Sotosound
08-27-2017, 08:23 AM
So… back in late May we went for a long weekend break and during that break I went to a local Tesco superstore for some wine and also came back with a couple of 70s CD compilations to brighten up the journey home.
One of these compilations was “Top Of The Pops 1970-1974”.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Top-Pops-1970-1974-Various-Artists/dp/B01H8T7ECC/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1503832124&sr=1-1&keywords=top+of+the+pops+1970-1974
And it was just another compilation until “War” by Edwin Starr didn’t finish with everyone marching to war chanting “War. What is it good for?”
Instead, Edwin shouted “Friend only to the undertaker” and then The Funk Brothers came right back in and played to the fade, with Dennis Coffey playing a fabulous solo over the top of the rhythm.
To my knowledge the last time that this version saw release was on the original UK single release in 1970 [[TMG 754). At that time it was folded to mono, but on this new CD it’s in glorious stereo. It’s actually the standard stereo mix but faded much later.
Having analysed this nearly half a century later [[as one does), it’s my guess that this longer track is what was originally planned for release. All of the vocals and the foot stomping etc. would have been recorded after the basic rhythm tracks and my guess is that the final “War. Huh! Yeah! What is it good for?” didn’t start out with foot stomps. Perhaps there were further vocals envisaged for the originally planned fade.
Guessing further, the foot stomps got added and Norman Whitfield found when mixing the track for single release that having everyone marching off to war was a more effective fade. This gave us the fade that everyone apart from the UK market got on single release, and consequently the stereo mix got the same fade when released on the “War And Peace” album.
Does this sound feasible?
Anyway, for the curious, here are some other items of interest on this triple CD.
US mono single mix of “Tears Of A Clown”. Odd for a UK release.
Mono single mix of “Stoned Love” by The Supremes.
Full-length version of “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything.” by Barry White. Not very common on CD compilations and a very worthwhile inclusion.
Single mix of “Let’s Work Together” by Canned Heat.
Horrible butchered edit of “Maggie May” by Rod Stewart.
Single mix of “Question” by The Moody Blues.
Full-length version of “Down Down” by Status Quo. Never heard this until now.
Full-length version of “Whisky In The Jar” by Thin Lizzy. Nice to hear.
Horrible attempt to create a “single edit” from the full-length version of “Alright Now” by Free. Weird one this, and it also turned up on another compilation bought around the same time.
Stereo mix of “Neanderthal Man” by Hotlegs [[the precursor to 10CC). Not as good as the mono single mix.
The single mix of ”School’s Out” by Alice Cooper. The album mix is what normally surfaces these days.
The single mix of “Seasons In The Sun” by Terry Jacks.
The horrible 1980s or 1990s remix of “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash. Yuk!
Several of the above suggest that whoever compiled this wasn't around in the 1970s and therefore simply worked from paper and didn't know what they were listening to.
I've come across a lot of this lately and it's nice to occassionally hear a proper compilation which, like a recent 60s compilation for instance, follows "Aquarius / Let The Sun Shine In" by Fifth Dimension with "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" by Nina Simone. That compiler really knew their stuff!
One of these compilations was “Top Of The Pops 1970-1974”.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Top-Pops-1970-1974-Various-Artists/dp/B01H8T7ECC/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1503832124&sr=1-1&keywords=top+of+the+pops+1970-1974
And it was just another compilation until “War” by Edwin Starr didn’t finish with everyone marching to war chanting “War. What is it good for?”
Instead, Edwin shouted “Friend only to the undertaker” and then The Funk Brothers came right back in and played to the fade, with Dennis Coffey playing a fabulous solo over the top of the rhythm.
To my knowledge the last time that this version saw release was on the original UK single release in 1970 [[TMG 754). At that time it was folded to mono, but on this new CD it’s in glorious stereo. It’s actually the standard stereo mix but faded much later.
Having analysed this nearly half a century later [[as one does), it’s my guess that this longer track is what was originally planned for release. All of the vocals and the foot stomping etc. would have been recorded after the basic rhythm tracks and my guess is that the final “War. Huh! Yeah! What is it good for?” didn’t start out with foot stomps. Perhaps there were further vocals envisaged for the originally planned fade.
Guessing further, the foot stomps got added and Norman Whitfield found when mixing the track for single release that having everyone marching off to war was a more effective fade. This gave us the fade that everyone apart from the UK market got on single release, and consequently the stereo mix got the same fade when released on the “War And Peace” album.
Does this sound feasible?
Anyway, for the curious, here are some other items of interest on this triple CD.
US mono single mix of “Tears Of A Clown”. Odd for a UK release.
Mono single mix of “Stoned Love” by The Supremes.
Full-length version of “You’re The First, The Last, My Everything.” by Barry White. Not very common on CD compilations and a very worthwhile inclusion.
Single mix of “Let’s Work Together” by Canned Heat.
Horrible butchered edit of “Maggie May” by Rod Stewart.
Single mix of “Question” by The Moody Blues.
Full-length version of “Down Down” by Status Quo. Never heard this until now.
Full-length version of “Whisky In The Jar” by Thin Lizzy. Nice to hear.
Horrible attempt to create a “single edit” from the full-length version of “Alright Now” by Free. Weird one this, and it also turned up on another compilation bought around the same time.
Stereo mix of “Neanderthal Man” by Hotlegs [[the precursor to 10CC). Not as good as the mono single mix.
The single mix of ”School’s Out” by Alice Cooper. The album mix is what normally surfaces these days.
The single mix of “Seasons In The Sun” by Terry Jacks.
The horrible 1980s or 1990s remix of “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash. Yuk!
Several of the above suggest that whoever compiled this wasn't around in the 1970s and therefore simply worked from paper and didn't know what they were listening to.
I've come across a lot of this lately and it's nice to occassionally hear a proper compilation which, like a recent 60s compilation for instance, follows "Aquarius / Let The Sun Shine In" by Fifth Dimension with "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" by Nina Simone. That compiler really knew their stuff!