Ever had a "Promotional Copy" surprise your ears?

Picked up "Mel Torme and George Sheering Live at Charley's" a promo lp from Concord Records, an amazing lp, my first exposure to Mel Torme except for Zaz Turned Blue by Was (Not Was)which featured Mel on vocals. 'The Velvet Fog' indeed...

I own many that sound really really good. One label's promos that sound particularly great are the impulse LP's from the 60's and 70's. The promos tend to be thinner but often they sound clean, spacious, and very well detailed. For example, my promo copy of Pharoah Sanders "Elevation" is a fantastic sounding record that I love dearly. My copy of John Coltrane's "Meditations" is another I listen to about once a week.

Baxter "Baxter". It never caught on mainstream. It is excellent drum and bass with a sexy sounding brit gal singing. Numerous things on Jetset records. Handsome family...I could go on all day.

Michael Jackson's demo "Don't want to be starting something" is worth a listen for curiosity. (Bro and sis help out - even using a bottle for percussion)

A pair of Chris's for me:

Chris Rea's 'Road to Hell'

Chris Whitley's 'Poison Girl' limited-run/promotional live EP

Bongofury,
Thanks for the B-side info. I listen to almost all genres but just recently "discovered" Radiohead. Wow--what a discovery. Cool band. I bought 7 reissued LPs all at once. Some 45's and some 10"ers. I have been digesting it all for the last 6 weeks. I will start educating myself on the Radiohead B-sides!!

Pepe

I have a few "cutouts" and radio-only promotion albums.
They used to be actively traded at the Capitol Records swapmeet in Hollywood and the Pasadena City College swapmeet here in So Cal. three decades ago.

Best ones I know were promotion-only live shows put out on Warner Brothers as full length vinyl LPs. The Pretenders, Talking Heads, Dire Straits and G. Parker and the Rumour released stunning live shows in and around 1980, some of the best music of their careers and beautifully recorded and mixed off the sound boards.

Elvis Costello also released a EP, Live at Hollywood High, as part of the Armed Forces album in 1982.

All five are worth seeking out, rare in vinyl and highly collectable.

REM has issued fan club 45 singles every year of their existance and they are very quirky in song selections and genres. These occasionally end up as bonus tracks when individual albums get remastered overseas.

Bonus tracks are big in the UK. Oasis has made a career out of releasing these. The band with the best base of B-sides is Radiohead, which now offers over 30 songs, all offered on CD singles or iTune downloads. U2 had many B-sides, both as 45s and CD singles, which they consolidated in the 1980 to 1990 and 1991 to 2000 Greatest Hits compilations.
Some of their better songs are contained there.

I have an early promo copy of the Rolling Stones "Beggar's Banquet" that I obtained at Princeton Record Wxchange back in the m id 80's. Fantastic sound!--Mrmitch

pepe. check out cd's or vinyl of the following, if you haven't already...mendocino, together after five, live love...all by the original sir douglaa quintet.