"Did You See Her Eyes" - The Illusion

I notice in Joel Whitburn's The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits publication (7th edition), there's a notation for The Illusion's "Did You See Her Eyes" indicating that "a slightly different version was issued on Steed 712 in 1969".

Can anyone elaborate on the difference(s) between the two versions? And which one currently appears on the lone database CD?

Todd, I just did a little bit of on-line research for ya. Steed 712 was an
edit of an earlier, late 1968 take of the song. Steed owner Jeff Barry
thought the song had hit potential, but hated the way the Steed 712 edit
came out. Although both stock and promo copies do exist (and I now have
a promo 45 coming), Barry stopped all promotion for the Steed 712 45,
resolving to "start from scratch" with it soon. He did. Both a different take
of the song, and a different edit was done. Steed 718, the Top 40 hit
version of the song, was then released.

Also, a poster on the Steve Hoffman board has commented that, although
it's close, the Dick Bartley db CD is *not* an exact match of the Steed 718
45 edit. If anyone owns both sources of audio, and can confirm/deny this,
that would be great. Otherwise, I will get everything out to Aaron, as soon
as I can.

Edited by jimct

While the hit Steed 718 45 has been out of circulation in that format for years, the earlier Steed 712 version has been available since 1991 on the Collectables 3730 reissue 45 (backed with the LP version of Fever Tree's "San Francisco Girls".) I bought a copy for my jukebox and was hugely disappointed in the non-hit Illusion side of the record, and ended up using a used Steed 718 copy in its place.

Did the "ahhh-yah-yah-yaahh-yaahh" break on Steed 718 provide the inspiration for Crowbar's 1971 Canadian hit, "Oh What A Feeling"?

As for the flip: if you're used to the sped-up Uni 45 version of "San Francisco Girls," the album version sounds verrry slowwww.

Edited by Yah Shure

I agree with Jon: I don't hear any elements on either mix that are unique to one or the other.

That's not to say they're identical, which becomes apparent during the bridge. The two sync up in speed very closely up until that point, but once the "aah-yah-yah-yah-yah" refrain kicks in, either the mono 45 runs slower or the Bartley mix runs faster. But as soon as that segment ends and the final verse is edited in, they're both back to being nearly in sync and remain that way through the end of the song. Mind you, no one in their right mind would ever notice the difference.

Oh, right... I forgot which board this was. ;)

The beginning of the Steed 718 dedicated mono mix reminds me of the intro on the mono 45 mix of the Yardbirds' "Little Games", vs. its stereo LP counterpart. As each new instrument is introduced during the intro, the previously highlighted one is pushed further into the background. On the Steed 718 mono single, the opening guitar strums are quickly potted up, then remain at the same level until the first drum hit (which happens to be the highest peak level on the entire 45) at which point the guitar is dropped back a bit. The second and third drum beats are brought down compared to the first, then both the guitar and drums take a dive in level as the bass and high-hat kick in and drive the rest of the run-up to the vocal.

On the stereo Bartley mix, those same instruments during the intro all remain at the same levels. There's no knob twiddling going on here.

I should add that my stock Steed 718 45 is a Monarch styrene pressing, deadwax ST-1035-RE-1 and delta number 76597.

Todd Ireland wrote: For instance, is the "ahh-yah-yah-yaahh-yaahh" break only on the hit 45 version (Steed 718)?

Right, that's one sure way to tell them apart. Here's a much earlier giveaway, during the opening seconds of the intro:

Steed 712 non-hit version:

* Four guitar strums
* (rest)
* Five guitar strums
* (rest)
* Four guitar strums, with an added hi-hat, beginning on the first of the four strums
* Five guitar strums with hi-hat
* Bass guitar kicks in on the first of the next four guitar strums.

Steed 718 hit version:

* Four guitar strums
* (rest)
* Five guitar strums, with the first wallop of a drumbeat coming in between the 4th and 5th strums
* Four guitar strums, with continued drumming. Hi-hat and a heavy bass begin on the first of these strums
* Five guitar strums, drumming, bass and hi-hat.

The difference is pronounced enough between the two versions that the Steed 712 sounds like an early demo compared to the more fully-realized Steed 718 production. Here's a link to the latter hit version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8MDiPbGGXk

(Can't say that I'm a fan of how that YouTube poster handles 45s. Fingerprints, anyone?)


Edited by Yah Shure