The new John Entwistle compilation Rarities Oxhumed – Volume One was released this past Friday.
The 13-track collection features previously unheard studio tracks, demos, live performances and other unreleased gems from the late Who bassist’s solo career.
The compilation was produced by Steve Luongo, drummer of Entwistle’s side project the John Entwistle Band and his main collaborator in the group.
Luongo tells ABC Audio that Entwistle’s “devoted” fans had long asked him if there was any unreleased material in the archives, and, with this year marking the 20th anniversary of John’s death, he felt the time was right to put together a rarities compilation.
Luongo says the studio tracks featured on Rarities Oxhumed include “songs that we either didn’t release on any of the albums or alternate versions of those songs that might have been released, but with different lyrics or a different arrangement.”
Most of the songs on the compilation are alternate versions or mixes of tunes that appeared on Entwistle’s final solo album, 2000’s Music for Van-Pires, which features material recorded for the soundtrack of a late-’90s animated kids show called Van-Pires.
Among those tracks is “Bogey Man,” which actually dates back to the 1970s, and features late Who legend Keith Moon on drums.
Luongo recalls that when Entwistle first played him an early, unfinished version of “Bogey Man,” he realized it would be perfect “for a scary kid show,” and when John told him that Moon was on the track, he convinced Entwistle to find the original multi-track so they could complete it while keeping Keith’s drum parts.
As for the live tracks on the comp, Luongo says they were recorded during the John Entwistle Band’s final trek, which was called 2001: A Bass Odyssey.
Here’s the compilation’s full track list:
“Bogey Man”
“Darker Side of Night”
“I’ll Try Again Today”
“When You See the Light”
“Back on the Road”
“Left for Dead” (Alternate Version)
“I Wouldn’t Sleep with You”
“Don’t Be a Sucker”
“Life Goes On” (Demo)
“Where Ya Going Now” (Demo)
“Trick of the Light” (Live)
“Under a Raging Moon” (Live)
“Shakin’ All Over” (Live)
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