ELO "Mr. Blue Sky"

Thanks, John! Based on this information, it's safe to say that the LP
version can be edited down to create the 45 version. The additional
music found on Afterglow might be unique to that release, although
Wikipedia claims that it matches the Japanese 45

When I speak about ELO to the younger generation, it seems like the only song they know (if any) is Mr. Blue Sky. If you'd ask me in the early '80s which song they'd be most remembered for, I would never have guessed a song that barely dented the top 40. Great song, but at its time, it wasn't that big. Just goes to show what being used prominently in TV commercials in recent years can do for a song or group.

Another factor to consider was that although it stiffed in North America, "Mr. Blue Sky" was a big hit back home, landing at #6 on the U.K. chart. It also re-charted there in 2011, although not nearly as high (#88).

I don't know how it compares to the Japanese 45, but the reverb on Afterglow is different than the standard single version. Concentrate on the snare reverb tails in the first 15 seconds of the song, especially in the instrumental section at 0:11, after the cymbal crash and right before the vocals start. On Afterglow, the tails are overlapping well past each beat, whereas they fade much more quickly on the album version and 45. I can even see it in a spectrogram.

It's virtually impossible to make the Afterglow version from the album or 45 version without adding reverb. I'd guess they went the other way, starting with this heavier-reverb mix and then for the album/45 mix using a bandlimited expander to get the 'verb to fade quicker. Or it may really be two different mixes with different reverb settings, and they never used this one till someone pulled the wrong tape for Afterglow. Neither would surprise me.

Edited by mjb50