Active TopicsActive Topics  Display List of Forum MembersMemberlist  Search The ForumSearch  HelpHelp
  RegisterRegister  LoginLogin
Chat Board
 Top 40 Music on Compact Disc : Chat Board
Subject Topic: Jr. Walker And The All Stars - Shotgun Post ReplyPost New Topic
Author
Message << Prev Topic | Next Topic >>
crapfromthepast
MusicFan
MusicFan


Joined: 14 September 2006
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2272
Posted: 03 March 2025 at 9:44pm | IP Logged Quote crapfromthepast
A favorite of mine from 1965.

Mono

This was the hit. It's on the 45 and the mono LP version (confirmed on YouTube).

The mono version turned up first on CD on Motown's 4-CD Hitsville U.S.A. Vol. 1 (1992). I still can't say enough good things about this collection, which marked the first appearance of a whole lot of the mono Motown mixes. The same analog transfer is used on:
  • Motown's Jr. Walker collecton Nothin' But Soul The Singles (1994)
  • Rhino's Soul Spectacular (2002)
There's a different analog transfer on Motown's Jr. Walker Ultimate Collection (1997). It's mastered far too loud here, which crushes the dynamic range of the song, but if you match volume levels, it sounds about the same as Hitsville (same EQ). The same analog transfer is used on:
  • Hip-O Select's The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965 box set (2006) - cuts off the blammo intro and starts with the instrumentation
Stereo

It's on the stereo Shotgun LP, with the same version being on the vinyl Collection Of 16 Big Hits Vol. 5 LP (confirmed on YouTube).

For the stereo version, Motown replaced the blammo intro from the mono version with a different sound effect, which zooms from the right ear to the left ear. I suppose the mono intro wouldn't have worked well with the extreme panning effect? Not sure.

Interestingly, I found some masterings that match the stereo vinyl versions exactly, and others that shorten the intro.

The version that matches the stereo vinyl versions appears on Rhino's Billboard Top R&B Hits 1965 (1989). It sounds just fine here, The same analog transfer is used on:
  • Time-Life's Rhythm And Blues Vol. 7 1965 (1991) - left/right channels swapped
  • Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 12 1965 (1991) - left/right channels swapped
  • Time-Life 2-CD Classic Rhythm And Blues Collection Vol. 3 1964-1967 (2000) - left/right channels swapped
The very first appearance of the song on CD was likely Motown's Good-Feeling Music Of The Big Chill Generation Vol. 2 (1985). The sound quality is quite nice here, comparable to the Rhino disc. But the mastering shortens the end of the blammo intro by 0.28 seconds, so that the music starts 0.28 seconds earlier than the stereo vinyl versions. So if we're picky, we can say it's not the actual vinyl stereo version, but a shortened-intro stereo version that's otherwise the same as the vinyl stereo version. The same analog transfer is used on:
  • Motown's Jr. Walker collection Compact Command Performances 19 Greatest Hits (1986)
  • Motown's Jr. Walker Greatest Hits (1987)
  • Motown's 16 #1 Hits From The Early '60s (1987)
  • Time-Life's Classic Rock Vol. 1 1965 (1987) - left/right channels swapped
  • Motown's Motown Dance Party Vol. 1 (1987) - truncated fade
  • Motown's Collection Of 16 Big Hits Vol. 5 (1989)
  • Time-Life's 2-CD Rock Party (1990) - left/right channels swapped
There are different analog transfers of the same shortened-intro version on:
  • Heartland Music's 2-CD Real Rock (1987)
  • Sessions/Warner Special Products' 2-CD '60s Frat Rock (1990) - left/right channels swapped
  • Silver Eagle's 3-CD Motown 25th Anniversary Collection (copyright 1983) - sounds awful; this a terrible-sounding collection from start to finish
Non-hit 2005 stereo remix

Shout Factory's 4-CD The Motown Box (2005) includes extended remixes by Tom Moulton for quite a few tracks, including "Shotgun". It runs about 14 seconds longer here, and uses the mono version's sound effect for the intro. It turns up on a few other CDs that I don't have.

My recommendations

For the mono version, go with Motown's 4-CD Hitsville U.S.A. Vol. 1 (1992).

For the stereo version, go with Rhino's Billboard Top R&B Hits 1965 (1989). I assume that you want the intro to match what was released on vinyl at the time.

For the non-hit 2005 stereo remix by Tom Moulton, go with Shout Factory's 4-CD The Motown Box (2005).

Edited by crapfromthepast on 04 March 2025 at 5:56am

__________________
There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
Back to Top View crapfromthepast's Profile Search for other posts by crapfromthepast Visit crapfromthepast's Homepage
 
Todd Ireland
MusicFan
MusicFan


Joined: 16 October 2004
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 4288
Posted: 05 March 2025 at 12:09am | IP Logged Quote Todd Ireland
An excellently thorough analysis as always, Ron! Many thanks!
Back to Top View Todd Ireland's Profile Search for other posts by Todd Ireland
 
PopArchivist
MusicFan
MusicFan


Joined: 30 June 2018
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1553
Posted: 06 March 2025 at 7:43pm | IP Logged Quote PopArchivist
Ron,

The Definitive Collection of Jr. Walker has a slightly longer extended version (3:19) which sounds better than the Billboard from 1989 and almost every other track I have listened to and can be edited down to match the 45 running time except the only issue like you pointed out is the intro which does not match the mono.

I agree on your choice for the mono 100 percent.

__________________
"I'm a pop archivist, not a chart philosopher, I seek to listen, observe and document the chart position of music."
Back to Top View PopArchivist's Profile Search for other posts by PopArchivist
 
TimNeely
MusicFan
MusicFan


Joined: 09 January 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 74
Posted: 07 March 2025 at 1:42am | IP Logged Quote TimNeely
The missing blammo on The Complete
Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965 was such an
egregious error that, after numerous
complaints, including from yours truly,
Hip-O Select revised the disc to include
the correct mono single version. At the
time, one could write to Hip-O Select to
get the corrected disc, and it also
destroyed the old disc on unsold sets in-
house and replaced it.

If one looks at Disc 22, the one that
includes "Shotgun," the number on the back
of the corrected disc is
(B000677502R1ASP). The R1 is missing
from the first pressing.

Edited by TimNeely on 07 March 2025 at 6:46pm
Back to Top View TimNeely's Profile Search for other posts by TimNeely
 
crapfromthepast
MusicFan
MusicFan


Joined: 14 September 2006
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2272
Posted: 07 March 2025 at 8:41am | IP Logged Quote crapfromthepast
PopArchivist wrote:
The Definitive Collection of Jr. Walker has a slightly longer extended version (3:19) which sounds better than the Billboard from 1989 and almost every other track I have listened to and can be edited down to match the 45 running time except the only issue like you pointed out is the intro which does not match the mono.


The 3:19 version is the new Tom Moulton mix. It does sound good, but it was created in 2005 and doesn't match the hit mixes from 1965.

__________________
There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
Back to Top View crapfromthepast's Profile Search for other posts by crapfromthepast Visit crapfromthepast's Homepage
 

If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login
If you are not already registered you must first register

  Post ReplyPost New Topic
Printable version Printable version

Forum Jump
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum



This page was generated in 0.0508 seconds.