There's nothing harder, as a reissue fan, than realizing that sometimes stuff just falls through the cracks and might have a tough time coming back up.
How many times have we all bought a compilation, expanded reissue or box set only to find that a few tracks were regrettably missing from the checklist? Few feelings are worse; you don't want to hope for another reissue because that would be wasteful. You can just hope and hope that they'll come out in some way, shape or form - and with any luck, they will.
A perfect example of this might be Cyndi Lauper, one of the most underrated female vocalists of the 1980s. You can see and hear her over-the-top but rather talented style in a lot of current female pop acts if you look hard enough (sure, Lady Gaga or Katy Perry might get the Madonna comparison a lot, but Madge had neither Lauper's vocal range nor kooky fashion sense).
With that in mind, it's odd to consider how little of her catalogue has been mined past the basic compilation approach. Legacy reissued She's So Unusual some years ago with a bunch of live, vinyl-only bonus tracks. But Lauper was a staple in the mid-'80s, when dance remixes were perhaps at their most creative. Why the reissue of Unusual failed to include any of those mixes is beyond the comprehension of this catalogue correspondent. As Lauper's career wore on, none of her '80s records (True Colors (1986) and A Night to Remember (1989)) had the impact of her solo debut, so it's hard to imagine those getting an expansion anytime soon.
So what's the next step? A compilation probably makes sense, although you're more likely to see such clearinghouse sets in Japan (such as Lauper's own The Best Remixes in 1989). Still, Reissue Theory is all about the hope that some of the catalogue gatekeepers will make such a decision to free B-sides, remixes and rarities from obscurity. So in honor of that idea, here's a look at some of Cyndi Lauper's best single tracks, worthy for release on CD someday. Have fun (you know you wanna) after the jump.
Cyndi Lauper, Wanna Have Fun: Remixes and Rarities
- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Extended Version) - 6:58 (12” A-side - Portrait 4R9-04971, 1983)
- She Bop (Special Dance Mix) - 6:15 (12” A-side - Portrait 4R9 05011, 1983)
- The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough (Dance Re-Mix) - 5:25 (12” A-side - Portrait 4R9 05246, 1985)
- Change of Heart (Extended Version) - 7:52 (12” A-side - Portrait 4R9 05974, 1986)
- What’s Going On (Long Version) - 6:22 (12” A-side - Portrait 4R9 06740, 1986)
- Maybe He’ll Know (Special Remix) - 3:41 (7” B-side to “I Drove All Night” - Epic 34-68759, 1989)
- Boy Blue (Single Remix) - 3:58 (7” A-side - Portrait 37-07181, 1986)
- My First Night Without You (Unedited Remix) (previously unreleased - “Edited Remix” was a U.K. 12” A-side - Epic CYN T5, 1989)
- Right Track, Wrong Train - 4:40 (B-side to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” - Portrait 37-04120, 1983)
- What a Thrill - 3:00 (from The Goonies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Epic SE 40067, 1985)
- Heading for the Moon - 3:17 (B-side to “True Colors” - Portrait 37 06247, 1986)
- Unabbreviated Love - 4:18 (U.K. B-side to “My First Night Without You” - Epic 655091 7, 1989)
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Actually, all of the non-LP b-sides from Cyndi's career (up to 2002 or so) showed up in a hard-to-find 3-CD set titled "36 All-Time Favorites" -- it also included a couple of the single versions, though not all of them. This release was through Sony Music Special Products so was very hard to find on purpose.
Also hard-to-find on purpose 'cos it's a Sony BMG Custom Marketing Group release is "Hey Now (Remixes & Rarities)" which includes some of the tracks you list here. It features club versions and famous DJ redoings of her hits plus some songs she herself wanted out on a regular USA disc.
I agree, wholeheartedly, that the "upgrade" for 'She's So Unusual' from a few years back was beyond-stupid to omit the 12-inch versions! Also, especially for "She Bop", they should have addended the 7-inch versions. The live tracks were nice, but as a collector I much prefer compiling of the hard-to-find first and foremost with the unreleased coming in a distant 2nd.
Does anyone recall a version of Goonies R Good Enough that did NOT include any mention of Goonies? I've always assumed what I heard was later rewritten to include the reference to the Goonies. Did I imagine it?
The only thing I can think of along those lines is the fact that the version on the single and LP (I believe) never says "Goonies." The only instance I can recall where "Goonies" is in the song (other than the extended remix and dub, I think) is the film itself (overdubbed during the instrumental break - heard when the gang starts biking away from Mikey's house).
Mike, how could you forget the never-released-other-than-a-music-video "Video Version" of "Hole In My Heart (All The Way To China)"? This mix is awesome! It's identical to the 'Single Version', but it's about one minute and 30 seconds longer. It was never issued on vinyl maxi 12", nor anywhere else for that matter.
I want this mix!
Me, too!! I love that long version-- she really cuts loose on it.
"A Night to Remember" single remix would also be nice.