Album Review: Various Artists – 12”/80S New Wave + 12”/80S Chilled


Here’s a perfect excuse to dance in front of the mirror with a hairbrush microphone once more, or if your like me, you could just spend hours arguing over what 12″ remix/extended versions are worthy of a re-release instead. Either way this double whammy of 80’s New Wave and Chilled will keep you busy reminiscing, and with both albums covering three CD’s each you get to hear every track is in its 12″ glory.

The New Wave collection has all the usual suspects from Simple Minds to Blondie, The Human League to Yazoo and with the New Wave banner covering New Romantic, Ska, Reagge and Alternative it’s a real treat to hear all the extended and remixed versions included on the album. Like your typical 80’s club night out certain tracks are just pure dance floor heaven like ‘Planet Earth’ (Night Version) Duran Duran and ‘I Ran’ (Club Mix) A Flock Of Seagulls, and others are of the sit down and bop around classic veriety. The New Wave scene produced some great pop and listening over the track list you can’t help but feel a guilty pleasure from all the over the top flamboyance of it all.

The Chilled collection focuses on the less club orientated tracks of the era, or maybe it would be better described as the slow to mid tempo collection with tracks ‘Christian’ (Extended Mix) China Crisis and ‘Hide And Seek’ (Extended Version) Howard Jones on the slow side of things and ‘Rapture’ (Special Disco Mix 2001 Remaster) Blondie and ‘Feels Like Heaven’ (12″ Version) Fiction Factory on the mid tempo. A great selection of tracks to journey through, with versions you may or may not be familiar with. It’s got an overall after club feel about it, a kind of everyone back to mine collection.

A perfect accompaniment to a night out: New Wave before you hit the town and a bit of chilled later, just don’t forget your blue eye shadow and hairspray.

80’s New Wave

Disc 1

1 Sweat In Bullet (Remix) / Simple Minds
2 The Freeze (Extended Version) / Spandau Ballet
3 Planet Earth (Night Version) / Duran Duran
4 All Stood Still (Extended Version) / Ultravox
5 Talk Talk (Extended Mix) / Talk Talk
6 Visage (Extended Dance Mix) / Visage
7 Working With Fire And Steel (Fire And Steel Mix) / China Crisis
8 Move On (Extended Version) / Fashion
9 Telegraph (Extended Version) / OMD
10 I Could Be Happy (Martin Rushent Remix) / Altered Images
11 Blind Vision (Extended Version) / Blancmange
12 Call Me (Extended Version) / Blondie

Disc 2

1 Don’t You Want Me (Extended Dance Mix / 2012 Remaster) / The Human League
2 European Son (Extended Remix) / Japan
3 I Ran (Club Mix) / A Flock Of Seagulls
4 Is It A Dream (Extended Version) / Classix Nouveaux
5 Who’ll Stop The Rain / Heaven 17
6 The Other Side Of Love (Remixed Extended Version) / Yazoo
7 In The Name Of Love (Extended Version) / The Thompson Twins
8 She Blinded Me With Science / Thomas Dolby
9 White Boy (Extended Mix) / Culture Club
10 The Way You Are (Extended Version) / Tears For Fears
11 Where The Heart Is (Extended Version) / Soft Cell
12 Close To Me (Extended Version) / The Cure

Disc 3

1 She’s Lost Control (Extended Version) / Grace Jones
2 The Earth Dies Screaming / UB40
3 Ghost Town (Extended Version) / The Specials
4 Temptation (Extended Version) / New Order
5 The Telephone Always Rings (Extended Version) / The Fun Boy Three
6 Twist and Crawl (Extended Version) / The Beat
7 One Thing Leads To Another (Extended Version) / The Fixx
8 Stay (Remix) / The Blue Nile
9 The Promise (Coliseum Club Mix) / When In Rome
10 All I Need Is Everything (Remix) / Aztec Camera
11 Silver (Tidal Wave) / Echo And The Bunnymen

80’s Chilled

Disc 1

1. Glittering Prize (Club Mix / 2012 Remaster) / Simple Minds
2 Save A Prayer / Duran Duran
3 Let Me Go (12” Extended Version / 2006 Remaster) Heaven 17
4 Tainted Dub / Where Did Our Love Go? / Soft Cell
5 Christian (Extended Mix) / China Crisis
6 Shout (US Dub Version) / Tears For Fears
7 Extended Souvenir (2003 Remaster) / OMD
8 I Second That Emotion / Japan
9 Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (Dub Version) / Culture Club
10 Too Shy (Midnight Mix) / Kajagoogoo
11 Hunting High And Low (Extended Remix) / A-Ha
12 Rapture (Special Disco Mix 2001 Remaster) / Blondie

Disc 2
1 Hold Me Now (Extended Version) / The Thompson Twins
2 Forbidden Colours / David Sylvian
3 Hide And Seek (Extended Version) / Howard Jones
4 Feels Like Heaven (12″ Version) / Fiction Factory
5 Wouldn’t It Be Good (Extended 12? Mix) / Nik Kershaw
6 Love Beat / The Art Of Noise
7 Out Of Touch (Dub Version) / Hall and Oates
8 Rage Hard (Young Person’s Guide Into The 12 Inch Mix Version) / Frankie Goes To Hollywood
9 Tinseltown In The Rain (2012 Remaster) / The Blue Nile
10 Half A Minute (Extended Version) / Matt Bianco
11 Love Games / Level 42

Disc 3
1 Human (Extended Version) / The Human League
2 Life In A Northern Town (Extended Mix) / The Dream Academy
3 Driving Away From Home (Wicked Weather For Walking) / It’s Immaterial
4 The Perfect Kiss (Extended Version) / New Order
5 Madam Butterfly (On The Fly Mix) / Malcolm McLaren
6 Josephine (La Version Francaise) / Chris Rea
7 Poison Arrow (Jazz Remix) / ABC
8 Don’t Dream It’s Over (Extended Version) / Crowded House
9 Shattered Dreams (12″ Extended Mix / 2008 Remaster) / Johnny Hates Jazz
10 Surrender (Stuff Gun Mix) / Swing Out Sister
11 Slave To Love (12″ Remix) / Bryan Ferry
12 Love song (Extended Mix) / The Cure

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