Titled 'Last Parade' (after one of the unreleased tracks), the special limited-edition package paid tribute to one of the great songwriters of this genre. Brett tragically and suddenly passed away in July 2013, with a special tribute paid to him by his band and wife at MRF3 later that year.
I kept in touch, recalling various conversations I had with Brett about releasing his Person To Person songs and some of his unreleased demos, which collectors had been trading for some years.
Brett's wife Sheron and I agreed to look at what was available and see what could be done. Brett's entire DAT collection was sent to me to digitize, which lead to an extraordinary discovery.
Over no less than 47 DATs, it became evident that Brett was sitting on a treasure trove of unreleased material. I was blown away at the quality and the brilliance of these songs, with a cross-reference of styles present from throughout Brett's career.
Some of the older unreleased material rivals the classic 'Nevertheless' album for melodic rock brilliance. Fans of all eras will in fact, be blown away I'm sure.
'Last Parade' is the most complex project I've ever put together, mainly because of the vast number of songs. At last count there was 174 song files in the “Work In Progress” folder. There were at least 2 versions of almost every track on the DATs and sometimes 5 or even 6! Some are from all different mixes, others various audio quality and some completely different versions of known songs.
JK Northrup has been mastering and remastering for the past several months!
Either way...lots of listening time and so many amazing songs.
Long may Brett's music live on.
Now Out Of Print, the box set is brought back to life here in two individual sets, both featuring exclusive previously unreleased songs that only came as a digital bonus to purchases of the original box set.
There has been some demand for a truncated version of the box set, as well as a stand-alone release of the Person To Person tracks.
So it is with great pleasure that MelodicRock Classics has gone to work on two exclusive new releases due out February 24.
Person To Person – 'The Complete Recordings' (2CD Set) and
Brett Walker – 'Highlights From The Last Parade' (2CD Set)
That's 4 discs of Brett Walker and Person To Person magic. The original purchase of the box set came with some 50+ bonus tracks in MP3 download – songs which we didn't have room for on the original set, so several of those songs have been curated to appear as bonus tracks on each release – exclusively on CD for the first time.
For the Person To Person cover art, the band's original and only promo shot was black and white. Par Winberg took the picture and used new AI colouring technology to make an accurate portrait of the band just as they were ready to launch.
MRC033 - PERSON TO PERSON - The Complete Recordings
Disc 1 - The Original Album
01. Undercover Love
02. Never Be The Same
03. No Shortcut To Paradise
04. Careless Nights
05. Lecia
06. More Than A Memory
07. Waiting For Love
08. Hard To Find An Easy Way
09. No Sense In Falling (Previously Unreleased Version)
10. No Fire Without You
11. Far Cry From Love
12. One Night Away
13. Ayla (Previously Unreleased)
14. Outta Site
15. Eye For Love
Disc 2 - Person To Person – Live, Alt Mixes and Brett Walker Demos
01. Hard To Find An Easy Way (91-93 Demo)
02. More Than a Memory (91-93 Demo)
03. Never Be The Same (91-93 Demo)
04. No Sense In Falling (91-93 Demo)
05. Undercover Love (Slower Version) (Previously Unreleased)
06. Never Be The Same (Alt Mix/Brett Vocal) (Previously Unreleased)
07. No Sense In Falling (Extended)
08. Waiting For Love (Original Demo)
09. Lecia (Mixed For TV Inst) (Previously Unreleased)
10. Undercover Love (Live)
11. Waiting For Love (Live)
12. Burning In The 3rd Degree (Live)
MRC032 - BRETT WALKER – Highlights From The Last Parade
Disc 1 - Highlights:
01. Still A Dream Away (Demo Version)
02. Branded
03. Bad Time For Goodbye (Alt Mix)
04. Crossroads Motel (91-93 Demo)
05. Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
06. After The Tears Have Gone
07. American Dreamer (Rock Version)
08. A Little Too Late
09. Fools Paradise
10. Catchin' On
11. Heaven Stops The Rain
12. Always A Place
13. Everything I Want To Do (Piano Ballad Version)
14. Don't Turn Out The Lights (Guitar Mix)
15. On The Train Again
16. Higher Ground (Revision)
17. Last Parade
Disc 2 - Spotlights (All Previously Unreleased on CD):
