Billy Joel Cold Spring Harbor speed error mythbusting thread

Actually, none. If you can, get an lp, preferably an original (although a bootleg would most likely suffice) , and adjust turntable to slow it down. Otherwise get it off of YouTube at correctly pitched speed. There is NO definitive edtion on cd at this time. Too bad because Billy Joel hates this album and could care less to see justice done for us fans
-bottom line.

 

Right. The only legitimate CD issue is the badly done Columbia reissue.

 

I lucked into a near mint original (not a counterfeit) years ago and the speed has never bothered me. I agree that has been over exaggerated and the reissue/remix is definitely too slow on many songs. THAT is the version that bothers me.

Shame that Billy doesn’t rate it as I think it’s one of his strongest collections of songs.

 

OH MY GOD I totally forgot about this!! Ok so that makes 3 copies I’ve had of this.

This copy was in bad shape but was still a revelation to hear the original mix. So my 2nd copy I got a couple years later played at the correct speed as does my current copy.

I wonder if only the very first pressings played fast and then they fixed it....

 

There was only one pressing: The first one. Two variants, one with promo labels, and one with stock labels.

No one bought it, barely anyone heard it, and it went out of print pretty quickly. They all run fast.

I have the 8-track somewhere, as well, and it also runs fast.

The album was heavily (HEAVILY) counterfeited in the wake of Joel's success with The Stranger, and it's possible some of those were speed corrected (but they suck otherwise).

 

Mine isn’t a counterfeit and it plays at the correct speed, as did my previous non-counterfeit copy

There were different pressings, there are a few different matrix etchings

 

I also have the 45s of she’s got a way and tomorrow is today and they also play at correct speed

 

There are two different delta numbers, which implies a change of some sort.

 

Also it was repressed in 1973
Billy Joel - Cold Spring Harbor

 

Here’s something funny. Go to 7:50 in this video and the guy is talking about the speed problem on CSH sitting next to a turntable playing the album at.....wait for it......the correct speed!!!



This is a cool segment if you’ve never seen it. Had never seen any footage of Artie Ripp. Man he seems sleazy!!

 

Artie Ripp was a long time player in the music biz, he went back to the Brill Building era.

 

Yah, his backstory is very fascinating. You couldn't come up with a better talking head of a sleazy record biz type than the one up in that video I posted!

 

I just got a 1973 pressing of this which, like my last two earlier pressings, plays at correct speed.

 

where did you hear this? Is it known who has them?

 

That's not the correct speed.

 

Definitely still sped up there. Even if his voice was a little lighter in tone then, the key of the song isn't right (it's pitched higher here by a budge).
Billy didn't start lowering keys until late 90s or 2000s so live versions of the CSH material from the 70s-80s tend to be a decent judge of what the correct keys of the songs should be.

Billy Joel - She's Got A Way (HQ with lyrics)

 

We had an interesting discussion in 2015:
Billy Joel's "Cold Spring Harbor" — fan restoration

From that thread, I obtained a raw vinyl rip by former forum member Jamie Tate and a "restored" version by Michael Sutter which applied click repair, eq and pitch correction. The details of that restoration are in that post:
Billy Joel's "Cold Spring Harbor" — fan restoration

The YouTube links are Long gone, but the main result was that the raw vinal rip was sharp, but the 1983 CD remix was a bit flat so Michael Sutter's restoration placed the pitch between the two. Here are 30 seconds long samples from She's Got A Way for comparison:
Cold Spring Harbor (Vinly Jamie Tate Rip) - 01 - She's Got A Way - 30 seconds.flac (4.37MB) - SendSpace.com
Cold Spring Harbor (Vinyl Rip Speed-Corrected) - 01 - She's Got A Way - 30 seconds.flac (4.24MB) - SendSpace.com
Cold Spring Harbor (Columbia 46869 2) - 01 - She's Got A Way - 30 Seconds.flac (2.08MB) - SendSpace.com

 

Sorry, can't recall the details. But I think it was on this forum and that Columbia has the tapes. They located them after they already released their own remaster with the edits and overdubs. Unfortunately, Billy hates this album and doesn't seem to care that his fans would like justice done with an appropriate remaster. Sorry that I can't produce evidence to back all this up at this time. So, yes, consider this as one forms opinions.

 

Still leary of an ORIGINAL pressed at correct speed. Never heard one.

 

I’m still after an original of the album myself (out here on Long Island, you’d think one would show up eventually!)

I once found one several years ago that was a pretty bad looking fake. So I passed on that obviously. A few months ago I passed up on one that was... indeterminate. I really couldn’t tell. If it was a fake it was a good looking fake, and I kinda wish I bought it anyway. But I wasn’t 100% convinced of its authenticity.


I think we need to bust some myths on this front too. How can there be several matrix/label variations on an album that by all accounts didn’t sell and went absolutely nowhere?

 

The same guy who says he has one also said it was playing at the right speed in that video clip with the manager. So the answer is... no...

 

I agree that it was NOT playing at the correct speed in that video clip.

 

Just barrrrrely sharp. The copies that run fast, run FAST. The amount that is running fast is almost negligible

 

You also said that it was not running fast in that video segment. And it is DEFINITELY running quite fast in that video segment.

 

I’m listening to one right now (1973 press) and have another 1970 press that does. I also have both 45s from this album and they play at correct speed