"Hot Stuff" - Donna Summer

The actual commercial 45 run time of Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” is 3:49. (Thanks to Jim for supplying the timing info. The printed record label time is 3:47.) Database CD appearances of this song containing a “45 version” comment run 3:43-3:49.

To "Crapfromthepast":

There was actually 4 distinct USA releases of "Hot Stuff" in 1979. One was promo only.

Within a week or so of the 45 release was a promo only 12" of "Hot Stuff" that went on longer (with unique audio) than any other CD release of the so-called 12" version.

After the song "Bad Girls" was released as a 45 Casablanca released a commercial 12" of "Hot Stuff/Bad Girls" with most (but not all) of the promo 12" version edited into the album version of "Bad Girls" (before the segue at the end of "Hot Stuff").

Andy

Probably, but I don't have that one. I have a boatload of
compilations, and relatively few single-artist discs.

Ignore everything above; let's start fresh.

"Hot Stuff" has a live drummer (Keith Forsey) playing to a click track. I will include the beats-per-minute (BPM) values for the various masterings below. Those BPM values may be helpful downstream for determining where a stray track came from. FYI, I used a free program called MixMeister BPM Analyzer to determine the BPM values. It's amazingly accurate for tracks that use a drum machine or a click track.

45 version (printed 3:47, actual 3:47, 120.3 BPM for 45Prof's 45 dub)

The vinyl 45 runs 3:47. It fades to silence on the downbeat at the end of the word "evenin'". For what it's worth, the mono side of the promo 45 sounds like a fold-down of the stereo mix, and runs about a beat longer than the stereo side of the promo 45.

The 45 version first appeared on CD on Silver Eagle/Warner Special Products' mail order 2-CD Dancin' The Night Away (1988; 120.28 BPM) It sounds fine here, with decent EQ, nice dynamic range, and no evidence of noise reduction on the fade. It runs 3:48 here. The tail of the fade is about 3 beats longer than on the vinyl 45, which is insignificant. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Rebound's Class Reunion 1979 (1994)
• Razor & Tie's multi-CD 70 Number One Hits Of The 70s (1998)

There's a new analog transfer on Sessions/Warner Special Products' mail-order 2-CD The Ultimate Party Album (1992; 120.06 BPM). It sounds a little better here, with a little more crispness in the mastering. It runs 3:49 here. The tail of the fade is about 5 beats longer than on the vinyl 45.

There's a new analog transfer on Casablanca's Endless Summer Donna Summer's Greatest Hits (1994; 120.46 BPM). I believe that this is the first Donna Summer CD collection (not a various-artists CD) to feature the 45 version. Sound is quite nice, a bit better than what came out before this disc. It runs 3:49 here. The tail of the fade is about 4 beats longer than on the vinyl 45. The same analog transfer is used on:

• PolyGram's Pure Disco (1996)
• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies '70s Dance Party 1979-1981 (1997) - differently EQ'd digital clone
• Mercury's Donna Summer Greatest Hits (1998) - level-adjusted digital clone
• Time-Life's Disco Fever I Love The Nightlife (2006) - fades early

There's a new analog transfer on UTV's The Journey The Very Best Of (2003; 120.34 BPM), but it's mastered too loud and clips a lot.

There's a new analog transfer on the UK's Now Yearbook 1979 (2002; 120.36 BPM), which fades a few seconds earlier than the above.

Casablanca's 1987 reissue of the 1980 Donna Summer Walk Away hits collection cuts off the opening two beats, including the intro snare drum fill, but otherwise is the 45 version (120.97 BPM). This didn't exist in 1979. Avoid for this track.

LP version (printed 5:13, actual 5:14 and tracks into the song "Bad Girls")

The LP matches the 45 until about 3:18, then diverges with some material that isn't in the 45. The portion of 3:19-3:35 of the 45 is from 4:35 to 4:51 of the LP version. There's some stuff in the 45 that's not in the LP version, and vice versa (you can't edit one down from the other).

Discogs says that the Casablanca reissue of the full Bad Girls album came out in 1986 in Germany. The only date on the CD is the 1979 copyright date, which was before CDs were invented. Regardless of release date, the original Casablanca Bad Girls CD sounds terrific. Great dynamic range, nice full EQ, seemingly very low-generation source tape, no evidence of noise reduction anywhere. (120.48 BPM) The song ends on a snare hit at about 5:14, right before the opening hi-hat of the song "Bad Girls". There's a level-adjusted digital clone on Casablanca Records Greatest Hits (1996).

The LP version is faded very early to 4:55 on the Arcade (Netherlands) various-artists Dance Classics Bonus With Vol. 16 (1990; 120.46 BPM). This early fade didn't exist in 1979.

The 2-CD deluxe edition of Bad Girls (2003) is mastered way too loud and clips a lot. (120.35 BPM) For sound quality, avoid, but for bonus tracks, this collection is pretty good.

First 12 inch single version, just "Hot Stuff", Casablanca 20159 (printed 6:45, actual 6:50)

Discogs shows a promo 12 inch single for 20159, but doesn't list a commercial 12 inch single. Unclear if Casablanca 20159 was ever commercially available.

This is a different mix than the LP/45. Listen for the tamborine on top of the snare in the first verse; the LP/45 mix has no such tamborine. There's other stuff, too, but the tamborine is easiest to spot right away.

Amazingly, this doesn't exist on CD. (See below.) I found a nice vinyl dub on YouTube. (120.0 BPM)

Second 12 inch single version, two song medley of "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls", Casablanca 20167 (printed times of 6:45 for "Hot Stuff" and 4:55 for "Bad Girls")

This 12" version was available commercially and as a promo. It has both "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls" as back-to-back medley, like on the album. The medley appears on Rhino's Billboard Top Dance Hits 1979 (1992; 120.62 BPM) as one long track, running 11:40. Sound quality is excellent.

The medley 12" version matches the first ("Hot Stuff"-only) 12" version until about 6:32, then goes into a transitional section before it switches over completely to "Bad Girls".

The following have the full "Hot Stuff" portion of the medley, ending on the snare right before the hi-hat of "Bad Girls" starts:

• Casablanca's 2-CD Anthology (1993; 120.54 BPM)
• The Casablanca Records Story (1994; 120.54 BPM) - same analog transfer as Anthology (1993)
• The 2-CD deluxe edition of Bad Girls (2003; 120.42 BPM)
• Grand 12 Inches Vol. 10 (2013; 120.54 BPM) - same analog transfer as Anthology (1993)

The following have just the "Hot Stuff" portion of the medley, fading before the snare ending (these didn't exist in 1979):

• JCI's Dance Seventies (1993; 120.55 BPM) - same analog transfer as Anthology (1993) but faded early
• Rebound's Disco Nights Vol. 8 Dance Floor Hits (1995; 120.53 BPM) - same analog transfer as Anthology (1993) but faded even earlier
• UTV's The Journey The Very Best Of (2003; 120.42 BPM) - same analog transfer as 2-CD deluxe edition of Bad Girls (2003) but faded early

Non-hit 1979 On The Radio LP version (printed 2:54, actual 2:55)

Giorgio Moroder did lots of custom edits for the On The Radio greatest hits package released in 1979. Lots of songs flow together in ways that they didn't before. It's a superb collection with terrific sound, but it's not the hit versions.

This is a shortened edit of the LP/45 mix. I didn't check to see if it could be truly edited down from the 45 or the LP. It also goes into a shortened version of "Bad Girls", right after "Hot Stuff".

Discogs shows the CD version of On The Radio being released in Germany in 1986 and in the US in 1987. (120.57 BPM)

Non-hit 1992 remix by Bill Inglot (runs 4:27)

This version didn't exist in 1979.

I'm about 80% convinced that it's a new mix, but I still have 20% doubt. Assuming that it's a new mix, it's on Rhino, so I'm guessing that it's by Bill Inglot. (Can't confirm, though.)

The version on Rhino's The Disco Years Vol. 4 (1992; 120.50 BPM) sounds impossibly clean, with more sparkle than I'd expect from a 1979-era mix. The soundstage on The Disco Years Vol. 4 seems to be a teeny bit wider than Endless Summer Donna Summer's Greatest Hits (listen for the hi-hat in the right channel, which seems to be panned slightly farther right on the Rhino disc). Also, from 0:16-0:32 on the Rhino disc, I hear a high-pitched keyboard sound in the background over the main synth line - it's more of a sheen than a melody or harmony part. That high-pitched keyboard sound doesn't seem to be in the discs listed above, but I can't tell if it's just an EQ difference (much more high end on the Rhino) or if it's a real mix difference.

The version on The Disco Years Vol. 4 runs 4:27, or about 0:40 longer than the 45. That last 40 seconds doesn't appear in the LP version, and appears to be unique to this version of the song. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Dance Fever (1992)
• Razor & Tie's Women In Rock - The Rolling Stone Collection (1998) - mastered too loud and clips a lot

My recommendations

For the 45 version, go with Casablanca's Endless Summer Donna Summer's Greatest Hits (1994). If you insist on a various-artists compilation for the 45 version, go with Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies '70s Dance Party 1979-1981 (1997), which has its EQ adjusted by Dennis Drake, one of the very best mastering engineers ever, and one who has a particularly keen ear for EQ. (To my ears, Dennis Drake is the only mastering engineer who can improve a track by adjusting the EQ, so that the EQ-adjusted track sounds better than the original.)

For the LP version, go with Casablanca's full Bad Girls album (1986?). If you want a various-artists compilation, go with Casablanca Records Greatest Hits (1996).

For the first 12 inch single version (just "Hot Stuff"), go with a vinyl dub. That's all there is.

For the second 12 inch single version (medley of "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls"), go with Rhino's Billboard Top Dance Hits 1979 (1992). If you just want "Hot Stuff" from the medley, go with Casablanca's 2-CD Anthology (1993), although to my ears it sounds weird and unfinished hearing the full transitional break without "Bad Girls" following it.

For the non-hit 1979 On The Radio LP version, go with Casablanca's On The Radio (1986 or 1987).

For the non-hit 1992 remix by Bill Inglot, go with Rhino's The Disco Years Vol. 4 (1992), which is a sterling disco collection. I highly recommend the whole seven-volume series.

Whew!

Edited by crapfromthepast - 18 hours 56 minutes ago at 10:04pm