Let's skip ahead a bit to the 1984 four-track maxi-single Sire released in the United States and Canada. If you have an aversion to those blowout 1980s remixes, no need to fret this time, but you may not want to stop by here on Friday when I pull out some extended versions that could send you into convulsions. This remix of "Oblivious" was done with a very light touch by Felix Chamberlain and Ted Templeman. I don't really know anything about Chamberlain, but Templeman was feelin' groovy as part of Harpers Bizarre before becoming a big-time producer best known for Van Halen's '1984'. I only mention this because Roddy Frame would go on to take the smash hit "Jump" in a completely different direction on the B-side to "All I Need is Everything" and the "Backwards And Forwards" 10" EP. If I ever met Templeman, I would ask him why he was attracted to Aztec Camera since he doesn't have another band like them on his résumé. They weren't exactly the Doobie Brothers.
Two other songs on this maxi-single, "Orchid Girl" and "Haywire", were
covered here yesterday, but I consider the other song to be Aztec Camera's best ever B-side*. "Queen's Tattoos" is a twangy hip swivelin' romp that first appeared as a flip side on the October 1982 single "Pillar to Post", Aztec Camera's post-Postcard debut. This may seem like cheating to include it here, but you have to remember the "Pillar to Post" single wasn't released in America. Without its inclusion, it could have been years or even decades before we discovered this gem.
As has been suggested in the comments yesterday, back tomorrow with a couple of live songs from a special 2x7" edition of "Oblivious".
"Oblivious (Remix)"
"Queen's Tattoos"
*Postcard era excluded
2 comments:
Funny coincidence, Ted Templeman, who's only "remix" credit is Oblivious, was Van Halen's producer for years and produced Jump, which Aztec Camera would record to devastatingly ironic effect on the b-side of All I Need Is Everything a year after Van Halen made it part of their MTV dominating series of singles.
I remember Scott Muni, DJ Emeritus on WNEW-FM in NYC losing it when he played it on "Things From England" one Friday afternoon. He just couldn't understand why anyone would take the fun out of the song.
The remix is new to me. It's worthy. Just enough to be different without killing the spirit of the original.
Like the use of the * today...nicely covered your tracks!
Post a Comment