A Million Different People In Here

Side 1 of an cassette compilation, recorded 27th December 1997.

An end of year 'best of' with an opening song from Björk that had charted less than a fortnight previously. 

Bachelorette is an astounding song in it's original form, and the list of artists brought in to remix the single included RZA from Wu-Tang Clan. He doesn't mess with it too much, mainly a switch of beats, but it makes a big difference.

I've included the UK chart peaks for each of the singles here, which in turn highlights how many of them actually failed to crack the Top 100! 

Smoking Pot by Wubble-U is no surprise as the BBC no doubt slapped a discreet airplay on it due to it's title and sampled refrain of "Why are you children smoking pot?" Lionrock and The Aloof were robbed, though.

This was the era of multi-format CD singles and offers to buy all two (or three, in some cases) for a bargain price in order to secure that all-important chart placing. Therefore, quite a few here found that the single crashed in on the first week, and disappeared without trace by the second.

Only two Top 10s, the first from James with a more commercial punt at pop, produced by Stephen Hague, following a couple of more experimental albums with Brian Eno. 

The second was far more radical: Tori Amos' song Professional Widow was put through the garage grinder by Armand Van Helden, released as a single, and gave Tori her first #1 in the UK. The remix is of it's time admittedly, but it's still a thrilling listen.

Also thrilling, though for different reasons, were Gold Blade, fronted by John Robb (belated happy 65th birthday for 4th May!). I saw Gold Blade play a gig in the super cosy upstairs room at The Louisiana in Bristol in November 1996 and they were just brilliant, full oif energy and Robb resplendent in lamé and quiff.

As a nod to the excellent series at The Vinyl Villain, Edwyn Collins released The Magic Piper (Of Love), a one-off single that incredibly - and delightfully - found itself playing over the closing credits of smash hit movie Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery. You can read JC's thoughts on the single here.

It may be a little while before I get around to Side 2, though the mixtape's title gives a clue to one of the songs. Can you guess any of the other eleven?

1) Bachelorette (RZA Remix): Björk (Bachelorette EP) (#21, 14 December 1997)

2) She's A Star (Album Version): James (Whiplash) (#9, 27 April 1997)

3) Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix - Radio Edit): Tori Amos (Professional Widow EP) (#1, 12 January 1997)

4) Pussycat (Rosetta Stone Mix By Porl King & Karl North): Mulu (Pussycat EP) (#50, 27 July 1997)

5) Sinking (Radio Edit): The Aloof (Sinking EP) (#n/a, 01 June 1997)

6) Sand (Album Version) (Cover of Lee Hazlewood): OP8 ft. the ilk of Lisa Germano (Slush) (#n/a, 12 January 1997)

7) The Magic Piper (Of Love) (Edit): Edwyn Collins (The Magic Piper (Of Love) EP) (#32, 27 July 1997)

8) Not Even Jesus (Album Version): Gold Blade (Hometurf) (#86, 22 June 1997)

9) Angels Go Bald :Too (Original Mix (Edit)): Howie B. (Angels Go Bald :Too EP) (#36, 13 July 1997)

10) Smoking Pot (Original Mix): Wubble-U (Smoking Pot EP) (#n/a, 27 July 1997)

11) Wet Roads Glisten (Radio Edit): Lionrock (Wet Roads Glisten EP) (#80, 18 May 1997)

Side One (46:00) (GD) (M)

Return Of The Karaoke Kings

Side 1 of a cassette compilation of cover versions, recorded sometime around late 1996, possibly early 1997.

Side 2 previously ushered in the weekend at your local spit 'n' sawdust bar with a few bottles of cheap Becks, salt & vinegar crisps, ripped seats, sticky carpets and the landlord's obsessive collection of novelty bottle openers glued to the upper skirt of the bar. 

 

Side 1 therefore must be the other end, when you realise karaoke night has become morning, the lock-in is over and the landlord's kicking you all out, with the grim realisation that the clocks went forward an hour whilst you were slaughtering T.Rex, Sister Sledge and Fat Larry's Band and you're one hour closer to the end of the weekend than you expected. 

 

On the bright side, the greasy spoon across the road is opening soon and may have the cure for the karaoke hangover you're nursing.

Take it away, people!

1) Get Back (Album Version): Laibach vs. The Beatles (1988)

2) Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?: Revolting Cocks vs. Rod Stewart (1993)

3) Know Your Rights (Edit): Primal Scream vs. The Clash (1994)

4) Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) (Bonus Mix): The Leather Nun vs. ABBA (1986)

5) Tuff Titty Rap / Into The Groove(y) (12" Version): Ciccone Youth vs. Madonna (1986)

6) Kiss (Single Mix); Age Of Chance vs. Prince (1986)

7) Funtime (Album Version): Boy George vs. Iggy Pop (1995)

8) Smells Like Teen Spirit: Tori Amos vs. Nirvana (1992)

9) Lundi Bleu (Version Française De Blue Monday) (Radio Edit): The Times vs. New Order (1991)

10) Rock-A-Hula-Baby (Album Version): Pop Will Eat Itself vs. Elvis Presley (1990)

11) I Put A Spell On You: Marilyn Manson vs. Screamin' Jay Hawkins (1996)

1986: Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! EP: 4

1986: Kiss EP: 6

1986: The White(y) Album: 5

1988: Let It Be: 1

1990: The Last Temptation Of Elvis: 10

1992: Lundi Bleu EP: 9

1992: Silent All These Years EP: 8

1993: Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? EP: 2

1995: Cheapness And Beauty: 7 

1996: Lost Highway OST: 11

1997: Kowalski EP: 3

 

Side One (46:12) (Box) (Mega)

Side Two here

Tori's Primal Joy

Exactly one year ago, I wrote about the Tori Amos song God, specifically The Dharma Kayã Mix by Manchester band The Joy, a 12 minute blissful excursion into ambient soundscapes that was a bit of a radical departure for Ms. Amos at the time.

The post then moved on to The Joy's own bonafide classic, Shine, featuring the wonderfully talented and much missed Denise Johnson. Denise also appeared on Primal Scream's epic track Screamadelica, which ironically didn't make it on to the classic album of the same name.

The original post included YouTube links to the featured songs, so I'm revisiting them with today's selection, albeit with a slight twist and tweak.

The selection is topped and tailed by Tori Amos, starting off with a song that I didn't feature last time, Raspberry Swirl, taken from 1998 album From The Choirgirl Hotel. Andy Gray, perhaps best known for replacing Steve Osborne as Paul Oakenfold's production partner in Perfecto and in turn responsible for the theme to reality TV show Big Brother, delivered a clutch of remixes for the single release, including this downtempo version.

 

The Joy's Shine is up next, not the 27 minute Hyperphoria Mix referenced in last year’s post but the Samadhi Mantra Mix, also remixed by The Joy's core of Ali Fletcher and David Tolan and coming in at a brisker 16 minutes. 

 

From Shine to Screamadelica, but not as you know it. The original Andrew Weatherall production is a sheer joy, digging a groove for nearly 11 minutes. However, I'm saving that one for another time. Here, Mark Vidler aka Go Home Productions adds (his own) guitar to provide a blistering, kick ass version that comes in at a neat 5 minutes. Naturally, Denise Johnson's vocals are more than a match for this different setting, soaring effortlessly above the riffs. This version originally appeared on 2005 online bootleg compilation Screamixadelica.

 

Last but definitely not least is the remix that (re)started this post, The Dharma Kayã Mix of God by Tori Amos, every bit as good as when I first heard it, nearly three decades ago.

 

1) Raspberry Swirl (Scarlet Spectrum Feels) (Remix By Andy Gray): Tori Amos (1998)

2) Shine (Samadhi Mantra Mix): The Joy ft. Denise Johnson (1994)

3) Screamadelica (Go Home Productions' Skreamadelikka Mix By Mark Vidler): Primal Scream ft. Denise Johnson (2005)

4) God (The Dharma Kayã Mix By The Joy): Tori Amos (1994)

Tori's Primal Joy (41:37)

Far Too Much Trouble And Not Enough Time!

Side 1 of a mixtape, originally compiled 8th February 1997 and liberated during lockdown in 2021.

 

As mentioned when I posted Side 2 in July last year, this is possibly the closest I got to a "Now That's What I Call Dance Music" hits compilation, with all of the songs (bar two songs) enjoying success in the UK singles chart.

 

Insomnia by Faithless has troubled the charts multiple times: #27 in December 1995, it's highest placing of #3 in October 1996 and a return at #17 in September 2005. Further remixes and reissues, including a trademark rework by Avicii in 2015, have been less successful commercially speaking, but nothing detracts from the sheer majesty of the song. The album version is essentially a re-edit of the Moody Mix. To get around the cross-fade from the previous track and to align the running time with Side 2's duration, I've spliced the introduction from the single version of the Moody Mix, so you get a slightly extended take on the original mixtape opener.

 

Tori Amos had dabbled with remixes before - I've previously enthused about the epic remix of 1994 single God by The Joy - but it was another radical remix that finally got her to the UK #1 spot in January 1997, this time courtesy of Armand Van Helden. The garage overhaul of Professional Widow actually appeared first as a double A-side with the more characteristic Hey Jupiter, managing a first week peak of #20 in August 1996, before drifting down the charts. However, the growing popularity of the Van Helden remix was enough to convince label EastWest to re-release it in its own right, with additional (good, but not as good) remixes by Mr. Roy. History was made.

Likewise, Common People was the song that broke Pulp, perhaps in more ways than one. Smashing into the singles chart in June 1995, it spent the first 2 weeks at #2 and 10 weeks in the Top 40. Follow up double A-single, Mis-shapes/Sorted For E's & Wizz, achieved a similar first 2 weeks at #2 in October 1995, no doubt bolstered by the controversy surrounding the latter track and "drug wrap instructions" sleeve. By "controversy", I mean the Daily Mirror getting into a ill-informed media frenzy, but that's for another post. This follow up single also included a couple of remixes of Common People for good measure, including the Motiv8 Club Mix featured here. An odd one, in that it didn't seem particularly loved by my indie- or club-centred friends, who preferred the original version if at all. It sounds dated now, but I still like it.

 

Like Going South by The Wolfgang Press on Side 2, Lazarus by The Boo Radleys really should have been their breakthrough hit. Creation obviously believed so too, as they tried twice, first in 1992 and again in June 1994 with a slew of remixes from the likes of Saint Etienne, Secret Knowledge and Augustus Pablo. The record-buying public disagreed: it entered the UK chart at #54 and 3 weeks later dropped out of the Top 100 altogether, never to return. Lazarus is frequently my favourite Boo Radleys song and a key part of the stunning Giant Steps album. I saw them live in Derby around this time and they just couldn't do the song justice. I like all of the remixes, even the Augustus Pablo take. Martin Carr allegedly thought Pablo was taking the piss (& the money) by simply laying some reverb and echo over the original 12" version, but nevertheless it works. Even better is the remix by Ultramarine. I was big fan of theirs and this version did not disappoint. 

Ultramarine also provided an excellent remix of Missing by Everything But The Girl, albeit on the initial "flop" single release in August 1994, which scraped in at #69. Just over a year later, it was a completely different story, as Todd Terry's remix took off and the re-released single got to #3, spending a phenomenal 14 weeks in the Top 10. Great though it is, I prefer the original remixes, especially this one by Ben Watt.

Adored And Explored was the lead single from Marc Almond's 1996 album Fantastic Star. Not one of his better albums, though I've come to appreciate it more in recent years. I tended to buy the singles less for the lead track and more for the generous helpings of B-sides, session versions and remixes. Adored And Explored (#25 in May 1995) remains a Marc Almond highlight, however, and I enjoyed the remixes by Messiah, Beatmasters and X-Press 2. Andy Meecham, fresh from Bizarre Inc and a bright future with Chicken Lips and as The Emperor Machine ahead of him, delivers a brace of excellent remixes. This is my favourite of the two, with a beautiful clash of guitars and beats and an irreverent approach to Marc Almond's vocals, chopping them up and slowing them down. This song also supplies the mixtape's title.

 

Today's photo is another snapshot of my nostalgic wander around Bristol on Tuesday. I used to go to Lakota a lot back in the day, though I pretty sure that I would never have heard any of the songs on this mixtape played there. The club itself had been under threat many times over the years and there was national coverage in April 2020 of plans to close the club and convert it and the surrounding space into offices and flats. As at March 2022, the threatened demolition and further gentrification doesn't appear to have happened, but Lakota itself looks very much dead and gone. As ever, revisiting the past elicits mixed emotions.

1) Insomnia (Moody Mix By Rollo & Sister Bliss) (Album Version w/ Extended Intro): Faithless (1995)

2) Professional Widow (Armand's Star Trunk Funkin' Mix By Armand Van Helden): Tori Amos (1996)

3) Common People (Motiv8 Club Mix By Steve Rodway): Pulp (1995)

4) Lazarus (Ultramarine Mix): The Boo Radleys (1994)

5) Missing (Little Joey Remix By Ben Watt): Everything But The Girl (1994)

6) Adored And Explored (Andy Meecham's Slow Fat Dub): Marc Almond (1995)

Side One (46:32)

Side Two here

Sometimes You Just Don't Come Through

Tori Amos released the single God in the UK in 1994, the fourth to be lifted from her second album, Under The Pink. The law of dimishing returns applied for each single: Cornflake Girl reached #4, Pretty Good Year #7, Past The Mission #31; God managed just 2 weeks in the UK charts, with a peak of #44. 

The 12" and CD single feature remixes from Carl Craig and CJ Bolland, each offering a different but effective take, with the focus remaining on Amos' vocals. I picked up the CD single from the bargain bin shortly after it dropped out of the charts, initially attracted to the striking cover by Dave McKean, then the two (of three) Carl Craig remixes featured. However, on first play the standout track was the epic Dharma Kayã Mix by The Joy, over 12 minutes of blissed out beats and rhythms, again built around the vocals. I'd also bought The Joy's (re-released and remixed) first single Shine prior to this, mainly on the strength of Denise Johnson's appearance. Looking back now, I can read lots of comparisons to Primal Scream, particularly the Andrew Weatherall-produced track Screamadelica (also featuring Denise Johnson) from the Dixie-Narco EP. I get it, but it does The Joy a slight disservice. With God, the Balearic-indie influence really suits Tori Amos' vocals and takes the song on a completely different and (in my opinion) more interesting journey. Amos would eventually score a #1 in the UK in 1997 with Armand Van Helden's remix of Professional Widow, but this is the 'lost' classic.

 

God (The Dharma Kayã Mix By The Joy) (12:37) (1994)

 

Shine (Hyperphoria Mix): The Joy (27:09) (1994)

 

Screamadelica: Primal Scream (10:50) (1992)