12" Singles - Comments by Stereobitch

12" Singles - Comments by Stereobitch

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Member	Item		Review/Comment
Stereobitch 16th Aug 2013		12" Single Gonzalez - Haven't Stopped Dancing Yet (1977)	A UK production and track and was released by EMI as the first title on their new but not very long lasting dance-suedo USA style discotheque imprint of Sidewalk. Gonzarles had actually been there with EMI since the launch of the genric EMI label. Naturally Capitol were shipped tapes and paperwork and they didn't start dancing yet! It's kinda cheesy now and slots in with other safe non edgy bland I remember this one stuff, Dance Yourself Dizzy, Dancing Tight, I was made for Dancing, Ring My Bell, Now Is The Time, all "nice productions" but of their time, and just do not cut the mustard or credabilty. Great Jackie Compilation CD fodder. It's too nice, too euro, too camp, too catchy too annoying. I have only kept my copy as it's a promo and is sidewalk 1 and the sleeve and flyer have been autographed when they did a PA.
Stereobitch 16th Aug 2013		12" Single Discotheque - Intro-Disco By Discotheque (1979)	Sorry but you mean floor clearer possibly the worst waste of PVC pellets and the worst ever pressed record to have come out of the factory. Absolute flop and absoulute garbage! The only thing good about it are the two birds on the sleeve, wonder what the satins are, I'm sorry BUT who ever was in charge of Mercury A&R at Phonogram at that time should have been taken outside and shot! When this was mailed out, I think this was the only record from Phonogram I ever sent back, so it actually cost me money! Heaven's above thank god, Crown Heights Affair, Charles Erland, and Ranni Harris were just around the corner.
Stereobitch 16th Aug 2013		12" Single Miquel Brown - Symphony Of Love (1978)	Ahh that sleeve the first Steppin' Out's Grey scale on thin white paper ! The Original home to and sleeve of Roy Ayres Running Away (7" die-cut sleeve too) GG I Will Survive (7" die-cut sleeve too,) JB Sex Machine (1st 12" release) (the 7" of this was a bit before the Steppin' Out campaign so was a standard red generic polydor die-cut) I
Stereobitch 16th Aug 2013		12" Single The Brothers Johnson - STOMP! (1980)	This 12" release (pressed for A&M by CBS Aston-Clinton Aylesbury Bucks) was never shipped or came with a white die-cut paper inner-sleeve. The pressing/Run came with the Custom design A side labels (sadly a small unobtrusive 45 in red would have been nice touch. (Nothing at all is better than some idiot's thick black marker pen 45 RPM as I saw written on a tatty copy at a recent Car Boot, ) The 12" custom art sleeves were double die-cut in two runs at the printers with each cut punched out off true centre of the sleeve and at seperate angle/positions, The effect was clever easy to do and very effective. A&M were very inavitive with their releases, the 12" singles often came as limited editions in coloured vinyls virgin clear vinyl 10" editions custom artwork labels shaped discs etc. The biggest mistake their Marketing dpet made with the BJ's was NOT having the UK pressing of Strawberry Letter in a run of Strawberry red vinyl , both the USA Promo and Commercial 12"s came in red vinyl. This release would have really hit the spot in a matching red-pink vinyl, (would really be nice to know what CBS's rates were for coloured vinyls, bearing in mind that the regular vinyl used is carbon-black which in it's self is a colour "Carbon" being the key word, Virgin and original vinyl pellets are clear, ANY PVC that is NOT clear has had a colour/pigment added. A picture disc is virgin un-coloured vinyl with a double side printed 12" die cut paper design sandwiched in the middle of two clear cakes/bisquits/pucks. The actual track is an absolute classic club floor filler. great track, great vocalists, produced by a serious legend and with the helpful writing tallents of the UK's very own ex-Heatwave member Rod Temperton, who, along with Mr "Soul Bossa-Nova" Jones would team up with Michael "before the damage" Jackson. Enough said.
Stereobitch 16th Aug 2013		12" Single Wings - Maybe I'm Amazed (Mono) (Short Version) (2013)	Is there/was there any point at all of this release? It had had an original EMI single teaser release to the tripple "Over America" album , the record carried the same custom labels as the album. IMHO McCartney could have and should have given us the withdrawn Wings single Love Is Strange/I amYour Singer. I know that these were not live recordings and this was put out to promote the re-mastered DVD of the much aired concert. I like the custom labels and it's a 12" but what is the point of a mono version as this will have been just a regular fold down of the stereo mix a mono button on a hi-fi amp will do much the same thing. a lot of money for something every McCartney fan already would have. The pressings done for UMG will be excellent. not so sure of all the content!
Stereobitch 16th Aug 2013		12" Single Diana Ross - Touch Me In The Morning (1979)	4 Tops/Temptations Motow 25 medley was not a reissue ! 4 Tops (vile) mega mix was also not a reissue RCA-Ariola/BMG stupidly used a re-tweaked EMI Tamla-Motown silver on black Album label with an exciting silver rim band and no "animated" 45 logo and the 33 1/3 print semi-blocked over!!! What the RCA-Ariola/BMG custodians did do was some 12" "Motown" titles had the new A side track(s) using the original EMI designed Motown label and the B side IF using back catalogue couplings would use their tweaked take of the original EMI silver on black morpfed Tamla and Motown UK label. some of the EMI 7" Tamla-Motown TMG 900's + promo pressinges had unique promo Motown labels some all blue some all geen tinted. It was under EMI that Motown had it's Prodegy and Mowest inprints released and under RCA-Ariola/BMG the "G" part of TMG prefix finally had it's UK imprint Gordy To be fair to RCA-Ariola/BMG apart from the awful ZT -ing of everything and then the euro numbering and the evental silver painted 7" IEPs. BOTH they and then UMG/Polydor have kept the morphed Tamla-Motown brand and label very much alive and quite often on new titles.
Stereobitch 16th Aug 2013		12" Single Norman Connors - Take It To The Limit (1980)	The image is not of the USA prom but the UK commercial pressing from the Polygram plant in Walthstow ( Arista had gone to Polygram for manufacture from EMI who had been their "hoasts" since the Bell-Arista launch) The USA promo label is the one shown on the YouTube video A nice track but not a patch on his Buddah releases Cpt Connors and You Are My Starship etc. Arista NY were the original USA distributors of USA Buddah 12" singles, so a relevant link both of Artiste and labels
Stereobitch 16th Aug 2013		12" Single Elvis Presley With The Jordanaires - ELVIS 18 UK # 1s (2005)	Note a very important point. The vinyl (pressed in Germany by BMG) were not sleeved/bagged at the presses but after in the sleeving/bagging dept. the individual numbers duplicated more than twice and do not and can not ever relate to the pressing number of the disc. sleeve number 0001 does not contain the first disc from the press etc etc. was a kind of nice idea by an ex-emi employee now installed in fullham high street trying to impress. just a great shame many elements were very poor and made Sony/BMG look very greedy and untrustworth and sadly with the 1st release and the free box "All Shook Up", totally incorrect and insulting the both the original UK buyers of All Shook Up both as 10" Shellacs and 7" vinyls that made it No.1 AND all the ex-staff that were at EMI Hayes and part of the H.M.V. label etc! The only real plus and bonus for the collector was that all the titles that had been recored and mixed for stereo were being cut and pressed that way. The mastering and cutting engineer did a great job with both the stereo and the mono mixes that came out. The sets do not have the collector's value OR interest as they should have had because of the multi runs of everything, the sleeving/bagging comming to light as a scam, fraud and joke. There is however an upside to this Sony/BMG legal and pr held an olive branch to both EMI and HMV retail. and two special 10" repro vinyls came out. 1. on green EMI-Columbia and one on the Plumb and gold text EMI-HMV (7" label) .