4 Seasons - Big Man In Town

There are two different stereo mixes of the 4 seasons
song Big Man In Town. I call the 2nd (the Edizione D
Oro) as the 1968 remix.

As far as I can tell they are from the same session
tapes.

A little history, the original 4 Seasons albums on
Philips are a mixture of mono and stereo tracks.
Generally speaking the singles are represented in mono
and the album cuts are stereo. That was because Bob
Crewe mixed the hit singles and the mono albums,
whereas many times a studio engineer would mix the
stereo album tracks. There are a few exceptions...
Big Man In Town originally appeared on the stereo
Philips album "Let Us Entertain You" in a typical
three track mix. All the music in the left track,
background vocals on the right and Frankie's lead
centered. That version also appeared on the Gold Vault
of Hits vinyl reissue.

On September 17, 1968 Bob Crewe submitted these
alternate stereo versions of 4 Seasons hits for use on
the Edizione Del Oro vinyl 2 album set. This was
requested by Philips as the ED release was to be the
first Greatest Hits album to only be issued only in
stereo by the group. He quickly remixed or used some
old unused alternate versions..most are missing vocal
parts or musical overdubs.

Apparently he had a good multi track tape on Big Man
so he remixed it to sound better, with better balance.

Occasionally on CD reissues they substitute original
tracks on various albums with these ED alternate
versions. Especially when the original album had a
mono (hit) version. I don't have a large collection of
4 Seasons CDs but it appears on the few that I have
checked.. they used the standard stereo LP version
(three track mix).

When ACE made a release titled "Edizione D Oro" they
placed Big Man In Town in mono. Whether it is the mono
single, mono album version or a fold down..I don't
know. But apparently they did not realize the viyl
album had a unique mix.

Here's a run down of the 1968 remixes:

A8 Ain't That A Shame [ALTERNATE TAKE] 2:33
better known as the stereo underdub version (missing
Nick Massi's vocals).

B1 Dawn (Go Away) [ALTERNATE EDIT] 2:11
This is the original version recorded at Atlantic
studios with Tom Dowd engineering. Between the time
the song was recorded for Atlantic and finally issued
on Philips, Bob Crewe decided to add the "Pretty as"
intro direct to the mono master with Frankie singing
over Tommy DiVitos guitar strumming. This is mentioned
in Charles Calello's book page 102. However Valli has
been performing the ED version on stage at live
concerts for years.

B3 Big Man In Town [ALTERNATE MIX] 2:44
All vocals are centered in the mix, with instruments
split in stereo.

B5 Save It For Me [ALTERNATE TAKE]
The organ and vocals are different than the hit
version.

B6 Girl Come Running [ALTERNATE TAKE] 3:00
Missing opening vocals

C1 Rag Doll [UNIQUE STEREO RELEASE] 3:00

C4 Let's Hang On [ALTERNATE TAKE] 3:09
Missing opening vocals

D4 Silence Is Golden [UNIQUE STEREO MIX] 3:03
Previous issues were mono or rechanneled.

Paul,
Your labeling may confuse future readers...the
following tracks are alternate MIXES, not alternate
takes on Edizione D'oro:

Save It For Me (alternate MIX featuring different
music break)
Ain't That A Shame (as indicated, an underdub)
Let's Hang On (was the stereo debut of the hit take)
Girl Come Running (alternate MIX featuring vocals in
the intro that were mixed out of the 45)

An alternate "take" means a different vocal
performance.

Thanks for the info on "Big Man In Town" - I didn't
know the one on ED was remixed!

MM

MMathews wrote: Let's Hang On (was the stereo debut of the hit take)

Not true Mark, check your vinyl copy (which my comments
were based on) it does not include the "There Ain't No
Good" intro..it starts instrumentally. So I guess it's
an under dub. The crappy ACE issue edited that line from
the mono single onto the stereo mix.