One thing I loved about the 80ies was the creativity of some bands in releasing various remixes of their songs. Take the Pet Shop Boys for example: they often released two or more maxi-singles of one song, but none of the versions were the same. I often found myself liking a remix much more than the original. One could feel that it was not only a quick mashup to sell just another single, but rather an attempt to show the artist’s talent in experimenting with new sounds.
I don’t buy many singles these days, and I don’t even know if maxi-singles are still being released (I guess it still is the case in the techno-trance-goa-and-so-on-scene, but I’m not really interested in that). But sometimes I wish that more artists start to remix their songs again, creating longer versions, different versions, and in the same way keep the song recognizable.
I guess most of those famous 80s remixes are very hard to come by these days, as they probably only exist on vinyl. I have found a few on the Net over the years, and one day I might have enough time and the proper equipment to digitalise my vinyl-collection. But for now, I can give you a few of my treasures I already have in mp3-format. If anyone knows a good source for more of those remixes, please let me know!
Duran Duran – Notorious (Latin Rascals Mix)
ABC – The Look Of Love (Ultimix)
Visage – Fade To Grey (12″ Version)
Yazoo – Don’t Go (12″ Version)
