ALBUM: Steppenwolf, ‘The ABC/Dunhill Singles Collection’
One can be forgiven for not initially being blown away by the release of yet another Steppenwolf collection. Beginning with their Gold compilation in 1970, the average music consumer has never been at a loss for getting some sort of Steppenwolf greatest-hits package over the ensuing 45 years.
Aha! Not so fast, my friend. The fine folks at Real Gone Music have given you a reason to purchase yet another Steppenwolf collection, even if you think you have everything you need by this fine group. The ABC/Dunhill Singles Collection is an essential purchase for even the most casual Steppenwolf fan, but especially if you really dig this group like I do.
Here’s why: this isn’t just an average collection of 10, 12, or 16 of their hits and near misses. What you have here are both sides of every single released by Steppenwolf during their tenure at Dunhill (later Dunhill/ABC), along with the singles Steppenwolf leader John Kay released as a solo artist while Steppenwolf took a breather in the ’70s.
Even if you’re like me and you have all of their classic albums in one form or another, this is essential, because these are the 45 RPM mixes. This is a big deal, because in many cases, they sound different. During the late ’60s and early ’70s, an album would be released in stereo, but when a song was pulled from the album for single release, the record company would usually have it remixed in mono. Lots of times, it would give the song a bit more “punch” — for lack of a better word — and made it sound better on those little transistor radios everybody had back in the day or on the car speakers while you were driving around on Saturday night.
If you’re just a casual listener, you probably wouldn’t notice much difference; if you’re a stereo snob, the word “mono” is pure sacrilege. Trust me — when it’s done right, the results can be ear-opening. I’ve never been able to really describe what changes in that mono mix, but it really hits you in a different way. Everybody has heard “Born to Be Wild” enough in their lifetime thanks to the radio and Easy Rider, but if you’re lucky enough to own a nice copy of the original 45, it’s a whole new world of sound. Everything mixed into one channel gives the song a new lease on life, and many times, you hear things you didn’t notice before. For me, the guitar work on “Born to Be Wild” is a bit more prominent in the single mix, and it’s a nice change compared to the stereo version that’s been played to death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2fUAUkXJxw
Other differences are much more noticeable. Take the single mix of their other overplayed track “Magic Carpet Ride.” The vocal is a completely different take than what was released on the album, which is the version you’ve heard all these years unless you own the original 45. Even when the song shows up in edited form either on the radio or on a compilation, it’s the album version trimmed down to a length closer to the single release, but it still uses the vocals heard on the LP. Also, the edits are different than what appeared on the 45, which makes the experience of hearing it for the first time even more exciting. Once again, an overplayed song gets another chance at being appreciated because it sounds so different and new.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwzhF43L3aA
This was a fairly common practice at Dunhill/ABC back in the day. Many of their singles weren’t just edited down to a radio-friendly length and mixed to mono. Sometimes a specific instrument was given a boost that you wouldn’t normally hear if you just listened to the album version; other times, as mentioned before, you might have a different vocal take or a different solo. I was aware that the label had done this quite a bit with their Three Dog Night singles, but didn’t know they did it as much with the Steppenwolf releases as well.
In fact, if I may be allowed to be even more of a record geek for a moment, the edited versions that popped up on their various greatest-hits collections were newly created for the stereo LP market and don’t quite match up to the original single versions. For a couple of years, my entire Steppenwolf collection consisted solely of the 16 Greatest Hits album. I didn’t know until later that it included an edited version of “It’s Never Too Late” which I naturally assumed was the single. It turns out the original single mix is a completely different edit with some subtle but notable differences, and I learned this thanks to the new Steppenwolf release from Real Gone.
I could go on and on trying to point out all the differences you hear in this collection, but it’s better to hear them yourself, especially if you’ve been familiar with more than just a couple of their songs. There are some real revelations to be found here, including at least one song that is a completely different take from the album version, but I don’t want to give away all of the secret joys to be found. You just need to buy this CD and dig it.
For those of you who are Steppenwolf aficionados, there are a couple of caveats that you should know. The title ABC/Dunhill Singles Collection is accurate, but they purposely left out one single version. When “Monster” was trimmed down from nine minutes to four as a single, the results were less than stellar. The full-length version is a great three-part mini epic of sorts, but as a single, it was mixed around and cut up and left a former shell of itself. Imagine if the single version of the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” began with Roger Daltrey’s “meet the new boss” followed by a very truncated version of what you’re used to hearing on the album with the verses shoved together and the solos taken out. That’s what “Monster” sounds like on the 45 release.
To be blunt, it didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now. John Kay states in the liner notes that the release was done against the group’s wishes, and he wasn’t happy with it. So, instead of using the single version, Real Gone used the full-length album version. Purists may have a problem with it, but it was the right decision. As an added bonus, the mastering on the track — along with everything else on this collection — makes the song sound terrific.
Also, some of the singles weren’t commercially released in mono, so what you have in a few cases is the single in stereo. This means that you won’t find much — if any — difference between the album and single versions.
These are all minor quibbles that shouldn’t bother most listeners. As an overall retrospective of Steppenwolf’s singles releases, it’s a great way to hear the group evolve while experiencing many of these songs in a new light. John Kay and Ed Osborne provide some excellent liner notes with plenty of insights into the music and the times.
This is the second release that Real Gone Music has done with a Dunhill/ABC artist. A while back they released a Grass Roots singles collection as well. It was a nice package, but marred — in my opinion, at least — by their decision to only include tracks that made the charts. This meant no B-sides and no non-charting singles, which was a minor disappointment to an otherwise excellent compilation.
With the Steppenwolf release, they knocked it out of the ballpark. Every single track that was released on a 45, including every B-side and some A-sides that didn’t chart, is on here, aside from the “Monster” release that I mentioned before.
I have to get geeky on you again to explain why this is such a big deal. Sometime back in the ’70s, some genius at ABC Records decided that he didn’t want to keep storing tapes they deemed unnecessary. As a result, countless tapes were literally discarded, including the original recording reels and single mixes. I can’t even fathom the stupidity that went into this decision, but what’s done is done.
In order to make this a legitimate collection of Steppenwolf’s singles, Real Gone Music has scoured all over the world — literally — to find safety copies of single mixes that were sent overseas for foreign release and somehow didn’t get discarded. Real Gone managed to find as many of those that they could, and used them for this compilation. There might be cases where a master tape of the single mix couldn’t be found and an original mint 45 RPM record was used instead, but it’s impossible to tell unless you have ears like a bat. This collection sounds fantastic.
I see your eyes are starting to glaze over, so I’ll wrap this up. Real Gone Music has done a magnificent job with Steppenwolf’s ABC/Dunhill Singles Collection. The music sounds fantastic, and the liner notes are some of the best I’ve seen for any greatest hits compilation. Unless you absolutely hate Steppenwolf — and I pity you if that’s the case — this is an essential purchase.
By the way, Real Gone Music, any chance you’ll do something like this for Three Dog Night in the future? Just sayin’.
To get your copy of Steppenwolf’s ABC/Dunhill Singles Collection, head over to Real Gone Music’s online shop!
