Detroit, Michigan on D-Town

[Tlscapital]

 How odd is that; two consecutive releases promoting the same song and using the same backing track. Would anyone know as to why ? Is there some sort of history around it ? 

[Dylan]

some or even all of the same singers as well ?

 

they sound very similar to me.

 

thw flip of the peps is also a really nice track i ised to play a lot.

 

 

[Tony Smith]

Peps is really lo-fi, haven’t played the Ronnie Love for years, but thought that was clearer?

[Tlscapital]

I don't have the Ronnie Love but heard it and indeed it's a loud "banger" that kicks in and Ronnie sings like "moaning grumpy" in there.

A little too much to my taste... Where the Peps version is more "sung" but indeed the whole mix is sadly a bit muffled down.

This Peps on D-Town is also the sole D-Town number to have a styrene release but no vinyl counterparts release... 

[Dylan]

The ronnie love is lo-fi as well.

 

its a shame its almost a really good record but just lacks a little bit.

[Roburt]

I believe that Ronnie's 45 escaped in March 65, whereas the Peps version was two months later (May) ... perhaps the guys at the label believed in the song & after Ronnie's verion sank without making it's mark, they tried again with the Peps.

BTW, Ronnie only had a very short recording career but went on to do great things as a writer / producer at Motown, Invictus, Hot Wax, etc. Guess his life story has been told by one of the UK Detroit experts.

Getting back to the song, of course, one of the local radio DJ's may have been asking for a theme song for his show or something along similar lines. 

Edited December 16, 2017 by Roburt

[Tlscapital]

4 hours ago, dylan said:

The ronnie love is lo-fi as well.

 

its a shame its almost a really good record but just lacks a little bit.

Ronnie Love is not particularly Lo-Fi IMO. Most D-Town's masterings are rather "brute" and simplistic in their sonic productions with saturated highs (trademark ?). But in comparison to Ronnie's Love the Peps 'Detroit, Michigan' is all bass-ed up to give it a muffle sound.

The tune is fun like a good "boys chant" theme and likely there must have been some commercial expectation for it to go bigger. As it sounds it could have been. Maybe Ronnie Love's "grumpy moaning" singing à la Contours 'do you love me' was considered "out of date" by March 1965... maybe and more hypothetical theories...

...a "rush" dub re-recording (that could explain the "muffle" backing track rework erasing the vocals (=highs) echoes from the tape) by the Peps was done. The pressing plant couldn't follow the schedule for this "rush" release and for the first time they went to the Chicago's Columbia Recording Studio to do the masters and pressings...

[Dylan]

I have the Ronnie love and find that too bass heavy hence my low fi comment.

 

so based on that I don’t think I’d be to fussed about the peps version.  I struggle to think it could have more bass.

[Tlscapital]

I don't have the Ronnie Love but I heard the YT clips with slight differences in sound quality but it's nothing to do with the Peps in terms of sound fidelity.

Find hereby a soundclip of both sides I've done of the copy of the Peps I've just got in and judge by yourself; peps detroit.mp3

Even the flip side 'never had a love so good' doesn't sound so "bassy". It's only poor on the studio mastering mix and likely a bad template mastering job then pressed on cheap styrene. 

[Dylan]

Yes side by side the bass is certainly much stronger on the peps and ronnie love is a lot clearer sound than i remember.

 

my ronnie love is not filed away anymore so i must have sold it.....

 

or its misfiled which means i might as well have sold it as i wont be finding it anymtime soon.