Most of us know the story of "To Wait For Love". It was the follow-up to "This Guy's...", was another Burt Bacharach composition that Herb was doing, was highly anticipated as the lead single from the next album. But that 1968 single was in mono, and when Herb finally got WARM ready for release, he went back into the studio and re-did his lead vocal on "To Wait For Love". He also shortened the track by about 15 seconds or so for the album. So for years, we've been left with the mono single as the only issuance of that early lead vocal.
I've always wondered, but had no proof, if there was a stereo version of that original single. It seemed to me that I listened to an FM radio station that prided itself on playing popular stuff in stereo, and I couldn't imagine them playing the mono single for the length of time that the song was climbing the chart. No it wasn't a huge hit, only managing a #51 in the main Billboard Top 100, though getting up to #2 on the US A/C chart. That station DID play the record for quite awhile until the follow-up "Zazuiera" was released.
So, was there a stereo version of that first single? Turns out the answer is yes, and the good news is that I've located one. It was one of those rare white-label 45s pressed specially for FM stations that broadcast in stereo. The bad news is that -----> it was processed in HAECO-CSG!
So, the single arrived this weekend and I cleaned it, digitized it, and set about using my PhaseBug filter in Audacity to rid the single of the dreaded CSG processing. Thus, it occurs to me, that any radio station that played this stereo single did so back in 1968-69, and it probably hasn't been heard since, other than the mono singles we might have in our collections. Given the CSG processing, I'm theorizing that NO-ONE, other than the record's creators, have heard this mix in stereo - and never with the corrected phasing. Thus, I'm calling this a World Premiere. Enjoy!
I've always wondered, but had no proof, if there was a stereo version of that original single. It seemed to me that I listened to an FM radio station that prided itself on playing popular stuff in stereo, and I couldn't imagine them playing the mono single for the length of time that the song was climbing the chart. No it wasn't a huge hit, only managing a #51 in the main Billboard Top 100, though getting up to #2 on the US A/C chart. That station DID play the record for quite awhile until the follow-up "Zazuiera" was released.
So, was there a stereo version of that first single? Turns out the answer is yes, and the good news is that I've located one. It was one of those rare white-label 45s pressed specially for FM stations that broadcast in stereo. The bad news is that -----> it was processed in HAECO-CSG!
So, the single arrived this weekend and I cleaned it, digitized it, and set about using my PhaseBug filter in Audacity to rid the single of the dreaded CSG processing. Thus, it occurs to me, that any radio station that played this stereo single did so back in 1968-69, and it probably hasn't been heard since, other than the mono singles we might have in our collections. Given the CSG processing, I'm theorizing that NO-ONE, other than the record's creators, have heard this mix in stereo - and never with the corrected phasing. Thus, I'm calling this a World Premiere. Enjoy!
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