Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
Count me as another non-fan of the radio version of Lyin' Eyes. Shun has described the differences in the edited version very well, and I totally agree that it butchers the song. It is such a shame to do this to such a story-based song, especially as I think it removes several of the most important lines - we never meet the man the woman is cheating with, and we immediately go from hearing about her leaving the house to pouring herself a strong one, which makes no sense. I sometimes wonder how I would have felt had I heard the radio version before the full one, I suspect hearing the 'additional' verses would have delighted me It feels like ripping the pages out of a book and I hate that, especially as I believe Don and Glenn wrote verses that weren't used. As a result, hearing Lyin' Eyes on the radio is a bit of a strange one for me as I love the song but really don't like the edit.
Radio edits in general are a funny thing because I think there are some songs that do need one - the classic example is probably Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, where removing the somewhat bizarre and radio-unfriendly jam section after the second chorus makes it not only shorter but much more suitable for airplay. I also think in some ways the edited version of Life's Been Good works better - although I do love the original, I sometimes think the middle section is a little bloated and hearing the second part of the lyrics sooner makes the song flow better. On the flip side, there are others like Hotel California where I am extremely glad that they are not edited (my opinion is that although the song is six and a half minutes in length, there is nothing that needs to be edited - it needs the intro and the guitar solos, and you can't edit out any of the lyrics). Unfortunately, I personally feel Lyin' Eyes also falls into the 'shouldn't be edited' category, as all the lyrics are important to the story the song is trying to tell.
Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
I've heard the edited version of Life's Been Good too. They kinda don't edited the verses, just the instrumental interlude at the beginning and in the middle before it goes into the "I go to parties some time until 4" verse and then they edited the ending instrumental interlude. I'm ok with that since its not butchering the verses.
Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jonny Come Lately
Unfortunately, I personally feel Lyin' Eyes also falls into the 'shouldn't be edited' category, as all the lyrics are important to the story the song is trying to tell.
Me, too! I think anyone paying attention to the lyrics would also put Lyin' Eyes in the 'shouldn't be edited' category. As others have pointed out, the song no longer makes sense.
I think I read somewhere (possibly a Cameron Crowe piece) that Glenn and Don actually had more verses for the song. Maybe they thought they could avoid the editing room by sticking with a 'shorter' version of the song. Regardless, I bet they weren't happy with the edits.
Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
I've heard the edited version on the radio a couple times. The first time, I didn't realize that it was edited until after the song had gone off. I was puzzled. Lyin' Eyes isn't a 4 minute song! Most of the time, my local stations play the version because playing 6+ minutes songs on the classic stations isn't that uncommon anymore.
I'm not a fan of any edited version of a song. I want to hear it the way it sounds and is made on the album.
Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
Oh. Don't forget they edited The Heart of The Matter too. They skipped the little bridge of "I'm learning to live without you" verse and goes straight into "I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter" verse. They skip "I'm learning" verse a lot in the song. I hate that and it butchers the song. I've never heard the whole song on the radio.
Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
one of the other songs that has a well known single version as opposed to an album version is "light my fire" by the doors. But the difference is - there's no lyrics removed - its just endless keyboard jamming.
Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
They play the abridges version on Sunshine Radio in Ireland
Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
Unfortunately, Glenn played the edited version as part of a medley with Take It Easy. I saw this in 1988 with LRB and if you have seen Live In Dublin, you have seen it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DZZ9CXoViU
Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
The radio abridged one is different from the Dublin performance. The Dublin performance cuts it short whereas the radio abridged one cuts out some of the meddle verses.
Re: did Lyin' Eyes have a radio version?
I was listening to LITFL on the way to work and LITFL has an edited version too. On this version, they cut the third verse and repeat chorus. They go straight the little instrumental as they sing Life In The Fast Lane.