Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride

The Hits Man wrote: I understand that all reissue 45s are not the actual 45 mono single mix.

I found that the original first pressings in the Goldies 45 series utilized the same stampers as the original late-'60s 45s. In my neck of the woods, that first generation of Goldies 45s were all Monarch styrene pressings like the not-so-exclusive WDGY backup copy on the left below. These originals had a tan label with the Dunhill/ABC logo, and originally shipped in similarly-attired tan sleeves. This particular Goldies 45 copy and my original stock 45 were both pressed from the same stamper, and are the hit mono 45 version. "Born To Be Wild" on the flip is also the original mono 45 mix.

The later yellowish-labelled reissue on the right (with the recording published 1973 date) plays mono fold-down mixes on both sides. "Magic Carpet Ride" has the long, faded-in intro, and clocks in at 3:03. "Born To Be Wild" runs 3:28, and does not have the edit in the bridge found on the original mono 45. The later reissues shipped in black Goldies 45 sleeves.


Edited by Yah Shure

I had already bought Steppenwolf The Second, so I special-ordered my stock Carpet Ride 45 after it had fallen off the charts, because I wanted "Sookie, Sookie" without having to buy the first album. I've never listened to the "Magic Carpet Ride" side of the WeeGee copy, since I already had that on the Bartley CD. But the "Born To Be Wild" side of the unplayed WDGY copy *somehow* found its way onto Napster years ago. ;) I always preferred the hotter guitars on the mono 45 mix of BTBW. It really rocked, and sounded terrific on AM radio.

You're absolutely right about the wrongness of the '73 Carpet. Yechh.

Thanks so much, satchdr! We have extremely knowledgable experts here on the board who can answer just about any question dealing with 45 versions and radio edits, so it's always great when we can get an occasional LP related question answered too!

Looks like there should definitely be some kind of notation in the database referencing the fact that the LP version of "Magic Carpet Ride" on some CDs has part of the faded-in guitar intro missing. We've seen this type of problem on CD before with the organ intro on First Class's "Beach Baby".

There is a 1976 double LP from the UK (ABC Records) called "California Sunshine." It has a printed time of 2:55 for "Magic Carpet Ride." Quite possibly it's the same stereo edit used for later 45 reissues, but does anyone know for sure?

The Left label 45 is authentic and from an original single stamper which is authentic AM mono. The right label is wonky about being original due to the fact that they often cut new stampers after the originals wore out. Many of the last ABC Goldies 45 label 45's often have Stereo or re-channeled content or fold downs of Stereo content. So we must listen to them first or at least look for period deadwax. And not just with Steppenwolf.