One fun thing with CD reissues of old albums or compilations is when they add on some bonus tracks with alternate versions of some of the songs. Sometimes they’re better, sometimes they’re not, sometimes they’re just different. Sometimes there aren’t any bonus tracks and the alternate versions seem to be unintentional, like when a CD says “from the original master tapes,” but doesn’t mean “you’re going to hear what was on the 45.” For example, the versions of “Don’t Worry Mother, Your Son’s Heart Is Pure” and “Beat The Clock” on the McCoys CD I have are noticeably different mixes/edits from the original (minor) hits. The Beau Brummels’ “Laugh Laugh” always has an ending when I hear it on CD, where the original 45 faded out, and the Seeds’ “Mr. Farmer” fades out on CD when it had an ending on 45. The reissue of “The Who Sell Out” I have on CD managed to include two versions of “Mary-Anne With The Shakey Hands” without including the one that was the flip side of “I Can See For Miles.” And so on.
Moving from music to comic strips: With Station V3, alternate versions are usually first attempts at drawing a strip. Sometimes they didn’t quite work, sometimes I decided to go in a slightly different direction, sometimes I’m not quite sure why there’s an alternate! For today’s voting bonuses (here, here, and here), there are alternate versions of three strips that originally ran in June and July. See what you think!