Sweet, sweet smile - Carpenters

Puck recently informed me that all Carpenters tracks are in fact very depressing. Given this knowledge, it's hard to reconcile that with an upbeat track like 'Sweet, sweet smile', in which the protagonist says that she wants to always see someone's sweet smile.

The track was composed by Otha Young and Juice Newton. The track features drummer Ronnie Tutt who regularly backed Elvis Presley. Released as the third single from the album 'Passage', the single reached number 44 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 40 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 5071
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011
Cost: 0,5 euro
Tracks: 'Sweet sweet smile' / 'I have you'

All systems go - Donna Summer

Donna Summer's 1987 album 'All systems go' spawned the hit single 'Dinner with Gershwin', but the other singles from the album were less successful. 'Only the fool survives', a duet with Mickey Thomas, only reached number 40 in Canada, and this single, the title track from the album, only charted in the UK, peaking at number 54.

'All systems go' - the song - is a repetitive affair, particularly at the end where it seems the lyricist simply ran out of ideas. Donna Summer repeats the title of the track ad nauseum.

My collection: 7" single no. 5070
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'All systems go' / 'Bad reputation'

If I was your girlfriend - Prince

Buying records can be a bit like hunting in the wild. (Not that I ever did the latter, but anyway.) You see a prey, it escapes, you wait for it... and wait for it... and when you see it again, you snap it up. It's a bit like this with this single. My sister bought this limited edition with a poster bag way back in 1987 during a holiday in London. I didn't buy it at the time for lack of money, and then of course this edition never showed up again...

...until now. The good thing is, because of a little damage on the front it wasn't sold for a fortune, and so I could actually get it for very little money. The benefits of waiting 24 years, I guess.

My collection: 7" single no. 5067
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'If I was your girlfriend' / 'Shockadelica'

Sara - Fleetwood Mac

Commenting on the track in interview, Stevie Nicks says that 'Sara' is about her best friend Sara Recor Fleetwood, the wife of Mick Fleetwood. Nicks had an affair with Mick Fleetwood in early 1978 while he was married to Jenny Boyd. Then her best friend, model Sara Recor, fell for Fleetwood and began an affair with him whilst Nicks and Fleetwood were still together. The pair ultimately moved in together, and were subsequently married. Nicks felt very betrayed, but Recor and Fleetwood were undeniably in love. Sara claims that Nicks was never upset with her, only with Fleetwood.

The song originally had many more verses and ran for 16 minutes in demo form, according to Nicks, and referenced all Fleetwood Mac band members. The song was a commentary on all the tangled relationships and love affairs that were occurring in 1977-1978, but the final recorded version omitted most of this and focused on the triangle between Nicks, Fleetwood and Recor. The song remains one of the standout track of the band's 1979 album 'Tusk' and although I didn't have this single until now, I've always wanted to have it!

My collection: 7" single no. 5066
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Sara' / 'That's enough for me'

Angela - Bee Gees

Released as a single from their 1987 album 'E.S.P.', 'Angela' was not the Bee Gees' most inspired song, nor was it very successful: released exclusively on mainland Europe, it only reached number 52 in the German singles chart.

However, if this song didn't turn you on - which I have to admit, it did me - the single was worth getting for the B-side: an extended version of the album's standout track 'You win again'. This remix was previously released on the 12" single of 'You win again' (which was released as the first single from 'E.S.P.') but obviously a 7" single was a lot cheaper... and it certainly was now.

My collection: 7" single no. 5065
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Angela' / 'You win again (extended version)'

Nina, pretty ballerina - Pretty Maid Company

There is no information on this single about the year of release, but several internet sources put this single in the year 1977. It makes sense: at the height of the disco era, pretty young girls were coupled to cheesy disco anthems or disco covers of wellknown songs. In this case, it's the latter: a version of a song originally recorded by Abba.

'Nina pretty ballerina' was written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus and recorded by the Swedish pop group in 1973. Released as a single in France and Austria only, it reached number 8 in Austria. This cover version was less successful: as far as I could find out, it didn't chart. However, the girls did make an appearance in the German music show Musikladen...



My collection: 7" single no. 5064
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Nina, pretty ballerina' / 'Sweet night of love'

Love to hate you - Erasure

'Love to hate you' was released as the second single from Erasure's 1991 album 'Chorus'. It is one of Erasure's most successful singles on the UK singles chart, peaking at number 4. It also reached number 19 in the German singles cra tand number 4 in Sweden.

It is one of those singles that has been missing from my collection for inexplicable reasons. At the time, I bought the cd-single, and in subsequent years I never realised I never bought the 7" vinyl version. It's always nice to make good on such an omission.

My collection: 7" single no. 5063
Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 9, 2011
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Love to hate you' / 'Vitamin C'