Open Culture:
Not every record yields gold when played backwards or spun more slowly than recommended, but a 45 of Parton’s 1973 hit “Jolene” played at 33RPM not only sounds wonderful, it also manages to reframe the narrative.
In the original version, the irresistible chorus wherein the soon-to-be-spurned party invokes Jolene’s name again and again is plaintive and fierce.
In the slow ass version, it’s plaintive and sad. The pain is the same, but the situation is much less straightforward, thanks to blurrier gender lines.
This is wild. This wonderful song sounds completely different and opens up a whole new level.
If you didn’t know which was the correct version, didn’t recognize the song or voice, you’d probably think the correct version was running at too high a RPM.
Heh! When I was a kid, I remember playing a Wayne Newton 45 RPM at 33 ⅓; he sounded just like Elvis Presley!
I tested my wife on this last night. She thought “the guy” did a great cover of the song. 🙂
The Sisters of Mercy did a great cover of Jolene in the ’80s:
https://youtu.be/pOlPDvuI8SU
Going from 33 to 45 RPM, it is a 36% speed increase, but using youtube speed of 1.5 or even 2 on this video (gear at the bottom) I dont seems to hear the voice of Dolly Parton. Why is that ?
The Sisters of Mercy did a great cover of this in the eighties… thanks to Andrew Eldritch’s baritone voice, you don’t need to slow it down!
Strangely, I post another comment after my first one, and I put a link in youtube where an iPad app was actually playing the song at both speed with a software and it was working. I will try to put it again below this one
or on youtube search for “45 RPM – Play any song on your iphone/ipad like a record at the wrong speed” or TM3G2vRhq9k
Sorry but links are blocked in comments due to comment spam.
Digital speed increase vs analog speed decrease.