Buckinghams - Susan (2:17 DJ promo)

Ok in a quest to re-create the DJ 45 version as closely
as possible, I analyzed the various mixes. Here's what I
found.
1) The mono stock 45 is a dedicated mix. There's not
really any one thing that stands out, but one small
detail is in all the stereo mixes, the strings at the
music break come in before the downbeat, but in the mono
mix the strings start right at the downbeat.
2) The promo DJ edit is simply a quickly made, poorly
mastered edit of the stock mono mix. It sounds so
different because they made a low quality copy of the
mono, made the quick edit, and then added a ton more
compression (as mentioned earlier, much like modern
brick-walling). That's why the edit point sounds
different, the high compression maximizes all the reverb.
So, I guess the words "rush re-service" on the label were
quite literal, they rushed.

3) The closest thing to the mono mix in stereo is the
original stereo LP mix. This mix appears on only TWO
CD's.. the original Columbia "Best Of" (faded too early)
and the Varese Dick Bartley "On The Radio" CD as the DJ
edit attempt.
And since the Best-of master fades about 5 seconds sooner
than the original album did, the edit re-creation fades
too early as well. Too bad they didn't notice that and
request a new analog transfer.
NOTE: currently the DB comment on the above Cd
reads "(this is an edit of the "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" CD
version in an unsuccessful attempt at recreating the dj
45 edit and mix)"
But it should read: "(edit of the LP version in an
unsuccessful attempt at recreating the DJ edit and mix)"

As for the edit point, the Bartley CD got it closer than
Varese's later attempt, but it comes in too late. One can
remove a snippet of audio just before the drum beat and
that will make it match.

4) Then there's the 2016 Varese Cd "The Complete Hit
Singles". Currently the DB states "(this is the DJ edit)"
but alas it is also a failed attempt. This CD uses the
"Mercy Mercy Mercy" CD remix. And this time instead of
making the splice too late, they made it much too early.
Yes it runs the correct length but that's because the
only version available in digital form that is long
enough is the remix.
So the correct description for this entry is the one
currently on the earlier Varese CD.

Bottom line: to create the true DJ edit, you'll
need to edit a dub of the stock 45. To create the best
stereo facsimile of the DJ edit, you'll need to edit a
dub of the original vinyl LP or Best-of LP. On CD, the
closest thing to it is on Varese's "On The Radio, Vol 2."

Hope this helps, and is not too confusing.

MM   

Does anyone else notice that the strings on the mono 45
version are perfectly in sync with the track? Yet on
the original stereo mix and the stereo remix, they fall
out of sync with the rest of the track?

My theory is the string parts might have been tracked
to a second multitrack and then manually sync'd to the
original multi-track during mixing (The Beatles and
other artists used this practice a handful of times
back in the day to avoid losing a tape generation of
sound quality... very tricky to pull off and often made
mixing very time consuming). By the time they got the
mono mixdown just right, they had to start over again
with the stereo mix and the string parts were just
slightly off the mark.

If I had to guess, I would say that the remix was made
with only the original stereo mix as a reference so the
strings sounded right to them.

It's one of those things that once you hear it, you
can't un-hear it.

The "Central Park in the Dark" section was producer James
William Guercio's brainchild from the get-go. He wanted
that "A Day In The Life" vibe. It was very much a product
of the times.

When the band tracked the song, there was nothing but
silence connecting the two surrounding sections which
Guercio then filled in without the band's involvement.
If you listen to it, you can actually hear Guercio
himself saying the name 'Susan' played backwards 2 or 3
times during that section.