Was it a letdown when, back in the day, you'd purchase an album based on a single and the version on the album wasn't the same, either a different mix or a different recording altogether ? And you thought it was inferior ? Depending on their surroundings, people mostly had access to albums, and albums are what remained constantly in print, not singles, which had a short lifespan (except in the UK, maybe where there was a big single culture?). In hindsight, it's interesting to have two versions but back then, there were times when you had to get used to that album version. Depeche Mode - Behind the Wheel The Cure - Lullaby Pet Shop Boys - Suburbia ... and countless others are quite different on album and on single. That's why compilations are so important for some artists, in that they gather the single versions, and current reissues usually feature them as bonus tracks. Experiences to share?
It was always fun when the 45 RPM single was different than the album version. It just gave me something different to collect and talk about! Half the time the single was better, half the time the album version was really cool. Manfred Mann, Blinded by the Light...different and terrific for both!
(Not sure, but are you discussing Edited versions of songs also?) After I became familiar with hearing the album version, it was usually disappointing to hear the edited-for-single version; of course this commonly happened in the radio. Unless I really didn't care for the song, it felt unsatisfactory, like you just heard the Evelyn Wood version of the Cliff Notes through Reader's Digest... Songs that come to mind: American Pie - Don McLean Layla - Derek and the Dominos
Yes, I am discussing edited versions too but it's not the same thing. Edited down versions vs a remix or re-recorded version.
Ramones, Bonzo Goes To Bitburg single from 1985, was renamed My Brain Is Hanging Upside Downhad and given a worse remix for the record Animal Boy, with a lot more of those 80’s effects, synthesizers, reverb etc.
Pity anyone who heard Duran's 'The Reflex' (7" version) then bought '7 and the Ragged Tiger'!!! Original (ie. album) version is awful.
I prefer the single versions of my favorite hits from the 60's...after that it was the LP version all the way.
I remember the first time I heard the whole LP version of Aerosmith's "What It Takes", after hearing it on the radio a billion times, being astonished: "OH MY GOD, there's MORE SONG HERE!". But then, as the song was winding down, thinking it dragged on too long. I think overall, its single version was a more effective encapsulation of the idea.
“Let’s Dance” by Bowie is one. Album version not so good. Not a fan of the brass on that longer version.
The single version is often a cut down, with more of an eye to $$$$$$$$ than any artistic values. If you dont like The Doors, its still a crime what they did to Light My Fire.
Two tracks on the a-ha debut, Hunting High and Low - Train of Thought and the title track - were remixed for single release. Likewise, the single of You Are the One (from their third album, Stay On These Roads) was a remix. More frustrating was the fact that the version of The Living Daylights (on the same album) was completely different to the Bond theme version from the previous year. Compared to the single mixes, the Hunting High and Low album versions in particular sound almost unfinished. All four "hit" versions were first collected on the excellent 1991 Headlines and Deadlines compilation, which also deserved brownie points for including the full length album versions of songs that had been edited for single release for airplay purposes: The Sun Always Shines on TV and Manhattan Skyline.
If you want to maintain integrity, do what (Peter Green's) Fleetwood Mac did to Oh Well. A side = part 1. B side = part 2.
Queen - I Want to Break Free The single version has the synth intro and solo. The album version is a let down. Luckily the 2011 remaster deluxe edition has both versions.
Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science The album version did not have the opening that the single had. jerol
A favorite topic: Eddie Money: Two Tickets To Paradise single is a rollicking go, with twin guitar fills. Not sure if it was the album version, but by now the standard version of this song is a different take. Fleetwood Mac’s Say You Love 45 has a bunch more guitar fills. Used to be able to find it on YT. Trust me, it’s cool! Also - Grateful Dead’s Truckin’ single is just bizarre, with Bob’s lead vocal subjected to ADT Grateful Dead - Truckin' on 1970 Mono Warner Brothers 45. Finally, I’ve posted recently, but the single version of Cinnamon Girl by Neil and Crazy Horse is different than the album. I remember hearing this vocal arrangement as a kid: Neil Young & Crazy Horse- Cinnamon Girl (45 RPM mono mix)
Year Of the Cat - disappointed because the album version took forever to get going. I was a bit more impatient back then!
That's an excellent example of nearly a total letdown! I love Memories, but I still struggle to enjoy the Metal Box mix.
I like the album version more than the 7”. Not a stomper like the Nile Rodgers’ mix, but more of an art-pop effort, and a fine album opener. I love the intro, which is completely absent from the single. Happy to have a decent version of the 7” on the unremastered Decade CD, though.
Hammer to Fall is also a single that sits better for me than the album's. I have always disliked Freddie quick outro to leading up the guitar solo. "Baby, now your struggles are in vein." This line feels oddly rushed through as if he forgot it was his turn. The single version is perfectly in place.
I usually prefer the album version, but I remember this exception, being in Canada: McCartney's live Coming up 45rpm was the one that was played constantly on the radio ahead of the album's release. When I finally got album, I was disappointed that the album version was the sped up studio version of the song. Luckily, the album also included the live single on a seperate 45rpm.
