Editing on American Top 40/Casey's Top 40...and LOOPING!

[mkarns]

I personally didn't much like the choices for editing or playing out in the 2/22/75 AT40 played this week. One of my favorite songs in the countdown, Carole King's "Nightingale" was cut down to barely a verse and chorus (not sure if that was Premiere's edit or an original.)

By contrast, "Lovin' You" played out longer than usual, and followed by "Get Dancin" at least had the virtue of providing an extended break for emptying the dishwasher and using the bathroom.

Also, the edit of "Best of My Love" was pretty clumsy; it sounded almost like a skip.

[Deleted]

I believe Best of My Love's edit if it's the same one I always hear was an original edit. I can't remember but I think I was told once on here when I asked about it that it was an actual single edit version back then.

[dukelightning]

Yes that was an original edit to "Best of My Love" or should I say, the way it sounded on the original show. It is not an AT40 edit at all though. It is the 45 edit shall we say or the way it sounds on the 45. Kind of like the 45 edit of "While You See a Chance". Maybe we should start a thread of the worst 45 edits in fact. Or maybe there is such a thread buried in here somewhere...lol

[Deleted]

Two of the worst single edits I ever heard was "Janie's Got a Gun" and "Thriller."

[Deleted]

Was Water Song not played on AT40?

[michaelcasselman]

Water Song?

[Deleted]

Yes. It's before Janie's Got A Gun. I just want to know if that and Janie's Got A Gun or just Janie's Got A Gun was played on AT40.

[Deleted]

On the album, "Janie's Got a Gun" is preceded by a 10-second instrumental called "Water Song", which features the work of instrumentalist Randy Raine-Reusch, who uses a glass harmonica, wind gong, and bullroarers to produce the special effects heard at the start of the song.

[Deleted]

Feb 24, 2014 14:59:30 GMT -5 lasvegaskid said:

Yes, the Aerosmith tune got to #4. Not familiar with Water Song.

It's the 10 seconds you hear in the video when they show the "police line do not cross" tape at the start.

And no that's not what I am talking about.

[Mike]

I'm listening to a batch from 1998 lately, and some weeks it definitely seems like there's a mad scientist editor on the loose.

Take, for example, the May 23 show:

"Zoot Suit Riot" once again had its second verse repeated, for the second week in a row in its second week in the survey.

"Too Close" was cut right in half (in only its third week in the survey and going up six, no less!).

"Me" and "This is How We Party" also each had their second verse cut.

Both Backstreet Boys songs went from second verse to last chorus (not the first or last time for either).

"Anytime", "I Want You Back", "Truly Madly Deeply", and "Torn" all had their bridge and a chorus repeated.

Oh, and for the first time in this AT40 era, there were only two LDDs instead of three (even if some would call that an improvement ).



What an unnecessary mess.

[mkarns]

So that's five songs that were cut down versus five that had artificial repetitions of verses and/or choruses. What was the point?

This may be an example of the practice, noted elsewhere on the board, of treating AT40 like four one hour mini shows to be played consecutively instead of as a whole, obsessed with timing out each hour at a certain point. If they had enough time to extend songs by creating their own longer versions then they could have played a third LDD or some other extra--or not shortened anything.

[Deleted]

Feb 24, 2014 16:33:55 GMT -5 mkarns said:

So that's five songs that were cut down versus five that had artificial repetitions of verses and/or choruses. What was the point?

This may be an example of the practice, noted elsewhere on the board, of treating AT40 like four one hour mini shows to be played consecutively instead of as a whole, obsessed with timing out each hour at a certain point. If they had enough time to extend songs by creating their own longer versions then they could have played a third LDD or some other extra--or not shortened anything.

Today was a real case in point to this. I listened to 2/26/94 AT40 today. Paying no attention to timing anything out right, AT40 was up to #18 going into the 3rd hour. By the 4th they had apparently about 4-5 extra minutes to fool with because power of love had a loop of one portion, and then The Sign looped the 2nd verse once and then the bridge again on top of that.

[Deleted]

I guess there was something about "The Sign." Today I listened to both AT20 shows from 2/21/04 and the Sign was looped in both. Now before you say "yeah they just aired the same part of the segment in both shows which they notoriously did I must point out that the loops were different!

AC-2nd verse in the usual annoying way of verse, chorus, and during chorus loop back to somewhere in the 1st chorus and play it again,

HAC - 2nd verse, chorus, bridge, chorus after bridge, then loops back in to the chorus after the 1st verse, 2nd verse, and then cuts into the the last chorus at the end of the song! Felt like ABC was producing the show!

[80sat40fan]

Just finished listening to the 3/3/84 show... let it be noted that three album/long versions of songs were kept intact... "Runner" by Manfred Mann, "Joanna" by Kool & The Gang, and "Here Comes The Rain Again" by Eurythmics. It was always fun hearing the occasional long version of singles when played on AT40, and this episode featured three that I am aware of.

[Deleted]

Mar 1, 2014 11:08:18 GMT -5 80sat40fan said:

Just finished listening to the 3/3/84 show... let it be noted that three album/long versions of songs were kept intact... "Runner" by Manfred Mann, "Joanna" by Kool & The Gang, and "Here Comes The Rain Again" by Eurythmics. It was always fun hearing the occasional long version of singles when played on AT40, and this episode featured three that I am aware of.

The radio edit version of "Here Comes the Rain Again" is strange. It feels like the song just dies. Like there is supposed to be another line or two in the chorus and it just doesn't happen.