Chi-Lites "Oh Girl"

If there is a 3rd commercial pressing of this 45, it would be one that mimics Bill Cahill's dj copy i.e. one that states a running time of (2:59) but actually runs (3:16). My guess is that Bill's pressing was strictly dj only but let's put out a shout to see if anyone has a commercial copy of Oh Girl that states a running time of (2:59) but actually runs (3:16).

I just compared my vinyl 45 which runs (3:12) with the Rhino cd "The Incredible Soul Collection" and they are identical.

I'm curious who has an early pressing and who has a later
pressing of the 45. If the edits were on the initial
pressings and not on later pressings or vice versa.

With the benefit of hindsight, I'd say that the best thing ever to happen to a recording act's catalog is to have a greatest hits disc on Rhino, released in the 1988-1995 time frame. Bill Inglot mastered so many stellar packages, all from low-generation source tapes, with terrific dynamic range, no extra compression/limiting, no noise reduction, and reasonable EQ. I'm a fan.

Which brings us to the Chi-Lites' 1972 hit, "Oh Girl". Start with Rhino's Greatest Hits (1992), and we'll take it from there.

LP and long 45 length (3:47)

The first CD I know of that features the full LP version is Rhino's Greatest Hits (1992), where it runs 3:47. It sounds stellar here, with all of the nice Rhino characteristics that I listed above. On the opening downbeat, the guitar strum is on the left, and the bass note is on the right. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Rhino's cheapie Seventies Smash Hits Vol. 6 (1993) - digitally identical
• JCI's Only Rock 'N Roll 1975-1979 (1994)
• Rhino's Billboard Hot Soul Hits 1972 (1995) - digitally identical

All of these discs sound great.

There's a new analog transfer on Brunswick's 2-CD The Brunswick Years Vol. 1 (1995), which runs 3:45, and runs about about 1.4% faster than the Rhino Greatest Hits. I was really disappointed with the sound on this disc, despite mastering credit to Dennis Drake. There's a severe left/right channel imbalance, and a dropout around 0:53. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Time-Life's Body And Soul Vol. 1 Love Serenade (1998) - digitally exactly 1 dB quieter

Short 45 length (3:12)

The short 45 version is just an early fade of the LP version, fading from the downbeat at 2:58, for 16 beats, to 3:12. The 45 is in stereo. I assume that the left/right channels match what's on Greatest Hits, and that the 45 speed matches what's on Greatest Hits, but can't confirm either one.

I see that this length is on a few of the later Rhino compilations (all 3:11), but I don't have any and can't vouch for the sound.

In my library, I use a homemade fade of Rhino's Greatest Hits (1992), following the instructions above.

Now, we sort out the hodgepodge of masterings that are out there. All of the following are early fades of the LP version (i.e. no edits).

The oldest CD I have with "Oh Girl" is Time-Life's Sounds Of The Seventies Vol. 3 1972 (1989), which runs 3:27. Here, it runs about 1.4% faster than the Rhino Greatest Hits CD. It sounds a little murkier than that disc, as if it were from higher-generation source tapes. It fades from about 3:08 to 3:27. The left/right channels match the Rhino Greatest Hits CD. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Heartland/Warner Special Products' 2-CD Always (1990) - differently-EQ'd digital clone
• Time-Life's 4-CD Great Love Songs Of The 70's And 80's Vol. 3 Missing You (1991) - digitally identical
• Razor & Tie's 2-CD Sweet '70s Soul (1991) - L/R channels reversed, and somehow extends a few seconds longer
• Starland/Warner Special Products' 2-CD 40 Summer Fun Hits (1993)
• Time-Life's 2-CD Body Talk (1994) - digitally exactly 0.1 dB quieter

There's a different analog transfer on Rhino's Billboard Top R&B Hits 1972 (1990), which runs 3:28. This disc sounds much better than the Time-Life disc, and is comparable to the Rhino Greatest Hits disc. Here, it runs at the same speed as the Rhino disc, and fades from 3:13 to 3:28. The same analog transfer is used on:

• Time-Life's Superhits Vol. 11 1972 (1991) - left/right channels are reversed, as are all the tracks on this CD
• Time-Life's AM Gold Vol. 7 1972 (1991) - left/right channels are reversed; this is the same disc as Superhits, but with different packaging
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul Vol. 7 1972 (1996) - absolute polarity inverted, which is insignificant and doesn't affect sound quality
• Time-Life's Solid Gold Soul #1 Love Songs Of The '70s (2000) - digitally exactly 0.42 dB quieter than Solid Gold Soul Vol. 7 1972

There's a new analog transfer on Rhino's Didn't It Blow Your Mind Vol. 7 (1991), which runs 3:17. Sound quality is comparable to Greatest Hits, but it runs about 0.3% faster (insignificant, but noticeable in a side-by-side comparison). The fade is from 3:08 to 3:17.

It appears from posts upstream in this thread that there's a pressing of the 45 out there that includes some edits. I don't have this version. Not sure what's on the promo 45, either.

My recommendations

For the LP and long 45 length, go with Rhino's Greatest Hits (1992) or one of its digital clones.

For the short 45 length, apply a fade from the downbeat at 2:58, for 16 beats, to 3:12, of either Rhino's Greatest Hits (1992) or Rhino's Billboard Top R&B Hits 1972 (1990), or any of their digital clones.

There is an indication above that there were a number of different pressings of this 45 (some of which have slight edits) which I do not have so it is impossible for me to make a clarifying statement as to what those (3:26) length entries really are.