Long Version

Today, tracks have many mixes. There's dance mixes, techno mixes, hip-hop mixes, etc. Many songs have a dozen different versions with slight to massive variations.

80s music, however... You had the one version played on the radio, sometimes a slightly different version on the album, and a live version (listened only to devoted fans who loved that particular song and happily put up with the concert noise.)

And then there was the long or "extended" version.

This is when the artist would take their latest hit and stretch it our long enough to fill an entire side of a 12 inch LP. This was heaven for those who loved music stretching as long as they could go. To others, it was like listening to ten minutes of the Greatest Hits of Yoko Ono.

Duran Duran fans swooned with excitement when the epic hit, "The Reflex," was extended. Really, one cannot say "Ta-na-na-na-na-na" enough.



Billy Idol was not satisfied with calling his remixed hit, "To Be A Lover," extended. This is the "Mother of Mercy" version. Works for me!