debarge "rhythm of the night"

pat....after some review of this song i've determined some things that should be noted in the db.....the 45 is slightly sped up versus some of the cd versions in the db.....the 45 states a run time of 3:47 and actually runs that length.....some of the cd version running in the 3:50-3:54 length are much slower.....the 3:47-3:48 length version are the proper 45 speed....

If a speed difference accounts for the shorter running time, then the shorter CD appearances must run faster, not slower. If they ran slower, they'd be longer than 3:47.

Yes... I'm in complete agreement with you, Brian. Did I not word it right?

Todd Ireland wrote: Yes... I'm in complete agreement with you, Brian. Did I not word it right?

Never mind... I transposed some numbers in my mind, I guess.

Just poked around with this song, and thought I'd give some more specifics. (BTW, it was written by Diane Warren - probably one of her first big hits.)

The 45 (Gordy 1770 GF, 1985) has a printed time of 3:47, an actual run time of about 3:49, and an actual tempo of 116.1 BPM (played by a live drummer with a click track). The fade begins on the downbeat at 3:36 just before the word "behind", and lasts about 24 beats.

The earliest version on CD that I know of is on a 3-CD set called Motown 30th Anniversary Collection (Silver Eagle Records SED-10794/Motown MSD-35150, 1988), where it has a printed time of 3:50 and an actual time of about 3:47. Here, it runs 115.1 BPM, which is about 0.9% slower than the 45. The fade begins at 3:36, but due to the pitch/tempo difference, the fade point falls at an earlier point in the song, at the word "mind". It's a shorter fade than the 45.

The version on The A-List (Swaitek, 1994) also run 3:47 at 115.1 BPM, with fade points that exactly match the above 30th Anniversary CD.

The abbreviated fade was fixed with the release of Hitsville USA Volume Two in 1993. Here, it runs 3:53 and 115.1 BPM (still 0.9% slower than the 45), but the fade points match the 45 fairly closely. Interestingly, the Hitsville CD seems to be based on the same analog transfer that the 30th Anniversary uses, because the samples line up throughout (with a different EQ).

There are digital clones of the Hitsville CD, all running 3:53 at 115.1 BPM:

• Motown Year By Year 1985 (digitally identical)
• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties - 1985-1986 (different EQ)
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul - Mid-'80s (different EQ)

Rhino's Like Omigod box also runs about 3:53 at 115.1 BPM, but isn't a digital clone of Hitsville. It's mastered too loud and clips a lot.

There is also a small group of CDs that have the song playing too fast.

It first appeared on the 2-CD set Sessions Presents Night Beat (Warner Special Products OPCD-4515, 1988), with a printed time of 3:48, an actual run time of 3:48, and a tempo of 116.7 BPM (about 0.5% faster than the 45). The fade begins on the downbeat at 3:35 just before the word "behind", and lasts about 24 beats, just like in the 45 but falling about 1 second earlier in the song due to the pitch difference.

There are two other CDs that also run 3:48 at 116.7 BPM, which are extremely close in sound quality but aren't digital clones of Night Beat:

• Razor & Tie Presents Awesome '80s (2 CDs, 1994, mastered by Steve Hoffman)
• Starland Music Presents Rockin' USA (2-CDs, 1994)

I don't have the Rhythm Of The Night or Greatest Hits CDs, but I'd be happy to compare those 3:47 versions to what I've got, if someone would send me mp3s.