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aaronk
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| Posted: 18 September 2015 at 9:32pm | IP Logged
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The database has approximately 50 discs containing Debby Boone's lone top 40 hit "You Light Up My Life." I just discovered that some discs contain a "dry" mix, while others have stereo reverb added over the entire song. When trying to compare the two, the reverb is most noticeable on the last note at the very end of the song. On the "dry" version, the strings have no reverb and come to a distinct end. On the version with stereo reverb added, there is a long trailing reverb after the strings end.
I only have a handful of the CDs in the database, but here is what I can definitely detect.
Dry Version:
- Easy 70s (Razor & Tie)
- Classic Country - Great Country Gospel (Time Life)
- Echoes Of Love (Time Life)
- Country Romance (Sessions/Warner Special Products)
- Billboard Top Movie Hits - 1970s (Rhino)
- Lifetime Of Romance (Time Life)
Stereo Reverb Version:
- Ultimate Love Songs Collection - When A Man Loves A Woman (Time Life)
- AM Gold - Mellow Hits Of The 70s (Time Life)
If I had to guess, I'd say the stereo reverb was not part of any 1977 mix/version. A giveaway is that the tape hiss at the end comes to an abrupt end while the stereo reverb continues to trail out.
Edited by aaronk on 19 September 2015 at 7:16am
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 22 September 2015 at 7:23pm | IP Logged
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Aaron has good ears!
This exercise also demonstrates how much you can learn from just listening to the fade (loudly, if possible - I amplify the fade by 40 dB in Cool Edit Pro for my tests).
I re-listened to the versions I have, and can give a little bit of extra mastering info.
The oldest version I have is on Sessions/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Country Romance (1990), where it sounds pretty lifeless. Not much high end, probably not the lowest-generation source tapes, but no evidence of noise reduction, and a decent dynamic range.
There's a new, and much better, analog transfer on Time-Life's 2-CD Echoes Of Love (1991). Much better high end, and also no evidence of NR, and a decent dynamic range. The same analog transfer is used on:- Razor & Tie's 2-CD Easy '70s (1993, left/right balance adjusted)
- Heartland/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Night Songs (1994)
Better still, there's an even clearer analog transfer on Time-Life's Classic Country Vol. 22 Great Country Gospel (2001). I don't own any of the Rhino discs, but I'd be willing to bet that this version is a digital clone of one of those. (I'll gladly check this if someone sends me a Rhino version.)
Now, the "problem" children, with the reverb. The reverb is not drastic, and it's difficult to hear during most of the song. Mostly, it makes the song sound muddy. But it's very pronounced on the fade - you can hear the tape hiss stop dead, and the string notes continue on for another second or two. I don't think I've heard anything like this for other songs.
The reverb version shows up on Time-Life's AM Gold Vol. 31 Mellow Hits Of The '70s (2000), with a differently-EQ'd digital clone on Time-Life's Ultimate Love Songs Collection When A Man Loves A Woman (2004). Oddly enough, it seems to use the same analog transfer as Country Romance (1990), but with the added reverb.
I'd be willing to bet that the reverb originated from one of the Curb discs or one of the Reader's Digest collections, but that's 100% speculation on my part, since I don't have any of them.
Edited by crapfromthepast on 23 September 2015 at 7:52am
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davidclark
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| Posted: 23 September 2015 at 7:15am | IP Logged
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I have it on Curb's "70's Hits Great Records Of The Decade Volume 1"
(1990) and do not think it is the reverb version, based on the info given
here. I would like to hear the reverb version to compare...
Edited by davidclark on 23 September 2015 at 7:15am
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 24 September 2015 at 5:37pm | IP Logged
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Thanks to Mark M, I can confirm that the CD 70's Hits (Curb 77317, 1990) does not have the reverb version.
Pat updated the database, and it looks like the reverb appears on just some of the Reader's Digest collections and some of the Time-Life discs (plus some newer collections). I don't have the release dates for these, so I can't definitely pin down the source of the reverb, but I'd bet a nickel that it's one of the Reader's Digest collections.
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MMathews
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| Posted: 24 September 2015 at 10:44pm | IP Logged
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All it takes is that one mastering engineer that does
something odd like that to a master..and in the digital
jungle it spreads like a weed to other CD's.
I'm sure the subsequent engineers who used that source
never would've guessed in a million years that anyone
arbitrarily added reverb to it. Very odd.
MM
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Does anyone know why this single's B-side was changed
"Midstream" (pun intended - name of Debby's second
album) from "He's A Rebel" to "Hasta Manana" both
previously recorded by Debby with her sisters as The
Boones? "Hasta Manana" (yes, the ABBA song) was
released as a single before "Light" reaching No. 32 on
Billboard's AC chart. I always thought "Hasta Manana"
would have been a great follow-up to "Light" -
uptempo, ABBA connection at their US commercial peak.
This certainly would not have been the first time a
previously released song that originally flopped took
off on the charts when re-released. But, I think
Debby was contractually obligated to release another
Joe Brooks composition.
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garye
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| Posted: 01 December 2020 at 10:03pm | IP Logged
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The whole truth about Joe Brooks and "Life" being
released is another tale in itself, which took decades
to resolve. Sad story.
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It's so disgusting that he proved to be such a sleaze.
His music worked well for Debby as heard on the tracks
he produced and/or wrote on her "You Light Up My Life"
and "Midstream" albums. But, even then, he was
rumored to be a very difficult person to work with.
In hindsight, it may have been to Debby's benefit that
"California" flopped so that she could sever ties with
him...
...which complicates my original question. "Hasta
Manana" was produced by Mike Curb. Once Debby's
"Light" album was collated, I wonder if Brooks pushed
to get one of his songs on the B-side.
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MMathews
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Ya know, this thread got me curious .... I had heard
something about this Joe Brooks years ago but I couldn't
recall what. So I found his Wiki page. OMG, all can say
is: DON'T. It was a horrific read. I'm not the better
off knowing that he existed and the things he did...BAD
SEED. Don't read it. You won't find anything good. "Sleaze"
doesn't even begin to cover it all.
And yes, Debbie was much better off cutting ties with
him right away. I feel like a need a shower now to try and
wash off that info. Wow.
MM
[Edit]: P.S. - Just wanted to add that I never punish
the ART for the failings of the artist. Many many
artists have gone down in history as being "bad" people
in their actions, but the art itself made millions
happy. I always keep those two things separate. -MM
Edited by MMathews on 09 December 2020 at 10:10pm
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| Posted: 11 December 2020 at 3:45pm | IP Logged
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Debby herself said the same after he died:
"I have been saddened to hear of the horrible
tragedies surrounding Joe Brooks and his family over
the years," Boone said in a statement released through
a friend on Monday.
"My only real association with Joe was in 1977 for a
couple of hours in a New York recording studio when I
recorded his beautiful song. I will continue to sing
it proudly and hope that people will be able to
separate the song from Joe's severely troubled life,"
Boone said.
https://www.today.com/news/songwriter-left-three-page-
suicide-note-wbna43144781
Brooks was also responsible for Roberta Flack's 1978
hit, "If Ever I See You Again." Apart from Debby's
"California" and the soundtrack version of "Light," I
don't believe any of his other songs ever charted.
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Brian W.
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MMathews wrote:
P.S. - Just wanted to add that I
never punish the ART for the failings of the artist.
Many many artists have gone down in history as being
"bad" people in their actions, but the art itself made
millions happy. I always keep those two things
separate. -MM |
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You know if you say "don't read it" I'm going to read
it. He was a piece of work all right, but I read a lot
of true crime books, so I've heard much worse. (For
some reason the plastic bag is the thing I can't get
out of my head. Ugh.)
But I agree with separating the art from the artists.
I still like "Alice in Wonderland" even though there's
some pretty compelling evidence that Lewis Carroll was
a pedophile who was obsessed with Alice Liddell, the
little girl he wrote the stories for. And while I
don't believe or disbelieve the allegations against
Michael Jackson (I just don't know), it doesn't affect
my opinion of his music. And I still like Jerry Lee
Lewis, even though he married his 13-year-old first
cousin. (Yuck).
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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 13 December 2020 at 4:42pm | IP Logged
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I'd read the stories about Joe Brooks (though not the Wiki page) and I remember all the horrible things I'd read - but I don't remember anything about the "plastic bag" thing. Now I'm sure to go to the Wiki page.
It's a bit strange that Debby says she only spent 2 hours with him - when she recorded songs of his on 2 separate albums. Probably wanting to separate herself from him more. I met her when when the 'You Light Up My Life' album finally came out on CD and she had a CD-signing event. I was always curious about the last chorus melody, which is so different from the actual melody, that I asked her if she imrpovised/ad libbed any of that. She responded, "No. Joe made me sing every note you hear on that record."
But back to music, IIRC, there was never a follow-up single from this LP. So strange when there were so many good songs to choose from, including a re-release of "Hasta Manana" which I think would have fared much better after "You Light". Also, "Your Love Broke Through" would have made a great follow-up single if they wanted a second ballad. (It later became a Christian hit, and perhaps staple, as a number of artists recorded it. I never noticed the God angle of the song, or for that matter, with "You Light Up My Life" either.)
Also, we may never know why the B-side was made midstream, or rather, early stream. I think "Hasta Manana" became the B-side pretty quickly and that MOST 45s have that as the B-side.
Edited by EdisonLite on 13 December 2020 at 4:44pm
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I was also curious about Debby's comment. Brooks
produced half of her first and second albums. I
cannot imagine that was all completed in "a couple of
hours." Then again, "Light" is all everyone
remembers.
I agree that "Your Love Broke Through" could have
broken through for Debby after "Light." (Ironically,
"Broke" was the B-side to "Hasta Manana.") Debby's
version of "End Of The World" could have also been a
great single targeted toward Country radio. Not
releasing the "Light" follow-up from the "Light" album
was bizarre. You would think Warner Bros. would have
wanted to get more mileage out of the album after
"Light" started to dim. By the time the album's
"Baby, I'm Yours" was released, it was relegated to
the B-side of "God Knows" from Debby's second album.
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PopArchivist
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On a side note of the 1977 top 10 songs in my collection I don't think I ever heard a non-hiss master of this song. The hiss is bad at the beginning even off CD copies that I wonder is there a nice clean copy in existence? Or is the 45 that hissy too?
50 discs it is on and such a huge hit can anyone point me to the best sounding copy?
Edited by PopArchivist on 16 December 2020 at 12:43am
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EdisonLite
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I simply dehissed the intro, but I don't know if you'd be looking for a WAV of that.
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AdvprosD
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crapfromthepast wrote:
Thanks to Mark M, I can confirm that the CD 70's Hits (Curb 77317, 1990) does not have the reverb version.
Pat updated the database, and it looks like the reverb appears on just some of the Reader's Digest collections and some of the Time-Life discs (plus some newer collections). I don't have the
release dates for these, so I can't definitely pin down the source of the reverb, but I'd bet a nickel that it's one of the Reader's Digest collections. |
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If Readers Digest is to blame, it would have to be well before 2011. (S) (3:35) Reader's Digest SSTC07791 Lite FM/Late Night Ballads From The '70s & '80s (Box Set) is a set with
a 2011 date stamp on it. I had never broken the seal on this box set thinking it wasn't going to be very impressive. In fact, I don't even remember buying it. So, as I see it they
must have cleaned up their act by the time this collection was released.
I kept listening and expecting to find the added reverb, but I didn't hear it. After that, I pulled down the Time-Life Am Gold Mellow Hits CD, and there it was. I noted that this
box set is properly listed in the database too. If I happen to pass across an older compilation on Readers Digest that has the reverb, I'll note the date.
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Topic: Debby Boone - You Light Up My Life
