Yes – Owner Of A Lonely Heart

This extended version is absolutely dreadful. There is another extended mix that is around 6:44 mins and is very good.
This longer mix has no vocals and has a completely different beat. It sounds like really bad disco, and I love disco, so that's saying something!

I recall at the time of release that you could actually buy this 'uncut' version in record shops, so it's more than likely that it was actually marketed in this form.

My copy comes with the normal grey picture sleeve, as per the regular solid version.

I was originally an Art of Noise fan before I ever became aware of Yes. Admittedly, as more of a child of the 1980's than the 1970's, I didn't really get into a lot of prog rock. But I knew about Trevor Horn and was excited to hear that he was going to work with Yes based on the few, scant earlier singles of theirs that I had heard.

While 90125 itself had less to do with AoN than it did a lot of mainstream rock at the time, I still enjoyed it and consider it a personal classic. Then I stumbled on "12 Inches on Tape" and my world was shaken.

Personally, I *LIKE* both the "Red & Blue Mix" of Owner and the "Hello, Goodbye Mix" of Leave It. While it has more to do with the AoN style of programming than it does prog rock, mainstream rock, or any type of "rock" music whatsoever, it took some of the more experimental ideas put into the sounds of the songs and expanded upon them. It was a mindtrip for those who had only heard the originals, and who weren't much of a purist when it comes to remixed tracks.

So, yeah, if this isn't your cup of tea, that's perfectly fine then. But for others, these mixes are part of our formative years.

Track A Sounds Like THe Art Of Noise at that Time

The "Wonderous Mix" on this is actually surprisingly great; moody, drifty, and abstracted in a very welcome 1991 way that feels a bit indebted to balearic house and The Orb-style chill out electronic.

When I first brought this home back in 1984 from the record store, I played it once and then placed it on the shelf and never played it again. The 12-inch dance version is a train wreck of epic proportion. The repeating bass melody is the only recognizable part of this classic Yes tune apart from the isolated vocal at the beginning. This is an annoying-sounding instrumental for die-hard collectors only. I've never come across anyone who actually likes this mix. The only redeeming factor here is the inclusion of the 7-inch edit. Sometimes the 7-inch outshines the longer remix which it certainly does here.

I didn't know Atco still used that label design on the promos, when you thought they'd have moved on.

The noodly A-side suffers from the Trevor Horn "I had never been to a disco" affliction, much like the epic Sex Mix of "Relax" which would have made around the same time. He had enough sense to keep the bassline, at least.

The edited version on side B is just an early fade of the album version, I believe.

The album cut "Our Song" is way more on the progressive rock tip, and as such is more in keeping with the band's signature sound, but it is also light and contemporary: prog for the Eighties.

The record is mastered nice and loud, so even a slightly beat-up copy will sound pretty good.

See also my review of the promo 12": Owner Of A Lonely Heart.

Gary Langan of The Art Of Noise only gets an Engineer credit on the somewhat rough Red & Blue Remix, yet it is about as close to an Art of Noise track as you will ever find without their name on it. It's already produced by Trevor Horn, and uses a Fairlight programmed by J.J. Jeczalik. All it needs is a note or three by Anne Dudley and some ridiculous sleeve text from Paul Morley and it could've been a ZTT release.

This everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type of rambling, sample-heavy, dub-influenced remix style was repeated almost verbatim on the "Hello, Goodbye Mix" of "Leave It", as well as on the epic "Sex Mix" of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax". Then Trevor Horn supposedly visited an actual dance club in New York and realized that he'd been doing it all wrong.

See also my review of the commercial 12": Owner Of A Lonely Heart.