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Steve Winwood - Valerie
- Thread starter sdh483
- Start date
O
OhReally?
Guest
Remixed. You can get this version from his "Chronicles" CD which was released in 1987.
I think I'll put in "Back In The Highlife" CD now that you mention Steve Winwood. Always loved that album.
I think I'll put in "Back In The Highlife" CD now that you mention Steve Winwood. Always loved that album.
sdh483 said:
#1 I think it was either re-recorded or a different vocal take, because if you listen closely, there are differences in some of the vocals, especially noticable on the second verse ("Love songs fill the night, but they don't tell it all...")
#2 I remember hearing the original on CHR in 1982, even though it tanked on the charts. They also regularly played the 1982 version on a local AAA station we used to have in the mid '90s.
I prefer the 1982 version, from the "Talking Back to the Night" album, but that is probably because that version is rarely heard anymore. Interestingly enough, "Talking Back to the Night" was also remixed for "Chronicles" and released as a single, too. I believe "Valerie" and "Talking Back to the Night" (briefly used in a Michelob beer commercial) were the only tracks from "Chronicles" that were remixed.
If you search on youtube, you can find a video for the original "Valerie" and a video for the remixed "Valerie" as well. And a different woman playing "Valerie" in each of them! Interesting to note that Steve got married after the original "Valerie" but before the remixed "Valerie" appeared. To a woman named Eugenia! As far as I know, they are still married. He is a part-time Nashville resident these days, and Eugenia is from Trenton, Tennessee.
You can also find a video for the remixed "Valerie" but using footage from the original version. Some folks think Steve's hair resembles Conan O'Brien's in the original version. Skip the 2004 Eric Prydz remix. It is at much too high of a pitch! I think it is called "Call on me." All references to "Valerie" were taken out.
If you search on youtube, you can find a video for the original "Valerie" and a video for the remixed "Valerie" as well. And a different woman playing "Valerie" in each of them! Interesting to note that Steve got married after the original "Valerie" but before the remixed "Valerie" appeared. To a woman named Eugenia! As far as I know, they are still married. He is a part-time Nashville resident these days, and Eugenia is from Trenton, Tennessee.
You can also find a video for the remixed "Valerie" but using footage from the original version. Some folks think Steve's hair resembles Conan O'Brien's in the original version. Skip the 2004 Eric Prydz remix. It is at much too high of a pitch! I think it is called "Call on me." All references to "Valerie" were taken out.
Steve was a much bigger name by 1987. He was coming off his success with the "Back in the High Life" album, and all the Grammys it won him. In 1982, he was only known for "While You See a Chance," a minor top ten hit in 1981.Dave said:
Previously, he had been a member of the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, Traffic, and probably at least one other group that I can't think of right now. But his only solo success prior to 1982 was "While You See a Chance." ("Vacant Chair" from 1977 was included on "Chronicles.")
firepoint525 said:
I didn't know Steve Winwood did a video for Valerie in 1982. While neither version of the song is bad, but I like the 1987 version of Valerie as a song, but the 1982 version of the video. I watched both videos carefully and I don't believe all of the footage was from the original video. There definitely was a lot of differences between the 2.
T
Tube Shortwave
Guest
I remember playing the original version when I was on the air in the 80's. I thought the song had a good hook and would have done better. After it had a slow struggle to nothingness, it was forgotten. However, for years, that synth stayed in my head and would play in my head a LOT! Ever have just part of a song stuck in your head playing over and over?? That is what it did. When the later version was released, I was working a different format, but heard it on another station and it cured me!! That synth riff FINALLY left me alone!
Since I spun the early version for a living, I am prejudice to the original. I still remember that record so well, I could ramp it to the post without the timer today. Odd for a record I didn't play that much.
Since I spun the early version for a living, I am prejudice to the original. I still remember that record so well, I could ramp it to the post without the timer today. Odd for a record I didn't play that much.
Here's another clue as to the popularity of "Valerie" during its initial release... I used to have a tape of part of an NBC-TV broadcast of a Major League Baseball game recorded during the summer of 1983. Guess what bumper music they used to segue into commercials... Yep, it was the synth part of Valerie.
So I believe that the 1982 single release was a bit more popular than its chart position would have us believe. I certainly remember it being played back then.
So I believe that the 1982 single release was a bit more popular than its chart position would have us believe. I certainly remember it being played back then.
You're probably right. The top 40 station in Northwest Tennessee (where I lived at the time) played "Valerie" in 1982-83, and they usually never touched anything before it cracked the charts. Of course, if they play it at all now (which is highly unlikely), they would be playing the 1987 remix version. They had it in heavy rotation in 1987-88.
Not long after "Valerie" was reissued/remixed and made the top 10, a whole slew of not-quite hits from the earlier '80s were remixed and/or reissued. "Red Red Wine," "When I'm With You," etc. I don't know if "Valerie" was the start of that whole reissue craze of the late '80s, but it seems like a logical enough place to start!
Not long after "Valerie" was reissued/remixed and made the top 10, a whole slew of not-quite hits from the earlier '80s were remixed and/or reissued. "Red Red Wine," "When I'm With You," etc. I don't know if "Valerie" was the start of that whole reissue craze of the late '80s, but it seems like a logical enough place to start!
????
firepoint525 said:
In retrospect... "Valerie" rolls off the tongue in a song lyric much easier than "Eugenia" (no offense, Mrs.W)
A
AckDX
Guest
Well, you learn something new every day. I didn't know that it originally was released in 1982.
I do! It's on the Talking Back to the Night album, from 1982. Interestingly enough, the title track was also remixed and rereleased on Chronicles in 1987. I believe it was intended to be the followup single to "Valerie" (even had the Michelob commercial to go along with it, too), but it just never quite caught on.The Dude said:
I only have it on vinyl. Would you settle for a youtube link? ;DThe Dude said:Please upload the original from 1982 here and paste the link for us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anCg5EiB2AM
D
drpickle
Guest
Sunny 1100 WGPA in Bethlehem PA has always played the original version of Valerie. By golly it's still on a cart!
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