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Yah Shure
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| Posted: 21 May 2010 at 6:11pm | IP Logged
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RichM921 wrote:
Getting back to "Tempted"...
This morning on the radio, I heard a version where the vocals were different. It had the same instrumentation and the same two lead voices, but the inflection was different. It didn't sound like a later recording, but more like an alternate vocal take. Anyone know what the story is on this version? |
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Rich, might it have been the "Tempted (94)" single from the Reality Bites soundtrack?
Squeeze - "Tempted (94)" label scan
Squeeze - "Tempted (94)" picture sleeve
This was designated as "Side One" on both the 45's label and picture sleeve. The other side - which charted at #91 in April, 1994 - was an edited remix of "My Sharona" by the Knack, and was designated as "Side A" on both label and pic sleeve. Cute. :)
EDIT: Andy beat me to it!
Edited by Yah Shure on 21 May 2010 at 6:13pm
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RichM921
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| Posted: 21 May 2010 at 7:43pm | IP Logged
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Yup, this was probably it! Thanks guys!
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 22 May 2010 at 8:45am | IP Logged
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crapfromthepast wrote:
RichM921 wrote:
| As for "What I Like About You" I had never heard of that one either until the Michael Morales version hit in 1989. |
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At the time that the Michael Morales album was out, the Romantics' original version of the song was still unavailable on CD. I'm convinced that Mr. Morales sold a lot more CDs than he would have if the original were in the marketplace at the time! |
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I'm sure I'm representing a minority opinion, but I've always liked Michael Morales' version of "What I Like About You" better than the original. To me, it boasts more punch and raw energy and I wasn't surprised to see his version chart higher on Billboard (though I think both versions were worthy of Top 10 status). When Morales' cover tune came out in the fall of 1989, I took his self-titled CD to my friend who was the DJ at our school's homecoming dance, urged him to play it, and it received one of the best responses on the dance floor that night. Granted, I haven't heard Morales' version even once on the radio since falling off the Top 40 chart over 20 years ago! Every station faithfully plays the Romantics' version.
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Fetta
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| Posted: 08 February 2013 at 1:25pm | IP Logged
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Did we ever uncover if there is a difference between the 45 and lp version? All appearances that I own have a time of 3:59-4:02. Whitburn's annual lists a time of 3:53.
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 24 February 2014 at 9:39pm | IP Logged
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I have "Tempted" on 15 different CDs, so I've never been tempted (ahem) to play my 45, which even has a neato picture sleeve. I highly, highly doubt that there's a difference between LP and 45, but I can't confirm. I think the Singles 45s And Under disc might have used all the 45 versions, but I don't have the others on vinyl to compare. The timing differences are due to speed errors; detailed below. "Tempted" has been readily available on CD since 1987. I'll try to give a mastering history as best I can.
The original '80s-era A&M East Side Story (copyright 1981) really doesn't sound so good. Too bad, because it's one of the very best pop albums of all time. If you mono out "Tempted", you'll hear a little bit of warble due to tape head misalignment; I haven't checked the other tracks. Polygram's promo PGD Presents Great Sounds Vol. 1 (1991) is digitally identical to East Side Story.
By the way, I've heard that the MFSL release of East Side Story is absolutely stunning, but that's $$$$ and way out of my league.
The song appeared on the Squeeze best-of Singles 45s And Under (copyright 1982, not sure when appeared on CD). I like the sound on this disc. EQ is mid-rangy, which emphasizes the vocals very nicely. I've seen Singles 45s And Under repackaged as the 20th Century Masters Millennium Collection, but I don't know if it's been remastered. The same analog transfer is used on:- Priority's Rock Of The '80s Vol. 1 (1990; sounds good but clips at -3 dB on bottom half of waveform on L channel only)
- PolyGram's promo PGD Presents Sound Savers Vol. 6 (1995; digitally exactly 1.3 dB quieter)
- Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 2 1980-1981 (1999; digitally exactly 1 dB quieter)
The song appears on A&M's Classics Vol. 25 (1987), as one of their purple 25th anniversary collections. It sounds OK here, but it runs about 1.5% too slow, which is noticeable and unacceptable. The track selection on Classics is pretty weird, as well - not the best representation of the band. Two other discs that also run too slow, but don't use the same analog transfer:- Universal's Pure '80s (1999; also has L/R channels reversed and boomy EQ - avoid)
- Time-Life's 2-CD Classic Soft Rock Vol. 3 Into The Night (2006)
The soundstage/balance is screwed up on Chrysalis's The Carrack Collection (1988) - avoid.
The A&M Greatest Hits disc uses great source tapes, has a very nice EQ, has plenty of dynamic range,... but uses noise reduction. You can hear a little bit of swirliness on the fade, which isn't present on any of the other discs here. Too bad, because this would have been an A+ collection without the noise reduction. Realm's 3-CD Greatest Hits Of The '80s Vol. 3 (2002) is a differently EQ'd digital clone, but is about 6 dB louder and clips a lot - avoid.
I'm not positive, but I think Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 3 (1994) may be based on the mastering for Singles 45s And Under. Both sound pretty close. Amazingly, the Rhino disc actually rolls off some of the high end, compared to Singles. Both sound good. The same analog transfer is used on:- Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 25 Rolling Stone 1980-1981 (1995)
- Time-Life's Modern Rock '80s Grooves (1999)
Keep in mind that there are rerecordings out there. The Reality Bites soundtrack has "Tempted '94", where it's all brand new, and Paul Carrack isn't singing lead. Same deal on Spot The Difference (2010). There are three different live versions on The Complete BBC Session (2008), but you'd probably know that in advance if you shelled out $$$ for that collection.
If I had to pick the best-sounding version out of all of the above (excluding the MFSL East Side Story), I'd go with A&M's Singles 45s And Under (1982). Plus, the track selection is top-notch, with no weak links at all.
You can probably tell that I'm a Squeeze fan...
Edited by crapfromthepast on 25 February 2014 at 7:54am
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 25 February 2014 at 4:55am | IP Logged
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crapfromthepast wrote:
| You can probably tell that I'm a Squeeze fan... |
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Same here. :-) But the funny thing is, while I've never hated it, "Tempted" has never really done anything for me - in fact, if anything, after 30+ years, I've just grown tired of hearing it over & over again! In addition, Paul Carrack's lead vocals have always sounded out-of-place to me on that song, mainly because he wasn't an original member, and didn't even stick w/ the band, going forward (even if he did briefly re-join them for about a year and one album, circa 1993-94). "Black Coffee in Bed" remains my favorite of theirs (how is it that it DIED at #103 in Billboard, as the lead single to their follow-up album on the heels of their success w/ "Tempted"?!?), along w/ "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)". Heck, at this point, I'll even take "Hourglass" - a fun song, w/ a cool video to boot - over "Tempted"... :-)
I caught Squeeze live in 2010, when they co-headlined a brief U.S. tour w/ Cheap Trick(!). (Hey, I'm a big CT fan, too - in fact, that was actually my THIRD time seeing them over the years.) Squeeze were in fine form that night, although what struck me the most was that they were "all business" on stage - no stories, talking between songs, or any other interaction w/ the crowd (e.g., having the audience participate by singing the chorus to any of their hits, introducing the band members, etc.). Aside from a couple of "thank you"'s, they just pretty much went up there and played the songs - no drawn-out solos, either - which is in sharp contrast to most older American acts these days. (BTW, same goes for two other acts that I've seen in concert over the last several years, Tears for Fears and Psychedelic Furs - so it must be a Brit thing, lol...)
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| The song appeared on the Squeeze best-of Singles 45s And Under (copyright 1982, not sure when appeared on CD). |
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The CD version first came out here in the U.S. in 1983 or '84, as it was one of the earliest CD releases Stateside; I actually have an original Japan-for-U.S. pressing of that one, which is pretty rare...
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| "Tempted" has been readily available on CD since 1987. |
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You can push that date back to 1984, because in addition to Singles-45's and Under, the song's original parent album, 1981's East Side Story, was also one of the earliest CD releases here, as Japan-for-U.S. pressings of that one circa 1984-85 also exist (although I don't own one myself). It just goes to show that - despite missing the top 40 here - "Tempted" was already considered a classic by the mid '80s, and A&M was more than happy to try and ca$h in on it...
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| I'll try to give a mastering history as best I can...The original '80s-era A&M East Side Story (copyright 1981) really doesn't sound so good. |
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I'm going to assume that your copy of East Side Story on A&M CD 3253 is a U.S. pressing from the late '80s or beyond, and NOT one of the original Japan-for-U.S. pressings made around 1984-85 (please confirm). The reason these earliest CD pressings from Japan, West Germany, and a few other foreign countries are considered collectible today - especially among audiophiles like yourself - is because they almost always contain masterings that weren't tinkered w/, such as new EQ, noise reduction, "brickwalling", etc., and as a member of the Steve Hoffman forum, I know you're already well aware of that. :-) Therefore, it is highly likely that the masterings found on the early Japan-for-U.S. pressings of both Singles-45's and Under and East Side Story differ from those heard on your later U.S. pressings, which is what you analyzed and gave your opinions on above. So I wonder if you may be jumping the gun on ESS here???
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| ...East Side Story [is] one of the very best pop albums of all time. |
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| By the way, I've heard that the MFSL release of East Side Story is absolutely stunning, but that's $$$$ and way out of my league. |
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Yeah, while not extremely rare, the MFSL version can currently be had on eBay for about $40-$50, and even I'm not willing to go that high - so that's perfectly understandable! However, since you gave the album such accolades, why not go w/ what is likely the second-best thing, i.e., one of those first Japan-for-U.S. pressings, since they can be acquired for so much less??? (I'd buy one myself, except that I readily admit I don't have either the tools or skills to analyze the audio quality the way that you can & do!) A quick search of the current listings on eBay yields at least FOUR copies to choose from, the first one that I've linked to below having the best pics, so that you can be sure of what you're getting:
Copy #1 ($18.99 + FREE shipping)
Copy #2 ($12.99 + $3.00 shipping)
Copy #3 ($12.50 + FREE shipping)
Copy #4 (sale-priced for three more days @ $10.20 + $3.00 shipping)
So if you do elect to buy one, I look forward to seeing your analysis here vs. the other CDs that you've already covered - and honestly, being the audiophile that you are, I'm a bit surprised you don't collect more of these first/early CD pressings circa 1983-87 by other acts (V/A compilations notwithstanding, of course!)...
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Ringmaster_D
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| Posted: 25 February 2014 at 7:09am | IP Logged
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crapfromthepast wrote:
| Keep in mind that there are rerecordings out there. The Reality Bites soundtrack has "Tempted '94", where it's all brand new, and Paul Carrack isn't singing lead. |
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A minor correction here. Carrack is indeed singing lead on "Tempted '94" but it's a newly-recorded vocal, and a good one at that. Actually, this version uses much of the backing track from the original version (including Elvis Costello's vocals) but adds additional overdubs. It does not supplant the original, but it is a very interesting listen.
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 25 February 2014 at 7:43pm | IP Logged
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I actually have two copies of East Side Story on
CD. Both are '80s-era, unremastered, catalog number CD
3253, "AM+" logo (although that doesn't mean anything).
One is Japan-for-US, matrix number CD-3253 1A5 77.
The other looks identical to the Japan disc in every way,
except "Made In USA" replaces the original "Made In
Japan", and does so with a slightly larger font, matrix
number CD3253 2/92 1DA4.
Both have the tape head-alignment problem on "Tempted"
and a few other tracks - not all of them, though. It
sounds pretty good until you hit the "mono" button, then
it's full o' warble. I didn't check to see if they're
digitally identical, although I suspect that they are.
Edited by crapfromthepast on 25 February 2014 at 7:45pm
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80smusicfreak
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| Posted: 26 February 2014 at 4:43am | IP Logged
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Thanks for the additional details, cftp. It appears your U.S. pressing of ESS is indeed the first American-made version from the late '80s, and based on your expert analysis, simply carried over the same mastering as the initial Japan-for-U.S. pressings circa 1984-85. I don't know when (or how many times) the album has been remastered on CD over the years, but it was last re-issued here in the U.S. in 2007 on American Beat - and while now out-of-print, can still be had for cheap, so that may be another option...
Edited by 80smusicfreak on 26 February 2014 at 4:54am
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vanmeter
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| Posted: 26 February 2014 at 6:39am | IP Logged
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Gosh, I certainly remember it from MTV very early on, that's how I knew about it and "What I Like About You" both. I remember Charlie's "It's Inevitable" from around that time, too. This would be about 1983 or so as well as I can recall.
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David Pro
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| Posted: 05 September 2020 at 7:17am | IP Logged
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To answer the original question,
the album version runs 4:03,
whereas the 3:53 version is the US
45 version.
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LunarLaugh
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The music video that ran on MTV, VH-1 and currently is up
on YouTube has the song running at a slower speed due to
the difference in US/UK frame rates and the age of the
transfer. You'd think after all these years, someone
might want to track down the original source materials
and remaster those clips in better quality for posterity
but it would seem that train has sailed. The band weren't
happy with that video anyhow. Apparently the original
clip they made for "Tempted" that they preferred was
scrapped by the label in favor of the rushed, cheaply
made performance clip that we all know and love.
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Squeeze - Tempted
