Neil Diamond-"Do It"

Has the original hit version of "Do It" ever appeared anywhere on CD? The song's lone U.S. CD appearance is a remix, according to the database.

Has a stereo LP version ever existed for Neil Diamond's "Do It"?

edtop40 wrote: the symbols ARE there on the cd version...although more buried in the mix because of the mono delivery

The only elements that have any degree of stereo separation at all on the Classics The Early Years CD track are the reinforced bass drum and the hi-hat cymbal*... which isn't surprising, since both of those, as well as the extra drumming and percussion, were all added as part of the 1970 extended remix of the original (shorter) 1966 mono recording. I disagree about the hi-hat being "more buried in the mix because of the mono delivery," because it's actually the other way around: the hi-hat isn't buried at all on the 1970 mono Bang 580 45 (it's very prominent there, in fact.) Where it is quite buried is on the Classics TEY CD track, at an extremely low level and in the right channel only. So even in stereo, the hi-hat is barely audible. Call the CD track a remix, an alternate mix or whatever, but IMO the hi-hat prominence (or lack thereof) makes the two mixes distinct from one another. The added percussion and drum flourishes are pretty close in level in either mix, but the hi-hat is definitely not.

Speaking of the Bang 580 45: I have both a Specialty-pressed vinyl DJ copy (deadwax: "W10197 - RE" "10-13-70"   Specialty Records logo) and a styrene Columbia Terre Haute stock copy (deadwax: machine-stamped "W 10197 - 1B" "TIII") and there's a marked difference in how they sound. The Columbia stock has a big bottom and even bigger top end EQ boost compared to the Specialty DJ "RE" pressing, so the added hi-hat, amped-up bass drum and the extra drumming and percussion really stand out... especially when compared to the bare-bones original 1966 B-side release on Bang 519.

I hadn't previously commented on the stereo mix from the 1970 vinyl Do It LP because I've never owned a copy. The local Drake-Chenault Hit Parade station played the revamped "Do It" in stereo at the time, and IIRC, it had the added drum flourishes and the hi-hats both mixed prominently in opposing channels. At least that's how I remembered hearing it 43 years ago. If anybody has that LP and can set me straight one way or another, that'd be great.

UPDATE: It didn't occur to me at the time to check there, but according to the "Neil Diamond on Bang Records" website, there are bongos overdubbed onto both the Do It vinyl LP track and the Bang 580 45, but these bongos do not appear on the Classics TEY CD track. That site also notes that the Do It vinyl LP track does not feature the repeated second verse extension, unlike the Bang 580 45 and the Classics TEY CD track.

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* = There is one other thing that stands out in stereo on the Classics The Early Years CD track: the diagonal tape splice at the 1:39 mark, where the song was extended from the shorter 1966 recording.   

Edited by Yah Shure

Thanks for providing that extended version of the Do It stereo vinyl LP track, David. It sounds very much as I remembered it, other than the extension. The fadeout does end a bit sooner than the 45s I referenced in my prior post (by about 1.63 seconds, compared to the Columbia-pressed 45.)

It also plays at a significantly faster speed. Comparing the very end of its fadeout to the same point on my Columbia-pressed 45, it runs 2.93 seconds faster, which make the differences in pitch very apparent. In contrast, my Specialty-pressed DJ 45 runs only 0.728 seconds faster than the Columbia-pressed stock 45 (and both of these 45s fade out at the same point of the song, itself.)

The stereo vinyl LP track is actually closer in speed to the original 1966 Bang 519 B-side (of "Solitary Man.") At the point where the edit occurs to extend the song's original 1:50 length, the Bang 519 45 is running 2.71 seconds ahead of the slower Columbia-pressed Bang 580 45. It seems the 1970 extension wasn't the only way Bang made the track longer. :)

Aside from the length and speed differences, the hair extensions and whatnot, the Bang 580 45 does sound like it's folded down from the 1970 Do It stereo LP mix, just as the Neil Diamond on Bang Records website indicated.

Thanks again, David!


Edited by Yah Shure