📣 News "The Mexican Shuffle"...in stereo??

Here is a sample of "The Mexican Shuffle" in stereo:





How is this possible?

Various | Hard to Find Jukebox Classics: Stereo Explosion Volume 10: Sixties Classics, 1960-65 | Hit Parade Records

ERIC RECORDS - Home of high quality Compact Disc Reissues. Always the ORIGINAL versions of the hits you remember. In TRUE STEREO whenever possible!

www.ericrecords.com

This track is one of the new "revectored" mono-to-stereo simulations, available on the Canadian label Hit Parade Records. For what it is, it sounds pretty darned good and nearly accurate (although the bass is vaguely centered vs. being in the drum/percussion channel, which could be a technical issue with the revectoring process). To the casual listener, if this had replaced the fake stereo version on the LP, nobody would notice.

Is this interesting enough to buy the CD? The rest of the tracks are quite varied, interesting, and not the typical all-hits collection, so it is an attractive package. Just about all were Billboard Top 40 hits. Check out the CD listing above, and also take a look at some of the other compilations they offer. We'll always have the mono originals, but it can be fun to cut loose and hear what these may have sounded like in true stereo, and these are very well done. There are compilations from other eras and genres, so there is quite a mix of music.

 

[GDBY2LV]

I own several, and a friend has about all of them. The stereo reproductions are pretty good. The discs are a bit more expensive than a normal cd, but it’s a lot of work to get them right, and the rights to the music as well. There are usually 25+ tracks on most discs. About $18-$25 ea.on Amazon, titled “Hard To Find”, series.

 

[Harry]

I have one or two of these myself. One of them has a pretty effective version of We Five's "You Were On My Mind". Another one has a stereo recreation of "Call Me" by Chris Montez. Both of those tracks were always mired in a sort of fake wide mono.

 

[Rudy]

There is a "real" stereo version of "Call Me" on this compilation:



I use the term "real" loosely since it sounds more like a 2- or 3-track recording that was meant to be mixed down to mono. It's all the instruments and handclaps on one side, different handclaps (and "Yeah Chris!") only on the other side, and Montez in the middle. A more traditional "A&M stereo" mix would be worth hearing.

 

[Rudy]

Comment from YouTube...



I'm asking which tape it is on.

 

[Harry]

This new CD arrived late yesterday and I'm enjoying the "stereo" version of "The Mexican Shuffle". It sounds mostly really pretty good, though I'm not really 100% on-board with this computer manipulation of sounds. It's real close - but I can't say it's perfect just yet. For instance, if I use the OOPS stereo trick, I can hear some small artifacts of the lead, centered trumpet track leaking into the stereo residue. That tells me it's not "quite" right. But for sheer listenability, this version fits right in with the actual stereo recordings of TjB songs.

I'd still love to know what happened with this track that it's been stuck in "mono limbo" for all these years.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I think Herb said (in the "raw" audio of the BBC interview) that the stereo tracks were lost when they did the remastering for the Shout Factory releases.

 

[Harry]

That doesn't really work, since the track has been relegated to effectively mono since it first appeared on LP. Stayed mono on all comps thereafter. Stayed mono on first CDs in the 80s and all CD comps.

Maybe you're thinking of the original mono of "The Lonely Bull" that got misplaced for a time.