A few days ago, as the anniversary date of Karen's passing came and went, I found myself looking for something different to listen to. I'd heard the Essential Collection set a few times, and I pulled out the Japanese Treasures as a sort of companion piece, since it contained all non-hits. Many of the songs on Treasures are remixes, and though I like those when I'm in the mood for them, I realized that I really wanted to hear the original mixes.
While planning to pull out the individual albums in the Remastered Classics series, it suddenly hit me that the bulk of Carpenters recordings (all, really) came during the "stereo" age. That meant that there really weren't any mono copies of albums floating around out there with different mixes on them. (If there are any mono promo albums for radio stations, I'd love to hear about them.) Many here know about and we've often discussed the differences in the '60s material of Herb Alpert, Sergio Mendes, and others with their mono mixes. Much has also been made elsewhere of Beatles recordings and their respective stereo/mono alternatives.
So I gave a thought to something I'd not considered before. Many promo singles from the '70s and early '80s were issued with the standard stereo mixes on one side, and a mono mix for AM radio stations on the other side. It hadn't occurred to me before that Carpenters singles got the same treatment, as I often would grab a promo single and file it away without ever listening to it, since the track on the album was so familiar. And now I wondered what treasures might lie in those monophonic grooves I had in my collection. Over the last few years, I'd learned that most mono mixes released on both albums and singles were NOT usually just fold-downs from the stereo. That is, these were ORIGINAL mixes done specifically in the mixing studio for mono, in an effort to present the record in the best possible way while only using one channel. Many times, a pure fold-down of the stereo will result in things phasing or becoming emphasized in an unnatural way, so the record producers and engineers would mix these specifically for mono and AM radio stations, which at the time were not able to broadcast in stereo.
The first one I came upon was "It's Going To Take Some Time". I cleaned up the mono side and played it. This WAS different, I realized. The vocal tracks were more forefront than they are in the stereo mix.
Next up was "Goodbye To Love", a song that's seen many remixes over the years. This was the original mix, and again, in mono, the vocals sounded more upfront and less in competition with the backing instruments. I also detected what sounded like a speeding up of the record, and sure enough, after comparing it to the album track, it was quite a bit faster -- at least a quarter to half a tone higher. As the track ended, Tony Peluso's lead guitar seemed more tame sonically, and the fade went on a little longer where a wild organ riff can be heard just as it ends. I'd never heard this before on any mix.
Then came "Top Of The World". Again the vocal presence stood out. Being the single mix, it's got the newer steel-pedal guitar tracks included, yet the final two notes sounded VERY different in this mono mix.
"Sing" was the next one I had, and it doesn't sound all that dramatically different, but again, the vocal presence of Karen's lead is emphasized.
"Yesterday Once More", the next 45 I had with a mono side, is of course the 'finished' single mix, not the original album track with a 'missing' guitar riff toward the end. Karen's vocals are again upfront, and this one had a longer fade than the stereo version, resulting in again, being able to hear a part of the song that I'd never heard before. It actually timed out to 4:04.
"A Kind Of Hush" was the next-in-line promo single I had. This one, like "Goodbye To Love" had been sped up a bit. It also sounds like the bass was boosted a bit to give this mono mix a thumpier quality to it. You can tell at times that this mix is different with the way the instruments sound in relation to each other. Hard to describe, but after hearing a song one way for years and years and then to suddenly hear a different mix is difficult to express in words.
"All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" was next. Again, Karen's vocal is the important lead track as the rest of this busy record is tamed in the mono mix. The sax solo near the end sounds more emphasized here as well.
"Touch Me When We're Dancing", an '80s single with the red A&M label also had a mono mix on the promo single. This one has a slightly longer fade at the end too, and like the others has Karen's lead track more in the forefront of the mix.
Another '80s mono mix I have is "(Want You) Back In My Life Again" and this is another of those 'busy' tracks where the mono seems to tame it all down, leaving Karen's vocal in charge.
The last one I could find in my collection is actually one I'd listened to before - "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town." The stereo side of this single has a really awful application of that HAECO-CSG system, making it almost unlistenable. But the mono side is spared all of that processing, leaving a clean original-mix track.
All in all, discovering these was quite enjoyable, enough that I dubbed them onto a home-made CD. I'll have to seek out a few more of these if I can, since I don't think we'll ever see these mixes showing up on any officially released CDs, though I'm sure fans would enjoy hearing them.
Harry
...finding enjoyment in old mono mixes, online...
While planning to pull out the individual albums in the Remastered Classics series, it suddenly hit me that the bulk of Carpenters recordings (all, really) came during the "stereo" age. That meant that there really weren't any mono copies of albums floating around out there with different mixes on them. (If there are any mono promo albums for radio stations, I'd love to hear about them.) Many here know about and we've often discussed the differences in the '60s material of Herb Alpert, Sergio Mendes, and others with their mono mixes. Much has also been made elsewhere of Beatles recordings and their respective stereo/mono alternatives.
So I gave a thought to something I'd not considered before. Many promo singles from the '70s and early '80s were issued with the standard stereo mixes on one side, and a mono mix for AM radio stations on the other side. It hadn't occurred to me before that Carpenters singles got the same treatment, as I often would grab a promo single and file it away without ever listening to it, since the track on the album was so familiar. And now I wondered what treasures might lie in those monophonic grooves I had in my collection. Over the last few years, I'd learned that most mono mixes released on both albums and singles were NOT usually just fold-downs from the stereo. That is, these were ORIGINAL mixes done specifically in the mixing studio for mono, in an effort to present the record in the best possible way while only using one channel. Many times, a pure fold-down of the stereo will result in things phasing or becoming emphasized in an unnatural way, so the record producers and engineers would mix these specifically for mono and AM radio stations, which at the time were not able to broadcast in stereo.
The first one I came upon was "It's Going To Take Some Time". I cleaned up the mono side and played it. This WAS different, I realized. The vocal tracks were more forefront than they are in the stereo mix.
Next up was "Goodbye To Love", a song that's seen many remixes over the years. This was the original mix, and again, in mono, the vocals sounded more upfront and less in competition with the backing instruments. I also detected what sounded like a speeding up of the record, and sure enough, after comparing it to the album track, it was quite a bit faster -- at least a quarter to half a tone higher. As the track ended, Tony Peluso's lead guitar seemed more tame sonically, and the fade went on a little longer where a wild organ riff can be heard just as it ends. I'd never heard this before on any mix.
Then came "Top Of The World". Again the vocal presence stood out. Being the single mix, it's got the newer steel-pedal guitar tracks included, yet the final two notes sounded VERY different in this mono mix.
"Sing" was the next one I had, and it doesn't sound all that dramatically different, but again, the vocal presence of Karen's lead is emphasized.
"Yesterday Once More", the next 45 I had with a mono side, is of course the 'finished' single mix, not the original album track with a 'missing' guitar riff toward the end. Karen's vocals are again upfront, and this one had a longer fade than the stereo version, resulting in again, being able to hear a part of the song that I'd never heard before. It actually timed out to 4:04.
"A Kind Of Hush" was the next-in-line promo single I had. This one, like "Goodbye To Love" had been sped up a bit. It also sounds like the bass was boosted a bit to give this mono mix a thumpier quality to it. You can tell at times that this mix is different with the way the instruments sound in relation to each other. Hard to describe, but after hearing a song one way for years and years and then to suddenly hear a different mix is difficult to express in words.
"All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" was next. Again, Karen's vocal is the important lead track as the rest of this busy record is tamed in the mono mix. The sax solo near the end sounds more emphasized here as well.
"Touch Me When We're Dancing", an '80s single with the red A&M label also had a mono mix on the promo single. This one has a slightly longer fade at the end too, and like the others has Karen's lead track more in the forefront of the mix.
Another '80s mono mix I have is "(Want You) Back In My Life Again" and this is another of those 'busy' tracks where the mono seems to tame it all down, leaving Karen's vocal in charge.
The last one I could find in my collection is actually one I'd listened to before - "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town." The stereo side of this single has a really awful application of that HAECO-CSG system, making it almost unlistenable. But the mono side is spared all of that processing, leaving a clean original-mix track.
All in all, discovering these was quite enjoyable, enough that I dubbed them onto a home-made CD. I'll have to seek out a few more of these if I can, since I don't think we'll ever see these mixes showing up on any officially released CDs, though I'm sure fans would enjoy hearing them.
Harry
...finding enjoyment in old mono mixes, online...