December - All about Eve

Together with the previous entry, 'Road to your soul' by All about Eve, this CD-single arrived in my mailbox after calling Tower Records in London. This CD-single was far more interesting, because it contained two non-album tracks, of which 'Drowning' probably should have been on the album, 'Scarlet and other stories' because it's a really good track.'The witch's promise' was originally performed by Jethro Tull.

'December' appears here in a horribly edited single version, which is a shame because the record company could have chosen to include the album version or the equally beautiful Narnia remix, which never appeared on CD at all...

1. December [edit]
2. Drowning
3. The witch's promise

Mercury EVNCD 11
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Road to your soul - All about Eve

With no World Wide Web to come to my aid, I had to rely to international phone connections to mail order from the UK. It's something I regularly did in the Nineties. This CD-single of 'Road to your soul' was the first to come to me this way, after phoning to Tower Records in London. (That's when Tower Records still existed over there!)

I ordered it because I bought the 7" single during a holiday in London a few months before and I really wanted this track on CD-single as well. I didn't know the other tracks on it (there was no World Wide Web, remember?) so I just took the gamble and bought it. Unfortunately, this little bugger only contained three album tracks...

1. Road to your soul
2. Pieces of our heart
3. Hard Spaniard

Mercury EVNCD10
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What kind of fool - All about Eve

The second and last All about Eve CD Video ever released was also the last single taken from the band's debut album. I didn't know at the time of buying that there were also CD-singles of these CD Videos. Oddly enough, the CD Videos were available in Europe, whereas the CD-singles, made in the UK, couldn't be found overseas at all.

Besides the beautiful video for this track, the audio portion of this disc consisted of three non-album tracks. The title track appears here in a remix.

1. What kind of fool (Autumn rhapsody)
2. Gold and silver [acoustic version]
3. The garden of Jane Delawney

Mercury 080 618-2
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Love and anger - Kate Bush

By her own admission, 'Love and anger' was the hardest song on Kate Bush's 1989 album 'The sensual world' to get together. She started writing on it time and again but it didn't seem to want to come together. When it was released as the third single from the album, it seemed a curious choice, since many other tracks were a lot more accessible for a casual audience. It was obviously never going to become a big hit.

The extra tracks on this CD-single come from Kate's involvement with the Comic Strip, a British TV programme for which she provided a few mainly instrumental tracks for the soundtrack. Again, odd pieces of music but interesting enough to warrant the acquisition of this CD-single.

1. Love and anger
2. Ken
3. The confrontation
4. One last look around the house before we go...

EMI CDEM 134
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What I am - Edie Brickell and New Bohemians

The first single from Edie Brickell & New Bohemians' debut album was this 'What I am', a poppy little track that took over the charts in the summer of 1989. This 3" CD-single featured two tracks from the album, but also a cover of the Lou Reed track 'Walk on the wild side'.

Sung by Edie Brickell in her laidback style it was different from the original mainly because it featured more instrumentation and a more melodic voice. I'd already bought the second single as a CD-single so it was only fair that I should buy the first one as well. And it was my 100th CD-single!

1. What I am
2. I do
3. Walk on the wild side

Geffen GEF 49CD
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Don't ask me why - Eurythmics

You could have a worse deal than this one: for the price of a regular CD single you got a 7" square box set including a CD single with exclusive tracks plus a big poster, with pictures on both sides. Well, the poster was folded of course, so perhaps some people may not have enjoyed this a lot, but it's still a great set.

As for 'exclusive': the two exclusive tracks here were only issued on a promotional CD single, so 'normal' people got a good deal on this front too.

RCA DA CD 20
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Worlds apart - Cock Robin

One of my favourite bands of the Eighties returned in 1989 with their best album, 'First love last rites'. I liked their two previous albums but the third one was, frankly, amazing. And the first single from that album, the powerful 'Worlds apart' impressed me a lot. It's very weird how this album never became the big hit I anticipated it would be.

This CD-single comes with two bonus tracks, one of them being a live recording of an unknown date.

1. Worlds apart
2. Don't think twice (live)
3. We've changed

CBS 655475 3
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Straight up - Paula Abdul

Pop is a weird beast. What sounds trendy at one point, can sound totally outdated the next. Such is the case with this single by Paula Abdul. Hip and trendy in 1989, this sounds very much like a product from its time now. And I stress the word 'product', because songs like this were promoted like they were a new sort of cereal at the time.

That's not to say that this is necessarily a bad track: it still bounces around quite cheerily. Paula's thin voice can become grating after a while though.

Siren 661 997
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Words - The Christians

Based on the melody of a traditional song, 'Words' is undoubtedly one of the best tracks by the Christians. This CD-single features the full length version which clocks in at over 7 minutes. Even if the two bonus tracks are much less remarkable, this is quite a nice CD-single to have.

1. Words
2. Long gone
3. Funny money

Island 662847
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School - Supertramp

'School' by Supertramp was never released as a single originally, but when a compilation album was released in 1989, this CD-single (and a vinyl 7" counterpart) did see the light of day. A nice way to finally own this track as a single, then.

Not only the studio version, but also a live version of 'School' appears on this, but the artwork gives us no clue where the two live tracks on this disc were recorded.

1. School
2. Dreamer (live version)
3. School (live version)

A&M 01 4230 6 1
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The road to hell - Chris Rea

The title track from Chris Rea's 1989 album 'The road to hell' was also released as the first single from that album. This version of the CD-single features the single version (which is 'part 1' on the album) and a bonus track.

I recently learned that there is also a version featuring part 1 & 2, the bonus track, plus a French version of the 1985 hit 'Josephine'. Now why wasn't that in the shops back then...

1. The road to hell
2. He should know better

Magnet Records 162.791

Een zomer aan het eind van de twintigste eeuw - Frank Boeijen Groep

The first single from this Dutch group's ninth album of the same name translates as 'A summer at the end of the twentieth century'. The band was rocking out in a way they hadn't done for a long time, as this single - and the album - was a less synth-laden affair than previous efforts. And that's exactly what I didn't like about it, by the way.

The second track is this CD-single's saving grace: a beautiful ballad with a reference to Beethoven's piano, by which singer and songwriter Frank Boeijen probably means one of the great composer's compositions for piano.

1. Een zomer aan het eind van de twintigste eeuw
2. De piano van Beethoven

Ariola 162.773
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Lean on you - Cliff Richard

No record collection would be complete without a few Cliff Richard tracks: the man has been an integral part of the British pop scene ever since he started in - wait for it - 1958. Although his last UK hit single happened in 2009, he is still recording music and also appeared at last year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

'Lean on me', released in 1989, was produced by Alan Tarney. This CD-single features a rather good extended version of the track. Previous single 'Some people' was never released as a CD-single (amazingly), otherwise I would have had that one too.

1. Lean on you (extended version)
2. Lean on you
3. Hey mister

EMI CDEM 105
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Are you just using me - Richenel

Richenel, a Dutch singer had some dance/pop hits in the mid-Eighties with 'Dance around the world', amongst others, but 'Are you just using me', the first single from his second album, was a much more sophisticated affair. Not least, probably, because the song was written by George Michael, using the pseudonym R. Phillips.

This CD-single was the only one I ever bought of this androgynous-looking artist, who continued for a while in the dance/pop scene with a distinct lack of success.

1. Are you just using me (extended version)
2. Billie
3. Are you just using me

CBS 654637 3
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This woman's work - Kate Bush

Originally released on the soundtrack of the movie 'She's having a baby' in 1988, 'This woman's work' also appeared as the second single of 'The sensual world', Kate's sixth album. The single mix of this track was only slightly different from the album version, so this disc's real surprises were the two extra tracks: a new version of 'Be kind to my mistakes' (originally released on the soundtrack of the movie 'Castaway', also in 1988) and the dynamic 'I'm still waiting', with some pretty intriguing adlib vocals by Kate.

1. This woman's work (single edit)
2. Be kind to my mistakes
3. I'm still waiting

EMI CDEM 119
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Woman in chains - Tears for fears

The second single from Tears for fears' third album 'The seeds of love' was 'Woman in chains', featuring the then-unknown Oleta Adams on vocals. The boys from Tears for fears discovered her while she was playing in Kansas. She'd released two self-financed albums which had limited success. They chatted with her after her performance, and two years later they contacted her to invite her to join their band as a singer.

'Woman in chains' was one of the strongest tracks on the album, so it was no real surprise that it was released as a single. The two bonus tracks on this disc are pretty surprising, especially the improvised 'My life in the suicide ranks'.

1. Woman in chains
2. Always in the past
3. My life in the suicide ranks
4. Woman in chains (instrumental)

Fontana 876 249-2
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Circle - Edie Brickell & New Bohemians

It was never my own idea to listen to Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, I simply got into the CD my sister had bought at the time.As a result I started buying all the 7" singles and - later - CD singles by the band.

This CD single was interesting for me because it featured the best album track, 'Now' as track 2. I wasn't going to buy the album CD anytime soon, so this was the perfect replacement. I only got the album two decades later...

Geffen 921207-2
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Lily was here - David A. Stewart & Candy Dulfer

Although the sleeve of this CD-single makes no mention of it, 'Lily was here' was taken from the soundtrack of the Dutch movie 'De Kassiere' (released as 'Lily was here' in other countries) starring Marion van Thijn and Thom Hoffman. Don't remember the movie? Don't feel bad, no-one does.

This instrumental piece, however, was more successful: peaking at number 1 in the Netherlands and number 2 in Belgium and Norway, it was also a top 10 hit in Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

1. Lily was here
2. Lily robs the bank

RCA ZD 43045
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The downtown lights - The Blue Nile

With two extra tracks, this CD-single of the Blue Nile's 'The downtown lights' was an unexpected pleasant surprise for those who knew the band from their one previous album, released in 1984. After five years of complete silence, the band returned in 1989 with the album 'Hats' and this single.

Critically acclaimed and non-prolific, the Blue Nile have released only four albums in the 22 years of their existance.

1. The downtown lights
2. The wires are down
3. Halfway to paradise

Linn Records LKSCD 3
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The sensual world - Kate Bush

Two years into my new hobby of buying CD-singles, there were still a lot of 'firsts'. No 'first' was more important than this one: my first Kate Bush CD-single.

Released in advance of her sixth album of the same name, 'The sensual world' was promoted with a beautiful video, a 7" single, a 12" single, a cassette single and a CD-single. It took some time to buy them all, but this format was the first I bought.

1. The sensual world
2. The sensual world (instrumental)
3. Walk straight down the middle

EMI 2034942
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