Fantasy Deluxe #2: Savage

As outlined in A Love Deluxe, the past year or so has seen me become just a little bit addicted to creating “fantasy” deluxe editions. You take an album, and use whatever extra material is available (B-sides, Single Edits, 12″ Remixes, Demos, Out-takes, non-album 45s) to piece together a multi-disc celebration of it. 

There are fantasy projects which offer the chance to right wrongs, and correct mistakes made by official releases. There are also fantasy projects which enable additional elements of an era to be added to the “existing album/single/bonus material” formula.

Savage by Eurythmics is one such case.

Released in November 1987, its dark, brooding and experimental nature proved too much for many of the fans who had come aboard via the band’s two previous multi-platinum albums. Savage was no Be Yourself Tonight or Revenge. Heck, it wasn’t even a Touch (despite the synths returning to dominance). This was challenging stuff.

The first single, Beethoven (I Love To Listen To), pulled no punches in declaring the cosy, American-sounding AOR of recent times as unceremoniously binned. As much of a sonic shock as it was, that was nothing compared to the effect created by the accompanying music video; Annie the demented, frustrated housewife experiencing a meltdown whilst doing the chores.

Savage‘s concept works best in tandem with its visuals; I Need A Man is a fantastic rocker on its own merits, but within the context of the album’s narrative it gains extra dynamics and poignancy. A full-length video album was made and officially released on VHS in late 1987, but no DVD or Blu-Ray upgrade has ever been forthcoming.

All 12 songs are given short films, albeit in a different order (Shame really needs to follow I Need A Man to make sense, so thankfully it does on the video album). Yet for some reason, the 2005 Deluxe Edition of Savage released by RCA/BMG only had a smattering of random mixes and unreleased versions, no DVD or visual footage whatsoever.

SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE.

For my fantasy deluxe, the video album simply had to be a key part of it. So with only rudimentary video transfer abilities, I managed to put the sometimes wobbly picture onto a disc and put in some dividing chapters. Hopefully one day this DVD-R will no longer be required!

Savage: The Video Album – subtitled For The Theatres in tribute/reference to the line in Shame (I’d do something similar for the remix disc) – is joined by the original 12-track CD from 1987 and the rather louder (or “punchy” as the euphemism goes) 2005 remaster.

The 2005 expanded “Special Edition”. Very nice dear, but where are the videos?

In keeping with the overall less-is-less presentation, none of the single edits were included, and only two of the retail 12″ mixes (the Extended Philharmonic Mix of Beethoven was actually never released at the time). We did, however, get a Live recording of I Need You and their cover of The Beatles’ Come Together. Smashing.

The final disc of my deluxe, therefore (subtitled For The Dancehalls) does what any self-respecting project covering this era should do. None of the four 7″ mixes are widely available (the Eurythmics’ Greatest Hits collection from 1991 saw fit to only include one Savage track), nor indeed are many of the extended versions to be found on CD or High Quality digital formats.

DISC FOUR: FOR THE DANCEHALLS [Edits & Remixes]

01 BEETHOVEN (I LOVE TO LISTEN TO) 3.52  [7″ Edit]
02 SHAME 3.48  [7″ Edit]
03 I NEED A MAN 4.04  [7″ Edit]
04 YOU HAVE PLACED A CHILL IN MY HEART 4.01  [Chill Mix]
05 BEETHOVEN (I LOVE TO LISTEN TO) 5.19  [Dance Mix]
06 SHAME 5.40  [Dance Mix]
07 I NEED A MAN 5.57  [Macho Mix]
08 YOU HAVE PLACED A CHILL IN MY HEART 7.53  [Dance Mix]
09 DO YOU WANT TO BREAK UP? 6.12  [Dance Mix]
10 BEETHOVEN (I LOVE TO LISTEN TO) 4.32  [Extended Philharmonic Version]
11 YOU HAVE PLACED A CHILL IN MY HEART 3.22  [Acoustic Version]
12 I NEED YOU 3.09  [Live Version]
13 COME TOGETHER 3.22

The acoustic take on You Have Placed A Chill.. was the predominant reason for it becoming the album’s only real UK hit (#16), and somewhat ironically for an album built upon the complex notions of artifice, escape and identity, it was a song (and TOTP performance) stripped of all the sonic and visual trimmings that rescued Savage‘s commercial fortunes.

In terms of artwork, the iconic album sleeve did not lend itself to the DVD-sized case as well as I hoped, looking pretty much like the VHS cover and too box-y. There were some fantastic alternate shots of Annie from the various CD booklets and LP inner sleeves, and one with her seated on a worn out, ornate chair caught my eye. It was perfect in dimensions , colours and layout. The band name and title could neatly fit in the top-right corner, with a faux-hype sticker placed over the dark curtains on the left. Then at the foot of the image, there was space to include one of the many quotes from the sleevenotes…. “all mockery is laughing, and all violence is cheap”.

For the rear design, I used another wonderful shot of Annie in her smudged make-up and frightwig, and quoted my favourite lines from the Beethoven track.

Of all the fantasy deluxes I have worked on, this is the one which really needs to become a reality.