Fashion Victim Blues

Three merged takes showing (hopefully) the evolution of a song

In honour of chococat's post earlier today, I dug out three evolving versions of this song we used to do in the Failsworth Pilgrims - (It's Matt's tune and lyrics.) I though it neatly illustrated
a) Three different "sounds" of the same song.
b) That the last version isn't always the best.

The first version is the simple demo version with just Matt on - (although i think there's some violin and second guitar in there too - I'm assuming he didn't know we were recording this as it doesn't seem to be a "take".

The second version is a jammed band version. This is probably where we should have left it. It sounds like we're actually trying in this version. Unfamilar with the structure, sober enough to listen and relying on our skills playing with each other, as opposed to muscle memory, this is us sounding like a band. Despite it not really being a song as such, this is the trackI listen to when i want to be reminded what a good band we were.

The third version is included for the sake of completion. This is a few hours later and, though we're probably enjoying ourselves more, we're clearly drunk and fucking around. It also includes one of the more appaling fluffed endings you'll hear today. Eesh.

This song was written by Matt Evans, my only contribution here is acoustic guitar, time-keeping and a "yeah!" in the second take.

(Get Flash to see the track player.)
posted by Jofus (5 comments total)

I dig this, a lot. I agree that the second version is the most cohesive, but at the same time, the third one's got some charm, too.

This evolution-of-a-song thing is a neat experiment.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:54 AM on August 15, 2008

Take 1 ends at about 3:00
Take 2 is 3:00 - 5:30
Take 3 is 5:30 until the "You're all fired"
posted by Jofus at 6:39 AM on August 15, 2008

Beautiful.
posted by chococat at 6:46 AM on August 15, 2008

Nice! The second one feels, yeah, the most considered—there's what I want to pin as reptition-worn casualness to esp. the vocals in the third one, though that might just be drunk and tired coming into instead.

The second take reminds me a lot of a Canadian band called "McGnarley's Rant"—I (badly) played improv banjo on a couple songs when they swung through town a few years ago, since they knew my sister and phonecalls etc—while the third version sounds more like that boot-stomping good time that introduced me to you guys.
posted by cortex at 8:22 AM on August 15, 2008

Weirdly, had I not know that this is three takes, I would simply have thought it was one version with three distinct movements, and I love when the chaos takes over at the end.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:33 AM on August 16, 2008