Hollies-Bus Stop

I don't know if this has been covered, but the (DJ) 45 of this song is not the same as the stereo version that appears on CD. Check out 2:20-22, the line, "...Bus stop bus goes she stays love grows..." In the CD stereo version, the line ..."busgoes" is sung together; on the 45 it is sung in rhythm. The rest of the song seems quite close, if not identical, but this makes me wonder. So far I've not seen this version in any of the CDs I own; might some of the mono appearances be this 45 version? Maybe this version should be an alternate stereo vers?

Robert, you nailed this one. I listened to the 1966 commercial 45 (Imperial 66186), the 1967 mono LP The Hollies' Greatest Hits (Imperial 9350) and the rechanneled track on the 1975 LP The Very Best Of The Hollies (United Artists 329) and all three have the "bus goes" from 2:20-22. The UA LP has "Stop, Stop, Stop," "Pay You Back With Interest" and "I Can't Let Go" in true stereo, yet "Bus Stop" is (E.) Does anyone have the stereo 1966 "Bus Stop" LP on Imperial to see whether or not the title track is in true stereo and has the "bus goes" at 2:20?

I then dug out the Epic Hollies Greatest Hits CD, along with several EMI CDs with the old stereo mix. All were the "busgoes" version at 2:20-22. The backing track sounded normal during this verse.

Next came the remixed track from the 1993 30th Anniversary Collection, and what a revelation! The backing tack has a booming bass line that reverberates a bit between the two channels from the beginning of the track up through the instrumental break. Immediately following that, the reverberating bass continues through the first syllable of the word "every," with the last tambourine sound from the break over the second syllable of "every." From the next word "morning" at 1:46 all the way to the 2:41 mark following the last words of the song, the backing track is in mono, and the bass no longer reverberates between channels...

Except for the short segment that begins at the very tail end of the "a" of the word "umbrella" at 2:20! The reverberating bass suddenly reappears at that point, and continues through "bus stop, busgoes, she stays, love grows..." with the bass returning to mono in the middle of the word "grows" at 2:23.7. This makes the word "grows" sound a little bit garbled. The segment from 2:20-2:23.7 is copied and pasted from the same segment at the beginning of "Bus Stop" from :14-:17, where the line is sung "busgoes" on all versions, including the mono Imperial 45.

Pat, I think you're on the right track with 45 and LP version designations.

I just obtained the "stereo" Bus Stop LP and Bus Stop is rechanneled on this LP and contains the mono 45 and mono LP version with the bus goes version. So the true stereo versions that appear on almost all cd's are really an alternate stereo version.

Edited by Pat Downey

You can hear the Parlophone 45 of Bus Stop at this Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMb5yV9lPUw      Sure enough, there's a difference when you get to "bus goes" late in the song.

I can confirm that even the mono Bus Stop DJ LP has the same mono mix Robert described. So does the Capitol re-issue of Hollies Greatest on vinyl, which clearly states on the bottom of the back cover, a monophonic recording.

As far as why use an electronically simulated version for the Bus Stop LP, Greatest Hits, etc, Imperial was probably too lazy, ignorant, or cheap to ask for the stereo tape. I think later United Artists inherited the distribution rights and didn't bother to get the tapes either.