Now That's What I Call 70's Soul

It's Friday, we don't tend to do that many music features on here but as the medium connects with what during this period was my main form of listening to it we'll look at the 3 LP version of a recent Now That's What I Call Music release.

Most of Now's releases are about periods of hits such as the iconic Now Numbered series from Now 1 in 1983 to 123 recently, the recent Now Yearbook series and it's sub series Vaults but they have done more genre focused compilations.

This looks to be a part of round up by decade of soul music they are attempting really aimed at those who have a general interest in Soul music but not having label or single artist compilations reminding me a bit of 90's bank holiday soul shows on BBC Radio that broadened your knowledge.

This is looking at 70's soul starting with Motown and Philly and going through to the like Earth Wind and Fire and the funk/soul of the Commodores.

The cd set uses four cds but by only using three lps the selection of necessity is tighter which makes it a most useful overview of this decade in soul.

Record One opens with one of the decade’s most recognisable love songs: Al Green’s ‘Let’s Stay Together’, a US #1 and UK Top 10 hit that became his signature recording. It’s followed by Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’, the socially conscious masterpiece and title track from his landmark 1971 album, and Diana Ross’ Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, which topped the US chart and became her first solo #1. Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)’ remains one of Motown’s most joyful recordings and comes before Commodores’ ‘Easy’ introducing Lionel Richie’s smooth ballad vocals. 

The side also includes Bill Withers’ timeless ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, a Grammy-winning classic, and The Stylistics’ lush ballad ‘You Make Me Feel Brand New’, a UK Top 3 smash, before closing with Rose Royce’s beautiful ‘Wishing On A Star’, one of the most loved soul ballads of the era. 

Side Two opens with The Jackson 5’s ‘I Want You Back’ – the group’s explosive debut single opens the side. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ ‘The Tears Of A Clown’ became a UK #1 and is followed by The Supremes’ Nathan Jones’ showcasing the group’s evolving psychedelic-soul sound. Northern Soul classics from Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons with ‘The Night’, Chairmen Of The Board’s Top 3 smash ‘Give Me Just A Little More Time’ and The Trammps’ ‘Hold Back The Night’. The O’Jays’ joyous ‘Love Train’ leads to The Blackbyrds’ Walking In Rhythm’, before the side closes with the romantic classic ‘Always And Forever’ from Heatwave.

Record Two opens with The Temptations’ epic ‘Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone’, a Grammy-winning US #1 remains one of the most stunning recordings from the Motown catalogue, is followed by Isaac Hayes’ ‘Theme From “Shaft”’, an Academy Award-winner and a US #1 smash. More funk follows from Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown with one of his key tracks ‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine’, Edwin Starr’s powerful anti-Vietnam protest song ‘War’, and Sly & The Family Stone’s hugely influential ‘Family Affair’. The Delfonics’ sublime ‘Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)’ comes ahead of Billy Paul’s timeless ‘Me And Mrs. Jones’ which closes the side.

Side Two begins with the 1977 #1 from The Floaters with ‘Float On’, before the breathtaking vocals of Minnie Riperton on ‘Lovin’ You’. The Isley Brothers’ Summer Breeze’ and William DeVaughn’s ‘Be Thankful For What You Got’ have become enduring classics and are followed by a run of ‘80s pop-chart crossover hits completing this disc from Detroit Emeralds, The Moments Raydio and The Tymes’ #1 ‘Ms. Grace’.

Record Three opens with the unmistakable voice of Barry White and his US #1 hit ‘Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe’, before Aretha Franklin’s ‘Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)’, delivers one of her smoothest performances. Al Green’s ‘Tired Of Being Alone’ and Gladys Knight & The Pips’ ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’ are followed by minimalist soul classic ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’ from Timmy Thomas, and the side closes with a trio of defining ballads:- George Benson’s ‘The Greatest Love Of All’ Diana Ross’ ‘Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)’ and The Jackson 5’s ‘I’ll Be There’, their biggest hit…while over the last side Freda Payne’s #1 ‘Band Of Gold’, opens alongside Ann Peebles’ influential and much covered ‘I Can’t Stand The Rain’.Marvin Gaye’s sensual ‘Let’s Get It On’ became another US #1, while Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass deliver the contemporary standard ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’. 

Three massive UK #1s are next…The Stylistics with ‘Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love)’, The Three Degrees’ peerless ‘When Will I See You Again’ and Deniece Williams’ ‘Free’. This amazing collection closes with two timeless ballads: Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘After The Love Has Gone’, a Grammy-winning classic, along with ‘Three Times A Lady’in its singles edit , a huge worldwide #1 for the Commodores.

This set is well worth it's modest price.

Now 12 inch 80's Pt.III

We're going back to the summer, July actually of 2024 and last entry when Now decided to make this series into a game of two halves per year so our format changed and we move from 1983 to 1984, the year George Orwell had a lot to say about.

As with all the others in series the presentation, just folded card with tracklistings could of been better but this new volume is jam packed with so many great hits in their longer mixes.

This collection showcases the diversity of the era, with genres including synth-pop, alt-pop, disco, hi-nrg, electro, and hip-hop, featuring the essential 12" mixes, that ruled the charts and the dance-floor. 

It was an era where I'd grovel through the boxes of just dropping out the chart 12 singles and come home with a handfull often for half price or even less and drop the stylus down on them.

Disc One opens with Queen’s timeless ‘I Want To Break Free’, in its’ extended mix and beginning a run of 1984 Pop gold such as Alison Moyet’s Top 10 debut ‘Love Resurrection (Love Injected Mix)’, and Duran Duran’s ‘New Moon On Monday’ the poster for was one my bedroom wall back then are followed by Culture Club, who scored a huge worldwide hit on 12” single with ‘It’s A Miracle / Miss Me Blind’ and Bananarama, who delivered a Top 3 smash with ‘Robert De Niro’s Waiting’. 

More gems feature from Matthew Wilder with ‘Break My Stride’ that I'd first heard in late 1983 as an american hit, Ray Parker Jr.’s blockbuster soundtrack theme ‘Ghostbusters (Extended Mix)’, and Nik Kershaw’s ‘The Riddle’, with Howard Jones with a thoughtful new synth sound and Ultravox bringing the first disc to a close. 

Disc Two is a celebration of electro-dance, hi-nrg and 80’s disco, kicking off with Freddie Mercury’s synth classic ‘Love Kills’ and Shannon’s electro classic ‘Let The Music Play’, apersonal favourite that still sounds as fresh today as it did in ‘84. 

Sister Sledge feature with the 1984 Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers Remix of their peerless ‘Lost In Music’, a hit originally from 1979, while The Pointer Sisters' ‘Jump (For My Love)’ and Dead Or Alive’s cover of ‘That’s The Way (I Like It)’ were guaranteed floor-fillers. 

Hi-NRG made a huge chart impact in 1984 – and the 12” single was made for the genre with its longer playing time – Bronski Beat and Laura Branigan feature alongside early chart smashes for production team Stock, Aitken & Waterman from Divine with ‘You Think You’re A Man’ and Hazell Dean with ‘Whatever I Do’. 

The genre defining anthem ‘High Energy’ from Evelyn Thomas ruled the clubs dance-floors, and the disc still has room for party favourite ‘It’s Raining Men’ from The Weather Girls and Kim Wilde’s synth-pop hidden gem ‘The Touch’. 

Disc Three opens on the dancefloor with soulful vocals and electro beats from Chaka Khan’s ‘I Feel For You’, followed by Womack & Womack’s ‘Love Wars’ and the sublime full-length version of Jocelyn Brown’s ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’ that I loved. 

The often-sampled old-school hip-hop of The World’s Famous Supreme Team and Grandmaster Melle Mel’s ‘White Lines (Don’t Do It)’ are up next ahead of Nick Heyward’s pop-dance essential ‘Warning Sign’ with its two raps, and synth gold from Tears For Fears and Scritti Politti. 

The remainder of the disc celebrates some of the years’ greatest alt-pop 12”’s, featuring Propaganda’s incredible ‘Das Testament Des Dr Mabuse’, Cocteau Twins with the sublime ‘Pearly Dewdrops’ Drops’ and Echo and the Bunnymen’s stunning ‘The Killing Moon’. 

Finally onto Disc Four and it delivers a charged mix of iconic chart gold:- Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s 9 week #1 ‘Two Tribes (Annihilation)’ opens a stellar run featuring Duran Duran’s epic 12” of ‘The Wild Boys’ (and who doesn't forget its memorable video) and Spandau Ballet’s ‘Only When You Leave’. 

Paul Young’s  powerful ‘I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down’ is next, and leads into Adam Ant’s superb ‘Apollo 9 (Francois K Splashdown Mix)’ where he attempted a comeback. ‘Up On The Catwalk’ from Simple Minds originally on the Sparkle In The Rain album has a great extended version and synth-pop essentials from Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark with ‘Tesla Girls’, Blancmange with ‘Don’t Tell Me’ Alphaville’s ‘Big In Japan’, and Howard Jones second appearance on this collection with the ‘International Mix’ of ‘Like To Get To Know You Well’ leads this set to its’ conclusion – not only 1984’s biggest selling single, but at the time the U.K.’s biggest ever seller – ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ from Band Aid in its full 12” mix.

Come April the second volume appeared with an additional 46 tracks.

The same presentation lacking any background was used which remains a pity with the whole series.

Disc One opens with the long mix of Wham!’s ‘Freedom’ opening a stellar run of huge chart hits. Culture Club’s ‘The War Song’, is followed by Nena’s worldwide #1, ‘99 Red Balloons’, followed by Eurythmics, New Order and Scritti Politti. Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder’s classic ‘Together In Electric Dreams’ in it’s extended mix, along with the 12” version of ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ from Ultravox are enduring synth-pop classics – and rounding off the disc ’84 Pop gold from Spandau Ballet, Alison Moyet, Bananarama and Elton John.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s ‘5-weeks at #1’ smash ‘Relax’ needs little introduction, and opens Disc Two with its ‘New York Mix’. Bronski Beat’s powerful and poignant ‘Smalltown Boy’ is up next along with celebratory Hi-NRG and electro from Hazell Dean, Deniece Williams’ ‘Let’s Hear It For The Boy’, and the 12” remix of The Pointer Sisters’ ‘Automatic’. A run of synth-driven gems from Peter Schilling, The Art Of Noise, ABC, Re-Flex, Talk Talk and Fiction Factory conclude the disc in style.

Disc Three is packed with pure pop brilliance, opening with Duran Duran’s worldwide #1 hit ‘The Reflex’ in its iconic Dance Mix. Nik Kershaw scored a huge hit with ‘I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, Kim Wilde’s hits continued with ‘The Second Time’ and Limahl’s ‘Never Ending Story’ was one of the most memorable film themes of the decade, here in its 12” Dance Mix. Simple Minds and Soft Cell lead into classic alt-pop tracks from The Stranglers (‘Skin Deep’), Echo & The Bunnymen (‘Silver’), The Icicle Works with the long version of ‘Love Is A Wonderful Colour’, and Swans Way with the 12” mix of the stunning ‘Soul Train’.

Ending the set, Disc Four opens with legends, Paul McCartney with the extended version of ‘No More Lonely Nights’, and Tina Turner with ‘Better Be Good To Me’. Some of ‘84’s biggest floor-fillers including ‘Just Be Good To Me’ from The S.O.S Band, and ‘Running With The Night’ from Lionel Richie are featured along with jazz, latin and electro infused dance pop from Shakatak, Miami Sound Machine and Ollie & Jerry respectively. Rockwell’s timeless ‘Somebody’s Watching Me’ leads into two synth ballads to close the collection in their extended versions: ‘Talking Loud And Clear’ from Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, and the beautiful ‘Hide And Seek’ from Howard Jones.

Our last entry: Now 12" 1983

Now 12 " 80's - 1983

 We're off this weekend so after some political posts, we'll go with something more fun.

The World of NOW, just gets bigger taking in numbered volumes of Now That's What I Call Music,, Now Yearbook, themed Now That's What I Call ..... and was joined by the cd only Now 12" 80's series which looks at 12" singles from a specific year rather than the three compilations of 80's 12 inch singles.

The first bunch 1980 to 1982 are on an earlier posts with our last post being in April.

Now12-inch-80s 1982

My original intentions were to group post all the series together but the 1982 edition gained two volumes which doubles the post and you will note they've done the same with this edition so it seems that the remainder will follow the two part format.

That makes it more sensible to break them into chunks and update each as needed.

As ever this is a bare bones card wrap around cover set which is a pity as a book form with some notes as with the Deluxe Now Yearbooks would of been better as this is aimed more at music fans and collectors but we just have to accept it as is.

1983 was the year I left school, like most teens was obsessed by music and accompanying fashions like cutting up white and grey t shirts in an attempt to make my own monochromatic looks and thought Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo was wonderful.

Disc 1 opens with two of 1983’s biggest artists with Wham!’s "Bad Boys”, followed by Eurythmics’ (over 12 minutes remix of) "Right By Your Side”before being joined by Duran Duran with "Union Of The Snake (The Monkey Mix)", and the extended “Communication” by Spandau Ballet. The Human League keeps the momentum with their massive hit "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" which I bought straight on 12 single back then, while Howard Jones and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark keeps up the Synth-Pop  with "New Song" and "Genetic Engineering" from the Dazzleships album respectively. Extended versions from Blancmange, Ultravox, and Tears For Fears  "The Way You Are" are also feature on the first disc.

Disc 2 celebrates Pop Gold with Adam Ant’s "Puss 'N Boots"one I remember from early Signal Radio here, Bananarama’s "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", plus The Belle Stars, and Bucks Fizz. Pop and New Wave fused on fabulous tracks from Haysi Fantayzee, and Altered Images with the unforgettable "Don't Talk To Me About Love", and hits from a huge chart year for Kajagoogoo and Paul Young. The disc closes with more Synth-Pop from Heaven 17, Soft Cell and a huge U.S. hit for Taco with an unexpected cover choice in “Puttin’ On The Ritz”.

Disc 3 starts from the dancefloor with the iconic "Flashdance…What A Feeling", from Irene Cara, and the stunning Electropop work-out in extended form on Freeez’s "I.O.U. (Megamix)" a personal favourite. The legendary Arthur Baker produced “Confusion” for New Order, and “The Harder They Come” for Rockers Revenge, and Forrest enjoyed a smash covering “Rock The Boat” while Modern Romance and Level 42 bought Pop and Funk crossover to the charts. This disc works towards its finale with four UK acts who all enjoyed great success in ’83 with these 12” versions enhancing already great tracks – Madness, Fun Boy Three, The Style Council, and Nick Heyward who’s “Whistle Down The Wind” from the North Of A Miracle album was his first solo hit.

Disc 4 offers a star-studded line-up opening with 12” and remixed versions of Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson’s "Say Say Say" that took much effort to steem a sudden drop in the charts and Billy Joel’s "Tell Her About It" before The Fixx appear with their huge US hit “One Thing Leads To Another” from the album Reach The Beach, followed by Debbie Harry, and Laura Branigan who achieved a global success with “Gloria” from her first album. Hi-Energy floor-fillers from Miquel Brown and Divine, are next alongside Ryan Paris’ pan-European smash “Dolce Vita”. The collection concludes with classic dance hits from Lydia Murdock and Phil Fearon & Galaxy and a great collaboration between the legendary Donna Summer and Musical Youth.

For gathering so many interesting and important 12 inch singles of the year, a good number I personally bought at the time, this set is well worth it filling next to Now Yearbook 1983 (and Extra+Vault).

Part two with another four discs worth came out.

A great selection mainly of hits and the odd bubbling under selection this wraps up 1983!

Now 12" 80's: 1980 and 1981

Those people at Now What You Call Music must be getting busy as after resuming the Now Yearbook series with the 1992 volume and  regiving us Now15 they've decided to start a new 80's series.

Compilations of 12" mixes aren't exactly new and Now have given us three 80's sets in the recent past but what makes this series of value is that each set has the hit 12" mixes of one year which as with the Yearbook series I find helps get you into a year and its memories better than a random all 80's set.

Thus this fits well with your Now Yearbooks for giving you the longer more extended side of the hits of the year and in this sets case adds such unforgettable hits as D.I.S.C.O by Ottowan in it's extended for that the 1980 Yearbook left off, the delectable Taste Of Bitter Love by Gladys Knight & The Pips, Blondie's pounding Call Me and the S.O.S. band's Take Your Time (and do it right) among many others.

Overall musically speaking this draws mainly from soul, funk and disco which remained big in this year at least in the UK but brings in those early New Wave synthesizer sounds from the likes of OMD and Spandau Ballet.

 

1981 was one of the best years for pop music in the UK mixing, soul, funk, synth pop  and reggae and that is well represented in the 1981 set from the delights of Japan's Quiet Life, the mixture of new wave and rap in Wordy Rappinghood by the Talking Heads  spin off Tom Tom Club, Ottowan's Hands Up showing that in the UK at least disc wasn't dead, quality soul from the Jones Girls with Nights Over Egypt and Physical by Olivia Newton-John.

 

My only criticism is they've reverted to a folded card sleeve with panels packaging with no write up  where this would of been better served up in the Yearbook style with a short write up on each song with pictures but overall these are a great set and series to collect if like me you did buy those 12" singles back in the day.

Now That's What I Call Music CD Part 4

The last time we visited the topic of the re-issue on cd of the early 'classic' now albums of the 80's was August 7th when we had Now 6 which was rather out of sync seasonally to when that originally came out.

We are now at the point in the series where some of the tracks did have a cd release in 1986 as by that point cd sales had picked up with heavy promotion, it was becoming possible to buy a separate cd player for about £200 or less and purchasers of all in one systems often had the option of getting a heavily discounted matching player so they could upgrade and add cd replay too.

The price of the discs themselves though was an issue to youngsters and casual pop fans so while fans bought releases by that years top acts on cd such as the Pet Shop Boys, Queen, Madonna and Genesis in big numbers, the kind of person who handed over £7.99 for that season's NOW or HITS compilation wouldn't of paid £22 for the cd version.

Now 7 was issued in the Summer of 1986 so some of that years early hits ended up on the HITS lp/tape around the spring and was strictly lp and tape only with the quirky last minute addition of Queen's A Kind of Magic that necessitated the hasty white hype sticker as this wasn't listed on the jacket.

This album originally had 33 tracks on it but when you look at the rear of the cd you'll soon spot there was only 30.

Now 7 does strangely omit three songs, On My Own by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald and (Bang Zoom) Let's Go Go by The Real Roxanne with Hitman Howie Tee plus the unmissable Absolute Beginners by David Bowie from the film of the same name.

Just why that should be is anyone's guess as Absolutely Beginners made the millennium series NOW 1986 as well as Bowie's own Best of 1980-87 in 1998.

During that transitional period we were  fortunate that seven of the original 33 tracks did come out on the compilation cd NOW '86 issued November 1986 much advertised at the time in Q Magazine, What Cd and LM (anyone remember that five issue wonder???) with 8 from Now 8 which had a single 18 track cd issue.

The seven songs that are:

A Kind of Magic 4'23

Absolute Beginners 5'36

West End Girls 3'55

Lessons In Love 4'00

On My Own 4'41

Let's Go All The Way 3'57

I've emboldened two of missing tracks so if you own this early cd you need to hang on to (or for some of you buy) this cd which charted at #65 as a cd only release to put a couple of omissions right.

As well they used the album version of Nu Shooz's I Can't Wait rather than the common single version normally used and there appears little reason to use an edit of Billy Ocean's When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going which they did.

While it is good a cd version exists, the three missing tracks and some version issues does take the shine of it

By November of 1986, it was plain cd was here to stay so the Now team issued the NOW '86 round up of hits but because of concerns around the price point only compiled a single cd version of NOW 8 with just 17 tracks with some of the others on NOW '86. 

The Autumn and early Winter had a wide variety of charting singles and some worthy entries fell off the cd wagon so having a cd version of an album where 25 of the 32 tracks had a cd issue at the time is a must.

The Wizard is a track missed for being the "new" Top of the Pops theme of the mid to late 80's and was part of the original Now 8 on record and tape versions now reinstated as was Big Country's One Great Thing from their album The Seer.

On this version there are a few differences in the versions but compared to previous issues in this series more attempt has been made to get it something like right,

The following songs differ from the original 1986 double LP:

Genesis – In Too Deep (Album version used instead of 7″ mix which was on Now 8 LP and CD)

Grace Jones – I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect For You) (Album version used instead of 7″ mix which was on Now 8 LP and CD)

Janet Jackson – What Have You Done For Me Lately? (LP Edit from Design Of Decade used instead of 7″ mix which was on Now 8 LP)

Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush – Don’t Give Up (The version included here is 5:57 which is shorter than both the LP and 12″ mixes but longer than the 5:41 7″ mix that was on Now 8 LP and CD).

On the whole I would say this was one of the best of the series and we'll see how NOW 9 turns out.

Now That's What I Call Music CD Part 3

I wasn't expecting to make this post until a few months at least but release schedules are a bit all over the place these days but anyway this came out on July 24th so in our series we'll do a review.

 This as originally released in November 1985 was the biggest selling Now! album to date going straight to number 1 on the UK albums chart - one factor in reviewing eligibility in 1989 that took affect from 1990 to screen out various artists compilations.

It was a stronger album than Now Five for having a number of major singles releases  such as Queen's One Vision and Simple Minds Alive and Kicking  as well as Arcadia's much talked about Election Day, that group being one of the two spin-offs from Duran Duran.

As this cd goes for unexplained reasons - probably licensing - the Bryan Adams Tina Tuner collaboration It's Only Love is missed off CD 1although it was on record one of the lp version buying that on release.

It's a not a big loss, it wasn't a chart topper but more a radio play pop hit song in honestly but its absence underscores a recurring issue in the cd reissues in this series where the albums don't fully resemble the lp and tape versions we the audience expect.

Perhaps the biggest mistake in the series to date sadly is on this one because Marillion's Lavender was specially remixed for single as the album version on Misplaced Childhood, a great album in my opinion is a more meandering pedestrian rendition.

That album version just doesn't really fit in the rest of the the songs on Now 6.

I can overlook a slightly longer album version for a singles edit done to make it snappier but that could only of been done by a person who did not compare and listen to both as if they just found a file marked Lavender and by Marillion and said ah that's it, next"!

For me the only "essential" up coming ones are Now 7 of which just over a handful made the No '86 cd in 1986 and Now 9 where a half and some of better half were left off a single cd in1987.

Now That's What I Call Music CD Part 2

Well the last time we looked at this series was in November when we remarked about how long it had been for the original NOW albums to be freshly minted as cds for modern generations and a few issues with them.

Now 5 came out in August 1985 a good while after Now 4 which I remember well buying the lp on the day but was delayed until May 8th this year on cd thanks to that goddam Covid-19 virus slowing everything up.

 One thing to do is compare and contrast with the original cover.

The first thing you'll note is that top cover tag line "Thirty Top Ten Hits - Double Album" isn't there but was on three of the four previous cd issues in this series.

The one that wasn't of course was NOW 3 as that one had two tracks removed as you might recall

Curious cos I'm a Neko of course I looked at the tracklisting per cd and notice there are only 14 tracks on the first cd which you'd know can only indicate one thing as 14+15 can only result in 29 when I was last in school.

Anyway look just to the right of the Number Five above Marillion for a clue.

Sure enough even in this scan you can see how the first disc had 15 tracks and the on that is missing happens to be This Is Not America by David Bowie with the Pat Metheny Group not his biggest hit but a notable one sandwiched between Slave To Love and Don't You (Forget about me).

Why it isn't there I have no idea as I know as a Bowie fan it made his 2007 Best of 1980-1987 cd compilation cos I bought it and that's like thirteen years ago.

Perhaps the co artists have a do not use on various artist albums clause in a contract???


So first off we have an issue from the start and they don't even address it by saying "We regret being unable to bring you  This Is Not America by David Bowie with the Pat Metheny Group featured on the original lp/mc because ..." leaving people under the impression this is how the album was which is misleading.

As a Now album this was less hit laden than the previous four for two reasons, the first being two other groups of record company's had issued similar hits compilations only months before such as the CBS/BMG records Hits 2 that had hits by Paul Young, Foreigner and ZZ Top and  their own excursion into compilations of hit 12" dance mixes.

 Five 12" Singles per side of two lps. Wow!

That said while it's low in chart toppers what does contain are key tracks such as Don't You from the Breakfast Club film soundtrack, A View To a Kill from that years Bond movie, Walls Come Tumbling Down, the last biggie of the Paul Weller vehicle The Style Council , Walking On Sunshine  plus some fine soul and dance tracks like Feel So Real by Steve Arrington and the unforgettable Magic Touch by Loose Ends.

It was a teen essential purchase in that year but as I said the tracks that would of made an excellent volume or two were being spread too thin to give the kind of overview we'd of loved but the MCA/Chrysalis Out Now series soon folded strengthening subsequent Now albums and the Hits series.

When it comes to versions as I expected a number of the original edited or remixed ones appear to be lost and have been replaced.
  
For instance tracks by Scritti Politti, Stephen ‘Tin Tin’ Duffy, Paul Young, Marillion, Bryan Ferry, Sister Sledge, Simply Red all appear on the CD in longer ‘album’ versions and not the 7” mixes included on the original.


By way of contrast ‘Cherish’ by Kool & The Gang is featured on the CD in a shorter version than the original release.To conclude I would say it is flawed cd version of a desirable Now album, enjoyable for the tracks selected even if the version differences may irritate those of us who know our records inside out but the bigger loss is This Is Not America which is a great reflective Bowie performance.

Now That's What I Call Music CD

Week two of Advent, a day after the General Election so it's too early begin anything about the outcome of although I did go out and vote myself.

 One thing getting on for some thirty-five years ago reminds me a little of this time of year is the original release of the compilation lp/tape Now That's What I Call Music 4 which came out in Late November of 1984 which I did buy at the time on record.

As some people may be aware it appears the original albums of this 104 plus special editions series are slowly coming out on cd because while cds were a thing in 1984 there were not many issued plus they tended to be a lot more expensive than records and tapes.

There was a kind of Now 4 issued on cd in a very limited release but only ten tracks from the 30 on album plus a few from Now 3 and 2 so I was pleased to pick this new cd version up recently.
I say version of because there are a few different versions compared to original which is an issue in trying to replicate a series that had a few one of a kind mixes on apart from licensing issues today that didn't apply back then.

The good news is that the Special Remix of No More Lonely Nights by Paul McCartney was used even though  a shorter version of Nick Heyward's Warning Sign minus two raps somehow got selected. It's always good to hear Too late For Goodbyes by Julian Lennon, son of the former Beatle.

The original album had some earlier Motown hits as by this point they'd agreed to let songs that were hit singles go on such compilations so we get Lionel Richie's unforgettable Hello. 

On the whole though I think it does a good job of replicating  this set that many of us had at the time

This member of the series didn't do too well as two tracks by Gary Glitter and Bob Marley on the original lp and tape from early June 1984 were removed on this cd and there were a number of significant version mix ups

February 1984's  NOW 2 which took in the Christmas 1983 and winter of 1984 hits had a few errors that would irritate those 'in the know' but was generally okay apart from a totally different version of Joe Fagen's That's Living Alright

The one that showed the series concept was a winner from early December 1983,in  time for the iconic tv advertising on ITV and Channel 4was a virtual Greatest Hits of 1983 with hits by Kajagoogoo, Limahl, Duran Duran, Culture Club and Genesis amongst many others.
The sleeve does list the missing number ones of 1983 too.
There had been a short lived card sleeve double cd of this issued in 2003, the thirtieth anniversary but that had been out of print for a while. 

While the series on cd has its issues and would of better issued earlier in the day to catch sales of those who may of wanted to replaced their lps or tapes, it does help fill the gaps for those of us who bought the later cd issues from Now '86 onward.