From the time I was old enough to recognize that music is important, I’ve gone through these phases where a certain band will jam a guitar into the base of my skull and twist around there until I listen to them enough to fill my brains with their music and push the guitar (which is usually a Les Paul, and occasionally a Fender Stratocaster) out.
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you can see when this happens, because it’s usually revealed in the titles of my entries. There have been Radiohead and Pixies and Get Up Kids and Mike Doughty explosions, but the one band I’ve come back to over and over again since I was in high school is Pink Floyd.
It was Pink Floyd who introduced me to the concept album, and showed me that music could be something more than background noise. I’ll never forget the first time I heard Animals: I was working on a show called Monsters, which was a cool little Tales From the Darkside-ish anthology show. My episode was really cool: it was called Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites, and was about two barbers who do all sorts of unspeakably horrible things to feed a creepy blood-sucking Lovecraftian monster. We filmed the whole thing in a tiny little warehouse-ish building down near the center of Hollywood (I think it was off Santa Monica, between Highland and Gower, but I’m not sure) over the course of about a week in 1990.
I played opposite Matt LeBlanc in that show. To illustrate how weird Hollywood is: Matt was new to town and the entertainment industry, and though he was older than me, I was the veteran actor. I was also a Really Big Deal at the time (though the slow-but-sure slide down to the C list had already begun) and it’s this moment in time where you can see the graphs of our careers cross: he was rising and I was falling. Weird, isn’t it?
Matt was a relly nice guy, and a lot of fun to work with. He’s also singularly responsible for introducing me to The Simpsons. I remember sitting in his dressing room between setups one day, talking about TV shows, and he asked me if I’d seen it. I told him that I’d watched one or two episodes, and I wasn’t particularly impressed (if you look at season one of The Simpsons, I think you’ll agree that it was a very acquired taste back then.)
He was surprised, because we’d been talking about Monty Python and Life in Hell, and other types of off-beat humor, and he was convinced that I’d like the show. To prove this to me, he recreated the entire episode where Bart is sent to France and ends up slaving away in the vineyard.
I couldn’t tell you a single thing about working on that episode (other than being afraid I was going to cut myself with a straight razor) but I can still close my eyes and hear Matt saying, "Don’t eat ze grapes, Bart!" I thought it was so hilarious, I gave The Simpsons a chance, and was hooked pretty quickly after that.
But this post was originally about Pink Floyd, right? I was already into Pink Floyd a little bit by this time, and a casual fan of The Dark Side of the Moon, and Wish You Were Here. I don’t remember how I ended up with Animals, but I had the CD and a portable CD player (kids: way back in 1990, before the advent of MP3 players, your parents carried around CD players which were very portable at around five pounds each. We also carried around ten or twenty CDs at a time, in a wallet sort of thing. And we listened to our CDs while we walked uphill both ways in the snow to get to school because we liked it.)
At this point in the story, I feel compelled to point out that, even though I love Pink Floyd and The Grateful Dead, I’m not a stoner, and never have been. Stoners bug the everlivingfuck out of me, and nothing makes me leave a party or event faster than a bunch of pot heads. I also feel compelled to point out that the so-called War on Drugs is an abject and total failure (much like the Bush adminstration) and I fully support changing a lot of our drug laws here, especially de-criminalizing marijuana, mmmkay? And I now feel further compelled to point out that I’m not casting judgement on stoners. I know plenty of stoners who I genuinely like a whole bunch; I just don’t come out to play when they’re sparking up.
Anyway, I had Animals on CD, and though I was initially turned off by Pigs on the Wing (part one), Dogs grabbed my attention, and by the time Pigs (three different ones) started, I was completely hooked. (After a few listens, I grew to love Pigs on the Wing (I & II) and even taught myself how to play it on the guitar. I can’t imagine Animals without those beautiful and tender songs wrapping up the rest of the album.)
I clearly recall leaning back in this shitty chair with wobbly legs, my feet up on a standard-issue office furniture desk, eyes closed, and nearly falling over when Roger Waters sang,
Big man, pig man, ha ha, charade you are
You well heeled big wheel, ha ha, charade you are
I crossed a Rubicon. I don’t know what it was about those lyrics (they’re not even the lyrics that resonate strongest with me from that album, let alone the entire Floyd catalogue) but the music, the way he sang "ha ha, charade you are!" and the deep, dark, rich ominous weight of the whole thing spoke to me in exactly the right way. I guess it’s kind of sad that, at 19, I was already deeply cynical and responsive to that, huh? After work that day, I went to the record store (kids: it’s sort of like iTunes Music Store, but you walk into it and talk to people about what you want to buy, and occasionally disscover new and interesting music while you’re there) and bought every Pink Floyd album they had. I entered an extended Pink Floyd phase, where I spent hours just listening to and exploring the music. We didn’t have Wikipedia back then, so I went on several record store quests to find old magazines and books about the band, so I could get a better idea where their music came from and what they were all about.
Last night, listened to Animals and Wish You Were Here while I chased album notes and band history down the Internets’ rabbit hole (start here if you’re intrigued) including a re-examination of The Publius Enigma.
I wish a band would come out and be the modern equivalent to Pink Floyd. Green Day kind of did it with American Idiot, but that’s a hell of a stretch, I think. I want to hear concept albums that tell me a story from start to finish, that aren’t single-oriented.
Heh. I guess I’m saying that I’m still waiting for Radiohead to follow-up OK Computer. It’s a long way to go, isn’t it?
Oh, and I made this post in Performancing. (Then I did a little tweaking by hand, to add the image and clean up the tags.) Cool.
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Good post, Wheaton, but DID YOU GET THE PART OR NOT? I’ve been wondering about this for the weekend, waiting for resolution. What’s it gonna be?
Good Lord, Will. I’ve just been transported to a time in High School when I could put on my headphones (large ones, that actually did not go inside the ear) and tune out my crazy partying friends as I melted away into “wish you were here” and forgot all about the stupid inanity all around me. Band geeks. Potheads. Teenage Sex. Maybe Floyd helped me make it through that relatively unscathed??!? btw, I actually worked in a record store (yep, we sold RECORDS) and we really thought we were so superior. Do you think with the advent of iTunes that groups can still pull off a concept album? When people can just buy one song at a time with such ease?
Concept albums! Hah! Like Sgt Pepper! Or Billy Thorpe’s Children Of The Sun! We won’t mention Styx. (I’m showing my age.)
‘The Simpsons’ is my favorite show to watch with my kids. Who do not know about vinyl or 8-tracks.
I’m guessing you are being quiet about this for a reason so I’m not even going to ask.
Great post – two brilliant reads back to back – this sort of post is why I come here… And yes – Floyd rule.
A couple of things:
1) I loved the series Monsters and I remember watching that epidsode! I wish that had more shows on like that instead of 20 versions of Law and Order that you can’t let your kids watch or Reality TV shows. (although I really do like Law and order)
2) Pink Flyod the Wall gave/gives me nightmares
3) Matt LeBlance is great an all but he’s not really on the way up nowadays. They finally cancelled the catastrophe that was “Joey”
4)If I see one more “How William Shatner changed the world” show on tv I’m going to scream…
and 5) I agree with Einan78 did you hear yet? Cause you’d make a much better host than Shatner…..
if you’re at all into london grime (hip-hop for dancing) you should check out ‘a grand don’t come for free’ by the streets. some very catchy songs and some very slow dreamy ones too.
I haven’t said anything about the possible job because I don’t know anything . . . but mostly because I’ve run out of Fark Cliche images to use.
I have one left, and I’m saving it for the final post (whether I got it or not.)
I have EVERY Floyd album on vinyl. Floyd was my fix before the metal got to me. But I can still enjoy it.
You may want to go out and get David Gilmour’s latest “On An Island.” Not Floyd, but the Gilmour signature sound is there. Rick Wright’s keyboard and backing vocals are on some songs too, which is nice. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
As I’ve said before, Gilmour could not appreciate the lyrical work of Waters and Waters could not appreciate Gilmour’s musicianship. It’s a shame their collaborative days are over.
….the BadBlood slows and turns to stoooooo-whoa-whoa-whoa-ooone…..
(I love Dogs)
Alan Parsons Project!
-nuff said-
You should change your name to Doc Brown.
With your post, I’ve just been shoved into a DeLorean, accelerated to 88 mph, then slammed back in time.
It seems like it was yesterday that I’m at Moby Disc, flipping through hordes of USED CD’s and thinking that this is the future of how people buy music!! Tower is going out of business, cause as soon as you’re bored of a CD, you can now bring it to Moby and they’ll give you $1.25 for it. You could also choose from used tapes, cause you know what good investments those make..
Thanks for the trip!
Dude, my tape deck has Dolby NR! Does yours?
Wil, Not much of a Pink Floyd fan but as far as a recent album you may like check out The David Crowder Band’s recent release A Collision.
The only thing I can think of currently that comes close is a band called Coheed & Cambria. Their albums are concept type albums and tell a story throughout. Give a listen…
Also, if you haven’t all ready, you HAVE to listen to 2112 by Rush – the best band and concept album of all time!!
Aaron
I thought REM had a couple of concept-ish records but nothing like Pink Floyd.
Did you ever go to Griffith Observatory and see the laser shows set to Floyd music? Very trippy and I don’t even do drugs.
Hi Will,
Never commented before, but have to now. Try “Operation Mindcrime” by Queensryche. Oh. My. God. Geoff Tate, the lead singer, was a political science major in college and it shows.
Dream Theater also has some interesting concept albums, like “Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence” and “Metropolis Part 2: Scences from a Memory.”
New Roman Times by Camper Van Beethoven is a concept album worth a listen.
My favorite concept albums are Queensryche’s “Operation: Mindcrime” and Dream Theater’s “Metropolis 2000: Scenes From A Memory”. Another recent fave that’s a loosely-coupled concept album is Porcupine Tree’s “Deadwing”.
While Green Day did go for the concept album, I don’t think American Idiot is in a class with Pink Floyd.
OK Computer is a damn good example of a good one. I’ll have to echo the Operation: Mindcrime plug if you can get past the cheesy metal sheen.
I’ve struggled with Pink Floyd’s stuff over the course of my adulthood. I really got into it the last couple of years of high school and first year in college, but I began distancing myself mainly because of its association with the things that you point out. The whole classic rock / stoner /laser light show mentality that goes with the band. I never did get into Animals, but The Wall, Dark Side of the Moon, and Wish You Were Here got a lot of play. I’ve constantly heard good stuff about the older Syd Barrett stuff and have always meant to delve into that myself. My only exposure to that was the Voivod cover of “Astronomy Domine” in 1989 or 1990.
I’m trying to think of other concept albums, but nothings coming to me without being able to go look at my CD collection. Isn’t almost every Tom Waits CD a concept album of sorts? Frank’s Wild Years, Rain Dogs and Black Rider seem to fit the bill.
I’ll have to look tonight when I get home and post more examples.
Will,
I’ve been reading off and on for years- love the site.
I had gone through 4 cassette versions of the Wall, before CD’s came out. Pink Floyd is my time machine. I can put one of their cds in and I’m transported back in time. My first exposure was back in 79 when a collage acting group came to our high school and acted out Dark Side of the Moon for our drama class. I’ve been hooked ever since.
Think Pink!
dwh
I’d recommend Dredg’s Leitmotif or El Cielo, both are great albums that you might enjoy
Ever give Tori Amos a try? Loads of concepts there. Even her “Strange Little Girls” was interesting for covers… favorite songs of men sung in the voice of the woman the song centered around.
…and not all stoners/potheads are bad, y’know.
Dagnabbit, man. I know well the horrid ripping numbness of waiting to find out whether you’ve gotten a job you really really want. In my experience, it’s been five minutes after you give up hope that you find anything out. The good side of this is that the news has always been good when I’ve waited that long. Keep the hope alive and find an immersive hobby while you wait. Good luck, Wheaton.
I’m surprised you didn’t find the wikipedia page of concept albums.
I particularly liked “Lateralus” by Tool. Not so much a story, but still a concept album.
Hey Wil–It’s so high concept that it’s an actual rock musical: Hedwig and the Angry Inch by Steven Trask and John Cameron Mitchell. If you haven’t seen the movie, it will blow you away.
As far as narrative concept albums go, I’d recommend: Dream Theater: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory, Dream Theater: Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (Disc 2), Hedwig & The Angry Inch (even though its a rock-musical/movie, I think it works just as well as a stand alone album… Although, I’d say the same thing about Jesus Christ Superstar).
As far as theme-driven concept albums, I’d recommend: Extreme: III Sides to Every Story, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Murder Ballads, The Offspring: Americana, Steve Vai: Sex & Religion, William Shatner/Ben Folds: Has Been, System of a Down: Mesmerize/Hypnotize.
Also, as a Pink Floyd fan you might be interested to know that David Gilmour first solo album in 12 years came out earlier this month. It’s called “On An Island.” It sounds a lot like Floyd.
On the concept album front, have you tried Coheed and Cambria or Gorillaz? Of course, you could always go for the Garth Brooks/Chris Gaines ridiculousness. Well, it is a concept album…
Also, did you see that Gates McFadden is in a new Microsoft commercial? I saw it last night for the first time and my husband and I did a simultaneous shout out. Nice to see her again.
Ah, the dreaded “music recommendation” thread…
I was going to suggest “A Grand Don’t Come For Free” by The Streets, but someone actually beat me to it! I don’t usually like rap/hip-hop, but this guy is British. So it’s by turns funny and melancholy. And very clever.
And since I never tire of flogging my favorite below-the-radar band, check out another British outfit called I AM KLOOT. They’re a trio from Manchester, sometimes acoustic sometimes electric, with songs that range from romantic to wistful to nasty to (what else?) melancholy. Smart lyrics, catchy tunes. They’re hard to classify, but at times they reminds me of The Beatles or Bob Dylan.
hey wil
i’ll chime in here with everyone else and add my choice for concept albums…
Welcome to the Boomtown, by David+David…
it’s a concept album about life in L.A….so that should grab your fancy….its not a cohesive story, but more ‘slice of life’ scenes….David Baerwald wrote it while he was a roomate of Shawn Penn….anyhow, it’s a fantastic album….
like a few of the other talkbackers here, i was and am a massive Pink Floyd fan as well….
id’ been and done the whole thrash metal thing, and was mostly into Metallica and stuff like that, when a friend brought me a copy of The Wall…i’d never listened to the whole thing before, so it was a major turning point in my life musically….i think i must have been about 14 or 15 at the time…..it blew my mind….and much like you i spent the next few years seeking out every album i could find of theirs…all on vinyl….
i’ve been lucky enough to see them twice in concert…once for the Momentary lapse of reason tour and again on the division bell tour…both were incredible (the momentary lapse tour tho, i think, was better)
cheers wil!
tyson
I Miss the good ole days of music, thanks for the memories… I watched monsters… until my east coast station stopped carring it…. and I am not going to ask…. oh yes I am
“What about the dog? we haven’t heard about the dog in a long time….” Got Ya
I just discovered Pink Floyd in the last year or so in a kind of creativity in desktop publishing/audio/video type class. I’d heard of them but being only the proverbial twinkle in my parents’ eyes when most of Floyd’s albums were made, I had never gotten into the music. I really didn’t “get it” the first time I listened to Dark Side or the Wall as part of our required listening, but I kept listening . My mentor, who was teaching the class, was just soooo involved in trying to explain to us the thematic and musical threads of the music and was just so passionate insightful…but I’m still young and stupid…still didn’t get it at the time. But I kept listening.
But I think in the last year since I took that class, I’ve been getting really bored with most music. I mean I can barely stand to listen to anything on the radio or even any of my previously beloved music on my iPod. But like you mentioned you do, I keep coming back to Pink Floyd. I still don’t quite understand why it gets me and I am not someone who is an expert on music. But something about their music just grabs me and engages me, and doesn’t get old, but is always making me think, though I’m not sure about what.
Oooh, I second Shay though on suggesting the Gorillaz. My mentor told me he though of them as more of a concept band rather than a band making concept albums, but their music is also engaging and thought-feeling-provoking.
Yeah, pretty much Floyd and Gorillaz on the iPod now.
Wil, you know theres a new Tool album “10,000 days” coming out on may 2nd.
It’ll be original as anything, as tool usually are.
This brings up memories of playing the entire “The Wall” album with you on bass and me on guitar. For a non-stoner, I do remember your fondness for the Floyd. I would try Beulah, Pinback, or Coheed and Cambria. Between the three of them, there is kind of a Pink Floyd thing going on. I still think Meddle and Momentary Lapse of Reason are top-notch efforts. I think David Gilmour is the reason I play a Strat. Are there any other bands that you listen to that are not on the national radar yet? You always see what’s coming around the corner.
Hey Wil, being a concept album junkie myself, I thought I would give you some suggestions to hunt down at a music store 😉
Ayreon – The Human Equation
:::the story of a man in a coma, and the discovery of the betrayal of his wife and best friend
Ayreon – The Final Experiment
::::humanity is dying, and sends a message to the mind of a minstrel in the past to help save ourselves
Ayreon – Into The Electric Castle
::::various characters of B movie stereotyping are transported to a mystical place, and have to find their way out
Ayreon – The Universal Migrator
::::the last human plugs himself into a computer, and relives the past, all the way back to beginning of the universe
Kamelot – Epica & The Black Halo
:::a faustian based story of fall and redemption
Queensryche – Operation:Mindcrime
:::THE classic concept album, the story of Nikki, and his fall into drugs and being used by the government and a mysterious shadow group as an assassin
Queensryche – Operation:Mindcrime II
:::18 years later, Nikki must come to terms with his past (this one comes out in a couple weeks)
Hope those are helpful and get you going 🙂
Jeff Wayne’s “War of the World” is a *must*: let me just say: “Richard Burton”! (Or am I the only one who’s that old?)
Oh, and I’d also recommend Queensryche’s “Operation: Mindcrime”.
And then there’s this from Wired today.
I remember the first time listening to Animals. My friend who owned the cassette already sold me on it by saying, “The song continues/picks up right where it left off from side on side 2.” And I was sold.
“The Wall” was daily listening for me in high school.
And thanks for reminding me I need to put these on my iPod.
I meant to type “from side 1 to side 2.” And no, I cannot type…
I got into Pink Floyd when I was working at a web development house and someone had a copy of Delicate Sound of Thunder on their desk. I really got into that album – I played it over and over for weeks.
I eventually got all of their albums, and a friend of mine who was a huge Pink Floyd fan gave me a ton of bootlegs. You’re not a Pink Floyd fan unless you have at least 5 or 6 bootleg albums.
I eventually started collecting Pink Floyd on vinyl as well as other various collectables.
I saw Roger Waters when he came out to Australia in 2002 and absolutely loved it. I’m flying to Oakland in a few weeks to see David Gilmour on the 16th and 17th.
I’ve been listening to his new album “On an Island” as well as “Atom Heart Mother” a lot of late. They were ahead of their time right up until The Wall.
I’m sad that David refused a $100m offer for the band to regroup and do another world tour. I guess he’s just over it, and is happy to do smaller solo work.
Dear Mr Wheaton, bravo for speaking out (in effect) for the replacement of the war on drugs (AKA Prohibition 2) by intelligent regulation. I am a new blogger. Is it OK to draw attention to my kxpc237chq.wordpress.com blog? See my suggested system to replace the present society-destroying mess. Cheers, Cy in Poole Bay, England
Afghan Whig – Gentlemen
From the cover art, to the raw throaty emotion, to the sorrow and pain of “I keep coming back.” That song still gives me shivers…
As a concept album, it might take a couple of listens, and the subject matter isn’t warm and fuzzy. Its about men treating women badly, and the women that love them.
Every Afghan Whigs album since then has resonated a theme, but none as strongly as Gentlemen. Damn, I gotta go listen to that again…
On the drug issue: Drugs should be a healthcare issue, not a criminal one… Thats all.
sorry, left out the s of the first Whigs reference. Must correct or Blog police will arrest me.
So, I’m new here, so this may have previously been stated, but did you know there is a guy posing as you on myspace?
Heh. I didn’t intend for this to be a “share your favorite concept album” post, but it’s sort of turned into that. Cool.
Last time I checked, the MySpace Imposor seemed like a 13 year-old girl, and it was so harmless I just let it slide. Is there something new I should know about?
Spock’s Beard – Snow
Double album about a psychic kid’s rise and fall in the religious world.
This is basically 70s retro-prog. If you can stomach the idea of Floyd with a touch of Yes and a couple cups of King Crimson, you will adore this.
These guys are (were) such great musicians and they fall through so many styles. If you don’t find something you like in here, you probably aren’t trying.
Lifted from Amazon review:
“The concept of “Snow” may have some similarities to “Tommy” and “Powder”, but whatever those similarities may be, there are also many differences too. Tommy was a victim of circumstances and his parents. He did not select his path, nor could he be aware of what was happening, giving that he was “…deaf, blind and dumb.” Powder had the potential to be Snow, but the story there was more about prejudice and understanding (or the lack thereof), than Snow’s story.
Snow exits the world at an early age (mentally), refusing to deal with the torment to which he is subjected. Eventually he wakes up and leaves home, going to New York City. There he witnesses the downside of life, the homeless, prostitutes, and drug addicts. Snow senses these people need something or someone to help them, and believes he can help them. Apparently Snow is able to provide people help, and though perhaps not quite messianic, he does get a big head. However, a girl pops his balloon and he realizes that it was his vanity that has made him believe he was any different than that boy he once was being tormented by other children. The only difference now is that people were impressed by what he could do for them, and not by whom he really was. Snow then begins “dying”, though that death is the death of ego and not a physical death. Though others have said that Snow then seeks redemption, in truth he does not. Snow merely comes to realize that the answers he sought were not in the artificial reality he had created. He realized he had to go back home and face himself and find the truths within.
While the construction of the album is such that it is not at first accessible, from a different angle Snow’s story is the story of us all. We each want to believe that we can change the world. We each want to be admired by others. We each want that special girl (or guy) to fall for us. If our dreams are realistic, if we have chosen a path that mirrors the essential us, then we have chosen well and we will be comfortable with ourselves throughout our lives. However, many others will continually seek and never find, never realizing that the answer was always within. This is the story of “Snow”.”
Wil,
You really want to start listening to Muse. Try their album, “Absolution” for an example of a Really Damn Good contemporary concept album – again, it’s almost but not quite a rock opera, like some of the middle-years Floyd stuff. At the very least, bag the song Butterflies and Hurricanes – as serious as a heart attack, as potent as a kick in the nuts. I’ve been a Floydie since gh0d knows when… Muse brought back a bit of what Floyd were.
Anyway. G’luck with the thing with the thing.
Wil –
Wouldn’t the Flaming Lips fall into the whole “Concept” album genre? You were the one who turned me on to them – and “Yoshimi” is a great album. I’m hoping the new one – out this week I believe – is just as good.
–*Rob
I’d echo everyone else’s reccomendations of Operation Mindcrime. A few other concept albums I like – Shadow Gallery – Tyranny and Nevermore – Dreaming Neon Black. Good stuff.
You might want to check out The Mars Volta. So far, both of their albums have been concept-oriented. They’re one of the two parts of the At The Drive-In schism, which occurred at least partly because they wanted their next album “to sound like Pink Floyd’s Piper at the Gates of Dawn”. It’s way more inaccessible than any of Floyd’s work (it’s kind of prog-punk-salsa thing), but totally worth a listen, and, I think, the closest you’re going to come to what you’re looking for these days.
You might also check out And You Will Know Them By The Trail Of Dead. They’re more rock-oriented, and their latest album, Worlds Apart, is pretty conceptual.
Great post, Wil.
Like you, I have fond memories of listening to The Floyd (as a friend of mine and I always called them) while sitting at my desk in my First Real Job Out Of College at the U.S. Senate…working late at night with the Walkman churning until the batteries punked out. Ah, it’s 1991 all over again.
I prefer the “Wet Floyd” (with Waters) to the Gilmour-led (Dry) period, for pretty much the same reasons you outline. If you like writing and lyrics, Waters resonates. Plus, he just sounds so pained and pissed half the time that you feel all world weary along with him. Even at 22.
Who’s the modern Pink Floyd? No one. Don’t buy into the Queensryche crap (Operation Mindcrime is on a par with Styx’s “Kilroy Was Here” when it comes to concept albums.) I have no recommendations for you — like you, I’m waiting to see who’ll step into the Floyd Void.
Hang in there, my good man.
Pub
I’m a bit older so I listened to these on vinyl (and audio tape “rips” in my Walkman), so I can one up your “kids, in my day” references….
Here’s the coolest one though – I had a vinyl bootleg of some live peformances from before Animals released. Turns out Pink Floyd liked to work out songs on the road before entering the studio. Naturally these were very rough, but strangely I found these versions to be compelling in their own right. Raw, heavy, dark, uncompromising. None of the studio smoothing that made the album a joy to listen to. But maybe a little closer to the bone.
In LA, there is a used record/CD shop on the 3rd street Promenade in Santa Monica that used to have similar bootleg CDs. Might be worth seeking out if you love the album as much as you do.