Smokey/Miracles-"Tears Of A Clown"
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Category: Top 40 Music On Compact Disc
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URL: https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1863
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Topic: Smokey/Miracles-"Tears Of A Clown"
Posted By: jimct
Subject: Smokey/Miracles-"Tears Of A Clown"
Date Posted: 14 March 2007 at 7:57pm
| My commercial copy has a listed time of (2:56), but an actual time of (3:03). It now exactly meshes with the mono database CD entries, which denote "45 version." This was the first 45 I EVER bought. If I'd only found "45s Buyers Anonymous" years ago, to break this questionable vinyl-buying habit, I'd probably been able to long ago buy my OWN tropical island instead! On second thought, I think I made the right choice after all! :) |
Replies:
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 14 March 2007 at 8:49pm
That depends, Jim. Does your tropical island have bikini-clad women serving you drinks on the shore? |
jimct wrote:Posted By: jimct
Date Posted: 14 March 2007 at 8:59pm
| Oh, man, Aaron, don't tempt me.....Well, there IS always eBay if I ever decide to "liquidate the inventory" in order to go "island shopping!" |
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 18 March 2007 at 10:32am
| I hear ya, Jim! I shudder to think of how much money I've sunk into music purchases over the past 20 years. If I had put all the money into a tax-deferred annuity, I could probably retire at least ten years early! But retirement wouldn't be any fun without a stellar music collection to help pass the time away, now would it? ;-) |
Posted By: davidclark
Date Posted: 12 June 2011 at 1:19am
|
There are two distinct stereo mixes of this track. The first as I hear it on
the original 1967 LP "Make It Happen", long before it was released as a single. My source for this is the CD "Going To A Go-Go / The Tears Of A Clown", so I can not be 100% certain the original LP was this mix, however it likely was. This mix can be distinguished by the lack of hi-hat on the intro. Then there's the stereo mix that more closely resembles the 45, with the hi-hat at the beginning. My source for this, among many, is Rhino "Billboard Top Rock'N'Roll Hits 1970". This mix is more punchy than the above. Can anyone chime in here? Anyone have the original 1967 vinyl stereo LP "Make It Happen" and/or the original 1970 vinyl LP "The Tears Of A Clown" (which was "Make It Happen" renamed) that can listen to both? The song also appeared on the 1971 LP "One Dozen Roses". Anyone have that LP to check the stereo mix? I would also like to hear the mono mix of the track on the mono vinyl LP "Make It Happen". ------------- dc1 |
Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 12 June 2011 at 2:09am
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I too heard this alternate stereo version years ago, it also turned up on one of the many Motown 80's v/a comps, i can't recall which one.
I noticed right away this other mix, as David points out, is missing the hi-hat in the intro, it's actually missing the entire 2nd drum track. In the more common mix that is closer to the 45 mix, there are 2 distinct drum tracks, the 2nd one they added gave it much more punch, both were present in the 45 mix. I prefer the more common mix, which is closer to the 45, but on my copy i slowed it down a little (always sounded to me like the 45 was a slower pitch than the stereo LP...) and i EQ'd it with more bass. Note! the mono 45 mix is still unique as it contains an extra bass overdub that is not present in the stereo mix. The overdub is thru-out the song, but if i remember right you can hear it in the intro. It's been awhile since i compared them, and i havent heard that alternate stereo mix since the vinyl copy... -MM |
Posted By: KentT
Date Posted: 12 June 2011 at 7:04am
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And also, the 45 is a little bit faster tempo. The original mix was about 1 percent slower. ------------- I turn up the good and turn down the bad! |
Posted By: davidclark
Date Posted: 12 June 2011 at 8:54am
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KentT: the 45 is slower than the stereo mixes. ------------- dc1 |
Posted By: KentT
Date Posted: 14 June 2011 at 8:56am
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I have a late 45 which had been sped up. I seem to remember the original pressing being slower tempo. ------------- I turn up the good and turn down the bad! |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 01 September 2020 at 8:23pm
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Mono 45 version
Appeared first on Motown's 4-CD Hitsville USA The Singles Collection 1959-1971 (1992). It sounds fantastic here. There's a digitally identical clone on Motown's Smokey Robinson And The Miracles 35th Anniversary Collection (1994). The mono 45 version appears on plenty of other collections that I don't own. Stereo LP version The stereo LP version appeared first on CD on Motown's Smokey Robinson And The Miracles Compact Command Performances 18 Greatest Hits (1983). The same analog transfer is used on:
My recommendations For the mono 45 version, go with Motown's 4-CD Hitsville USA The Singles Collection 1959-1971 (1992), just because it's the gold standard for box set label compilations. For the stereo LP version, they all sound basically the same! If you're shopping for compilations, I recommend Rhino's Billboard Top R&R Hits 1970 (1989) or Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 1 1970 (1989). If you avoid the later Time-Life discs, which have truncated fades, just about all the other collections will sound great for this song. I personally will use Motown's Smokey Robinson And The Miracles Compact Command Performances 18 Greatest Hits (1983), but only because I already have it. ------------- 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: MMathews
Date Posted: 01 September 2020 at 8:44pm
|
Ron, you list "LP version" only once so I assume you mean
the common one that was remixed in 1970 and is on most CDs. I assume you have no CD with the other mix that David correctly surmises was the 1967 stereo mix? MM |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 01 September 2020 at 8:50pm
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That's correct, Mark.
Is it fair to call the other mix a "non-hit 1967 stereo LP version"? I don't have that mix at all. ------------- 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: LunarLaugh
Date Posted: 01 September 2020 at 11:56pm
When Universal bought Polygram and all its associated properties (including Motown), there was a new batch of transfers done for the purposes of updating Motown's digital library. Dropouts were fixed, tape damage was repaired in the DAW, and tape alignment issues were addressed and dealt with. Some first-time remixes were even accomplished. The first appearance of these newer transfers was on the 1999 series of Motown 20th Century Masters discs. While the results vary drastically track-by-track and disc-by-disc, I still grabbed up several of them because they were worth having for some of the updates. I have a lot of the Compact Digital Classics discs along with both Hitsville USA boxes and many Rhino compilations featuring these songs over and over. After a lot of A/B comparison, I can say the 20th Century Masters discs are far from garbage. In the case of "Tears of A Clown", 20th Century Masters is a little on the brighter side but the levels are not awful (slight compression/limiting but no drastic clipping at hard zero). The fade out also lasts just a smidgen of a second longer than other CD appearances (such as the Rhino and Compact Classics set mentioned). So you get shiny new transfers, but the mastering is sometimes lacking. Universal/Motown has been using these as the go-to sources for nearly all their compilation releases since then. For my own music library, I actually used this as my source and just adjusted the EQ more to my liking using my studio software. ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: boxmaster
Date Posted: 02 September 2020 at 9:42am
| There is also the original Make It Happen Mono LP version which contains a unique Smokey vocal not on any other version. As far as I know it's never been on CD. |
Posted By: C J Brown
Date Posted: 02 September 2020 at 4:09pm
|
Anyone have a list for the 1999 updated Motown transfers
that may have repairs and any of the remixes mentioned above? |
Posted By: Santi Paradoa
Date Posted: 02 September 2020 at 5:25pm
vocal on YouTube. I also would like to see it get released on CD (but the chances are fewer and far between these days). The tape with that mono version must still be deep in the vault somewhere. ------------- Santi Paradoa Miami, Florida |
Posted By: LunarLaugh
Date Posted: 03 September 2020 at 12:02am
This would probably take up about 40+ pages. lol! As stated the 20th Century Masters Motown sets contain these transfers but the mastering itself can be a mixed bag. On some tracks that were mono only, it sounds like they used a variety of sources ranging from the Hitsville Box to the late 90s Ultimate Collections (and possibly the older 80s transfers on a handful of others). But practically ANYTHING Motown/Universal has compiled and released in the past 20 years has made use of these newer transfers in some capacity. Just like the older Motown discs mostly just re-recycled the same transfers over and over, so do the newer Motown discs. As far as remixes go, a number of the "Gold" series of releases as well as the post-Y2k Motown "Anthology" discs have contained remixes of varying degrees of quality alongside the original mixes. The artist catalog that benefited the most from having newer transfers of the stereo mixes was The Supremes. Tape noise (not tape hiss) from misaligned tapes and severe dropouts marred a lot of their early hits and Universal did a very commendable job of restoring them without adversely affecting the overall sound quality. If you get their box set, their 20th Century Masters and Rhino's Top R&B Hits 1964-1970, you'll have the best sources for their songs in stereo (the 80s Motown discs are still okay, too but those are just a little better). As for mono Surpremes, the Bill Inglot produced 1995 Anthology is the only way to go. ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: C J Brown
Date Posted: 03 September 2020 at 4:23pm
|
I do have a 1999 Supremes comp "The Millenium
Collection" a two disc set. It has been so long I am not certain but I think a few tracks here are improved - not sure. I will need to review this set. The same for a 1999 Marvin Gaye comp but once again I will have to review to see which tracks are improved. The Rhino Billboard R&B 1966 has a great sounding version of "You Keep Me Hanging On" by the Supremes. Do the various Supremes tracks on the other 64 - 70 Rhino RB titles all have Supremes nuggets like that? |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 03 September 2020 at 4:55pm
|
In general, Rhino's Billboard discs sound superb. For the Motown tracks that appear on these discs, I've found them to be the best-sounding stereo versions of those songs.
That's an important distinction, because many (including myself) consider the mono mixes of the Motown hits (pre-1972) to be far superior to the stereo mixes. http://www.top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5051 - Here's a detailed posts that discusses collecting Motown in mono. ------------- 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: garye
Date Posted: 03 September 2020 at 6:22pm
|
The Complete Motown Number #1's CD 3 is stereo and runs
2:59. It also says it is the U.S. version. The Complete Motown singles version is mono and times in a 3:05 and is slower than the stereo version. Go figure! |
Posted By: LunarLaugh
Date Posted: 06 September 2020 at 6:52am
|
I concur the Rhino discs are hard to beat for stereo
Motown in that they typically got the lowest generation tapes and their mastering was very tasteful. However, as I previously stated, the barrage of tape dropouts and tape damage that is present in a lot of the older Motown hits (particularly on the intros) is still present on many of the Rhino comps. Granted, if this doesn't bother you, then go for it. However, Motown/Universal did do a very nice job of cleaning a lot of these up and if you want to hear a handful of tracks without these tape anomalies, they exist. I don't recommend getting ONLY the newer Motown discs for the stereo tracks as they are a mixed bag, as far as mastering goes. Someday I'll have to dig out all my handwritten notes and post my findings here a'la Ron. ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: LunarLaugh
Date Posted: 08 September 2020 at 8:33am
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I realized that I failed to also mention the Motown Year-
By-Year series which also features excellent transfers of stereo and mono material that has a more eclectic range than just the typical hits. ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |