The Beau Brummels - Magic Hollow (2012)

Tracklist

CD1
01. People Are Cruel (Demo Version)
02. Still in Love with You Baby (Demo Version)
03. Stick Like Glue (Demo Version)
04. Laugh Laugh (Alternate Version)
05. Just a Little (Alternate Version)
06. They'll Make You Cry
07. Ain't That Loving You (Baby) [Alternate Vocal Version]
08. That's If You Want Me Too
09. Laugh Laugh (Promo Single Version)
10. Still In Love With You Baby
11. Just a Little (Alternate Backing Track)
12. I Want More Loving (Alternate Mix)
13. Just Wait And See
14. Stick Like Glue
15. Just A Little
16. Here I Am in Love Again (Backing Track)
17. I Will Go (Demo Version)
18. That's Alright (Demo Version)
19. No Lonelier Man (Demo Version)
20. She's My Girl (Demo Version)
21. Love Is Just a Game (Demo Version)
22. She Loves Me (Demo Version)
23. Can't Be So (Demo Version)
24. I'm Alone Again (Demo Version)
25. Tomorrow Is Another Day (Demo Version)
26. Woman (Vocal Version)
27. When It Comes to Your Love (Version One)
28. She Loves Me (Backing Track)

CD2
01. You Tell Me Why
02. I Want You
03. Dream On
04. Can It Be
05. I'll Tell You
06. Doesn't Matter
07. Gentle Wandering Ways
08. In Good Time
09. That's Alright
10. I Grow Old
11. Sometime at Night (Sal's Vocal Version)
12. Fine with Me (Version One)
13. Don't Talk To Strangers
14. I've Never Known
15. When It Comes To Your Love
16. Sad Little Girl
17. Before Darkness Ends
18. Till the Day
19. Friend of Mine
20. Darkness (Demo Version)
21. Good Time Music
22. She Sends Me
23. Down On Me
24. Let Me In (Version One)
25. Cry Some
26. Hey Love
27. Go Away
28. This Is Love
29. Find a Place
30. I Will Go (Backing Track)

CD3
01. One Too Many Mornings
02. She Reigns
03. Hang On Sloopy
04. Mr. Tambourine Man
05. Bang Bang
06. Homeward Bound
07. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
08. On the Road Again (Demo Version)
09. Out of Control (Demo Version)
10. God Help the Teenagers Tonight (Demo Version)
11. Delilah (Demo Version)
12. Stand Up
13. Let Me In (Version Two)
14. Here We Are Again
15. Fine With Me
16. Galadriel (Demo Version)
17. You and I (Demo Version)
18. It Ain't No Use (Demo Version)
19. She's Coming (Demo Version)
20. Don't Make Promises
21. Galadriel
22. Two Days 'Til Tomorrow (Unedited Version)
23. Walking in the Park (Demo Version)
24. Only Dreaming Now (Demo Version)
25. Magic Hollow (Demo Version)
26. Where Are You (Demo Version)
27. Glass (Backing Track)

CD4
01. Are You Happy?
02. Only Dreaming Now
03. The Painter Of Women
04. It Won't Get Better
05. Magic Hollow
06. Triangle
07. Lower Level
08. Lift Me
09. High There
10. I Love You Mama (Version One)
11. Just a Little Bit of Lovin'
12. The Dreamer (Demo Version)
13. Jessica (Demo Version)
14. I Love You Mama (Version Two)
15. Bittersweet
16. Jessica (Alternate Version)
17. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
18. Long Walking Down To Misery
19. Cherokee Girl
20. I'm A Sleeper
21. Another (Demo Version)
22. Black Crow (Demo Version)
23. Deep Water
24. Love Can Fall A Long Way Down
25. Tan Oak Tree
26. Turn Around
27. Another
28. Deep Water (Alternate Version)

As a four-CD, 113-track collection of 1960s Beau Brummels recordings (nothing is included from their post-'60s reunions), Magic Hollow is an excellent overview of the career of one of the finest and most underrated American bands. There's a good balance between their most familiar material (including all of their hits) and rarities, 42 of the tracks seeing release here for the first time (though some of those are alternate versions). True, some die-hard fans of the group would have welcomed a Bear Family-styled no-stones-unturned box set, as for all this set's length, there are several CD's worth of cuts that don't appear here. Some of the Triangle album is missing, most of Bradley's Barn is absent, and there are a wealth of missing unreleased-in-the-'60s tracks that have shown up on other Beau Brummels comps. But if a four-CD size limitation had to be imposed, this is about as good as could be hoped for, chronologically sequenced so as to gracefully trace their evolution from the first truly fine American British Invasion-inspired band to folk-rock and country-rock innovators. For those who've collected the Beau Brummels for a while, the most attention-grabbing items will be the rarities, which are both plentiful and usually of surprisingly high quality. "People Are Cruel," a September, 1964 recording of a previously unheard Ron Elliott original (even pre-dating their signing to Autumn Records), has their excellent haunting British Invasion-style melodies and vocal harmonies already in place; the backing track "Here I Am in Love Again," sadly missing vocals, has an intriguingly complex, beguiling tune; "Darkness" is a fine Elliott solo demo from 1965. Though their Autumn era is heavily represented by two full CDs of music, there are less previously unreleased cuts on the set from the mid-'60s than there are from their stint at Warner Brothers in 1966-68, and discs three and four really pour on the vault discoveries. Disc three alone has a bunch of previously unissued Sal Valentino compositions that further prove him to be a fine composer in his own right, even if he was overshadowed by primary Beau Brummels writer Elliott. A wealth of early 1967 outtakes (including some solo Valentino demos, highlighted by "Only Dreaming Now" and "Magic Hollow" itself) show them moving toward the more sophisticated feel of Triangle, though without as orchestrated a sound. Disc four, in addition to containing much of Triangle and some of Bradley's Barn, rounds off the picture of their journey into countrified folk-rock with another generous helping of outtakes, demos, and alternates that are in most respects up to the level of the music they officially released between late 1967 and late 1968. Also, it should be noted that Magic Hollow contains all of the band's non-LP single sides from their Warner Brothers era, some of which have been fiendishly hard to find since the '60s. It's all iced with a fine, 48-page booklet, jam-packed with photos, track information, and extensive interview quotes with bandmembers that bring much of their less-documented history to light.

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