Little Richard - Good Golly Miss Molly

It's not dry... e.g. at "house of blue light" + chorus vocal around 0:40, there's definitely reverb in these YouTube clips:

(US 78)
(US 45)
(UK 45)

... I assume you mean there's a lot more obvious reverb on the LP?

Edited by mjb50

Just some mastering info.

Of the CDs I have, I found four different analog transfers for the 1958 hit version of "Good Golly Miss Molly", which is in mono. (Stereo and fake stereo versions on CD are non-hit rerecordings.)

The first is on Rhino's Little Richard collection 18 Greatest Hits (1985). Sounds is OK, but not terrific. This collection likely didn't use the lowest-generation tape sources out there. Plus, I hear a little bit of stereo reverb on the vocals (it shows up in a null test; my ears aren't that good). The same analog transfer is used on:

• Ace UK's Radio Gold Vol. 1 (1992)
• Rhino's 4-CD Loud Fast And Out Of Control (1999)

The second is on the RE-1 pressing (there is no known original pressing that lacks the "RE-1" in the matrix number) of Time-Life's Rock 'N' Roll Era Vol. 5 1958 (1987). Sounds is bad, due to very high-generation tape source. The left/right balance is a little off, too. The same analog transfer is used on:

• JCI's Party Time Fifties (1988)
• Warner Special Products' 2-CD Bop (1989)

The third is on the RE-2 reissue of Time-Life's Rock 'N' Roll Era Vol. 5 1958 (1992). Sound quality is infinitely better than the RE-1 version of this disc, and slightly better than the Rhino disc. Here, it's true mono, seemingly from really low-generation source tapes. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Time-Life's Rhythm And Blues Vol. 16 1958 (1992)
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 22 1958 (1992)
• Razor & Tie's 2-CD Heroes Of Rock And Roll (1995)
• Time-Life's 2-CD Rock And Roll The Legendary Years 1957-1959 (2004)

The fourth is on Varese's Totally Oldies Vol. 3 Then (2002). Sound is comparable to the RE-1 version of the Time-Life disc, but a little more compressed/limited. Not good.

There's also a dreadful rerecording on Motown's Compact Command Performances 15 Greatest Hits (1986), which also has terrible sound. Avoid Little Richard on Motown.

My recommendation

Seek out Time-Life's Rock 'N' Roll Era Vol. 5 1958 RE-2 reissue (1992).

Ringmaster_D wrote: The vocal on this song is dry on the 45. Watch out for versions with added reverb, such as on The Georgia Peach LP.

Does the label on your copy state "From the Specialty LP,
"Little Richard's Grooviest 17 Original Hits"? If so,
then you have a later pressing, since this album was not
issued until 1968.

Discogs incorrectly lists this pressing as being from
1958. (It in fact cannot be from earlier than 1968):
https://www.discogs.com/release/14342328-Little-Richard-
Good-Golly-Miss-Molly-Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey

mjb50 wrote: It's not dry... e.g. at "house of blue light" + chorus vocal around 0:40, there's definitely reverb in these YouTube clips: (US 78) (US 45) (UK 45) ... I assume you mean there's a lot more obvious reverb on the LP?

Yes, I should have said "fairly dry." There is indeed
some reverb in there, but nothing like the cavernous verb
on some sources. For the record, I'm using the MFSL re-
release of Here's Little Richard as my go to source.