The Killers - Sawdust Album Discussion

**silver screens** · 11-10-2007, 12:31 PM

"Tranquilize" - 3:45 (new song recorded with Lou Reed)
"Shadowplay" - 4:09 (Joy Division cover)
"All the Pretty Faces" - 4:47 (from the "When You Were Young" single)
"Leave the Bourbon On the Shelf" - 3:38 (unreleased track from Hot Fuss sessions)
"Sweet Talk" - 4:18 (unreleased track from Sam's Town sessions)
"Under the Gun" - 2:33 (new recording of the song from the "Somebody Told Me" single and Hot Fuss U.S. Limited Edition)
"Where the White Boys Dance" - 3:26 (from the Sam's Town U.K. album and "When You Were Young" single)
"Show You How" - 2:45 (new recording of the song from the "Somebody Told Me" single)
"Move Away" - 3:49 (new recording of the song from the Spider-Man 3 OST)
"Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll" - 4:15 (new recording of the song from the Hot Fuss U.K. album and U.S. Limited Edition)
"Who Let You Go?" - 3:52 (from "Mr. Brightside" single)
"The Ballad of Michael Valentine" - 3:50 (from the "Somebody Told Me" single and Hot Fuss U.S. Limited Edition)
"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" - 3:05 (The First Edition cover and from the Smile Like You Mean It single)
"Daddy's Eyes" - 4:13 (from the "Bones" single)
"Sam's Town" (Abbey Road Version) - 3:42 (from the "For Reasons Unknown" single)
"Romeo and Juliet" - 5:26 (Dire Straits cover recorded at Abbey Road from the "For Reasons Unknown" single)
"Mr. Brightside" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Remix) - 8:48 (from the "Mr. Brightside" single)

Release dates:
November 10, 2007 - Australia
November 12, 2007 - UK
November 13, 2007 - USA

Discuss

**-Supersonic-** · 11-10-2007, 01:02 PM

Thanks for the thread, Tar!

So... first of all, the covers looks awesome

And I LOVE Sam's Town Abbey Road version!
I'm also very glad 'Romeo and Juliet' is in the CD, this cover is great

I heard 'Glamorous Indie Rock And Roll' would have a new version, but I didn't notice any difference

elethoniel · 11-10-2007, 01:37 PM

Thread!!

I hadn't even thought about making one of these. My bad!

I love the cover too, it's so awesome. I love the name as well! I only realised last night that this is an album of left overs and that is exactly what sawdust is. The left over wood after something else has been created.

I'm a bit slow on the up take, lol.

I totally agree the two Abbey Road versions are amazing. They're such beautiful songs. Sam's Town and Sweet Talk are my two favourite songs on this album

There's no tambourine on Indie Rock and Roll

and I'm sure they've changed the lyrics, I got to check that one though. I'm kinda sad at all the changes but we still have the old songs so it's nothing to worry about really

**-Supersonic-** · 11-10-2007, 05:04 PM

Really? I haven't notice. I really need to listen to the new version of Indie Rock And Roll, paying attention to the alterations

own worst enemy · 11-10-2007, 10:44 PM

I pre-ordered my copy from iTunes.

Can't wait to synch it onto my iPod when I get home from work Tuesday night.

I've been listening to "Shadowplay" alot, since iTunes released the single. Love it!

**silver screens** · 11-11-2007, 02:30 AM

Sam's Town Abbey Road Version owns me right now

It's just so beautiful. It's one of my favorites of Sawdust along with Tranquilize, LTBOTS and Move Away

**-Supersonic-** · 11-11-2007, 09:38 AM

I know, right? It's just so beautiful!

Tar, I agree with you on the favorites of Sawdust, except that I prefer "Shadowplay" over "Move Away"

"Shadowplay" is amazing, Ken. Have you ever heard Joy Division's original version, by the way? It's even better

elethoniel · 11-11-2007, 10:10 AM

I pre-ordered mine in two places

I got an LP off The Victims site, which I got a t-shirt with too!

And then I got the CD off HMV.com, where you get a special slipcase for it

To be honest, I never really liked Shadowplay whenever I heard it live (blasphemy I know

) but now I've heard the recorded version I absolutely adore it. It's fantastic

I love Tranquilize too. Everytime I hear it I love it more and more. I'm not that hot on LTBOTS at the moment, hopefully it's a grower!

**-Supersonic-** · 11-11-2007, 10:49 AM

Am I a very crappy fan for not ordering it anywhere?

It's just I think I'll buy it in England, since I'm going there on January and it's a lot cheaper to buy it there than here in Brazil

I really like Joy Division, so when I heard The Killers were going to record Shadowplay I was really excited. Then I heard it and didn't like it very much. I think I was kind of expecting it to be as good as the original version, but it never is. But now I really like The Killers version as well

Tranquilize is awesome. LTBOTS is right there with Tranquilize, though.
'Sweet Talk' is the one that I think I'll like more with time, I don't really love it right now...

elethoniel · 11-11-2007, 11:10 AM

No way dude! You're just far saner than I am

You're coming to England?! That's awesome! Whereabouts are you visiting?

Aw no, I don't think any covers could ever beat the originals. Though, I've not heard Joy Divisions version

I think the whole album is full of songs that grow on you. I can't wait til mine arroves and I can just listen to it on repeat

**-Supersonic-** · 11-11-2007, 11:37 AM

Yeah, I'm going on January 4th and I'll spend 4 weeks there! I'm staying in Brighton, but I'll definitely visit London and probably other cities. By the way, if you have any tips of places I should visit, please let me know

That is true.

And you should definitely download Joy Division's version. Although it's very old(about 1979, I guess), so if you don't like old stuff, I don't recommend

elethoniel · 11-11-2007, 12:58 PM

OMG

Brighton is my favourite city in the world. It's so awesome. I could spend days just exploring the small side roads

The shops in the arches along the beach are fantastic too!
Uhm in London Covent Garden is definitely somewhere you should check out (they have some great music shops around there). I've heard that Camden Market is awesome too! Uh and you should try and check out a thatre production in the West End. Ohoh! And to check out all the sites I would suggest a boat ride a long the Thames (it'll probably be cold in January so wrap up warm!) and then you can decide which of the landmarks you want to go to.
Uhh and I'll think on some more XD

I love old stuff, I just never know where to start with it. I'll definitely download it, thanks dude!

**-Supersonic-** · 11-11-2007, 02:19 PM

Really?! Awesome!

I'll definitely check these places out. 4 weeks is not much time, but I think it's time enough to visit a lot of places. And yeah, I really want to go to some music shops!

Not just to buy Sawdust, but also to buy some other indie CDs I love and I don't have 'cause I can't find 'em in Brazil.
The weather there is just a bit scary for me

I mean, I think the coldest place I've ever been was like 10ºC. And it's really cold in January in Brighton, right? Like about -5ºC, yeah?
By the way, where do you live, Katie? London?

I know. I never know where to start either when it comes to old stuff. Oh, no problem, dude!

elethoniel · 11-11-2007, 06:30 PM

Yeah definitely! 4 weeks is a good amount of time cause then you don't have to rush to try and see everything, you can spread it out a bit

Yeah definitely, there's a little shopping place in Brighton called The Lanes (it's not a mall, it basically is just a load of connecting lanes, lol) and they have a fantastic music shop there, I always wish I were into obscure music whenever I visit just so I could search for something

Lol, yup! It'll be freezing in Brighton during January because Brighton is by the sea and you'll get all the freezing air coming in off the sea. So far this autumn has been good. It's been averaging 15ºC, which is great for this time of year. You'll definitely need to bring scarves, gloves, extra socks and a big coat

I live in Kent, which is just south of London. It's a pretty awesome place to be because we have Canterbury (if you like history I'd definitely reccomend visiting Canterbury - they have some awesome shops too! - it's only a few hours away from Brighton) on one side of us, Brighton on another and then London above us (the sea is below us - oh speaking of, you could also go for a day trip over to Calais, France if you feel up to it

). All of which only take a few hours to get to ...

Ah I rambled so much there

Sorry!

Yeah, it's so hard to know where to start

I found this review of Sawdust over at The Killers News:

Quote:

Review: The Killers - Sawdust

The heart usually sinks when confronted by a 'rarities and B-sides' album, especially one released so close to Christmas. There's usually a reason why such tracks have been relegated to 'rare' and 'B-side' status - because they're not very good. Such records are usually an excuse to rip off the fans who will buy absolutely everything.

So it's with some cynicism that we approach Sawdust, a collection of unreleased tracks, alternative version of album tracks and quirky cover versions by Brandon Flowers and company. As ever with these sort of albums, it's a mixed bag, but the quality threshold does seem to be somewhat higher here.

Opening track Tranquilize showcases guest vocalist Lou Reed (complete with very wobbly vocals), and it's fair to say that the song is more representative of the famously grumpy New York legend rather than the band most famous for Mr Brightside. Morose and downbeat, it takes its time to worm its way into your heart, but it's an intriguing listen. It's miles removed from the bombast of Sam's Town and is a promising new direction for the band.

That's the only clue we get about The Killers' forthcoming third album though, as the rest of the album consists of out-takes from both Hot Fuss and Sam's Town. At times, these are predictably mediocre - the bluster of All The Pretty Faces or the dull, plodding Sweet Talk - but surprisingly there are several excellent tracks that will leave you scratching your head as to why they've not seen the light of day before.

Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf, already gaining legendary status amongst Killers fans for being the first part of the 'Murder Trilogy', at last sees the light of day here, and it's as good as you'd hoped - an infectiously rocking number that nicely fills in the gaps left by Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine and Midnight Show. Essential for any Killers fan in fact.

Under The Gun, another out-take from Hot Fuss, is another highlight with its naggingly catchy chorus of "kill me now, kill me now", and once Show You How gets away from its annoying introduction of Flowers singing into an answerphone, it's suitably stirring and epic. The swirling guitar riff of Spiderman 3 soundtrack staple Move Away also sounds terrific and the song itself is full of energy.

Things aren't quite so interesting with the 'alternative takes' of album tracks - Glamourous Indie Rock And Roll and Where The White Boys Dance don't really sound significantly different to the originals, whereas the title track from Sam's Town is one of the few songs on that album that suits the bluster and bombast. Stripped down, it doesn't quite sound the same.

Then there's those cover versions: the Kenny Rogers classic Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town is excellent - shuffling, pretty, poignant - whereas their version of Joy Division's Shadowplay is just horrifying. The latter has a carbon copy of Peter Hook's famous bassline, but Flower's vocals can't hope to compete with the dread and melancholy of Ian Curtis. It comes across as a karaoke-style cover, never the best way to tackle a Joy Division song.

There's also a rather pointless cover of Dire Straits' Romeo & Juliet (a classic, no matter what the self-appointed 'guardians of cool' may think), which brings absolutely nothing new to the song whatsoever. At least Flowers didn't attempt to copy Mark Knopfler's Geordie accent though. The album ends with a downbeat remix of Mr Brightside, which doesn't quite have the urgency and vitality of the original.

The quality of some of the tracks on Sawdust does lift it above any accusations of 'rip-off'. A nice Christmas present for that hardcore Killers fan in your life, but most casual observers will be happy to give this a miss and wait for the third album.
- John Murphy

[Source]

:|

**afrocurl** · 11-11-2007, 06:52 PM

So I listened yesterday (

) and SO MUCH LOVE!!

The Abbey Road version of Sam's Town is amazing.

Romeo and Juliet is gorgeous--almost makes me love this version more than Dire Straits.

I can handle not having the tambourine in Indie, actually. I mean, I know the difference, so that's fine.