Top 40 Music on Compact Disc: Rivers of Babylon

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Topic: Rivers of Babylon - Boney M

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Todd Ireland
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Posted: 13 January 2009 at 7:36pm \| IP Logged

As Jim pointed out earlier in this thread, the 45 run time of Boney M's "Rivers of Babylon" is 4:20. I compared it to the 45 version appearance on the Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 8: Seventies Pop Classics CD running 4:17 and have determined that the CD runs slightly faster than the 45, thus accounting for the :03 discrepency. So perhaps the database comment for the Hard to Find 45s disc be modified to read "45 version but slightly faster"?

eriejwg
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Posted: 13 January 2009 at 7:54pm \| IP Logged

Great song.

Edited by eriejwg on 13 January 2009 at 7:56pm

Hykker
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Posted: 14 January 2009 at 7:06am \| IP Logged

Yah Shure wrote:

"Rivers Of Babylon" was a huge record at my station. It tested through the roof, had heavy sales and generated extremely heavy phones. Consequently, it was a big hour-opener.

bwolfe wrote:

"Babylon" was also a hit in the Johnstown, PA market.
Their "Mary's Boy Child" is also a Christmas favorite
in the market too.

Strange to see regional hits even into the late 70s/early 80s. I was living in the Boston area at the time and don't ever recall hearing anything by Boney M. It wasn't until the mid-90s we started getting calls for "Mary's Boychild" at the N.H. CHR I worked for at the time. We were able to find a copy in a used record store to dub in the automation...it was completely unfamiliar to me.

EdisonLite
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Posted: 14 January 2009 at 10:42am \| IP Logged

That's ironic, because I was listening to Boston radio stations in the late '70s and remember hearing Boney M a lot -- but particularly their other charted single "Daddy Cool." That got quite a lot of airplay. "Rivers of Babylon" I don't think I heard as much but still I knew it. What stations were you listening to? Though I can't remember now exactly what stations I heard those songs on, the main stations I heard then were WBZ-FM, WVBF (both in Boston) and PRO-FM (in Providence RI).

Todd Ireland
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Posted: 14 March 2009 at 8:57am \| IP Logged

Pat:

Regarding Boney M's "Rivers of Babylon", the database currently lists the song's appearance on the Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 8: Seventies Pop Classics CD (Eric 11514) with the comment: "45 version but slightly slower". The comment should actually state: "45 version but slightly faster".

edtop40
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Posted: 03 July 2012 at 11:40am \| IP Logged

i just re-listened to my commercial 45 versus the version
on the 'hard to find vol 8' cd and they're identical and
run 4:17.....if that cd is faster, it's immaterial to my
ears.....my commercial 45 run out groove info is
'SRE-1027-WAA-7948-5-JW2#1'....does anyone else have a
different 45?

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EdisonLite
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Posted: 25 February 2013 at 1:25am \| IP Logged

Has the extended version of "Rivers of Babylon" (running approximately 7 1/2 minutes) come out on import CD? Boney M was so HUGE in Europe, especially UK and probably Germany, that it seems like it ought to be on some European CD, either a Boney M one, or a CD of 12" mixes.

Also, this 3:45 US DJ edit (that sounds like a different mix than the regular US 45, if I read the above posts correctly) - has this ever been on an import CD?

Edited by EdisonLite on 25 February 2013 at 1:26am

davidclark
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Posted: 04 September 2014 at 12:35am \| IP Logged

after reading the above, seems we have still not solved the mystery of the 45
timing begin 4:17 (as per edtop40's 45) or 4:20 (as per Jim's). Two 45s out
at the time would explain this discrepancy, perhaps, as per Todd, each
differing in speed.

What I don't read above, is how the LP version is different from the 45. Can
anyone chime in here?

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smvceo
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Posted: 13 September 2014 at 7:40am \| IP Logged

"Rivers of Babylon" came in on DAT for use on the ERIC compact disc release. Since the pitch of the audio on the DAT could not vary from the pitch at which the analog reel was played when the DAT was recorded, and the DAT-to-WAV dub was done via a TOSLINK optical cable, no variation in pitch could have been introduced during that dubbing procedure. If any difference in pitch was introduced when Warner Bros. dubbed the song to DAT for us, it was caused by Warner's reel deck that was used to play the analog 45 master. During the analog era, a slight difference in pitch was considered acceptable, due to analog tape decks having AC motors. These were not as precise as quartz-locked direct drive turntables, and since slight pitch differences weren't detectable via the naked ear, the labels didn't think it was anything to worry about. A good example of this is the 12" single of Steve Miller's "Abracadabra," which is noticeably much slower than the 45. Still, Capitol found no fault with issuing it with the slower pitch. As a former mastering engineer, and the one who mastered "Rivers of Babylon" for the ERIC release, I have to say that the :03 difference in playing time is inconsequential, since the average listener would never notice it, and to make a big deal out of it is being anally retentive.

Edited by smvceo on 13 September 2014 at 7:41am

aaronk
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Posted: 13 September 2014 at 11:58am \| IP Logged

smvceo wrote:

I have to say that the :03 difference in playing time is inconsequential, since the average listener would never notice it, and to make a big deal out of it is being anally retentive.

If you've spent any amount of time on Pat's board, you've probably noticed that pretty much all of us are anally retentive :) Isn't that what makes this group so wonderful?!?

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Aaron Kannowski
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davidclark
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Posted: 15 September 2014 at 6:50am \| IP Logged

extremely well put, Aaron. Besides, we do have the "3 second rule" too!

And, I have since determined what is different b/n the LP and 45.

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aaronk
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Posted: 15 September 2014 at 7:59am \| IP Logged

Thanks, David. I would also like to add that we are all "above average" listeners.

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Aaron Kannowski
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MMathews
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Posted: 15 September 2014 at 4:12pm \| IP Logged

As another of our wonderful anally retentive, above average listeners... with Tom's help and a pristine 45 dub I can confirm for David that the :03 difference is indeed pitch. All of the audio is there, so if you pitch our Eric master down you will get the 4:20 time.

David, I'll also add that the LP version, even though similar in time, has different ad-lib vocals at the end of the song.

davidclark
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Posted: 16 September 2014 at 3:53am \| IP Logged

thanks, Mark. I also hear vocal differences from 2:05 to 2:21, so more than
just the ad-libs? Assuming I was sent the correct LP version....

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AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 16 September 2014 at 8:00am \| IP Logged

To all the above posters:

I would really like to hear the USA vinyl album version of this hit.

Could anyone who owns the American LP point me to a YouTube video or Spotify track or send me a file of it (or its equivalent)?

Andy [etidjATverizon.net]

AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 16 September 2014 at 3:47pm \| IP Logged

Thanks to 'Yah Shure' for letting me hear his clean dub of the album version!

Andy

davidclark
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Posted: 17 September 2014 at 5:20am \| IP Logged

Andrew, can you please report on the difference b/n the LP and 45 version?
Are my comments valid?

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AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 17 September 2014 at 6:58pm \| IP Logged

To DavidClark:

Here's my report.

First of all, the *basic mixes* are overall very similar.

Of note: My 45 is somewhat slower than the album version & my 45 is somewhat duller/higher-generation than the album version. However, the ERIC dub of the single is yet a little bit faster than even the album version, much clearer/crisper, but its channels are reversed!

Approx. the first 2:05 of my single & album are the same.

From approx. 2:05 thru approx. 2:23 the difference is as follows: album has only producer Frank Farian singing; single has lead singer Liz Mitchell singing on top of Farian, beginning with "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah".

From approx. 2:23 thru approx. 3:13 both album & single are nearly identical.

Then the piano solo on the album from approx. 3;13 thru approx. 3:29 is edited right out of the 45.

From approx. 3:29 OF THE ALBUM thru the album's end of 4:22 both album & single are the same, except the single goes on LONGER for approx. 9 seconds.

Confusing? No doubt. But after all of this analyzation I still love this record (I prefer the single version).

Andy

Edited by AndrewChouffi on 17 September 2014 at 7:03pm

davidclark
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Posted: 17 September 2014 at 11:34pm \| IP Logged

Andrew, I am still confused.

I hear the piano in my version of the LP version from 3:13 to 3:29, it is just
mixed down, and the 45 during that portion has male background singers
doing "ahh ahh ahh ahh" repeatedly where the LP does not. You didn't
mention the ad-libs being different towards the end, which I can detect as
well as it has already been reported above.

Also, if the 45 goes on for 9 seconds longer, it would run much longer than
the 4:20 posted on this page. How long is your 45?

Could you send me a dub of the version Yah Shure sent you?

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AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 18 September 2014 at 3:26pm \| IP Logged

To DavidClark:

I can see where I was misunderstood. I probably should have written "Then the PASSAGE on the album from approx. 3:13 thru approx. 3:29 (the piano solo) is EDITED RIGHT OUT of the 45".

In other words: before you compare the album with the 45 you must edit out 3:13 thru 3:29 of the album version. Then the differences I've pointed out will be clearer!

Andy

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