Dion - The Wanderer

I bought the Essential hoping for a nice sounding mono copy of "The Wanderer" and some of his other hits. Sounds to me like it might be a vinyl dub. It's very harsh sounding. Anyone else notice that?

satchdr wrote: What would be even cooler would be to make the list the "Lost Stereo Mixes" (meaning the first stereo appearance would have to be at least a decade after the song's initial release - just a definition I'm throwing out there for the heck of it.) And,of course, no reprocessed "fake" stereo stuff.

The problem with this is that in the 60s, even into the early 70s the single/mono mix often had overdubs that were done "live" during the mastering and aren't on the multis (assuming they exist). Any stereo version (or later remix) would be lacking these parts, or would have to be re-created which would be pretty difficult to get right. I'd rather have the correct mix of a song in mono than a stereo mix that doesn't sound right. Don't even get me going on 2-track "stereo".

Although there's no notation in the database, I am of the opinion that "LP and 45 version" should probably be noted for the mono mix. Both the lead vocal and the percussion have a slap back (tape) echo on the mono version. The stereo mix does not have this echo, but instead it adds some reverb on the percussion. The vocal on the stereo mix is dry, for the most part, except for one line in the middle that he sings acapella.

Am I correct that Dion's Runaround Sue 1961 vinyl LP was only issued in mono? If so, the database should probably have the following general comment added underneath the song title for "The Wanderer" (just like it appears in the database for "Runaround Sue"):

(there was no vinyl stereo release of this song in 1962 so all subsequent stereo appearances are technically stereo remixes)