Smokey/Miracles-"Tears Of A Clown"

jimct wrote: I think I made the right choice after all! :)

That depends, Jim. Does your tropical island have bikini-clad women serving you drinks on the shore?

I hear ya, Jim! I shudder to think of how much money I've sunk into music purchases over the past 20 years. If I had put all the money into a tax-deferred annuity, I could probably retire at least ten years early! But retirement wouldn't be any fun without a stellar music collection to help pass the time away, now would it? ;-)

I too heard this alternate stereo version years ago, it also turned up on one of the many Motown 80's v/a comps, i can't recall which one.
I noticed right away this other mix, as David points out, is missing the hi-hat in the intro, it's actually missing the entire 2nd drum track.
In the more common mix that is closer to the 45 mix, there are 2 distinct drum tracks, the 2nd one they added gave it much more punch, both were present in the 45 mix.

I prefer the more common mix, which is closer to the 45, but on my copy i slowed it down a little (always sounded to me like the 45 was a slower pitch than the stereo LP...) and i EQ'd it with more bass.

Note! the mono 45 mix is still unique as it contains an extra bass overdub that is not present in the stereo mix. The overdub is thru-out the song, but if i remember right you can hear it in the intro.
It's been awhile since i compared them, and i havent heard that alternate stereo mix since the vinyl copy...
-MM

KentT: the 45 is slower than the stereo mixes.

Mono 45 version

Appeared first on Motown's 4-CD Hitsville USA The Singles Collection 1959-1971 (1992). It sounds fantastic here. There's a digitally identical clone on Motown's Smokey Robinson And The Miracles 35th Anniversary Collection (1994).

The mono 45 version appears on plenty of other collections that I don't own.

Stereo LP version

The stereo LP version appeared first on CD on Motown's Smokey Robinson And The Miracles Compact Command Performances 18 Greatest Hits (1983). The same analog transfer is used on:

• Motown's #1 Hits From The 70's (copyright 1982) - differently-EQ'd digital clone
• Motown's 25 #1 Hits From 25 Years Vol. 1 (1985) - digitally exactly 4.18 dB louder
• Motown's Endless Love 15 Of Motown's Greatest Love Songs (1986) - differently-EQ'd digital clone
• Motown's Motown's Biggest Pop Hits (1986) - digitally exactly 1 dB quieter than 25 #1 Hits From 25 Years Vol. 1
• Motown's An Introduction To The Motown 9000 Series (1987) - digitally exactly 0.2 dB quieter than 25 #1 Hits From 25 Years Vol. 1
• Motown's 3-CD Motown 30th Anniversary (1988) - differently-EQ'd digital clone
• Rhino's Billboard Top R&R Hits 1970 (1989) - digitally identical to Motown 9000 Series
• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 1 1970 (1989) - digitally identical to Motown 9000 Series
• Session/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Sixties Frat Rock (1990) - differently-EQ'd digital clone
• Time-Life's Superhits Vol. 16 The Early '70s (1992) - truncated fade
• Time-Life's AM Gold Vol. 13 The Early '70s (1992) - this whole disc is identical to Superhits Vol. 16 The Early '70s, so this also has a truncated fade
• Sony's 2-CD 35 Years Of Rock And Roll (1992) - fades a second or two earlier than others
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 5 1970 (1996) - differently-EQ'd digital clone of Superhits, so has truncated fade
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul #1 Love Songs Of The '70s (2000) - digitally exactly 0.09 dB louder than Solid Gold Soul Vol. 5 1970, so has truncated fade
• Time-Life's Legends Of Soul Vol. 8 Smokey Robinson (2001) - differently-EQ'd digital clone of Solid Gold Soul Vol. 5 1970, so has truncated fade

Crazy, right? Every CD I have with the stereo LP version is based on just one analog transfer. In the hundreds of songs I've picked apart here, this has only happened one other time ("What I Like About You" by the Romantics).

My recommendations

For the mono 45 version, go with Motown's 4-CD Hitsville USA The Singles Collection 1959-1971 (1992), just because it's the gold standard for box set label compilations.

For the stereo LP version, they all sound basically the same! If you're shopping for compilations, I recommend Rhino's Billboard Top R&R Hits 1970 (1989) or Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 1 1970 (1989). If you avoid the later Time-Life discs, which have truncated fades, just about all the other collections will sound great for this song. I personally will use Motown's Smokey Robinson And The Miracles Compact Command Performances 18 Greatest Hits (1983), but only because I already have it.