The Surfaris-"Wipe Out"

As promised above, I have just timed my 1963 commercial 45 of "Wipe Out" (confirmed as Dot 16479, with machine-stamped deadwax of "MW-18041-1"), and time-wise, it exactly parallels my 1966 commercial 45 findings, with a listed time of (2:12) and an actual time of (2:16).

I have an MCA reissue single that is a re-recording. It says on the bottom of the 45 label that this version was originally released on Decca. There is also a YouTube video that has the Decca 45 playing (a 1966 pressing, according to the guy who made the video), and the recording matches my reissue 45. It does not have the famous laugh at the beginning, but instead starts with the drum solo.

Was this yet a third release for "Wipeout" in the '60s? Did it chart?

MCA certainly didn't help to clarify any of the confusion. Even after acquiring the Dot hit and reissuing it under the old ABC Goldies 45 catalog number (2703, with "Surfer Joe" still on the flip) they continued to keep their reissue of the Decca remake (MCA 60055, with "I'm A Hog..." on the flip) in print for years.

my 2 commercial 45's are the same as jim's above....if you
fade the 2:37 version for 0:06 from 2:10 to 2:16 you'll
effectively re-create the proper vinyl 45 version.....

"Wipe Out" was only recorded in mono. No stereo, no fake stereo.

Vinyl 45 (2:16 or 2:17)

The song was on DTS and Princess before it ended up on Dot Records, and has been rerecorded multiple times afterward. The hit was on Dot.

According to an interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGtJ1dj3a2I&pp=ygUPc3VyZmFy aXMgZGZzIDQ1) with a member of the Surfaris, the hit version was an early fade of the full take. According to the interview, the full take might have been on the original DFS 45s, although I doubt it because the DFS 45 shows a printed time of 2:12, just like the later 45s. Discogs shows that a DFS 45 sold about three years ago for $2500, so I'm not going to investigate any further!

I have a dub of a vinyl 45 (ripped by Genes Oldies and cleaned by Pegasus) that runs about 2:16.5.   If you start counting at "1" on the downbeat at 2:07 (the start of the last verse), the fade begins around beat "8", and the fade ends at beat "24".

I found a YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z93EIhJaknc) of a US Dot 45 fading to silence at beat "24".

I found a YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZVfElwt27o) of a UK London Dot 45 fading to silence at "20".

There's a video on YouTube by The45Prof (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c0rOUMHFaI), which starts the fade in the same place at beat "8", but fades to silence at beat "17".

There's another video on YouTube labeled as "the original hit version" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hLeQCnTGq8), which starts the fade in the same place at beat "8", but fades to silence at beat "22".

Which is correct? If I had to pick, I'd vote that the "24" versions are the true Dot (hit) 45 lengths: starting counting at "1" on the downbeat at 2:07, the fade begins at beat "8" and ends at beat "24".

CDs (most about 2:37)

The database currently shows 106 CDs having the song in mono, 9 in fake stereo, and 3 in stereo (including a digitally-extracted stereo version, a rerecording, and a possibly mislabeled entry in the database). For the hit version, you'll want the song in mono.

Virtually all the CDs out there run about 2:37, which is 20 seconds longer than the Dot 45.

I think the earliest CD to include the song is Original Sound's Oldies But Goodies Vol. 8 (1986), where it runs 2:28, or 11 seconds longer than the 45. It's the only CD to run at that length. Sound is OK here. It seems to be from a tape source. There's a small EQ difference between the left and right channels, so the soundstage is a little off-center in headphones. There are some tape crackles throughout the track, including quite a few between 0:25 and 0:30; the tape crackles are not on the 45. Still, this track is above average for the Original Sound series.

The earliest major-label CD to include the song is MCA's Vintage Music Volumes 7 And 8 (1986), where it runs 2:37, or 20 seconds longer than the 45. Sound is OK here - OK source tapes, great dynamic range, very natural-sounding EQ, no evidence of added noise reduction on the fade. It's in very good mono (meaning that in an OOPS test, the left and right channels cancel to better than -40 dB). But this mastering also has the tape crackles throughout, including a few between 0:25 and 0:30. I think the following discs use the same source tape used on Vintage Music (either a new analog transfer of the same source tape, or the same analog transfer):

• Silver Eagle's mail-order 2-CD Rockin' Down The Block (1987)
• Time-Life's Rock 'N' Roll Era Vol. 7 1963 (1988)
• MCA's 3-inch CD Summer Oldies (MCAD-37302, 1988)
• Sessions/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Hot Rod Classics (1990)
• JCI's Surfin Sixties (1993)
• Simitar's Number Ones Party Time (1998)

There's a new analog transfer on Rhino's Frat Rock (1987). As Aaron noted above, this disc edits out the portions with the crackles, which causes the audio to jump ahead in some places. Not great. I would assume that all the editing would have to be done in the analog domain with razor blade and splice tape, which makes this a tape generation higher than the later Rhino discs. It does sound a little muffled compared to the later Rhino discs. It's in very good mono. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Time-Life's Animal Rock (1994)

There's another new analog transfer on Rhino's Surfin' Hits (1989), which omits the tape crackles somehow, without editing out portions of the song. The fade begins sooner than Vintage Music, but ends in about the same place as Vintage Music. It's in very good mono. This version sounds clearer than Frat Rock. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Rhino's KFOG Presents M. Dung's Idiot Show (1991)
• Rhino's Summer Hits (1993)
• Rhino's promo disc Rock Instrumental Classics Vols. 1-5 Sampler (PRCD 7043, 1994)
• Rhino's Let There Be Drums Vol. 2 The '60s (1994)
• Ace UK's Teen Been Vol. 3 (1996) - reduces volume of intro and shortens tail of fade
• Time-Life's Glory Days Of Rock 'N' Roll Vol. 14 Instrumentals (2000)
• Realm's 3-CD Summertime Party Pack (2002) - mastered too loud and clips a lot; avoid
• Time-Life's Rock And Roll The Legendary Years 1961-1964 (2004) - shortens tail of fade

There's a new analog transfer on Rhino's Rock Instrumental Classics Vol. 5 Surf (1994). The sound quality is extremely close to Surfin' Hits (no tape crackles, same EQ), but the fade doesn't start early. Here, the fade matches Vintage Music. It's in very good mono. I think I may hear the tiniest bit of noise reduction; the very, very end of the fade has a drop in the high end before the audio disappears. I don't hear that high end drop on Surfin' Hits. Regardless, it's nothing to worry about; the sound is excellent here. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Rhino's Billboard Top Pop Hits 1963 (1994)
• Rhino's Cowabunga! The Surf Box (1996)
• Time-Life's Rock 'N' Roll Era Vol. 51 The Great Rock 'N' Roll Instrumentals (1996)
• TJL Ventures/UMe's Beach Music Classics Volume 3 (2016) - mastered too loud and clips a lot; avoid
• TM Century track no. 00021188

K-Tel's Party Of The Millennium (1998) cuts off some of the intro, is mastered too loud, and truncates the fade. Avoid.

My recommendation

I vote for Rhino's Rock Instrumental Classics Vol. 5 Surf (1994). The sound is superb, with excellent source tapes, great dynamic range, a slightly treble-heavy EQ, and a fade that doesn't start early. If I do hear a noise reduction artifact (and I'm not sure that I do), it's nothing to worry about.

Edited by crapfromthepast