All of these 'demos' from Rock of the Westies are actually the final versions that appear on the albums. The master tapes were stolen & the thief turned down all of the other instruments (aside from Elton's work) and we are left with a pretty interesting solo version of the album. I quite enjoy it & thanks to the uploader for making all of these available for everyone to enjoy!
@chenlung1 They sound different because the piano & vocal aren't drowned out in the mix of the entire record, but they are definitely the studio cuts. That's what makes these recordings so interesting to hear. The entire piano roll in Street Kids is revealed & the electric piano was barely audible in the final studio mix of Feed Me.
@Pianobrad Unless there were two piano tracks. The opening first few seconds showed differences with regards to the chords and their timings. I'm working on transcribing this version - couldn't do the studio one because as you say, it was drowned out.
@Pianobrad Although it's difficult to hear (applied the vocal remover too), I now suspect two piano tracks are in the studio version. I had also wondered if at the final piano roll, there's another piano track in the 'demo'. 'Island Girl' jumped, plus there's clicks, which made me think these could have been taken from vinyl. BTW, I meant 'Feed Me' vocals were reportedly different.
@chenlung1 You can hear the studio cut start before the piano comes in & elton's album vocal is unmistakable (Also he says "that felt like a good one", as if he's going for the final album cut). The mixes were stolen & manipulated, so slight differences in timing or tuning shouldn't be surprising & it's also possible for these tracks to start earlier & end later than the studio releases..for instance, you can hear the entirety of the piano outro in street kids - minus the fade out.
All of these 'demos' from Rock of the Westies are actually the final versions that appear on the albums. The master tapes were stolen & the thief turned down all of the other instruments (aside from Elton's work) and we are left with a pretty interesting solo version of the album. I quite enjoy it & thanks to the uploader for making all of these available for everyone to enjoy!
@chenlung1 They sound different because the piano & vocal aren't drowned out in the mix of the entire record, but they are definitely the studio cuts. That's what makes these recordings so interesting to hear. The entire piano roll in Street Kids is revealed & the electric piano was barely audible in the final studio mix of Feed Me.
He's a great tunesmith and chord elaborator :D
I'm gonna try and practise this one by slowing it down.
Thanks for uploading the demos/tracks!
…How did it go?? Asking 14 years later (2024)
oh he was so macho!!
I think the demo has more balls that the final version. How can that be?
@Pianobrad Unless there were two piano tracks. The opening first few seconds showed differences with regards to the chords and their timings.
I'm working on transcribing this version - couldn't do the studio one because as you say, it was drowned out.
OOOOOOO....I love demos! Thanks.
@Pianobrad Although it's difficult to hear (applied the vocal remover too), I now suspect two piano tracks are in the studio version. I had also wondered if at the final piano roll, there's another piano track in the 'demo'.
'Island Girl' jumped, plus there's clicks, which made me think these could have been taken from vinyl.
BTW, I meant 'Feed Me' vocals were reportedly different.
@chenlung1 You can hear the studio cut start before the piano comes in & elton's album vocal is unmistakable (Also he says "that felt like a good one", as if he's going for the final album cut). The mixes were stolen & manipulated, so slight differences in timing or tuning shouldn't be surprising & it's also possible for these tracks to start earlier & end later than the studio releases..for instance, you can hear the entirety of the piano outro in street kids - minus the fade out.
not a demo at all, is the studio version, isolated vox and piano.
This is NOT a DEMO. It's the VOC and PIANO filtered out of the mix. Just so you know...
This isn't a demo, it is isolated piano and vocal.
I was thinking the exact same thing. It's not a demo, it's the studio version with just his piano and voice
@Pianobrad They sound different to the studio versions - 'Street Kids' being one. It was reported that 'Feed Me' was also different.
I assume that the masters were recovered -- otherwise, was the remastered version of the album actually created from a submaster?
…Cool the mix just caught the vocals and piano only
@chenlung1 Out of interest, how far did you get in transcribing this version? I would love it if you were able to send anything you've done my way!
@05pricej About 30 seconds.