Gary Lewis "Complete Liberty Singles"

Don't know how I missed this post from December 15th from mastering engineer Steve Hoffman over on his website. Gary Lewis & The Playboys' complete MONO Liberty 45 versions from Collector's Choice, A and B sides of every single, just like their Jan and Dean set. Very exciting news!

Steve Hoffman wrote: Some projects just tickle me to work on and this will be one of them. To be released on CCM (thanks to Gordon Anderson) and produced by Ed Osborne (who did the wonderful JAN & DEAN, TOMMY JAMES sets and was the RCA-Victor/BMG liaison to DCC on the ELVIS disks we did). Ed asked me to help out and I am delighted to do so. This will be produced from the original 45 RPM HIT mixes, probably all untouched for 40 years. Gary Lewis fans, you've waited a lot of years to get these, eh? Won't be long now! To be compiled and mastered at Capitol/EMI Tower Mastering. Collector's Choice Music presents: GARY LEWIS & THE PLAYBOYS COMPLETE LIBERTY SINGLES 1A THIS DIAMOND RING 1B HARD TO FIND 1B TIJUANA WEDDING 2A COUNT ME IN 2B LITTLE MISS GO-GO DOIN' THE FLAKE THIS DIAMOND RING LITTLE MISS GO-GO 3A SAVE YOUR HEART FOR ME 3B WITHOUT A WORD OF WARNING 4A EVERYBODY LOVES A CLOWN 4B TIME STANDS STILL 5A SHE'S JUST MY STYLE 5B I WON'T MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN 6A SURE GONNA MISS HER 6B I DON'T WANNA SAY GOODNIGHT 7A GREEN GRASS 7B I CAN READ BETWEEN THE LINES 8A MY HEART'S SYMPHONY 8B TINA (I HELD YOU IN MY ARMS) 9A (YOU DON'T HAVE TO) PAINT ME A PICTURE 9B LOOKING FOR THE STARS WAY WAY OUT 10A DOWN ON THE SLOOP JOHN B ** 10B ICE MELTS IN THE SUN ** 11A WHERE WILL THE WORDS COME FROM 11B MAY THE BEST MAN WIN 12A THE LOSER (WITH A BROKEN HEART) 12B ICE MELTS IN THE SUN 13A GIRLS IN LOVE 13B LET'S BE MORE THAN FRIENDS 14A JILL 14B NEW IN TOWN 15A HAS SHE GOT THE NICEST EYES 15B HAPPINESS 16A SEALED WITH A KISS 16B SARA JANE 17A MAIN STREET 17B C.C. RIDER 18A RHYTHM OF THE RAIN 18B MISTER MEMORY 19A EVERY DAY I HAVE TO CRY SOME 19B MISTER MEMORY 20A HAYRIDE 20B GARY'S GROOVE 21A I SAW ELVIS PRESLEY LAST NIGHT 21B SOMETHING IS WRONG 22A GREAT BALLS OF FIRE 22B I'M ON THE RIGHT ROAD NOW 1B: There were two B-sides to "This Diamond Ring" 10A & 10B were A/B sides to an unreleased single 10B later released as 12B ("Ice Melts In The Sun") 19B same as 18B ("Mister Memory')

More good news from producer Ed Osbourne:

Ed Osbourne wrote: The mastering is done by Steve and Bob and, boy, do those vintage mono mixes sound great! Look for this two CD package in April from Collectors' Choice Music. Jay And The Americans 64 song set is next, same mastering team.

Edited by Brian W.

Great news indeed, Brian! It's encouraging to see an independent label like Collector's Choice still putting out quality CD reissues during a time when CD sales are on a rapid decline. And I enjoy hearing mono single mixes making their CD debut as much as I love hearing first-time stereo mixes in digital!

Any word on an official release date for the Gary Lewis & the Playboys set? I can't seem to find information about it on any major retail websites, but looks like the Collector's Choice site (www.ccmusic.com) is currently taking orders.

No exact date listed, supposedly sometime in April, but it is up for pre-order on the CCM website:

http://www.ccmusic.com/item.cfm?itemID=CCM20132

Edited by Brian W.

I did A/B comparisons between all of my Gary Lewis & The Playboys Liberty 45s and their corresponding tracks from the new Complete Liberty Singles CD (thank you, John!) This is a great collection of the mono 45s, and is more faithful to the vinyl 45s than was the case with the Tommy James set. The takes utilized on the CD are identical to those used on the original Liberty vinyl 45s. Timing differences are much smaller this time around, too (again, using a direct drive turntable.)

Here are the breakdowns for all of the top 40 hits, with the sole exception of "Sealed With A Kiss," which I do not have on 45. Filling in is the #43 near-miss, "The Loser (With A Broken Heart)" :

"This Diamond Ring" (vinyl 45 run time is 2:04, CD track is 2:04)
CD runs about 1.04 seconds faster than the vinyl 45. The CD track's fadeout continues 1.04 seconds beyond the end of the 45, giving both an identical time of 2:04.

"Count Me In" (vinyl 45 run time is 2:18, CD track is 2:17)
CD runs about .64 second faster than the vinyl 45. Same fadeout points on both.

"Save Your Heart For Me" (vinyl 45 runs 1:54, CD runs 1:56)
CD runs about .35 second faster than the vinyl 45. The 45 decay dumps out :02 sooner than on the CD.

"Everybody Loves A Clown" (vinyl 45 run time is 2:21, CD track is 2:21)
CD runs about .36 second slower than the vinyl 45. Same fadeout points on both.

"She's Just My Style" (vinyl 45 run time is 2:50, CD track is 2:51)
CD runs about .63 second slower than the vinyl 45. Same fadeout points on both.

"Sure Gonna Miss Her" (vinyl 45 run time is 2:13, CD track is 2:13)
CD runs about .63 second slower than the vinyl 45. Same fadeout points on both.

"Green Grass" (vinyl 45 runs 2:05, CD track is 2:07)
CD runs about .61 second slower than the vinyl 45. CD fadeout point is just a hair past the 45's fadeout point.

"My Heart's Symphony" (vinyl 45 runs 2:30, CD track is 2:30)
Essentially the same speed. CD runs .04 second faster than the vinyl 45. Same fadeout points on both.

"(You Don't Have To) Paint Me A Picture" (vinyl 45 runs 2:09, CD runs 2:09)
CD runs about .22 second slower than the vinyl 45. Same fadeout points on both.

"Where Will The Words Come From" (vinyl 45 runs 1:58, CD runs 1:59)
CD runs about .30 second slower than the vinyl 45. CD decay is very slightly longer than on the 45.

"The Loser (With A Broken Heart)" (vinyl 45 runs 2:05, CD runs 2:05)
Essentially the same speed. CD runs about .09 second faster than the vinyl 45. Same fadeout points on both.

"Girls In Love" (vinyl 45 runs 2:26, CD runs 2:26)
Essentially the same speed. CD track runs .10 second faster than the vinyl 45. During the last second of the psychedelic pause (from 1:27 to 1:28) there is a noticeable hum on the CD that is not present on the vinyl 45. Same fadeout points on both.

Edited by Yah Shure

Thanks, Todd. I should clarify that the only tracks that I've heard from the new CD set were the ones I reviewed above, so I can't speak for the remainder of the tracks. But as far as the hits go, it's a go-go-go!! :)