As much as I rail at completists in rock and the crimes I’ve imagined them committing, like any rock nerd, I’m a bit of a completist myself. We read of edited middle eighths and jams long enough, and sometimes we can’t help but wish they were available for us to hear. For instance, as a huge Beatles fan, I’d love to hear the supposed missing 18 minutes of the Waterga—er, “Helter Skelter.” Has a bootleg version ever existed?
As a Graham Parker and the Rumour fan and a skeptic, I’d love to hear the supposed original recordings of the band’s third album, Stick to Me. The generally DOA sound of that album is attributed to some story about Nick Lowe losing the masters for the original recordings on the tube and the band having to quickly re-record the whole thing. Or something like that. Come on, whoever found those supposedly superior masters, the value of Graham Parker recordings ain’t going any higher. Leak the tapes!
You’ve read the books. You’ve heard the rumors. What legendary recordings, edits, first recordings do you need to hear?
