Hugh Masekela - Grazing In The Grass

A big hit from 1968.

Mono (2:39)

The 45 was in mono, and has yet to appear on CD anywhere (as far as I know.)

Stereo (about 2:37)

I found five different analog transfers for the stereo version.

The first is on MCA's Vintage Music Volumes 19 And 20 (1987). Here, the balance on the intro is tweaked so that the cowbell is roughly centered. (It should be panned mastly to the left.) The tail of the fade is shorter than the masterings listed below. Overall, later masterings are better.

The second is on the original release of Rhino's Billboard Top Rock 'N' Roll Hits 1968 (1988; "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" replaces this song on the 1993 rerelease). The tail of the fade runs about 3 beats longer than Vintage Music. There's a 60 Hz hum throughout, which is unfortunate. The same analog transfer is used on:

• TM Century track no. 00003523 - adds noise reduction; avoid
• TM Century track no. 00006669 - dials back noise reduction but fades three beats earlier

The third is on MCA's Classic Soul (1988?). I really like MCA's three volumes of Classic Rock released in 1988-89, but I'm not sure if this release is related to those. The track runs out to the same length as the Billboard disc. The sound is excellent here. The left and right channels are out of synch by one sample. The same analog transfer is used on:

• an unnumbered promo-only multi-artist 11-track CD release on Uni called Then (1988; no catalog number; matrix is UNI RECORDS "THEN" Technidisc #361-048-001-A 04/12/88B) - tail of the fade is about three beats shorter
• Time-Life's Superhits Vol. 2 1968 (1990) - left/right channels swapped, and tail of the fade is about four beats shorter
• Cema/Mystic Music's 2-CD Instrumental Magic (1991) - left/right channels swapped, and tail of the fade is about four beats shorter
• Time-Life's Rhythm And Blues Vol. 4 1968 (1991) - tail of the fade is about four beats shorter
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 3 1968 (1991) - is digitally identical repackaging of Rhythm And Blues Vol. 4 1968, tail of the fade is about four beats shorter
• Rhino's promo Rock Instrumental Classics Vols. 1-5 Sampler (PRCD 7043, 1994) - tail of the fade is about three beats shorter
• Time-Life's AM Gold Vol. 4 1968 (1995) - is digitally identical repackaging of Superhits Vol. 2 1968, left/right channels swapped, and tail of the fade is about four beats shorter

The fourth is on Rhino's Rock Instrumental Classics Vol. 4 Soul (1994). The track runs out to the same length as the Billboard disc. The sound quality is extremely close to Classic Soul, so much so that I think they may use the same source tape. The left and right channels are also out of synch by one sample on this disc. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Rhino's Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Pop (1999)
• Time-Life's Instrumental Favorites '60s Memories (2001)
• an unreleased collection compiled by Mark M called Instrumental Hits Of The '60s 1968 Vol. 2

The fifth is on Ace UK's Chartbusters USA Vol. 3 (2003). This mastering fades about 7 beats earlier than all of the others. Avoid.

My recommendations

For the mono version, you'll have to deal with vinyl.

For the stereo version, I recommend Rhino's Rock Instrumental Classics Vol. 4 Soul (1994), but only because it's likely more common than the MCA disc. And if you want to improve the soundstage a bit, you can resynch the left and right channels by 1 sample. (Delay the left channel with respect to the right channel.)

Edited by crapfromthepast

Hykker, my notes state that there were two 45s issued for this song, one with
14 cow bells (and the keyboard intro starts with a rather abrupt edit), the other
with 11. The stereo LP had 11.

Both of these 45s are on YouTube.

11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyCYTY8wGZU

14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7dF6GtoU4w and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jf2WLn-Gu4