Side by side: Hard Corps – Je Suis Passée versions

Returning once more to an old favourite featured many times before, Hard Corps, and their wonderful single that should have been a hit, ‘Je Suis Passée’ and all its many versions. It has been a long while in the offing, this post, what prompted me to post it now is the newly released compilation CD celebrating the work of producer Martin Rushent, ‘Autonomy – The Productions Of Martin Rushent’, available from Ace Records, as this includes the 7″ single mix of ‘Je Suis Passée’, its first release on CD format.

Hard Corps 'Je Suis Passée' multiple versions sleeve assemblage
^ Hard Corps ‘Je Suis Passée’ multiple versions sleeve assemblage

From the moment I heard Hard Corps I was hooked – that was in the summer of 1984 with the release of the ‘Dirty’/Respirer’ double A side 12″ (and later 7″) single. That love for the band became even greater with ‘Je Suis Passée’. Continue reading “Side by side: Hard Corps – Je Suis Passée versions”

Kraftwerk – ‘Tour de France’ MusikExpress magazine German 7″ single (Kling Klang/Parlophone, 2023)

The fourth example in a series of exclusive 7″ Kraftwerk singles made available from the German ‘MusikExpress’ magazine has just been released for the August 2023 issue. Celebrating 20 years since the release of Kraftwerk’s most recent album, ‘Tour de France Soundtracks’, the 7″ is a one-sided single with an exclusive edit of the album’s closing track, ‘Tour de France’.

Kraftwerk – ‘Tour de France’ MusikExpress magazine August 2023 issue German 7? single - front cover design
^ Kraftwerk – ‘Tour de France’ MusikExpress magazine August 2023 issue German 7″ single – front cover design

Of course, the detail there is that the closing track to the album was a 2003 re-recording of the version of ‘Tour de France’ first issued back in 1983, not the new 2003 album track Etape 1 / 2 /3 versions. UPDATE: And, thanks to a comment courtesy of Staggboy, to be more precise, the edit is derived from the 2017 3-D The Catalogue/Der Katalog version, rather than the 2003 ‘Tour de France Soundtracks’ album version. Continue reading “Kraftwerk – ‘Tour de France’ MusikExpress magazine German 7″ single (Kling Klang/Parlophone, 2023)”

Scritti Politti – ‘The “Sweetest Girl”’ version craziness

‘The “Sweetest Girl”’ never provided Scritti Politti with the full-on pop chart hit that might have ambitiously been hoped for, but the impact it made with its sea-change in style ensured its high profile all the same. What I had not quite appreciated until more recent years was just how many versions of the song there are and it’s curiously stop/start release history.

Scritti Politti - The "Sweetest Girl" versions
^ Scritti Politti – The “Sweetest Girl” versions

Continue reading “Scritti Politti – ‘The “Sweetest Girl”’ version craziness”

Year by Year: Cocteau Twins – 1988

1988 saw the band return from what, to the outside world, probably looked like some kind of extended break, but had witnessed the band finesse their studio in Acton and record the album ‘Blue Bell Knoll’. Along the way, it also saw the band make changes in their relationship with 4AD records, including signing a new deal for five further albums for the label and their American releases made via Capitol records, as well as further worldwide territories.


Blue Bell Knoll LP / CD / Cassette / DAT

LP version (4AD CAD 807)

The original release of the vinyl album came packaged in a tri-fold sleeve and, unlike previous releases, it was not the work of 4AD’s in-house designers 23 Envelope, but by designer Paul West and Jeremy Tilston, with photography by Juergen Teller.

Cocteau Twins 'Blue Bell Knoll' 1988 UK LP fold-out front cover design
^ Cocteau Twins ‘Blue Bell Knoll’ 1988 UK LP fold-out front cover design

Continue reading “Year by Year: Cocteau Twins – 1988”

Kraftwerk ‘Radioactivity’ US 12″ single (Elektra, 0-66486, 1991)

The sleekly re-engineered and re-envisioned ‘Radioactivity’ was a particular standout track from Kraftwerk’s 1991 album ‘The Mix’ and so it was an obvious choice for a single release. In the band’s homeland of Germany and European territories 7”, 12” and CD single editions were issued with mixes by François Kevorkian on the A side and William Orbit on the reverse. (The UK and France also got cassette single formats too.) In both cases, 7” and longer 12” remixes were produced. In the case of the 7” mixes, German language and English language mixes were issued. The 12” mixes were only in English language variations however.

Kraftwerk 'Radioactivity' 1991 US 12" single, front cover design
^ Kraftwerk ‘Radioactivity’ 1991 US 12″ single, front cover design

There was one more mix that managed to see light of day though and that is the ‘William Orbit Hardcore’ Mix’ that was only ever issued at the time on this US 12” single, making it an attractive item to track down on import on my side of the ocean.
Continue reading “Kraftwerk ‘Radioactivity’ US 12″ single (Elektra, 0-66486, 1991)”