Hard To Find 45s On CD, Vol . 18

Hard To Find 45s On CD, Vol . 18: 70s Essentials

Coming in October from Eric Records:

1. Venus – Shocking Blue (DES Stereo)
2. Fox On The Run – Sweet
3. Hocus Pocus – Focus
4. The Boys Are Back In Town – Thin Lizzy (correct 45 edit)
5. Tubular Bells – Mike Oldfield (correct 45 edit)
6. My Melody Of Love – Bobby Vinton (rare on CD)
7. Paloma Blanca – George Baker Selection (rare on CD)
8. The Night Chicago Died – Paper Lace
9. Tired Of Toein’ The Line – Rocky Burnette
10. Gypsy Woman – Brian Hyland (DES Stereo)
11. Good Morning Starshine – Oliver
12. Words – F.R. David
13. I’ve Never Been To Me – Charlene
14. Sometimes When We Touch – Dan Hill
15. Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast – Wayne Newton (rare on CD)
16. Daisy A Day – Jud Strunk (rare on CD)
17. Feels So Good – Chuck Mangione
18. Eighteen With A Bullet – Pete Wingfield
19. She’s A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked) – Carl Carlton
20. Born To Be Alive – Patrick Hernandez
21. Music – John Miles (U.S. CD debut)

You can pre-order as well as hear sound samples at http://www.ericrecords.com. Street release date is October 27, but order direct now for early delivery.

Edited by Santi Paradoa

And, the Carl Carlton song is from 1981. I can simply
omit the Charlene track.

Mark can confirm, but IIRC, he told me it has the spoken word part. I wish the non-spoken bridge would appear on one CD, and this would have been the opportunity, but I'm sure there was pressure to use the more common version heard on the radio.

Well, I dug through the tracks in Vol. 18. The good news: everything sounds great, pretty much flawless on every track on the disc. I was hoping to trace out some nice mastering history, but it's not as cut-and-dry as on previous volumes. I found only one digital clone. All track have great dynamic range, nice EQ (some are almost boomy compared to older discs), and no trace of noise reduction anywhere. Here are my notes:

VENUS - Shocking Blue (1969)
Holy smoke! This sounds impossibly fantastic in DES stereo! Even folded down to mono, this sounds far better than any other CD version out there.

FOX ON THE RUN - Sweet (1975)
EQ a little boomy. The EQ on this song never quite sounds right, much like Dead Or Alive's "You Spin Me Round".

HOCUS POCUS - Focus (1973)
likely uses the same analog transfer as Rhino's Have A Nice Day Vol. 23

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN - Thin Lizzy (1976)
True 45 edit. Rock on!

TUBULAR BELLS - Mike Oldfield (1974)
True 45 edit. Sounds significantly better than the version I have from Qobuz (no background hum, etc.)

MY MELODY OF LOVE - Bobby Vinton (1974)
sounds better than earlier masterings; lower-generation source tape?

PALOMA BLANCA - George Baker Selection (1975)
likely uses the same analog transfer as Varese's Lost 45s Of The '70s And '80s Vol. 2

THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED - Paper Lace (1974)
likely uses the same analog transfer as Rhino's Have A Nice Day Vol. 13 but with L/R channels reversed (was the Rhino disc in error?)

TIRED OF TOEIN' THE LINE - Rocky Burnette (1980)
sound quality comparable to Rhino's Radio Daze Vol. 3, faded to 45 length; other CDs are all over the map with sound quality

GYPSY WOMAN - Brian Hyland (1970)
DES stereo. All the other versions I have are in mono.

GOOD MORNING STARSHINE - Oliver (1969)
sounds a wee bit better than JCI's Mellow Sixties

WORDS - F.R. David (1983)
extends longer than other CDs

I'VE NEVER BEEN TO ME - Charlene (1982)
much fuller EQ than earlier discs

SOMETIMES WHEN WE TOUCH - Dan Hill (1977)
likely uses the same analog transfer as Rhino's Have A Nice Day Vol. 21

DADDY DON'T YOU WALK SO FAST - Wayne Newton (1972)
from vinyl (I think), but better transfer than Rhino's Have A Nice Day Vol. 16, and fade extends longer

DAISY A DAY - Jud Strunk (1973)
likely uses the same analog transfer as Rhino's Have A Nice Day Vol. 11

FEELS SO GOOD - Chuck Mangione (1978)
likely uses the same analog transfer as Rhino's Have A Nice Day Vol. 24, but sped up by 1.4% and faded early

EIGHTEEN WITH A BULLET - Pete Wingfield (1975)
likely uses the same analog transfer as Rhino's Have A Nice Day Vol. 15 but with L/R channels swapped and intro fixed

SHE'S A BAD MAMA JAMA (SHE'S BUILT SHE'S STACKED) - Carl Carlton (1981)
differently-EQ digital clone of Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 29 Make It Funky (2001)

BORN TO BE ALIVE - Patrick Hernandez (1979)
sound quality comparable to Rhino's Billboard Top Dance Hits 1979 (1992)

MUSIC - John Miles (1976)
I don't have anything else to compare this with. Quite a rare track indeed.

Edited by crapfromthepast

I think the vocals are a little too low on "Venus". That is the only complaint I have so far for all the DES tracks on this disc and all earlier Eric DES efforts. I really enjoy the hard and tedious work this group has done