I have been waiting for this for so long! But first, massive credit must be given to plymwhites for hooking things up and Tony for getting me copies of the recordings, I am eternally grateful to you guys and if there is anything I can do, please let me know!
So, a year or two ago I found the wonderful Fodderstompf site and read about these recordings. I started hunting them and the Commercial Zone outtakes, and I eventually found those CZ tracks which are shared here, but I had no luck with the Metal Box Outtakes until plymwhites and Tony came into the picture. After plymwhites connection, Tony got me the three disc set known as Metal Box Demos, although that label isn't exactly correct. Not to be confused with the vinyl boot that contains b-sides and radio sessions, this set contained the ten tracks featured here, three tracks from an unknown radio session, and a ton of tracks that sound like they were recorded with a handheld tape recorder. Those "handheld" tapes aren't necessarily different from the finished versions, although it's hard to really determine if there are differences due to the lack of fidelity, but it's quite likely they were recorded while being played through the monitor at the mixdown sessions. As for the ten tracks featured here, they are legitimate, unreleased, alternate mixes and takes of songs from the Metal Box sessions. That said, the quality of these recordings isn't the greatest as they sound like they've been copied twenty or thirty times and the final cassette might have been stored under the seat of an ancient chevrolet before someone digitized them and shared them with other collectors, but that doesn't matter because the tracks are great!
The Fodderstompf review of these tracks covers most of the details, but a quick run down follows below the tracks in the list below. Also, I've included an eleventh track with excerpts from a few of the "handheld" tracks and some entertaining tape glitches. I know not everyone is necessarily interested in that sort of thing, but I find it very entertaining so I figured I share these bits with you. It reminds me of trading tapes via the mail back in the day before MP3s became so common. Hope you enjoy!
UPDATE: I got reported again for this post, and there isn't even a download link attached to it anymore! Well, tough, I'm not getting rid of the text. I wrote it, it's my post, there is nothing that shouldn't be here any longer, I won't remove it. Anyone that has a problem with that, TOUGH SHIT.
Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box Outtakes
01 Socialist (Alternate Mix)
This isn't terribly different from the released version, although you can hear Wobble at the end of the track chanting socialist. He almost sounds robotic. There are also some keys and mixing differences throughout the track that I found interesting.
02 Death Disco (Alternate Take)
This may not be the complete take, but it's great nonetheless. It's a little bouncier and, dare I say, more "disco friendly" than the released version. Very cool!
03 Beat The Drum For Me (Alternate Mix)
04 Beat The Drum For Me (Alternate Mix)
I can't vouch that there are any huge difference here.
05 Beat The Drum For Me (Dub Mix)
The Fodderstompf review lists this track as two different takes stuck together. I could be wrong but I took it as one dubby mix version, and that's how I'm presenting it to you here. This is a really cool version.
06 No Birds Do Sing (Alternate Mix)
The differences here are pretty minimal, but the track goes on a little longer than the released version.
07 No Birds Do Sing (Alternate Mix, incomplete)
08 No Birds Do Sing (Alternate Mix, incomplete)
These two tracks are probably meant to be one track. It sounds like whomever was taping these tried to continue the second version very close to where the first ended. For the record, these two tracks were combined into one on the discs I received, but I separated them here.
09 No Birds Do Sing (Alternate Mix)
Like the other versions, the differences are minimal.
10 Socialist (Alternate Take)
Not terribly different from the released version, this one starts with someone hitting the foghorn-sounding keyboard. This version also fades out.
11 tape excerpts
Just what the title says, there are bits of Bad Baby, The Suit and Chant in here, as well as a track that probably isn't PiL that I don't recognize. If you were wondering what the "handheld" stuff sounds like, this should give you a good idea, and if enough people want those I can post them, but I don't think anyone is going to care. Those "handheld" tapes are nearly unlistenable, and if you do listen to them you might get tinnitus. You have been warned.
PS - Gotta say it one more time, HUGE thanks to Tony and plymwhites! You guys rule!
PS2 - Happy Birthday Dad!
PS3 - Game system I don't own because the 360, for me at least, is better. I don't believe in BluRay either. Also, a really dumb joke I'm making that I hope you can all forgive me for.
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