Unique singles?

[Christopher]

I posted about this not long after joining Xylot and got zero responses, so hopefully this time the post picks up a little more traction.

Since getting back into theming a few years ago and slowly re-building my collection, I've generally avoided purchasing singles that I assumed were just duplicates of the album releases. I've learned over time that, in some cases, the single version is actually different. For example, it was through Xylot that I learned the single version of "It's All About the Money" is actually V1, not the same V2 on Anthology. I also learned the single version of "We're Comin' Down" has a shorter intro compared to the album version and is mastered differently.

This leads me to wonder if anyone has some sort of list of which singles are actually different from their respective album releases in any way, whether that's just a higher quality or different mastering (which my ears are generally terrible at distinguishing between), or a unique version/edit entirely. Are there any other notable examples?

Thanks!

[IAmNeomic]

— "Crank It Up" (The Big Show) is mastered different than Wreckless Intent, less brickwalling.
— "Electrifying" (The Rock) on the Fighting With My Family OST is mastered a bit different, louder with slightly different EQ.
— "Green Mist" (Tajiri) is mastered differently, less brickwalling.
— "Longhorn" (JBL) on one of the HOF albums is the full version with ending, like the DVD, but higher quality.
— "Radio" (Zack Ryder) at one point was mastered differently than the album, and had less brickwalling and a little more bass. Now it's the Downstait version.

There may be more, but that's what I remember off the top of my head.

[Christopher]

— "Crank It Up" (The Big Show) is mastered different than Wreckless Intent, less brickwalling.
— "Electrifying" (The Rock) on the Fighting With My Family OST is mastered a bit different, louder with slightly different EQ.
— "Green Mist" (Tajiri) is mastered differently, less brickwalling.
— "Longhorn" (JBL) on one of the HOF albums is the full version with ending, like the DVD, but higher quality.
— "Radio" (Zack Ryder) at one point was mastered differently than the album, and had less brickwalling and a little more bass. Now it's the Downstait version.

There may be more, but that's what I remember off the top of my head.

Thanks! I knew about "Longhorn" but not the others, so I appreciate the info.

[Seanicho]

I just realized the Gold-Lust single/WM2014 album is the full version with the ending. Anthology was shortened. I don't have any headphones on at the moment, so I'm not sure about any audio quality differences.

[Alex]

I just realized the Gold-Lust single/WM2014 album is the full version with the ending. Anthology was shortened. I don't have any headphones on at the moment, so I'm not sure about any audio quality differences.

On Anthology, there's more audio compression.

[Christopher]

Is it true that the single releases of the Vol. 8 songs are mastered better than the album was?

[Alex]

Is it true that the single releases of the Vol. 8 songs are mastered better than the album was?

I don't hear any difference.

However, I never understood what was the problem about the mastering of the album. It sounds really good to me and not compressed at all. Can someone explain this, please ?

[bubbafan2]

Is it true that the single releases of the Vol. 8 songs are mastered better than the album was?

In my opinion, it’s true.
Despite owning the CD, I listen to the single versions of Santino, Hornswoggle, Kofi, etc, because they sound better. Themes like Beth Phoenix, Kennedy, and Hawkins & Ryder sound 100x better in gamerips than on the CD.

I still remember how disappointed I was when I picked up the CD at Walmart, and heard the first beats of No More Words. It sounded like absolute garbage. Vol 6 may have some distortion issues, but the sound is much clearer and fuller than Vol 8.

I don't hear any difference.

However, I never understood what was the problem about the mastering of the album. It sounds really good to me and not compressed at all. Can someone explain this, please ?

Did you listen to the physical CD or the downloadable album? I think the online version sounds a little better, but not much.

IMO, compared to Volumes 4, 5, and 6, Vol 8 sounds awful. Beats have very little “OOMPH” due to horrible compression, and the sound is washed out. If you listen to Glamazon on the CD and then the gamerip, the difference is night and day.

[Alex]

Is it true that the single releases of the Vol. 8 songs are mastered better than the album was?

In my opinion, it’s true.
Despite owning the CD, I listen to the single versions of Santino, Hornswoggle, Kofi, etc, because they sound better. Themes like Beth Phoenix, Kennedy, and Hawkins & Ryder sound 100x better in gamerips than on the CD.

I still remember how disappointed I was when I picked up the CD at Walmart, and heard the first beats of No More Words. It sounded like absolute garbage. Vol 6 may have some distortion issues, but the sound is much clearer and fuller than Vol 8.

I don't hear any difference.

However, I never understood what was the problem about the mastering of the album. It sounds really good to me and not compressed at all. Can someone explain this, please ?

Did you listen to the physical CD or the downloadable album? I think the online version sounds a little better, but not much.

IMO, compared to Volumes 4, 5, and 6, Vol 8 sounds awful. Beats have very little “OOMPH” due to horrible compression, and the sound is washed out. If you listen to Glamazon on the CD and then the gamerip, the difference is night and day.

I compared the iTunes singles with the digital release of Vol.8 from iTunes and couldn't find any difference, so I'd say all are the exact same tracks.

I also just compared the iTunes release with my CDrip ; I noticed a little more compression on "Victory Is Mine" and "Hes Ma Da", and maybe a very slight mixing difference on some of the tracks.

The mastering of the tracks in the games was often better until WWE '12, closer to the arena mixing with good bass sound and dynamic, so maybe this explains why many gamerips have a better quality sound than album releases and not only this one. The full arena version of "In The Middle Of It" being from SvR09 and being a pretty different version than the one on the album, this is probably why it sounds better in the game.

On a side note, I still don't understand why the music from PS1 games have a way better audio quality than on PC or PS4 games. What the hell happened and, why so much horrible compression !?

[Christopher]

I haven't heard the CD version in years; I currently just have the iTunes version of the album. It definitely sounds like I remember, being quieter and more compressed, but I can't say if it's improved compared to the CD or not.

I compared the Vol. 8 version of "Glamazon" to the game rip and I can actually hear the difference. I'm usually not able to hear a lot of the small differences that others hear between two files, which is why I was asking for the opinion of others who are better at that sort of thing so I could know if there was anything notable I was missing out on.

I'm also still interested in knowing if there are any other instances where one digital release (be it from an album, a single, a compilation, etc.) is notably different than other digital releases (and this isn't just limited to Jim Johnston either, although obviously he has the large majority of duplicate releases).

[Christopher]

I took a chance and spent $1.29 on the "SOS" single to compare it to the Vol. 8 iTunes release. As you can see, they're the same (Vol. 8 is on the top, single is on the bottom). Oh well. At least I was smart enough to pick a song I actually like, so having a duplicate doesn't bother me too much.

SOS.png

[IAmNeomic]

I haven't heard the CD version in years; I currently just have the iTunes version of the album. It definitely sounds like I remember, being quieter and more compressed, but I can't say if it's improved compared to the CD or not.

I compared the Vol. 8 version of "Glamazon" to the game rip and I can actually hear the difference. I'm usually not able to hear a lot of the small differences that others hear between two files, which is why I was asking for the opinion of others who are better at that sort of thing so I could know if there was anything notable I was missing out on.

I'm also still interested in knowing if there are any other instances where one digital release (be it from an album, a single, a compilation, etc.) is notably different than other digital releases (and this isn't just limited to Jim Johnston either, although obviously he has the large majority of duplicate releases).

The difference between Volume 8 and the game rip is that the game version has additional EQ applied, like a light treble boost. Most of the themes in that game have this.

[The Fiend]

Are there any differences (quality wise) between This Time It's Mine single and Uncaged versions?

[Alex]

Are there any differences (quality wise) between This Time It's Mine single and Uncaged versions?

No, it seems to be the exact same file.

[The Fiend]

Quick question: I noticed on "Jambalayer" YT vids he uploaded a 6 min version of Rest In Peace with a better ending than the DVD rip that slightly cuts off at the last second. So my question is, is there another source for the full (non looped) version of Rest In Peace besides the 15-0 DVD?

[Christopher]

Speaking of unique singles, I just discovered that there are 2 versions of "Back to the NYC" by CFO$: the 2:02 version on iTunes with the ambient street noise intro, and a 1:50 version without the intro on other digital platforms (as heard here): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qXX6-o3usY

This is probably old news, but it's new to me.