"Doctor's Orders" is one of the five Jet Set songs that the band never played live. However, it is the only studio track to be released with two separate singers, one version with Kim and one with Thurston. Obviously Kim's take made the record, but the "T-Vox Version" was used as a b-side for the Bull in the Heather and ill-fated Self-Obsessed & Sexxee singles, as well as the Volume 9 compilation. It also appeared, peculiarly, on some versions of Screaming Fields of Sonic Love, a collection of the band's 80s material released by Geffen in the mid-90s to support their recent reissues of those albums. It was later granted bonus track status on the vinyl edition of their 2006 b-sides & rarities compilation The Destroyed Room.
If you read last week's entry, I'd discussed the tale of a Jet Set track whose demo outshined the Sear Sound studio take, and they decided to use the early version on the album instead. I had no official insight into which song it was, but the two versions of "Doctor's Orders" raised my antennae. The "T-Vox Version" actually does sound "crisper" to my ears, with more clarity in the instruments and, I don't know, more "produced". The mix is clearly different than the album, but could it be a different take altogether? While this wouldn't necessarily mean it was the song in question (bands typically record multiple takes in the studio, even accounting for the "good enough" policy that reigned during the making of Jet Set), it was worth a further look.
When examining the "T-Vox Version", it becomes apparent that there's something missing - bass! At first I wondered if the track had any bass at all, but it just seems to be mixed extremely low. However, during the song's instrumental outro (where Kim repeats a recurring slidy bass motif on the album), there is nothing to be heard. On Jet Set, the outro is a dense combination of Thurston and Lee's guitars, Kim's bass noodling, and what sounds like an acoustic guitar down the center, keeping a soft rhythm beneath everything else. The "T-Vox Version" is limited to Thurston and Lee's guitars, with Lee's clearly a different, more distorted take than the record. Indeed, Lee's guitar is the main difference throughout the track (along with the lack of bass and Thurston singing, of course), with a heavier, grittier tone than the final version.
But is it a different take? Well, I synced both versions and to my ears, they match perfectly. It's actually kind of surreal to hear Kim and Thurston trading off lines, since they sing along to different parts of the riff (Thurston kinda does his "singing with the guitar" bit, Kim fills the space more creatively). Steve is unmatched in his rhythmic precision, but I think even he would have played a beat slightly different somewhere along the way, and I don't hear any disconnect between the basic rhythm tracks. So, I believe them to be the same take, just in different stages. If I had to guess, the "T-Vox Version" is an earlier mix, before Lee decided to tone down some of his guitar parts - in fact, you can still hear hints of his "louder" guitar peeking through in the LP version.
While it wasn't uncommon for the band to sculpt an instrumental and then draw straws to decide who sings it, I imagine there were a number of cases where multiple vocalists took a stab at drafting something that worked best for the song. There's a few instances of somebody else singing a song live before it was finalized - Thurston freestyling "Cross the Breeze", Kim's unfocused take on "Saucer-Like" - or the rare example of a song changing after the album, when Thurston chose to sing "Starpower" for all live versions. On occasion they'd mentioned earlier assignments like Thurston's original attempt to vocalize "Pattern Recognition", and Lee and Kim swapping their songs on Murray Street after initial efforts. However, "Doctor's Orders" is the only song released in two separate studio versions with two totally unique vocals by different singers.
The rough mixes for Jet Set may offer a clue as to why both singers worked on it - Kim's initial chorus vocal, though the same lyric as the album, was performed in a very "shouty" style, that doesn't quite carry the same weight as her more subdued, melodic interpretation on the record. While there are many subtle differences in vocal takes throughout the rough mixes, this is the most glaring example of a change in delivery, and I'm glad she settled on the version that made the album, as it's one of my favorite Sonic Youth recordings overall. The slowly building dynamics of each verse/chorus, driven largely by Lee's increasingly heavier guitar, followed by the lengthy layered instrumental outro featuring a swirling series of evolving guitar parts, with Kim's fun slide bass antics and the atmospheric acoustic(?) guitar part (presumably not Walter Sear's contribution to the album, though as I said, extra guitar parts are an extreme rarity on Jet Set). By comparison, the "T-Vox Version" is cool to hear (particularly since no other version of the song exists), but it feels incomplete.
Kim's lyrics tell the tale of a medicated mother, where-as Thurston's are a continuation of themes he touched upon in "Stalker". At least I think so - lyrical interpretation has never been my area of expertise. It really is neat to hear the two interpretations played side-by-side, and it makes me wish they had done multiple takes on more songs and released them as b-sides! If only Lee had taken a shot at developing a vocal for this one, it could've been a perfect case study for each singer's sense of melodic structure. Missed opportunities...
"DOCTOR'S ORDERS"
LAYOUT
A - B - A - B - A - B - C
KIM
EADG
CENTER
THURSTON
GGDDD#D#
LEFT
LEE
GGCGCD
RIGHT
A SECTION 00:00-00:17
Thurston:
D#------------------------------------------------
D#------------------------------------------------
D---9----5----7----3----------2-0---------2-x-0--- x 2
D---9----5----7----3----------2-0---------2-x-0---
G-----------------------0-2-3-------0-2-3---------
G-----------------------0-2-3-------0-2-3--------- palm mute the notes on the low G strings
Lee:
D-----------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------
G----------------------------------------------- x 2
C--11----7----9----5----------4-2---------4-2---
G---9----5----7----3----0-2-3-------0-2-3-------
G---9----5----7----3----------------------------
Kim:
G---------------------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------- x 2
A---7---------5-------------------------------------------
E--------8---------6----3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3---
B SECTION 00:17-00:48
Thurston:
D#----------------------------------------------------------------------
D#----------------------------------------------------------------------
D---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-3-3-3-3--- x 2
D---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-3-3-3-3---
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D#------
D#------
D---0---
D---0---
G--(0)--
G-------
Lee:
D--------------------------------0------------------------------------------------
C----------------------------0-------0--------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- x 2
C---7-7-7-7-10-10-10-10--9-9---9---9---9---7-7-7-7-10-10-10\12--9-9-9-9-5-5-5-5---
G---5-5-5-5--8--8--8--8--7-7---7---7---7---5-5-5-5--8--8--8\10--7-7-7-7-3-3-3-3---
G---5-5-5-5--8--8--8--8--7-7---7---7---7---5-5-5-5--8--8--8\10--7-7-7-7-3-3-3-3---
He picks out the open strings over the 7th fret chord, in a slightly different pattern each time.
The slide to the 10th fret is very subtle.
End:
D-------------------
C-------------------
G---7--------------- (on each repeat of the chorus he doesn't always strike multiple G notes)
C---7---------------
G---0---0----0--0---
G---0---0----0--0---
Kim:
G-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- x 2
A-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E---8-8-8-8-11-11-11-11-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10---8-8-8-8-11-11-11-11-10-10-10-10-6-6-6-6---
G-------
D-------
A-------
E---3---
A SECTION 00:39-00:57
Lee:
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- tremolo on
G-------------------------------------------------------------5\7-7~---7~~~-7~~~~--- last 2 notes
C--11----7----9----5----------4-2---------4--4\5~---7--9--10------------------------
G---9----5----7----3----0-2-3-------0-2-3-------------------------------------------
G---9----5----7----3----------------------------------------------------------------
B SECTION 00:57-01:18
A SECTION 01:18-01:35
Lee plays a different melody in the 3rd verse, but you can hear his original track
playing the same thing he does in the 2nd verse, particularly over the last few
notes:
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C--11----7----9----5----------4-2---------4--4\5~---7--9--10--9/7-7~---\14~~~-14~~~-
G---9----5----7----3----0-2-3-------0-2-3-------------------------------------------
G---9----5----7----3----------------------------------------------------------------
B SECTION 01:35-01:52
Thurston turns on the distortion and adds the root:
D#----------------------------------------------------------------------
D#----------------------------------------------------------------------
D---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-3-3-3-3--- x 2
D---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-3-3-3-3---
G---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-3-3-3-3---
G---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---5-5-5-5-8-8-8-8-7-7-7-7-3-3-3-3---
Lee uses super distortion on this chorus.
C SECTION 01:53-04:20
Thurston:
D#--------------
D#--------------
D---0-----------
D---0-----------
G-----------0--- let open G feedback > tap back of neck/headstock
G-----------0---
At 2:14 he starts softly strumming this chord:
D#------ ---7---
D#------ ---7---
D---7--- sometimes adding: ---7---
D---7--- ---7---
G---0--- ---0---
G---0--- ---0---
At 2:32 he starts this progression:
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(7)--
D---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(7)--
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------7-7--7-7-7-7---
G---21-21-21-21-21-21-21/19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19/14-14--14-14--14-14-14-14/7--7-7--7-7-7-7---
G----0--0--0--0--0--0--0-----0--0--0--0--0--0--0-----0---0--0---0--0--0--0----0-0--0-0-0-0---
D#-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D#--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(7)--
D---21-21-21-21-21-21-21/19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19/14-14--14-14--14-14-14-14/7--7-7--7-7-7-7--- x 3
D---21-21-21-21-21-21-21/19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19/14-14--14-14--14-14-14-14/7--7-7--7-7-7-7---
G---21-21-21-21-21-21-21/19-19-19-19-19-19-19-19/14-14--14-14--14-14-14-14/7--7-7--7-7-7-7---
G----0--0--0--0--0--0--0-----0--0--0--0--0--0--0-----0---0--0---0--0--0--0----0-0--0-0-0-0---
Then strum the 077777 chord for a bit, change around 3:49:
D#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----12-14-------------------12----------------------14-------------------12--- repeat til end
D-----12-14-------------------12----------------------14-------------------12---
G-----12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12-12---
G---0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0---
This last part isn't present on the "T-Vox Version", he just picks:
D#-------------------
D#-------------------
D-------------------- repeat softly til end
D----------------7---
G--------------7-----
G---0--0-0-0-0-------
Lee:
D---0---
C-------
G---7--- sustain a chord like this
C---7---
G---0---
G---0---
Then start this pattern:
D-----------------------------------------------------------------
C----------------------------------------------------------------- repeat variation
G-----------0---------------0---------0---0---0-----------0-------
C-------5-----5---5^6---6-----6-6^7-----7---7---7-7^6---6---6-----
G-----7---7---------------7---------7-----------------7-------7---
G---0-----------0-----0-------------------------------------------
Then softly strum:
D------- -------
C------- -------
G---0--- ---0---
C---5--- a few times then: ---7---
G---7--- ---7---
G---0--- ---0---
Then he starts moving that shape around 2:52:
D---------------------------------------------------0------0---------------------------------
C-----------------------------------------------------0------0---------------0---------------
G--(0)-------------------------------------------------------------------0-------0-----------
C---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7\9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-10--10-10-10-----10------10-9-9-9---9---9---9-9-9-9---
G---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7\9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-10--10-10-10----------------9-9-9---9---9---9-9-9-9---
G---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0--0---0--0--0----------------0-0-0---0---0---0-0-0-0---
Then he returns to the 7th fret and changes the shape. Play in the same rhythm as the
previous riff, with open strings ringing as you please:
***
D---0-----0----0---0----0-----0----0----0----0---0---------0---
C---7-----9---10---9----7-----9---10---12---10---9---------7---
G---0-----0----0---0----0-----0----0----0----0---0---------0--- hold last chord til end
C---7-----9---10---9----7-----9---10---12---10---9---------7---
G---0-----0----0---0----0-----0----0----0----0---0---------0---
G---0-----0----0---0----0-----0----0----0----0---0---------0---
At the chord marked *** there is another guitar prominently overdubbed on the "T-Vox" version,
playing w/ delay:
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-------14-------14-----15-----15-----14----14/12--12-12--12-12-12-12\14-14---
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
C---14-------14-------------15-----14-------14/12--12-12--12-12-12-12\14-14---
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------
C---17/15/14-14--15--14--12--12\14-14---/7-----7\9----9/7---
G-----------------------------------------------------------
C---17/15/14-14--15--14--12--12\14-14---/7-----7\9----9/7---
G-----------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------
It sounds like Kim is maybe using a drumstick (or slide) to rub the strings of her bass
while repeating something like this (it changes a bit each time due to the nature of the slide):
G---12\14-14/12---
D-----------------
A-----------------
E-----------------
It also really sounds like there's another guitar down the middle, almost acoustic, just
strumming a G chord. You can use Lee's tuning and play: 007070
text + tab by Chris Lawrence
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