Due out this week is the new offering from the McCartney Archives series, the first on the Capitol Records label, "Flowers In The Dirt". Today, Mike Carrera offers a quick musical review of the upcoming Flowers in the dirt Archive - DeLuxe edition
release, focusing only on the differences of the CD 2 Demos and the old bootleg version of the same demos, as released in 1998 by the Vigotone label: The McCartney/Mac Manus Collaboration, plus a glimpse of the new and never-heard-before demos from 1998 (CD 3 on the Deluxe Edition of the Flowers Archive box set). |
| Vigotone bootleg in question |
The main difference is that the bootleg demos have slight hiss noise and the now official demos are with clean sound, but the bootleg versions sounds louder.
1 THE LOVERS THAT NEVER WERE ( DEMO #1) 3:55 (Official CD 2) VS 3:57 (Bootleg)
Official set has a fade out which means it's missing the final guitar chords where the bootleg is complete.
A fragment (1:27) of this very same demo was broadcast during Paul’s Oobu Joobu Radio shows in 1995.
2 TOMMY’S COMING HOME 4:06 vs 4:06
No differences
3 TWENTY FINE FINGERS 2:23 vs 2:25
Official release misses only two seconds and a barely listenable Paul vocal during fade out that can be heard with headphones on the bootleg. The correct name of the song is Twenty Fine Fingers, contrary to what it says on the bootleg: Twenty Five Fingers.
4 SO LIKE CANDY 3:26 vs 3:26
No differences
5 YOU WANT HER TOO 2:34 vs 2:43
No differences
6 THAT DAY IS DONE 4:13
NEW- never released on bootleg before
7 DON’T BE CARELESS LOVE 3:40 vs 3:33
The same version but the bootleg runs at a faster speed. Other than that, no differences.
8 MY BRAVE FACE 2:39 vs 2:29
Complete for the first time, the bootleg is missing 10 seconds of the finale.
9 PLAYBOY TO A MAN 2:54 vs 2:50
The same version but the bootleg runs at a faster speed. Other than that, no differences.
10 HIDDEN TRACK (after PLAYBOY TO A MAN):
THE LOVERS THAT NEVER WERE ( DEMO #2) 4:06
NEW- never released on bootleg before. It uses the SAME demo (track 1) recorded by Paul and Elvis in 1987 as a musical bed underneath, but adds additional instruments (a different piano intro, guitars, backing vocals from Linda and additional elements like a clock sound at the end) overdubbed by Paul after he recorded the “band demo”(Flowers Archive CD 3) in 1988 . This is more similar to the "Off the Ground" released version from 1992.
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| Paul McCartney on set at the video shoot for ‘This One’ directed by Tim Pope, Battersea, London, 1989 © Eugene Adebari |
CD 3- BAND DEMOS 1988 (includes drums, piano, guitars, etc).
ALL NEW, NEVER HEARD, NEVER RELEASED before (official or bootleg)
1 THE LOVERS THAT NEVER WERE 3:43
A very rough band demo, distant from the released Off the Ground version (or the “Hidden Track” Demo #2 on CD 2) . Paul’s vocal track only, not sign of Elvis signing (contrary to the demo(s) from CD 2)
2 TOMMY’S COMING HOME 5:00
A studio outtake more than a “demo”. More produced/changes of rhythm than the CD 2 demo. Elvis and Paul singing together.
3 TWENTY FINE FINGERS 2:41
Similar from the CD 2 demo, but now with rhythm box/drum machine and some additional elements (like an actual drum on a few parts of the song and electric guitar). Elvis and Paul singing together.
4 SO LIKE CANDY 3:43
Paul on main vocal, Elvis on backings. Different arrangement from the released version in 1991 (Mighty Like a Rose), more similar to the CD 2 demo, this version now features full band (drums/guitars/keyboards, etc).
More than a studio demo sounds like an outtake.
5 YOU WANT HER TOO 3:15
An alternate take, not a “demo”, almost the same as the released version with slight differences in the vocal tracks which are more “rough”, misses also the orchestral coda at the end. Elvis and Paul singing their parts like the released version.
6 THAT DAY IS DONE 4:16
Another alternate take more than a “demo”. Paul on main vocal, Elvis and Hamish Stuart on backing vocals, like the released version.
7 DON’T BE CARELESS LOVE 3:20
Another alternate take more than a “demo”, starts like the released version but has a different change of rhythm. Paul on main vocal, Elvis on backing vocals.
8 MY BRAVE FACE 3:26
One of the highlights, this “band demo” features both Elvis and Paul singing it together and sounds similar (but slower, still faster and different from the CD 2 demo) to the released version (which don’t feature Elvis on vocals).
9 PLAYBOY TO A MAN 2:51
Paul on main vocal, Elvis on backings. Different arrangement from the released version in 1991 (Mighty Like a Rose), more similar to the CD 2 demo but faster, this version now features full band (drums/guitars/keyboards, etc). More than a studio demo sounds like an outtake.
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| Vinyl edition of the new "Flowers In The Dirt" |