“Men” was the first single taken from the third solo LP “Good Women” by American R&B singer Gladys Knight. The single peaked at #2 on the U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop Chart on August 17, 1991, after spending seventeen weeks on the survey.
SIDE A: Men (Extended Club Version) 7:15
SIDE B: Men (Instrumental) 5:27
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1991
Men
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
#2
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – MCA12-54130
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1991
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: New Jack Swing, Soul, Contemporary R&B
“The Visitors” (working title “Den första”, meaning “The First”), also known as “The Visitors (Crackin’ Up)”, is a 1981 song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It is the title track from the band’s studio album of the same name, and was released as the fourth and final single in April 1982. The lead vocal was performed by Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
The official stated theme is a protest against the persecution of political dissidents in the Soviet Union at the time, as ABBA seemed to put political issues into their lyrics in the final days of the group. Björn Ulvaeus has stated that at the time of release he preferred that the song should have a sense of mystery so did not explain the exact meaning.
In 1982, the album The Visitors was banned in the Soviet Union, possibly due to the band allowing a video of “When All Is Said and Done” to be shown in the United States Information Agency television special, Let Poland Be Poland, along with a spoken message from Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, broadcast via satellite around the world on 31 January 1982. The show, which also featured Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Orson Welles, Henry Fonda, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and US President Ronald Reagan, was a public protest against the then-recent imposition of martial law in Poland.
However, ABBA’s segment was not included in the broadcast. The official reason given was time constraints. However, in a Rapport interview, Björn Ulvaeus mentioned that their message referenced human rights issues in several countries, including El Salvador and Chile. This has led to speculation that political considerations might have influenced the decision to exclude the segment, although this remains unconfirmed.
“The Visitors” was released as the album’s second (and final) single in the US instead of “Head over Heels,” which remained as the B-side.
The single peaked just outside the Top 60 at No. 63 on the singles chart in the U.S., and a double A-sided “The Visitors/When All Is Said and Done” 12″ single reached No. 8 on the Billboard dance chart. AllMusic reviewer Bruce Eder retrospectively described the song as “a topical song about Soviet dissidents that also manages to be very catchy.” Even though the song did not have any success in some countries, “The Visitors” was No. 1 in Costa Rica.
++ The “Short Version” included on this U.S. 12″ Promo is a vinyl-only exclusive, and has not appeared on CD. The edit that appeared on “More ABBA Gold” was modeled after the original “Short Version” taking the “Long Version” and editing it down therefore not the original edit that appears here.
SIDE A: The Visitors (Long Version) 5:45
SIDE B: The Visitors (Short Version) 4:22 ++
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1982
The Visitors
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
#63
1982
The Visitors
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play
#8
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – DMD 329
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, Disco
“I Want Your Sex” is a song by the English singer and songwriter George Michael. Released as a single on 18 May 1987 (US) and 1 June 1987 (UK), it was the third hit from the soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop II and the first single from Michael’s debut solo album Faith. It peaked at number two in the U.S. and number three in the UK, and was a top-five single in many other countries.
The single was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of two million in the United States. It was also the recipient for the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song. The song’s radio airplay on the BBC was restricted to post-watershed hours due to concerns that it might promote promiscuity and could be counterproductive to contemporary campaigns about AIDS awareness.
Although it was one of Michael’s biggest hits, the singer ignored the song following its release; he never performed it after the Faith Tour and although the Rhythm Two version appears on Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael, it does not appear on the 2006 retrospective Twenty Five; furthermore, the “Monogamy Mix” does not appear on the 2011 remastered release of Faith. In an interview with Mark Goodier, included in the large-format book released with the 2011 remaster, Michael said that he still likes the second “Rhythm” but not the first, and that he distanced himself from the song because its production sounded too much like Prince; indeed, “Rhythm 1”, as well as a few other tracks on the Faith album (such as “Hard Day”), features Michael simulating female vocals by artificially pitching up and altering his own voice, much the same way as Prince was doing at the time with his pseudo-female alter ego Camille. In the interview, Michael admits that he was “deeply enamoured” with Prince, and adds that he thought it was very bad for him to be infatuated with a colleague of his. Rolling Stone editor David Fricke described this song as ‘a new bump-and-grind original that sounds more like Prince’s stark, sexy “Kiss” than anything in the Wham! catalog’. In 2016, after Michael’s death, Andrew Unterberger of Billboard ranked the song number eight on his list of Michael’s 15 greatest songs.
The music video, directed by Andy Morahan, featured Michael and his then-girlfriend Kathy Jeung to emphasize that he was in a monogamous relationship; at one point, he is shown using lipstick to write the words “explore” and “monogamy” on her back, which is photographed and retouched at the end of the video to reveal the phrase “explore monogamy”. A Spanish model was also used for naked scenes in a way that allowed the audience to assume they were the same woman; these shots are interspersed with intentionally blurred footage of George Michael dancing and singing the song.
In a 2004 interview with Adam Mattera for UK magazine Attitude, Michael reflected: “It was totally real. Kathy was in love with me but she knew that I was in love with a guy at that point in time. I was still saying I was bisexual…She was the only female that I ever brought into my professional life. I put her in a video. Of course she looked like a beard. It was all such a mess, really. My own confusion and then on top of that what I was prepared to let the public think.”
The video generated controversy over its sexual themes. In 2002, MTV2’s countdown of MTV’s Most Controversial Videos Ever to Air on MTV included the video for “I Want Your Sex” at number 3. The original video cut appears on the Twenty Five compilation 2-DVD set.
SIDE A: I Want Your Sex (Monogamy Mix) 13:13
-Rhythm 1 Lust
-Rhythm 2 Brass In Love
-Rhythm 3 A Last Request
SIDE B: Hard Day 4:53
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1987
I want Your Sex
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
#2
1987
I want Your Sex
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play
#2
1987
I want Your Sex
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop
#43
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – 44 06814, Columbia – 44-06814, Columbia – Lust T 1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Downtempo, Synth-pop
“You’re My Only Lover” is a 1986 single by Ish (Ish Ledesma), best known for his hits with Foxy
(“Get Off”) and Company B (“Fascinated”). John Robie produced the mid-tempo track. the b-side “It Ain’t Necessarily So” previously recorded by Bronski Beat in 1984 is a duet with Terri Nunn (Vocalist for the group Berlin). Both tracks were recorded in New York City, and taken from the LP “On This Corner”.
The single did not chart, and no music video was produced.
SIDE A: You’re My Only Lover (Extended Dance Remix) 6:56 You’re My Only Lover (Instrumental Dub) 4:58
SIDE B: It Ain’t Necessarily So (Extended Dance Remix) 6:18
Vocals – Terri Nunn It Ain’t Necessarily So (Instrumental Dub) 5:58
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records – 0-20437, Geffen Records – 9 20437-0 A
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
