This new version of Broken Toys was a part of the live performances for the Two Griffins Theatre Company‘s stage production of ”Poe”. The ”Broken Toys” short film was also a part of the ”Poe” stage production. The short film (which was filmed by Tim Carter) helped to establish the madness of the central character and the duality that was taking place between the male side and the female side of the central character).
The Backstory
The song, ”Broken Toys” is another lost gem from Tom’s past. Broken Toys was written by James & Derrick in the early ’90s and put down on 4 track tape with vocals and a cheap Casio keyboard. This early version of the song had a minimalist and dark tonality. When arranged with the full band it took on a different vibe becoming the sort of theatrical rocker that became a staple of TOMs early work. The song was recorded “live” in the studio as part of the band’s first demo tape. We included a remastered version of that original demo as a bonus track on Vagabond Soundtrack. You can listen to the live demo version below.
An instrumental version of Broken Toys was produced by Jon Larson for Vagabond as well. Just follow this link for the complete Vagabond Soundtrack.
A Return To Form
As work began on the score for POE, James realized that the early, darker, and slower, 4-track version of Broken Toys had the perfect tone for his new project and that became the basis of this new version. We hope you enjoy this fresh take!
Listen to the complete POE soundtrack on Bandcamp. Click Here.