Despite his 50-year presence at the forefront of folk rock, Iain Matthews still remains a criminally underrated artist. Always associated with FAIRPORT CONVENTION which he sang with at the beginning of their career, sharing the spotlight with Judy Dyble, there’s much more strings to the veteran’s bow – going far beyond his hit with MATTHEWS SOUTHERN COMFORT, a cover of “Woodstock” by Joni Mitchell, and additional forays into country field with PLAINSONG. Iain’s albums such as "Tigers Will Survive" – laid down with or without a second “i” in the vocalist’s name – are even more fascinating, yet there was more. Some of his projects, like HI-FI that Matthews formed in the company of David Surkamp of PAVLOV’S DOG fame, briefly took off; others, like HAMILTON POOL, didn’t, but each of those left a cache of unrele ased material, which Iain recently dusted off to issue on April 26th in a box set.
Titled “Orphans And Outcasts: A Collection Of Demos, Outtakes & Live Performances” and comprised of four discs, it holds a lot of long-deleted rarities, with tracks on the last CD unveiled for the first time ever, and spans more than five decades, from Iain’s 1966 cut with THE PYRAMID to the relatively recent numbers, so there’s a lot to enjoy and explore.
CD 1 – Out Of The Egg:
MATTHEWS SOUTHERN COMFORT – 1970:
1. Touch Her If You Can
2. Yankee Lady
3. Belle
4. Later On
5. I Believe In You
Iain Matthews, Radio Session – 1971:
6. It Takes A Lot To Laugh
7. Not Much At All
8. Baby Ruth
9. Hearts (outtake)
10. Christine’s Tune
PLAINSONG, Radio Session – 1972:
11. Seeds And Stems
12. Spanish Guitar
13. Tigers Will Survive
14. Any Day Woman
15. Poor Ditching Boy (outtake)
16. Even The Guiding Light (live)
17. So Sad (demo)
18. Groovin’ (demo)
19. Let There Be Blues (Matthews/Lamb demo)
20. New Shirt (songwriting memo)
CD 2 – Learning To Fly:
1. S.O.S. (HI-FI demo, 1981)
2. Better Not Stay (HI-FI demo, 1981)
3. What Do You Wish You Could Be (songwriting demo, 1982)
4. Perfect Timing (songwriting demo, 1982)
5. Voices (songwriting demo, 1982)
6. Action (“Shook” demo, 1983)
7. Change (“Shook” demo, 1983)
8. Rendezvous (songwriting demo, 1984)
“Walking A Changing Line” demos, 1987:
9. What The Wanter Wants
10. Action & Intent
11. Too Hard Too Soon
12. Steady
13. Your Heart Again
14. Still I See You
15. We Don’t Talk Anymore (songwriting demo, 1988)
16. Rains Of ’62 (alt. take, 1989)
17. Mercy Street (working ref., 1989)
18. Perfect Timing (working ref., 1989)
CD 3 – Three’s A Charm:
1. ME ABOUT YOU (THE PYRAMID, 1966)
2. Woodstock (MATTHEWS SOUTHERN COMFORT, alt. take)
Iain Matthews, Radio Session:
3. Hearts
4. Home
5. Never Ending
6. I’ll Fly Away (PLAINSONG demo, 1972)
7. Sing Senorita (out-take, 1978)
8. On The Beach (out-take, 1983)
9. The Fabrication (demo, 1986)
10. Except For A Tear (demo, 1986)
11. Next Time Around (demo with Andy Roberts, 1991)
12. God’s Empty Chair (demo with Andy Roberts, 1991)
13. Jaques And Tambo (with Mark Hallman, 1996)
14. Spirits (PLAINSONG, Radio Session 1997)
15. Sing Sister Sing (live 1997)
CD 4 From A Hidden Pocket:
1. Let Me Live Until I See You Again
2. Seven Bridges Road (live, 1988)
3. Nothing’s Changed (demo with Andy Roberts, 1989)
4. Voices (PLAINSONG demo, 1991)
5. Living In Reverse (demo with Andy Roberts, 1991)
6. Restless Wings (HAMILTON POOL demo, 1992)
7. Leaving Alone (HAMILTON POOL demo, 1992)
8. Ballad Of Gruene Hall
9. Rooted To The Spot (demo, 1993)
10. Even If It Kills Me (demo with Clive Gregson, 1997)
11. Horse Left In The Rain (HAMILTON POOL demo with David Halley, 1997)
12. Anchor Me (demo with Michael Bonagura, 1997)
13. Something Mighty (outtake, 1998)
14. Your Own Way Of Forgetting (PLAINSONG outtake, 1998)
15. Mr Soul (demo, 1998)
16. Stranded (demo, 1999)