Three Degrees - Maybe

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   "Maybe" wasn't a big hit for the Three Degrees, peaking only at #29 in 1970.

The LP version runs 5:36 and is found on just one US CD - Marsil Productions/Sony Music's Always And Forever.  It's pretty obscure.  I don't own it.

The 45 version runs 4:07 and is also found on just one US CD - Rhino's multi-CD Can You Dig It (2001).  This is a terrific set, in my opinion, but pricey.

And finally, there's a 3:37 version on Rhino's Didn't It Blow Your Mind Vol. 2 (1991), and a few other compilations that likely base their masterings on this disc.

This 3:37 version deletes 0:00-0:07 and 0:41-1:04 of the 45 version.  This odd edit severely trims the spoken intro and makes it sound like the bass player missed a few beats.

I was baffled why this even exists.  It's not a promo 45 edit; the promo 45s are the same as the commercial 45s.  Rhino would never have deliberately edited the song this way if a tape didn't already exist.

I think I may have found the source of this 3:37 edit. There's a 4-song EP released in Brazil in 1971 (a year after "Maybe" was a hit), with catalog number RCA ‎ROD-21001.  The EP includes "I Do Take You", "You're The Fool", "Sugar On Sunday", and "Maybe".  The orange RCA label has a printed time of 3:40 for "Maybe".  Here's a Discogs listing for the EP.  I can't confirm that the 3:37 edit is what really appears on this EP, but it makes me feel better knowing that the edit may have originated on a real record somewhere in the world, rather than on a Rhino disc in 1991.

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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: 69	Post Options Post Reply Quote crapfromthepast Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Three Degrees - Maybe Posted: 16 October 2020 at 7:24am
	"Maybe" wasn't a big hit for the Three Degrees, peaking only at #29 in 1970. The LP version runs 5:36 and is found on just one US CD - Marsil Productions/Sony Music's Always And Forever. It's pretty obscure. I don't own it. The 45 version runs 4:07 and is also found on just one US CD - Rhino's multi-CD Can You Dig It (2001). This is a terrific set, in my opinion, but pricey. And finally, there's a 3:37 version on Rhino's Didn't It Blow Your Mind Vol. 2 (1991), and a few other compilations that likely base their masterings on this disc. This 3:37 version deletes 0:00-0:07 and 0:41-1:04 of the 45 version. This odd edit severely trims the spoken intro and makes it sound like the bass player missed a few beats. I was baffled why this even exists. It's not a promo 45 edit; the promo 45s are the same as the commercial 45s. Rhino would never have deliberately edited the song this way if a tape didn't already exist. I think I may have found the source of this 3:37 edit. There's a 4-song EP released in Brazil in 1971 (a year after "Maybe" was a hit), with catalog number RCA ‎ROD-21001. The EP includes "I Do Take You", "You're The Fool", "Sugar On Sunday", and "Maybe". The orange RCA label has a printed time of 3:40 for "Maybe". Here's a Discogs listing for the EP. I can't confirm that the 3:37 edit is what really appears on this EP, but it makes me feel better knowing that the edit may have originated on a real record somewhere in the world, rather than on a Rhino disc in 1991.
	There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.

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: 69	Post Options Post Reply Quote crapfromthepast Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 October 2020 at 7:40am
	One more detail: The Three Degrees released an earlier song called "Maybe" in 1965 on Swan Records S-4245. No album from 1965, just a 45. The 1965 song is completely different from the 1970 song, even though they were both written and produced by Richard Barrett. The 1965 Swan 45 has a printed time of 2:19 and runs pretty close to that. Under the 1965 listing, Discogs also shows a single-sided acetate from Bell Sound Studios, with a hand-written time of 3:35 on the label. I don't know what to make of that, since the song only runs about 2:19. It could be a huge timing error by whoever wrote the time on the label, or could actually be an acetate from 1970/71 with the later version of the song and the 3:37 edit from the Rhino disc. Here's the Discogs listing for the acetate. I dunno.
	There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.

ChicagoBill Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 06 November 2019 Location: Utah Status: Offline Points: 15	Post Options Post Reply Quote ChicagoBill Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 October 2020 at 9:58am
	'Maybe' this will help (pun!). I have the 'Complete Swan Recordings' on Sequel U.K. NEM CD 631 (1992) in which it is 2:17.5 and Mono except for a little more bottom end in the left channel (re-channeled?) and licensed through Roller Coaster (dubious?). I then listened to my 45 RPM single, Roulette 7079 Mono (4:08) and compared it to my 'Roulette Years', also on Sequel U.K. NEM CD 753 (1996) licensed through EMI Special Markets, mastered at Abbey Road Studios and that times out to 3:38. To my untrained ears it seems they cut :20 seconds out of the intro (rap) from 1:51 down to a 1:31 intro. -Bill. Edited by ChicagoBill

AutumnAarilyn Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 22 August 2019 Status: Offline Points: 3	Post Options Post Reply Quote AutumnAarilyn Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 October 2020 at 9:06pm
	Big Break records in the UK released a nice double disc set in 2012 covering their complete recordings at the Roulette label. https://www.discogs.com/The-Three-Degrees- Maybe/release/3957690