The Lillywhite Sessions - 20 Years Later

[KevinTH]

One of the biggest things to happen in the bands history, and unprecedented at the time. There’s no official date of the leak, but it was about this time 20 years that it happened. Memories, stories of how you got your hands on it, what could have been? What should have been? Let’s reminisce about The Lillywhite Sessions twenty years later!

[DrewWileyWSP]

Originally Posted by KevinTH

One of the biggest things to happen in the bands history, and unprecedented at the time. There’s no official date of the leak, but it was about this time 20 years that it happened. Memories, stories of how you got your hands on it, what could have been? What should have been? Let’s reminisce about The Lillywhite Sessions twenty years later!

I felt like this was covered in a Wikipedia article?

[KevinTH]

Cool, so that covers YOUR story, but I’d be curious to hear others. There’s a twentieth anniversary thread for every album that’s reached that milestone, so it seemed appropriate.

[DrewWileyWSP]

My bad. I didn't mean to screw up your thread.

[snake911]

20 years later, and I still have not listened to The Lillywhite Sessions. Will probably do it someday, but at this point I feel like someone who has never seen Star Wars and I want to keep the streak alive.

[willndmb]

Originally Posted by snake911

20 years later, and I still have not listened to The Lillywhite Sessions. Will probably do it someday, but at this point I feel like someone who has never seen Star Wars and I want to keep the streak alive.

Wtf

[jmkratt]

Originally Posted by snake911

20 years later, and I still have not listened to The Lillywhite Sessions. Will probably do it someday, but at this point I feel like someone who has never seen Star Wars and I want to keep the streak alive.

But...why?

I will never understand that method of thinking.

[Dannyyankou]

Originally Posted by snake911

20 years later, and I still have not listened to The Lillywhite Sessions. Will probably do it someday, but at this point I feel like someone who has never seen Star Wars and I want to keep the streak alive.

Well I would share it with you but the website it’s hosted on is down right now

[Dannyyankou]

So did we ever find out how this leaked? I’ve heard something about Stefan and a ski house, but he denied that. I’ve always thought it was Lillywhite himself.

[dmbongreyst]

My memory is having to download it on dialup since we still didn’t have broadband at the time. It felt like it took forever. As someone who was never in love with Everyday, hearing this not long after was bittersweet. I listened almost exclusively to this on continuous loop for a while. I worked for a movie theater at the time and the satellite that was used for the house music was down. I had a manager that hooked up a laptop the speaker system and we played it a few times that day. Probably a bunch of copywrite violations there, but I’m sure the statute of limitations is up and the theater was torn down years ago anyway. I still love listening to it years later and those songs helped me through some tough times.

[DMBzilla]

Originally Posted by Dannyyankou

So did we ever find out how this leaked? I’ve heard something about Stefan and a ski house, but he denied that. I’ve always thought it was Lillywhite himself.

How it reached a non-insider’s hands, no, but how it got out to the public, yes.

[ToySoldier#34]

I never listened to it until 2009 when a roommate made me a copy, had only vaguely heard about it and never really cared all that much. A lot of it is just amazing and some of my favorite parts are the Grey St lyrics, Captain in general, end of BEF with Dave's vocals and BT.

[theflower]

such a cool idea for a thread. it was august, 2001 and 5 minutes after i finished moving into my dorm room sophomore year in college, a friend of mine stopped by with a "back to school" gift. It was tLWS burned to a CD. I think i spent the next 6 months listening to nothing but that cd. i spent HOURS getting lost on campus with my wallkman cd player. i have such a deep connection to the summer 2000 songs because the first concert i saw was foxboro 2000 and i was in-love the first time i heard them. i spent all of freshmen year 2000/2001 listening to shitty rips of those songs on napster. i probably will never have a connection with a song that matches my experience with the 2000 year grey streets. i really don't like the way it sounds now. anyways, for those same reasons, i still can't stomach Everyday. not because its bad, because i don't think it is. SU is far worse. i was just so disappointed when Everyday came out (without knowing the back story) because it included none o the 2000 songs i had grown so in love with.

[snow1868]

I was a sophomore at Oklahoma State when tLWS dropped. I lived in fraternity house at the time and since it was the early 2000s, not everyone had a CD burner in their PCs. I was one of those people. It was probably 9am when someone ran to my room and said, "tLWS songs are on Napster, get a CD-R and down to Darbe's room and burn it!" So that's what I did. I listened to it non-stop. Monkey Man and Big Eyed Fish were the ones that really sucked me it, and that Captain, oh that Captain. That's how it's done.

[KevinTH]

Captain, as done on the Lillywhite Sessions, may be one of the bands best recorded tracks. It sounds great the way they play it live, especially summer 2002, but the treatment it received on Busted Stuff was blasphemous.

My greatest memory of hearing LWS for the first time was Big Eyed Fish. There had been a 30 second clip of it doing the rounds on Napster for months. Never did I want to hear a song as badly as that one. My friend went to school in Cinci and was friends with some guys that were pretty active traders. She randomly sent me a message on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger for the younger crew) that one of those dudes had some new DMB tracks. I didn’t think it was true, and then the file sharing thing popped up, and along came twelve tracks over the course of a couple hours. I was dumbfounded. How could this even be possible?!?! Big Eyed Fish didn’t disappoint one bit, and like Snow, I’m pretty sure Monkey Man was on repeat.

Getting LWS a month after Everyday was so fulfilling and made me appreciate Everyday more. I was able to enjoy it a bit more now that I was a little less salty over not getting studio versions of the 2000 summer tour songs. That said, it was bittersweet in that it seemed ludicrous to have ditched these sessions in favor of what they put out.

[KClaw]

In 2001 I was just getting into the band. I was in a record store picking up a couple of their CDs to build up my collection (not sure which ones) and the guy working the counter asked me if I had heard and told me about The Lillywhite Sessions. I was immediately intrigued. Later that year found a CD rip of it in another record store with artwork and grabbed it up immediately. Of course I wore that CD out!

[KevinTH]

Not sure if the full artwork exists anymore, but at one point there was a full booklet and cd label available. I worked at a small print shop a year or so after it leaked and was able to put the full booklet together and the cd. I remember feeling like I finally owned the official album at that point.

[snow1868]

Originally Posted by KevinTH

Captain, as done on the Lillywhite Sessions, may be one of the bands best recorded tracks. It sounds great the way they play it live, especially summer 2002, but the treatment it received on Busted Stuff was blasphemous.

My greatest memory of hearing LWS for the first time was Big Eyed Fish. There had been a 30 second clip of it doing the rounds on Napster for months. Never did I want to hear a song as badly as that one. My friend went to school in Cinci and was friends with some guys that were pretty active traders. She randomly sent me a message on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger for the younger crew) that one of those dudes had some new DMB tracks. I didn’t think it was true, and then the file sharing thing popped up, and along came twelve tracks over the course of a couple hours. I was dumbfounded. How could this even be possible?!?! Big Eyed Fish didn’t disappoint one bit, and like Snow, I’m pretty sure Monkey Man was on repeat.

Getting LWS a month after Everyday was so fulfilling and made me appreciate Everyday more. I was able to enjoy it a bit more now that I was a little less salty over not getting studio versions of the 2000 summer tour songs. That said, it was bittersweet in that it seemed ludicrous to have ditched these sessions in favor of what they put out.

I don't know if I felt the same way but I do remember being super excited about having so much new DMB to listen to. What a magical time to be a fan that was and I remember being so pumped for the Texas Stadium show that summer as it was the first show where I was able to legally drink.

This is bringing back some memories for sure....

[RSSR]

I'll never forget how pissed off I got having listened to this well over a year after Everyday was released. We got Everyday over what could have been the album that toppled BTCS as the band's best work. To this day, I'm still waiting on an album as good as tLWS.

It took me over a year, maybe 2 years, to finally listen to this. If the band didn't want us to have this, I would honor that wish. Eventually I caved. I remember exactly the day, where I was and what I was doing when I first heard Big Eyed Fish. That studio cut dropped my mouth open.

[Dodo36]

Does anyone recall the DMBML write up someone did on it (Jake maybe?)? and then the excerpts the band was sharing on the site that summer (if I can find it, I might actually still have those on a minidisc somewhere)? I'm foggy on the timing, but fairly certain it was mid-00 that these were happening. The I recall in January I girl I worked with let me hear a radio preview disc her radio station boyfriend gave her, b/c we were both Daveheads she waited to hear it with me first. Then it turned out to be I Did It ... and we were both very much in a WTF state of mind. So later when it actually leaked, we did the same thing. And both of us had a sigh of relief that it was legit.

I also remember Build You A House being super-sought after, because there was only a brief clip of it circulating. And then I got it and was like, 'Oh, there really isn't anything else to it. It's a nice idea that could be developed - a lot.'

And the Karmageddon Remaster always bothered me because Carter's cymbals were gated to be all attack, very little decay. Always meant to go through and upward compress the original and that fan remaster together, never got around to it.

Still a damn shame that they left those recordings on the shelf. To me, Monkey Man was the most obviously unfinished at the time. (And IMO is kinda like Kill The King where something about it just doesn't fit the band well, but that's me). Raven quickly became one of my favorites, that LWS studio arrangement was amazing and I still think the dumbing down of the arrangement for BS was BS. It needed firmer lyrics, but the lyrics we got on BS were very very meh.

[snow1868]

Originally Posted by Dodo36

Does anyone recall the DMBML write up someone did on it (Jake maybe?)? and then the excerpts the band was sharing on the site that summer (if I can find it, I might actually still have those on a minidisc somewhere)? I'm foggy on the timing, but fairly certain it was mid-00 that these were happening. The I recall in January I girl I worked with let me hear a radio preview disc her radio station boyfriend gave her, b/c we were both Daveheads she waited to hear it with me first. Then it turned out to be I Did It ... and we were both very much in a WTF state of mind. So later when it actually leaked, we did the same thing. And both of us had a sigh of relief that it was legit.

I also remember Build You A House being super-sought after, because there was only a brief clip of it circulating. And then I got it and was like, 'Oh, there really isn't anything else to it. It's a nice idea that could be developed - a lot.'

And the Karmageddon Remaster always bothered me because Carter's cymbals were gated to be all attack, very little decay. Always meant to go through and upward compress the original and that fan remaster together, never got around to it.

Still a damn shame that they left those recordings on the shelf. To me, Monkey Man was the most obviously unfinished at the time. (And IMO is kinda like Kill The King where something about it just doesn't fit the band well, but that's me). Raven quickly became one of my favorites, that LWS studio arrangement was amazing and I still think the dumbing down of the arrangement for BS was BS. It needed firmer lyrics, but the lyrics we got on BS were very very meh.

I remember these from their site. I also remember MTV interviewing Boyd as the tour was starting up and him talking about some of the songs they were recording and were going to play that summer. Mentioned a country sounding song that's a lot of fun. Man, that made me sound old, referencing MTV when they still played music.

[ScottCavBBQ]

my biggest memory, the leak was incredible, the songs were incredible, but my biggest memory was that summer, the audio of the summer shows with the songs appearing on napster. i didnt go away to college and never researched how to get tapes from fans, so being able to go on napster and burn those summer shows was absolutely incredible to me.

[coldengrey12]

A friend who lived in the same dorm as me came over with her laptop in hand, like, "Dude, there's a new DMB album that leaked onto Napster!"

And I said, "Yeah, Everyday"

And she was like, "No, not Everyday, something different entirely"

Wha?????

[HonestDenver1]

I was still in highschool. Junior year. I can't remember how i got my hands on a copy at all.. Either a B&P or Napster... I still have the original CD from that first edition in a big CD wallet full of DMB stuff..

My first introduction to the LWS songs was my very first DMB show was Mile High Stadium 2000. I had been a fan just around a year or so and knew they were working on new material. I had heard the D&T early version of Bartender but that's really it. That night we got 4 of those songs. Bartender, Sweet Up and Down, Grey Street and Grace is Gone.

I think they were my favorite songs of the night. Sweet up and Down was my favorite of the bunch. I got a B&P of the show specifically to listen to that over and over..

Once I got a copy of the LWS that fall? I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were... I had expected a rougher demo or something and for me it was my first go round with any artists getting unofficial bootleg material so I didn't know what to expect.

I really felt like the band was on to making their greatest album yet... Other than the unfinished lyrics, I didn't even know why it wasn't officially released as is. I was just so excited. I listened to it 1000 times that fall/winter... Busted Stuff, JTR, Big Eyed Fish, Bartender, SUAD, Grace is Gone, Grey Street and Raven were my favorites.

I thought BEF was the most haunting cool sounding song ever recorded... I knew it was very dark and likely about suicide/death.. freedom from life's pain... At 16 it helped me realize I was a bit depressed and was very therapeutic for me...

LWS as dark as they were helped me understand that I liked music with a lot of depth, philosophy, and not afraid to be honest about the darker things we go through...

I loved the use of the 12 string guitar on a bunch of the tunes and have always wanted Dave to go back to it.

It was so disappointing to get the other side of that with Everyday at the time. I was ready to get darker even.. and we get I Did it instead... which was a meaningless song with a theme of spreading love like a terrorist? Still such weird lyrics...

The next summer I got to go the Folsom Field show and hear 12 newish songs in that set. 8 from Everyday and 4 from LWS.. Again the LWS songs were my favorite from that night... The epic version of BEF>Bartender as the sun was setting in Boulder after the rain... Just unreal... I will say the Everyday songs were a blast and kept the mood of the audience upbeat.. At the Mile High show a year earlier, it was a bit moody and dark... A lot of the set felt like we were slowly trudging through mud. Now knowing where Dave's head was at the time, it makes sense... Folsom Field was a party. Mile High was a dirge.



I think Busted Stuff was really recorded and released to appease the fans. It's such a watered down version of LWS still.. If LWS are demos, I don't know what you call Busted Stuff.. It's very flat and devoid of the raw emotion of LWS. It's really not a terrible record by any means, but I almost wish I could have heard it BEFORE LWS... There was just little to no interesting production on the entire thing. I hate the Where Are You Going ended up on it instead of JTR or Sweet Up and Down. But we did get You Never Know which might be the best thing on it. Busted Stuff the song fell a bit flat and it's obvious the band thought so too as it was rarely played after that 2002 year... I wish they would have brought it out during 2 sets.. It would have been perfect in that setting...

As a musician myself, if you're not into something, you're not going to release it no matter what. Even if people tell you it's really great. I think it was a mix of Dave's perfectionism, the label pushing to get something done, and the label again not being able to hear a radio friendly single on LWS.. that ultimately led to it's demise...

I wonder if they would have just taken a break for that winter, not done Everyday and gone on to finish it with Lillywhite as intended what would have come...

I hope we see some vault releases of it someday.. Maybe the band can go back to it and remix/ dub parts etc... I know Rolling Stones have been doing that with Exile on Main Street and some other rough sounding stuff...
but I doubt they'd want to revisit that darkness...

[swordo84]

Originally Posted by snake911

20 years later, and I still have not listened to The Lillywhite Sessions. Will probably do it someday, but at this point I feel like someone who has never seen Star Wars and I want to keep the streak alive.

This is super dumb. It's the 2nd best thing the band has ever done (just behind Listener Supported).

[Scootlebug]

Originally Posted by snake911

20 years later, and I still have not listened to The Lillywhite Sessions. Will probably do it someday, but at this point I feel like someone who has never seen Star Wars and I want to keep the streak alive.

If the corona virus had a screen name on a dmb forum.....

[crashintonickdm]

I remember when I downloaded grey street on Napster

I couldn’t believe it when I heard it was a studio cut. It would’ve topped BTCS, but still not sure about crash. Had they of stuck to their work rather than slack off and blame others for it who knows what would’ve happened.

Big 3 to LWS to 04 songs. You likely don’t get stand up and everyday. Which would’ve been an amazing trade off

[LetYouDown22]

Great to listen to this in the right mood. The Captain breakdown part is still one of my favorite parts of any song that they’ve done. Definitely deserved to be on Busted Stuff.

Might have to give this one a listen today. Great weather outside in Chicagoland to warrant it.

[grilldanmo]

Dial up, I was 29, 1st gen iMac our apartment at Avalon on Cameron Run.

Really loved it all, but JTR and SU&D were the tunes that most grabbed w/ the former still being one of my favorite DMB tunes. LWS JTR is still the best version of the song for me.

[ToySoldier#34]

Kind of going off Crash's point tLWS if it was finished would be DMB's #1 album for me