Corey Hart - Boy In The Box

Have been unable to find a run time for the 45 version of this song.

Can the LP version be edited to match the 45? Or, are there mix differences?

the commercial 45 run time is 3:53...this s/b added to the db...

It's one edit: remove 0:54 to 1:24, and make the edit at the start of the drum fill (not the downbeat).

Todd Ireland wrote: John: The 45 is an edit of the LP version. I'll send you an e- mail.

Hi Todd,

Might I get it as well?

I initially only had Corey Hart's "Boy in the Box" on The Singles CD (EMI 94974). The thing that had always greatly bothered me about this track is how the sound quality very noticeably degrades as the song progresses. Sonically speaking, the recording starts out sounding quite nice during the first 1:40 or so, but then the high end begins to lose its luster and proceeds to gradually deteriorate even further for the remainder of the song. The volume level also perceptibly drops in the process. This can be observed via the snare drum hits, which sound sharp, crisp, and powerful during the first third of the recording and consistently peak in the -3 dB (decibels) range. But then from roughly 1:40 to 3:30, the snare drum (along with the rest of the mix) progressively loses its "punch" and becomes increasingly muffled-sounding. In fact, by the 3:30 mark, the snare strikes are only topping out between -8 dB and -7 dB.

If you're analyzing the "Boy in the Box" LP version on CD with digital editing software, try this... First, start playing the recording somewhere around the :15 to :20 mark and listen for about ten seconds. Then, immediately click the audio file at around 3:25 to 3:30 mark and begin playing the song from there. Assuming you have decent hearing, you should clearly notice the sharp contrast in sonic quality between the two sections.

I just assumed initially that this was all the result of a bad tape transfer, so I went out and bought a used copy of Corey Hart's Boy in the Box parent CD on EMI 46166, in hopes of obtaining better mastering. Much to my chagrin, the very same audio problem is also present on that CD. So, many years ago now, I used my Adobe Audition digital editing software to "remaster" the last two-thirds of "Boy in the Box" from The Singles disc by adjusting the EQ (equalization) one section at a time in an effort to match the brighter, sharper, more vibrant sonics heard during the song's first 1:40 or so. I tinkered with this for several hours and, I must say, I was quite pleased with the final result! So much so, in fact, that I then sought out a vinyl 45 dub to use as a blueprint to edit my custom "remastered" LP version down to recreate the 45 version, thus giving me an equally nice-sounding audio file of each. So, the good news is, with some basic editing software and a lot of patience and trial-and-error, the audio degradation issues present on "Boy in the Box" is resolvable!

**By the way, I just listened to a vinyl LP dub of "Boy in the Box" on YouTube, and the same audio issue is present there, though it doesn't seem to sound *quite* as drastic to my ears as on CD. It seems hard for me to believe that this mastering job could have been intentional, but I imagine we'll never know for sure.

Yep, I agree that John Parr's "Naughty Naughty" is definitely the worst offender I've ever heard regarding severe audio quality deterioration occurring midway through a CD track's playback (it's documented here in this message board thread). The first time I ever heard it, I actually thought something had gone dreadfully wrong with my headphones! Fortunately, there are CDs that contain a much better mastering of the song.

I tend to believe that the situation with "Boy in the Box" is also likely the result of some tape damage. It just seems so odd to me that a professional audio engineer would deliberately choose to master the song in such a manner where the volume and high frequency range just gradually drops off. Thus, I suspect the audio problem is either in the original master tape or perhaps just the LP master if that's what was actually used to master the album's CD release.   It's my understanding that record labels were known to use LP mixdown tapes to master a number of CD releases during in the mid-'80s in a hasty attempt to rush out CD product to keep up with the format's soaring consumer demand. Unless Universal or some other label ever attempts to reissue and remaster Boy in the Box on CD, my "homemade" remastering job is probably as good as we're going to hear the title track sound.

Edited by Todd Ireland