Tubular Bells 45 version

crapfromthepast wrote: And complicating matters even further is a promo CD single, Virgin PRCD 3572, with only one track, denoted as "Edit", with a printed and actual time of 3:20. The sound is infinitely more clear than HAND, but it's edited differently - could this be the actual 45 edit? If I had to pick one version, it would be this promo CD single.

Was this an actual re-release of the song (and if so, when?) or just a radio/in-store sampler? Obviously there were no promo CDs in 1974!

Based on other Virgin promo CD releases with similar catalog numbers, it appears that one was put out in 1990.

I think it's reasonably safe to assume the single master tapes for "Tubular Bells" are missing or lost... Otherwise, why would these reissue labels go through the trouble of repeatedly trying to edit down the full 25:28 album version, albeit incorrectly?

Doug, the HAND version is not even close, either, because it was simply an engineer's uneducated guess. The HAND v will not be any help to you in getting the correct 45v. Forgive me sir, because it has been at least 7+ years since myself/my now-out-of-touch-with digital buddies tackled it. It can be done (although my "experts" inexplicably didn't match up the 45/LP speeds, which made my end result way too fast!) But, if I were trying to pick a song to give a person the maximum "audio agita", I would suggest they try to accurately create the correct 45v for "Tubular Bells!" Even "Ron/CFTP's" chime-in above is not his normal breakdown, which gives you an idea about what this one entails! But what I DO remember is that, despite having a forever-long, (25:28) album version to work with (which is 98% of the problem), the correct 45 ending was nonetheless repeated/spliced on from the beginning 45 notes. Doug, unless you possess note-for-note, wave file comparison technology to utilize, against a 1974 45 and MANY available hours, I believe success is impossible. This board is FULL of digital wizards, and still, I can't think of another Top 10 hit that has YET to be 100% digitally nailed as of today, despite all of its source audio currently existing on digital, can you? And, with over 800 views now, perhaps this one should be elevated to the "Holy Grail Of Top 10 Hit 45 Versions Wanted On Digital" status!

Edited by jimct

if anyone can nail it, it'll be aaron!!!