Carpenters 45 singles sped up

[andywithaz]

The majority of the 45 singles that I have the songs are sped up. Kind of like on Singles 1969-1973. I checked the times and they aren't that long so they don't need to be sped up. Anybody got any ideas?

 

[Rudy]

Do you have a strobe to check your turntable speed? I had a belt drive (a quite expensive one) that ran fast. Not noticeable until I compared it to CD, where the turntable was just a tiny bit faster. (Any change in pitch, I'm extremely sensitive to.) I've since gone back to a direct drive so I could control the speed.

 

[andywithaz]

No I have a Sony turnable that costs around $120. I think it is a belt drive. Anyway it's not the turntable it's like the recording is ped up 1/2 a tone.

 

[W.B.]

I wouldn't know; from what I've played in on-the-nose turntable pitch (on a machine with pitch adjuster), the songs sound normal, speed-wise. And I have what one would call perfect pitch musically, besides my ability to tell which pressing plant made which copy of which record. I haven't heard of any Carpenters tune sped up at the time of 45 mastering as was in fact the case on, say, the single edits of The Doors' "Light My Fire" (Elektra 45615, 1967) or The Association's "Cherish" (Valiant 747, 1966) -- or, for that matter, the latter group's last Top 10 hit "Everything That Touches You" (Warner Bros. 7163, 1968).

 

[Harry]

Andrew's right, some of the singles are indeed speeded up. Songs like "I Need To Be In Love" and "I Won't Last A Day Without You" are significantly faster on the 45 versions compared with the album versions.

I noticed this when digging through the 45s looking for mono versions, and recently while looking for which ones had the HAECO-CSG processing.

It may have been an effort by the record company to make the songs sound like they had more oomph alongside some of the other more energetic records of the day. Some radio stations sped up their whole library of music in an effort to sound "better" than their rivals on the dial (and to squeeze in either more music or more commercials!).

Harry
...confirming, online...

 

[W.B.]

Some radio stations sped up their whole library of music in an effort to sound "better" than their rivals on the dial (and to squeeze in either more music or more commercials!).

Conversely, I remember one radio station in upstate New York around the Catskills from my days in summer camp when I was growing up, which actually slowed down some of the songs they played. I don't know what their thinking was, unless it was a case of their turntable(s) running down; but I remember one time they played The Tokens' original version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and the D.J. on air at the time mistakenly identified the artist as Robert John (whose cover was on the charts at the same time as the Carpenters' "Hurting Each Other").

 

[andywithaz]

I think that Goodbye to Love sounds totally diferent when it is sped up. The vocals sound like they almost come from a different person. However, the re-mixed versions vocals are slower than the original version that appeared on the A Song for You album.

 

[andywithaz]

Just ordered some rare promo, jukebox, and test pressing 45s. Let you know info about them when I get them.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I have all 3 jukebox little lp's

There really really cool.