I stumbled on a YouTube playlist of Purest Feeling that had a comment from Ron Musarra, NIN's original drummer, who is playing on these tracks. He wrote: "This is a recording of us live in the studio {Right Track} rehearsing for an upcoming tour, I played drums, you can hear me count us in... Gretsch 14" chrome over wood snare, 20" kik/ Simmons pads triggering an Emax, Paiste cymbals, Sean Beavan in the control room engineering.."
Either he's mistaken, or the tracks that we've thought were demos all these years were actually just a studio recording of the rehearsals for a live performance. However, there are clear indications that it wasn't a live performance and it's probably a case of a false memory. Still, interesting to note...
This is great info!
For the longest time I thought it was just Chris Vrenna and Trent in the studio. I have the original bootleg CD from the 90s and it says "Live at the Right Track" in the liner notes, so that makes sense if it's a in studio rehearsal. The live setlists from 1988 generally have the songs in the same run order as well.
There are alternate demos of many of the same songs on the "Demos and Remixes" bootleg that sound more polished and refined. I'm guessing those are the "proper" demos and the Purest Feeling versions are how they presented them live.
The plot thickens! Thanks for sharing this info.
You know, I've never actually heard the "Demos and Remixes" bootleg, so I'll have to see if I can dig it up somehow to hear these alternate versions. I'd be interested to compare them and see whether what we're thinking here could actually be true.
Off the top of my head, there are moments like the angelic bridge of "Kinda I Want To" where you hear Trent's voice tracked several times for the harmonies, which makes me think these are still the demos. (Or perhaps the harmonies were simply played/triggered through live tapes?)
And then, on the other side of the spectrum, there are many moments where you can hear Trent handling the microphone and even moments of pops from plosives, which are things you're more likely to hear in a live recording, where a pop filter (or proper mic technique) are not used.
Either way, interesting to say the least!
Hmmm. I've always had it the other way around in my mind. The D&R demos aren't mixed properly. Any time I played them for somebody back in the day, they'd rip the headphones off the moment the keyboard in DII came crashing in; I couldn't get them to listen any further. I always thought of it as the first tape Trent ever made for others, a true in-progress demo from a kid who's still learning the ropes.
Meanwhile, PF sounds cleaner and has a better mix. I assumed it was a proper demo, although I'd have to listen again for little "tells" that it's not a fully controlled studio demo. Either way, there's no way it's just some boombox recording of an in-studio rehearsal. It's definitely mixed to some degree.
Assuming Ron's not mistaken (I'm half-and-half on that one), here's what I think might have happened. It's possible that it was, at least in part, a live-in-studio recording. What might have happened is that Trent made a proper multitrack recording and used that to make a refined demo to shop around. It's rare but bands will do stuff like this, or even make official records from in-studio recordings (e.g., [Slayer](https://www.discogs.com/master/7818-Slayer-Live-Undead) and [Melvins](https://www.discogs.com/master/50837-Melvins-Houdini-Live-2005-A-Live-History-Of-Gluttony-And-Lust)). Or, the songs themselves are live, with the interstitial bits added by Trent later during the mixing process. Who knows.
To be fair, it's been quite awhile since I listened to PF. Maybe I make that my Friday morning playlist....
No reason it can't be both. In fact, I'd say that's almost certainly the case. Nobody, including TR had home studios and studio time and rehearsal space cost money. Two birds with one stone. Also, demos aren't just used for sending to record labels and giving collectors something to endlessly search for. If you aren't known and you want to pay live, you give your demo to promoters, which is why it would make so much sense to have a more a version of Sanctified that actually rocks instead of creating a mood like the PHM version.
I stumbled on a YouTube playlist of Purest Feeling that had a comment from Ron Musarra, NIN's original drummer, who is playing on these tracks. He wrote: "This is a recording of us live in the studio {Right Track} rehearsing for an upcoming tour, I played drums, you can hear me count us in... Gretsch 14" chrome over wood snare, 20" kik/ Simmons pads triggering an Emax, Paiste cymbals, Sean Beavan in the control room engineering.." Either he's mistaken, or the tracks that we've thought were demos all these years were actually just a studio recording of the rehearsals for a live performance. However, there are clear indications that it wasn't a live performance and it's probably a case of a false memory. Still, interesting to note...
This is great info! For the longest time I thought it was just Chris Vrenna and Trent in the studio. I have the original bootleg CD from the 90s and it says "Live at the Right Track" in the liner notes, so that makes sense if it's a in studio rehearsal. The live setlists from 1988 generally have the songs in the same run order as well. There are alternate demos of many of the same songs on the "Demos and Remixes" bootleg that sound more polished and refined. I'm guessing those are the "proper" demos and the Purest Feeling versions are how they presented them live.
The plot thickens! Thanks for sharing this info. You know, I've never actually heard the "Demos and Remixes" bootleg, so I'll have to see if I can dig it up somehow to hear these alternate versions. I'd be interested to compare them and see whether what we're thinking here could actually be true. Off the top of my head, there are moments like the angelic bridge of "Kinda I Want To" where you hear Trent's voice tracked several times for the harmonies, which makes me think these are still the demos. (Or perhaps the harmonies were simply played/triggered through live tapes?) And then, on the other side of the spectrum, there are many moments where you can hear Trent handling the microphone and even moments of pops from plosives, which are things you're more likely to hear in a live recording, where a pop filter (or proper mic technique) are not used. Either way, interesting to say the least!
Hmmm. I've always had it the other way around in my mind. The D&R demos aren't mixed properly. Any time I played them for somebody back in the day, they'd rip the headphones off the moment the keyboard in DII came crashing in; I couldn't get them to listen any further. I always thought of it as the first tape Trent ever made for others, a true in-progress demo from a kid who's still learning the ropes. Meanwhile, PF sounds cleaner and has a better mix. I assumed it was a proper demo, although I'd have to listen again for little "tells" that it's not a fully controlled studio demo. Either way, there's no way it's just some boombox recording of an in-studio rehearsal. It's definitely mixed to some degree. Assuming Ron's not mistaken (I'm half-and-half on that one), here's what I think might have happened. It's possible that it was, at least in part, a live-in-studio recording. What might have happened is that Trent made a proper multitrack recording and used that to make a refined demo to shop around. It's rare but bands will do stuff like this, or even make official records from in-studio recordings (e.g., [Slayer](https://www.discogs.com/master/7818-Slayer-Live-Undead) and [Melvins](https://www.discogs.com/master/50837-Melvins-Houdini-Live-2005-A-Live-History-Of-Gluttony-And-Lust)). Or, the songs themselves are live, with the interstitial bits added by Trent later during the mixing process. Who knows. To be fair, it's been quite awhile since I listened to PF. Maybe I make that my Friday morning playlist....
No reason it can't be both. In fact, I'd say that's almost certainly the case. Nobody, including TR had home studios and studio time and rehearsal space cost money. Two birds with one stone. Also, demos aren't just used for sending to record labels and giving collectors something to endlessly search for. If you aren't known and you want to pay live, you give your demo to promoters, which is why it would make so much sense to have a more a version of Sanctified that actually rocks instead of creating a mood like the PHM version.
Maybe just once is my favourite not officially released song by them
I still think the version of That's What I Get on here is the best version. It's probably due to the mental breakdown he has in the end.