In the '80s, remix records were usually either solipsistic synth noodling with very little appeal for the average listener or, worse still, crass commercial attempts to eek a few additional dollars from die hard fans.
Propaganda was apparently prepared to answer accusations of that sort.
The record jacket for Wishful Thinking, their 1985 collection of remixed "disturbdances" of songs from their debut, A Secret Wish, defends the remix concept with a quotation from Goethe: "and refashioning the fashioned/ lest it stiffen into iron/ is a work of endless vital activity." Somehow Wishful Thinking seems deserving of Goethe's defense.
These remixes are vital and original creations in their own right.
At times they even seem to surpass the quality of the original poppier versions.
The driving dance beats, mesmerizing gothic chords, and swirling ambient guitars create a melancholic ethos of considerable artistic merit.
Perhaps the key is the reduction in emphasis on the sometimes grating sing/shout vocals by Claudia Brucken and Susan Freytag.
And though some mixes do begin to get dull when they are reduced to thumping bass and grinding drums, the vast majority of this project is more dynamic than that.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AbuseRalf Dörper, Michael Mertens, Andreas Thein | Propaganda | Play | 03:29 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | MachinedRalf Dörper, Michael Mertens | Propaganda | Play | 06:35 | 15 MB | 46 MB |
| 3 | Laughed!Ralf Dörper, Paul Haig, Michael Mertens, Malcolm Ross | Propaganda | Play | 09:09 | 20 MB | 64 MB |
| 4 | LovingClaudia Brücken, Ralf Dörper, Michael Mertens | Propaganda | Play | 00:47 | 1 MB | 4 MB |
| 5 | JewelledClaudia Brücken, Ralf Dörper | Propaganda | Play | 07:44 | 17 MB | 58 MB |
| 6 | LovedClaudia Brücken, Ralf Dörper, Michael Mertens | Propaganda | Play | 06:42 | 15 MB | 46 MB |
| 7 | AbuseRalf Dörper, Michael Mertens, Andreas Thein | Propaganda | Play | 03:29 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | ThoughtRalf Dörper, Andreas Thein | Propaganda | Play | 02:39 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 40 mins | 92 MB | |||||
| 40 mins | 285 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Armstrong | Guitar |
| 2 | Peter Brown | Photography |
| 3 | Claudia Brücken | Composer, Cover Art, Paintings, Vocals |
| 4 | Ralf Dörper | Composer |
| 5 | Jerry Ewing | Liner Notes |
| 6 | Derek Forbes | Bass |
| 7 | Susanne Freytag | Vocals |
| 8 | Paul Haig | Composer |
| 9 | Trevor Horn | Producer |
| 10 | Bob Kraushaar | Arranger, Editing, Effects, Loops, Producer, Reissue Producer, Reproduction |
| 11 | Stephen Lipson | Producer |
| 12 | Brian McGee | Drums |
| 13 | Michael Mertens | Composer, Percussion |
| 14 | Paul Morley | Arranger, Editing, Effects, Loops, Mixing, Producer, Reissue Producer, Reproduction |
| 15 | Propaganda | Primary Artist |
| 16 | Malcolm Ross | Composer |
| 17 | John Stoddart | Photography |
| 18 | Andreas Thein | Composer |
| 19 | Paul Wright | Tape, Tape Operator |
| 20 | Paul Wright III | Tape Operator |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |