Victor Lundberg-"An Open Letter To My..."

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   One of the "60's specialists" on the Board, Robert, has agreed to help me with some actual timing info for the few 1968/69 45s I don't yet own. He was also kind enough to pass along some 60's song differences that he'd previously noticed, but may not have yet been passed along on the Board. One example is this song, which I do happen to own both the original 45 and LP for. Robert's note to me said, "the 45's intro is shorter than the LP's, and the ending is mixed differently." My stock 45, confirmed as Liberty 55996, has a listed time of (4:24) and an actual time of (4:23), with his narration starting at the :11 1/2 second mark. The version from my LP, "An Open Letter" has a listed time of (4:14), but an actual time of (4:20), with his narration starting at the :13 1/2 second mark. To my ears, there is also a lot more of the chorus, singing "Glory Glory Hallelujah" in the background under Lundberg on the 45; whereas on the LP, it sounds to me as if a more mellow, drum and bugle instumental bed exists under much of his narration. I have not yet compared either to the CD version on my "Tales Of God, Mom & Country". Pat, I would be happy to shoot out mp3s of either/both my 45 and LP versions to you (if you need them), or to anyone else with a great ear for detail, to help us confirm what appears to be correct info coming in from Robert.  

Edited by jimct

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
jimct Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 07 April 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote jimct Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Victor Lundberg-"An Open Letter To My..." Posted: 26 January 2009 at 3:54pm
	One of the "60's specialists" on the Board, Robert, has agreed to help me with some actual timing info for the few 1968/69 45s I don't yet own. He was also kind enough to pass along some 60's song differences that he'd previously noticed, but may not have yet been passed along on the Board. One example is this song, which I do happen to own both the original 45 and LP for. Robert's note to me said, "the 45's intro is shorter than the LP's, and the ending is mixed differently." My stock 45, confirmed as Liberty 55996, has a listed time of (4:24) and an actual time of (4:23), with his narration starting at the :11 1/2 second mark. The version from my LP, "An Open Letter" has a listed time of (4:14), but an actual time of (4:20), with his narration starting at the :13 1/2 second mark. To my ears, there is also a lot more of the chorus, singing "Glory Glory Hallelujah" in the background under Lundberg on the 45; whereas on the LP, it sounds to me as if a more mellow, drum and bugle instumental bed exists under much of his narration. I have not yet compared either to the CD version on my "Tales Of God, Mom & Country". Pat, I would be happy to shoot out mp3s of either/both my 45 and LP versions to you (if you need them), or to anyone else with a great ear for detail, to help us confirm what appears to be correct info coming in from Robert. Edited by jimct

Robert Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 04 March 2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Robert Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 January 2009 at 4:56pm
	Jim, Just to save a little time, the LP version that I used is the one from the "Tales Of God, Mom & Country." Sorry I neglected to mention it.

Pat Downey Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 01 October 2003 Status: Offline Points: 1	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pat Downey Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 January 2009 at 8:48pm
	Jim, you have really caught an overlooked fact here in that there really is an LP version and a 45 version of this song. The only appearance of this song on cd is the LP version. The background vocals come in at a different point on the 45 and LP!

MMathews Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 18 August 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote MMathews Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 January 2009 at 3:46pm
	Hmm, I myself am curious now, if the narration is the same recording on the 45 vs. LP, or did they have him perhaps re-record the entire thing for the stereo LP? It was done this way at time back then when they had a surprise hit from a recording like that. (i've only ever heard the LP version, this isnt exactly something that's in my "groovy" playlist of 60's hits...) :-) -MM

Robert Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 04 March 2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Robert Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 January 2009 at 10:19am
	I've just compared the 45 (promo copy) and the CD/LP. Here are my observations: 1. Mark, The narration is identical. 2. The 45 length is longer (45: 4:24; CD/LP: 4:22) 3. The 45 intro is shorter (45: 11.8 sec; CD/LP 14.1 sec) 4. It sounds to me as if the background inst & choral are a different mix and are edited/synched differently. It does not synch with the CD/LP at all. Incidentally, on the stereo CD/LP the inst & choral are on the right channel. The ending, of course, is mixed very differently and it almost seems as if it was remixed for the 45, since on the 45 the chorus builds to the end of the dialogue, while on the CD/LP, the ending overlaps. The CD/LP version is like "talking over the intro." Because of this, it would be impossible to create the 45 from the CD/LP version. Greater minds than mine would know whether there are tapes that could be used for a 45 stereo mix. The designation should be "LP Mix."