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Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Sitting on the shelf
This doesn't seem to happen that often, but sometimes a band records an album and for some reason it doesn't get released and so it sits somewhere. Recently the Classic Metal Show played a Vinnie Vincent album called Guitars from Hell. Mr. Vincent of course played with Kiss in 82-83 and then had his own band the Vinnie Vincent Invasion which at one time featured Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum of Slaughter. Guitars from hell never got released because Vinnie couldn't find a label to sign him. If you ever heard the Vinnie Vincent Invasion then you can probably understand why no one would sign him again, but this is a good example of what I want to talk about. A far better band was Tora, Tora who were a bit like a cross between Tesla and late 80's Aerosmith. They did two albums on A&M records in 89 and 92. I read an interview with their bass player last year who said they did record a third album in 1994, but A&M decided not to release it so it sits on a shelf somewhere. There was a speed metal band from Boston called Executioner who did two albums in the late 80's and I liked these guys a lot. Their label went under shortly before they recorded a third album, but they recorded it in 1990 and shopped it around. They couldn't find a label to release it and they broke up. In 2001 the drummer decided to release it himself on cd so it did eventually see the light of day. There are a few record labels around now that are re-releasing more obscure metal albums, but also releasing demos of bands that never got signed or were not able to get their albums released. Does anyone else know of an album that is sitting on a shelf?
Wildside's "The Wasted Years" came out in 2004 but had stayed on the shelf for 9 years. It features demos, B-sides and a few that were supposed to be in Under the Unfluence but hadn't made the cut (and some tracks from the 1995 bad grunge CD).
ReplyDeleteGiant's "III" tracks are said to be left-outs from their first two albums. Given that "III" was released in 2001, and their second-last album in 1992, and a lot of changes happened in the hard rock scene since then, I guess it was just a trick to market "III" as a remnant of the good old times.
If even Jizzy Pearl (with or without Love/Hate) makes albums, I can understand how Vinnie Vincent were ever signed. I love Tora Tora though; I wonder if they'll ever release that third album.
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ReplyDeleteDee Snider had a band called Desperado with Bernie Torme on guitar and Clive Burr on drums. As far as I know it was never released, though I managed to pick up a demo copy on eBay a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteIt's actually very good. Shame this band was never given a chance.
Tora Tora is one of my favorite "unrecognized" bands--they were solid, if not flashy, and deserved more attention than they got.
ReplyDeleteThe most famous unreleased albums that I know of were not metal: Dave Matthews Band's "Lilywhite Sessions" ended up being pirated enough that they released much of it as "Busted Stuff," and Prince's "Black Album," I've heard, was released some ten years after he recorded it.
Journey wins, in my book, for having the balls to record the atmospheric, decidely non-pop "Dream After Dream" album in Japan just as they were becoming big hit-makers. It had a few songs recognizable as Journey (like "Little Girl," which showed up on their Time3 box set), but to the best of my knowledge it has never been released in the US. But, unlike the ones you mention, at least it was released.
-- david
In the same interview with Tora Tora's bass player, he was asked if they intended to release the third lp and he said no and offered no explanation. Unlike a lot of the other examples given here, they were still under contract so A&M may still own the rights to it so maybe it would be difficult to get the rights from the label. I am sure someone would release it. Their stuff goes for good prices on ebay. I saw them in 92 and they rocked and they also had a packed house. Metal Mayhem is a Ohio based label that has been buying and releasing demos from late 80's early 90's hard rock bands. They have a website and they sell on ebay.
ReplyDelete