Great idea for discussion!
Well, here is my theory:
I think these represent the rough mixes of the songs after the Nashville sessions (if we believe the easytree poster) , made to document and summarise the sessions.
Lanois has said in many interviews that he likes to make a rough mix at the end of a day of recording.
He also said in "Building the Wrecking ball" that many songs were recorded live and then further elements were overdubbed. Most of them sound very live, the only possible overdub I have noticed is Goodbye as Larry Mullen plays both hand drum and drumkit.
The personnel is likely to be Lanois, Emmylou, Malcolm Burn, Tony Hall (who plays in many of the final versions of these songs) and Larry Mullen (he plays drums on the finished versions of most of these songs. The only song where he plays that is not here is, I think, the final version of Deeper well [did this come from a different Nashville take or from a later session?- no idea]. Lanois says audibly, bridge, Larry on May this be love and the drums in those songs sound a lot (if not excatly) like the final ones).
Very intriguingly Lanois counts in one of the songs in French. I wonder why. Maybe Tony Hall, being from New Orleans speaks French?
Also Lucinda Williams and Steve Earle seem to be there (Lucinda's finger-picked guitar, which Lanois refers to in the "Building the Wrecking Ball" audio interview, can be clearly heard).
The only one were the record version is almost certainly a completely different take is, as you say, Deeper well, because of the different tempo.
The rest are mostly still lacking backing vocals (from Neil Young, Daryl Johnson, etc...) and other elements (Goodbye lacks Danny's additional electric guitar), but are probably the same basic tracks as the final versions.
So i think that all these remaining elements where added to these tracks in overdub sessions in Kingsway Studios, New Orleans, with Brian Blade, Daryl Johnson, and all the remaining guests. It was there as well that most likely the additional songs (Where will I be?, Going back to Harlan, the finished version of Deeper Well and Blackhawk) were recorded in their entirety...
This is my best guess at the moment. Though I am a great fan of the finished product (the wonderful backing vocals, the thumping sound you mention in all my tears...), I also like these more laidback versions of the songs, they are somehow more intimate.
No idea about the sequencing, probably random?
And as for Still water, and the other new songs, well, they sound great, but I need to listen more to them before I can give a proper opinion...
Interested in insights/theories others might provide...
Santiago
