Demo or Album?

    Do you ever wonder what goes into the making of a song?  I sure do.  Whenever I am listening to the finished album cut of a song, I always wonder..."What does the demo sound like?"  I always seem to like the rough cuts more than the clean ones.  To me, they sound more authentic and raw.  I like to hear what could have been in the song. You can hear vocals and instruments that never made the finished product and in all actuality, those extra bits made the song that much better.  When I listen to demos, I make sure to listen to them the whole way through.  Especially with a band like Fleetwood Mac, you always seem to hear tid-bits of interesting lyrics that give a better explanation to the song.  Like I stated before, when listening to a Fleetwood Mac song, particularly from the Rumours era, it is like reading their diary.  Within these demos are extra "pieces of the puzzle" that allow the listeners to experience what they were feeling at that very moment.  Its like being a fly on the wall so to speak...(the one time when I would love to be an insect).
  Lots of times in demo, you will get longer tracks for they simply did not have room to fit them on an album.  A classic example of this would be when Stevie Nicks was denied to have her beautiful song, Silver Springs on the 1976 Rumours album. The song was recorded and then at the last second, she was told it would not make the album for it was too long. The song was replaced with a shorter upbeat song of Nicks' called I Don't Want to Know.-an awesome diddy might I add...
Thankfully, Silver Springs was finally released 25 years later on the Rumours expansion CD, but until then very few were exposed to album version of the song. 

    Alright so I'm a demo girl but who knows, you guys might like the finished product of a song better than the demo!  We all have our differences...

You guys listen to these next few vids and you make the call.  Demo or Album?  ( Stevie Nicks has many demos, so I just focused on her songs.  When I find more from Christine and Lindsey I will be sure to post them!)

Silver Springs Demo 1976 Rumours

Silver Springs1976- Sold now on: Rumours Expansion CD ( The recording that was cut at the last minute.  This was the final cut)



Gypsy Demo 1983


Gypsy on 1983 Mirage Album

  So those are a few comparisons of a demo versus and album track...



 Now here are some songs that resurfaced a good twenty-plus years after they were first recorded.  The first song is a song of Nicks' If you Ever Did Believe  The song was written for the Rumours album and once again...a beautiful song that never made the cut.  It resurfaced when Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crowe re-recorded this song in order for it to be in the 1998 film Practical Magic starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock.  Take a listen...

1976" Rumours-to be" Version (Demo-take)If You Ever Did Believe



1998 Music Video to Film Practical Magic Re-recorded If You Ever Did Believe


...And remember that other song that was supposed to be on Rumours? I wrote about it to you earlier, but it is the song Planets of the Universe. Its a haunting song that never made the album but it finally found its was out to the public when Stevie Nicks re-recorded it for her 2003 Trouble in Shagri-La Album. Check out the differences in these two versions...

1976 "Rumours to be" Version Planets of the Universe


2003 Trouble in Shangri-La Album: Stevie Nicks solo



And might I add that all four versions (both new and old) are in my currently Ipod-and I hope they will be in yours too!
I hope the next time you listen to an album version of a song, you will think of the process that went into making that recording what it is today. Who knows, maybe there are more songs out there that we have yet to hear. All we need to do is wait twenty plus years...

...But I bet it will be worth the wait.

JDSkills