More Devotional

Side 1 of a Depeche Mode cassette compilation, recorded circa September/October 1998.

 

I posted Side 2 in May this year and I still haven't got around to buying the current Depeche Mode album, Memento Mori, despite really liking the lead single, Ghosts Again. A testament to the amount of other great music that's been released this year but despite being the first gig I ever went to and my obsessive need to buy all of their singles through to, well, around the end of 1998 I was still never what you'd describe as a devotional fan.

I did like their singles and pick of remixers though and I think this mixtape is a pretty good example that when they were good, they were very good.

William Orbit's Random Carpet Mix of Walking In My Shoes pops up on compilations in a full length 8+ minute version, but I prefer the six-and-a-half minute edit that appeared on the original CD single. 

The KLF remix is a relative rarity. They didn't do that many in their time but they were always worth hunting down. As is Dan The Automator's trip hop take on standalone single Only When I Lose Myself, only pipped as my favourite mix of the song by Loo & Placido's mash-up with Dr. Dre from 2006 aka Still Losing Myself.

 

Not quite a mash-up, but Art Maharg drops a cheeky Enya sample into his edit of Sea Of Sin. His and Joseph Watt's (mostly) bootleg Razormaid mixes were often as good as and occasional better than the commercial releases.

I've found the 21st Century remixes a very hit-and-miss affair to be honest, leaning towards the latter. In the right hands, though? Mode magic.

 

1) Walking In My Shoes (Random Carpet Mix By William Orbit) (Single Version) (1993)

2) Everything Counts (Remix By Tim Simenon & Mark Saunders) (1989)

3) It's No Good (Album Version By Tim Simenon) (1997)

4) Personal Jesus (Holier Than Thou Approach) (Remix By François Kevorkian) (1989)

5) Only When I Lose Myself (Dan The Automator Mix By Dan Nakamura) (1998)

6) Policy Of Truth (Trancentral Mix By The KLF aka Bill Drummond & Jimmy Cauty) (1990)

7) Sea Of Sin (Razormaid's Orinoco Flow Edit By Art Maharg) (1990)

8) Rush (Spiritual Guidance Mix By Jack Dangers) (1993)

Side One (46:07) (KF) (Mega)

Side Two, including revived links to previous Depeche Mode selections, can be found here

Remember The Sound That Could Wake The Dead?

I don't care if Monday's blue or black and you can hold your head all you like, I don't have to wait until Friday to be in love with The Cure.

I love a remix and remixes of The Cure have always been worth the price of admission, so much so that Robert Smith endorsed a whole album of 'em with 1990's Mixed Up. 

 

When The Cure's back catalogue reissue campaign reached Mixed Up in 2018, not content with just including a bonus disc of previously released 12" versions, Robert Smith turned in a whole new album's worth of his own remixes called Torn Down.

Today's hour-long selection includes 12 x 12" mixes, spanning 1981 to 2018, none straying too far from The Cure's blueprint sound.

1) Primary (Extended) (12" Version By Mike Hedges & Robert Smith) (1981)

2) To The Sky (Resurrection Mix By John M. Pillin Jr.) (1990)

3) In Your House (Black Sand Extension) (2010)

4) Hello I Love You (Unreleased Psychedelic Mix) (Cover of The Doors) (1990)

5) Never Enough (Time To Kill Mix By Robert Smith) (2018)

6) Gone! (Critter Mix By Jeff Newell) (1996)

7) Just One Kiss (Remember Mix By Robert Smith) (2018)

8) Fascination Street (Extended Remix By Robert Smith & Mark Saunders) (1989)

9) Lost (Found Mix By Robert Smith) (2018)

10) This Is A Lie (Ambient Mix By Tim Palmer) (1996)

11) From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea (Love In Vain Mix By Robert Smith) (2018)

12) In Between Days (Extended Version By Robert Smith & David M. Allen) (1985)

1981: Primary EP: 1

1985: In Between Days EP: 12

1989: Fascination Street EP: 8

1990: Art Of Compilation 5 (bootleg CD): 2

1996: Gone! EP: 6, 10

2004: Join The Dots: 4

2010: Black Sand Extensions Volume 1: 3

2018: Mixed Up/Extras/Torn Down (3x CD): 5, 7, 9, 11

 

Wake The Dead (1:04:07) (Box) (Mega)

Why Should I Worry?

Martina Topley-Bird's 4th album, Forever I Want, came out in September but I won't have a physical (CD) copy until January 2022. A default contender then for next year's 'best of', though Martina's music is arguably a winner in any year. 

Today's selection dips into Martina's musical history, including her solo albums, frequent collaborations with Tricky and guest spots with Massive Attack and Leila. It goes without saying that it's all wonderful.

Side One

1) Sandpaper Kisses (Acoustic Version By Martina Topley-Bird & Damon Albarn): Martina Topley-Bird (2010)

2) Carnies (Album Version By Danger Mouse & Kennie Takahashi): Martina Topley-Bird (2008) 

3) Suffocated Love (Album Version By Tricky & Mark Saunders): TrIcky ft. Martina Topley-Bird (1995)

4) Why Should I?: Leila ft. Terry Hall & Martina Topley-Bird (2008)

5) Hours Away: Martina Topley-Bird (2003)

 

Side Two

1) Makes Me Wanna Die (Single Version By Tricky & Ian Caple): Tricky ft. Martina Topley-Bird (1997)

2) Babel: Massive Attack ft. Martina Topley-Bird (2010)

3) When We Die: TrIcky ft. Martina Topley-Bird (2017)

4) Abbaon Fat Tracks (Album Version): Tricky ft. Martina Topley-Bird (1995)

5) Black Coffee: Nearly God ft. Martina Topley-Bird (1996)

 

1995: Maxinquaye: A3, B4

1996: Nearly God: B5

1997: Makes Me Wanna Die EP: B1

2003: Need One EP: A5

2008: The Blue God: A2

2008: Blood, Looms & Blooms: A4

2010: Some Place Simple: A1 

2010: Heligoland: B2

2017: ununiform: B3

 

Side One (20:31)

Side Two (22:13)