Fools "It’s a Night for Beautiful Girls"

A year and a half later, I can finally answer my own question. For anyone curious, the 45 time is correct (within a second or two) and this is not a simple fade, nor is it a simple edit. Besides editing out 2 parts, it also brings back an earlier chorus for a later chorus. I just made the edit tonight, from CD. Upon getting the Rhino CD with this song (in the mid '90s), the song didn't seem as good as I remembered it being (back in 1980). Now I understand why. The single edit (which is the only version I heard back then) is much more succinct and to the point - it actually edits out 2 parts that are kind of non-essential, ad-lib type sections. I like this edit much more!

And I must say to all you other single edit/version collectors -- when I finally hear edits like this on CD or mixes like "Piano Man" (after years of waiting for it to come out on CD), these mixes and edits are almost always much better than their album counterparts, and it sure is fun to acquire these versions, whether by buying import CDs, editing the versions myself, or hearing them from you guys, etc., so I sure get everyone's passion for seeking these edits/mixes. It's too bad there's only about a dozen people in this world that have some of these edits and that the other 6 billion people don't (.... or even care to!)

Hykker wrote: bonus single of "Psycho Chicken" (on yellow vinyl).

Mine's on white vinyl! It's got the "bleeped" version b/w the "clucked" version.

Hykker wrote: I'm 100% in agreement with you, though a statement like that on the BSN board would likely result in some rather heated discussion of what is an "acceptable" version of a song, and what constitutes a "hack job". I too have always been for the most part a "radio version" kind of guy for the very reasons you mentioned.

Well said, Steve! I've never been inclined to join the BSN board for those very reasons. The "radio guy" in me goes to the point of listening to my music collection through an Optimod-Audio Prism air chain into a micropowered FM transmitter, broadcast to a mono GE Superadio III, and what sounds best to me is what sounds best over the air. Consequently, I want the mixes and versions that were done specifically for airplay. I'll take a terrific-sounding mono mix over a lousy or so-so stereo mix any day.

Replicating some of the most convoluted edits is one of those thrill-of-the-hunt kinds of things, and gives us a true feeling of what it must have been like for the engineers and producers who were told, "Here, make a radio-friendly single out of this," as the album versions of "Echo Park," "One Fine Morning" or "Music Eyes" were plopped onto their desks. That they were able to pull off such audio wizardry - and armed primarily with razor blades and splicing tape - speaks volumes about how creative they were.

It's very rewarding to see original single edits and mixes finally receiving the credit they've long deserved, and for those whose masters were lost or tossed out along the way, perhaps it's up to us to ensure that they survive.     

Andy, yes, Heartsfield. The single version of "Music Eyes" turned the meandering 6:32 album cut into a coherent, concise song that logged seven weeks on the AC chart, along with its #95 pop showing. Two follow-up Mercury singles were also edited down from longer LP tracks; the second, "Shine On," was also remixed with some tasty mellotron overdubs.

Edited by Yah Shure