Dog & butterfly - Heart

It's quite unusual to find two perfect American 7" singles by the band Heart in between rows of German singles by German artists, but that's exactly what happened this month. Those singles by Heart were also quite unusual: both of them were never hits over here in Europe.

The first one is 'Dog & butterfly', the title track of the band's fourth studio album, released in 1978. Ann Wilson said she was inspired when she looked out a window and saw a dog relentlessly chasing a butterfly. She saw the song as an inspiration when things get tough to "keep going after it." Although it enjoyed only moderate chart success - it reached number 34 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 51 in Canada only - the song has remained a setlist staple for Heart consistently through the years. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6998
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'Dog & butterfly' / 'Mistral wind'

Loving you's a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it - Bonnie Tyler & Todd Rundgren

Producer Jim Steinman has a penchant for long titles - just think of 'Paradise by the dashboard light', 'You took the words right outta my mouth' and 'Making love out of nothing at all'. 'Loving you's a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it' fits into that style, but unfortunately the song itself is not as classic as the other three. Even with experienced vocalists Bonnie Tyler and Todd Rundgren, the single only managed to reach number 73 in the UK singles chart back in December 1985.

This Dutch single came with an image of the painting 'Phyllis and Demophoön' by Edward Burne-Jones.

My collection: 7" single no. 7000
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'Loving you's a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it' / 'Under suspicion'

Congratulations - The Mertens Brothers Style

The popularity of the Eurovision Song Contest is easily measured by the amount of cover versions certain songs get. Measured by that criterium, the Sixties and Seventies were certainly the peak of the Contest's popularity. 

'Congratulations', the number 2 song of the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, was covered by various artists even in the same year. One of those cover versions was this instrumental one by the Mertens Brothers Style, a duo consisting of Albert and Theo Mertens. They recorded several trumpet-based instrumental albums and even one more Eurovision cover: 'Puppet on a string', which will appear in this blog someday as well I would think.

My collection: 7" single no. 6997
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'Congratulations' / 'Jingle march'

Jive talkin' - Bee Gees

Back in 2011 I put a lot of effort into finding old Bee Gees singles. They all ended up on this blog, but one famous song still eluded me: 'Jive talkin'', a song younger viewers might know from Boogie Box High, who covered this song in the Nineties (it was rumoured that George Michael lent his voice to that version).

The original version was a hit for the Bee Gees. They reached number 5 in the UK singles chart and number 23 in the Dutch Top 40. 

The original studio version was included on the soundtrack of 'Saturday Night Fever', as it was used in a scene that was cut from the final film. Later pressings of the album used the live version of 'Jive Talkin''; from the Bee Gees 1977 album, 'Here at last... Bee Gees... Live', due to contractual distribution changes. The CD version restores the use of the studio version. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6996
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'Jive talkin'' / 'Wind of change'

The free electric band - Albert Hammond

Sometimes I buy a single of a song that has already been called a classic numerous times. Often I never bought it before because it was played on the radio so often, back when I still owned a radio (during the Seventies, Eighties and early Nineties). 

Albert Hammond's 'The free electric band' is one of those songs. Heard this a lot back then, but not for over twentyfive years. It's a good song but I was getting a bit sick of it. The song reached number 3 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 19 in the UK singles chart - his only hit in the UK!

My collection: 7" single no. 6994
Found: Record fair, Den Haag, 3 June 2023
Tracks: 'The free electric band' / 'You taught me to sing the blues'

Fool's paradise - Rosie Vela

The strange thing about collecting records is that you always discover something new. I thought I had every track by Rosie Vela when I bought this 12" single of 'Fool's paradise', featuring a 'new 12" mix'. All the other tracks appeared on the album 'Zazu' and the singles never presented other versions. 

Behind this single, the 7" version of that 12" single. It presents a 'new version' on the B-side, which like the 'new 12" mix' is remixed by Eric Thorngren. This, of course, is the UK 7" single which is different to the German 7" single I bought in 2009. It looks like my work is finally done on this artist now.

My collection: 7" single no. 6993
Found: Discogs.com, received 31 May 2023
Tracks: 'Fool's paradise' / 'Fool's paradise (new version)'

Worlds apart - Cock Robin

'Worlds apart' is arguably Cock Robin's best single overall, eclipsing their biggest hit 'The promise you made' easily as far as I'm concerned. The strange thing about the late Eighties is that many acts that were so popular during the earlier years of that decade suddenly couldn't interest the general public anymore despite still making great music.

Anyway, I own that single obviously, but here's a Spanish promo edition that has a different sleeve, only one playable side and the full length version of the track (instead of the edit that appears on the commercial single). A must have single. 

My collection: 7" single no. 6992
Found: Discogs.com, received 31 May 2023
Tracks: 'Worlds apart'