Sunday, February 28, 2010

W.O.C.K On Vinyl - Gilligan's Island (The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle - A Parody)

(US 1964-67)
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Before things get too serious at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song at the end of each month, that could be considered to be either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.....
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Gilligan's Island was an American television situation comedy originally produced by United Artists Television. It aired for three seasons on the CBS network, from September 26, 1964, to September 4, 1967. It was originally sponsored by Philip Morris & Company and Procter & Gamble. The show followed the comic adventures of seven castaways as they attempted to survive and ultimately escape from a previously uninhabited island where they were shipwrecked. Gilligan's Island ran for a total of 98 episodes. The first season (consisting of 36 episodes) was filmed in black-and-white, though colorized in later syndication. However, the next two seasons (62 episodes) and three television movie sequels were filmed in color.
Enjoying solid ratings during its original run, the show grew in popularity during decades of syndication. Today, the title character of Gilligan is widely recognized as an American cultural icon.
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The two-man crew of the charter boat S. S. Minnow and five passengers on a "three-hour tour" run into a tropical storm and are shipwrecked on an uncharted, uninhabited island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The episode "The Pigeon" places the island approximately 300 miles (480 km) southeast of Hawaii, while the episode "X Marks the Spot" gives a location near 140° longitude, 10° latitude, which puts it about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) to the southeast. In the episode "Big Man On a Little Stick," however, the Professor gives the position as "approximately 110° longitude and 10° latitude". It should be noted though that wherever it's location was, the island was close enough to Hawaii to clearly pick up Hawaiian AM radio transmissions on their old portable receiver. Executive producer Sherwood Schwartz believed in avoiding exposition, and so he composed the sea shanty-style theme song, "The Ballad of Gilligan's Isle," as a capsule summary of the castaways' predicament.
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This was done so that first-time viewers would instantly understand the premise (studio executives were reportedly afraid that viewers would be confused about the show's concept without some form of explanation). He took the same approach with the themes to The Brady Bunch and It's About Time.
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The rip of The Ballad Of Gilligan's Island included here is not the original, but rather a 'tongue in cheek take-off' of the 'Gilligan's Island Ballad' and parody based on the theme music to 'Titanic'. This spoof mix was undoubtedly made at the time when the movie 'Titanic' was popular, by a fan of Gilligan's Island (found somewhere on the web many years ago).
It's quite funny to hear for the first time and is a must for all fans of Gilligan Island. So, I therefore present to you another 'Weird' posting from WOCK on Vinyl.
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Gilligan's Island Ballad Link (2Mb) REPOST
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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Ariel - Live At The Station Hotel, Prahran (1975)

(Australian 1973-1977)
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The original lineup of Ariel was a genuine 'supergroup', combining key members from two of Australia's leading progressive bands of the period: Rudd, Putt and Mills hailed from Melbourne's legendary Spectrum, Gaze and Macara from Spectrum's esteemed Sydney peers Tamam Shud. Lead guitarist Tim Gaze, regarded as one of the hottest players on the scene, had also joined Shud at just 16 and by the time he joined Ariel he had also been a member of Kahvas Jute, and played on their only album, the brilliant Wide Open.
Like its predecessor, Ariel was primarily a vehicle for the talents and vision of singer, songwriter and guitarist Mike Rudd, and his longtime bass-player and musical partner, Bill Putt. Like Spectrum, the band began strongly, but lineup changes, record company problems and the changing nature of music in the mid-70s meant that they never achieved the level of success they deserved, and Ariel proved to be Mike Rudd's last really high-profile outfit, although he remains one of the most respected figures in the music scene.
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Ariel formed in mid-1973, after the breakup of Spectrum. When Spectrum drummer Ray Arnott announced he was leaving to join Ross Wilson's new band Mighty Kong, Putt and Rudd commendably decided to end the band rather than try to recruit a new member, feeling that it wouldn't be possible to recreate the special spirit of that group. Within a few months of Spectrums's farewell performance their new band (whose name was taken from the character in Shakespeare's "The Tempest") was up and running. Ironically, the two new members, Tim and Nigel, had originally come to Melbourne to work with Ross Wilson and Ross Hannaford on their new project (which became Mighty Kong) and it was after they departed that Wilson asked Ray Arnott to join, thus precipitating the split of Spectrum!
The band released three studio albums and two live albums between 1973 and 1977, during which there were several line-up changes, with Rudd and Putt the only permanent members. Other members of Ariel included guitarists Harvey James and Glyn Mason and keyboard player Tony Slavich.
Their debut album A Strange Fantastic Dream, produced by Peter Dawkins was released in December 1973 and reached #16 in the Australian music charts. It included their most successful single "Jamaican Farewell", which peaked at #34, and the darkly satirical "Confessions of a Psychopathic Cowpoke". Ariel left for the UK on 12 October 1974 for the recording and some gigging, hoping to capitalise on the momentum, including favourable UK reviews of "Jamaican Farewell". After the 30-hour flight to London they were greeted by manager Phil Jacobsen, who announced "There's been a change of schedule. We start today."
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They immediately began eleven days of recording at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios with engineer Tony Clark, who was impressed with "the speed and efficiency" with which the Aussies worked. It was mixed by the great Geoff Emerick, engineer on most of the later Beatles Albums and Singles. The tracks they recorded there became their next LP Rock'n'Roll Scars.
Although Mike somehow found time to dash off three new (excellent) songs, the rejection of the Mutant project forced him to fall back on earlier material from his days in Spectrum/Murtceps. These songs, rearranged for the two guitars, formed the bulk of the album. They included new versions of "I'll Be Gone", "Launching Place", "We are Indelible", "What the World Needs (Is A New Pair Of Socks)", and a superb reworking of the Murtceps' "Some Good Advice", which showed the skills of Harvey James to the full. The album also included a new version of "Red Hot Momma", which had been cut by Ariel Mk I but was only released as the B-side of Jamaican Farewell. The cover photo features a subtitle, "Before The Mutant" -- evidently an ironic reference to this album's abortive predecessor. One of the three new tracks from the album, "Keep on Dancing (With Me)" was issued as a single in March '75, but it didn't make the charts.

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Ariel left for the UK on 12 October 1974 for the recording and some gigging, hoping to capitalise on the momentum, including favourable UK reviews of "Jamaican Farewell". After the 30-hour flight to London they were greeted by manager Phil Jacobsen, who announced "There's been a change of schedule. We start today." They immediately began eleven days of recording at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios with engineer Tony Clark, who was impressed with "the speed and efficiency" with which the Aussies worked. It was mixed by the great Geoff Emerick, engineer on most of the later Beatles Albums and Singles. The tracks they recorded there became their next LP Rock'n'Roll Scars.
Although Mike somehow found time to dash off three new (excellent) songs, the rejection of the Mutant project forced him to fall back on earlier material from his days in Spectrum/Murtceps. These songs, rearranged for the two guitars, formed the bulk of the album. They included new versions of "I'll Be Gone", "Launching Place", "We are Indelible", "What the World Needs (Is A New Pair Of Socks)", and a superb reworking of the Murtceps' "Some Good Advice", which showed the skills of Harvey James to the full. The album also included a new version of "Red Hot Momma", which had been cut by Ariel Mk I but was only released as the B-side of Jamaican Farewell. The cover photo features a subtitle, "Before The Mutant" -- evidently an ironic reference to this album's abortive predecessor. One of the three new tracks from the album, "Keep on Dancing (With Me)" was issued as a single in March '75, but it didn't make the charts.

Ariel returned to Australia in January 1975 and the same month they added New Zealand-born Glyn Mason on guitar and vocals as fifth member. Glyn's previous credits included Chain, Copperwine and even a stint with Thunderclap Newman. His powerful, soulful voice was a great addition to the band, and the three guitar lineup packed a real punch, but unfortunately this terrific lineup was woefully under-recorded. Happily though, a high-quality live recording of this lineup has recently come to light, and it's a priceless historical document for several reasons.
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Made at the Station Hotel, Prahran on 11 November, 1975 -- the night of the dismissal of the Whitlam government -- the tape includes a live rendition of a suite of songs from The Jellabad Mutant, and it showcases what a polished and dynamic live outfit Ariel Mk III really was.
As reviewed by Micko at Midoztouch "What a gig this one is. It's a mega rare chance to hear Ariel's 3 guitar lineup of Mike Rudd, Glyn Mason who had just joined and Harvey James who was about to leave and join Sherbet. The only official recorded product from this particular version of the band was the excellent single "I'll Take You High". Glyn's vocals are right up in the mix with Mike's and they make a great contrasting pair, though on this occasion Glyn takes no leads and none of the songs are his. Both Glyn's lead vocals and his songs would of course appear on Ariel's next album - Goodnight Fiona.
Playing a mixture of both Ariel and Spectrum/Murtceps faves here, the band is really on fire, with several hot solos by the underrated Harvey. Mike also previews tracks from the now legendary unreleased album 'Jellabad Mutant', which didn't see the light of day until recently when Mike made it available through his website. "
Other contributors from Midoztouch have added - "The recording was done by the FOH sound engineer, Mike Wickow, direct through the mixing desk , who went on to mixing for LRB and John Farnham... amongst many others. It was one of the first nights for the new lighting trog, Ian (Piggy) Peel, after he left Redhouse Roll Band" [Grundrat] and "It was actually a mono sound board mix combined with ambient stereo room mics onto 4 track analog tape. It was recorded, produced engineered & mixed by Paul Culnane, the brains behind milesago.He remastered it to CD in 2000 from the original stereo masters. The actual CD is called "Looking Forward to Hearing Back" as suggested by Mike Rudd. The song "Real Meanie" is also available (and included in this posting) but didn't fit on the 1st cd which ran for 78mins" [Bazza]
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Ariel continued gigging into 1976, but their progress was disrupted in March by the departure of Harvey James, who was subsequently chosen to replace guitarist Clive Shakespeare in Sherbet. Opting for keyboards instead of guitar this time, they replaced Harvey with Tony Slavich (ex-Richard Clapton Band) on keyboards and vocals. No doubt facilitated by Mike's friendship with Dawkins Ariel changed labels to CBS and their third LP Goodnight Fiona, again produced by Dawkins, was released in August. After the expiration of their EMI contract the group signed with CBS Records for their third LP Goodnight Fiona (1976) and their only other charting single, the non-album track I'll take you high which reached #36 in January 1976.
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By early 1977 the band realised they had taken Ariel as far as it could go. The breakup was announced in July 1977. Their final gig was a lavish affair with an 'island fantasy' theme, held at Melbourne's Dallas Brooks Hall on 31 August 1977; it was recorded live and later released over two LPs: Aloha Ariel and Live - More From Before. A farewell single, "It's Only Love", was released to coincide with the concert. The live LPs were later combined and reissued as the 2LP set Ariel Live In Concert. [ extracts from Wikipedia and Milesago.com].
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The rip included here was taken from tape at 320kps and includes album artwork (thanks to Micko from Midoztouch for providing these). The missing track "Real Meanie" is also included as a bonus track (thanks to Bazza at Midoztouch). The last three photos are recent shots taken at Ariel reunion concerts and were sourced from Mike and Bill's Website.
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Track Listing
01. Train Song
02. What The World Needs Now Is A New Pair Of Socks
03. We Are Indelible
04. Keep On Dancing
05. I Can't Say What I Mean
06. Confessions Of A Psychopathic Cowpoke
07. Caught In The Middle Again
08. Jellabad Mutant Suite: Neo-Existentialist Greens/Medicine Man/The Letter Song/Use Your Imagination
09. (I Am) The Laughing Man (For Leo)
10. Rock & Roll Scars
11. I'll Take You High
12. Red Hot Mama
13. Some Good Advice
14. I'll Be Gone
15. Real Meanie (Bonus Missing Track)
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Band Members:
Mike Rudd (Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals)
Bill Putt (Bass)
Harvey James (Guitar)
Glyn Mason (Guitar, Vocals)
John Lee (Drums)
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Ariel Link (192Mb) REPOST
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Monday, February 22, 2010

Jimi Hendrix with Love & Stephen Stills - The Blue Thumb Acetate (1969-70)

(US 1969-1970)
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An acetate of Jimi at a 1970 session with Love, surfaced recently on Ebay (July 2009. Ending price: US $2,025) and is now in circulation among collectors.
The session took place at Olympic Studios in London (March 17th, 1970). The first track is an early mix of the track that opened the Love album "False Start". Jimi puts in some vocals on the two brief and raggedy takes of "Ezy Ryder". Finally there is a nice ten minute jam with all concerned where Jimi exchanges solos and riffs with Gary Rowles.
Invited by Love's Arthur Lee to contribute to his band's album, Hendrix returned to Olympic Studios, the recording facility where he had recorded Are You Experienced and Axis: Bold As Love. Hendrix and percussionist Remi Kabaka joined Love in recording "The Everlasting First", which came out in December of 1970 as part of Love's False Start. The three musicians recorded sixteen takes of before a basic track met Lee's approval. Two clean, complete takes of Hendrix's own "Ezy Rider" followed next. Hendrix then took part in an extended instrumental jam session before departing.
Engineers: Keith Harwood, Jeremy Gee
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Love is:

Arthur Lee - lead vocals / rhythm guitar
Gary Rowles - lead guitar
Frank Fayad - bass
George Suranovich - drums
with:
Jimi Hendrix - vocals / guitar
Remi Kabaka - percussion, drums on Loon
Lasisi Amao - percussionist and conga player on Loon
* There's some conflicting info regarding who played drums on which of these tracks; According to Gary Rowles, George Suranovich played drums on all tracks except "Loon", but according to Remi Kabaka, Suranovich only played drums on the 2 takes of "Ezy Rider", while he himself played drums on the other tracks, including the officially released version of "The Everlasting First".
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There were 16 takes recorded of The Everlasting First, 2 takes recorded of Easy Rider and 1 take of Loon (an instrumental jam)
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1 The Everlasting First - take 16
2 Easy Rider - take 1
3 Easy Rider - take 2
4 Loon
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The Everlasting First written by Arthur LeeThe Everlasting First arranged by Jimi Hendrix and Arthur LeeEasy Rider written by Jimi Hendrix.
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For more details about these recordings, visit love.torbenskott.dk
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Also included on this Bootleg are recordings that Jimi Hendrix made with Stephen Stills.
When Hendrix was forming his trio The Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1966, his manager Chas Chandler reputedly contacted Stills’ manager to invite Stills to become the group’s bass player. But Stills’ manager was concerned that Stills’ friendship with Hendrix, and his admiration for Hendrix’s genius, might prompt him to take the job rather than continue with Buffalo Springfield. So he didn’t pass the message on. Within a year, though, both Stills and Hendrix were superstars in their own right. They continued to socialise and jam together informally until Hendrix’s untimely death in 1970.
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A truly historic recording, "Old Times, Good Times" brought together the talents of both Stephen Stills and Jimi Hendrix, both at the height of their careers. Loosely based on the Spencer Davis Group's "I'm a Man," the modified, minor-ninth chord melody works well in contrast to the spiraling chorus turnaround, which allows Hendrix and Stills to trade leads on guitar and organ, respectively. The lyrics are a pure and effective autobiographical statement, where Stills traces his musical progression from his childhood in the South to New York and finally California.
John McDermott, one of the archivists and overseers of Jimi Hendrix's recordings, has confirmed that an album of tracks featuring Stephen Stills and Hendrix is being readied for release.
McDermott confirmed to MusicRadar: "Stephen has been working with Experience Hendrix to compile an album's worth of sessions recorded with Jimi Hendrix during 1969 and 1970." McDermott says he is acting as a co-producer on the collection, but no further details are being released yet.
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Previous sessions involving the two guitarists have emerged before – notably the Stills' Basement bootlegs - but the authenticity of some of those tracks has been questioned. One track featuring Hendrix on guitar, from 1970 - Old Times, Good Times – appeared on Stills' self-titled debut album of the same year, but it seems there is much more.
The most controversial track the two recorded together is called White Nigger (included here as a Bonus Track) – many versions of this song (originally recorded with Stills singing and Hendrix on guitar) have surfaced before, but there is dispute as to whether these existing bootlegs actually feature Hendrix or are later versions recorded by Stills in 1973 with a different guitarist.
A source close to the project told MusicRadar: "We have tapes in our archive - Jimi on guitar and bass - plus Stephen had some from his 1970 solo album that he wanted to finish, fix and mix. From a musical point of view, it's definitely Stephen with Jimi helping - as opposed to a joint collaboration. But it is still a very nice project."
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Jimi jams on bass on the 18 minute "Live And Let Live" (in fact a jam around Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock", with Steve Stills and John Sebastien on guitar and Buddy Miles on drums)
This jam session was organised and produced by Alan Douglas.
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"Live And Let Live" Sessions, Record Plant, New York City, NY 30.09.69:
"Jam 1"; 4:37
"Jam 2"; 5:32 "
"Jam 3"; 8:04
"Woodstock" (1) [Instrumental rehearsal]; 3:42
"Woodstock" (2) [vocal rehearsal]; 2:53
"Woodstock" (3) [Take 1]; 5:26
- "Live And Let Live" Sessions; Tracks 7-9: Buddy Miles: drums / Duane
Hitchings: organ (mixed out) / John B.Sebastian?: guitar / Jimi Hendrix?:
bass (track 9) / Stephen Stills: guitar
- "Live And Let Live" Sessions; Tracks 10-12: Buddy Miles: drums / Jimi
Hendrix: bass / Stephen Stills: vocals & o
rgan
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I particular like this Bootleg as it contains some of the best Jam sessions that Hendrix put together with other artists and the sound quality is excellent. The rip provided here was taken from Vinyl at 160kps but don't be put off - the quality is still excellent. Full album artwork is provide - for both the original Blue Thumb Release with Love and a the later release with additional tracks featuring Stephen Stills included.
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Track Listing
01 The Everlasting First
02 Ezy Ryder - take 1
03 Ezy Ryder - take 2
04 Loon
05 The Everlasting First (final version)
06 Old Times Good Times
07 Jam 1
08 Jam 2
09 Jam 3
10 Woodstock 1
11 Woodstock 2
12 Woodstock 3
13 White Nigger (Bonus track)


Thumb Blue Acetate Link (Mediafire - 89Mb) New Link 5/01/2014
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Thursday, February 4, 2010

Extreme - III Sides To Every Story (1992)

(US 1985-96, 2006-Present)
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Extreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Among some of Extreme's musical influences are Queen and Van Halen. (Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt joined Queen onstage at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992 and Gary Cherone joined Van Halen in 1996) The band have described their music as "Funky Metal". They have released five studio albums, two EPs (in Japan) and two compilation albums since their formation. The band was one of the most successful rock acts of the early 1990s, selling over 10 million albums worldwide.
Extreme achieved their greatest success with their 1990 album Pornograffitti, which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold in May 1991 and 2×platinum in October 1992. That album featured the acoustic ballad single "More Than Words", which reached #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 in the United States.
The subsequent single, "Hole Hearted," another acoustic track, was also successful, rising to Number 4 on the same popular music chart. The band began recording their third album in 1992. Their appearance at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in April 1992 interrupted the recording sessions, but it gave the band considerable exposure beyond the heavy metal fraternity. III Sides to Every Story was released on September 22, 1992. [extract from wikipedia]
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Their most ambitious work, it is structured as a concept album in three sections labeled as "sides" — a play on the notion of "different sides to a story" and that of "sides" of an album (in LP and cassette media). The sides, mentioned in the song Cupid's Dead as "three sides to every story" are named "Yours", "Mine" and "The Truth", and each features a distinct musical style and lyrical imagery. The band considers it to be their best album.
Yours is made of hard rock songs, the guitar-centric style the band has explored the most on their previous albums. Their funk-metal tendencies are present in tracks such as "Cupid's Dead", which also features a rap section performed by guest John Preziosa Jr. As a whole, this side deals with political subjects: war ("Warheads"), peace ("Rest In Peace"), government ("Politicalamity"), racism ("Color Me Blind"), media ("Cupid's Dead"). Summing up these matters, the side closes with "Peacemaker Die", a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., which features a recording of his famous I Have A Dream speech.
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Mine, in total contrast, deals with introspective subjects. In accordance, the band departs from its guitar sound and experiments with different arrangements on this side, with Nuno Bettencourt taking on keyboards in addition to (and in some tracks, instead of) the guitar. The side opener "Seven Sundays" is a slow waltz with prominent keyboards and no guitars. "Tragic Comic" is a mostly acoustic track telling a light-hearted love story. "Our Father" is sung from the perspective of a child of an absent father. At "Stop The World", the album starts to dive into more philosophical questions, expressing existential doubts — a theme that leads to religion, with "God Isn't Dead?" (written with the verb form as an affirmation but with a question mark — the chorus says "Please tell me God isn't dead... I want to know") and "Don't Leave Me Alone", a dramatic plea. The latter was not included in the CD version due to lack of space; Nuno Bettencourt recalls leaving it out "was like cutting off my arm". Despite not being bound by the limitations of the CD format, the version of the album downloadable from iTunes also omits "Don't Leave Me Alone".
Finally, The Truth consists of a three-part opus, titled "Everything Under The Sun", ending the three-part album. This side nods to progressive rock not only in format but also in musical style, with changes in time signature and an intricate arrangement, featuring a 70-piece orchestra. Lyrically, the spiritual theme set up in the end of "Mine" is further developed and Christian imagery is very present. However, no final single "truth" is given — instead, the album builds up to a grand finale where the listener is left with a question: "Who Cares?".
Despite being considered Extreme's finest work by the band, most of their fans, and music critics, III Sides To Every Story was a commercial failure (only selling about 700,000 copies, compared to the double platinum Pornograffitti), since it did not feature a hit single such as "More Than Words", from its predecessor Pornograffitti (although the single "Rest in Peace" reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart, a feat which "More Than Words" did not accomplish). Also, the particular brand of hard rock that Extreme was known for was falling out of favor with the rise of the grunge movement around that time.
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Most of III Sides was recorded at New River Studios, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and the orchestral parts were recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London. The use of Abbey Road may be perceived as yet another nod to the Beatles, besides the various lyrical references throughout the album: "Cupid's Dead" quotes a line from "A Day in the Life"; "God Isn't Dead?" quotes "Eleanor Rigby"; and "Rest in Peace" quotes John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance". Pat Badger also used Paul McCartney's typical Hofner bass in the video for "Tragic Comic".
It was the last album with the band's original line-up: Gary Cherone, Nuno Bettencourt, Pat Badger and Paul Geary. Geary would later leave, to be replaced by Mike Mangini.
The seemingly strange use of roman numerals in the title is intended to denote "III Sides" as the band's third album and to continue the theme from their previous album, the full title of which was Extreme II: Pornograffitti.
The rip included here was taken from CD at 320kps and includes full album artwork.
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On some CD editions of "III Sides To Every Story", the tracks comprising the "Everything Under The Sun" are indexed and played as one track, whereas on others they are indexed separately (ie. no break in the music between tracks). The version included here has the 3 parts separated.
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Track Listing
"Yours"
01. Warheads
02. Rest in Peace
03. Politicalamity
04. Color Me Blind
05. Cupid's Dead
06. Peacemaker Die
"Mine"
07. Seven Sundays
08. Tragic Comic
09. Our Father
10. Stop the World
11. God Isn't Dead?
"The Truth"
(Everything Under The Sun)
12. Part 1 - Rise 'N Shine
13. Part 2 - Am I Ever Gonna Change
14. Part 3 - Who Cares?

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Band Members:
Gary Cherone (Lead Vocals)
Nuno Bettencourt (Lead Guitar, Vocals)
Pat Badger (Bass, Vocals)
Paul Geary (Drums)
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Extreme Link (146Mb) New Link 30/08/2020
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