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Pat Downey Admin Group
Joined: 01 October 2003
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Posted: 29 April 2016 at 10:47am | IP Logged
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Just listened to Please Mr. Postman again to compare it to what appears on the "Horizon" cd which is the parent album for this song. There is a mix difference with the 45 being narrower stereo on this new cd than what appears on the "Horizon" cd but I noticed a tambourine on the "Horizon" cd from 2:00 to 2:02 over the line "deliver the letter" that I do not hear on the new "Complete Singles" cd so I will leave it to the bloodhounds to determine if this is a remix on the "Horizon" cd or if there is really a 45 vs LP version here that no one has yet caught!
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eriejwg MusicFan
Joined: 10 June 2007 Location: United States
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Posted: 29 April 2016 at 12:48pm | IP Logged
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A while back, Ed was kind enough to send me a copy of
Please Mr. Postman from the Japanese Singles box to
listen to.
I hear NO tambourine over the "...deliver the letter"
portion from 2:00-2:02 from the Japanese collection.
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Pat Downey Admin Group
Joined: 01 October 2003
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Posted: 29 April 2016 at 7:01pm | IP Logged
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Correct, I hear no tambourine on the 45 or on the "Complete Singles" collection. The question deals with the parent album.
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Glenpwood MusicFan
Joined: 03 April 2012
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Posted: 30 April 2016 at 10:22pm | IP Logged
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I just compared my original Horizon CD from the early nineties, my
original Horizon WLP vinyl, and the Complete Singles set I just got from
PBS and none of them have tambourine at the "deliver de letter" point.
Unless Pat's CD is the 1998 remaster which I do not have which is
allegedly the original mixes. That Should match my LP though. Richard
would have had plenty of time to make a new mix for the original album
in 1975. It was released nearly six months after Postman rang in at
number one...
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MMathews MusicFan
Joined: 18 August 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 05 May 2016 at 1:44am | IP Logged
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With Pat's help I was able to compare the assorted
versions of this from the Horizon vinyl LP, the Cd re-
issue of the LP, the promo 45, the stock 45 as well the
Complete Singles Cd and the later remix.
Pat has indeed uncovered a 45/LP version that no one has
previously mentioned! What Pat thought was a tambourine
is actually loud hi-hat hits in the right channel of the
LP version from 2:00-2:02. Those same hi-hats in the 45
are mixed much lower and are panned to the center.
Some other differences I noticed:
The 45 mix is more narrow, and has all the vocals mixed
in the center with mono reverb. The handclaps and hi-hats
are mixed to the center. The strings that come in at
about :30 only appear in the left channel. The kick-drum
is mixed to the right channel.
The Horizon LP mix is wider stereo, has some stereo
vocals and stereo reverb. The handclaps and hi-hats are
much louder and mixed to the right channel. The strings
come in in both channels, and the kick drum is in the
center. The vinyl Horizon LP and CD re-issue are the
same.
Then, there's the 1991 remix which is on a lot of
CD's...this mix is similar to the LP mix but even wider
stereo with wider mixed vocals and added stereo reverb.
This is the only version I have heard in the last 25
years that I know of.
The good news: the 45 mix apparently appears on CD for
the first time in the Complete Singles CD.
The BAD news: I'm very sorry to report that to my ears,
it is a disc dub on this CD and it sounds a bit over-
processed, like somebody used Adobe Audition's de-clicker
on too high a setting, or used CEDAR on it. This shaved
off all the top hi's in the music giving it a washed-out
sound. It's also even narrower here than the actual stock
45 is.
So, kudos for the producer knowing there was indeed a
single mix and including it, but not-so-kudos for the
disc dub. If they had just left the clicks in it at least
it would have sounded right.
[EDIT: Update! SEE BELOW]
Edited by MMathews on 07 May 2016 at 8:09pm
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EdisonLite MusicFan
Joined: 18 October 2004 Location: United States
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Posted: 05 May 2016 at 11:52am | IP Logged
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With your expert ears, Mark, and knowing that the "Complete Singles" is also the first time ever the 45 mix of "Calling Occupants" has apparently appeared on CD from master tape (the Japanese CD singles box set includes the 45 mix but also was a disc dub) -- have you heard the version of "Occupants" on "Complete Singles" and used your expert ears to determine if that's a disc dub or a master tape? It's been reported to be a tape source (from people whose ears I completely trust) but I wanted to get your take on it, in case we're all missing something and it's also an overly processed Adobe or Cedar cleaning.
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aaronk Admin Group
Joined: 16 January 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 05 May 2016 at 4:49pm | IP Logged
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I have this CD, Mark, and there's nothing about "Please Mr. Postman" that sounds like a vinyl dub to my ears. When I do a "vocal cut" in Adobe Audition, I'm still left with plenty of reverb from the vocals, so it's definitely not mono vocal reverb on my copy. Are you sure your sources are properly labeled?
__________________ Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop
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MMathews MusicFan
Joined: 18 August 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 07 May 2016 at 8:19pm | IP Logged
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Update! Ok, after hearing Aaron's copy of the Complete
Singles CD I discovered there was a technical issue with
the copy Pat sent me so the audio flaws I was hearing
were not really over-processed vinyl after all.
So good news, this set really has the single mix from
a clean tape source. So real kudos this time!
Aaron, there is some ambient reverb that remains when you
cancel the center but overall in the single mix most of
the vocal reverb is in the center behind the vocals. In
the LP and later mix it's much more of a stereo reverb
you hear in both channels.
Also the CD master is a bit narrower than the stock 45
but one can widen it a little in Audition or
similar software, if so desired.
Edison: I can't speak to "Calling Occupants" as I do not
actually own the set, but perhaps Aaron could chime in
and let us know how that sounds.
MM
Edited by MMathews on 07 May 2016 at 8:20pm
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aaronk Admin Group
Joined: 16 January 2005 Location: United States
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Posted: 07 May 2016 at 10:52pm | IP Logged
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"Occupants" sounds like tape to my ears.
__________________ Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop
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