Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour
Printed From: Top 40 Music on CD
Category: Top 40 Music On Compact Disc
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Printed Date: 02 May 2025 at 7:51am
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Topic: Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Subject: Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour
Date Posted: 09 September 2022 at 2:44pm
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The 1965 hit version was mono (it was never mixed to stereo), ran 2:31 on the 45 and LP, and started with a drum roll.
Fake stereo The first appearances on CD were in fake stereo. All of these really aren't so great. I couldn't extract a coherent mastering history from these, so I'll just list them:
Mono All of the mono versions listed below sound better than all of the fake stereo versions listed above. I found three different analog transfers for the song. 1991: The first is on Atlantic's Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 6 (1991 rerelease). The fade starts around 2:14 (around the words "hold you") and ends around 2:37. The same analog transfer is used on:
Finally, there's one outlier that doesn't match any of the above and doesn't sound very good: Atco's Classic Recordings (1991) My recommendation I'm going to go with Rhino's Let There Be Drums Vol. 2 The '60s (1994). Apparently, I have a bias toward the Bill Inglot work! ------------- 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: TomDiehl1
Date Posted: 09 September 2022 at 7:38pm
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I had this on a Time Life cd, I want to say
Classic Rock 1965, where the track was basically (E), but there was definitely an additional drum overdub on one channel that stood out to me. It's been 20 years since I've owned that cd, however. When I got a copy of the promo 45, I noticed it faded later than the CD version did. By how much, I can't remember, unfortunately. ------------- Live in stereo. |
Posted By: NightAire
Date Posted: 09 September 2022 at 8:28pm
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Great detective work, as always! Sounds like I may be playing one the versions without the roll; I need to correct that.
It also sounds like all of them go longer than the original single. I wonder how much vamping there is at the end of the original tape? It would be interesting to hear it all the way out. Are all the masterings the same tempo? I ask because that could affect the lengths. I initially am drawn to the one that runs 2:37 but if the difference is speed rather than actual measures of music, there's no benefit. Can the '94 mastering be summed to mono, or can you use just one channel and get a flat or reasonably flat mono recording? ------------- Gene Savage http://www.BlackLightRadio.com - http://www.BlackLightRadio.com http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage - http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage Tulsa, Oklahoma USA |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 10 September 2022 at 12:00am
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Gene - The speed is about the same for all of the discs I listed. The 1991 Atlantic R&B set really does extend 4 or 5 full seconds longer than the others. The other two end in pretty much the same place, which matches the 45 length.
All of the above can be summed to mono nicely. For my own folders of Hot 100 tracks, I got into the habit of creating a one-channel flac file for mono tracks. I used the left channel of the Rhino disc, for what it's worth. You can use the right channel, or sum them together, or just leave it as-is; all will sound pretty much the same for this particular song on these CDs. ------------- 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: 10 September 2022 at 11:50am
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I have the 1984 CD of Atlantic's "The Best of Wilson
Pickett" which is where I assume the fake stereo version might have originated, but I can send you the track to compare if you like? ------------- https://thelunarlaugh.bandcamp.com/ - Listen to The Lunar Laugh! |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 10 September 2022 at 8:08pm
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I confirmed that the CD The Best Of Wilson Pickett (Atlantic 81283, copyright 1984, actual CD release date unknown) is digitally identical to Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 5 (1985 original release). ------------- 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: C J Brown
Date Posted: 11 September 2022 at 2:16pm
| Do the 1994 transfers have the opening drum roll? |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 11 September 2022 at 5:11pm
They do indeed. ------------- There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one http://www.crapfromthepast.com" rel="nofollow - Crap From The Past . |
C J Brown wrote:Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 11 September 2022 at 5:28pm
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Just learned that Real Gone Music's Land Of 1000 Dances (The Complete Atlantic Singles Vol. 1) (2016) has a great-sounding version that fades from 2:33 to 2:38, which runs longer than any of the versions I listed above and includes the opening drum roll.
And just like that, I have a new recommendation! I've been really impressed with the (relatively) recent releases of "Complete Atlantic Singles Collection"-type packages. Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, now Wilson Pickett. Finally, these artists are getting some great-sounding releases of the hit mono mixes. ------------- There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one http://www.crapfromthepast.com" rel="nofollow - Crap From The Past . |