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

When the first CD of Sly & the Family Stone’s Fresh was released, they pulled the wrong tape and released a completely different album. I still remember buying it and being totally baffled. Completely different takes of some songs.

Somehow, I’ve misplaced my copy over the years.

 

Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend was offered contemporaneously in an alternate version of sorts called Goodfriend. Originally a promotional item, it now is the second disc of the Girlfriend Legacy Edition.

The Motels' Apocalypso was re-recorded in large part at Capitol Records' insistence. The altered album ─ with some songs dropped and new ones added ─ became the band's commercial breakthrough All Four One. Omnivore released Apocalypso itself a few years ago.

 

Was there an album by Heart that got re-recorded and the old version released by their former label?

 

Here's a few more examples of alternate studio recordings of an entire album from my one of my favourite hardcore punk bands, Extreme Noise Terror:

A Holocaust In Your Head had three alternate studio recordings, one with Mick Harris on drums (never released by the band), a 1988 version from Head Eruption and Farewell releases, and a 1991 version released on every other release.

Phonophobia has additional guitars recorded for the 2009 release on top of the 1991 original recording.

And their release, Retro-bution, had a number of their older songs completely re-recorded in 1995.

 

Re BBC2 earlier today..The band 'The Real Thing' recorded all the vocals for War Of The Worlds..Their agent subsequently asked for more money in royalties than Jeff Wayne could afford at the time.So he reluctantly removed their vocals and re-recorded them..The original 'The Real Thing' version was released by Jeff latterly as part of a box-set extras package.

 

Wait...what? The Real Thing were too pricey, so he got Phil Lynott, David Essex, Justin Hayward and Julie Covington instead? Exactly how much were they asking?

I've got the WOTW box set, but don't recall there being any alternate vocalists on there...

Edit: oh no, there they are. Disc 5. Dreadful.

 

Magazine. I think they didn't entirely rerecord the songs but remixed them and redid some parts.

 

The Real Thing got to No1 with 'You to me are everything' a short time after they recorded War Of The Worlds..So their agent thought he could demand more money from Jeff for the vocal royalties.The band say its their biggest ever regret.
Re.David Essex..The Real Thing supported him for a lot of his big tours at the time.

 

I'd never really paid attention to them before (though I like that song) - was reading about them on Wikipedia and it looks like they were responsible alongside Deaf School (who I always love) for revitalising the Liverpool music scene in the mid 70s.

 

They had close ties with the band Heatwave .Another northern band at the time.Was a fascinating interview.
BBC Radio 2 - Johnnie Walker's Sounds of the 70s, The Real Thing, Eddie Amoo: "We auditioned for The Beatles and they loved us!"

 

John Fahey. From memory, two of his early albums were re-recorded because he was not happy with the earlier versions and he felt that his guitar-technique had improved.

Blind Joe Death '59. Re-recorded and re-issued TWICE, once a partial re-recording ('64) and once completely re-recorded ('67).
Death Chants, Breakdowns & Military Waltzes, '64. Partially re-recorded and re-issued in '67.

 

my old jackson browne "pretender' album....the song 'the fuse'......my vinyl had a cold ending to the song....bought the CD and the song fades out.....would love to find that cold ending on CD.

 

The self titled Jerry Garcia and David Grisman album (the one that opens with "The Thrill is Gone") exists as a legal buyable alternate album with different takes of all the songs. This download is for sale and it is interesting if you love their music. But the best versions are the ones that are on the official release, nothing in the alternate takes deviates a lot from the official release. Not a bootleg at all, but a proper download for legal sale.

Here but I don't know if it is an active page still: Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - Garcia/Grisman Alternate Takes

 

Plus:
Trans-Europe Express
Electric Cafe (now re-called "Techno Pop")
The Mix

plus a Japanese version of "Computer World" (1 song differs to english version)
an a Spanish version of "Electric Cafe" (2 songs)


...and as stated earlier:
All main albums got released re-recorded this year as
3-D The Catalogue (english and german version available)

 

The 2009 Deluxe Edition of John Martyn's "Solid Air" includes a second disc with an alternative take for every track on the original album plus a few more outtakes.

 

The last (not very good) Shins album Heartworms has got an upcoming alternate version, called Worms Heart.

 

Released tomorrow.
Here's to hoping I like this version better!

 

The 2008 reissue of Fripp & Eno’s No Pussyfooting includes reversed versions of both sides of the album (as well as a half-speed version of side 2).

 

I don’t know if it counts, but Monster Nagney completely reworked their albums “Last Patrol” and “Mastermind” into “Milking the Stars” and “Cobras and Fire”

 

But why? And are they a good listen?

 

I thought you’d never ask.

Well, it’s all because DJ John Peel inadvertently played it backwards on his radio show in 1973. He’d received a copy on reel-to-reel tape and somehow played it backwards (apparently Eno was the only person in the UK - or, indeed, anywhere - who spotted the error). This CD is an attempt to recreate that experience.

As to whether they’re a good listen, let me just say that I probably wouldn’t have spotted the error either...

 

I see no-one’s yet mentioned Otis Spann’s The Blues Of Otis Spann (1964) and Cracked Spanner Head (1969). They’re essentially the same album with instrumentation added - not by Mr. Spann, I should add - and dramatically changed track titles.

Both albums were reissued on CD by BGO in 2005:



The Blues Of Otis Spann
Rock Me Mama
I Came From Clarksdale
Keep Your Hand Out Of My Pocket
Spann's Boogie
Sarah Street
The Blues Don't Like Nobody
Meet Me In The Bottom
Lost Sheep In The Fold
I Got A Feeling
Jangleboogie
T 99
Natural Days

Cracked Spanner Head
Crack Your Head
Iced Nehi
Wagon Wheel
No Sense In Worrying
Dollar Twenty-Five
Everything's Gonna Be Alright
Lucky So And So
Sometimes I Wonder
Mr. Highway Man
What Will Become Of Me

(Hmm. A couple of instrumentals were left out...)

 

You did'nt have to buy the Apple Box to get the "demo" versions. They were available separately.

 

Perhaps a bit of a stretch but The Pretty Things rerecorded "S.F. Sorrow" in 1998 before a select live audience for internet broadcast and later a CD ("Resurrection") and DVD, inside the Abbey Road EMI studio where they had first recorded the album 30 years earlier.

 

The xPT's a band of ex-Pretty Things members released Parachute Reborn. It was newly updated and recorded versions of songs from the Pretty Things' Parachute album.

The Pretty Things anniversary 2 cd version of Parachute had some acoustic versions of the songs from the Parachute album.