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AdvprosD
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| Posted: 26 August 2020 at 9:12pm | IP Logged
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Ever since this song was made, at least as long as I can remember, (I think I was 8 years old when it charted), there has been a glitch in the recording that I've always wondered about.
Roundabout 02:52 and after we all get "Mellow" the second time, I've always thought someone had turned off Archie's mic and realized afterwards he was still singing. I've often wondered why that was left in
the recording. Was it because the song was a blistering hot dance tune that needed to hit the plates immediately, or something else? I was just listening to this again tonight with the phones on. In the seconds
leading up to the mic incident, I thought I heard some background member or possibly engineer talk very lightly present.
Actually, the whole recording has been a bit of a mystery to me, once I started hearing it on CD. The sound of the instruments and the vocals seem to be mixed oddly. Making Archie sound as if he's singing
about 20 feet away from everything else that's going on with the recording. Back when I used to hear it on the radio I don't think I noticed the recording characteristics except the mic thingy.
I've always liked the song and, thought it was kind of interesting that he would go to all the trouble to announce that they are a band from Houston Texas early in the song, just to say it. I read later that
it may be because he had once heard someone say that "Nothing good ever comes out of Houston." It would be interesting to ask what that's all about sometime.
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LunarLaugh
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| Posted: 26 August 2020 at 11:54pm | IP Logged
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To me, it definitely sounds like Archie re-did his
entire lead vocal up to the point in question after the
instrumental tracks were laid down.
If you listen in the stereo mix, you can hear his
original lead vocal leaking through until it gets to
that spot. After that, I assume they just stick with
his original lead vocal (recorded live with the
musicians) from that point and all the way through the
fadeout.
The mono single mix of "Tighten' Up" (on Rhino's
"Tightening It Up: The Best of Archie Bell and The
Drells") has a way better overall balance of
instruments and vocals but it does not include the bass
intro. Instead it just comes in right on the drum fill.
It also fades sooner.
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TallPaulInKy
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| Posted: 27 August 2020 at 7:41am | IP Logged
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LunarLaugh wrote:
To me, it definitely sounds like
Archie re-did his entire lead vocal up to the point in
question after the instrumental tracks were laid down.
The mono single mix of "Tighten' Up" has a way better
overall balance |
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If Wikipedia can be believed.."They signed with the
Houston-based record label Ovide in 1967 and recorded
a number of songs including "She's My Woman" and
"Tighten Up", which was recorded in October 1967 at
the first of several sessions in which the Drells were
backed by the instrumental group the T.S.U.
Toronadoes." According to Discogs..they only had three
Ovide singles issued. Probably not enough for an
album..and all probably just mixed to mono.
After Archie Bell went into the Army the song became a
local Houston hit and was picked up by a major for
national distribution. The album was only on Atlantic
so, while recording additional songs to fill, they may
have resung parts of "Tighten Up" for stereo which
would account for some of the differences between the
original hit mono version and the stereo album
version.
This would have been typical of a 60s rock record
where stereo was generally an afterthought.
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TomDiehl1
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| Posted: 27 August 2020 at 4:06pm | IP Logged
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The stereo version can be edited to match
the way the 45 is edited, and the vocal on
the Atlantic 45 is the same as the stereo
mix. I do not have the Ovide 45 to compare
to, but keep in mind that Tighten Up was
supposed to be a throwaway B side to Dog
Eat Dog originally. The Atlantic promo 45
gives that side the Plug Side nod. Maybe
the mixing goof was left in because it
wasn't intended to be the A side anyway.
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 27 August 2020 at 9:00pm | IP Logged
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Stereo LP version (3:11)
The bass in the intro should be in the left channel.
I found three distinct analog transfers for the stereo version.
The first is Atlantic's multi-volume Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 6 1966-1969 (1985). It sounds OK here, with great dynamic range, no evidence of noise reduction, and (probably) pretty low-generation source tapes. It has a slightly dull EQ (at least compared to later masterings), but some might argue that that's what the records actually sounded like in 1968. The same analog transfer is used on:- Time-Life's 2-CD Rock Party (1990)
- Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 3 1968 (1991) - digital clone of Rock Party but left and right channels are swapped
- Time-Life's 2-CD Uptown Saturday Night Rock Steady (2007) - differently EQ'd digital clone of Solid Gold Soul Vol. 3 1968 (so left and right channels are swapped), but about 6 dB louder, possibly with added compression/limiting, and additional severe dropouts on the intro; avoid
There's a new analog transfer on Warner Special Products' Atlantic Soul Classics (1985). It also has a great dynamic range, no evidence of noise reduction, and (probably) pretty low-generation source tapes. It's EQ'd a little brighter than the R&B set, which I like. Importantly, the track extends to its complete end, where all the instruments drop out and then Archie sings a final line, "tighten it up now." The same analog transfer is used:- Time-Life's Classic Rock Vol. 4 1968 (1987) - left and right channels are swapped, and fade shortened slightly
- JCI's Baby Boomer Classics Dance Sixties (1988) - differently EQ'd digital clone
- Silver Eagle/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Heart And Soul Of The Sixties (1989) - different EQ'd digital clone of Classic Rock Vol. 4 1968, so has left and right channels swapped, and shortened fade
- Atlantic's multi-CD Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 7 1967-1969 (1991) - differently EQ'd digital clone
- Starland Music/Warner Special Products' 2-CD 40 Summer Fun Hits (1993) - mastering based on Classic Rock Vol. 4 1968, so has left and right channels swapped, and shortened fade
- Starland Music/Warner Special Products' 2-CD 40 Party Classics (1996) - mastering based on Classic Rock Vol. 4 1968, so has left and right channels swapped, and shortened fade
Finally, there's one more analog transfer on Rhino's Billboard Top R&R Hits 1968 (1993). "Tighten Up" is only found on the 1993 pressing of this CD, which replaces "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" from the original 1988 pressing. (Rhino replaced all the Motown tracks from the 1988 releases in this series for the 1993 rereleases, likely for licensing reasons.) Like the earlier discs, this one has a great dynamic range, no evidence of noise reduction, and (probably) pretty low-generation source tapes. It's EQ'd even brighter than all of the above, which I like. The track also extends to its complete end, with all the instruments dropping out and Archie singing the final line, "tighten it up now." The same analog transfer is used on:- Rhino's cheapie Soul Hits Vol. 1 (1993) - not a digital clone
Mono 45 version (2:37)
Turns out that the LP version is the full performance of the song. The 45 is edited from that full performance (cut off intro to begin at the drum fill, cut out 24 beats from 1:47 to 1:59 of the LP version (edits on downbeat after words "c'mon and" and right at the beginning of the word "tighten"), and a 16-beat fade from 2:48 to 2:56 of LP version).
But the 45 is mixed immeasurably hotter than the LP, with tons of reverb on the vocals, and the keyboard and horns pushed way out in front. Same instruments and vocals, same take, just a hotter mix. The "make it mellow" breaks truly smoke now, instead of meekly lurking in the right channel. In my opinion, now it sounds like a hit!
The earliest CD I have with the mono 45 version is Rhino's In Yo' Face Vol. 0.5 (1994). It's a little bit loud, and clips a bit. It has some cracklies on the fade that make me think it might be taken from vinyl; not 100% sure about that.
Rhino's multi-CD Beg Scream And Shout (1997) seems to use another analog transfer of the same source tape (45?) that's used on In Yo' Face Vol. 0.5, but it's mastered a little quieter, so there's no clipping. In practical terms, it sounds about the same as In Yo' Face Vol. 0.5, including the cracklies on the fade. There's a digitally identical clone on Rhino's cheapie Atlantic Ultimate '60s Soul Sensations (1998), which is a very afforable alternative to Beg Scream And Shout.
My recommendations
For the stereo LP version, if you like lots of high end like I do, I recommend Rhino's Billboard Top R&R Hits 1968 (1993), just make sure you get the 1993 rerelease (with an RE-1 in the matrix number); the song is not on the 1988 original pressing of the disc. If you want a little less high end, I recommend Warner Special Products' Atlantic Soul Classics (1985).
For the mono 45 version, I recommend Rhino's Beg Scream And Shout (1997) if you can find it affordably; it's a superb but pricey set. I only recommend BS&S because there's no clipping on the track. Rhino's In Yo' Face Vol. 0.5 (1993) sounds about as good, but just a bit louder with a bit of clipping. The In Yo' Face series is probably the best collection ever of 45 versions of funk tracks, and I heartily recommend all of them.
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LunarLaugh
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| Posted: 28 August 2020 at 5:37am | IP Logged
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TallPaulInKy wrote:
LunarLaugh wrote:
To me, it
definitely sounds like
Archie re-did his entire lead vocal up to the point in
question after the instrumental tracks were laid down.
The mono single mix of "Tighten' Up" has a way better
overall balance |
|
|
If Wikipedia can be believed.."They signed with the
Houston-based record label Ovide in 1967 and recorded
a number of songs including "She's My Woman" and
"Tighten Up", which was recorded in October 1967 at
the first of several sessions in which the Drells were
backed by the instrumental group the T.S.U.
Toronadoes." According to Discogs..they only had three
Ovide singles issued. Probably not enough for an
album..and all probably just mixed to mono.
After Archie Bell went into the Army the song became a
local Houston hit and was picked up by a major for
national distribution. The album was only on Atlantic
so, while recording additional songs to fill, they may
have resung parts of "Tighten Up" for stereo which
would account for some of the differences between the
original hit mono version and the stereo album
version.
This would have been typical of a 60s rock record
where stereo was generally an afterthought. |
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The vocal on the mono and stereo are the same. I think
it was just more a matter of the producer not being
completely happy with the vocal take Archie recorded
live with the band so they recorded over that vocal
with a second take up to the point where you hear it
cut out. Judging by the bleed of the original vocal, it
sounds like the first take was probably a little looser
while the second take was more composed.
Most of the filler on the "Tighten Up" album was
recorded without Archie since he was stationed in
Germany when it had to be recorded. The rest of The
Drells (who, as mentioned, did not actually appear on
"Tighten Up" itself) had to record and promote the
record without his involvement. Archie did get to go on
leave back to the States several times to record new
material or perform shows with the group. Gamble and
Huff became their producers not long afterwards.
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TallPaulInKy
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| Posted: 29 August 2020 at 8:42am | IP Logged
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The original release is on You Tube as "Archie Bell &
the Drells "Tighten up" Ovide 45 Soul R&B Funk Groover"
but it will take someone smarter than me to compare the
two to see if there is any difference. Copies are
available in the $50-$200 range.
Unfortunately the You Tube poster did not feed the audio
directly into his recording device.
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AdvprosD
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| Posted: 01 September 2020 at 8:10pm | IP Logged
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I was just looking at some of the albums on eBay. Now I have to look over some of those record collections I inherited from my siblings. Apparently, the single version is a (Part 1) and the album has (Part 2) on it.
I knew there were a lot of Soul & R&B tracks that used (Part 1) for the 45. But, since this one didn't frequently show up as a (Part 1), I never looked for it on an album. Only the plethora of V/A CDs. Now,
I'm wanting to hear part 2!
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MPH711
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| Posted: 02 September 2020 at 6:50pm | IP Logged
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You can also find Part 2 on the b-side of the 45.
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TomDiehl1
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| Posted: 02 September 2020 at 8:14pm | IP Logged
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Only on second pressings of the 45. As
previously mentioned, Tighten Up was
originally the B side to Dog Eat Dog. Part
2 sounds like it was cut much later.
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LunarLaugh
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| Posted: 02 September 2020 at 11:48pm | IP Logged
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AdvprosD wrote:
I was just looking at some of the
albums on eBay. Now I have to look over some of those
record collections I inherited from my siblings.
Apparently, the single version is a (Part 1) and the
album has (Part 2) on it.
I knew there were a lot of Soul & R&B tracks that used
(Part 1) for the 45. But, since this one didn't
frequently show up as a (Part 1), I never looked for it
on an album. Only the plethora of V/A CDs. Now,
I'm wanting to hear part 2! |
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Part 2!
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Topic: Archie Bell & The Drells "Tighten Up"
