Talk Talk – 12x12 Original Remixes

Great starter album for people exploring the Talk Talk catalogue.

Be careful, collectors! Is the same tracklist than 'Asides Besides', Longer versions (cd 1), released one year before. A "marvelous trick" of EMI for to sale more and more, one year after because nothing has really changed. In fact, just change the position of 'Such A Shame' (Dub Mix), better here separately, as close. The rest is identical. Talk Talk: the goose that lays the golden eggs! Just 7 albums... and however 22 compilations, according Discogs info.

A collection of remixes by one of the best bands of the eighties. I when I bought the original 12 inches of It's My Life an Such A Shame I was just blown away by the way the songs were decompiled and put back together again in a way I never heard before (but was becoming more rule than exception a bit later when the New Romantics and Trevor Horn came along).
Those two mixes are one this release and it's a joy to have them on CD now too.
A few other noteworthy mixes are on here too: Dum Dum Girl is good, but a bit too short.
Unfortunatly the compilers chose to include some lesser mixes and dropped a few little gemms. Why is the Such A Shame Dub Mix on here, while the US Mix is much better (this one has parts of the Dub Mix anyway).
Also missing is the excellent 12 Inch version of Why Is It So Hard. But the biggest cock-up is the choise of extended mix of Life's What You Make It. The liner notes on this CD's big brother A-Sides, Besides say this one is the best. Well in my humble opinion this is the most boring version I ever heard of this song (the 90's mixes where even worse though, but they were not original mixes). The one they should have gone for was the US Extended Mix in its full 8.30 minutes glory.
So, I do have mixed feelings about this releases and hope that someone will wise up and give us the full 12 Inch collection.