Elizabeth Platt ([email protected])
Tue, 8 Sep 1998 22:56:24 -0700 (PDT)
I've a question for any collectors on the list--or any Australians! Do
any of you have the Australian version of the "Unforgettable Fire" EP, the
one with the alternative vocals on "Love Comes Tumbling" and (esp.) "A
Sort of Homecoming"?
The reason I ask is, I've been tidying up my pile of 45's today, and took
the opportunity to listen to any I've picked up since I was evicted from
my last house back in early '97. (Turntables are _not_ portable!) One is
a 45 rpm test pressing of "A Sort of Homecoming (Live)", apparently the
same one that appears on the UF EP and "Wide Awake in America"...except
there are differences in the vocals--Bono sings different lyrics in the
song, and Edge's backing vocals are much more prominent, almost more a
duet than just backing vocals.
I _assume_ this is a 45 rpm test pressing of the "Aussie" UF, though the
country of origin isn't obvious. There's a barely legible stamp on the
label, which reads (in part): "Test...not for resale...record remains the
property of Festival Records at all time" (the ... is where the stamp
didn't hit the label, due to the ridges on the vinyl under the label).
The label on this side is the blue/yellow Island Records label, and there
are three (!) catalog numbers of some sort shown on the sleeve:
K 9618
MX-63432
(IS 220)
Now, the "IS 220" is the same catalog number on this song, on the
double-pack 7" set, so I assume that's Island's catalog number for it. No
idea what the other nubmers above it signify--anything to do with the test
pressing?
As for the "alternate" vocals, on my "normal" 7", after Bono sings "I'll
be there...I'll be there...tonight..we'll build a bridge, across the sea
and land" he goes into "the city walls are all pulled down...". But on
the test pressing, after the same opening, he sings "I will live by the
side of the road...on the side of the hills" (etc.) (And I hope I'm not
mangling the lyrics here--all pulled by ear, not from any printed
sources!) (Oh, and by "different lyrics", I meant he sings verses in a
different sequence--they're not totally "new" lyrics!)
So, is this the "Australian" version of this song? Could someone giv a
listen to their copy and let me know?
Oh yeah, the flip side is the album version of "The Unforgetable Fire".
Any idea what this one is worth? I only paid $1 (each) for it, and
another test pressing that was sitting in the bins with it (I assume they
were sold together to the used record shop I was in), a 7" of "MLK" and
(again) the album version of "The Unforgettable Fire".
Thanks in advance!
Slan,
Elizabeth Platt
[email protected]
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Tue Sep 08 1998 - 22:57:51 PDT