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"Iron Man" Demo Mixes Cassette - September 29, 1988

 

The above is a "demo mixes cassette" of "Iron Man". I got this tape subsequent to the tape below. This tape is almost how I always imagined "Iron Man" - A Pete Townshend album without the guest singers ("All Shall Be Well" being the exception as Pete shares lead vocals with another singer). Absolutely amazing. Some notable differences are the inclusion of "Real World", which appeared as <mostly> instrumental track on the "A Friend Is A Friend" (EP) and a variation of the same on "Scoop 3". This version has vocals and sung by Pete! There's an interview with Pete about how he loved how Nina Simone captured his vocal performance on "Fast Food" - but this is quintessential Pete. I was never a fan of Nina's vocals, but I absolutely love this.

This version of the album seems to be a combination of work-in-process production mixes and demos. Rougher than the finished version, but its truly a Pete version and remarkable. "Iron Man" was originally intended to be a double album but time and money changed that. Listening to this version makes the listener yearn for the "complete" project - the songs from "Scoop 3", "Penny Drop" and whatever Pete has yet to release. Just outstanding work. I added several MP3 "samples" to the Solo Rarities page so that you can get a "taste" of what this "Iron Man" is all about...

Pete Townshend lyrics for "Real World"

Small fry
Just a small fry
Running out to face the world  

Can you really dance
Will you take a chance
Can you really dance

Step into the real world  

Is this the life
Is this the stage
We take the night
We take the stage  

Can you fair it
Can you share it
Can you shake it
Can you take it
In the fire

The stage is set
The room is bright
Right from the steps
Is this the light
On fire  

Welcome to the real world
Step into the steel world

Can you really dance
Will you take a chance
Can you really dance  

Step into the real world  

Will lasting breath
First reviews
Is this the death
Sense of news  

Can you fair it
Can you shake it
Can you share it
Can you take it
In the fire  

The stage is set
The room is right
Right from the steps
Is this the light
On fire

Welcome to the real world
Step into the steel world  

Can you really dance
Will you take a chance

Can you really dance
Will you take a chance  

Can you really
Can you really
Can you really dance  

Can you really dance  

Can you really
Can you really dance  

Real world
Step into the real world  

Can you really dance
Will you take a chance
Can you really dance  

Step into the real world  

Yeah  

Step into the real world  

Welcome to the real world
Step into the steel world

Hah!
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As noted above, the two officially released versions (A Friend Is A Friend (EP) & Scoop 3) are materially different. The latter (2) two are basically instrumentals whereas this is a full lyric version. Pete had stated something to the effect that he used the Crazy World Of Arthur Brown version of "Fire" (recorded by The Who) to capture the <"Iron Man"> story's "fire" theme. Apparently "Real World" was originally intended to do so, but then removed for the next progression of "Iron Man" <below>....

HD Samples:

Real World   New Life

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"Iron Man" Demo Production Master Cassette - December 1, 1988

The above is a "demo production cassette" of "Iron Man". I wasn't quite sure what I was actually getting when I picked this up...

This is a very interesting tape! At first glance - "Fire" is noticeably missing from the track list. This led me to believe that this tape was something special. I guess the best way to describe it is that it is a pre-production version of the album, with different mixes, different performances, different edits, etc. Most notable is Simon Townshend's lead vocal performance on "Dig", extra instrumental parts on "Heavy Metal" and a completely different vocal track on "All Shall Be Well". "Man Machines" is the full version, not the edited version that was released on the album. I was hoping that Pete would be on lead vocals vs. the other, non-Simon guest singers, but...

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