CRC Retro Mix #47

Clearance Rack Classics Retro 80s and 90s Dance Mix by DJ Tintin

1. Love Is All That Matters - The Human League
2. In The Name Of Love - Naked Eyes
3. What He Say - Ministry
4. Too Shy (Midnight Mix) - Kajagoogoo
5. (I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena (Extended Version) - Sandra
6. Jet Set (Jellybean Mix) - Alphaville
7. Some People (Special Club Mix) - Belouis Some
8. World In My Eyes (Oil Tank Mix) - Depeche Mode
9. Vanishing Point - New Order
10. Boy (Original 12" Version) - Book Of Love
11. Probably A Robbery (12 Gauge Turbo) - Renegade Soundwave
12. Count To Three (House Mix) - Red Flag
13. Loved It (The Other Track) - The Other Two
14. Different Story (World Of Lust And Crime) (Long Version) - Peter Schilling
15. This Occupation (Extended Mix) - China Crisis
Notes and other random things:
So, how often does a band release a non-hit to promote an upcoming Greatest Hits compilation? I don't know the answer exactly, but it can't be very often. Still, The Human League did just that with the first track in this episode. Truth be told, "Love Is All That Matters" did reach #41 in the UK, but this particular song was aimed at US audiences specifically due to the fact the that "Human", the first single from the album Crash, went to #1 in the States. Sadly, the track failed to chart in America. Oddly enough, the song, which was the third single off the album, was released almost two years after the album itself, which made it more of a promotion for the upcoming Greatest Hits package. Accompanying the song's release was a cheaply-made clips video, perpetuating the notion that the group's label was not willing to invest much more in the band, with their having reached a low point creatively. It's why the band was flown to Minneapolis in the first place to work with renowned producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, mega-producers responsible for the meteoric rise of Janet Jackson and others. While the parties got along personally, professionally the sessions were a total power struggle. Lead singer Phil Oakey said of the pairing, "We like to be in control in the studio. We don't like giving that up to a producer. That's why we had a big, final argument, and we just decided to go home and leave them to finish it off. It just got to the point of who had the power, and in that instance...They were the men behind the mixing console, so they had ultimate control." Jam and Lewis had notoriously rejected much of the band's material in favor of their own, even replacing keyboardists Philip Adrian Wright and Ian Burden. Wright was so humiliated, he quit the band upon their return to the UK and Burden shortly thereafter. Still, despite the power struggle, Oakey now admits that this record saved their careers, despite feeling as if its not truly their album. Whatever the case, "Love Is All That Matters" is a terrific song, which is why I chose to feature it here.
Naked Eyes has not often shown up in these podcasts, mostly because I do not own any remixes by the group. (Insert audible gasp here). While their music is fantastic, it seems there was always something there to remind me that other releases took precedence over filling gaps in the Naked Eyes portion of my music collection. (You see what I did there!) Thank goodness for looping then, right? At least it gives me a chance to feature SOMETHING by these guys. In this instance, I chose "(What) In the Name of Love" from 1984's Fuel for the Fire album. It was the second full-length release from the group that was origially conceived as a duo featuring Pete Byrne on vocals and counterpart Rob Fisher on keyboards. Originally in a band called Neon with future Tears For Fears progenitors, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, that collaboration was short-lived, but it gave fans of 80s music two great bands at the expense of one, which is not a bad thing at all. And though you may hear lots of wacky stories from those who lived through the decade of excess, one thing you'll never hear anyone say is "I remember seeing Naked Eyes live." Though Pete Byrne has said they expected to tour after their first album, but their record label wanted them to produce more studio material, many believe that the complexity of their music prevented them from ever touring. They were one of the early adopters of the Fairlight CMI and Emulator sampling synthesizers and, because of the sheer bulk of the equipment back then and the limitations those synthesizers possessed with regard to memory and sequencing ability, it was considered almost impossible to recreate their songs in a live setting. These were digital sound reproductions, not analog or reel-to-reel reproductions as bands like Depeche Mode used on stage for percussion early in their careers. So, much like Visage before them, the band was strictly a studio creation. After the second album, Byrne and Fisher took a hiatus from Naked Eyes to pursue other musical interests, but left the partnership open-ended. They had always planned to get back together to write more songs. The moment arrived in 1999, but sadly the sessions were interrupted when Rob Fisher died of complications from surgery. Still, Byrne has carried on and Naked Eyes in its current incarnation has been playing live shows across America from Hollywood to Carnegie Hall, has performed on PBS and has put out both a live concert DVD and a critically-acclaimed ten-song acoustic collection. An all-new studio album is apparently forthcoming as well. Maybe it will have some remixes!
Anyone with a working knowledge of Ministry and Alain Jourgensen knows the group has gone through a fairly massive transformation from their early days as a new wave/synthpop group to the thrash metal juggernaut that tore up venues with punishing guitar-laden sounds from mid-90s to the present. To anyone else, it would seem that the Ministry appearing in this podcast is not even the same group as the current incarnation. Heck, it's still hard for me to connect the dots between point A and point B, but for Jourgensen that would probably be the preferable scenario. He has repeatedly said his previous persona, that of a clean-cut kid sporting new wave duds and singing with a fake British accent was a mistake, disavowing any willfulness on his part to produce such a monstrously "awful" album as With Sympathy, the source for "What He Say", the track that appears here. He has held tight to the notion that Arista records was solely responsible for the direction the band took on that first full-length release, though his wife at the time was quoted as saying "...the English accent thing was more an homage to the bands he loved than anything else. He was not trying to come off as British. The Stones used a southern accent and no one crawled up their ass for it." Regardless, With Sympathy is an excellent slice of new wave bliss despite the fact that its creator denies having anything to do with it. Out of print for quite a while (Jourgensen has said on several occasions that he destroyed the original master tapes) the album was reissued in 2012 with three bonus tracks.
The Other Two, if memory serves (and it may not) has not yet appeared in CRC. The group consists of Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, husband and wife, drummer and keyboardist respectively of New Order and both critical components to the success of that band. Morris also drummed for Joy Division. Morris has said there is no real mystery to The Other Two band name "We're crap at names, and it was getting late" is his explanation of its origin. Interestingly, the pair originally sought out Alison Moyet and Kim Wilde to perform vocal duties, but Moyet didn't happen and Wilde apparently went on too many vacations to be a reliable addition. With Morris' dislike of singing drummers (Phil Collins and Don Henley specifically make him sick) Gilbert was recruited to provide the voice for the group. Most of the material appearing on their two albums, The Other Two & You (1993) and Super Highways (1999) is part re-purposed stuff and left-over stuff cobbled together from the various television and soundtrack work the duo has authored over the years. The track here, "Loved It (The Other Track)" was the last song on their debut album and appeared only on CD releases.
Last, but not least is a woman who outsold Madonna in many countries during the mid-80s. Her name is Sandra Ann Lauer - Sandra - as her legions of fans know her, and is one of two artists in this episode to have collaborated with Michael Cretu, with one of them eventually marrying the producer extraordinaire. Can you guess which one? (Hint: it's not Peter Schilling) Formerly the lead singer of a disco trio called Arabesque, she also provided vocals on the string of Enigma albums released in the 90s and beyond. The track here, "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena was the lead single from her debut album The Long Play, which was released in 1985. While having a rather striking resemblance to Laura Branigan and Italian singer Raf's huge hit "Self Control" from a year earlier, this track went on to become a #1 hit in 21 countries around the world. It was re-released in 1993 with much more techno elements and a futuristic video, but it flopped signaling the start of her career decline from it's lofty peak. She is, however, still recording music to moderate success.
Thus endeth the lesson and this episode. Until next time, Happy Listening!