Stray Cats - Rock This Town

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   The album version and the 45 edit are both in mono.  Neato, and a nice throwback to the '50s songs that inspired "Rock This Town".

The 45 edit appeared on:Rhino's Rock This Town Rockabilly Hits Vol. 2 (1991 - sounds very nice here) 
EMI's Living In Oblivion Vol. 3 (1994; sounds better on Rhino CDs)
Time-Life's Sounds OF The Eighties Vol. 26 Rolling Stone 1982-1983 (1995; uses same analog transfer as Rock This Town)
Rhino's Millennium New Wave Party (1999; uses same analog transfer as Rock This Town)
Rhino's 7-CD Like Omigod (2002)
The LP version is very easy to find on CD, but sounds quality varies tremendously from disc-to-disc.  There was a high-generation tape source used for Warner Special Products' 2-CD Mystic Music Presents Good Times (1991).  The same analog transfer is used on:Sandstone's Reelin' In The Years Vol. 1 (1991 - I think; not 100% sure)
Razor & Tie's 2-CD Totally '80s (1993)
Time-Life's Guitar Rock Vol. 13 The Early '80s (1994; digitally exactly 0.9 dB louder than Totally '80s)
Warner Special Products' 2-CD Rock Box (1994; L/R channels off by one sample, which screws up the soundstage - avoid)
JCI's Only Dance 1980-1984 (1995)
Madacy's Rock On 1982 (1996)
Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Essential '80s (1998; digitally exactly 0.9 dB louder than Totally '80s)
Universal's Pure '80s (1999; different EQ and added compression to Only Dance)
All of the above sound OK, except where noted.  I would guess that EMI's Best Of - Rock This Town would sound better, although I don't have this disc.  I would also guess that the following discs use the same analog transfer:Priority's Eighties Greatest Rock Hits Vol. 4 Party On (1992; too loud and clips a lot - avoid)
Simitar's Number Ones The '80s (1998)
EMI's Ten Best Series (1998)
Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 5 Dance (1999; differently EQ'd digital clone of 10 Best Series)
The LP version sounds terrible on Arista Germany's Stray Cats.  If you want to create the 45 edit, remove the portion from 2:05.6 to 2:51.4 of the LP version, from snare hit to snare hit (timings from 10 Best Series, which sounds the best to my ears).  The edit is on the snare after the word "town" and before the word "rock".

Edited by crapfromthepast

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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: 162	Post Options Post Reply Quote crapfromthepast Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Stray Cats - Rock This Town Posted: 12 October 2013 at 7:09pm
	The album version and the 45 edit are both in mono. Neato, and a nice throwback to the '50s songs that inspired "Rock This Town". The 45 edit appeared on: Rhino's Rock This Town Rockabilly Hits Vol. 2 (1991 - sounds very nice here) EMI's Living In Oblivion Vol. 3 (1994; sounds better on Rhino CDs) Time-Life's Sounds OF The Eighties Vol. 26 Rolling Stone 1982-1983 (1995; uses same analog transfer as Rock This Town) Rhino's Millennium New Wave Party (1999; uses same analog transfer as Rock This Town) Rhino's 7-CD Like Omigod (2002) The LP version is very easy to find on CD, but sounds quality varies tremendously from disc-to-disc. There was a high-generation tape source used for Warner Special Products' 2-CD Mystic Music Presents Good Times (1991). The same analog transfer is used on: Sandstone's Reelin' In The Years Vol. 1 (1991 - I think; not 100% sure) Razor & Tie's 2-CD Totally '80s (1993) Time-Life's Guitar Rock Vol. 13 The Early '80s (1994; digitally exactly 0.9 dB louder than Totally '80s) Warner Special Products' 2-CD Rock Box (1994; L/R channels off by one sample, which screws up the soundstage - avoid) JCI's Only Dance 1980-1984 (1995) Madacy's Rock On 1982 (1996) Time-Life's Sounds Of The Eighties Essential '80s (1998; digitally exactly 0.9 dB louder than Totally '80s) Universal's Pure '80s (1999; different EQ and added compression to Only Dance) All of the above sound OK, except where noted. I would guess that EMI's Best Of - Rock This Town would sound better, although I don't have this disc. I would also guess that the following discs use the same analog transfer: Priority's Eighties Greatest Rock Hits Vol. 4 Party On (1992; too loud and clips a lot - avoid) Simitar's Number Ones The '80s (1998) EMI's Ten Best Series (1998) Time-Life's 2-CD Modern Rock Vol. 5 Dance (1999; differently EQ'd digital clone of 10 Best Series) The LP version sounds terrible on Arista Germany's Stray Cats. If you want to create the 45 edit, remove the portion from 2:05.6 to 2:51.4 of the LP version, from snare hit to snare hit (timings from 10 Best Series, which sounds the best to my ears). The edit is on the snare after the word "town" and before the word "rock". Edited by crapfromthepast
	There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.

VWestlife Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 02 April 2020 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7	Post Options Post Reply Quote VWestlife Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 May 2021 at 8:34pm
	My CD copies of both the album version and 45 edit have audible tape splices at 0:09 and 0:14, as well as a faint echo of someone singing off-mic at 0:10. The 45 edit at 2:05 also sounds like it was done with a razor blade, although it's not as obvious as the ones during the intro.

PopArchivist Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 30 June 2018 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 68	Post Options Post Reply Quote PopArchivist Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 17 May 2024 at 6:13pm
	I always found it weird that the label of the 45 says 3:24 when the 45 version clearly runs 2:38. Ron is right, both the 45 and LP are in mono. Not sure stereo would sound right for this particular song...
	Favorite two expressions to live by on this board: "You can't download vinyl" and "Not everything is available on CD."