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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 22 November 2016 at 8:48pm | IP Logged
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The Average White Band's first album was 1973's Show Your Hand on MCA. Good record, poor seller. MCA didn't know what to do with them, and they departed for Atlantic. Atlantic paired the band with producer Arif Mardin, and they released the stone-cold classic AWB album in 1974. Side one of the album is just plain unstoppable. "Pick Up The Pieces" turned out to be the hit, peaking at US#1 and UK#6 in 1975. I consider it to be among the very greatest pop songs in the history of ever, and awarded it spot A-17 in the "Ron's Dream Jukebox" feature of the radio show.
LP version (printed 3:59)
The LP version first appeared on CD on Atlantic's Hit Singles 1958-1977 (1988), where it sounded quite nice. Nice dynamic range, nice EQ, no evidence of noise reduction, nice hissy fade. A good way to start the mastering history.
There was a slightly compressed, bass-shy, treble-heavy analog transfer on Connoisseur Collection's 5-CD One Hundred All Time Classic Dance Hits Of The 1970s (1988) - avoid.
There was a slightly more muffled-sounding analog transfer on Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 8 1975 (1990), which runs about 0.9% too fast. The same analog transfer is used on Razor & Tie's Those Funky '70s (1990). Avoid these two.
There was a new analog transfer on Rhino's Average White Band collection Pickin' Up The Pieces The Best Of 1974-1980 (1992). It's just slightly better than Hit Singles, with a more pronounced EQ and a little wider stereo separation. There's a differently-EQ'd digital clones on:- Rhino's Street Jams Back 2 The Old Skool Part 3 (1996)
- PolyGram's Pure Funk (1998; also has added compression/limiting - avoid)
And yet another new analog transfer on Rhino's In Yo' Face Vol. 2 (1993), which punches up the high end just a little more over Pickin' and brings out the tamborine nicely.
There's yet one more new analog transfer on the 1995 remaster of the AWB album, which is just a little too compressed/limited and smiley-face EQ'd for my tastes.
45 edit (printed 3:02)
Although no one will ever need them, here are editing instructions for creating the 45 edit from the LP version, using the timings from In Yo' Face Vol. 2 (1993):
Segment 1
128 beats long
Ends on a downbeat at the end of a snare drum fill
Extends from 0:00.0 to 1:12.1 of the LP version and 45 edit
Remove the 76 beats from 1:12.1 to 1:54.7 of the LP version.
Segment 2
125-1/2 beats long (I think)
Begins on a downbeat at the beginning of the pre-chorus
Ends at an awkward space between beats
Extends from 1:12.1 to 2:22.6 of the 45 edit
Extends from 1:54.7 to 3:05.2 of the LP version
Remove the 16 beats from 3:05.2 to 3:14.1 of the LP version.
Segment 3
70-1/2 beats long (I think)
Begins at an awkward space between beats
Ends on a downbeat at the end of a snare drum fill
Extends from 2:22.6 to 3:01.3 of the 45 edit
Extends from 3:14.1 to 3:52.8 of the LP version
Fade
Extends from 2:48 to 3:01.3 of the 45 edit
Extends from 3:40 to 3:52.8 of the LP version
Your mixdown will run 3:01.3, with edits at 1:12.1 and 2:22.6, with a fade from 2:48 to 3:01.3.
The 45 edit first appeared on CD on Silver Eagle/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Dancin' The Night Away (1988). It's a little muffled here, and seems to be from a relatively high-generation tape source. The same analog transfer is used on:- JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll #1 Radio Hits 1975-1979 (1996)
- Madacy's Rock On 1975 (1996; digitally exactly 3.4 dB louder)
It appears that Rhino's Didn't It Blow Your Mind Vol. 14 (1991) used the same analog transfer as Rhino's In Yo' Face Vol. 2 (1993), with a recreation of the 45 edit using the instructions from above. The same analog transfer is used on:- Rhino's Rock Instrumental Classics Vol. 3 The '70s (1994; digitally identical)
- Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 42 A Loss For Words (1995; digitally exactly 0.4 dB quieter)
- Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 43 '70s Dance Party 1972-1974 (1997; differently-EQ'd digital clone)
- Razor & Tie's 6-CD 70 Number One Hits Of The 70s Vol. 5 (1998)
- Rhino's Atlantic Ultimate '70s R&B Smashes (1998; digitally identical)
- Rhino's Millennium Funk Party (1998)
My recommendations:
If you're going to play this at a live event or on the radio, use the LP version, which comes to a very satisfying cold ending. (Much like the LP version of Joe Jackson's "I'm The Man".) Hearing the fade-out on the 45 just feels wrong to my ears. (Much like the 45 version of Joe Jackson's "I'm The Man".)
For the LP version, I like Rhino's In Yo' Face Vol. 2 (1993).
For the 45 edit, I like Rhino's Didn't It Blow Your Mind Vol. 14 (1991).
__________________
There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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VWestlife
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| Posted: 19 March 2021 at 6:21pm | IP Logged
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If you do the two edits as described above, but don't do the fade-out, it comes out to 3:06.6 -- only about 5 seconds longer than the official single edit, and it preserves the cold ending.
I think they faded out the single to give radio stations incentive to play it whenever they needed to fill an approximately 3-minute gap in programming, such as before the top-of-the-hour news. Then if the station had to fade it out early to fit the remaining time, it wouldn't be as noticeable to listeners as if they were used to normally hearing it with the cold ending.
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces
