In its latest issue, Uncut celebrates the shadow economy that surrounds rock music by presenting its list of the 50 greatest bootlegs: Live albums, alternate mixes, unreleased studio sessions that made the illegal-tape circuit, at least until some enterprising label type decided to legitimately release them. Below, check out the full list and download the version of “Straight To Hell” from the #6 entry, the Clash’s Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg.
50. The Troggs – The Troggs Tapes
49. Paul McCartney & Wings – The Nashville Sessions
48. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Live And Obscure
47. David Bowie – Toy
46. Buffalo Springfield – California Daze
45. Aztec Camera – Manchester Live Tape
44. Joe Strummer – When Pigs Fly
43. The La’s – The Kitchen Tape
42. Adam & The Ants – Madamstan
41. James Brown With Sly & Robbie – The Nassau Sessions
40. John Lennon And Paul McCartney – A Toot And A Snore In ’74
39. The Byrds – Tambourines & 12-Strings
38. The Smiths – Unreleased Demos & Instrumentals
37. Elvis Presley – Desert Storm
36. Keith Richards – Toronto Session/”I Got The Blues”
35. Jimi Hendrix/Traffic – A Session
34. PJ Harvey - Jungle Queen
33. The Soft Boys – The Day They Ate Brick
32. Arcade Fire – Demo 2001
31. Richard & Linda Thompson – Rafferty’s Folly
30. The White Stripes – The Legendary Lost Tapes
29. Elvis Costello – Our Aim Is True
28. Nico, John Cale & Brian Eno – Berline, Neue Nationalgalerie
27. The Who – Obscure And Oblique
26. The Cramps – The Ohio Demos 1979
25. Blur – Parklife Deluxe Bootleg
24. Leonard Cohen – The Other Leonard Cohen Album Vols 1 & 2
23. Van Morrison – Van The Man
22. New Order – Western Works
21. Steely Dan – The Last Gaucho
20. R.E.M. – The Elliot Mazer Demos
19. The Beatles – From Kinfauns To Chaos
18. Nirvana – In Utero (Steve Albini Mix)
17. Syd Barrett – Magnesium Proverbs
16. Television – Double Exposure
15. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos/Outtakes: YHF Engineer Demos
14. Kraftwerk – K4
13. Captain Beefheart – Hoboism
12. Kate Bush – The Cathy Demos
11. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Call Of The Cavemen
10. Roxy Music – When We Were Young
09. Bruce Springsteen – The Ties That Bind
08. Led Zeppelin – The Lost Sessions
07. The Velvet Underground – Live At The Gymnasium
06. The Clash – Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg
05. Little Feat – Electrif Lycanthrope
04. The Rolling Stones – Place Pigalle
03. Neil Young – Chrome Dreams (Rust Edition)
02. Bob Dylan & The Band – A Tree Without Roots
01. The Beach Boys – Smile
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I almost hope you’re trolling.
strangely, I agree.
Unfortunately a list like this is really lacking without the back story behind each of these bootlegs that Uncut provides. Either way, I second the love for Double Exposure, a kind of rough guide to Television’s origins and punk bona fides. Not included on said bootleg is the Little Johnny Jewel single, which I believe the band wrote after Hell left.
If you pick up the issue you can read the back story on each selection! I just didn’t bother to transcribe the whole thing
Thanks Scott. Actually, I have the issue, I was just encouraging people to pick it up. It’s a good read.
There should be some Springsteen on here (the Darkness sessions were releases, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg with fabled demos and bootlegs from The Boss,) and even though I’m not the hugest hip-hop fan, there definitely has to be a few mixtapes out there from that world deserving of recognition.
Springsteen’s at number 9
no bob dylan bootleg from the ’66 world tour? come on the ‘judas’-remarked ‘like a rolling stone is a classic’!
No kidding. That whole concert series is classic! And what about Ten of Swords? or Whitmark Demos? Oh well… gotta leave room for other artists…
I can just make my own list of best Dylan bootlegs.
haha i’d like to see that!
The Clash were such a fucking great band. And I love it when I’m reminded of that.
The name of the Clash boot was “Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg”, not “The…”. Just sayin’
No neutral milk hotel , bottom of the hill SF ? bummer
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot demos are great.
Wish I could hear the YHF demos…
The biggest selling boot of all time is “The Black Album” by Prince. Of course it was released later by Warner Brothers for a limited time, but Prince got a ton of publicity for it. Led Zepp “Destroyer” is also better than “The Lost Sessions”. And yes, there are a lot of Bruce boots that should be on that list. Not just one. Pretty lame list actually.
In a couple of months, Smile will no longer be a bootleg.
So glad somebody finally referenced the Arcade Demo. It’s in my opinion better than their EP and doesn’t really get enough attention.