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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 09 September 2022 at 2:44pm | IP Logged
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The 1965 hit version was mono (it was never mixed to stereo), ran 2:31 on the 45 and LP, and started with a drum roll.
Fake stereo
The first appearances on CD were in fake stereo. All of these really aren't so great. I couldn't extract a coherent mastering history from these, so I'll just list them:- Atlantic's Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 5 (1985 original release)
- Warner Special Products' Atlantic Soul Classics (1985)
- Time-Life's Classic Rock Vol. 1 1965 (1987)
- JCI's Dance Sixties (1988) - digitally exactly 2.2 dB louder than Atlantic Soul Classics
- Time-Life's 2-CD Rock Party (1990)
- JCI's Only Rock And Roll 1965-1969 (1994)
Avoid all of the above.
Mono
All of the mono versions listed below sound better than all of the fake stereo versions listed above.
I found three different analog transfers for the song.
1991: The first is on Atlantic's Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 6 (1991 rerelease). The fade starts around 2:14 (around the words "hold you") and ends around 2:37. The same analog transfer is used on:- Atlantic's Wilson Pickett's Greatest Hits (1987; I don't know how or why this came out four years before the 1991 set. I didn't overthink it.) - missing the opening drum roll, but is otherwise a differently EQ'd digital clone
- Time-Life's Rhythm And Blues Vol. 7 1965 (1991) - missing the opening drum roll, and fade is shortened by about 12 beats compared to the above two CDs
- Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 12 1965 (1991) - digitally identical to Rhythm And Blues Vol. 7 1965, so also missing the opening drum roll, and fade is shortened by about 12 beats compared to the top two CDs
- Time-Life's 2-CD Classic R&B Collection Vol. 3 1964-1967 (2000) - digital clone (same EQ and level but added dithering noise) of Rhythm And Blues Vol. 7 1965, so also missing the opening drum roll, and fade is shortened by about 12 beats compared to the top two CDs
1992: The second analog transfer is on Atlantic's multi-disc Wilson Pickett box A Man And A Half (1992), mastered by Stephen Innocenzi. The fade starts about 16 beats later than the earlier mastering, at about 2:23 (after the words "midnight hour"), and ends at 2:32. The same analog transfer is used on:- Rhino's promo Rhino Atlantic Remasters Collection CD Sampler (1992, PRO2 90127) - digitally identical
- Rhino's Wilson Pickett Very Best Of (1993) - digitally identical
- Rhino's budget multi-artist compilation Soul Hits Vol. 1 (1993)
1994: Finally, there's a third analog transfer on Rhino's Let There Be Drums Vol. 2 The '60s (1994), mastered by Bill Inglot, Dan Hersch, and Ken Perry. Compared to the earlier analog transfers, this one has a slight treble boost that brings out the tape hiss (typical mid-'90s Rhino sound). The fade starts around 2:19 (around the end of the words "just you and I") and ends at 2:32. The same analog transfer is used on:- Rhino's promo Rock The Dome (1994; PRCD 7101) - differently EQ'd digital clone
- Rhino's Atlantic Ultimate '60s Soul Sensation (1998) - differently EQ'd digital clone
- Rhino's New Millennium Soul Party (2000) - differently EQ'd digital clone
All three of the above mono masterings are true mono. (The 1991 mastering out-of-phase sums to dithering noise. The 1992 mastering out-of-phase sums to zero. The 1994 mastering has a tiny difference in level/EQ between the channels.) All have great dynamic range and no evidence of noise reduction on the fade. The EQ is a little different among them (the 1991 is a little flat-sounding, the 1994 is a little treble-boosted).
Finally, there's one outlier that doesn't match any of the above and doesn't sound very good: Atco's Classic Recordings (1991)
My recommendation
I'm going to go with Rhino's Let There Be Drums Vol. 2 The '60s (1994).
Apparently, I have a bias toward the Bill Inglot work!
Edited by crapfromthepast on 09 September 2022 at 7:01pm
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TomDiehl1
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| Posted: 09 September 2022 at 7:38pm | IP Logged
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I had this on a Time Life cd, I want to say
Classic Rock 1965, where the track was
basically (E), but there was definitely an
additional drum overdub on one channel that
stood out to me. It's been 20 years since
I've owned that cd, however. When I got a
copy of the promo 45, I noticed it faded
later than the CD version did. By how much,
I can't remember, unfortunately.
Edited by TomDiehl1 on 10 September 2022 at 6:05pm
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NightAire
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| Posted: 09 September 2022 at 8:28pm | IP Logged
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Great detective work, as always! Sounds like I may be playing one the versions without the roll; I need to correct that.
It also sounds like all of them go longer than the original single. I wonder how much vamping there is at the end of the original tape? It would be interesting to hear it all the way out.
Are all the masterings the same tempo? I ask because that could affect the lengths. I initially am drawn to the one that runs 2:37 but if the difference is speed rather than actual measures of music, there's no benefit.
Can the '94 mastering be summed to mono, or can you use just one channel and get a flat or reasonably flat mono recording?
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 10 September 2022 at 12:00am | IP Logged
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Gene - The speed is about the same for all of the discs I listed. The 1991 Atlantic R&B set really does extend 4 or 5 full seconds longer than the others. The other two end in pretty much the same place, which matches the 45 length.
All of the above can be summed to mono nicely.
For my own folders of Hot 100 tracks, I got into the habit of creating a one-channel flac file for mono tracks. I used the left channel of the Rhino disc, for what it's worth. You can use the right channel, or sum them together, or just leave it as-is; all will sound pretty much the same for this particular song on these CDs.
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LunarLaugh
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| Posted: 10 September 2022 at 11:50am | IP Logged
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I have the 1984 CD of Atlantic's "The Best of Wilson
Pickett" which is where I assume the fake stereo version
might have originated, but I can send you the track to
compare if you like?
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 10 September 2022 at 8:08pm | IP Logged
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I confirmed that the CD The Best Of Wilson Pickett (Atlantic 81283, copyright 1984, actual CD release date unknown) is digitally identical to Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 5 (1985 original release).
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C J Brown
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| Posted: 11 September 2022 at 2:16pm | IP Logged
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Do the 1994 transfers have the opening drum roll?
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 11 September 2022 at 5:11pm | IP Logged
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C J Brown wrote:
| Do the 1994 transfers have the opening drum roll? |
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They do indeed.
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 11 September 2022 at 5:28pm | IP Logged
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Just learned that Real Gone Music's Land Of 1000 Dances (The Complete Atlantic Singles Vol. 1) (2016) has a great-sounding version that fades from 2:33 to 2:38, which runs longer than any of the versions I listed above and includes the opening drum roll.
And just like that, I have a new recommendation!
I've been really impressed with the (relatively) recent releases of "Complete Atlantic Singles Collection"-type packages. Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, now Wilson Pickett. Finally, these artists are getting some great-sounding releases of the hit mono mixes.
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Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Topic: Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour
