Howard Jones ~ No One Is To Blame
Bell Biv Devoe ~ Word To The Mutha (with Ralph, Johnny, & Bobby)
Bell Biv DeVoe ~ BBD I Thought It Was Me
Bell Biv Devoe ~ When Will I See You Smile Again
New Edition ~ N.E. Heartbreak

Wham! ~ Freedom
Wham! ~ Everything She Wants
Boyz II Men ~ Sympin'
Color Me Badd ~ I Wanna Sex You Up
De La Soul ~ Buddy

Madonna ~ Keep It Together
Madonna ~ Like A Prayer
Michael Jackson ~ You Can't Win
The Jacksons ~ Torture
The Jacksons & Mick Jagger ~ State Of Shock

Earth Wind & Fire - "Boogie Wonderland"

Bar-Kays - "Holy Ghost"

Captain Sky - "Super Sporm"

Captain Rapp - "Bad Times" (I Cant Stand It)" produed by JimmyJam & Terry Lewis

MickyDolenz said:

Howard Jones ~ No One Is To Blame

Wham! ~ Freedom
Wham! ~ Everything She Wants

Madonna ~ Keep It Together
Madonna ~ Like A Prayer (that club mix she used in concert, cuz there's another that's not quite as great)
Michael Jackson ~ You Can't Win
The Jacksons ~ Torture

Really great examples!

HoJo's song almost feels like a demo compared to that remix that made it a hit. And Phil Collins is the author of that remix!

It's so odd with Madonna, how she so often uses a remix in a show, compared to its album genesis. I think immediately of "Erotica," "Fever," and "Like A Prayer."

The better single mix of "You Can't Win" is just miles better than the soundtrack version of the song. It's funkier, and the segue between the two songs really sticks it. For years, I had no idea what "Can't Get Outta The Rain" was, when it was a b-side here and there. I'd just never put it all together. It was the late 90s when a friend turned me onto it. I searched and searched for that 12"!

"Everything She Wants" definitely benefits from a few horn hits.

There's a longer mix of "What Have You Done For Me Lately" that has Jimmy Jam doing a lot of noodling on the piano. It was a moment where he was just messing around in the studio, but it was caught on tape. Some of it is in the album version. But being a piano player, I loved the longer version of it.

Lil Kim's "Not Tonight" with the "Ladies Night" remix is a lot better than the album version, which is basically a different song.

There's a remix of Janet's "If" that bangs. It's a full on club mix (maybe the Swing Yo' Pants mix?) that I love. Doesn't replace the awesomeness of the original, but it's an excellent alternative.

Everything But The Girl's "Missing" and Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner" have better remixes that put them on radio. I think there's a Soul II Soul remix that made the song a hit. I forget which one. (Was it "Back To Life?")

-Bar-Kays "Holy Ghost"

-Rick James "Super Freak"

-Prince "Sexy Dancer"

-Jesse Johnson "Can You Help Me" & "Baby Let's Kiss"

-Eric B. & Rakim "Paid In Full"

-Heavy D & The Boyz "Gyrlz, They Love Me"

-LL Cool J "Jingling Baby"

-De La Soul "Buddy"

-Ready For The World "Straight Down To Business"

[Edited 1/30/21 16:29pm]

SoulAlive said:

“Outstanding” by the Gap Band “I’ll Be Good” by Rene and Angela “She Talks To Me With Her Body” by Bar Kays the 12” versions of these songs are much more powerful than the album versions

Agreed!

some other ones:

Janet - Nasty

The S.O.S. Band - Just The Way You Like It

Almost all of Prince's extended mixes

MickyDolenz said:

Howard Jones ~ No One Is To Blame
Bell Biv Devoe ~ Word To The Mutha (with Ralph, Johnny, & Bobby)
Bell Biv DeVoe ~ BBD I Thought It Was Me
Bell Biv Devoe ~ When Will I See You Smile Again
New Edition ~ N.E. Heartbreak

Wham! ~ Freedom
Wham! ~ Everything She Wants
Boyz II Men ~ Sympin'
Color Me Badd ~ I Wanna Sex You Up
De La Soul ~ Buddy

Madonna ~ Keep It Together
Madonna ~ Like A Prayer
Michael Jackson ~ You Can't Win
The Jacksons ~ Torture
The Jacksons & Mick Jagger ~ State Of Shock

Yeah, that one smashes the single version!

Every Mint Condition 12"

90% of Prince's 12"es

50% of P.Funk 12"es

100% depeche Mode

[Edited 1/30/21 21:47pm]

Sugarhill Gang ~ Rappers Delight
Terence Trent D'Arby ~ Dance Little Sister
Depeche Mode ~ People Are People
Janet Jackson ~ Pleasure Principle
Janet Jackson ~ Miss You Much

Boy George ~ You Found Another Guy
Boy George ~ Don't Take My Mind On A Trip
Jesse Johnson & Sly Stone ~ Crazay
Expose ~ Point Of No Return
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam ~ Let The Beat Hit Em

This one:

(14) Papa's Got a Brand N... - YouTube

Pigbag - Papa's got a brand new pigbag

(but on vinyl the bass is more blastin')

or this one :

(14) Eddie & The Soul... - YouTube

Eddie and the soul band - Shaft

(2 Versions - A & B - side. Version 2 on 6:37)

[Edited 1/31/21 22:26pm]

alphastreet said:

Because of you-cover girls

I have the album this is on, but only bought the maxi single to Show Me. My favorite song on the album is Spring Love.

"One More Chance," Notorious B.I.G.

"Shut'Em Down," Public Enemy

"Right Here," SWV

"Flava In Ya Ear," Craig Mack

"Come and Talk To Me," Jodeci

"Gett Off (Housestyle)," Prince and the New Power Generation

"I'm Goin Down (The What Remix)," Mary J. Blige (because the original is just a cover and the remix flips it)

"LoveSign (Shock G's Silky Remix)," Prince

"Space (Universal Love Remix)," Prince

"Love Rain (remix)," Jill Scott

Let's Work - Prince

Super Freak - Rick James

The Other Woman - Ray Parker, Jr.

You Dropped A Bomb On Me - The Gap Band

Atomic Dog - George Clinton

Ms. Got The Body - Con Funk Shun

Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger) - Donna Summer

Do It (Let Me See You Shake) - The Barkays

Little Red Corvette - Prince

She Blew My Mind (69 Times) - Rick James

Candy Girl - New Edition

She Talks To Me With Her Body - The Barkays

No Parking On The Dance Floor - Midnight Star

Joystick - The Dazz Band

She Works Hard For The Money - Donna Summer

Soul Train's A'Comin' - O'Bryan

Swoop (I'm Yours) - The Dazz Band

Jump (For My Love) - The Pointer Sisters

Tonite - Kool And The Gang

Dancing In The Sheets - Shalamar

State Of Shock - The Jacksons

I Feel For You - Chaka Khan

Sex-O-Matic - The Barkays

Jammin' - Teena Marie

Beep A Freak - The Gap Band

Let's Go Crazy - Prince

Miss You Blind/It's A Miracle - Culture Club

Baby Come And Get It - The Pointer Sisters

Loverboy - Billy Ocean

Electric Lady - Con Funk Shun

Fresh - Kool And The Gang

Oh Sheila - Ready For The World

Crush On You - The Jets

The Oak Tree - Morris Day

That's It (Don't Stop) - The Bronner Brothers

Earth To Mickey - Chaka Khan

Raspberry Beret - Prince

Fishnet - Morris Day

Certified True - The Barkays

Digital Display - Ready For The World

.

.

.

[Edited 2/1/21 20:20pm]

An Extended Version is better than a Remix.

I always dug the long version of "Anotherloverholeinyourhead". The bass guitar is killin' on that one.

Kobe said:

An Extended Version is better than a Remix.

Not really. It depends on the song. I have the maxi single to If Your Girl Only Knew by Aaliyah. One of the mixes is an 8 minute extended version and it's not that interesting to listen to. I'm a fan of remixes anyway though. Like on the BBD ones, the vocals are different. On the album version of Word To The Mutha, Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown, & Johnny Gill are not on it. I also like the WBBD: Bootcity! remix album better than the original Poison album. Some extended mixes are artifically done, especially on disco era 12" singles. On the extended Disco Lady by Johnnie Taylor, the only difference is the talking intro. The rest of the track, it just repeats the same guitar solo part 2 or 3 times to make it longer. Disco Lady wasn't originally a longer song that that shortened on the album like Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. During the same time period Tom Moulton would do actual remixes, rather than what was done to Disco Lady. A remix does not necessarily mean totally different music like a Mariah Carey house music version, which Tom Moulton and other early remixers did not do. They were given the multitracks and Tom would take individual instruments and vocals and do something different. In some cases there are vocals (such as adlibs) that were not used on the album or single versions like on This Time Baby by The O'Jays. On disco era maxi singles, which had more space than a 7" 45 single and did not have to share space with other songs like on an album, a song could fill up an entire side. The bass could be pumped up, which was designed for clubs with big expensive sound systems that the average person did not have at home. This is often the case even if the 12" version is otherwise identical to the album version like on That's What You Get by The Jacksons.. The album mix is likely to sound more thin or flat. Recently a remixer called Nick did a new mix of Wondering Who by The Jacksons, which has unused vocals from stem tracks. It's not an official mix though. In the 12" maxi single days, these where usually called "white label" remixes. There's another guy called The Reflex who has a channel on Youtube with a lot of remixes like this.

All 80s extended versions of the ZTT label are great art....Frankie goes to Hollywood, Propaganda, Art of Noise, Act, Anne Pigalle, Andrew Poppy...etc

As I was doing some quilting last night, I was listening to Ladies and Gentlemen The Best Of George Michael.

"Star People 97" is a much better song as a remix (which contains elements of Gap Band's "Burn Rubber On Me"), than the blander album version, "Star People," on Older.

MickyDolenz said:

Also, while it's not necessarily better, there are acoustic remixes of album versions that sometimes rival the original.

Prince - "Space," "7"

Modjo - "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)"

MickyDolenz said:

Kobe said:

An Extended Version is better than a Remix.

Not really. It depends on the song. I have the maxi single to If Your Girl Only Knew by Aaliyah. One of the mixes is an 8 minute extended version and it's not that interesting to listen to. I'm a fan of remixes anyway though. Like on the BBD ones, the vocals are different. On the album version of Word To The Mutha, Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown, & Johnny Gill are not on it. I also like the WBBD: Bootcity! remix album better than the original Poison album. Some extended mixes are artifically done, especially on disco era 12" singles. On the extended Disco Lady by Johnnie Taylor, the only difference is the talking intro. The rest of the track, it just repeats the same guitar solo part 2 or 3 times to make it longer. Disco Lady wasn't originally a longer song that that shortened on the album like Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. During the same time period Tom Moulton would do actual remixes, rather than what was done to Disco Lady. A remix does not necessarily mean totally different music like a Mariah Carey house music version, which Tom Moulton and other early remixers did not do. They were given the multitracks and Tom would take individual instruments and vocals and do something different. In some cases there are vocals (such as adlibs) that were not used on the album or single versions like on This Time Baby by The O'Jays. On disco era maxi singles, which had more space than a 7" 45 single and did not have to share space with other songs like on an album, a song could fill up an entire side. The bass could be pumped up, which was designed for clubs with big expensive sound systems that the average person did not have at home. This is often the case even if the 12" version is otherwise identical to the album version like on That's What You Get by The Jacksons.. The album mix is likely to sound more thin or flat. Recently a remixer called Nick did a new mix of Wondering Who by The Jacksons, which has unused vocals from stem tracks. It's not an official mix though. In the 12" maxi single days, these where usually called "white label" remixes. There's another guy called The Reflex who has a channel on Youtube with a lot of remixes like this.

Almost all the 12 Inches from the disco era are disappointing because they simply just repeat several sections over and over. "Get The Funk Out Ma Face" by The Brothers Johnson and "Chase Me" by Con Funk Shun are good ones but the majority of the rest of them simply repeat the sections over and over. The Rick James "Love Gun" 12 Inch is the most disappointing because it repeats the entire song again.

.

As for The Reflex, I love his remixes. He's the best multitrack remixer I've heard so far.

More an album side than a 12 inch but the extended song that started it all.

.

Donna Summer, Love to Love you baby, all 16 minutes of it - a near perfect disco sex and complete with strings and ethereal vocals at least 4 movements - aural and sonic bliss. It came about when the original song was being played in discos and the dancers wanted more than just 3.45 of it - so Donna was pulled back into the studio and the rest is history.

.

It may make you laugh - but Nothin that compares 2 u by the Jacksons is really awesome as a 12 inch (Their 1989 sans Michael attempt at New Jack swing).

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Watching The Wildlife (Movement 2)

(15) Frankie Goes to Holl... - YouTube

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Rage Hard (The Young Person's Guide to the 12" Mix)

(15) Frankie Goes To Holl... - YouTube

[Edited 2/3/21 9:59am]

SoulAlive said:

Madonna “Express Yourself”—-the remix is much stronger than the album version. I’m referring to the remix version that she made a video for. It seemed like MTV preferred this version too.

Agreed. There is a charm to the album versions of "Like A Prayer" and "Express Yourself." But those remixes are fire. It's interesting just how often M used a remix in concert. "Erotica, "Fever," "Express Yourself," "Keep It Together," "Like A Prayer," and more. Sorta makes you wonder why she doesn't just send songs to these DJ producers and then find the strongest remix, then make an album from that.

every 12 inch is better than the single versions