Demo collections are usually reserved for veteran rockers who have a huge backlog of material to choose from (such as
Pete Townshend's ongoing Scoop series). With their original lineup only issuing a trio of albums, hair metallists
Winger aren't exactly who you'd most expect to issue a demo set, but come 2007 that's just what the fans got in the form of the double-disc Demo Anthology release. As with most demo collections, this 37-track set is obviously aimed at the most diehard of fans, as the majority of these tracks have appeared in re-recorded form on the group's first three albums (1988's
Winger, 1990s
In the Heart of the Young, and 1993's
Pull). But while most other artists' demo collections are comprised of early versions that sound different from the final product (isn't that whole point of releasing demo sets?), the versions here don't sound all that remarkably different from the album versions -- including "Seventeen," the sappy power ballad "Miles Away," and the
Def Leppard-esque "Can't Get Enuff." So the main selling point for fans will be the handful of tracks that never made it to a
Winger album. Strictly for fanatics.