Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran | ||||
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Remix album by | ||||
Released | 31 March 1998 | |||
Genre | New wave | |||
Length | 70:30 | |||
Label | EMI | |||
Producer | Duran Duran and various | |||
Duran Duran chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Pitchfork Media | 4.6/10 [3] |
Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran is a compilation album of remixes by English rock band Duran Duran. From the very beginning of their career, the band had dubbed the extended dance remixes of their songs "night versions", as they were intended for play in nightclubs.
Unlike many of their contemporaries, Duran Duran didn't just extend the intro or loop the bridge section of a song to pad out a dance track for a 12-inch single. As AllMusic explained, "According to Nick Rhodes' liner notes, they recorded extended versions of their singles to be used in night clubs. Rather than have the master tapes cut and taped into remixes, Duran Duran went back into the studio and recorded longer versions of the songs with more instrumental breaks."
The collection had been in the works for some time, but it was released by Capitol/EMI in April 1998, about the same time that Duran Duran was dismissed from the record label after an 18-year history. EMI was quick to start mining the band's back catalogue; Night Versions was followed seven months later by the greatest hits collection Greatest , and by another remix collection Strange Behaviour four months after that.
Similar to other releases in Capitol's "Essential" range, this disc was commercially available for only six months from the time of release. This may account for the inflated aftermarket value of the disc, considering all the material and more was released on the latter Strange Behaviour collection. It has given influence not only in title but also to its concept to the album Nite Versions by Soulwax.
François Kevorkian, also known by the stage name François K, is a French-born, U.S.-based DJ, producer, remixer and label owner of Armenian descent, who started his career DJing in clubs such as the Paradise Garage and Studio 54. Kevorkian has produced and remixed work by a diverse range of musicians including the Smiths, Adam Ant, Kraftwerk, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Diana Ross, Gloria Estefan and U2, and is considered one of the forefathers of house music.
Rio is the second studio album by the English pop rock band Duran Duran, released on 10 May 1982 through EMI. Produced by Colin Thurston, the band wrote and demoed most of the material before recording the album at AIR Studios in London from January to March 1982. The band utilised more experimentation compared to their debut album, from vibraphone and marimba to the sound of a cigarette being lit and cracking ice cubes. Andy Hamilton played a saxophone solo on "Rio".
Greatest is a greatest hits album by English rock band Duran Duran, released in 1998.
Carnival is a dance music EP by British band Duran Duran, originally released in various markets around the world in September 1982 by EMI.
Strange Behaviour is a remix album by English rock band Duran Duran. It was released by EMI in March 1999.
"The Reflex" is the eleventh single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released in 1984. The song was heavily remixed for single release and was the third and last to be taken from their third studio album Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983). The single became the band's first to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and their second to top the UK Singles Chart.
"Notorious" is the fourteenth single song by English rock band Duran Duran. Released internationally by EMI on 20 October 1986, it was the first single from Duran Duran's fourth studio album of the same name and it showcased a new direction for Duran Duran with a funk rock sound.
Singles Box Set 1981–1985 is a box set by English rock band Duran Duran. Consisting of 13 CDs, it was released on 12 May 2003 by EMI and covers the era from Duran Duran (1981) to Arena (1984), as well as the non-studio album single "A View to a Kill" (1985).
"Rapture" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fifth studio album Autoamerican (1980). Written by band members Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released as the second and final single from Autoamerican on January 12, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Musically, "Rapture" is a combination of new wave, disco and hip hop with a rap section forming an extended coda.
"Behind the Wheel" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987). It was released on 28 December 1987 as the album's third single, reaching number 21 in the United Kingdom, number six in both Switzerland and West Germany, also entering the US Billboard Hot 100 as its predecessors.
"Tour de France" is a song by German electronic band Kraftwerk. It was first issued in early August 1983, peaking at number 22 in the United Kingdom singles chart on 6 August.
"Planet Earth" is the debut single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 2 February 1981.
"My Own Way" is the fourth single by English new wave band Duran Duran, originally released on 16 November 1981.
"Rio" is the seventh single by English rock band Duran Duran. It was first released as a single in Australia, in August 1982, followed by a UK release on 1 November 1982.
"The Wild Boys" is the twelfth single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 26 October 1984 in the United Kingdom.
"Burning the Ground" is a song by English rock band Duran Duran, released on 4 December 1989 as a stand-alone single to promote the compilation album Decade. Its music video was included on the band's audiovisual compilation Greatest, released in 1999 (VHS) and 2003 (DVD). The song is essentially a megamix of Duran Duran's history, featuring snippets of all of the band's hits from the previous 10 years.
The recordings made by the Beatles, a rock group from Liverpool, England, from their inception as the Quarrymen in 1957 to their break-up in 1970 and the reunion of their surviving members in the mid-1990s, have huge cultural and historical value. The studio session tapes are kept at Abbey Road Studios, formerly known as "EMI Recording Studios," where the Beatles recorded most of their music. While most have never been officially released, their outtakes and demos are seen by fans as collectables, and some of the recordings have appeared on countless bootlegs. The only outtakes and demos to be officially released were on The Beatles Anthology series and its tie-in singles and anniversary editions of their studio albums. Bits of some previously unreleased studio recordings were used in The Beatles: Rock Band video game as ambient noise and to give songs studio-sounding beginnings and endings. In 2013, Apple Records released the album The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963, which includes previously unreleased outtakes and demos from 1963, to stop the recordings from falling into the public domain.
Master Mixes is a remix EP by English rock band Duran Duran. This double 12" compilation was released commercially in the United States by Capitol under the production label of Masterdisk Corporation and in Brazil by EMI in 1987.
Asides Besides is a compilation album by Talk Talk, released April 1998. It is a collection of rarities, B-sides and demos previously unavailable on CD. It was issued as a companion volume to the band's 1997 album remasters and has been described as "[tying] up loose ends" in the band's career. The album received positive reviews. The album only contains tracks from the 1982–1988 period, as EMI could only obtain rights for Talk Talk music from this period. An album of rarities for Talk Talk's career after 1988 was released in 2001 as Missing Pieces.
Prevale, also known by full name Carlo Prevale, is an Italian disc jockey, record producer, remixer and radio host.