12" Versions on CD

Being dissatisfied with Prince's 'Ultimate' album (Warner had better release a full box of unavailable 12" versions on cd), I was wondering how many of you feel the same as me about 12" singles. IMO 12" versions are the most neglected part of the history of pop music when it comes to cd releases. I know there are various compilation albums that have some 12" versions, but especially in the late seventies and eighties there were so many of these long versions (not only soul, funk & disco, but pop records as well) that never saw the light of day on cd. In fact, these are the only recordings that I collect by downloading from the internet and press them on a cd myself. Some of these tracks are clearly lifted off a 12" vinyl record.
The best compilations of 12" records as far as I can track them down, is IMO the work of a Dutch DJ and mixer called Ben Liebrand. So far he released three boxes of each 4 cd's with so-called 'Grand 12 inches', mixes that are hardly available elsewhere. He puts a lot of work in it by tracking down the right masters (often a job that's next to impossible) and sometimes even re-work or remaster them, while respecting the original version.
More info on http://www.liebrand.nl/grand12/index.html.

They're great sets, but as far as I know he seems to be the only one that does things this way. Does any of you know of other good 12" box compilations of 12" albums of one artist?

 

You're so right.

12' single mixes are sadly neglected in CD compilations and maybe once in awhile we'll see them as a few a bonus tracks, that is if we're lucky and they pull the correct masters.

What Ben Liebrand is doing is a labor of love for the music, something the major labels just don't understand.

Bravo!

 

Ben has put together some impressive sets there. 12" versions have been released over the years but rarely in one set such as box. They were usually released on dance music comps by the major labels or as bonus tracks on single artist CD's. Most of those 70's and 80's dance music comps are now out-of-print, sadly. But, they were easy to find back in the 1990's. I would certainly buy a "box set" of well-mastered 12" versions...

Bob-

 

Simple Minds did it right several years ago with the 'Themes' series of 4 mini-sets, each with several cds containing all of their 12" mixes up to that point.

 

Hi,

Sounds like we need a nice box set called 12" Club mixes. Shout Factory where are you? Come to Papa!

 

There are actually quite a few collections of 12" mixes out there, but you gotta hunt for them. As Bob says, a bunch are OOP. CBS did at least 6 volumes of their Club Epic series, and Universal had 70s and 80s volumes of 12" Essentials. RCA had several various-artist comps too. Family Records in the UK has issued 3 multi-disc comps titled 12"/80s, 2 of which lean heavily on new wave, the 3rd on dance. Many new wave acts have their own collections of 12" mixes, including some recent Japanese CDs.

 

I do know that there are 2 import Hall and Oates comps called "12" Collection" (or something like that). I am a huge Hall and Oates fan but since I already have all of their 12" singles I've never bought either collection so I don't know about the mastering quality of them..but judging from the titles on both collections they used the original 12" remixes of them and not current remixes.


now playing: Elton John "Madman Across Your Daughter"

 

If you're looking for 80's 12 inch versions, there have been a few good collections on some of the New Romantic groups.

Duran Duran - Singles Box 1981-1985 & Singles Box 1986-1997 (mini CD replicas of all of their 12" singles - there was also a 2 cd comp that compiled the 12" hits called "Strange Behavior")

Soft Cell - Twelve Inch Singles (3cd comp including all A & B sides)

Human League - Original Remixes (12" A sides and some B sides - single disc which just came out last year)

Spandau Ballet - The Twelve Inch Mixes (12" versions of 13 singles on a single disc)

Depeche Mode - Remixes 81-04 (3cd comp)

There have been a few Japanese collections over the years also - someone mentioned Hall & Oates - Japan, Wham & the Jacksons have also had comps. Janet Jackson has had a couple of 12" collections (Control - The Remixes & Janet: Remixes).

 

I couldn't agree more. 12" mixes are some of my favorite tracks, especially from the 80s.

A while ago I put together a 10 CD set of all of my 12" LPs. I sold the LPs, but I have the CDs backed up digitally. They still sound pretty good today.

These are the tracks I put on the CDs:

CD 1
Animotion - Obsession (12'' version) 7:32
Art Of Noise - Beat Box (12'' version) 8:32
Dazz Band - Let It Whip (12'' version) 6:12
Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Around (12'' version) 8:00
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax (12'' version) 7:26
Human League - Don't You Want Me (12'' version) 7:11
Kraftwerk - Tour De France (12'' version) 6:46
Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (12'' version) 9:03
Shannon - Let The Music Play (12'' version) 6:07
Yaz - Situation (12'' version) 5:46

CD 2
Donna Summer - I Feel Love (12'' version) 8:14
Erasure - A Little Respect (12'' version) 6:23
Jan Hammer - Miami Vice Theme (12'' version) 6:44
Newcleus - Computer Age, Push The Button (12'' version) 8:53
Paul Lekaki - Boom Boom (12'' version) 6:51
Rick Astley - Together Forever (12'' version) 7:04
Tears For Fears - Shout (12'' version) 7:42
The Cure - The Walk (12'' version) 5:26
The Power Station - Some Like It Hot (12'' version) 6:33
U2 - New Year's Day (12'' version) 6:39

CD 3
Chic - Good Times (12'' version) 8:15
Commodores - Brick House (12'' version) 6:14
Duran Duran - Rio (12'' version) 6:59
Freeze - IOU (12'' version) 8:43
Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon (12'' version) 6:41
Level 42 - Something About You (12'' version) 8:04
OMD - Secret (12'' version) 6:14
Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters (12'' version) 5:57
Wang Chung - Dance Hall Days (12'' version) 7:18
Wham - I'm Your Man (12'' version) 6:54

CD 4
Blondie - Heart Of Glass (12'' version) 5:49
Book Of Love - I Touch Roses (12'' version) 5:48
Human League - Human (12'' version) 5:41
Lipps Inc. - Funkytown (12'' version) 7:49
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean (12'' version) 6:17
Patrick Hernandez - Born To Be Alive (12'' version) 7:17
Prince - Lets Go Crazy (12'' version) 7:37
The Egyptian Lover - Egypt Egypt (12'' version) 6:50
Tom Tom Club - Genius Of Love (12'' version) 5:34
Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight (12'' version) 6:50

CD 5
A Ha - Take On Me (12'' version) 5:10
Kajagoogoo - Too Shy (12'' version) 5:43
Mathew Wilder - Break My Stride (12'' version) 5:06
Michael Jackson - Thriller (12'' version) 5:59
Nu Shooz - I Can't Wait (12'' version) 6:18
Soft Cell - Tainted Love (12'' version) 9:06
Soul To Soul - Back To Life (12'' version) 7:37
Taco - Putting It On The Ritz (12'' version) 5:59
Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now (12'' version) 7:05
Yazoo - Don't Go (12'' version) 8:25

CD 6
Abc - The Look Of Love (12'' version) 8:10
Bangles - Walk Like An Egyptian (12'' version) 5:50
Chaka Khan - I Feel For You (12'' version) 5:44
New Order - Blue Monday (12'' version) 7:29
Paul Hardcastle - 19 (12'' version) 8:21
Peter Schilling - Major Tom (12'' version) 8:05
Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me (12'' version) 6:43
Spandau Ballet - True (12'' version) 6:04
Talk Talk - It's My Life (12'' version) 6:15
The Fixx - One Thing Leads To Another (12'' version) 8:02

CD 7
Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark (12'' version) 6:08
Hall & John Oates - I Can't Go for That (12'' version) 6:06
Howard Jones - What Is Love (12'' version) 6:35
Madonna - Dress You Up (12'' version) 6:16
Mary Jane Girls - Candy Man (12'' version) 7:44
Miami Sound Machine - Doctor Beat (12'' version) 6:26
Pat Benatar - We Belong (12'' version) 9:58
Pet Shop Boys - What Have I Done To Deserve This (12'' version) 4:18
Prince - Little Red Corvette (12'' version) 8:15
Visage - Fade To Grey (12'' version) 6:24

CD 8
B52s - Love Shack (12'' version) 8:01
Blondie - Call Me (12'' version) 8:04
Gloria Estefan - Rhythm Is Gonna Get You (12'' version) 7:08
Huey Lewis & The News - I Want A New Drug (12'' version) 5:34
Kool & The Gang - Fresh (12'' version) 6:27
Madonna - Vogue (12'' version) 10:24
Taffy - I Love My Radio (12'' version) 7:02
Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World (12'' version) 5:59
The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated (12'' version) 5:12
T'Pau - Heart & Soul (12'' version) 6:44

CD 9
Ami Stewart - Knock On Wood (12'' version) 7:44
Beastie Boys - Brass Monkey (12'' version) 5:12
Daryl Hall & John Oates - Maneater (12'' version) 5:58
Lisa Stansfield - All Around The World (12'' version) 7:05
Michael Jackson - Don't Stop Till You Get Enough (12'' version) 6:08
Prince - Kiss (12'' version) 7:11
Rick James - Superfreak (12'' version) 7:02
Slade - Run Run Away (12'' version) 5:00
Tangerine Dream - The Never Ending Story (12'' version) 6:04
Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart (12'' version) 7:47

CD 10
Big Country - In A Big Country (12'' version) 6:15
Company B - Fascinated (12'' version) 7:25
Erasure - Sometimes (12'' version) 5:14
Jody Watley - Looking For A New Love (12'' version) 7:32
Kylie Minogue - Locomotion (12'' version) 9:13
Paul Hardcastle - Rainforest (12'' version) 5:10
Pointer Sisters - Neutron Dance (12'' version) 7:10
Prince - Paisley Park (12'' version) 7:03
Ready For The World - Oh Sheila (12'' version) 6:48
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (12'' version) 5:44

 

Great comps. Looking at your list also reminded me of the 2 Deluxe versions that came out a couple of years ago for Diana Ross' "Diana" and Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" - both of which had bonus discs of 12" disco versions.
Also, the Pet Shop Boys 2cd remasters from 2001 collected most of the 12" versions on the second discs....oh, and there's also a Blondie "Singles Box".

 

The Canadian boutique label Hi-Bias has produced an interesting series of remastered 80's 12-inch mixes called Retro:Active -- Rare & Remixed

 

I can tell tyou that a great place to find "12 mixes is on various artists comps. The Rhino Phat Trax and dance series is great for this. Many 70s disco compa have them.

I finds it's easier to find "12 mixes on CD than single or even LP versions.

 

Great selection of tracks on all of those volumes!! That version of the Newcleus track was only issued on the promotional 12" pressing of the single. It's very rare and the vinyl sells for big bucks. The commercial pressing runs 6:26.

Would that Beastie Boys 12" be the version that was released by subscription remix service Mixx-It Records? A Bay Area based DJ named Cameron Paul did a remix of the song with additional production that was hugely popular and still gets club and radio play now. He also gained greater fame by remixing Salt N' Pepa's "Push It", helping that song become a huge hit.

 

Lots of great info up above on various cd releases that feature 12" mixes. I have to say, though, that while it's relatively easy to find the most popular disco/soul and new wave 12" mixes on cd, it isn't as easy to find the 12" mixes of the disco songs done by more pop/rock oriented acts, even when the songs were huge successes. For example, still missing in action (as far as I know) are the Jim Burgess 12" remixes of Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" and The Doobie Brothers' "What A Fool Believes." (Too bad Audio Fidelity didn't include the latter on the gold cd of the Minute By Minute album.)

 

Jim Burgess was one of the best of the early group of DJ's turned remixer. Some other excellent remixes he did include:

"The Glow Of Love"/"Lover's Holiday"-Change
"I Love The Nightlife(Disco 'Round)"-Alicia Bridges
"It Must Be Love"-Alton McClain & Destiny
"I Was Made For Loving You"-KISS
"I've Got The Next Dance"-Deniece Williams
"Runaway Love"-Linda Clifford

 

Yea don't remind me

I got almost all of my 12" LPs from a DJ friend who worked for some major clubs and would get them direct from the labels.

I wish I hadn't sold them, but at athe time I was moving away from vinyl so I unloaded everything.

 

I downloaded these two from the internet, but even there they were pretty hard to find (I did a search for Jim Burgess). When I put up this thread I thought I might not get a lot of comments while most readers are not really into this kind of thing. I seem to be mistaken. I've read about some compilations that I knew of, but also quite a few that I didn't. Especially that 'retroactive - Rare & remixed' series has my interest.

It looks like there are more good compilations out there than I thought. But it's also a fact that some rare 12" versions are hidden in albums that contain 'the usual stuff' of 70's & 80's dance hits. So compiling a disc of your own might be the right thing to do. On the other hand, like most of you, I have no problem with shelling out some money for a compilation that's well done. Anyway, thanks for the recommendations so far.

 

I'd add
"Dirty Livin'" -KISS

 

WB/JCI issued a CD titled Rare Rock Mixes in 1994. It doesn't have those 2, but does include some other extended remixes by more mainstream rock acts. Good luck finding it today, though.



1 Sussudio [Extended Mix] Phil Collins 6:33
2 Heaven Knows [Astral Mix] Robert Plant 6:40
3 Long Train Runnin' [Showbiz in Peril Mix] Doobie Brothers, The 7:55
4 Owner of a Lonely Heart [Red & Blue Mix] Yes 7:47
5 Legs ZZ Top 4:32
6 Hello Again Cars 5:54
7 That Was Yesterday [Extended Version] Foreigner 6:14
8 All I Need Is a Miracle [Extended Remix Version] Mike & The Mechanics 6:29
9 Little Lies [Extended Version] Fleetwood Mac 6:15

 

Another classic Jim Burgess mix is "Victim" by Candi Staton. It's available on this Warner disco comp, which also has a few other uncommon 12" mixes.

http://www.amazon.ca/1970s-Floor-Cl...ef=sr_1_3/702-6032620-0389658?ie=UTF8&s=music

 

Yes, I have that one. Not something I play frequently; I would gladly have traded in a number of these tracks for the two Warner Brothers tracks I previously mentioned.

 

And all of these are available on cd, if I'm not mistaken. (I'm not sure about the Kiss song, but I have all of the others.) Perhaps someone will release a Jim Burgess compilation like those that have recently been issued for Larry Levan and Tom Moulton.

 

The 12 inch version of Kiss' "I Was Made For Lovin' You" is available through the Japanese compilation titled "Chikara" and as part of the Psycho Circus EP released in Europe.





Kiss' "Dirty Livin" hasn't been released on CD as of now.

 

One other cool story about the KISS remix. When the 12" was released, Casablanca had neglected to put Jim's name on the label. To make amends the group sent Jim a KISS pinball machine as a thank you gift.

 

What are the differences in the 12" mixes of "I Was Made For Loving You" and "Dirty Livin'?" Timings, just the mix, or both? I have never heard them and didn't even know a 12" mix of the latter existed!