Shalamar Second Time Around 12"

[normvork]

BITD when Second Time Around became a hit I rushed out and got the LP. To my surprise, it did not have the Synthesizer sound affect I had heard in the clubs. I did not find a 12" single but did find the 7" 45. The 45 did have the synth sound reminiscent of the Ring My Bell effect. Did the 1979 12" single contain that sound effect? Did all the 12"s have it, or did only some? What about the rerelease 12" with Dead Giveaway? Did later LP releases have the sound effect? I recently heard the "plain" version being played on a cable radio station advertising a "Best of Shalamar" CD and wondered if perhaps there was a long version of the song out there with the effect on Vinyl or CD?

[tony98]

I have 2 copies of the 12" on U.K. Solar and they have that "synth sound". I can't figure out why they would release it without it as it helps to make the track better.

[SandraDee]

That sound that you refer to is I believe called a 'syndrum'. 1979 was definitely the year of the syndrum.

[Thereza bizarre]

yes SAN you're right it isnt a "synth sound" it is the syndrum which thankfully faded at the end of the same year because digital sample drums became available.....i hate that horrible sound but i ignore it on the tracks i like. and it would really only be applied in the 1977 to 1980 era in some not all disco and only if the artist wanted a fake tomtom sound....

[thommy2458]

Hi Norm!-I believe Rick Gianatos was asked to
do a 12" mix after the LP was released.It was
so successful it took "Second Time" to the top
and brought on more interest in a great LP.
I know "In the Socket" and "I Owe You One"
were also remixed as 12's and did very well.


Thom

[normvork]

Thank you everybody! Now I have a name for that sound. It was so new and fresh in 1979 and I still love to hear it almost 30 years later. To me it was one of my favorite components of disco music. Thank god for the rest of the world that I was not the one in charge of making all the disco records of the era or no song would have gotten away without gobs and gobs of syndrum loaded remixes.

[Thereza bizarre]

lol, gobs in britain means spitting yuk lol.......i am glad that sound was in some tracks like "aint no stopping us now" i like it in that.....

[kdavid13]

Yes those infamous syndrums were also all over the WHISPERS "Christmas" album also on SOLAR.

I remember reading reviews and the guy couldn't even get into the songs because of that sound...

It's all a matter of taste I guess ; I certainly enjoy that particular sound.

It's all over McARTHUR PARK.

I'm listening to the glorious 7'15 version from the UNIDISC Greatest 12in mixes and they are very much featured !!!

[sfbeary]

hey norm v.,

that is an excellent question. the mix with the syndrum is included on the double-disc 2004 Anthology issued in the US by The Right Stuff.

i'm not sure if the Shalamar album was an example of this, but when certain songs were remixed for 12" singles and those versions became popular that the corresponding albums were sometimes quietly reissued months after their initial release to include the 12" versions. like if you bought an early copy of Blondie's Parallel Lines album you got the standard version of "Heart of Glass" but if you had waited until the single became a hit you probably got the later pressing with the 12" version. sometimes the change was announced with a sticker on the shrink wrap. in the case of Evelyn Champaign King's Smooth Talk album, the later version of the album with the disco mix of "Shame" has a totally different cover.

OF COURSE the version of "The Second Time Around" that i play on RadioioDisco has the disco "ping!"

yours truly,
barry walters of www.radioiodisco.com

[normvork]

Originally Posted by sfbeary

hey norm v.,

that is an excellent question. the mix with the syndrum is included on the double-disc 2004 Anthology issued in the US by The Right Stuff.

i'm not sure if the Shalamar album was an example of this, but when certain songs were remixed for 12" singles and those versions became popular that the corresponding albums were sometimes quietly reissued months after their initial release to include the 12" versions. like if you bought an early copy of Blondie's Parallel Lines album you got the standard version of "Heart of Glass" but if you had waited until the single became a hit you probably got the later pressing with the 12" version. sometimes the change was announced with a sticker on the shrink wrap. in the case of Evelyn Champaign King's Smooth Talk album, the later version of the album with the disco mix of "Shame" has a totally different cover.

OF COURSE the version of "The Second Time Around" that i play on RadioioDisco has the disco "ping!"

yours truly,
barry walters of radioioDisco. your world. your station. no boundaries.

Thanks Barry! I always ran out and got the LP's as quick as I could and so never got, nor even knew, that Shame got its remix released on the LP later. I had heard that Heart of Glass disco version was put out in later editions of the LP.

After buying the LP, I rarely went back looking for the 12", until years later when things I missed started showing up in the used bins.

Record companies did a lot of sneaky things. I'm still amazed that Pamala Stanley's If Looks Could Kill 12" got released and then rereleased in two very distinctly different versions reusing the exact same catalogue number.

I just really think it odd however that a more current Shalamar CD hits collection would leave out my beloved "ping". The "PING" was what made it a hit and was the only version that was played at the disco or on the radio. Without the Goddamn "PING" it isn't the song which was their greatest hit!

[normvork]

Originally Posted by Thereza bizarre

lol, gobs in britain means spitting yuk lol.....

Pardon my ignorance, but does that mean when Quinny speaks of being gob-smacked that it is a bad thing?

[FlyRobinFly]

Your "ping" sound...lol! Wasn't there a whole song dedicated to the "ping" sound? It was called "Here Comes That Sound Again" by Love De Lux.

[QUINNY]

Originally Posted by normvork

Pardon my ignorance, but does that mean when Quinny speaks of being gob-smacked that it is a bad thing?

No Norm, it doesn't mean that. I'm surprised that it isn't in the American vocabulary, as I thought it had probably been imported into the mother tongue from you guys.

It means...amazed, startled, surprised, knocked over by a feather....you get the drift.

BTW: Sorry for the late reply, but I can't readily access the '70s forum and only happen upon threads by chance.

[Rugger57]

Originally Posted by normvork

Thanks Barry! I always ran out and got the LP's as quick as I could and so never got, nor even knew, that Shame got its remix released on the LP later. I had heard that Heart of Glass disco version was put out in later editions of the LP.

After buying the LP, I rarely went back looking for the 12", until years later when things I missed started showing up in the used bins.

Record companies did a lot of sneaky things. I'm still amazed that Pamala Stanley's If Looks Could Kill 12" got released and then rereleased in two very distinctly different versions reusing the exact same catalogue number.

I just really think it odd however that a more current Shalamar CD hits collection would leave out my beloved "ping". The "PING" was what made it a hit and was the only version that was played at the disco or on the radio. Without the Goddamn "PING" it isn't the song which was their greatest hit!

As I recall, IF Looks Could Kill was released on two diffrent lables, no???
I think the second release is on Atlanticl.....can't recall the first release on a small independent label.

[SandraDee]

I was surprised when I bought a 12" version of Space Bass by Slick to find it had a slightly different arrangement to the LP version that I was previously familiar with. Generally the 12" was the same as the LP version but I'm finding that their were more exceptions to this rule; I rarely bought both versions back in the day.