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Hey everyone.
I was wondering if any of the musicians in here could help me out in figuring out what gear is being used to achieve that layered chorusy guitar sound. I've been trying to figure out that sound for a while, its very simmilar to the early dave matthews live set up. i cant figure out what the exact or approximate effects are.
A prime example for what im looking for would be basically this whole lot of songs, but namely "times are passing us by". I would have left this in the musicians forum, but...well i posted here lol.
I realllllllly hope one day the boys decide to officially release the squillions of unreleased material they have, I really cant believe alot of these songs arent official releases. so many gems...
Thanks again for making this available!
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Third thing: i have a theory about these demos: could they have been outtakes from the EP sessions? Because that might explain the discrepency of having no EP songs, but having older and newer ones - and the fact that the source is like the EP producer's son or something. Furthermore, the way the voices are mic'd makes me think of the EP, though the final production was a little muddier[/quote]
I would say that your theory is dead on and that the date given on the tape is accurate :thumb:
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If they are from the EP sessions, then they aren't from May 1986. The Hip weren't managed by Jake Gold until August/September 1986, according to "Have Not Been The Same."
Now...
The same paragraph about Gold/Gregg taking the boys as clients mentions the following: "In August, Gregg recieved The Tragically Hip's demo, and upon hearing it, urged Gold to investigate, The tape actually sat on Gregg's desk for about a week until one afternoon when he threw it on as he and a radio consultant were passing time in the office waiting for a third person to arrive for a meeting. It was really. really rough," Gregg says of the demo. "It was live-off-the-floor on a four-track, but both of us looked at each other and said 'Holy mackerel, is this ever raw and dynamic, a really exciting sound.' It was all their original stuff."
So, that would lead me to believe that there is distinct possibility that this is that tape. Gregg passed the demo off to Ken Grier and said "we want you to produce these guys."
However, the songs on the demo, and the arraingement of those songs make me think that we're looking at May 1988 as opposed to May 1986.
First, the songs themselves. In HNBTS, GD recalls that the ep was a compilation of the songs that had been around the longest. This leads me to believe that the songs for the ep that were left off would be Heart Attack Love, Reformed Baptist Blues, Psychadelic Ramblings, Big City, Get Back Again, etc. NOIS stems from a trip Downie took in/around 1984, but there's no idea how soon after the trip that the song came about.
The song arraingements are really really similar to how there were played on the Horseshoe bootleg from July 1988. Times Are Passing Us By especially stands out. It's much more "folky" than the country ballad it would become (and is missing Gord and Paul really stretching out the "Tiiiiimes" in the chorus -- I think the Barrymore's show from Oct 88 has this version).
However, there really wasn't a need for them to be demoing in May of 1988. Up to Here sessions weren't starting until later in the year, early 89.
So, in short, I don't really don't think these demos are pre-EP. I could do more research I'm sure, but I don't need any more encouragement to put off my final paper of my MA any longer.
Cheers,
Pat
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Maybe if the TTH camp are in tune to this tape, they can shed some light for the fans :thumb:
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Pat - definately some interesting points, i havent read HNBTS yet (ill get around to it). So, i have a number of theories based of this then (im feeling hypercreative today, gimmie a break...)
1) the EP songs were recorded earlier than thought; were part of this demo and were recycled later on (with overdubs and the like) - Grier posing as producer for the cleaned up versions. This could explain it, though it doesnt seem likely.
2) HNBTS is outright wrong, also unlikely.
3) The demos were recorded sometime late 1987/early 1988, probably to get down basic ideas for the next album. This would explain the arrangements being consistant with a 1988 setlist, and the absence of any EP material. It is not unknown for the Hip to recycle old songs, so even some of the oldest songs on here could have had that treatment. - Im thinking along these lines personally
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sorry for the double post, but i just had another theory:
4) They decided to try to record a proper second album (in liew of simple demos) in early 1988, but the sessions were premature and they scrapped them before they could be mixed proper; gave the songs a live tweaking, and came out with the album we all know and love later on in 1989. This would once again explain the arrangements among other things.
Screw my other ideas, i think this one's on the money - there are no scratch lyrics and the tracks sound like they were recorded with the intention of releasing (though it would have been a massive dissapointment had this been what we got)
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I can't imagine why this would get them riled up. I'm just speculating, but I just can't see them getting upset about this. I mean really, I would think they would be somewhat pleased to know that there is such interest in a part of there career from so long ago.
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I think theyve come to a point where they can look back with a certain nostalgia for the old times; so contrary to being angry, i think theyll be pleased to hear it.
Now: the band might not care, but thier management/the record company might.
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You can not know where you are going until you know where you have came from.
No matter what we or they really think of these songs or versions or even the EP songs for that matter - these sessions are still what made the group what it is today - and I for one am pretty happy with what they turned out to be.
"We're forced to bed, but we're free to dream"
Dana
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I like these way more than I expected to, in spite of some hugely cheesy moments. I also like how they've rekindled my love for old Hip material - hooray!
