Bring me to life (Synthesis) - Evanescence

Evanescence's exercise of fusing their hardrock tracks with a symphonic orchestra on the album 'Synthesis' has created one of the best albums of recent years, in my opinion. This picture disc single was released in a limited edition of 499 copies (one might wonder where number 500 went), distributed with the German rock magazine Sonic Seducer.

When I ordered that magazine last year it came with a cd-single, but for some reason the online shop recently carried a version that also included this picture disc 7". Oh well, I had to buy it - albeit grudgingly.

My collection: 7" single no. 6309
Found: Sonic Seducer webshop, received July 29, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Bring me to life (Synthesis)' / 'Bring me to life (Synthesis) (instrumental)'

You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties - Jona Lewie

During holidays I make a point of visiting local record shops, which this year was a bit of a challenge since the small town of Dahn in Germany didn't have any and I only had a few hours to visit the inner city of Worms, where one record shop was located. But I did get there, so I had a chance to check it out.

Unfortunately the shop only had one box of 7" singles, and they were all Record Store Day releases too. You know, Record Store Day is the annual event that causes record companies to release horribly expensive items that are unavailable to the real fans of artists who are then forced to buy the items at inflated prices via Ebay. What's left in shops are usually the discs that only a few people are after. And so it was in this case. However, I did find one copy of this single, pressed on green vinyl for Record Store Day 2016. It is a re-edition of Jona Lewie's single from 1980. Interestingly, the B-side of this edition is 'Hallelujah Europa', which was released as a single in 1978.

My collection: 7" single no. 6307
Found: Heaven Records, Worms (Germany)
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'You'll always find me in the kitches at parties' / 'Hallelujah Europa'

Be my next ex-girlfriend - La muñeca de sal & Anthony Reynolds

La muñeca de sal is a Spanish band, which formed during the 1990's, releasing their debut album 'Ultra-Realidad' in 1997. Welsh singer Anthony Reynolds joined them on this EP with the appealing title 'Be my next ex-girlfriend', released in 2010.

The pull of this EP was a cover version of Colin Vearncombe a.k.a. Black's 'Wonderful life', but rather surprisingly, it is the weakest track of this three track EP. Probably because the execution of this perfect song is a bit shoddy for my taste. The instrumental 'Luto', however, is beautifully atmospheric and the A-side track, 'Be my next ex-girlfriend', is a solid pop song. Sometimes singles can surprise you.

My collection: 7" single no. 6260
Found: Discogs.com, received February 13, 2020
Cost: 2 pounds
Tracks: 'Be my next ex-girlfriend' / 'Wonderful life', 'Luto'

I feel for you - Prince

Utter the words 'I feel for you', and most people who are into Eighties music will immediately respond with the name Chaka Khan. For it was her who made the song immortal, with the stuttering 'Ch-ch-chaka khan' intro provided by rapper Melle Mel, and its funky sound effects. But the song was written by Prince - and not only that, he recorded the song on his eponymous second album, released in October 1979.

Prince passed away in 2016, and since then, his famous 'vault' has been used to release several albums and singles. This single is the most recent release, pressed on purple vinyl (how appropriate) and presenting for the first time a demo he recorded for the song. It is an interesting release, because you can clearly hear that it was recorded on cassette and it runs for over four minutes, longer than the eventual album version. The fact that the sleeve is pretty beautiful too makes this an interesting package for Prince fans and music lovers everywhere.

My collection: 7" single no. 6257
Found: Prince website, received February 5, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'I feel for you (acoustic demo)' / 'I feel for you'

Nothing compares 2 u - Prince

Since Prince's death in April 2016, his estate has been rather generous in releasing music from his personal vault. Several compilations of his unreleased work were released during the past three years, and this single, released in 2018, also contains a previously unreleased track.

'Nothing compares 2 u' was made famous by Sinéad O'Connor in 1990. This version, recorded by Prince and featuring saxophone by Eric Leeds and backing vocals by Susannah Melvoin and St. Paul Peterson, is actually the weaker of the two. You can't help wondering if this is why Prince never released this recording - and why it was released now. Still, it is a nice peek into the man's work.

My collection: 7" single no. 6256
Found: Amazon.co.uk, received January 31, 2020
Cost: 4 euro
Tracks: 'Nothing compares 2 u (edit)' / 'Nothing compares 2 u (full length version)'

Arabesque / Orphans - Coldplay

Released on October 24, 2019, 'Arabesque' and 'Orphans' are two tracks from Coldplay's eighth studio album 'Everyday life', released a month later. The album was divided in a 'sunrise' and 'sunset' part, and the single follows that pattern: 'Arabesque' is taken from the former and 'Orphans' from the latter.

The single wasn't the big hit that it might have been suspected to be: it only peaked at number 27 in the UK singles chart. It is a result, perhaps, of being labelled 'uncool' by many over recent years. Which is odd, because at the beginning of this century Coldplay was deemed to be the best invention since sliced bread. So you see, celebrity is a fleeting thing. Well, at least the band still knows how to make great music.

My collection: 7" single no. 6237
Found: Amazon.co.uk, received January 21, 2020
Cost: 5 pounds
Tracks: 'Arabesque' / 'Orphans'

Infernal machines - The Divine Comedy

Although I am a big Divine Comedy fan, I wasn't entirely convinced by their latest album, 'Office politics'. The idea of creating a themed album did appeal to me, but I haven't yet been able to get through the entire album. It isn't exactly easy listening.

Buying this single was a given, of course. And thankfully it contains two of the better tracks from the album: 'Infernal machines' (with a certain Depeche Mode vibe) and 'You'll never work in this town again', with all its "real instruments".

I have almost all of the Divine Comedy 7" singles, so this was a worthy addition. Now if I could only find the last few that I miss....

My collection: 7" single no. 6236
Found: Amazon.co.uk, received January 21, 2020
Cost: 6 pounds
Tracks: 'Infernal machines' / 'You'll never work in this town again'

Dreamland - Pet Shop Boys

The world would be a better place if there were more magazines like the German Musikexpress, which regularly offers a free 7" single with their monthly issues. After having bought their recent issue featuring the amazing single 'My computer' by Prince and Kate Bush, they managed to improve on that by including a Pet Shop Boys single with their current issue.

'Dreamland' was the first single from their album 'Hotspot', which is released this week. Since then we've had the single 'Burning the heather', which was released on 7" vinyl, but 'Dreamland' wasn't, until now. This exclusive 7" single features a live track on the B-side; a medley of 'Always on my mind' and 'The pop kids'. And it's pressed on blue vinyl, too! Even if you can't read German, you will buy this magazine if you collect Pet Shop Boys singles. Which probably is the point of all this, I guess.

My collection: 7" single no. 6235
Found: Musikexpress (Germany), received January 18, 2020
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Dreamland' / 'Always on my mind/The pop kids (live)'

Last Christmas - Wham!

The Christmas season is never complete without the Wham! track 'Last Christmas'. Especially this year, when the movie of the same name is in the cinemas everywhere. The record company decided to capitalize on the success and re-release the video in remastered form - it was recorded on film back in 1984, making it possible to release a 4K version now. Never has it looked any better than this.

The same goes for the 7" vinyl single, released this month. Pressed on white vinyl, it comes in a reproduction of the original gatefold sleeve. So, despite already owning Last Christmas, Last Christmas, Last Christmas and Everything she wants / Last Christmas, I had to have this one of course.

My collection: 7" single no. 6222
Found: Amazon.co.uk, received December 17, 2019
Cost: 8 pounds
Tracks: 'Last Christmas' / 'Everything she wants'

Burning the heather - Pet Shop Boys

The second single off the Pet Shop Boys' forthcoming album 'Hotspot' is 'Burning the heather', a ballad with Bernard Butler on guitar. Curiously, the Boys didn't release this single as a cd-single (like the first one, 'Dreamworld') but on 7" vinyl. That would have been great if they had released previous singles on this format, but this is the first 7" vinyl release since 'Leaving' in 2012. It's a nightmare for completists.

As far as the song is concerned, I don't think this will be a huge hit. But I'm not sure the Boys are really bothered about that: the new album is bound to be a great seller, and more importantly, there's a live tour coming in 2020. That's where the real revenue comes from these days. Personally, I prefer records though. And cd-singles.

My collection: 7" single no. 6221
Found: Amazon.co.uk, received December 16, 2019
Cost: 8 pounds
Tracks: 'Burning the heather' / 'Decide'

Sovereign Light Cafe - Keane

Keane is back! They released a new album last week, and earlier this year they released a green vinyl single featuring two tracks from the so-called Dave Fridmann Sessions. 'Sovereign Light Cafe' and 'Disconnected' were taken from their previous album, 'Strangeland', released in 2012.

The Dave Fridmann Sessions took place in 2011, and were never released before. The single was released in April for Record Store Day for ridiculous amounts of money - but on the record fair this weekend I was able to get a copy for less.

My collection: 7" single no. 6180
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, September 21, 2019
Tracks: 'Sovereign Light Cafe' / 'Disconnected'

Arcade - Duncan Laurence

Every year when the Netherlands announce their Eurovision candidate, there is a sigh of desperation and the resigned thought: 'Okay, so we won't win this year - again'. Ever since Teach In won the contest back in 1975 - a feat I didn't consciously experience - there have been many attempts to get to the top spot, but with dud artists like Bernadette, Gerard Joling, Willeke Alberti, Glennis Grace and - oh how terrible - De Toppers, we didn't have a shadow a chance.

And then suddenly, the unknown artist Duncan Laurence was announced as this year's entry. The song sounded weird at first, but it was way better than most songs from previous years. And when the bookmakers started predicting that the Netherlands could win this year, a mixture of disbelief and hope started to rise. I couldn't believe it when 'Arcade' won the Contest in May. And then, of course, the question came: will it be released on any physical format? The answer came two full months later: 'Arcade' was released last week on 7" vinyl. So there you have it - a winning Dutch Eurovision song on vinyl. It doesn't really get much better than this.

My collection: 7" single no. 6151
Found: Bea Records, received July 30, 2019
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Arcade' / 'Arcade (acoustic version)'

DJ - David Bowie

Just days after buying the 'Space oddity' box set, I found this picture disc of DJ in Parlophone's series of '40th anniversary' discs. I bought the 'Boys keep swinging' picture disc a few weeks ago in Antwerpen, so it's nice to have found this one in Paris. Like the one before, it is quite an expensive acquisition, but online prices have not been any lower.

What's most interesting about this disc - to me at least - is not the A-side, but the B-side, because it contains a version of 'Boys keep swinging' that was performed in a television show in 1979. Why Parlophone decided to include this instead of the original B-side 'Repetition' is therefore obvious to me.

Note: now that picosong has ceased existing I will have to link to other online files to offer sound and sometimes vision with the tracks that are on my singles. In this case, it's extra interesting because you get to see the full TV performance along with the sound that's on the single. Obviously the single fades out until 2'33.  

My collection: 7" single no. 6147
Found: Fnac, Paris, July 28, 2019
Cost: 14 euro (!)
Tracks: 'DJ (2017 Tony Visconti mix - single edit)' / 'Boys keep swinging (Kenny Everett Video Show version)'

Space oddity - David Bowie

It's hard to believe that it's already been 3½ years since David Bowie died. Since then, a shedload of new releases has seen the light of day. It's becoming more obvious every month that the record company and the rights holders are making the most of the neverending lust for new product that seems to exist.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the moon landing which made 'Space oddity' such a big hit, Parlophone has now released a boxed set of two singles with two versions of 'Space oddity' and its B-side, 'Wild eyed boy from freecloud': the original mono versions and new 2019 mixes by Tony Visconti. The box comes with a poster, an insert detailing all the credits for the tracks and some background information and a photo card - plus of course both the singles in different picture sleeves. I used an official packshot for this post, because the glossy box can not be scanned properly!

My collection: 7" single no. 6146
Found: Gilbert Joseph, Paris, July 24, 2019
Tracks: 'Space oddity (original mono single edit)' / 'Wild eyed boy from freecloud (original mono single version)' // 'Space oddity (2019 mix - single edit)' / 'Wild eyed boy from freecloud (2019 mix - single version)'

Des larmes - Mylene Farmer

'Des larmes' ('Tears') is the latest single from French superstar Mylene Farmer. She's just finished a run of concerts in Paris last month. They have been filmed, and a movie of those concerts will appear in French cinemas this November. There are some rumours that these have been her last live concerts ever - but we'll have to wait and see if those rumours are true.

The record company has employed some weird tactics surrounding Mylene's last album 'Désobéissance': four singles were released, but only two of them ('N'oublie pas' and this one) were released on 7" vinyl. The three previous singles came with a flurry of remixes, but this single only comes with an instrumental version of the track. It does not seem to matter to her fans: they will buy whatever is released - just like I do.

My collection: 7" single no. 6141
Found: Amazon France, received July 12, 2019
Cost: 7 euro
Tracks: 'Des larmes (edit radio)' / 'Des larmes (version instrumentale)'

Tubular bells - Mike Oldfield

It is whispered that Mike Oldfield is working on a fourth version of 'Tubular bells'. Let's hope so, because with each version the tune is becoming more awesome. However, nothing comes close to those first few minutes of the original 'Tubular bells'.

Oldfield and his record company probably realise this, because they released this beautiful picture disc 7" in 2013. There's also a history-rewriting B-side: 'In dulci jubilo', originally released as a single in 1975 - two years after 'Tubular bells'. By the way, the A-side of this single is not the original single version. Instead it contains a new edit of the opening minutes of the album version of 'Tubular Bells (Part One)'.

My collection: 7" single no. 6119
Found: Discogs.com, received June 11, 2019
Cost: 5 euro
Tracks: 'Tubular bells' / 'In dulci jubilo'

Boys keep swinging - David Bowie

Parlophone continues with their series of '40th anniversary picture discs' of David Bowie singles. It is a lucrative series because the singles keep selling despite their decidedly inflative prices. It's hard to realise that you'd only pay a couple of pounds for a single like this 40 years ago, a price that has doubled a few days now in 2019. Shame on Parlophone.

This picture discs presents the 2017 mix by Tony Visconti of 'Boys keep swinging', along with a rare unreleased track 'I pray, Olé' - at least, it was unreleased in 1991 when it appeared as a bonus track on the Rykodisc reissue of the album 'Lodger'. Although the takes of the instruments and vocals were recorded during the sessions of the 'Lodger' album, the mix of the song was performed in 1990. It is unclear whether overdubs were recorded later.

My collection: 7" single no. 6101
Found: Fnac, Antwerpen, May 24, 2019
Cost: 14 euro (!)
Tracks: 'Boys keep swinging (2017 Tony Visconti mix)' / 'I pray, olé'

Fire of love (Pali się)- Tulia

It should come as no surprise that I will be watching the first final of the Eurovision Song Contest tonight, and before I do, I will post this entry on my blog because it is so appropriate. Poland will be represented by Tulia. Joanna Sinkiewicz, Dominika Siepka, Patrycja Nowicka and Tulia Biczak formed Tulia in 2017 and immediately caught the attention of their country by posting a cover version of Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy the silence' on YouTube.

I was pleased to find out that their Eurovision entry was released on 7" vinyl recently, and I ordered it straight away. Upon receiving the disc I found out that it was signed by all four, and the disc is actually on coloured 'splatter' vinyl! It may be one of the most beautiful Eurovision singles I own.

My collection: 7" single no. 6063
Found: eBay, received May 7, 2019
Cost: 10 euro
Tracks: 'Fire of love (Pali się)' / 'Pali się'

Ready boy & girls? - Tears for fears

Strangely enough, 'Ready Boy & Girls?' is the only new release by Tears for fears this decade. This is as much a statement of fact as it is a prediction. A new album by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal has been awaited for the last few years, but nothing seems to be forthcoming. They are performing live, but if we were to believe Curt Smith on Twitter, the partnership is hanging by its fingernails right now - he almost didn't come along on tour this year.

So here it is, a white vinyl 10" vinyl record, featuring three cover versions done in Tears for fears style, released in a limited edition of 3000 for Record Store Day 2014. The songs on this record were originally recorded by Animal Collective, Arcade Fire and Hot Chip respectively. It took me five years to get this record, because Record Store Day releases are infamous for their ridiculous prices and their limited availability - especially since the region where I live has no record shops anymore. But lo and behold, I found a good copy for a reasonable price.

My collection: 10" single [unnumbered]
Found: Discogs.com, received May 2, 2019
Cost: 9 pounds
Tracks: 'My girls' / 'Ready to start', 'And I was a boy from school'

Midnight - Coldplay

Coldplay has become, for some, the epitome of uncool. Still the band manages to release some cool songs from time to time - although I must say that I lost track of them in recent years. I couldn't resist buying this single, though: it was released for Record Store Day in 2014, and limited to just 3000 copies. The B-side contains no music - it just has an etching which frankly isn't even that beautiful. 'Midnight' was taken from the band's album 'Ghost stories', also released in 2014.

I found this single while shopping in Delft, in a real 'bricks and mortar' record shop. 'Support your local record shop' a huge banner inside screamed. 'I would love to', I thought, 'but where I live there are no more record shops'. Still I didn't mind supporting this record shop because they did have a good selection: I also bought two cd's together with this single. It was a good day. It felt good buying music in a real record shop. Shit, I'm getting old.

My collection: 7" single no. 6017
Found: Sounds, Delft, March 16, 2019
Tracks: 'Midnight'