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The Reprise Era
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Mudhoney signed with Reprise Records in March of 1992, and was dropped by the label in June of 1999. This covers the Piece of Cake, My Brother the Cow, and Tomorrow Hit Today LPs, and Five Dollar Bob's Mock Cooter Strew EP. Head on the Curb, to be released by Sutro Park Records (SPKZ 1006), will be culled from Reprise-era demos and outtakes. Mudhoney didn't particularly make any demos prior to Tomorrow Hit Today, as discussed in two articles from the time:

But before recording the latest album, the band found itself having to fight with its label to even get a chance at another record. A new regime at Warner Bros. [parent of Reprise] was not familiar with Mudhoney and actually asked them to make a demo tape. They agreed and after some heated negotiations eventually managed to get a budget approved for a much more expensive recording than they had ever done before. For a band that had always operated very efficiently, and used any money left over from its album budgets as income, it was a huge risk.
- The Rocket, 9/23/98

Fans have had to wait three years for Tomorrow Hit Today, which almost did not happen at all. After taking more than a year off to work on other projects, the band regrouped and was ready to return to the recording studio but was stunned to learn that new management at Reprise Records (the band's label since it left Sub Pop in 1992) wanted a sample tape before it would fund the album. "It was the first time we ever had to do a demo...which was freaking me out at the time," Arm says. "I was ready to be like Chicken Little - the sky is falling." Dickinson eased Arm's worries, the band did the demo, and Reprise gave it the green light. Still, this added months to the album-making process. And when the actual recording finally started, it was on-again and off-again, with long breaks to accommodate Dickinson's busy schedule. "It was kind of frustrating at the time," Arm says. "In retrospect, it helped us sit back, not overanalyze but walk away from (new songs) for a week or two."
- The Seattle Times, 11/12/98

There may be unused takes, or hastily recorded demos from the pre-Tomorrow Hit Today records, but there are not true demos (there are no demos or outttakes from Five Dollar Bob's Mock Cooter Stew). Additionally, almost all of the known pre-Tomorrow Hit Today outtakes were released on the March to Fuzz compilation, and the only known outtakes that weren't released on that record were otherwise released (save for 'The Good Egg;' see below). Those songs that appear on March to Fuzz were remastered from the original tapes, so they differ slightly from other releases of the songs in that they're slightly longer or shorter, with stray notes at the beginning or end of songs included or omitted. Here are the pre-Tomorrow Hit Today Reprise-era outtakes:

  1. The Good Egg
    This Devo cover was recorded at Egg Studios in December, 1990, in a session where they recorded a handful of punk covers. That session predates the Reprise era, but most of the songs from this session ended up on Reprise-era singles.
  2. Freak Momma
    Mudhoney recorded this song with Sir Mix-a-Lot. It was released in 1993 on the Judgment Night soundtrack.
  3. Buckskin Stallion Blues
    This is a Jimmy Dale Gilmore song that they recorded for the split single they released with him on Sub Pop in 1994.
  4. Pump it Up
    Mudhoney recorded two versions of this song, one which was included on March to Fuzz, and one which was released in 1994 on the PCU soundtrack that the band hates.
  5. Carjack '94
  6. Small Animals
  7. Mudhoney Funky Butt
  8. West Seattle Hardcore
  9. Sissy Bar
    These five songs were released in 1995 on a bonus 45 that was included with the LP of My Brother the Cow. They were later released on CD for the expanded version of My Brother the Cow in the UK.
  10. Poisoned Water
    This version was recorded no later than 8/8/96, and most likely is the version that Mudhoney mimed to in the movie, Black Sheep. It is not the version that appears on Tomorrow Hit Today.
  11. The Bill Nye Show Theme
    The band wanted to include this on March to Fuzz, but had problems getting the rights from Disney.
  12. Goat Cheese
    This song was released in 1996 on the Screwed soundtrack.
  13. War in Peace
    This Skip Spence cover was recorded during the Tomorrow Hit Today sessions in 1998, and released in 1999 on the War in Peace compilation.
  14. Evil Umpire
    This was performed live at least twice - 6/5/97 and 8/30/97 - but it's unknown whether it was ever recorded.

In addition to what's listed above, there is the mysterious Piece of Cake-era Piece of Cupcake tape. Nothing is known about what appears on the tape.

There aren't a lot of pre-Tomorrow Hit Today outtakes out there. In the Fall of 1998, Dan remarked that they generally didn't record a song if they didn't have a release in mind for it - to the point that he wondered whether there was enough material for a rarities record.

There is other material from the era not covered here, like edits (e.g. the 'Ghost' radio edit), and different mixes (e.g. the karaoke instrumental mixes for Tomorrow Hit Today songs, in case the band went on a Top of the Pops-style show where the vocals are live and they mime playing their instruments). There are also a few radio sessions, and other live recordings, like the On Tour Now live promo record, the 1/8/95 Pearl Jam radio broadcast, the 5/24/95 BBC Evening Session, the 1/31/98 Pearl Jam radio broadcast, and the 9/19/98 KNDD-FM radio session.

That leaves the Tomorrow Hit Today demos, of which a decent amount is known. This is believed to be a complete list of demos. Songs not released in any form on Tomorrow Hit Today or March to Fuzz are bolded below. A demo of 'Real Low Vibe' (possibly the 4/97 demo) was released on the Cool Beans 9 compilation CD. Some of the demos are fairly different from the released versions. In particular, the early 'Oblivion' was much faster and harder than the finished product.

4/97 Demos

  1. Move with the Wind
  2. This is the Life
  3. Drinking for Two
  4. Mother's Lament
  5. Beneath the Valley...
  6. I Will Fight no More Forever
  7. I Have to Laugh
  8. Real Low Vibe
  9. Fun+Games
  10. Oblivion
  11. Heavenly Hostess with the Mostess
  12. We Hate the Bloody Queen [SCTV cover]
    Notes: 'We Hate the Bloody Queen' was released on the 'Oh, Cannuduh 2' compilation record.

7/97 Demos

  1. Night of the Hunted
  2. Brand New Face
  3. Try to be Kind

9/97 Demos

  1. Oblivion
  2. The Butterfly Stroke
  3. Talkin' Randy Tate's Specter Blues
  4. Try to be Kind

10/1/97 Demos

  1. A Thousand Forms of Mind 4:42
  2. Oblivion 3:41
  3. Night of the Hunted 3:05
  4. The Butterfly Stroke 3:35
  5. Real Low Vibe 3:21
  6. Ghost 4:45

"No-De-Caf" Demos (Dated 2/14/98)

  1. Night of the Hunted
  2. Poisoned Water (safe vocal)
  3. Poisoned Water (radio hostile vocal)
  4. Oblivion
  5. Ghost
  6. Brand New Face
    Notes: This corresponds to when Tomorrow Hits Today was recorded, so these versions may be the same as appear on the record, save for one of the versions of 'Poisoned Water.'

"Thinking Hits" Demos (Dated 10/1/98)

  1. A Thing or Two 3:01
  2. I Want to Live 2:43
    Notes: The 10/1/98 date refers to the date that the tape was duplicated by Reprise, not the date that the songs were recorded.

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