Knocking on Heavens Door

THE place for your Sisters-related comments, questions and snippets of Sisters information. For those who do not know, The Sisters of Mercy are a rock'n'roll band. And a pop band. And an industrial groove machine. Or so they say. They make records. Lots of records, apparently. But not in your galaxy. They play concerts. Lots of concerts, actually. But you still cannot see them. So what's it all about, Alfie? This is one of the few tightly-moderated forums on Heartland, so please keep on-topic. All off-topic posts will either be moved or deleted. Chairman Bux is the editor and the editor's decision is final. Danke.
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Spiggy's hat
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Listening to this on Victims of Circumstance this morning, begs the question what was the purpose of recording KOHD?

I remember von saying in an mid 80's interview, that the label had put a huge amount of pressure on the band to release a cover version. I can't remember the date, but I assume it was shortly after the 3rd WEA single had failed to break the top 40.

Knocking on Heavens door & Emma are the obvious two choices of cover versions from that period to be released as singles. So was KOHD demo'd/recorded for a potential release in 1985, or was this version just a bit of knockabout fun in the studio?
Give me one good reason
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Ozpat
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Spiggy's hat wrote:Listening to this on Victims of Circumstance this morning, begs the question what was the purpose of recording KOHD?

I remember von saying in an mid 80's interview, that the label had put a huge amount of pressure on the band to release a cover version. I can't remember the date, but I assume it was shortly after the 3rd WEA single had failed to break the top 40.

Knocking on Heavens door & Emma are the obvious two choices of cover versions from that period to be released as singles. So was KOHD demo'd/recorded for a potential release in 1985, or was this version just a bit of knockabout fun in the studio?
The interview you are refering to might be the one with Anne Clark in 1984. They were under a lot of pressure to release Emma.

I never read anything about releasing KOHD. What about Jolene? It was demo'd as well.
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czuczu
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I'd have thought they'd generally record/rehearse anything they were going to play live, even if it wasn't for release..
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radiojamaica
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I read somewhere that the record company wanted The Sisters to do an album filled with covers. Dunno if that's true, but that could be a reason to record studio versions of these songs. Eldritch said in another interview that he wasn't happy with the studio version of Emma (the 84 one) because he can't sing it in a studio. Therefor he recorded his vocals for the 88 release in a ballroom somewhere with lots of smoke & lights... no band or audience though!
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TheBoyNextDoor
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radiojamaica wrote:I read somewhere that the record company wanted The Sisters to do an album filled with covers. Dunno if that's true, but that could be a reason to record studio versions of these songs. Eldritch said in another interview that he wasn't happy with the studio version of Emma (the 84 one) because he can't sing it in a studio. Therefor he recorded his vocals for the 88 release in a ballroom somewhere with lots of smoke & lights... no band or audience though!
Kilburn National Ballroom, London.
Splendid version that is. 8)
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Jolene was recorded on a Portastudio, KOHD was given a full studio treatment, and is a brilliant demo. He even adds the line "there's a long black train and it's comin' round".

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robertzombie
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Didn't realise there were two studio versions of Emma... :?
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Silver_Owl
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Dark wrote:Jolene was recorded on a Portastudio, KOHD was given a full studio treatment, and is a brilliant demo. He even adds the line "there's a long black train and it's comin' round".

Everybody got a destination.
Which versions are these and where are they hidden :?:
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Big Si
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robertzombie wrote:Didn't realise there were two studio versions of Emma... :?
I make it 3!

1983/4 (studio), the John Peel/Kid Jensen Radio session and 1988 (Dominion B-side) :|
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czuczu
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Who's actually playing on the '88 version?
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robertzombie
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Big Si wrote:
robertzombie wrote:Didn't realise there were two studio versions of Emma... :?
I make it 3!

1983/4 (studio), the John Peel/Kid Jensen Radio session and 1988 (Dominion B-side) :|
But the Session isn't an official release is it?

I always thought the 1983/4 and the 1988 versions where identical? (i asked a while back coz I downloaded "Emma (12" Version)" and didn't know what it was)...
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Dark
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Hom_Corleone wrote:
Dark wrote:Jolene was recorded on a Portastudio, KOHD was given a full studio treatment, and is a brilliant demo. He even adds the line "there's a long black train and it's comin' round".

Everybody got a destination.
Which versions are these and where are they hidden :?:
Head off to the Resources board and the Sistersrarities Yahoo! Groups thread. You'll find everything you want and more ;)
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rapidshar
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I was looking for info on KOHD and Jolene and i foud this thread - silent for over a year - but here it goes:
Dark wrote:Jolene was recorded on a Portastudio, KOHD was given a full studio treatment, and is a brilliant demo.
I thought KOHD was only played live in RHA, Bremen and Hamburg - "Razor Smiles", are there any more versions?

About Jolene, i think there are a lot of versions and i listened to some, but the sound quality is always poor. Which one do you think is the best?
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Ozpat
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Some of the live recordings during the 80's gigs are nice. Also like the version with Skeletal Family.
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markfiend
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rapidshar: there's a studio demo of KOHD. Jolene is on one of the Radio 1 sessions (The Kid Jensen one?) IIRC as well as there being a studio demo version.
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mh
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KoHD was played at most late 84/85 shows. Some of the late 84 versions are the most interesting, as they were experimenting with different arrangements at the time (acapella intros, different vocal intonations, etc). In terms of pure sound quality, RAH is the superior version, but somehow, without the extended BOOM-BOOM-chk intro it loses something.

There was talk of a "legendary/astonishing/amazing" demo of Jolene on Dominion in the early 90s, but I'm not sure if this ever surfaced. There is an extremely high quality tape of the Jensen session which did the rounds once upon a time, I had it back then but have since lost it.

Some of the more collector/trader types might be able to fill in some of the blanks here.
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markfiend
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hallucienate has 73 live versions of KOHD...
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rapidshar
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Thanks for the help guys!

I already have Jolene from the Kid Jensen session and from Wide Receiver, so i'm guessing those are the best ones.

@markfiend: is the studio demo of KOHD the one in Victims Of Circumstance?
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6FeetOver
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...now I've got a G'N'R/Leningrad Cowboys mashup of sorts going on in my head. Help! :lol:
I left my heart in Ballycastle... :cry: :cry: :cry:
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robertzombie
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rapidshar wrote:Thanks for the help guys!

I already have Jolene from the Kid Jensen session and from Wide Receiver, so i'm guessing those are the best ones.

@markfiend: is the studio demo of KOHD the one in Victims Of Circumstance?
There's a good version on the Australian CD of VOC which is in the sharing section :)
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markfiend
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rapidshar wrote:@markfiend: is the studio demo of KOHD the one in Victims Of Circumstance?
Yep. See Rob's post above. 8)
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Pista
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markfiend wrote:
rapidshar wrote:@markfiend: is the studio demo of KOHD the one in Victims Of Circumstance?
Yep. See Rob's post above. 8)
Not anymore there isn't.
Link's expired :|
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robertzombie
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*Uploading*
:)
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Pista
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Ya dancer :notworthy:
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rapidshar
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robertzombie wrote:*Uploading*
:)
Aw...shucks
Thanks!

But i still managed to get the VOC posted by JansenClone :wink:
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