45 Corner - An all-vinyl lunch hour: Radio Station Promo 45s, special single edits and more!
Today we'll hear a bunch of familiar songs that were specially edited and mixed to sound compelling on the radio back in the day. Time to crank the turntables!
Riders On The Storm - The Doors (a different mix and 2 minutes shorter than the album/CD versions)
I Love You - People (1968 - Capitol created a version :90 seconds shorter - and a whole lot punchier - than the 4 minute single version. Here it is: the Radio DJ 45.)
Another Cruel Love - Marshall Tucker Band (1973 - released as a single, this is a different take and a shorter version of the LP track. Didn't chart, though)
Ramblin' Man - Allman Brothers Band (the 45 version was sped up just a little for radio/jukebox play. Not available on CD!)
Rikki Don't Lose That Number - Steely Dan (their first hit. The 45 was shorter and a little bit faster than the LP versions)
Chestnut Mare - The Byrds (a bizarre LP track clocking in at 5+ minutes was chopped down to 2:54 for airplay. Butchered, too!)
Rose Of Cimarron - Poco (1976 - clocking in at 6+ minutes with lush strings, this is the stripped-down 4-minute 45 version. Much better!)
Space Oddity - David Bowie (his first single. DJ copies had a 5:05 and a 3:49. Here's the short version.)
Roundabout - Yes (1972 - how to take a 7+ LP track and get AM radio play: edit it down to 3:27!)
What Is Hip? - Tower Of Power (1973 - one of the hottest tunes from one of hottest bands, tastefully edited down to 3:22 without missing a beat)
Substitute - The Who (1966 - here's a case where they had to re-record an entire song so that it could be released in the US at the height of racial unrest. The line "I look all white but my dad is black" got changed to "I try walking forward but my feet walk back." This is the Atco release. It stalled at #106.)
Light My Fire - The Doors (1967 - one of the greatest editing jobs in musical history, taking a rambling 7-minute album track and creating a sizzling 2:52 masterpiece. The mono 45 was slightly sped up and exists nowhere on CD)
The Only Living Boy In New York - Simon & Garfunkel (1971 - the "Cecilia" b-side was a dedicated mono mix and sounds so much better than any and all LP/CD versions. The entire S&G singles catalog is one that collectors have been waiting for since the Sixties, but the prospects are dim. Enjoy it here and now....)
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