Archive for the ‘B-sides’ Category

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This is a lot of Peter Gabriel

Wednesday, August 8th, 2012

 

Peter Gabriel
Big Time (Dance Mix)
Biko (Remixed Version)
Biko (Twelve Inch Extended Version)
Don’t Break This Rhythm
GA-GA (I Go Swimming Instrumental)
I Have The Touch (85 Remix)
In Your Eyes (Special Mix)
In Your Eyes (12″ Remix)
Jetzt Kommt Die Flut (Here Comes The Flood)
Sledgehammer (Extended Mix)
Sledgehammer (Dance Mix)
Shosholoza
Soft Dog

My god that’s a lot of Peter Gabriel isn’t it? I better get right into explaining what I got here. Keep in mind, this is a lot of music, so if I get my details as to how each mix sounds different than the original versions, please forgive me. One man can only memorize so many 12″ singles.

The “Big Time” mix is from the 12″ single, and expands on the original by about a minute and a half, most of which comes from an extended opening. Once you get past that there isn’t that much of a difference between the two versions, although they are mixed slightly different. Doesn’t matter, both are awesome.

Both mixes of “Biko” are longer than the album version, which is really saying something considering how long that track is. The “Remixed” version is actually longer than the “Extended” cut, with some added African chants thrown in the end. A powerful track made more powerful with their addition, in my opinion.

“Don’t Break This Rhythm” is a b-side to “Sledgehammer” and a kick ass one at that. I’m surprised it didn’t make it onto So. Not only is it better than some of the tunes on that album, but it could have held its own as a single. Great tune.

Also from the “Sledgehammer” single is the remix of “I Have The Touch,” a song that originally appeared on Gabriel’s 1982 self-titled album (aka  Security). How is a song from 1982 remixed for 1985? If you guessed “more synthesizers and drum machines!” you’d be correct. It’s mostly only really noticeable in the intro though.

Now for the really important stuff, the remixes of “In Your Eyes” aka (One Of) The Greatest Love Songs Ever Recorded. The 12″ Remix isn’t that different than the album cut, it’s about 45 seconds longer and most of that goes into extending the breakdowns. The Special Mix, on the other hand, is a drastic reworking of the song, with a much greater African influence. If you’ve seen Peter Gabriel live before, this version should sound familar. I like it, but Lloyd Dobler was right in using the album version.

“Jetzt Kommt Die Flut” is literally a German version of “Here Comes The Flood.” Same song, different language. Gabriel must have had a pretty big following in Germany, as he did this for quite a few of his early albums. Like “Here Comes The Flood?” Speak German? This track’s for you.

The instrumental version of “I Go Swimming” is for some reason called “GA GA” and is from the 12″ single to “Red Rain.” Makes sense that a single that strange would get an even weirder B-side. I have no idea if Lady Gaga listened to this growing up. Probably not, as it’s actually good.

“Sledgehammer,” the cutest, sweetest song about doing it that has ever been recorded, is presented here in two very different mixes. The “extended mix” is actually the shorter of the two, and is pretty much the album version with a tacked on intro. The “Dance Mix” is the real find, a full seven-and-half minute mix of the song with extended instrumental sections, more horns and lots more of Peter Gabriel yelling “Sledgehammer.” It’s rad.

Finally we have “Shosholoza” and “Soft Dog.” The former is a looped African chant, and the other is a near-instrumental ambient piece. Both are b-sides from Security-era singles.

Posted in B-sides, Peter Gabriel, remixes | 10 Comments »

Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk

Sunday, July 15th, 2012

Anyone out there speak German? Okay. I know plenty of people do (they’re called Germans) but any out there who are willing to translate something for me? It’s not much, just a few lines on a couple comic book panels. If anyone wants to help me out, hit me up via email or on Twitter.

Talk Talk
Why Is It So Hard? (12″ U.S. Remix)
It’s Getting Late In The Evening (7″ Version)
Life’s What You Make It (Dub Version)
Living In Another World (Curious World Dub Mix)
Living In Another World (Mendelsohn Remix)
Living In Another World (Live)
Talk Talk (Remixed By Gary Miller)
Five years ago (!!!) I posted some tracks from Talk Talk’s It’s My Mix, a 1992 remix EP that was released only in Italy. Since then, I’ve been asked to repost those tracks about a billion times over. My go to response has typically been to ignore those requests. Not because I hate Talk Talk or the people who want the songs, but because I lost those tunes on a hard drive crash and I didn’t want to bother cleaning and re-recording the record. I’m lazy.

It also turns out that it’s completely unnecessary for me to re-record almost all of those tracks, because EMI has actually been pretty excellent at making Talk Talk rarities available. There are, in fact, two Talk Talk rarities collections out there, Remixed and Asides and Besides. Between the two of them nearly every Talk Talk remix, dub mix, b-side and alternate version are now available to purchase at iTunes, Amazon or just about any music outlet you could imagine. So if you want most of their remixes and rarities, I suggest you go there.

But if you want even more Talk Talk, don’t worry because I still totally have you covered.

In a case of random weirdness, while Remixed includes most of It’s My Mix, it doesn’t include all of it! For some reason the 12″ US Remix to “Why Is It So Hard?” (hehehe) is absent on both Remixed and Asides and Besides. Why? Who knows. But that does mean that I can provide it for you here.

Additionally, while many of Talk Talk’s 12″ singles were mined completely for both of those compilations, some were left behind, most notably these killer mixes and versions of “Living In Another World” and an entirely different remix of “Talk Talk” which is actually longer than the “Extended Remix” that is on Remixed. Go figure.

And before anyone asks, yes I am aware that there are additional Talk Talk remixes that are not on Remixed nor Asides and Besides. They are also not in my personal record collection. So unless they show up at Jerry’s sometime, I’m not going to be posting them.

Now if I never say “Talk Talk remix” again I’ll be very happy.

Posted in B-sides, live, remixes, Talk Talk | 7 Comments »

Some Decent Music

Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

Allow me to talk about entitlement for a second.

That word, “entitlement” is thrown around a lot these days. Typically it is used to refer to situations involving race, gender and sexuality and other important socio-economic-political issues. But I occasionally see it pop up in other situations. When that Mass Effect 3 hubbub broke out earlier this year, for example,  a lot of the gaming press labeled the fans of the series “entitled” because they were complaining about the content of the game like they knew the product better than the developers themselves.

That, however, is not entitlement. That’s being a vocal consumer. If a game developer is going to cut corners on a game, then the fans who bought the game have the right to complain about it. And in the age of Twitter, they can often complain directly to the people responsible. That’s their right as a consumer. It’s a good thing.

I’ll tell you what is entitlement, however. Entitlement is going to a blog that owes you nothing, not being happy with the music selection being offered there (for free, by the way) and then complaining in the comments section that said blog doesn’t post any “decent music” anymore. That behavior, acting like you are owed (or  entitled) something for no other reason than the fact that you want it, is entitlement. And you know what? That’s a bad thing.

And it’s incredibly annoying.

So don’t do it.

Now, I know most of you who visit my blog don’t do that. But someone did, so I felt that little lecture was neccesary.

Enjoy tonight’s music. I find it to be quite decent.

George Clinton
Tweakin’ (A Mix)
Tweakin’ (Dub Mix)
Tweakin’ (C Mixxappella)
Tweakin’ (Radio Remix)
Hysterical
These tracks are funky (and for once I mean that in the George Clinton way, not the “this smells funky” kind of way), although I think that “A Mix” is the laziest name for a remix ever. The original version of “Tweakin'” was on Clinton’s 1989 album The Cinderella Theory, his first album on Prince’s Paisley Park label. Prince is nowhere to be found on these mixes (at least not officially) but Chuck D and Flava Flav totally show up to drop a random-ass rap at the end. Some vocal samples of them also make it on to the radically bizarre b-side “Hysterical,” a nearly eight-minute piece of out-of-this-world abstract funk that features some crazy bass work by who I assume is Bootsy Collins. It’s so funky that you better be careful. Repeated listening may cause you to funk yourself to death.

See, it’s funny because “funk” sounds similar to “fuck.”

N.E.R.D.
Rock Star (Nevins Classic Club Blaster)
Rock Star (Classic Club Blaster Instrumental)
I posted the “Club Blaster” remix a few years ago, but I felt like posting it again since I just re-recorded it. I didn’t think anyone would mind. They better not. “Rock Star” is an amazing song, one that Jason Nevins made even better with his spectacular remix that pumps up the energy up to 11.

I used to love N.E.R.D. but I kind of forgot about them. I didn’t pick up their last album, Nothing, was it any good? I didn’t hear many good things. I did love Seeing Sounds, however. I thought that “Everybody Nose (All The Girls Standing In The Line For the Bathroom)” should have been a much bigger hit than it was. I guess the tune hit a little too close to home to the people it was marketed for. “Spaz” was another great tune, shame it never got some remixes.

B-Boy Electric
Tainted Love (Lo Vox Extended Mix)
Tainted Love (Hard Cell Mix)
Tainted Love (Kai Tracid Remix)
Tainted Love (Extended Version)
A techno/trance remix of “Tainted Love.” Shit don’t get more decent than this.

Posted in B-Boy Electric, B-sides, George Clinton, N.E.R.D., rant, remixes | 4 Comments »

NO SLEEP TILL FUCK CANCER

Friday, May 4th, 2012

Beastie Boys
Rock Hard
Alive At Yauch’s House

 

 

 

fuck

Posted in B-sides, Beastie Boys | 10 Comments »

One Remix Leads To Another

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Rare daytime post!

Art Of Noise
Art Of Love (Extended Mix)
Ambience Of Love
Heart Of Love
So how the hell didn’t I know about this?

In 1990, Art Of Noise released “The Ambient Collection.” As its name suggests, it is a collection of Art Of Noise tunes reworked as a continuous ambient mix. That alone sounds pretty rad. What makes it even more rad (I’m totally bringing “rad” back, by the way) is that the album was compiled and remixed by Youth from Killing Joke, with an added assist by Alex Paterson of The Orb.

So…that’s pretty awesome. What strikes me the most about these mixes (aside from their overall greatness) is how similar in sound they are to Metallic Spheres, the 2010 album by The Orb that featured Paterson again working with Youth (as well as David Gilmour). Hard to fault them for not updating their sound though, this shit sounded great in 1990, and that Metallic Spheres proved that it still sounded good some 20 years later.

In case you can’t tell, I’m really digging on these mixes at the moment. They’re probably the best thing I’ve put up on this blog in months.

The Fixx
One thing Leads To Another (Live Version)
Saved By Zero (Live Version)
I was surprised to find these live cuts, were are the B-sides to a 12″ promo single for “The Sign Of Fire.” I’ve dived through countless Fixx records before, and this was the first I ever found that had songs that, to the best of my knowledge, aren’t on CD. Neither of these live versions really expand or diverge upon the original versions that much, but they do so that The Fixx was a pretty great live band back in the day.

And this version of “Saved By Zero” is certainly better than the version that was in that fucking Toyota ad.

Wang  Chung
Fire In The  Twilight (Specially Remixed Version)
Dreaming In The Hills Of Heaven
I honestly didn’t think I would ever find more rare Wang Chung to post but leave it to Jerry’s Records for me to discover some weird import 12″ single, this one for the song that Wang Chung contributed to The Breakfast Club. I don’t own the soundtrack to the Breakfast Club (because even my nostalgia has some limits), so I can’t compare this “Specially Remixed Version” with the original. I bet it’s not that different. It’s certainly not an “extended” mix, since it’s still less than four minutes long. However, I love the track, and I like just having an excuse to post it.

I love love this B-side, “Dreaming In The Hills Of Heaven.” It’s apparently an honest-to-goodness Wang Chung rarity. It only appeared on this 12″ single and has never been released on CD. It’s very reminiscent of the group’s work on the To Live And Die In L.A. soundtrack, with an atmospheric, somewhat tense, quality to it. The vocals sound a little muddled, but that’s not the fault of my rip, I think this is recording is a demo. It doesn’t detract too much from the quality of the track, however. If you love Wang Chung (and you damn well should) then check this song out. And if you don’t like Wang Chung, then I don’t want you to read my blog.

Okay, you can still read my blog, but give Wang Chung a chance, okay? They were an underrated act!

Posted in B-sides, remixes, soundtrack, The Art Of Noise, The Fixx, Wang Chung | 6 Comments »

GNR, Frank Black and Goldie. Yeah, I didn’t plan this one out very well.

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

I added an RSS/Google Reader/I don’t know what reader to my sidebar. Does it work? I never use that stuff. Someone tell me, I’ll be your best friend if you do.

Guns N’ Roses
Don’t Cry (Demo)
I never thought I’d get a chance to post some rare and out-of-print GNR, mostly because I didn’t think that there was any rare and out of print GNR. But hey, I love being proven wrong. This demo version of the classic “Don’t Cry” is the B-side to to the 12″ “Don’t Cry” single, which is a nifty record because the cover has a hologram on it.

Hologram covers. That’s some 90s shit right there. I can put this right next to my lenticular comic book trading cards.

Frank Black
The Ballad Of Johnny Horton
Surf Epic
I never thought I’d get to post and rare Frank Blank either! But hey, I found some at a record show last week! These are B-sides to the “Hang On To Your Ego” single, which was a track from Frank’s self-titled 1993 debut. While that track is a cover, I’m fairly certain that both of these instrumental tunes are original compositions. There is another song “The Ballad of Johnny Horton,” but I don’t believe they have anything in common (aside from probably being about Johnny Horton). But don’t pay much mind to that track, instead, focus on the aptly-titled “Surf Epic,” a 10 minute smorgasbord of surf guitar and sci-fi sounds that is brain-meltingly good.

If you don’t own an of Frank Black’s early solo albums then you’re failing at life. Go buy Teenager Of The Year right now. that album has “Speedy Marie” on it. A song that an ex-girlfriend of mine consistently referred to as “like the best song EVER!” Myself, I prefer “If It Takes All Night” from Dog In the Sand, but maybe that’s why we broke up.

Goldie
Inner City Life (Full Length Mix)
Inner City Life (Roni Size Instant Mix)
Inner City Life (Nookie Remix)
Inner City Life (4 Hero Pt. 1)
It’s 2012 and I still don’t own Goldie’s Timeless. So I guess I’m failing at life too. In fact, I hardly own any Goldie! Just some 12″ singles and that song he did on the Spawn soundtrack with Henry Rollins (also, for some reason I own that soundtrack on vinyl, red transparent vinyl, what the hell?!).

Anyways, even if you don’t like drum and bass (and why not? It’s the best thing since sliced Beatles) I still think you should give this song a chance. It’s freaking beautiful.

 

Posted in B-sides, Frank Black, Goldie, Guns N' Roses, remixes | 5 Comments »

Pet Shop Hats

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

Hey, it’s a post with a couple of bands from the 80s. I’ve never done that before!

Pet Shop Boys
Se A Vida É (That’s the Way Life Is) (Mark Picchiotti’s Deep And Dark Vocal)
Se A Vida É (That’s the Way Life Is) (Deep Dish Liquid Remix)
To Step Aside (Ralphi’s Disco Vox)
To Step Aside (Hasbrouck Heights Mix)
To Step Aside (Davidson Ospina Dub)
To Step Aside (Ralphi’s Old School Dub)
To Step Aside (Brutal Bill Mix)
To Step Aside (Ralphi’s House Vox II)
 I have 50 Pet Shop Boys singles now. That’s insane. I’m insane. Want to know something even crazier? I only own three or four proper Pet Shop Boys records! What the hell is wrong with me? I’m a remix addict, that’s what’s wrong with me.

Men Without Hats
Pop Goes The World (Dance Mix)
Pop Goes The World (Dance Edit)
Pop Goes The World (Dub)
Where Do The Boys Go (Extended Version)
 Eurotheme
 Insert obligatory “you can dance if you want to” comment here.

I posted two of these remixes six years ago (HOLY SHIT THIS BLOG IS OLD!) but I felt the repost was neccessary for a few reasons. First of all, no one read this blog six years ago. Secondly, those rips sounded like ass. And thirdly, Men Without Hats kick ass and I wish I had more opportunities to post their stuff.

Both “Pop Goes the World” and “Where Do The Boys Go” are infinitely superior to “The Safety Dance,” with catchy choruses, fun lyrics and amazing melodies. And “Eurotheme” is Kraftwerkian brilliance, I wish it was longer than its scant 2 minutes and 42 seconds.

How were these guys a 1 and a half hit wonder? Pop isn’t fair!

Posted in B-sides, Men Without Hats, Pet Shop Boys, remixes | 9 Comments »

Sub-par 80s Music (and a decent track from the 90s) for your listening pleasure

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

I think I only really like one of the songs in tonight’s post. But what can I say? I’m a man of the people. And I’m certain that some people out there really want songs, so I’m happy to oblige.

Are there any people out there who want to oblige me?

…wait, that sounded dirty. Let me start over.

I’m working on a few articles at the moment, and I’m looking for some people to interview.

Do you like video games? Do you like vinyl? Do you like video game soundtracks on vinyl? Have you bought a video game soundtrack on vinyl. If you can answer yes to that last question (and probably the first three as well) then I would love to speak to you. My email address is in the sidebar. Hit me up.

Did you say no to all those questions? Okay, then do you like Joyful Noise Records? They’re an indie label that specializes in vinyl and cassette tape releases. Have you bought any of their super-crazy limited edition releases? If so, I’d love to hear from you. Email. Sidebar. Do it. You know you wanna.

If you answered no to all of those questions, it’s okay, you can still download these songs.

A Flock of Seagulls
Who’s that Girl (She’s Got It) (Extended Version)
Who’s that Girl (She’s Got It) (7″ Version)
Who’s that Girl (She’s Got It) (Instrumental Version)
I came into this post determined not to make a joke about Flock of Seagulls haircuts. But then I realized that’s all I really know about the group. Then I realized that I had no jokes about it, aside from a pun that described the haircuts as “Locks of Seagulls,” but I’m better than that…at least I think I am.

As Flock of Seagulls singles go, this is pretty minor. It’s from their latter years (1985) and certainly lacks the futuristic, crazy out-there sound of “I Ran” and “Space Age Love Song.” It sounds like a generic new wave song from the late-80s, so at least you can say they were ahead of their time in delivering that.

Heaven 17
Heaven 17 Megamix
This is a mix that combines approximately 80 billion Heaven 17 songs, including “Crushed by the Wheels of Industry” and…other Heaven 17 songs. I’ve officially given up on trying to like Heaven 17. Sorry. But hey, if you do, you’ll probably dig this. It’s like Heaven 17 concentrate! It’s the Colombian cocaine of Heaven 17 songs, pure and uncut. I would say its safer than uncut cocaine, but I don’t want to make that claim since there probably haven’t been studies showing the long-term damage that can result from extended use of Heaven 17 megamixes.

Fluke
Reeferendum
This is the b-side to “Absurd.” I think it was inspired by weed. Just a guess. I know it kind of shits on the 80s theme I had going, but like I said before, I wanted to put up at least one song in tonight’s post that I actually liked.

Posted in B-sides, Flock Of Seagulls, Fluke, Heaven 17, remixes | 1 Comment »

Everything, Everything, Everything, Everything, Everything, Everything, Everything

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

This site has not turned into an Underworld fan page, it’s just what I had easily available at the moment. I’m sick, tired and it’s been a long week. When I do get the energy to clean/play/record my recent finds I can assure you that I will have some amazing stuff that’s not dance music.

But there will also be a lot of dance music. So you might want to get used to that.

Underworld
Dirty Epic (Dirty Guitar Mix)
Dirty Epic (Dirty Mix)
Cowgirl (Irish Pub In Kyoto Mix)
Cowgirl (Winjer Mix)
If I was a world famous remixing person, I would make a remix of “Cowgirl” called “The Everything (Everything) Mix.” It would just sample the beginning vocal of the track (where he says “everything, everything”) and build up everything else around that, with the vocal loop never ending. A remix should take the best bit of a song and push it to the front. Fuck the rest.

That being said, these remixes of both “Dirty Epic” and “Cowgirl” are still great even though they don’t do that. Maybe there’s a flaw in my idea. Nah, fuck that. I’m flawless.

Nobukazu Takemura
Mimic Robot (12″ Single Mix)
Cons (Plant Mix)
Resign Part 2
Lost Treasures (2nd Single Mix)
 If and when I ever finish The Lost Turntable Guide to Recording Vinyl, I will have a chapter on vinyl restoration software. Some of that stuff is great, and can really go a long way to restoring even the most battered of recordings. That being said, if an artist incorporates clicks, pops and hisses into their recording, then don’t even bother using it. It will obviously remove those as well.

Which is a really long-winded way for me to explain why these tracks by Nobukazu Takemura haven’t been restored and have a few (unintended) clicks and pops in them.

They don’t have any skips though. If you think they do then you obviously haven’t heard enough experimental electronic music. It’s supposed to sound like that.

If you have never heard of Nobukazu Takemura before, you’re in for a treat. I like to describe his electronic stuff as music a seven-year-old would make if they new how to work a synthesizer, vocoder and sampler. It’s wonderfully kooky and cute.

Posted in B-sides, Nobukazu Takemura, remixes, Underworld | 2 Comments »

Good Songs By Bands You’ve Never Heard Of (and a cover by Zwan)

Monday, February 13th, 2012

I was in Youngstown, Toledo and Detroit over the weekend and now I am sick. I do not believe this is a coincidence.

Endgames
Love Cares (Extended Version)
Love Cares (Single Edit)
Ready Or Not 
Endgames is on the Live Letters LP I featured a couple weeks back. On that 1981 release, they area  dissonant post-punk act with a decided Joy Division influence. In this single from 1983, they are a mainstream pop act with a decided dance bent. The Endgames of 1981 could have performed on a double-bill with Echo & The Bunnymen. The Endgames of “Love Cares” could have opened for A-Ha. Nice to see that major labels’ dulling of edgy and interesting acts isn’t a new development in any way at all. I still “Love Games” and its b-side, but damn, I would have loved to have heard an album from the Endgames that recorded “Works” and “Visions Of.”

The Hardsonic Bottoms 3
Do It Anyway You Wanna (Extended Version)
Do It Anyway You Wanna (Dub Version)
Do It Anyway You Wanna (Donald Duck Version)
Do It Anyway You Wanna (Night Dub Version) 
I have a lot of questions about this release. First of all, someone has to explain this to me:

The image on the left is the cover to the “Do It Anyway You Wanna” single, originally released in 1988. The image on the right is the cover to Franz Ferdinand’s 2005 album, You Could Have It So Much Better.  I assume they were both inspired by the same source image, but what image is that?

Now that I got that out of the way, I can talk about the song itself. What the hell is this thing? Like I said before, it was released in 1988, but it sounds like some bizarre combination of 90s big beat dance; mid-80s industrial; and late 70s disco. What the hell is it? It is a remix of another song? Who the hell are The Hardsonic Bottoms 3? What the hell do they want you to do (anyway you wanna)? Why is one version called the Donald Duck Version?

What the hell is going on here? I’m so confused! At least the song is fun, even if it can kind of drive you slowly mad with is repetitiveness.

Jigsaw
Sky High
Brand New Love Affair
I have a passion for collecting vinyl soundtracks, and for me, the soundtrack to the 1975 Ozploitation masterpiece The Man From Hong Kong is kind of a holy grail. One day I will find it, and everyone on this blog will know when that happens, because I will post the hell out of it.

So it was a nice surprise to find a 1989 12″ single to “Sky High” by Jigsaw, the theme song to the film. This dance remix of the song isn’t as good as the original version, but it’s still worth a listen. “Brand New Love Affair” is…less worth listening to.

Zwan
Number Of The Beast
Lost Turntable, your only source for Zwan B-sides in 2012. Because…someone has to? Shit I don’t know.

I actually have a lot to say about Zwan, but like Zwan itself, it doesn’t really matter. Enjoy the weird cover. I’m going to go pass out into a pile of blankets.

Posted in B-sides, Endgames, Jigsaw, remixes, The Hardsonic Bottoms 3, Zwan | 12 Comments »

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