We began counting down our favorite songs from 1984 in July 2016 with our 20 Favorite Twelve-inch Singles from 1984. After eight years, we've returned to the ongoing process of ranking songs of that year. These five twelve-inch singles emerged from the massive list of songs we've been listening to so we're calling them 25-21 in the Favorite Twelve-inch Single Countdown we began way back then.
25 "Pearl In The Shell"
(Remix Version)
Howard Jones immediately caught my ear with his "New Song" in the fall of 1983 though I did not find that 12" single until early in 1984. His second single "What Is Love?" also made a great impression so I took the leap when the Human's Lib album appeared in stores around April 1984. Repeated listenings to the album yielded a favorite song "Pearl In The Shell" though I was disappointed to never find an extended version of the song. Until one day in Al Bum's, I found the US promo 12" single with an almost nine-minute remix. It would be more than thirty years before this mix was released on compact disc. Loved it then, love it now. And the fear goes on...
24 "No More Words"
(Dance Remix)
Having really liked the sexy vibe and sweet-sounding synths of their Pleasure Victim album, I was primed for more of the same when the song "No More Words" made an appearance on Virgin Vinyl. Within one pay period, the 45 was showing up on my mixtapes. Didn't come across the 12" single until many years later after Pleasure Victim came out on CD for the first time in the mid-nineties. The remix takes what I like about the Moroder-produced song such as all the gurgling, bubbling, and pulsing synths along with Nunn's passionate vocals then makes it even better.
23 "Smalltown Boy"
Like a lot of music fans, my ears are always hearing music: cars driving by with windows down and the volume up, ambient music in retail and dining spaces, and the music bleeding through headphones as people walk by. Just the other day, I hit the trifecta on a short trip to visit my helpful hardware man. In the parking lot, as I was getting out of my car, there was a convertible blasting a barely recognizable pushed-to-its-limits "Born to Be Wild". When I got into the store I passed by a guy in the short checkout line with his headphones resting around his neck with "The Way You Move" playing without its customary bump. Once I got to the back of the store where the chair sliders I needed were, I was surprised to hear "Smalltown Boy" over the store's PA system. I even lingered a little longer in the aisle so I could enjoy the tune. Loved the groove of the album cut and discovered this longer version in the collection of a girlfriend's older sister when she serenaded us with it from the adjacent room. Though I have since lost her name to history, this is the girl I credit with building my undying love for Duran Duran's Rio, Men At Work's Business As Usual, and Bow Wow Wow's I Want Candy as she played them very frequently. Some folks might have this on their lists of 1983 songs but it did not perk up my ears until early in 1984.
22 "Prepare to Energize"
Maybe this isn't a remix or extended version at all. Like "Smalltown Boy" up above, it's not labeled as such. I've never come across an actual copy of Wish Thing, the original album the song came from but according to Discogs, the version on the album is but 5:00 long so there's a whole extra minute on the big single. Bonus points to you if you recognize this song from THAT scene in the 1984 film Bachelor Party. Great song with lots of interesting sounds and effects, makes just about any system sound pretty cool.
21 "Two Tribes"
(Annihilation)
For years, I was totally devoted to the mix of "Two Tribes" found on the US 12" single which is listed as Two Tribes "Annihilation" on the outer sleeve as well as the record's label itself. Turns out it was a case of mistaken identity because the art for the US release was carried over from the UK release while different tapes were used. What I had thought was the Annihilation mix was actually the Carnage mix. Both mixes are excellent productions, dense with a variety of sounds and a relentless driving tempo. Right now, I would give the nod to the slightly longer Annihilation mix with the haunting narration. (Holy smokes does this thing sound positively epic here in the HERChives.) If I were going out for a walk or hosting a get-together, then the high-energy Carnage mix would be my choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment