Sam & Dave - Soul Man - To Ya vs. To You

Eleven years later, I'll add a little mastering info.

LP version in stereo

The LP version has a tiny gap between the first bass drum hit and the first tambourine hit (at 0:01), has no drum fill at the end of the first horn riff (at 0:09), says "coming to ya" (at 0:17), has both vocalists step all over each other with a pair of unintelligible lines (at 1:45), and fades from 2:28-2:36.

The LP version in stereo first appeared on Warner Special Products' Atlantic Soul Classics (1985), where it runs 2:35. It sounds just fine - nice dynamic range, nice EQ, no evidence of noise reduction on the fade. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Warner Special Products/Sessions' 2-CD Sixties Frat Rock (1990)

There's a different analog transfer on Silver Eagle Records/Capitol's 3-CD Rockin' Down The Block (1987), which also sounds fine.

LP version in mono

I believe that the mono LP version is just a fold-down of the stereo LP version. In comparing these CDs, I discovered that the stereo versions have WAY less high end than the mono versions. If you fold down any of the three CDs above to mono, they'll sound like mud compared to any of the CDs below.

The LP version in mono first appeared on Atlantic's multi-CD Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 6 (1985 release), where it runs 2:34. It also sounds just fine - nice dynamic range, nice EQ, no evidence of noise reduction on the fade. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Atlantic's Golden Age Of Black Music 1960-1970 (1988)
• Time-Life's 2-CD Rock Party (1990) - shortened fade, possibly noise reduction?

There's a new analog transfer on Time-Life's Classic Rock Vol. 10 1967 The Beat Goes On (1988), where it runs 2:34. This version also sounds just fine - nice dynamic range, nice EQ, no evidence of noise reduction on the fade. I suspect that this disc uses the same source tape as Atlantic R&B, but with the absolute polarity inverted (insignificant). The same analog transfer is used on:

• JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll 1965-1969 (1994)
• Warner Special Products/Starland's 2-CD 40 Party Classics (1996) - truncates fade

45 version in mono (doesn't exist in stereo)

Two big differences from the LP version:

• The first 19 seconds of the song are from a completely different take of the song. This alternate take starts more tightly than the one on the LP version, so I can see why the producers used it for the 45. There's no gap between the first bass drum hit and the first tambourine hit (at 0:01). Unlike the LP version, the 45 has a drum fill at the end of the first horn riff (at 0:09). Unlike the LP ("coming to ya"), the 45 says "coming to YOU" (at 0:17). You can tell that there's a new intro spliced on: At 0:19, you can hear that the new intro is spliced onto a higher-generation tape. The high end is just a little bit muted after the splice, which occurs at the snare that begins the phrase "on a dusty road".
• On the 45, the overlapping vocals at 1:45 are muted. Same take as the LP (as best as I could tell), just muted vocals.

The 45 version first appeared on Atlantic's Sam And Dave single-artist CD Best Of (1987), where it runs 2:36. Again, it also sounds just fine here - nice dynamic range, nice EQ, no evidence of noise reduction on the fade. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Atlantic's multi-CD Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 (1991 rerelease)
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 2 1967 (1991) - shortens fade by about 2 seconds

There's a new analog transfer on Atlantic's spectacular 9-CD Complete Stax/Volt Singles (1991), where it runs 2:37. It has a boosted high end compared to Best Of (more hiss), the fade extends about a second longer than Best Of, and I suspect that it's just a new analog transfer of the same source tapes used for Best Of. It's an improvement, but only a slight improvement because Best Of sounded pretty good to my ears. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Rhino's promo sampler PRO2 90129 Rhino Atlantic Remasters Collection CD Sampler Disc 2 (1992)
• Rhino's 2-CD Same And Dave anthology Sweat 'N' Soul 1965-1971 (1993) - digitally identical
• Rhino's Billboard Top R&R Hits 1967 (1993 rerelease; "Soul Man" replaces "Daydream Believer" from the original 1989 release) - digitally identical
• Rhino Special Products' cheapie Soul Hits Vol. 3 (1993) - digitally exactly 0.238 dB quieter
• Rhino's Atlantic Ultimate '60s Soul Smashes (1998)
• Rhino's Millennium New Soul Party (2000) - differently-EQ'd digital clone
• European release Best Soul Album In The World Ever (1999) - too loud and clips a bit; avoid

I think I lost my Rhino's Very Best Of, but I'm 99% certain that it's digital clones of Sweat 'N' Soul 1965-1971.

My recommendations

Honestly, I didn't run into any bad-sounding versions of the song, aside from the Best Soul Album In The World Ever, which is too loud. All of the above will work just fine for you. But if I have to pick...

LP version in stereo: Warner Special Products' Atlantic Soul Classics (1985)
LP version in mono: Atlantic's multi-CD Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947-1974 Vol. 6 (1985 release)
45 version in mono: Atlantic's multi-CD Complete Stax/Volt Singles (1991)

The Atlantic multi-CD sets aren't cheap, so you can easily go with Rhino's Very Best Of for the 45 version in mono, or Atlantic's Golden Age Of Black Music 1960-1970 for the LP version in mono, both of which are pretty cheap nowadays.