Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
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Topic: Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Subject: Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
Date Posted: 27 June 2021 at 8:18pm
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From the saturation-level airplay this song got on oldies radio stations throughout the '80s and '90s (on par with "Respect"), you'd think this might have been one of the biggest chart hits of all time. But it peaked at #10 in 1967, showing that immediate popularity and endurance are two different things.
There are two versions: a stereo version, which I assume is the LP version, and a mono version with altered lyrics, which I assume is the 45 version. If that's not correct, please let me know and post correct info below. (Edit: Not quite right; see posts below.) Stereo, original "making love in the green grass" lyric at 2:20 The oldest disc I have with this version is JCI's Mellow Sixties (1988), where it runs 3:06. I think it's from vinyl here; I hear a few ticks and pops on the fade, over what seems to be turntable rumble. The same analog transfer is used on:
01. Bright Side Of The Road [0:03:45.67] 02. Gloria [0:02:38.28] 03. Moondance [0:04:32.47] 04. Baby Please Don't Go [0:02:42.70] 05. Have I Told You Lately [0:04:20.05] 06. Brown Eyed Girl [0:03:05.03] 07. Sweet Thing [0:04:23.07] 08. Warm Love [0:03:23.20] 09. Wonderful Remark [0:04:00.65] 10. Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) [0:02:57.55] 11. Full Force Gale [0:03:14.65] 12. And It Stoned Me [0:04:31.58] 13. Here Comes The Night [0:02:46.30] 14. Domino [0:03:08.72] 15. Did Ye Get Healed [0:04:07.30] 16. Wild Night [0:03:32.50] 17. Cleaning Windows [0:04:42.65] 18. Whenever God Shines His Light [0:04:54.33] 19. Queen Of The Slipstream [0:04:53.62] 20. Dweller On The Threshold [0:04:47.73] It sounds so clean here that I'd venture that this is a remix. Can't confirm, though. The only CDs in the database that say "remix" are Epic Associated/Legacy's CD rerelease of Blowin' Your Mind. (Edit: This seems to be the original mix; it just sounds so much better than the JCI mix that it's hard to tell that it's even the same mix.) The following CDs are all differently-EQ'd digital clones of my copy of Best Of:
Mono, altered "laughin' and runnin'" lyric at 2:20 The database shows this version as being on Best Of (Mercury 841970), where it runs 3:02, excluding outro silence. It's relatively uncommon on CD, compared to the stereo version. I don't have this version on CD, unfortunately, so I can't comment on 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 . |
Replies:
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 28 June 2021 at 5:03am
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My copy of B-545 which I purchased new in the summer of
'67 has the "making love" lyrics, which is all I ever recall hearing during the song's chart run. In fact, I never heard the "laughin' and runnin'" version until the late 70s, though I'd heard rumors of its existence. |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 28 June 2021 at 8:31am
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So the stereo version with original lyrics was on the original LP (a safe assumption), was on at least some of the commercial 45s (confirmed by Hykker), and was probably on at least some of the promo 45s?
Does anyone have a commercial 45 with the mono/altered lyrics version? Likewise, does anyone have a promo 45 with the stereo/original lyrics version or the mono/altered lyrics version? There's not much concrete documentation out there regarding where/when the mono/altered lyrics version showed up. ------------- 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: 28 June 2021 at 12:58pm
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The 1998 Sony reissue of Blowin' Your Mind is indeed a
complete remix from the four track master tapes by Vic Anesini. Vic used strictly vintage analog gear and analog tape to recreate, as closely as possible, the original mix and then mastered it to digital using Sony's SBM process. I believe there were multiple pressings of Van's "Best of". The earlier ones used an original mix while later reissues (which, AFAIK had nearly identical artwork with just a "remastered" hype sticker on the wrapper) substituted the later remix. ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 28 June 2021 at 2:05pm
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Good to know. My copy of Best Of was the original 1990 release, purchased around 1993.
Vic Anesini does great work. If the original mix sounds as good as it does, I can only imagine how good Vic's remix must sound! ------------- 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: 28 June 2021 at 10:43pm
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Don't quote me on this, but I think the remixes *might*
have first appeared in 1991 on a CD called "The Bang Masters". The 1998 reissue of Blowin' Your Mind is just a repackaging of those remixes within the original album format with several bonus alternate takes tacked on. ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: Paul C
Date Posted: 29 June 2021 at 6:29am
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My copy of B-545 also has the 'Makin' love in the green
grass' lyrics. I've always just assumed that some 45s have the altered lyrics, but I must admit that I don't have any concrete proof. |
Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 02 July 2021 at 4:09pm
Yes I was going to mention this as well. The first remix I heard was on "The Bang Masters" on Epic/Legacy (1991). Credits say the entire CD was remixed by Mark Wilder. T he panning and "feel" of the mix is true to the o riginal, but the clarity of the audio is stunning. [Edit] Oh and I'll just add that my copy of "Best Of" had the mono censored version on it. But I no longer own my copy either. MM |
LunarLaugh wrote:Posted By: Brian W.
Date Posted: 02 July 2021 at 4:53pm
According to a couple people on YouTube who have posted the commercial 45, both of which have the "making love" lyric, the version with the censored lyrics was only serviced to radio and was not commercially issued. |
Posted By: garye
Date Posted: 02 July 2021 at 6:01pm
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The Mono Single edit from The Bang Years is the revised
lyric, and every stereo version I have (6) of them all had original words. Now that might have been radio version only, but could not confirm that with the ones I have. |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 02 July 2021 at 7:22pm
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Is the original 2-track master tape lost? All of the CDs Ron lists above with the original '67 stereo mix sound like a mediocre vinyl transfer with plenty of groove distortion. Many years ago, someone pointed me to the Bang Masters CD but never pointed out that it's a remix. I've used that as my go-to version ever since, and I don't plan on going back to the '67 stereo version unless someone knows a good sounding source for 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: LunarLaugh
Date Posted: 02 July 2021 at 7:49pm
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It's possible that the original stereo mixes have
deteriorated. This seems to be common with several 1960s artist catalogs that Sony controls. Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and The Byrds are just a couple that have had selected works of their output subtly given the remix treatment. ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: LunarLaugh
Date Posted: 02 July 2021 at 7:50pm
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[EDIT: deleted post] ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: AndrewChouffi
Date Posted: 03 July 2021 at 6:23am
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Regarding the Mark Wilder remix first released on the
Amy Herot produced ‘Bang Masters’ CD: You can tell the difference as the original stereo mix has high-volume nasal male Sha-la-las in the phantom center channel at about 2:40. The original mono mix has low-level nasal male Sha-la- las at approx. 2:40 buried by the predominately female Sha-la-la chorus vocals. The Wilder remix has mid-level nasal male Sha-la-las at 2:40-ish with the predominately female Sha-la-la chorus vox in the right-channel more audible than the original stereo mix. I know this is a weird description but it’s the best way for me to describe the differences between the 3 versions… I remember I was working with Bob Irwin on a Sundazed project when he gave me “insider information” that he was working with Amy Herot & Mark Wilder on a Bang material Van Morrison multi-track project. I played “Brown Eyed Girl” at just about every mobile gig I booked and I always played the stereo version, even though I hated the loud nasal Sha-la-las of the stereo mix. I remember asking Bob if he could goose the project leaders to mix it more like the 45, but with the stereo placement of the LP mix. I was reasonably happy with the result; I think they took a nice middle-ground approach. Andy |
Posted By: Bounder's Bay
Date Posted: 06 July 2021 at 5:31am
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The 3CD release The Authorized Bang Collection from
2017 has the "original stereo mix" and the "original edited mono single mix" as the lead tracks on the first and second discs, respectively. (Unfortunately, no unedited mono version included.) This set was compiled by Andrew Sandoval and mastered by Vic Anesini. |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 06 July 2021 at 9:46am
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Thanks for the tip! How's the sound quality on "Brown Eyed Girl"? ------------- 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: 06 July 2021 at 9:56am
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I just downloaded it from Qobuz, and the quality is excellent. It's definitely from tape source on this disc. The levels are a bit lower that expected, reminiscent of a late '80s CD with plenty of headroom. ------------- 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: PopArchivist
Date Posted: 11 April 2022 at 10:13pm
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So doing my 1967 assembly this is a gem of a song, it should have done much better back then on the charts. Great song of course, a classic and one of my favorites.
I went to the Prof on youtube and of course at 2:20 the mono 45 has the lyrics "making love in the green grass" as confirmed by Hykker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6KzkJ5L2j0 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6KzkJ5L2j0 Is it possible to just fold down the stereo LP with the making love in the green grass lyrics to make the 45 version of the mono unedited and then download the two files from the 3CD release The Authorized Bang Collection to have the stereo and the mono edited mix for completeness? Listening I hear nothing unique about the mono 45 at all as compared to the stereo. ------------- Favorite two expressions to live by on this board: "You can't download vinyl" and "Not everything is available on CD." |
Posted By: AndrewChouffi
Date Posted: 12 April 2022 at 5:45am
The mixes may be close for most of the tune, but the ending mixing is quite different as documented in my above older post from July 2021. |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 12 April 2022 at 7:44am
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Revisiting my post from above...
I can confirm that the Best Of from my original post was the 1998 reissue, not the original 1990 release. The 1998 reissue is a digital clone (about 3 dB louder) of the CD Bang Masters (1991), which was remixed by Mark Wilder. The Sony, Realm, and Time-Life discs I listed above are all differently-EQ'd digital clones of Bang Masters (1991). In addition to the sha-la-las-at-2:40 difference that Andrew noted above, the fade on the Mark Wilder remix starts much earlier than the 1967 stereo mix. The end of the fade stops about one beat before the 1967 stereo mix. So to tally up, I count four versions of the song:
------------- 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: PopArchivist
Date Posted: 12 April 2022 at 8:29am
Yes you are right. I wasn't listening to the end of the tune, sorry about that. ------------- Favorite two expressions to live by on this board: "You can't download vinyl" and "Not everything is available on CD." |
Posted By: MikeM
Date Posted: 17 April 2022 at 2:59pm
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I have a copy in FLAC format that is the "laughing and
running" version. It came from a box set called Pure...60's. http://www.45worlds.com/cdalbum/cd/88691946462 |
Posted By: Bellenger1981
Date Posted: 13 December 2022 at 8:13pm
https://www.discogs.com/release/1918443-Van-Morrison- Blowin-Your-Mind According to this entry on Discogs.com, in September 1994, the multi-tracks were mixed down to two-track stereo. Note that this 1995 "Blowin' Your Mind" reissue was reissued in 1998. So, did Vic Anesini remix the song again in 1994 after Mark Wilder did in 1991? So, do we have an additional 1994 mix? ------------- Jason Bellenger Byron Center, Michigan, USA |
Posted By: LunarLaugh
Date Posted: 16 December 2022 at 3:53pm
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Bob Irwin was kind and gracious enough to confirm for me that he and Vic did remix all of the "Blowin' Your Mind" LP (and the bonus tracks)
for the reissue as described in my post earlier in this thread. HOWEVER, Bob seems to remember that they didn't remix "Brown Eyed Girl" and had to use the existing Mark Wilder/Amy Herot remix from '91 for some reason (likely not missing multi-tracks but more likely due to certain management "politics"). ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: Bellenger1981
Date Posted: 17 December 2022 at 12:07pm
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Thank you for passing along the info, Lunar! That explains
why the mixes sound the same to me. ------------- Jason Bellenger Byron Center, Michigan, USA |