"Serious" - Donna Allen
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Category: Top 40 Music On Compact Disc
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Topic: "Serious" - Donna Allen
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Subject: "Serious" - Donna Allen
Date Posted: 01 August 2005 at 10:58pm
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Here's one I missed that should've been included in the "Single/album version distinctions..." message thread. For the song "Serious" by Donna Allen, there exists a 45 version with a run time of 3:46. The sole CD appearance of this song in the 10th edition is the LP version which clocks in at 4:05.
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Replies:
Posted By: Moderator
Date Posted: 02 August 2005 at 5:18am
Todd what differences do you hear between the 45 and LP versions of "Serious"?
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Top 40 Music On Compact Disc Moderator
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Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 02 August 2005 at 7:50am
Pat:
If you were to take the LP version, edit out the instrumental break and rap from 3:21 to 3:38, and fade out the song a few seconds sooner, you basically get the 45 version. However, the edit at 3:21 on the 45 contains a barely detectable difference in Allen's vocal inflection when she sings the word "talk" compared to the LP version and the horn comes in ever-so-slightly before that word, whereas the horn starts right at the word "talk" on the LP version. The 45 was likely done this way to make the edit sound a bit smoother.
Having said all this, I worked on recreating the 45 from the LP version and I believe it would be very difficult for the casual listener to distinguish my homemade edit from the actual commercial 45.
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Posted By: jimct
Date Posted: 04 May 2014 at 5:56am
What was stated during this thread's three 2005 posts is still true today.
The lone db CD that features this song has the (4:05) LP version on it.
in 1987, we received into the station a promo 12" single for this (21
Records DMD 980). Here are its contents:
A Side:
1-Serious (Long Version) (listed time 5:35)
B Side:
1-Serious (Short Version) (listed time 3:40)
2-Serious (Instrumental/Dub Version) (listed time 7:55)
Since the "Long Version" is stated to be 1:30 longer than the LP version is,
it appears that the (5:35) mix found on my promo 12" single is likely
unique to it.
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Posted By: Plastic Steel
Date Posted: 01 March 2016 at 5:47pm
Alas, I wasn't able to make the 45 edit from the LP version*.
The edit described above will remove the part of the rap that is needed on the 45 ("Breaking hearts is my claim to fame, and I don't know if I'm gonna change...") On the 45, Ms. Allen overdubs "talk...talk about serious" while the guy raps the aforementioned "Breaking hearts" run. On the LP version, there's no overdub on top of the rap.
Todd's edit "works" except you jump to the "You and me right from the start" rap, where Donna *is* overdubbing the "talk...talk about serious" bit. Unfortunately the guy's rap is the wrong verse for the 45 version.
So...the 45 and LP seem to be identical up to the 3:21 mark, but then there's a mix difference.
*I actually don't own Perfect Timing, the parent album this single is from, on any medium. So I'm assuming the 4:04 version I have is the LP version, but I'm not 100% sure about that. On the other hand, I haven't been able to find a 4:04 version anywhere that differs from the version I have.
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Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 01 March 2016 at 8:38pm
On Rhapsody and iTunes, the album, Perfect
Timing, has an expanded version which has the
aforementioned 4:04 LP version as well as the 12"
version listed at 5:32 and the 'single version' of
"Serious." It's listed as 3:45 but runs 3:43.
Not sure if it fades too early or runs faster than was
Todd listed at the beginning of this thread. He reported
the 45 version ran 3:46.
Jim, do you have an actual run time of the 45?
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Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 01 March 2016 at 8:40pm
If the single version from that expanded album fades too
early, then theoretically, you could paste on the end of
the LP version as the fade sounds identical.
Wow, totally forgot about this song.
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Posted By: Plastic Steel
Date Posted: 01 March 2016 at 10:14pm
OK, thanks. I'll look into that.
For what it's worth, my 45 runs out to 3:47, but my times are usually a touch longer than what gets reported here so your mileage may vary.
The thing I like best about this song is that it is on 21 Records and it peaked at #21 on BB. If only she had signed with "Top 10 Records."
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Posted By: Loveland
Date Posted: 11 March 2016 at 11:10am
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You sure make me feel like loving you. U sure do.
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Posted By: edtop40
Date Posted: 08 May 2016 at 2:28pm
i have the edit that todd created for me years ago and i
just re-listened to it versus the vinyl 45 and it sounds
spot on to me.....if anyone would like a copy of todd's re-
creat for their own review let me know, and i will shoot a
copy out....
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edtop40
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Posted By: Paul C
Date Posted: 09 May 2016 at 5:20am
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I timed my 45, which I will point out is a Canadian pressing, at (3:43). It is identical to the 'Single Version' download I purchased from the 'Expanded Edition' of the Perfect Timing album, which appears to have been released on CD only in the UK.
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