When artists finally record an old demo/live/other previously unreleased favourite (and is it any good)

Real Love was released around the same time using the same process - CBA to Google but it was either a double A side with this or a follow up single. Actually think Real Love is a great song, the version released in the 90s is a bit naff but the original demo of just Lennon on the piano is lovely.

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McCartney and co were the same kind of age when these were released as your Yorkes, your Gallaghers etc are now.

Ferris Wheel on Fire recorded version is a bit dull;

Compared to the live video which was the last song the band played in its first spell;

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It was a follow up single. It was the single from ‘Anthology 2’. I quite like ‘Real Love’ but the version they did wasn’t great. Harrison hated it apparently.

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That must be why he put that horrible Brian May style guitar part over it

Similarly ‘Bad Day’ was a remnant from the ‘Life’s Rich Pageant’ sessions.

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‘Spoke’ by Shellac was a semi-regular live closer pretty much from day one, and only got recorded as a Peel session in 1994, until it eventually got recorded/released proper on their fourth album, about 12 years later!

I personally prefer the Peel session version.

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GBV have done this a lot recently actually. I Share A Rhythm and She Want’s To Know as well. I kinda dig all the versions. It’s part of Bob’s process to have a load of takes of stuff and then to cobble records together with whatever fits at whatever time.

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Best GBV example:

1995 demo:

2012 finished:

Don’t Stop Now was also on that demos record a year before it came out on an album

Other GBV ones I know were on the various Suitcase comps before appearing on a recent album: That’s Good, and Up Instead of Running (originally a short snippet called Building a Castle). Probably more because there’s loads of Suitcase stuff I haven’t heard.

Also Little Jimmy the Giant which was apparently recorded in the 70s and I think is one of Bob’s oldest songs, which they re-recorded as a B-side in 2013.

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The first thing that popped into my head (apart from the obvious radiohead choices) doesn’t exactly meet the criteria but I feel like it’s close enough.

Sigur Ros first released Hafssol on Von back in 97. In the early 00s, a re-imagining of it started to feature in their live shows. I was pretty disappointed when I finally tracked down a copy of their debut and the recorded version was nothing like what I expected to hear. Then a re-recording appeared a few years later as a b-side on Hoppipolla.

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I think Real Love is a better song. It’s currently being used by Milka in a youtube advert at the moment (at least here in Poland) so it’s a weird coincidence that I’ve spent half the day skipping youtube ads with this song and it comes up here.

Not sure if it’s the actual Beatles version or not. Also, CBA googling this as I can’t find it on youtube, but it must be counterintuitive to not be able to google adverts that you might actually want to see again.for some reason

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Not sure if ‘Finally’ qualifies either of these, but the live version of Mogwai’s ‘Ex Cowboy’ that was on a NME CD is way better than the slower version they put on Come on Die Young a year later.

I also think the EP version of ‘Christmas Steps’ (when it was called Xmas Steps) is better than the version that’s on Come on Die Young

Both of these - If I ever want to listen to either track, I never put on Come on Die Young, I just look up these versions.

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The 'Live in New York City ’ version of American Skin (41 Shots) by Bruce Springsteen is definitetely better IMO that the studio version he recorded an age later.

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Some great belated recordings of unreleased oldies on “Letter To You” though

Live version of (new paths to) Helicon 1 is/was loads better too

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Was a big fan of Hafsol live (side note but between Von version and later versions it seemingly went from Hafssol to Hafsol). Didn’t realise it was the Hoppipolla b side - it was also on th Hvarf/ Heim release (I think the same b side version having listened again now)

‘Change the World’ on Ixnay on the Hombre by The Offspring was a developed idea off a hidden track at the end of their previous album ‘Smash’

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I only discovered this as I posted the youtube videos above.

To come back to the original question as to ‘whether the long awaited studio version is a success or a bit of a let down?’ I would say that it’s a little bit of both.

It’s a faithful recording of the live version but it made me realise that I find the outro a real anti-climax given what’s come before it.

I prefer the CODY version, probably because I heard it first, I miss the little lead guitar riff in the loud bit on the EP