Gene Pitney mono albums on iTunes

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   In case it's of interest to anyone, over the last two or three weeks a number of original Gene Pitney albums have been released digitally. What's interesting is that most (but not all) of these releases are mono. All of his Top 40 hits are mono except for "Mecca" and "I Must Be Seeing Things", whose parent albums are stereo, and "She's a Heartbreaker" (the She's a Heartbreaker album has not yet been released).

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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: 30	Post Options Post Reply Quote Paul C Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Gene Pitney mono albums on iTunes Posted: 15 September 2011 at 8:41am
	In case it's of interest to anyone, over the last two or three weeks a number of original Gene Pitney albums have been released digitally. What's interesting is that most (but not all) of these releases are mono. All of his Top 40 hits are mono except for "Mecca" and "I Must Be Seeing Things", whose parent albums are stereo, and "She's a Heartbreaker" (the She's a Heartbreaker album has not yet been released).

Roscoe Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 18 July 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Roscoe Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 September 2011 at 12:18pm
	Thanks for the tip. I downloaded "Only Love Can Break A Heart", "Liberty Valance", and "I'm Gonna Be Strong", which are rare or unavailable in mono from CD sources. While it would be nice to get these in lossless format, the iTunes versions sound OK...given that these versions have the lo-fi sound typical of AM radio mono mixes, I doubt that much is being lost in the AAC compression. There appears to be a bit of digital limiting going on, but nothing to get worked up about. The mixes themselves undoubtedly have a degree of analog compression.

davidclark Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 17 November 2004 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 46	Post Options Post Reply Quote davidclark Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 September 2011 at 11:08pm
	are they the true 45 mixes?
	dc1

PaulEschen Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 28 December 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote PaulEschen Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 September 2011 at 3:54pm
	I can't speak for all of Gene's hits, but the version of "I'm Gonna Be Strong" from It Hurts To Be In Love and Eleven More Hit Songs (2011 Gusto Records) matches the 45 I have (Musicor 1045). Also, this version points out a mix difference between the stereo and mono versions of this song. Near the end of the song, at about 1:52, during the line "How I'll break down and cry", the stereo version has a single vocal, whereas the mono CD and original 45 versions have the vocal double-tracked. Pat, I think this warrants a LP version/45 version distinction. I don't have the original album on which to compare.

Pat Downey Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 01 October 2003 Status: Offline Points: 1	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pat Downey Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 September 2011 at 8:13pm
	Yes I agree that this is a 45 vs LP distinction. The only thing we need now is for someone with a mono vinyl LP of "It Hurts To Be In Love" (the parent LP) to report back as to whether the mono LP version of "I'm Gonna Be Strong" features this double tracking or single tracking. I have this album but it is in stereo and does feature a single track vocal.

PaulEschen Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 28 December 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote PaulEschen Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 October 2011 at 4:46am
	The She's A Heartbreaker album has been added to iTunes, and the title cut is in mono. If someone has a good copy of the 45, does this iTunes version have enough reverb to qualify as the 45 mix?

jono Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 26 September 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote jono Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 October 2011 at 8:55pm
	The mono LP "Gene Pitney's Greatest Hits Of All Times" (MM2102), for what it's worth, has the single track vocal on "I'm Gonna Be Strong". It could just be a stereo version folded down, but I'm not sure. Jon O.

davidclark Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 17 November 2004 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 46	Post Options Post Reply Quote davidclark Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 October 2011 at 1:57am
	well, I've seen this before: the Canadian iTunes store has removed "I'm Gonna Be Strong" from the "It Hurts To Be In Love and Eleven More Hit Songs" album (HATE that...). The sample is mono on "Gene Pitney's Big Sixteen Vol. 2". Anyone know if it is the mono 45 version, before I fatten apple's pockets with another 99 cents! thanks.
	dc1

davidclark Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 17 November 2004 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 46	Post Options Post Reply Quote davidclark Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 25 November 2012 at 11:04pm
	bumping this up, this can now be added to the database as "this song is available only as a digital download" for this rare true 45 version.
	dc1

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: 26 November 2012 at 9:21pm
	Do these Gene Pitney mono mixes that have surfaced on I-Tunes sound like they're from tape sources or from vinyl dubs?