"Sorry Seems to Be the..." - Elton John

Todd, the track on my vinyl LP also has a listed time of 3:43, but it runs 3:45.

Yah Shure wrote: Todd, the track on my vinyl LP also has a listed time of 3:43, but it runs 3:45.

Thank you, Yah Shure! So we officially have the 45 length at 3:41 and the LP length at 3:45. This info should probably be added to the database.

davidclark wrote: with the song actually coming to an end, and fading out on the last note, is it that the 45 fades that note earlier, or is it a different speed?

David, the last note of the song is faded out several seconds earlier on the 45.

I compared all the CD’s I have containing “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word”.

The earliest one I have is the 1980s European Elton compilation on Rocket/Phonogram Records entitled Love Songs (not to be confused with the later compilation of the same name from 1996). Being from the earliest generation of compact discs when digital transfer technology was still in its infancy, the sound on this disc isn’t the best. It sounds like it was most likely compiled on analog tape as opposed to a digital master tape, judging by the somewhat higher hiss levels than other discs that came out later. Not to mention, this collection is plagued with early fades and edits to fit all the songs on one disc. Interesting for Elton completists but non-essential for audiophiles.

The MCA iteration of Elton’s Greatest Hits Vol. II CD sounds pretty lack-luster with blunted high end and possibly a noise gate or noise reduction applied which affects the transients, particularly on the sound of the piano.
NOTE: Greatest Hits Vol. II was re-issued on CD in 1992 by Polydor when the rights for Elton’s pre-1976 material switched over from MCA to them. Because MCA still controlled “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” and “Sorry Seems To Be…”, those two tracks were switched out and replaced with songs that Polydor controlled. Ironically MCA and Polydor would eventually merge at the end of that decade under the Universal umbrella, rendering the new versions of these collections redundant.

The 1990 Elton John box set To Be Continued… has a very nice sounding transfer of “Sorry Seems To Be…”. The audio levels are a little on the low side for this particular track but the EQ is much better and there seems to be no traces of noise reduction.

The 1992 MCA Elton compilation Greatest Hits 1976-1986 appears to source “Sorry…” from the To Be Continued… box set with a small EQ adjustment (a slight reduction in the bass). The song also sounds great here.

The MCA US iteration of the 1996 Elton compilation Love Songs (different from the earlier compilation of the same name from the 1980s) seems to use the same transfer as Greatest Hits 1976-1986 but with limiting/compression added making the overall audio much louder than the previous discs. I don’t think the added mastering does this particular track any favors but it will do in a pinch. NOTE: This Love Songs compilation was released outside the USA with a different track listing. As I don’t own the Euro version of this, I cannot confirm if the common tracks on the US version have the same mastering or if they are two different animals entirely.

The 1996 2-CD Gus Dudgeon remaster of Elton’s Blue Moves album contained a fresh new digital transfer of the album onto a 20-Bit Sadie hard disk with Prism Noise shaping used in the conversion to 16-bit for CD. The EQ on “Sorry Seems To Be…” sounds good and natural with a little less high end than on To Be Continued… and Greatest Hits 1976-1986. There is more added limiting but not a great deal of compression so the overall volume is louder, but it is not as offensive as the 1996 Love Songs CD is. While the transfer itself is perhaps a little cleaner here, I think the To Be Continued… box set is still the better sounding option.

The 2002 Universal/Mercury/Island/UTV/Rocket Elton compilation Greatest Hits 1970-2002 seems to use the 1996 Blue Moves remaster but inexplicably the right channel is lowered in volume making the overall sound balance uneven.

To Be Continued… and Greatest Hits 1976-1986 are, IMHO, the best options for this song. Incidentally, I bought my copy of the To Be Continued… box set off Discogs from none other than Ron (Crapfromthepast)!


Edited by LunarLaugh - 18 hours 46 minutes ago at 2:00pm