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Who?
Retired sound engineer who loves music from the 60's & early 70's.

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My aim is to make rare stuff publicly available again with the best possible sound quality.

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Saturday, April 2, 2016

Simon & Garfunkel - Complete Singles Collection (1965-70) The Mono/Stereo 45 Mixes





















 

A Prof. Stoned/Q. collaboration!
CD Quality (16bit/44.1kHz)
High Resolution (24bit/96kHz)
Info
pass: profstoned

69 comments:

  1. thank you so much

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  2. Sweet! Thanks for the upgrade, Prof! :)

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  3. What are the differences between this edition and previous editions?

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  4. I see only 7 tracks marked as LP sourced, not 13.

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  5. >What are the differences between this edition and previous editions?

    New sources ECP, Mrs. R & Old F. + artwork.

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  6. 13 tracks from LP, 13 from single.

    >New sources ECP, Mrs. R & Old F. + artwork.
    Plus Why Don't You Write Me. :)

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  7. Great work you did with Jae/Q., prof. I basically already have most of this compilation (from your various LP rips, plus that old BOTW 45 collection from 2013), but I downloaded this just for the Mrs. Robinson 45 mix.

    Speaking of which, looking over the notes, I notice lots of it seems to have been taken from Jae's old post on his blog, right down to the "El Condor Pasa" description. Not that I have any problem with this, but I'm a little disappointed you didn't go into detail for the other 45 mixes that do differ from the LPs (that includes all 6 mono 45s from the BOTW LP). No mention of the sped-up/reverb'd "Hazy Shade of Winter", or lack of ADT on "Only Living Boy in NY", or even how "Mrs. Robinson" is completely dry w/ no reverb and has a piano overdub on the fadeout?

    The lack of a † mark on "I Am A Rock" is also confusing, since I thought you took that one from a 2nd pressing of Sounds of Silence? Or did you rerip it from an original 45 this time around?

    Minor quibbles aside, this is a great collection, and it makes me wonder why Sony hasn't gotten onto this yet. I really hope that rumor of tapes missing/gone isn't true at all... but on the upside, we've got this set and various mono LP rips to enjoy, so that's good for us!

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  8. Hahaha! I knew this comment was coming...

    Yes, IAAR is the same as on my SOS rip. But since there are two different mono LP versions of this song, of which only one matches the single, I did not ask Q to change it.

    As for the lack of linernotes by yours truly, well, I consider this a project by Q. Also, I usually write my notes when I'm fresh off the project, while I did my research for this one years ago.

    Anyway, your reviews and notes are always appreciated, and if you feel like writing a bit more about these 45 mixes, you are most welcome.

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  9. Well, you can't blame a Simon & Garfunkel fan for trying :p And thanks for confirming the 45 version of I Am A Rock really was taken from the 2nd mono pressing (so same as before).

    If you insist, I'd be happy to write more about the 45-only mixes. Note this won't be in-depth, and unfortunately quite a bit of my notes were in the comments of Jae's old post, but nevertheless I'll do my best:

    - I Am A Rock: already discussed before, but other than the rerecorded intro, the 45 mix is the same as with the 1st mono LP press (and the 2nd mono press COMPLETELY matches the 45 including the new intro!)

    - A Hazy Shade of Winter: as stated already, sped-up w/extra reverb (supposedly also some extra horn notes, but I haven't checked in detail yet)

    - Mrs. Robinson: NO reverb at all compared to the stereo and MONO mixes (easy place to hear this would be the guitar feedback @3:38) but the major difference here is the presence of a piano overdub on the fadeout that is absent on both LP mixes (On a side note, the B-side is the same as the mono LP mix, but it has brighter and IMO better mastering than the LP; the the strings and chimes seem to REALLY sparkle here!)

    - The Boxer: from around 1:45 when it starts, the theremin(?) solo is pretty dry, while the LP mix adds some reverb there (Note: this one took me a while to find a difference, given the length and little variation in mixing there is, so if I do find any more, I'll keep you posted.)

    - Baby Driver: the absence of the tape speeding at the end

    - Bridge Over Troubled Water: really not much difference I could find, except it seems the backing is mixed up more on the 45 vs. the LP

    - Keep The Customer Satisfied: the LP version is sped-up a bit, and see above regarding the instrumental backing

    - Cecilia: slightly shorter than the LP version due to an edit (2:40 vs. 2:55) and also sped-up; vocals don't have reverb on the 45 and some background voices left in the intro after the maracas come in that were mixed out on the LP; conversely, in the 2nd verse after Paul sings "When I come back to dance someone's taken my place" there's two whistles mixed out on the 45 (Sidenote: judging from all these differences, it's really clear Paul was aiming for this to be a hit; luckily this time he succeeded!)

    - Only Living Boy In New York: 45 is sped-up, drier sound overall, as well as the lack of ADT on Paul's voice, replaced by a slight touch of reverb (similar to Punky's Dilemma on the mono vs. the stereo); there's also some mixing differences such as an organ note mixed out on the 45 @1:48

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  10. In The Boxer, the solo was played by a pedal steel and a piccolo trumpet in unison.
    I believe, but I'm not certain, that this is the same mix as the stereo, due to the very difficult mixing work on the track, like the use of two synchronized 8-track recorders, lots of on-the-fly tracks, mainly acoustic guitars, etc.
    Maybe Halee just beefed-up the mono mix with reverb and compression.

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  11. John, that was actually my suspicion, which is why I focused on that first. But I don't believe this was derived from the stereo mix, and is probably a separate mix by itself. The lack of reverb on the solo gives it away.

    Is there possibly a previous stereo stage tape w/no reverb the mono was derived from? Maybe, but it certainly can't be derived from the stereo LP mix as is.

    And regarding the 2 8-track sync-up and on-the-fly tracks, I am well aware of that story, but if it really was so difficult to mix, then why does the quad mix actually manage to match the stereo closely in sound?

    "Maybe Halee just beefed-up the mono mix with reverb"

    You've got it the wrong way around, it's the stereo mix that has the reverb on the solo. BTW, thanks for telling me what instruments exactly were playing on that solo.

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  12. I actually thought IAAR _was_ transferred from single! Not sure why I thought that. :/

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  13. RE: The Boxer. Remember, this was recorded nearly a year before the other material on the LP, and released 11 months before the LP. PS.

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  14. Thank you so much for this upgrade. I've loved this set, even before the first revision.

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  15. I just finished listening to it in full. Definitely an upgrade. Thanks again.
    I do have one question: I was wondering why you removed the former track 27, the mono version of El Condor Pasa? Did you decide it no longer fit in here for some reason, quality control, or some other reason entirely? Thanks.

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  16. I'm also guessing it has something to do with the fact that it's not a dedicated mix and is a fold-down of the stereo.

    BTW, good point on "The Boxer", prof. I had forgotten that it was recorded & released nearly a year before the album itself was released (I suppose the same would apply to its B-side "Baby Driver", of course).

    (And in case some are insistent on having "My Little Town" on here: just grab it off The Essential Simon & Garfunkel comp (or the 1999 Best of Simon & Garfunkel)! Sounds great there!)

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  17. Or the Old Friends box set. I think that is the best sounding "My Little Town" for me. Anyway, it's not hard to find, and I doubt there was ever a mono for that song, unless there was a promo fold-down at some point.

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  18. ...then there is the 1972 America/For Emily single...

    Re "El Condor Pasa", I took it off at the Prof's request, but I still think it's necessary to have. As per my earlier notes:

    "It's worth pointing out that the stereo single version of "El Condor Pasa", as featured here, is mastered differently to both the stereo version on the "Bridge Over Troubled Water" LP and (apart from the obvious channel separation) the mono version on the promo single (not included here). On the LP, the track starts quietly and remains at low volume until the beginning of the first verse, where it fades up to full volume by the end of the first line. Both the mono and stereo single versions start at full volume. The fade-in appears to be an attempt to mask the hum and background noise inherent in the original recording (it appears that the Los Incas instrumental was sourced from vinyl), which is audible in both single versions where presumably sound quality was not of paramount concern. The fade-outs of all three are different too. The mono single version does not fade at the end. Both the LP and stereo single versions start fading about 10 seconds from the end, however, the LP fade-out is more gradual and ends at a lower volume than the stereo single, again, presumably to mask the hum/background noise."

    So the mono is not merely a fold down, but a different mastering.

    Anyway, it's included on my copy. :)

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  19. How do I download these files? All I can pull up are text files and I'd love to hear this stuff all the commenters are referring to! phredross1@yahoo.com

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  20. Copy one of the lines in these txt files and paste them in the address bar (this is where you see: http://profstoned.blogspot.nl/2016/04/simon-garfunkel-complete-singles right now).

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  21. Hello Jaenes Q:

    Is it possible to reveal where can one might find a copy of your collection for the "El Condor Pasa" mono promo 45 mix? Thanks to both of you for this amazing compilation!

    Best regards,
    John Mahan

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  22. Hope it doesn't sound disingenuous because it's so easy to write but this really is a brilliant effort. Then again all the work on this blog is! Thank you Prof and Q, for all you do :-)

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  23. Thank you very much Prof, wonderful work!

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  24. Wow, amazing. Thank you.

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  25. Enjoying the notes on here as well as the fine music :) Just wondering what the difference between the 45 and LP versions of "Why Don't You Write Me" is? I see you took it from vinyl, so I presume there is one!

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  26. Maybe you should ask Q, he was very vocal about including it. I trust his judgment. :)

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  27. Yeah so uh... this is jaw-dropping stuff. Makes me tear up, wow. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  28. Can't thank you enough for making this and others available in such top quality. The sound is nothing short of stunning - even downscaled to 320 mp3 for my commute to work today.
    A real groovey thing goin'.
    Many thanks
    Sam, London

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  29. A hearty thanks for these. I help run a non-profit, low-power oldies station in Dayton, and we strive to play the original single mixes of every song in rotation. This helps tremendously in the Simon & Garfunkel dept.

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  30. ...then there is the 1972 America/For Emily single...

    I realise you want to keep this to CD playing length, but in the future maybe you can include the alternate versions as extras..

    It's a great set..Thanks!

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  31. Thanks for the S & G singles ,happened across your blog yesterday & there is some great music here ,many thanks J.

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  32. Best collection of a CD of singles by the band I've heard.

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  33. Seen this one out there: https://www.judemacforever.com/blog/the-columbia-singles-1966-1970-2018-simon-garfunkel

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  34. Hi, I'm Brand New Here.
    Thanks for all your hard work restoring all these classic albums! Greatly appreciated!!

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  35. Simply amazing! This is what Columbia Records should've done.

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  36. About someone did this! Great job you did here. Thanks so much. You have a new “follower” now 

    Btw does someone know whether Paul Simon’s solo rendition of “I Am A Rock” on UK-CBS 201797 plays the so-called “alternate version” on the CD reissue of his Song Book-LP? Apparently the LP version is different so maybe that alternate version is just the single version.

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  37. Should read "about time". Sorry.

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  38. Thank you, sir, for the work you put into these.

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  39. Thank you. Much appreciated.
    dr blues

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  40. This is excellent thank you again & again!

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  41. Thank you so much Dr. Stoned. Really appreciate this compilation.

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  42. Your work is Fantastic!!!!!! Thank You!!!!!

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  43. Thanks so much for this.

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  44. Thank you. Can't believe there's no 'official' release that does this!

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  45. Really enjoying the great sound of Simon and Garfunkel in glorious mono

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  46. New to your site. Appreciate your thoroughness and style.

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  47. This is the best S&G mix of songs ever! Wonderful job of putting these all together. Many THANKS!

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  48. Thank you Professor for making all this wonderful music available in its glorious original sound recordings!

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  49. This is fantastic!

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  50. Thank you for this - still making the rounds years later - much appreciated

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  51. Wow! Thank you for this.

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  52. Thank you very much!

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  53. So nice having these rounded up in one place. Thank you.

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  54. B-side of Homeward Bound (a non lp track)? Other than that, flawless comp. Thanks. Prof!

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