Did You (Ever) Hear?
It greatly pleases me that The Second Disc has attracted an interested readership. It’s a pleasure that there are many out there interested in how the industry behaves and evolves. And as a writer and enthusiast with such devotion to the niche, it’s just exciting to connect with like-minded individuals.
To that end, I pose something of a catalogue-oriented challenge to you. In all my years collecting and listening to pop music, I have only come across the following track once. The complete lack of information devoted to it on the Internet makes me worry that I’ve made up its existence, but I remain insistent that the song is out there. I wonder if you may have heard it yourself.
Certainly you’ve heard “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” Phil Collins’ Oscar-nominated 1984 hit. You may have even heard the cover version Mariah Carey did in 2000 (released twice as a single, the second version being a remix with boy band Westlife added to the track).
I remain 99 percent certain I have heard a third version that takes the master track of Collins’ version and mixes it with a duet vocal by Carey. It was perhaps five years ago, one late night on New York radio station 106.7 Lite FM. This wasn’t a DJ-created edit, like the original version of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” I believe Carey’s original cover version was in another key, so she would have had to have re-recorded the vocals from scratch to fit the key of the original.
I’ve never heard the song since, although I do distinctly recall my reaction was one of confusion over why the song would be overdubbed in such a way. Futhermore, I’ve never seen any information indicating that it was released, either as a commercial or promo single. (It would be a confusing release, since Collins’ work is distributed by Atlantic and Carey was, at the time of the cover, signed to Columbia.) I’ve stumped every pop enthusiast I’ve asked about this to, including an old roommate of mine who remains a die-hard Mariah fan.
To you, dear reader of The Second Disc, I humbly inquire: have you heard this version of the song ever? Those who can shed light on the situation receive my undying respect, which says a lot as a musical know-it-all.
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6 thoughts on “Did You (Ever) Hear?”
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I think it may have been a DJ created edit. You can manipulate keys and pitches of vocals in several audio vst plug-ins (autotune anyone?). All you would have needed was the accapella from the Westlife duet and the Collins original and voila…edit.
LiteFM doesnt seem like that sort of station…but they created station specific edits too…it aint only the pop and hip-hop stations that do it….CD101 was famous for it as well…
DC
I know this! There is a version by Postal Service. I think that is what you are looking for. It’s truly amazing!
from wikipedia
Steve Brookstein version
“Against All Odds”
Single by Steve Brookstein
from the album Heart and Soul
A-side Against All Odds
Released 2004
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded 2004
Genre Pop rock
Length 3:20
Label Syco Records
Steve Brookstein singles chronology
“Against All Odds”
(2004) “Fighting Butterflies”
(2006)
Against All Odds is the debut single by British X Factor winner Steve Brookstein. It was released in 2004 by Syco Records. The single charted at number 1 in the UK and number 11 in Ireland.
In 2004, Steve Brookstein won the televised UK talent competition The X Factor, and recorded a cover of “Against All Odds” as his debut single. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 1, a position it held for one week from 2 January 2005 to 8 January 2005. It replaced “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid 20, and was replaced by Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock.” It was later included on Brookstein’s debut album Heart and Soul.
I hope you get an answer to this; I’m curious to know what it is (and apologize for not knowing myself).
I do agree with DC; I’m sure it is technically possible for a DJ to adjust pitch like that.
There seem to be scads of “unofficial” remixes floating around out there if you know where to look, and some of the mash-ups are pretty incredible.
Sounds like a typical “mash-up” to me. Shouldn’t be too hard to find…I’ll jump on the bandwagon.
I’m beginning to think it may have been an unofficial mix/mash-up – but it must have been a very good one. If my memory serves me correctly, in the first line of the second verse – “I wish I could just make you turn around/turn around and see me cry” – in this mix Mariah did the high harmony on “turn around and see me cry.”
With that in mind, if this was an unofficial mix, whoever did it must’ve had connections to the multitrack of Mariah’s version, to separate that BG vocal from the lead and pair it with Phil.