The Who "A quick one" (1966) mono vs. stereo differences.

To me seems a normal drum percussion, but somehow more prominent.

 

Thanks for listening. If it were percussion I'm hearing it would seem to have to be like a mallet on a kick-drum or something! It should be like a 'boomy-pitched' (probably a bad description) kind of 'effect' or almost like a backwards taped voice lol. Maybe it's 'possessed' - but I'm going to listen for what you have suggested. That could explain what I'm hearing. Thanks!

 

I think you're just hearing John's bass play a 'low' note - in the seconds leading up to that, he's playing higher up on the neck, then he drops down an octave (or so).

 

I've read about this as well but have never heard it - would love to know for sure (as unlikely as it seems).

 

Around that time 1967, and I think just after that time especially circa 1970, the Scandinavian countries (i.e. Denmark, Norway..."I have heard/read") have a quietly very good reputation with very good sound quality vinyl via Rosenborg Studio and Musikkindustri A/S involved, 710 in the runout.

 

There's an abruptness and suddenness about it, so it could be that, I'll try to listen for it. Thanks.

 

probably heresy here on th' hoff boards, but i sometimes miss the naive childhood days where i just thought 'I bought a copy of this record in some form so i can rest assured i've heard this record in its complete and proper sense." I'm never gonna catch up with making sure I've heard every variation or the proper variation on even my favorite bands like The Who.....

 

Thanks for the quick response Luke!
To be sure I understand, the above stereo tracks (Disguises, I'm a Boy and Run Run Run) are available on the above three Cd titles, but only the UK versions of those CD's?
I have both the original AQO MCA CD and the re-done one; do I need to seek out a 1995 UK Polydor CD for different mastering?
I was also thinking that the Disguises on 30 years was a new remix - am I remembering incorrectly?

My head spins when I think of all these variations. And yet I really want this weird Norway/Germany Bucket T single just to hear this strange "backwards" ending! Being a completist can be exhausting.

Thanks for the useful information as always!

 

No, I just meant they were sourced/compiled in the UK. I don't believe 30 Years and the 1995 AQO were any different in the US and UK; Who's Better Who's Best *did* have differences, but the transfer of I'm A Boy was the same.

There's never been a remix of Disguises, just the original mono and stereo mixes.

There are 4 "standard" CDs of A Quick One:

- original MCA - mix of stereo and fake stereo, released in North America
- original Polydor - mono, released in Europe
- 1995 CD - released by both MCA and Polydor, with bonus tracks. Run Run Run is stereo from a good quality master, Whiskey Man is fake stereo, the remainder of the original album is mono.
- secret remaster - released by MCA in 2002 and Polydor in 2003. Original album is stereo (except See My Way, which is fake stereo), several new remixes in place of original stereo mixes.

I haven't heard it, but I would be *very* surprised if it was different from the standard mono mix.

 

@lukpac or @RobCooper, which is better for the original stereo or mono mixes the 2012 SHM-CD or the HD Tracks download?

 

I just briefly compared the stereo Run Run Run, Boris The Spider, and A Quick One, While He's Away. It seems that the mastering is essentially identical.

For So Sad About Us, the 2012 CD uses a less than great needledrop, while the HD download uses an extremely distorted transfer of the remix.

 

What he said... the 2012 shm is nicer for the packaging.

 

I think I read that the mono mix of the 2012 SHM-CD was transferred with a stereo head while the HD Download is true mono. Is that correct? If yes, I assume the HD Download is preferred.

 

@RobCooper? I don't have the mono HD AQO.

 

As always, you have delivered all of the useful information I seek. I have all of the above CD's as well as the 2012 SHM-CD and the mono HD download. Will listen as soon as possible and report back.

And I too would be surprised if the "Run Run Run" on that European single was different as far as the mix goes, but with the various "Someone's Coming" mixes, and the French EP "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere" and other obscure rarities on 45 I am never sure until I personally hear the source if something is ever-so-slightly different (such as the "breaking glass" at the end of Heaven and Hell, John's 1-2-3-2-2-3 count on "I've Been Away", Pete's count-in on "Don't Know Myself" single, etc.).

Finally - is the German/Italian/French "The Who" LP still the best fidelity source for stereo 1966 material (excepting So Sad About Us)? Bearing in mind that CD transfers have not always been optimal, including the HD Tracks versions...

P.S. I listened to the Japan "Exciting The Who" release and was not enjoying the mono mix of "A Quick One" {the song} - what a compressed and squishy mess! Does my US mono vinyl or Track 2-fer sound that bad?

Going to dig deeper into the listening.

Someone should make a fan-made mix of all of the best digital sources - looking at you, SonicLoveNoise!

 

[pulls up document]

Run Run Run - A Quick One (1995 CD)
Boris The Spider - Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy CD
Cobwebs And Strange - I'm A Boy CD
See My Way (mono) - 2012 Japanese AQO CD set
So Sad About Us - MCA A Quick One (Happy Jack) CD
A Quick One, While He's Away - 2012 Japanese AQO CD set
I'm A Boy - Who's Better Who's Best (UK CD)
In The City - 2012 Japanese AQO CD set
Disguises - 30 Years of Maximum R&B
Barbara Ann - 2012 Japanese AQO CD set
I'm A Boy (long/alternate) - 2012 Japanese AQO CD set

Beyond that, the Japanese I'm A Boy CD is probably best for most tracks, although the German tapes (I'm A Boy is either from German tapes or copies of German tapes) all seem to have a high end roll off that should be fixed. Most or all of the above could really use some degree of EQ in one way or another.

The The Who LP has the same roll-off and somewhat midrangy sound, and I haven't come across a pressing that's particularly amazing. My German A Quick One LP *is* a very nice piece of vinyl, but I don't think there's anything about it that is better than the I'm A Boy CD.

 

I lost me marbles...

Happy Jack Decca Vinyl Mono Mix 1967 release.

AQO Track Vinyl Mono Mix, (BackTrack 1970 Vol. 8 release) re:
"So Sad About Us"

Keith's "yell" near center in mix at around 0:52 in is barely audible to me. The 'strange sound' I mentioned near center after last chorus before final harmony vocal (in that short instrumental section before the end) I don't really hear much of it.


Happy Jack Decca Vinyl Stereo Mix
1967. Keith's yell is Clearly Audible at 0:52-0:53. That other sound around 2:34-2:35 in is 'much' more so. Similar placement in mix. Clearly audible. Sounds like a deep human voice (gibberish) to me, like one of John's 'monster' voices at 2:34-2:35 in or something that just sounds bizarre. It lasts about a second.

To me it seems as if it is 'painted on or over' the sound and it sounds 'on top' of the bass guitar, about dead center.

I don't know what the heck it is. I suppose it could be John making his bass 'talk' - the bass does have a rumbling, gurgling tone to it, and he seems like he switches up tones during the song also, but I'm not sure that's it.

AQO CD Stereo Remix. Keith's yell is audible. I hear that 'voice' a little later, same length, clearly audible, about 2:37-2:39 on this one.

Same with AQO CD Japan "Collector's Edition" around 2:37-2:38.

Time between vinyl and cd seems mostly due to cd track time index starting a little early and my vinyl starting a tad late.

Gee that was a lot of fun...

Perhaps it was a quick smashup by John and Keith or Roger trying to kick over one of Keith's drums or somebody grunting...

There you go, lost me marbles, hope someone else is losing theirs and are hearing something akin to what I'm describing.

I'll settle for John's bass, but in the context of where and when it happens, it's as if it's something independent of that happening.

Carry On Please...

 

It's true mono but I'm not sure if it's the same transfer from 2012 (either just folded or one channel) or if its a genuine new transfer. I'll have to check later.

 

Fwiw I can tell you that I heard the Single, it seemed to me as much an enjoyable curiosity than anything of greater significance, but it seems a unique part of the official discography nonetheless, and was a good listen. The copy of the 45 audio I heard played near a solid VG+ and it was not the mono mix as found on the AQO mono LP.

The lead vocal in the 45 mix sounded lower in volume than the album mono mix and the main electric guitar sounded more forward. The backing vocals sounded quieter too. The style or tone of music seemed to me to be a little more like a kind of MG album, Max R&B, yet seemed both a little cleaner and clearer sounding than the AQO mono mix album version. The drums though sounded no better than any other mix. It would fit in on the mono album, and sounded easier on my ears than the mono album mix, but the 45 mix would not have the different guitar work the album version has.

When I listened to the stereo album mix, the 45 mix seemed to me that it very closely mirrored the mix of the music in the center of the stereo mix, basically the music backing track. The same lead guitar that is on the right side of the stereo mix is then centered in the 45 mono mix.

There was some kind of backwards tape effect that maybe lasted two seconds end of the track. To me, it sounded like human voices, perhaps like a group vocal, seemingly played backwards, and seemingly at a different speed, but I could be wrong about that. I wondered too if it almost sounded like it could have been the other side of a transfer tape, if that's possible, and if it was intentional or a mistake.

Outside of the rare picture sleeve and it being a rare mix, musically there's nothing worth spending big money for but if one does my understanding is both the Norway and Denmark releases 'should' be the same audio. The true 'Alternate Mono Version' audio, imo, the Run mono included on the actual album, would seem to me to be the more significant and desirable one, between these 2 mono mixes, if the 45 with P/S and different mix wasn't scarce and expensive. Still, on its own, the 45 mix was a pretty good listen.

I wouldn't be surprised though if the 45 mono mix 'could' have been a fold-down from the stereo mix but that part is pure conjecture on my part. If that was true the vocals would seem to me to have to be louder in the mono mix than they otherwise are, I would imagine, because in the stereo mix they seem mixed forward pretty good, and if both channels of vocals were simply folded into one channel, I would think that paired together as they would be, they would be fairly loud in the 45 mono mix, and they were not.

Hope to be able to eventually share the specific audio from this specific 45 (it plays imperfectly, but it is close to excellent) in early 2019, but that is for someone else to decide at that time, and it also looks like The Who Camp could buy a 'pristine' and 'expensive' (for the other 90+% of us) copy of their own though, if they so chose to, as I see one NM copy listed for sale at Discogs.

There did seem to me to be a volume fluctuation, or maybe even more than one, in the 45 mix, but if you listen to the HJ stereo LP version, it seems to mirror one (if there is one) at 30-35 seconds into the track...

 

The vocals are mixed left and right, and thus would not be additive in a fold down, unlike the centered backing.

 

'For all intents and purposes' the 45 seemed a perfectly suitable mono mix to my ears. The Run Run Run part was especially a lot lower in volume in the 45 mix compared to the album mix. I couldn't tell with the lead vocal. Best as I can tell the copy of the 45 was just about 2:34 long, fading out possibly the very last second (or 2) of the guitar solo (same solo as stereo mix, not the mono album mix) as then the 2 seconds of what sounds like tape run backwards maybe, of human voices speaking/singing in unison, then comes in with and after and then cuts. The 45 mix and the sound in general was easier on my ears, less noisy, and seemed clearer audio, whether through source, transfer, or just 'better mastering eq', in general sound than the other album mono mix is, the one with the different guitar solos. The 45 should have an official re-release by The Who camp imo. I'm sure they could make their money back on such a small investment for them if they were interested in acquiring the best 45 they could or if they already have one or found the mixdown tape of it. The copy of the 45 had a taut and clear mix and sound to it, unlike the relatively overloaded album mono mix, or the sound of it, as I compared the copy of the 45 to the VG+ vinyl copies of AQO/HJ mono albums that I have.

 

Was A Quick One really a Who album? I don't remember anything about it. And why is the Magic Bus album somehow banned and unavailable?

And where did that acoustic version of Happy Jack come from? Don't care for that version at all.

 

Love it. Don't know which version/mix I like best but nifty extra guitar lick towards the end, love how Townshend 'teases' a few parts of the song together. For me it's an enjoyable alternate to the band version.

 

Yes, AQO is a real Who album, their second. Magic Bus was a compilation released by their US label. It's out of print, perhaps Who Inc. considers it superfluous.

 

The A Quick One album was retitled Happy Jack for the US.