Mitch Easter - More Rare Tracks

Below is a second volume of Mitch Easter rare tracks . I'm very happy to say that these were gathered from (or suggested by) comments about the previous Mitch Easter Rare Track compilation posted in July. I had lots of suggestions about tracks I had missed.

A number of readers posted their own compilations and now that some of these links are dead I have compiled them together. This group of tracks are primarily studio tracks and are the first of three posts. I'll post the other two compilations of live tracks in weeks to come.

For me this is really the point of this blog. Thanks to everyone for their contribution. I really appreciate it!

1. Gimme Gimme Good Lovin (From "Right to Chews" Bubblegum Compilation - Dean Suggested)
2. Sudden Crown Drop (1999 Alternate Version - Posted by Anon)
3. Kizza Me (From "Not The Singers But The Songs" A Tribute To Alex Chilton - Posted by Anon)
4. Chalk Outline (Unreleased Songs From Mountain Stage - Posted by Anon)
5. Nature (Unreleased Songs From Mountain Stage - Posted by Anon)
6. Jane (Dead End) (Unreleased Songs From Mountain Stage - Posted by Anon)
7. Decline and Fall (Sneakers Remix)
8. Invisible Hills (Unreleased Bonus Track by Let's Active)
9. Sweepstakes Winner (Alternate Version - Bonus Track by Let's Active)
10. Horizon (Alternate Version - Bonus Track by Let's Active)
11. Bad Machinery (Alternate Version - Bonus Track by Let's Active)
12. A Room With A View (Alternate Version - From Mondo Montage by Let's Active, Fantom clarified)
13. Prying Eyes (From Shake to Date, Correctly labeled this time - Requested by Jim, Fantom clarified)
14. Law Averages (From Shake to Date - Requested by Jim, Fantom clarified)
15. Dirty Reasons (Posted by Fantom)
16. We Do What If (Posted by Fantom)
17. Premonition (Posted by Fantom)
18. I'm Sorry (Posted by Fantom)

Mike Viola - Kenmore Square

For completist Candy Butchers fans, here is the Kenmore Square album by Mike Viola and Snap. This album, originally released in 1990, is quite good. Catchy songs that sound very much like later Candy Butchers tracks. "One More Word" for instance, foreshadows "The Killing Floor" from "Falling into Place", released nine years later.

To my ears, this album has more to do with later Candy Butcher albums like "Falling into Place" or "Play With Your Head" than the more acoustic self titled "Candy Butchers" album released on Blue Thumb or the "Live At La Bonbonniere" EP. Anyway, its Mike Viola and that means its great. Well worth a listen.

Sorry about the low quality tracks. I got these years ago and I forget where I got them....also please let me know if anyone has any more Mike Viola or Candy Butcher rarities.

Enjoy.

Mitch Easter - Rare Tracks

I've been listening to my treasured Let's Active records of late and marveling at how good those three albums were. Mitch Easter channeled influences such as Big Star and Television into a unique psychedelic stew, all flavored by the Athens Georgia, North Carolina sound from the early 1980s. All three Let's Active efforts are great and well worth picking up.

I really liked Mitch's comeback effort "Dynamico" from a couple of years ago and I saw him touring with Don Dixon and wife Shalani. Very nice show. I was all set for new high output period. However so far, only the one record. Mitch has produced far more music than he has put out under his own name.

To stretch his catalog a bit, I put together a compilation of Mitch songs from tribute records, a couple of songs that he authored and sang from Shalani records and a few songs that Mitch sang lead on from the Sneakers projects with Chris Stamey. There also a couple of Let's Active B-sides and some brief appearances by Mitch and Don Dixon on TV.

I've got to admit that this compilation will be enjoyed most by really serious fans (though everyone SHOULD hear Mitch's version of the Monkees classic Vallerie - at least once).

Let me know if you have anything I'm missing here.

KC Bowman - Preoccupied Piper

There are a lot of people who haven't yet encountered KC Bowman. Little known outside of di-hard pop circles, he has been writing and performing power pop songs in the style of XTC (with a bit of Apples in Stereo thrown in) for the last ten years. Great power pop tunes representing a somewhat skewed outlook on life (also think They Might Be Giants).

Bowman was one of the original driving forces behind the California band Lawsuit . Since Lawsuit broke up in the mid 90s, He has presided over a loose configuration of like minded artists known as The Preoccupied Pipers. The ever changing roster of the Preoccupied Pipers take turns writing and singing and have released a string of great albums. I strongly recommend checking them out. There is great stuff on every Pipers release.

KC's solo album Fresher Tin Villages was released in 1998. In my opinion, it is an absolute classic - and KC has kindly made it available for download here. Don't miss this one!

To accompany Fresher Tin Villages, I've assembled a sampler of Preoccupied Pipers tracks with KC singing lead. This is great stuff, not to be missed. If you haven't heard him before, you are going to want entree into KC Bowman's world.

Jason Falkner - Web Sessions

Its frustrating being a Jason Falkner fan. You wait for years for an official release and then end up having to buy an expensive import version of the album. Don't get me wrong. I am really looking forward to the new version of "This Time" when the American release of I'm OK You're OK" finally comes out.... but we could really use some NEW work from Jason. His web site says he is done with yet another album of tracks. I wonder how long it will be to his new material sees the light of day? It would be great if we had a method to pay Jason to release new tracks directly to his fans.

As a stop gap, I've been listening to two web sessions. A great sounding set of studio tracks from groupee.com and some live material from crackle.com. If you haven't been to these websites, you are missing some great Jason videos. I recommend checking them out. Lots of fun.

Most of this material was released on "I'm OK You're OK" and the groupee tracks sound much better than the live crackle tracks. Have any other rare tracks from Jason? Please let me know.

Jason Falkner and XTC fans meet... Barry O'Brien and Slumberjet

This little known Irish band is a terrific find for lovers of Jason Falkner, Pugwash and XTC. For the last several years Barry O'Brien has made guest appearances with Pugwash. He is a kindred spirit producing top flight Power Pop. In 2004, Barry released a four song EP entitled "Spark" that name-checked Pugwash, XTC, Jason Falkner and Elliot Smith. Every track is a winner on that EP, shining with great playing and great hooks. These tracks were released pretty widely and are freely available on Garageband and Stumble. I've collected them here for convenience

When I recently checked Myspace to see what Barry had been up to, I found his new band Slumberjet and two new tracks and they are excellent! To my ears the track "The Letter" sounds like a lost track from a Jason Falkner album. Try it out and let me know if you agree. I've looked long and hard, but there are the only six finished tracks available from this band as yet. I added a couple of low quality acoustic recordings I found to round out the collection.

According to their Myspace site, Slumberjet has finished recording their new CD. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album.

Do not miss this great new band!

The Posies - Every Bitter Drop

For a band that has broken up more than a few times, the Posies have had a remarkably consistent and high quality output. I think that all of their albums feature creative melodies and great playing. The solo records from both Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow are also well worth picking up.

Its been a while since the latest Posies release and of course it would be great to hear a new effort. Until then, here is a compilation of b-sides and tribute tracks . Its the first of a couple compilations that I'll post. I think this collection works pretty well in the order here. Be warned - it is heavy on cover songs. Auer and Stringfellow bring a lot in interpreting the work of others.

Many of these tracks were included in the long out of print Not Lame box set "At Least At Last" though I don't think all of them were included in that package.

Enjoy Every Bitter Drop