ABC - Poison Arrow

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   Much like the thread for The Look Of Love, this thread just attempts to document the different masterings.  Back in 1982/3, the 45 and LP versions were the same, worldwide, with no weird variations anywhere. The hit version is readily available on lots of CDs.

45 and LP version (about 3:21)

The oldest CD with the song is almost certainly Mercury's full-length ABC album The Lexicon Of Love (copyright 1982, released 1983 or 1984, "atomic" label). It sounds just OK here. As much as I love this album and the production, the sound of the CD is somewhat lifeless (a disappointment considering how brilliant some of the 12 inch singles sound). It runs 3:21 here.  According to MixMeister BPM Analyzer, it runs 126.0 BPM here.  The same analog transfer is used on:A promo CD called PGD Presents Great Sounds Vol. 2 (1992)
The Right Stuff's Sedated In The Eighties No. 1 (1993) - differently EQ'd digital clone
Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 12 1980-1984 (2000) - differently EQ'd digital clone
Mercury did a new analog transfer on the ABC best-of Absolutely (1990). It runs 3:24 here, and 125.6 BPM according to software. Sound quality is much better than Lexicon. The same analog transfer is used on:EMI's Living In Oblivion Vol. 3 (1994) - differently EQ'd digital clone with a tiny amount of added compression/limiting
Time-Life Europe's 2-CD The 80's Collection Vol. 18 1982 Alive And Kicking (1994)
Sony Germany's 2-CD Pop And Wave Vol. 6 (1996)
Mercury's 1996 remaster of The Lexicon Of Love - shaves a little off the high end of the EQ
Buddha's Poptronica: Dance (1999) - too loud; avoid
Mercury's 2004 2-CD deluxe edition of The Lexicon Of Love - has a smiley-face EQ (bass boost + high-end boost)
There's a new analog transfer on Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 9 (1994). It runs 3:24 here, and 124.8 BPM according to software. The same analog transfer is used on:Risky Business/Sony's Oldies But 80's (1994) - digitally identical
The 1998 remaster of The Lexicon Of Love is very compressed/limited for this track.  It runs 125.8 BPM according to software.  The same analog transfer is used on:The ABC collection 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection (2000) - even more compressed/limited
My recommendation

Go with the ABC best-of Absolutely (1990). Same recommendation as for "The Look Of Love", too.

Edited by crapfromthepast

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crapfromthepast Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 53	Post Options Post Reply Quote crapfromthepast Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: ABC - Poison Arrow Posted: 24 July 2022 at 7:50pm
	Much like the thread for The Look Of Love, this thread just attempts to document the different masterings. Back in 1982/3, the 45 and LP versions were the same, worldwide, with no weird variations anywhere. The hit version is readily available on lots of CDs. 45 and LP version (about 3:21) The oldest CD with the song is almost certainly Mercury's full-length ABC album *The Lexicon Of Love* (copyright 1982, released 1983 or 1984, "atomic" label). It sounds just OK here. As much as I love this album and the production, the sound of the CD is somewhat lifeless (a disappointment considering how brilliant some of the 12 inch singles sound). It runs 3:21 here. According to MixMeister BPM Analyzer, it runs 126.0 BPM here. The same analog transfer is used on: A promo CD called PGD Presents Great Sounds Vol. 2 (1992) The Right Stuff's Sedated In The Eighties No. 1 (1993) - differently EQ'd digital clone Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 12 1980-1984 (2000) - differently EQ'd digital clone Mercury did a new analog transfer on the ABC best-of *Absolutely* (1990). It runs 3:24 here, and 125.6 BPM according to software. Sound quality is much better than Lexicon. The same analog transfer is used on: EMI's Living In Oblivion Vol. 3 (1994) - differently EQ'd digital clone with a tiny amount of added compression/limiting Time-Life Europe's 2-CD The 80's Collection Vol. 18 1982 Alive And Kicking (1994) Sony Germany's 2-CD Pop And Wave Vol. 6 (1996) Mercury's 1996 remaster of The Lexicon Of Love - shaves a little off the high end of the EQ Buddha's Poptronica: Dance (1999) - too loud; avoid Mercury's 2004 2-CD deluxe edition of The Lexicon Of Love - has a smiley-face EQ (bass boost + high-end boost) There's a new analog transfer on Rhino's *Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 9* (1994). It runs 3:24 here, and 124.8 BPM according to software. The same analog transfer is used on: Risky Business/Sony's Oldies But 80's (1994) - digitally identical The 1998 remaster of The Lexicon Of Love is very compressed/limited for this track. It runs 125.8 BPM according to software. The same analog transfer is used on: The ABC collection 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection (2000) - even more compressed/limited My recommendation Go with the ABC best-of *Absolutely* (1990). Same recommendation as for "The Look Of Love", too. Edited by crapfromthepast
	There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.

kaqueno Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 02 November 2021 Location: Argentina Status: Offline Points: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote kaqueno Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 July 2022 at 4:35am
	Excellent description of this single Ron. Among my CDs, I have the album "ABC – Look Of Love: The Very Best Of ABC" released in 2001, it sounds good, although I should compare it with Absolutely (1990), to know if the mastering is better. https://www.discogs.com/master/73821-ABC-Look-Of-Love-The- Very-Best-Of-ABC Edited by kaqueno
	Marcelo - Argentina https://www.mixcloud.com/marcelo-guzman4/ - https://www.discogs.com/user/kaqueno/collection