Quite a few songs are missing, but I just realized we'll finally have all the RoM demos. It'll be cool to put a playlist together and listen to the full demo version of the record.

I was thinking about Reeling and wondering if the studio version was left off this collection because the demo version has always been available on 4-Track Demos. Also, I think I remember her not being 100% satisfied with the production on RoM and that's why she ended up releasing 4TD. Maybe she's not a fan of the studio version and would rather have the demo out there as the official version. Just a little bit of speculation on my part.

I don’t think she ever stated what exactly she wasn’t happy with on RoM. She only said “I know what I won’t do again” (paraphrasing) but gave no indication it had anything to do with the engineering or mixing. In fact she had nothing but praise for Albini after the recording (she talks about this in TV interviews from 1993), how he’s the only person who could mic a drum kit in such a way that it sounds like “you’re stood in front” of the kit as it was being played. And you’d think if she was unhappy with the sound of RoM or the Albini-recorded version of “Reeling,” she wouldn’t have released it as a B-side in the first place. Displeasure with the album didn’t come up in the “Let It Bleed” oral history article about the album in Spin magazine either.

What are some other songs that are missing? The ones I’d been hoping for most were the completely unreleased songs like “He’s Just My Type” (TBYML) and “Clothes” (RoM), the latter of which I didn’t know even existed until she posted the picture of her personal cassette mixes of demos.

"Wang Dang Doodle" seems like an obvious omission, no? It was a B-side of the same single as "Daddy".

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but I thought the B-side Wang Dang Doodle was a recording from a Peel Session. Subsequently rereleased on The Peel Sessions album. In which case it was probably left off due to licensing issues.

Speaking of Long Time Coming, anyone else love the version of Harder from that same session? I always thought it far superior to the studio version. Wish we could get the complete BBC recordings including Claudine and Primed and Ticking… Also Will’s Song from Jools… one can dream…

Yes “Wang Dang Doodle” is included on the recently reissued-on-vinyl The Peel Sessions — 1991-2004. Nothing from the main studio albums that were recently reissued, or the demo albums, or the Peel compilation album, is repeated in this forthcoming box set.

Any other performances from John Peel’s show or any other BBC broadcast no doubt require new licensing agreements with the BBC for PJ/Island to release them. Maybe there’ll be a Peel Sessions Vol. 2.

@ xmasinspace — I’ve always thought the best version of “Harder” was this one, from 2004 (there’s another video shot by someone else of the exact same performance, somewhere on YouTube—a more recent upload) —

https://youtu.be/ZNiIZ6pxo00

But yes, pretty much all the live versions including the Evening Sessions one from ‘95, are better than the studio version. Really wish we could hear Polly’s original demo, too, along with all the other demos of the B-sides from TBYML… sigh…

I’ve seen the credits on the sleeve for Record 1, and “Dry” is listed as being an unreleased version of that demo (I compared the two tracks— the old one from the “Dress” single, and the new digital release — with headphones, and the stereo mix does seem to be different; one of the guitars is farther right in the stereo field compared to a more centered position on the other track—that sort of thing).

“Man-Size — Demo” is listed as being previously released, which we already knew, so someone had just made an error when they listed it as “previously unreleased” in the PR materials.

“Naked Cousin” unfortunately does not appear to be a demo as Apple Music has it listed. It looks like it’s the regular studio recording we’re familiar with, and it says it appeared on The Crow 2 soundtrack.

To end on a positive note, the “Highway 61” demo is Polly solo! So that means we’ll now have 3 official versions of that track: Polly’s forthcoming solo demo, the Outlaw Blues 3-piece band version (which sounds like it was recorded on a 4-track), and the Rid Of Me version. I for one am very excited to hear Polly’s solo demo—it’s a great showcase for her very deliberate and fine-tuned guitar technique (and it’s not one that’s easy to replicate, I might add).

yeah, the best version of "harder" is that one for sure. Quite recently, i've found this video, a recording of said concert but in full: https://youtu.be/HmJxG7q2LP0

This video is fundamental because i can finally get what PJ is referencing in her 2007's White Chalk EPK: https://youtu.be/3DM7ZwzzW-Y ,
when she says:


as a plus, again, in that live, there's a sweet part in which she welcomes John Parish on stage: it really shows their deep and true friendship, in my opinion.

i know, i went a little off topic here, but, you know what they said, "carpe diem" .

Perhaps she's preparing a separate release for later, which includes OST tracks; there's quite the few of them at this point. Some come to mind:

Daddy
Rest Sextet
This is mine
Nickel under the foot
Horses
Bobby don't steal
The Water is wide
Who by Fire

You are right. All I had to do was look up the 4TD Wiki page to find a quote from Polly stating that the catalyst for releasing the record was the break-up of the original trio and that Albini actually encouraged her to do it. I don't know why I had it in my head that she wasn't pleased with RoM and that's why she released 4TD. Probably too many years of reading opinions online and in magazines. Good to know that she doesn't dislike RoM!

The missing songs I was thinking about are the soundtrack, complications, and collaborations she's done. Zaz Turned Blue, Nickle Under the Foot, Love Too Soon, Hitting the Ground, etc. And then there are the missing radio performances from the BBC. I think the main reason I was both surprised and disappointed that these songs weren't included is that I was already comparing this collection to Tom Waits' Orphans and Nick Cave's B-sides & Rarities collections before we even got official word that it was being released. While neither of those two collections is complete, they pulled songs from different sources that I'm sure required a fair amount of licensing. And this was after I was mostly disappointed with the Peel Sessions record released a few years ago. But I am overall happy that it's being released and there's always a chance that we'll get a part two later down the line.

DAMN was I excited when this popped up



only to find out it's The Crow soundtrack version.
How is this the demo?

PJ commented on the recently released tracks:

Dry:

Who Will Love Me Now:

Nina in ecstasy:




That final statement AHAHAHAHH...

She is such a master of understatement.

Is it just me that reads "Who doesn't have monster in their forest?" and sees a raised eyebrow and a naughty look?

Three new videos appeared on PJ's youtube: Memphis, Wait and Dance.
https://youtu.be/kRMFIpQilak
https://youtu.be/ZkrrkOn_zvY
https://youtu.be/zlIUftFV21A

I've always considered Memphis a masterpiece, the sheer emotion and some times cryptic lyrics of it really touches me.

As i'm sure you already know, this song is dedicated to her friend Jeff Buckley who drowned in Memphis while
swimming in the Missisipi.
He was such a handsome, young, and talented man.
For my own musical taste i prefer his father, Tim (also died young, in 1975, due to heroine overdose), but his version of Cohen's Halleluja is phenomenal.

I wonder how PJ will comment on this song.