"Hey, Western Union Man" - Jerry Butler

Thanks to Jim for relaying to me that his commercial 45 copy of Jerry Butler's "Hey, Western Union Man" is in mono and has an actual run time of 2:38 (printed time on label: 2:37). I'm posting this info because the song's database CD entries range from 2:35-2:44.

Ed, I have "Hey, Western Union Man" on both the Rhino Best Of and the 2-CD Iceman: The Mercury Years sets. The double downbeat is actually present on both of these, but there are two good explanations as to why it doesn't sound like it's there.

First, there's a length difference in the initial downbeat. It runs 0.076 second on the mono 45, but only 0.047 on both of the above-mentioned CDs. With the clipped-off beginning on the CDs, it's just a hair over half as long as it is on the 45.

The second factor is the mix differences. That initial downbeat on the 45 is a piano note. On the stereo mix, the piano is almost entirely in the right channel, buried in the mix somewhat. If you fold the two channels down to mono, the piano gets pushed way to the back of the overall mix, well behind the strings and drums. On top of that, the volume level of the initial downbeat on the CDs is lower than it is on the 45. If you really crank it, you can hear that it's there (or half there, as it were.) And because the piano is more buried in the mix, that downbeat doesn't sound like a distinct instrument.

That same piano on the 45 is mixed right up front with the drums, while the pushed-back strings serve up more of a sweetening effect. If you isolate the initial downbeat on the 45, it's very apparent that it is a piano note.

I paste mixed the initial downbeat from the 45 into the right channel of the stereo CD mix, which produced a workable solution. Just keep in mind that it won't sound as loud as it does on the mono 45, since the piano will be almost entirely in the right channel. I'll send you a dub.

yah shure was kind enough to alter his cd version with the
double downbeat and it matches perfectly......his file runs
a little longer at 2:43 versus the 45 fade at
2:38.....you'll need to fade the 2:43 version for 0:08 from
2:30 to 2:38 to have it match properly....THANKS, yah
shure!!