"Right on Track" - Breakfast Club

Well, just reviewed all 4 CDs of MCA Hits Sampler, and it's pretty terrific. Seems to be all the 45 versions/lengths/mixes, except where noted above. Sound is pretty solid throughout. EQ may be a little thin on some tracks, but that's better than a bass/treble boost. I heard hiss at the end of every one of the tracks, and no loss of the high end on any of the fadeouts, so no evidence of noise reduction on anything.

All in all, 19 of the 62 tracks found their way into my permanent library, replacing the homemade edits, the versions taken from mp3 or vinyl, the versions from CDs that had compression/limiting applied, and so forth.

Here are the 19, with Billboard peak month and my notes:

Boston - We're Ready (February 1987) - longer tail on the fade than any other CDs!
Breakfast Club - Right On Track (May 1987) - the near-mythical "Local Mix" from the 45! Woo-hoo!
Belinda Carlisle - Circle In The Sand (June 1988) - 45 version/mix
The Jets - I Do You (December 1987) - never had this track on CD before
The Jets - Make It Real (June 1988) - more dynamic range than other CDs
The Jets - Rocket 2 U (April 1988) - true 45 pitch/edit, which I'd never had on CD before
Klymaxx - I'd Still Say Yes (July 1987) - 45 version, which I didn't have on CD
Klymaxx - Meeting In The Ladies Room (June 1985) - never had this song on CD before
Gladys Knight - Love Overboard (March 1988) - never had this song on CD before
Patti LaBelle - New Attitude (May 1985) - never had the 45 version on CD before
Pebbles - Girlfriend (April 1988) - much more dynamic range than other CDs
Pebbles - Mercedes Boy (July 1988) - 45 version, which I didn't have on CD
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Jammin' Me (June 1987) - never had this song on CD before
Bob Seger - Shakedown (August 1987) - had it on The A-List
Tiffany - Could've Been (February 1988) - true 45 mix, with proper dynamic range (not compressed/limited in loud portions)
Tiffany - I Saw Him Standing There (April 1988) - never had the 45 length on CD before
Jody Watley - Don't You Want Me (December 1987) - never had the 45 version on CD before
Jody Watley - Most Of All (June 1988) - Yay! The never-available-on-CD true 45 version! This is one of the most underrated songs of the entire decade (co?written by Gardner Cole, who co?wrote "Another Lover", "Open Your Heart", and "Strange But True")
Jody Watley - Some Kind Of Lover (April 1988) - never had the 45 version on CD before

All in all, an outstanding collection. Buy it if you ever see it!

FYI Back On Track (Local Mix) is listed on a digital only Universal compilation The Best 80's Hits Collection in the UK Itunes store but it is the original LP mix. I just wrote Itunes to get a store credit and the listing changed.

Here are the US top 40 hits contained on Hits Album 6:

Madonna - La Isla Bonita (promo 45 remix) (4:02)
Club Nouveau - Lean On Me (3:58)
Simply Red - The Right Thing (45 version) (4:14)
Breakfast Club - Right On Track (45 version) (4:31)
Aretha Franklin & George Michael - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (3:59)
Fleetwood Mac - Big Love (3:37)

All tracks are from tape sources and sound pretty good. They are probably a few generations removed from the original master tapes, but that's okay for those of use seeking the elusive 45 versions contained on it.

Specifically comparing "Right On Track" to the version on the MCA Hits Sampler disc, the copy on Hits Album 6 has a more full-sounding EQ, and it also has some dynamic range compression added. I'm curious to know if the 45 also has this dynamic range compression, so I'll dig out my 45 and have a listen. Doing an A/B between the two CDs, the MCA Hits Sampler copy sounds "lifeless" by comparison. I do not know, however, if this beefier sound on the Hits Album 6 CD is true to what the 45 sounds like. The other tracks on the Hits Album 6 CD don't appear to have any compression added.

aaronk wrote: Specifically comparing "Right On Track" to the version on the MCA Hits Sampler disc, the copy on Hits Album 6 has a more full-sounding EQ, and it also has some dynamic range compression added. I'm curious to know if the 45 also has this dynamic range compression, so I'll dig out my 45 and have a listen. Doing an A/B between the two CDs, the MCA Hits Sampler copy sounds "lifeless" by comparison. I do not know, however, if this beefier sound on the Hits Album 6 CD is true to what the 45 sounds like. The other tracks on the Hits Album 6 CD don't appear to have any compression added.

I was assembling my 1987 Hot 100 and Aaron I have to concur with you that the Hits 6 of Right On Track sounds fantastic compared to the MCA Hits Sampler. I had seen this thread years ago when I wanted to post on this board (but did not know it was open at the time, like many of us) and ordered the import.

Ron, I would urge you to go with the Hits 6 rather than the MCA. I don't know if Aaron ever got around to digging out the 45 but the RCA does sound lifeless. I don't think it will ever sound better than Hits 6. It is one of my all time favorite songs of the 80's.

Edited by PopArchivist

Hello,

the B-Side of "Right On Track" (4:05), what mix is it ?

Is it available on any CD ?

https://www.discogs.com/de/release/789552-Breakfast-Club-Rig ht-On-Track

Thanks

Best regards
Adris