Well, it never went to press. It probably never even got a real promo release.
Folks who worked somehow on this project tend to have a CD-R laying around containing a pretty good version of it. So, after years of looking, this probably is a clear as we're ever going to hear it.
The version I offer here came from a band member who played on the actual sessions. An artist I made friends with had a copy he gave her and she copied what she had for me.
This version sounded amazingly clean from the get go (free from the hiss and pops that plague most other versions currently circulating) so I won't call this a remaster so much as a clean up. I cleaned up some fades and prepared it in such a way that all the tracks flow into one another. I was made aware of this concept when I met an assistant engineer who helped in the actual sessions at Kingsway in New Orleans in 2000. He informed me Patty and her producers had wanted the entire thing to flow into each other, so I did just that. After this clean-up process, the entire thing was assembled and burned according to Red Book specification to a MFSL 24K gold disc using Sony CD Architect.
There are some intresting things about this version that are different from other versions currently floating around online. First off, I was told this was the "advance, advance" version and so a few things got edited down. There is a count-in at the beginning of the song Standing that I've never heard on any other versions currently out there. Also, the song Kiss Them For Me which is a cover of a song by Siouxsie & The Banshees was on this version. I moved it to the end of the CD however as a hidden track because the band member my friend got this from said it was removed from later copies.
I could rattle on for days and tell you how Patty's label was really stupid for not releasing this album but Patty has stated she's had a richer career having to fight for her art. When asked to comment on what she thinks in retrospect of the album not having been released she responded, "I'm a believer in fate. In a way I'm relieved it didn't come out. I needed to get out of there."
Track Listing
01 Little God
02 Boston
03 Perfect White Girls
04 Truth # 2 (with Emmylou Harris)
05 What You Are
06 Silver Bell
07 Driving
08 Sooner or Later
09 Top of the World
10 Sorry & Sad
11 Making Pies
12 Mother of God
13 One More Girl
14 Standing
[hidden track] Kiss Them For Me
Get it @ zShare [all links open in new windows]
Update 06/20: Sorry! Apparently the previous .rar file was having issues! Fixed! :)
P.S. If you like, leave thanks in the comments! :)
6 comments:
Tried to download it this morning, Thursday, June 4, and only one song, Little God, was in the Zip file. Could you check it out and see if you can fix it?
Thanks for posting this. Can't wait to hear the whole thing.
Mere words cannot convey my happiness - Silver Bell is a holy grail, and to hear it so clearly after years of dodgy mixes and live takes (I could never find Mother of God, and What You Are existed in clipped format for many years) ... well, call it a revelation.
You are truly amazing for uploading this! Thank you so, so much.
The irrepressible collector in me would LOVE to have this in FLAC or another lossless format. Is there any possibility you might post the original version without the cleaned-up fades in lossless?
If you'd rather do some sort of a private trade for this instead, I can send you a list of what I have (some stuff is in lossless, some isn't). You should be able to send me an email through my blogger profile.
This would be a huge favor, and I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience I'm asking you to go through. I would really be one happy camper, though!
Omnipop, you've given us a truly great upload!
THANK YOU!!!
Like you, others of us are perplexed that this music never got a proper release. What a crazy situation.
I'm curious about the origin of the cover image (Patty on guitar/left of center with a white overlay in u r corner of PG Silver Bell in ornate scrollwork). I suspect that you put that together. Is that right?
Your versions of Silver Bell and Extraordinary Machine were the first things I downloaded when I first got on the internet a few years ago. Nice to see you are still promoting these lost classics - amng other delights. I love the bonus song you've now added to Silver Bell. Nice work Mr!
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