I somehow (all things considered, luckily) ended up with two versions of Mirage on vinyl. The first one I owned has the same SB mix as the compact disc issue, and the second is without a doubt an alternate mix.
The most noticeable difference in the non-CD mix is the omission of a lot of Stevie's backing vocals. I wouldn't say this "blows the [other mix] away" (the more Stevie the better, lol), but it is an interesting oddity which I've never read an explaination of. If I didn't own both versions on vinyl I'd probably write it off as the more "vocal-ly" mix being specially made for compact disc.
The most important point my post raises is that based solely on the initial question posed: your sanity is well in tact, and that counts for something.
Desperately seeking expert.
