Studio albums that have an entire alternate version available (studio recordings, not mix/mastering)

Two versions of the first Texas Tornados album (with the late, great Doug Sahm)- The Texas Tornados and Los Texas Tornados- the later being recorded in Spanish. The Spanish version has a different mix, and different band members take some of the vocals.

 

Are you sure the one you have isn’t this one?

 

That's a remix though, not a different recording.

 

In 2008, Thrash metallers Exodus re-recorded their 1985 debut Bonded By Blood as Let There Be Blood.

 

You could make an alternative version of Nirvana's Nevermind using demos and early versions of the songs, I believe.

 

Orange Juice recorded their debut album for Postcard but it got shelved when they signed for Polydor. The original album (which was released in the 90's as Ostrich Churchyard) had

1. "Louise Louise" – 2:50
2. "Three Cheers for Our Side" (James Kirk) – 2:52
3. "In a Nutshell" – 4:06
4. "Satellite City" – 2:42
5. "Consolation Prize" – 3:10
6. "Holiday Hymn" (Vic Godard) – 3:00
7. "Intuition Told Me (Part 1)" – 1:14
8. "Intuition Told Me (Part 2)" – 3:22
9. "Wan Light" (James Kirk) – 2:30
10. "Dying Day" – 3:09
11. "Texas Fever" – 1:44
12. "Tender Object" – 4:40

And the the Polydor debut was

1. "Falling and Laughing" – 3:51
2. "Untitled Melody" – 2:04
3. "Wan Light" (James Kirk) – 2:23
4. "Tender Object" – 4:25
5. "Dying Day" – 3:00
6. "L.O.V.E. Love" (Al Green, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, Willie Mitchell) – 3:32
7. "Intuition Told Me (Part 1)" – 1:09
8. "Upwards And Onwards" – 2:27
9. "Satellite City" – 2:43
10. "Three Cheers For Our Side" (James Kirk) – 2:50
11. "Consolation Prize" – 2:50
12. "Felicity" (James Kirk) – 2:34
13. "In a Nutshell" – 4:15

So about 7 tracks shared between the two (I prefer, mostly, the earlier Postcard version)

And on a similar theme, not to be outdone, Josef K also recorded two versions of their debut album. The released version was:

Side 1
1. "Fun 'n' Frenzy" 2:06
2. "Revelation" 4:18
3. "Crazy to Exist" 2:59
4. "It's Kinda Funny" 3:30
5. "The Angle" 2:43
Side 2
1. "Forever Drone" 2:02
2. "Heart of Song" 2:54
3. "16 Years" 2:32
4. "Citizens" 3:01
5. "Sorry for Laughing"

While the unreleased version (recorded earlier but deemed to sound too 'polished') was:

A1. Fun 'n' Frenzy
A2. Heads Watch
A3. Drone
A4. Sense of Guilt
A5. Art of Things
A6. Crazy to Exist
B1. Citizens
B2. Variation of Scene
B3. Terry's Show Lies
B4. No Glory
B5. Endless Soul
B6. Sorry For Laughing

 

Only "Young Americans" is exactly the same between The Gouster and Young Americans. "Somebody Up There Likes Me" is the same basic track but YA has additional vocals, guitar and synth.

 

the smiths, first one. troy tate version

 

not entire but blur
modern life is rubbish: andy partridge versions

 

how many tracks had the who recorded first for who's next???

 

This is true but ... the Rafferty version remains annoyingly unavailable.

So, they don't both commercially (at least legally) exist as alternate albums.

Best Wishes,
David

 

Only two songs ('Sunday Sunday' and 'Coping') out of the three recorded ('Seven Days' is the third) from those sessions were in MLIR.

However, there are also alternate studio versions of 'For Tomorrow' (x3), 'Advert', 'Pressure On Julian', 'Star Shaped', 'Blue Jeans', 'Turn It Up', 'Chemical World' (x2), and Colin Zeal.

 

Gang of Four, too, with Return the Gift.

 

I forgot to mention this one before, but would the various early recordings by the Sex Pistols count as an alternate version of their proper debut album? If I remember correctly, ten of its twelve tracks exist in early form on the "Spunk" compilation, while a demo of Bodies can be found elsewhere, plus there's a rough mix of Holidays In The Sun that features a scratch vocal, so it's technically possible to assemble the full eventual LP's contents without repeating any of the final studio material.

 

I forgot about Kraftwerk!

Both The Man Machine and Computer World albums recordings have English (released outside of Germany) and German vocals (in Germany only).

 

State of The Union-Black City Lights, 2002
Johann went back and completely re-did it for a 2005 V2 release.

 

The Refreshments- Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy, 1996
Had an earlier incarnation as 'Wheelie', 1994

 

Bad Brains - Rock for Light

Meat Puppets - Up on The Sun

 

The La's album exists in different versions (and BBC recordings).
Who's Next has a good number of ultimately rejected tracks with Leslie West on additional guitar.

 

Yes that's right.

 

I had not heard of these before - they are very interesting. Thanks for the heads up. PG is a good example of someone who lets his songs evolve. Probably why it takes him so long to finish a record.

I wish he would do something similar for PG3.

 

Just thought of a supremely obvious one- Slapp Happy S/T (aka Casablanca Moon), which was a re-recording of an earlier version done with Faust, released later as Acnalbasac Noom.

 

Not quite sure if this fits but Tubular Bells and The Orchestral T.B.

 

If we go by the sales pitch, it would appear an alternative version of the first Roxy Music album will appear on the "Super Deluxe" box set.

 

I believe the deluxe of R.E.M.'s Fables has a demo of every song from the main album.
As does last year's reissue of Suede's Coming Up