Tommy Edwards-Love Is All We Need

Robert, I have the original 45 but the problem I am having is the stereo versions of this song are mixed so poorly that I can't get a good solid vocal track from the cd's to compare against. I have an mp3 of the vinyl 45 version that I can send to anyone that wishes to make a comparison of their owm.

Thanks, Pat. There are absolutely at least a few small differences in the vocals, and i suspect that one or the other was likely edited from multiple takes because there are a few small sections that do stay in sync (both music-wise and vocals) and others that do not (even in the music section, likely due to editing being done). It is definitely enough to give the stereo mix an "alternate take" designation.

I forgot to mention.... pat's 45 dub is in the right channel and a mono fold-down of the 2-track stereo mix from the ERIC cd is in the left channel of my sync mp3, the end didnt sync right for me but i did the sync in an hour and didnt have time to perfect it before i had to leave for the evening.

But is the wretched stereo version that is appearing on cd the same stereo version that appeared on the vinyl LP in 1958?

davidclark wrote: hummm. while i agree they are different in some sections of the song and the same in others, my idea of an "alternate take" is a different recording done at the same or near session as the "hit" (i.e., Take 1, Take 2 are completely different, like in the movies too!). I think "alternate take" is a bit too strong here. Perhaps "alternate version". Or, is it the "stereo LP version"? When did the stereo first appear? UPDATE (later than evening...). According to Mike Callahan's BSN website, his MGM discography, "Love Is All We Need" appeared on a stereo single (SK-50104 It's All In The Game/Love Is All We Need) and LP (SE-3732 - It's All in the Game) both in 1958. I would therefore suggest "stereo version" or "stereo LP version" for this stereo version.

My belief is that, say, the stereo mix was one complete take, while the mono version was edited from several different takes....that did NOT use the same backing track throughout as there is a little bit of different instrumentation (for all we know, they're two complete takes, one mono one stereo, that just happen to be very similar, why would they make an edit in the tapes to add in a drumbeat or change the way two words are pronounced?). Since the MGM multitracks were destroyed in a fire with remaining tapes thrown out in 1973, it is very likely that the stereo version is the definitive MGM stereo version from the original stereo 45 and lp. The whole song sounds like an alternate take to my ears but i'm sure it would be just as easy to call it a stereo album version with alternate vocal or music portions in various sections of the recording, but that seems like too much of a description to me....calling it an alternate take seems better...