Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted October 14, 2009 Members Share Posted October 14, 2009 Donna's cover is possibly one of the greatest covers of all time, and definitely my favourite song of her's. Her recording, which was included as part of the "MacArthur Park Suite" on her double album Live and More, ran to 8:40 in its full-length version. There's also a 17 minutes and 47 seconds version long medley of "MacArthur Park Suite," which incorporates "One of a Kind" and "Heaven Knows." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted October 14, 2009 Members Share Posted October 14, 2009 Yeah.... the 17 minute one is the one Chad was talking about in the interview... it's my preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted October 14, 2009 Members Share Posted October 14, 2009 This is another one I love... he's got a great voice, and he's gorgeous, too... "Best Of Both Worlds" by Scott Walker: He's most remembered for this hit (with his group): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZX4M3wjDew&NR=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted October 17, 2009 Members Share Posted October 17, 2009 This song came in second in the Eurovision song contest in 1973 (The entry from Luxombourg won that year) but it becaome a big hit, and was one of the few spanish language songs to make the tops 10 in the billboard charts in the United States: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EricMontreal22 Posted October 27, 2009 Members Share Posted October 27, 2009 There actually are two versions of the Suite--annoyingly the remastered one used as a bonus in the Bad Girls deluxe edition is the DJ promo which cuts of One of a Kind and slices in the full single version of Heaven Knows--but does so more clumsily. (Sorry I'm a Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder freak) Speaking of Harris' original though--Jimmy Webb did some ghreat bombastic orchestral pop at the time--two full albums for Harris (where MacPark is from) a great 70s album for the Diana less Supremes, Mgaic Garden the concept album for Fifth Dimension, etc (and he did some stuff for Scott Walker actually!) Also ahuge fan of Bacharach/David's stuff from the 60s (before it got more synth based and middle of the road)--any of the 60s Dionne albums, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted October 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 27, 2009 Where can one hear v1.0 and where v2.0? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chris B Posted October 27, 2009 Members Share Posted October 27, 2009 I agree with Eric, any of Dionne's 60s albums are exquisite. The musical arrangements and her voice which is like an instrument itself--flawless. Just flawless. I also would recomend Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now. It's an album of standards with some of the most beautiful and haunting orchestration I've ever heard. Her music was generally very simple in terms of arrangement, but the big band album fit her like a glove. It was signature Joni. If you're a fan of modern pop music, I'd recommend you download 2 Hearts by the Sugababes. Little Sister, Evil Angel, Oh What A World and Do I Disappoint You by Rufus Wainwright. Gone by Kanye West. Fiona Apple's entire When the Pawn album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted October 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 27, 2009 Oh, these are all wonderful! How about something from Shirley Bassey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EricMontreal22 Posted October 28, 2009 Members Share Posted October 28, 2009 Version one is only on the CD "The Dance COllection" which collects a number of her 12" mixes and version 2 is on the Bad Girls reissue deluxe edition as well as some others. The original, I think superior mix is 17:47, the DJ promo one re-released when Heaven Knows became a hit on its own is 17:35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EricMontreal22 Posted October 28, 2009 Members Share Posted October 28, 2009 Her new one The Performance looks to be quite the comeback at least in terms of writers/producers. Everything form a highly theatrical Pet Shop Boys song writter for her, The Performance of My Life toRUfus Wainwright and Manic Street Preachers (two acts which have been known to use strings and orchestral settings too) The two discs Produced by Trevor Horn is likewise a fantastic collection of his best material, and he was one fo the first major producers to really mix together synths and orchestras. And then if you really really want to get bombastic, another man who did the same is of course Jim Steinman. Most famous for his three Meatloaf albums as producer/writer Bat out of hell the work by him i like the best is Pandora's Box, Original Sin a flop group he put together of four girls who had one album in 89. A bunch of these songs wer later turned into big over the top hits by others--Celine Dion got All COming Back to Me Now, Taylor Dayne got Original Sin, etc, but I vastly prefer the original. Still I find I have to be drunk and depressed to really get into Steinman lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted October 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 28, 2009 Man! I didn't get a thing! I kept re-reading these three posts and all I get is: . Y&RWorldTurner mentions: 1. An 8:40 version on Live and More 2. 17:47 Suite medley Then you come in an say there are 2 versions of the Suite. Does that then mean she has 3 versions of this song? And again, one version of the Suite is the remastered DJ promo? And the Dance Collection one is what then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted October 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 28, 2009 Wow. Good thing I asked, I didn't know about this! http://www.dameshirleybassey.com/?page_id=6 Trevor really did mix it first and all with help from the famous film composer/arranger/orchestrator Anne Dudley. Horn recently produced Robbie Williams' Reality Killed the Video Star (same release date as Bassey) and the album has string & horn sections. As was expected from Horn. Robbie also used strings in the past, working with Nick Ingman on Sing When You're Winning, Escapology (also arr. by Guy Chambers and Sally Herbert) and David Campbell on Intensive Care. Campbell must be in the top 3 most "frequent" strings arrangers in the US and abroad. Together with, say, Larry Gold. You will laugh perhaps, but I love Craig Armstrong's strings (for example, the splendid ones on Madonna's Frozen). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EricMontreal22 Posted October 28, 2009 Members Share Posted October 28, 2009 Sorry, I find it confusing myself. When the song was first covered by her it was done as the whole suite, the 17:47 medley that was the fourth side of the double LP Live and More (ie the More part). Quickly some edits featuring just Mac Park were released from this for radio--the most common one is under 4 mins and cuts the whole bridge ("there will be another song for me...") There's also a 5 minute somethign edit and an 8:40 one (but it's not on Live or More) OK this gets even mroe confusing. THen Heaven Knows from the Suite was released as a single, and when it did so well too they re-edited the Suite as a promo disc for DJs that now clumsily contained the whole Heaven Knows single version edited in (the original Suite version was missing a few rep0eats and had more of the segue music) Then to make things complicated further, Live and More when moved toa single CD didn't have room for the Suite so it was put out on the Dance Collection. Since then a remastered version of the Suite has appeared on a few collections (Bad Girls Deluxe Edition, The Casablanca Records Disco Story, etc) but it has always been the less fan-approved, later DJ promo version only. This was probably because that version was remastered for the mid 90s Casablanca set, and so they just used it on the Bad Girls Deluxe as they wouldn't have to remaster it again (it's mislabeled there--for a Deluxe CD they screwed up quite a bit on that, for instance the 12" of one of her lesser known singles Walk Away was mispressed in mono :S ) It doesn't really matter especially if you're a casual fan at best, but I felt I had to try to clarrify it in my own head. LOL Most disco songs f course had multiple versions. If it was a single, and not just an album track, you usually had the radio edit, the album version which would invariably be around 5 mins, and then the club 12" which could go on to 18 mins or so (enough to fit on a side of 12" without compromising the sound) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EricMontreal22 Posted October 28, 2009 Members Share Posted October 28, 2009 Right, Anne Dudley worked with Art of Noise as well (which had ties to Horn). He also produced the second most recent Pet Shop Boys album, Fundamental which mixed synths and strings (and at least one track, horns) much like the classic disco track he did for them in the 80s, Left To My Own Devices. I'll prob get the Robby album though I've been mixed on the samples. I did love his work with Guy Chambers--songs like Feel I like Craig Armstrong's strings too though I know a few people think they're dated. The ones on the Ray of Light album are great, similar to the ones he did on the Pet Shop Boys Nightlife album (You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk being a classic example) and I like his arrnaging and scoring work on Moulin Rouge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted October 28, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 28, 2009 Oh. Sorry! I had to clear it up myself in my head, too. Though, I still kind of think I didn't get it. E.g., 8.40 is equivalent to 17:47 because the first part of MacArthur Park Suite on Live and More is 8:40. Correct? The we have several radio edits, the most common one is under 4 minutes and there is one above 5 minutes in length. Right? Well, sure! It's confusing as hell! So after the version on Live and More and radio edits, we get an edited out DJ version. And also a re-released version which couldn't fit on Live and More so it was put on Dance Collection? Then, finally, we come to a remastered version on Bad Girls Deluxe Edition. That makes... Like... 4 + several radio edits? If I counted correctly? Sorry I put you through this, it's madness! I had to sort it out! Sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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