Blank & Jones: So80s 3 / Various

Series of remixes that in a lot of cases are very hard to find & the sound quality is excellent. Plus one disc is a huge Megamix of most of the artists that they have gathered for the full 12" remix treatment on the other two discs. Definitely for those souls who like long versions of original hit songs!

I bought another volume on a recent trip in Europe and was hooked. Now I have all 4 volumes. Has great 12" mixes you just can't get anymore and the remix played for hours on a recent trip like a favorite radio station. Really like the remix of this set.

The so80s series suffers from too much repetition of mixes that have already been on CD, and there's that pretty pointless first disc that is simply a continuous mix of the tracks on CD2 and 3, but this is the first volume to really pull out a few big and welcome surprises. Not to mention, some of the mixes on here have been on CD compilations before, but sourced from vinyl, and I believe original masters were used here. A number of these tracks are simply the album versions (noted below on the track and time listings), so these are not really rare if you already have the albums by these artists. Other remixes may seem rare on CD, but have either been recently included as bonus tracks on reissues of these artists albums or previously available in expensive boxed sets of these artists singles, including the mixes of "The Sun Always Shines on TV," "I Don't Want Your Love," and "Ship of Fools." But let's get to the good stuff--the mixes here that have been hard to find on CD or non-existent until now. For starters, the original 1983 12" mix of Send Me An Angel has been on very few compilations, some of which are out of print. The version of "Lost Again" by Yello is a different mix than any I have on CD. Bryan Ferry's "Slave to Love" in it's 12" format is something I've NEVER seen on CD, as well as another song from the 9 ½" Weeks soundtrack, the 12" mix of "I Do What I Do" by John Taylor. "Hide and Seek" by Howard Jones has never yet appeared on CD as far as I know, and neither has the 12" mix of "Let's Go to Bed" by The Cure or the original 12" mix of "So in Love" by OMD. "My Soul Unwraps Tonight" has also made limited appearances on CD, and the same goes for the club hit "High Above the Clouds." All crucial reasons to invest in this disc if you're a collector trying to replace all that aging vinyl with crisp clean CD masters. Definitely pick this volume up while it's still in print. Track times below for the unmixed discs: CD2 1. fade to grey...visage (6:40) 2. send me an angel...real life (5:41) (the ORIGINAL 12" mix, not the remix from 1989) 3. lost again...yello (7:13) 4. toute premiere fois...jeanne mas (6:59) 5. Vienna...ultravox (4:56) (LP version) 6. being boiled (fast version)...human league (3:50) 7. military drums...hubert kah (6:24) 8. Sun always shines on TV...a-ha (7:03) (this isn't the US club mix, but a simple extended version that has recently appeared on the reissue of their album--but it poorly rearranges parts of the original song which really affects the flow, so I prefer the album version) 9. bizarre love triangle...new order (6:42) 10. trouble (US club mix)...heaven 17 (6:44) 11. eyes without a face...billy idol (4:57) (LP version) 12. slave to love...bryan ferry (5:46) 13. true (new mix)...spandau ballet (6:39) (This is not the original long version of the song. It has been slightly remixed and arranged differently than the original LP mix--for instance, it doesn't begin with the almost acapella vocals, but starts with a bassline instead. A curiosity for sure, but not really necessary. I'm not sure where this version comes from--if it was originally released back in 83 or if it is indeed a `new' mix) 14. hide and seek...howard jones (8:21) (Full length mix from the Action Replay EP which has never been released on CD, so this is a treat. However, Howard is currently remastering his catalog, so this might appear on his reissues pretty soon) CD3 1. let's go to bed...the cure (7:41) 2. love like blood...killing joke (6:47) (LP version) 3. need you tonight (mendelsohn mix)....INXS (7:12) (so glad this mix has been appearing on various CDs recently since it was not on the original US 12", but it would be even better to have this mix with the inclusion of the immediate segue into "Mediate", which I've always considered a part of the complete version of Need You Tonight) 4. china girl...david bowie (5:30) (LP version) 5. don't you (forget about me)...simple minds (6:31) 6. high above the clouds...Narada Michael Walden (8:12) (This billboard dance chart hit is such an odd inclusion on this release simply because it in no way fits into the `new wave' mold. But it's hard to get this on CD, so it's definitely welcome.) 7. so in love(extended)...OMD (5:33) (nice to have the `other' mix of this song on CD. Initially there were two mixes of this song--this is the original mix, not the `re-recorded' remix). 8. I don't want your love (big mix)...duran duran (7:31) 9. my soul unwraps tonight...savage progress (5:41) 10. I do what I do...john taylor (8:02) 11. ship of fools (shiver me timber mix)...erasure (7:50) 12. do you really want to hurt me...culture club (4:20) (LP version) 13. life in a northern town...dream academy (5:14)