Imaginos :Black & Silver

[John A Swartz]

Well, since you asked Chip . . .

(Chip commenting on Rocker22)

Rocker22 at AOL.COM:
> It seems to me that one must remember that Imaginos came out
> because of BOC.  No BOC, no Imaginos.

        Perhaps what you meant to say was, "No BOC, no _Imaginos_ on CBS
        Records."  Not a big deal, especially in retrospect.


Interesting thoughts here -- I assume Rocker22 means that yes, CBS would
not have released *Imaginos* without BOC, but he could have also meant
that had BOC never formed as a group, Albert may not have ever come up
with that particular music, and certainly might not have been inspired
to do so had he not come across the writings of one Sandy Pearlman.  But,
suppose BOC never decided to release *Imaginos* after Albert left.  Would
Albert ever have been able to get some label to release it?  Would it
have been the first Brain Surgeon's album?  Would it have been shelved
indefinitely?  Perhaps it is better that some form of *Imaginos* was
released, than no *Imaginos* at all . . .  Yeah, in retrospect it
certainly didn't mean much in anyone's career, but there's a bunch of us
here who sure like the tunes on it.

Rocker22 at AOL.COM:
> I've heard Albert's version of Imaginos (at the Museum) and it is
> significantly different in both feel and texture.

        ?????

        I've heard Albert's Imaginos demos very recently (like, in the
        last 24 hours) and it's incredible how much was copied directly
        to the final product -- even down to the feedback, vocal cues,
        and effects.  Sure, there are some differences - especially
        with the non-BOC singers - but not many.

Well, I agree with Chip here that the version of demos that he and I
have heard sound alot like the finished version, with the exception of
some of the lead vocals.  However, Rocker22 may have heard some different
versions of the demos as Albert did work on this project for many years.
If I recall from Morning Final, some of the first demos he showed the
band were around the AOF/Spectres time period (of course, there were
a few Imaginos tunes on Secret Treaties) - and I understand some of those
earlier demos were quite different than the final versions (I believe
that Morning Final mentioned "In the Presence of Another World" being
pretty radically different; and I think Albert mentioned once that
"Frankenstein" used to be a much longer piece with different sections
to it).  However, the versions I heard (no doubt later versions) were
pretty close - and I did get the impression that alot was copied from
Albert's demo, with new vocals and some overdubs added.


John