I Wish You Well (partially found studio version of Imagine Dragons song; 2010)

Imagine Dragons

Status: Partially Found

The early, independently-recorded music of the alternative rock band Imagine Dragons has varying degrees of rarity. The three EPs the band recorded before landing a record deal with Interscope have gone out of print. However, some of the songs from those EPs turned up on Imagine Dragons' first full-length album, Night Visions, while others have appeared online courtesy of the group's earliest fans.

Some of Imagine Dragons' early work made it onto neither Night Visions nor those EPs. Usually, the only recordings that survive of those come from footage of the band's live performances. However, one song received the studio treatment, only to become only partially released to the public: "I Wish You Well".

History

Imagine Dragons performed "I Wish You Well" during an April 2010 concert at the Bunkhouse Saloon in Las Vegas. By this point, they had only released two EPs – Imagine Dragons and Hell and Silence. Soon afterward, the band recorded more music at the Blue Microphones Studio in Los Angeles.

A 50-second long teaser of "I Wish You Well" made it onto an installment of the Official Blue Microphones Podcast, released on May 7th, 2010.^[1] It places emphasis on a guitar solo, but also includes about two lines' worth of lyrics afterward. The podcast does not, however, say exactly when Imagine Dragons planned to release the studio version of "I Wish You Well". Their next EP, It's Time, ultimately saw a March 2011 release, sans "I Wish You Well".

Surviving Concert Footage

On April 13th, 2010, a full video of Imagine Dragons performing "I Wish You Well" appeared on YouTube. It shows the band giving a concert at the Velour Live Music Gallery in Provo, Utah, on April 9th, 2010, revealing that they had sung the piece more than once in public. The clip, however, boasts blurry, monochromatic visuals and vocals that sound hard to make out. Nonetheless, it currently seems like the only way Imagine Dragons fans can hear "I Wish You Well" in its entirety.