I went to see Kula Shaker last month and they did Gokula. When Crispian Mills introduced it, he said that they loved the guitar riff from Ski-ing and really wanted to build a song around it, so he phoned George to ask for his permission. George replied "That's Clapton's riff, you do what you like with it!" Kula Shaker that night under the guiding hand of George (Photo by me):
Is a "Message To Joe" included? Also curious if "Message To Joe" is now part of the official Macca canon? I know too much time on my hands....
With those eyes to inherit, their kids should be perfect to play "bad/sad kids"! I demand a sequel. "The Family Way: The Next Generation".
Of course it's "canon" -- it's been officially released now. I know you're joking, but I think people have been misunderstanding the meaning of the word "canon" -- it means "part of the official body of work," and not "most important" or "best" or "favorite." Which means, yes, even "P.S. Love Me Do" is a "canon" track -- even if Paul might wish it wasn't anymore. Different cannon!
Message to Joe is generally considered Expanded Universe rather than Canon. Iirc Capitol are disregarding all the old EU stuff going forward and starting anew.
Well, the Doors set includes the original stereo mix on disc 1, the mono mix on disc 2, and a chopped up batch of concert tracks for disc 3 (fans thought the concert tapes should get a much more complete release), and of course the vinyl LP (whether you want it or not, I believe). Previously released bonus tracks have been dropped for this set. So, the value of the $65 Doors release depends significantly how you feel about the mono mix, how grumpy you get about the chopping up and parcelling out of the Matrix tapes, how the stereo mastering will compare to previous releases you may already have, whether an LP is a desirable item or else a storage problem, and (I suppose) whether you had hoped a 50th anniversary set would gather everything together (instead of dropping previously released bonus tracks and dropping the 2006 stereo remix). So there are complaints and they might be pretty substantial, depending how you feel about the issues raised. The Flowers box seems to have raised just two complaints: the more or less serious one of relegating the b-sides to download-only and the price, though everyone expects that to come down (it goes without saying: everyone may be wrong). Everyone is quite positive about the promised Costello collabs and everyone expects the books and the sound quality to be superb -- though, of course, books may not be everyone's thing and the existing sound quality doesn't get many complaints. I'm not saying the Flowers box will be better than the Doors box -- these things will depend on your wallet and what you care about. But it's not obvious that the Doors will be a satisfying release for $65 -- I myself would pay about a third of that for a 3CD release (with no LP), but that's just me: I'm not desperate for mono Doors and a handful of live tracks that might get released more completely later on. The deluxe 3CD/1DVD/+ downloads Flowers box is going right now for $120 over on bullmoose.com. I will pay that, but it does make me a little grumpy that (barring some change) the b-sides will be download only. I'd also be happy to see the price and some of the "lighter" book material come under control for this series: I really treasure the A/V and the narrative books with their photos, but I don't need much more than that and everything else makes me fret a little about padded packaging and inflated prices. But that's just me, too: I'm obviously more committed to McCartney than to the Doors, but my wallet isn't so fat as I wish it were.
I've always wondered what the story was with Gokula! I figured George had to be involved at some level (at the very least, he was cashing a check or two!). I love his response though. What does the European Union have to do with any of this?
You make some very valid points and a good appraisal of the situation. In my case I am mainly interested in the audio and a decent book / presentation and I think the first Archive releases were better value, especially in the case of McCartney II. Ram is my favourite SDE and I paid about £60 in 2014 so this didn't break the bank either.
Forgive me for being dumb,but what is the difference between 'demo' and 'original demo' in the FITD packages..Which one is new to these ears.Of course I know and love the demos from the mac/mac period which have been available for a many years though officially unreleased.
Briefly, disc 2 has the 1987 demos, and disc 3 has the 1988 "band demos." I think MPL are being polite by calling the disc 3 tracks "demos"; it seems that these are the basic tracks/early recordings for what was meant to be a more collaborative McCartney / MacManus album -- a plan that was scuttled after Paul and Elvis differed on the production. If that's what these are, it's kind of amazing that they're being released at all -- when you think about it, Paul hasn't allowed anything to be released on these Archive sets that would encourage fans to second-guess his decision-making with regards to the finished album. We won't know for sure until we hear them, of course -- and we don't know how "complete" they will sound -- but disc 3 could end up being a fascinating "lost" alternate album. Interesting side note: I was re-reading the booklet to the "McCartney/MacManus Collaboration" bootleg, and it claimed that one of the finished songs on FITD featured the lead vocal from the abandoned early 1988 sessions, because Paul never re-recorded it. I think it was "Don't Be Careless Love"; I'd have to re-check. We'll know if this is true in a few months!
Thanks..Amongst all the fog I could not work out which I needed to pre-order...So I need disc 3 then......cant wait
I remember an old interview with Elvis Costello in reference to the sessions. He states that there was a recording of Paul singing lead vocal on "So Like Candy" and that he thought it was amazing and he strongly encouraged Paul to release it himself. It stuck with me because I love the EC version so much. Now while the 1987 demo does have Paul singing it, I never found that vocal take great. Perhaps, this 1988 version is the one he was talking about, if so, it heightens my desire ten fold. I am really looking forward to both sets of demos as they make this set for me. I like the album, b-sides and video content but these tracks are what really compel me to buy the box set no matter the cost!
I would bet it's Costello's vocal track to 'You Want Her Too' - specifically when he sings the line, "I don't wanna do," it seems out of sync with the way Paul sings it, whereas on the original demo the two sang the line in unison. That part of the song always sounded out of whack to me.
Actually, I preferred the original format of the Archive Series, too: the truly excellent books, the excellent audio, the relevant extra tracks and video, and little more (well, the Coming Soon cards were a miracle of suggestiveness, but I digress). $45. Perfect. And a bargain. But mine is a weak preference: as the sets have fluffed out since then, they've never yet been ridiculous (okay: the sheep booklet would have been ridiculous, except that everything else about Ram is so wonderful!), and I've been happy to buy them notwithstanding their occasional excesses (e.g. the "Pipes of Peace" video book) and their slowly inflating price. Still, the McCartney II set was pretty much ideal.
No question -- putting aside the b-sides download issue, the official release of all the 1987 demos is awesome, and including the 1988 band versions is stunning. I went back to confirm what I said about "Don't Be Careless Love" and here is the relevant passage from the Vigotone notes: "Don't Be Careless Love" is the least successful of the four collaborations on Flowers In The Dirt. Elvis has said that they would sometimes try to write in a certain style, and this seems like a tribute to Roy Orbison. Unfortunately, no one can sing like Roy could, and McCartney's rather frail vocal on this one hinders it. One article notes that this is actually Paul's guide vocal from the demo, and that the vocals were not redone (if that is the case, it must be another demo which has yet to surface). The lyrics are a bit too consciously strange, and the vocal harmonies unsuccessful. All in all, it's the least appealing of the bunch. See the part I bolded -- I wonder if this wasn't a hint of what we'll be hearing on Disc 3! Here's another interesting passage, which may be referring to the three "cassette demos" in the download portion: Between Spike and the 1991 CD, Mighty Like A Rose, there were rumors of further collaborative sessions. An October, 1990 NME interview with Paul mentions an upcoming collaboration, which eventually took place in the summer of 1991, resulting in three new compositions. [...] In 1989, it was rumored that a collaboration called "Indigo Moon" would be released as part of a special repackaging of Flowers In The Dirt, but it never surfaced. Costello has denied any knowledge of such a song title. The only other known song is titled "I Don't Want To Confess" which was mentioned by Elvis in a November 1994 BBC Radio interview but has yet to surface. And here's the reference that was made to the "So Like Candy" demo -- according to Vigotone, it's Nick Lowe who thought it was good enough to release. But as you say, maybe he was listening to the 1988 "band demo": Mighty Like A Rose included two more Mac and Mac songs - both from 1987. The first, "So Like Candy" is apparently one of Elvis' favorites as he released it as a single despite its lack of chart potential and has continued to play it live ever since. Nick Lowe has stated that McCartney's demo version of this is brilliant, and that he wishes Paul would release it. We got tired of waiting - so here it is! About the aborted Costello-produced sessions, Vigotone says this: Elvis had initially produced the collaborative tracks on "Flowers" himself, but Paul felt they were too spare. Elvis production ideas were overruled by slicker producers. Paul appeared once on MTV in 1989 and amusingly recreated the debate between himself and Elvis, with Elvis shooting down every suggestion he made regarding the use of synthesizers, echo, drum sounds, etc. I'll have to dig up the original magazine articles from the time that went into detail about these sessions, but mrjinks did most of the hard work for us about 100 pages back. You can read the complete Vigotone liner notes HERE. And finally -- because, why not? -- here's my 14-track, 47-minute "Mac and Mac" album, added to the end of my Vigotone boot playlist as bonus tracks: 01. Back On My Feet (Paul) 02. Veronica (Elvis with Paul) 03. Mistress & Maid (Paul) 04. You Want Her Too (Paul and Elvis) 05. Pads, Paws And Claws (Elvis) 06. That Day Is Done (Paul with Elvis) 07. Interlude: Couldn't Call It Unexpected (Elvis) 08. Playboy To A Man (Elvis) 09. The Lovers That Never Were (Paul) 10. So Like Candy (Elvis) 11. My Brave Face (Paul with Elvis) 12. Shallow Grave (Elvis) 13. Don't Be Careless Love (Paul with Elvis) 14. That Day Is Done (Elvis with Fairfield Four) Can't wait to upgrade it!
Actually, it was "Don't Be Careless Love," as noted in the Vigotone liners -- although they don't say what article/interview that info came from. But yeah, I always thought that Elvis' co-lead vocal on "You Want Her Too" was a little off too. He went "full Elvis" when he should have tried to blend in a little more...
I think removing the feet might have been a better design change. I have this as my iPhone lock screen and background screen.
