Evelyn Thomas - High Energy [OT]

This one is a mess.

I have a stock 45 only, as there doesn't appear to be a dedicated promo 45. Side A has a printed time of 2:55 and actual time of 4:05. Side AA has a listed time of 3:48 and actual time of 2:52. Apparently, the labels on my copy were swapped, given that the actual run times are much closer to the printed times on the opposite sides.

Based on different photos I can see on eBay right now, some copies appear to have the labels applied to the correct sides. The pressing I own has both the artist and title at the bottom of the label and only the record company logo at the top. There are 45s that have Evelyn Thomas just beneath the logo at the top of the 45's label. Those 45s appear to have the wider runout groove on the printed 2:55 side, whereas mine has a very wide runout groove on the side with a printed 3:48 time.

OK, now that the label mess is sorted out, we come to another more serious mess. The 45 edits on both sides have been mastered with Dolby A noise reduction turned on when playing a non-Dolby encoded tape. (For a detailed explanation, see the discussion in "Puttin' On The Ritz" regarding Dolby/dbx NR: http://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3253.)

Neither the A- nor B-sides appear on any CD copies I own, but both are the same mix and are taken from the 7:50 Original Version found on the US 12". As a side note, the improperly applied Dolby A noise reduction also appears on the US 12". This mix can be found on CD but without the NR applied. As Rich points out, it's on the Now 12" 80s set, and I'm sure it's been on several other discs. Unidisc in Canada issued a slightly edited version running 6:46 on the CD "Dance Classics The Hits Vol. 16," and interestingly, this CD does have the improperly applied Dolby A noise reduction turned back on, so it's sounds slightly muffled.

As for the 4:05 (3:48 printed) edit, it's out of sequence, and it requires more than a half dozen edits. You'll need a 45 dub as your guide. If you start with the 6:46 version on the Unidisc CD, there will be a place you get stuck, as a few seconds of audio needed for the 45 version has been edited out of the CD copy, not to mention the end result will sound a little muffled. A better bet would be to start with a CD copy that doesn't have the NR (as I'm sure this was unintentional when the 45 edit was made in 1984) and be sure you have the full 7:50 version to work with.

The short 2:52 version is edited down from the 4:05 version.

If your stock copy had a version that actually ran 3:48 on one side, then it's different than what's in front of me. I'll take a look to see if I have an additional stock copy that differs. The 3:48 edit on CD does not match my 45. The CD comp version has a cold ending, whereas this 4:05 edit fades out at the end.

Edited by aaronk

To reiterate, the printed time on 4:05 side is 3:48. The deadwax is:

TR-106-A ~~ (long side)
TR-106-AA MISS PIGGY LIVES (short side)

Nope, that's not even close to what's on my copy. Clearly there are two US pressings with different versions. Does the UK version appear on CD? The "Best Disco In Town Vol 1" has a 3:48 edit, but it's edited from the 7:50 12" version. The UK mix you point to on YouTube is a totally different mix and also doesn't match what I have on CD.

There are two different US 45 pressings, because I discovered I also have the other pressing--the one with Evelyn Thomas at the top of the label next to the logo. This pressing has a different version on the long side, matching the YouTube link, and probably does run 3:48. I didn't time it, but I knew immediately it was different. It starts with just vocals and a keyboard synth.