Phantom of the Opera - the missing finale.

Albie

Albie

Keeping an open eye on the Weeping Angels.
Been that I have been collecting Maiden CD's for longer than most, I do have the original (or as near as - up until "Somewhere in Time") CD releases of each of the first 13 albums and I have "The First Ten Years" on CD as well. So, as I have all that, I was never really tempted by the re-mastered re-release of each album (I could not afford at the time the Eddies Head and I'll be buggered if I could afford it even now).

But - As the first two albums I have are on the EMI Fame re-issue, it had no lyrics (even the original release of vinyl was spared of this), I thought I could maybe get the re-mastered of these two (just these two) to get the lyrics. BIG mistake, it had that friggin' picture along the spine - so I had to get the rest (which I subsequently did). I had to make up that complete picture (and as I have stated before, the Donington CD buggers it all up) - but all of that is a different story.

The thing I did notice was that the closing seconds of Phantom of the Opera had the very last line repeated (after around a 3 to 4 second gap) in a very ethereal type way - just the vocals - but this is not present on the re-mastered version. Why is that? It is certainly not a time constraint as the whole album (even with Sanctuary) is still less than 50 minutes of a possible 80.

I have checked the commentary and cannot find any info on this (really, why would it suggest anything so trivial) but it does baffle me why as to the omission. I'm not loosing any sleep over it, but if any one has any info, I'd be interested to hear it - I'm only curious. :D
 
this thing exists, Albie, from the original vinyl releases
Paul says something like "tracked back at you there"
I don't know really,
it's you the English man, isn't it ?
 
You are right __no5. It is on the original version of the track as I have it on my CD Fame issue of the debut (and I certainly remember it from the vinyl), but I don't have it on the re-mastered version. Odd!

I think it does say "You tortured me back at your lair"
 
What's strange is that I have never heard this on my vinyl copy. As a matter of fact, I heard it for the first time when I read this thread and remembered I did have some rare MP3 of Phantom lying around on my hard drive.

I suppose the reason why I never heard it on my vinyl (which, for many years, was my only copy of the first album, and one which I treasure very much) is because the groove stops right at the ('natural') end of the song and then immediately goes into the run-out groove. My assumption is that the ending is somewhere within the run-out groove, and quite at the back (it's not 3-4 seconds as Albie said, but more like 10 seconds, at least on my MP3). However, I have always only had automatic or semi-automatic LP players, the arms of which would never go to the very back of the run-out groove (I just tried manually, it doesn't work), so I suppose this ending is at a part of the run-out groove which the arms of my players never reached. Of course, that is a theory of yours truly, technical mastermind and nobel lauterate in physics. :P

However, I have no answer to Albie's question, so just consider this post as the urge to say something. ;)
 
Perun said:
(it's not 3-4 seconds as Albie said, but more like 10 seconds, at least on my MP3).
Click to expand...
I've never really timed it and at the time of writing, I just had a guesstimate - but I have just timed it and it is between 9 and 10 seconds.
 
Whatever the reason I feel cheated. :( They could have done it for the same reason they added Total Eclipse to Number of the Beast re-master, re-release; they just felt it could use some "cleaning up" maybe. Thinking about it I wonder what other tinkering they did on the other albums...
 
In regard to Perun's theory about the run-out groove...

If a record needle reaches that groove and doesn't lift, the contents of that groove will repeat over and over until a human lifts the needle. So, if the passage is only heard once, then it must be placed just before the run-out groove - still close enough to the center that most needles will lift first.
 
Interesting. I also noticed this some years ago but never cared to find out why there was a difference. I'll check my editions and compare.
 
I did think about adding it to my acoustic version of POTO but thought that most fans would spend more time wondering it was there or thinking that it ruined my version than they would enjoying it, so I left it out. I always find myself thinking that line at the end of the song, though...


"......tortcha me BACK atchyo layah!"

:D
 
I used to listen to that song from the cassette edition where that ending wasn't included. Later I bought the vinyl and I clearly remember getting a major fright when I heard it for the first time as I thought the first side was over and didn't expect anything after... and all of a sudden that distorted voice appeared, that was when I went  :scared:
 
I think it was only available on the original release (possibly UK only?) of the LP. The track listing is missing Sanctuary but has the "extended" vocal track on Phantom. I have a UK import of the 1st cd minus Sanctaury and the extra bit is there.
 
I also have the original CD version (bought it new, back in 1991 or 1992) and it indeed features "the repetition".

CD identification (written on the disk):

-Fame-
EMI

CDM 7 52018 2
Stereo ADD   CD-FA 3121
BIEM/MCPS   Made in the UK

1982 Original Sound Recording made by EMI Records Ltd

From the back of the CD-casket

CDM 7 52018 2
UK-CD-FA 3121
 
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