Remixes better than the Album Version
 

Today, I discovered those Street Angel Master Mix demos, and I'm shocked at how better some of the songs sound, namely Maybe Love which is so much better.

So I'm wondering, is there any other album tracks which have an "improved" version (be it a demo or an alternative mix etc.)

With these mixes, Street Angel album isn't as bad (but it's still pretty bad)
Thanks!

I tend to favor the 12" extended version of "Rock A Little" (Go Ahead Lily) as well as the 12" extended mix of "Long Way To Go".

I'm in the minority as far as the B-Side remix of "The Nightmare". I love it soooo much better than the cut that made the album.

I also love the Sheryl Crow Radio Edit of "Sorcerer", which starts off fast. I don't like it BETTER than the original, but it's got a different vibe. More guitar heavy. I tend to use that one on my "guitar driven" Stevie mix tapes.

As far as Fleetwood Mac, the extended version of "Gypsy" that appeared on the Chain boxed set is the only version I listen to these days. And the single versions of "Say You Love Me" and "Rhiannon" I also like better than their album version counterparts.

:D

Also to add to that, as far as demos...

Even though the album version of "Blue Water" has grown on me (I tend to sequence it with other country-ish songs on my various mixes - it works well squeezed between "Sleeping Angel" and "If You Ever Did Believe") I still prefer the demo version, and all the magic within.

I'd say the same thing about "Lady From The Mountain" versus "Moonlight" but they are essentially two different songs that share same lyrics and melody on the verses...and I love them equally.

YES YES to all of this! :nod: I particularly LOVE the 12" extended RAL and The Nightmare. There were rumours that the remixed Nightmare was originally slated for what was eventually released as Crystal Visions, which would've been amazing. I also like the Blue Lamp and Nightbird outtakes with the extra vocals at the end, and the extended version of Planets with the extra verse.

And although I don't strongly prefer them over the originals, the Timespace CLA remixes always sounds fresh when I listen to them.

As to FM songs, I entirely agree re Gypsy. The TITN extended dance remixes are great - I particularly love the 12" Seven Wonders mix and the extra Stevie vocals on Little Lies. I'd also add the single, cold edit version of Say You Will, which thankfully omits the dreadful childrens' voices at the end. :sorry:

I always said I liked the Wildheart dressing room video version better then the studio cut.

I've always much preferred Battle of the Dragon from the Sometimes It's A Bitch CD single than the Enchanted version...:o

The intro of the Extended version of Long Way To Go is quite kooky...I like it!

I don't think I've heard this version. Is this the same version as Chris Lord-Alge's Timespace mix? What's different about it?

I'm so curious now, as BOTD is one of her BEST songs, in my opinion. A shame it never got the proper exposure it should have gotten.

Honestly, not sure. It's a great mix. The CD doesn't attribute CLA, but it very well could be him (most of the liner notes are in Japanese). Is the Enchanted version the same as the mix on the American Anthem soundtrack? (I haven't heard the soundtrack version). Interestingly, the CD (which was only released in Japan), calls the song "Battle of the Dragons," plural.

But your mention of CLA reminds me, I love his mixes of Thousand Days and the Listen to the Rain outtake from Timespace - both are far superior to the album/official single mixes, IMO.

Yes.

The only versions of BOTD that I've heard are Enchanted/American Anthem version and the Timespace mix. There are only subtle differences. Mixing and volume levels on instrumentation, mainly. That's why I'm wondering how different the B-Side version from Sometimes Its A Bitch is compared to the others.

It very well may be the Timespace mix - I just haven't that, so am not 100% certain. The SIAB B-side is not super dramatically different from the Enchanted mix.

It's a shame the song never made it onto Mirror Mirror/RAL - one of her better from that period.

The main difference I hear is the vocal has a lot less echo on it than the Enchanted version. My liner notes aren't in Japanese (it's the Aussie CD )but it doesn't mention CLA, but does say that track was originally published in 1986.
As you mentioned, the differences are subtle, mainly in the instrumentation and it's the less echoey vocal that I like more than the Enchanted version.:)
Cheers!

I should add that I completely agree that the master/original SA mixes are so much better than what was ultimately released (although the album is no doubt her weakest). I've always been intrigued by how she chose to remix the songs post-detox, but later chose to include the Master Mixes on Enchanted.

The original mixes are very stripped down, which some fans prefer. I personally like a little more meat and production on the solo recordings. So that's why I prefer the final version of "Blue Denim" and "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind." But I do like the original mixes for "Unconditional Love" and "Jane."

The alternate mix for "Rock a Little" stands out for me too. I like Stevie's vocal, which is less ragged and drunk-sounding, and that this version is considerably longer.

I'm a big fan of the "Whole Lotta Trouble," "Sleeping Angel," and "Battle of the Dragon" remixes too, which all improve upon the originals.

It's actually the drums that make the biggest difference. These remixes were all done by Chris Lord-Alge for consideration on Timespace (The master reels have his name listed). The adjustment of the drums is one of his trademarks, and he usually goes big. He also did a great remix for "Violet and Blue."

I can't believe I forgot the alternate "slow intro" version of "I Can't Wait". I LOVE THAT ONE! It's basically just the lone synth piano chorus melody by itself, without any other instrumentation...and then the drums/other instruments kick in with a spoken intro by Stevie that has an echoed reverb...even though I can't understand what the Hell she's saying, I think it sounds really cool...and then the girls chime in with the "yes, I know you..." a couple of times before it goes into the first verse.

The only thing missing from this version is the instrumental breakdown after the musical bridge (the part in the music video where Stevie busts through the wall...and the part that David Letterman kept playing over and over on his show when he was making fun of Stevie).

If there were a version out there that included both the slow intro AND the middle instrumental breakdown, then this track would be PERFECTION for me, personally. :nod:

YES!! And I love her hang gestures in the music video during the instrumental breakdown, too.

You guys are making me want to hear all these alternate versions that I've never heard. :nod:

This thread has a lot of useful information :thumbsup:

http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=46791

Thanks! I'll check it out.

She's saying "How will we feel 20 years from now thinking back". There was a cassette tape one of the Ledgies got off of ebay that had a bunch of super rare raw mixes of I Can't Wait that included several bits that seemed to be things they were trying out for the extended mixes. A few of them play the sample that you hear in the final mix before the guitar solo but without a lot of the backing instruments and you can clearly hear what is being said. It's clearly not Stevie, but I'm not sure which if the girls it is. I always thought it was a sample from a movie or something because remixers in the 80's did that from time to time. But in one of the rough mixes of the single version they play the beginning part without all that echoed reverb and the one at the beginning is clearly Stevie. So it's my guess that they had Stevie do it and one of the girls and then just played around with it. There was a keyboard called a Fairlight that let you sample things very clearly and play them with the keys on a keyboard. Stevie Wonder had a cameo on the Cosby show and did a bit with it where he sampled the kids voices and made a little impromptu performance out of it. That's how, during the bridge, it's played at different speeds and starts out with that sort of stuttering effect with "how-how will... how-how will we....'

That version of "I Can't Wait" was used as the single version in the UK. It was the lead single from RAL here, instead of "Talk To Me".

On the subject, the "Blue Denim" single remix is FAR better than the album version. It packs so much more punch than the flat sounding album version.

I also prefer the 12" Extended remix of "The Nightmare", but being truly honest, it's a terrible song, so it doesn't really save it that much :P

Street Angel's mix is just....meh. The Enchanted box remixes of the two best Street Angel songs (says me), 'Rose Garden' and 'Destiny', are the only versions to listen to.

I first came to love 'I Can't Wait' on Enchanted, but honestly I've come to love the original Rock a Little version more. It'd be nice to put elements from the remix on Enchanted together with the album version, though.

I've recently completed my Fleetwood Mac single single/promo single collection and I bought the "Say You Will" radio promo single. Is it me or is this a whole newly recorded version of the song? The intro is different, Stevie's verse melody is different in the second verse, and the breakdown is different at the end.

I'm not sure I like it more or less than the album version, but it was a weird curio I never knew about.