Up next are two demos of an Editors track that is neatly tucked away in their back catalogue, but one which deserves to be coaxed back out into the light to play again. Forest Fire was a b-side to the Blood single, originally released in July of 2005. I don't have any finer details on the demos, such as their venue of origin (studio/home demo) or and actual recording date, but it's safe to say that at this point they're pretty damned old.
Demo 1 feels very much like a guide version of the track, something for listening back to with all the components present but just not necessarily arranged correctly yet. The lyrics are slightly different too, with "On the hill, a forest fire" which would be dropped down the line. It ends differently to the other takes, with nothing but Tom's almost whispered vocals.
Demo 2 starts with Chris' guitar, Tom's vocals (with harmonies) and an acoustic guitar being plucked. At 4 minutes and 17 seconds it runs a lot longer that the officially released take, as with version 1 this is undoubtedly probably due to its noticeably slower tempo. There's something very delicate about Demo 2, when compared to the final version, which ends on Chris's guitar part.
In the final version of Forest Fire, the pace is quicker, with the drums and bass being brought to the fore, and there's also a xylophone at "I'll miss this when I'm gone" which is missing in both demos. Vocally, there's an effect on Tom's voice that makes him sound like he's singing through a megaphone at the start. The major thing that changed between this and the previous 2 recordings was the process of managing and creating tension, in much the same way that Camera went from being what it was in the demo stage to a song that revealed more and more as it progressed. You can definitely hear elements of what made Camera a more dramatic song during Forest Fire, suggesting that the process of building tracks up was already on their collective minds. Sometimes a song that shows you everything up front with very little change afterwards can be fun (I Wanna Be Your Dog by The Stooges or Get on the Good Foot by James Brown for example). Other times, however, a tune that strengthens itself and adds more between the beginning and end is even better. They've managed to get that nailed down pretty well on other recordings too, songs such as Two Hearted Spider or Like Treasure for example. Those songs underwent major transformations between their conception and their eventual release. You can also hear it on more recent songs like No Harm and Marching Orders.
Finally, it's funny to think that there was such an outcry when the band dared to use electronic instruments on ITLAOTE, because they were stepping outside of the guitar/bass/drums/vocals even at this point (note the keys at the start of Forest Fire, as well as the processed vocals a full 4 years before album 3 even came out). If you listen to the b-sides that the band put out such as From the Outside, Release, Colours or Disappear, for example then it's evident how well the final run through of Forest Fire fits in there. There's almost a thread that connects them all in terms of their sound and approach.
But that's enough of the chat. Here's two demos for your collection, enjoy the music ;)
Forest Fire Demo 2 - download here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
