God's Country - 2:57

13. Heartland - 5:02

14. Trip Through Your Wires - 3:33

15. Wave of Sorrow (Birdland) - 4:06

16. Sweetest Thing - 3:03

Side D (22:23)

17. One Tree Hill - 5:23

18. Deep in the Heart - 4:31

19. Race Against Time - 4:04

20. Exit - 4:13

21. Mothers of the Disappeared - 5:12

I've looked up several track listings for a double Joshua Tree, and one of the commonalities that I noticed was that "Silver and Gold" followed up from "Where the Streets Have No Name", and on some of those, "Beautiful Ghost" led into "Streets". I can just hear the transition between the two! There were a few cases in which "With or Without You" and "Walk to the Water" were swapped around, and I ended up going with the former as the opener to Side B. It was one of U2's biggest singles after all, so why not? May as well start off on a strong note!

The second disc was a bit trickier, and as it turned out, Side C was a bit short at just 19 and a half minutes, so I threw in "Wave of Sorrow (Birdland)" to even up the side lengths and add a bit more meat to the running order. The orderings varied from person to person, but I think I'm happy with the choices I ended up going for. I even made a new album cover to go along with the expanded track listing.

Had The Joshua Tree been a double album as Bono intended, would it still be U2's greatest album, or would it be too much of a good thing? It's hard to say, especially since, as a single, it pushed the group into superstardom, and they're still performing to this day. Their recent album, Songs of Surrender made the Top 10 in America, so clearly, there's still an audience for them. But I digress; I think the Joshua Tree double more clearly shows U2 at their creative peak, willing to take chances, even if they didn't always play out as intended. It's like a director's cut with all the deleted scenes re-inserted.

All additional songs come from the Super Deluxe Edition of The Joshua Tree, except "Heartland", coming from Rattle and Hum. Speaking of which, I've done a solely-studio version of that album as a bonus:

Rattle and Hum (1988)

Side A (21:54)

1. Desire - 2:58

2. Van Diemen's Land - 2:51

3. Hawkmoon 269 - 6:22

4. When Love Comes to Town - 4:14

5. A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel - 5:29

Side B (24:10)

6. Angel of Harlem - 3:49

7. Love Rescue Me - 6:24

8. Hallelujah (Here She Comes) - 4:12

9. God Part II - 3:15

10. All I Want is You - 6:30

In general, I've kept the order of the studio tracks per the original track listing. I've swapped "Van Diemen's Land" and "Desire" around so that the latter kicks things off, and I've moved up "When Love  Comes to Town" so that the collaborations with B.B. King and Bob Dylan aren't back to back. Since "Heartland" is now on The Joshua Tree, I've replaced it with two B-sides, "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel" and "Hallelujah (Here She Comes)", which help to fill in the gaps and bring the album up to a respectable 46 minutes in length.

The Beatles - "Everest" (1973)

I've had this idea in the back of my mind for some time - in fact, I even have a draft timeline about it! - about a scenario in which, instead of breaking up in 1970, the Beatles take a break from each other for a couple of years, and then they reunite towards the end of 1972 to record another album. This would establish a pattern in which they put out solo albums while still remaining the Beatles, but a new album from them as a group comes out every two or three years up until John Lennon's murder in 1980. And yes, that does include the period in which he was in his househusband phase.

The 1973 album I came up with, Everest, is the follow-up to 1970's Hot as Sun, in a scenario in which A Collection of Beatles Oldies merely compiles non-album tracks, Yellow Submarine is a proper Beatles album, and Let It Be was released in 1969 as originally intended. So imagine if you will...

Everest (July 1973)

Side A (21:19)

1. Big Barn Bed - 3:48

2. Rock and Roll People - 3:07

3. I'm the Greatest - 3:21

4. Don't Let Me Wait Too Long - 2:57

5. Get on the Right Thing - 4:17

6. I Know (I Know) - 3:49

Side B (23:44)

7. Mind Games - 4:13

8. One More Kiss - 2:25

9. Step Lightly - 3:15

10. Hands of Love/Power Cut - 4:57

11. Out the Blue - 3:23

12. Living in the Material World - 5:31

Between May 1968 and February 1970, the Beatles had recorded five albums' worth of material, with their self-titled White Album being a double. By the time they'd finished up Hot as Sun, the group was feeling burnt out - John Lennon especially had wanted to leave the band for his new wife Yoko Ono - and there was the possibility of a split while they were at a creative peak. Paul McCartney wanted to go touring again, George Harrison wanted his voice to be heard more, and Ringo Starr wanted to be happy. Everyone needed a break from each other, whether they wanted to admit it or not.

So, it was decided to put the Beatles on a temporary hiatus while the members focused on solo projects. Ringo had released his first solo album, Sentimental Journey, back in March, and put out Beaucoups of Blues that September. Still having enough material for a full album, George recorded and released his self-titled album for November, backed by "My Sweet Lord", the first number one hit for a solo Beatle, and "What is Life". John and Yoko ended the year of 1970 with Plastic Ono Band, which became the measuring stick for their own individual projects.

Paul's solo debut album, Ram, was finally released in May 1971, with his wife Linda credited as a collaborator, and this album would pave the way for Paul's side group Wings. They would go on a university tour throughout the United Kingdom shortly after forming, before entering the studio to record what would become their debut album, Wild Life, released in the spring of 1972, backed by its lead single "Give Ireland Back to the Irish".

John had also recorded some material during 1971, but his only major releases that year were the singles "Power to the People" and "Happy Xmas (War is Over)", and it wasn't until June 1972 that One and All was finally released, with its single "Imagine" becoming his most well-known track as a solo artist. George had also been kept busy between 1971 and 1972 by arranging The Concert for Bangladesh, in which Ringo also partook in, as well as working on his next solo album, The Magic is Here Again, which came out towards the end of 1972 with the lead single "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)".

In October of that year, as a response to a series of bootleg albums, Apple Records would put out two Beatles compilation albums, 1962-1966 and 1967-1969, respectively known as the "Red" and "Blue" Albums, marking ten years since the release of "Love Me Do". Both compilations managed to squeak into the #1 spots in both the United States and the United Kingdom, indicating that the public still had an appetite for new Beatles material.

To the surprise of everyone, it was George who got in touch with Paul about the possibility of a new Beatles album as a reaction to The Red and Blue Albums, and after discussing the matter with John on speakerphone (he was unable to leave America due to being spied upon by the Nixon administration), it was agreed that recording for the next Beatles album would take place in America. Paul had been working on the next Wings album, Red Rose Speedway, when planning took place, so he brought forth a few songs from the sessions - "Big Barn Bed", "Get on the Right Thing", "Only One More Kiss" and the two-part medley "Hands of Love/Power Cut" - that were re-recorded with the other three Beatles' involvement. George also had a couple of holdovers from The Magic is Here Again, these being "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long" and "Living in the Material World", in the hopes that they would be used for the album.

John had been working on a few songs in preparation for what would become Everest (a working title for Abbey Road), including "Mind Games", which he'd actually started back in 1969 as "Make Love, Not War" - the sentiment was a cliché by 1973. "Rock and Roll People" and "I'm the Greatest" were also holdovers, both having been started in 1970, although the latter would be sung by Ringo. "I Know (I Know)" and "Out the Blue" were newly written by John for the album. Ringo would also contribute a song of his own, "Step Lightly", being the Beatles' first song to feature tap dancing, as well as marking the first album in which Ringo would have two songs on the same disc.

Wings' Red Rose Speedway would be the first album release for 1973, featuring the hit singles "My Love", "Hi Hi Hi" and "Live and Let Die", the latter of which was recorded for the James Bond film of the same name. This helped to build up hype for the Beatles' return to the stage with Everest come July, backed by the singles "Mind Games" and "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long". While Everest had its share of highlights throughout, and it even reached #1 like many prior albums, reaction to the album was a bit underwhelming, with many hoping to hear Hot as Sun: Part II, some even saying that the Beatles were heading in a more "poppy" direction. As time went by, however, critical reaction towards Everest became kinder, with some even calling it an underrated gem.

Nonetheless, the Beatles went their separate ways once more, with John moving to Los Angeles to record his next album Nutopia, released that October. Ringo had also worked on his first proper solo album during the Everest sessions, featuring contributions from George and Paul throughout, including his first #1 hit single "Photograph". Meanwhile, Wings had gone off to Lagos to record the bulk of what would become Paul's solo masterwork Band on the Run, released toward the end of 1973. George was the last to finish up his next solo project, although it would be delayed until next year.

Ringo Starr - "It Beats Sleep" (1978)

The period between 1976 and 1983 was not a great one for Ringo Starr. After two Top 10 albums with Ringo and Goodnight Vienna in 1973 and 1974, respectively, his solo career quickly took a nose dive. Ringo's Rotogravure, despite having involvement from the other three Beatles for the second time, failed to live up to expectations of the previous two albums, peaking out at #28 in America in 1976. And things only got worse from there when Ringo the 4th topped out at a shocking #162 in 1977; most unthinkable for a former Beatle! 1978's Bad Boy fared no better, peaking out at #129.

Three years later, Stop and Smell the Roses was released, and despite the presence of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, as well as the likes of Harry Nilsson, Ronnie Wood and Stephen Stills, it only managed  to reach #98 in America, despite "Wrack My Brain" being a Top 40 hit (albeit at a paltry #38). And his final album before his musical sabbatical, Old Wave, didn't make the American charts at all.

Is there a way to make the most out of this controversial period in Ringo's solo career? Well, one could make the argument that Ringo's Rotogravure was his last "good" album of the 1970s, and of his two 1980s albums, Stop and Smell the Roses is the better one; it even came with bonus tracks when released on CD, which I think helps a little. However, can we take Ringo the 4th and Bad Boy, generally regarded as Ringo's combined low point, and make one halfway decent album out of them?

It Beats Sleep (1978)

Side A (18:32)

1. She's So in Love - 3:30 (Ballard)

2. Who Needs a Heart - 3:48 (Starkey/Poncia)

3. Just a Dream - 3:58 (Starkey/Poncia)

4. Heart on My Sleeve - 3:20 (Gallagher/Lyle)

5. One Way Love Affair - 3:56 (Ballard)

Side B (18:54)

6. Drowning in the Sea of Love - 4:02 (Gamble/Huff)

7. Hard Times - 3:31 (Skellern)

8. It's No Secret - 3:42 (Starkey/Poncia)

9. As Far as We Can Go - 4:42 (Ballard)

10. Simple Love Song - 2:57 (Starkey/Poncia)

To make this hypothetical "new" album any good, we'll have to take the best from both Ringo the 4th and Bad Boy and throw in some other stuff from the time period, however scarce it may be. From 4th, I picked "It's No Secret", "Simple Love Song" and Ringo's cover of "Drowning in the Sea of Love". The latter was released as a single, albeit it was shortened. I've done an edit that's a little longer than the single version, but it's still shorter than the official 5:09 album version.

Also from the Ringo the 4th era is the non-album B-side "Just a Dream". The original length of this song was 4:23, but I shortened it by 25 seconds to eliminate a repeat of the chorus near the end. The tracks I picked off of Bad Boy were "Who Needs a Heart" and cover versions of "Heart on My Sleeve" and "Hard Times", all in their original length; no editing required.

So far, that's seven songs picked out; four written by Ringo with Vini Poncia, and three covers. But what about the other three slots? Well, that's where a bit of obscure Ringo recording history comes in; on July 22 and 23, 1978, Ringo was recording with Russ Ballard for a potential follow up to Bad Boy, but it appeared to have been canceled. The songs recorded for these sessions were "As Far as We Can Go", "One Way Love Affair" and "She's So in Love", along with a fourth that has never been leaked in any way. However, the sessions were postponed but never resumed, and Ringo wouldn't be back in the studio for another two years.

Out of the three, only "As Far as We Can Go" was officially released under Ringo's name, but it had been reworked for 1983's Old Wave, and the original version was included as a bonus track on CD. Meanwhile, "She's So in Love" was first released by Lulu for her 1978 album (some sources say 1979) Don't Take Love for Granted, and it was later covered by Dutch band The Cats for Flyin' High in 1985. "One Way Love Affair" has never been recorded by another artist as far as I'm aware, which I think is a shame, since it's the cute story song that fits Ringo so well.

I've made "She's So in Love" the first track on the new album as I feel like it could've had single potential under Ringo's name. "One Way Love Affair", meanwhile, closes out the first side, and I've trimmed away about half a minute, which was basically two repeats of the chorus at the end. "As Far as We Can Go" uses the original version, albeit I've trimmed out a repeat of the chorus and an instrumental section, making it longer than the version as heard on Old Wave, but still shorter than the original version. I like how it's immediately followed up by "Simple Love Song", ending the album on an upbeat note.

Finally, there's the album title, It Beats Sleep. It was the working tile for Old Wave, but I like how it fits some of the material on this album, "Just a Dream" especially. So I think it's right that an album featuring a few unreleased songs uses an unused title. The image of Ringo comes from about 1978, from a promo for his eponymous made-for-TV movie from the same year.

Is It Beats Sleep a great album from Ringo? Well, it obviously isn't on the same level as his 1973 eponymous album; how could it, what with the presence of the other ex-Beatles? But is it at least better than Ringo the 4th and Bad Boy? I like to think so, but of course, your mileage may vary. Some may be disappointed by the absence of "Wings", but perhaps in this scenario, Ringo unearths it and records a new version years later, like he did for Ringo 2012. Of course, if you think that some other song should've been included instead, why not try making your own version your yourself?

Listen to the album here

Ringo Starr's "With a Little Help from My Friends" (1970-1981)

Continuing from the previous post in which I did a compilation of Paul McCartney solo songs in which the first letter of each title spelled out "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", I'm now doing a compilation of Ringo Starr solo songs. This time, it's a compilation in which every song features at least one other Beatle, whether John, Paul and George wrote something for Ringo, performed on it or, in most cases, both. This covers the period of 1970 to 1981 since that was when John Lennon was the most active, and when Ringo had the most help from his friends. (See where I'm going with this?)

With a Little Help from My Friends (1970-1981)

Side A (19:43)

1. Photograph - 3:56 (w/ George; 1973)

2. It Don't Come Easy - 3:02 (w/ George; 1971)

3. You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful and You're Mine) - 2:48 (w/ Paul; 1973)

4. Back Off Boogaloo - 3:22 (w/ George; 1972)

5. I'm the Greatest - 3:21 (w/ John and George; 1973)

6. Pure Gold - 3:14 (w/ Paul; 1976)

Side B (18:34)

7. Only You (and You Alone) - 3:26 (w/ John; 1974)

8. Stardust - 3:22 (w/ Paul; 1970)

9. Early 1970 - 2:20 (w/ George; 1971)

10. Attention - 3:20 (w/ Paul; 1981)

11. Down and Out - 3:04 (w/ George; 1973)

12. (It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna - 3:02 (w/ John; 1974)

Side C (17:40)

13. Sure to Fall (In Love with You) - 3:42 (w/ Paul; 1981)

14. Cookin' (in the Kitchen of Love) - 3:41 (w/ John; 1976)

15. You Belong to Me - 2:09 (w/ George; 1981)

16. Six O'Clock (Extended Version) - 5:23 (w/ Paul; 1973)

17. Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond) - 2:45 (w/ George; 1973)

Side D (18:42)

18. You Can't Fight Lightning - 5:41 (w/ Paul; 1981)

19. Wrack My Brain - 2:21 (w/ George; 1981)

20. I'll Still Love You - 2:57 (w/ George; 1976)

21. Private Property - 2:44 (w/ Paul; 1981)

22. You and Me (Babe) - 4:59 (w/ George; 1973)

In order to get the track listing down, I've used Ringo's 2007 compilation Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr as a reference. Tracks 1-5, 7, 9, 12 and 19 remain the same as they are, and on the digital version, "King of Broken Hearts" was replaced with the extended version of "Six O'Clock" as found as a bonus track on Goodnight Vienna. So technically, that's ten songs which retain their original track listing positions, so we're halfway done already!

Because a good chunk of material comes from Ringo, Ringo's Rotogravure and Stop and Smell the Roses, I've tried to spread songs from each of them as evenly as I could. The first replacement track was "Pure Gold" from 1976, taking the place of "Oh My My". "Stardust" from 1970's Sentimental Journey replaces "Beaucoups of Blues", and then "Attention" occupies "Snookeroo"'s spot. All three songs feature Paul McCartney in some capacity, giving him much more of a presence in the first half. "Down and Out", the B-side of  "Photograph" and also featuring George, substitutes "No No Song", capping off the first half of this compilation.

The second half was where I got truly creative. The first three substitute tracks were "Sure to Fall" with Paul, "Cookin' (in the Kitchen of Love)" with John and "You Belong to Me" with George, the first and last of which both come from Stop and Smell the Roses, and the middle from Ringo's Rotogravure, much like "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll". The next replacement track is "Sunshine Life for Me (Sail Away Raymond)" from Ringo, another one written for him by good old George.

Track 18 onwards is where it gets truly interesting, since there are only two empty spaces to fill in, but four songs remain. "You Can't Fight Lightning", featuring Paul and an outtake from Stop and Smell the Roses, substitutes Ringo's 1989 re-recording of "Act Naturally" with Buck Owens, and "I'll Still Love You", the last track from Rotogravure, is the replacement for "Fading In Fading Out". This means that the final two tracks are now additions; these being "Private Property" featuring Paul, and "You and Me (Babe)" featuring George. Coincidentally, the latter concludes his 1973 eponymous album, so it's only right that it concludes this compilation as well.

In total, John Lennon contributed to four songs, Paul McCartney to eight songs, and George Harrison to eleven songs (exactly half!), with "I'm the Greatest" featuring joint contributions from John and George, so they really get three-and-a-half and ten-and-a-half, respectively. Of Ringo's albums from this time period, Beaucoups of Blues, Ringo the 4th and Bad Boy are not represented at all.

Ringo was the glue who helped to keep the Beatles together, even during the post-breakup years, and his eponymous album from 1973 is the closest we got to a reunion between the four. During the 1970s, he collaborated with George the most, appearing on All Things Must Pass, Living in the Material World and Dark Horse for a few songs. Even John invited Ringo to play drums for Plastic Ono Band. Paul, still sore about the Beatles' breakup, only played with Ringo a few times that decade, but by 1980, feelings between them had healed enough so that they played together on Tug of War, Pipes of Peace and Give My Regards to Broad Street. Maybe that would be a project worth exploring?

Listen to the playlist

Paul McCartney's "S.E.R.G.E.A.N.T. P.E.P.P.E.R.'S. L.O.N.E.L.Y. H.E.A.R.T.S. C.L.U.B. B.A.N.D." (1970-2020)

Here's something a little different from me; a selection of random Paul McCartney solo songs in which the first letter of each song spells out "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", with Sergeant, of course, being spelled out in whole. This is really helpful to me, as otherwise, I wouldn't be able to feature at least one track from every one of Paul's solo albums, with a few non-album tracks thrown in here and there.

This playlist is meant to be played in order, and don't expect to see many popular hits such as "Live and Let Die" or "Band on the Run". There's a pretty heavy focus on deep cuts.

Part I

1. Silly Love Songs (Wings at the Speed of Sound; 1976)

2. Every Night (McCartney; 1970)

3. Run Devil Run (Run Devil Run; 1999)

4. Get Out of My Way (Off the Ground; 1993)

5. Early Days (New; 2013)

6. Another Day (non-album single; 1971)

7. Nobody Knows (McCartney II; 1980)

8. Tomorrow (Wild Life; 1971)

Part II

9. Pipes of Peace (Pipes of Peace; 1983)

10. English Tea (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard; 2005)

11. Press (Press to Play; 1986)

12. Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) (Band on the Run; 1973)

13. Ever Present Past (Memory Almost Full; 2007)

14. Rockestra Theme (Back to the Egg; 1979)

15. Seize the Day (McCartney III; 2020)

Part III

16. Little Lamb Dragonfly (Red Rose Speedway; 1973)

17. Only Our Hearts (Kisses on the Bottom; 2012)

18. Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight (Electric Arguments; 2008)

19. Everybody Out There (New; 2013)

20. Letting Go (Venus and Mars; 1975)

21. Your Loving Flame (Driving Rain; 2001)

Part IV

22. Home Tonight (non-album single; 2019)

23. Ebony and Ivory (Solo Version) (Tug of War; 1982)

24. Arrow Through Me (Back to the Egg; 1979)

25. Really Love You (Flaming Pie; 1997)

26. That Day is Done (Flowers in the Dirt; 1989)

27. Sixty Second Street (Egypt Station; 2018)

Part V

28. Call Me Back Again (Venus and Mars; 1975)

29. Little Willow (Flaming Pie; 1997)

30. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (Ram; 1971)

31. Backwards Traveller/Cuff Link (London Town; 1978)

Part VI

32. Back on My Feet (non-album single; 1987)

33. Average Person (Pipes of Peace; 1983)

34. No More Lonely Nights (Give My Regards to Broad Street; 1984)

35. Despite Repeated Warnings (Egypt Station; 2018)

Originally, this was going to be a Beatles playlist, but because there were no songs from them as a group that began with the letter "U" - and using any song that started with the word "You" was right out, since that technically begins with "Y" - I switched to using songs from Paul's solo career instead. "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" was the most obvious choice for "U", and so the rest of the pieces fell into place from there. I'd say it makes for quite the listening experience!

The image of Paul comes from his 1989 world tour, with the text (appropriately in the Yellow Submarine font) in the same color as his outfit on the Sgt. Pepper's album cover. For CD purposes, the track listing splits between "Nothing Too Much Just Out of Sight" and "Everybody Out There".

Listen to the playlist

The La's' "Callin' All" - 1988 Bob Andrews Mix

The La's are probably the biggest example of "what could've been" in the world of popular music. Between Lee Mavers' entry into the group in 1984, and their subsequent breakup in 1992, they released a grand total of one album and four singles, not counting a re-release of their most well known song "There She Goes", remixed by Steve Lillywhite in 1990. And yet, they've recorded so much more than what their sole eponymous album suggested, including B-sides.

Looking at the sessions for the twenty songs recorded and re-recorded between July 1987 and February 1990, I've noticed that out of these eight sessions, there were three that had enough material each to be its own album, with producers Bob Andrews (July and August 1988), Mike Hedges (April 1989) and Steve Lillywhite (December 1989 to February 1990). The last of these makes up the album we all recognize today, but for this post, as the title suggests, I'm basing it on what might've happened had they released their debut album about two years earlier, with Bob Andrews taking on the George Martin role, and putting Lee Mavers in his place as opposed to letting his perfectionism get the better of him.

I've retitled this album Callin' All, as was believed to be the original title for the album before it was changed to simply The La's.

Callin' All (1988)

Side A (18:02)

1. Son of a Gun - 2:01 [Callin' All, 2-11]

2. I Can't Sleep - 2:25 [Callin' All, 2-10]

3. Callin' All - 3:39 [Callin' All, 2-9]

4. Man I'm Only Human - 4:34 [Callin' All, 1-9]

5. There She Goes - 2:29 [Callin' All, 1-6]

6. Doledrum - 2:54 [Lost Tunes]

Side B (19:20)

7. Feelin' - 1:53 [The La's - Deluxe Edition, 2008]

8. Way Out - 2:53 [Lost Tunes]

9. Clean Prophet - 2:02 [The La's - Deluxe Edition, 2008]

10. Who Knows - 3:30 [Callin' All, 1-7]

11. Come In, Come Out - 2:13 [Callin' All, 1-8]

12. Looking Glass - 6:49 [Callin' All, 2-12]

With Bob Andrews in the producer's seat, fourteen songs were recorded; seven were eventually included on the final album with Steve Lillywhite, while two others ("Freedom Song" and "Failure") are believed to be lost. The remaining five songs - "Come In, Come Out", "Who Knows", "Man I'm Only Human", "Clean Prophet" and "Callin' All" - are therefore brought in to fill the gaps. The official album is 35 minutes long, so it doesn't take much to bring up the album to a similar length.

Out of the replacement tracks, "Callin' All", "Clean Prophet" and "Who Knows" were all debuted during the Bob Andrews sessions. "Timeless Melody" was first tried out back in July 1987 with John Porter, but was never recorded with Andrews, and the oldest recordings of "I.O.U." and "Freedom Song" that we have are with Mike Hedges from April 1989, which are outside the timeframe we want to work with.

"Man I'm Only Human" and "Come In, Come Out" both debuted a little earlier in January 1988 with John Leckie as producer. The former was not re-recorded following Andrews, whereas the latter was with Hedges and Lillywhite, but that didn't make the final track listing either. "Failure" is another song from the John Porter era, and was later recorded with Jeremy Allom and Mike Haas as producers between January and April 1989. "Liberty Ship" seems to be the youngest song recorded for The La's, with the Hedges recording being lost, when it was first tried out.

Is Callin' All really the album Lee Mavers wanted to go for back in 1988? Probably not. He seemed to be his own worst enemy when it came to bringing the songs he envisioned to life, eventually leading to the La's' debut album being released against his own will, and to this day, he's yet to release any new music. However, I'd imagine that if someone had knocked him down a peg, and even told him to restrain both his ego and perfectionism, Callin' All could've come out sooner, and the band wouldn't have to just rely on single releases, and they might have the material ready for a second album, possibly for a 1991 release. Maybe this is the path that could've been this whole time?

As a matter of fact, this is how I feel their discography might have gone:

• "Way Out" b/w "Knock Me Down" and "Endless" - 1987; produced by Gavin MacKillop
• "There She Goes" b/w "Come In, Come Out" - 1988; produced by Bob Andrews
• Callin' All - 1988; produced by Bob Andrews
• "All by Myself" b/w "Failure" - 1989; produced by Jeremy Allom and Mike Haas
• "Timeless Melody" b/w "I.O.U." and "Freedom Song" - 1989; produced by Mike Hedges
• "There She Goes" b/w "Liberty Ship" - 1990; produced by Steve Lillywhite

And yeah, I do have "There She Goes" re-released much like what happened in real life, but the Lillywhite mix is iconic in its own right, so I'd imagine that this is a similar situation to the Beatles' "Love Me Do" and "Let It Be" having different mixes between the single and album versions. Besides, we've already got a different mix of "Way Out" being released in 1987, so why not? And as a bonus, I've even put together a second disc compiling these leftover tracks, along with a track that was only recorded live for the BBC, that I've titled There She Goes:

There She Goes (1991)
Side A (18:05)

1. Way Out (Original Single Mix) - 2:43 [Callin' All, 1-1]

2. Knock Me Down - 3:15 [Callin' All, 1-2]

3. Endless - 3:09 [Callin' All, 1-3]

4. All by Myself - 5:53 [Callin' All, 1-16]

5. Failure - 3:05 [Callin' All, 2-13]

Side B (17:55)

6. Over (Live) - 4:47 [BBC in Session]

7. Timeless Melody - 3:07 [The La's - Deluxe Edition, 2008]

8. I.O.U. - 2:05 [The La's - Deluxe Edition, 2008]

9. Freedom Song - 2:43 [Callin' All, 2-16]

10. There She Goes (1990 Lillywhite Remix) - 2:42 [The La's]

11. Liberty Ship - 2:31 [The La's]

The La's Recording Sessions