The Singles Vinyl @ Target

Rick-An Ordinary Fool said:
It looks like I won't even get mine until next Friday, I don't know why it's so late. There's a store near me that says they have 4 copies, I should have just got it in the store. I don't know why I thought this was a web exclusive. If it's bent, can I take it back to the store and exchange?

What about the trilogy is it sped up or slowed down?
So technically if it has the 85 remix of YOM...it's not really "The Singles 1969-1973" :doh:
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I'll be honest — my first "go to" when reffing copies of The Singles is to listen to "Yesterday Once More" right away. Once I heard that, it verified that it wasn't the Remastered Classics master. I'll have to listen to the trilogy and see if it's the earlier VSOd version.
 
Harry said:
See Richard tweak. Tweak Richard, tweak.

(Sorry, I'm in a silly mood.)

As to the version of this album, I noticed someone posted a picture and the label has a copyright of 2017. Wasn't that the year of the UMe vinyl fiasco? Did they simply do another press run of old labels to slap on this vinyl? Did the 2017 run of albums include SINGLES?

I never ordered any of those as I didn't feel the need to spend money on vinyl when I already own all of the originals.
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I suspect they copy/pasted the artwork as you mentioned, and pulled whatever master someone could access first and sent it over. The only reason I even bothered giving it a quick listen is because Richard told me that he didn't bother signing off on this one. At first, I agreed he probably didn't have anything to worry about since the 2017 vinyl re-release at least addressed WHICH master to pull.

We all know what happens when we assume... :rolleyes:
 
Chris May said:
I'll be honest — my first "go to" when reffing copies of The Singles is to listen to "Yesterday Once More" right away. Once I heard that, it verified that it wasn't the Remastered Classics master. I'll have to listen to the trilogy and see if it's the earlier VSOd version.
Click to expand...
I recently downloaded the album from iTunes, and YOM is the 85 remix there now too. I had to listen for a few seconds before my brain finally realized this isn’t right...
 
Harry said:
See Richard tweak. Tweak Richard, tweak.

(Sorry, I'm in a silly mood.)

As to the version of this album, I noticed someone posted a picture and the label has a copyright of 2017. Wasn't that the year of the UMe vinyl fiasco? Did they simply do another press run of old labels to slap on this vinyl? Did the 2017 run of albums include SINGLES?

I never ordered any of those as I didn't feel the need to spend money on vinyl when I already own all of the originals.
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The Singles LP was included in the Vinyl Collection from 2017. The only LP I ended up keeping was Lovelines. It’s a shame they just used the same label from 2017 on this limited edition. I don’t remember but did The Singles 69-73 LP from the vinyl collection contain the original version of YOM?
 
Matthew Smith said:
I recently downloaded the album from iTunes, and YOM is the 85 remix there now too. I had to listen for a few seconds before my brain finally realized this isn’t right...
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I’ve just checked the Singles collection on Spotify and that contains the 1985 remix as well. I wonder how all the streaming channels have uploaded the wrong master as well, especially given they were there long before this Target release was even conceived. What’s even more strange is that it features the earlier VSO’d version of the trilogy. So where did the YOM remix come from and how did it get there?
 
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newvillefan said:
I’ve just checked the Singles collection on Spotify and that contains the 1985 remix as well. I wonder how all the streaming channels have uploaded the wrong master as well, especially given they were there long before this Target release was even conceived. What’s even more strange is that it features the earlier VSO’d version of the trilogy. So where did the YOM remix come from and how did it get there?
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Do you guys remember the version that was floating around on CD back in the 90s, that (I believe) was an A&M Canada release? It was more or less the only version of this thing you could find on CD predating the Remastered Classics series, and it was exactly the same thing — basically the original Singles album, but you’d get to “YOM” and it was the remix from ‘85.

I suspect that’s what we’re dealing with here. So like you mention Stephen, the VSO on the trilogy closing side 1 would be included.
 
Rick-An Ordinary Fool said:
Why can’t the mastering of this be the exact same recording from the original LP that was released back in November 1973?
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I think that master was decimated due to oxidation if I’m not mistaken. I believe when Barry Korkin went to pull it for the 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition is when it was discovered, and a new master was constructed. In fact if you listen to “Top of the World” from some of the 80s and 90s era releases of this album, you can hear the dropouts occasionally, audible as early as the first downbeat of the intro.
 
I have the original A&M CD from the 80s. It has the proper "Yesterday Once More" and the VSO'ed trilogy. Then there's the Remastered Classic where everything is as it should be, proper single mix of YOM, and correct speed trilogy.

Probably the best CD version is the Japanese SHM-SACD that also had a platinum version and a standard version. It sounds great and has everything as it should.

The quad QU-53601 LP is a mess. The sound on a standard stereo is off-balance, probably due to the quad processing. It's also at such a low volume that you really have to crank it up to hear it properly. It's got weird extra parts of the mix that probably are supposed to be mixed out, like "...all the tears" on "Goodbye To Love" and a weird doubling of Karen on "...live my life alone." If I remember correctly, this is one of the reasons Richard disavows the quad mix, since only he apparently knew where the extra stuff was that was supposed to be flown in and other stuff mixed down. It's fun to hear - but it ain't right.

I had a long tussle over on another forum about SINGLES 69-73 when I swore up and down that the proper single mix of "Yesterday Once More" was on both the original CD and the Remastered Classic and that this other fellow was wrong about the remix being there. Turns out he was right because I was unaware of the Canadian faux pas in putting the remix on the disc sometime after PolyGram took over. So there's a bunch of versions out there with that out-of-place remix in the middle of this disc. I've never sought one of those out, so now, I'll have it on the clear LP.
 
Harry said:
I have the original A&M CD from the 80s. It has the proper "Yesterday Once More" and the VSO'ed trilogy. Then there's the Remastered Classic where everything is as it should be, proper single mix of YOM, and correct speed trilogy.

Probably the best CD version is the Japanese SHM-SACD that also had a platinum version and a standard version. It sounds great and has everything as it should.

The quad QU-53601 LP is a mess. The sound on a standard stereo is off-balance, probably due to the quad processing. It's also at such a low volume that you really have to crank it up to hear it properly. It's got weird extra parts of the mix that probably are supposed to be mixed out, like "...all the tears" on "Goodbye To Love" and a weird doubling of Karen on "...live my life alone." If I remember correctly, this is one of the reasons Richard disavows the quad mix, since only he apparently knew where the extra stuff was that was supposed to be flown in and other stuff mixed down. It's fun to hear - but it ain't right.

I had a long tussle over on another forum about SINGLES 69-73 when I swore up and down that the proper single mix of "Yesterday Once More" was on both the original CD and the Remastered Classic and that this other fellow was wrong about the remix being there. Turns out he was right because I was unaware of the Canadian faux pas in putting the remix on the disc sometime after PolyGram took over. So there's a bunch of versions out there with that out-of-place remix in the middle of this disc. I've never sought one of those out, so now, I'll have it on the clear LP.
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Thanks for the clarification on that @Harry. Come to think of it, PolyGram does have their label on the Canadian release I mention, and I know for a while, that was the only release available anywhere prior to the Remastered Classics series.
 
Chris May said:
Thanks for the clarification on that @Harry. Come to think of it, PolyGram does have their label on the Canadian release I mention, and I know for a while, that was the only release available anywhere prior to the Remastered Classics series.
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Yeah, and then the Remastered Classic went out of print really quickly when the newer SINGLES 1969-1983 was released.
 
It took me forever to find a remastered classics CD of Singles 69-73. This was long before Japan issued their SHM’s in 2014. I finally hunted it down and probably paid more than I wanted to but it was important for me to get the single mix of YOM and the correct speed medley on CD.

I feel like this compilation album has been the most complicated in their catalog in deciphering which version you might have.

I didn’t know about this Canadian master of the Singles 69-73. Why would they have pulled this from Canada?
 
Rick-An Ordinary Fool said:
It took me forever to find a remastered classics CD of Singles 69-73. This was long before Japan issued their SHM’s in 2014. I finally hunted it down and probably paid more than I wanted to but it was important for me to get the single mix of YOM and the correct speed medley on CD.

I feel like this compilation album has been the most complicated in their catalog in deciphering which version you might have.

I didn’t know about this Canadian master of the Singles 69-73. Why would they have pulled this from Canada?
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Somewhere along the way, this alternate master was created — either for the A&M Canada release, or otherwise. Because it exists (and likely not marked properly), it gets pulled for stuff like this. Had Richard given it a listen, this likely wouldn't have happened. In his defense however, UMG needs to do a better job of properly indexing and cataloging this stuff.
 
Chris May said:
I think that master was decimated due to oxidation if I’m not mistaken. I believe when Barry Korkin went to pull it for the 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition is when it was discovered, and a new master was constructed.
Click to expand...

What source would they have used to create a new master if the original had disintegrated?
 
I just listened to the Canadian only half speed master Audiophile vinyl of Singles 1969-1973, and YOM is the original version. I know the album came out before the Polygram takeover. It does not have a release date on the cover or label. Just A&M 1972,1973. Different label too, Audiophile, very nice.
Catalogue number SPJ-3601. The sound is excellent. Karen extremely bright and clear.
Good catch on the error for the Target version. It will be a novelty for sure.
 
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Yes, there’s a red sticker on the protective cover sleeve that says it too, in French & English.
 
So I guess for the Canadian error there is no change to the dead wax markings or anything on the CD? Was this error issued by Columbia House Canada since I have a CHC copy from 1993, or was CHC using their own master?
 
FYI- Just got my copy. The insert booklet has the last two song titles in English but also in Thai. :)
Otherwise, perfectly intact without problems.
 
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