Rarebird's Rock and Roll Nest

Brian Wilson, the brilliant but troubled co-founder of the Beach Boys, passed away on June 11, 2025, at the age of 82. During the 1960's heyday of the Beach Boys, Brian was the main creative force behind the legendary California rock band, which he co-founded with his brothers Dennis and Carl, his cousin Mike Love, and his high school friend Alan Jardine. The 1966 Beach Boys album Pet Sounds , a baroque pop masterpiece which was masterminded by Brian, is now widely considered to be one of the greatest albums ever recorded. Unfortunately, Brian was also known for his struggles with mental illness and other personal troubles ever since the 1960's. Another legend associated with Brian's name is the unfinished Beach Boys album Smile , which was intended to be the 1967 magnum opus follow-up to Pet Sounds , but was scrapped long before completion. Decades later, Wilson would eventually "finish" Smile as a solo album in 2004. Another unreleased Brian Wilson album whic...

The 63rd set of exclusive vinyl items offered to members of Third Man Records’ Vault service was mailed out to the members in the spring of 2025. For those who are unaware, Third Man Records is the label owned by Jack White, who was the leader of the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, and the Dead Weather, and is now a solo artist. The Vault service promises to deliver exclusive vinyl-only records (usually one full-length album and one 7” single) to its members every three months. The 63rd Vault package featured a 20th-anniversary companion set to the White Stripes' 2005 studio album Get Behind Me Satan , made up of two vinyl LP's and one 7-inch single, containing demos, alternate studio takes, and live recordings from the era of the album's release. One of the LP's was pressed in red vinyl, the other was pressed in white, and the 7-inch was pressed in black. The package also contained a Blu-ray disc, and a 24-page booklet with related photos and other visual content fro...

Robert Hunter, who died in 2019 at the age of 78, was best known as the lyricist for the Grateful Dead, though he was never a member of that band. Hunter -- not to be confused with a recent contestant on The Voice with the same name -- recorded several of his own albums between 1974 and 1993. Tiger Rose was his second, released in 1975. Tiger Rose was produced by Jerry Garcia, and is the most noticeably Grateful Dead-like of Hunter's albums. Garcia also played guitar and synthesizers, and two other members of the Dead also participated: percussionist Mickey Hart, and background singer Donna Godchaux. (The drums were credited to "B.D. Shot", a pseudonym for Hart). Other supporting players included two members of Jefferson Starship (David Freiberg and Pete Sears), as well as bassist David Torbert from New Riders of the Purple Sage, and mandolinist David "Dawg" Grisman. In March 2025, Rhino Records issued a 2-CD Deluxe Edition of Tiger Rose , marking the 50th ...

For Record Store Day 2025, an album of rough mixes from the Doors' 1967 sophomore album Strange Days was issued as a translucent blue vinyl LP, limited to 7,500 copies. Strange Days 1967: A Work In Progress contains unfinished -- though apparently almost finished -- mixes of six of that album's 10 songs, along with "We Could Be So Good Together" from Waiting For The Sun , which was the band's third album. These early 1967 mixes were (reportedly) just recently uncovered after 58 years by Bruce Botnick, who was the engineer on the album. How much difference is there between these mixes and the mixes on the final album(s)? Not much. They are mainly just missing the final overdubs, making them sound like they needed just one more layer of polish before becoming the familiar finished versions. The title track is the one that sounds the most different to my ears, as it is without some of the echo effects added to Jim Morrison's vocals on the album version. Othe...

On Record Store Day 2025, the Sundazed label issued a green vinyl LP edition (limited to 1,100 copies) of a 1968 album by Eden's Children, a short-lived psychedelic rock band from Chicago. According to Sundazed, this was the first official reissue of the band's self-titled debut album. Although this reissue (Sundazed LP 5688) served as an exclusive Record Store Day release, the official RSD website states that it is an "RSD First" release, meaning that it "may be released to other retailers or webstores at some point in the future". I would say that scenario is very likely, because I would be surprised if Sundazed dug up this long-buried psych gem only for RSD purposes. Eden's Children was a power trio consisting of singer/guitarist Richard "Sham" Schamach, bassist Larry Kiely, and drummer Jimmy Sturman. The brand of psychedelic rock they played on the self-titled Eden's Children album is fascinating, showing an impressive degree of ener...

For Record Store Day 2025, Post Malone is issuing a limited edition LP containing 14 tracks recorded during an April 2020 livestream , during which the rapper/singer (who is the official RSD Ambassador for 2025) paid tribute to Nirvana by performing many of their songs from his home. The LP Post Malone Tribute To Nirvana is pressed in yellow vinyl, and limited to 17,000 copies. The live set was originally streamed during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, to raise money for the World Health Organization’s Solidarity Response Fund. For this vinyl release, 100% of the net proceeds from sales of this LP will be donated to the Addiction Recovery/Mental Health division of MusiCares, a charity that provides support to musicians through financial assistance and health and wellness services. During this set, the tattoo-faced Malone (real name: Austin Richard Post) was supported by Blink-182’s Travis Barker on drums, guitarist Nick Mac, and bassist Brian Lee. I realize that Malone has a penchan...

Joey Molland died on March 1, 2025. The English guitarist and songwriter was the last surviving member of the classic lineup of Badfinger, the '70's power pop band who were the one of the first acts signed to the Beatles' Apple Records label. Molland died at age 77 from complications of diabetes. Molland's very first recording was made with a band called Gary Walker & The Rain, whose one and only album, titled Album No. 1 , was released only in Japan in 1968, and was unavailable elsewhere for decades. Album No. 1 was eventually released on CD in the U.S. (on Distortions Records, cat. no. DR 1011) in 1993, 25 years after it was recorded. Band leader Gary Walker was also known as Gary Leeds, who had previously been the drummer for the Standells (before their "Dirty Water" days) and the Walker Brothers (a trio of unrelated Americans who were popular in the U.K.). The Rain was rounded out by British singer/rhythm guitarist Paul Crane (aka Charlie Crane of t...

David Johansen died on February 28, 2025 after a long battle with cancer and other health troubles. Johansen was the last surviving original member of the New York Dolls, the early-'70's glam rock quintet who came to be recognized as one of the earliest punk rock bands. After that band called it quits in 1976, lead singer Johansen began a solo career that aimed closer to rock's mainstream, but with little success. Johansen finally hit it big in the late-'80's under the name Buster Poindexter, his kitschy pompadour-topped lounge-singer alter ego, who became famous for the party song "Hot Hot Hot". Johansen's fifth solo album, Sweet Revenge from 1984, is currently unavailable. This was the last album he released before he adopted the Buster Poindexter persona. (One of the songs, "Big Trouble", is about a womanizing bad guy named Buster, but it's hard to say if it refers to Johansen's soon-to-be-alter-ego). This album is heavy on synt...

For Record Store Day Black Friday in 2024, Garbage issued a vinyl LP titled Copy/Paste , pressed in magenta-colored vinyl and limited to 1,300 copies. The album collected 10 cover songs recorded by the Shirley Manson-fronted alternative band over the course of their 30-year history, nine of which were previously released. An abridged version of the album was made available digitally, featuring six of the ten tracks (marked with an asterisk in the track listing below). The other four tracks can be found digitally as bonus tracks on the Deluxe Editions of the band's first four studio albums. The album begins with a cover of David Bowie's classic "Starman", a song for which Garbage's futuristic sound is well matched; the result has a convincingly cosmic aura. The band's futuristic ethos was equally appropriate for their cover of U2's "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", one of the songs which helped to redefine U2 as a futuristic band in 1991;...

For Record Store Day 2025, a live EP recorded by Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos is being issued on vinyl, in a 1,300-copy limited edition. Live 3.10.22 was recorded on the titular date at the 6th annual Love Rocks NYC benefit concert. The 3-song, 12-inch EP is pressed in red vinyl, with an etching on the second side. This short-but-sweet concert set took place at New York's Beacon Theater, at a concert to benefit God's Love We Deliver, an organization which cooks and delivers meals to sick people in New York City. This concert reunited the legendary Rolling Stones guitarist with the backing band who supported him on his solo albums Talk Is Cheap (1988) and Main Offender (1992), as well as on the respective tours to support those albums. The X-Pensive Winos lineup for this set featured guitarist Waddy Wachtel, Ivan Neville on keyboards, Steve Jordan on drums, and bassist Will Lee (replacing the unavailable Charley Drayton). This appearance was billed as their first ...

The 62nd set of exclusive vinyl items offered to members of Third Man Records’ Vault service was mailed out to the members in December of 2024. For those who are unaware, Third Man Records is the label owned by Jack White, who was the leader of the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, and the Dead Weather, and is now a solo artist. The Vault service promises to deliver exclusive vinyl-only records (usually one full-length album and one 7” single) to its members every three months. The 62nd Vault package featured a new vinyl edition of Raw Power , the raw and powerful 1973 pre-punk record by Iggy (Pop) and the Stooges. This edition utilized the 1973 David Bowie mixes of the album's eight tracks, as opposed to the 1997 mixes by Iggy Pop. But instead of being pressed on an LP, the eight tracks were pressed on four 7-inch colored-vinyl singles, packaged in a splendid silver-foil slipcase. The package also contained two additional 7-inch discs containing five outtakes from the Raw Power s...

In 1977, the jazz-rock collective known as Blood, Sweat and Tears released an album titled Brand New Day , which was their only release on the soon-to-be-defunct ABC Records. At this point in time, the band's nine-member lineup did not include one single member of the original Al Kooper-led octet which recorded the band's 1968 debut album Child Is Father to the Man . However, original percussionist Bobby Colomby is credited with playing on Brand New Day , and Colomby co-produced the album with Roy Halee. (The two men were also co-producers of the 1971 album BS&T; 4 ). But this album did feature David Clayton-Thomas, the robust lead vocalist who sang on the band's second-through-fourth albums, and who helped to propel Blood, Sweat and Tears to chart-topping and Grammy-winning success from 1969 until 1971. Clayton-Thomas was given star billing on the front cover of Brand New Day . He had left the band in early 1972, and the band's popularity quickly faded during his a...

2024 was the fourth year in a row in which Pink Floyd temporarily released numerous 50-year-old concert recordings on streaming services, for the purpose of extending their copyright ownership of the material. The previous two times, the concerts were only available on the streaming services for a matter of weeks. This time, they were apparently gone in a matter of days! In most cases, these recordings were sourced from fan-made bootlegs, and have varying sound quality, some of them very poor. These stealth-released live recordings were really not meant to actually be heard by the fans, and in this latest case, the fans missed the streams if they sneezed, let alone snoozed. I myself was not aware of this latest Floyd "copyright dump" until the recordings had already come and gone from the streaming services. According to information I was able to glean from the web, these recordings appeared on streaming services on or around December 6th, and disappeared around December 13...