Karaoke Forums

Is there ANY way of knowing ahead of time whether the song you see listed in the book is the long version or the short version?  (I hate shortened versions!)  


I sang "I Love You Always Forever" at one club and it was the long version.  It went really well, so I sang it again at another club, and they had the short version, which leaves out an entire verse!  Ugh!  I went ahead and gave it my best shot, though!  (Ironically, though, the one with the short version had the lyrics right, whereas the longer version had some of them wrong.)  

Also, once I sang "Slow Ride" (how's that for 2 radically different songs!  LOL!), and that turned out to be the short version also.  (I just made a joke of it:  "Hey!  What happened to the rest of the song???")

So how can you tell which version it is????  Please!  Inquiring minds want to know!  :)

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Next time you get a version you like, make sure to note which manufacturer did it.  There is no way to tell you ahead of time, although the kj MAY know, otherwise it's all trial & error.  Sound Choice is one that usually produces the full versions (although not always).  Some of the lesser quality brands will shorten & edit to be able to get more on a disc.

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Often a KJ with a good selection will have both long and short with only one listing in his songbooks. You should ask when you turn in your slip if he has alternate versions.

Even then tho, he may prefer you sing the short version if rotation is tight and the night is short or the particular song isn't right for the mood in the club at the moment.

Thank you guys for responding (and keep the responses coming, all!).  

I went somewhere a few nights ago and whenever they had 2 different listings for a song, I wrote down both (example:  #1000 or #2000), so the KJ could pick the best one.  One of mine was "Silver Bells", and there were 2 versions, so I asked the KJ what key it was in.  He said he'd let me know.  Well, he didn't--I guess he got busy--but that's ok; it worked out fine.  The key was a little high for me but not too high.

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I try to do that.  The problem is, sometimes they just have numbers in the book and they don't say SC or whatever.

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which is why I prefer the manu codes rather than a custom format like #146-02!

That's when you need to watch the screen.  Usually when the song is cued up it will display a manufacturer logo.

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I've noticed that and will have to make a mental note to pay attention to which ones are which.  BTW, I got confused once because one of the companies was called Sweet Georgia Brown, and the logo came up saying that and I was like, "Wait a minute--that's not what I'm singing!"  

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Concerning karaoke song versions:

1.  Some karaoke manufacturers create what I call "karaokied" versions of a song.   These versions are those that are missing a verse, or have the instrumental breaks shortened/removed or the songs are considerably shortened.  Usually, we are talking about the low-quality manus.  Even some of the better manus shortened some of the instumental breaks in their versions ("Copacabana" on DK and "Magic Man" on Pioneer are good examples of this).  

2.  Then there's the issue of radio/album versions.  Many of today's hit songs actually have two legitimate versions.  One is the version on the album and the other is a "radio friendly" radio version.  Most karaoke manus tend to record the "radio" versions.  At least Sound Choice lets you know on their listings if it is the "radio" version.  Sound Choice as a rule generally records the "radio" versions but there are exceptions.  "Don't Cry" by Seal on SC8233 is actually the much longer ALBUM version.  I found this out the hard way one night and had to buy the album to figure this one out.  

3.  Occasionally, some manus decide to record some weird version of a song instead of the one most people are familiar with.  The most notorious of these is the ORIGINAL Sound Choice version of "Hey Man, Nice Shot" by Filter on SC8562.  This version sounds nothing like the one most are familiar with.  I've seen singers who selected this one actually walk off the stage in disgust.  Fortunately, Sound Choice re-recorded this one RIGHT (SC8756).  Then there's the SC version of "This Is It" by Kenny Loggins on SC8264.  Now one would expect on a "70's and 80's" disc the ORIGINAL version that came out in 1979.  Instead SC decided to record the acoustic version which came out in 1991 if I remember correctly.  The very slow "live" version of "Wonderful Tonight" on Standing Ovation 203 is usually quite a shocker to those who expect the original version.

4.  Some manus recorded some of their songs in different keys other than the original key.  DKKaraoke and Nikkodo are the best examples of this.  Sometimes, it's very difficult to figure out a song for the first time if the key is drastically different than the original.  I totally bombed when I attempted "The Power Of Love" by Huey Lewis on DK.  To get this version back to the original key it requires +5 on the key changer.  SC has an excellent version of this (SC8573).  

I also prefer a song book to list the songs by manu #.  However, I would settle for a book with a custom song# format that incorporates a manu code such as SC563-12 for example.

I'm not familiar with it at all!  



At my class reunion this year, the first night was a get-together at a place where they have karaoke.  I didn't get to sing, because by the time I finally got up enough nerve (not having sung in public for a few years) and decided what I was gonna sing, they ran out of time!    But there was a guy there who is in a band, and he sang "Open Arms" and it was in the wrong key!  He was really p.o.'ed about it, too!  You could tell he knew the song and knew what he was doing--it was just a shame about the key!  

I've noticed also sometimes they have parts that I don't remember hearing in the song.  Not too long ago I sang "10th Avenue Freeze-Out" and it had a longer intro than I remember hearing, plus during the chorus there were all these extra lines (the most frequently-used of which was "sad sad girl") that I don't remember hearing!  I was thinking, "Huh????"  But I just sang it the way I remembered it and didn't sing the parts I didn't know, and it worked out fine.    I know the disc was not Sound Choice, but I don't remember which company it was that put it out.  

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The sound choice of "Get Low" by Lil Jon is much longer than the shortened version of Pop Hits Monthlys version.   Therefore I usually bring my own version.

And on Sweet Georgia Brown plays a live version of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs/Paranoid" together on the same track which is about 5-7 minutes long.

I've heard a few guys sing "War Pigs", but it didn't have "Paranoid" with it (in fact, I don't think I've heard anyone sing "Paranoid" at karaoke).

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Laura, the version of "Open Arms" by Journey you are referring to is most likely the Nikkodo version (SAV P15 or SAV7019).  This one is keyed WAY off.  Sound Choice has a great version of this song (SC8192).

Oh, BTW, last night I sang "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys" (Traffic) and it was a very heavily edited version.  (I think the company that put it out was SGB, but I may be wrong.)  Anyway, they left out a lot of the instrumental parts.  I guess that's so they could emphasize the singing parts more (since -), and because the original version is about 11 minutes long.  But it was VERY BADLY  edited.  I'll bet people who didn't know the song could even tell where some of the cuts were made!  It was that bad!  Oh well, I had fun singing it, and there was a guy there who complimented me on my choice of songs.

I wouldn't have minded if they left in the instrumental parts--I would've just done a lot of dancing at that point!  

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I love being a mom!