'Say it isn't so' was released as one of two new tracks on their greatest hits album 'Rock 'n' Soul part 1'. The song is about a love gone wrong and a fellow who asks his girl to "Say it isn't so".
When it was released as a single, it reached number 2 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at the turn of the year 1983/1984. In the UK, it did considerably less well, peaking at number 69. In the Netherlands, where the single was played on the radio regularly, it didn't chart at all.
My collection: 7" single no. 2498 Found: London, October 30, 1995 Cost: 1 pound Tracks: 'Say it isn't so' / 'Did it in a minute'
'What's going on' was written by Renaldo 'Obie' Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye. It was the title track of Gaye's groundbreaking 1971 album. A meditation on the troubles and problems of the world, the song was released as a single to worldwide success.
The song has been covered by multiple artists, notably Cyndi Lauper, whose version was released as the third single from her 1986 album 'True colours'. On the album version, the song starts off with a series of gunshots in reference to the Vietnam war, while the single release is a remix with an alternate vocal used in the intro. The single reached number 12 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 30 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 531 Found: Free Record Shop, 1987 Cost: 3 guilders Tracks: 'What's going on' / 'One track mind'
Roger Troutman was well known for his use of the talkbox, a device that is connected to an instrument (frequently a keyboard) to create different vocal effects.After scoring a hit with 'I want to be your man' in 1987, he collaborated with Green Gartside from Scritti Politti on the single 'Boom! There she was'.
Released in November 1988, 'Boom! There she was' reached number 55 in the UK singles chart. Scritti Politti then disappeared from the scene for three years.
My collection: 7" single no. 809 Found: May 6, 1989 Cost: 3 guilders Tracks: 'Boom! There she was' / 'World come back to life'
Taken from the soundtrack for the movie 'The falcon and the snowman', 'This is not America' was a collaboration between David Bowie and the jazz fusion band the Pat Metheny Group.
The single reached number 14 in the UK singles chart, number 32 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 in the Dutch Top 40.
My collection: 7" single no. 366 Found: Bruxelles, January 11, 1986 Cost: 105 Belgian Francs Track: 'This is not America' / 'This is not America (instrumental)'
Although the label on this single claims that 'Paradise by the dashboard light' has a running time of 7 minutes and 55 seconds, it is actually only 5 minutes and 25 seconds - which means it is a single edit of the epic album version, excluding the lengthy baseball commentary and some minor musical bits. I would regret this if I was actually planning on listening to this song ever again - which I won't for another decade or two.
Still, I have to concede that 'Paradise by the dashboard light' is a classic track, one that is forever synonymous to Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman's brilliant collaboration. I wish it wasn't played so damn often though.
My collection: 7" single no. 378 Found: Disco Market, Den Haag, 1985 Cost: 1 guilder Tracks: 'Paradise by the dashboard light' / ''Bat' Overture'
The Dutch band De Dijk ('The Dike') released the single 'Bloedend hart' ('Bleeding heart') in the summer of 1982. The amusing tale of the Christian broadcaster NCRV always stuck with me: they took offence to the line 'Ik kijk wat door de ramen / en ik krab wat aan mijn kont' ('I'm looking through the windows / and I'm scratching my ass') and through some clever manipulation they managed to change the line to '...en ik krab wat aan mijn hond' ('...and I'm scratching my dog'). Personally, I think scratching your dog is a lot nastier than scratching your own ass.
This minor controversy didn't help the single: it failed to reach the Dutch Top 40 when it was released.
My collection: 7" single no. 158 Found: Den Haag, 1982 Cost: 6 guilders Tracks: 'Bloedend hart' / 'Geldgebrek en rock & roll'
The production process of making 7" vinyl singles has been successful for millions of copies: you take a piece of vinyl, press the grooves on it, cut off the edges to make a round piece of vinyl and punch a hole in the middle. But sometimes, things go wrong. My copy of 'As long as you follow' by Fleetwood Mac had a hole in the middle, but it was not exactly in the middle. As a result, the sides were unlistenable.
I never went back to the shop with the single, but I did buy a promotional copy of it, made in Spain, seven years later. This copy featured 'As long as you follow' on both sides. For this blog, I used my original copy to record the B-side. It's a matter of putting the record on the right spot on the record player. I think the recording still turned out alright!
'As long as you follow' was a new track on the compilation album 'Greatest hits', released in 1988 after Fleetwood Mac's previous album 'Tango in the night' was very successful. Lindsey Buckingham had left the band and he was replaced by Billy Burnette (mainly for lead vocals) and Rick Vito. The single reached number 13 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 66 in the UK singles chart.
My collection: 7" single no. 756 / no. 2612 Found: Free Record Shop, Den Haag, February 23, 1989 / Record fair, Den Haag, February 10, 1996 Cost: 6 guilders / 3 guilders Tracks (no. 756): 'As long as you follow' / 'Oh well (live)' Tracks (no. 2612): 'As long as you follow' / 'As long as you follow'
'Say it isn't so' was released as one of two new tracks on their greatest hits album 'Rock 'n' Soul part 1'. The song is about a love gone wrong and a fellow who asks his girl to "Say it isn't so".
