Demo/Live Performance Requests

[SapphireSister]

I'm having a Stevie day so random thoughts...

1. Can someone please remind me what year the Chanel Chanel demo is from? I know it's been discussed but I forget and am too lazy to go back and check.

2. I love the Nothing Ever Changes demo when she goes "I can turn all your muuuuuusic on". It's different than the way she sings it in the studio version. She doesn't hold the music note that long. And why did she change the word little girl to little boy? Sneaky little thing!

3. Why does Stevie have to get old? I mean she's not a real person or anything. Can't she just be timeless and never age? I say this because somebody on Facebook recently mentioned that she sounded like an old lady in the Dave Stewart shout out and it made me sad!

4. I finally got my poster of this and hung it on the wall (although it's smaller than an actual poster size like I thought it was gonna be). Isn't it like the grooviest shot ever? Like Stevie's tummy man. Who sees THAT??


5. Why can't I be obsessed with anyone other than (or in addition to) Stevie?

Please shed some light upon these topics. Thanks in advance.

[TerraRhiannon]

Originally Posted by SapphireSister

3. Why does Stevie have to get old? I mean she's not a real person or anything. Can't she just be timeless and never age? I say this because somebody on Facebook recently mentioned that she sounded like an old lady in the Dave Stewart shout out and it made me sad!

4. I finally got my poster of this and hung it on the wall (although it's smaller than an actual poster size like I thought it was gonna be). Isn't it like the grooviest shot ever? Like Stevie's tummy man. Who sees THAT??


5. Why can't I be obsessed with anyone other than (or in addition to) Stevie?

3. There's many people on here that would kill you for gushing like this about Stevie. I'm not one of those people. I feel the same way, lmao. Anyway, I don't think she sounded old at all. I was surprised to hear how amazing she sounds. <3

4. Oh my goodness, her tummy! I've only seen it in one other picture before. Huh.. interesting.

5. Her ethereal beauty, the way she looks at 62. Her amazing music, lyrics & style. She is adorable at her age and always has been and you just want to squeeze her. You probably knew this but I just wanted to remind you. I'm also in love with Florence + the Machine. If you've never heard of her you should check her out!

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by SapphireSister

I'm having a Stevie day so random thoughts...

1. Can someone please remind me what year the Chanel Chanel demo is from? I know it's been discussed but I forget and am too lazy to go back and check.

2. I love the Nothing Ever Changes demo when she goes "I can turn all your muuuuuusic on". It's different than the way she sings it in the studio version. She doesn't hold the music note that long. And why did she change the word little girl to little boy? Sneaky little thing!

3. Why does Stevie have to get old? I mean she's not a real person or anything. Can't she just be timeless and never age? I say this because somebody on Facebook recently mentioned that she sounded like an old lady in the Dave Stewart shout out and it made me sad!

4. I finally got my poster of this and hung it on the wall (although it's smaller than an actual poster size like I thought it was gonna be). Isn't it like the grooviest shot ever? Like Stevie's tummy man. Who sees THAT??

5. Why can't I be obsessed with anyone other than (or in addition to) Stevie?

Please shed some light upon these topics. Thanks in advance.

1. TISL sessions
2. demos are usually better than album versions
3. What did you look like 25 years ago? Do you wanna look like that 4-ever?
4. Karen sees.
5. She put a spell on ya!

[SapphireSister]

Originally Posted by vivfox

1. TISL sessions
2. demos are usually better than album versions
3. What did you look like 25 years ago? Do you wanna look like that 4-ever?
4. Karen sees.
5. She put a spell on ya!

Hee hee! Thanks for responding, Viv!
3. Well I was 9 so not really but if I looked like that, yes! And I'm not saying she can't age at all, just a lot slower than the rest of us.

[jeffd8382]

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

Check the most recent Mirror Mirror thread in the Stevie forum. I posted some Mirror Mirror outtakes and Thousand Days demo that are probably the best quality I've heard. Not crystal clear, but far better than most.

I would love a master copy of the RAL versions of Lady From The Mountain, Running Through The Garden, the sax outtake of Thousand Days - and Love is Like A River - but I don't think we'll get them while Stevie is, um, alive....

Sad.. but I'm sure you're absolutely correct. I also keep hoping for expanded/remastered editions of her albums, but like you said, that's probably not very likely any time soon either... I had some hope a few years ago due to most artists/bands of that era getting remasters & re-releases. That was until I realized there were no plans to even continue remastering and releasing expanded editions of Mirage & Tango In The Night.

[Christopher]

Originally Posted by jeffd8382

Sad.. but I'm sure you're absolutely correct. I also keep hoping for expanded/remastered editions of her albums, but like you said, that's probably not very likely any time soon either... I had some hope a few years ago due to most artists/bands of that era getting remasters & re-releases. That was until I realized there were no plans to even continue remastering and releasing expanded editions of Mirage & Tango In The Night.

My thinking is that a lot of it has to do with how the CD format continues it's slide towards irrelevance. There is less incentive for record co. conglomerates to re-release older material now then ever before due to ever declining profits, unless it is a repackaged greatest hits disc. We may never see those records expanded and remastered now. SAD but true. You don't really even hear about that many artists box sets being released today like they were in the 90's and early 00's.

Stevie should release a bootlegs series exclusively through Itunes or something. I am sure it would get several thousands of downloads if we got upgraded material straight from the source Ahhh we can dream....

[jeffd8382]

Originally Posted by Christopher

Stevie should release a bootlegs series exclusively through Itunes or something. I am sure it would get several thousands of downloads if we got upgraded material straight from the source Ahhh we can dream....

I think that's a great idea... Barry Gibb did this a few years ago by releasing his demo sessions for Barbra Streisand's Guilty album, Dionne Warwick's Heartbreaker album, Kenny Rogers' Eyes That See In The Dark album, and Diana Ross' Eaten Alive album through iTunes. They are no longer available though, which is too bad (especially since that was before iTunes Plus with improved bitrate quality was implemented)

In addition, they could release a very expensive, limited edition physical box set with all the same tracks for those fans and audiophiles that love getting our hands on a physical product with lossless quality audio tracks.

[jeffd8382]

Hey everyone...

A recent post in another thread reminded me of the demo for a song called "Love & War" or "Mix Down"... I believe it was recorded somewhere around 1989-1991 (by what it sounds like).

I've only found MP3s of the recording at low bitrates (usually 128)... but since that's all I have, I decided to work on enhancing the quality (it always bugged me that most of the sound was panned to the left).

So here are the results (although it's originally a lossy file, I have uploaded it as a WAV to not further degrade the quality after editing):
http://www.mediafire.com/?7i1vgl88d8xn5j8

I think it's a definite improvement, particularly in the low-end... If anyone has a lossless copy of decent sound quality they could share, that would be wonderful. But until then, we all have this!

Editing Notes (for those interested):
I first raised the right channel to match the left. I then stripped the center and left/right channels apart for separate editing (which is what I usually do when I have tried to enhance files).
The center channel luckily contained most of the vocal track, so I re-equalized that... trying to bring some depth into it, while also brightening it up. I also added a little mild reverb to add some fullness.
The side channels I tried to even some of the volume levels (since the intro beat was much louder than the remainder of the track); did some re-equalization to reduce a little sharpness and boost low-end; used some mild noise reduction (most tape hiss was in right channel); tried to fix a couple glitchy audio artifacts (a few still remain)
I then re-mixed the channels together, used a little compression, and edited fade-in & fade-out.

Enjoy!

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by jeffd8382

Editing Notes (for those interested):
I first raised the right channel to match the left. I then stripped the center and left/right channels apart for separate editing (which is what I usually do when I have tried to enhance files).
The center channel luckily contained most of the vocal track, so I re-equalized that... trying to bring some depth into it, while also brightening it up. I also added a little mild reverb to add some fullness.
The side channels I tried to even some of the volume levels (since the intro beat was much louder than the remainder of the track); did some re-equalization to reduce a little sharpness and boost low-end; used some mild noise reduction (most tape hiss was in right channel); tried to fix a couple glitchy audio artifacts (a few still remain)
I then re-mixed the channels together, used a little compression, and edited fade-in & fade-out.

Sounds like you are working with a nifty 4-track recorder?

[jeffd8382]

Originally Posted by vivfox

Sounds like you are working with a nifty 4-track recorder?

I wish I were that capable! Actually what I'm doing is using digital plug-ins and audio editing software.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by jeffd8382

I wish I were that capable! Actually what I'm doing is using digital plug-ins and audio editing software.

On what? A computer?

[jeffd8382]

Originally Posted by vivfox

On what? A computer?

Yes.. just on my PC.

[SapphireSister]

So this randomly came on my iPod today and I almost creamed my pants! I don't know if I downloaded it from this thread or it was just some random thing I had but it's TO DIE FOR! I'm not even a big fan of Think About It but this vocal is so classic Stevie and so fabulous I had to share. Please download it now! Those harmonies, ooooohhhhh!!!! I can die a happy woman, she's just that good!
http://www.mediafire.com/?hr6gf0dbj9ywa

[SuiteShangriLa]

Originally Posted by SapphireSister

So this randomly came on my iPod today and I almost creamed my pants! I don't know if I downloaded it from this thread or it was just some random thing I had but it's TO DIE FOR! I'm not even a big fan of Think About It but this vocal is so classic Stevie and so fabulous I had to share. Please download it now! Those harmonies, ooooohhhhh!!!! I can die a happy woman, she's just that good!
http://www.mediafire.com/?hr6gf0dbj9ywa

yeah...this is the acapella version that a posted in this thread awhile back

[SapphireSister]

Originally Posted by SuiteShangriLa

yeah...this is the acapella version that a posted in this thread awhile back

In that case, YOU ROCK!