https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:13:42 +0000 Sat, 20 Jan 2024 17:02:34 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.07 360 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=2645 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum//images/Top-40-Music-on-CD-Forum-Logo.png https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/ https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=64289&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#64289 Author: Todd Ireland
Subject: 2645
Posted: 20 January 2024 at 5:02pm

The database currently states that DJ 45 copies of ABBA's "Take a Chance on Me" run 3:30 and 3:25 and that commercial copies all run 4:01, not 4:05 as stated on the record label. I can also confirm that the song's actual vinyl LP run time is 3:55, not 4:05 as stated on the label. This might help explain why "Take a Chance on Me" runs closer to this shorter length on several CDs.]]> Sat, 20 Jan 2024 17:02:34 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=64289&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#64289 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=29961&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#29961 Author: aaronk
Subject: 2645
Posted: 25 April 2011 at 7:08am

Brian W. wrote: ...it fades out to nothing but hiss, then the song quickly ends. Which means that an early fade during the CD's mastering can't account for its shorter length.

This is possible evidence of a shorter 45, but there are a couple other possibilities. 1) The person responsible for providing a copy to Rhino could have faded the song early while dubbing it onto another tape, and 2) albums during that time period were (correct me if I'm wrong) mastered to another tape with all of the songs in sequence, so it wouldn't be uncommon to hear tape hiss between tracks.

Actually, I would love to learn more information about how tapes were dubbed and mastered during that era. There is one thing that doesn't make logical sense in this case. Why would Atlantic bother to make another copy of the single master just to fade it :05 early? It would make more sense that the earlier fadeout was done in real-time while creating the master stamper for the 45, in which case a master tape with a 3:58 version wouldn't exist.

Edited by aaronk]]> Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:08:42 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=29961&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#29961 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=29959&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#29959 Author: Brian W.
Subject: 2645
Posted: 25 April 2011 at 12:56am

jimct wrote: Way back in his initial post, my friend Ed states that his 45 has a listed time of (4:05), but an actual time of (3:58). However, my commercial 45, which also has a listed time of (4:05), instead features an actual run time of (4:01). FYI, my 45's deadwax is "ST-A 34598-1".

I don't own a 45 of this, but I will note that the 3:58 version on Billboard Top Hits 1978 has a complete fadeout -- in other words, it fades out to nothing but hiss, then the song quickly ends. Which means that an early fade during the CD's mastering can't account for its shorter length. So there may indeed be two different 45 pressings with slightly different run times.

FYI, the final line of the fadeout on that 3:58 version on the Billboard 1978 CD is "gotta put me."

Wanna do my very best
Baby can't you see
Gotta put me--

End of music. One second of tape hiss. End of track.

Edited by Brian W.]]> Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:56:23 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=29959&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#29959 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=22944&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#22944 Author: KentT
Subject: 2645
Posted: 16 July 2009 at 2:33pm

The Swedish Polar Promo 45 has the LP version on one side and the Swedish language version on the other. Both Stereo. Less compressed and better sounding than the US LP. Norway also issued this Promo version as well. ]]> Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:33:24 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=22944&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#22944 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=22563&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#22563 Author: Yah Shure
Subject: 2645
Posted: 09 June 2009 at 3:04pm

A friend has just asked me a question about "Take A Chance On Me," which led me to listen to the 3:25 white label test pressing for the first time since 1978. (My station began playing the track immediately from The Album. When the test pressing was issued, every jock on the staff felt that the edit didn't cut it, so to speak, so we stuck with the LP track until the 3:30 DJ 45 was issued a short time later.)

In comparing the test pressing's stereo side with the stereo side of the official 3:30 DJ 45, I noticed that for the remainder of the song following the a capella intro, Benny and Bjorn's vocals are nearly mixed out. The word "chance" brings them a bit forward each time it comes up, but otherwise they're pretty much lost in the woods. By comparison, the official DJ 45 has them featured much more prominently throughout the latter part of the tune.

That discovery was interesting in itself, but Benny and Bjorn's more-distant vocals on the test pressing were the opposite of what my friend said he once heard:

Later in its run, one FM station started playing a mix where the boys' chant was enhanced, panned both left and right, out of synch just enough that they were as clear as the girls, which is not the case on the album mix.

I'm not familiar with any such mix. Does this description ring a bell with anyone?

]]> Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:04:44 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=22563&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#22563 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=15699&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#15699 Author: jimct
Subject: 2645
Posted: 27 April 2008 at 10:27am

Way back in his initial post, my friend Ed states that his 45 has a listed time of (4:05), but an actual time of (3:58). However, my commercial 45, which also has a listed time of (4:05), instead features an actual run time of (4:01). FYI, my 45's deadwax is "ST-A 34598-1". ]]> Sun, 27 Apr 2008 10:27:17 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=15699&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#15699 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=13175&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#13175 Author: AndrewChouffi
Subject: 2645
Posted: 30 November 2007 at 8:00pm

Yeah Bill's edit is amazing!

My guess as to why the American record company(Atlantic) needed to do those edits was the promotion department thought radio programmers wouldn't cotton to those spoken passages (they are somewhat distracting to the overall confection of the record), and it was hard back then to get an overseas record company to remix a single sometimes.

With Abba's current iconic status, it's easy to forget that EVERY American single was somewhat of a challenge to get on the air (and work up the charts). They were never "automatics".

I would love to find out if indeed that edit was made by an Atlantic employee, or perhaps it WAS also released promotionally overseas.

Andy

]]> Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:00:07 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=13175&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#13175 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=13174&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#13174 Author: eriejwg
Subject: 2645
Posted: 30 November 2007 at 7:47pm

Bill:

The way you described it makes perfect sense. I had replaced the two "Take A Chance On Me"'s, and the first half of the swirling. It was the double drumbeats that hald me up. Once you mentioned they came from earlier in the song, it made sense. Usually, when editing, we look forward not backwards in a song.

Actually, YOUR edit was much smoother than even the original promo 45.

Can anyone answer why the record company needed to do those edits in the first place?]]> Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:47:51 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=13174&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#13174 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=13172&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#13172 Author: BillCahill
Subject: 2645
Posted: 30 November 2007 at 7:01pm

I sent a couple of you guys an MP3 that I edited from CD.

Did that edit sound right and if so, do you need more help with the edit points?

I know how it was done and where all the parts are. It's just hard to describe clearly.

The way they got rid of the talking was to take the second "Take a Chance On Me" in each case (which had no talking) and replaced the first.

The second instance is harder to re-create because when they extended the swirly sound for a half second or so they didn't edit on beat points like most edits. Only after I noticed how the strings stayed on through that section did I realize that they took a half second of audio and repeated it. But they did it in a very odd way and it took me some time to find the exact piece.    

Bill]]> Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:01:53 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=13172&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#13172 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=13080&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#13080 Author: AndrewChouffi
Subject: 2645
Posted: 28 November 2007 at 1:46pm

Jim just sent me a digital recreation of the 3:25 promo that was done a few years back by an unnamed source.

It is impeccable.

I still can't figure out how the editor created the double-shot of the snare (as opposed to the snare-shot then tom-shot) in two of the places.

Andy]]> Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:46:38 +0000 https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2645&PID=13080&title=abba-take-a-chance-on-me#13080