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Bill Cahill
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Joined: 27 June 2005
Location: United States
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Posts: 595
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| Posted: 20 June 2009 at 8:20am | IP Logged
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I found a surprisingly good copy of "The Happy Organ" by Dave 'Baby' Cortez on Clock C-1009 and compared it to a couple of CDs in the database.
First, the label time is 2:01 but the run time is 2:04. No CD in the database with the original version of this song runs that long.
Second, the original 45 is not as distorted or compressed like Rhino's Top Billboard Hits of 1959. That Rhino release sure sounds like it came from a distorted, over EQ'ed and over compressed vinyl source. Did Clock release an LP? RCA did, I don't have it but photos I see of that LP say it contains the original recording. Did they use a tape or vinyl source, and did the distortion start happening with them? I can only imagine what "Living Stereo' sounds like on that LP. The original Clock 45 does not have the over powering bass, (probably the result of someone EQ'ing and compressing) and certainly not all that distortion on the organ and guitar. The level also drops and rises at various parts of the 45 which is lost on the compressed source. Any CD that has that Rhino source should be noted as "sounds like distorted vinyl source".. or if it came from RCA, "distorted RCA LP version".
Third, although not noted, at least some of the versions in the databases are re-recorded. The Compose "70 Ounces of Gold" is an electronically rechanneled re-recorded version. Guess that mono was good enough the first time so it was good enough for the re-cut. I would guess that the other Compose CD in the database is also the re-recorded version. Maybe more. Those CDs need to be noted.
I don't have a lot of CD sources on this track. Is there a version of the original from tape on any CD?
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Yah Shure
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Joined: 11 December 2007
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| Posted: 20 June 2009 at 9:32am | IP Logged
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Bill, I ran across a bootlegged Clock 45 in a store in the late '70s. It may have been a Richard Minor boot, although it didn't carry his typical telltale traits. Anyway, I immediately noticed that the label was different. The Roman numeral XII and the letter "O" in the usual Clock logo had been replaced by a smiling alarm clock. The "distributed by Ember Distributors, Inc." band just below the Clock name was missing, too.
So what did the boot sound like? There was a higher than usual amount of clicks and pops in the lead-in groove. Then came the unmistakable sound of a turntable being engaged, an increase in surface noise, and a highly-compressed needledrop of the 45. Of course, things quieted down after the song ended.
Get this, though. The song itself sounded better than that mess on the Rhino Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits of 1959 CD! On that CD, the speed is too fast, and the compression is unbearable.
Try the same cut from Rhino's Rock Instrumental Classics Voulume 1: The Fifties CD instead. It's from a tape source, the speed is correct, and yes, there is actual bass that was flattened off of the cheaply-mastered Clock 45s. You'll also notice a deep bass to the disc's preceding cut, The Virtues' "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" that was EQ'd out of the Hunt 45.
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Bill Cahill
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Joined: 27 June 2005
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Posts: 595
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| Posted: 20 June 2009 at 3:13pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for the tape source info.
Looks like the copy I picked up is an original, it's distributed by Ember and has the plain "O".
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Dave "Baby" Cortez - The Happy Organ
