REVO | CD-R | 2011 | PM005

Various: REVO Premaster 5 CD-R [2011]

1. The Rolling Stones: Miss You 12
2. The Rolling Stones: Undercover of the Night [ext. cheeky mix]
3. The Rolling Stones: Feel On Baby [inst. dub ver.]
4. Ronny: Compare Me With The Rest [part I]
5. Ronny: Compare Me With The Rest [part II]
6. The The: Uncertain Smile 12
7. The The: Three Orange Kisses From Kazan
8. The The: Waitin’ For The Upturn
9. Tears For Fears: Mother’s Talk [ext. ver.]
10. The Go-Gos: We Got The Beat 1
11. The Go-Gos: How Much More 1
12. Icehouse: Can’t Help Myself [club mix 1]
13. Icehouse: Can’t Help Myself [club mix 2]
14. The Suburbs: Love Is The Law [club mix]

There’s a vast backlog of CDs made since I posted about #4 almost three weeks ago. Plus, I was weeks behind then, so let’s dive in without hesitation, shall we?

WARNING! Not every cut on these comps will be New Wave or Post-Punk. Some, as seen below, will even be disco via decadent, long-in-tooth rock bands!

Rolling Stones Records | US Promo | 12" | 1978 | DSKO 119

The Rolling Stones: Miss You US Promo 12″ [1978]

1. Miss You 12
2. Miss You 12

This was a record I hated when it came out. It sounded like The Rolling Stones selling out to disco and by 1978 I was up to here with disco! Furthermore, I  grew up not liking the Stones too much since I started listening to top 40 in 1971, just before they started their precipitous drop in quality. By the time of dreck like “Hot Stuff” hit the charts, I didn’t want to know. It took the post-punk dub influenced “Undercover of the Night” before I’d give them the time of day, and in a few years, I was okay with The Rolling Stones as I entered my twenties. Now, when I saw this promo 12″ I jumped on it. The Bob Clearmountain mix sounds great! How could it not?

Rolling Stones Records | UK | 12" | 1983 | 12 RSR 113

The Rolling Stones: Undercover of the Night UK 12″ [1983]

1. Undercover of the Night [ext. cheeky mix]
2. Feel On Baby [inst. dub]

This was the Rolling Stones single that won me over on its release in 1983. I liked the obvious Post-Punk dub influence, though no one would mistake this for a lost PIL track! It was the hybridization of The Stones blues-rock approach with the dub influence, which came legitimately since The Glimmer Twins spent a lot of time in Jamaica in the seventies and beyond. I heard this on the radio when our local FM-rock station was briefly trafficking in import singles in the strange early 1983, post-MTV period in a failed effort at hipness. I was looking for it ever since and recently got a copy a few years back. I also remember that they jumped all over “Wishing” by A Flock Of Seagulls as an import at the time! At any rate, this is a cooking track with a killer rhythm section, as if you need me to tell you that! The killer groove is punctuated by machine gun stutter guitar in serious dub space. Chris Kimsey’s work on the boards was a good touch, and consider that he went from this project to Killing Joke next. That says volumes. The B-side is a dub mix of a tune that you could play and no one would guess it was The Stones! As for the cover, it looks like it made an impression on Duran Duran.

Polydor | UK | 12 | 1981 | POSPX 289

Ronny: Compare Me To The Rest UK 12″ [1981]

1. Compare Me With The Rest [part I]
2. Compare Me With The Rest [part II]

I remembered reading reviews of Ronny records in Trouser Press. Ronny was a model with a mannish image who was wrapped up in the New Romantic scene with members of Visage and surely, that was enough to seek out her handful of singles thirty years later? This single was produced and played by Vangelis [!] and it’s the furthest thing from a new-ro club track. Truth be told, it’s a tropical ballad of a demure character using Ronny’s sprechtgesang vocals. The B-side is an alternate version that’s even more diffident.

Sire Records | US | 12" | 1982 | 9 29878-0 A

The The: Uncertain Smile US 12″ [1982]

1. Uncertain Smile 12
2. Three Orange Kisses From Kazan
3. Waitin’ For The Upturn

This the first The The record I ever came across. A cohort at the college paper I was editing for was also a DJ and he asked me if I’d like this record, since it was a promo that undoubtedly didn’t fit in his repertoire. I played it and felt that it sounded a bit like Polyrock; which was the only comparable touchstone I could name at the time. This featured a ten minute alternate take of the song which would exist in a very different, shorter form on the “Soul Mining” album the next year. The use of vibes was unprecedented at the time. But the single was good enough to pique my interest in Matt Johnson for a good 6-7 years. The B-sides are non-LP.

Mercury | UK | 12" | 1984 | IDEA 712

Tears For Fears: Mother’s Talk UK 12″ [1984]

1. Mother’s Talk [ext. ver.]
2. Empire Building

This was the first single from the insanely popular “Scenes From The Big Chair” album which hit the racks almost a year after this single. I sort of liked TFF and bought this at the time. The A-side is a straight extended version of the song that has never made the leap to CD, unlike the alternate 12″ “Beat Of The Drum” remix which is represented all over the place on CD. I always thought the backing vocalist sounded a lot like David Byrne.

Stiff Records | UK | 7" | 1980 | BUY 78

The Go-Gos: We Got The Beat UK 7″ [1980]

1. We Got The Beat 1
2. How Much More 1

I’ve previously covered this single here.

Chrysalis | US promo | 12" |1981 | CHS-37-PDJ

Icehouse: Can’t Help Myself US promo 12″ [1981]

1. Can’t Help Myself [club mix 1]
2. Can’t Help Myself [club mix 2]

This is a wonderful US promo 12″ of remixes that US Chrysalis commissioned for Icehouse that have fallen through the cracks of Iva Davies’ otherwise thorough curation of his recorded catalog. Records like this find themselves in the local label’s archives with no rights extending to the artist in their home territory, even when they might otherwise own their masters after all of this time. Two similar but differing mixes of the tune from the Icehouse debut are given a respectful, 1981 style remix here by Daniel Columbe and Ed Thacker.

Mercury Records | US promo | 12" |1983 | PRO 231-1

The Suburbs: Love Is The Law US Promo 12″ [1983]

1. Love Is The Law
2. Monster Man
3. Love Is The Law [dance ver.]

This great Minneapolis band were fine vanguards of the American New Wave who made records that certainly intrigued me almost to the tipping point back in the day. I had purchased their “Dream Hog” EP on the back on of some good press when Mercury picked it up, and when I caught the video for this song the one or two times it was played on MTV, I definitely grabbed this single since the remix was promo only! I had every intention of picking up the “Love Is The Law” album but somehow, it never happened.

“Love Is The Law” featured the band’s new horn section and is a killer infectious number given breezily gruff vocals from keyboardist Chan Poling. Sounding almost like Johnny Cash at times, he delivers an immensely charismatic performance. The remix by Steve “Lipps Inc.” Greenberg hits all of the right buttons and this sounds flat-out fantastic. At the time, Mercury pressed promos in virgin vinyl, so the sound on this disc is immense.

In fact, recording this single sounded so good to my ears, I jumped on the web and discovered that a decade ago, guitarist Beej Chaney actually licensed his masters back from Universal and pressed up CDs of the first three Suburbs albums. These are now somewhat rare, since I’m sure the numbers weren’t high. I quickly found copies for sale from a dealer in Minneapolis and now, a stately period later, copies of “In Combo” and “Love Is The Law” adorn the racks in the Monk’s Record Cell. And it is good! Better yet, The Suburbs now have a web presence so you can keep in touch with these guys! Now I just need to get their well-regarded “Credit In Heaven” album. The band are cool to their fourth album, recorded for A+M in 1986, but I’ll still buy it if I see it.

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