Odds && Sods

Inspired by a variety of British Invasion groups, from the omnipresent Beatles to cult favorites the Move, Todd Rundgren and his Woody's Truck Stop colleague Carson Van Osten formed the Nazz in 1967. Taking their name from an obscure Yardbirds song, the Nazz were arguably the first Anglophiles in rock history. There had been many groups that drew inspiration from the Beatles and the Stones, but none had been so self-consciously reverent as the Nazz. One of their first singles, "Open My Eyes," twisted the riff from the Who's "I Can't Explain," and much of their music felt like homages to Brit rock from the Kinks to Cream, thereby setting a precedent that was followed by scores of North American guitar pop bands from the Raspberries to Sloan…

Inspired by a variety of British Invasion groups, from the omnipresent Beatles to cult favorites the Move, Todd Rundgren and his Woody's Truck Stop colleague Carson Van Osten formed the Nazz in 1967. Taking their name from an obscure Yardbirds song, the Nazz were arguably the first Anglophiles in rock history. There had been many groups that drew inspiration from the Beatles and the Stones, but none had been so self-consciously reverent as the Nazz. One of their first singles, "Open My Eyes," twisted the riff from the Who's "I Can't Explain," and much of their music felt like homages to Brit rock from the Kinks to Cream, thereby setting a precedent that was followed by scores of North American guitar pop bands from the Raspberries to Sloan…

The Lost Crowes is right – only hardcore fans will know of the music on this two-CD set, and even then, chances are they haven't heard it. And it's not like this is an odds-n-sods collection of outtakes and B-sides, either: The Lost Crowes contains two complete unreleased albums called Tall and Band, recorded in 1993 and 1997, respectively, but in the vaults until now…

The ongoing Motorpsycho archaeology project, which began with a 4CD box set based on 1994 breakthrough album Timothy’s Monster, sidesteps the band’s detour into country rock with The Tussler to pick up the trail with 1995’s Blissard. This new 4CD set contains the original album plus contemporaneous EPs, stray cuts, studio experimentation, and an entire, previously unreleased album…

Spacemen 3’s 1987 album The Perfect Prescription is considered the band’s transition point from psychedelic re-creationists to an original act. But it’s also seen as the moment when founding members Pete Kember and Jason Pierce began to branch off in their own directions—the beginnings of Pierce’s band Spiritualized can be heard in “Walking with Jesus.” Released 16 years later, Forged Prescriptions gathers outtakes, alternative mixes, demos, and rarities from the 1987 recording sessions. “Things Will Never Be the Same” opens with Kember’s vocals sounding more angsty and prominent in the mix. Fans of The Brian Jonestown Massacre can identify the seeds of Anton Newcomb’s inspiration in this song.

When first issued in 1980, Lady Samantha was initially only available in the U.K. as either an eight track or cassette. For enthusiasts of Elton John's early and often edgy pop/rock, the odds and sods compilation became known as a haven for the vast majority of John's pre-Caribou (1974) non-LP sides. Although many of these tunes were initially relegated to mere B-side status, they retain the consistently high caliber inherent in early John (piano/vocals) and Bernie Taupin (lyrics) collaborations…

These "Final Cuts" are an odds-and-sods collection of music Marc Bolan had been working on – and it's in various stages of completion – before he was killed in 1977. Some of the music here appears on other recordings of late cuts; some are reworkings of tunes or alternate takes of tracks that appeared on Futuristic Dragon or Dandy in the Underworld; some never appeared at all. You have to be a hardcore T. Rex and/or Bolan fan to want this music. There is a weird version of "To Know You Is to Love You" with a vocal by Gloria Jones (the disco star who was Bolan's wife), and the rest has either new tags, or more or less guitars, or reworked melodies. You get the picture. Usually Edsel is spot-on, but this is dodgy. About the only thing you can really compliment the compilation producers for is good-quality sound – it's top-notch for what it is.