mary j blige everything

In addition to the promo CD single that Ed has, I also have a 2nd issued promo CD. It's a factory pressed disc, but it doesn't have the standard "MCA5P" catalog number. The disc itself has "7399" on the label, and the matrix has "2574 1".

1. Radio Version (listed & actual 4:00)
2. Remix w/"Everything" Intro (listed & actual 3:21)
3. Remix w/Cold Intro (listed & actual 3:12)
4. Original Remix (listed & actual 3:44)

Loveland wrote: That's a U.K. promo. Tracks 2 and 3 are slightly different re-edits of the Classic Radio Edit, which is the real mix name of track 4.

I'm 99.99% sure the copy I have is a US promo, which is what is indicated on this Discogs listing:   https://www.discogs.com/Mary-J-Bli ge-Everything/release/5800286

My copy comes from jimct's collection, and he would have received it at his former top 40 station.

I can point to a similar disc in my collection that was released only a few months later: https://www.discogs.com/K-Ci-JoJo-All-My-Life-Remixes/releas e/6009613

This remix promo CD has no catalog number, but the matrix on the inner ring of the CD has the exact same font and numbering scheme: a 4-digit number, followed by 1 + +. My K-Ci & JoJo CD came from the radio library of a station out of Indianapolis, and this time MCA had switched to a more descriptive logo that reads "MCA Music Corporation Of America."

I am also of the belief that the R&B remix promo CD-R you point to on Discogs is a US release, too. The front insert looks the same as the dance mix promo, and the remixes are US-commissioned mixes (So-So Def, Rodney Jerkins).

Edited by aaronk

Loveland, with all due respect, I'd rather not agree to disagree and
instead come to a factual conclusion. What you are essentially arguing
is that Pat should not mention these promo edits in the database, since
he does not list UK-only versions.

All I'm asking is that you provide evidence that the promo in question
was sent to UK radio stations in 1997. I was working at a US radio
station in '97 and so was jimct, which is where this copy comes from.
I've seen similar US promos, and I have already pointed to an example
of another US MCA promo that looks like the Mary J Blige disc. The
person who originally created the Discogs listing also indicated it was a
US promo, but you modified that a couple days ago, so it now says
"UK." Before making those kinds of changes, it would be best if you
could back it up with examples or specific data listed on the release. In
this case, the country is not listed on the disc, so all we have to go on is
the fact that copies were definitely sent to US radio stations and the
fact that the 4-digit matrix number, followed by 1 + +, does match other
US promos released around that time period.

Edited by aaronk

I'm not hostile. I'm just saying that evidence to back up your claim is not only appreciated but it's expected. Why? It's the basis of this forum.

Lovland wrote: I never said what Pat should do or shouldn't do.   I didn't bring up that issue.

But that's exactly what you did by bringing it up on this forum. Pat's online database is continually updated with information (run times, promo versions, etc.) provided here on the forum. There are thousands of details in the database that were brought to his attention in one of the 8,000+ threads on the forum. That said, Pat does not include anything in the database that is not a US release, including promo CD versions. This is precisely why I think it's important to get to the bottom of where a promo CD was issued. I also find it fun to discuss!

Loveland wrote: I got my copy in London.

Did you get it at a radio station where you worked, or did you buy it in a shop? Did you acquire it around the time the song came out, or was it much later? These are things that can help provide some proof, since the country is not listed on the disc.

Loveland wrote: It has never been uncommon for U.S. labels to sometimes provide promos from other countries to U.S. radio stations (check out the Climie Fisher thread).

Again, having worked many years in radio, I have to disagree with you. It was quite uncommon for labels to provide US radio stations with promos from other countries. Yes, the record label did send out UK stock (not promo) CD singles for "Love Changes (Everything)," but there is a big difference between 1987 and 1997. CD singles were in their infancy in '87, and very few were being manufactured in the US. Radio stations, however, were starting to use them more often on the air, and I'm sure it was in the label's best interest to provide any CD source they had available for a new release. By 1997, though, CDs were in abundance in the US, and it wasn't uncommon for 3 or 4 different US promo CDs to exist for the same song.

Loveland wrote: In 1997, dance music was pretty much dead in the U.S., and only a handful of radio stations played house music. It would make total sense that rather than press promo CDs for just a few radio stations, MCA U.S. would simply service the U.K. house mixes promo to U.S. radio stations.

Again, I have to disagree. While house music wasn't dominating top 40 airplay in 1997, I have plenty of US promo CD singles dedicated to house remixes and dance edits, all of which were sent to US pop radio stations, of artists ranging from Hanson to Paula Cole to Toni Braxton. Even the small market radio station where I worked that year, in rural Michigan, had a weekend mix show (Hot Mix) that played four hours of nothing but house and dance remixes.

Also, you keep indicating that these are UK house mixes, but the remixes were done by Frankie Knuckles, who is from the US. I've gone through every release I can find from the UK--vinyl and CD--and the Frankie Knuckles remixes don't appear on any of them. It seems that in the UK, the main remixes released were done by Full Crew and Curtis & Moore.

Loveland wrote: I'm sorry, but a catalog number will always trump a matrix number.

OK, fine. Here is yet another MCA promo CD example with discs from my collection:



Both of these Sublime promos were sent to US radio stations in 1997, and the back insert has a Hollywood, CA address for the CD-R duplication service that pressed these for MCA. As you can see, the numbering scheme on these two discs are the same as the Mary J. Blige promos in question. They do not contain the standard MCA5P prefix like most of their discs did. It's quite clear that MCA did, on occasion, use a non-standard numbering for their US promos.

Bottom line: There are tons of errors on Discogs, especially when it comes to listing the country of release.

Loveland, please realize that my only intention in posting all of this is to make sure that the most accurate information gets included in Pat's database, which is 95% of the reason a lot of us are here. I do hope that you will continue to post and share your knowledge with us, and I welcome the opportunity to be proven wrong. Just remember to come equipped with some hard evidence to back up your claim ;)

Edited by aaronk