Wednesday, 19 May 2010

Endless road - Time Bandits

The Dutch band Time Bandits were always able to release their hit singles with attractive 12" single alternatives. Their 1985 hit 'Endless road' was released with a 'special remixed dance version' included on this disc.

My collection: 12" single no. 390
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Endless road (special remixed dance version)' / 'Fiction'

Love and anger - Kate Bush

I still remember the day in March 1990 when my sister walked into my room with the newest single by Kate Bush, 'Love and anger'. She pronounced the title wrong and then showed me that the single was released in a gatefold booklet sleeve. I was green with envy, almost literally. When she added that the shop only had one copy, no love was left inside me, just anger.

The two weeks it took for the shop to get the single back in stock were among the longest weeks of my life. My fandom of Kate Bush had taken on gigantic proportions - and having an item like this pass me by was simply too much to bear. But fortunately in this case, all's well that ends well.

My collection: 7" single no. 1192
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, March 1990
Cost: 7 guilders
Tracks: 'Love and anger' / 'Ken'

Stay out of my life - Five Star

The single 'Stay out of my life' was successful in the UK only at a time when Five Star were at the peak of their popularity in their home country. It reached number 9 in the UK singles chart.

This 12" single features a remix of 'Stay out of my life' as well as a remix of previous hit single 'If I say yes'. Where many Five Star 12" singles just seem to fall flat, this package is quite a lively one.

My collection: 12" single no. 457
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Stay out of my life' / 'If I say yes (Lew Hahn US dub mix)', '(How dare you) Stay out of my life'

Tuesday, 18 May 2010

Jackie's strength - Tori Amos

I never managed to turn my friend Puck into a Tori Amos fan, however hard I tried. While I bought all of her albums and singles, he remained insensitive to the beauty of her Nineties work. Admittedly, Amos creatively burned out after the turn of the century, but before she did, she created some magical music.

In 1999, I was pleasantly surprised when Puck actually liked the 'Wedding cake club mix' of 'Jackie's strength'. Originally a moving ballad on Tori Amos' 1998 album 'From the choirgirl hotel', Warren Rigg turned it into a 'hands in the air' dance anthem. Quite an achievement and I actually liked this remix myself too. I bought this American double 12" single mainly for the sleeve, because all the tracks were released on the American cd-single as well.

My collection: 12" single no. 400
Found: Record fair, 1999
Cost: 20 guilders
Tracks: 'Jackie's strength (Wedding cake club mix)' / 'Jackie's strength (Wedding cake edit)' // 'Jackie's strength (One Rascal dub #1)' / 'Father Lucifer (Sylkscreen remix)' // 'Jackie's strength (One Rascal dub #2)' / 'Father Lucifer (Sylkscreen instrumental)' // 'Jackie's strength (Wedding cake meltdown mix)' / 'Jackie's strength (Bonus beats)'

It's over - Level 42

The ballad 'It's over' was released as the fourth single from Level 42's album 'Running in the family' in 1987. I bought the 7" single in 1991, but it took me some years to find and buy the 12" single after that.

When I did, I only bought it because it was very cheap. The extended version isn't that extended and I already had the B-side, a live track. The instrumental version of 'It's over' is a nice bonus, though. Instrumental versions are ideal to make you own extended versions with.

My collection: 12" single no. 262
Found: Record Exchange, London, 1998
Cost: 30p
Tracks: 'It's over (extended version)' / 'Physical presence (live version)', 'It's over (instrumental)'

The captain of her heart - Double

I've always liked the track 'The captain of her heart' by the band Double. I bought the single as soon as it was released, but I never really thought there was a 12" single. When I found it a decade later, I was interested to find that there was a 'full version' of the track.

This full version adds an impressive 35 seconds to the track, which I have to agree ain't much. But I took it home anyway.

My collection: 12" single no. 434
Found: House of Rhythm, London, 1997
Cost: 1 pound
Tracks: 'The captain of her heart (full version)' / 'Your prayer takes me off part 2 (dub)'

Paris Latino - Bandolero

I bought the 7" single of 'Paris latino' in 1997, a few years before I found this 12" single. The 12" version is slightly longer than the single version, and as such isn't a remix but just an extended version.

The B-side contains two very latin sounding tracks, good for any party.

My collection: 12" single no. 546
Found: unknown
Cost: unknown
Tracks: 'Paris latino' / 'Tango tango', 'El bandido caballero'

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