Peter Gabriel "Sledgehammer" issue
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URL: https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1501
Printed Date: 07 May 2026 at 11:25am
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Topic: Peter Gabriel "Sledgehammer" issue
Posted By: budaniel
Subject: Peter Gabriel "Sledgehammer" issue
Date Posted: 05 November 2006 at 12:57pm
| The "remix" of Sledgehammer on "I Want My 80s Box" has the drum march end that was unique to the video version of the song (and one of the 12" remixes). Although there are no CDs that feature the 7" version, is it possible that the 7" mix was the same as the video mix, only shorter? Does anyone have the 7" who could detect if it is a remix of just an edit of the LP version? |
Replies:
Posted By: edtop40
Date Posted: 05 November 2006 at 7:10pm
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the 7" version is the same as the version from the cd "so" except faded to the 4:58 mark....the remix versions are NOT the same as the 45 version.... ------------- edtop40 |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 06 November 2006 at 12:43am
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If the version on I Want My 80s Box is the same one found on Shaking The Tree (Peter Gabriel's best of compilation), then it is close to, but not exactly like, the video version. I always thought it was, but upon careful examination, I found the following to be true about the video version:
- The instrumental section right before the part where he sings "I kick the habit" has a couple additional keyboard notes in the video version. - The ending drums on the video fade out exactly as the remixed version on the 12" single does. The version on the Shaking The Tree has a cold ending where the last drum has a reverb effect added to it. Does anyone know if there is a Peter Gabriel DVD with a good sounding copy of the actual video? Also, is the 12" extended remix available on CD anywhere? I've never been able to locate it. |
Posted By: elcoleccionista
Date Posted: 06 November 2006 at 5:18pm
Aaron, I think the closest you will get to that is the video as featured on his 2004 released "Play-The Videos" DVD compilation. The original audio is unfortunately Dolby Digital 2.0 as opposed to PCM, but still sounds very good. Then you have two additional audio tracks (DTS 96/24 and DD 5.1) which make the affore mentioned track pale, but that is (fortunately for some, unfortunately for others) a previously unreleased remix of the song. All videos were remixed for 5.1 surround by Daniel Lanois and Richard Chappell especially for this DVD. If you want, let me know and I can extract the original audio version for you. |
aaronk wrote:Posted By: edtop40
Date Posted: 20 May 2011 at 9:08am
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the 7" version is the same as the version from the cd "so" except faded to the 4:58 mark....the remix versions are NOT the same as the 45 version....
i need to amend my comments as listed above....the vinyl 45 actually runs 5:00 and NOT 4:58 as listed on the label....this amended info s/b added to the db...my original post was inaccurate... ------------- edtop40 |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 26 August 2011 at 5:49pm
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Just compared my commercial 45 (printed 4:58, actual 5:00) with the version on So.
As noted a few times above, the 45 (no designation on the record label) is an early fade of the album. To recreate the 45 early fade, put a 24-beat fade from 4:47 to 5:02, starting at the downbeat at the end of the big drum fill. Comparing the 45 and LP fades, they start in the same place and have pretty much the same shape, but the LP version has a gigantic tail and continues quite a while at a very low volume. FYI, both the 45 and the album version on So run at 96.4 BPM throughout. |
Posted By: peterpyser
Date Posted: 14 January 2020 at 6:21am
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The 7'' version of Sledgehammer can be found on this cd
single: https://www.discogs.com/Peter-Gabriel-Blood-Of- Eden/release/1870212 The actual timing is 5:01 even if it's listed as 4:53 on the back cover. |
Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 14 January 2020 at 11:06am
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I've always preferred the promo single version that runs
4:02. It's the go-to version in my library. ------------- John Gallagher Erie, PA Celebrating 29 years as a full-time wedding & special event DJ! |
Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 15 January 2020 at 6:00am
Same here. Also, it's the only one I hear on the radio these days. |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 15 January 2020 at 8:43am
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I'd be surprised if you were hearing the actual promo edit. The stations here play the botched TM Century edit. ------------- 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: eriejwg
Date Posted: 15 January 2020 at 10:21am
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In my DJ library, it's the actual edit. But, I
agree, probably the botched edit on the radio. ------------- John Gallagher Erie, PA Celebrating 29 years as a full-time wedding & special event DJ! |
Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 15 January 2020 at 11:05am
What does the botched edit sound like??? |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 15 January 2020 at 5:34pm
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The intro is crossfaded between the instrumental opening and the first
verse. ------------- 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: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 16 January 2020 at 4:52am
Thanks! I'll have to listen more closely next time it comes on the radio. |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 18 April 2026 at 11:10am
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At some point, the original mix of "Sledgehammer" was swapped out for the Although it's very subtle, this remix is different from start to finish. There are slightly different reverb/echo effects on one of the synths throughout, so it's not just a case of overdubs at the 3:17 mark. On Spotify, the album is labeled as 2012 Remaster, but this is not true. I have a rip of the CD 2012 remaster, and it's not the video remix on the CD version. ------------- 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: mjb50
Date Posted: 19 April 2026 at 3:53am
That's not the 7" version. It's the LP version with the first 7½ seconds removed.
I'm confused. Are you saying this mix was released previously? These are the versions I have [last 2 items edited after replies posted]: • album version • promo 7" version • 7" version = early fade (with long tail) of album version • video version • Extended Version • Dance Mix • Shaking the Tree version = different edit of the mix used for the video version, plus unique sound at end • 2016 So digital release version, mislabeled "2012 remaster" on Spotify = similar to aforementioned Shaking the Tree version but with unedited ending and various small differences in the mix |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 19 April 2026 at 8:38am
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EDIT: It has been discovered that the music video that has been on YouTube since at least 2006 has swapped audio. The original video uses an edit of the original LP version segued into the ending of the Extended Dance Mix. For the music video, they started with this remix, made two edits (one during the second chorus and the other just before the fade out), and then segued into the ending of the Extended Dance Remix. The segue has one beat of unique audio where the word "night" overlaps the percussion ending. You can hear that it's not crossfaded, as all the instrumentation drops out except one guitar in the left channel. Technically Shaking The Tree is not an edit of the video version, because it uses the LP mix and a different segue at the end (as well as the reverbed ending). ------------- 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: davidlg1971
Date Posted: 19 April 2026 at 9:17am
I have a copy of the 2002 remaster from the https://www.discogs.com/release/6703876-Peter-Gabriel-So" rel="nofollow - Japanese So mini-LP CD. When I tried using that to recreate the promo, I realized the mix was different. I then checked my copy of the https://www.discogs.com/release/4606515-Peter-Gabriel-Shaking-The-Tree-Sixteen-Golden-Greats" rel="nofollow - Shaking The Tree remaster CD, and sure enough - it seems all the 2002 "remasters" use some version of this mix. I posted on the https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/posts/26310743/" rel="nofollow - Steve Hoffman forums to find an answer to this. The relevant bit:
|
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 19 April 2026 at 9:30am
Great info! I also just discovered that this remix was used for the 2003 compilation Hit. I've updated the database about the 2002 remasters. ------------- 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: mjb50
Date Posted: 19 April 2026 at 11:17am
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Still confused. The Shaking The Tree version I have runs 4:54 after you chop off trailing silence and a split-second of the previous track's ending at the beginning due to a misplaced track boundary. This version and the video version are different edits of the same mix; you have to remove part(s) of one to match the other. The ending has the dance percussion edited in, and it fades out. The 2016, Spotify "2012" version has the same structure as the above version, but also has various mix differences which you noticed. There's more reverb in some places, different panning at one point, synth stabs from 3:01 to 3:17, and no dance percussion ending. |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 19 April 2026 at 2:58pm
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[This post has been updated in light of new information.] I'll try to recap as best as I can. Some of this info is based on 1) the post made by David where he talks about the remasters on CD swapping out the mix, including the 2002 copy of Shaking The Tree, and 2) the audio currently available on Spotify/streaming platforms. For this post, any reference to the "remix" is referring to the 2002 remastered CD, which has a remixed version. Original mix - LP length appears on original pressings of So - 45 length is N/A on CD but is an early fade - promo 45 version also N/A on CD; uses the original mix but with unique audio leading into the first verse, has three edits (intro, second chorus, fade out), and an early fade - 1990 Shaking The Tree CD edit; cuts the flute intro and segues into the ending of the Extended Dance Remix to loosely mimic the music video; ending percussion ends cold with reverb - music video version N/A on CD; uses an edited version of the LP version and segues into the Extended Dance Remix at the end where percussion fades out Remix (has extra synthesizers during the flute solo as well as other subtle mix differences compared with the original LP mix) - appears on 2002 remastered CD of So and digitally on Spotify as of 2026 - 2002 Shaking The Tree CD edit; mimics the 1990 edit but swaps the LP mix for the remix; this new edit retains the 1990 reverbed cold ending; currently found on the Spotify version of Shaking The Tree
If you mean "fades out" like in the music video, this is news to me. Please let me know which CD pressing you have, as all previously reported editions of this disc have a reverbed cold ending and not a fade out. ------------- 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: LunarLaugh
Date Posted: 20 April 2026 at 1:50pm
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There is also a more recent video remix found on the Peter Gabriel DVD collection "Play". ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: elcoleccionista
Date Posted: 21 April 2026 at 9:58am
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https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/peter-gabriel-previously-unheard-sledgehammer-remix-on-cd/" rel="nofollow - https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/peter-gabriel-previously-unheard-sledgehammer-remix-on-cd/ And apparently yet another version soon to surface on CD. |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 21 April 2026 at 10:09am
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This has been out since 2014. It's a very odd version if you haven't heard it. ------------- 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: mjb50
Date Posted: 21 April 2026 at 11:30am
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When comparing all these versions, it's very easy to get mixed up. Aaron is right, of course, about the edited Dance Mix ending being on both Shaking the Tree releases. Hopefully the rest of this post is correct. Something that became clear after listening to the 2012 So remaster (which is on a non-US CD/DVD box set release containing the original album version) is that the master tape has acquired some bleed-through at the end of the flute intro. This explains why the end of the intro varies from release to release. On the 2000s remasters they tried to either redo the last bit of reverb or just go to silence so that you won't hear the faint horn spoiler. The 2002 So version is still just the album version for the first 46 seconds. The edit where it switches to the remix is right at the snare/tambourine hit after 0:46. In fact that beat hits about 11ms too early. So while I agree that there's a remix and an original mix, I don't agree that this version is "full-length unedited" rather than just another pastiche. I think we have yet to hear the first part of the remix. I am trusting davidlg1971 from the SH forum that the version on Spotify currently is a 2016 remaster, mislabeled 2012, so that's what I'm calling it. This 2016 version's flute intro ends with a unique reverb reconstruction which is still not quite right. Aside from that botched 1.5-second snippet, though, it is identical to the 2002 So version. As for the video versions: The 2004 Play has a new stereo mix (in Dolby Digital 2.0), and a new surround mix (in Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS). The stereo version is quite different from any of the ones we are discussing. The surround mix, though, if downmixed to stereo, is nearly indistinguishable from the 2002 So version, minus two sections that were cut out to match the original video edit. (And ~10ms was cut out of a few other spots presumably to maintain sync.) Now as for the original video mix, I can't say with 100% certainty that what I have is it, because both copies are from later sources. One copy I just ripped the official Peter Gabriel channel on YouTube, where it is the soundtrack to the 'HD Version' of the video. The other is from the circa 2008 UK DVD MixMash Party Classics Volume 15. This has PCM audio. These both match each other [edit: no they don't; the YouTube one has the synth stabs]. But what I can say is this video mix is based on the original album version—except, of course for the ending, which is from the end of the Dance Mix. It does not have any features of the remix. So Aaron, when you imply there is only one video version and that it's based on the remix, I have to question if that's what you meant. In any case, I wouldn't mind finding a pre-1990 VHS rip from MTV or something, just to be sure. |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 21 April 2026 at 12:28pm
The HD version of the music video and the SD version on Peter Gabriel's YT channel both have the same remix elements. There are extra synths at the egg/dancing chicken part of the video, as well as other subtle differences throughout. I don't hear a difference in the first :46 of the music video soundtrack vs. the 2002 remaster. In fact, I also don't hear a difference between the original LP version and the remix during this segment. The remixed elements in both the music video soundtrack and the 2002 remaster don't become apparent until during the first verse. Listening in headphones, the synth "organ" flourish at the end of each line has a faint echo in the right channel of the remix that is absent on the LP version. I can hear it in the music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJWJE0x7T4Q" rel="nofollow - HD Version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g93mz_eZ5N4" rel="nofollow - SD Version Now, whether or not this is the "true" original soundtrack the video, I also cannot say with 100% certainty, because anything could've happened between 1986 and when the video was uploaded to YouTube. I think there's strong evidence that it is the original soundtrack, though, because 1) I can hear film or videotape noise during the opening and trailing silence, and it seems unlikely Geffen would've added that in, and 2) There's a unique segue where the ending percussion comes in that cannot be created using the released versions, and again, I doubt Geffen would've gone to the trouble of going back to the original multi-tracks for one second of audio if they had replaced the original track with something new. What is odd, though, is that the tail end of the HD version has a strange overlap of the second half of ending percussion that is not in the SD version. I'm chalking that up to a mastering error, since the unique segue is in both the HD and SD videos, and one doesn't have the overlap. ------------- 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: aaronk
Date Posted: 21 April 2026 at 12:54pm
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One other possibility is that the music video that has been on YouTube since 2006 replaces most of the original audio track with the 2002 remastered "remix" and then cuts to the unique segue toward the end. I would also love to find an '80s-era source of the music video to see what's really on it. ------------- 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: aaronk
Date Posted: 21 April 2026 at 2:21pm
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OK, it looks like I've been fooled by swapped audio on YouTube. I managed to find a 6-hour VHS recording of MTV from December 1989. https://archive.org/details/1989.12.16_MTV_6_Hours_Rewind_Weekend_December_16th_1989" rel="nofollow - https://archive.org/details/1989.12.16_MTV_6_Hours_Rewind_Weekend_December_16th_1989 While the audio is mono and very hissy, it's clear that there are no extra synths during the dancing egg/chicken segment. Also, given that the remixed version was available on the 2002 remasters (pre-YouTube), it becomes totally plausible that the audio was swapped. That's frustrating, but it appears to be the case. ------------- 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: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 21 April 2026 at 5:19pm
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Some more random info; maybe it can help us make sense of all this. For what it's worth, the ending of the song (LP version, 45 version, 2002 remix) is looped. Same 32 beats of audio, cut and pasted at the proper volume. The 45 and UK 12 inch single end at the 5:00 point, with "c'mon c'mon" being audible but "help" being absent or drowned out by surface noise. I assume that the "LP version" on the promo 12 inch single (printed 4:58) ends at the same point. The 1986 So CD runs out to 5:09, so that the first syllable of "feedin'" is audible but the last syllable isn't. BPM Analyzer says that the 1986 So version runs at 96.43 BPM. It stays at that tempo until an edit around 4:46, and continues at that tempo after the edit. ------------- 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: Brian W.
Date Posted: 21 April 2026 at 10:58pm
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This video on Archive.org appears to show a rebroadcast of a complete 1986 episode of "MTV Guest VJ Hour" with the complete "Sledgehammer" video: https://archive.org/details/1986.08.00_MTV_Guest_VJ_Hour_Hosted_with_GTR_August_1986" rel="nofollow - https://archive.org/details/1986.08.00_MTV_Guest_VJ_Hour_Hosted_with_GTR_August_1986 |
Posted By: Brian W.
Date Posted: 21 April 2026 at 11:04pm
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Oh, here's another one. It says 7/22/86. "Sledgehammer" starts at around 50 minutes in (not sure the listed times are accuarte): https://archive.org/details/1986.07.22_MTV_1_Hours_with_Guest_VJs_Moody_Blues_GTR_July_22nd_1986" rel="nofollow - https://archive.org/details/1986.07.22_MTV_1_Hours_with_Guest_VJs_Moody_Blues_GTR_July_22nd_1986 |
Posted By: mjb50
Date Posted: 22 April 2026 at 5:29am
| Thanks for that 1986 MTV reference. I downloaded and extracted the audio. Other than being a lossy mono transfer, it's a perfect match for what's on the MixMash DVD I mentioned. So that DVD is actually a decent PCM source for the original video mix, although it is EQ'd a little weird; there's a significant dip around 1100 Hz. |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 22 April 2026 at 1:13pm
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Thanks to all who helped get this sorted out! I updated the database (again), but I’m not sure what appears on the later Real World releases. I don’t have those for reference. ------------- Aaron Kannowski http://www.uptownsound.com" rel="nofollow - Uptown Sound http://www.919thepeak.com" rel="nofollow - 91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop |