MAD Album Version for your listening pleasure

[XY]

Thanks to Mr. John Etherington on the blue:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00cqf23

Drag forward to exactly 1 hour 50 minutes.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Meh. The demo had a subtle and enriching dynamic. This... doesn't.

[matt-zeus]

It sounds similar to the demo, I haven't A-B'd it to the other one but I think some of the 'sounds' of it are different, ie; more natural. I wouldn't be surprised if parts of the demo were used in it as obviously that is very easy to do these days.
I'm not sure of it being the first single?
Maconie and Radcliffe think the song is amazing but think the vocal is a bit dodgy - but that's part and parcel of being a Brian fan!

[variable2]

The demo had a subtle and enriching dynamic.

What does that even mean?

I think it sounds fantastic

[GoofyJeff]

The swell in the background vocals during "all these people, make me feel so alooooone" was much more powerful in the demo.

Still, this is a great song, easily among the best Brian's done since Til I Die.

I'm going to withhold further comment until I can hear the full album.

[Amy B.]

Meh. The demo had a subtle and enriching dynamic. This... doesn't.

When the demo was posted on the blueboard, Brian (or whoever) got on the board, and we all made comments. I said, "Keep the demo-- don't re-record," and Brian (or whoever) said, "Well, maybe I will."

But it doesn't matter. If we hadn't heard the demo, we'd probably be raving about this.

[The Shift]

If we hadn't heard the demo, we'd probably be raving about this.

Spot on Amy. I think this version is great. String are subtle and complementary. I know what Andrew means but I wonder whether ta lot of what he's missing in this version is in part at least down to familiarity.

Let this be a lesson to all who listen to unofficial releases! 

What I can't understand is why it wasn't edited in the same way as the version that was put up on the BW site a while back -  ie, a single edit. If Radcliffe and Marconie are right and this is to be the single, it should have a single edit.

[Andrew G. Doe]

The demo had a subtle and enriching dynamic.

What does that even mean?

I think it sounds fantastic

It means the demo had a subtle ebb and flow, which the new version lacks. The piano is also mixed way too high. Overall the mix is very flat.

Even. 

[variable2]

The demo had a subtle and enriching dynamic.

What does that even mean?

I think it sounds fantastic

It means the demo had a subtle ebb and flow, which the new version lacks. The piano is also mixed way too high. Overall the mix is very flat.

Even. 

but its on a streaming audio site!! too flat!! come on! 

[Wirestone]

Brian's lead sounds good. The song remains strong.

As for the rest -- I think I'll wait for it in context.


...


(Bet ya'll never thought you'd want the wall of Brians back)

[variable2]

to me, his vocal in some places actually sounds like it came from the same person as the 60s brian.. you can hear that pureness of voice.  I think he actually uses falsetto here as opposed to most of his other solo records where they have him yell the high parts and just back it off in the mix to make it sound effortless.  hats off, bri   

[Amy B.]

It means the demo had a subtle ebb and flow, which the new version lacks. The piano is also mixed way too high. Overall the mix is very flat.

Even. 

This makes me sad. Now TLOS will be forever marred with "Yes, it's an excellent album... but the demos were  better, at least for MAD." In the BB/BW world, we have too much information, and sometimes it wrecks things. I'm going to try to forget the demo for now.

[TdHabib]

I like it, although I too will be witholding further comment until I hear the album in full.

[XY]

What I like about this new version is how the "Swept away" & "In a brainstorm" echos are buried in the mix. I've listened a couple of times, find it quite enjoyable so far, but have to wait for an unstreamed source to give a proper review. But I have no problems compared to the demo.

Personally, I'm most familiar with an audience recording from the RFH premiere. I like that arrangement very much, but perhaps it was just a house mix that wasn't even supposed so sound like that. Anyway, the lead and backing vocals are very prominent on it and also Paul Mertens' clarinet, the strings are quiet in the background. That gave such a special effect. How that Smile-esque clarinet corresponds with the BV & strings - have to admit, I miss that a bit on the final version. Also Brian's emotinal "made me feel so al-o-o-o-one" from that particular performance, not on the demo BTW.
Now, I've heard 3 different arrangements - demo, live, album - and all of them have their moments. Great song!

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I like it, but there are some parts where the vocal on the demo was better, esp.  towards the end.

[Jonas]

Is this seriously the final mix? My only beef with this song (not really caring about the different mixes) is that they dont use that intro riff more, I remember when I first heard it my first thought 'g*ddamn this is gonna be good' but then I was a bit disappointed with the rest of the song. Ofcourse, after tons of listens it grew on me, but still its a shame they couldnt use it somewhere in the middle...

[Bean Bag]

MAD?  Is this a TLOS album track?


must. resist.



 

[groganb]

Aw, I think this is beautiful. Way better than the demo. The vocal's more heartfelt, the backup vox are more controlled, subtle, and supportive, and I like the strings. Dynamically it's less extreme than the demo, but that's more appropriate to the song. It breathes in and out emotionally in an almost magically organic, moving way.
I'm verklempt.

[PongHit]

I dunno...  hate to say this, but it strikes me as kinda cheesy -- those cymbal flourishes -- reminds me of a ballad in a Disney cartoon. 

[SurfRiderHawaii]

It means the demo had a subtle ebb and flow, which the new version lacks. The piano is also mixed way too high. Overall the mix is very flat.

Even. 

It does sound flat with a mashed mix.  But what are we hearing?  A highly compressed MP3 tune streamed (and compressed a 2nd time) for an internet radio broadcast? Is it 8 bit mono? Those sound pretty crappy!  I just downloaded McCartney's 'Here Today' from iTunes and it sounded horrible.

Artists put out very low quality MP3's these days when streaming entire songs for promo purposes.  Otherwise, people would use programs like 'WireTap" and get the songs for free. 

I expect 'MAD' on CD to sound much, much better.

[the captain]

It does sound flat with a mashed mix.  But what are we hearing?  A highly compressed MP3 tune streamed (and compressed a 2nd time) for an internet radio broadcast? Is it 8 bit mono? Those sound pretty crappy!  I just downloaded McCartney's 'Here Today' from iTunes and it sounded horrible.

Artists put out very low quality MP3's these days when streaming entire songs for promo purposes.  Otherwise, people would use programs like 'WireTap" and get the songs for free. 

I expect 'MAD' on CD to sound much, much better.

I'm glad someone noted that: it's what I was thinking exactly. That said, I'm sure the final version will be compressed and as loud as possible because that's how albums are these days. You can complain, but it's just life. As for the whole demo v. final product thing, you don't even need to listen to either to know that's going to be the eventual conclusion around these parts. It goes with the territory.

[Aegir]

Does it matter if you think the demo is better? Just listen to the demo, then!

[GoofyJeff]

Does it matter if you think the demo is better? Just listen to the demo, then!

Or with home computing technology the way it is today, replace the album track with the demo on the official CD when you burn a copy for yourself.

As for me, I'm on the fence and will weigh in with my final verdict once I hear the album in it's entirety with a higher bit rate than crappy streaming RealAudio compressed to lossy MP3.  I like what I'm hearing so far though, I will say that much   

[matt-zeus]

As regards to the vocal, I think Brians voice suffers when the key is too low. Even though his voice is obviously different to what it was, I think his natural register is still relatively high and probably higher than what this song starts off in and I think he would sing smoother if it was raised a couple of notches.
Of course later on in the song there is a higher bit (not falsetto but that's what its meant ot be) which means they probably lowered the key to accomodate that. I'm just being theoretical but if this is a reworked 80s Brian rocker (I think 'Wondering what you're up to now?'), I reckon it might have been in a higher key originally as Brian was still singing very high register stuff in the 80s, and when he pulled it out the bag for TLOS they altered it for his voice now.
Anyway, listening to the demo and the new version i'm pretty sure its the same vocal take.
I'm sure I will be corrected if otherwise.....!

[TdHabib]

It does sound flat with a mashed mix.  But what are we hearing?  A highly compressed MP3 tune streamed (and compressed a 2nd time) for an internet radio broadcast? Is it 8 bit mono? Those sound pretty crappy!  I just downloaded McCartney's 'Here Today' from iTunes and it sounded horrible.

Artists put out very low quality MP3's these days when streaming entire songs for promo purposes.  Otherwise, people would use programs like 'WireTap" and get the songs for free. 

I expect 'MAD' on CD to sound much, much better.

I'm glad someone noted that: it's what I was thinking exactly. That said, I'm sure the final version will be compressed and as loud as possible because that's how albums are these days. You can complain, but it's just life. As for the whole demo v. final product thing, you don't even need to listen to either to know that's going to be the eventual conclusion around these parts. It goes with the territory.

[Round of applause to both of you]
The mix isn't very good online, but I hope I'm not a Brianista by saying that the song is so great that I've loved every version: the demo, the live boots and this version. And I'm sick of the "demo is better than the original" argument.