Songs that sounded "better" on AM

[radiorob2.0]

Okay, save the “FM is a better delivery system than AM” discussion and play the game. What songs sounded “better” on old school AM? I’ll start.


“Ballroom Blitz” by Sweet

 

[Keef59]

''Go All The Way'' by the Raspberries, and ''Moonlight Feels Right'' by Starbuck (NOT the coffee joint, kids).

 

[Oldiesaholic]

"You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes.
It had a deeper, more ambient sound. Perhaps it was the reverb AM stations used.
It sounds "shallow" on FM/Satellite.

 

[vibe]

"Land of 1000 Dances"- by Cannibal and the Headhunters. "I liked the beat; I'll give it a 95 and a half."

 

[rwells2265]

"You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes.
It had a deeper, more ambient sound. Perhaps it was the reverb AM stations used.
It sounds "shallow" on FM/Satellite.

What also helped was the way Motown mixed their 45s. All hot, compressed and in sparkling mono. In stereo, they sound artificial to these ears ... I can't stand listening to any of the Motown classics that way. (God bless the Hitsville USA box set)

Other better-on-AM hits:
--"Venus" / Shocking Blue
--"Come and Get It" / Badfinger
--"All Right Now" / Free -- the single version, not the one we've heard burnt to a crisp on classic rock stations. The guitar hook is mixed differently on the 45. Very tailor-made for AM.
--"Born to Be Wild" / Steppenwolf (bonus points if compression turned up to 11)
--"Why Can't We Live Together" / Timmy Thomas
--"My Sharona" / The Knack
--"(I Know) I'm Losing You" / The Faces or Rare Earth
--Any of Rare Earth's other hits (see MOTOWN, above)
--Anything produced by Phil Spector, especially The Righteous Brothers.

Russell W.
Savannah, Ga.

 

[Tom Wells]

Rumble by Link Wray
Louie Louie by the Kingsmen
Jumpin Jack Flash by the Rolling Stones
Anything by the Ramones

 

[majicjim]

If Not For You-Olivia Newton-John
Are You Ready?-Pacific Gas and Electric
Love(Can Make You Happy)-Mercy
What's Going On-Marvin Gaye
(Just Like)Romeo and Juliet-The Reflections
We're An American Band-Grand Funk Railroad
Mickey-Toni Basil
South Street-The Orlons
Crossfire-The Orlons
Dead Man's Curve-Jan and Dean
Sister Golden Hair-America
Hotel California-Eagles
Transfusion-Nervous Norvous

All late 60s/early 70s Top 40 jingles produced by PAMS,Drake and TM
Priority One(jingle package)-JAM Creative Productions

 

[ErieDJGuy]

Some of these may have already been mentioned. Scouring the MusicRadio 77 WABC surveys I found these and recall they sounded much better on AM radio.

1971-
Signs - Five Man Electrical Band
Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones
Wild World - Cat Stevens
Maggie May - Rod Stewart
Want Ads - Honey Cone
Have You Seen Her - Chi-Lites
Family Affair - Sly & The Family Stone
It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr
She's A Lady - Tom Jones
Got To Be There - Michael Jackson
Funky Nassau - Beginning Of The End
Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
Sweet City Woman - Stampeders
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight
Treat Her Like A Lady - Cornelius Brothers
Riders On The Storm (short version) - Doors

1972-
Nights In White Satin - Moody Blues
Brandy - Looking Glass
Nice To Be With You - Gallery
Everybody Plays The Fool - Main Ingredient
Papa Was A Rolling Stone - Temptations
School's Out - Alice Cooper
Layla - Derek & The Dominoes
It Never Rains In Southers Calif. - Albert Hammond
I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash

1973-
Bad Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce
We're An American Band - Grand Funk
You're So Vain - Carly Simon
Ramblin' Man - Allman Brothers Band
Little Willy - Sweet
Long Train Runnin' - Doobie Brothers
Last Song - Edward Bear
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

1974-
Rock The Boat - Hues Corp.
Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
The Way We Were - Barbra Streisand
Then Came You - Dionne Warwick/The Spinners
BTO - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
Can't Get Enough - Bad Co.
Cats In The Cradle - Harry Chapin
Angie Baby - Helen Reddy


By 1975, was listening mostly to FM.

 

[vibe]

Maybe off topic but didn't a lot of us "aging baby boomers" modify the existing sound systems in cars w/just AM radios during the 60's by adding a rear speaker(or two) and installing a fader swich? With the right setup, a clear AM station playing music sounded pretty darn good and the range of some of the AM's was a lot greater than the FM's.

 

[rwells2265]

All late 60s/early 70s Top 40 jingles produced by PAMS,Drake and TM
Priority One(jingle package)-JAM Creative Productions

I second that. PAMS #34 and #37 ... heck, ALL their jingles were meant to be heard through one speaker. And FM didn't do any justice to Johnny Mann's vocalists, either.

JAM had a winner out of the gate with Priority One. Very fond memories of that package, used for YEARS on a little station in southeast Missouri: KYMO 1080/East Prairie. That little 500-watt daytimer had a fantastic audio chain -- highly compressed, with just the right touch of reverb. A classic '60s sound in the middle of the Reagan years. Top-40 all the way to 1990, too; you just had to hear "Nothing Compares 2 U" through 1965-style processing.

I think KYMO is still using those same JAM cuts on their present sat oldies format, too.

--Russell W.
Savannah, Ga.

 

[Geb]

Everything from 40 years ago sounded better than the crap coming out today.

 

[R.D.P.]

I too like the older songs.

Most of this modern music, doesn't appeal to me.

I have no need for it and I'm fixing to turn 36 in 2007.

R.D.P. <><

 

[8638]

Some of these may have already been mentioned. Scouring the MusicRadio 77 WABC surveys I found these and recall they sounded much better on AM radio.

1971-
Signs - Five Man Electrical Band
Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones
Wild World - Cat Stevens
Maggie May - Rod Stewart
Want Ads - Honey Cone
Have You Seen Her - Chi-Lites
Family Affair - Sly & The Family Stone
It Don't Come Easy - Ringo Starr
She's A Lady - Tom Jones
Got To Be There - Michael Jackson
Funky Nassau - Beginning Of The End
Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
Sweet City Woman - Stampeders
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight
Treat Her Like A Lady - Cornelius Brothers
Riders On The Storm (short version) - Doors


What a snapshot of music! 1971 was definitely one of the better music years of that decade. I like EVERY ONE of these songs! I was 11 then, and listened to them on Famous 56 (WFIL Philadelphia), WIBG ("Where your friends are!") Philadelphia, and the East Coast granddaddy of Top 40, 77 WABC New York. I pretty much stayed with the AM's through the 70's, although I did listen to FM a bit.

The music DID sound better on AM then. Of course, the manufacturers of AM radios built quality equipment designed to make the most of the 5 KHz top end. The crap AM sections today do nothing to make it sound good.

Does anyone think that folks will be discussing the merits of the top rap/hip-hop or other crap of today 35 years from now?

 

[Tom Wells]

After some more thought on the issue, I am going to say everything sounds better in AM.
Partly due to the mode, partly due to the radios. But it requires a radio suited to hi-fi.

 

[Charles1]

One more '60's nugge that sounded better on AM: "Go Now!" by the Moody Blues

 

[ChrisInMI]

Although I was born after the golden age of AM top 40 radio was over, I'd have to second the comment about the Righteous Brothers, especially "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration." How do I know? I live within range of several Canadian AMs which still play music of the '60s and '70s, and one (CFCO 630 Chatham, ON) actually broadcasts in AM Stereo (or used to at least).

I'll add these to the lists of oldies that, to me at least, sound better on AM. This is probably not entirely objective on my part; a lot of this is probably based on fantasizing what these songs must have sounded like when they were brand new and booming out over CKLW, WABC, WLS, CHUM and the other Top 40 powerhouses of old.

Mandy - Barry Manilow
A Lover's Concerto - The Toys
Monday, Monday - Mamas & Papas
Close To You - Carpenters
I'm Your Puppet - James & Bobby Purify
The End Of The World - Skeeter Davis
Society's Child - Janis Ian
Downtown and I Know A Place - Petula Clark
Love's Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra

 

[chuckydoll]

Detroit-era (1959-71) Motown releases in their 45 RPM versions. They sound better on AM and FM.

 

[KeithE4]

Detroit-era (1959-71) Motown releases in their 45 RPM versions. They sound better on AM and FM.

I remember reading something that said that Motown designed its recording processes specifically to make their music sound good on the cheap mono record players and AM radios of the day. But most commercial-rock songs recorded before 1975 or so (when AM rock stations began to go away) probably were made that way.

 

[FRR]

I think most songs the Four Seasons recorded sounded better in mono. Their 1967 version of Tell It To The Rain sounded horrible in stereo.

 

[Ultimajock]

..."I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles. Not only was that one considerably weakened in the stereo mixes (the one on the first PAST MASTERS volume sounds downright weak), but Capitol's original 45 mix (which was maintained on the Apple reissue 45 circa 1964) had the sound overmodulated just past the point of distortion, which really made it stick out from the Bobby Vinton and Connie Francis stuff of the period even more than one would think if they only heard the CD versions...

...Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" and "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations, with those thumping bass lines, were also aided by AM compression...