Thanks for the topic I just finished listening to the tracks and I was looking for a place to share and confront the early impressions.
Orbit certainly took his touch by creating complex sound patterns and a much more electronic vibe to the whole thing. Some songs became more energetic (Sky fits Heaven, Skin, Nothing really matters), instead of the subtle, dreamy and much darker mood these tracks had in the early stages. Her voice consequently had to be adapted to the new sound, with a "louder" and firmer attitude, instead of the whispered, gloomy tone of many of the demos vocals. There certainly is an undeniable change between the pre and post Orbit involvement, at the same time, I agree, the soul of the record was already there.
Personally, I like the new dimension these demos are giving to the tracks a lot. It's like discovering the other side of the whole project (the demos often have this straight-to-the-core kind of feeling to me, it's the same for the Erotica tracks). One of the things I miss the most in all her post-Music works is just her expressive whispered voice wich such a delicate, sensual and intriguing vibe was able to lend to songs like Inside of me, Secret garden, Bedtime Story, Swim, I want you. I'm madly happy at the moment actually.
The tracks I like the most are Noting really matters, whose arrangement underlines the beauty of the armony and the solidity of the whole composition more than the final production imo, Flirtation Dance, sensual and haunting, Be careful, wich I'd say is better than the released version, Has To Be 1, wich is so dark and intense, inspiring complete different emotions, and You'll Stay, intense and very sophisticated. The two Babyface tracks are both good. I'm more interested in I'll be gone, but just for a matter of personal genre preference, Never love a stranger is a gorgeous track in her style.
So, after 4 years without a single new note, all at once we're sharing this, just a month or so before the announcement of the beginning of the new era! And I have to say, every time it's amazing rediscovering the sound of her voice! Thanks again for the sharing, whoever you are
You're absolutely right. But the topic says HC vs. LAP not TB or LAV.
LAP brought depth and reinvention to her music, that's why I consider it as superior, despite the sales.
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