OT: James Ingram - It’s Real

"It's Real" (1989), despite being a very solid New Jack Swing track produced by Teddy Riley, didn't make the Hot 100 at all. It went to #8 on the R&B chart and #45 Dance.

(A similar thing happened a year later, when "I Don't Have the Heart", from the same album, hit #1 on the Hot 100 but only #53 R&B.)

Anyway, I'm wondering about the single versions of "It's Real". I have the following:

4:13 version with fake in-studio banter in first 25s; 2 record-stop samples after 1st snare hit; no kick drum after 3:30:
• It's Real (7" Version) [4:15 printed] on the US 12".
• It's Real (7" Edit) [4:15 printed] on the EU CD3.
These say Edited by Greg Royal.

4:21 version with same intro banter, but many differences thereafter; kick drops out only for 8-second vocal ad-lib at 4:00:
• It's Real on Hitmakers vol. 22 - June 16, 1989 promo compilation CD.
• It's Real [faded out at 4:18] music video as distributed by Rockamerica.
• It's Real [faded out at 4:11] on Hitmakers vol. 19 - April 14, 1989 promo compilation CD.

The following are unverified... can anyone confirm which version actually plays?
• It's Real (Single Version) [4:15 printed] on the US promo CD single, promo 12", promo 45, retail 45, retail cassette.
• It's Real (Single Version) [4:15 printed] on the EU 45.
• It's Real (7" Version) [4:15 printed on some copies] on the UK 45.
• It's Real (7" Edit) [nothing printed] on the UK & EU 3-track 12"s.
• It's Real (7" Edit) [4:15 printed] on the EU 5-track 12" (looks to be the same as US 12").




Edited by mjb50

Interesting. The intro is 4 to 5 seconds on the versions I have.

One more update: can confirm that the single version has its first 33.5 seconds as original audio (mostly dialogue, but a little instrumental that might be pulled from the end of the LP version). From that point, the music is identical to the LP version, and just an early fade.

The "single version" on the Hitmakers CDs are the identical mix to the LP version, but it's not an digitally identical to the CD. The "single version" runs about 1.04% faster.

EDIT: Unbelievable! The VERY LAST 5 seconds of the audio, I mean the part that's basically buried in the hiss... the "whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo... ha... whoo, whoo..." is UNIQUE AUDIO! My assumption is it was edited out of the LP version, and maybe the person making the single edit was working with the original source files? I really can't explain this, NOBODY would have heard this at the time on the radio, or on the CD unless they were blowing down the neighbor's doors with their music at the time...

Edited by NightAire

The promo cd single Warner PRO-CD-3509 has the video
remix with the banter in the beginning. The
instrumentation including the baseline and snare are
beefed up. It ends in "Whoo, whoo..." which is actually
in the album version but it's a different mix.

https://www.discogs.com/release/9242563-James-Ingram-Its-
Real

The album version has no banter in the beginning, no
beefed up drums, and ends with a spoken coda, but the
"Whoo whoo" is in there at 3:45 before the coda but this
version is mixed slightly different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7dNmV-1vnQ

There's a 7" version of the Greg Ski Royal 12" version.
That ends the way the album version ends. Royal never
adds anything, he just edits like a DJ would in the mix
(much like Bobby Brown's Dance ya know did with his 12"
remixes.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LqnTQujtXA

It's likely here on this import single if labeled
appropriately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7dNmV-1vnQ

I bought the promo US cd single just recently based on
the conversation here. I surmised that it was the video
mix since it said "single version". Most labels wouldn't
promote the single with a different video mix although it
has happened.

The version on the Hitmakers disc sounds like the Greg
Ski Royal version. They wouldn't have hired him and not
promoted it. The Royal version obviously was the last in
this line and it's really an edit of the 12" version
which Royal was a part of.

To understand this, there was a big divide emerging
between dance mixes and R&B mixes geared for albums and
slightly hotter, more contemporary versions geared for
Black radio. The Video version was definitely the one
they wanted to make a hit out of despite the banter. If
you look at Mantronix, Soul II Soul, Babyface, GUY, and
Bobby Brown similar mixes were made. The earliest
alternate mix tends to be the one aimed at radio.


Edited by AutumnAarilyn