Tuesday, September 30, 2008

David Mead - Unreleased Songs, B-Sides and Demos

I really think that David Mead is one of the most underrated Power Pop artists of our time. He has issued four beautiful albums and possesses an other-wordly voice with an amazing range. However the most exciting thing for me about Mead's output is the quality of his writing.

I highly recommend all of his albums. 2004's Indiana and his new album "Almost and Always" are quite introspective affairs. "The Luxury of Time" and "Mine and Yours' have their share of rockers. "Tangerine" is classic Beatlesque song-cycle end to end. You really can't go wrong with any of them.

1999 The Luxury of Time
2001 Mine and Yours
2004 Indiana
2006 Tangerine
2008 Almost and Always

On his website and on some fan sites, Mead has issued a generous number of unreleased demos and b-sides. For convenience, I've collected all I could find here. There are some great songs here:

1 Wherever - Intro Version from unreleased version of "Wherever You Are"
2 One Plus One - Original Version from unreleased version of "Wherever You Are"
3 Jonathan Barnum, Talk of The Town - Out take
4 Attitude - unreleased out take from unreleased version of "Wherever You Are"
5 Claws - Out Take from "Luxury of Time"
6 I Like to Run - From kids song compilation "For The Kids Too"
7 Little Sister - unreleased out take from unreleased version of "Wherever You Are"
8 Patience - unreleased out take from unreleased version of "Wherever You Are"
9 Growin' Up - unreleased out take from unreleased version of "Wherever You Are"
10 Full of Myself - "Mine and Yours" Out take
11 Chutes and Ladders - Japanese bonus track from "Indiana"
12 Subway - unreleased out take from unreleased version of "Wherever You Are"
13 Only Living Boy in New York - Simon and Garfunkle Cover from "Everwood" sountrack
14 Three Stars - Demo of David with Daniel Tashian
15 Comfort - Original Demo
16 Sex and the Single Girl - "Luxury of Time" Out take
17 Sweet Sunshine - Demo Version
18 Beauty - Original Version from unreleased version of "Wherever You Are"
19 Fighting For Your Life - Radio Session
20 Venus Again - Demo Version
21 A Gift For You All - Christmas song released for fanclub
22 Christmas is So Far Away - Christmas song released for fanclub
23 I Like Christmas Cause You Feed Me Real Good - Christmas song released for fanclub

I know that there are some I'm missing, please let me know if you have them.

Ken Stringfellow's Saltine

Since their first CD, I've been a Posies fan and somewhat of a completist. Today, I've posted a long out-of-print side-project by Ken Stringfellow called Saltine.

Saltine issued a single CD in 2000 during a period when the Posies had "broken up". The writing is strong, however the production is certainly of its time. In addition to Ken, Saltine included Braden Blake of Super Deluxe, a band that was very much influenced by the Posies.

Saltine only officially released the six song EP included here . I've also included a live broadcast concert from the same era. The recording and songs are quite good.

Enjoy and as always let me know if I am missing anything.