So, I know there have been threads about this album and the speed errors with mastering, but I want this thread to be the one that once and for all either busts that myth, or proves that some copies were mastered fast. So please, if you're a fan and have contemplated this issue before, read thoroughly and carefully to my manifesto below! I have owned 2 copies of this album, both early pressings (not the 1973 repress, definitely not counterfeits) and neither one of them played fast. There are a couple of songs that play *slightly fast, just a few cents...barely fast at all. As a professional musician and piano player that makes his living playing piano and guitar etc, I've studied these songs from live versions, and I know what key these songs are supposed to sound in. This helps immensely in determining which songs are sped up or not. She's got a way - G You can make me free - F Everybody loves you now - C Why judy why - G Falling of the rain - F Turn Around - G You look so good to me - G Tomorrow is today - C Nocturne - Am Got to begin again - G We all know the story about Billy having a listening party with his friends when he got a copy of the album, and getting mad and chucking it down the street or whatever, because it played so fast that he sounded like a chipmunk. I would like to posit that pressing was a test pressing that was mastered improperly. But that they corrected it before issuing the record commercially. Here's why..... Fast forward to 1983 when the album is remixed. The remixed album starts off with the tracks being SLOWED DOWN almost a 1/2 step. She's got a way sounds in Gb, which is NOT the key that it was written or recorded in. As the album progresses, the speed gets faster, where by the time we get to Nocturne we are at true pitch, and at the end of Got to begin again, it's actually a little fast. BIZARRE! The fact that Billy was young and had a really high voice in the 60s and early 70s is fooling people when listening to the original pressing into thinking it's fast when it's actually not, and then people are comparing it to the '83 remix which actually PLAYS SLOW. I think this is where people are getting that the album was "sped up 8%" or whatever the number is that popularly floats around. I will be happy to admit that there are actually pressings that play fast if someone has a copy that does. One that is an original Family Productions pressing and not a counterfeit. I have a vinyl rip of my copy if anyone wants to hear samples. I had another copy of this years ago that also played at the proper speed, but I upgraded to a better copy and gave that one to a friend. And yes, my turntable is calibrated to play at the correct speed. So, let's talk about this.....pull out your copies and let's form a final consensus on this! Extra points if you are a musician and understand the importance of listening to what keys these songs are supposed to sound in. Here are the matrix numbers for my current copy.... Side A FPS-2700-A-15-1 NEW delta 16700 Side B FPS-2700-B-RE-1-16-1-11 No clue what the numbers are from my previous copy, it's long gone. I know it was a 1971 pressing though, and not a counterfeit.
Mine definately plays fast. I slow mine down to 31.4 rpms. That seems to be an all around speed for all the songs and Billy's voice, although very young and high, seems to do best. Side A FPS - 2700A - 6 - Re delta 16523 Side B FSP - 2700B - 7 - Re delta 16523-x
My reference was the live versions of some of the songs that are found on the deluxe PIANO MAN that included the Sigma Sound Studio recordings . I do not have access to anything at this time to measure actual pitch.
My copy is an original Family Production label and not a bootleg. ( I do have an old bootleg, and that one, too, was same speed--fast !)
I think “Piano Man” album was sped up slightly as well. Elton John’s self-titled 1970 LP is also sped up a bit!
I have the identical pressing. Glad to know it’s not a bootleg. (I wasn’t aware that bootlegs of this album were floating around until I read about it here.)
Can you compare actual track timings? My side 1 is the same as bigmikerocks, except no 1 after 15, it also has the MR in circle and the caret. My side 2 is FPS 2700 B 15 RE MR (in circle) ^ delta 16700-X.
Some further info: Speed corrected per Youtube : Billy Joel - Cold Spring Harbor (1971) [pitch corrected] -this was well received on Hoffman Music Forum Side 1 Side 2 2:49 3:34 5:54 2:28 2:48 5:03 2:54 2:44 2:37 2:56 Label info from legit copy: Side 1 Side 2 2:40 3:20 5:40 2:26 2:40 4:47 3:46 2:37 2:24 2:47 My legit copy, playing at 31.4 rpms Side 1 Side 2 2:50 3:40 5:58 2:32 2:48 4:57 2:55 2:51 2:42 2:59
I know that the track times for the Columbia release were all over the place. Some fast, some correct, and some slow. (Too bad, they blew it when trying to release this !) The YouTube claims to be completely pitch corrected per each individual track. My tracks are all played at 31.4 rpms so that I'm not correcting each individual track. I have been informed in the past that each individual track on the original lp must be individually pitch corrected. But 31.4 rpms seems to do an overall good job.
They didn't just mess with the speed of the Columbia reissue, they also edited some songs and redubbed certain instruments, as I recall. It's an utter mess and an utter disappointment.
A long coda jam from "You Can Make Me Free" was removed, a few songs have different drum tracks, "Tomorrow Was Today" was remixed to be just Billy on vocals/piano while the original also has drums and orchestra.
I found my bootleg copy. These are the matrixes: side 1 FPS 2700 - A - 15 -1 NEW delta 16700 (very last 0 is scratched up a bit) side 2 FP5 2700 - B -RE -1 -16 - 1 - 1 (actually has FP5, not FPS) Labels on both sides are identified as "D.J. Copy" This is a bootleg, and does play just as fast as a legit copy.
In an era when everything is getting another reissue, I'm surprised they never went back and did the Cold Spring Harbor reissue right.
I did a search for previous Cold Spring Harbor threads. Our OP in this thread visited this topic 11 years ago and seemed to have the definitive answer back then. Based on this page, eight of the ten tracks are sharp by 5.3 percent and "She's Got a Way" and "Falling of the Rain" are 7.3 percent sharp, which implies to me -- well, it could imply several things, like the "faster" mastering was intentional on Artie Ripp's part, or that eight of the tracks were done at one studio and the other two at another, or maybe something else. Meanwhile, the Columbia revision was an absolute mess. Two of the songs on that version are the correct pitch -- "Nocturne" is in A minor and "Got to Begin Again" is in G. But seven of the other eight are now too slow, and "Tomorrow Is Today" is still too fast. I have both the Family Productions original (authentic) and the Columbia vinyl reissue, but I've not done the work to see if these posts are correct. I wonder if our OP has new information to indicate that his calculations were off in 2009? Billy Joel - Cold Spring Harbor Questions & Comments
