bobby darin splish splash

Ed there is no dropout on my copy of this cd from :15 to :17. Matrix number 10 OPCD-4515-2.2 SRC +01.

I think the only versions released in 1958 included a bubbling sound effect at the end of the song.

For stereo, the version on Warner Special Products' 2-CD Fun Rock (1986) sounds nice, but lacks the bubbling sound effect at the end. If you crank up the fade, you can hear the instruments drop out until just a ride cymbal remains.

The stereo version on Time-Life's Rock 'N' Roll Era Vol. 5 1958 RE-1 (1987) also lacks the bubbling at the end, and sounds far worse than the Fun Rock version - much higher-generation source tapes, fades a little earlier, and runs faster than Fun Rock. The same analog transfer is used for Warner Special Products' 2-CD Bop (1989).

There's a new stereo analog transfer on Razor & Tie's 2-CD Heroes Of Rock And Roll (1995), which indeed has the bubbling sound effect at the end. Finally! The same analog transfer is used for Time-Life's 2-CD Glory Days Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 10 Great Rockers (2000).

I have the mono version on Warner Special Products' The Ultimate Bobby Darin (1986), which includes a boatload of reverb compared with the stereo version. There's a tape dropout from 0:15 to 0:17 in the left channel. There are two or three minor dropouts later on, noticeable only with headphones. Aside from the dropouts, the sound is also quite nice here - excellent dynamic range, nice EQ, and a nice hissy fade with no evidence of noise reduction. The same analog transfer is used for:

• Atlantic's Hit Singles 1958-1977 (1988; uses only one channel of Ultimate, and therefore avoids the dropout)
• Warner Special Products' 2-CD Night Beat (1988; includes dropout)
• Time-Life's Rock 'N' Roll Era Vol. 5 1958 RE-2 (1992; uses only one channel of Ultimate, and therefore avoids the dropout)

All of the mono versions include the bubbling sound effect at the end.

My recommendations (from my admittedly small CD collection):

For the mono version - Atlantic's Hit Singles 1958-1977 (1988)

For the stereo version - Time-Life's 2-CD Glory Days Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 10 Great Rockers (2000), which should be easier to find than the Razor & Tie disc.

Edited by crapfromthepast

PopArchivist wrote: Ron, There is a hum on many of the recordings in mono (I would suggest to avoid), I agree and second your choice of Hit Singles 1958-1977 for the 45 version. .

Ron noted above that on the Atlantic Hit Singles the version was in mono. Was this one of the mono versions with the hum?

Pop,

There are many domestic CDs with the stereo version that have the bubbles
at the end. I have yet to hear a no-bubbles version, but I see there are
several on CD.

The stereo mix was first issued on 1961 LP "The Bobby Darin Story" (albeit
with an 0:43 intro from Bobby that I seem to recall cut into the song). I do
not know if the bubbles were at the end of that, but the CD issues seem to
say they were not according to Pat (that, of course, does not necessarily
mean the same for the LP).

I have never heard a remake of the song.

The only version released in 1958 was mono. The 45 was mono. The 1958 Atco Bobby Darin vinyl LP was only available in mono.

The stereo mix first appeared three years after the song was a hit, in 1961 on the album The Bobby Darin Story, as David reported above. If you're looking for whatever the "hit" stereo mix was, there wasn't any. All the stereo mixes were done years later.

The stereo version without the bubbles is found on Fun Rock (1986). I just noticed that the bubbles on the intro have their left and right channels out-of-phase (they mono to a reduced volume level). The Time-Life disc corrects the intro, but still sounds like mud.

The stereo version with the bubbles is found on Razor & Tie's 2-CD Heroes Of Rock And Roll (1995), with the same analog transfer being used for Time-Life's 2-CD Glory Days Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 10 Great Rockers (2000).

Same stereo mix for both (as far as my ears can tell), but only one has bubbles overdubbed on the outro. I don't know which version was actually released, but I'd bet a nickel that it was the one that included the bubbles.

I don't know of any rerecordings of the song.

Edited by crapfromthepast