https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:32:15 +0000 Sun, 03 Aug 2025 15:05:49 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.07 360 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=4987 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum//images/Top-40-Music-on-CD-Forum-Logo.png https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=67117&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#67117 Author: eriejwg
Subject: 4987
Posted: 03 August 2025 at 3:05pm

Thank you Ron for revisiting this. I went on YouTube and matched the fade from Bob's 45 to the Endless Summer version.]]> Sun, 03 Aug 2025 15:05:49 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=67117&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#67117 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=67114&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#67114 Author: crapfromthepast
Subject: 4987
Posted: 02 August 2025 at 9:57pm

Ignore everything above; let's start fresh.

"Hot Stuff" has a live drummer (Keith Forsey) playing to a click track. I will include the beats-per-minute (BPM) values for the various masterings below. Those BPM values may be helpful downstream for determining where a stray track came from. FYI, I used a free program called MixMeister BPM Analyzer to determine the BPM values. It's amazingly accurate for tracks that use a drum machine or a click track.

45 version (printed 3:47, actual 3:47, 120.3 BPM for 45Prof's 45 dub)

The vinyl 45 runs 3:47. It fades to silence on the downbeat at the end of the word "evenin'". For what it's worth, the mono side of the promo 45 sounds like a fold-down of the stereo mix, and runs about a beat longer than the stereo side of the promo 45.

The 45 version first appeared on CD on Silver Eagle/Warner Special Products' mail order 2-CD Dancin' The Night Away (1988; 120.28 BPM) It sounds fine here, with decent EQ, nice dynamic range, and no evidence of noise reduction on the fade. It runs 3:48 here. The tail of the fade is about 3 beats longer than on the vinyl 45, which is insignificant. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Rebound's Class Reunion 1979 (1994)
• Razor & Tie's multi-CD 70 Number One Hits Of The 70s (1998)

There's a new analog transfer on Sessions/Warner Special Products' mail-order 2-CD The Ultimate Party Album (1992; 120.06 BPM). It sounds a little better here, with a little more crispness in the mastering. It runs 3:49 here. The tail of the fade is about 5 beats longer than on the vinyl 45.

There's a new analog transfer on Casablanca's Endless Summer Donna Summer's Greatest Hits (1994; 120.46 BPM). I believe that this is the first Donna Summer CD collection (not a various-artists CD) to feature the 45 version. Sound is quite nice, a bit better than what came out before this disc. It runs 3:49 here. The tail of the fade is about 4 beats longer than on the vinyl 45. The same analog transfer is used on:

• PolyGram's Pure Disco (1996)
• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies '70s Dance Party 1979-1981 (1997) - differently EQ'd digital clone
• Mercury's Donna Summer Greatest Hits (1998) - level-adjusted digital clone
• Time-Life's Disco Fever I Love The Nightlife (2006) - fades early

There's a new analog transfer on UTV's The Journey The Very Best Of (2003; 120.34 BPM), but it's mastered too loud and clips a lot.

There's a new analog transfer on the UK's Now Yearbook 1979 (2002; 120.36 BPM), which fades a few seconds earlier than the above.

Casablanca's 1987 reissue of the 1980 Donna Summer Walk Away hits collection cuts off the opening two beats, including the intro snare drum fill, but otherwise is the 45 version (120.97 BPM). This didn't exist in 1979. Avoid for this track.

LP version (printed 5:13, actual 5:14 and tracks into the song "Bad Girls")

The LP matches the 45 until about 3:18, then diverges with some material that isn't in the 45. The portion of 3:19-3:35 of the 45 is from 4:35 to 4:51 of the LP version. There's some stuff in the 45 that's not in the LP version, and vice versa (you can't edit one down from the other).

Discogs says that the Casablanca reissue of the full Bad Girls album came out in 1986 in Germany. The only date on the CD is the 1979 copyright date, which was before CDs were invented. Regardless of release date, the original Casablanca Bad Girls CD sounds terrific. Great dynamic range, nice full EQ, seemingly very low-generation source tape, no evidence of noise reduction anywhere. (120.48 BPM) The song ends on a snare hit at about 5:14, right before the opening hi-hat of the song "Bad Girls". There's a level-adjusted digital clone on Casablanca Records Greatest Hits (1996).

The LP version is faded very early to 4:55 on the Arcade (Netherlands) various-artists Dance Classics Bonus With Vol. 16 (1990; 120.46 BPM). This early fade didn't exist in 1979.

The 2-CD deluxe edition of Bad Girls (2003) is mastered way too loud and clips a lot. (120.35 BPM) For sound quality, avoid, but for bonus tracks, this collection is pretty good.

First 12 inch single version, just "Hot Stuff", Casablanca 20159 (printed 6:45, actual 6:50)

Discogs shows a promo 12 inch single for 20159, but doesn't list a commercial 12 inch single. Unclear if Casablanca 20159 was ever commercially available.

This is a different mix than the LP/45. Listen for the tamborine on top of the snare in the first verse; the LP/45 mix has no such tamborine. There's other stuff, too, but the tamborine is easiest to spot right away.

Amazingly, this doesn't exist on CD. (See below.) I found a nice vinyl dub on YouTube. (120.0 BPM)

Second 12 inch single version, two song medley of "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls", Casablanca 20167 (printed times of 6:45 for "Hot Stuff" and 4:55 for "Bad Girls")

This 12" version was available commercially and as a promo. It has both "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls" as back-to-back medley, like on the album. The medley appears on Rhino's Billboard Top Dance Hits 1979 (1992; 120.62 BPM) as one long track, running 11:40. Sound quality is excellent.

The medley 12" version matches the first ("Hot Stuff"-only) 12" version until about 6:32, then goes into a transitional section before it switches over completely to "Bad Girls".

The following have the full "Hot Stuff" portion of the medley, ending on the snare right before the hi-hat of "Bad Girls" starts:

• Casablanca's 2-CD Anthology (1993; 120.54 BPM)
• The Casablanca Records Story (1994; 120.54 BPM) - same analog transfer as Anthology (1993)
• The 2-CD deluxe edition of Bad Girls (2003; 120.42 BPM)
• Grand 12 Inches Vol. 10 (2013; 120.54 BPM) - same analog transfer as Anthology (1993)

The following have just the "Hot Stuff" portion of the medley, fading before the snare ending (these didn't exist in 1979):

• JCI's Dance Seventies (1993; 120.55 BPM) - same analog transfer as Anthology (1993) but faded early
• Rebound's Disco Nights Vol. 8 Dance Floor Hits (1995; 120.53 BPM) - same analog transfer as Anthology (1993) but faded even earlier
• UTV's The Journey The Very Best Of (2003; 120.42 BPM) - same analog transfer as 2-CD deluxe edition of Bad Girls (2003) but faded early

Non-hit 1979 On The Radio LP version (printed 2:54, actual 2:55)

Giorgio Moroder did lots of custom edits for the On The Radio greatest hits package released in 1979. Lots of songs flow together in ways that they didn't before. It's a superb collection with terrific sound, but it's not the hit versions.

This is a shortened edit of the LP/45 mix. I didn't check to see if it could be truly edited down from the 45 or the LP. It also goes into a shortened version of "Bad Girls", right after "Hot Stuff".

Discogs shows the CD version of On The Radio being released in Germany in 1986 and in the US in 1987. (120.57 BPM)

Non-hit 1992 remix by Bill Inglot (runs 4:27)

This version didn't exist in 1979.

I'm about 80% convinced that it's a new mix, but I still have 20% doubt. Assuming that it's a new mix, it's on Rhino, so I'm guessing that it's by Bill Inglot. (Can't confirm, though.)

The version on Rhino's The Disco Years Vol. 4 (1992; 120.50 BPM) sounds impossibly clean, with more sparkle than I'd expect from a 1979-era mix. The soundstage on The Disco Years Vol. 4 seems to be a teeny bit wider than Endless Summer Donna Summer's Greatest Hits (listen for the hi-hat in the right channel, which seems to be panned slightly farther right on the Rhino disc). Also, from 0:16-0:32 on the Rhino disc, I hear a high-pitched keyboard sound in the background over the main synth line - it's more of a sheen than a melody or harmony part. That high-pitched keyboard sound doesn't seem to be in the discs listed above, but I can't tell if it's just an EQ difference (much more high end on the Rhino) or if it's a real mix difference.

The version on The Disco Years Vol. 4 runs 4:27, or about 0:40 longer than the 45. That last 40 seconds doesn't appear in the LP version, and appears to be unique to this version of the song. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Dance Fever (1992)
• Razor & Tie's Women In Rock - The Rolling Stone Collection (1998) - mastered too loud and clips a lot

My recommendations

For the 45 version, go with Casablanca's Endless Summer Donna Summer's Greatest Hits (1994). If you insist on a various-artists compilation for the 45 version, go with Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies '70s Dance Party 1979-1981 (1997), which has its EQ adjusted by Dennis Drake, one of the very best mastering engineers ever, and one who has a particularly keen ear for EQ. (To my ears, Dennis Drake is the only mastering engineer who can improve a track by adjusting the EQ, so that the EQ-adjusted track sounds better than the original.)

For the LP version, go with Casablanca's full Bad Girls album (1986?). If you want a various-artists compilation, go with Casablanca Records Greatest Hits (1996).

For the first 12 inch single version (just "Hot Stuff"), go with a vinyl dub. That's all there is.

For the second 12 inch single version (medley of "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls"), go with Rhino's Billboard Top Dance Hits 1979 (1992). If you just want "Hot Stuff" from the medley, go with Casablanca's 2-CD Anthology (1993), although to my ears it sounds weird and unfinished hearing the full transitional break without "Bad Girls" following it.

For the non-hit 1979 On The Radio LP version, go with Casablanca's On The Radio (1986 or 1987).

For the non-hit 1992 remix by Bill Inglot, go with Rhino's The Disco Years Vol. 4 (1992), which is a sterling disco collection. I highly recommend the whole seven-volume series.

Whew!

Edited by crapfromthepast - 02 August 2025 at 10:04pm]]> Sat, 02 Aug 2025 21:57:38 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=67114&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#67114 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42303&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42303 Author: budaniel
Subject: 4987
Posted: 06 October 2014 at 7:07pm

The Disco Years 4 version is unique in that the extra chunk of fade out features Donna ad-libs that are not on any other version of the song.]]> Mon, 06 Oct 2014 19:07:40 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42303&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42303 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42275&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42275 Author: crapfromthepast
Subject: 4987
Posted: 03 October 2014 at 11:25pm

Probably, but I don't have that one. I have a boatload of
compilations, and relatively few single-artist discs.]]> Fri, 03 Oct 2014 23:25:54 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42275&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42275 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42273&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42273 Author: The Hits Man
Subject: 4987
Posted: 03 October 2014 at 8:56pm

Doesn't the 45 version also appear on the "Endless
Summer" CD? ]]> Fri, 03 Oct 2014 20:56:10 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42273&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42273 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42238&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42238 Author: AndrewChouffi
Subject: 4987
Posted: 29 September 2014 at 8:02am

To "Crapfromthepast":

There was actually 4 distinct USA releases of "Hot Stuff" in 1979. One was promo only.

Within a week or so of the 45 release was a promo only 12" of "Hot Stuff" that went on longer (with unique audio) than any other CD release of the so-called 12" version.

After the song "Bad Girls" was released as a 45 Casablanca released a commercial 12" of "Hot Stuff/Bad Girls" with most (but not all) of the promo 12" version edited into the album version of "Bad Girls" (before the segue at the end of "Hot Stuff").

Andy]]> Mon, 29 Sep 2014 08:02:43 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42238&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42238 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42235&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42235 Author: crapfromthepast
Subject: 4987
Posted: 28 September 2014 at 8:49pm

There are three distinct versions of "Hot Stuff" that were released in 1979.

The shortest is the 45 version, which runs 3:49 (thanks to Jim).

The next longest is the LP version, which runs 5:14, and tracks into "Bad Girls" on the album.

The longest is the 12" single, which runs 6:46and tracks into "Bad Girls" on some configurations of the 12" (with the two songs, combined running 11:40). In other configurations of the 12" single, the 6:46 version is faded a little early to 6:40 (?) and cuts out "Bad Girls" entirely. The 12" single is the same as the LP version until 4:31. After 4:31, the 12" version features a sax part that's not in the LP version. I don't think the LP version can be edited down from the 12" version.

Likewise, I don't think the 45 can be recreated from the LP or 12" versions. I'll post partial instructions, which show where the first two edits in the 45 are, but the last few seconds of the 45 seem to be unique to the 45:

Segment 1
384 beats long, ends on downbeat that follows the words "how's about some"
Extends from 0:00.0-3:11.7 of the 45 and LP versions

Remove the 128 beats from 3:11.7-4:15.4 of the LP version

Segment 2
16 beats long, begins and ends on downbeat
Extends from 3:11.7-3:19.7 of the 45 version
Extends from 4:15.4-4:23.4 of the LP version

Remove the 24 beats from 4:23.4-4:35.3 of the LP version

Segment 3
32 beats long, begins and ends on downbeat
Extends from 3:19.7-3:35.6 of the 45 version
Extends from 4:35.3-4:51.3 of the LP version

Segment 4
about 24 beats long; the fade starts at the beginning of this segment and ends at the end of this segment
Extends from 3:35.6-3:49 (end) of the 45 version
Doesn't seem to exist in the LP version or the 12" version

Anyone else care to take a stab at this? I'll gladly update the info if I'm wrong. I envision Mr. Moroder hunched over an editing block, waist deep in tape segments and splice tape...

Anyway, here are my mastering findings.

45 version

The 45 version first appeared on Silver Eagle/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Dancin' The Night Away (1988), where it runs 3:49 and 120.3 BPM throughout (it's a live drummer playing to a click track). It tracks closely with Class Reunion '79, but I can't tell if they're the same analog transfer.

The 45 version next appeared on Warner Special Products' 2-CD Ultimate Party Album, where it runs 3:49 and 120.1 BPM throughout. Sound quality is very close to Dancin'.

Bill Inglot seems to have found better source tapes than the discs listed above for Rhino's Disco Years Vol. 4 (1992), where it runs 120.5 BPM throughout. The edits are in the correct place, but the song extends all the way out to 4:27, making it about 38 seconds longer than the 45. Very clear sound, slightly boosted high end typical of the Rhino releases, and overall my favorite of the 45 versions. The same analog transfer is used for Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 27 Dance Fever (1992).

There was a new analog transfer for PolyGram's Pure Disco (1996), where it runs 3:48 and 120.5 BPM throughout. Although it clips a bit, it sounds quite nice here. The same analog transfer is used for Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 47 '70s Dance Party 1979-1981 (1997; mastered by Dennis Drake, excellent EQ).

The single-artist Journey The Very Best Of runs 3:49 and 120.3 BPM throughout. It's a bit compressed.

The version on TM Century's GoldDisc 7504 runs 3:49, with a more gradual fade than the others, and 120.5 BPM throughout.

LP version

The LP version on Casablanca's Bad Girls runs 5:14 and 120.5 BPM throughout, and tracks into "Bad Girls". Sound is quite nice here. The version on Casablanca Records Greatest Hits (1996) is digitally exactly 0.5 dB louder.

The LP version on the 2-CD Deluxe Edition of Bad Girls runs about 5:15 and 120.4 BPM throughout, and also tracks into "Bad Girls". Sound is very compressed.

12" version

The 12" version on the 2-CD Anthology (1993) runs 6:46 and 120.5 BPM throughout, and tracks into "Bad Girls". It sounds really nice here.

The 12" version on disc 2 of the 2-CD Bad Girls Deluxe Edition runs 6:47 and 120.4 BPM throughout, and tracks into "Bad Girls". The sound is loud and compressed.

I think the 12" version on the single-artist Journey The Very Best Of uses the same analog transfer as the Deluxe Edition, but faded early. Also loud and compressed.

The 12" medley of "Hot Stuff/Bad Girls", as one track, is on Rhino's Billboard Top Dance Hits 1979, where it runs 11:44 and 120.6 BPM.

Best Bets

For the 45 version with proper 45 length, go with Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 47 '70s Dance Party 1979-1981.

If you don't mind the version being 38 seconds longer than the 45, then go with Disco Years Vol. 4.

For the LP version, go with the original release of Bad Girls.

For the 12" version, go with the 2-CD Anthology.

Edited by crapfromthepast]]> Sun, 28 Sep 2014 20:49:52 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=42235&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#42235 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=22491&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#22491 Author: Todd Ireland
Subject: 4987
Posted: 04 June 2009 at 12:34pm

The actual commercial 45 run time of Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” is 3:49. (Thanks to Jim for supplying the timing info. The printed record label time is 3:47.) Database CD appearances of this song containing a “45 version” comment run 3:43-3:49.]]> Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:34:19 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4987&PID=22491&title=hot-stuff-donna-summer#22491