Search - Various Artists :: 80's Dance Gold

Dan, you are the best...

Baboomaroonie | USA | 10/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hi Dan, I'm one of the producers of this compilation, and I want to tell you right away that I appreciate the way you help every reader out here with time specifics and mix information. You are not just the best, you are the, um, frigging best. You have helped me make better and smarter purchases for years. I love buying records but I can't afford every one.



I wanted to make some notes to go along with your comments:



- Martha Wash does sing the entirety, lead and back-up of "You're My One and Only." To my knowledge, the only version with any of the Seduction girls on it at all is the one where Michelle Visage re-does the rap.



- Almost all of your mix comments have to do with time issues; the line-up got bumped around a lot as permissions came in -- or didn't -- for other tracks that we wanted to include. With Donna we were trying to save a minute, and Sybil really goes on at 7-minutes plus, and this is an unusual edit from England that telescopes the long version much better than the official single, which just fades out.



- In the case of Kool and the Gang and Jody, I made these calls because I thought these were the versions that served the song and the vocalist best; I find the remix-album version of "Don't You Want Me" way too cut-up to be listenable, and the Francois remix just felt long to me as I re-listened. And "Fresh" is so unconventional because it's laid back, this is just my favorite version. I used the album version of "Seventh Heaven" on a Gwen Guthrie compilation for the same reason although I do regret not having the chance just yet to get Larry Levan's mix of it out. I also admit to having a problem with some of the disruptive multiple-edits that Arthur Baker and the Latin Rascals did as stunts in long versions. That's my problem entirely and I admit it. So these are some of the considerations. There's a multiplicity of factors. Including the fact that once you've done something, it's sometimes hard to change because that costs money and time.





- Frankie was just too famous to leave out. We are briefed to balance mainstream choices with our own obscure faves and things that we know need to be debuted on CD. It's to make the lineup accessible to a more casual buyer. Thanks for noticing the Joe Jackson, it's not an edit, the co-producers searched high and low for the right version used on the vinyl 12. I was so glad to put it next to the hard core pop dance records it got played next to in its time. And similarly, I wanted to draw a historical and musical line between Junior, Safety Dance and Don't Stop the Music.



- Some things will always be over-issued, because they are big hits. I know I have 20 copies of "Boogie Oogie Oogie" and "Shame" if I have one.



Thanks again Dan for being such a great watchdog. I wish there was still a publication like Dance Music Report around, you would have been great writing a column that finds reissues so we know about rarities coming out before they go out of print again."

Some gems finally make their way to CD

Daniel W. Kelly | Long Island, NY United States | 09/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was shocked to find this collection of club mixes, which features some of the biggest hits of the 80s. It's great to get some serious rareties on CD, including the 12" of Aretha, Steve Winwood and Patti Austin. Not too much to complain about, but it is disappointing to only get the album version of Donna Summer instead of the rare 12" version on vinyl, the LP version of Jody Watley, which wasn't even the mix used on the radio version, and overused tracks like Men Without Hats and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, when the space could have been used for something rarely found on CD. But overall, there are a bunch of goodies finally on CD. Track times and some individual notes:



CD1



1. I can't wait (6:22)

2. She works hard for the money (5:20) (The LP version??? Where's the 12"??? Actually, it's on an import disc titled "I Love 80's Disco v. 2")

3. venus (7:24)

4. stepping out (4:23)(very cool version that restores the intro of the 7" version but gives us the full length LP version, which faded in from another track on the original LP)

5. two of hearts (7:47)

6. maniac (5:56) (The amazing Jellybean club mix)

7. relax (7:24)

8. you're my one and only (7:40) (NOT the Martha Wash version, the actual group Seduction)

9. Pump up the volume (6:47) (one of numerous mixes of this track--this one features a sample of Din Daa Daa near the end)

10. freeway of love (6:29) (AWESOME to have the 12" version on CD!!! So much more Aretha ad-libbing at the end of the track)

11. higher love (7:28) (Another treasure on CD! Just a simple extended version, not some over-remixed version)

12. don't make me over (4:21) (WHY not the full length mix???)



CD2



1. let the music play (5:45) (the extended version of the original mix, not the `re-mix' that's on the original Shannon CD, which makes this a rare treat)

2. come go with me (6:40)

3. Everybody wants to rule the world (5:40)

4. Breakout (5:49) (the good version from the 12", which is basically an extended mix of the original)

5. Poison arrow (6:54) (I don't know how this atrocious jazzy remix ever got released of this classic synthdance hit, which never got a worthy 12" club mix)

6. Betcha wouldn't hurt me (5:22)

7. Don't look any further (5:21)

8. Starchild (6:40)

9. Don't you want me (4:11) (Blasphemy! The club remix is a PRIORITY and should have been on here!)

10. fresh (6:19) (blech. This is the `extended' version, not the HOT HOT remix with the driving beat)

11. Mama used to say (4:53)

12. safety dance (4:33)

13. don't stop the music (7:52)"

Fantastic collection

Tom | Toronto | 12/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is, quite simply, an amazing collection. I am an avid '80s music collector, and I have dozens of '80s compilations. This is, by far, one of my favorites.



You can nit-pick about which remixes were used for this compilation, but I think the producers (one of whom previously submitted a review) put a lot of effort and thought into this compilation. For example, some of the remixes on here are some that I never knew existed: "Freeway of Love" by Aretha Franklin, "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood, and the mixes of Nu Shooz's "I Can't Wait" and Stacey Q's "Two of Hearts" have subtle differences in them from their extended versions found on other albums (check out the Madonna sample on "I Can't Wait").



Like one of the producers said, this features a mix of mainstream choices ("Venus" by Bananarama) and more obscure tracks (Seduction's "You're My One and Only"). I think the mainstream choices were excellent ones. The New York Mix of "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood is not a common one I find on CD.



If you love '80s music, you will undoubtedly treasure this. I think this compilation definitely has the '80s remix collector in mind but the mixes here are not too radical from their original versions so even casual fans will dig this."