Alternate Take 45s

[TulitaPepsi]

Recently got a 45 of B'66's classic "For What It's Worth" and discovered to my delight, that it is an ALTERNATE TAKE from the Stillness album track. Miss Karen is in full fierce Diva mode, really growling out the lyrics with clear enunciation (she's more spacey ...or stoned..on the album track)! And Sergio fills the break with an extra-trippy organ solo, the organ more prominent in the spooky fade-out as well.

Maybe because it's still new to my ears, but I think the 45 is better than the album cut - which is one of my favorite B'66 songs to begin with!
And it sounds as fresh and relevant today as it did thirty-odd years ago.

(The B-Side, "Viramundo", is the same cut as the album, though mixed with a sharper, more prominent 'edge' to the vocals)

What other 'Alternate Take' A&M 45s are out there?

 

[Harry]

The first one that comes to mind is the Tijuana Brass dual-sided single, "Zorba The Greek"/"Tijuana Taxi". On the original 45, Zorba is shortened to under 3 minutes by eliminating the long slow part of the middle. It also adds more audience clapping and hollering to give it a live feel, plus a trombone part can be heard that got eliminated from the stereo mix. "Tijuana Taxi" has more horn honking throughout, and both tracks are equalized and compressed more for AM radio. While both of the basic tracks originate from the same master as the familiar album tracks, they have a very different feel on the single.

In Baja land, there's a totally different version of "Brasilia" on the flip side of "Yes Sir That's My Baby".

And another Sergio alternate mix can be found on "Norwegian Wood" on the 45. Again the organ playing is more prominent and the song fades out rather trhan repeating the open like on the album track.

Not a 45, but a slightly different mix of "Like A Lover" can be found on the FAMILY PORTRAIT album from A&M. Just before going into the intrumental break in the middle, a Sergio piano riff is missing.

There are also some differences between the stereo and mono album mixes of Brasil '66's EQUINOX.

I'm sure there are others, but those are prominent in my mind.

Harry
...trying to finish up work early, online...

 

[Rudy]

TJB: the single to "The Happening" is missing the flute trill at the end. That's a yawner.

"The Great Manolette" has a very different mix from the album. In some places, the trumpet part is doubled, an octave lower in some sections. Instead of a bass guitar solo in the middle, it is augmented by a mandolin.

The mono single of "The Lonely Bull" and "Acapulco 1922" is the same as the mono LP, but different from the stereo LP (which has added percussion on "Acapulco", and a doubled trumpet part on "Bull").

Other than timing issues, most of the singles are close enough to the album versions to be considered almost identical.

-= N =-

 

[William]

And another Sergio alternate mix can be found on "Norwegian Wood" on the 45. Again the organ playing is more prominent...

That's interesting--I don't hear an organ at all on the album cut. Did Sergio multitrack an extra keyboard on the single?

- William

 

[Harry]

And another Sergio alternate mix can be found on "Norwegian Wood" on the 45. Again the organ playing is more prominent...

That's interesting--I don't hear an organ at all on the album cut. Did Sergio multitrack an extra keyboard on the single?

- William

No, it's just a case of my aging brain not remembering that it was an electric piano, not an organ. I was at work and confused it with the "For What It's Worth" single.

"Norwegian Wood" is the same basic track as the album cut, but fades on the electric piano part without the opening vocals repeated ("He asked me to stay...").

Harry
...now correct, online...

 

[Harry]

Here's a few more alternate takes I've thought of:

In the "another language" category:

Herb's "Yo Soy Ese Amor", the Spanish version of "This Guy's..."
Herb's "Un Ragazzo Che Ti Ama", the Italian version of the above
Sergio's "Pais Tropical" had a version released in Japanese, as did the rare track "The Magic Wheels."
Carpenters did "Sing" in Spanish as "Canta."


In the "updating the sound" category:

The Roger Nichols Trio did a single with "Just Beyond Your Smile" and "I'll Be Back" that was augmented and sweetened for the SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS album.


In the "guest vocalist" category:

Claudine Longet is joined by hubby Andy Williams on the 45 of "Small Talk". Mr. Williams doesn't appear on the album version.


And another alternate take can be found on Herb's "To Wait For Love" single. He re-recorded his vocal track for the album version.

Harry
...remembering more, online...

 

[Tim Neely]

One that came to mind pretty quickly is Joe Cocker's "The Letter." The 45 is a studio version that is very close to the live Mad Dogs and Englishmen version, but isn't the same recording, and it's missing the applause! I don't believe this 45 rpm version has ever been on CD.

I also mentioned on another thread that the Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling," when it appeared on the Christmas Portrait LP in 1978, featured a different vocal than the 1970 single. And Karen re-recorded her vocal on "Ticket to Ride" for The Singles 1969-1973 album, thus making it different than the 1969 45.

And there are dozens of single edits that are merely shortened versions of album tracks, so they aren't really alternate takes.

 

[Rudy]

Tim--you've reminded me that "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" has a different mix (not to mention some re-recorded tracks) on the original 45RPM single than what ended up on recent Carpenters CDs.

-= N =-

 

[JAZZ4JEFF]

The Carpenters released a single version of "Can't smile without you" that featured a different lyric than the album version heard on "A kind of hush". The single version was featured on the Canadian import "The singles 1974-1978".

Jeff