Posts by DJL

I agree with you Ashley and last domino. When Clapton did a recent repackage campaign with his Unplugged, it included some extra tracks that were rehearsed plus the original showing and a rehearsal dvd. I know Clapton's Unplugged was much more popular than Phil's, but I still think it would be an interesting release. I'm just not convinced that Phil actually liked the performance. If anyone can prove me wrong, please do so. I think with "Fax Gate" just erupting, he seemed quite unhappy with the performances he gave for that show and is perhaps why he cut so many songs out of it. He apparently did a version that we know exists on the Both Sides Tour of I Don't Care Anymore like his Unplugged performance.

One thing I will say Ashley, you got me thinking, if you watch Phil's Unplugged, when he begins West Side, the camera angle is screwy. Because Phil is looking happy and I think he is actually perhaps starting "Don't Call Me Ashley" and immediately, there is a new camera angle and Phil is not looking in the same direction. The other thing I suppose it could be is that I suppose he did two takes of West Side so it could be the beginning one and the continuation of the second take. Nevertheless, on the making of Phil's Unplugged, there is a small snippet of him rehearsing Don't Call Me Ashley and saying he can't hear and stops the song and starts again. I don't know if you have seen that, but it's pretty cool and I wish I could show but the clip seems to be gone from Youtube. I posted the two angles and how they are not spliced well at all from this youtube clip:

I agree with you that i wish the full Unplugged show would be released at least on bootleg. I know wasnt the beet time in Phil's life and he wished he didn't have to commit doing it. Still the setlist looks awesome!

• I Don't Care Anymore
• Doesn't Anybody Stay
  Together Anymore
• Another Day In Paradise
• Both Sides Of The Story
• I Wish It Would Rain Down
• The Way You Look Tonight
• This Must Be Love
• Burn Down The Mission
• Separate Lives
• Don't Call Me Ashley
• The West Side

• Knocking On Heaven's Door
• In The Air Tonight
• Helpless Heart

• One More Night
• Something Happened On The Way To Heaven

• My Girl
• You Can't Hurry Love
• Get Ready
• Lady Madonna
• Sussudio
• Don't Call Me Ashley
• The West Side
• Helpless Heart
• Separate Lives

There actually was the making of Phil's MTV Unplugged on Youtube with the special but it looks like it's been removed. The making was interesting with some good interviews by Phil. Anyway the setlist is interesting that he actually tried Don't Call Me Ashley several times as well as Helpless Heart and even Burn Down the Mission and The Way You Look Tonight. Here's hoping it one day gets released!

Thank you for sharing this. It's interesting how the music is the studio version but Phil is singing the vocals like karaoke style. I guess Phil kept to his word that he would not let anyone else play on the songs from Both Sides not even for these kind of performances at least until the tour.

I have to share this clip which is a good bit of Phil's opening show from the Both Sides Tour in 1994 in Utrecht. This is an audience recording but good and contains live rarities like I've Forgotten Everything, Burn Down the Mission, and The Way You Look Tonight.

I don't know who this guy is that posted this but he has an impressive amount of Genesis and Peter Gabriel and Phil concerts and videos he posts.

On a similar note about the Both Sides Tour, the youtuber posted a documentary outside of the documentary that was released on VHS and sold at the shows. I'm not sure if these are outtakes from that movie but this is pretty cool and shows Phil rehearsing Burn Down the Mission and The Way You Look Tonight. I assume this was before the show never seen before around 32:25 (Burn Down) and 30:15 (The Way You Look Tonight). Also rehearsing Separate Lives which I know didn't appear the second leg of the tour and replaced I've Forgotten Everything.

Did anyone here attend the opening show on April 1, 1994? It seems like it was an amazing show and Burn Down the Mission and The Way You Look Tonight sound well received by the audience. Not sure why Phil would have dropped them after one night especially if he rehearsed them so much as seen in the above second clip??

I have not seen this before. Was this suppose to be a joke or was U2 making fun of Phil? I like U2 and especially this period but also a fan of Phil. The responses on Youtube seemed mixed. Some say Phil was planning for this while others say they were just being funny and making fun of Phil. Still I know Phil and Bono worked on Do They Know It's Christmas but not sure if they were friends? What do you know about this video?

I also think Please Don't Ask Me is a great song that seems overrated as well.

Two songs that I have really grown to appreciate and impressed with the writing of them is Dreaming While You Sleep and Driving The Last Spike. Even though I understood Mike wrote Dreaming While You Sleep, I feel like the song has a very In the Air Tonight feel behind it with drum fills and electric guitar. I saw they did this a few times on the Way We Walk Tour and it was dropped. it seemed like it fit well in the set but not sure why it was dropped?

Thanks for the heads up about the sale of 25% off. Not sure why when I go on the store site, there is no mention of it. Was there a code you used?

Thanks for your help

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We Fly So Close may indeed be one of his most underrated tracks, such as Both Sides as an album. When the album came out many years ago, I was in a really strange mood. My frist longer relationship didn't work anymore and I wasn't too pleased with my job situation either. Some family issues on top and I found myself in a strange mixture of frustration, lack of hope and looking for the right way. Both Sides had this special "down" feeling and it quickly reached my emotions. I will always like this album, but I would never say it's his "best" record. It may be his most important record for me.

Although I can't complete relate to your situation, I was also going through some crappy stuff in my life in the last year and found solace in the Both Sides album. I was listening to it a lot to help ease some of the hardships that were going on. I now put this album on the same level as another dark album that was always helpful to ease the challenges of life, Eric Clapton's Pilgrim album. Not sure if anyone here ever listened to it, but it is definitely a different style EC. And yet the lyrics and especially the music, like Both Sides hit me in many ways with the crap that was going on in my life.

I agree that the melody to me is absolutely beautiful. The lyrics are confusing though in some ways and unclear, but I could definitely listen to this song over and over without a problem. Is it fair to say that he probably used a synthesizer to get the Spanish style guitar since I understood he played all the instruments on the album?? I agree it's a shame he did not consider doing it live. I'm a huge fan of the Both Sides album but only came to appreciate so much in this last year. This song as well as I've Forgotten Everything to me are amazing pieces. I only found out recently that he apparently did I've Forgotten Everything live a few times I guess at the beginning of the Both Sides tour?? I have never heard it live and its not on YT either. Makes me wonder why it was not included on the Both Sides extended cd that had live cuts from the album? I guess he also did Can't Find My Way live too? But returning on topic yes I'm amazed that it was never considered as part of the tour setlist.

StillCan'tDance,

I wish he would release it on bluray!

So do you think the scene was just edited (poorly at that) in that song if the whole concert is a cleaned up version of a live TV broadcast?

Thanks Dr. John!

That does give some explanation behind that!

I was watching Serious Hits Live and noticed something odd. During Another Day In Paradise performance, there is clearly a moment where Phil's eyes are open and another angle fades in but his eyes are closed and clearly does not match the previous angle. Just made me wonder is the show only from Berlin or were other shows recorded that make up the concert? Or is the song Another Day in Paradise cut and incomplete?

I found the youtube clip that I'm referring to for other's to review and saved it at the spot where the inconsistency is:

https://youtu.be/73EIVlekmXE?t=292

Check out and let me know what you think.

This is an awesome collection of songs you put together.

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Getting Better and For No One are two of my favourite Paul songs. I like the curious detachment of For No One, unusual for him. But the lovely rising-falling melody is very typical.

I'm a huge fan of both of these especially For No One. It's a song that to me you think is played too fast and yet when I have heard Paul sing it slower it doesn't do the justice as the original version does for me. The French horn blows the song out of the water in my opinion! It amazes me that Paul played most of the instruments on that song besides Ringo I believe on drums and of course the French Horn.

Finally you can never go wrong with these songs:

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Golden Slumbers

Carry That Weight

The End

In My Life

GS/CTW/TE to me are just the most amazing melodies! To me the drum/guitar solos on The End are so impressive because everyone had a chance to really take a stab at a killer solo and to me it really worked! I know Phil recorded it years later I guess with George Martin helping but I still think The Beatles' version is one that stands on its own and I don't think can ever be topped!

You guys are awesome! I appreciate the sense of humor LOL! I wasn't sure if there was any meaning behind the colors scenes an fade to black and white. Also the whole thing with the doors and sitting in the room and stuff. LOL thank you again.

Even though I know Phil has constantly admitted he has no idea what the song is about, how about the video???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkADj0TPrJA

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'm not sure. I have a collection of magazines in the loft (no, not those sort of magazines!), lovingly kept in good condition. I must speak with Christian and see if there's any way these things can photocopied and then uploaded onto the main site. The Q magazine had a great interview with Phil as well as the review and also ten questions that he had to answer (like "when did you last punch someone").

That sounds awesome! If you are able to find them and able to share that would be so cool.

One other question I was thinking about and couldn't remember Phil addressing it in his autobiography, but how is his daughter's relationship with him after all of this? Do they still talk? Did she like the song Survivor or feel it was upsetting for her?

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Yes, the review in Q magazine at the time also presumed it was about Jill, describing the sentiment as "dutiful" rather than sincere. Overall, the magazine gave the album a good review (they described I've Forgotten Everything as "nearly perfect" if I remembr rightly), they just didn't like the political/social stance on some of the lyrics, describing Phil as "not a naturally political cove".

Very interesting. Do you know if this article from Q magazine is available to review online? Thanks again.

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Survivors was written for his daughter Lily. I think if you re-listen to the song, knowing who it was written for, the lyrics will make a lot of sense in the context of what was happening in Phil's life at the time.

Thank you so much for the insight. I really never considered that and will listen to the song again. I think the line "Please forgive me" I just assumed was to Jill but that is really interesting.

This is really an excellent and insightful review. I really hope they might release it on vinyl or cd at the minimal like you mentioned in the review. It just seems so odd that it wasn't.