Rufus-"Tell Me Something Good"

My commercial 45, which is stereo, has a listed time of (3:30), but an actual time of (3:33).

I don't have the song on vinyl, which means that I'll have to get someone else to verify my hypothesis:

The 45 was released originally on ABC 11427, and was rereleased on ABC 12010. I believe that one of these has a little reverb added, while the other is dry. The LP version is dry. Listen really loudly in headphones to the opening guitar chords, and if my hypothesis is true, you should be able to hear a distinct difference in an A/B test.

I'll write up the rest of this post assuming that my hypothesis is correct. If it turns out to be wrong, I'll do some major fixing in a subsequent post.

LP version without reverb (4:36)

I have the LP version on just one CD - Realm's mail-order 3-CD Ultimate Funk Classics (2002), which sounds quite nice. It runs 4:37 here. This disc doesn't seem to be in the database; I'll be happy to supply more ultaimtely funky info if you need.

45 version with reverb (3:30?)

The oldest CD I have the reverb 45 version on is Razor & Tie's 2-CD Those Funky '70s (1990). It sounds OK here, but there are better choices for the song.

There's a better analog transfer on Rhino's Didn't It Blow Your Mind Vol. 13 (1991). It sounds great here. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 9 1974 (1996) - differently-EQ'd digital clone, possibly with some compression/limiting added?
• Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 43 '70s Dance Party 1972-1974 (1997) - differently-EQ'd digital clone, with no added compression/limiting
• Rhino's Millennium Funk Party (1998)
• Time-Life's 2-CD Solid Gold Funk (2001) - differently-EQ'd digital clone, possibly with some compression/limiting added?

There's a different analog transfer on Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 25 Seventies Generation (1992), which sounds fine. The same analog transfer is used on:

• JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll #1 Radio Hits 1970-1974 (1996) - truncates fade
• Madacy's Rock On 1974 (1996) - digitally exactly 1.7 dB louder
• Warner Special Products' 2-CD Seventies Party Mix (1996) - truncates fade
• Razor & Tie's 2-CD Make You Sweat (1998) - truncates fade

An outlier that isn't based on any of the above: PolyGram's Pure Funk Vol. 1 (1998), which adds a little compression/limiting to the song.

45 version without reverb (3:33?)

I have this on only two CDs.

It sounds terrific on Rhino's In Yo' Face Vol. 2 (1993).

MCA's 3-CD Soul Train 25th Anniversary Hall Of Fame (1995) is mastered way too loud and clips a lot. I can't really tell if the mastering is based on In Yo' Face Vol. 2.

My recommendations

For the LP version, I don't have enough discs to make a clear recommendation. It seems to be on a bunch of MCA-label compilations, so pick one.

For the 45 version with reverb, go with Rhino's Didn't It Blow Your Mind Vol. 13 (1991).

For the 45 version without reverb, go with Rhino's In Yo' Face Vol. 2 (1993).

Reverb on my 45 too.

Everything is rushed and nothing is filed properly.
Different folks working as well account for a messy
history.

Does anybody notice a trend of using this song in an
inspirational afternoon segment? The syndicated Bobby
Bones country show did this and about six months later WBLS
did this (after a shake-up).

Edited by AutumnAarilyn

eriejwg wrote: Which version is the hit version...with or without reverb?

I remember the reverbed version on the radio and bought the
45 with reverb on it.

It was a few months later when I heard the album and it was
very dry and I realized the 45 was an out-of-sequence edit.

At first the album version seemed strange-sounding to me,
but I quickly learned to like it...

Andy