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stereo vs. mono 45s

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Topic: stereo vs. mono 45s
Posted By: davidclark
Subject: stereo vs. mono 45s
Date Posted: 09 March 2011 at 9:51am
Something I'd like to see is a list of commercial 45s that were originally
stereo and not mono. This list of course would begin circa 1967 with a few,
then grow through 1968, 1969, etc., until such time as the tables would turn
and stereo 45s were more common and mono 45s were less common.

Is anyone else interested in learning this info? It wouldn't take much, just
someone with the original 45s from this era!

here's hoping...

-------------
dc1



Replies:
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 09 March 2011 at 5:53pm
Yikes! That sounds like it would be quite a project, especially since stereo issues were hit or miss well into the 70s...even labels where most of their singles were stereo (like A&M) would throw in a mono one from time to time. Keep in mind also that some were marked "stereo" but were mono, others unmarked but stereo (and a few marked "mono" but were stereo..."How Do You Do"-Mouth & McNeil was one). There were also a few examples where the stamper for the stereo side of the promo was used on some commercial copies, while other pressings of the same song were mono.

Not counting late 50s stereo singles (which were also, and more commonly available in mono), the earliest commercial stereo 45 I know of was "Rice Is Nice"-Lemonpipers in early '68.


Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 09 March 2011 at 7:12pm
Originally posted by davidclark davidclark wrote:

It wouldn't take much

Originally posted by Hykker Hykker wrote:

Yikes!


Double yikes, for all the reasons Steve mentioned. Then there's the matter of Canadian 45s, too. Triple yikes!









Posted By: davidclark
Date Posted: 10 March 2011 at 4:53am
yah, wasn't even thinking of tossing in the CAD 45s. I know many of these
differed from their US counterparts. It would take someone listening to a few
hundred 45s from the late 60s, early 70s. And, was more thinking TOP 40,
in line with the database of this site. I have the time, just not the 45s ;(

-------------
dc1


Posted By: The Hits Man
Date Posted: 10 March 2011 at 10:40am
Let's see...James Brown's "Say It Loud, I'm Black And I'm
Proud" from 1968 was his first stereo single.

-------------


Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 10 March 2011 at 2:47pm
Originally posted by The Hits Man The Hits Man wrote:

James Brown's "Say It Loud, I'm Black And I'm
Proud" from 1968 was his first stereo single.


I just listened to Parts 1 & 2 of my http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh240/YahShure/JamesBrown-SayItLoud-ImBlackAndImProudPart1.jpg - commercial 45 and they are both mono.

And so we begin down the slippery slope of compiling a definitive list... :)


Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 10 March 2011 at 4:06pm
Originally posted by davidclark davidclark wrote:

I have the time, just not the 45s ;(


Then http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh240/YahShure/IfYouveGotTheTime.jpg - this 45's for you!




Sorry, I couldn't resist. As a bonus, the items shown on the picture sleeve will aid in the research (although maybe not the accuracy thereof.)   ;)

Oh, and that red label 45 is mono. :)


Posted By: Roscoe
Date Posted: 10 March 2011 at 6:45pm
As noted above, a definitive list may be infeasible, but it
may be worth calling out some of the known "stereo 45
anomalies in the mono era". The ones that come to mind
immediately are The Doors singles from The Soft Parade that
were unique stereo mixes ("Touch Me", "Wishful Sinful"). I
don't have the 45 of "Tell All The People" (that was a
single, wasn't it)...I'm assuming that one was stereo as
well. Strangely, they went back to mono for the Morrison
Hotel singles.


Posted By: The Hits Man
Date Posted: 12 March 2011 at 1:22am
Originally posted by Yah Shure Yah Shure wrote:

Originally posted by The Hits Man The Hits Man wrote:

James Brown's
"Say It Loud, I'm Black And I'm
Proud" from 1968 was his first stereo single.


I just listened to Parts 1 & 2 of my
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh240/YahShure/Ja
mesBrown-SayItLoud-ImBlackAndImProudPart1.jpg
- commercial
45 and they are both mono.

And so we begin down the slippery slope of compiling a
definitive list... :)


Mine's stereo.

-------------


Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 29 March 2011 at 9:54pm
Originally posted by davidclark davidclark wrote:

Something I'd like to see is a list of commercial 45s that were originally
stereo and not mono. This list of course would begin circa 1967 with a few,
then grow through 1968, 1969, etc., until such time as the tables would turn
and stereo 45s were more common and mono 45s were less common.

Is anyone else interested in learning this info? It wouldn't take much, just
someone with the original 45s from this era!

here's hoping...


David:

I would certainly be interested in helping compile a comprehensive list of Top 40 Hits from 1968-1974 indicating which 45s were pressed in mono and which were in stereo given the full and gradual transition from mono to stereo during this time period. Unfortunately, I have my plate very full right now with music-related projects, but at some point I would love to see such a list come to fruition. In the meantime, one of our top vinyl 45 gurus jimct has been very helpful in posting mono/stereo information for a number of 45s he has listened to and examined throughout the course of his music research. By conducting an artist or song search here on the message board, you just might find stereo/mono information about a particular 45 thanks to the valuable contributions of our good friend Jim!


Posted By: davidclark
Date Posted: 30 March 2011 at 8:18am
Good to hear, Todd. True, our friend Jim does indeed post the mono/stereo
indication for 45s he listens to.   I have made notes from his posts.

Maybe we can indeed get to this list someday. I agree with the '68-'74
timeframe. 1968 will see stereo the lesser number, gradually moving to
mono the lesser as we move forward in time. For 1968/69, perhaps we can
simply list the stereo 45s, thus concluding all others are mono.

Naturally, anomalies like the James Brown that were issued both stereo and
mono we would note.

-------------
dc1


Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 17 January 2012 at 11:47pm
Originally posted by davidclark davidclark wrote:

Something I'd like to see is a list of commercial 45s that were originally
stereo and not mono. This list of course would begin circa 1967 with a few,
then grow through 1968, 1969, etc., until such time as the tables would turn
and stereo 45s were more common and mono 45s were less common.

Is anyone else interested in learning this info? It wouldn't take much, just
someone with the original 45s from this era!

here's hoping...


David:

Hope no more! You'll be happy to know I've decided to exert my research skills to full capacity and undertake the laborious task of compiling a comprehensive list of Top 40 singles for each year from 1968-1974 and noting whether their corresponding 45 releases were issued in mono or stereo. I understand this goes beyond the scope of Pat's database, but I know there's a demand for such a list and it would no doubt serve as a valuable reference tool for those of us who collect Top 40 hits on CD from this era. So this is just a heads up that I eventually plan on posting a definitive mono/stereo 45 listing for each of the aforementioned years. Stay tuned for the first installment coming very soon to a new thread near you!


Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 19 January 2012 at 8:34am
Cool! Great idea. I'd just suggest that you also have a very short "appendix" that includes all mono 45s issued from 1975 onward. "Melt With You" by Modern English comes to mind - although that wasn't top 40, if I recall (though it sure felt like it was). I think David Dundas' "Jeans On" from 1977 should apply. (A few have said it's slight slight stereo, but that could be debated.) Any others?


Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 19 January 2012 at 11:08am
The Stray Cats' "Rock This Town" (1982) was mono (both LP
and 45 versions). A nice homage to their roots. The rest
of their catalog was stereo.

Black Box's "I Don't Know Anybody Else" (1990) was mono - I
still can't figure out why.

I think the "Beatles Movie Medley" was in mono?


Posted By: Roscoe
Date Posted: 19 January 2012 at 1:04pm
Originally posted by crapfromthepast crapfromthepast wrote:

The Stray Cats' "Rock This Town"
(1982) was mono (both LP
and 45 versions). A nice homage to their roots. The
rest
of their catalog was stereo.

Black Box's "I Don't Know Anybody Else" (1990) was mono -
I
still can't figure out why.

I think the "Beatles Movie Medley" was in mono?


"Beatles Movie Medley" was mostly stereo. The "Hard
Day's Night" snippet sounds like mono to me but the other
snippets were in stereo.


Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 19 January 2012 at 2:26pm
Originally posted by Roscoe Roscoe wrote:

"Beatles Movie Medley" was mostly stereo.
The "Hard Day's Night" snippet sounds like mono to me but
the other snippets were in stereo.


Good memory, Roscoe! I can't even remember the last time I
heard that medley...


Posted By: Roscoe
Date Posted: 19 January 2012 at 7:00pm
Originally posted by crapfromthepast crapfromthepast wrote:

Originally posted by Roscoe Roscoe wrote:

"Beatles Movie
Medley" was mostly stereo.
The "Hard Day's Night" snippet sounds like mono to me but
the other snippets were in stereo.


Good memory, Roscoe! I can't even remember the last time I
heard that medley...


Maybe you were thinking of the "Beach Boys Medley" from
1981? That one is in fact 100% mono.


Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 20 January 2012 at 7:14am
Originally posted by EdisonLite EdisonLite wrote:

I'd just suggest that you also have a very short "appendix" that includes all mono 45s issued from 1975 onward.


What about Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him"? Sounds like mono to me.
also "Emotion"--Helen Reddy


Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 20 January 2012 at 9:07am
One more - Wham's "The Edge Of Heaven" is basically mono,
with only a very slight panning of a guitar solo.


Posted By: Smokin' TomGary
Date Posted: 20 January 2012 at 5:02pm
Originally posted by Hykker Hykker wrote:

What about Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him"? Sounds like mono to me.
also "Emotion"--Helen Reddy


Joe Jackson is definitely in stereo, albeit narrow. This is from my promo 45 Stereo side A&M12624-(Stereo)S-1 and Steppin' Out The Very Best of Joe Jackson double CD 314-556-537-2. The separation is not there when the vocal starts but is there on many of the instrumental parts.

Helen Reddy is again definitely in stereo on Best Now, a Japanese import TOCP-9115 (CD) as well as Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits LP ST-11467. The piano intro is dominant in the left channel and also has a narrow stereo image.


Posted By: The Hits Man
Date Posted: 20 January 2012 at 5:18pm
Originally posted by crapfromthepast crapfromthepast wrote:

One more - Wham's "The Edge Of
Heaven" is basically mono,
with only a very slight panning of a guitar solo.


Wow! I never, ever noticed this before! The finger snaps
on the intro and the guitar is in stereo. Everything else?
Mono!

-------------


Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 21 January 2012 at 3:27pm
Originally posted by Smokin' TomGary Smokin' TomGary wrote:


Helen Reddy is again definitely in stereo on Best Now, a Japanese import TOCP-9115 (CD) as well as Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits LP ST-11467. The piano intro is dominant in the left channel and also has a narrow stereo image.


The album version exists in stereo, but the only place I've ever seen the 45 version in stereo is on the promo 45.


Posted By: Brian W.
Date Posted: 22 January 2012 at 6:45pm
Originally posted by Hykker Hykker wrote:

Originally posted by Smokin' TomGary Smokin' TomGary wrote:


Helen Reddy is again definitely in stereo on Best Now, a Japanese import TOCP-9115 (CD) as well as Helen Reddy's Greatest Hits LP ST-11467. The piano intro is dominant in the left channel and also has a narrow stereo image.


The album version exists in stereo, but the only place I've ever seen the 45 version in stereo is on the promo 45.

I had the 45 version of "Emotion" in stereo, though I think with a slightly longer fadeout, on an Australian Helen Reddy comp from EMI (can't find the disc, just have the cover anymore). Could have been a custom edit, I suppose, but as I recall the intro was a bit hissier than the stereo album version.


Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 16 March 2017 at 4:16am
bump



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