Mike Doughty - Haughty Melodic Roughs

Someone was asking about Doughty's song, I'm Still Drinking In My Dreams. Apparently it was a free download on his myspace or something at one point or another, as may have been his solo version of Tremendous Brunettes. I wanted to share these but not if it were only those two tracks. I thought about doing a post with Doughty guest spots on other artists' tracks but then I remembered where I got those Haughty Melodic leftovers from in the first place.

While still an independent artist, our man Doughty had managed two releases, Skittish and Rockity Roll, as well as a limited live CD. He had bigger plans though and was working on an album with his band. He had compiled a demo tape of eleven songs and by chance found himself in front of his old pal, Dave Matthews. He gave Dave a copy, Dave loved it and Doughty was signed to Dave's ATO Records shortly thereafter. The songs on that demo would make up Haughty Melodic and we'd all hear Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well on Grey's Anatomy whether we admitted it or not. Good for Mike!

The demo tape, while cool, sounds a lot like the finished album. A LOT LIKE THE FINISHED ALBUM. It's rather amazing how good it sounds for a demo, to which I've often wondered if some of the multitracks from the demo sessions were used on the finished album. I suppose it's possible. What really matters though is how clear Doughty's vision was and remained as evidenced by a comparison between the demo and finished product, and that is why I'm posting it here tonight for your listening pleasure. Now you can do your own compare and contrast experiments with these very high quality demos or roughs as I prefer to call them. If you hear anything really fascinating please drop a note in comments for this post and share those details. Enjoy!


Mike Doughty - Haughty Melodic Roughs

01 Unsingable Name
02 Madeline and Nine
03 Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well
04 I'm Still Drinking In My Dreams
05 American Car
06 I Hear The Bells
07 Tremendous Brunettes
08 Grey Ghost
09 Sunkeneyed Girl
10 Busting Up A Starbucks
11 White Lexus


PS - In case anyone is wondering, I found these on slsk a good while before Haughty Melodic was released. And if you haven't heard the finished album, Tremendous Brunettes here is a solo version because Dave Matthews shared the vocals with Mike on the album version.