I love finding alternate versions of songs that are so established it's hard to think they ever existed any other way. Think about the most schlocky, overproduced song ever. No matter how corny or overplayed it is, I am sure that there is some raw, lo-fi alternate version of it. Someone needs to roll up their sleeves and make a comp of early awesome versions of shitty songs, filled with tracks by Joe Satriani and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Dude I would totally listen to Jagged Edge demos!

It's kind of similar to how EVERY band that had a hit in the 80s began as some post-punk band with artsy intentions and then at some point said "fuck it" and wrote a top 40 hit.

For example, when I got the completely unecessary Nirvana metal box set, the one shining moment came on the DVD, which includes the first amazing live performance of "Smells Like." The energy on this performance is infectious, it's one of those transcendent moments. This is of course way before someone paid Butch Vig $90,000 to turn the track into mall music:



On a similar note, I'll give you this early mix of "Tainted Love." It sounds like it was recorded in 5 minutes while Marc Almond was getting a blowjob. It also happens to be totally fucking great:

SOFT CEL "TAINTED LOVE" (ALT MIX) (mp3)

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