Sep 082007
This could be a short one. But I was listening to some Mott the Hoople and one of Mick Ralph‘s few contributions came on “Ready For Love“.
Mick took this song with him to Bad Co. and it became a big hit. Can you name other times this happened? (Solo suitcasing doesn’t count.)
Does “Do Ya” qualify?
Great one! “Do Ya” counts for sure as Lynne didn’t open the suitcase until Wood was long gone.
damn, alex.
ya beat me to it!
did frampton bring something from his “pie” years to his solo tenure (and re-record it)? i’m just not familiar enough with his material (darn).
How about Grace Slick bringing “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit” to the Airplane?
Stevie Nicks brought “Crystal” from from Buckingham Nicks to Fleetwood Mac.
Joe Strummer brought most of what would become “Jail Guitar Doors” from the 101er’s. I forget what the original song was called. Does that count, or am I not even standing, let alone the last person standing?
On what is destined to be such a short list, we’ll let “Jail Guitar Doors” stand assuming that the 1010er’s recorded it?
Did Grace Slick record those songs prior to the Airplane? Did she record anything prior?
“Crystal” is right on the money.
If we opened it up to solo-suitcasing, would we get that much more? I thought of “Hello It’s Me” Nazz-to-Rundgren.
Sammy, this is a good thread idea, with plenty of opportunity for folks to share special rock knowledge. I say once the weekend’s through, we’ll be saying, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that one!” Monday morning, Townspeople, put your thinking caps on. For now, here’s one of those solo suitcase songs – and another Fleetwood Mac number to boot: Bob Welch’s solo hit version of “Sentimental Lady”, which first appeared on his last album with the Mac, Bare Trees.
I don’t think the 101ers recorded Jail Guitar Doors, but they did release a live version of Junco Partner on Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited. It’s not a very good sounding album for an official release, but it’s interesting. I make my brother play it when I go to his house. I like that Pub Rock sound.
2000 Man, I’m a huge fan of that original vinyl release of The 101’ers’ Elgin Avenue Breakdown, and the original “Junco Partner” cover was enlightening. A few years ago, when that album finally came out on CD, they included another 10 or so studio and live tracks. Do you have that version as well as the vinyl one? One of them is not exactly “Jail Guitar Doors”, but it’s a song from which “Jail Guitar Doors” was obviously salvaged. I can’t recall the name now. I’ll try to dig it out and post it tomorrow.
Here’s another entry in the Last Man Standing competition: “Dazed and Confused”, which originated on that semi-bootleg live, late-period Yardbirds album (when Page was leading the band through its final steps).
Rockpile recorded Play That Fast Thing One More Time, a song Nick Lowe had already recorded with Brinsley Schwarz on the Please Don’t Ever Change album in 1973.
Nice one, BigSteve, but I believe I’M still standing: Brinsley Schwarz played “Cruel to Be Kind” on a Peel Session in 1975. I’ve never heard it. Have any of you?
I’ve heard an alternate version of Cruel to be Kind (the one that has the new wave organ), but I don’t think that’s the Brinsley’s version. Unfortunately I have only the first CD of their BBC recordings.
Continuing in the pub rock vein, Martin Belmont’s song from the first Rumour album — Something Goin’ On — was first recorded by his previous band, Ducks Deluxe.
Is that better?
To say nothing of Nick bringing “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding” from Brinsley to his solo career. Elvis should have recorded an “Elvis Sings Nick” LP, he did a bang-up version of “Indoor Fireworks” as well.
Richard Hell recorded Love Comes in Spurts and That’s All I Know with the Neon Boys (with Verlaine on guitar), before he recorded them with the Voidoids.
BigSteve is standing tall! I’m surprised we haven’t gotten more entries in this one. I keep thinking we’re going to discover that Neil Schon brought a deep track from Santana over to Journey or that the bassist for The Archies packed his lone contribution to that band with him when he jumped ship and joined Josie and the Pussycats. Townsman Hrrundi, you in particular, must have a suitcase song to add here. Are you just waiting for the right moment? Surely we don’t have to worry about you getting distracted by Beatles fan fiction.
I think you’re understandably confused since Nick covered it on one of his albums (The Rose of England, I think, without checking), but “Indoor Fireworks” was written and first recorded by Elvis Costello on King of America.
Nevertheless, an Elvis sings Nick album would be great. On the Nick Lowe tribute album Labour of Love, he recorded an obscure Brinsley Schwarz tune called “Egypt”, which was OK, but I think he could do a bang-up job on a lot of Nick’s poppier late ’70s material. He also did a GREAT version of Nick’s song “The Ugly Things” (the Brinsley Schwarz version of which is really great, too) in the early ’90s. I have it as a B-side on the 12″ EP for “The Other Side of Summer”.
The members of the Magic Band who quit and formed the band Mallard recorded the Trout Mask instrumental Peon on their first, self-titled album. Of course, that’s packing someone else’s song in your suitcase.
I was checking to see if Peter Case had bought some songs from The Nerves with him to the Plimsouls, but all I found was that Paul Collins, who was also a Nerve, rerecorded the song Working Too Hard on the first album by his next band, The Beat.
I can probably dig up more obscurities, but it’s the “and it became a big hit” part of the original question that I’m falling short on.
Yeah, I’m surprised we’re not finding more “big hits.” Any Clover songs make it big on a Huey Lewis and the News album?
BigSteve, regardless of the shakey ground on which you presently stand, you are presently the last man standing.