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chendagam
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| Posted: 27 October 2014 at 1:03pm | IP Logged
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I'm not sure if this has been discussed but is the 45 version just an edit
of the LP version? To me the album version sounds slower and slightly
different.
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 27 October 2014 at 1:43pm | IP Logged
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The 45 has additional mix elements that aren't in the LP version, so it can't be edited from the LP version.
In my library, I use the 45 version from Lost 45s Of The '70s And '80s, and the LP version from Rock The First Vol. 3.
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chendagam
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| Posted: 28 October 2014 at 7:55pm | IP Logged
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Thank you for the clarification. Any specifics? Also this is another one of those songs where I heard the long album version on the radio back in '83 most of the time. I think the first time I heard the short version is when I bought the actual 45 and man was I disappointed as a kid. This is a similar situation like Kenny Loggins "Footloose" and a few others that I can't think of at the moment. Maybe someone else wants to chime in. Any idea why this was?
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Santi Paradoa
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The LP version spells out "safety" at the start while the 45 doesn't. That
hook may explain why the LP version got played on radio and clubs
back in the summer of '83.
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Yah Shure
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| Posted: 28 October 2014 at 9:26pm | IP Logged
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chendagam wrote:
| Also this is another one of those songs where I heard the long album version on the radio back in '83 most of the time. I think the first time I heard the short version is when I bought the actual 45 and man was I disappointed as a kid. This is a similar situation like Kenny Loggins "Footloose" and a few others that I can't think of at the moment. Maybe someone else wants to chime in. Any idea why this was? |
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"Footloose" had the same 3:46-listed length across the board: the DJ 45, the commercial 45, the 12-inch promo single and the soundtrack LP.
The "Safety Dance" DJ 45 had both the short and long versions, so stations could choose whichever side they wanted to play.
If you're asking why the "Safety Dance" commercial 45 contained the short version instead of the long one, that call was likely up tho the label, Backstreet. Keep in mind that the jukebox industry was the biggest customer for commercial 45s by that time. Longer records on the jukeboxes meant less revenue for both the jukebox operators and the site providers.
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AndrewChouffi
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| Posted: 29 October 2014 at 12:58am | IP Logged
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To "chendagam" & "Yah Shure":
The promo 12" of 'Footloose' [AS 1810] had the album version (with the drum intro) on one side (listed time 3:46); the other side had the single version (with the faded in flanged cymbals) with a listed time of 3:42).
This was serviced to both AOR and CHR. Many CHR stations played the album version because it made for tighter segueing in various programming choices.
Andy
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80smusicfreak
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I believe what chendagam is essentially asking is, "Why did radio stations sometimes play the LP version of hit songs circa 1983-84, thus faking out consumers when they ran out and bought the vinyl 45?" - "The Safety Dance" and "Footloose" being two examples. Yeah, the *length* of the LP & 45 versions of "Footloose" was pretty close, but as AndrewChouffi noted, the intros were quite different - and I think that was chendagam's point. He actually delved into this subject regarding both songs one other time, in a "Footloose" thread that he started back in 2006. (The reason I already knew that??? While recently going through all of the top 40 hits from 1983 - inc. "The Safety Dance" - it required revisiting a lot of the old threads on this chat board in order to obtain the answers I was looking for, lol...)
Speaking for myself, that was also the same time that I started buying music, but I decided to skip singles altogether, since I wasn't a fan of vinyl. Cassette singles and maxi-singles were few & far between back then - "Vacation", "The Reflex", and "Hyperactive" all immediately come to mind - so I went w/ album-length cassettes. And in many cases, the cassette editions contained bonus tracks and/or additional versions of hit songs not found on the vinyl LP, and Men Without Hats' Rhythm of Youth was a perfect example. The U.S. cassette included BOTH the LP & 45 versions of "The Safety Dance", as well as the bonus track, "Living in China" (non-LP B-side of "The Safety Dance"). Photos on Discogs: MEN WITHOUT HATS - "Rhythm of Youth" (U.S. cassette) So in many cases, I felt I was getting the best of both - and believe it or not, to this day, Rhythm of Youth has NEVER been issued on CD here in the U.S.!
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aaronk
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Here's something interesting. I just discovered that there were two different US pressings of the vinyl LP, and both appear to have been released in 1983. This pressing has "The Safety Dance" as the first track on Side B and a printed run time of 2:44. Meanwhile, this pressing has "The Safety Dance" as track 2 of Side A and a printed run time of 4:32.
Perhaps there are actually two different LP versions, and the 45 is really the same as one of the LP versions.
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MMathews
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Yes, the LP was released before the song really took off
on U.S. radio. Once the 12" version became the hit, they
re-issued the LP with that instead.
I even recall a school dance in Jan. of '83 - months
before the song broke here. At that time this was in
heavy rotation on the new wave station. One of the DJ's
at the dance had the import 45, and that had the same
cover and version as the 12" single.
The only times I ever heard the short version were in the
video, and on Casey's weekly countdown.
MM
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chendagam
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| Posted: 03 November 2014 at 3:33pm | IP Logged
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Another song that comes to mind is the red hot chili peppers "give it
away." I have never heard the single version on the radio.
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chendagam
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| Posted: 10 November 2014 at 3:18pm | IP Logged
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Just heard another song that radio uses the LP version over the 45:
Phil Collins in the air tonight.
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Jody Thornton
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| Posted: 10 November 2014 at 9:19pm | IP Logged
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chendagam wrote:
Just heard another song that radio uses the LP version over the 45:
Phil Collins in the air tonight. |
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Not in the day they didn't though (at least in Southern Ontario and Western New York). Only AOR and rock FM stations played the "Face Value" version. Most CHR stations played the 45-rpm edit with the drums mixed through.
Edited by Jody Thornton on 10 November 2014 at 9:20pm
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PopArchivist
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Santi Paradoa wrote:
The LP version spells out "safety" at the start while the 45 doesn't. That
hook may explain why the LP version got played on radio and clubs
back in the summer of '83. |
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I was taken aback when I popped in an 80's compilation in the early 90's and heard the 2:42 version for the first time. I clearly remember New York radio always playing the LP version. That hook is what made it a top 10 hit and let's be honest the 2:44 isn't all that memorable I can see why most radio stations passed on it. Thank god I picked up Rock The First when it came out and saw that it had the correct version I had grown up hearing.
Edited by PopArchivist on 05 March 2021 at 11:29pm
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Paul Haney
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I never really cared for the longer "Safety Dance" version (although I did hear it on the radio at the time). IMO, this is
a case of the short version getting right to the point and nailing it (same goes for "Tainted Love").
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Hykker
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I disagree on "Tainted Love", to me the medley is the
definitive version of that song.
Another song from that general time period where most
stations played the LP version was "The Reflex".
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RichM921
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I agree with Paul on Safety Dance. For some reason, Men Without
Hats just clicked for me and I became a huge fan and they are still in
my top 5 for favorite all-time bands. Having said that I think the single
mix is far superior. It has a much fuller sound leaving the LP version
rather dry in comparison. I don't really care if they spell out "safety" or
not.
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LunarLaugh
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I might be in the minority, but I never liked the LP intro
where they spell "safety". I much prefer the mix/edit that
cuts to the chase right away.
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PopArchivist
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| Posted: 08 March 2021 at 8:50pm | IP Logged
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Paul Haney wrote:
I never really cared for the longer "Safety Dance" version (although I did hear it on the radio at the time). IMO, this is
a case of the short version getting right to the point and nailing it (same goes for "Tainted Love"). |
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I can see your point on Safety Dance. I agree with Hykker that without the "Where Did Our Love Go" part of Tainted Love, the song wouldn't have lasted so long on the charts as it did. I never heard Tainted Love without Where Did Your Love go at any time. The two are tied together for me in that one song.
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Paul Haney
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PopArchivist wrote:
I can see your point on Safety Dance.
I agree with Hykker that without the "Where Did Our Love
Go" part of Tainted Love, the song wouldn't have lasted so
long on the charts as it did. I never heard Tainted Love
without Where Did Your Love go at any time. The two are
tied together for me in that one song. |
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I mostly heard the non-medley version at the time, so
that's the one that I grew to love. I don't dislike the
medley version, in fact it's the ONLY version I hear
nowadays on the radio. To each his own!
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thecdguy
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I remember in the summer of '83 it was anyone's guess what version of "The Safety Dance" and Culture Club's "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" would be played on the
radio in my area. I'm pretty sure I heard the longer "Safety Dance" on the radio more often, and when I finally heard the shorter version I was
surprised because it seemed too short and it didn't seem right without the spelling of "Safety" in it. Even to this day, I rarely listen to the
shorter version.
Same exact thing with "I'll Tumble 4 Ya". At least one station here played the longer 12" Version, and I assumed that was the regular LP/45 Version
until I heard the shorter 2 1/2 minute version. I didn't know until years later that the longer version I'd heard was actually a 12" version. Hearing
the shorter version never sounded quite right to me, which is why I rarely ever listen to it now, like the shorter "Safety Dance".
"Tainted Love" happened a little different in my area. As I remember it, the shorter version was the only one that was played for awhile, and then
suddenly they started playing the version with "Where Did Our Love Go" attached to it. From that point on, I don't think the shorter version was ever
played again and I grew to love the medley version much more. When I started collecting CD's in the late 80's, the medley seemed to be impossible to
find on CD. I think the first comp I ever had with the medley contained the 12" Version running almost 9 minutes. That was OK, but I preferred the
shorter medley I'd always heard up to that point. I think it was mid-90's when it finally showed up on the Rhino Hard Rock Cafe CD. I didn't know
until later that the short medley was only on a Promo 45 up to that point, which probably explained why it was so hard to find on CD at the time. I
agree with Rich that the inclusion of "Where Did Our Love Go" helped its longevity on the charts, although it was only ever listed as "Tainted Love"
during its entire chart run. I assume that had something to do with the medley only being available on a Promo 45, and the requirement being that a
song had to be commercially available as a single in order to chart.
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Men Without Hats "The Safety Dance"
