Toy Soldiers - Martika

edtop40 wrote: ...the 45 wasn't released with a picture sleeve because the record copies began fading out their issuance of picture sleeve by 1989...

The CBS family of labels completely stopped issuing picture sleeves in the U.S. around the beginning of 1989, probably just after the new year. Around this time, the first digit of the catalog numbers on CBS U.S. singles changed from a "0" to a "6". That seems to have happened right about the first of the year, and I've seen picture sleeves for only a few U.S. CBS 45s with catalog numbers starting with the "6". "More Than You Know" was the only Martika single to be released before that point, and thus was, AFAIK, the only Martika 45 ever issued with a picture sleeve in the U.S.

CBS was the first of the U.S. major labels to completely dump picture sleeves. All of the other majors kept making them until at least mid-1989, with MCA and Capitol/EMI the next two to bail. The others continued into late 1989 or even on a limited basis into early 1990.

CBS' discontinuance of picture sleeves came about six months after CBS Records had been sold to Sony, though the name of the company hadn't yet been officially changed to Sony Music. I'm not sure whether the change in ownership played any role in the decision to drop them. IIRC, one of the Canadian regulars here (torcan) once told me on another forum that CBS kept making picture sleeves in Canada for quite some time after they had dropped them in the U.S., so it may have had nothing to do with the Sony takeover at all.     

Has anyone bought the version that claims to be the (Single
Mix) off of Itunes "21 Totally 80s Hits" by Sony. This
version seems to be a bit rare short of imports and I was
wondering before I got it? Thanks if you know.

Brian W. wrote: My original UK CD single (commercial) for Toy Soldiers contains a version called "Edit" version and runs 4:18, though the label sleeve claims 4:15. 1. Toy Soldiers (edit) (actual 4:18) 2. It's Not What You're Doing (actual 4:11) 3. Exchange of Hearts (actual 4:19) It says Toy Soldiers is a "special version" from the LP "Martika" (all CBS singles say that, if there's anything different about the song at all), but it says Toy Soldiers is mixed by Humberto Gatica, and mixed by Keith Cohen, from the LP "Martika." So I don't know if Toy Soldiers is a remix or not. Anyone got her album to see who mixed the LP version?

I would be quite interested Brian W to know if the 4:15 is an early fade or removes parts of the 4:52 45 version. I am also looking for this edit as part of my 1989 Hot 100 assembly...

Edited by PopArchivist

EdisonLite wrote: OK, I just got the scoop from my friend who produced and co-wrote this song. Humberto G. did the single mix, which DOES include the acapella intro. It has the same instruments as the album version (no new sounds were added), but just mixed better and more clearly. This mix was available on the 45, cassette single, and the promo CD single. It is the same length as the album version. Radio stations were shortening the song because it was rather long, so apparently, there was an edit provided to radio, but my friend knew nothing about it until I showed him the Rhino CD a few years ago. It was not even on the promo CD single, which only had one mix, which was full-length. My friend was at the studio with Humberto and he knows there was no other edits/mixes done. So my guess is the record company just did some quick edit to supply to radio stations requesting a shorter version, and for some reason, that is the version that ended up on the Rhino "Billboard 1989" CD. Like I said earlier, I wouldn't really call it the radio version, because it was not the version played on most radio stations and was not used in the video. It's almost like an alternate version, and it just happened to show up on the Rhino CD.

Sad because the Rhino Billboard series was pretty accurate until this volume!