Re: The Single File version differences (was: Re: Maliciousness inLove-Hounds)

[Ulrich Grepel <uli@zoodle.robin.de>]

Hi!

Just to clarify the question, here's the original (2nd) message again:


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Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 23:29:17 +0200
To: rec-music-gaffa@uunet.uu.net
From: endwar@phys.psu.edu (Andrew Russ)
Newsgroups: rec.music.gaffa
Subject: The Single File remixes/remasters (repost)
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I'm reposting this because i got no response to my (admittedly arcane)
questions before.  If i don't get any answers this time i'm forwarding
the questions to Homeground for the next KaTe Convention trivia quiz. :-)


I recently had the joy of getting The Single File (copy no. 2795) for an
embarrasingly low price.  Several singles were apparently remastered, and
I was able to notice at least two audible changes on a casual listen:

        The Single File version of "Army Dreamers" fades while the
original 7" does not fade.  I think the original single mix is thus about ten
seconds longer, and the line "Mommy's Dying" that KaTe says at the end is
cut off the Single File version.  Also, the inscription "Life Is To Love"
was not scratched into the Single File master.  The matrix numbers are:
        original:  EMI 5106 A 1
        Single File:  EMI 5106 A-3-1-1-2
The matrix numbers of the B-sides are identical.

    There was other musical difference i was able to find:  my German copy
of "Babooshka" has about 10 seconds more of the breaking glass effects at the
end of the song than does my Single File version.

Otherwise, i've noticed some of the wind-off groove inscriptions have been
removed, and again the matrix numbers of those sides are changed (at least for
the two that i can check against regular EMI issues:

Breathing:
        A-side matrix numbers and inscription identical.
        B-sides differ:
        original:  EMI 5058 B-3
                inscription:  "Happy Aniversary to the P's"
        Single File:  EMI 5058 B-4

The Dreaming:  both sides have different matrix numbers:
        original:
        A side:  TOWNHOUSE EMI 5296 A-1U-1-1-2
        A side inscription:  "For Rolf"
        B side:  TOWNHOUSE EMI 5296 B-1U-1-3-15
        Single File
        A side:  EMI 5296-A-3-1-1-1
        B side:  EMI 5296-B-3-1-1-1

I didn't detect any musical differences in either of these singles.

The remastered sides of "Army Dreamers" and "The Dreaming" and
"Babooshka" all have the matrix numbers in the same style of lettering,
whereas the original matrix numbers (c.f. side two of "Army Dreamers"
and both sides of "Breathing") are in a smaller lettering (Thus i
suspect the different matrix numbers for the second sides of my two
copies of "Breathing" originate from the original single release rather
than with the Single File).

I would like to ask a few questions, though:

1.  How many copies of the limited edition of the Single File were issued?
The four digit number would seem to indicate less than 10000.

2.  The signature on the inside cover of the booklet (with the inscription
"I hope you enjoy this collection") looks like a printed facsimile.
Is it?

3.  Anybody have any idea if a copy of the Breathing single that is missing a
side 1 label (the one with the many KaTes danging around the spindle hole) is
any kind of rarity?  My copy of this oddity has no picture sleeve.

4.  Anybody else noticed these (or other) musical differences between
Single File versions of songs and original single mixes?  I would expect
that many of the songs were slightly remixed for the singles, so there
might be slight variations from the album versions (and not so slight, as
in the intro to "The Man With the Child In His Eyes").

5.  Is my guess about the differences in lettering indicating remastered
sides correct?  Some expert may know.

___________________________________

[stuff about current singles deleted]

andrew

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Now I put up a question in the air: has anyone verified if all given
singles of the same kind are acoustically the same? Maybe changes like
those two indicated in the above message also happened during repressings?

Bye,

Uli


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