Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Lone Justice - Little Diva and Sugar Jones - Non-Album Tracks (1985-1987)

I just posted a Lone Justice stray tracks album, and said it was the first of two, from 1983 to 1984. Here's the second.

This one covers 1985 to 1987. During that time, they released the albums "Lone Justice" in 1985 and "Shelter" in 1986. Yet they were prolific enough to have this album's worth of different songs as well.

Lone Justice was practically two bands, because between the first and second albums, all the personnel changed except for lead singer Maria McKee and guitarist Ryan Hedgecock. The first four songs are from 1985, and feature the first version of the band. Two of those are from the unreleased concert I've posted already. You can get the full concert here:

https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2019/08/lone-justice-ritz-new-york-city-9-18.html

Note that another of these first four songs is "Sweet Jane," the Velvet Underground song. I included a studio version on my 1983 to 1984 stray tracks album. This one is a live version. I figured it's worthy of inclusion because it's significantly different, including being three minutes longer.

The rest of the songs are from the second version of the band, from 1986 to 1987. The first two of those are B-sides, and the third one comes from an archival live album. That leaves the last four songs. All of those are unreleased, but are studio recordings in excellent sound quality. They come from recording sessions for the band's planned third album. I don't know why, but McKee decided to break up the band mid-way through those sessions, so a third album never happened. The song "Panic Beach" (which by the way I think is great) would later be recorded for McKee's first solo album. But the other three appear to have never been released in any form, even though they all seem to be good originals.

By the way, the first song on this album, "Go 'Way Little Boy," is a rare case of a song Bob Dylan specifically wrote for another artist, and then never officially released any version of it for himself. "Fortunate Son" and "Cry Baby" are cover versions of famous songs (along with "Sweet Jane"), but I think the rest of the songs are originals.

01 Go 'Way Little Boy (Lone Justice)
02 Fortunate Son (Lone Justice)
03 Cry Baby (Lone Justice)
04 Sweet Jane (Lone Justice)
05 I Can't Look Back (Lone Justice)
06 If You Don't like Rain (Lone Justice)
07 Heaven (Lone Justice)
08 Friends for a While (Lone Justice)
09 Panic Beach (Lone Justice)
10 Little Diva and Sugar Jones (Lone Justice)
11 Much Too Good at Goodbye (Lone Justice)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15262413/LoneJus_1985-1987_LittleDvaandSugarJons_atse.zip.html

I don't know where or when this photo comes from. But it's definitely of McKee during her Lone Justice years, and I liked it enough to use it. As for the album title I chose, I think "Little Diva and Sugar Jones" refer to McKee and Hedgecock, the two founders of Lone Justice, but I'm not sure.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Paul.
    Why haven't I found your site before now, in the end of 2020!
    I would love to be able to download more tracks of the greatest singer of all time,
    Maria McKee

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  2. Your compilations are fantastic! The only problem is that this is the third Maria McKee album where the link has expired (I believe a couple of Sam Phillips links, too). Could you update the links? Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Link fixed. If I missed another ones, like Sam Phillips ones, please let me know which ones exactly.

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