# Short & Long Versions of Pop/Rock Songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2005, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525 "2005-08-25T01:26:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/21 "2005-08-25T03:07:57Z")
Don Henley’s “Heart of the Matter” , one of my all time favorite songs, had a shortened version that was always so unsatifying to me. It, in it’s full length glory, is one of these songs I can listen to over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/22 "2005-08-25T03:09:04Z")
> [@Snowboarder Bo](#): > > I’m hearing Iron Butterfly with my _ears_ right now. I have their first 3 albums. In-A- is the best tho, IMO. Hijack: I _looove_ the Iron Butts. They were the first band I saw in concert, at the San Diego gig that was recorded for their live album. But I think _Ball_ is their best. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/23 "2005-08-25T03:27:51Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > Hijack: I _looove_ the Iron Butts. They were the first band I saw in concert, at the San Diego gig that was recorded for their live album. But I think _Ball_ is their best. Yeah, I gotta admit “In The Time Of Our Lives” is a helluva song. I just like the “dripping with acid” feel that In-A- has tho. It just _reeks_ of that shit. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/24 "2005-08-25T03:36:01Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” by Iron Butterfly, had a short radio version. In fact, I think that’s the only version a lot of people ever heard. I didn’t know many folks who bought the album. People you know are a terrible sample for just about everything in the world. “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” went to #4 on the charts in 1968, which indicates a lot of sales. And most FM stations distinguished themselves from their AM counterparts by playing the whole song. Pretty much everybody who cared about Iron Butterfly managed to hear the whole 17 minutes. Longer if they went to the concerts, in which the drum solo usually stretched 17 minutes by itself. “Ball” went to #3 and has their best song, Soul Experience, on it. "Money for Nothing"may hold the record, though. There was an album version, a single version, an MTV version, and maybe a couple more, all of different lengths. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/25 "2005-08-25T03:36:39Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Most extreme example I can think of: > > “Get Ready” by Rare Earth > > LP version: 22m 30s (takes up an entire side) > Radio version: 2m 46s (give or take a couple seconds) > > Now **THAT’S** editing. Not even close. Jethro Tull’s **This as a Brick** runs 43:50 and takes up two entire sides. I’ve heard it on the radio cut down to about five minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Squonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squonk)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/26 "2005-08-25T03:37:56Z")
Billy Joel’s “The Entertainer” is about 3:20 on the album. One of the lines is about how radio wants short songs: “If you’re gonna have a hit/ You gotta make it fit/ So they cut it down to 3:05” the radio edit cut out a verse. The new running time? 3:05. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/27 "2005-08-25T03:39:14Z")
I can’t believe no one has mentioned **Blinded by the Light**. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/28 "2005-08-25T04:12:15Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Not even close. Jethro Tull’s **This as a Brick** runs 43:50 and takes up two entire sides. I’ve heard it on the radio cut down to about five minutes. There was no single issued in the USA, not even for radio, but DJs received a special banded edition of the LP. The first section of the album, “Edit 1,” was what got all the airplay, and ran 3:02. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/29 "2005-08-25T04:19:44Z")
Hey, this thread is right up my alley! I collect both the album versions and the single edits and promo remixes / edits of everything that’s been on the radio since editing and remixing was first done in the 1950s. There are lots of blues 45s that are edited from the album versions, for instance, Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say (Parts 1 & 2)” are re-edited from the album. The earliest pop record I know of off the top of my head is The Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back”, in which they edited an additional instrumental bridge from near the end of the song, and mixed the results to mono. This edit was recreated in stereo from the album version for the Varese Sarabande CD “On The Radio, Vol 4.” If you’re older than 45, and listened to the Top 40 when you were a kid, a great many records you heard were edited. There are hundreds of ‘em. The practice continues to today, as you can get CD singles with four or more remixes of a track, often including a radio edit. Have you ever wondered why a song you heard on the radio didn’t sound the same when you bought the record? There was a special remix and / or edit just for radio. Some of these are among the most elusive of collectors’ records. All of Rare Earth’s singles are different, as well as many by Three Dog Night (in fact all the acts on Dunhill have singles that are wildly different from the album versions). Paul McCartney has three box sets worth of alternate mixes and edits for radio and 12" singles, most of which have never been reissued. I am a digital audio editor by trade. After getting the computer and learning the basics, I have got to the place where I have recreated some of those edits for my own enjoyment, including “Light My Fire”, where I monoed the track from the DCC CD remaster of the album version, and followed the 45 edits to make an exact duplicate, only in better sound quality than the single. Some of those edits are pretty hairy! And I’ve made a stereo single edit of Steely Dan’s “Do It Again” that mirrors the 45 version, which was mono. I can eliminate playing mistakes in songs by re-editing an identical part from a different section of the record, e.g. the bass mistake in “Do It Again”, the bassist playing two wrong frets in J.J. Cale’s “Cocaine”, another bass mistake in Dave & Ansil Collins’ “Double Barrel”, the egregious errors by the whole band in The Hombres’ “Let It All Hang Out.” Digital editing is lots of fun, and it’s so easy now. You have to consider that all edits up to the mid-'80s were done with a razor blade and sticky tape, by guys who were absolute masters of their craft. Edits and remixes are a major part of my hobby, and I could talk about it at length, but it’s past my bedtime. Cool thread idea! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/30 "2005-08-25T04:35:37Z")
Oh yeah: honorable (?) mention for “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers. Rather than actually shortening the song, producer Phil Spector simply had a false timing printed on the record label, so radio stations would think the song was an acceptable three minutes long rather than nearly four. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/31 "2005-08-25T04:46:22Z")
Phil Spector was a notorious asshole. LOL I mean, remember **The Screw**? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/32 "2005-08-25T05:05:36Z")
I was pretty taken aback when I heard the non-radio version “Semi-Charmed Life” for the first time. And I’m not talking about the line about crystal meth that was routinely snipped out for the radio, because I at least knew that existed. I had never heard the "One, and you hold me … " part, never even suspected it was part of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/33 "2005-08-25T05:24:03Z")
_Radar Love_ by Golden Earring had a particularly nasty edited radio version. As did _Green Eyed Lady_ by Sugarloaf. Cut that wonderful B-3 solo right out of there. Everytime an editor cuts a Hammond B-3 solo out of a song, the Baby Jebus cries. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/34 "2005-08-25T05:53:36Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I have a horribly chopped down version of “American Pie”. It runs about four minutes versus the eight of the original. Hmmm, with McLean, half as long = twice as good. An excellent example of “When come back, bring _less_ Pie.” ---
**Author:** ![SleepyDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SleepyDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleepyDuck)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/35 "2005-08-25T07:07:26Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > The so-called Genesis Greatest Hits album “Turn it on Again.” has the radio edited _Tonight Tonight Tonight_ on it… Can’t be as bad as the Michelob Mix, can it? _seriously though, I **loved** that song!_ I’ve got some money in my pocket…gotta get it to you… ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/36 "2005-08-25T08:40:12Z")
I guess only I liked Skyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Pilot. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/37 "2005-08-25T12:16:43Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > There was no single issued in the USA, not even for radio, but DJs received a special banded edition of the LP. The first section of the album, “Edit 1,” was what got all the airplay, and ran 3:02. The version I was referring to was played on a local Clear Channel station a few years ago. It was a sample of the entire record, but had a lot of the elements. Possibly, Clear Channel made a mix so they could play it. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/38 "2005-08-25T14:16:47Z")
**Rikco** mentioned “Green-Eyed Lady.” This is the absolute worst editing job I have ever heard. The LP version runs 6:40, and they chopped it down to 3:33 for the reissue “Golden Oldies” single, which has unfortunately become the standard. It sounds like it was done by a blind, drunk guy with pinking shears. One of the edits gives one of the measures 3 and a fraction beats. Yeccccch! ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/39 "2005-08-25T14:19:17Z")
Sorry for the typo, **Rico**. I’m typing (poorly) on a laptop. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525/40 "2005-08-25T14:23:43Z")
I’ve heard two different version of **Sugarcult’s** _Bouncing Off the Walls_. Strangely nothing is edited out but rather since it’s not even 3 minutes long the alternate version has a slower tempo and sounds far less punk. And isn’t nearly as good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-long-versions-of-pop-rock-songs/318525.md?page=3)