Papa Was A Rolling Stone (Instrumental)

[ashley_k]

Hi all,

Just been looking at the Soul Collector Vol. 3 CD that’s mentioned in the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman thread
and I see the CD has an instrumental version of the Temptations - Papa Was A Rolling Stone on it.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if the mix on the CD is the same as the one on the Motown Instrumentals LP (Natural Resources NR4002T1).
If it is the same mix, is it a needle drop or has it been remastered from master tape.

Or has that particular instrumental mix of Papa Was A Rolling Stone been issued on any other Motown CD’s.

Thanks
ashley_k

[Disco Funk]

I've always wondered about that as well. Then again, the full track of Papa Was A Rolling Stone is 12 minutes or so long, and there aren't vocals in all 12 minutes. In fact, I think it's mostly instrumental. There's a Funk Brothers compilation that sounds like it's a unique version and not the instrumental sections of the full length vocal version as it features some electric piano playing a melody.

Disco Funk

[Disco Funk]

I bought Soul Collector 3. While Mary Hartman does sound like it was an edit of the A and B sides of a 7" copy, Papa Was A Rollin Stone sounds like a unique instrumental. It doesn't sound like an edit of the long LP mix.

But the real treat, which I just noticed, is the Ultra High Frequency track, 'We're On The Right Track'. It's longer than any other version out there. It must be about a minute longer than the longest version on I previously heard on CD, running at almost 7 minute. It's the outro that is extended. The previous longest version faded after 4 repeats of the outro chorus, but the Soul Collector version keeps going and going. It's really good. The drum pattern keeps alternating between snare beat (4 bars a piece) and tom tom beat (4 bars a piece). They must have dug this out from the master tapes.

Disco Funk

[ashley_k]

Thanks for the extra info Disco Funk, I’ve not got round to getting the Soul Collector 3 CD yet, but it sounds like it has the instrumental mix of Papa Was A Rolling Stone that I’m looking for. I’d already checked out the Funk Brothers version which is OK, but it’s a bit flat/mono sounding when compared to version on the Motown Instrumentals LP. The version of Papa Was A Rolling Stone on the Motown Instrumentals LP does indeed sound like a unique instrumental version and not an edit of the Temptations version.

With the added bonus of a longer version of We're On The Right Track and no complaints from you about the sound quality of the CD, I’m going to have to order it now.

ashley_k

[Disco Funk]

I'm pretty fussy when it comes to sound quality, but with this CD, I can't complain. Enjoy!

Disco Funk

[NickNack]

If you have the "Motown Instrumentals" album then you have the same version of Papa Was a Rolling Stone. I wasn't able to compare when you asked back in January but I've gotten the lp since then. Both versions run about 6-and-a-half minutes with the only "vocal" being Dennis Edwards' short grunt: Uhh! :)

DiscoFunk noticed the same thing I did about Ultra High Frequency. This extended version is the longest I've ever heard, even maxing the original DISCO GOLD album mixed by Mr. Moulton.

[Disco Funk]

It also differs from the 45 mix (but is similar to the Moulton version) in that the falsetto howl that's on the bridges is mixed out. Did Scepter put out a 12" for We're On The Right Track, like they did for a number of the Disco Gold tracks? I wonder if this Soul Collector mix is actually the Moulton version, and they either got it off of a promo copy of the 12" or found the master tape lying around in Europe with the longer outro. The sound quality is pretty clean, so it might be the latter.

Disco Funk

[PierreConstantin]

If you have the "Motown Instrumentals" album then you have the same version of Papa Was a Rolling Stone. I wasn't able to compare when you asked back in January but I've gotten the lp since then. Both versions run about 6-and-a-half minutes with the only "vocal" being Dennis Edwards' short grunt: Uhh! :)

It's the B-side of the original 7" in both cases.