Promo Singles That Differ From the Commercial Release

Can't remember if it was a promo or a stock single. Sold so little that it doesn't mean it can't qualify for promo status - "Down In the Street" - The Stooges. Has "Doors-like" organ thrown onto it for obvious commercial purposes. Sounds dreadful and available on the Rhino-Handmade "Fun House" box.

 

If there are any Grant Lee Buffalo fans out there, the promo CD single for "Bethlehem Steel" from Copperopolis is a completely different mix of the song, shortened for radio but with the guitar and other elements punched up and/or revamped in the mix.

Mark

 

Interesting. That song actually was only available as an edit for the first three years of its existence. Even the LP Sunshine Superman from 1966 features the single version. The full-length version wasn't issued until 1969 on Donovan's Greatest Hits.

Sometimes, single edits are a vast improvement on an overindulgent or repetitive album track. But that's another thread for another time.

There were many promo-only edits of songs that were issued on 45 to the public at full length. Then there were other times that the promo 45 contained the LP version (usually paired with an edit on the other side) when the commercial 45 contained the edit only.

One that comes to mind immediately, which Dick Bartley later put on one of his CDs: "Susan" by the Buckinghams is an improvement in its promo-only edit -- all that hipper-than-thou psychedelic crap was deleted from that version.

 

Talking about different versions - the original issue of the Heart "Magazine" LP on the Canadian Mushroom label (which got out in very limited quantities in Canada) was a different mix than the version that was later released commercially in the US. I used to have a sealed copy of this LP I got I got from a friend at JEM records (anyone remember THEM?) but gave it to a hardcore Heart fan years ago. Anyone remember this mix? Has it ever been issued anywhere else?

 

Sure it was -- it was also briefly available in the United States. It's known to collectors as the "contractural dispute" album because of the disclaimer that appeared on the back cover. "Mushroom Records regrets that a contractual dispute has made it necessary to complete this record without the cooperation or endorsement of the group Heart, who have expressly disclaimed artistic involvement in completing this record."

 

This was also on the released 45, not just the promo---never on CD anywhere.

What about the Stones' 45 version of All Down The Line (B-side of Happy--US only release)? This is a completely different recording, not just a remix, yet I've never seen it mentioned ANYWHERE, it's never been on any compilations or CDs. The reason could be that the label says "from the LP Exile On Main Street", so people think it is the LP version. (I know this doesn't fit the thread title, I just felt like mentioning it).