Recording Ray Charles' "What'd I Say"

The mono "What'd I Say Part 1" appeared on its own on that Rhino Atlantic-era comp which came out about 15 years ago. (Sorry - haven't a clue of the title.) Sounds good, too.

 

i think it was a Rhino release a 1 disc best of atlantic years disc has the a side of this single.

 

Yes!!

I did a little perusing through my own collection, and I've got the song on a few different CDs....

What'd I Say (Parts 1&2) - The Very Best of Ray Charles (Rhino, 2000) - 6:28
What'd I Say (Part 1) - The Ultimate Soul Collection (WEA, 2000) - 3:06
What'd I Say (Parts 1&2) - The Rock 'N' Roll Era: 1959 (Time Life, 1988) - 5:08
What'd I Say - Respect: The Soul Generation Soundtrack (Universal, 2001) - 5:06

If the 6:28 track is the full version ("Parts 1&2") and the 3:06 track is the single edit ("Part 1"), then what's the deal with the 5-minute version on the other two compilations? It's obviously a longer version than the single, but is it just edited down a bit from the full version? Or could it be some kind of unique version? Also, notice that one of the 5-minute versions is labelled as "Parts 1&2" (but is clearly not the most complete "Parts 1&2"), while the other 5-minute version is just called "What'd I Say" without referring to "Parts" at all.

Yeah, the main thing that got me curious about the versions in the first place is that I'm almost certain I remember hearing some bits in the 5-minute track (or at least SOME version somewhere) that weren't in the full version...

 

Historically the 5-minute "What'd I say, Pt. 1&2" has the correct labelling, as it joins the two parts of the original single edit in one seamless performance. The 6 1/2-minute stereo version that was issued on LP in 1964 also has that title, but it's actually incorrect, as it was a new longer edit from the original multitracks and had nothing to do with the original single version. Why they chose it to label it "Parts 1 & 2", I don't know.

The last two examples you mention (5:08 and 5:06) are obviously the same, with one having 2 more seconds of silence at the end...

 

For the most part, yes, just edited down, although the "party" section on the full stereo mix is a different take. It's actually not hard to splice in the correct bit from the mono though.

 

On the Rhino Very Best of Ray Charles CD this tune is obviously mastered from vinyl(one can hear the surface noise); were the master tapes destroyed in the infamous Atlantic fire?

Evan

 

Never really noticed before: that '59 LP version with the edit pieces has a distinct pitch change at the cut into the edit piece (the final beat of horns before the spoken break).

 

Yes, McSon, but some of the SwingTime and DownBeat 78 record labels say "Maxim" or "Maxin". So even the record company couldn't get it right.

 

Great article thanks.

 

I'm not aware of any stereo ~5 minute version commercially. It is possible to *make* one, and I've done it, but as far as I know all releases of the stereo mix are the full ~6:30. "The Great Hits..." certainly should be, as that was where the stereo mix was first released.

Any ~5 minute version should be mono.

 

As above, yes. According to Steve one of the reels for that album is where the stereo master tape resides.