Soft Cell - Tainted Love on Pure 80’s
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Topic: Soft Cell - Tainted Love on Pure 80’s
Posted By: aaronk
Subject: Soft Cell - Tainted Love on Pure 80’s
Date Posted: 18 August 2006 at 12:16pm
|
Although the database says Pure 80's has the 45 version of "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, I believe it is incorrect. Does anyone know where the version on this CD comes from?
Rather than starting with the beat from the beginning, it has the opening sound effects with no beat. The drums don't start until the bassline and other instruments kick in. |
Replies:
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 18 August 2006 at 11:21pm
| Good question, Aaron. I know I've heard the intro you describe on the radio. Perhaps this is some sort of DJ version? Can anyone confirm this? |
Posted By: jimct
Date Posted: 19 August 2006 at 3:42am
| Aaron/Todd: I will check my short promo over the weekend to answer the question you raise. But the ONLY reason this song EVER hit the Top 10 in the first place was the second promo CD single we got in for it, a medley with "Where Did Our Love Go" added to the end of "Tainted Love." I believe it ran in the 3:40-4:05 range - I have copies, and will soon provide details for this version as well. The 2:00+ plus initial version, in its early weeks, peaked only midway up the charts, but was hanging on the chart for an unusually long time; around 15-17 weeks, as I recall. Huge in a few markets, we were aware of it. Looked like it was close, but no cigar. In fact, it dropped all the way down to #100 on the Hot 100, and was about to finally fall off entirely. Then the "medley remix" came in, and caused an immediate sensation. We quickly added this new version, and it was the only version we EVER played on the radio. It didn't drop off Billboard after all - instead, it started shooting back up the Hot 100 again, eventually reaching #8. That's the reason for its eventual, 10-month, 43 week chart run - two different "climbs" and "drops." Sire didn't put this version out as a 7" stock 45 in '82, but instead went with a 12" single containing a longer version of the "hit" medley. I have since found a re-issue 45 with the DJ 45 version we played. Shocking that the "definitive" radio version only shows up on one CD, that Hard Rock Cafe V/A release. Maybe some small stations who didn't get copies of the remix played the short 45 version at this time, but that remix was everywhere, guys, just FYI. |
Posted By: edtop40
Date Posted: 19 August 2006 at 6:48am
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jim, as always, great info.....how do you remember all the details.....keep em comin!!! ------------- edtop40 |
Posted By: torcan
Date Posted: 19 August 2006 at 8:29am
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On its year-end chart for 1982, Billboard listed it as "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go". I have the re-issue 45 which contains the medley. I've also seen the promo 45 with the medley in a local record store that still carries vinyl.
At the time I was amazed to see this song's run on the charts. 43 weeks was unheard of at the time - I believe it was only the second song to spend 40 or more weeks on the Hot 100. Its last several weeks were all spent in the lower 90s. I always wondered how Billboard figured out its charts - it must have still been getting enough sales and/or airplay to stay on - but did you notice that for many years nothing ever debuted at the very bottom? Same thing on the Cashbox charts. They must have all used similar methodologies - but I could never figure out why they didn't want songs debuting at the bottom. As any followers of the charts know, the 43-week record was tied in 1989 when a re-issue of Moving Pictures "What About Me" hit the mark. In the '90s new records were set and 40 weeks on the chart isn't that uncommon now. |
Posted By: Pat Downey
Date Posted: 19 August 2006 at 11:41am
| Aaron, you are correct in that the "Pure 80's" cd does not contain what I am calling the 45 version of Tainted Love. I have two dj vinyl 45's of this song, one is Sire 49855 which runs (2:38), does not contain "Where Did Our Love Go" and is the version listed in Billboard magazine as the hit version. The other version is the medley, Sire PRO-1028 which runs (3:58) and from what I can tell is a promo only release. |
Posted By: jimct
Date Posted: 19 August 2006 at 8:31pm
| Given Billboard's chart requirements of the day, and with no commercial 7" release on the hit medley, I don't see how Billboard could've listed it any other way, but to show/chart the 2:00+ release - they HAD to list a commercially available 7" version on their chart. I'm just stating the actual facts and the actual reasons for its ultimate success. No matter what Billboard/Whitburn had to list then, or states, either then or now, the medley was the coast-to-coast airplay hit. I imagine many who bought the short 45 in stores were very disappointed it wasn't what they heard on the radio - ultimately, I suppose Sire is to blame for the confusion. |
Posted By: 80smusicfreak
Date Posted: 21 August 2006 at 3:10pm
I always knew that the reason for "Tainted Love"'s longevity on the "Hot 100" was because it had made two trips up the chart, but thanks for filling in all of the additional details, jimct. (It had fallen off just a few months before I first started buying "Billboard" weekly in May of '83.) If Paul Haney is reading, it certainly sounds to me like this info about the two different runs is worth adding to the song's footnote in the next edition of Whitburn's "Top Pop Singles", if not the new soon-to-be-published 7th edition of the "Pop Annual" as well, where they list only the shorter "2:38" timing. (I'm thinking something like, "First xx weeks song charted by itself, peaking at #xx on xx/xx/82, last xx weeks when re-serviced to radio as a medley w/ 'Where Did Our Love Go,'" even if it wasn't PUBLISHED as a medley on the chart by "Billboard" at the time.) |
jimct wrote:Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 22 August 2006 at 1:03pm
With all due respect to Jim, we DO have to look at what the trades listed back then and ALL of them that I looked at listed just "Tainted Love" (except Billboard's year-end list). Even the Gavin Report column by Dave Sholin (which was radio-only) never mentioned the medley when the song was at it's peak popularity (and he did mention "Tainted Love" quite a bit). My local Top 40 station (KDWB in Minneapolis-hardly a small station) played ONLY the short version until around September, when the medley got more airplay. Sales of the 45 were also a factor in the song's Hot 100 success. My local record stores were almost always sold out on that title. Hopefully we can agree to disagree, but I still consider the shorter version the "hit" version. Too bad we didn't have BDS technology back then to sort it all out:) |
Posted By: jimct
Date Posted: 22 August 2006 at 2:52pm
| Paul: I very much appreciate your feedback here. I respect your opinion very much, and your reasoning is based on firm logic and solid thinking (which I regrettably don't always find to be the case for "hot-button" issues on this Board.) I was the MD at the station by '83, and was the #2 man in '82, when "Tainted Love" hit. Dave Sholin is certainly someone I know of and respect. I was neck-deep in dissecting trades in '82, and although we did receive and report to Gavin at the time, I recall us giving FAR more creedence to R&R, Hitmakers and Kal Rudman's FMQB at that time, as to "buzz" and version situations. Remember that radio isn't always extremely "anxious" to publicize/divulge which versions of hit songs they play - even to the point of being "secretive." If our local competitors played the short version, we thought that was to OUR benefit - that they were "missing the boat." Radio is ALWAYS looking for a local "competitive advantage" here. Us telling Dave Sholin about playing the medley could endanger that - if he asked us about it, point blank, we'd probably try to change the subject! After all, our local competitors subscribe to Gavin, too! And, certain trade mags are much more "in bed" with certain labels - so we looked at 8-10 of them weekly, developed a "higher credibility" for some, based on our past experience, and drew a consensus. Citing any single trade mag, as to ANY record, was something we considered "dangerous" back then, and probably still would be today, even with Gavin being, as you say, "Airplay-only". Paul, that was the NORM back then. 90%+ of the "industry trades" we used back then were "Airplay-only." We didn't look to them for sales info - we'd do our own call-out for local sales; and the local label reps would often, and LOUDLY recite their sales figures to us, if they thought it would help their record's case for airplay. I duly acknowledge that KDWB was a huge station, Paul. Perhaps they "dayparted." During AM/PM drive, they'd play the short version, and switch over to the longer one after 6PM, when there were less commercials and younger listeners. Depending on when you were listening, maybe this got past you, even bring the big music fan you are. I'm not sure - just a thought. Almost all Top 40 stations did that, ALL the time. We even had THREE different version lengths for some songs, and we were only a P2 ("medium") market, here in CT. I imagine KDWB was even MORE dayparted, being a P1 ("large") market. Paul, I can only conclude that by having Billboard SPECIFICALLY list the medley on the year-end Top 100, it was finally "admitting" what the "real truth" was here, when it was all said and done for "Tainted Love", without the "shackles" of weekly Hot 100 commercial availability parameters. I only know of TWO 80's songs NOT released as a "current" commercial 45, but had its "definitive" version, almost immediately, put out as an "oldies, reprint" 45. They were "Into The Groove" and "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go." Sire, those troublemakers! :) If Sire agreed with you, Paul, why did they opt for this rather "unusual" step? Because the court of public opinion had spoken, IMHO. I concur -let's "agree to disagree." I can only say that I was "in radio, and in the trenches" at the time. For example, if you REALLY wanna know what Vietnam was like, there's nothing like asking someone who personally fought there, no? Thanks again for your respected take here, Paul. |
Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 23 August 2006 at 7:06am
|
Jim, I appreciate your thoughtful and detailed response.
I was a huge radio junkie back in 1982 and "Tainted Love" was my favorite song of that summer. KDWB played the regular version day and night, so there was no dayparting of that particular song. It was quite a shock when they switched to the medley version that fall. I guess it all comes down to what station one was listening to at the time. BTW, I worked in radio from 1984-91. I was a PD from 1988-91, so I did serve some time in the trenches and am quite aware of the politics involved in the industry. Thanks again for your insights on this one. |
Posted By: edtop40
Date Posted: 23 August 2006 at 8:10am
|
paul and jim......absolutely fascinating info......i didn't realize the radio biz was so complex......i thought you guys just played what the labels and the callers wanted you to......keep up the great work.... ------------- edtop40 |
Posted By: torcan
Date Posted: 27 August 2006 at 7:20pm
|
Not sure if this helps or hurts...but while the song was hanging in the mid-40s after 17 weeks on the Hot 100, Billboard published an article about the song and had mentioned that the medley was just released. It was after this the song regained its bullet (or star, as Billboard used at the time) and started climbing quite quickly. On the radio station I usually listen to (which comes from Buffalo), they added the medley and that's the only version of the song they ever played. For me, the hit version was the medley. I never bought the 45 originally, but got the "oldies series" single instead. (I later found the picture sleeve for the song and have coupled them up in my collection).
Oddly enough, it was a hit on the Toronto radio stations at the end of '81, and I don't believe they ever played the medley version. |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 26 May 2008 at 4:06pm
|
You probably know that the promo 45 medley can be extracted from the 12" version. Here are instructions for doing just that. (Yay!)
The 12" version is found on Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Volume 3 (Oglio/Sony Music Special Products A 24353, 1993 - printed 8:55, actual 8:55) I actually recommend this CD and the others in the series - they're mastered quite well, with very few instances of clipping. Based on the timings from the above CD, do this: Remove the first 21-1/2 beats, from 0:00.0-0:09.1. Edit at the first chord-like synth sound before the downbeat at the 9.3 second mark. Keep the 344 beats (?) from 0:09.1-2:31.7. After the second repetition of the line "touch me baby tainted love", edit one-half a beat after the downbeat. In other words, if you consider the repeating synth "dum dum"s throughout "Tainted Love", leave one "dum" before the edit at 2:31.7, and cut the other "dum". (Eloquent, eh?) Remove the 312 beats from 2:31.7-4:40.4. Edit one beat after the downbeat where the drum sounds change to the "snappy" sound used in "Where Did Our Love Go". In other words, the edit should go on the first "snap" sound at 4:40.4. Keep the 239 beats from 4:40.4-6:19.1. There's a true downbeat at 6:19.1. Put a 48-beat sinusoidal fade from 5:59.3-6:19.1. Your mixdown will run 4:01.3, with edits at 0:00.0 and 2:22.6, with a 48-beat fade from 3:41.5 to 4:01.3. There's an insignificant difference in pitch/tempo between the 45 and the version on CD. The 45 runs 145.0 to 145.4 BPM (beginning-to-end of song), and the Richard Blade CD runs 145.2 to 145.5 BPM. Not significant in the least. I'm going to play with my new scanner to try and post some pictures of the 45 labels, and I'll see if I can somehow post a short audio clip of just the edit from the 2:22 mark... |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 26 May 2008 at 5:19pm
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(Deleted images that no longer work. Same info is included later in the thread.) ------------- There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one http://www.crapfromthepast.com" rel="nofollow - Crap From The Past . |
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 26 May 2008 at 9:53pm
| Getting back to Aaron's initial inquiry that began this thread, does anyone know where the version of "Tainted Love" containing the opening sound effects with no underlying beat comes from? As I commented earlier, I've heard this version on the radio. Could this be a U.K. 45 version? |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 5:53am
Before I attempt an answer I want ensure I am really clear on the version. It is not a medley, but ONLY "Tainted Love". It also has a cold ending where Marc Almonds vocals and the harmonic keyboard sounds fade into the backbeat, and it ends as ch-ch-ch-cha. The backbeat and some of the downbeat keys have a lot of reverb on them. And Marc Almond's vocals sound a bit distant from the 12'/7"/Medley? Have I got that more or less right? That would sound to me like the actual LP version included on "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret". The only other different sounding mix was that Tainted Love '91 junk (sorry I hated it...lol) ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 6:03am
The first add for Soft Cell here in Ontario was indeed in November 1981 by CKOC in Hamilton. The first hit version (the commercial 45-rpm and promo were identical), was on Attic records (which was a Canadian label), though I'm sure some Sire pressings followed. It was simply the "Tainted Love" portion of the 12" mix faded off at the end of his vocals, "Tainted Love...Tainted Love". Though CFTR in Toronto played this single much less than CKOC, I still think they carted up the same record. CHUM-FM, which was an AOR transitioning to new wave at the time was playing the 12" in it's entirety. But they would play the LP version during the Top 30 albums countdown. The LP was a different mix entirely. Then again we bring up Stereo Rock as carried by Rock 102 in Buffalo. They carried five months later, what you folks are referring to as the "medley", which abruptly kicks in to "Where Did Our..." right after "touch me baby, Tainted Love". I think most American stations carried that, though AT 40 carried the fade version that I first heard six months before. I had never heard a Canuck station play the medley in fact. ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 2:57pm
Yes, that is precisely the version I was referring to. So, this is an LP version! The database will need to be updated to reflect this info, if it hasn't been already. |
Posted By: MCT1
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 8:35pm
My commercial 45 also has the "RE-1" on it.
The one with "Sire" under the logo and no ridges between the label and the groove is a later pressing. These also probably came from two different pressing plants, but one is definitely later than the other. The logo change was made sometime around 1985 or 1986. The ridges are a telltale sign that the 45 was pressed by Capitol/EMI, which handled most of Warner Bros.' pressing work in the late '70s and early '80s (they appear on 45s pressed by Capitol/EMI from roughly 1970 to 1985). After that, Warner Bros. began shifting its pressing work to the two formerly independent plants that Warner Music had bought a few years earlier, Specialty and Allied. The copy without the ridges is likely an in-house Warner Music pressing from one of those two plants. Ironically, Capitol/EMI began phasing out vinyl production at its plants around 1985, and began contracting with Warner Music to press some of its records, the exact opposite of what the situation had been just a few years earlier. My original commercial 45 of "Tainted Love" was pressed by Capitol. It has the ridges, as well as markings in the trail-off vinyl indicating that it came from Capitol's "East Coast" plant in Winchester, VA. It looks identical to the label scan upthread except for one small detail: the rim print on my copy does not contain Warner Bros.' address. I have to admit that I'm not sure what this might indicate. The only other Soft Cell 45 that I have is "Loving You, Hating Me", which I believe was the follow-up to "Tained Love". I have two copies, both of which are mono/stereo promos (which ties in with the recent comments in another thread that some record companies, Warner Music included, continued to make mono/stereo promo 45s into the early eighties). Neither copy has the ridges; both appear to be Warner Music pressings, probably from the "West Coast" plant, Allied Records in Los Angeles. Both have Warner Bros.' address in the rim print. |
Posted By: Pat Downey
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 9:32pm
| I do not think we have answered Aaron's question which is the very first post on this thread. The version on Pure 80's is most definitely not the version found on "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret". |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 10:58pm
| Pat is exactly right. I just heard the LP version for the first time in a long time, and it's not the same as the Pure 80's version. To be honest, I hadn't listened to the Pure 80's version in a long time either. The Pure 80's version also fades out and doesn't end with just the "cha cha cha" sound. I got confused earlier. Must be old age setting in. (I'll be 30 soon.) |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 6:30am
Sorry buddy - I really thought I had the answer for you. I have to hear this Pure 80s mix. ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 24 August 2009 at 7:41pm
|
Just revisiting this song, and plenty of confusion here. I found three different mixes of the song, all of which use the same vocal take (not the '91 rerecording from Memorabilia).
First, I dug out the commercial 45 (the RE-1 from the above scan). It has a printed time of 2:38, an actual run time of 2:39, and runs 144.8-144.6 BPM (from beginning to end). It appears that the true commercial 45 version didn't appear on CD until 1994 (!), unless I'm missing something. I found it on these:
I noticed that there are a few more drumbeats at the beginning of the commercial 45, compared with the medley version, so one can't be faded early to get the other. Both can be edited down from the 12", though. (Editing instructions are in an earlier post.) Next, I found that the Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret LP version is a slightly different mix than the 45. It starts where the medley version starts (no extra drumbeats at the intro like the commercial 45 version). The mix is a little more exaggerated, with lots of reverb, and the synth accents and the vocals being pushed way out in front. It runs only 2:33. The easiest way to spot this mix is the ending - after a slight fade, it ends completely cold with a drum fill at 2:33. I have this LP mix on:
Muddying the waters even more is a rerecording from scratch for the Memorabilia CD from 1991. It's a brand new vocal take, so you can tell the difference pretty easily. |
Posted By: EternalStatic
Date Posted: 18 October 2020 at 10:06am
|
If this matter is still open for debate or clarification, I would like to add that I think the alternate "Tainted Love" short mix discussed throughout the thread (as found on Pure 80's) likely made its first commercial appearance in 1991 as part of the "Tainted Love '91"
campaign. While this mix is clearly not an edited version of the "Tainted Love '91" re-recording, it appears to have been released as the lead track on many "Tainted Love '91" singles, but incorrectly labeled as "Original 7" Version". Since the first noted compilation appearance for this variant dates to 1992 (per Ron's post, above), it would appear likely that someone may have grabbed the wrong tape when mastering this single release and then this mistake was replicated on down the line for a few years. I have a digital "Tainted Love"/"Where Did Our Love Go?" single from iTunes U.S. sold in 2009 that contains this version as Track 1. If you are interested in hearing the alternate mix, it appears to still be available from U.S. retailers and streaming services as Track 1 of the "Tainted Love"/"Where Did Our Love Go" digital single. |
Posted By: Bellenger1981
Date Posted: 12 July 2022 at 10:50am
|
The U.S. promo 45 lists a 4:10 "edit" of "Where Did Your
Love Go" on the B-side. Is this an exclusive edit of the 12" medley, running 4:10? Or, is it a misprint and actually the 3:10 original version of "Where Did Our Love Go"? ------------- Jason Bellenger Byron Center, Michigan, USA |
Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 12 July 2022 at 12:14pm
|
Jason, there is a special DJ edit of Tainted Love/Where Did
Our Love Go that was issued in 1981, according to the database. This medley runs 4:01 and was issued on an Eric Records Hard To Find CD. Even though the listed time on that promo 45 on Discogs is 4:10, the medley runs 4:01. ------------- John Gallagher Erie, PA https://www.johngallagher.com" rel="nofollow - John Gallagher Wedding & Special Event Entertainment / Snapblast Photo Booth |
Posted By: Bellenger1981
Date Posted: 12 July 2022 at 12:33pm
|
Thank you, John, for the response. Sorry for the confusion,
as I am well aware of this 4:01 edit of "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go" (listed as 3:58 on the promo 45 A-side), as I have the Eric Records CD. I am actually referring to the B-side of the promo 45, which is listed just as "Where Did Our Love Go" (Edit) with a run time of 4:10 (no "Tainted Love" is listed on this side). See here: https://www.45cat.com/record/pros1028 ------------- Jason Bellenger Byron Center, Michigan, USA |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 12 July 2022 at 1:14pm
|
As I recall, that is the last 4:16 of the 12" medley. Basically, if you chop everything off from 0:00 to 4:38, you're left with 4:16. It begins on a beat but starts rather abrupt. During the transition, there are a lot of crazy drum machines and sounds, and the "Edit" starts on the last four beats before the crazy percussion ends. ------------- Aaron Kannowski http://www.uptownsound.com" rel="nofollow - Uptown Sound http://www.919thepeak.com" rel="nofollow - 91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop |
Posted By: Bellenger1981
Date Posted: 12 July 2022 at 1:38pm
|
Thanks, Aaron. So, in other words, this YouTube video of it
playing is most likely correct: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0shWR62Mu8 ------------- Jason Bellenger Byron Center, Michigan, USA |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 12 July 2022 at 4:30pm
|
Yes, I'm 99% sure the video plays the exact version you're asking about, but if you want me to pull my promo and double check, I'm happy to do so. I don't believe there are any other edits; it simply removes the "Tainted Love" part of the medley. ------------- Aaron Kannowski http://www.uptownsound.com" rel="nofollow - Uptown Sound http://www.919thepeak.com" rel="nofollow - 91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop |
Posted By: Bellenger1981
Date Posted: 12 July 2022 at 4:58pm
|
Thank you for the offer, Aaron, but it's okay. I was just
curious what this 4:10 (listed) promo 45 version was. Now I know. ------------- Jason Bellenger Byron Center, Michigan, USA |
Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 12 July 2022 at 6:46pm
|
Hi Jason,
Pardon my confusion. Unlike Aaron, I was unaware of this 4:16 "Where Did Our Love Go" only track. ------------- John Gallagher Erie, PA https://www.johngallagher.com" rel="nofollow - John Gallagher Wedding & Special Event Entertainment / Snapblast Photo Booth |
Posted By: Bellenger1981
Date Posted: 13 July 2022 at 3:41pm
|
No problem, John. I was browsing through 1982 and noticed
that the archive was missing this promo edit of "Where Did Our Love Go", so I was curious exactly what it was! Now I wonder if anyone heard this edit of "Where Did Our Love Go" on the radio. ------------- Jason Bellenger Byron Center, Michigan, USA |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 13 July 2022 at 9:26pm
|
For the record, I’ve never heard any radio station air “Where Did Our Love Go” without “Tainted Love”.
It appears that the first US 45 release had a catalog number of Sire SRE 49855 and a matrix number of ZAA 1312S. (No RE-1 in the matrix number, no Some Bizarre logo on the label.) Discogs lists a https://www.discogs.com/release/14913441-Soft-Cell-Tainted-Love-Tainted-Love - stereo/mono promo 45 with this catalog/matrix number, with a printed time of 2:38. I think, but can't confirm, that it's the common 45 version, which was the same as the UK 45. Discogs doesn't show any commercial 45s released with this catalog/matrix number; they may exist, but they're not currently listed. Later (and more common) releases had a catalog number of Sire SRE 49855 and a matrix number of ZAA 1312S RE-1, and featured an additional Some Bizarre logo on the Sire label. Discogs shows a https://www.discogs.com/release/4259374-Soft-Cell-Tainted-Love - stereo/mono promo 45 and a https://www.discogs.com/release/7528517-Soft-Cell-Tainted-Love- - commercial 45 for this catalog/matrix number. The RE-1 also has a printed time of 2:38. I can confirm that the RE-1 is the common 45 version. I don't really know what warranted the RE-1 designation. Unless the original pressing used a different mix, the only difference I can see is the addition of a new logo on the Sire label. Does anyone have a non-RE-1 45 on Sire? ------------- There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one http://www.crapfromthepast.com" rel="nofollow - Crap From The Past . |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 13 July 2022 at 9:47pm
|
I think I found the source of the unidentified mix that starts with two synth stabs and no drums. It seems to be “Tainted Love '91”, credited to Soft Cell/Marc Almond.
Here’s a YouTube https://youtu.be/7wN2IiIL4XM - video of the 1991 45 playing. It's misidentified in the video title as being from 1981; it's not. Here's a https://www.discogs.com/release/150445-Soft-Cell-Marc-Almond-Tainted-Love-91 - Discogs listing for the 45. The listing states: "Although track A is listed as 'Original' this mix is slightly different from the original 1981 single version." ------------- There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one http://www.crapfromthepast.com" rel="nofollow - Crap From The Past . |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 14 July 2022 at 7:29pm
The only time I have EVER heard "Where Did Our Love Go" sans Tainted Love was the LP version included on "Non Stop Erotic Dancing". That was a different mix than the 12" and US edit of the medley. ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 14 July 2022 at 7:35pm
Yikes! I'm glad we were spared that mess in Canada. Never ever heard that abrupt start. I thought the US edit of the medley was a rough enough transition between the two songs. But that video of Just "Where Did Our Love Go" is pretty rough. And yes, that simply removes Tainted Love and the transitional section. From the point that video starts, the remainder of the 12" single is played in its entirety. ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 15 July 2022 at 3:35pm
|
At the risk of being redundant with one of my earlier posts (from 13 years ago!), here's some mastering info.
45 version This version runs 2:38. The "snare drum" fill starts at 0:06. The vocals start at 0:13. It's on the UK 45 (Some Bizzare BZS 2). The B-side is a 3:14 version of "Where Did Our Love Go". It's on the US 45 (Sire SRE 49855). The B-side is "Memorabilia". There were stereo/mono promo 45s of "Tainted Love" released with the same catalog number. Most of the releases with this catalog number have "RE-1" listed in the matrix number just below the catalog number. There was a non-"RE-1" version of the stereo/mono promo 45, but it's not clear if there was ever a commercial non-"RE-1" version of the 45. The 45 version appeared on CD on Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 4 (1994), where it runs 2:40. It sounds great here - nice dynamic range, nice EQ, no evidence of added noise reduction on the fade, and good source tapes. It runs about 144.8 BPM here. The same analog transfer is used on:
I found one more analog transfer on a European low-budget 4-CD set called Disco Fever from 1993. It sounds much better on the Rhino set. LP version The LP version has a lot more reverb than the 45 mix. The intro is shorter than the 45 so that the "snare drum" fill starts at 0:02 and the vocals start at 0:10. The ending is also different from the 45. On the LP, it fades into a little synth riff/drum fill that ends the song cold. It runs about 2:33 or 2:34. The LP version is relatively uncommon on CD. I have it on:
Medley with "Where Did Our Love Go" "Tainted Love" and "Where Did Our Love Go" first appeared as a medley on the 12 inch single, running about 8:55. I found it first on CD on Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Vol. 3 (1993). In recent years, the full 12 inch version has appeared on a few European compilations. When the 2:38 version failed to make the US top 40, someone at Sire Records decided to shorten the medley down to a reasonable length and re-service the song to US radio as a new promo 45 (Sire PRO-S-1028). The A-side of the new promo 45 has a designation of "Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go (Edit)", with a printed time of 3:58 and an actual time of 4:01. This 4-minute medley version became the hit at radio (in some markets), and gave the song a boost on the charts. The song eventually went on to hit the top 10 and set a longevity record on the Hot 100. The B-side of the new promo 45 is "Where Did Our Love Go (Edit)", which starts jarringly at the transition between the two songs in the medley. Printed 4:10, actual about 4:16. The Sire "Back To Back Hits" reissue 45 from 1987 (GSRE 0435) includes the medley. It also has a designation of "Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go (Edit)", with a printed time of 3:58, but an actual run time of 4:11. The reissue 45 runs 10 seconds longer than the promo 45. The reissue 45 edit and length (4:11) appear on Rhino's Hard Rock Cafe New Wave (1997). The edited medley was notoriously hard to find for many, many years after the song was a hit. It did turn up on a rare promo 5-CD set called Best Of CMJ 1979-1989 (1989, running about 4:11) and an ever more rare promo 50-CD called The A List Disc 11 (1994; taken from vinyl; likely based on TM Century mastering). 34 years after the medley was a hit, it finally appeared on a commercially available CD, Eric's Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 16 More '80s Essentials And Beyond (2016, running about 4:03). A 1991 version The 1991 best-of album Memorabilia - The Singles (on Mercury) wrought havoc on the Soft Cell catalog. The Discogs listing says: "Note: The Soft Cell recordings here are not the original recordings but remixes and reworkings from 1991, except for "Torch" & "Soul Inside". The UK/Europe & US versions have slightly different art & tracklistings. "Tainted Love" is known as "Tainted Love '91" on the US releases. Some of the Marc Almond songs are remixes as well (see notes)." "Tainted Love '91" appears on Memorabilia and runs about 2:58. There's no mistaking it for the original. To promote Memorabilia in 1991, Mercury released some singles in the UK (not the US) as by "Soft Cell / Marc Almond", some of which have a designation of "Tainted Love (Original)" or "Tainted Love (Original 7")", and a time of 2:38. This version starts with two single-note synth hits, then a little silence, then a snare drum-like fill, then the rest of the instrumentation comes in on the downbeat at 0:04. There's no reverb on anything. This incorrectly-named "Original" version from 1991 appears on CD singles from 1991, as well as:
My recommendations For the 45 version (just "Tainted Love"), may as well go for Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough Vol. 4 (1994), but the digital clones also sound just fine. For the LP version, grab whatever you can find. It's not common on CD. For the promo 45 version (medley edit), go for Rhino's Hard Rock Cafe New Wave (1997) for the reissue 45 length, or Eric's Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 16 More '80s Essentials And Beyond (2016) for the promo 45 length. ------------- There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one http://www.crapfromthepast.com" rel="nofollow - Crap From The Past . |
Posted By: mjb50
Date Posted: 18 July 2022 at 12:32am
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Thanks for the rundown.
As mentioned in Pat's database, the non-medley 45 version is on https://www.discogs.com/master/2712-Soft-Cell-The-Singles - The Singles , which came out several years before Memorabilia. |
Posted By: mjb50
Date Posted: 13 August 2023 at 11:51pm
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Regarding the medley edit, just to clarify, the only difference between the promo 45 and the Back To Back Hits reissue 45 is the fade; the promo's fade begins & ends sooner than the reissue.
The promo 45 edit on Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 16 has the correct fade length, but it seems the edit was re-created for this release. There's a slight timing difference at the edit point, and it seems a 90° splice (probably a simple cut in a digital editor) was used, whereas it's an angled cut on the reissue. The edit difference is not really audible at all; I'm just mentioning it for the pedantic nerds. |
Posted By: edogak2000
Date Posted: 21 February 2025 at 6:42am
The B-side of the new promo 45 is "Where Did Our Love Go (Edit)", which starts jarringly at the transition between the two songs in the medley. Printed 4:10, actual about 4:16. Hi all, Is this version of Where Did Our Love Go (Edit) available on CD so far ? |
Posted By: JFive
Date Posted: 25 February 2025 at 4:46pm
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For anyone who hasn't heard the version on Pure 80s.
https://youtu.be/J75mY2EmJkY?si=GbA1kJZCy7h_4vEc&t=1801 ------------- Jay in OK |