"Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves"

Pat:

In an e-mail conversation I had with Ed a couple nights ago, he brought to my attention that The Eurthymics and Aretha Franklin's "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" on the Chicken Soup for the Soul - I'll Be There for You CD (Rhino 75526) is not the 45 version, as stated in the 10th edition of T40MOCD. The CD and the actual 45 version are the same up until the 4:00 mark. But from that point through the end of the song, Franklin's lyrics and vocals on the CD clearly differ from the 45. The instrumentation on the 45 version also changes at the 4:13 point when the lead guitar and keyboards stop playing. By contrast, the lead guitar and keyboards play all the way through to the song's end on the Chicken Soup CD.

If you get an opportunity to compare "Sisters" on the aforementioned CD to the commercial 45, Pat, I think you'll agree they are definitely not the same.

Edited by Todd Ireland

Yes that is all correct information Todd. What you didn't mention is that the version on all of the Rhino "Chicken Soup For The Soul" cd's is the LP version faded out by 4:29 to simulate the 45 version.

The 45 version of this duet appears as a bonus track on the just released Who's Zoomin' Who? (expanded edition) two CD set. It is a Funky Town Grooves USA release (manufactured by Sony Music): FTG 282. It includes all nine original tracks plus 17 additional bonus tracks.

The 45 Version of this song, aka the "Edited Version", runs 4:30 and contains one edit and an early fade compared to the original 5:58 (listed) album version from 1985. The edit comes on the downbeat concurrent with
Annie Lennox singing the word "sisters" at 3:59 and extends to a (roughly) identical downbeat at 4:34 of the original album version. After making the edit, the fade would begin at around 4:22 of the single version (the album
version ends cold with some reverb and studio sound noises, etc.)

However, please note that I called it the original album version above for a reason. While Eurythmics' Be Yourself Tonight and Aretha's Who's Zoomin' Who both contained the nearly 6-minute version in 1985,
the most recent reissue/remaster of Be Yourself Tonight (digital only, 2018) uses an incorrect version, which contains the edit at 3:59 but plays out to the original cold ending, running about 5:25. If this is
the album version you have, then yes, the 45 Version would seem to be a simple early fade (because the edit is already present).

Eurythmics' Greatest Hits (UK Version) and Ultimate Collection (worldwide) contain a further incorrect version, which is the 5:25 "incorrect" album version, but faded early to about 4:55. I do not believe this
version was released in 1985 on a 7", 12" or otherwise. To be sure that this was not the official UK single version, I just reviewed a Youtube video of the UK 45, and it
appears to be the same edit released in the US.

Edited by EternalStatic

Hi Dave-

The remastered Zoomin’ contains the original long album version and
the single edit as well. It’s the most recent digital reissue of the Eurythmics’
Be Yourself Tonight that contains the “incorrect” album version.

E