Also, I was just doing some searching on this and found an article from Natalie. My Japanese is pretty poor, but the translator says something about "talk of steamy American tour"? It's in the second paragraph. Can anyone offer an actual translation. Damn, I hope they actually come back again.

[url]http://natalie.mu/music/news/127639[/url]

Okay:

SPOILERS: (don't read the stuff below if want to get into the album without your expectations being influenced by other's impressions)

[size=85]Another Morning...first I didn't recognized it...then I thought, wowhow...some notes are like lower or higher...the melody is slighty different there. But I also thought, yes! this is how I like my 'Another Morning', I already like this better than the original, is that possible lol.

Flash Candy was great (best song of the album?). It had a horns part in it...solo was good, build-up, structure, vocals. Don't know just great at first listen already.

Todays, She... hmm...Sawao's voice was fragile here..don't know for sure, but I think I like PML version better. Better executed.
Naked Shuffle missed something..instead of hey mister, little sister..get down faster etc..it was just hey,hey,hey...

Oh yeah....'another slow night' was a really great ballad, up there with tonight and good night.
Then 'as I can be' ..now, it was all good, as it should be..so relaxed...[/size]

There's more...but I really need to eat something now.

http://www.4shared.com/music/rNqhHczCce/01__1.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/TMOKGua8ce/02__2.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/s81Ia4p0ce/03__3.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/-RvS7tYYba/04__4.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/WXACmrohba/05__5.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/wd85FP1lba/06__6.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/o0txBd9Qba/07__7.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/Kxt7sdMOce/08__8.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/kBHdYgOGce/09__9.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/sBb8XowGce/10__10.html
http://www.4shared.com/music/FfJZkhKMba/11__11.html

So yeah...erm, don't know if I'm doing the right thing sharing this. Just buy that damn CD guys!
It's .wma...and low kbps I guess...there will be higher quality versions out there. Anyway enjoy!

[quote="Son Goshin"]Also, I was just doing some searching on this and found an article from Natalie. My Japanese is pretty poor, but the translator says something about "talk of steamy American tour"? It's in the second paragraph. Can anyone offer an actual translation. Damn, I hope they actually come back again.

[url]http://natalie.mu/music/news/127639[/url][/quote]

Sorry, it says he'd be talking about the story behind the Tribute album as well as his experiences on American tours and other things. No tour announcement, lol.

I'm going to wait for a higher quality rip or for Brye to mail me the CD, kekekekekekekeke.

8===D ~~~~

Okay, here are my thoughts:

This thing sounds sick. This is easily my favorite Pillows full-length release since My Foot. I'm surprised by how clean it sounds considering that these are demos or outtakes - actually, the production feels more like 90s My Life than any other album. Sawao's voice sounds great, too, considering these are demos (then again, I'm so used to hearing his early singing that maybe I just don't notice much anymore.) The lead guitar playing on songs like Hello Friend, Another Morning, and Swingers A Go Go is just outstanding. And I really like how these songs are basically all in the vein of White Incarnation, instead of the smoother jazz-pop style of Kool Spice.

I really like this version of Another Morning. The album version is great too, but in comparison it feels like they took the original song and simplified it to turn it into a grunge song. For me, my favorite has to be Swingers A Go Go, though there's not really a weak song on the whole thing. Here's hoping that this is the first of future "Bootleg" releases.

[quote="ThinlineTele"] Here's hoping that this is the first of future "Bootleg" releases.[/quote]
YES.

THANK YOU! This has just been an awesome few weeks for music. I've only listened to the first three songs so far, but I can tell this is an awesome release. If what you say is true Thinline, that this is more in the vein of WI, I really wonder what would've happened if Sawao had took the band in that direction for it's third album. Perhaps, what we have right here would've essentially been Album 3, until Sawao scrapped the idea to go the sound we now know as the "2nd Movement". Just something interesting to think about...

Anyway, the Another Morning demo sounds amazing. The arrangement is COMPLETELY different, save for the vocal melody, but even that is a bit different. It's not like the b-side version of Patricia where the main guitar riff is basically the same as the album version. The process from this demo to the version on Little Busters must have taken a lot of time and reworking, but both sound amazing obviously. The demo is faster paced for sure, but that solo sounds great, and Sawao's voice sounds excellent. I need to listen to these back to back for more comparison. And I never thought I'd be able to hear Boku Dake no Mona Lisa. I'm still curious to see what the Penalty Life version sounds like, but the demo here is really mellow, and I'm digging it a lot. Gonna definitely tear into this tomorrow, where it will definitely be on repeat for a while.

The intro to Another Morning sounds really similar to Pocket Boys by Army Navy. It's a total coincidence but kinda funny nonetheless.

This is just insanely good.

It' s like stumbling upon White Incarnation for the first time, in a way. I've only listened up to Swingers a go! go!, but everything has been awesome so far.

<3<3<3 you, Ashinow.

Edit: Flash Candy... holy shit. Why the FUCK did they sit on this for 20+ years??

Beautiful Picture is interesting.

It's mostly Kashima playing bass on all of these, isn't it?

Okay, I'm giving in and listening now because they're up on Youtube and because I'm super curious about the changes in songs. I put the songs into a playlist so you can listen to them in the proper order easily:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... WIpXGxjLHY

Turns out, there are a lot of cool changeups! Small lyrical differences in both Another Morning and Kanojo wa Kyou, as well as the obvious musical changes. I think that the main riff from the intro/breaks/outro of Another Morning is based loosely on Manabe's lead guitar during the chorus, for example (If you strip it down to its main notes, it matches for the first two phrases before deviating).

Another Morning:
- in the first prechorus, he says "taekirenai hodo no dekigoto" rather than "taekirenai you na dekigoto."
- first chorus ends with "yakusoku nante nai sa," the extra "sa" at the end is a slightly stronger expression.
- second verse, he says "nakayoku kimi to futarinori" rather than "ano koro kimi to futarinori," which means that he and her were getting along well as they rode together, rather than they rode together "back then"
- second chorus, he sings "rousoku wo zutto kesanai mama" rather than "rousoku wo kesanaide," which means that rather than asking someone not to blow out the candles, he is simply stating that they will never be extinguished. He also ends the chorus with "Happy Birthday!"
- third chorus, another "sa" at the end of "yakusoku nante nai" for a stronger phrase.

Boku de irareru you ni:
- Second verse: He says "deguchi no nai Tunnel" rather than "no mienai," which means the tunnel has no exit, rather than he cannot see the exit. Also, the way he stresses "do to shitemo," it could be "da to shittemo" which means "Even though I know the tunnel has no exit" rather than "even if it's a tunnel whose exit I can't see." This could also be a mistake in my previous transcription, though, I may have typo'd and left off an extra "t" in shittemo...dunno on this one haha.

Kanojo wa Kyou:
- First verse, he sings "Nandaka samishisou da to kimetsuketari shite" instead of "da na," which is the difference in describing his thought and QUOTING his thought: "I jumped to the conclusion that she looked lonely somehow," vs "She looks lonely somehow, I thought, jumping to conclusions," as a rough sketch. (I think, someone correct me here if that isn't what that sounds like to them)
- First chorus, no "kossori to" at the end, so he wasn't "quietly" watching the illusions
- Second verse: "tonari ni sonzai shiteta no sa, yume ja nai yo" adds "no sa," once again making it a slightly stronger expression (but jams the words in a bit)
- Second chorus: There's a change here I can't get after "karen nanda," "something kisae wasureteita" (hope there's a lyric book)
- Second chorus: "Fushigi na inryoku wo motsu mahou wa taiyou mitai ni boku wo kogashita," which means "That spell which held a strange gravity burned me like the sun"
- Third chorus: same as second chorus.

Naked Shuffle:
- No chorus, just a bunch of "Hey"s
- No "Tell me what's gonna happen to me" towards the end

Beautiful Picture:
- First verse: "Tooku bakari mite sa" instead of "miteta," which amounts to stressing the phrase more as opposed to explicitly making it past tense
- Bridge: The "kono goro zutto" and "damatteta kedo" lines are switched with each other


In particular, the lyrical changes for Another Morning and Kanojo wa Kyou strike me, because these changes follow the pattern of a theory that I've held for quite some time now, and one of the big puzzle pieces that I hope going through interviews and lyrics more thoroughly will reveal. Sawao changed how he sang about the girl in these songs, just like he changed how he sang about love as time passed and they went into the Living Field and Lostman era. Early songs are hopeful love songs, talking of time spent together, all sorts of romantic stuff, but there's eventually a turning point in his love songs where it starts to be first songs of farewell and sorrow about loss. Later on he moves onto songs about falling in love again and being surprised about it (I think Tokyo Bambi was one) as well as songs about someone not being there but still being an inspiration to him, but basically, from his lyrics Sawao has had a pretty rough time, romantically.

And the changes to Another Morning and Kanojo wa Kyou fit that pattern exactly. When they were initially written, they were together; by the time they were released, the breakup was since past, and now these songs about her couldn't be sung honestly in a way that spoke of them being together, but instead changed to reflect more upon that loss, upon how she WAS there next to him, but is not any longer.

Anyway, that's just a theory, but I'm sure we'll be able to piece together things a bit better over time.

My impressions of this thing so far:

[b]Hello Friend[/b]-- Amazing song, solid opener. This is possibly my favorite on the album. It's just so listenable and upbeat.

[b]Another Morning[/b]-- This is a fun and energetic take on an old favorite. I don't know that I "prefer" this version, but it's different and I really like it. It's interesting to listen to the two versions. The arrangements are so different, and I'm still in awe that this song was written so long ago!
[b]
Boku Dake Mona Lisa[/b]-- This is a good song. Mellow, pleasant. Not a lot to say, but <3

[b]Boku de Irareru you ni[/b]-- This has always been a good song. I really like this version; there's a crispness to Sawao's voice, and the whole thing is just really nice-sounding, as one would expect.

[b]Swingers a Go! Go![/b]-- Wish we had this one in slightly higher quality. Very fun song, and the ba ba ba ba ba's are rad.

[b]Kanojo wa Kyou[/b]-- An excellent song, probably one of their best singles ever. This version is still nice, but it doesn't hold a candle to the single version. I agree with Ashinow that Sawao's voice is a bit frail in this demo. Was surprised to learn of this song's age as well.

[b]Another Slow Night[/b]-- Smooth and lovely ~~

[b]Naked Shuffle[/b]-- Interesting, but a good deal less enjoyable than the album version. Glad they developed the song beyond this demo version. The "Hey Hey Hey" thing didn't work for me. Song had a slightly different vibe, also. It was less jazzy and had a more Moon Gold-ish/White Incarnation-y sound.
[b]
Cooper Poster[/b]-- A pleasant jam. Sounds like good, old fashioned pillows. Would have fit in nicely somewhere on Moon Gold or White Incarnation, I think. Surprised this one never ended up as a B-side or something during those days. Enjoyable.

[b]Flash Candy[/b]-- Wow, just wow. The most polished recording on this thing, by far. I SERIOUSLY don't know why this hasn't seen the light of day in 20+ years. The horn part seems like it should be cheesy... but goddamn, does it work. Manabe and Kashima, in particular, really deliver on this one. The solo is pure gold. This is vintage pillows goodness with a bit more polish than I'd have expected from a track of this age. Sounds like it could have ended up on Kool Spice or even Living Field. The song itself SOUNDS Kool Spice-ish, but the production reminds me of something closer to Living Field. A real standout.

[b]Beautiful Picture[/b]-- This one threw me for a loop. I ADORE Beautiful Picture, but this jazzy version is so different in tone from the other one. Like, it's good, but it sounds sooooo dated. The sound effects and piano put it squarely in the early-to-mid 90's. Almost reminds me of Fishmans, in a weird way. Good, but I'll stick to the other version for my Beautiful Picture fix.

I'm so thankful to have this album. One of the best things to be released in a long time as far as I'm concerned.

It's really wild, to hear songs like Another Morning and Kanojo wa Kyou like this. You know, as a long-time fan, I guess I'd gotten to the point where I was pretty comfortable with all of their older material. I felt I knew it as well as anyone could. To hear these songs performed in this way, and to know that they were floating around 4-6 years earlier is kind of surreal. This whole album is surreal, hard for me to grasp. Like I said, when you've been listening to a band for more more than 10 years, devouring all of their releases, you get to thinking that maybe you know everything about them. I have to sort of shift my understanding of their entire discography now, which is exciting and thought-provoking.

Lots of stuff here for a Buster to process, that's for sure.

that version of beautiful picture is a whole other level of melancholy compared to the original. wow.

Listening and it's nice.
The first time in a long time I've actually enjoyed something from the pillows.



First song I'm listening to is Another Morning. It sounds different.
Even the tone / rhythm/ beat sounds different.

Plus Mare, what theory? Fill me in! I've been gone for so long!

I laid it all out right there in the post, dude. If you didn't read it, that's not on me to re-write things.

I love this Beautiful Picture.. I wonder what songs we'd get for a possible Bootleg 94-?
the pillows are awesome for releasing this