Last Saturday shops in The Netherlands opened again, after a month during which they were closed down due to pandemic-related restrictions. Obviously, this was the worst possible season for shops to close, missing out on all the holiday shopping, but health always comes first. For myself, I tried to do at least some of the online shopping from neighborhood shops. But webshops will never replace the real thing: it felt really good to walk into a record store again and just browse around. This time, I left with just a few promos in cardboard sleeves from the 2nd hand stall. They cost practically nothing (€0,20-€1) and mostly had a printed notice saying "Promotional Copy. Do Not Sell". But it didn't say anything about not buying, so I felt like I got a bargain without breaking the rule.
This specific CD though, isn't a promo. It was a bonus album given away together with the first vinyl copies of The Editors' Black Gold compilation - only the ones sold on the band's own webshop, mind you. I didn't know anything about it when I bought it, but I like The Editors so I thought I'd give it a try. It turns out these aren't just some Editors demos - they predate the band's debut and were recorded when they were still called Snowfield and didn't have a recording contract yet. So we are afforded a look at The Editors' very beginnings, the better to appreciate their subsequent development. Some of the songs will be familiar, since they were later recorded for inclusion in the band's debut The Back Room. Upbeat opener "Bullets" would become The Editors' debut single, and remains a staple of their live performances up to now. It bristles with energy, and while further changes would come about, it has a full sound and a finished feel. Two more tracks here appeared in different versions in The Back Room. Of these, "Fall" sounds terrific and sports a great vocal performance, while "Distance" is a bit too subdued. Both songs are slow and atmospheric, which made them excellent candidates for an acoustic re-recording and inclusion as bonus tracks in the Deluxe CD version of Black Gold. Another song that found its way into a later Editors album is "Every Little Piece Of Your Life". It underwent some major changes, both lyrically and in tempo, before being included in the band's sophomore album An End Has A Start under the title "The Weight Of The World". This version is more energetic, giving it a "live" feel. "Come Share The View" and "The Diplomat" would later appear as B sides. Both are dynamic, especially the former which reminds me of Joy Division - a likeness also evident on "Release", particularly regarding the excellent vocal. The latter wasn't part of the original 6-song demo the band circulated during their Snowfield days in 2003. My guess is that it was recorded in 2004, after the name change; after all, the band's official website states that these recordings stem from 2003 and 2004. Closer "Forest Fire" was also not on the original demo but it sounds rawer than the rest of the CD, a simple acoustic demo with a slow and somber beat. It might be an album outtake from 2004, or it might even predate the demo, after all it's one of their earliest compositions. All in all, this CD is the (almost) fully realized sound of a promising band. I imagine it'd be of great interest to fans, though the rest of us might prefer their later, official, records. I myself have the deluxe version of Black Gold; the one with the bonus acoustic CD, which I play often enough.
**** for Bullets, Every Little Piece Of Your Life, Fall
*** for Come Share The View, Distance, Release
** for The Diplomat, Forest Fire
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