Bombay Sapphires
 

Has there been a definitive posting thread of the various versions of Bombay Sapphires. I read somewhere that Stevie had done a bunch of different versions of it that were all really different. I was wondering if anyone's had a discussion about the different versions and how they had changed until the final version.

No I haven't but I would love to hear them! BS is my favorite track on TISL (and Love Is but I prefer the demo). I have one demo of BS but it's not so different than the album version. I also have a live performance from the TISL tour but I have to say, this song did not translate well live.

Not sure if you've heard these, but here are some demos and outtakes. Bombay Sapphires has become my fav song from TISL over the years as well. It's such a lush, gorgeous little song.

I actually much prefer this outtake to the album version. There's more soul to it. And I just ADORE the extra verse that goes "But that's my dream, so it seems... to still see dreams, even when there are none." Such a beautiful, very Stevie sentiment :)



I guess you'd consider this one a demo. I still think it has an aura about it, even in it's skeletal form, that the final album cut lacks:

OMG I love this and have never heard it. Thank you! I wish I had the audio though :(.
Oh my and this one is not the demo I have from the TISL sessions...
I have 2 new versions of my song, it's a good night :).
Has everyone already heard the TISL sessions one? If not I can post.

Oh and I know we've been through this before and I've even gotten instructions but if anyone cares to turn these into mP3"s I'll be your best friend :angel:

I still prefer the album version though...

Thanks for posting these. I love hearing the different stages a song goes through while it's being created. This is awesome. :)

I've always thought that the first version that you posted was not a demo, but rather an outtake from one of the many (allegedly) producers that took a stab at the song (Dallas Austin, perhaps?). It just sounds a bit too polished, to me, to be a demo.

Here you go!

http://www.mediafire.com/?7y8t797p1am2hvr

http://www.mediafire.com/?uogogv528dzvizu

One is the version on the original 16-track Trouble In Shangri-la ~ no producer is known, there are NO credits on that original CD.

The other is the demo, although a very well finished version.

Thank you so much! I wish more people loved Bombay Sapphires the way I do but it's o.k. We can't all like the same things.

I love the vocal and the extra lyrics on the first one, but I must say I prefer the production of the one on the album.

Song was titled "Bombay Sapphire" until shortly before the manufacturing process of the album started in late March '01.

Song originally had slightly different lyrics.

11. Bombay Sapphire (4:04)

Words and Music by Stevie Nicks

You--beloved
Were to me--everything
That love stood for
To love one another for awhile
Was enough--
It was all that I lived for
How can I go on without you
How can I go on--without you
I tell myself--this time
I'm going to have to--
Move on

Chorus:
It's like
Bombay sapphire
Hey I can take you higher
Whatever you desire
I can mend your heart

It is green
It is aqua marine
It is colors I have never seen
I can see past you--to the white sand...
It is blue
It is not about you
It is all true
You know--who I am

And she says, the sea never changes--not really
It is the constant in my life
I always return here
To the flash of those colors
Through every window
The wind through the night
Here I am dramatic
Here I am not waiting
For the call of the wind

Chorus

It's like purple haze
It's there every day
Its passion never fades
You know what I mean

Produced by Stevie Nicks
Drums: Vinnie Colaiuta
Bass and Guitars: Al Ortiz
Keyboards: Stevie Nicks
Percussion: Lenny Castro
Guest vocals: Macy Gray
Background vocals: Sharon Celani and Lori Nicks

Engineered by Brian Scheuble
Pro Tools Engineer: Buddy Judge
Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge
Recorded at The Dog House, Los Angeles, CA
Mixed at Image Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA

It is green
It is aqua marine
It is colors I have never seen

It is blue
It is not about you

It's like purple haze
It's there every day

These lyrics spoil an otherwise OK song, for me.

See? Those are my fav lines... I adore them! They make me think of Lake Travis here in Austin where I grew up. The water changes color depending on the light and angle you're viewing it at. From high above on the cliffs it can appear sapphire blue, but down at the shoreline it's emerald green. Bombay Sapphires has always conjured up fond memories of being a kid on the lake.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...mainbasin2.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../mainbasin.jpg

Notice the same house is in both pics, they pics are just taken from different angles/vantage points.