Blondie "Rapture"

I wonder if the US single and Canuckistan single were different.

My stock 45-rpm disc from March 1981 has the LP version, which I believe was 6:33. The US Edit (I don't know if that's what it's called) was adapted from the 9+ minute long 12" single with remixed cowbells. It's similar to the "Best of Blondie" version, except that the radio version had the remixed cowbells over the first long rap.

Was this the stock US single, or did it also have the LP version as we did in Canada?

I sourced the remix in the early 90s (after YEARS of searching) on a Brit 45.

Four versions that I know of:

• The 6:33 version that appeared on the Autoamerican LP and commercial 45
• A version that runs around 5:36 that first appeared on the Best Of Blondie LP and now appears on virtually every compilation CD that includes the song
• A 10-minute version that shows up on the CD Billboard Top Dance Hits 1981 among others
• And finally, the elusive promo 45 version that runs 4:57. This appears on the 2-CD set The Platinum Collection (Chrysalis, 1994). It may also appear on the re-release of the 45, but I can't confirm that. This has always been my favorite version, mostly because the guitar solo resolves at the end, instead of just trailing off like the 5:36 version. There are mix differences, too, like the hi-pitched "ya" yells and the cowbells.

I've heard the song referred to jokingly as "Frankenstein" because of all the different pieces that were cut and pasted.

Edited by crapfromthepast

crapfromthepast wrote: Four versions that I know of: And finally, the elusive promo 45 version that runs 4:57. This appears on the 2-CD set The Platinum Collection (Chrysalis, 1994). It may also appear on the re-release of the 45, but I can't confirm that. This has always been my favorite version, mostly because the guitar solo resolves at the end, instead of just trailing off like the 5:36 version.

I can confirm this, sort of. I just picked up a Chrysalis reissue 45 (VS8 42698): "The Tide Is High" bw "Rapture". The Rapture time is listed as 4:57, but I can't confirm it -- the record is so trashed that it won't play through properly. Even with a bunch of skips (where I had to manually move the needle along), it came in at under 6 minutes, so 4:57 is plausible. I can listen for other clues to the extent it would help the board.

To update my earlier post, I finally got to dub my trashed reissue 45 above and digitally rearrange the pieces to understand what's on the record when it's not skipping. I can confirm now that my copy, like Hykker's, has the full album version.

This is what I know of Rapture, having been obsessed with the song when it came out.

1) the 6:33 album version was also the commercial 45 version at least in New York!

2) the 5:36 version on Best Of is pretty much an edit of the 12" version

3) the 10 minute version is the 12" version, which features a verse that was not on the original LP version

4) the 7:33 version that has appeared on various artist compilations in the past few years--this is simply the LP version but with the lost verse from the 12" version included. My guess is that this was the full length original recording, and they had to cut out a verse so that the song could fit comfortable on the original vinyl LP. So then when the master tape was handed over for the 12" mix, the verse was already there, so it was used on the 12". I'm so glad this version finally surfaced because I much prefer the LP mix over the 12" mix, but I always listened to the 12" because of the extra verse.