Holy Grail unreleased songs that you finally heard - and were disappointed..

"What's The New Mary Jane?" An oddball novelty that doesn't hold up to multiple listens. It's a testament to the editing choices of the band and George Martin that there's precious little in the way of really worthwhile outtakes from the Beatles.

 

I really liked Love in the nineties and tried to get my hands on everything they released. I'd heard Arthur Lee had released a couple of solo albums (Vindicator and Black Beauty) and they were just about impossible to find in Australia. Somehow I managed to grab copies of both after several months. My reaction- every song was a dud on both records. They were a huge step down in quality from Da Capo and Forever Changes IMO.

 

Kills me to admit it, but Smile.

A lot of it really was meandering and, even in the form it was presented in the Smile Sessions set, it was just a lot of little unfinished pieces that either needed to be fleshed out or ditched for good. Essentially, that had already happened with the Smile-era songs that ended up on other albums, and it was the right move.

 

Wow. I think Brian Wilson's 'Smile' is fantastic.

 

And I do as well, though I've come to recognize that while it appeals very strongly to some, many others just don't click with it. It's a very unique, idiosyncratic piece of work. Just like we always see Pet Sounds showing up in the countless "overrated" threads here, I'm not too surprised to see Smile here, given how heavily its been hyped over the years.

 

What a strange thread. Not a single thing mentioned qualifies as a “holy grail” (a silly hype term in any case) so the smug downbeats of disapointment ring pretty hollow.

The sadly beautiful saga of restoring and re-recording Smile is on a whole other level, however, and you have to have a cold, cold heart to view that semi-resurrection with nothing but a shrug and a sourpuss scowl.

 

I thought the outtake of "Not Guilty" was fantastic. Should have made the White Album.

 

Have to disagree - lots of love for Vindicator, a very strong funk/soul album. But anyone approaching it hoping for a Forever Changes will be disappointed; it's not the same style of music obviously.

 

Interesting. I just happened to ignore everything about Smile until 2004 -- basically, I had no interest in Beach Boys music up to that point.

I was tipped into Pet Sounds first in 2005 and bought Brian Wilson's Smile a few months later, without being exposed to the "holy grail" build up. I was blown out.

However, I probably wouldn't have if I had been exposed to the "legend" for 20 years. There's simply nothing that can meet that kind of build up.

 

wouldn't say it was rubbish. Mark Lewisohn's description of it in his recording sessions book was woefully off. I get the impression that he's a fantastic researcher but not much of a musician. Didn't he describe it as terrifying heavy metal or something ? Well he does tend to describe things like Paul McCartney's 1967 toilet breaks as the most productive 5 minutes in plop music history.
and all those people here saying Smile.....well i don't know what to say....it's brilliant but missing half a dozen lead vocals and there's no indication in the book how or what was missing or intended for tracks like Do You Like Worms, Child Is The Father Of The Man.,look,holidays,the various heroes and villains bits, the elements etc.. I think if that kind of thing had been clearer you might have dug it a bit more. Personally i never listen to disc 1.
the lack of input from Van Dyke Parks is a major flaw. Someone should have had him and Brian recorded listening to the set in particular the 2 tiny vocal snippet clues on the Worms session and Holidays session. Plus all his lyrics should have been included.
Smile has been my favourite album for about 37 years. I've still not heard it .

 

Another vote for Smile. I got the super deluxe box, invested a bit of time in it, but....one great song, one good song and a lot of so-so material. I can see why it was shelved. I admire the ambition, but sometimes these things just don't work out.

 

I'd add the Jackson/Mercury recording of State of Shock. I know it's only a dem0, but no real sparks fly

 

Certainly ranks among my least favourite of the outtakes.
First is "Mister Sam" anyway, then "Kulee Baba" / "Talkin' ABout My Home" ...

 

Smashing Pumpkins - Towers of Rabel (finally released on a recent box set = way over rated)

 

Prince - Electric Intercourse
Beach Boys - Sandy
Bob Dylan - Another Self Portrait
Michael Jackson - Got the Hots
The Who - Lifehouse

 

The Doors - Celebration of the Lizard.

 

The Dan Penn demos

In Peter Guralnick's 1986 book "Sweet Soul Music" he raves about then unreleased Dan Penn demos. This book is where I got turned onto Penn and ended up becoming something of a completist, even ordering his self-produced later albums through the mail. I had always wanted to hear the demos and was thrilled when Ace released them as "The Fame Recordings" in 2012. Certainly not sorry I now own them but after all the anticipation I was, to say the least, underwhelmed.

 

I was disappointed in the version of Everyday People that showed up on Chrome Dreams II. I thought the circulating live version was much better.

 

This

When I heard there was "different version", I had high expectations. Although an avid "alternate take enthusiast", I still didn't get the chance to hear it until Anthology.

I was disappointed to say the least.

 

Thinking back to my early teens when I finally found a copy of the legendary "Sweet Apple Trax", I can say that it was a bit of a letdown.

 

Ordinary People you mean - and wouldn't really qualify in my eyes as a "holy grail" if there were live versions of it out there already to hear.

There's stuff mentioned in Shakey from the 1970s, some of which has never come out in any form, said to be as good as the released stuff (and the author is pretty critical of Neil's music throughout, so if he raves about it...). Some of it has since been performed live but some of it has never been played.

 

Agreed. A bit of a letdown for me, too.

How about Emmitt The Singing Ranger Live In The Woods? I don't think that stuff has ever been released, has it? Would love to hear that one.

Chris

 

Other unreleased tunes from those sessions are stronger. I prefer the trippy "Kulee Baba" and especially "Megashine City (Talkin' Bout My Home)."

 

Very surprised that the song didn't make much of an impression when it was finally released. The studio version is a bit disappointing but it's still an amazingly good song.

 

The Dylan's quite the opposite. No-one was hoping for (or even expecting) a CD of unreleased music from around the time of the Self Portrait sessions, but its release was a very pleasant surprise. To most of us, anyway.