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Paul C
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| Posted: 30 October 2007 at 8:51am | IP Logged
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I downloaded the track "Funky Worm" by The Ohio Players from the Pleasure album using iTunes. It has a different instrumental intro than my U.S. commercial 45.
According to mymusic.com, both the Pleasure and Ecstasy albums (the latter of which is also available on iTunes) were released on CD by "Westbound (USA)" on 02/05/2007 but they are shown as "not currently available". The website also claims that the CD Orgasm: The Very Best Of The Westbound Years was issued on 09/10/2004 (also shown as "not currently available"). Can anyone confirm that these U.S. domestic releases actually exist? None are listed in the database, which lists the song "Ecstasy" as still not available on a domestic CD.
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 30 October 2007 at 12:56pm | IP Logged
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Paul:
I just got done visiting Amazon's website and it appears both the Pleasure and Ecstasy CDs were reissued recently on the Westbound USA label and are currently in stock. That said, it looks like "Ecstasy" has finally made its long-awaited CD debut in the U.S.!
Meanwhile, I have the Ohio Players Orgasm: The Very Best of the Westbound Years on a European import CD (Westbound 62), but I don't see any evidence of this compilation ever having been issued on CD in the U.S. I also don't know if this disc contains the U.S. commercial 45 version of "Funky Worm". If you'd like me to e-mail you an mp3 of the track for reference purposes, feel free to send me a private message (pm) with your e-mail address.
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sriv94
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| Posted: 30 October 2007 at 7:11pm | IP Logged
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Todd:
Let us know what you find out--I also had downloaded "Funky Worm" from iTunes (not realizing that the 45 intro is different from the intro on the download).
Thanks.
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The Hits Man
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| Posted: 02 November 2007 at 5:38pm | IP Logged
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I have the domestic Westbound CD "Pleasure" with Funky Worm" on it. It's the same as the 45.
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sriv94
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| Posted: 04 June 2008 at 7:19pm | IP Logged
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Paul C wrote:
I downloaded the track "Funky Worm" by The Ohio Players from the Pleasure album using iTunes. It has a different instrumental intro than my U.S. commercial 45.
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Paul,
Grant sent me an MP3 of his domestic CD copy, and I'm having difficulty hearing any difference in the intro of the file he sent and the track I downloaded from iTunes. Can you pinpoint where you think the difference lies?
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Paul C
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| Posted: 11 June 2008 at 3:37pm | IP Logged
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Since no one else seems to hear a difference between the Pleasures CD and the U.S. commercial 45, it makes me wonder if there are perhaps two different 45 versions.
My U.S. commercial 45 of "Funky Worm" (deadwax W-2524) is mono and has an instrumental intro of about five seconds before a woman's voice is heard saying, "She's here, Mr. Johnson." On the Pleasures CD download, the song is stereo and the instrumental intro is only about one second. The shorter intro is not an edit or later fade-in of the longer intro; the two are completely different.
My U.S. commercial 45 of "Ecstasy", which was released just a few months later, is in "COMPATIBLE STEREO". So perhaps "Funky Worm" was issued on both mono and stereo 45s.
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jimct
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| Posted: 11 June 2008 at 4:49pm | IP Logged
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Paul C, I postponed my 1969 research for a moment, and pulled out my 1973 45s to help you out. It turns out that you are indeed 100% correct here, sir. My commercial 45, which states "stereo" but is, in fact, mono (and this is not the first time I have found this to be the case for an early 70's 45 issued on Westbound), is confirmed as Westbound 214 (my deadwax is also "W-2524", Paul, with a "Canadian Ltd" comment to the left of it, for some reason.) It has a listed time of (2:41), an actual time of (2:42), and runs a few seconds longer than all of the (2:37-2:38) current database CD appearances for the song. I have the song on a 1991 Ace/U.K. "Best Of The Westbound Years" CD, which is stereo, and it also happens to have the same, bogus, :01 intro that everyone who has downloaded the song has reported, which I had never noticed before. Paul C is 100% correct; this is NOT the 1973 45 intro. The actual "Funky Worm" 45 starts almost exactly like the first few seconds of the Four Seasons' 1976 hit, "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)", before the piano kicks in a few seconds after the start, whereas the :01 of music on my CD version is unique to the song's stereo mix. I suspect that this shorter, stereo mix is the original 1973 U.S. LP version of "Funky Worm". Great pickup, Paul C, and I give you credit for "sticking to your guns" on this one! I surely should've looked into this further for you, back when you first brought it up in October of '07, but "better late than never", I suppose. Nice job!
Edited by jimct on 11 June 2008 at 4:51pm
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sriv94
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| Posted: 11 June 2008 at 6:20pm | IP Logged
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Jim's explanation is very plausible. Indeed, nice catch by you, Paul.
So Todd, if you get a chance to dig it out, what version does that Ohio Players import CD have?
Edited by sriv94 on 11 June 2008 at 6:22pm
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The Hits Man
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| Posted: 12 June 2008 at 4:13pm | IP Logged
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I should know better than to trust the "stereo designation" on a label!
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sriv94
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| Posted: 13 June 2008 at 7:48am | IP Logged
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Even so, it's what's actually on the record that counts. The key here is whether the intro on your 45 is the same as on the CD version (whether it's mono or stereo isn't as important). And I would guess that it's not.
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aaronk
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| Posted: 21 December 2008 at 12:35am | IP Logged
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Todd, did you ever happen to check your Orgasm... import CD for the 45 version of "Funky Worm"? It's probably the LP version, since online samples are in stereo, but please help us confirm if you get a chance. The only difference is the intro, which runs :05 on the 45 version---a different drum intro as pointed out earlier in the thread.
By the way, the mono 45 appears to be just a fold down of the stereo LP version, except for the unique drum intro on the 45. Both versions are FUNKY, like nine cans of shaving powder.
As a side note, this song has been sampled dozens of times in hip-hop songs, including the unique 45 intro. Main Source, De La Soul, AMG, NWA, and Masta Ace have all sampled this Ohio Players classic.
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Todd Ireland
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| Posted: 22 December 2008 at 9:20am | IP Logged
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Aaron and Doug:
My Ohio Players Orgasm - The Very Best of the Westbound Years German import CD (CDSEWD 062) contains the LP version with the shorter :01 intro that everyone else seems to have on CD or digital download. Sorry, guys, for not reporting back with my findings sooner!
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eriejwg
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Doing a Google search, I found someone who posted a very noisy 45 version mp3 online. I grabbed the unique intro and pasted it into the rest of the LP version, which I converted to mono.
Not happy with the amount of noise I still have in the intro, but for some reason, it's not easy to buy a vinyl 45 of this online at a decent price in any better than G or VG condition.
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jimct
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| Posted: 21 February 2009 at 10:11pm | IP Logged
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Pat, I see that Amazon lists what appears to be a domestic, Oct. 2008 CD release on Westbound, titled "The Original Eight Mile: Westbound Records 40th Anniversary". Amazon is normally very good at denoting import CDs, and no designation appears for this disc. I do know that this disc has also been released on one of the "Ace UK" family of labels over there. This CD includes the database entries "Funky Worm" and Denise LaSalle's "Trapped By A Thing Called Love", as well as the "BB-Top-40-hit-but-not-in-the-db", due to its low Cashbox peak, "Devil's Gun" by C.J. & Co., a song which also may be of interest to some here on the Board. Whenever time allows, could you possibly look into this CD, to see if it might need to be included in your database? Thanks.
Edited by jimct on 21 February 2009 at 10:15pm
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Topic: Funky Worm - The Ohio Players
