"I’ll Be There" - Gerry & the Pacemakers
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Category: Top 40 Music On Compact Disc
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URL: https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1817
Printed Date: 13 May 2025 at 9:21am
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Topic: "I’ll Be There" - Gerry & the Pacemakers
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Subject: "I’ll Be There" - Gerry & the Pacemakers
Date Posted: 28 February 2007 at 2:23pm
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Pat:
On the Both Sides Now message board (www.bsnpubs.com), it's been reported the version of Gerry and The Pacemakers' "I'll Be There" that appears on all domestic CD releases is actually the U.K. single version. If this is the case, do you think it would be better to change comments for all of the song's CD appearances in the database to read: (U.K. single version) instead of (alternate take)? |
Replies:
Posted By: TomDiehl1
Date Posted: 01 March 2007 at 1:50am
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Yes, the US market got an alternate vocal take and an edited version of the song, though the backing track remained consistant between the two versions. In that respect it is an alternate version than the US 45 that is on US cds, but it was still released as that version in the UK. ------------- Live in stereo. |
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 29 March 2007 at 8:29am
| According to my research, "I'll Be There" surfaced in the U.S. in 1965 on the Gerry and The Pacemakers LP of the same title. Does anyone have this LP who can verify if the U.S. or U.K. version of "I'll Be There" was featured on it? In other words, did the U.S. version only appear on the American commercial 45 release, or was it on the LP release as well? |
Posted By: Gary Mack
Date Posted: 02 December 2007 at 9:40am
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Bumping....
What are the differences? GM |
Posted By: jimct
Date Posted: 02 December 2007 at 10:43am
| Gary, I will shoot out both 45 and CD dubs of "I'll Be There" to our hard-working Aaron K; I'm certain he will then soon report back, with the answer to your question. |
Posted By: TomDiehl1
Date Posted: 02 December 2007 at 11:16am
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Well, with some editing, you can re-create a small part of the US 45 version from the stereo UK version on cd (the intro to the us version is at the end of the UK version) , but for much of the song it is an entirely different vocal take. ------------- Live in stereo. |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 02 December 2007 at 11:07pm
I just tried that, and the vocals don't sync up at all; however, the ending of the CD (UK) version is sung similar to the beginning of the 45. The version on CD is a completely different vocal take, and the differences aren't subtle. The music does appear to be exactly the same, albeit in mono on the 45. |
TomDiehl1 wrote:Posted By: jimct
Date Posted: 02 December 2007 at 11:25pm
| Thanks, Aaron. You are always here for us when needed, sir! And, for ALL the times Gary Mack has helped us to clear up a 60's/70's song mystery, it's nice for us to finally be able to help him, for a change! |
Posted By: TomDiehl1
Date Posted: 03 December 2007 at 4:23pm
Yeah, that's basically what I meant. I do believe that the end of the UK version is the exact same as the beginning of the US version, but that the rest of the song is a different vocal take (with the exception maybe of one or two lines in a spot or two, but like you said for the most part the two vocal takes do not sync up at all). ------------- Live in stereo. |
Posted By: Gary Mack
Date Posted: 07 December 2007 at 10:43am
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Thanks all, and especially Tom, for your information. Although I've had the US and UK versions for many years, I never paid much attention to I'll Be There.
The US version, at least as it appears on the 1965 Laurie "Greatest Hits" LP, is much shorter than the UK 45 and most of the vocal is a different take. Ah, but there's more! The mono-only US version runs 2:51 and fades out, whereas the stereo UK hit, as it appears on the Steve Hoffman-mastered Razor & Tie "All The Hits" CD, ends cold at 3:13. The music tracks are the same on both, but Marsden's vocal is completely different on the UK until 2:16. From there on out, the US and UK vocals are identical. The Hoffman CD says the US release first appeared on the charts in December 1964, but the UK came three months later in March 1965. Obviously, some changes were made during the intervening weeks. The song was recorded on November 10, 1964, so the US release a few weeks later was rushed. Did someone in the UK decide to combine a different take for the first 2/3 of the song? Perhaps, and a quick listen to the UK version seems to explain that. To me, the first part sounds and feels like an earlier take in which Marsden hadn't quite gained the confidence in the lyrics and their interpretation. The US release is much smoother and self-assured. But if I can hear that, what possessed the UK producers to go with a mediocre performance? A mistake? Damage to the vocal track of the good take? GM |
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 13 April 2008 at 10:03pm
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Good news for anyone interested in acquiring the U.S. 45 version of Gerry and the Pacemakers' "I'll Be There" on CD... According to reports on the Both Sides Now stereo chat message board, the U.S. 45 mix appears on the group's new 4-CD box set You'll Never Walk Alone: The EMI Years 1963-1966 (EMI 5192572), though the track is reported to run longer in length than the actual 45.
As much as I'd love to finally pick up the U.S. 45 version on CD, I'm hoping it will eventually surface on a single disc release so I don't have to spend $45 on an entire box set for one track! |
Posted By: davidclark
Date Posted: 14 April 2008 at 2:36pm
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Todd, tried to PM you but your message box is full. I was the one who made that claim, however I was hoping for a challenge or second opinion. I believe one of the versions on the box to be the U.S. single (only longer), but I'd like someone else to verify. The music bed being the same, sometimes it's difficult to compare a vocal (for a number of reasons). Can I send you an MP3? Note I purchased the song from iTunes to first test the water before shelling out for the whole box. ------------- dc1 |
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 15 April 2008 at 8:16pm
| Yes, David, please feel free to send the tracks my way. I'll take a listen to them and report back. |
Posted By: davidclark
Date Posted: 26 April 2008 at 4:46pm
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Todd,
This completely slipped my mind. To what email address would you like me to send. ------------- dc1 |
Posted By: TomDiehl1
Date Posted: 26 April 2008 at 7:42pm
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I have the mp3 of, and can confirm that the longer mono version on the box set is in fact the U.S. single vocal take throughout, properly edited, except with the UK ending rather than fading out as the U.S. 45 did. ------------- Live in stereo. |
Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 26 April 2008 at 8:49pm
| Disregard... |
Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 26 April 2008 at 9:35pm
| John, this refers to the new 4-CD box set Todd mentioned: You'll Never Walk Alone: The EMI Years 1963-1966 (EMI 5192572) |
Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 26 April 2008 at 9:49pm
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Oops, missed that part. LOL.
Well, if You'll Never Walk Alone: The EMI Years is available on iTunes, I can't find it... :( |
Posted By: TomDiehl1
Date Posted: 27 April 2008 at 2:18am
The only versions of I'll Be There by Gerry & The Pacemakers on iTunes are re-recordings. However, I went ahead and sent you a dub of the track from the set. ------------- Live in stereo. |
Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 27 April 2008 at 6:22am
| Tom, in return, I'll send you a copy from the "A's, B's and EP's" for your evaluation... it is mono, but the ending is wrong at about 2:45 and seems faster than the 45 dub I had. |
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 27 April 2008 at 9:03pm
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David:
If you click the "profile" button under any of my posts, you'll see a link to my e-mail address. (I'm declining to print it here to avoid detection from spammers who scour websites using sophisticated software programs to collect e-mail addresses.) I'll also send you a direct e-mail request for the mp3s. Thanks! |
Posted By: davidclark
Date Posted: 28 April 2008 at 4:08am
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iTunes offers different material in difference countries. In the Canadian store, the "You'll Never Walk Alone (The EMI Years)" box set is there. ------------- dc1 |
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 04 May 2008 at 11:22pm
| Well, thanks to my friend, David, I was able to compare his U.S. vinyl 45 copy of "I'll Be There" to the version found on the CD box set and I'm sorry to report that the box set version does not fully match the vinyl 45. Everything is the same up through the 1:56 mark when the strings come in during the instrumental bridge on both the 45 and CD. However, at the 2:00 point the strings stop playing on the CD, while the strings keep playing for nearly :04 longer on the 45! Otherwise, everything else about the two versions appear to be identical, other than the CD running about :23 longer in length. So unfortunately, the search for the true U.S. 45 version of "I'll Be There" on CD continues. :-( |
Posted By: TomDiehl1
Date Posted: 05 May 2008 at 1:36am
Good catch!! I never would've been able to catch that one (and me, being younger than most or all on here, should be the one with the sharpest ears?). However on another small note, about 20 seconds into the song when Gerry sings "i'll be there when all your dreams are broken" the "i'll be there" portion of that line is a different vocal take between this new box set version (which i guess should now be listed as a 3rd version of the song), and the original Laurie 45 version. By the way, the version on the new box set does match the version from the A's. B's. And EP's set that John Gallagher sent me....except with some big speed differences. The worst part about this is they ALMOST got it right...and maybe they think no one will notice... but now, we really want the hit version on cd. Maybe it would have to take a label like ERIC records to put out the proper version..... ------------- Live in stereo. |
Posted By: smvceo
Date Posted: 05 May 2008 at 9:27am
| Allow me to input after much research on this song, that the best source of the U.S. 45 version of "I'll Be There" is the Laurie album of the same title (Laurie LLP 2030). Original Laurie 45s are distorted to hell, which is not the case with the LP, which offers the same version. If anyone needs a nice, clean copy of this, mailto:smvceo@skylinemastering.com - email me and I'll gladly send it to you. |
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 06 May 2008 at 6:09pm
Sonofagun, you're right about the different vocal at the :17 mark! However, I only notice the vocal difference during the word "I'll", which comes in one beat quicker on the 45 than on the CD. To me, the volume also sounds noticeably louder before and after this inserted edit. So it looks like your sharp young ears aren't letting you down after all, Tom. Now this begs the question... Why on earth would the record label go through the trouble of splicing one re-recorded word in the above mentioned spot??? |
Posted By: TomDiehl1
Date Posted: 17 October 2018 at 6:28pm
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Revisiting this one... the very first line between the 45
and the box set versions of the song are in fact sung differently... someone somewhere did a lot of editing to this recording to come up with the various versions of the song that are around... good lord, I thought it was going to be easy... ------------- Live in stereo. |
Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 18 December 2018 at 4:21pm
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Pat,
You may want to update the database for this song to indicate the actual 45 time is (2:51). And the last entry "British Pop Vol 4" I guess should note "45 version but :19 longer" MM |
Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 18 January 2019 at 9:41pm
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Hmmm, we may need one more minor update on this one. I got
the (2:51) 45 time from earlier in this thread. But I have in hand what appears to be an original pressing and it runs (2:49) .. .as does a Youtube post of the 45. My deadwax info is: RK4M - 5661 - - 1B (machine stamped) Does anyone have one that really does run (2:51)? MM |
Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 23 January 2019 at 9:30pm
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Wow, this topic got buried fast! The board has been
hoppin'! I just accidentally answered my own question. The 45 really does run (2:51) .. I didn't realize that to hear it you have to crank the volume way up as the last 2 seconds are very very faint. MM |
Posted By: C J Brown
Date Posted: 24 January 2019 at 6:54pm
| All my dubs from various CDs are all 3:15 or 3:16 including one CDR from a collector who said it was a dub of the US 45. It looks like I need to keep looking. I wish Eric could tackle this one. |
Posted By: Tom Daly
Date Posted: 05 March 2019 at 8:45pm
| Let me put this to rest for once and for all. The Laurie single is overmodulated, (albeit pressed by RCA) making it useless. The same take is on the I'LL BE THERE Laurie album, but is not overmodulated. Here's a link to a dub of the LP up on my cloud. https://www.dropbox.com/s/0gfikmjb9duel5s/Gerry%20%26%20The%20Pacemakers%20-%20I%27ll%20Be%20There%20%5BU.S.%2045%20version%5D.mp3?dl=0 - Gerry & The Pacemakers - I'll Be There [Laurie 3279, 45 rpm, 1964, mono - |
Posted By: C J Brown
Date Posted: 06 March 2019 at 6:49pm
| Thanks for that. Sounds OK to me. Good to hear correct version. |
Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 08 March 2019 at 6:53pm
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Just FYI, sometime in April we'll be announcing a new Hit Parade CD which will feature this song in its correct U.S. 45 version, and in stereo. And this is not "DES" stereo we are known for, it is mixed from the 4-track.
The best source for the original mono is still the Laurie LP Tom mentions above. MM |
Posted By: C J Brown
Date Posted: 10 March 2019 at 6:47pm
| I will get in line. Thanks Mark |
Posted By: Santi Paradoa
Date Posted: 05 April 2019 at 7:26pm
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The info on the upcoming CD release with the correct U.S. 45 version of this song is now posted http://www.top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9069&PN=1 - here . The entire disc is stereo including this track. ------------- Santi Paradoa Miami, Florida |