MIDNIGHT OIL

I recently saw another blog post the classic Midnight Oil album Red Sails in the Sunset. That reminded me that I have a demo of a vocal version of their song "Bakerman" laying around that I hadn't posted here. While I'm upping that, I may as well put a few more goodies up and make a full post of it.

Now, I'm pretty sure everyone who drops by my blog is already aware of Australia's Midnight Oil. Who among you hasn't heard "Beds Are Burning"?

They officially broke up a few years back, when lead singer Peter Garrett went into politics full time. They have re-formed a couple of times since then, to perform at benefit shows.

Here's some tracks that aren't available on their albums. The sound quality on some of these isn't top notch, as most are from bootlegs.

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Midnight Oil - "Bakerman" (demo with vocals) The one that started me on the way to this post. The very different instrumental version is on Red Sails in the Sunset.
Midnight Oil - "Know Your Product" (live The Saints cover) Covering another legendary Australian band. This is a bootleg recording from a concert in 1990.
Midnight Oil - "Kiss That Girl" A bonus track on some versions of their final album, Capricornia.
Midnight Oil - "Khartoum" (demo) An unreleased song from a Postcard-era demo tape.
Midnight Oil - "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (Eric Bogle cover) This is from a WXRT radio session. Though it was written by Eric Bogle, many people know it better through The Pogues version.
Midnight Oil - "Parking Station Blues" (demo) Another unreleased song. This one is from the Red Sails-era demos.
Midnight Oil - "Tell Me the Truth" (acoustic version) From the AlternativeNRG compilation of music recorded with solar power. A mellow version of the rocker from Earth and Sun and Moon.

Buy some of their tunes:

Midnight Oil, 1978
Head Injuries, 1979 (buy)
Bird Noises, 1980 (ep)
Place Without a Postcard, 1981
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1982 (buy import)
Red Sail in the Sunset, 1984 (buy import)
Species Deceases, 1985 (buy) (ep)
Diesel and Dust, 1987 (buy) (buy remaster)
Blue Sky Mining, 1990 (buy)
Scream in Blue, 1992 (buy) (live)
Earth and Sun and Moon, 1993 (buy)
Breathe, 1996
Redneck Wonderland, 1998
The Real Thing, 2000 (buy import) (acoustic live)
Capricornia, 2002 (buy)

Oh, and I still haven't hunted down their studio version of "Peace, Love & Understanding". If anyone out there has a copy. . .?

In local news: The gang from MST3K will be making an appearance at Hoodlum's Music today at 3pm, and performing at the Mesa Arts Center at 8pm today and tomorrow.

THE LIVING END

Australian punk / rockabilly band The Living End began their career as a Stray Cats cover band known as The Runaway Boys. Over the years they, obviously, started writing their own songs, and changed their name, but have maintained a bit of that Stray Cats' rockabilly attitude.

They're huge in their native land, but despite having a large following in The States, they have only had some limited success on the charts here. As I've said before, though, success here can often be the kiss of death.

Nearly all of their single releases over the last 15 years have had non-album tracks on them. I would post a bunch of those, but they've been pretty well covered elsewhere in the blogosphere lately. Just look around a bit if you're interested. It shouldn't take long to find them.

Here's a bunch of tracks from guest appearances on other artists' albums, compilations and the like.

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The Living End - "Rip It Up" (Little Richard cover) Taken from a free EP given out with the November 2000 issue of Juice Magazine.
The Living End - "Ready" From the wonderful Fat Wreck Chords compilation, Short Music for Short People. (buy) If you're unfamiliar with the album, it contains 101 different bands doing songs that average 30 seconds each. Well worth the couple of bucks to buy a legit copy.
Kasey Chambers with The Living End - "Crossfire" From fellow Australian Chambers' album Barricades and Brickwalls. (buy)
The Living End - "Sleep On It" Not a rare one for the Aussies, this was on their debut album, but was taken off the American version in order to add "Strange".
The Living End - "Leilani" (Hoodoo Gurus cover) Taken from the Gurus' tribute album, Stoneage Cameos. (buy)
Jimmy Barnes with The Living End - "Resurrection Shuffle" (Ashton, Gardner and Dyke cover) Jimmy is a legend in Australia. He's best known in The States for his duet with INXS on "Good Times" from The Lost Boys soundtrack. This is from his album Double Happiness. (buy)
The Living End - "Prisoner of Society" (reggae version) I believe this version originates from a radio session. The better known version is from The Living End.

The Living End discography:

Hellbound, 1995 (ep)
It's For Your Own Good, 1996 (ep)
The Living End, 1998 (buy)
Roll On, 2000 (buy)
Modern ARTillary, 2003 (buy)
State of Emergency, 2006 (buy)
White Noise, 2008 (buy)

H08 - AC/DC

AC/DC - "Mistress for Christmas" Not exactly a rare one, this was on their 1990 album, The Razor's Edge.(buy) I couldn't pass up the chance to post a Christmas song that is so typical AC/DC. . . and I mean that in a good way.

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H08 - PAUL KELLY

Paul Kelly - "White Christmas" KCRW radio session from 1989. Not the best sound quality, but I wanted to post it anyway. At first I was only going to post this one because it's not something he's issued officially, but it's only 45 seconds long so I decided to include "Gravy" as well.
Paul Kelly - "How To Make Gravy" Originally the title track to an EP, also released on the US version of Words and Music. Not so much a rarity, but a great song.

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H08 - INXS

INXS - "Merry Christmas Song" Fan-club-only single. Thanks to the huge response to my INXS posts earlier in the year, I finally had someone send me a copy of this rare song. So, thanks going out to Morgan for this one.

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INXS (#3)

INXS has become my most popular post, by far. I’ve already put up two sets of b-sides from them. Now, once again by request, here’s a third set.

Thanks to Kremmin for helping me with some of these. And thanks to everyone who’s commented on the previous posts.

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INXS - “Begotten” B-side of the “Listen Like Thieves” single.
INXS - “Black and White” (Extended Version) From the out-of-print US EP Dekadance.
INXS - “Here Comes II” Also from Dekadance (the US version). Original version is on Shabooh Shoobah. (buy)
INXS with Jenny Morris - “Jackson” (Lieber/Wheeler cover) From the Australian-only cassette version of the Dekadance EP. Interesting side note: Johnny Cash duetted on this song with Miss Piggy when he appeared on The Muppet Show. Sorry, I don't have a copy of that one.
INXS - “Do Wot You Do” From the Pretty In Pink soundtrack. (buy)
INXS - “I’m Coming (Home)” B-side of “Need You Tonight” single.
INXS - “Let It Ride” B-side of “Everything”
INXS - “Move On” B-side of the “Never Tear Us Apart” single.
INXS - “On The Rocks” B-side of “Devil Inside”.
INXS - “The Sax Thing” B-side of “To Look At You”. Not the best sound quality on this one, unfortunately.

Alright. That’s gotta be exhausting most of my collection. If there’s something I’ve missed that somebody out there still wants, drop me a line.

Also, check out Martin's INXS forum here: http://inxs.losforosgratis.com/

NICK CAVE

Nick Cave first hit the music scene back in the late seventies, with his band The Boys Next Door (later renamed The Birthday Party), and later as a solo artist, with The Bad Seeds, and more recently with Grinderman.

Over his four decade long career, he has never had any massive hits. He does, however, have a huge fan following, and the majority of his albums, books, soundtracks, and movies have garnered critical acclaim.

Throughout his career, he has released many songs outside of his albums, many of which were collected a couple years back on the 3 disc compilation B-Sides and Rarities. But that just dealt with his work with The Bad Seeds. Here are several more tracks the hard core fans may be looking for:

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Nick Cave and Anita Lane - “Bedazzled” from Anita’s single “The World’s a Girl”
Nick Cave - “Sunny” (Bobby Hebb cover) Recorded during a radio session on March 3, 1989.
Nick Cave - “There Is A Light” From the Batman Forever soundtrack. Cave has said he was talked into recording this for the film, but he didn’t like the results.
Current 93 with Nick Cave - “All The Pretty Little Horses” (traditional) This is the title track to Current 93’s 1996 album.
Barry Adamson with Nick Cave - “The Sweetest Embrace” Barry is one of The Bad Seeds. Nick did the vocals on this track from Adamson’s album Oedipus Schmoedipus.
Nick Cave and Stanislaw Sojka - “W moich ramionach” This is a Polish version of Cave‘s song “Into My Arms”, performed live by Polish artist Stanislaw Sojka, with Cave guesting.
Nick Cave and Sam Brown - “Kiss of Love” From Jools Holland’s album Small World Big Band Friends 3 - Jack O The Green.

Nick Cave discography:

The Boys Next Door - Door, Door, 1979
The Boys Next Door - The Birthday Party, 1980 (buy) (later re-issued under the band name The Birthday Party)
The Birthday Party - Prayers On Fire, 1981 (buy)
The Birthday Party - Junkyard, 1982 (buy)
Nick Cave - From Her to Eternity, 1984 (buy)
The Birthday Party - It’s Still Living, 1985 (live, recorded 1982)
Nick Cave - The Firstborn is Dead, 1985 (buy)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Kicking Against the Pricks, 1986 (buy) (covers album)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Your Funeral. . . My Trial, 1986 (buy)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tender Prey, 1988 (buy)
Nick Cave, Mick Harvey and Blixa Bargeld - Ghosts. . . Of the Civil Dead, 1988 (Cave co-wrote the screenplay and soundtrack, and is featured in the film)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Good Son, 1990 (buy)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Henry’s Dream, 1992 (buy)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Live Seeds, 1993 (buy) (live)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Let Love In, 1994 (buy)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Murder Ballads, 1996 (buy)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Boatman’s Call, 1997 (buy)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part, 2001 (buy)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Nocturama, 2003 (buy)
Nick Cave - And the Ass Saw the Angel, 2003 (buy) (readings from the novel (buy) written by Cave, and published in1989)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus, 2004 (buy)
Nick Cave nad the Bad Seeds - B-Sides and Rarities, 2005 (buy) (compilation)
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - The Proposition, 2005 (buy) (soundtrack. The screen play (buy dvd) was also written by Cave)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues Tour, 2007 (buy) (live box set)
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, 2007 (buy) (soundtrack)
Grinderman - Grinderman, 2007 (buy)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!, 2008 (buy)

INXS

By request. . .Here’s some more INXS.

Most of ‘em are good quality. One of them is really really scratchy (recorded from vinyl) and one of them is really low bit rate, but it’s the best I could get.

Enjoy.

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INXS - “Space Shuttle” B-side of “The One Thing” 12” single.
INXS - “Go West” B-side of “Don’t Change” single. This is the scratchy one. Sorry, but it’s the only copy I’ve come across.
INXS - “Mechanical” B-side of “I Send a Message” single.
INXS - “The Harbour” From the “Dancing On the Jetty” single.
INXS - “I’m Over You” From the “What You Need” 12” single.
INXS - “Smoke On the Water” (live Deep Purple cover) It seems this was not the b-side of a fan-club only single, as I had thought. Now I don't know what the origin of the recording is. Doesn't matter, though. It's a good song.


Now, go buy some of their albums (listed back here)

INXS

INXS was formed in Sydney, Australia in 1977. They had a string of hits in Australia in the early eighties, and made it big world wide a few years later.

You probably know the rest of the story. They kept going fairly strong until 1997, when lead singer Michael Hutchence was found dead in his hotel room. His death was ruled a suicide, though his baby-mama, Paula Yates, hinted at it being the result of a sex act.

Soon after, Paula O.D.’d, and their only child (Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence - Yates had a way with naming her kids) was adopted by her ex-husband Bob Geldof, so she could be raised with her three half sisters (Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa, and Little Pixie Geldof). But none of that has to do with INXS.

Anyway, throughout their career, INXS released many non-album b-sides. Many of which are unusual little instrumental tracks. For my posting here, I mainly stuck to the vocal tracks (though the vocals aren’t always done by Hutchence on these).

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INXS - “Phantim of the Opera” No, that’s not a typo. B-side of “The One Thing”.
INXS - “Long In Tooth” B-side of “Don’t Change”.
INXS - “You Never Used To Cry” B-side of “To Look At You”.
INXS - “Sweat As Sin” B-side of the monster hit “What You Need”.
INXS - “Six Knots” B-side of “Listen Like Thieves”.
INXS - “Different World” Another b-side of “Listen Like Thieves”.

INXS Discography (Michael Hutchence years):

INXS, 1980
Underneath The Colours, 1981
Shabooh Shoobah, 1982 (buy)
The Swing, 1984 (buy)
Listen Like Thieves, 1985 (buy)
KICK, 1987 (buy)
X, 1990 (buy)
Welcome To Wherever You Are, 1992 (buy)
Full Moon, Dirty Hearts, 1993
Elegantly Wasted, 1997

INXS continues with new lead singer, the oddly named reality TV star J.D. Fortune. Many of us fans wish they could have made a go of it with temporary lead singer Terence Trent D’Arby, but life goes on.

MIDNIGHT OIL

Consider this a congratulatory post. Peter Garrett, former lead singer of the Australian band Midnight Oil, was recently named Minister for Environment in the Australian government. Those who are familiar with Midnight Oil, beyond the mega hit “Beds Are Burning”, know that Peter has long been an environmental advocate. We here at the Pile of Vinyl offer our congratulations.

Let’s hope Peter retains both the power and the passion. (ouch, that’s a groaner)

In celebration, here’s a few old Midnight Oil tunes not featured on there many fine albums.

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Midnight Oil - “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding” (live Nick Lowe / Elvis Costello cover) I’ve heard they released a studio version of this as a b-side to “Put Down That Weapon”, unfortunately this is the best I could find. Other than a minor slip up on the lyrics, it’s a fine performance, though.
Midnight Oil - “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” (live Animals cover) Recording during their Mtv Unplugged show, but not aired.
Midnight Oil - “Smash the Wobbleboard” B-side of the “Underwater” single.
Midnight Oil - “The Good Son” (live Nick Cave cover) Midnight Oil singing Nick Cave. Can it get any better?
Midnight Oil - “Heaven and Earth” B-side of “Cemetery in My Mind” single.
Midnight Oil - “Pub With No Beer” (Slim Dusty cover) Released on a tribute album.

Midnight Oil Discography:
Midnight Oil (1978)
Head Injuries (1979)(buy)
Bird Noises (1980)(EP)
Place Without a Postcard (1981)
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (1982)
Red Sail in the Sunset (1984)
Species Deceases (1985)(EP)
Diesel and Dust (1987)(buy)
Blue Sky Mining (1990)(buy)
Scream in Blue (1992) (live)(buy)
Earth and Sun and Moon (1993)(buy)
Breathe (1996)
20,000 Watt R.S.L. (1997) (best of)(buy)
Redneck Wonderland (1998)(buy)
The Real Thing (2000) (acoustic live)
Capricornia (2002)(buy)

PAUL KELLY

This week, we go from American punks, to Australian singer-songwriters. You’ve got to have some variety to keep things interesting.

Paul Kelly is a legend in his country, but still relatively unknown in the states. He’s been recording and touring pretty much non-stop since the late seventies. First with The Dots, then with The Coloured Girls (a.k.a. The Messengers), and later as a solo artist. Though he’s been solo since the early nineties, he continues to work with many other bands and singers.

As with so many artists, Paul’s work can’t be pinned down into one category. The songs vary from straight forward rock (“Darling It Hurts”), to ballads (“Big Heart”), to bluegrass (his work with Uncle Bill) and even some groove (Professor Ratbaggy).

Keeping in mind that Paul has a few hundred recorded songs to choose from, this is the best I could do for a quick overview:

Some album cuts:
Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls - “Last Train to Heaven” from Gossip (buy)
Paul Kelly - “Nothing On My Mind” from Words and Music (buy)

Some rarities:
Paul Kelly - “Woomera Song (I Guess I Get A Little Emotional Sometimes)” free download from paulkelly.com.au, no longer available. Read the story HERE.
Paul Kelly & Mark Seymour - “Hey Boys” from the Garbo soundtrack (1992)

Compare and Contrast:
Paul Kelly - “Careless” from Live at the Continental and the Esplanade (buy)
Michael Petak - “Careless” (Paul Kelly cover) from Pretty Little Lonely (1994)
Paul Kelly - “God’s Hotel” (written by Paul Kelly and Nick Cave) from Wanted Man (buy)
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - “God’s Hotel” (live on KCRW) from Rare On Air

Paul Kelly Discography:
Paul Kelly and The Dots - Talk (1981)
Paul Kelly and The Dots - Manila (1982)
Paul Kelly - Post (1985) (buy)
Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls - Gossip (1986) (buy)
Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls - Under The Sun (1987) (buy)
Paul Kelly and The Messengers - So Much Water So Close To Home (1989) (buy)
Paul Kelly and The Messengers - Comedy (1991) (buy)
Paul Kelly and The Messengers - Hidden Things (1992) - a collection of non-album tracks
Paul Kelly - Live 1992 (1992) - solo acoustic set
Paul Kelly - Wanted Man (1994) (buy)
Paul Kelly - Deeper Water (1995) (buy)
Paul Kelly - Live at The Continental & The Esplanade (1996) - with band (buy)
Paul Kelly - Songs From The South (1997) - best of (buy)
Paul Kelly - Words and Music (1998) (buy)
Professor Ratbaggy - Professor Ratbaggy (1999)
Paul Kelly and Uncle Bill - Smoke (1999) (buy)
Paul Kelly - Nothing But A Dream (2001) (buy)
Paul Kelly - Ways and Means (2004) (buy)
Paul Kelly and The Stormwater Boys - Foggy Highway (2005) (buy)
Stardust Five - Stardust Five (2006) (buy)
Paul Kelly - Stolen Apples (2007)(buy)

Since most of his albums are only available in the states as imports, the price can be pretty steep. You may want to keep on eye on eBay to get them a little cheaper.

More info on Paul Kelly at his official site, or his wiki entry.