Real Life - "Send Me An Angel"

The 45 version sounds great on Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 11 (1995), where it runs 3:53 and 129.4 BPM throughout. There's a differently-EQ'd digital clone on Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 15 Lost Hits Of The Mid '80s (2001). The same analog transfer is also used for Warner Special Products' 2-CD sets Punk (1996) and Sweet Love (1996), which are differently-EQ'd digital clones of each other. All sound very good.

There's a severely muffled version on Sony Germany's 2-CD Pop And Wave Vol. 1 (1992), which also has its left/right channels reversed. Avoid.

The database says that the LP version runs 3:51. I don't know what the difference is between the LP and 45 versions.

The version on Sony's Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Vol. 5 runs 5:41. This is probably the 1983 12 inch single version, which has a printed time of 5:40. (It's not the 1989 version.)

The promo 45 has an edit that runs 3:04. Here are editing instructions for recreating the promo 45 from the commercial 45 version on Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 11:

Segment 1
Extends from 0:00.0 to 0:37.0 of the commercial 45 and promo 45
Ends on a snare hit

Remove the 40 beats from 0:37.0 to 0:55.6 of the commercial 45.

Segment 2
Begins on a snare hit
Extends from 0:37.0 to 2:43.6 of the promo 45
Extends from 0:55.6 to 3:02.2 of the commercial 45
Ends on a downbeat-with-handclap

Remove the 64 beats from 3:02.2 to 3:31.8 of the commercial 45.

Segment 3
Begins on a on a downbeat-with-handclap
Extends from 2:43.6 to 3:08.0 (end) of the promo 45
Extends from 3:31.8 to 3:56.3 (end) of the commercial 45

Your mixdown will run 3:05 (excluding outro silence), or 3:08.0 (including outro silence), with edits at 0:37.0 and 2:43.6.

Edited by crapfromthepast

Bumping thread to advise on a rare version that has surfaced digitally (recently?):

In 1984, an alternate 12" remix of the original 1983 version was released on the international vinyl EP Master Mix. This remix has become a bit sought after in the ensuing years as that EP was never released in the United States and appears to have had no CD reissue worldwide; however, I recently learned that the version of "Send Me an Angel" from this EP also appeared on their 1986 North American album Down Comes the Hammer. While this somewhat unpopular album never received a CD release either, Real Life's Curb Records catalog has come to streaming in recent years and this album is now available in CD quality at digital storefronts in the U.S. such as Qobuz. Just wanted to pass this along in case anyone else has been seeking a good copy of this mix, as I had been for a long time. Volume levels and EQ would indicate this is likely a transfer of the original 1986 album master and has not been boosted/compressed to hell. (To editorialize a little, it could actually do with a very mild bass boost but not too much -- the mix starts off thin but adds layers as it goes on.)

[Mildly unrelated/possibly common knowledge but around 2009, there were new remixes of a new re-recording of "Send Me an Angel" issued on Cleopatra Records that are also out digitally. I won't say that they're bad because "to each their own", but as a caveat, they named one of these versions the "1983 Remix". It is not the original 1983 remix, just a new remix with this subtitle. So, be aware of that as you pick around!]

Edited by EternalStatic - 5 hours 41 minutes ago at 8:42am