Madonna-"Express Yourself"

One of my all-time favourites.

Useless trivia as this one confuses a lot of Madonna fans. Now allow me to confuse everyone else, j/k.

In 1989, Shep Pettibone did two different remix sessions for "Express Yourself" (and a third in 1990!).

The first session is based on the original, horn-heavy Like A Prayer arrangement of the song with lots of "live" instruments. The hit 7" Remix is from this session and follows the structure of the LP Version, but lends the track a fuller, more polished sound with additional strings and percussive elements throughout.

The only structural difference comes near the fade, where the vocal has been altered. On the LP version Madonna sings "Express yourself/(backing vocals, no Madonna: You've got to make him)/So you can respect yourself". On this part of the 7" Remix she instead sings "Express yourself/(Backing vocals WITH Madonna:You've got to make him)/Express himself...".

The second session is the house remix. This version has a completely new, electronic backing track and thanks to The Immaculate Collection and VH1 (explaination on the way), many are more familiar with this arrangement.

When the video was released in 1989, MTV and VH1 were given two different cuts of the video.

The first runs 4:50 and is set to the house arrangement.
The mix used is unique, but is essentially the Remix/Edit found only on the above promo CD with the intro replaced by one similar to that heard on the Local Mix version. The only real difference in the mix is that the line "Do you believe in love" echoes on the video and does not on the Local Mix. Otherwise, one can carefully recreate this video version by using the two mixes from the promo CD.

The second video (included on The Immaculate Collection VHS/LD/DVD/VCD, lol) removes some of the steamier bedroom moments from the end and runs about 20 seconds shorter. The main body of the 7" Remix is used for the soundtrack, but the intro and fade endings are replaced with the intro and acappella ending of The Local Mix (by way of poor edits). This accounts for the time difference as it was necessary to place the acappella ending before the fade began on the 7" Remix.

In the end (for whatever reason), MTV opted for the shorter version and VH1 played the full version.

Edited by Underground Dub

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jimct Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 07 April 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote jimct Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Madonna-"Express Yourself" Posted: 07 November 2007 at 10:17am
	My promo CD single (PRO-CD-3541) has the following: 1-(7" Remix) (listed 4:30; actual 4:34) 2-(Remix/Edit) (listed 4:50; actual 4:59) 3-(Non-Stop Express Mix) (listed 7:54; actual 7:57) 4-(Local Mix) (listed 6:20; actual 6:27)

edtop40 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 29 October 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 6	Post Options Post Reply Quote edtop40 Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 2008 at 8:23pm
	my commercial 45 issued as sire 22948 contains, on the A-side, the 7" remix with a listed running time of 4:30 but actually runs 4:34...
	edtop40

Underground Dub Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Music Fan Joined: 10 July 2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Underground Dub Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 2008 at 9:26pm
	One of my all-time favourites. Useless trivia as this one confuses a lot of Madonna fans. Now allow me to confuse everyone else, j/k. In 1989, Shep Pettibone did two different remix sessions for "Express Yourself" (and a third in 1990!). The first session is based on the original, horn-heavy Like A Prayer arrangement of the song with lots of "live" instruments. The hit 7" Remix is from this session and follows the structure of the LP Version, but lends the track a fuller, more polished sound with additional strings and percussive elements throughout. The only structural difference comes near the fade, where the vocal has been altered. On the LP version Madonna sings "Express yourself/(backing vocals, no Madonna: You've got to make him)/So you can respect yourself". On this part of the 7" Remix she instead sings "Express yourself/(Backing vocals WITH Madonna:You've got to make him)/Express himself...". The second session is the house remix. This version has a completely new, electronic backing track and thanks to The Immaculate Collection and VH1 (explaination on the way), many are more familiar with this arrangement. When the video was released in 1989, MTV and VH1 were given two different cuts of the video. The first runs 4:50 and is set to the house arrangement. The mix used is unique, but is essentially the Remix/Edit found only on the above promo CD with the intro replaced by one similar to that heard on the Local Mix version. The only real difference in the mix is that the line "Do you believe in love" echoes on the video and does not on the Local Mix. Otherwise, one can carefully recreate this video version by using the two mixes from the promo CD. The second video (included on The Immaculate Collection VHS/LD/DVD/VCD, lol) removes some of the steamier bedroom moments from the end and runs about 20 seconds shorter. The main body of the 7" Remix is used for the soundtrack, but the intro and fade endings are replaced with the intro and acappella ending of The Local Mix (by way of poor edits). This accounts for the time difference as it was necessary to place the acappella ending before the fade began on the 7" Remix. In the end (for whatever reason), MTV opted for the shorter version and VH1 played the full version. Edited by Underground Dub