This is a subject that I've seen discussed before on this forum, but I couldn't find a clear answer.

How rare is the uncensored version of The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man? Some say it was originally released like that in the US, some say it wasn't. Nobody doubts that it's on the 1989 Singles Collection. I used to have it on a 45 RPM, but I threw it away after buying the aforementioned Singles Collection, seeing no real value in it. Did I throw away a rarity? I would hope not. At any rate, it must have been sold here in The Netherlands, but I'm not sure about the rest of the world. I did see someone mention that it was released as an "SP" over here, but the images he posted were no longer available, and I wasn't sure what an SP is anyway (a single?), so I didn't know if he was talking about the same release I used to have.

I'm sure someone can answer this one definitively.

What has been censored in that song?

The line "I break my ass every day". The censored version also fades out early.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-08-05 13:28 by UrbanSteel.

nice art, never seen before

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-08-05 13:28 by UrbanSteel.

yes i visit there,,,(can't remember this one)

Some say this uncensored/extended alternate mix (w/louder harmonica) was on the original US single.
I don´t think this has ever been confirmed, though...
So, I´ve always thought the only place to find it is that Singles Collection box.

FreeBird:
Do you remember which 7" you had it on?

Yes, it was a Decca single bought by or for my mother at the time of release. It was the B-side to (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. It was definitely the uncensored version, I am absolutely sure of that. I still have a recording of it on cassette so I can compare it to the Singles Collection version, but I'm 95% sure I don't have the record itself anymore (and if I do, I wouldn't know where to look for it).

Apparently Decca released US B-sides here in The Netherlands, as the UK version of Satisfaction was backed with The Spider and the Fly, to the best of my knowledge. I always assumed it was just identical to the American version and therefore not very special, which is why I didn't think twice about getting rid of it (even though I normally don't throw things away very easily). I fear I might be proven wrong...

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UrbanSteel
Tomorrow i will check my 45" version .

So, did you listen to it yet?

The mystery solved?...

I listened to a very early US press of this.
The Under Assistant is indeed uncensored, featuring "I break my ass every day", BUT otherwise it has the same mix and length as on the Out Of Our Heads LPs/CD.

So, imo, the 1989 Singles Collection is the only place to find the uncensored extended ALTERNATE mix with more harmonica and less guitar.
The remastered 2002 Singles Collection has same censored version/mix as on Out Of Our Heads.

This also means that the original uncensored mix is not available on LP/CD...
(as far as I know, that is)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-04-07 05:59 by rootsman.

Hmm... I'll listen to my version and post the results here.

Yes, it appears the mystery was solved. Indeed, the single version I listened to is shorter than the 1989 Singles Collection version. I listened to them simultaneously to confirm this (the single version ran ever so slightly faster, but I blame that on my record player, the cassette deck I used to record it, the cassette deck I used to play it back, or a combination of all three - anyway, I compensated for that, so it didn't affect the result in any way). I can't tell for sure if it was a different mix (I'd have to listen to it in more detail), but it probably was.

But it's good to know that (as far as we can tell) that alternate version, while unavailable on CD, is not rare enough for me to feel bad about having thrown it away. Phew...