Re: Cathy Demos

[woiccare@pebbles.sct.clarkson.edu]

Michael L. Kaufman sez:

[various theories on the dates of the cathy demos from ied and somebody else
del'd]
 
>Now I know that this does not mean anything definatly, but on the _If You Could
>See Me Fly_ cd (which woj was kind enough to pick up for me, thanks again woj),
>it says on the back cover "Kate Bush Home-Demos, Recorded 1974".  This really
>confuses things.  I thought all of the home demos were done before 1973?  So
>the question is, is the date right or is the home part right?

first, i think i can safely say (and i'm sure that ied will agree with me
on this point) that bootleggers who muddle the names of songs such as "car-
milla" are not to be trusted with things even more important such as dates,
*especially* with such unknowns as demos made at home (or whereever).

so, i would say that you can discount the date given on that cd. 

ied asked about the quality of the _if you could see me fly_ cd and i am un-
happy to report that a close listening to the cd reveals flaws and hiss very
reminiscent of the _cathy's album_ lp - in fact, the flaw in "kashka from
baghdad" that marred the _cathy's album_ lp also appears on the cd (interest-
ingly, this also shows up on the supposedly-corrected track offered on _cathy's
album too_; then again, what i perceive to be the flaw may not be what every-
one else thinks it is!). hence, while the cd is of better quality due to the
inherent better sound quality of cds, it still suffers the same hiss appar-
ent on the _cathy's album_ lp, from which i suspect the cd was mastered from.

sigh...at least i can't easily scratch the cd like i can the lp.

to those of you looking for this item - perservere! i was *really* sur-
prised to hear that midnight and others did not haveit or had not heard
of it. even more surprising is that a little shop in the middle of new jersey
*did*. however, it will eventually make its rounds - so keep looking!

as for the origin of the cathy demos, i must disagree with whomever it 
was that felt they are poor-quality demos. admittedly, they are not of the
standards of today in recording quality (unless del is recording them - sorry,
*very* poor joke in admittedly bad taste), but if gilmour is  recalling 
events fairly accurately, it is not ridiculous to assume that the cathy demos
were made with "a tape recorder in the same room". this is often, even today,
the best that some beginners can do. not to mention the excessive cost of 
studio time, even during the early 70s. for the purpose of getting a record
contract, minimal cost recordings are more than adequate.

woj