| Author |
|
Bill Cahill
MusicFan
Joined: 27 June 2005
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 595
|
| Posted: 04 December 2016 at 4:36am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I now have both the original album and stock single. I don't hear the high end EQed that brightly on either, seems to have started in the CD
era. Also the single sounds slightly different to me but not by much. Instruments are all at the same locations, but it sounds like there's
more reverb (not echo) on the the voice. Also the strings sound louder to me on the intro and at other parts of the song (on the 45).
However, both slight differences may be a result of more "compression" added to the single. All CD issues that I have heard sound like the
LP. Or, I'm just hearing things.. would love to get other reviews.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
crapfromthepast
MusicFan
Joined: 14 September 2006
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2239
|
| Posted: 04 December 2016 at 4:14pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Bill sent me a WAV file of "Sky High" from Eclipse Music Group/EMI's Rock 'N Roll Relix 1974-1975 (1997).
I'm happy to report that it sounds like it uses the same source tape as the Jigsaw Best Of, but about 6 dB quieter, and with a significantly larger dynamic range than Best Of over most of the song (all but the first 30 seconds and 1:25-1:40). The dynamic range very closely matches what's found on the 45. Relix lacks the added compression/limiting that's found on Best Of, which is very good. The fade starting and ending points match those on Best Of. The EQ on Relix is a little more restrained and less midrange-heavy than Best Of, but only a little.
On the needledrop of the 45 that I have, the very tail of the fade runs about 1 second longer than Relix. I can live with that.
My impression: I prefer Relix, which was a very pleasant surprise.
__________________
There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Steve Carras
MusicFan
Joined: 29 July 2005
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 177
|
| Posted: 14 October 2017 at 1:32pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
EdisonLite wrote:
Sorry to pass on this bad news, but since this song has been in discussion a lot recently, I thought I'd pass it on:
Clive Scott, founding member of Jigsaw and the co-writer of all their songs (with member Des Dyer) passed away yesterday. He fell from a ladder 2 weeks ago and had surgery on his brain. Unfortunately, he had a stroke a couple of days ago and did not survive.
Clive was a friend of mine (and a co-writer of mine, too) and his wife just wrote me to tell me the sad news.
Clive and Des also wrote "Who Do You Think You Are", which became a top 15 hit for Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods.
I often spoke to Clive over the phone and it's hard to believe he's gone ... and from such a fluke accident.
|
|
|
RIP..sorry to hear all of that..except that you had the good fortune when he was alive to have been very good friends with him! That must have been fun to know him! I've always liked Sky High (and like an earlier 1975 US hit, the Ozark Mtn.Daredevils's "Jackie Blue", this always sounded like a girl singing when it ain't.)
Thank you for posting..
__________________
You know you're really older when you think that younger singer Jesse McCartney's related in anyway to former Beatle Paul McCartney.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Bill Cahill
MusicFan
Joined: 27 June 2005
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 595
|
| Posted: 14 October 2017 at 7:30pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
It looks like there were at least two mixes of "Sky High".
My Jigsaw LP contains the same mix that I hear on every CD that I own. This mix can be noted by a kettle drum hit in the right channel (unless my channels are reversed) at 1:03, and a rather loud "ding" at
1:17 in the right channel. My two stock copies of the single, mix down both of those instruments so they are barely heard, I'm not even sure that I hear the kettle drum hit on the single. Plus the strings
sound louder overall on the single. Of course there could have been different mixes on different pressings of the 45 and LP, I don't know. Instrument placement is the same on both versions, it's just that
the single seems to be more "leveled out".
All of those "mastered from vinyl" CDs in the database and the Rock "n" Roll Relix 1974-1974 CD all sound the same as my LP, with the louder kettle drum and ding. So are all CD issues this mix? Has the other
mix, which are on both of my stock 45s appeared anywhere?
If all pressings of the LP and Single contain the mixes that I have, then there is an LP and a Single mix.
Edited by Bill Cahill on 14 October 2017 at 7:34pm
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
sriv94
MusicFan
Joined: 16 September 2005
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1456
|
| Posted: 16 October 2017 at 1:09pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Does the 45 emphasize the marimba/xylophone hits during the chorus? (My guess is no, and what I'm hearing when I preview the (2:50ish) versions
on iTunes is possibly a British mix of the song.)
__________________
Doug
---------------
All of the good signatures have been taken.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
EdisonLite
MusicFan
Joined: 18 October 2004
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2237
|
| Posted: 18 October 2017 at 6:55pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Steve Carras wrote:
RIP..sorry to hear all of that..except that you had the good fortune when he was alive to have been very good friends with him! That must have been fun to know him! I've always liked Sky High (and like an earlier 1975 US hit, the Ozark Mtn.Daredevils's "Jackie Blue", this always sounded like a girl singing when it ain't.)
Thank you for posting.. |
|
|
Yes, it was great to know Clive Scott. Most people think of Jigsaw as a 1-hit or 2-hit wonder in the US. But in the UK, they actually had many LPs and a total of 160 songs released. I knew much of their catalog of songs in the '70s and then discovered the rest (of their '70s and early '80s songs) in the mid '90s. For me, the group is way up there as a pop group, a personal favorite. To anyone who doesn't know they did anything more than "Sky High", they must think I'm crazy for ranking the group so high. Sky high, in fact :)
Edited by EdisonLite on 18 October 2017 at 6:55pm
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
EdisonLite
MusicFan
Joined: 18 October 2004
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2237
|
| Posted: 18 October 2017 at 6:59pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
If anyone can get to the bottom of this single mix vs. album mix definitely, let me know. I was just in touch with Jigsaw's former manager a week ago, and maybe he can shed some light. But I'd rather write him with some definitive differences that we are sure of. (Sometimes compression on a CD can make certain instruments stand out louder, but it's not really a different mix). He didn't produce their material but he's very familiar with it, so he may very well know of a unique single version. There was, of course, the movie soundtrack version (The film had 2 names, one of which was "The Man From Hong Kong" IIRC) and that version has appeared on some import CDs. And then there were remixes done in the '90s. In fact, I just ordered 3 Jigsaw CDs yesterday - their 1970 album, their 1971 album - and a 2 CD compilation including about 6-8 different (new) remixes of "Sky High". Generally, I don't like modern remixes of old songs, but I'm curious to hear this, plus the 2 CD set had a lot of other rarities on it.
Edited by EdisonLite on 18 October 2017 at 7:00pm
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
EdisonLite
MusicFan
Joined: 18 October 2004
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2237
|
| Posted: 18 October 2017 at 7:01pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
PS. Jigsaw was more psychadelic during their 1970-1971 era - very different from "Sky High". So for those of you who like early '70s psychadelic music, you might want to check some of this out.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
EdisonLite
MusicFan
Joined: 18 October 2004
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2237
|
| Posted: 03 February 2020 at 3:11pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I finally A-B'd the single and album versions of "Sky High", with Bill Cahill's comments above in mind. There DEFINITELY is a different mix for the single, and it should be noted in the database. It's not a compression issue. I agree with Bill's comments - plus found 2 more differences. In summary, here are all the points I could find where the mixes differ (Bill's observations and mine). On the single:
*There's more reverb on the vocals
*The vocals are louder in the mix
*At 1:03, the kettle drum/ding is much softer
*At 1:17, the kettle drum/ding is much softer
(Both instances above may be the same sound, but in one case, it's mixed so low it's hard to tell)
*The strings are mixed louder on the single, but by Chorus 2 (1:56) the strings are mixed softer than the LP mix
*The overall volume level seems pretty evened out on the single, whereas on the album Chorus 3 is definitely louder than Chorus 1 (not so on the single). This is consistent with Bill's point that the single is most likely compressed.
It's hard to compare them perfectly because the 2 sources are so different (and one being from vinyl while the other from CD). There may be other subtle differences as well. Based on all this, I definitely think this warrants an "LP version" notation in the database for all CDs.
I have a ton of import Jigsaw CDs, which I should check, but all masters were probably provided by Chas Peate, the owner, so it's doubtful he was aware of this and even ever transferred the single master tape to digital. If any CDs were sourced by the Japanese (or other countries') labels, then there's a chance.
Edited by EdisonLite on 03 February 2020 at 3:14pm
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
Active Topics 
Memberlist 
Search 
Help
Register 
Login
Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: "Sky High" - Jigsaw
