Originally Posted by
smallworld
I've taken some time to compare the 3:56 and 6:19 versions of "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning". The 3:56 is not simply edited down from the 6:19. There are vocal parts that are quite different, not to mention some different mix choices.
The first thing that jumped out on me is that Thelma's opening line on the 12"/Rainbow version is truncated slightly. Compare the opening "W" of "We're fooled by first impressions" in the 12" version [[circa 0:41) to the 3:56 version [[circa 0:27).
This rough 'n' ready approach to vocal editing continues on the 12" version. At 1:27 on the 3:56 version, the lyric is as follows: "Yeah, baby / Make me feel so happy / When I'm lying here beside you". On the 12" version, the remixer made an abrupt cut after "Yeah" [[circa 1:41), discarding the "baby" entirely. It's a bizarre choice as this doesn't give way to a proper instrumental break. The next lyric [["Make me feel so happy") comes in quite soon after, so we're just left with a messy edit with no payoff.
The other really abrupt vocal edit happens at the "Shine, shining / Shine, shining" section of the 12", at the lyric "Oo-wee baby, sh-" [[the "sh-" is what's left of the word "shine"), which gives way to an instrumental break. What's most notable here is that the "Shine, shining" section is very stripped back in terms of mix [[3:04 onwards). This section is not similarly stripped on the 3:56 version [[listen circa 2:50), with strings and backing vocals present.
The long instrumental break of the 12" introduces an extra percussive element at 3:56 that remains for the rest of the track. I can't hear this element on the Ready to Roll version. If it's there, it's certainly not mixed up front like the 12", so again, we're talking noticeable mix differences here.
On the 12" version, Thelma comes back in at 5:04 with the lyric "Saturday Night / IS shining". The comparable part on the 3:56 version begins at 3:16 with "Saturday Night / Keeps on shining". Thelma's ad libs sound quite different between the two versions for the remainder of the song. Most noticeably, on the fade of the 3:56 version, Thelma goes higher on the lyric "Sunday Morning face, baby!" [[circa. 3:48). She sounds like Gladys Knight here. This ad lib is not present on the 12" version.
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