I’m on my new hosting service! But stuff is still kind of on fire. That’s why there’s no logo at the top of the screen. Hopefully that will get worked out soon. Double hopefully now that everything is moved I can finally start getting that other site in a state where I can unveil it to the masses. I think it’ll be relatively dope.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Two Tribes (Fluke Magimix)
Two Tribes (Olav Basoski’s Tiberium Power Mix)
Two Tribes (Rob Searle’s Club Dub)
While in Japan I picked up the Frankie Said, a  2CD compilation that assembles a rather bizarre combination of Frankie b-sides, remixes and outtakes. It’s an awesome collection, with multiple versions of classics like “Relax,” “Weclome The The Pleasuredome” and “Two Tribes.”

One of the most interesting things about the album is its sequence and editing. It has many interludes, 30-second to one-minute tracks that contain spoken word bits and song fragments. Many of them work to seamlessly segue into the next track. In doing so, it kind of transforms the hodgepodge collection into a concept album of sorts , and not just because parts of it sound like one big song mixed together, I mean thematically too. The compilation focuses on what Frankie knew best, hedonism, sex, drugs, and the constant threat of World War III. If that doesn’t have the makings of a concept album about life in the early 80s, I don’t know what does.

If you can find a copy of that 2CD set, I recommend picking it up. None of these remixes are from the said set though, they’re from a 2×12″ single that I also bought in Japan. The Fluke mix is the best of the bunch. And I love the fact that Fluke did a Frankie Goes To Hollywood remix.

Sylvester
Band Of Gold
Band Of Gold (Dub Mix)
Band Of Gold (Radio Edit)
Does the original version of “Band of Gold” by Freda Payne count as disco? It came out in 1970, which I guess predates disco by a few years, but it sure sounds like something that could have torn up a disco club in the 70s. It’s certainly one of my favorite pop songs of the decade, and has turned into a surprising recurring track here on The Lost Turntable. First I put up a cover by Modern Romance that was featured on the wonderfully horrid Party Party soundtrack. Then I shared it again years later, this time being Belinda Carlisle’s version. Those versions were good, but they can’t hold a candle to this one. I mean, c’mon, Sylvester? Patrick Cowley? Can’t top that.

Listening to this track got me on a disco kick, and I searched to see if Sylvester ever did a cover of my favorite classic disco track “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” Turns out he didn’t. However, I did find a cover of the song by his friend and fellow disco diva Jeanie Tracy. That cover has a remix called “A Sylvester Mix.” I don’t know if he had anything to do with the mix, or it if was a tribute to him and/or his boyfriend who had just succumbed to AIDS that year. “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was a rallying cry for the AIDS-affected gay community of the early 80s, so that wouldn’t surprise me. It’s awesome though, so now I have a new 12″ single to track down.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 6th, 2013 at 9:45 pm and is filed under Fluke, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Patrick Cowley, remixes, Sylvester. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.