Gene McDaniels - "A Tear"

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   There's a discussion on the BSN site suggesting all stereo releases of Gene McDaniels' "A Tear" have been an alternate take. I've compared my U.S. commercial 45 with the track on the Collectables Best Of CD, and the two are definitely different. The most obvious difference is the last line, which on the 45 is "Somebody make it; please, somebody make it disappear" while on the CD it is "Keeps falling from my eyes, yeah". There are other, more subtle ways the two differ, such as the way Gene sings "tears, tears, tears, tears" at (1:09).

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Paul C Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 23 October 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 19	Post Options Post Reply Quote Paul C Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Gene McDaniels - "A Tear" Posted: 14 November 2008 at 3:37pm
	There's a discussion on the BSN site suggesting all stereo releases of Gene McDaniels' "A Tear" have been an alternate take. I've compared my U.S. commercial 45 with the track on the Collectables Best Of CD, and the two are definitely different. The most obvious difference is the last line, which on the 45 is "Somebody make it; please, somebody make it disappear" while on the CD it is "Keeps falling from my eyes, yeah". There are other, more subtle ways the two differ, such as the way Gene sings "tears, tears, tears, tears" at (1:09).

TomDiehl1 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 13 January 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1	Post Options Post Reply Quote TomDiehl1 Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 15 November 2008 at 1:19am
	That only applies in the CD era. I do believe at least one vinyl LP had contained the stereo version of the take that ended up being the 45 version.
	Live in stereo.

Todd Ireland Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 16 October 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 23	Post Options Post Reply Quote Todd Ireland Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 18 November 2008 at 8:39pm
	Good catch, Paul. Now does anyone know if the correct "hit" version of "A Tear" has ever appeared anywhere on CD?

Paul C Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 23 October 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 19	Post Options Post Reply Quote Paul C Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 19 November 2008 at 9:07am
	Tom, what LP are you thinking of that might contain the 45 version in stereo? It was initially incorrectly reported on the BSN thread that the stereo version of the Hit After Hit LP contains the 45 version, but it apparently does not. "A Tear" was intially available only on a mono single, released June 16, 1961. It did not appear on an LP until the Tower Of Strength LP was issued on January 5, 1962. It also appeared a few months later (August 1, 1962) on the Hit After Hit LP. (The BSN thread incorrectly states that this was the song's first LP appearance.) Two issues remain unresolved: Does the stereo version of the Tower Of Stength LP contain the 45 version; and if not, is the more than six month timespan between the release of the 45 and the first LP on which the sing appeared too long for it to be considered the stereo LP version.

TomDiehl1 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 13 January 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1	Post Options Post Reply Quote TomDiehl1 Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 19 November 2008 at 1:05pm
	I'm just going by what Randy Price told me... perhaps he received the LP to discover it was in fact incorrect? I've not been to the BSN website in many months, for personal reasons....so i haven't seen the thread for myself.
	Live in stereo.

edtop40 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 29 October 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote edtop40 Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 19 September 2012 at 11:01am
	was it ever determined weather the vinyl 45 version was indeed ever re-released on an lp or cd?
	edtop40

Scott Young Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 06 August 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Scott Young Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 22 September 2012 at 12:12pm
	I just compared the 45 with the Collectables CD, and although I wouldn't say for sure, I suspect they are two entirely different recordings. I hesitate to even suggest that because sometime, somewhere, someone will read this and spread it as fact. But here are my observations. The needledrop was not my own, so I can't verify the speed accuracy of the turntable used. I had to slow the needledrop down about 2% to match the CD. By then the speed was close enough I should have been able to achieve some flanging somewhere during the song, but I couldn't make it flange anywhere. Also, although my sense of pitch isn't at all good, it seemed to me that the speed matched 45 was at a slightly lower pitch than the CD. All of that leads me to wonder if the stereo version is a complete re-record at the same pitch but slower tempo than the mono mix. Can someone else possibly run the same test and see if I'm out to lunch or not?