The Smiley Smile Message Board

& If so, What did you think of it? :)
The only albums I heard that were unreleased were:

David Bowie - Toy Album...
The Who - Lifehouse..
Prince - Dream Factory

I absolutely love each of them. :D

Weezer-Songs From the Black Hole

Landlocked/California Feelin'/AdultChild are nowhere near 'lost' masterpiece' status, but they exist nonetheless.

Chrome Dreams by Neil Young is pretty good, though a lot of it came out later scattered across other albums.

Jon Brion has about 12 albums' worth of stuff, done and mixed, but he won't put 'em out, so I haven't heard them. Drives me nuts. There's gotta be a least one album's worth there you might call a lost masterpiece.

Of course, there's Sweet Insanity by Brian, though it's not great. Good singing, mediocre songs, plastic instrumentation. Not a must, sadly.

There are 2 versions of The Beatles' Get Back album, which begat Let It Be, but to be honest, they're not great--oftentimes, bad takes were selected, and Glyn Johns' reverb-drenched mix is awful. There are lots of people who think the GB albums are "better" because they're more "honest" or whatever, but really: as far as musical enjoyment, there's very little that plays well on these. The best thing is the in-between songs bits, which are often funny and sweet. But it sounds like they're playing in a giant bathroom somewhere, and far away from the mic's. Both Let It Be albums are better.

I've also heard an unreleased acetate of an alternate version of Neil Young's "Tonight's the Night", and it's good, but apparently not the very original, long-raps version we keep hearing is so special. But this one is good, and an interesting alternative to the still-excellent released version.

There's a Wings album called "Cold Cuts" which is marginally interesting--there are about 4 pretty good cuts and a load of embarrassing stuff--but not exactly an album, but more a leftovers collection. Still hasn't come out.

I did take a listen to Jan and Dean's Carnival (correct title?) before it finally got put out, but I didn't "get" it. Some people love it.

As far as "lost masterpieces", I have yet to hear anything that comes close to SMiLE. I wish there were.

I'll have to take a listen to your "big three" that you mention--if you're that excited about 'em, I gotta hear 'em!

The Black Crowes - Tall. It was supposed to be the bands 3rd album. Chris acted as Producer and they spent a million dollars on it to ultimately shelve it. Amorica came out instead.

Ryan Adams has dozens of unreleased albums where he has recorded traditonal stuff, rap and even death metal.

I'm also pretty sure that Mad Season recorded an unreleased album but I havent heard that one.

Is there like a torrent with the complete thing out there?

yup, Newguy, do some research on this one.  You'll loooooove it. 

I got it from some guy in downtown los angeles it's a bootleg :) idk if there's a torrent but i might upload it on youtube..

i'm definitely interested in checking it out i just read about it :) interesting concept but how do i find it?

one bootleg song i want to check out but haven't came across ever is the song "sherry she needs me" i'm dying to hear it :)

You can't, he never released it. (not sure how much he finished)

so there's a few songs i checked out from it :) but f*** i wanna hear more! :/

It became Pinkerton. 

You can make a pretty good 2nd Pink Floyd album, made up solely of songs Syd Barrett either wrote or performed on. My latest tracklisting for this goes.....

Scream Thy Last Scream
Remember A Day
In The Beechwoods
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
Paintbox
Vegetable Man
No Title
Jugband Blues

The track is great. The lyrics are the worst. It's a about a passive aggressive narcissist who is dropping his girlfriend using the excuse that the pathetic other girl he is leaving her for 'needs' him. Oh, and he adds that maybe they can remain friends. What a jerk. He needed to be punched right in his third eye.

Nino Tempo & Arpril Stevens do it exactly right on ALL STRUNG OUT, a masterfully executed recording.

i heard "she says that she needs" off of brian's album but is there any way i can get "sherry" online? and if so where at?

There's was this proto punk band back in the 70's called Death. They got signed, got half way through recording the album, and the record label refused to allow them continue unless they changed their name. They refused. So they never finished recording. However the seven songs that they did record were found and released a couple years ago, plus demos of the unrecorded. It sounds like MC5 or the Stooges meets Bad Brains. (assuming you know who those bands are). Not bad.

Otherwise,

Velvet Underground's missing fourth album (it was later released as VU, you can buy it pretty much)

that's all i can think of

Although it's a bit obscure, Lloyd Cole's 1996 follow-up to LOVE STORY was recorded but went unreleased. A few tracks showed up on THE NEGATIVES album a few years later, some more was included in a compilation release entitled ETC.  and additional tracks showed up only a couple of years ago in his rarity box set CLEANING OUT THE ASHTRAYS. Collecting all the tracks in one place proves it to be one of his best albums.

I asked Lloyd what he intended to call the album and he said he was considering two titles: THE MIDDLE AGES and SMILE IF YOU WANT TO (I have to think that the latter title might be a nod to it being an unreleased album!).

Technically, Lifehouse as an album doesn't exist, because a final tracklist was never compiled. Most of the better songs that were meant for Lifehouse ended up as Who's Next, while others ended up as obscure b-sides, or on later albums. A few songs from the original Lifehouse concept were demoed by Pete Townshend, but never even recorded by The Who.

Lifehouse does exist, the novel gives a very good approximated track listing.

FWIW, this is the tracklisting Pete Townshend used on Lifehouse Chronicles. Bear in mind that some of these tracks come from later attempts at completing Lifehouse

Disc One
Teenage Wasteland
Going Mobile
Baba O'Riley
Time is Passing
Love Ain't for Keeping
Bargain
Too Much of Anything
Music Must Change
Greyhound Girl
Mary
Behind Blue Eyes
Baba O'Riley (Instrumental)
Sister Disco

Disc Two
I Don't Even Know Myself
Put the Money Down
Pure And Easy
Getting in Tune
Let's See Action
Slip Kid
Relay
Who Are You
Join Together
Won't Get Fooled Again
The Song Is Over

Some of my favorite albums are officially unreleased.  For example, Chumbawamba's "Jesus H. Christ", Eminem's "F***ing Crazy" and "Off The Wall" (both far less commercial than the "Slim Shady" and "Marshall Mathers" LP's from the same time period), and the Bee Gees' "A Kick In The Head Is Worth Eight In The Pants."  The latter is actually my favorite Bee Gees album.

Other ones that have a handful of good tracks are They Might Be Giants' "Superfueled Freaksickle" (from which all material was actually released commercially anyway), Eminem's "Don't Call Me Marshall" (a lost 8 Mile-era album), and Maurice Gibb's "The Loner."

I'm hoping we get the third (and final) recorded track from Pink Floyd's "Household Objects" on a future Immersion set.  (Meddle, perhaps?  That's coming next...)

Lifehouse is easier to piece together with Pete's demos cause then you have access to all the songs penned for the project, if you use Who recordings you miss out on a few. If you get the two disc deluxe edition of Who's Next, Odds and Sods and Rarities vol 2 then you have the building blocks to try and make your own Who version of Lifehouse, for a Pete version you need the Lifehouse Chronicles box set which sadly is out of print. I would love to see a reissue that pairs down the bloated original 6 disc release to  the most important part, the two discs of demos.

In the mid 70's when the Who started Who Films LTD they wanted to make a film version of Lifehouse as one of their projects and Pete started revisiting and revising the storyline and adding more songs and some of these made it on to By Numbers and Who Are You. Lifehouse was slated to become the fourth major Who Films LTD project (after The Kids Are Alright, Quadrophenia and McVicar) with Nicolas Roeg directing but Nicolas was involved with Theresa Russell at the time, and Pete lusted after her. The three had planned to go see Pink Floyd live together but Nicolas couldn't make it and Pete took advantage and tried to convince Theresa to leave Nicolas for him. When Nicolas found out he was furious and left the project and no serious attempt was made to find another director to continue the project, Who Films LTD dissolved and Lifehouse was abandoned a second time.

Do any of you know why The Who didn't release Lifehouse?

Original version of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine, produced by Jon Brion. It indeed is great, but I personally prefer the groovier and simpler version that was ultimately released.

I believe they abandoned Lifehouse in favor of making a more casual album instead of another rock opera.

thanks so much :) stupid ass audience just wanna hear the same old sh*t just like the surf loving beach boys fans that were against pet sounds smh
Well the good thing about it is we have Who's Next :) and Lifehouse..lol

Did he give the number 12 in an interview?

I haven't heard about Jon recently, but I have always wondered how much he had archived since he only put out 1 solo album in the last decade+.
You may could make a 2nd album if you took cuts from all of his movie soundtracks over the years. If there isn't quite enough cuts, maybe you could take some of the instrumentals to fill it out.

The last new song with his voice I remember hearing was when I was watching Step Brothers and he had a nice sounding song on there. I don't think it's available complete anywhere though.

But yeah, I have long wondered why he does not release a solo album here and there. Even if he is busy producing and scoring, at the least couldn't he set apart a week here and there and get it done?

I gotta check out her new album.  I loved all three of her others.

Bizzy Bone claimed in an interview that he had 1000 songs fully recorded and done when he quit Bone Thugs and Harmony (one time or the other).  He pulls out something pretty decent everyonce in a while, it'd be neat to hear some of that stuff. 

I just checked the rolling stone review, 3.5 stars, but all the comments (pretty much) are that it's probably her best album, 5 stars.  Might have to grab it on the way home!

An author by the name of Ritchie Unterberger wrote an excellent book on the period of Tommy to Quadrophenia., which has a lot of information about the Lifehouse project/period.    It's called Won't Get Fooled Again.

I know this is off subject and might be offensive to some..but didn't Pete Townshend molest someone before? i think I've seen it somewhere but I'm not sure if it was him or another artist...

He was investigated regarding child pornography.   He was unequivocally cleared of all charges.   
If you google it you will find all the details of the case.

WAY off topic. Anyway, the original demo's for Brand New's "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me" were leaked onto the internet before release of the album. Most of the song ended up different than the demos, but they're all enjoyable to listen to

wow :O now that's scary I really hope Pete isn't into that kind of stuff..it says they found child porn on his computer wtf!!!

I once read someone write about Smile and they said when you're climbing that high...don't look down.  Brian looked down...and so did Pete.  It was too ambitious...to vague of a concept.   That said...most of the cuts were released here and there throughout the years and Pete himself "finished" the LP ala Brian and Smile so you can piece it together yourself using mostly Who recorded cuts with maybe just 2 or 3 Pete demos...but his demos usually sound like complete songs.

Wow when you're climbing that high don't look down..they both did..I'm going to remember that..which album do you like more? or listen to more? Lifehouse or Smile?

I think we need to give credit to Jon Stebbins for that quote!  That's a tough question to answer because they're such different works of music.  As much as I love the Who...I've always loved the Beach Boys more..."Smile" has always had a more mythical quality to it...simply because it could be argued that it destroyed Brian Wilson for over a decade (if not longer).  Townshend moved on quickly...picked some of the best "Lifehouse" songs and released "Who's Next" which is one of their strongest works.  Most of the "Lifehouse" songs saw legit release over the years, while "Smile" remained so mysterious for so long.  I'm glad that both composers were able to "finish" their respective lost works.  So, I guess I'd go with "Smile" but "Lifehouse" is a fascinating record and an equally fascinating story/concept.

Yes Smile kept a mystique about it that left all of us wondering what the finished version of it would sound like :)...Musically I'd have to go with Smile once more because for it's time period it was ahead of the ball. :D
They had the cover art and track listing done and Lifehouse didn't even get that far which sucks alot :/..but at the same time Pete had more finished songs than Brian so that's one advantage.
Both are masterpieces so it's hard to choose but I still have to give it Brian on this one.

He was UNEQUIVOCALLY CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES.   

THEY STILL FOUND CHILD PORN ON HIS COMPUTER...SO WTF!

They found nothing on any of his computers.  He apparently used his credit card to access a website that contained illegal materials (as well as a lot of other stuff).  He surrendered all of his computers, hard drives and everything to the police voluntarily and after a four-month forensic investigation the police concluded that at no time was he ever in possession (or had accessed) any illegal images.  They did caution him that his actions were foolish and that he needed to be more careful where he was poking around...but the fact remains that he fully cooperated with the authorities and that they found no evidence of any wrongdoing other than perhaps being a bit careless.

thank goodness :) now what about Michael Jackson? lol jk

MJ is an overblown pop wack job

How is he overblown?
He's a pretty talented dude...They don't call him king of pop for no reason.

They call him the King of Pop because he insisted on being called that.

they call him that because he's the hugest pop icon...that's why..
it's crazy how some won't even give the dude credit..it's like wtf.

Oh, he was a talented guy, but unfortunately much of that just got overtaken by all the bizarre sh*t until that's all he seemed to be about.   Which is really sad actually.  Not that I'm losing any sleep over poor old MJ mind you, cos he may have had more money than a billion me's put together, but I wouldn't have wanted to be him for one single second. 

One of the most naturally talented artists of all time, imho.  Sang like Stevie Wonder, but could do 10 different styles.  Decent songwriter.... probably greatest 'pop' dancer of all time, according to people like Fred Astaire.  Legendary Philantrophist.  Kind soul.  Good father. 



... and he was pretty weird.  I'm willing to overlook the last for the first.  I'ts my belief that if you look at the evidence against him, it can be exhibited that the man was not a child molester. 

yes he had a bizarre lifestyle and a strange personality but so did brian..some geniuses are just plain weird...his music was pretty good it was just good pop
he had an amazing voice but that motherfucker could dance his ass off :)

Who cares if MJ was a good dancer? One, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and even Louis Jordan did the same moves much better...Two, throngs of backup dancers and big spectacles that are closer to Broadway numbers than to R&R/R&B/Soul don`t really help the artistic credibility.

so you don't like michael jackson's music?
i think off the wall...thriller & bad are all classics :)

MJ made some serious mistakes in his personal life, but he was a great talent, I don't see how anyone can deny that. That takes nothing away from James Brown and others who preceded him. JB was a bit of a mess in the later years, too, but in terms of singing, performing, showmanship, he was unbeatable.

I like ABC123, I Want You Back, Rock With You and Bille Jean. And that`s it. Unless Eat It or Fat count.

Yes he was a little screwed in the head..mistakes? he did it twice ..it was a real sickness smh

Just so you know: you missed an incredible talent... flew right over your head.  You looked at something great, and yawned. 

Back on track: Ryan Adams has a whole bunch of unreleased albums, with and without Whiskeytown.
I hope he'll released some of them one time officially.

;D exactly ...he was a true legend it's a shame that his personal life overshadowed his talent...(well at least not to me but for some people)

BTW, just to get COMPLETELY off topic, here's Michael geeking out when he got to give James Brown a lifetime achievement award.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN48lsXL1oA&feature=related

complete with crying, dancing, wigs, and that famous cape.


and here's the Jackson 5's motown audition tape, where Michael danced and sang James Brown.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsR3Wr67BHU

He said his mom used to wake him up in the middle of the night "Michael! Don't wake your father... James Brown is on T.V.!" and he'd get out of bed and go watch him on t.v. with his mom in the middle of the night.


You're right though Alex.  Nothing special about him.  Even at 10.  

wow that was incredible :) how about this though? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHaFj7gOWh4

I was never into MJ as a kid. I never got his albums or anything and I was a child of the 80's/90's.
It wasn't until I got the Special Edition of Off the Wall with the demos that I really realized how talented he was.
Go and listen to the demos. He wrote some or most of his biggest hits, and it was all there in the demos. What's really cool with the OTW demos is that his family is recording with him and they're playing all this percussion. It sounds really cool.

i was born in the 90's :) and when i was young my bros showed me his music videos i thought he was the coolest person on earth the way he danced and walked on the sidewalk and made it light up (billie jean) to me he was magical for some reason...yeah you're right his demos are unbelievable ever heard this beauty before? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wZbJC_fXyU

Never heard that one. It seems to have no connection to the Thriller version besides the title.
Some of the unreleased tracks are better than the ones that made the cut. I'm sure several really solid albums could be made from his unreleased stuff. I wish they would do deluxe versions of the albums and keep it era specific with all the unreleased cut tracks and demos.

yeah you're absolutely right he could've made a few rarities albums with all the demos and songs that were intended for his albums but didn't make it :p
yes this pyt was supposed to be a smooth song but quincy joes said it's best if it's something you can dance to so he changed it and now we have the pyt on thriller
this is one of my favorite outtakes too check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJiQt7A4m7Q

Back when he was still recording albums, I used to hear news on fan sites all the time, interviews with people working with him, etc.  I can tell you, he's got hundreds of unreleased songs.  The ones that have leaked, etc. are just the tip of the iceberg.  There's literally been dozens of musicians who've spoken about recording sessions they did with him, and for a long time in the 90's he recorded really frequently.  He was rarely happy with any of the music though and would re-record the songs over and over again.  I wouldn't be surprised if he had 2 or 3 hundred songs that are partially recorded. 

Since he was so young when he started, when he signed his solo contracts he knew a little bit about the music business... so he did things, oh, like pay for his own studio time so he owns all his masters.  The deal he cut with Sony/ATV was epic, he took half their catalog, they took half of his Beatles catalog, and paid him 90million dollars for the honor.  His kids are still earning a fortune off of that.... and his personal music wasn't included, so they own his catalog lock stock and barrel.  I believe his children own the Charlie Chaplin catalog in toto as well, it was a pet thing he wanted to buy. 

Another thing I think is worth mentioning about him: When he passed away, it was revealed that his trust stated that upon his death, 20% of his estate was to be given away to children's charities.  Despite all the news reports, at death he was worth approximately 500 million dollars.  I believe 20% of the earnings after his death (which have been considerable) are earmarked for charity as well. 

Amazingly, with all the basic exploitation he was subjected to his whole life (Dad took his money... managers took his money.... everybody took his money), he actually named two trustees who have done an incredible job of managing his estate better than he ever dreamed of. 

mike was a good dude he really gave a shitload of money to charities that was something he believed in he really wanted to make this world a happier place :) it's sickening that people attack him for some sh*t he was accused of anybody can lie and accuse you of sh*t and this is the country where you're innocent til proven guilty in reality it's like the other way around!
did you like the demo i just showed you? and i hope they keep releasing his music and keep his legacy alive.....if it wasn't for his music i would of never got into the beach boys like i did...it was a stepping stone in me getting into classic music

No he wasn't - he accepted a caution and had to sign on the Sex Offenders Register, so not really. If it was anyone else they'd have been charged...

wow so he's a sex offender? :O

Doesn't one have to be charged and convicted of certain crimes to be put on such a list?   
What was he convicted of, exactly?   And when was the trial at which he was convicted of such crimes? 
Seriously, this is all just an example of "once accused....."

He saved himself a trial because he admitted accessing the sites and the police decided it was not in their interests to take further steps from the evidence provided...

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fuk%2F2003%2Fmay%2F08%2Farts.ukcrime&ei=VwIEUI78H-mu0QWNuISxBw&usg=AFQjCNH1zDetfAkeLgbtwqTGWW59B4QK0g

something about this seems fishy..why would he even be on child porn sites? it's just weird and extremely creepy!

Right.  He admitted to (stupidly) accessing certain materials.   He was cautioned on this.  He cooperated 100% with the authorities.  They investigated the guy, he was (and sadly still is being) dragged through the mud.   His explanation for why he did this is a matter of public record (so not difficult for one to locate if you actually wish to).  I believe him, and so did the authorities.  Whether being Pete Townshend or not - if they had found hard evidence that he was a molester, or a child porn trafficker (or some such), I don't believe for a minute that he wouldn't have been charged.    He wasn't though because he isn't guilty of anything like that. 
Again though, sadly "once accused...." 

There is no reason to even go on creepy websites like that ..only weirdo's google stupid sh*t like that..
Pete is a legend and one of the greatest song-writers/multi-instrumentalists but he's into kids and that's wrong on so many levels..

Bottom line:  he was thoroughly investigated.  He was not charged or convicted of any crimes.   Had there been any such evidence to charge or convict him of such crimes, they would have (whether he's Pete Townshend or not).
And that, as they say, is that.  Period.

re: MJ

I have no doubt he has 100's of unreleased songs in various states. Too, if he called someone up to collaborate I'm sure they would bring as much stuff as they could just to get a cut on one of his albums.

I haven't really been interested in those unreleased compilations they've put out since his death. They seem to mostly be from 2000 on, I think, and some question if it's really him on the songs anyway, even his family.

The other day I was in Wal-Mart and they recently put out a CD single:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/I-Just-Can-t-Stop-Loving-You-Walmart-Exclusive/20925480

The b-side is a demo. Not sure if it had been released before.

While looking for that, I saw that there will be a 3CD/1 DVD 25th Anniv Bad released in Sept.

Like Dr Dre right now. Detox has been going on for over a decade. I'm sure there are 100's of songs from that.
With a project like that, I wish he would release his finished album version, and then release all the other stuff. Like a Smile/Pet Sounds box or series, that would be cool that once (and if) he puts Detox out, then they started releasing everything by year. You would get everything he worked on in 2000, etc. For me, with a lot of these type of albums that involve a lot of collaboration, it seems they keep some songs that are weaker maybe because of who's on it, instead of choosing the best tracks.

He was still cautioned though - that's on record for life. It's basically a police record without out the need to go to court.

Yep. He might not have been charged, but he wasn't acquitted either.

I think in Pete's and Mike's case, neither one of them are sickos but they both did 'innapropriate' things with kids.  Mike probably didn't touch any up but still sleeping with kids in your bed is innappropriate.  Pete acted inappropriately too but I believe his explanation.

Both of them were stupid for doing what they did.

-----------------


On a completely different note, yes I've been waiting for Detox for 10 years too.  At one time Dre was saying that it was going to be 'orchestral funk rap'.  That would have been awesome. 

I agree with you smh..detox might never come out though..Dr. Dre is a perfectionist but with the way he's putting everything on hold this might end up being another smile lol