Why didn't they finish it?! Your favorite incomplete songs

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Tristero, Sep 25, 2017.

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  1. Rodney Toady

    Rodney Toady Waste of cyberspace

    Location:
    Finland
    Scenario/Audition/No Rehearsal section of Jethro Tull's Chateau d'Herouville (ie. Chateau d'Isaster) tapes - I wonder what would have happened after the ceiling crashed in. I like this sequence quite a lot and would have loved to see it reach its proper conclusion. Surely it wasn't supposed to end there?
     
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  2. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
    How many half-baked Beatle duds are being suggested here when a genuine sure-fire monster hit just required a tiny bit of polishing off and a bit of flyspray to make it complete? No justice.

     
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  3. Deek57

    Deek57 Forum Resident

    Agreed, I particular for me "Angel" from COL is crying out for overdubs, in it's released state it's clearly just a basic track with a guide vocal.
     
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  4. Rodney Toady

    Rodney Toady Waste of cyberspace

    Location:
    Finland
    Speaking of XTC, I wish they had put a bit more effort into their Homo Safari series instead of letting it effectively peter out after part #3 (Egyptian Solution); parts 4-6 aren't nearly as interesting as the first three.
     
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  5. Thoughtships

    Thoughtships Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    Roger Waters "Get Back To Radio" (KAOS demo on b side)
     
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  6. bobc

    bobc Bluesman

    Location:
    France
    Crosseyed Heart - Keith Richards
     
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  7. bobc

    bobc Bluesman

    Location:
    France
    Yeah, but Ketch Sukor made a pretty good job of finishing it with Old Crow Medicine Show.
     
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  8. Alexlotl

    Alexlotl Forum Resident

    Location:
    York, UK
    My understanding is that the "I've been told..." bit related to his girlfriend's infidelity, and back when they recorded the demo/live versions, it was all a bit too fresh and he didn't want to address it directly, hence the odd placeholders.

    From Wiki (apparently taken from the Peel Slowly & See liner notes):

     
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  9. Galeans

    Galeans Forum Resident

    Location:
    Italy


    I think it was supposed to end there: that bit was also performed live after the project was scrapped (with "Left Right" replacing "Scenario" but keeping the "and God the director..." bit before "Audition") and it ended there.
     
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  10. Rodney Toady

    Rodney Toady Waste of cyberspace

    Location:
    Finland
    I must say that this surprises me... To me this section has always sounded incomplete, like it was meant to continue further from No Rehearsal. There surely is plenty of unfulfilled potential in this section, so I still think they should have developed it. Anyway, thank you for your insight in this matter!
     
  11. Frittenköter

    Frittenköter Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germany
    that's one of the few COL/RB/First Rays tracks that don't need further dubbing in my opinion. It got the drum overdub it desperately needed (the raw take before Mitch redid the drums in 1970/1971 after Jimi's death had some pretty bad drumming and you can still hear some stumbling at points) and in my opinion sounds good to go.
     
  12. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    I always think of McCartney's "Back Seat of my Car" as a song that was never properly finished. It is, of course, formally completed but I always felt there's a truly great, unfinished song there that was never fully developed.
     
  13. somnar

    somnar Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC & Amsterdam
    Gotta be "Kulee Baba," by Steely Dan. One of my favorite Steely Dan songs ever and not even finished! There's a rough mix in pretty good quality around, but with bits of studio chatter - I'm so obsessed with it that I've edited out the extraneous stuff.
     
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  14. PhilBorder

    PhilBorder Senior Member

    Location:
    Sheboygan, WI
    IDK if the first two are incomplete as much as short.
     
  15. PhilBorder

    PhilBorder Senior Member

    Location:
    Sheboygan, WI
    This sounds nearly finished to me. One of Van's best songs, imo, and it's essentially orphaned.
     
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  16. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    I'm presuming that you've heard the following version of the song?

     
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  17. Tristero

    Tristero In possession of the future tense Thread Starter

    Location:
    MI
    Wire did a fair amount of work on their fourth album in the early 80s before temporarily disbanding. Some of it got featured in live form on Document & Eyewitness, while other tracks made it on to Colin Newman's solo albums. In more recent years, Wire returned to this material for the Change Becomes Us album, so we did get fully realized versions, though it would have been great to hear what the band would have done at the peak of their powers with Mike Thorne producing.

     
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  18. Tristero

    Tristero In possession of the future tense Thread Starter

    Location:
    MI
    Another entry from Pink Floyd: Originally recorded back in 1968, "Embryo" was a pretty well fleshed out demo recording that got released on an album sampler without the band's permission. This seems to have scuttled the chances for a release on one of their studio albums, though "Embryo" would remain a staple of their live performances in the late 60s and early 70s. This would have made a fine addition to an album like Atom Heart Mother, IMO.

     
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  19. There's a bonus track on Alan Parsons Project's Vulture Culture reissue called "No Answers Only Questions". It's obviously not entirely finished, but it could have become one of the album's standout tracks and also beats most of what's on the final 2 albums. I would love to have heard a finished version of that song.
     
  20. Tristero

    Tristero In possession of the future tense Thread Starter

    Location:
    MI
    This would have made a great Byrds track. It's a pity that they didn't salvage it for 5D.
     
  21. DeadParrot

    DeadParrot Forum Resident

    Location:
    MI, USA
    Dennis Wilson - Holy Man
    The Hollies - Marrakech Express
    Fleetwood Mac - Sandy Mary
     
  22. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Andrew Gold "Only A Minute" ...

     
  23. yardbuzzard

    yardbuzzard Forum Resident

    Flying Burrito Brothers (with Gram) / I Shall Be Released

    I prefer this version of The Bard's soulful hymn over all others, but it breaks down abruptly and far too early at around a minute and a half.
     
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  24. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    So many artists have released covers of standards before, but after recently hearing a little excerpt of Burton Cummings doing a moment of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" on a great podcast interview with Alec Baldwin (Here's The Thing With Alec Baldwin), I thought, why not Burton of all singers, as he still can kick butt? So this post is just wishful thinking for an official studio version of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" from Burton. In the meantime, here he is doing it live ...

     
  25. Ignatius

    Ignatius Forum Resident

    One of my favorite outtakes from the reissue of Spirit's "Clear":

    Jay Ferguson's horrified falsetto that opens the song suggests perverted serial killer, elsewhere maybe he's a Pusher. It ends haltingly,unfinished song?
     
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