"Tuff Enuff" - Fabulous Thunderbirds - Top 40 Music on CD Forum

The actual commercial 45 run time of Fabulous Thunderbird's "Tuff Enuff" is 3:19. (Thanks to abagon for providing the timing info. The printed record label time is 3:21.) I only post this because database CDs containing this song run 3:17-3:22.

The mastering history for "Tuff Enuff" is pretty straightforward.

The first CD to include the song was the full-length Fabulous Thunderbirds CD Tuff Enuff (1986). It runs 3:22 here, and sounds quite nice. Excellent dynamic range, reasonable EQ, and a nice, hissy fade with no hint of noise reduction. I approve. The same analog transfer is used on:

Sandstone's Rock The First Vol. 2 (1992)
Rhino's VH1 More Of The Big 80's (1997; differently-EQ'd digital clone) - In 1996-7, Rhino released a handful of one-off, two-CD, and three-CD sets that used (mostly) digital clones of earlier CDs, including Hang The DJ, Mellow Rock Hits, Poptopia, and these VH1 discs.
Sony's Hits Of 1986 (1999)
Rhino's Millennium New Blues Party (2000)
Rhino's 7-CD Like Omigod (2002; too loud and clips a lot - avoid)
Sony's 3-CD Rockin' 80s (2004; too loud and clips a lot - avoid)

Of the above CDs, the Rhinos and Rockin' 80s run a second or two shorter than the others, by hastening the long fade. Rock The First Vol. 2 sounds extremely close to Tuff Enuff, if you don't have Tuff Enuff.

I found only one other analog transfer, on Realm's Gold And Platinum Vol. 3 (1987). It, too, has an excellent dynamic range, reasonable EQ, and no hint of noise reduction. But compared to Tuff Enuff, it runs 0.7% slower, it has a noisier background, and it has a noticeable hum on the fade that isn't on Tuff. Not good. The same analog transfer is used on:

Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 17 The Mid-'80s Take Two (1996; differently-EQ'd digital clone)
Time-Life's Guitar Rock Vol. 24 The '80s Take Two (1996; digitally exactly 0.517 dB quieter than Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 17 The Mid-'80s Take Two)
Madacy's Rock On 1986 Mad About You (1998; digitally exactly 1 dB louder than Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 17 The Mid-'80s Take Two)

My recommendation: Columbia's full-length Fabulous Thunderbirds CD Tuff Enuff (1986), but Sandstone's Rock The First Vol. 2 (1992) will run a close second if you'd rather have the song on a compilation.

Edited by crapfromthepast

There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.

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Todd Ireland Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 16 October 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 23	Post Options Post Reply Quote Todd Ireland Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: "Tuff Enuff" - Fabulous Thunderbirds Posted: 06 September 2008 at 8:25pm
	The actual commercial 45 run time of Fabulous Thunderbird's "Tuff Enuff" is 3:19. (Thanks to abagon for providing the timing info. The printed record label time is 3:21.) I only post this because database CDs containing this song run 3:17-3:22.

NightAire Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 20 February 2010 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote NightAire Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 August 2015 at 9:38pm
	It only made it to #65 on the Billboard Hot 100, but went to #3 on the Mainstream Rock Charts and appeared in the Tom Cruise flick, "Cocktail"... "Powerful Stuff" runs 4:48 on the Fabulous Thunderbirds LP and Cocktail soundtrack, but the single version is labeled "edit" and runs only 4:07. Does anybody know if this single version is just an early fade, or if it IS an edit, can you tell me what to remove to make the LP version the single length?
	Gene Savage http://www.BlackLightRadio.com http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage Tulsa, Oklahoma USA

crapfromthepast Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 14 September 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 40	Post Options Post Reply Quote crapfromthepast Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12 October 2016 at 8:40pm
	The mastering history for "Tuff Enuff" is pretty straightforward. The first CD to include the song was the full-length Fabulous Thunderbirds CD Tuff Enuff (1986). It runs 3:22 here, and sounds quite nice. Excellent dynamic range, reasonable EQ, and a nice, hissy fade with no hint of noise reduction. I approve. The same analog transfer is used on: Sandstone's Rock The First Vol. 2 (1992) Rhino's VH1 More Of The Big 80's (1997; differently-EQ'd digital clone) - In 1996-7, Rhino released a handful of one-off, two-CD, and three-CD sets that used (mostly) digital clones of earlier CDs, including Hang The DJ, Mellow Rock Hits, Poptopia, and these VH1 discs. Sony's Hits Of 1986 (1999) Rhino's Millennium New Blues Party (2000) Rhino's 7-CD Like Omigod (2002; too loud and clips a lot - avoid) Sony's 3-CD Rockin' 80s (2004; too loud and clips a lot - avoid) Of the above CDs, the Rhinos and Rockin' 80s run a second or two shorter than the others, by hastening the long fade. Rock The First Vol. 2 sounds extremely close to Tuff Enuff, if you don't have Tuff Enuff. I found only one other analog transfer, on Realm's Gold And Platinum Vol. 3 (1987). It, too, has an excellent dynamic range, reasonable EQ, and no hint of noise reduction. But compared to Tuff Enuff, it runs 0.7% slower, it has a noisier background, and it has a noticeable hum on the fade that isn't on Tuff. Not good. The same analog transfer is used on: Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 17 The Mid-'80s Take Two (1996; differently-EQ'd digital clone) Time-Life's Guitar Rock Vol. 24 The '80s Take Two (1996; digitally exactly 0.517 dB quieter than Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 17 The Mid-'80s Take Two) Madacy's Rock On 1986 Mad About You (1998; digitally exactly 1 dB louder than Sounds Of The Eighties Vol. 17 The Mid-'80s Take Two) My recommendation: Columbia's full-length Fabulous Thunderbirds CD Tuff Enuff (1986), but Sandstone's Rock The First Vol. 2 (1992) will run a close second if you'd rather have the song on a compilation. Edited by crapfromthepast
	There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.