Single Remixes vs. original album mix
Printed From: Top 40 Music on CD
Category: Top 40 Music On Compact Disc
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URL: https://top40musiconcd.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10239
Printed Date: 18 June 2025 at 11:18am
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Topic: Single Remixes vs. original album mix
Posted By: EdisonLite
Subject: Single Remixes vs. original album mix
Date Posted: 14 May 2025 at 12:48pm
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I'm curious to get people's opinions on this. Almost always, I prefer the single remix to the original mix found on the album. It usually has extra instrumentation and more excitement. But 2 exceptions for me are Amy Grant songs: Baby Baby & Good For Me (although for me, the Good For Me remix is still pretty good, just not my favorite mix). So my question to you folks is - what are some top 40 hits where you prefer the album mix to the single mix? (I'm especially curious to know about songs from the '70s to '90s because after that, many singles had a slew of remixes and it gets complicated. :) BTW - The only example I can think of where the single mix had LESS than the album mix - though not by much - was Billy Joel's "Movin' Out," which simply removed the car or motorcyle sound effect near the end of the song. |
Replies:
Posted By: Bellenger1981
Date Posted: 14 May 2025 at 4:45pm
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Off the top of my head ... "Maniac" by Michael Sembello. I love Jellybean's remixes, but I think that the album mix is superior in this case. For the record, my favorite mix of "Good for Me" by Amy Grant is the "7" You Like to Dance Mix". I will chime in later on this topic, as I imagine that there are a handful more. ------------- Jason Bellenger Byron Center, Michigan, USA |
Posted By: C Klaus 59
Date Posted: 14 May 2025 at 7:20pm
| First time forum post! I registered in response to this question. My immediate responses, being a huge Olivia Newton-John fan, is the 45 mix of "Livin' In Desperate Times" from early 1984. Much better than the "Two Of A Kind" album soundtrack version, and now can be found on CD for the first time on the "Physical" expanded 2-disc set. |
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 15 May 2025 at 9:15am
| I'm sure I'll come up with more over time, but the first one that came to mind was "The Reflex" -Duran Duran. Always thought the single was, for lack of a better term over-produced. Apparently most of the regional PDs here in New England felt the same way, because the LP version was the one that got the lion's share of airplay. Both Kiss 108 & WHTT in Boston used the LP, our station switched to it mid-chart run. |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 16 May 2025 at 1:44pm
For Amy Grant, I prefer the "Good For You" mix for Good for Me, and the LP version for Baby, Baby.  Gotta say that Duran Duran's 7" for The Reflex has the most memorable intro, since that was played on-air most of the time in my market. For Expose's "Let Me Be The One", while I like the edit points on the single, I like the LP mix better. For Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again", the single and the LP are actually two different performances altogether. I like them both equally. ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: 995wlol
Date Posted: 16 May 2025 at 6:52pm
| I have to say my preferences are almost always biased based on what version I originally heard on the radio. |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 17 May 2025 at 10:39am
That would closely reflect my general thoughts as well. ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
995wlol wrote:Posted By: Brian W.
Date Posted: 17 May 2025 at 10:43am
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Well, the remix of "Baby Baby" was only on the B-side of the single, so technically that's not the official single version. I was going to mention her "I Will Remember You" as one where I prefer the album version, but it's the same situation as "Baby Baby," where the remix is only on the B-side. Two come to mind for Madonna. The first is "Rain." The album mix is far superior to the Radio Remix. Daniel Abraham cut the simultaneous dual spoken verse in the middle of the song in favor of only one vocal, and it just ruins it. The Radio Remix also has a smoothed-over, less impactful sound than the album version does. And the album version of "Like a Prayer" is a better mix than the single, too, in my opinion, for the same reason: the single has this smoothed-over quality. The choir on "let the choir sing" jumps out of the speakers on the album version, but it's sort of buried in the mix on the single. Although I do like the Prince guitar solo on the fadeout that is on the single mix. And here in the U.S., technically the "single remix" of Mariah Carey's "I Still Believe" was that dreadful "I Still Believe / Pure Imagination (Damizza Reemix)." I never understood that decision. The album version was only available on the maxi-single. |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 17 May 2025 at 11:07am
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I preferred the original album mixes of all the singles released from Duran Duran's Rio album. I felt that the remixes made the songs sound bigger on the radio, but gave up some of the production aspects that made the whole album sound cohesive. ------------- There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one http://www.crapfromthepast.com" rel="nofollow - Crap From The Past . |
Posted By: jebsib
Date Posted: 18 May 2025 at 6:35am
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There certainly was a period in the late-ish 80s when singles were augmented significantly from the album version (not just an edit). Not certain if this trend was spurred on by a desire from the Record Companies to extend the interest of long-running album cycles or it was just the 'thing to do'. As a teen listening to the radio and being exposed to album versions at the time I can confirm: Re-recordings and remixed elements: Here I Go Again - Whitesnake Everything She Wants - Wham! Every Little Step - Bobby Brown Foolish Games - Jewel You Were Meant for Me - Jewel Goodbye to You - Michelle Branch My Immortal - Evanescence I'm Real / Ain't It Funny - Jennifer Lopez Remixed elements strongly noticeable (Often completely different music bed): The Reflex - Duran Duran Monkey - George Michael Pink Cadillac - Natalie Cole Light remixed elements - noticeable but subtle: Open Your Heart - Madonna La Isla Bonita - Madonna Let's Wait Awhile - Janet Jackson Pleasure Principle - Janet Jackson Tell Me Why - Expose Cold Hearted - Paula Abdul Opposites Attract - Paula Abdul 1-2-3 - Gloria Estefan I Don't Want to Live Without You - Foreigner Don't You Want Me - Jody Watley Let Me Be the One - Expose Causing a Commotion - Madonna Express Yourself - Madonna Was the 70s like this? If not, what kicked this off? |
Posted By: Paul Haney
Date Posted: 18 May 2025 at 6:59am
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There were some examples of this prior to "The Reflex" in 1984. I'm sure there are others, but these immediately come to mind... I've Gotta Get A Message To You - Bee Gees Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf The three hit singles from the 1975 Fleetwood Mac album. Two Tickets To Paradise - Eddie Money Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar |
Posted By: Brian W.
Date Posted: 18 May 2025 at 11:46am
I always assumed it was to get people to buy the single when they already owned the album, in order to boost the song's ranking on the Hot 100. |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 18 May 2025 at 1:22pm
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Brian, that's a good a theory as any other. My theory was that the label was trying to add more excitement to the mix. I'm not sure that too many people hearing a song on the radio would notice a difference between mixes. Edits for sure, especially in cases like "Blinded by the Light" or "Sometimes When We Touch" where big sections were removed. But with SO many single mixes being made - as we all know - I always wondered why the labels accepted poorer mixes in the 1st place from the producers. If they thought the production was sub-par, they should have asked the producers to mix it better or to be more exciting, etc. I'm sure there are counter-arguments to that theory, such as the label didn't know what was going to be the singles at the time. But still.. (And I'm not talking edits for radio or the single. That I totally get.) |
Posted By: AndrewChouffi
Date Posted: 19 May 2025 at 5:03am
My take on this is as follows: An album is submitted to the label; the label thinks it's quite good - maybe it's even got an obvious choice for a first single. The first single takes off, it propels album sales and select other cuts were possibly sampled on certain radio formats (e.g. AOR in the 70s & 80s). The record company wants to help ensure the potential second single doesn't stiff (and stifle momentum) so the producer either devotes special attention to creating a standout mix for the radio, or hires a top engineer to remix it (Chris Lord-Alge, Humberto Gatica, Mick Guzauski, et al.) or commissions a hot club remixer such as John "Jellybean" Benitez. A couple of early examples of this are Richard Podolor & Bill Cooper with Three Dog Night. The albums were well produced when they came out with NO advanced singles (with the exception of "Shambala" on LP 'Cyan'). Most of the singles when they were released were tweaked from the album version. Another classic example was the 'Fleetwood Mac' album. They were known as an Album Band when it was released in 1975. "Over My Head" was released as a remixed, augmented single a coupla months after the LP gained traction on AOR. The next two singles were also improved upon for CHR play by producer Keith Olsen. But nobody thought the album mixes were second-rate when the LP first came out - they just had a bigger budget now and could refocus on select consensus tracks... Andy |
Posted By: AutumnAarilyn
Date Posted: 19 May 2025 at 8:27pm
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Remixes are often created to follow contemporary trends for the later singles from the albums. The decision to have a hit or not can be a rather easy one once feedback of resistance from programmers rolls in. People that do remixes will hunt down exec's, producers, and artists. Once you are successful, they knock your door down with deals as opposed to a starving artist trying to find a break. A timeline of singles and other songs on the chart is essential to capture this understanding. Furthermore, all the ways to approach a song aren't always apparent at first take. This is the philosophy of jazz where when you perform it, there has to be some improvisation as each time it comes out slightly different. This is how the creative process flows.
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Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 19 May 2025 at 10:31pm
| All these different takes are good. I'll bet for different singles released, each of these reasons have been used for making a single mix. |
Posted By: davidlg1971
Date Posted: 20 May 2025 at 8:41am
The first few that come to mind where I prefer the LP version:
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Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 20 May 2025 at 2:38pm
I agree on these two. In our market (Southern Ontario / Western New York), the Genesis edit was rarely played. TM Stereo Rock was the ONLY way I heard it on air at 102.5 in Buffalo, NY. So the LP version resonates with me more. For Al Stewart, I prefer the LP version of Time Passages for the same reason as you cited for "... Cat" ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 21 May 2025 at 5:10am
Just the opposite here. YOTC just seems to run on forever on the LP, while the 45 captures the essence of the song. Never really liked the Genesis song much to begin with, but to my years the LP just sounds wimpy compared to the single, especially the intro.
I always preferred the remix that AFAIK only appeared on the B side of the promo 45. Our station played both sides interchangeably back in '89. |
Posted By: thecdguy
Date Posted: 09 June 2025 at 9:38am
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For me, I always liked the Original LP Versions Of Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love Of All" over their Single Mixes. ------------- Dan In Philly |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 09 June 2025 at 10:34am
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I, too, prefer the LP version of Greatest Love of All (the biggest difference is the acoustic piano instead of the electric piano, but also a longer intro, and other variations). For How Will I Know, I definitely prefer the LP intro more (more exciting to my ears), but for the rest of the song, I like the single mix As far as I know, there's no CD that has the true single mix of "How Will I Know" fully from tape sources (a small section must be taken from vinyl) |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 09 June 2025 at 12:44pm
Does the LP version of "How Will I Know" precede the final chorus with "Hey Hey, Hey Hey"; or with "Oooooh"? ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: thecdguy
Date Posted: 09 June 2025 at 1:24pm
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Does the LP version of "How Will I Know" precede the final chorus with "Hey Hey, Hey Hey"; or with "Oooooh"? Hey Hey, Hey Hey. The intro on the Original LP Version is also different, as Edison Lite mentioned. ------------- Dan In Philly |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 09 June 2025 at 1:37pm
Yah that bubbly, shooting sound that goes up in pitch. I prefer that one. ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: thecdguy
Date Posted: 10 June 2025 at 4:58am
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I also prefer the Original LP Versions of Michael Bolton's "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" And "When I'm Back On My Feet Again". One thing that stuck out to me is that on the Original LP Version of"How Am I....", he sings the line as "How Can I Blame Ya", and on the Single Mix, he sings it as "How Can I Blame Yew". Plus the Original LP Version is about half a minute longer than the Single Versio no. On 'When I'm Back On My Feet Again', there are drums that come on at about 1:00 into the song on the Single Version, whereas they're not there on the Original LP Version. ------------- Dan In Philly |
Posted By: EdisonLite
Date Posted: 10 June 2025 at 1:40pm
| "When I'm Back on My Feet Again" is one of the few instances where I like the single and album versions equally. (And it's not like the single version is only slightly difference). The big drums vs. no drums make it noticeably different. |
Posted By: Jody Thornton
Date Posted: 11 June 2025 at 2:16pm
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Hmmm - I have one of the limited run of LPs from 1989/1990 from Michael Bolton, but my LP has the drums included. I think this is an instance where single versions were placed on the LP but album versions were included on the CD and cassette (ala "Chronicles" from Steve Winwood) ------------- Cheers, Jody Thornton (Richmond Hill, Ontario) |
Posted By: thecdguy
Date Posted: 11 June 2025 at 11:52pm
I think the Dire Straits "Brothers In Arms" album was like that, too. Shorter versions of "Money For Nothing" and "So Far Away" on the LP, longer versions on the CD. ------------- Dan In Philly |
Posted By: thecdguy
Date Posted: 12 June 2025 at 2:10am
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Wilson Phillips' "Impulsive" is another instance where I like the Original LP Version over the Single Version. On the other hand, I prefer the Single Version of "The Dream Is Still Alive" over the LP Version. ------------- Dan In Philly |