demos that are better than the finished song
 

i was driving home today and heard the demo version of Goo. and decided that i liked the demo a lot better than the song that was on the album. and it got me wondering what other demos by other bands were better than the album version. i dont know if there are any but if you know of some, post it!

The Goo demos sound more... melodic?

i think its steve's drumming. it just sounded way more kickass on the demo

Tracks seem like they're a half note higher or something also.

Throwing Muses' The Doghouse Cassette is better than anything else they released.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Out In LA and Sex Rap

Both sound way rawer and grittier. Much funkier than the overproduced album verison.

I prefer the demo version of the Ramones' I Wanna be Your Boyfriend to the album version.

Goo Demos are better than the album. I agree with that.

The demo where they forgot to press record.

Some of the lo-fi demos Guided by Voices did for their later, hi-fi stuff is so much better in many ways. Teenage FBI works so much better as a 4track demo.

I prefer VU's demo version of 'I Found A Reason' (found on the Loaded Deluxe Edition) better than the actual album version (which I actually feel is a bit obnoxious).

The song How It Ended by defunct Belgian band Orange Black is ten times better than the version on their album Morning Notes.

Nicolas Cage liked to be called "daddy" in bed.

"Flux = Rad' by Pavement

I like the demo version of Tom Wait's 'Alice' a bit more than the official release.

I prefer the disappearer demo version way over the original. the rougher mix makes it more vivid I think

That's exactly what I was going to say. Joey's vocals are way better on the demo. Also, Grounded by Pavement is better than the version on WZ. I don't know if it was a demo but it was an earlier version.

The Velvet Underground's Loaded demos sound better than the originals - they're just that bit less polished, and the squealy quitar bit in Train Around The Bend is louder.

A lot of The Beatles demos on the Anthologies compilations are better than the originals. I like the version of Across The Universe (which is different to the one on the Naked release too).

A lot of Nick Drake's demos are better as they sound essentially the same but without the saxophone bits.

X demos. Can't think of any in particular but hey, theres my half-assed contribution.

i agree with the velvets 'loaded' demos, ive always thought that album is way to cleaned up for a velvets album, and the demos have some of that old velvets murk before that album got over-produced.

yeah, the X bonus tracks demos at the end of LA are way better than the versions that appear on wild gift
im coming over
adult books

so much better in the demo version shame they couldnt make them as good on the album

Both versions of Grounded are great. It works better as a slower song, I think.

I don't know if it counts, since it was only a demo album, and I can't remember if any of the songs ended up on actual releases, but TV on the Radio's "OK Calculator" was great. Their releases after that were good too (although I do feel like they got less and less good as each was released), but none of them blew me away like "OK Calculator."

David Bowie - Lady Stardust