Amsterdam Russ

So, these are the version of the song we have... * The Tymes, Columbia, 1969 * Paul Anka, RCA (LP track), 1969 * Unidentified demo/acetate, 1970 * Casper Peters - Enterprise, 1970 * 3 Degrees - Roulette, 1972 * The Players - Chocolate City, 1975 * Cameo - Casablanca, 1977 * Duane Clark - Spark, 1978 * Johnny Melfi's Unison - Pyramid?, 1978 Any more info or additions..?

There's a soundclip of the Duane Clark to be had on this page: https://www.cdandlp.com/item/2/0-220204-0-1-0/2946045933/duane-clark-find-my-way.html That disco sound is really not my cup of tea. Each to their own, of course. Would like to hear a clip if this if anyone has it, or can find it online...

Here's what I know about this acetate... ¨ ¨With the acetate came a 45 of the Casper Peters' version on Enterprise. On the paper sleeve of this is a handwritten note that reads: ¨ ¨ Dear Isaac:- All I want to know is why?? ¨ ¨ The note is signed off with initials that look as if they read: JM. Reinforcing the question is an arrow pointing at the label of the Casper Peters' version. Pic attached... Steve Cropper and Don Nix produced the Casper Peters 45, and Stax distributed the record. It seems reasonable to think that perhaps the Isaac being addressed is Isaac Hayes. However, is there any connection to the man? Both discs came from the estate sale of an old lady who, in her day, had been an antiques dealer. Among the lots for sale were a number of boxes containing personal items once belonging to Isaac Hayes. It's thought that the antiques dealer might have bought these boxes at what I believe is called a lien sale. That, as I understand it, is when the tax authorities seize your assets and sells them off to the public, thus recouping some outstanding tax. It is thought that after buying the boxes as a job lot, the lady left them in storage for years, possibly, I'm told, since the early 80s. As has been pointed out, the writer of "Find my way" was Johnny Melfi. With the initials on the sleeve being "JM" could it be that Melfi scribbled the tersely written note to Hayes? Had Melfi cut a new arrangement of the song and sent it to Hayes in the hope he'd get it released through Stax? Certainly, Hayes had control over such things then. Perhaps Hayes decided that the new arrangement was good, but not good enough, and so got Steve Cropper and Nix do their thing on it and had Casper Peters record it. Unmistakably, there are many similarities between the arrangements of the two versions. If any of this is correct, it dates the acetate version - the possible demo cut - to before the Casper Peters cut, which was released in 1970. There's no documentation to substantiate this, only the story told to me and the facts that the acetate and the 45 were found together in the possessions that once belonged to Isaac Hayes, and the tantalizing coincidence that the initials just happen to be that of the songwriter...

I think you're probably about on the button there. There happens to be bit of a back story which supports this, one involving Isaac Hayes. When I get a bit of time, hopefully later in the day, I'll explain the connection and what little information I know...

Ah, I see where you're coming from...

Thanks for the suggestions. Someone also suggested to me that it might be Lou Rawls, I expect because of the spoken intro more than anything else. But, as with OC Smith, it would need to be sung about an octave lower to be convincing - and the voice is just not rich enough for it to be either. That aside, it doesn't sound like Rawls or Smith. Vocals are nowhere near trademark warbly enough to be Johnny Mathis, surely? Paul Anka - would be interesting to hear a clip of his version, even though it's not him. This compilation? No mention of it on that. Somewhere else, perhaps?

I've been asking around and so far no one has been able to identify the artist. Perhaps it might have been more sensible to put up a sample first, but here it is now. The acetate it comes from provides no details of the singer/group. https://soundcloud.com/harveysoulfinger/find-my-way-unknown-unreleased All help in identifying the singer appreciated...

A quick trawl online turned up this courtesy of someone's request through the Freedom of Information Act. Just to be clear, these figures relate to the UK's Royal Mail (so figures are in pounds Sterling). Mis-delivery... now if ever a term was conjured up out of a PR exec's hat..!

I take it you didn't read the beginning of this thread

No, the version I have definitely isn't any of those...

No, epoxy is a different type of adhesive all together. Let's put it this way, if you applied epoxy to a 45, I don't think it would come off - ever!

The quote you pulled from the article suggests that yellow may be better for getting into grooves, cracks, etc. Certainly that's how I read it. At the end of the day, as long as you only use carpenter's wood glue (which will come off easily) you should not have a problem. Whether yellow is better than white, or vice-versa, no idea. But it might be fun to find out.

I've only used the white glue and have found that to be excellent. As mentioned earlier, filling the grooves with the stuff does not appear to be a problem at all. If, on the other hand, the yellow glue has better gap-filling capabilities, then it may do a better job. Just to confirm, what I'm suggesting is to use the Elmer's carpenter's wood glue product. I don't see "glue all" in this range and I think we may be having a bit of confusion. If you click through the link to their wood glue range, the products you want are on the bottom half of the page, not the top where the 'glue all' is shown. There are nine carpenter's wood glues in the range and 'glue all' is not among them. In the video above, the person says they're using Titebond II. That appears to be exactly the same as Elmer's wood glue in all but name: https://www.titebond.com/product.aspx?id=2ef3e95d-48d2-43bc-8e1b-217a38930fa2#

Thanks, Paul. Think the UK release was on the parent, Casablanca. Anyway, the reason for asking is that I have a version of the song on acetate from c. 1970, which I haven't been able to identify as yet. Good version it is too with a strong male lead.

Yes, same group, same song, but listed because if I hadn't someone would have come along and told me I'd forgotten it!

How many version of the song "Find my way" are there? I know of these versions... * The Tymes, Columbia, 1969 * Casper Peters - Enterprise, 1970 * 3 Degrees - Roulette, 1972 * The Players - Chocolate City, 1975 * Cameo - Casablanca, 1977 Are there any others?

I did take a look. Did you read my post above? Post 52 - the link is to their range of PVA/wood glues. The technical data (the MSDS sheet) describes the colour as 'light yellow'. If you want to know the difference between white and yellow PVA, have a read of this. https://www.woodbin.com/ref/etc/woodworking_glues.htm

Click on any of the products on that site Bob, and on the left hand side you'll see a text link that reads "View MSDS Sheet". A quick scan of that tells you whether it is PVA or not. Here's the Elmer's selection of wood glues, all of which appear to be PVA based... https://www.elmers.com/products/glues-and-adhesives/wood Aha, my partner Bev has just walked in. She works with adhesives and the like professionally. I asked her about what passes as PVA/Wood glue in the States and without a moment's pause said Elmer's - and that's without her knowing we were talking about it on here. Get yourself down the shops Bob, buy a small container of the stuff and have a go on a trashed 45...

Not at all. It's relatively odour free. You should head on to your local DIY/hardware shop. PVA/wood glue is also known as carpenter's glue and white glue. A decent art supplies shop should also be able to supply it. A quick look on the Elmer's website shows that they supply a range of PVA/wood glues... https://www.elmers.com/products/glues-and-adhesives/

Ok, found the 'before and after' clip I made when using the wood glue / PVA for the first time. The results are pretty impressive considering the grooves on this disc were absolutely packed with crud. Oh, and before anyone has a pop about the music, I like Miguelito Valdez - OK? https://soundcloud.com/harveysoulfinger/valdezmexicobeforeafter

I use a plastic card to spread the glue evenly over the surface. When it comes off, the layer of dried glue is an inverse of the grooves. You can actually feel them and I'm sure you could almost use the layer as a stamper (ok, not quite).

I recall a thread on a Facebook group not so long ago about ultrasonic cleaners and the consensus was that they were pretty effective. So, I'm surprised at the results you got. Perhaps they're overrated?

It's PVA, also known as wood glue. Conveniently for me, Bev my partner uses this stuff professionally and so usually has a gallon drum of the stuff in her workshop. I have it in an old washing up liquid bottle from which it can be poured through the nozzle. Basically, you cover the surface in the stuff and leave it to dry. You know when it's done because the glue goes transparent. Then you just peel it off - carefully, of course. I think I might still have a 30 second before/after recording of the first test, which I did on what I considered a trashed LP. The improvement is very noticeable. If I can find it, I'll post it to Soundcloud.

I became a convert to the glue treatment after reading about it some months ago on here. I've had some amazing results with it. Funny, Bob, that you mention Craig Moerer. A vg 45 I bought from him transformed into an amazing near-mint after the glue treatment - and that's no exaggeration. In other cases little or no improvement has been heard. Certain models of ultrasonic jewellery cleaners are supposed to be good, and I would quite like to try one. For the moment though, I'll stick with the glue...

Never had a problem with 45s coming out of Belgium. Bought something last week, in fact, and it arrived in just a couple of days.