A Guide to “Fly II” by Sarah Brightman

This article is for anyone who is seeking more information on the rare Fly II and/or having difficulty in obtaining it.  On this page you can learn of its origins, details of what is on it, where to get it, and where else individual songs can be found other than on Fly II.  Each song will be discussed individually.

WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

Fly II was briefly made available to fans at concert venues during her La Luna tour in 2001.  It was then very briefly made available on Sarah Brightman‘s official store on her Official Website in 2002.  It was then priced between $15-$25.  It sold out, however, and Brightman’s team have since vowed that it will not make a reappearence.  It is not known how many copies were made but there is probably no more than 3000 copies.

WHAT’S ON IT?

Fly II is a double disc album.  The first disc is the original Fly album that was released in 1995.  This is not to be confused with its re-release that included ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ and and a newly remixed ‘How Can Heaven Love Me’.  The second disc is where the gold is.  It has 13 rare tracks or remixes that could not be found else where at the time.  Some songs can be found in other places now, but not all.  See below for more details.

Disc One

1. The Fly | 2.55
2. Why | 5.11
3. Murder in Maryland Park | 3.38
4. How Can Heaven Love Me (ft. Chris Thompson) | 3.44
5. A Question of Honour | 6.34
6. Ghost in the Machinery | 4.23
7. You Take My Breath Away | 6.49
8. Something in the Air (ft. Tom Jones) | 4.22
9. Heaven is Here | 4.03
10. I Loved You | 4.09
11. Fly | 2.51

Disc Two

1. Once In A Lifetime (1996 Remix ft. Susanna Espelleta) | 4.15
2. First of May (1999 Live Version) | 3.03
3. How Can Heaven Love Me (PeCh’s Favourite Radio Edit ft. Chris Thompson) | 3.35
4. Desert Rose | 2.05
5. Do You Wanna Be Loved? | 4.18
6. Hurry Home | 3.44
7. The Same Thing To You | 3.16
8. Rain | 3.36
9. He Moved Through the Fair | 2.17
10. Starship Troopers (D-Bop’s Saturday Nite Radio Edit) | 3.35
11. On the Nile | 1.12
12. How Can Heaven Love Me (Video Version ft. Chris Thompson) | 3.44
13. Once In A Lifetime (1996 Ballad Version) | 3.34

WHERE CAN I GET IT?

Fly II can only be found these days on eBay at outrageous prices.  If you really want it, you should expect to pay over £150 (or over $250).  For many, this is too much money.  Unfortunately, there is nothing else I can say, it simply is not available anymore.  If, however, you are not one to be fussed about owning a hard physical copy it has been recently made available to download legally with prices as low as $0.20 per song.  Here is just one site you can purchase the downloads.

WHAT’S THE PACKAGING LIKE?

It is barely different from the original Fly packaging.  The booklet does not even acknowledge the extra discs existence and is exactly the same as the original Fly booklet.  The jewel case is a duel case, as opposed to a single, and it has a sticker on the front that says ” SPECIAL EDITION LA LUNA TOUR 2 CD BOX”.  I hasten to add that the word ‘box’ is misleading.  It is a simple, normal 2 disc jewel case.  The back is almost the same as the original Fly only it does acknowledge the second disc.  It simply adds its tracklist in another column, and gives credit to Alex Christensen for c/o producing the PeCh remix of ‘How Can Heaven Love Me’ with an astrix.  Fly II does not have a barcode.  To view the front and back cover, go to this page on The Early Sarah Brightman Website which also has sound clips available.

TELL ME ABOUT THE SONGS

* the song can only be found on Fly II
** the song can be found elsewhere
All links in this section will open in a new window and takes you to the amazon.co.uk website, or, if it is rare, to the German amazon.de

Once In A Lifetime (1996 Remix ft. Susanna Espelleta) *
Susanna Espelleta actually originated this song in 1991 for Frank Peterson’s experimental Gregorian album Sadisfaction, a rough draft of his later Gregorian group that now record numerous Masters of Chant albums.  So this song has Sarah’s original vocals and lyrics with Susanna speaking Spanish lyrics to only introduce the song.  The original on Dive has the Spanish lyrics for every verse.  Not the case with this one.  The guitar and synths are stressed in this remix.

First of May (1999 Live Version) **
This is probably the easiest song to obtain on this album as it is available in numerous places.  The most accessible place is The Very Best of 1990-2000.  Another place is the live recording of A Gala Christmas in Vienna which is where this song originally comes from, though it is a different recording.  Ironically, the studio version is more difficult to get hold of, so why they chose the live version is anyone’s guess, but if you’re interested in the studio version the Eden Single is your best bet.

How Can Heaven Love Me (PeCh’s Favourite Radio Edit ft. Chris Thompson) **
I guess it’s a matter of taste, but I do declare this to be a terrible remix.  In any case, it can be found on the single of the same name.  Amazon.de has some copies.  This remix is also on the Heaven Is Here single.  Again, check out The Early Sarah Brightman Website for a soundclip.

Desert Rose **
This track is a quick pretty ballad.  It is considered a highlight of the album.  It can be found on the ultra rare Eden and Time To Say Goodbye Millenium Edition double album.  It is steeply priced. 

Do You Wanna Be Loved? **
This catchy pop/dance number, co-written by Brightman herself, can also be found on Fly (Japanese Edition).  Although not sung by Brightman, it may be worthy to note Princessa‘s version of the song on her album Princessa.  Not only does Brightman do the backing vocals throughout the whole album, she also has other writing credits on the album such as ‘Like a Nun’ and ‘I Do What You Want Me To Do’.

Hurry Home *
This melancholy ballad, unfortunately, cannot be found elsewhere.  It’s an okay song, though poorly produced.  I imagine that it was unfinished as there is not much to it other than a toy sounding keyboard trying to pull it through.

The Same Thing To You *
Again, this cannot be found anywhere else.  It’s a mid-tempo pop song with an unnamed male backing vocalist.  Although it probably didn’t, it sounds like something that was scrapped from her As I Came of Age album.  It is said that this song was originally a very rare charity single, but this is yet to be confirmed.  In any case, if it so rare that fans cannot be sure of its existence, I guess you can forget ever obtaining it.

Rain *
This gem of a track, written by Brightman’s sister, Nicola, can only be found on the extremely rare and pricey The Second Element CD Single, but it’s a different mix.  Fly II‘s mix of this song has a very rocky edge to it.  It is probably the most rocky track Brightman had recorded before ‘Fleurs Du Mal’ and to many is the highlight of the Fly II album.

He Moved Through the Fair **
This is a traditonal piece usually called ‘She Moved Through the Fair’.  You may already know it.  Sarah’s rendition can be found on her ‘Eden‘, ‘So Many Things’ and ‘Last Words You Said’ singles.  The ‘Eden’ single is still easy enough to get a hold of, but you won’t have as much luck with ‘So Many Things’.  Most recently, this track was put on the Japanese Edition of A Winter Symphony as a bonus track. 

Starship Troopers (D-Bop’s Saturday Nite Radio Edit) **
You may or may not be aware that before doing classical, before even Andrew Lloyd Webber, Brightman was in dance group Hot Gossip.  She had a top ten hit with this in 1979, and this remix was done in 1998 for the release of the film of the same name.  It can be found on the single of the song.

On the Nile **
A kind of creepy short ballad.  It can be found on Fly (Japanese Edition). Rarer still, you could hunt down the impossible ‘A Question of Honour’ brown cover single.  Do not get it confused with the green cover which is still easy enough to obtain.

How Can Heaven Love Me (Video Version ft. Chris Thompson) **
This is barely worth writing about – you probably already have it.  This song is available on the 1996 re-release of Fly which is the most common edition and can be found in any decent music store.  If you are unsure of the difference, the 1996 edition includes ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ as the first track.  It can also be found on the single of the same name and the Japanese version of Fly. 

Once In A Lifetime (1996 Ballad Version) *
I mentioned Princessa earlier, and this mix of the song was originally recorded by Princessa for her debut album.  It’s exactly the same arrangement, only Brightman sings it in English, whilst Princessa sings it in Spanish.

For a full guide to Brightman’s discography, see my other post Beginner’s Comprehensive Guide to Sarah Brightman’s Discography.

nb. Fly II is not the official title of this release.  It is the name given to it by fans to distinguish the original Fly from this one, as they both share the same name.

CREDITS

Thank you to the following people and the websites that filled up the gaps in my knowledge:

SBFlyFan from The Fly
Becky from the Early Sarah Brightman site (she has clips of all the songs on this page)
FoxyCory from SB2K