Best LONG song sessions

Hawkeye · #1 12-21-2015, 08:22 PM

I'm referring to the songs that we have access to hours of footage of stevie recording certain songs. I'm currently halfway thru listening to all the blue lamps posted on ivory keys,. I'm beyond thrilled to have finally found the one labeled demo 4.i used to have and love that version but had lost it. I assumed that that 16 minute demos was it to all the blue lamp demos, other then the 4 minute outtake that is basically the studio version plus the extended ending, but I was very wrong

there are 15 other parts to the blue lamp sessions.

So I decided to start to dig further into ivory keys and listen to more of these. B I was wondering if anyone had any strong opinions as to what are the best out there. I would consider good factors to be:

1, differences in takes- I would prefer for all 15 takes of something to not be identical!

2. Cool banter- this is maybe my favorite thing about these sessions.

3. Or whatever you personally think sets one of these sessions apart.

Hawkeye · #2 12-21-2015, 08:34 PM

On a side note, it blows my mind how many takes are out there of some songs! Especially when said songs ended up not being very significant. There are 20 Dealers on ivory keys and it never made it onto album until last year.

I feel like the wild heart songs are the only exception. Except for BATB, hose songs were basically all written and recorded instantly with not a bunch of takes floating around.

Hawkeye · #3 12-21-2015, 08:39 PM

And to answer my own question and help others out striped for time and interested in listening to the blue lamp sessions. So far and I'm only on demo 9, number 4 is the best for the previously mentioned cool banter and just for being the longest. But number 6 basically sounds like a frisking symphony with how good the background vocals are. The rest basically sound all the same with minor exceptions. But I can listen to pretty much the same of blue lamp for hours and hours and be fine.

#4 12-22-2015, 03:26 AM

I love Blue Lamp! I just wish there was a studio version without the fade out, other than the instrumental. I love the live ending.

I will have to think more about the question, meanwhile I will check out the demos, thanks for the info!

**SisterNightroad** · #5 12-22-2015, 12:16 PM

My favourite Long song session as you put it is the one for "Bella Donna". I just love all of her different phrasings and vocalisms and pitch for each version.
Last year before shutting down Ivory Keys posted the new Acetate Upgrade of a lot of the takes and they are all equally beautiful.

Hawkeye · #6 12-22-2015, 12:30 PM

OK I have new favorite version. Number 11 is freaking amazing. If anyone here is only able to listen to one of the 18 blue lamps, go for 11. Stevie starts off with what she calls a wolf call, which I would say she does in a lot of her songs but I never thought to call it a wolf call! It also has a really cool background almost futuristic sound.

And I've only gotten to 11. There's still 7 more so I might update again.

sorcerer999 · #7 12-22-2015, 09:30 PM

I still have a soft spot for the long ass demo version of "Beauty & The Beast". It is undoubtedly the most difficult piece of music that Stevie has written - too many transitional piano changes

- so much so that Stevie makes quite a few mistakes here. But it is so early in the writing process, and her voice is golden (as is her genuine excitement about the song) that one can forgive the flubs in order to appreciate how the song comes together. There is someone in the session with her that she refers to as "Tom" but I have no idea if it's Tom Petty or someone else. His voice can be heard in the background, but it's not all that clear or distinctive.

It's "okay" quality. Definitely not a studio recording. I think it's Stevie, Tom (strumming on guitar) and someone else at this session. Maybe even four people. It's been a very long time since I've heard it. It sounds like it was recorded with just a simple cassette recorder. At one point Stevie tapes her lyric sheet to the candle above the piano she's playing, in order to remember her place in the song whilst trying to navigate the many verses.

She spends a lot of time describing her experience viewing Cocteau's film for the first time and how she was blown away by it - and how it tied in with her concept in this song.

It's cute. I love it!

WatchChain · #8 12-29-2015, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sorcerer999

I still have a soft spot for the long ass demo version of "Beauty & The Beast". It is undoubtedly the most difficult piece of music that Stevie has written - too many transitional piano changes

- so much so that Stevie makes quite a few mistakes here. But it is so early in the writing process, and her voice is golden (as is her genuine excitement about the song) that one can forgive the flubs in order to appreciate how the song comes together. There is someone in the session with her that she refers to as "Tom" but I have no idea if it's Tom Petty or someone else. His voice can be heard in the background, but it's not all that clear or distinctive.

It's "okay" quality. Definitely not a studio recording. I think it's Stevie, Tom (strumming on guitar) and someone else at this session. Maybe even four people. It's been a very long time since I've heard it. It sounds like it was recorded with just a simple cassette recorder. At one point Stevie tapes her lyric sheet to the candle above the piano she's playing, in order to remember her place in the song whilst trying to navigate the many verses.

She spends a lot of time describing her experience viewing Cocteau's film for the first time and how she was blown away by it - and how it tied in with her concept in this song.

It's cute. I love it!

THIS is also my favorite of Stevie's bootlegged demos. I LOVE her description of the Cocteau film with the candle holders, and the love held in the film.

KarmaContestant · #9 12-29-2015, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

So I decided to start to dig further into ivory keys and listen to more of these. B I was wondering if anyone had any strong opinions as to what are the best out there. I would consider good factors to be:

1, differences in takes- I would prefer for all 15 takes of something to not be identical!

2. Cool banter- this is maybe my favorite thing about these sessions.

3. Or whatever you personally think sets one of these sessions apart.

Outside The Rain! Some are broken into tracks, but were really just studio play. There is lots of banter and conversation from Stevie. The early 1980 recordings of Outside The Rain show the development of the song, with a lot of different lyrics used through the process.

#10 12-30-2015, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

Outside The Rain! Some are broken into tracks, but were really just studio play. There is lots of banter and conversation from Stevie. The early 1980 recordings of Outside The Rain show the development of the song, with a lot of different lyrics used through the process.

I liked "love is a word I'm trying to learn, words don't mean much at all"

I would have kept those lyrics - they seem so innocent