On this day 39 years ago, 28 November 1985, The 12" Album was released in Japan.
At that time, singles were commonly released on both 7" and 12" with an extended mix on the latter. A number of artists then issued compilation albums of the 12" mixes, and this is what the Strawberry Switchblade one looks like. But it isn't.
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Jolene was the only Strawberry Switchblade single that had an extended version on the 12". The Let Her Go remix had appeared on the 12" of its successor, Who Knows What Love Is.
Extended remix of Let Her Go. Not released on the Let Her Go single, it first appeared as the bonus track on the 12" of the subsequent single Who Knows What ...
Some of these were included as bonus tracks on later reissues which, in turn, have ended up being the standard versions on streaming services.
It's wild that the original 1983 single of Trees and Flowers has never been reissued but the clumsy extended mix - essentially bolting the instrumental version to the single - has been on different CDs and had millions of streams. Here's the single:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY9uMD3tZcY
The 12" Album was released on LP and cassette in Japan. In 2005, it was reissued on CD in Canada with sound quality about as good as the photocopy-style cover.
The extended mix of Who Knows What Love Is is the one track on the album that has never been reissued anywhere. Hear it on our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5DHXE3T4Mg
When we interviewed Jill Bryson we asked about The 12" Album. She replied "isn’t that the one with all those terrible Japanese singles at the end? ‘Ecstasy‘ and stuff like that? Warn them! Say ‘don’t do it, save your money’!"
Strawberry Switchblade fansite