Yeah, I didn't really have anything in mind for September, and I was struggling to come up with ideas on what to post for that month. Hopefully this will tide you over.
Side A (13:11)
1. Raining in My Heart - 2:48
2. Early in the Morning - 2:07
3. Peggy Sue Got Married - 1:50
4. Heartbeat - 2:10
5. It's So Easy - 2:11
6. It Doesn't Matter Anymore - 2:05
Side B (13:29)
7. What to Do - 1:54
8. That Makes It Tough - 2:22
9.Crying, Waiting, Hoping - 1:52
10. True Love Ways - 2:49
11. Moondreams - 2:40
12. That's What They Say - 1:52
I don't know if I'd mentioned this before, but just in case, I'll provide a little recap: For Strawberry Peppers: The Second Coming, the first point of divergence takes place in February 1959, in which the plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper never took place, for they simply put up with taking the bus despite the crap conditions. After the Winter Dance Party Tour is done, Buddy's just fed up and stays at home with his pregnant wife, and they eventually have a daughter, Gabriella Marcia Holly, before taking up a residence in the United Kingdom.
Buddy Holly had released two solo albums in 1958, but supposing he hadn't been killed, he could've put out a third album showcasing his evolving songwriting. Who knows? It might even be regarded as his greatest work! All tracks come from Not Fade Away: The Complete Studio Recordings and More. I used the recording dates as a reference to determine what could have been included on this hypothetical third solo album.
Side A (23:26)
1. Pouring Rain - 3:29 (Joe Strummer 001)
2. Beyond the Pale - 4:41 (No. 10, Upping Street)
3. Limbo the Law - 4:44 (No. 10, Upping Street)
4. U.S. North - 10:32 (Joe Strummer 001)
Side B (24:04)
5. V. Thirteen - 4:54 (No. 10, Upping Street)
6. Dum Dum Club - 3:02 (Sid and Nancy)
7. Ticket - 3:28 (No. 10, Upping Street)
8. Leave It to Luck - 3:08 (Waking Up)
9. Blues on the River - 4:37 (Joe Strummer 001)
10. Sightsee M.C! - 4:55 (No. 10, Upping Street)
1983 spelled the beginning of the end for the Clash when Mick Jones was dismissed due to disagreements with Joe Strummer, and two years later, Cut the Crap was released, killing the band for good. However, Strummer and Jones would collaborate on the latter's No. 10, Upping Street, which many have considered the true swansong of the Clash.
Using the Strummer/Jones songs as a basis, I looked at what the other members put out at the time to see what I could put together. For Joe, I brought in a sixth co-write with Mick, "U.S. North", which was originally intended for 1987's Candy Mountain, as well as "Pouring Rain" and "Blues on the River", both of which go back to the mid-1980s, yet neither was considered for Cut the Crap, which is probably for the best. I also threw in "Dum Dum Club" from the Sid and Nancy soundtrack, which is also contemporary with when the album would've come out.
Paul Simonon didn't put out anything as a solo artist until 1990 or 1991, and even then, he didn't sing lead vocals on any of the songs from Havana 3am's debut album. "Leave It to Luck" comes from Topper's Waking Up, and becomes the only track not sung by either Joe or Mick, adding a little genre diversity into the album. You could consider this album a follow-up to This is The Clash, which I wrote about three years ago.
Side A (19:26)
1. Radioactive - 2:54 (Gene Simmons; single edit)
2. Speedin' Back to My Baby - 3:37 (Ace Frehley)
3. Hold Me, Touch Me (Think of Me When We're Apart) - 3:40 (Paul Stanley)
4. Tunnel of Love - 3:49 (Gene Simmons)
5. Take Me Away (Together as One) - 5:26 (Paul Stanley)
Side B (18:28)
6. Rip It Out - 3:40 (Ace Frehley)
7. Move On - 3:12 (Paul Stanley)
8. Man of 1,000 Faces - 3:16 (Gene Simmons)
9. Ozone - 4:43 (Ace Frehley)
10. Hooked on Rock 'n' Roll - 3:37 (Peter Criss)
Side C (19:30)
11. Tonight You Belong to Me - 4:41 (Paul Stanley)
12. Living in Sin - 3:50 (Gene Simmons)
13. Snow Blind - 3:55 (Ace Frehley)
14. Love in Chains - 3:34 (Paul Stanley)
15. True Confessions - 3:30 (Gene Simmons)
Side D (17:28)
16. Don't You Let Me Down - 3:38 (Peter Criss)
17. It's Alright - 3:38 (Paul Stanley)
18. I'm in Need of Love - 4:39 (Ace Frehley)
19. See You Tonite - 2:30 (Gene Simmons)
20. New York Groove - 3:03 (Ace Frehley)
Another older album that I'd decided to revisit; Kiss' 1978 album using material from the four solo albums, originally written about in September 2020. Because there was plenty of good material by three of the members during that time (sorry, Peter), pruning it down to two sides wouldn't suffice. If there's enough material for three sides, you may as well fill up four. I arranged each side so that each member opens and closes one, which I feel is more or less democratic.
Of course, not everything would end up on Radioactive, but I'd imagine that six other songs - Gene's "Burning Up with Fever", Ace's "What's on Your Mind" and "Wiped-Out", Peter's "Tossin' and Turnin'" and Paul's "Wouldn't You Like to Know Me" and "Goodbye" - would've all ended up on a second 1977 studio album that I call Larger Than Life, featuring the four studio tracks from Alive II. That's very much two-thirds of all of the solo albums combined that have been utilized! Guess who gets the short end of the stick.
1. Can't Get This Stuff No More - 5:16 (Best of - Volume I)
2. She's the Woman - 2:57 (A Different Kind of Truth)
3. Bullethead - 2:30 (A Different Kind of Truth)
4. Outta Space [Let's Get Rockin'] - 2:53 (A Different Kind of Truth)
5. Beats Workin' [Put Out the Lights] - 5:02 (A Different Kind of Truth)
6. Blood and Fire [Ripley] - 4:26 (A Different Kind of Truth)
7. Tattoo - 4:44 (A Different Kind of Truth)
8. Big River [Big Trouble] - 3:50 (A Different Kind of Truth)
9. Me Wise Magic - 6:09 (Best of - Volume I)
Total length: 37:47
David Lee Roth left Van Halen in 1985 to pursue a solo career, and Sammy Hagar came in to take over on lead vocals. Eleven years later, Roth reunited with Eddie, Alex and Michael, but the reunion didn't last beyond two songs recorded for Best of - Volume I. But what if it led to something bigger?
I've bookended Zero Hour (named after the Zero Demos) with the two tracks from Best of, and since the longest song tended to go last, it made sense for "Me Wise Magic" to close out the album. The remaining seven songs all go back to the mid-1970s, with "Blood and Fire" being based upon an instrumental Eddie Van Halen recorded for The Wild Life in 1984, which I think makes it fair game for inclusion.
The final touch was the album cover, which I've based upon A Different Kind of Truth, down to the color scheme and use of a Dreyfus Hudson locomotive as the base image.
Side A (22:43)
1. Henry's Coming Home - 2:57 (Little Games)
2. Taking a Hold on Me - 3:02 (Yardbirds '68)
3. Avron Knows - 3:49 (Yardbirds '68)
4. Spanish Blood - 3:15 (Yardbirds '68)
5. Together Now - 3:02 (Little Games)
6. Shining Where the Sun Has Been - 2:52 (Little Games)
7. Think About It - 3:46 (Little Games)
Side B (22:34)
8. Goodnight Sweet Josephine - 2:43 (Little Games)
9. Love Mum and Dad - 3:48 (Little Games)
10. Knowing That I'm Losing You - 2:54 (Yardbirds '68)
11. My Baby - 2:59 (Yardbirds '68)
12. De Lane Lea Lee - 10:10 (Cumular Limit)
The last album that's a revisit from the first draft, published way back in April 2019, over five years ago. What's changed since then? For a start, I've dropped "Dazed and Confused" and "Black Mountain Side" altogether, reverting them back to being tracks for Led Zeppelin's eponymous debut album, and in their place, I've reinserted "Avron Knows" and "Spanish Blood". I've also dropped "L.S.D." due to timing constraints, "Love Mum and Dad" and "My Baby" were both moved to Side B, and "Shining Where the Sun Has Been" to Side A. I still retained "Knowing That I'm Losing You", which eventually became "Tangerine" on Led Zeppelin III, and there, I've replaced it with "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do".
Since I couldn't use Dazed and Confused as the title, I've changed it to Last Flight, which perfectly reflects upon what happened to the Yardbirds by the end of 1968. And much like a phoenix, they rose from the ashes to become Led Zeppelin... and the rest is history.
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