"Our House" - Madness
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Topic: "Our House" - Madness
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Subject: "Our House" - Madness
Date Posted: 12 August 2008 at 4:45pm
| The actual commercial 45 run time of Madness' "Our House" is 3:18. (Thanks once again to abagon for the run time information. The stated time on the record label is 3:20.) The reason I post this is because database CD appearances of this song go 3:21-3:25. This suggests to me the LP might run a little longer than the 45. That said, does anyone have the Madness Presents the Rise & Fall vinyl LP on Geffen from 1982 who can pass along the timing info of "Our House"? |
Replies:
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 12 August 2008 at 5:19pm
| Back in '83 when that song was current, one of the Boston CHRs played a slightly different version of this than I've ever heard anywhere else. Just as the song faded out there was the line "our house, just can't wait to get away". This version is not on either the album or 45. Any idea where it came from? That one line kind of changes the meaning of the whole song. |
Posted By: 995wlol
Date Posted: 12 August 2008 at 6:43pm
| The 12" version ends with line "Something tells you that you've got to get away from it," but this wording differs from what you remember. Plus the 12" version ends cold with this line--not with a fade. |
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 13 August 2008 at 5:42am
|
It may very well have been the 12". This station did play a lot of 12" versions. Only heard this version a couple of times, and it's been 25 years so it could have been as you described.
Don't think I ever ran across a 12" of this...I'll have to keep my eyes open for a copy. |
Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 13 August 2008 at 5:58am
| I worked at an album rock station in West Virginia in 1983 when this song came out. All we played was the 12". |
Posted By: bwolfe
Date Posted: 13 August 2008 at 1:06pm
|
I do believe the 12 inch was played at 45 rpm.
That would cause a problem from time to time. "Addicted To Love" from Robert Palmer was also a 12 inch at the 45 rpm speed. ------------- the way it was heard on the radio |
Posted By: eriejwg
Date Posted: 13 August 2008 at 1:53pm
| So was the 12" for Robert Plant's "Big Log." I know, I cued it up the day I debuted it on air. A 45rpm 12" playing for the first 3 seconds...at 33rpm. OOPS! LOL. |
Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 13 August 2008 at 5:20pm
I don't, but I do have "Our House" on the 1983 Geffen LP Madness. Both the listed and actual time is (3:21). |
Todd Ireland wrote:Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 13 August 2008 at 5:51pm
| Was Madness' self-titled LP the parent album of "Our House"? |
Posted By: Yah Shure
Date Posted: 13 August 2008 at 6:44pm
Yes. Madness reached #41 on the Billboard LP chart, the group's only LP to crack the upper half of the 200. 
|
Posted By: Todd Ireland
Date Posted: 13 August 2008 at 9:20pm
| Outstanding, Yah Shure! So I guess we can conclude then that the 45 length of "Our House" is 3:18, while the LP length is 3:21. |
Posted By: MCT1
Date Posted: 14 August 2008 at 7:39am
|
Presents The Rise And Fall was the album on which "Our House" originally appeared in the U.K. The self-titled album that Yah Shure referenced is its sort-of American equivalent.
Presents The Rise And Fall was released in the U.K. in late summer 1982, but was not given a contemporary U.S. release because the band didn't have a U.S. recording deal at the time. Madness had actually been around since the late '70s; Sire released two of Madness' LPs in America in 1979-80, but subsequently dropped them. After that, the group was unable to obtain another U.S. record deal, despite a high level of popularity in Britain, and even, reportedly, some video airplay in the U.S. by MTV. In early 1983, the video to "Our House" began to get significant airplay on MTV. Around the same time, the U.S. pop charts were overrun by the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion". With both of these developments, Madness' chances in the U.S. suddenly looked a lot better, so Geffen signed them up. Rather than a straight issue of Presents The Rise And Fall, Geffen assembled its own album for the American market. Some of the material on the album was from Presents The Rise And Fall, while some consisted of various other Madness songs that had been popular in the U.K. over the past couple of years. The idea was apparently to present an album of the strongest material that the band had made over the previous two or three years, while their records hadn't been coming out in the U.S. To the extent that some of the music wasn't really current, most Americans had never heard it before anyway (and for those few that had, perhaps from MTV exposure, that it was finally available on a U.S. release was more likely to be a selling point for the album than a negative). "It Must Be Love" also hit the Top 40 in the U.S. But after its next album in 1985 sold poorly, Geffen dropped them, and the band found itself once again without an American record deal, even though they continued to record and hit the charts in the U.K. for a few more years after that. |
Posted By: cmmmbase
Date Posted: 14 August 2008 at 11:30am
| Actually, they had 2 US lps after 1983's Madness. In 1984 there was Keep Moving (featuring the low charter The Sun And The Rain) and in 1985 there was Mad Not Mad (no US singles I know of). |
Posted By: Steve Sharp
Date Posted: 14 August 2008 at 11:31am
| The U.S. 12" and the U.K. 12" are completely different. The one that ends with the acapella is the U.K. 12". The U.S. 12" was remixed at least a year later (by a U.S. remixer - I'd have to look it up) for the U.S. market, and commissioned by Geffen/Warner Brothers, after they signed Madness. |
Posted By: bwolfe
Date Posted: 14 August 2008 at 3:48pm
|
Used to play "One Step Beyond" and "Michael Caine" in my college days.
I miss the British pop from the 80's. The mini "British Invasion" of the day made music tons more interesting than it was in 1980-81. Those years are an extremely uninteresting time in top 40 history. ------------- the way it was heard on the radio |
Posted By: Hykker
Date Posted: 14 August 2008 at 5:37pm
I'd even include the first 6 months of 1982 in that as well. And then, it's like someone flipped a switch. The "Hot Hits" era (roughly summer '82 thru 86 or so) has to be one of my favorite periods of music, with '66-'69 being the only serious competition. |
Posted By: NightAire
Date Posted: 31 July 2011 at 4:19pm
Do you have a length for the U.S. 12"? It appears the versions & lengths are as follows: 3:18 - 7" single (early fade of album version) 3:22 - album length 4:21 - U.S. 12" remix 4:58 - U.K. 12" remix I've found one, crummy copy of the (suspected) US 12"; anybody know if it has made its way to CD, domestic or otherwise? Amazon & iTunes turned up nothing. ------------- Gene Savage http://www.BlackLightRadio.com - http://www.BlackLightRadio.com http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage - http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage Tulsa, Oklahoma USA |
Posted By: eric_a
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 12:37pm
|
Geffen US released the UK 12" version on, I believe, the US
12" promo. I dubbed something from my college station ~10 years ago, and I seem to recall it was a generic Warner Bros.-type white 12" jacket with printing on the front only. |
Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 4:39pm
|
Well, i only bought the U.S. 12" mix on Geffen ... and yes, it ran 45 rpm. I used to hate forgetting which ones were 45rpm 12" when cuing them! So, i just checked my mp3 copy of my disc dub and it runs 4:58 and it does indeed end cold with the a capella line. NightAire, PM me and i'll email you my copy of it, it is quite clean. (or anyone who who would like it.) As for CD's, i seem to recall it was on a new wave v/a comp from the 90's, but mine are packed so i can't check that. But that would be long out of print. If i find it, i'll report back which one. -MM |
Posted By: Indy500
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 6:43pm
|
I have a very different version that runs 5:49 and ends with people talking. It is on a French CD Culture Dance Vol 4. (Special Club) Very, very different from the 4:58 version. Lots of stop and start action.
http://www.discogs.com/Various-Culture-Dance-Volume-4-Specia l-Club/release/589646 |
Posted By: NightAire
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 7:10pm
|
MM, thanks for the offer, actually I DO have that 12" on CD, likely the same one you're talking about:
Classic Alternatives Volume 2 SPG 1901, published 1994, SPG Music Ltd. in Ontario Canada. (All times below are listed, not actual, times.) 01) Talk Talk - It's My Life (6:14) 02) Black - Wonderful Life (4:47) 03) Belouis Some - Imagination (5:27) 04) Romeo Void - Never Say Never (5:54) 05) Fad Gadget - Collapsing New People (Berlin Mix) (7:08) 06) Ultravox - Reap The Wild Wind (Extended Mix) (4:45) 07) Big Country - In A Big Country (Pure Mix) (6:18) 08) Altered Images - Happy Birthday (3:00) 09) Berlin - Sex (I'm A...) (Extended Version) (8:10) 10) Madness - Our House (Special Remix) (5:02) 11) Hunters + Collectors - Talking To A Stranger (7:30) 12) Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party (Party 'Til You're Dead Mix) (8:37) ----- Volume One included When In Rome's "The Promise (On Mix)," Giorgio Moroder & Phillip Oakey's "Together In Electric Dreams," and Haircut On Hundred's "Love Plus One." A great set, even with the handful of "unknowns" (to me, at least). ...Steve, are you still out there? Where did YOUR mix come from? Inquiring minds want to know! :-) ------------- Gene Savage http://www.BlackLightRadio.com - http://www.BlackLightRadio.com http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage - http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage Tulsa, Oklahoma USA |
Posted By: aaronk
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 9:00pm
|
It was also on a Richard Blade Flashback volume. I also have the set
that Gene mentions above (which might have been Canadian), and there are a number of tracks from vinyl. ------------- Aaron Kannowski http://www.uptownsound.com" rel="nofollow - Uptown Sound http://www.919thepeak.com" rel="nofollow - 91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop |
Posted By: crapfromthepast
Date Posted: 01 August 2011 at 9:00pm
That's the version on the UK 3-CD called The Definitive Singles Collection (1993), where it's billed as "Our House (Stretch Mix)", where it starts and ends with ambient talking. There's a similar version that includes the intros of a bunch of other Madness songs, running about 5:59, on a CD I don't have called The Superstars Collection - Volume 3 (1991). That 5:00-ish version with the a cappella ending turns up on quite a few CDs: Sedated In The Eighties Vol. 3, Classic Alternatives Vol. 5, Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites Vol. 2, and what may be the easiest and least likely place to find it: Madacy's Rock On 1983 Sweet Dreams. I have lossless versions of all of these - PM me if you'd like some of them. |
Posted By: Indy500
Date Posted: 02 August 2011 at 2:05pm
|
This from Wikipedia:
7" single "Our House" - 3:23 "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" - 3:31 French 7" single "Our House (Stretch mix)" - 3:45 "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" - 3:31 ("Stretch mix" is a mostly instrumental edit of the Extended mix) 12" single "Our House (Extended Mix)" - 6:00 "Our House (7" Version)" - 3:23 "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" - 3:31 U.S. 12" single "Our House (Dance mix)" - 5:02 "Mad House (Our House dub mix)" - 4:35 You can find most of these mixes on Youtube |
Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 02 August 2011 at 5:45pm
|
Ah
thanks Aaron it was Richard Blade's Flashback CD i was thinking of. I looked it up last night but they didn't list the time or version so i wasnt sure. Ironically, for whatever reason i didn't remember it appeared on cd when i dubbed my 12" single. But no matter, sounds great anyway. Love that tracklist on the other disc above, my high-school days! I would BLAST the Hunters & Collectors song whenever it came on.... -MM |
Posted By: NightAire
Date Posted: 21 September 2012 at 2:01am
|
More than a year later, I'm still trying to figure out what was released on the U.S.A. on 12". I never did change out the single version for any of the 12" versions discussed, so I'm guessing I never got a final answer on this question.
For some reason I thought there was a 4:21 version that was the U.S. remix. Steve Sharp seemed to agree that the 5 minute version was the UK version:
However, I can now only find the 5 minute version listed as a U.S. 12" release on Discogs, and our database lists the 5 minute version as the 12" version, not just the UK 12" version. MMathews seems to agree:
eric_a suggests the UK version was at least one of the releases in the US (but this, to me, doesn't rule out a US mix):
What I take from all of this is that the UK mix (4:58) DID have a U.S. release... but the 4:21 mix may or may not be the original (or later?) "official" U.S. mix... and I don't know of any CD source for it. Can anyone clear this up for me? I'll admit part of why I'm looking so hard for a clean copy of the (alleged) U.S. mix is that I'm not a huge fan of the UK mix. HELP! Can anybody confirm there was an independent U.S. 12" mix, how long it ran, and a digital source for this version? Thank you in advance! ------------- Gene Savage http://www.BlackLightRadio.com - http://www.BlackLightRadio.com http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage - http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage Tulsa, Oklahoma USA |
Posted By: AndrewChouffi
Date Posted: 21 September 2012 at 4:33am
|
I do own the original US 12-inch, printed time 5:02.
Geffen 0-29667, remixed by Mark Kamins. I believe there was no other US promotional or commercial "extended remix"; I would have been serviced it. Andy |
Posted By: NightAire
Date Posted: 21 September 2012 at 6:23am
|
This is embarrassing.
I always, always, ALWAYS A/B "different" mixes to make sure they're not just early fades. Well, apparently I didn't this time, and so this debate CAN be put to bed once and for all: The short remix I have is nothing but at early fade of the 5-minute UK mix. I am unaware of any other mixes even possibly being issued in the United States at the time. I am truly sorry to have brought this up again; I was so sure the two mixes were different, that they weren't connected... yet there's no question once I compared them together. (The pitch is faster on the 4:21 version... big deal. I'm sure that was to try to fit more of the mix on the album.) Again, I apologize. 7" - 3:18 LP - 3:21 12" - 4:58 "Stretch mix" (not released in the U.S. at the time) - 5:58. I'll now try to let this thread quietly drift off the front page again... ------------- Gene Savage http://www.BlackLightRadio.com - http://www.BlackLightRadio.com http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage - http://www.facebook.com/TulsaSavage Tulsa, Oklahoma USA |
Posted By: bwolfe
Date Posted: 21 September 2012 at 8:45am
|
I believe the 12 inch version was at 45 speed. I was in college and it would always cause a problem. Many other 12 inchers were at 45 speed including "Addicted To Love."
Were these just the promo versions? "You're A Friend Of Mine" was also at 45 speed. One would forget to change the speed back to 33/1/3 on the old turntable! ------------- the way it was heard on the radio |
Posted By: MMathews
Date Posted: 22 September 2012 at 5:19pm
|
Yup, the Geffen U.S. 12" was 45 rpm.
Just for a quick review and confirmation- i pulled my cdr of my disc dub, and the CD "Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites" Vol. 2. They are identical with listed and actual 4:58. The mix ends cold with the a cappella line: "something tells you that you've got to get away from it". MM |