Archie Bell & The Drells "Tighten Up"

Ever since this song was made, at least as long as I can remember, (I think I was 8 years old when it charted), there has been a glitch in the recording that I've always wondered about.

Roundabout 02:52 and after we all get "Mellow" the second time, I've always thought someone had turned off Archie's mic and realized afterwards he was still singing. I've often wondered why that was left in
the recording. Was it because the song was a blistering hot dance tune that needed to hit the plates immediately, or something else? I was just listening to this again tonight with the phones on. In the seconds
leading up to the mic incident, I thought I heard some background member or possibly engineer talk very lightly present.

Actually, the whole recording has been a bit of a mystery to me, once I started hearing it on CD. The sound of the instruments and the vocals seem to be mixed oddly. Making Archie sound as if he's singing
about 20 feet away from everything else that's going on with the recording. Back when I used to hear it on the radio I don't think I noticed the recording characteristics except the mic thingy.

I've always liked the song and, thought it was kind of interesting that he would go to all the trouble to announce that they are a band from Houston Texas early in the song, just to say it. I read later that
it may be because he had once heard someone say that "Nothing good ever comes out of Houston." It would be interesting to ask what that's all about sometime.

LunarLaugh wrote: To me, it definitely sounds like Archie re-did his entire lead vocal up to the point in question after the instrumental tracks were laid down. The mono single mix of "Tighten' Up" has a way better overall balance

If Wikipedia can be believed.."They signed with the
Houston-based record label Ovide in 1967 and recorded
a number of songs including "She's My Woman" and
"Tighten Up", which was recorded in October 1967 at
the first of several sessions in which the Drells were
backed by the instrumental group the T.S.U.
Toronadoes." According to Discogs..they only had three
Ovide singles issued. Probably not enough for an
album..and all probably just mixed to mono.
After Archie Bell went into the Army the song became a
local Houston hit and was picked up by a major for
national distribution. The album was only on Atlantic
so, while recording additional songs to fill, they may
have resung parts of "Tighten Up" for stereo which
would account for some of the differences between the
original hit mono version and the stereo album
version.
This would have been typical of a 60s rock record
where stereo was generally an afterthought.

Stereo LP version (3:11)

The bass in the intro should be in the left channel.

I found three distinct analog transfers for the stereo version.

The first is Atlantic's multi-volume Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 6 1966-1969 (1985). It sounds OK here, with great dynamic range, no evidence of noise reduction, and (probably) pretty low-generation source tapes. It has a slightly dull EQ (at least compared to later masterings), but some might argue that that's what the records actually sounded like in 1968. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Time-Life's 2-CD Rock Party (1990)
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 3 1968 (1991) - digital clone of Rock Party but left and right channels are swapped
• Time-Life's 2-CD Uptown Saturday Night Rock Steady (2007) - differently EQ'd digital clone of Solid Gold Soul Vol. 3 1968 (so left and right channels are swapped), but about 6 dB louder, possibly with added compression/limiting, and additional severe dropouts on the intro; avoid

There's a new analog transfer on Warner Special Products' Atlantic Soul Classics (1985). It also has a great dynamic range, no evidence of noise reduction, and (probably) pretty low-generation source tapes. It's EQ'd a little brighter than the R&B set, which I like. Importantly, the track extends to its complete end, where all the instruments drop out and then Archie sings a final line, "tighten it up now." The same analog transfer is used:

• Time-Life's Classic Rock Vol. 4 1968 (1987) - left and right channels are swapped, and fade shortened slightly
• JCI's Baby Boomer Classics Dance Sixties (1988) - differently EQ'd digital clone
• Silver Eagle/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Heart And Soul Of The Sixties (1989) - different EQ'd digital clone of Classic Rock Vol. 4 1968, so has left and right channels swapped, and shortened fade
• Atlantic's multi-CD Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 7 1967-1969 (1991) - differently EQ'd digital clone
• Starland Music/Warner Special Products' 2-CD 40 Summer Fun Hits (1993) - mastering based on Classic Rock Vol. 4 1968, so has left and right channels swapped, and shortened fade
• Starland Music/Warner Special Products' 2-CD 40 Party Classics (1996) - mastering based on Classic Rock Vol. 4 1968, so has left and right channels swapped, and shortened fade

Finally, there's one more analog transfer on Rhino's Billboard Top R&R Hits 1968 (1993). "Tighten Up" is only found on the 1993 pressing of this CD, which replaces "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" from the original 1988 pressing. (Rhino replaced all the Motown tracks from the 1988 releases in this series for the 1993 rereleases, likely for licensing reasons.) Like the earlier discs, this one has a great dynamic range, no evidence of noise reduction, and (probably) pretty low-generation source tapes. It's EQ'd even brighter than all of the above, which I like. The track also extends to its complete end, with all the instruments dropping out and Archie singing the final line, "tighten it up now." The same analog transfer is used on:

• Rhino's cheapie Soul Hits Vol. 1 (1993) - not a digital clone

Mono 45 version (2:37)

Turns out that the LP version is the full performance of the song. The 45 is edited from that full performance (cut off intro to begin at the drum fill, cut out 24 beats from 1:47 to 1:59 of the LP version (edits on downbeat after words "c'mon and" and right at the beginning of the word "tighten"), and a 16-beat fade from 2:48 to 2:56 of LP version).

But the 45 is mixed immeasurably hotter than the LP, with tons of reverb on the vocals, and the keyboard and horns pushed way out in front. Same instruments and vocals, same take, just a hotter mix. The "make it mellow" breaks truly smoke now, instead of meekly lurking in the right channel. In my opinion, now it sounds like a hit!

The earliest CD I have with the mono 45 version is Rhino's In Yo' Face Vol. 0.5 (1994). It's a little bit loud, and clips a bit. It has some cracklies on the fade that make me think it might be taken from vinyl; not 100% sure about that.

Rhino's multi-CD Beg Scream And Shout (1997) seems to use another analog transfer of the same source tape (45?) that's used on In Yo' Face Vol. 0.5, but it's mastered a little quieter, so there's no clipping. In practical terms, it sounds about the same as In Yo' Face Vol. 0.5, including the cracklies on the fade. There's a digitally identical clone on Rhino's cheapie Atlantic Ultimate '60s Soul Sensations (1998), which is a very afforable alternative to Beg Scream And Shout.

My recommendations

For the stereo LP version, if you like lots of high end like I do, I recommend Rhino's Billboard Top R&R Hits 1968 (1993), just make sure you get the 1993 rerelease (with an RE-1 in the matrix number); the song is not on the 1988 original pressing of the disc. If you want a little less high end, I recommend Warner Special Products' Atlantic Soul Classics (1985).

For the mono 45 version, I recommend Rhino's Beg Scream And Shout (1997) if you can find it affordably; it's a superb but pricey set. I only recommend BS&S because there's no clipping on the track. Rhino's In Yo' Face Vol. 0.5 (1993) sounds about as good, but just a bit louder with a bit of clipping. The In Yo' Face series is probably the best collection ever of 45 versions of funk tracks, and I heartily recommend all of them.

The original release is on You Tube as "Archie Bell &
the Drells "Tighten up" Ovide 45 Soul R&B Funk Groover"
but it will take someone smarter than me to compare the
two to see if there is any difference. Copies are
available in the $50-$200 range.
Unfortunately the You Tube poster did not feed the audio
directly into his recording device.

You can also find Part 2 on the b-side of the 45.