air supply "making love..nothing at all"

I have found multiple inaccurately recreated edits on TM, and consequently don't trust their discs. So while I can't speak to their edit in this case, I can say the recreated edit on BBTH83 is incorrect.

The single has only 2 edits - both of which are muffed on BBTH83 - and an early fade. Cut the passage from 3:56 to 4:10 on the word "love". With what remains, cut from 4:10 to 4:23 on "making love". Fade from 4:42 to right at 4:54. There doesn't seem to be a significant pitch difference, if any.

Rhino's first edit comes at 4:06, so they use the wrong piece of the chorus - the vocal inflections are different. Their second edit comes at 4:11 on "out of nothing", so they miss a drum accent between beats 2 & 3. Their fade begins at 4:44 and lasts through 4:59, so while the edit is technically fine, it's not the true single edit.

Pat's database lists a handful of CD's running 4:58 or 4:59 - they could all be sourced from the incorrect edit. There are also a handful that run 4:53 - the runtime looks correct, but I don't about the accuracy of that edit.

Good ears again, VJ! You're on a roll!

LP version (about 5:40)

I have the LP version on four CDs, two of which are the only (non-soundtrack) multi-artist compilations that include the LP version.

The two compilations are Cema's Greatest Hits Of The 80's Vol. 5 Power Ballads (1994) and Madacy's Rock On 1983 (1996). Both discs are from the same analog transfer, and both sound pretty good.

The LP version also appears on Arista's Air Supply Greatest Hits (1984), which has a dull-sounding EQ.

And it's on Arista's Air Supply Definitive Collection (1999), which is a little loud and has a boomy-sounding EQ.

I use Rock On 1983 in my own library.

45 edit (4:54)

Using the timings from Rock On 1983, here are editing instructions for creating the 45 edit:

Segment 1
Extends from 0:00.0 to 3:57.7 of both the LP version and 45 edit
Ends on a tamborine hit

Remove the 16 beats from from 3:57.7 to 4:11.6 of the LP version

Segment 2
Begins on a tamborine hit
Extends from 4:11.6 to 4:24.4 of the LP version
Extends from 3:57.7 to 4:10.6 of the 45 edit

Remove the 16 beats from 4:24.4 to 4:37.8 of the LP version

Segment 3
Extends from 4:37.8 to 5:21 of the LP version
Extends from 4:10.6 to 4:54 of the 45 edit

Fade
Fades from 5:10 to 5:21 of the LP version
Fades from 4:43 to 4:54 of the 45 edit

Your mixdown will have edits at 3:57.7 and 4:10.6, and will fade from 4:43 to 4:54.

The true 45 edit does exist on CD, on Madacy's Rock On 1983 Sweet Dreams (1998) and EMI's Rock 'N Roll Relix 1982-1983 (1998; digitally exactly 1.371 dB quieter than the Madacy disc).

The Madacy Rock On series does have some pleasant surprises, including the true 45 versions of "Footloose" and "On The Loose". And now, we can add "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" to the list!

The version on Arista's Arista's Perfect 10 (1984) has the edits in the right place (I think), but omits the fade and runs out to the LP version's fade, making it 24 seconds longer than the 45. This version also runs too slow and sounds like mud. You can do better for this track.

Incorrect edit from Billboard Top Hits 1983

The true 45 versions that I noted above don't sound as good as the LP version, because they're one generation higher than the lowest-generation tape source. I can see why Bill Inglot (or someone working with him) attempted to re-edit using the LP version's source tapes.

The version on Rhino's Billboard Top Hits 1983 (1992) keeps 0:00.0 to 4:06.4 (downbeat), deletes 16 beats from 4:06.4 to 4:20.2, and picks up at 4:20.2. I didn't continue beyond 4:20, since this version didn't exist when the song was a hit in 1983. Great sound quality, but incorrect edit. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Warner Special Products' 2-CD Lost In Love (1994)
• Time-Life's 2-CD Body Talk Vol. 7 Hearts In Motion (1996) - differently-EQ'd digital clone
• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 18 The Early '80s Take Two (1996) - differently-EQ'd digital clone
• Time-Life's 2-CD Classic Soft Rock Vol. 2 Ride Like The Wind (2006)

How to tell if your version is the true 45 edit or the Billboard edit? They differ between 3:58 and 4:06. In the true 45 version, he sings "nothing at all" with three descending notes on the word "all" at 3:59. In the Billboard edit, "all" stays on the same note at 3:59.

I missed the update to this thread earlier this year. Nice catch on discovering the incorrect Rhino edit! Splitting hairs a bit (but that's what we do here), the first edit point is at 3:56 on the word "love," exactly as VinylJay describes. Ron lists it as being on the tambourine, but you can clearly hear the tape splice on the Rock On 1983: Sweet Dreams copy, especially in headphones.

Edited by aaronk