Top 40 Music on Compact Disc: Van Morrison

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Topic: Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl

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crapfromthepast
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Posted: 27 June 2021 at 8:18pm \| IP Logged

From the saturation-level airplay this song got on oldies radio stations throughout the '80s and '90s (on par with "Respect"), you'd think this might have been one of the biggest chart hits of all time. But it peaked at #10 in 1967, showing that immediate popularity and endurance are two different things.

There are two versions: a stereo version, which I assume is the LP version, and a mono version with altered lyrics, which I assume is the 45 version. If that's not correct, please let me know and post correct info below. (Edit: Not quite right; see posts below.)

Stereo, original "making love in the green grass" lyric at 2:20

The oldest disc I have with this version is JCI's Mellow Sixties (1988), where it runs 3:06. I think it's from vinyl here; I hear a few ticks and pops on the fade, over what seems to be turntable rumble. The same analog transfer is used on:

Time-Life's Classic Rock Vol. 10 1967 The Beat Goes On (1988) - the fade is hastened slightly to mask artifacts on the fade
Time-Life's Superhits Vol. 14 The Late '60s (1992) - left/right channels swapped, and shortens fade by about 6 beats; avoid
Time-Life's AM Gold Vol. 14 The Late '60s (1992) - is identical to Superhits, so also has left/right channels swapped, and shortens fade by about 6 beats; avoid

I have an infinitely cleaner version on my copy of Mercury's Van Morrison collection Best Of (1990). The database and Discogs both say that this disc has the "laughin' and runnin" lyric, and the database says that it's mono, but my copy has the "making love" lyric and is in stereo. Not sure what to make of that. I have my own CD rip, but I no longer have the actual CD and can't supply matrix number info. Here are the actual track lengths from my copy of Best Of:

01. Bright Side Of The Road    [0:03:45.67]
02. Gloria    [0:02:38.28]
03. Moondance    [0:04:32.47]
04. Baby Please Don't Go    [0:02:42.70]
05. Have I Told You Lately    [0:04:20.05]
06. Brown Eyed Girl    [0:03:05.03]
07. Sweet Thing    [0:04:23.07]
08. Warm Love    [0:03:23.20]
09. Wonderful Remark    [0:04:00.65]
10. Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)    [0:02:57.55]
11. Full Force Gale    [0:03:14.65]
12. And It Stoned Me    [0:04:31.58]
13. Here Comes The Night    [0:02:46.30]
14. Domino    [0:03:08.72]
15. Did Ye Get Healed    [0:04:07.30]
16. Wild Night    [0:03:32.50]
17. Cleaning Windows    [0:04:42.65]
18. Whenever God Shines His Light    [0:04:54.33]
19. Queen Of The Slipstream    [0:04:53.62]
20. Dweller On The Threshold    [0:04:47.73]

It sounds so clean here that I'd venture that this is a remix. Can't confirm, though. The only CDs in the database that say "remix" are Epic Associated/Legacy's CD rerelease of Blowin' Your Mind. (Edit: This seems to be the original mix; it just sounds so much better than the JCI mix that it's hard to tell that it's even the same mix.)

The following CDs are all differently-EQ'd digital clones of my copy of Best Of:

Sony's 2-CD Thirty-Five Years Of Rock And Roll (1992)
Realm's multi-disc Greatest Hits Of The '60s Vol. 1 (1995)
Time-Life's Gold And Platinum Vol. 1 1964-1970 (1997)
Time-Life's 2-CD Singers And Songwriters Vol. 6 The 1960s (2000)
Time-Life's Singers And Songwriters Vol. 31 Classics (2001)
Time-Life's 2-CD Singers And Songwriters Vol. 22 The Folk Years Simple Song Of Freedom (2002)
Realm's multi-CD Summertime Party Pack (2002)
Legacy's 2-CD Essential (2015)

And one outlier: Legacy's promo Rock Artifacts 27 Cut Preview (1993), which is a different take that runs about 3:27.

Mono, altered "laughin' and runnin'" lyric at 2:20

The database shows this version as being on Best Of (Mercury 841970), where it runs 3:02, excluding outro silence. It's relatively uncommon on CD, compared to the stereo version. I don't have this version on CD, unfortunately, so I can't comment on it.

Edited by crapfromthepast on 28 June 2021 at 8:34am

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Hykker
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Posted: 28 June 2021 at 5:03am \| IP Logged

My copy of B-545 which I purchased new in the summer of
'67 has the "making love" lyrics, which is all I ever
recall hearing during the song's chart run. In fact, I
never heard the "laughin' and runnin'" version until the
late 70s, though I'd heard rumors of its existence.

crapfromthepast
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Posted: 28 June 2021 at 8:31am \| IP Logged

So the stereo version with original lyrics was on the original LP (a safe assumption), was on at least some of the commercial 45s (confirmed by Hykker), and was probably on at least some of the promo 45s?

Does anyone have a commercial 45 with the mono/altered lyrics version?

Likewise, does anyone have a promo 45 with the stereo/original lyrics version or the mono/altered lyrics version?

There's not much concrete documentation out there regarding where/when the mono/altered lyrics version showed up.

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LunarLaugh
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Posted: 28 June 2021 at 12:58pm \| IP Logged

The 1998 Sony reissue of Blowin' Your Mind is indeed a
complete remix from the four track master tapes by Vic
Anesini. Vic used strictly vintage analog gear and analog
tape to recreate, as closely as possible, the original mix
and then mastered it to digital using Sony's SBM process.

I believe there were multiple pressings of Van's "Best
of". The earlier ones used an original mix while later
reissues (which, AFAIK had nearly identical artwork with
just a "remastered" hype sticker on the wrapper)
substituted the later remix.

Edited by LunarLaugh on 28 June 2021 at 1:00pm

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crapfromthepast
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Posted: 28 June 2021 at 2:05pm \| IP Logged

Good to know. My copy of Best Of was the original 1990 release, purchased around 1993.

Vic Anesini does great work. If the original mix sounds as good as it does, I can only imagine how good Vic's remix must sound!

Edited by crapfromthepast on 28 June 2021 at 2:05pm

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LunarLaugh
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Posted: 28 June 2021 at 10:43pm \| IP Logged

Don't quote me on this, but I think the remixes *might*
have first appeared in 1991 on a CD called "The Bang
Masters". The 1998 reissue of Blowin' Your Mind is just a
repackaging of those remixes within the original album
format with several bonus alternate takes tacked on.

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Paul C
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Posted: 29 June 2021 at 6:29am \| IP Logged

My copy of B-545 also has the 'Makin' love in the green
grass' lyrics. I've always just assumed that some 45s
have the altered lyrics, but I must admit that I don't
have any concrete proof.

MMathews
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Posted: 02 July 2021 at 4:09pm \| IP Logged

LunarLaugh wrote:

Don't quote me on this, but I think
the remixes *might*
have first appeared in 1991 on a CD called "The Bang
Masters". The 1998 reissue of Blowin' Your Mind is just
a
repackaging of those remixes within the original album
format with several bonus alternate takes tacked on.

Yes I was going to mention this as well. The first remix
I heard was on "The Bang Masters" on Epic/Legacy (1991).

Credits say the entire CD was remixed by Mark Wilder. T
he panning and "feel" of the mix is true to the o
riginal, but the clarity of the audio is stunning.

[Edit] Oh and I'll just add that my copy of "Best Of"
had the mono censored version on it. But I no longer own
my copy either.

MM

Edited by MMathews on 02 July 2021 at 4:12pm

Brian W.
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Posted: 02 July 2021 at 4:53pm \| IP Logged

Paul C wrote:

My copy of B-545 also has the 'Makin'
love in the green grass' lyrics. I've always just
assumed that some 45s have the altered lyrics, but I
must admit that I don't have any concrete proof.

According to a couple people on YouTube who have posted
the commercial 45, both of which have the "making love"
lyric, the version with the censored lyrics was only
serviced to radio and was not commercially issued.

Edited by Brian W. on 02 July 2021 at 4:54pm

garye
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Posted: 02 July 2021 at 6:01pm \| IP Logged

The Mono Single edit from The Bang Years is the revised
lyric, and every stereo version I have (6) of them all
had original words.
Now that might have been radio version only, but could
not confirm that with the ones I have.

aaronk
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Posted: 02 July 2021 at 7:22pm \| IP Logged

Is the original 2-track master tape lost? All of the CDs Ron lists above with the original '67 stereo mix sound like a mediocre vinyl transfer with plenty of groove distortion. Many years ago, someone pointed me to the Bang Masters CD but never pointed out that it's a remix. I've used that as my go-to version ever since, and I don't plan on going back to the '67 stereo version unless someone knows a good sounding source for it.

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LunarLaugh
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Posted: 02 July 2021 at 7:49pm \| IP Logged

It's possible that the original stereo mixes have
deteriorated. This seems to be common with several 1960s
artist catalogs that Sony controls. Simon & Garfunkel, Bob
Dylan and The Byrds are just a couple that have had
selected works of their output subtly given the remix
treatment.

Edited by LunarLaugh on 02 July 2021 at 7:53pm

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LunarLaugh
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Posted: 02 July 2021 at 7:50pm \| IP Logged

[EDIT: deleted post]

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AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 03 July 2021 at 6:23am \| IP Logged

Regarding the Mark Wilder remix first released on the
Amy Herot produced Bang Masters CD:

You can tell the difference as the original stereo mix
has high-volume nasal male Sha-la-las in the phantom
center channel at about 2:40.

The original mono mix has low-level nasal male Sha-la-
las at approx. 2:40 buried by the predominately female
Sha-la-la chorus vocals.

The Wilder remix has mid-level nasal male Sha-la-las
at 2:40-ish with the predominately female Sha-la-la
chorus vox in the right-channel more audible than the
original stereo mix.

I know this is a weird description but its the best
way for me to describe the differences between the 3
versions

I remember I was working with Bob Irwin on a Sundazed
project when he gave me insider information that he
was working with Amy Herot & Mark Wilder on a Bang
material Van Morrison multi-track project.

I played Brown Eyed Girl at just about every mobile
gig I booked and I always played the stereo version,
even though I hated the loud nasal Sha-la-las of the
stereo mix.

I remember asking Bob if he could goose the project
leaders to mix it more like the 45, but with the
stereo placement of the LP mix.

I was reasonably happy with the result; I think they
took a nice middle-ground approach.

Andy

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Posted: 06 July 2021 at 5:31am \| IP Logged

The 3CD release The Authorized Bang Collection from
2017 has the "original stereo mix" and the "original edited
mono single mix" as the lead tracks on the first and second
discs, respectively. (Unfortunately, no unedited
mono version included.) This set was compiled by Andrew
Sandoval and mastered by Vic Anesini.

aaronk
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Posted: 06 July 2021 at 9:46am \| IP Logged

Thanks for the tip! How's the sound quality on "Brown Eyed Girl"?

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aaronk
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Posted: 06 July 2021 at 9:56am \| IP Logged

I just downloaded it from Qobuz, and the quality is excellent. It's definitely from tape source on this disc. The levels are a bit lower that expected, reminiscent of a late '80s CD with plenty of headroom.

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PopArchivist
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Posted: 11 April 2022 at 10:13pm \| IP Logged

So doing my 1967 assembly this is a gem of a song, it should have done much better back then on the charts. Great song of course, a classic and one of my favorites.

I went to the Prof on youtube and of course at 2:20 the mono 45 has the lyrics "making love in the green grass" as confirmed by Hykker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6KzkJ5L2j0

Is it possible to just fold down the stereo LP with the making love in the green grass lyrics to make the 45 version of the mono unedited and then download the two files from the 3CD release The Authorized Bang Collection to have the stereo and the mono edited mix for completeness?

Listening I hear nothing unique about the mono 45 at all as compared to the stereo.

Edited by PopArchivist on 11 April 2022 at 10:23pm

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AndrewChouffi
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Posted: 12 April 2022 at 5:45am \| IP Logged

PopArchivist wrote:

Listening I hear nothing unique about
the mono 45 at all as compared to the stereo.

The mixes may be close for most of the tune, but the ending
mixing is quite different as documented in my above older
post from July 2021.

Edited by AndrewChouffi on 12 April 2022 at 5:45am

crapfromthepast
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Posted: 12 April 2022 at 7:44am \| IP Logged

Revisiting my post from above...

I can confirm that the Best Of from my original post was the 1998 reissue, not the original 1990 release. The 1998 reissue is a digital clone (about 3 dB louder) of the CD Bang Masters (1991), which was remixed by Mark Wilder.

The Sony, Realm, and Time-Life discs I listed above are all differently-EQ'd digital clones of Bang Masters (1991).

In addition to the sha-la-las-at-2:40 difference that Andrew noted above, the fade on the Mark Wilder remix starts much earlier than the 1967 stereo mix. The end of the fade stops about one beat before the 1967 stereo mix.

So to tally up, I count four versions of the song:

1967 mono mix, laughin' and runnin' lyric at 2.20, found on original pressings of Best Of (1990)
1967 stereo mix, makin' love lyric at 2.20, found on JCI's Mellow Sixties (1988)
1991 stereo remix by Mark Wilder, makin' love lyric at 2.20, found on Bang Masters (1991)
previously unreleased alternate take from 1967, found on Bang Masters (1991)

Edited by crapfromthepast on 12 April 2022 at 9:05am

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