Top 40 Music on Compact Disc: Pilot of the Airwaves

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torcan
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Posted: 30 March 2007 at 6:01am \| IP Logged

Something I've always wondered about: on my 45 of Charlie Dore's "Pilot of the Airwaves" from 1980, it states "3:15, edited version". I've always wondered what the full version was like.

Years ago I vaguely recall hearing what I thought was the album version on the radio at one time, and at the end, instead of the a capella ending she sings something like "...oh, won't you play a song for me" a few times and then it just fades.

Am I remembering right? Is this the only difference or are there other differences? And what's the actualy timing of the LP version? Anyone know?

sriv94
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Posted: 30 March 2007 at 7:14am \| IP Logged

That's about it. The LP version doesn't have the a cappella ending and the music does continue before fading. My CD version (from the Rebound #1 Radio Hits of the 80s disc) runs about (3:54).

Not sure it's possible the make the 45 out of the LP (don't know if the last music note of what would be the 45 version holds on long enough for one to splice the beginning a cappella passage onto). (And if you can figure that one out, please explain it to me.)

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edtop40
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Posted: 05 April 2009 at 8:22pm \| IP Logged

my commercial 45 issued as island 49166 states the version as the "edit" version with a listed run time of 3:15 but actually runs 3:18 and is identical to the version below, EXCEPT that there is a noticible audio flub around the 2:51 mark of the song that the 45 DOESN'T have.....do any of the other cd versions have this flub??

(S) (3:18) Rhino 71891 Radio Daze: Pop Hits Of The 80's Volume Two (45 version

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eriejwg
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Posted: 05 April 2009 at 9:20pm \| IP Logged

Ed: If you have the other CD listed in the database as having the 'edit' version, then digital surgery can easily be performed. ;)

Jody Thornton
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Posted: 06 April 2009 at 8:22pm \| IP Logged

If you listen to the ending acapella on the 45, and listen to the final note preceding it, you will hear a second note come up, but it is very hard to hear - as the music have nearly faded at this point, and is drowned by the vocals.

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Todd Ireland
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Posted: 06 April 2009 at 9:39pm \| IP Logged

Ed:

I have the 45 version of "Pilot of the Airwaves" on the other database CD The 80's Pop Explosion (K-Tel 3342) and I do not detect an audio glitch of any kind at the 2:51 mark. Surprisingly, the sound quality of the song on this CD is significantly better than on the Radio Daze: Pop Hits Of The 80's Volume Two disc, which makes me wonder if a second or third generation tape source might have gotten used for the latter compilation.

edtop40
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Posted: 10 April 2009 at 10:32am \| IP Logged

paul was kind enough to send me a wave file of the version from the cd below

(S) (3:16) K-Tel 3342 The 80's Pop Explosion (45 version)

and it DOESN'T have the flutter at the 2:52 mark of the song and this version is identical to the vinyl 45 version running 3:16....this info should be noted in the db..

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crapfromthepast
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Posted: 26 February 2021 at 8:28pm \| IP Logged

After a group collaboration of 40+ emails, I can finally report on "Pilot Of The Airwaves".

LP version

It also appears to be the 45 version on the Netherlands, Brazil, and Germany. (Based on printed times from Discogs.)

The LP version has printed time of 3:53. It begins with an a cappella portion, and after the long note around 2:53, comes back with a mostly instrumental portion that fades.

You have a handful of choices to find the LP version on CD.

It's on Polygram Special Markets' cheapie #1 Radio Hits Of The 80's (1997), where it sounds just fine, with a nice source tape, great dynamic range, nice EQ, and some pleasing tape hiss over the fade. The collection is produced by Howard Smiley. (I don't know who that is.)

It's also on Rebound's No. 1 Hits Of The 80's (1997). This collection is also produced by Howard Smiley, who seemed positively giddy to place the Charlie Dore track on every collection he worked on in 1997. It seems that this collection was repackaged under various names on the Collectables label. I can't vouch for sound quality on this one.

And finally, it appears on a 2005 rerelease of the full Charlie Dore album Where To Now on Lemon Recordings (a UK label). It sounds great here, also with a nice source tape, great dynamic range, and a nice EQ. The tail of the fade is a second or two longer than the Polygram disc, which is very nice. There's a little less tape hiss here than on the Polygram disc, so the Lemon mastering either rolled off the high end with EQ or used some gentle noise reduction. No complaints, really - it sounds really good here.

You'll be pleased with the Polygram disc or the Lemon disc. I'd guess that the Rebound/Collectables disc would sound comparable to the Polygram disc, but can't confirm.

LP version faded early

This has a printed time of 3:34, and was the 45 version in Australia and New Zealand. (Based on printed times from Discogs.)

I have a terrible-sounding version of this, which may be from an Australian 2-CD set from BMG called Living In The 80's Vol. 2 (1998). The EQ gets weird on the fade (evidence of noise reduction), and I may hear some turntable rumble at the end of the fade. Avoid.

US 45 version

This was also on the Canadian 45. (Based on printed times from Discogs.)

I can attest firsthand that this version got virtually all the radio airplay back in 1980 when the song was a hit. I never even heard the LP version until many, many years later.

The US 45 on Island Records has a printed time of 3:15 and a designation of "(Edit)". It begins and ends with the same a cappella portion. The 45 can't quite be edited down from the LP version, because the a cappella portion at the end of the song has a tail that extends farther than it does on the first portion of the song. The middle portion of the song runs at 119.2 BPM (a live drummer playing to a click track).

It appears on swaitek's promo 50-CD set The A List (1994), where it's clearly from vinyl, and is likely taken from a TM Century mastering. You can do better. For what it's worth, it runs 119.2 BPM throughout on this mastering, which is the same speed as the vinyl 45 (as it should be, since TM Century literally played a vinyl 45).

You have exactly two commercially-available CDs to choose from for the 45 version.

The first is a cheapie 10-song collection on K-Tel called The 80's Pop Explosion (1994). It runs 3:16 here, and sounds pretty terrible. I hear artifacts from noise reduction, and the tail of the fade is shortened. Avoid.

The second is Rhino's Radio Daze Vol. 2 (1995). It runs 3:18 here, with a nice, untruncated tail to the fade. It has great dynamic range, nice EQ, and no evidence of noise reduction. I believe that it uses a low-generation tape source, and I think it sounds significantly better than the K-Tel disc. Others in the group noticed that the song has a little tape drag starting with the beginning of the guitar solo. That's true, but I hadn't noticed it until it was pointed out to me and I made measurements to confirm. (It's not nearly as bad as some of the early masterings of "Le Freak", for example, which had some nausea-inducing tape drag.)

It's possible to mix-and-match the Rhino disc with one of the others to get the 45 ending (and long tail to the fade), and using a tape transfer that's free from tape drag. Personally, I'm fine with the Rhino disc, and if you're trying to find the 45 on CD, I'd recommend buying the Rhino disc.

Hopefully I didn't leave out any details. Thanks to the dozen(s) of board members who helped assemble all of the above info.

Edited by crapfromthepast on 14 March 2023 at 11:57am

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eriejwg
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Posted: 26 February 2021 at 9:11pm \| IP Logged

It may be my copy of the Rhino CD, which I was able to
download in FLAC years ago, but was there some added
compression added to this track on the Rhino CD, or do I
have a funky copy?

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NightAire
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Posted: 27 February 2021 at 3:11am \| IP Logged

John,

I hear the same thing. It brings the reverb in the acapella section WAY up and is damaging the dynamics once you've been able to compare it to the LP version. (Unless the original single was more compressed than the LP, which I understand sometimes labels did.)

I didn't want to add this to the already long list of emails on this subject, but I was going through Discogs and noticed the first 7" U.S. promo listed has a stereo side and a mono side.

The mono side HAS to be a fold-down of the stereo side... doesn't it? Does anybody have this promo who can confirm one way or another?

I'm 99.9% sure that's the case so I really didn't want to clutter inboxes further with this, but I'm also 99% sure that in 1980 an awful lot of top 40 was still being played on AM... and this sounds like an AM hit if there ever was one... and they likely would have played the mono side... so, heaven help us if there WAS a mix difference, I would be tempted to brand it the "hit" mix.

I know, I know, but that's what this board is all about! :)

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AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 27 February 2021 at 7:57am \| IP Logged

To John and Gene:

What I believe you're hearing on the Rhino CD are the
artifacts of undecoded Dolby (or at least improperly
decoded Dolby).

This great song I seem to recall for some reason has
had various Dolby issues since its release back in
1980.

I don't believe we can target co-producer Alan Tarney
as his productions and engineering were always
pristine.

But co-producer Bruce Welch has had other records with
this issue (e.g. Cliff Richard's "I Can't Ask For
Anymore Than You).

Andy

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Posted: 27 February 2021 at 3:55pm \| IP Logged

Thanks to Hykker, I can confirm the mono side of the promo 45 IS simply a mono fold-down of the stereo mix.

(Dang, but it sounds GOOD off the vinyl, though! Sure there's pops, clicks, and assorted analog noise... but the "encoded" audio on the 45 is excellent. Crisp, clean, clear, excellent dynamics...

Perhaps it's the Dolby decoding issues Andy mentioned but it's hard for me to understand sometimes why we can't pull at least equal audio from the source tapes 40 years later with what you assume would be 40 years of technological improvements.)

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AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 28 February 2021 at 7:33am \| IP Logged

To Gene:

To properly decode a Dolby A encoded tape requires
first that the proprietary "Dolby A Tone" was recorded
on the tape to begin with. On playback the "Dolby A
Tone" must be matched to a specific level (was it +3
dB or 0 dB ? - I can't remember...).

If care is not taken, it is easy for a neophyte
engineer to screw up the transfer.

And then of course there were the unpaid interns that
didn't decode it at all because they didn't even know
what it was...

It's not really about technology - it's about schooled
engineering and passion for the music (or the lack
thereof).

Andy

AdvprosD
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Posted: 28 February 2021 at 9:11am \| IP Logged

There's a different thread that talks about a process which was used in the sixties in mono vs stereo processing. I think the process was used on a Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66 album.
It was later possible to use a digital process to remove and improve the sound of the album.

Is there anything similar that can do this for Dolby that was improperly encoded?

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AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 28 February 2021 at 11:32am \| IP Logged

To Dave:

There is software to reverse the Haeco-CSG system
because it's a reasonably simple operation of shifting
the phase of one channel approximately 90 degrees at
certain frequencies.

To the best of my knowledge there is currently no
software to properly decode Dolby A as it's a more
complicated 4-band companding system.

Andy

AdvprosD
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Posted: 05 June 2021 at 2:03pm \| IP Logged

I'm starting to think I'm losing it a bit here...

I already had a copy of the Rhino "Radio Daze" series Vol. 2, so "Potted" it up a bit to hear some of the oddities folks were commenting about. What I found was starting at
about 2:25 and through 2:40, I'm hearing a definite capstan drag or some other form of distortion affecting the pitch. It's a bit intermittent in this time range, so
I can't really say exactly where this happens except maybe 2:29-30? And, a couple other spots.

I went out to Discogs and collected a clean copy of the K-Tel 8's Pop Explosion just to compare. On the K-Tel CD, I don't hear any of the "Dragging" effect. I'm getting ready
to once again pull out the Radio Daze disc and see if I can hear this from the disc directly.

One thing that made me curious about this was they were ripped from the same machine, software etc. Has anyone ever encountered songs that were ripped to a file, (In this
case .wav files for both versions), having variances that can be heard? I'm not an engineer nor a software developer, but can speed issues be picked up while ripping? Or,
are there really some issues on the Radio Daze CD that are inherent to the recording?

I just pulled up the CD source from Radio Daze, I can still hear that slowing or doppler like effect. Is it time to call the nice young men in their clean white shirts?

Edited by AdvprosD on 05 June 2021 at 2:23pm

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AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 05 June 2021 at 5:26pm \| IP Logged

Generally Dave, There won't be any audible
differences with the ripping software you
use, but the two CDs you're comparing are
likely transfered from different analog
source material, or played back before
transfer to digital on different analog
decks.

Andy

AdvprosD
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Posted: 05 June 2021 at 6:47pm \| IP Logged

Ah, I missed reading this in Ron's post above:

"The second is Rhino's Radio Daze Vol. 2 (1995). It runs 3:18 here, with a nice, untruncated tail to the fade. It has great dynamic range, nice EQ, and no evidence of noise reduction. I
believe that it uses a low-generation tape source, and I think it sounds significantly better than the K-Tel disc. Others in the group noticed that the song has a little tape drag starting
with the beginning of the guitar solo. That's true, but I hadn't noticed it until it was pointed out to me and I made measurements to confirm. (It's not nearly as bad as some of the early
masterings of "Le Freak", for example, which had some nausea-inducing tape drag.)"

And, I am also familiar with the tape drag in "Le Freak."

So, it appears I'm not losing it. Just a little slow on the uptake.

Thanks Andy and Ron!

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NightAire
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Posted: 07 June 2021 at 9:26am \| IP Logged

"I'm not losing it. Just a little slow on the uptake."

I'm getting a t-shirt made up with this slogan on it. It's how I'm going to explain myself to all people I meet now.

:-D

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KentT
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Posted: 20 June 2021 at 4:54am \| IP Logged

Another note, the UK single on Island is full length. I
own this 45 as well as the USA Island 45.

Edited by KentT on 20 June 2021 at 4:56am

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