Shirley, Goodness & Misery

Description

Shirley, Goodness & Misery is a multi-artist compilation released by Alternative Records in 1992, in co-operation with Stunt Records. (The title is a play on “surely goodness and mercy…” from Psalms 23:6) This is the second disc of a 2CD set (along with No Sense of History) featuring rarites from the Alternative Records and Stunt Records labels. Most of these tracks were either unreleased, or unavailable elsewhere on CD.

Many of the Daniel Amos tracks are from the “lost years” era from 1978 through 1980 while the band was waiting for Horrendous Disc to be released, and continuing their progression from country to alternative. Track 12 was recorded for the Dr. Edward Daniel Taylor Miracle Faith Telethon album.

The same year Alternative Records released a third multi-artist compilation entitled Bootlevel.

CD tracklist:

01. The Scratch Band – Unsatisfied
02. The Scratch Band – Wild Boys
03. The 77s – Someone New (Alternate Extended Remix)
04. Gloryhouse – Justice
05. Gloryhouse – The Promise
06. Gloryhouse – The Beauty of Innocence
07. The Scratch Band – Thief Song
08. Daniel Amos – So Certain
09. Daniel Amos – Little Things
10. Daniel Amos – Off My Mind
11. Daniel Amos – Fairly Tale
12. Daniel Amos – Only One
13. Sharon McCall & The Scratch Band – When the Victims Control
14. Body & Soul (Rob Watson) – Locked Away
15. Daniel Amos – Laissez-Faire

Note: Available at Bandcamp: https://terryscotttaylor.bandcamp.com/album/shirley-goodness-misery

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The notes from the album description:

1, 2 & 7 – The Scratch Band (2) was the first incarnation of The 77s. Track 1 was issued originally as the b-side to the vinyl 45 of Jesus released in 1990 (as part of the 7&7is box set). This live recording dates to 1981. Tracks 2 and 7 are Steve Scott songs recorded live in 1980. Much of their sets in those days consisted of Scott’s songs. These two were also recorded for Steve’s unreleased “Moving Pictures” album in 1980.

3 – This is a very rare alternate extended remix of Someone New from 1984’s All Fall Down. Differs from the 12″ single extended version (Someone New).

4 to 6 – Gloryhouse is an earlier incarnation of Robert Vaughn and The Shadows (5). Track 4 is the first version of the song that appeared on Love And War (and performed on American Bandstand). Track 5 dates to 1985 and Track 6 is from around the same time. This live version (from 1986) is from a problematic video mix (Anthony Daluz’s guitar disappears at times).

8 to 12 & 15 – 1978 through 1980 were Daniel Amos’s lost years. During the delay of Horrendous Disc, they recorded almost twenty new songs as demos to shop to mainstream labels. Some of them were recorded with very high quality on 24-tracks and others were ping-ponged on 4-track. These songs are a sampling from that period. Track 8 was a concert favorite and appears on many bootleg tapes from ’79-’80. Tracks 9 and 10 were recorded in 1981 and feature a young Ojo Taylor on keyboard! Track 11 is a Mark Cook (2) song which was recorded for “Horrendous Disc” but was later replaced by “Hound of Heaven.” Track 12 was a 4-track demo for ¡Alarma! (The Alarma Chronicles Vol.1) which was later recorded by Wild Blue Yonder (2) and even later wound up on the The Miracle Faith Telethon with Terry’s vocals. Track 15, one of Terry’s favorites from the period showcases the pop sensibilities that defined Daniel Amos during that period.

13 – Sharon McCall was the original lead vocalist for the Scratch Band. This is a demo she recorded with the band right before she left the group in 1979. Michael Roe plays guitar and Jimmy Abegg plays bass. Sharon married Jerry Chamberlain in 1980, so she provides an interesting link between the Sacramento/Exit gang and the Orange County/Daniel Amos crowd.

14 – Rob Watson’s own group in the mid 80’s was called Body And Soul and recorded an album’s worth of material which unfortunately never surfaced, except for a rare 45 from 1984 (Something’s Going On Here / The Graylands).