Sometime in ’87 I spoke to music manager Tony Margherita (Wilco) and he informed me that Warner Bros. records would likely be happy to fund a small home studio to make demos for upcoming albums. I approached them about this, and just as he said they happily agreed. At the time the budget was 10k. That was monumental to me, and I need to give an extended thanks to Tony, though I did so at the time.
I went to local music stores and loaded up… bought a Tascam 388, 8 track machine with ¼ inch tape, a Roland GP8 effects processor, Alesis HR-16 drum machine, Yamaha NS-10 speakers, Roland D-50 synth, a cheap mic and a cheap compressor, power amp and a few accessories and was ready to rock.
It really taught me how to make records in old-school fashion because you had to bounce multiple instruments down to one track, sometimes match harmony vocals with guitar tracks on separate parts of the song, etc. It was so much fun and so creative, not a day or night went by without me working. I improved as the years passed and the tapes turned.
This is one of the early ones (Box #3 it says) but still sounds pretty good after all these years! The song, though no Stairway to Heaven, did change my life as it was a big radio hit the year of it’s release .(1990) And more importantly the song still holds up pretty well. If you’re a geek like me, the demos are as much fun as the records-
Jude
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I was driving in my car in NJ and local radio station WDHA 105.5 played this song. I was like, “That song is amazing”. I went right out and bought the cd. Don’t think I’ve ever done that for anyone else based on hearing a song for the first time. Been hooked ever since.
This is the perfect Rock/Pop song, I am certain. What a joy it is to listen to your creative process after….coming up on 40 years? Damn. My backstory, I was married to my first wife in 1992 and we ended up in a pretty bad fight that sent me out the door for a “cooling off period.” I went straight to the local record store and bought Start the Car. Here’s the deal, my wife was full time in her graduate program and not working. I was making an amazing $8.00/hr no overtime. Even for 1992, that sucked. So spending money on a CD was strictly forbidden. Oh well. Maybellene forgives me, I hope.
Back to Baby, this song just resonates with me from the opening notes and it always has. I could not believe how much I gravitated toward this song the first couple of listens, radio of course, until I finally purchased the record. Your entire body of work has drawn me in but this song was the starting gun that allowed all others to fall into place. I am not sure if I had been introduced to you by any other composition of yours, life would have been the same for me and that is not a criticism. Simply another notch in the handle of this tune.
You may have thought my reaction to meeting you, before I knew it was you, came off as a bit disingenuous. I am certain I appeared to be a complete wanna-glam, but my constitution was as real as the day. Couldn’t believe my luck. I assure you, I was up all night and spent the next day calling friends with the exclamation, “You are not going to believe who I met last night.”
Lastly, I encourage you to get the Jude Cole Memoire started if you haven’t already. So many people would be interested in your story and writing books is waaaaay easier than writing songs. Rock On Brother.
Although maybe no Stairway to Heaven this song is a beautifully written arranged produced track from 3rd Street album.
You definitely underestimate your greatness as a singer-songwriter and musician.
Your prowess in your field in my opinion is unsurpassed, the way you are able to put a pen to paper , and write lyrics then sing and tell that story , with emotion and feel just off the charts .
The demos are a cool insight into the very beginnings of the delivery and birth of a song .
Hoping life is getting out of your way a bit so we can get those records made and released for all of us who love your music since the early days .
Thank you again fir all the great music, keep it coming
Merry Christmas and to the happiest abd healthiest of New Years !
Man, was already one of my all time favorite songs.. Now it’s even more so! I
remember my first wife and I recording on a portable 4 track recorder and going through that whole process of mixing the vocals, guitar parts and my bass tracks… There’s something really magical in all of that.. Something that I think modern technology has sterilized…dang, I’m sounding old… Anyway, love this demo Jude… Thanks for sharing this… You’re truly an amazing musician and one of my all time favorites, I’ve practically worn out my vinyl copy of A View From 3rd St… Love it!
Still a good sounding demo. Around the same time I had been working at a 24-track studio for awhile and sold my Tascam 38 8-track machine I bought in LA. Analog seems a long time ago.
It is pretty damn cool to hear this demo tape of your top hit; “Baby It’s Tonight”. Even without listening to the studio aversion, track to compare; I can hear the nuances, though subtle in the demo. That song transports me back to 1990; driving in my IROC Camaro with the T tops off, moving it speeds above the post limit down, I-355, with that song blasting out of my stereo system. It led me to purchase “A View From Third Street” and subsequently your debut album. after that, I was a fan for life! Thank you for your musicJude Cole !
DAMN!! Yessss.. I KNEW these were the bones from the live acoustic MTV version. All these years I was thinking Sklar was on bass on this one… Freaking awesome bass fills. The BGV’s, so good. Love it x10, but all that to say that when the final recorded studio/label versions were cut, you obviously made the right production/arrangement/lyrical choices. Waited forever for this one. Capt Mark always said you had stuff in your vault we wouldn’t believe…. This is a Wow.. thanks for sharing. I’d love to hear you speak to the other players/layers on the studio track…and after making those records, your growth as an artist, the influence of the producers and how what you incorporated into your own style as manager/producer. Can I wear out a digital copy?! Gonna try! Thanks again.
So a little story… I went through a crash & burn breakup in November… for T’giving, I drove 5 hours to visit friends and needed a playlist to help lick my wounds. Jude Cole to the rescue! Fortunately, our main man has scribed a good number of breakup/healing/anything but love songs, so thanks for satiating my needs, Jude!
For so many of us, it began with “Baby It’s Tonight,” including me (so hearing this demo is a blast), but the well runs deep with your entire catalog. I not only have my own Spotify Jude playlist (“Jude Cole Is The Coolest”) but put Jude on random during my 2-way trek and heard a lot of goodies that were new to me… THANKS FOR THE VIRTUAL HUG!
One of my favorite videos on YouTube is you performing this song unplugged on MTV AWAKE ON THE WILDSIDE. You sounded great that day and made a lasting memory. I think I like this version better than the electric released version. Hope you remember that performance.
I love this. I started doing the same thing around 1978 with a four track Tascam. I still have all those demo reels and I’ve been thinking about using Suno to finish the tracks. I was a loner and didn’t have a band to record with so I love that I can take those demos and finally finish them. I will still use my own voice. I just want to be able to share all the music I wrote over the years with my friends.
What a cool version! Did you change the arrangement or was there an arranger? Lyric changes etc… cool to hear in its infancy
Like going back in time. So interesting to hear the early version of something so familiar. Like watching videos of our (now grown) kids.
Wow! Hearing this stepping stone to the final product is very cool. Interesting to hear what you kept and what you changed. The musical ‘feel’ held up. The lyrical changes, more streamlined, remmemorable.
And here, the lyrics feel more like “she’s the problem”, “I’m bitter that you’re going out and don’t seem to care”, and begging “please come back”; and less of a “We are the problem “, “I’m sorry, i still need you, come here and let’s work on it and fix this” like the finished song
Thanks so much for sharing this! It is a song that holds up incredibly well after all these years, and is one that I personally have to stop and listen to intently every time I hear it. Gotta say, there are a few vocal lines contained on this demo that I wish would’ve made it to album version, but that’s just my opinion. Really nice to hear you making music with wild abandon, and getting everything that you were hearing in your head down on tape. You have a true gift, and I am so thankful that you have shared it with all of us over the years. Makes me wonder what else may be hiding among all of those tapes that still needs to see the light of day…
So cool! I can relate too. I loved our demos, sometimes more than the finished because we listened over and over. And granted, sometimes the drums were mixed hotter than the finished track.
That’s a great back story and a mighty fine demo. Agree with William from F/B… Did you keep the original recording equipment for posterity?
Definitely a geek like you Jude 😎. I LOVE this song. Love at first listen for me. One of my favorite moments from you is when you did that early morning MTV show and played it live acoustically ❤️. All of the important elements are in n this demo, but at what point did you flesh out the lyrics? How did the changes happen, I mean there is a difference in how the bridge ends and leads to “take some time” …that is one of the moments that made this a smash. Thanks 👍👍👍
I loved this song from the first note the first time I heard it and yes, this song holds up extremely well!
So great to see this and how it was made! One of my favs! Thank you for sharing. Takes me to a place years ago when things were so much simpler.
Love it!
Love this! Always great to hear the story behind the song or where and how it all began!
Thanks so much for sharing. Great to hear where it started!
Found it. My link wasnt working. It is now. Great demo.
Art
Jude, where can I find the demo? Indont see it on Spotify or ykur web page.
Thanks, Art