Home » Insights » Should You Make a Demo of a Song?

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Sam Mallery wrote on
05/17/2010 - 08:50.

henryp wrote:
No doubt it depends on the band in part and in part on whether they record as a group performing simultaneously or individually with each member laying down his/her tracks solo.

Every musician can have their own approach. Find what works for them and go with it. My post is more against creating hard rules about when and how you can record. I think it's important to try and get the best sound possible, but I don't want rules to inhibit talented musicians from making lower quality recordings when inspiration strikes.

 

henryp wrote:
 OTOH wasn't Springsteen's Nebraska originally just a demo on a cassette he carried around in his jeans pocket before he finally decided those were the songs he was going to release as is? Cannot argue with spontaneity.

Thank you Henry, this is the perfect example! Nebraska is my all time favorite Springsteen album. Bruce recorded it at home with a Tascam Portastudio 4-track cassette multi-tracker. Then he and the E Street Band re-recorded the entire album in a proper studio, but they failed to re-capture the magic of Bruce's personal demo tape. The demo was released as the final album, and it's long been hailed as one of the most powerful albums The Boss has ever made.

I know Vampire Weekend's latest album has been commercially successful, but I'd love to hear the lead singer Ezra Koenig re-record every song on the album over the course of a weekend in an old lake house with just a couple of instruments and a Zoom R16. 

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