Lillywhite Sessions

[Thomas]

Apr 6, 2021 16:29:24 GMT -6 Titanic said:

Apr 5, 2021 16:15:04 GMT -6 Thomas said:

Someone told me that Amy said on EvClub that Perfect Dream was going to be the first single. I feel she told more than just the words she was singing in the Stompin' Steve video.

Can a EvClubber confirm this please?

The song is so TOD-ish and Björk-ish to me. I thought we would see it sooner because Amy said she owns the original recordings but she'll finish some, redo others and keep some for herself. Hopefully Perfect Dream is not in the latter bracket.

Only for it not to be on the album at all? I agree Perfect Dream has a TOD feel, which must be why I adore it. TOD is my favorite Evanescence album and era. What a remarkable sonic theme. I just loved that sound. Perfect Dream and Secret Door both had this feel to them as well. I can tell it's a haunting song that prioritizes Amy's voice and the emotion of the song over the instruments, the way Together Again and Secret Door do. The Bitter Truth needed more songs in this vein, even if I love the album.

I really was holding out hope Perfect Dream would finally appear. My greatest fear is it'll be locked in a vault forever. Find a Way too. But at least we've heard that one in its entirety, unlike Perfect Dream. I thought with the sense of urgency (which is warranted) Perfect Dream would see the light of day.

I just don't understand. She owns the original recordings which we all celebrated. Perfect Dream fans especially. But it was never released...?

I mean, if she really said that on EvClub, it would have been the first single if the album had come out back in Fall 2010 (as originally planned before Wind-up scrapped the whole thing).

I think that Perfect Dream didn't match the theme of TBT, which why it wasn't included.

When Amy said the owns the original recordings, I thought she would put together a digital EP with them and some of it reworked as she put it. Maybe she's keeping Perfect Dream for another project. Who knows!

[arlieimperfection]

Well we shouldn't give up hope yet. Anything is possible with this band.

[ahoyhoy]

What I love about Ev is that just because they write a song for one album and don't include it on that album, it doesn't mean it won't appear later on another record where it suits better. So many artists write so many songs for an album, narrow it down to 12 or so for the record, with a few b-sides, and then the rest are locked away for years, if not for good.

Ev doesn't do that. Like, remember she had parts of Lithium from before Fallen? So it's very possible Perfect Dream will still see the light of day, it's just The Bitter Truth wasn't its moment.

It's also possible that, like Your Love, Amy really liked the song initially, but it doesn't hold up for her anymore.

[arlieimperfection]

Apr 7, 2021 1:40:15 GMT -6 ahoyhoy said:

What I love about Ev is that just because they write a song for one album and don't include it on that album, it doesn't mean it won't appear later on another record where it suits better. So many artists write so many songs for an album, narrow it down to 12 or so for the record, with a few b-sides, and then the rest are locked away for years, if not for good.

Ev doesn't do that. Like, remember she had parts of Lithium from before Fallen? So it's very possible Perfect Dream will still see the light of day, it's just The Bitter Truth wasn't its moment.

It's also possible that, like Your Love, Amy really liked the song initially, but it doesn't hold up for her anymore.

Amy had parts of WHAT before Fallen?! 

[Diegoville]

Apr 7, 2021 5:54:12 GMT -6 arlieimperfection said:

Apr 7, 2021 1:40:15 GMT -6 ahoyhoy said:

What I love about Ev is that just because they write a song for one album and don't include it on that album, it doesn't mean it won't appear later on another record where it suits better. So many artists write so many songs for an album, narrow it down to 12 or so for the record, with a few b-sides, and then the rest are locked away for years, if not for good.

Ev doesn't do that. Like, remember she had parts of Lithium from before Fallen? So it's very possible Perfect Dream will still see the light of day, it's just The Bitter Truth wasn't its moment.

It's also possible that, like Your Love, Amy really liked the song initially, but it doesn't hold up for her anymore.

Amy had parts of WHAT before Fallen?! 

She had written Lithium's chords or something like that at 16 years old.

[BridgeToClarity]

I have a genuine question. Why is "Perfect Dream" in such demand? Is it only from that 20 second clip with Lillywhite? Has Lee or any of the other band members spoke of it besides that clip? Is it a demo? I think the clip sounds pretty cool but I guess I never understood why the song is in such high demand from only hearing such a small portion of it. It doesn't sound like Evanescence to me.

[TDS]

Apr 7, 2021 8:35:27 GMT -6 BridgeToClarity said:

I have a genuine question. Why is "Perfect Dream" in such demand? Is it only from that 20 second clip with Lillywhite? Has Lee or any of the other band members spoke of it besides that clip? Is it a demo? I think the clip sounds pretty cool but I guess I never understood why the song is in such high demand from only hearing such a small portion of it. It doesn't sound like Evanescence to me.

When they were making what is now known as the Broken Record, Amy straight up said it would be different, more influenced by Björk, Portishead, Massive Attack, etc. At this point, everybody knew how inspirational these artists were for her and we were all ready to embark on this journey with her.

The snippet just sounds so good and so different so everybody was excited.

And then we got Ev3 which was absolutely nothing like what the snippets of BR sounded like so lots of fans have been thirsty for Perfrect Dream since then.

[Diegoville]

Apr 7, 2021 8:35:27 GMT -6 BridgeToClarity said:

I have a genuine question. Why is "Perfect Dream" in such demand? Is it only from that 20 second clip with Lillywhite? Has Lee or any of the other band members spoke of it besides that clip? Is it a demo? I think the clip sounds pretty cool but I guess I never understood why the song is in such high demand from only hearing such a small portion of it. It doesn't sound like Evanescence to me.

Personally, I'm thirsty for Amy to venture on different genres and that clip sounded so much to what I'm currently listening to so I really need her to drop a solo album as a side project or something.

[Titanic]

I want Perfect Dream more than any song ever.

Those 20 seconds alone are worth an entire album.

[AeternusAmatorius]

Apr 6, 2021 16:29:24 GMT -6 Titanic said:

Only for it not to be on the album at all?

Remember, this information from EvClub is merely speculation until something is confirmed or there are screenshots to prove something like that was said. I was told that Amy said on EvClub that Perfect Dream became The End of the Dream but we all know that is incorrect. If Amy said Perfect Dream was going to be the first single, this would have been before they knew Wind-up was going to shelve the album.

Apr 7, 2021 5:54:12 GMT -6 arlieimperfection said:

Amy had parts of WHAT before Fallen?! 

Amy had written the chorus to Lithium when she was 16. It was written on an acoustic guitar.

Apr 7, 2021 8:35:27 GMT -6 BridgeToClarity said:

I have a genuine question. Why is "Perfect Dream" in such demand? Is it only from that 20 second clip with Lillywhite? Has Lee or any of the other band members spoke of it besides that clip? Is it a demo? I think the clip sounds pretty cool but I guess I never understood why the song is in such high demand from only hearing such a small portion of it. It doesn't sound like Evanescence to me.

Because it's so different from what we're used to hearing from Evanescence. For me, I really love the tribal sound to the drums and the vocals that we hear. I love it when a band or artist I love branches out and does something completely different from what is expected from them and shows a completely new and never-before-seen side to them. Also, considering my favorite solo song of Amy's is her cover of With or Without You.

[feedingthedark]

I remember Amy saying on EvClub something along the lines of "this song would make Björk dance" and revealed the lyrics she was singing in that Twitter video: "Reaching above, so high above my perfect dream." I think she also discussed the stomping, how they were using it in the recording and would filter it to make a beat. Does anyone from EvClub remember it correctly?

I wish I had screencaptured it if I knew the club would go defunct. lol

I wish we got the album Amy originally intended/wanted to release instead of Ev3. The band had something way more interesting and new in their hands, but the label came in and ruined their plan. Now I understand why the music and lyrics of Ev3 are so angry. I hope Perfect Dream sees the light of day someday and You Got a Lot to Learn (I was curious about Questlove's guest drums) as well.

[Titanic]

Apr 9, 2021 14:08:01 GMT -6 feedingthedark said:

I remember Amy saying on EvClub something along the lines of "this song would make Björk dance" and revealed the lyrics she was singing in that Twitter video: "Reaching above, so high above my perfect dream." I think she also discussed the stomping, how they were using it in the recording and would filter it to make a beat. Does anyone from EvClub remember it correctly?

I wish I had screencaptured it if I knew the club would go defunct. lol

I wish we got the album Amy originally intended/wanted to release instead of Ev3. The band had something way more interesting and new in their hands, but the label came in and ruined their plan. Now I understand why the music and lyrics of Ev3 are so angry. I hope Perfect Dream sees the light of day someday and You Got a Lot to Learn (I was curious about Questlove's guest drums) as well.

Broken Record was going to be her best since TOD honestly. Even the marine/oceanic elements were thematically brilliant - delivering mystery, loss, patterns, tranquility, power, and the dichotomy of deep depression and hope washing ashore in sunlit waters. So many beautiful concepts, ruined. So much experimental content handed over to Nick to drown out with the band and instruments, and deprive us of Amy Lee. Half the beauty of Perfect Dream is how it prioritizes Amy's haunting voice. I remember on TOD when guitars and instruments were a foil, a supplement to Amy's voice, and when used in moderation and intelligently, they enhanced the mood of the whole song, and I CELEBRATED when they'd kick in.

Now they're this loud, homogenous static that I struggle and strain desperately to tune out just to decipher if Amy even exists in this band anymore.

[Grimella Blackrose]

Titanic, thank you for voicing what I couldn't about The Open Door album. It's my favorite album after Fallen.

[Titanic]

Apr 12, 2021 20:39:12 GMT -6 Grimella Blackrose said:

Titanic, thank you for voicing what I couldn't about The Open Door album. It's my favorite album after Fallen.

Thank you as well, I appreciate it. TOD is my favorite Evanescence album personally. It's such a rich body of work with distinct timing for certain instruments and notes that delivers on the emotion, instead of being an overwhelming cacophony of unhinged instruments that compete with and eventually negate each other. TOD was also thematic. It was haunting in places, emotional in others, it was so diverse.

And of course we all know Fallen is their most beloved record, for similar reasons.

I really believe Amy, the band and the potential of the material are all there, but Nick isn't the right fit for Evanescence, whereas Steve Lillywhite, ironically, was. Think about it - same complaints about Ev3 and TBT, despite Amy and the band contributing solid work. So what is the consistent issue then that wasn't present before?

I was surprised, considering her artistic independence now...

[feedingthedark]

I was googling and found an interview with Radio Metal in September 2011 where Amy talks about this scrapped album. Although she later confirmed the label scrapped the album, she would always say it was her decision to shelve it early in the Ev3 era.

Ok, so let’s go. According to what we can read on the web you entered the studio in February 2010 with Steve Lillywhite, but apparently the more electronic orientation didn’t please your record label who asked the band to restart the album from scratch. Why did you accept to comply with their requirements?
That’s not how it went. You shouldn’t get all your informations of the internet, you know? [she laughs] Here’s how it went: it 2007, we finished touring with The Open Door and I didn’t have a plan. We didn’t settled down to make a specific record. I was just getting married and took time completely away and even considered the possibility of not making a record at all. But then, you know, I love music, so I started writing agai, and I didn’t know what it was for. It was just for me. Naturally I wrote some songs that I really love, but some of them were more for Evanescence and some weren’t. I think that if it is gonna be Evanescence, it has to rock. So I couldn’t do it all by myself, it has to be the band, then the band became more and more on focus. But when we got into the studio for the first time, it just wasn’t finished. It really has nothing to do with the record label. It wasn’t the right fit with the producer. It was really nice, but it really wasn’t the right fit and even more importantly than that, I really learned that we were in too early, we weren’t finished writing. And we didn’t start from scratch. We still have some songs we had at that time on the record. We just kept working on that and kept the band more on focus.



Do you have some more electronic-sounding songs that aren’t on this album and that will be out someday?
Yeah, I think so. Some of it leans in a little bit different direction, sort of more like Björk I guess, but different also… It’s hard to describe. Overall it was more simple, just me at the piano because I write a lot like that. I don’t know what exactly I’m gonna do with the songs but there’re some of them that I really, really love… They didn’t suit this record at least. I think it’s very possible that I’ll do something either solo, or some side-project kind of thing in the future.