"I Love the Nightlife" - Alicia Bridges

In the 9th edition of Pat's book (I don't have the 10th edition), the song "I Love the Nightlife" has notations like 12" single version and "faded :10 earlier than the 45 or LP length", but I find that the 2:58 versions listed as "faded :10 earlier than the 45 or LP length" are actually some kind of edit, and not simply an early fade of the 45/LP. What I specifically noticed is the following:

After the sax solo that starts at 2:15, on the 3:08 versions the next chorus goes "I love the nightlife, I've got to boogie on the disco round, oh YEAH", whereas on the 2:58 versions (the ones that appear to be faded 10 seconds earlier), after the 2:15 sax solo, the next chorus goes "I love the night life, I've got to boogie, on the disco 'round, oh YEAH YEAH YEAH". One version has 3 YEAH's and the other version has 1 YEAH -- at least when I compared the 2:58 Rhino "Disco Years 3" version with the 3:08 Priority "Mega Hits Dance Classics 1" version. I don't think I have the original 45 anymore, so can anyone explain what's going on? Is the 45 exactly the same as the LP, in terms of these "yeah yeah yeah" ad libs in this spot (at 2:42)? Is the edit on the Rhino/2:58 versions actually the single, or the version on the promo singles? I can't imagine Rhino would do a splice just for their CDs.

I have the dj 45 and the LP and this edit is not on either and you say it is not on the commercial 45 so who knows where this edit originated.

Yes,I have already entered the new comment to be "neither the 45 or LP version".

The oldest CD I have with the song is Silver Eagle/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Dancin' The Night Away (1988). Overall, it sounds OK here - decent dynamic range, reasonable EQ, no noise reduction, but the levels are a little low (about 6 dB of headroom) and it probably doesn't use the lowest-generation source tapes. I think the left/right balance may be a tiny bit off, because the vocals are a little farther to the right than on later CDs. The same analog transfer is used for:

• Priority's Mega-Hits Dance Classics Vol. 1 (1989; about 9 dB louder and absolute polarity inverted)

There's a better analog transfer on Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 10 1978 (1990). It sounds a little smoother and has the vocals centered better than Dancin'. The same analog transfer is used for:

• Warner Special Products' 2-CD Ultimate Party Album (1992)
• Polygram's Dance Fever (1993; absolute polarity inverted)
• JCI's Only Dance 1975-1979 (1995)

The version on Razor & Tie's 2-CD Disco Fever (1991) sounds pretty terrible. You can hear some clipping on the sax solo starting around 2:15. The same source tape (but a different analog transfer) seems to be used on Polygram's Pure Disco (1996), which has even more ringing/clipping on the sax solo starting around 2:15. Avoid both of these.

The version on Rhino's Disco Years Vol. 3 (1992) sounds better than everything else. I hear a really crisp high end, a really well-defined soundstage, a little less warble in the high end when you sum to mono, and (to my ears) what sounds like lower-generation source tapes than the earlier discs. Unfortunately, this version removes the 20 beats from 2:39.4 to 2:49.1 from the earlier versions. I'd bet that this odd edit originated on the Disco Years disc, much like the previously unreleased edits of "Le Freak" and "Hot Stuff". There's a digital clone on:

• Rhino's Millennium New Disco Party (2000; digitally exactly 0.975 dB louder)

If you want the best-sounding version, and don't care about the missing 20 beats, go with the Rhino disc.

For the best-sounding 45 version, go with Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 10 1978 (1990).

Edited by crapfromthepast