From the STREET ANGEL Work Tapes: - Page 5

AnthonyMI · #61 06-30-2011, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffd8382

Hi there, everybody!

I am pleased to present you guys with an "enhanced" version of the 1992 outtake of "Mirror, Mirror". The track has been speed-adjusted as well. I think this one turned out quite well since the source was so well preserved, so hope you guys will enjoy it!

Mirror, Mirror - Rough 07/29/1992 - enhanced + speed-adjusted
http://www.mediafire.com/?5k3h9aumpk3nprb

which direction did you adjust the speed? And how was the speed wrong in the first place?

AnthonyMI · #62 06-30-2011, 10:08 AM

Can someone post links to the other "finished" versions of Mirror Mirror as MP3s? I would like to compare them all.

Was the B side one ever located in a pristine copy or is the only version we have have tape-hiss from being transferred from cassette?

AC

mikebise · #63 06-30-2011, 10:28 AM

There are several pristine copies of the 1984 Rock A Little versions (and a few lesser so).

From another thread:

randydesertrat
Junior Ledgie

Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 17
Mirror, Mirror Outtakes Pitch Restored!
As you all are no doubt aware, most of the Rock A Little outtakes and demos speeds are quite fast due to multiple copying and sharing via cassette format back in the day. At times Stevie sounds like a girl of 13 or a singing chipmunk! I have always wanted to get around to restoring these fast tracks to their proper speed and pitch. I have begun with Mirror, Mirror since we have a finished released track for a guide.

There are seven known tracks of Mirror, Mirror out there; the released track plus six outtakes. I am posting the outtakes here in WAV format. They have been restored to proper pitch and speed and have been optimized in volume to Odb. The audio quality of the tracks varies but is mostly good.

Of the six outtakes there are two different versions of the song. The first version is the "rock version" with the steady beat, different melody and lyrics. The second version is the one with the same backing track as the released version with five different vocal takes by Stevie.

Mirror, Mirror [Version #1]:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?2uun5elj3wc2ykl

There is no known complete copy of this version in circulation. In this outtake the music fades out midway through and then fades back in. For this pitch restored version I have spliced these two sections together so that the music never completely fades away and it sounds more like one take. For the pitch restoration I used the song "Rock A Little (Go Ahead Lily)" as my guide and that seemed a good match.

Mirror, Mirror [Version #2, Vocal #1]:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?hnbcwwg28v1csrn

The melodies vary greatly in the five takes of this second version. They are primarily identified by Stevie's last line in each take. In this first take the last line is "In spite of what you say, well I really wanted you".

Mirror, Mirror [Version #2, Vocal #2]:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?8fbw2i11bc8avww

In this second take Stevie's last line is "Now this will leave you haunted, I really wanted you!"

Mirror, Mirror [Version #2, Vocal #3]:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mhb4h31zczgkbby

In this third take Stevie's last line is "Well ask your mirror, well I really wanted you...."

Mirror, Mirror [Version #2, Vocal #4]:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ulgadkl9gwobwr7

In this fourth take Stevie's last line is "This will leave you haunted in your mirror".

Mirror, Mirror [Version #2, Vocal #5]:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?e8pls894e28jyjc

This fifth take includes most of Stevie's final vocal with a few different lines that were later re-recorded. In this take Stevie does not sing the bridge or the last chorus. The vocal ends at the instrumental section and the song remains instrumental from there to the end. The ending on this take fades out instead of finishing cold like the others do.

Enjoy everybody! Hopefully I'll get to restoring more of the Rock A Little fast tracks soon.

jeffd8382 · #64 06-30-2011, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnthonyMI

which direction did you adjust the speed? And how was the speed wrong in the first place?

Hi Anthony,

I slowed the speed slightly so that the song is now in-tune... this, of course, goes on the assumption that the musicians checked the tuning of their instruments before recording. I try to use my ear to see what seems the most natural for Stevie's voice as well... I realize this is a very subjective assessment. The reason I checked and adjusted it in the first place is because the source is a cassette tape... the speed of playback can vary by player with cassettes, affecting the pitch of a song (usually playing back slightly faster than the original source, seemingly even moreso near the end of a side of the tape). I think there tends to be more of an issue with older cassette tapes as well.

Like I said, my adjustment is really a subjective judgment call. If you would like, I can re-adjust the song to play at the speed it did from the source tape... but I do believe that the adjusted speed sounds the most natural to my ear. Take a listen and compare them, and see what you think... I always value feedback on the stuff I work on. Besides just the experience of working on the material, the only way I can get better at what I am doing is to have helpful feedback from other people who listen to the material on their different sound systems... most importantly, with their perspectives/ears since everybody will hear things differently.

Let me know if you really want to have an "enhanced" version that plays at the original speed... and I can send it to you.

JeremyGloff · #65 06-30-2011, 07:53 PM

To me this version of "Mirror Mirror" is the most important Stevie find in a long time. It's shocking to me to know this kind of FIRE existed in Stevie in 1992...and that it's sat on the shelf unknown all these years. It makes you wonder...what else is still out there?
Had we had this SA version all these years instead of the RAL one...what would we think of the RAL one if it just was discovered now?

I never liked "Mirror Mirror" much I always found it rambling and listless...but this new version puts it up on the top of my list. With "Mirror Mirror" repeated more times like a chorus it gives the song a needed cohesion for me. And that vocal...wow. Miles away from "Just Like A Woman" or "Love's a Hard Game To Play" (other early 90s songs...)

Thank you Mike. I know many others have thanked you...but really we are historians of the music of Stevie Nicks. And this "Mirror Mirror" is legendary!

To the hoarders...if you are reading this...shame on you.

KarmaContestant · #66 06-30-2011, 07:56 PM

I wonder if Stevie recorded Running Through The Garden for possible inclusion on Street Angel as well?

Supernaut · #67 06-30-2011, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyGloff

To me this version of "Mirror Mirror" is the most important Stevie find in a long time. It's shocking to me to know this kind of FIRE existed in Stevie in 1992...and that it's sat on the shelf unknown all these years. It makes you wonder...what else is still out there?
Had we had this SA version all these years instead of the RAL one...what would we think of the RAL one if it just was discovered now?

I never liked "Mirror Mirror" much I always found it rambling and listless...but this new version puts it up on the top of my list. With "Mirror Mirror" repeated more times like a chorus it gives the song a needed cohesion for me. And that vocal...wow. Miles away from "Just Like A Woman" or "Love's a Hard Game To Play" (other early 90s songs...)

Thank you Mike. I know many others have thanked you...but really we are historians of the music of Stevie Nicks. And this "Mirror Mirror" is legendary!

To the hoarders...if you are reading this...shame on you.

I agree - this is GOLD.

On Ice · #68 06-30-2011, 08:13 PM

I think all the Street Angel naysayers would be dancing to a different beat if this version of Mirror Mirror had been on the album. Stevie is amazing in her delivery here and if she was advised to shelve this song, just another piece of poor advice she's gotten and taken throughout her career. As a popular artist with the means and ways to do so, this high calibre material ought not be wasting in some "vault". An album per year would not have been out of the question. I've always scratched my head at the silly 3 song limit she had on those classic albums. A minimum of 5 would have been a start. I think we've actually only heard a small fraction of what our lady has done over the years and we'll continue to be pleasantly surprised. It would appear at least that we have a whole other "parallel universe", and maybe the real Street Angel will emerge and we can re-write history.

mikebise · #69 06-30-2011, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

I wonder if Stevie recorded Running Through The Garden for possible inclusion on Street Angel as well?

It was copyrighted again in 1992 along with "Mirror, Mirror" and "I Call You Missing". Maybe all three were done at the same time/space?

KarmaContestant · #70 06-30-2011, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikebise

It was copyrighted again in 1992 along with "Mirror, Mirror" and "I Call You Missing". Maybe all three were done at the same time/space?

I would love to hear them all together! Someday, hopefully, they'll slip out.

UndoingTheLaces · #71 07-01-2011, 10:58 AM

I never liked Mirror Mirror because it always sounded like a piece of background music for an episode of Miami Vice. But with all these new enhanced versions and the SA version being posted I've found a new love for it. The SA version even reminds me of Trouble in Shangre La. I'm really loving this. Thank you so much for all the hard work you put into restoring these gems. Even though Stevie doesn't record as much as she used to it's so wonderful to get these tracks.

KarmaContestant · #72 07-01-2011, 02:49 PM

I can not get either take of Unconditional Love to work; one loads an invalid page, and the other loads a blank page.

I've tried all of the links through the thread and on 7W, and still have the same problem.

Is there anyone who successfully downloaded both who is willing to re-up them to MediaFire and post new links? Please - and thank you!

mikebise · #73 07-01-2011, 03:04 PM

Mathew, those weren't my links, just "Mirror, Mirror" and "Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind" Take 1. I just left my high speed connection for the day, or I would upload my lossless copies for you and everyone else. I can in the morning if no one else does before then.

jeffd8382 · #74 07-01-2011, 11:05 PM

Mathew, I'm getting the same thing with those two "Unconditional Love" links, so it does look like they were removed... I uploaded both of them into my mediafire account for you (or anyone else who hasn't downloaded them yet), so here are 2 new links:

Unconditional Love - Take 1 - 06/12/1993
http://www.mediafire.com/?c88e3sad2av7yex

Unconditional Love - Take 2 - 06/22/1993
http://www.mediafire.com/?d87o1aiwjtfy92u

jeffd8382 · #75 07-01-2011, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

Could it be Chris Lord-Alge producing? He was at the helm of "Thousand Days," which was also recorded in 1992.

I also agree with this... the production sounds very similar on both and would make sense timing-wise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

After a few listens, I'm starting to wonder why (or if?) Stevie chose to release the Rock A Little outtake of Mirror Mirror as the b-side to Blue Denim in the U.S. instead of this one.

Could it have been a mistake?

Thanks again, Mike.

That's a really interesting thought, Mathew! You might be right since the newer recording of "Thousand Days" was a b-side in the UK, and was seemingly recorded around the same time as that version of "Mirror, Mirror"... to me, it also sounds like the same musicians were used on both tracks (particularly noticeable to me is similarity in the drummer's style (such as fills, hi-hat runs, etc.)/the sound of the kit).