ok now we move onto the last song of the B side of the album.
this was another song that was released as an official single, as i’m sure you know.
———–
“Don’t You Want Me”
“Don’t You Want Me” is a conflicting male/female duet on t he subject of jealousy and romantic obsession. The male protagonist of the song (Oakey) is a svengali figure who turns a female waitress (sung by Susan Ann Sulley) into a ‘star’, who then subsequently leaves him once she has obtained fame.
It is underscored by two backing synthesiser samples and Rushent’s LM-1 sequence with Burden’s core keyboard background. Rushent and Callis would be responsible for the final mix which was disliked by the rest of the band as it was not the dark and brooding track they had envisaged. The track is different to the rest of Dare, not only for its pop sound but also because it features a female joint lead vocal. Against Oakey’s wishes, it was released as a single in November 1981; the song then became the band’s biggest hit and one of the highest selling singles of all time in the UK.
It was released as a single in August 1981. ————– of course, this is the jewel of the album.
one of my all time favorites, and of course the song that got me into them.
i used these sources : —————————– tracks: ————- 10 3:56 Don’t You Want Me 117.6 bpm 3 7:11 Don’t You Want Me (lovedance) 122.1 bpm ->down
Don’t You Want Me (Extended Dance mix) 7:31 v, cd 122.1 bpm
Don’t You Want Me (A Capella)
notes: —————————-
you can listen to it here, and the download link: ————————————— 8 7:27 Dont you want me(2013) —————————————————-
ok now we move onto the next song of the B side of the album
this was another song that was released as an official single,
———– “Love Action (I Believe in Love)”
“Love Action” is a semi-autobiographical song by Oakey about good and bad relationships. It includes references to his own various relationships, their problems and successes; with Oakey often referring to himself. Complete with the famous lyric “This is Phil talking!” (a line inspired by a similar reference by Iggy Pop),it also contains two cryptic references to one of Oakey’s influences, Lou Reed.
It was released as a single in August 1981. ————– this was the only other song that was released as a single in the US.
it was an OK follow up to don’t you want me.
the remix and instrumental have a distinctive sound and sample in them.
i used these sources : —————————– tracks: ————- 9 4:58 Love Action (I Believe in Love) 122.0 bpm 2 5:12 Love Action (I Believe in Love)[lovedance] 122.0 bpm
Love Action (I Believe in Love) (Instrumental) 5:22 cd
notes: —————————-
you can listen to it here, and the download link: ————————————— 7 8:29 Love Action(I Believe in Love)(2013) —————————————————-
ok now we move onto the third song of the B side of the album
this was another song that was not released as an official single, but was on the b-side of the don’t you want me single:
———– “Seconds”
“Seconds” is a serious, sombre mood piece on the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, and its impact on the wider world. Where Oakey berates (the unnamed) Lee Harvey Oswald, characterised by the lyrics “it took seconds of your time to take his life” and “a shot that was heard around the world”.
When played live the song is often accompanied by background slides of Kennedy. The song makes a feature of the voice assignment modes on the Roland Jupiter-4 synthesiser, alternating between strident two-note chords, with 2 VCOs per note, and thinner three note chords with 1 VCO per voice. ————–
a very moody song.
i did know what it was originally about, until i read it on some websites.
it has a very dark tone, but it still has some now classic sounds and lyrics associated with it.
i used these sources : —————————– tracks: ————- 8 4:58 Seconds 128.3 bpm 6 2:25 Seconds (lovedance) 128.3 bpm
notes: —————————-
you can listen to it here, and the download link: ————————————— 6 6:43 Seconds(2013) —————————————————-
ok now we move onto the next song, that was not a single release. ———– “Darkness”
In keeping with the title, the song is about the subconscious fears from deep within the soul which manifest themselves when the singer is alone at night. Written mainly by Philip Adrian Wright, it is based on his experience in trying to sleep after reading a horror novel.
The low synthesiser tones are designed to be haunting, are slow at the beginning, deliberately dark and melancholy. The instrumental increases tempo to a frenzy of pitch blending as the song reaches its culmination. It is a track that still contains the obvious influences of the original Human League of Oakey, Ware, Marsh and Wright. ————–
this is one of my favorite songs from the album.
i really like the tone and the mood of the song, and the keyboard sounds are very cool, and very distinct.
although this version is similar to the album mix, there are some parts that are rearranged.
hope you like it.
i used these sources from cd: —————————– tracks: 4 darkness 3:59 122.3 bpm
notes: —————————-
you can listen to it here, and the download link: ————————————— 4 5:44 Darkness (2013 dont turn out the lights) —————————————————-
ok now we move onto another song
that was released as a single, and
also on the ‘love and dancing’ EP.
Written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey and keyboard player Ian Burden, the song was recorded at Genetic Sound Studios, Reading, in March 1981. Originally released as a stand-alone single in April 1981, it was subsequently re-recorded and incorporated into the studio album Dare, later in the year.
“The Sound Of The Crowd” was the first Human League song to feature female vocals, from new band members Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall, interacting with Philip Oakey’s baritone lead.
The single was the first to feature a distinctive, though short-lived, marketing tactic, where Human League singles were labelled ‘Red’ or ‘Blue’ to help buyers differentiate between the band’s musical styles. ‘Red’ was for dance tracks, ‘Blue’ for pop songs. “The Sound Of The Crowd” was designated ‘Red’. When asked to explain the system, vocalist Sulley explained that “Red is for posers, for Spandy (Spandau Ballet) types.” Oakey added: “Blue is for ABBA fans.”
The original 7″ B side “The Sound of the Crowd (Add Your Voice)” is the closing track of the remix album Love And Dancing, issued in 1982 under the name of The League Unlimited Orchestra.
=================
i used these sources from cd:
—————————–
tracks:
3 3:56 The Sound Of The Crowd 144.8 bpm
8 2:42 The Sound of the Crowd (lovedance)
3:05 The Sound Of The Crowd (Add Your Voice)
6:28 The Sound Of The Crowd (Complete) 148.5 bpm
4:11 The Sound Of The Crowd (Instrumental)
notes:
—————————-
i used the remix version, the instrumental
and the album version for the final mix.
this is another one of my all time favorites,
a very catchy and danceable song.
a great beat, and cool chorus. i really
like phils voice on it, and the girls add
their part to it.
as for being the first single off it, i didn’t
hear until much later, because we only had
don’t you want me in the US first, and then
love action.. so it would be awhile before
i found this. the instrumental is very similar,
and i really the remix also.
i’ve made a longer extended version of it.
you can listen to it here,
and the download link:
—————————————
3 – The Sound of the Crowd (2013) 8:35
“Open Your Heart” was the last of three songs from the Dare album to be released in advance of the album itself. Unlike previous singles “Sound of the Crowd” and “Love Action (I Believe in Love)“, “Open Your Heart” was written specifically for the album Dare. It was chosen by Virgin executive Simon Draper to be the Dare’s taster single, deliberately issued just in advance of the album. It quickly reached number six in the UK singes chart and raised the band’s profile to the highest it had been to that point. Issued only three weeks before Dare, the single acted as a powerful promotional vehicle for the album. The cover artwork and promotional video was deliberately coordinated with its parent album.
I like open your heart, it’s not my favorite song. but it’s very strong,
with a good chorus, and good lyrics.
for this version, i used these:
————-
2 3:53 Open Your Heart 133.2 bpm
Open Your Heart/Non-Stop 8:15 v [3:53/4:22]
Open Your Heart/Non-Stop (Instrumentals)8:41 v
non-stop (inst) 0:00 – 2:18 [2:18]
open your heart (inst) 2:19 – 5:30 [3:11]
non-stop (inst) 5:31 – 8:41 [3:11]
the delicious, and moody things that dreams are made of.
yes, they would revisit this song in 2007/2008 and finally make
a single of it, but there was already a lot to work with when
it came out, on the love and dancing EP.
i used these sources from cd:
—————————–
tracks:
1 4:14 Things that Dreams are Made of 126.1bpm
4 5:09 Things that Dreams are Made of (lovedance) 124.8bpm
notes:
—————————-
1 the album version tempo is faster, at 126.1bpm,
so i had to slow it down to 124 to match the
version on ‘love and dancing’…
2 i’ve added 2 effects that aren’t in the
original, one is really obvious, but the
other one is VERY subtle, can you hear it?
review
——–
this is one the best human league songs ever,
and one of my all time favourites from ‘dare’,
next to ‘dont you want me’..
i think the ‘love and dancing’ version is great,
but it needs the vocals…which i’ve put back
in…..the synthesizer sounds are unmatched,
and the slower beat suits it very well…
it should have been a single..
and the full version details are here:
—————————————
1 – Things that Dreams are Made of (full version 2013) 7:11
about 10 years ago, i made some ‘full’ versions of many of the tracks from human leagues classic ‘dare’ album.
now, after the 32nd anniversary this year, and finding much better quality digital versions of the tracks. it’s time to revisit them.
over a period of time, i will be putting up most of the tracks from the album, with the exception of the tracks ‘get carter’, and ‘i am the law’, due to no instrumentals of those. however, i did make a remix of ‘darkness’, which i’ve always liked, so that will be included along with a ‘full’ version of ‘non-stop’.
i hope you enjoy these tracks, and continue to visit this site.