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I have a question.
A while ago I came across a few songs from the self title album that had been rerecorded. I believe they were labeled to have been from the Sweet Old World sessions. I was wondering if anyone could offer more insight into these tracks and why they were rerecorded?
ripley
No one has an answer for this?
Another question,
Why was Sundays never recorded for an album? It was written by Lucinda, correct?
Ripley,
I Can’t Seem to Make it Through “Sundays” is on my version of Lucinda Williams self titled album. The last track, number 18 is a live version. This album is not in print anymore but I’ve read in here that it will be re-released next year.
Steve
I suppose I should have been more specific, why was a studio version never on an album? The original release of S/T didn’t have the bonus tracks so it would seem the song could have been put on an album afterwords. There is a studio version of it from the Sweet Old World demo’s along with Like A Rose, Crescent City and The Nights Too Long.
Where is Inside Job when you need him to explain this whole deal!
I’m not sure exactly which recordings you are referring to. Sundays was recorded in the studio but I believe Lucinda just chose not to include it on the record. In between the RT record and the Sweet Old World record Lucinda signed what they still sometimes call a demo deal with RCA records and recorded 4 or 5 songs for them. Its a long story but the short version is that she demanded to be let go and raised enough of a ruckus to make it happen. How she managed to do that with ownership of the tapes is something only Lucinda could do. These are probably the rarest of her recordings as most people don’t even know about that brief chapter in her recording history. I think all but one of those songs were re-recorded for Sweet Old World. Until very recently the master tapes for all of the RT and the Sweet Old World era recordings were basically missing. But over the past year, in a moment of pure happenstance, we located what appears to be everything from that era, and they were safe and sound. There appears to be multiple versions of several songs and also the original versions of Well Well Well and If Wishes Were Horses. In addition we have a large box of recordings that Lucinda had once possessed but then had gotten separated from and they finally turned up and she now has them again. These appear to be mostly recordings from 1976-1980, pre Ramblin up thru with the original masters of both of Ramblin’ and Happy Woman. Some of these recordings are basically homemade 2-track on old Scotch 1/4″ reel-to-reels and even some things on cassette. When tapes are this old they often have to baked in a special oven and then transferred to a new format. A person who shall remain nameless had these tapes baked about 3-4 yrs ago and then did not transfer them, which makes them even more fragile. But i’m told they can still be salvaged. Any excitement about these recordings should be tempered by the fact that until they are safely transferred it won’t be known what is usable and what is really there. My fingers are crossed that they all survive. There’s a lot of work to do and as a result it will be some time before these recordings see the light of day, if ever.
@Inside Job wrote:
My fingers are crossed that they all survive. There’s a lot of work to do and as a result it will be some time before these recordings see the light of day, if ever.
Oh man, that sounds incredible. I’m so glad you & Lu got your hands back on those tapes. Whatever does survive would be awesome in a boxed set!
Tom
@Inside Job wrote:
I’m not sure exactly which recordings you are referring to. Sundays was recorded in the studio but I believe Lucinda just chose not to include it on the record. In between the RT record and the Sweet Old World record Lucinda signed what they still sometimes call a demo deal with RCA records and recorded 4 or 5 songs for them. Its a long story but the short version is that she demanded to be let go and raised enough of a ruckus to make it happen. How she managed to do that with ownership of the tapes is something only Lucinda could do. These are probably the rarest of her recordings as most people don’t even know about that brief chapter in her recording history. I think all but one of those songs were re-recorded for Sweet Old World. Until very recently the master tapes for all of the RT and the Sweet Old World era recordings were basically missing. But over the past year, in a moment of pure happenstance, we located what appears to be everything from that era, and they were safe and sound. There appears to be multiple versions of several songs and also the original versions of Well Well Well and If Wishes Were Horses. In addition we have a large box of recordings that Lucinda had once possessed but then had gotten separated from and they finally turned up and she now has them again. These appear to be mostly recordings from 1976-1980, pre Ramblin up thru with the original masters of both of Ramblin’ and Happy Woman. Some of these recordings are basically homemade 2-track on old Scotch 1/4″ reel-to-reels and even some things on cassette. When tapes are this old they often have to baked in a special oven and then transferred to a new format. A person who shall remain nameless had these tapes baked about 3-4 yrs ago and then did not transfer them, which makes them even more fragile. But i’m told they can still be salvaged. Any excitement about these recordings should be tempered by the fact that until they are safely transferred it won’t be known what is usable and what is really there. My fingers are crossed that they all survive. There’s a lot of work to do and as a result it will be some time before these recordings see the light of day, if ever.
I did some digging and apparently the songs I have are from the CBS era? Which I guess is a deal she had pre S/T and was unhappy with the sound of them and left and went to Rough Trade to rerecord them?
It’s kind of odd because the way they were labeled I had always assumed these tracks were recorded AFTER S/T for some reason. Which is why I was so confused about them.
You are correct -she recorded those songs with Henry Lewy as part of the CBS development deal, which only lasted for about 6 months or so. She was released from that deal and the songs were then later re-recorded for the S/T record. How’d you get those ?
I have 2 different demos of early songs.
Plus the Sweet Old World Demos
and the Car Wheels DemosNew York 1982
1-All You Want
2-Pancakes
3-Walking After Midnight (my 2nd. Fav)
4-And All That Jazz
5-Abandoned
6-Making Believe (my Fav)
7-Send Me A Letter
8-Going Back Home
9-PineolaCBS 1986
1-I Just Wanted To See You So Bad
2-The Night Too Long
3-Like A Rose
4-Crescent City
5-Sidewalkes Of The City
6-Passionate Kisses (ver. #1)
7-Sundays
8-If Wishes Were Horses
9-Passionate Kisses (ver. #2)WR
After listening to SOW demo album I was struck by the way some songs changed by the time of the album actually being released. Specifically what would become Never Got Enough Love and Lines Around your Eyes.
Anyone know the duration between the demo and final versions? Also, did Lu herself listen to the tracks and decide they could do with being rewritten?
That’s a good question -I don’t think she even knows the answer to that-a few of those songs were recorded at a few different sessions during that period of time. He Never Got Enough Love was going to be called Drivin’ Down A Dead End Street, but apparently Mr. Dylan had a song with that refrain so she changed it.
Hopefully we will find all the different versions.
Speaking of finding things -a friend of Lucinda’s in NY found a 1/4″ reel-to reel tape that was recoded live at the historic Gerde’s Folk City on 6/3/79. It’s titled Lucinda’s Party. Who knows what will be on that.
It’s amazing the things that just turn up that have been in people’s basements etc.
Now we just have to bake it and hope the tape doesn’t break.@TOverby wrote:
Speaking of finding things -a friend of Lucinda’s in NY found a 1/4″ reel-to reel tape that was recoded live at the historic Gerde’s Folk City on 6/3/79. It’s titled Lucinda’s Party. Who knows what will be on that.
It’s amazing the things that just turn up that have been in people’s basements etc.
Now we just have to bake it and hope the tape doesn’t break.Reminds me of those Blaze Foley tapes that were discovered in some old friends’ closet here in Georgia, where Blaze lived for a while in the 70’s (the tapes were made in their living room in ’76 & ’78). It was released last year as The Dawg Years.
Hopefully, you’ll be able to pull off some good material from this tape & it, too, sees “the light of day”! 😉
Tom
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