Sade - Smooth Operator

Audio quality sounds good to my ears. I do notice once
something unique gets mastered it often ends up on other
compilations rather quickly. Liebrand's audio is usually
spot-on but I can't say that for his track selection. It
tends to include Euro-dance, post-disco electro, with
much sought after soul titles. He makes sure he gets one
on every release.

Edited by AutumnAarilyn

Gary - There are only two choices for the promo 45 version:

• T.J. Martell Foundation/Columbia's Music For The Miracle (1986) - likely a high-generation tape source
• Realm's Gold And Platinum Vol. 2 (1986) - likely taken from vinyl

Not ideal.

For this track, the version on The A List Disc 27 (1994) is based on the mastering of TM Century track no. 00006868. Both run about 3:58, which is about 12 second longer than the promo 45.

It looks like I'm going to have to write up a big post about "Smooth Operator"; give me a few days to find time for this...

I found an hour (well, closer to three) to play on the computer uninterrupted, so I took on "Smooth Operator".

Non-hit UK LP version, first released in 1983 as B-side of UK "Your Love Is King" 12-inch single

On the "Your Love Is King" 12 inch single B-side, the song is listed as "Smooth Operator / Snake Bite" with a printed time of 7:28. "Snake Bite" is a groovy instrumental, and it's hard to say where "Smooth Operator" ends and "Snake Bite" begins.

The UK LP is an early fade of the 12 inch single version, faded to about 4:57.

Musically, this version is played just a little more hesitantly than the more confident rerecording that followed. It's clearly the same band playing the same arrangement of the same song, but still working out the kinks in the song. It's also a bit faster, running at about 120 BPM throughout (it's a live drummer playing to a click track).

I'm not sure if this version ever appeared on CD.

12 inch single version

Sade rerecorded "Smooth Operator" is 1984. The rerecording is the hit version worldwide.

The 12 inch single is the full performance of the rerecording. The UK 12 inch single lists this full performance as "Smooth Operator" (printed 5:25) followed by "Red Eye" (printed 3:18). The US 12 inch single lists this full performance as just "Smooth Operator" (printed 8:47). If the YouTube videos of some high-quality turntables playing the 12 inch singles are correct, then it appears that the UK 12 inch single runs faster than the US 12 inch single. From what I can tell, there's a UK speed (about 119.0 BPM) and a US speed (about 118.0 BPM). I'm used to hearing the US speed, but I don't know what the actual speed of the recording session was.

I have the 12 inch single version on CD on the UK multi-disc collection So80s Vol. 12 (2019), where it runs about 119.3 BPM.

US LP and US 45 version (denoted as "Long Version" on promo 45, printed 4:54)

This is an early fade of the 12 inch single full performance, faded from about 4:38 to 4:57.

I assume that the US 45 and the US LP versions are the same length, but I didn't check.

This version appears at what I called the "US speed" (118.0 BPM) on:

• the '80s-era pressing of Diamond Life (I'm not sure if I had the US or UK version; note that the printed time is 4:16)
• a CBS label promotional disc called EPA With Our Compliments (1987) - safe to say that you probably don't own this; different analog transfer than Diamond Life
• Sandstone's Cosmopolitan Vol. 7 (1993) - uses same analog transfer as Diamond Life; later repackaged as DCC's Night Moves Vol. 1 (1995) with the same tracks in a different order

This version also appears at what I called the "UK speed" (119.3 BPM) on:

• Time-Life's 2-CD Body And Soul Vol. 21 No Control (2001)
• Sony's 5-CD Epic 50th Anniversary Collection (2003) - uses same analog transfer as the Time-Life disc

Discogs shows Diamond Life as being remastered in 2000, with the slightly shorter running time of the above two discs. I'm willing to bet that the remastered Diamond Life (2000) runs at the UK speed (119.3 BPM), and is the digital source for both of the above discs, but I can't confirm.

Summing up: If you're looking for the LP version at the US speed (118.0 BPM), go with the '80s-era Diamond Life if you want a full Sade album, or Sandstone's Cosmopolitan Vol. 7 (1993) if you want a compilation. Both sound about the same, and both sound very nice.

Promo 45 version ("Short Version" on promo 45, printed 3:59)

The promo 45 is edited down from the US LP/45 version. It includes some out-of-sequence edits, and it's best to approach this one in segments. Specifically, grab the following five segments, then piece them together.

I used the timing from Diamond Life, but the times should translate well to Cosmopolitan Vol. 7.

Segment 1
Begins on a downbeat
47 beats long
Ends one full beat (2 hi-hat hits) before the downbeat right before the spoken word "laughing"
Extends from 0:00 to 0:24.7 of the LP/45 version and the promo 45 version

Segment 2
Begins one full beat before a downbeat
145 beats long
Ends on a downbeat right at the start of the word "coast"
Extends from 0:24.7 to 1:38.4 of the promo 45 version
Extends from 0:57.2 to 2:11.0 of the LP/45 version

Segment 3
Begins on a downbeat right at the start of the word "face"
Almost 112 beats long
Ends before a downbeat at the start of the word "coast"
Extends from 1:38.4 to just before 2:35.3 of the promo 45 version
Extends from 2:59.8 to just before 3:56.8 of the LP/45 version

Segment 4
Begins just before a downbeat right at the beginning of the break/solo
A bit longer than 64 beats long
Ends on a downbeat right at the start of the word "face"
Extends from just before 2:35.3 to 3:07.9 of the promo 45 version
Extends from 2:27.2 to 2:59.8 of the LP/45 version

Segment 5
Begins on a downbeat right at the start of the word "coast"
75 beats long
Ends (as best as I could tell) on a snare hit right at the start of the word "operator"
Extends from 3:07.9 to 3:46.0 of the promo 45 version
Extends from 3:56.8 to 4:34.9 of the LP/45 version

Fade
Begins on the word "smooth"
27 beats long
Extends from 3:32.3 to 3:46.0 of the promo 45 version
Extends from 4:21.2 to 4:34.9 of the LP/45 version

Your mixdown will runs 3:46, will have edits at 0:24.7, 1:38.4, just before 2:35.3 (this one is tricky - edit it before the beat), and 3:07.9, and will fade from 3:32 to 3:46.

The promo 45 version exists on CD.

It showed up first on T.J. Martell Foundation/Columbia's Music For The Miracle (1986). The left/right channels are reversed compared to Diamond Life; I'm not sure what's on the actual promo 45. Sonically, it's not all that far removed from Diamond Life. It runs at 117.5 BPM, or about 0.4% slower than Diamond Life, which is a real, but insignificant, difference. It sounds much better than I gave it credit for in my initial post many years ago.

It's also on Realm's Gold And Platinum Vol. 2 (1986). This disc borrows its entire track listing from Music For The Miracle, so that all the songs on G&P are found on Miracle. Unfortunately, it uses different mastering on all the tracks, and includes many early fade. And REALLY early fades on some tracks, like 30 seconds early. For "Smooth Operator", it sounds to my ears like someone played back a tape but didn't use the proper noise reduction setting on playback. It's very bright, with an unnatural reverb on everything, which doesn't exist on the other CDs. The left/right channels are reversed compared to Diamond Life. It runs at 117.8 BPM, which is pretty much the same speed as Diamond Life.

TM Century did a good job of recreating the edit on track no. 00006868, but they let the fade run out to the printed time of 3:59. It sounds pretty good here, with no evidence of added noise reduction. swaitek's promo 50-CD The A List Disc 27 (1994) bases its mastering on the TM Century track, and also runs too long at 3:59. Both of these run at 118.0 BPM.

I recommend hunting down T.J. Martell Foundation/Columbia's Music For The Miracle (1986) for the promo 45 version, as it will save you the trouble of nailing the edit at 2:35.

UK 45 version (printed 4:15)

This turns out to be a very simple edit of the LP version. I'll give instructions using the timing from the '80s-era Diamond Life CD. The UK 45 runs at 119.1 BPM, and the US LP/45 version runs at 118.0 BPM, so you'll need to pitch up by 0.9% after you make your edits.

Segment 1
5 beats long
Ends on upbeat (there would be a snare here)
Extends from 0:00 to 0:03.3 of the US LP/45 version and the UK 45 version (before pitching up)

Delete the 8 beats from 0:03.3 to 0:07.3 of the US LP/45 version.

Segment 2
Begins on upbeat, on first note of bassline
30 beats long
Ends on upbeat (there would be a snare here)
Extends from 0:03.3 to 0:18.6 of the UK 45 version (before pitching up)
Extends from 0:07.3 to 0:22.6 of the US LP/45 version

Delete the 64 beats from 0:22.6 to 0:55.2 of the US LP/45 version.

Segment 3
Begins on upbeat (there would be a snare here)
Extends to end of song, including fade
Extends from 0:18.6 to 4:21.7 (end) of the UK 45 version (before pitching up)
Extends from 0:55.2 to 4:58.2 (end) of the US LP/45 version

Your mixdown (before pitching up) will run 4:21.7 (including outro silence), with edits at 0:03.3 and 0:18.6.

Then pitch up by 0.9%.

Your mixdown (after pitching up) will run 4:19.3 (including outro silence), with edits at 0:03.3 and 0:18.4.

The UK 45 version doesn't seem to exist on CD. I believe (but can't confirm) that the song was re-edited in 1994 for the Best Of Sade CD, and an engineer missed the first edit in the intro, and faded the track to get the timing to match the UK 45. Because the intro was too long (compared to the 45), the fade was too short.

I also believe (but can't confirm) that all the 4:15 versions on CD are based on the Best Of Sade CD mastering, and therefore all miss the first edit in the intro.

Edited by crapfromthepast

Note that the 1985 U.S. CD release of the "Diamond Life" album actually has the UK 45 version of "Smooth Operator" on it: