I loved Duran Duran as a kid. Rio was the first vinyl I ever bought on my own, although I doubt it was my own money. I was very excited to buy Seven and the Ragged Tiger on cassette. Here's The Reflex from that album.
Not a bad song, but it's not the version I loved from the radio. It turns out my favourite version was the single version produced by Nile Rodgers. It was tough listening to the album cut when the remix was so much better.
Once in a while, the remix is so much better than the original, you can no longer enjoy the original. Try listening to Flava In Ya Ear by Craig Mack. The remix with The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, Busta Rhymes and LL Cool J is where it's at.
"All I Need" from Method Man is fine and dandy, but when Mary J. Blige shows up on the remix, it's instantly elevated to classic status. I still love this joint.
George Michael's "Hard Day" can't hold a candle to the Shep Pettibone remix. Here's the original.
Now here's the Shep Pettibone remix. It's reborn!
There are so many examples popping into my head right now, but I'll close this post with Mariah Carey's Fantasy, which seemed to be everywhere back in '95. Here's the version I know.
I love that ODB cameo... pure gold. Only recently did I learn that this was the remix. Here's the original from Mariah's Daydream LP, and sadly, it's completely Bastard-less.
That great sample is from Tom Tom Club's Genius of Love, but that's for another post...
