Showing posts with label Remixes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Remixes. Show all posts

Sunday 22 October 2017

For America - Red Box

One of the best CD releases of recent years is undoubtedly Red Box's 'Plenty'. Red Box are better known, of course, from their Eighties hit 'For America'. This blog already featured the 7" single and the rare 10" single, so obviously the 12" single has to appear here too.

I've already had it for a couple of years, so it's one of those collection pieces that simply never made it to these pages yet. Perhaps because it features a rather strange 12" version. The 'Bazooka mix' - as it's called - was made by Red Box with Phil Harding.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: 2014
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'For America (Bazooka mix)' / 'Ain't got no... I got life', 'R 'n A'

Saturday 21 October 2017

It's alright now - Beloved

The 7" single of  'It's alright now' was already in my possession for 20 years when I started hunting for the CD-single and 12" single. Having decided to hunt down remixes of the Beloved, there were a few surprises along the way. For instance: the CD-single of this track features the 'Back to basics instrumental' remix, whereas this 12" single features the 'Back to basics' version - i.e. with vocals. Both versions are very attractive.

This 12" single features three versions of the song, with only the first one also appearing on the CD-single. Worth owning this one, then!

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received May 6, 2017
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'It's alright now (Rattling good time)' / 'It's alright now (Back to basics)', 'It's alright now (Feeling fine)'

Endless road - Time Bandits

The list of Time Bandits 12" singles continues with this remix of 'Endless road', released in 1985. This remix was created by Ben Liebrand, just like the prevous single Reach out. You will find that this remix is different from the one on the other 12" single of 'Endless road'.

On the B-side, the remix of 'I'm only shooting love' by Steve Thompson reappeared.


My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Endless road (High Energy Dance Mix by Ben Liebrand)' / 'I'm only shooting love (USA Re-mix by Steve Thompson)'

Thursday 19 October 2017

Your love takes me higher - Beloved

There are several 12" singles of the Beloved's 'Your love takes me higher' and this one must be one of the more interesting ones. It features two lengthy remixes of the track. Of these two, the 'Chillum Willum' version contains the most elements of the original songs, while the 'Calyx of Isis' version is an improvisation on a continuous beat, clocking in at almost 11 minutes.

I bought this 12" single online and it was filthy. I cleaned up the disc and it sounded a lot better - although the B-side is still a bit damaged at the end, unfortunately.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received October 2016.
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'Your love takes me higher (Chillum Willum)' / 'Your love takes me higher (Calyx of Isis)'

Life - Matia Bazar

My favourite track by the Italian band Matia Bazar is 'Noi', which I have on 7" single and 12" single. I didn't know that they recorded this song in English, however. I found out because I spotted this 12" single in a shop, and because it was pressed on clear orange vinyl I suddenly had two good reasons to buy this disc.

As far as I can tell, there is no 7" single of 'Life', which seems strange. Anyway, this 12" single is a good package, because it also contains the extended and instrumental versions of 'Noi'. Three good tracks, then, on coloured vinyl. It doesn't get much better than this.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, January 16, 2015
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Life [extended]' / 'Noi [extended]', 'Noi (instrumental)'

Runaway / When I think of you - Janet Jackson

It's not the first time that I described Janet Jackson's 'Runaway' on this blog. I already have the 7" single, a promotional double 12" package and a double 12" single of 'Runaway' and 'When I think of you' remixes.

But still the double 12" package I found while shopping online a few months ago contained other remixes of 'Runaway' and 'When I think of you'. Do we really need that many versions of two songs? I'm not sure. I do quite like some of these remixes. At the same time I wonder why they were never released on cd....

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 August 2017
Cost: $4
Tracks: 'Runaway (Junior's Factory mix)', 'Runaway (Junior's Tribal dub mix)' / 'Runaway (Steve's "Silk" House mix)', 'Runaway (Torin's radio edit)' // 'Runaway (Junior's Factory dub)', 'Runaway (Junior's Factory Mix w/ vocal sample)' / 'When I think of you (Deep Dish Chocolate City mix)', 'When I think of you (Deep Dish Quite Storm dub)'

I´m only shooting love - Time Bandits

The American remix of the Time Bandits song 'I'm only shooting love' by Steve Thompson has become rather famous, and rightfully so, because it's a great remix.

However, when the single was originally released, the 12" single featured a rather different remix. It was an extended version of the single, much like many extended versions in the Eighties: a bit longer but not essentially different from the album version. And that's the kind of remix I like best. It's quite a shame they're not made like this anymore.



My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'I'm only shooting love [extended]' / 'Only lovers will survive'

Friday 13 October 2017

Ease the pressure - Beloved

The Beloved's third album 'X' was not a commercial success. Perhaps the audience was no longer interested in their brand of emotionally charged lyrics on pumping beats. I must admit that I had a hard time liking the album myself - it was only a few years ago when I made another attempt to like the package. But when I did, I really did.

Obviously I became interested in the remixes as well. And there were remixes aplenty. 'Ease the pressure', for instance, comes in a double 12" single package with no less than six remixes. It takes a bit of stamina to actually like them all, but there's something for everyone in this stack of tracks.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, August 2016
Cost: 2,5 pounds
Tracks: 'Ease the pressure (Club Vocal mix)' / 'Ease the pressure (Suction mix)', 'Ease the pressure (Motion sickness mix)' // 'Ease the pressure (Surge mix)', 'Ease the pressure (Backroom vocal mix)' / 'Ease the pressure (Switchback mix)'

I won't steal away - Time Bandits

I didn't actually like I won't steal away much when it came out, but in 2001 I actually bought the single. Tastes change, as they say. These days I think it's one of the band's better songs, so it's no surprise that when the opportunity came up to buy a stack of 12" singles, this was the one I picked up the quickest.

The extended remix was created by John Smit and Dan Hartman. The latter also produced this track - although you wouldn't need me to tell you that; it was advertised quite boldly on the sleeve of the disc.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'I won't steal away (extended remix)' / 'Cool world'

See that glow - This Island Earth

Once popular Eighties tune verging on the forgotten - and then the 12" single. That's really what I like. Some 12" singles were never released on cd, and this one is an example of that. I already owned the single for many years, when I found this disc. I was immediately curious.

'See that glow' only made it to cd once, and of course that was only the 7" version. This extended version, then, is a true exclusive for this blog. Try as you might, you will not find it online. Until now!

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Exchange, London
Cost: 10p
Tracks: 'See that glow [extended version]' / 'Fireflowers', 'See that glow (version)'

Sunday 1 October 2017

F.L.M. - Mel & Kim

There are rumours that a new Mel & Kim release is on its way. Although many compilation albums have already seen the light of day, there are still tracks out there that have only been released on vinyl. I'm not sure if any of the tracks on this 12" single are still unreleased on CD, though. Almost every Mel & Kim track has been remixed to death - especially the singles of course.

F.L.M. was the third single from their debut album of the same name, and in Germany it came in a special multicoloured vinyl version.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: 2015
Cost: 2 euro
Tracks: 'F.L.M. (12")' / 'F.L.M. (club mix)', 'F.L.M. (dub mix)'

Dancing on a string - Time Bandits

Having bought a stack of Time Bandits 12" singles recently, you're bound to see more tracks of the band on this blog. This is the 12" single of 'Dancing on a string', the first of two in fact. I bought the single in 2010 and was pleasantly surprised - and this 12" extended mix continues that trend.

The remix was created by Ake Danielson, Kim Haworth and Ben Liebrand. The latter is of course well known for his many remixes for Dutch radio.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 2,5 euro
Tracks: 'Dancing on a string (extended)' / 'Dancing on a string (instrumental)', 'I'm only shooting love (dub version)'

Sweet release - Trouser Enthusiasts

Along with the other 12" I bought last year, this one arrived. It's a second disc of remixes of the only track released by the Trouser Enthusiasts on their own, 'Sweet release'. There are many versions of this track, which shouldn't be surprising for an act that has always been deeply into dance remixes.

For some time, I have collected and compiled Trouser Enthusiasts remixes and I think it's a shame they don't make new remixes anymore. This 12" was a nice addition to my collection. The CD-single of this track is, unfortunately, much too expensive.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received March 2015.
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Sweet release (Friday Night Posse mix)' / 'Sweet release (Harry Hard mix)'

Way of the world - Max Q

The song 'Way of the world' by Max Q ended up in my singles collection pretty quickly, and it found its way into my blog eight years ago. A few years after the single, I bought the 12" single for just 50p in a record shop in London. I was pretty interested in remix versions of this song, and the price was of course a good incentive.

It would take a further few years to find the CD-single which I also own now. Since the CD-single contains the same tracks as this 12" single there's a good chance that I will get rid of this disc in due time. For now, it is still in my collection though.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Exchange, London
Cost: 50p
Tracks: 'Way of the world (12" mix)', 'Way of the world (7" mix)' / 'Zero-2-0 (Todd Terry mix)', 'Ghost of the year (Todd Terry mix)'

Saturday 30 September 2017

Machinery - Propaganda

I can conclude my trilogy of Propaganda 12" singles today with this one, 'Machinery' from 1985. At the time of release I felt that this song was less strong and impressive than Duel, but three decades later it proves to have stood the test of time well. I'm incredibly fond of the Eighties 12" singles by ZTT anyway, because they were always so full of interesting extended remixes that were truly extended.

In this case, two versions of 'Machinery' are presented, and the 'Polish' version actually almost hits 10 minutes. You are probably tempted to disregard the B-side 'Frozen faces', but don't. It's a very interesting track.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Den Haag, 2014
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Machinery (Polish)' / 'Machinery (Passive)', 'Frozen faces'

Live it up - Time Bandits

It's not often that you find a shrink-wrapped 12" single from America from 35 years ago. But my recent order from Denmark gave me just this: a pristine copy of Time Bandits' debut single 'Live it up', remixed for the American market.

As mentioned before,  there were two different 12" singles. This one was released in 1982, whereas the other one was the original release in Europe in 1981. In the mean time, the remix became longer and better.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 16 August 2017
Cost: $3
Tracks: Live it up (remix) / Juvenile acquiantance

Thursday 3 August 2017

Romancing the stone - Eddy Grant

In 1984 Eddy Grant composed the song 'Romancing the stone' for the movie of the same name. Strangely enough, the song was not used. The movie’s producers left nearly all of the song on the cutting room floor and completely off the soundtrack album. Only a remnant of the song — a guitar solo — can be heard in the scene when Douglas and Turner are in a small house in the jungle.

Eddy Grant then decided to release the track himself on his album 'Going for broke'. Released as a single, it was not a hit in the UK. However, across the Atlantic, it romanced its way into the Top 30 and became his first hit since 'Electric avenue'. 

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Record Exchange, London, 1994
Cost: 30p
Tracks: 'Romancing the stone (alternative version)' / 'My turn to love you (live)'

Wednesday 2 August 2017

Fallen - Sarah McLachlan

Although I have a near-complete collection of Sarah McLachlan albums and singles on CD, she rarely features on this blog, and that's because there's not a whole lot of stuff on vinyl from her - especially when I focus on tracks that are only available on vinyl.

This 12" single is a nice exception. These two remixes of 'Fallen', a track from her 2003 album 'Afterglow', both appear on the remix album 'Bloom', released in 2005 - although the 'Satoshi Tomiie Interpretation' only appears on the Japanese edition as a bonus track, and the '
Gabriel & Dresden Anti-Gravity Mix' is over 2 minutes shorter than on this 12" single. So basically, I bought this disc for those two minutes. In my defence, it was an extra disc in a bigger order I received last year.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 2016
Cost: 1 pound

Tracks: 'Fallen (Gabriel & Dresden Anti-Gravity Mix)' / 'Fallen (Satoshi Tomiie Interpretation)'

Physical love - Beloved

The oft-neglected third album by the Beloved 'X' (1996) was not a commercial success, but there were many releases from the album - although most of them were so-called 'white label 12 inches', records pressed mainly for distribution among DJ's and clubs.

One of them was this release, 'Physical love' c/w 'Three steps to heaven'. Both tracks were remixed to almost 10 minute versions, well suited for nighttime club life. Whether these mixes are actually any good.... You be the judge. I do like them in a sort of strange way.

My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received 2016
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Physical love' / 'Three steps to heaven'

Sunday 23 July 2017

Reach out - Time Bandits

When a 12" single announces that a special re-mix is provided by Ben Liebrand, you know you're in for a treat. During the Eighties, Ben Liebrand made a name for himself by making remixes of chart hits on a weekly basis for a Dutch radio programme. Also, at the end of the year he would make a 60 minute remix containing much of the best and biggest hits of the year.

'Reach out' was released by the Time Bandits in 1984, when they had their biggest success with previous singles 'Listen to the man with the golden voice' and 'I'm only shooting love'. 'Reach out' doesn't quite have the same impact but this remix does make the song that much more attractive.


My collection: 12" single [unnumbered]
Found: Velvet Vinyl Outlet, Leiden, July 14, 2017
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Reach out (special re-mix by Ben Liebrand)' / 'Ushi girl'
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Advertising