bee gees words

One of my local top-40 stations at the time (KDWB) split the airplay for this single between "Words" and "Sinking Ships," so this is as good a time as any to bring up a point about the B-side:

The mono 45 (Atco 6548) of "Sinking Ships" contains a double-tracked vocal during the refrains. Unfortunately, these same refrains are single-tracked on the stereo versions released on the Tales From The Brothers Gibb boxed set and disc two of the 2006 Horizontal remaster included in the Reprise The Studio Albums 1967-1968 boxed set.

The double-tracking really helps this song out, because it masks the flat high notes on the single-tracked stereo mix. The first time I heard the stereo cut, that flat singing stood out like a sore thumb.

Pat, the mono appearances of "Words" that I have on CD (Rhino's British Invasion - The History Of British Rock Vol. 9 and the Reprise The Studio Albums 1967-1968) are not fold downs, and do, indeed match the mono mix on the 1968 Atco 45. Here's my analysis:

First up: the timing differences between the two Atco vinyl releases:

(A) My stock Atco 45, pressed by Plastic Products, states (3:13) and runs an actual (3:14).

(B) My promo copy of the Atco Best Of Bee Gees does not list any times on the label. The actual run time is (3:16.6).

(C) The Atco single master has been sped up and runs faster than the LP track. I don't have the UK Polydor 45 to see if was likewise sped up.

(D) The ending of the sustained last note on the Atco Best Of Bee Gees LP track has been chopped off, unlike the Atco 45. That makes comparing the timings between the two a bit tricky. The actual run time difference is 2.6 seconds. A more definite point of reference would be to compare the time when the last piano note begins. It occurs exactly 3.284 seconds later on the LP than it does on the 45.

Next, the mix differences:

I folded the stereo Best Of Bee Gees LP track to mono, then pasted it in one channel opposite the mono 45 dub and settled in under the headphones. The speed difference was obvious from the get-go, but so was the difference in the mixes. Two things popped out of one channel a lot more than they did on the other.

As the track begins, the channel with the 45 mix has the piano and a rhythm guitar. That rhythm guitar is nearly AWOL on the LP fold down, making it seem like the song begins only with a piano.

Then there's the bass. Once it kicks in on the 45, it's upfront and remains so for the duration of the record. As anyone who has ever played "Words" on AM radio from the stereo Best Of Bee Gees LP (or any RSO reissue LP, for that matter) the bass is pretty much relegated to the background. This is especially apparent when the second verse begins. The energy level picks up on the 45, while the LP fold down just kinda sits there.

When I dug out the two mono CD tracks for comparison, the rhythm guitar was right there with the piano at the start, just like it was on the Atco 45. The wide channel separation on the stereo mix does account for much of the lack of prominence of the rhythm guitar, but there's no question that the bass is much more prominent on the mono mix.    

   

Edited by Yah Shure