Plastic Ono Band (Lennon) - Cold Turkey

The subject of the Plastic Ono Band's "Cold Turkey" arose in the "Ballad Of John And Yoko" thread as follows:

Yah Shure wrote: Speaking of Mr. Lennon, the abrupt edits remind me a bit of the skip in the U.S. "Cold Turkey" 45: "cold key has got me on the run." After hearing it like that on the radio during its run, I still half expect it all these years later.

sriv94 wrote: Was that skip actually on the master for the 45, or did the local radio station just play a crappy 45 and never replaced it?

Yah Shure wrote: Doug, it was the local station playing a crappy 45 (what else was there from Capitol in late '69?) :) Actually, it's a result of a mastering glitch at the 2:57 point, which in all likelihood was present on the tape used to cut the single. The stock copy of "Cold Turkey" I bought when it came out matched the skip I was hearing on local station KRSI; I'm guessing it's a Winchester pressing, because it's not like other Capitol 45s I was buying at the time. There are no serrated interlocks along the label perimeter and no deadwax notations of any sort to indicate pressing plant. All that's inscribed is "47025". I bought a new old stock copy at my neighborhood record store in the early '90s that skipped in the same spot when I played it at the time. Using my present Shure V15V-MR cartridge, it does track properly, but with three loud pops at that point. There's a sudden spike during the "tur" of "turkey" at 2:57; one that's so loud that it seriously elbows the grooves on either side of it, causing the first and third loud pops. This second copy is a Scranton pressing, with the IAM logo and "S45-47025-X6#3" in the deadwax. It *does* have the interlocking serrations around the label perimeter. The Winchester pressing still skips at the same 'ol spot it always has. There's no loud pop at the point where the groove walls are breached; if it weren't for the beat suddenly getting out of sync, it would have sounded intentional. "Cold key" could've meant any number of things in a song like this one. Now if there'd been a similar skip on the "Don't Worry Kyoko" B-side, no one would have been the wiser. ;)

sriv94 wrote: Great story, John! I guess my question is whether that would be enough to warrant a "version" difference in the database, since my CD copy of "The John Lennon Collection" doesn't have that skip (which might make it the LP version).

Doug, the "Cold Turkey" studio recording remained a standalone 45 for five years, until its appearance on the John Lennon Shaved Fish compilation in late 1975. The nearest thing that could have been perceived as an LP version in early 1970 would have been on the Plastic Ono Band's Live Peace In Toronto album, and that was a very different-sounding live rendition.

I did some further listening to the Winchester-pressed 45 and concluded that the brief segment surrounding the loud pop had been physically edited out of the tape used to cut that particular lacquer! Close inspection of the wav form shows no visible sign whatsoever of a spike or similarly abnormal sudden change which would indicate the stylus jumping to the next groove. I suppose one could arguably tag this the "Winchester pressing," but because the Scranton pressing doesn't miss a beat, neither one could be deemed a definitive 45 version (not to mention the Jacksonville and Los Angeles pressings, which I've never heard.)

The no-glitch version heard on numerous John Lennon compilations over the years is obviously what was intended to have appeared on the original Apple 45 (not that that'll keep me from replicating the skip for sentimental reasons, of course!)

Great news Tim. Thanks for that tip. Nothing is too minor
around here.