Joan Baez - Three songs from "Silent Running" (1972)

Often labeled as the first ecological Sci-Fi movie, Silent Running experienced a similar fate as "Harold & Maude": after and after it became more famous among fans of the genre. Strange enough, Peter Schickele's soundtrack never came out on CD after several incarnations on vinyl. The original Decca album became a collector's item especially for three songs sung by Joan Baez which never appeared anywhere else, not even on one of her many "Best of"-collections (except for a short-lived single with two of them).
Some years ago I was happy to find an expensive CD on eBay, but it proofed to be a pirate album presenting the original LP content together with a spoken word version of one instrumental together with a re-recording of another instrumental as "bonus tracks". Too bad the producers of this illegitimate CD treated their source's sound to death with some cheap noise killer software. In 2007, the webmaster of Schickele's website responded to my questions about the CD offers on eBay via e-mail, remembering that "the CD sounded like it was recorded off of an LP, complete with the surface noise and some scratches. The bonus track in this case is copied from a videotape of the movie (not even a DVD but a videotape with tape hiss)." The result is absolutely terrible, muffled and no fun at all to listen to.
He added: "I continue to believe that there is no CD reissue of the soundtrack, and that the LP is hard to find. Since it is out of print, you may have no other way of hearing the music but to buy one of these suspicious offers, but beware of low quality. My preference would be to find someone selling the LP on eBay and transfer it to CD myself. Or get the DVD and listen to the music in the context of the movie. The only legitimate CD that contains music from 'Silent Running' that I know about is 'Space 3: Beyond The Final Frontier' by the City of Prague Orchestra. That 2000 recording of selected science fiction themes included four minutes of 'The Space Fleet' from 'Silent Running', which isn't much, but it's something. You can hear samples of that recording on Amazon. I'm sorry that this music is not easier to obtain."
So am I! The more I'm happy to offer here clean versions of Joan Baez' songs; the rest of the soundtrack might follow later.

Tracks

1. Rejoice In The Sun
2. Silent Running
3. Rejoice In The Sun (Reprise)

Here

Elf Otto-Sieger sagen "Danke" (1968 Flexi)

Some people are looking for material like this. More than 40 years ago my dear sister bought an issue of Germany's teenage magazin "Bravo". It included a flexi disc with thank-yous by such different (then-) stars like The Bee Gees (they even sing a-cappella in the beginning), Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg (starring on the TV show "The Avengers", in Germany "Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone"), pop singers Wencky Myhre and Roy Black as well as actors Marie Versini and Pierre Brice.
There's an extensive private Bravo website, including scans of their flexi discs as well as soundclips. Here you find a cleaner version for your pleasure as well. The back cover has transcriptions and German translations where necessary for German listeners.

Tracks

1. Bravo flexi disc 1968 (direct rip)
2. Bravo flexi disc 1968 (clean version)

Here (artwork included)

Heather Greene - Live at the Knust, Hamburg, June 14, 2009 (Audience Recording)

Only a handful of people attended at Heather Greene's 2009 Hamburg concert at the Knust club - but everyone who was there liked the one hour show. Some even said she sounded better than on her two records to date ("Five Dollar Dress" and "Sweet Otherwise"). You might find out yourself by listening to this fine audience recording of the complete gig.

Here and here

Reunion - Live Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me (1974 Single)

That one was fun back in 1974. I couldn't afford the single then, but I taped it from my favourite radio programme, and once a week DJ Werner Reinke played the top 20 charts without any talkovers. Of course I could not understand this song's lyrics completely, but I was deeply impressed by the singer's abilities. Much later I felt a little betrayed when I realized all the edits in the recording - and that initially he might be recorded slower. Anyway, that early rap stuff seems to be the only release by this "group" called Reunion (in fact "Yummy Yummy Yummy" singer Joey Levine and session musicians). It went to top 8 on the Billboard charts, and maybe there is another single, but they never made a longplayer.
I was very surprised when I heard a cover version pretty close to the original in my car radio in 1983 - Tracey Ullman singing "Life Is A Rock" as part of her album "You Broke My Heart In 17 Places". Now here you can compare them both. In addition you find Reunion's rare, though completely ridiculous reggae-stylish single b-side "Are You Ready To Believe".
Everything worth to be known about the song is mentioned here, including detailed comments about the almost complete lyrics. And, sure, Wikipedia shows up, too.

Tracks

1. Reunion - Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)
2. Reunion - Are You Ready To Believe [Vinyl Rip]
3. Tracey Ullman - Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)

Here (artwork included)

The Velvet Underground - Squeeze (1973)

Released early in 1973, no founding member of the original Velvet Underground line-up was involved in production of this album, and since its release, it is discussed extensely: Is it the Velvets or not? As most commentaries I see it more as a Doug Yule solo project, for he wrote, arranged and produced it alone with a little help by Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice. Yule replaced John Cale after Lou Reed fired Cale between the group's second and third LP. The album definitely isn't as bad as many say. To my ears it prolonges the tradition of "Loaded", even though Doug as a songwriter can't really compete with Lou. But I still like the music, and if you're interested to learn more about it, you can read the whole "Squeeze" story on Wikipedia and on a well researched Website.

Tracks

1. Little Jack
   
2. Crash
   
3. Caroline
   
4. Mean Old Man
   
5. Dopey Joe
   
6. Wordless
   

1. She'll Make You Cry
   
2. Friends
   
3. Send No Letter
   
4. Jack & Jane
   
5. Louise
   

Here

Joan Armatrading - Live at the Bijou Café, Philadelphia, February 18, 1977 (1977 Radio Promo)

This club recording was meant to promote the self-titled "Joan Armatrading" album which came out in 1976, seen as her best output by many. The majority of the live tracks can originally be found on that LP, except for three which first appeared on "Back To The Night" the year before: "Cool Blue (Stole My Heart)", the fantastic "Dry Land" - here is the only live recording of that song I know - and a powerful solo version of "Stepping Out". All in all it's great to hear Joan at an early point of her carreer, in best mood and together with a great band in front of a small audience. Too bad this nice, very good sounding club recording never came out officially on LP or on CD, and it probably won't ever. The same sad story as with "Back To The Night": Collectors have to pay between 50 and 150 Dollars for a good CD copy nowadays. Where are avoidable reissues?

Tracks

1. (Introduction)
2. Join The Boys
   
3. Down To Zero
4. Help Yourself
   
5. Cool Blue (Stole My Heart)
   

1. Dry Land
   
2. (Introduction Of Band)
   
3. Love And Affection
4. Water With The Wine
5. Tall In The Saddle

Here

Randy Newman - Un Samedi en Decembre (1983)

I captured this one once by chance at eBay as a double pack in a regular LP cover together with (another) copy of "Trouble In Paradise". This live-in-the-studio-recording, taped on December 10, 1982, is a real gem.
randynewman.info says: In France, ["Trouble In Paradise"] was released with a unique limited-edition promotional album titled "Un Samedi en Decembre" (WEA PRO 1016) - "A Saturday in December" in English - issued to commemorate a television special aired that year. The album offers the unique experience of hearing Newman perform some of his classics in a studio with just vocal and solo piano ("Sail Away", "It's Money That I Love", "Rednecks") and others with full orchestral accompaniment ("Louisiana 1927", "Old Man", "Marie") most of which are faithful to the original studio album arrangements. Just how some of Newman's warmly sarcastic between-track asides ("I hope you love me ladies and gentlemen, cause I love you so much. I love Paris.") made it past the French engineers working on the project remains a mystery.
And in the end Randy closes the piano cover, grumbles "Good night, thank you!" and leaves the studio.

Tracks:

1. Ragtime (Thème du film)
2. Louisiana 1927
3. It's Money That I Love
4. Sail Away
5. Old Man
6. Love Story
7. Short People

1. X Mas In Cape Town
2. Rednecks
3. Baltimore
4. I Think It's Going To Rain Today
5. You Can Leave Your Hat On
6. Marie
7. Ragtime

Here (artwork included)