The Blue Horizon Box set book insinuates the version on Pious Bird... is the same as the single.
Without permission from the author, I hereby quote:
With overdubs complete it was general consensus of opinion that we had a potential hit on our hands; but at six minutes, it would either require an edit or a fade. We plumped for the latter, offering up the idea of putting the remainder of the song out as the flip side. That plan was dropped in favour of including an alternate take of "Stop Messin' Round" but now for the first time ever, you get to hear the full version. At the request of Seymour Stein in New York, a further session was arranged in October of that year to enable Peter to overdub new guitar and vocal parts for a US single release. The results were shelved and have never been heard until now.
So, apparently, the "US version" isn't the "alternate version" we think it is...or is it?? THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE (cue X-Files theme)
__________________
Among God's creations, two, the dog and the guitar, have taken all the sizes and all the shapes in order not to be separated from the man.---Andres Segovia
|