In the year 2001, I was working at a Wherehouse Music in the Financial District of San Francisco, CA. During this time period, we received regular visits from representatives from major record labels who would drop off advance CD’s of the upcoming new releases. Mid-Summer, we got a record called In Search Of… by a band called N*E*R*D. This was a side project of popular producers The Neptunes, with Neptune Pharrell Williams handling all of the lead vocals. Yes, there was a time when people didn’t know who Pharrell Willams was!
A few weeks later the same rep that dropped off the CD told us “not to play it in the store, because it’s not coming out.” It was such a bummer, because it was a fantastic record! Imagine if somebody took the the early century production stylings of The Neptunes, but stripped of any concessions to the Top 40. It was all great songs that sounded great. It’s a shame this record never hit stores. Instead, in early 2002, a different record called In Search Off… by N*E*R*D came out. It was all the same songs, but they re-recorded everything with a full band. It’s a great sounding record, don’t get me wrong, but I was a little bummed to learn that the original wasn’t going to see the light of day. Not in the United States, at least.
So, after 18 years, the original release is finally coming out in the US in the form of a vinyl box set. It’s due out October 25th, and can be preordered here! This also got me thinking of the other finished records that either never came out, or took a long time to get released.
The Beach Boys – Smile
This is kinda the ultimate “lost” album. It was supposed to be the follow up to Pet Sounds, but Beach Boys’ leader Brian Wilson was dealing with a lot of mental health issues at the time, and it wasn’t even certain that the record was ever really finished at the time. Most of it was released as Smiley Smile which retained many of the psychedelic bursts that Smile was said to contain, but it wasn’t until 2004 when Brian Wilson re-recorded the record and released it as his original vision. Later, in 2011, a box set was released of the original Smile sessions which included a “reconstruction” of the album from the original recording sessions.
Nirvana – In Utero (Original Mix)
Legend has it, when Nirvana turned in In Utero to the record label, the record label told them they couldn’t release it. They claimed it was “too noisy and abrasive” and called upon REM producer Scott Litt to remix the album to make it more palatable to mainstream music listeners. It wasn’t until Record Store Day 2013, 20 years after it’s initial release, that we got to hear Steve Albini’s mix of the record. This is the closest we are going to get to the original master that was rejected by the good people at DGC
Carly Rae Jepsen – Disco Sweat
When Carly Rae Jepsen released Emotion, a genius of a pop record filled with epic hooks and infectious sax, she officially was able to shrug off the whole “one-hit wonder” business. Her follow up, however, is a disco record that we only know about because she let it slip in an interview the completed a disco record that she shelved it in favor of the more traditional Dedicated. It seems that “Julien” is the only track off that record that she decided to release…
The Flaming Lips & Ke$ha – Lip$ha
This was going to be Ke$ha’s big move to prove herself as a true artist, and not just a singer that does whatever her producer says. However, her producer at the time was none other than Dr Luke. a man that doesn’t exactly have a reputation for giving women free artistic expression, or even body autonomy for that matter. When Dr Luke heard this record, he decided it was “bad for Ke$ha’s brand” and stopped the release of it. A track called “Past Lives” that was supposedly part of these sessions landed on Ke$ha’s 2012 record, Warrior, complete with uncredited Wayne Coyne harmonies. Now that Kesha has dropped the “$” from her name, as well as finally divorced herself from Dr Luke, I’m hoping this record will finally find it’s way out. Even if it’s just a Record Store Day release, it would be amazing to hear it finally.
Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash – The Dylan/Cash Sessions
In 1969, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash recorded a whole record of duets. And, up until 2019, only one track from these sessions ever saw the light of day: “Girl From North Country,” which appeared on Dylan’s album Nashville Skyline. Happily, come November 1st, these sessions are finally coming out as part of Dylan’s “Bootleg Series,” so we may finally get a real listen to what these two legends did together.
Green Day – Cigarettes & Valentines
In 2002, someone stole the master tapes to what was going to be the follow up to Warning. Instead of re-recording these songs, the band went back to the drawing board and ended up totally reinvigorating their career with the critically acclamed and commercially successful American Idiot. Rumors circulated two Green Day “side project” releases were actually this record: The Network’s Money Money 2020 and Foxboro Hot Tubs’ Stop Drop and Roll!!! but it’s been confirmed by the band that neither of these records reused material from these sessions. Only two songs have been officially released from these sessions: “Too Much Too Soon” was the B-side to “American Idiot” and the title track, “Cigarettes & Valentines,” was the single from their 2011 live record, Awesome As Fuck.
Len – We Be Who We Be
As Carly Rae Jepsen managed to avoid “one hit wonder” status with a sleeper hit of a record, who knows what could have happened with Len if they were able to put out their follow up to You Can’t Stop The Bum Rush (also known as the album with “Steal My Sunshine” on it). We Be Who We Be was not the earworm pop confection people thought it would be, but was a great record of hip hop, inspired by a lot of the Quannum Records stuff that was ruling the underground at this time. Much of this record ended up coming out in Canada as tracks on The Diary Of the Madmen but the US never got to experience the joy of Len making a voice for themselves.
