All or nothing--who loves 12" versions?

[budaniel]

Being a huge collectors of long album versions, extended versions and 12" mixes since I was a kid, I find it a disappointment most of the time to listen to the radio versions of my favorite songs. It's very rare that I think a 12" mix sux and prefer the original version. Most often, if I hear the original short version of a song, I feel like I'm being cheated and they've edited out some of the best parts! Anyone else suffer from this odd condition???

[Sean]

I normally agree with you Budaniel but I will have to somewhat disagree with you on this. [:)] I love 12" or extended versions and try to get it everything that's out there but sometimes, radio versions are extremely cool as they try to compact everything into that 3-4 minute song. Alphaville short versions are a great example this. Some songs though, less than 3 minutes is good such as Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" which I can only take in small doses. There are other songs that the 12" versions makes all the difference in the world, such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "The Power Of Love". Anyways, of late, I've been trying to collect a lot of 7" versions as the 12" compilations have been getting rather repetitive. Also, the older you get, the less time you get to enjoy a full 12" version and those both may be reasons why I am favoring the short (to the point) versions these days.

[bigwavedave]

I really loved the 12" versions that were coming out in the '82-'84 era, especially the ones that new how to find the killer hook and build on it.

My favorites are the Trevor Horn productions, and "big guitar" bands of the day, such as The Alarm, Big Country, U2 and Simple Minds.

[bigwavedave]

Oops...that should be "knew" not "new" in my post above.

I should add that I did enjoy the remix trend into the late 80s; considering that Gene Loves Jezebel and The Cult had some tasty 12" mixes during that time.

When the early 90s rolled around, remixes seemed to focus more on the beats than the killer hooks; I lost interest after trying to get into some of those versions.

[budaniel]

I guess a big part of it has to do with how much you like dance music. I'm a club head, so the more beats the better. Plus, many remixes make use of the instrumental parts of the song that are usually drowned out by the vocal, so you actually get to hear actual 'solos' of the constructs that come together to make the song a whole.

What always irks me is when they actually REMOVE a segment of the original song in a 12" version, such as a verse, or a bridge or even an instrumental part. I've never understood that. Why EXTEND the song only to REMOVE parts! hehe.

Just a couple of examples of 12" mixes that are essential listening for me over the original short versions:

- You Spin Me Round Murder Mix (actually, most Dead or Alive songs rock in their 12" dance mixes).

- Bizarre Love Triangle Shep Pettibone mix (love the punched up rhythm track, reuse of the synth bridge before the chorus each time, and the 'robot voice' solo near the end. Album version is just plain boring to me). In fact, it sort of became the definitive version of this song, at least in NY. Even today, most radio stations play a slight edit of the 12" mix.

- Most 12" mixes of songs produced by Giorgio Moroder.

- The Jellybean 12" mix of Maniac by Michael Sembello.

And, for an example of a 12" mix that I think is horrendous, I simply HAVE to go directly to the remix of If You Leave by OMD. It's a choppy mess that destroys the smooth flow and transitions of the original song.

[zill]

I think 12" mixes are hit and miss. There are far too many that simply add in a minute or two of the drum beat or repeat parts over and over and over and over. Having said that, there are some great ones that enhance the single version, like Planet Earth by Duran Duran.

[eight6]

In the 80s, I preferred 12" versions because they had better sound quality than the 7" or lp versions; but as mentioned already, they can't simply be cut and paste extensions of the original. My ideal extended version is an alternative mix of the song highlighting the musical components.

Even if the lp/7" and ep version of a song is identical, I still tend to buy the ep for it's sound quality.

Fave eps

New Gold Dream - Simple Minds
Run Me Down - The Higsons
Spring In Fialta - Slow Children

Not so much

Take Me To Your Leader - The Sinceros (ultimate cut and paste)
Leonardo DaVinci - The Lucy Show (same as above)
Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins (enough already!!)

[budaniel]

Totally. Most 12" singles from the 80s sounded phenomenal--in terms of fullness and 'warmth', they don't even sound as good when they make it to CD. Something is lost in the translation.

[SomebodySomewhere]

Only ever preferred the 12" mix of The Romantics' "Talking in Your Sleep." The single and album version were repetitive -- 3 parts over and over again and no instrumental break. Other than that, maybe for the R&B dance-floor genre but not for new wave.

And I heard more terrible 12" mixes in my days than I care to count.

[q89747]

[quote][i]Originally posted by zill[/i]
<br>I think 12" mixes are hit and miss. There are far too many that simply add in a minute or two of the drum beat or repeat parts over and over and over and over. Having said that, there are some great ones that enhance the single version, like Planet Earth by Duran Duran.
[/quote]
Hit and miss is right. In a way it's no different than any bit of art-- sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. DM had a few that are completely ace (eg the On-U Sound version of 'Master and Servant' and the 'Remix' version of 'Behind the Wheel'), a few mediocre ones (eg the 12" version of 'Get the Balance Right'-- an exercise in cut-n-paste, but at least it has that great opening bassline), and a few really crap ones (eg the 'Pain' mix of 'Strangelove'). Just today I was spinning my 12" single of 'Dazzle' by the Banshees... unfortunately the title tune is basically just an extendo-version that brings out nothing new... Gonna probably keep it anyway though cos it's a UK import, with a couple halfway decent non-album songs on the flip side.

[obs]

A Crappy 12" version -> The Cure's In-Between Day. It adds a minute of percussion in the intro, then plays like the standard 3min version. WTF???

Yep, lots of good and bad 12"es, but I loved buying them. And as someone else mentioned, 7" edits were sometimes cool, too. I think I prefer the Master and Servant 7" over any other version (and I also agree that the On-USound remix of it is great).

[KYYX4ever]

Hit or Miss is right. Ouch to the 12"s that just sampled the same beat over and over, or focused on some vocal tic [i]ad nauseam[/i], or like budaniel's mention of OMD's "If You Leave", which was like this choppy, distorted noisefest.
Yay! to the 12"s that added more material, or better yet, highlighted musical components that often got lost in the original. I love citing DD's early 12"s (called "Night versions"), where they actually went into the studio and [i]re-recorded[/i] a longer version, laying down a new track ! "Planet Earth" and "Girls On Film" were awesome.

My fave 12", though, is Psychedelic Furs' "Heartbeat" (New York Mix). It's actually totally different than the album cut. Oh yeah, and love those Dead or Alive 12"s, too. And the Members' "Radio". And Secession's "Fire Island".

[q89747]

[quote][i]Originally posted by KYYX4ever[/i]

My fave 12", though, is Psychedelic Furs' "Heartbeat" (New York Mix). It's actually totally different than the album cut. [/quote]

You mean the New York Mix of'Heartbreak Beat' right? Cos there's the 'Remix' version of 'Heartbeat' that's pretty awesome.

[eighties]

Any Yello 12"

All the best,
eighties

[bigwavedave]

Another vote for Psychedelic Furs "Heartbeat" remix.

When I sold most of my vinyl in the late 80s/early 90s I held onto that 12"; it's right up there with my favorite Big Country 12" singles on the all time fave list.