"Here I Am (Come and Take Me)" - Al Green

I sure do love this hit from 1973. So did UB40, who had a hit remake with it 18 years later in 1991.

LP and 45 version (4:14)

The oldest CD I have with the LP/45 version is Rhino's Billboard Top R&B Hits 1973 (1990). It sounds pretty terrific here, and runs 4:14. There's a digital clone on Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 8 1973 (1996; digitally exactly 0.401 dB quieter).

There's a different analog transfer on Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 21 Rock 'N' Soul Seventies (1991), which has a little left/right imbalance and runs a little slower than Billboard. It runs 4:16 here, mostly due to the speed difference.

There's a different analog transfer on the Cema Special Markets' cheapie Al Green And Teddy Pendergrass - Back To Back Hits (1995), which sounds pretty good and runs 4:13. The same analog transfer is used on Time-Life's 2-CD Body Talk Vol. 19 Always And Forever (1998).

And finally, one more new analog transfer on Right Stuff's Greatest Hits (1995), where it runs 4:12. It sounds great here, even though it's a little loud and clips a bit. Basically, this disc is the gold standard for Al Green hits. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Right Stuff's Hi Times The Hi Records R&B Years (1995) - digitally identical
• Right Stuff's multi-disc Anthology (1997) - digitally identical
• Time-Life's Legends Of Soul Vol. 5 Al Green (2001) - digitally identical

promo 45 edit (3:04)

The oldest CD I have with the promo 45 edit is Motown's Compact Command Performances 14 Greatest Hits (1984), where it runs 3:11. This disc is part of the first batch of single-artist collections that Motown released - a very interesting batch of CDs. On the plus side, these discs have a great dynamic range, pretty good EQ, not a hint of noise reduction, and they let the fades run all the way out to the absolute end of the song. On the minus side, they may not use the lowest-generation source tapes, and most use the weaker stereo mixes for the older songs.

The promo 45 has one edit and no early fade, so it's easy to recreate. The edit is between beats, so use the timings below.

For Greatest Hits (1995), delete 1:04.8 to 2:09.9. Your edit will run 3:07.
For Billboard Top R&B Hits 1973, delete 1:04.0 to 2:08.9. Your edit will run 3:10.

My recommendation:

I chose to use Rhino's Billboard Top R&B Hits 1973 (1990). It has basically the same sound quality as Greatest Hits, but is a little quieter and doesn't clip, and extends a second or two longer. I also chose to use my homemade edit of Billboard, instead of the Motown disc.

The database says the short promo runs 3:04, yet Ron says it runs 3:10 on CD.

What is the actual run time of the 3:04 vinyl promo? Is it 3:04 or 3:10?

Thanks, Bill, for the clarification. If you want to make a
homemade edit that runs 3:10, you'll need to choose the
CD's that run 4:14. Everything else fades out too early.

Using the song from his Greatest Hits, after you've made
the edit like Ron detailed, and faded it completely after
"teach me", slow it down by 1%.

Edited by eriejwg