One Voice One Love (Polygram TV, 1993)

Review
Once Voice One Love was produced and coordinated for international aid agency CARE by Sam Hutton. It was released on CD and cassette during the summer of 1993, Polygram TV wisely eschewing a vinyl edition giving that sales of the format were at an all time low. And who wants 16 longish tracks crammed onto one LP anyway? The front cover was designed by Racheal Burke of Stepney Greencoat CE Primary School while the inlay has several artworks from pupils of other schools. The net proceeds from the album sales were to assist with “hope and relief” for the people of Angola, Mozambique, Somalia and Sudan.

As is often the case, Queen are the opening act. One Vision, the single mix. Some years ago, I created a fantasy Japanese CD release titled There Can Only Be One Vision which contained the following tracks:
01 One Vision (Extended Version) 6:28
02 A Kind Of Magic (Extended Version) 6:25
03 Friends Will Be Friends (Extended Version) 6:20
04 Blurred Vision 4:40
05 A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling 5:03
06 Forever (Piano Version) 3:21
While the A Kind Of Magic album was been reissued a couple of times, neither release has done it justice. I’d love a comprehensive Super Deluxe Edition with all the single mixes – don’t forget Pain Is So Close To Pleasure – and extended cuts. A live BD would also fit in nicely. See my review of Now That’s What I Call Music 1986 for more Queen memories.

The album version of Lenny Kravitz’s Let Love Rule is real guitar hero stuff, lasting for exactly two minutes longer than the radio edit. Next are World Party: Put The Message In A Box, a song that sounds like it could have been recorded by Jeff Lynne if he joined The Beatles in 1970. Goodbye Jumbo is an enduring visual and aural memory from 1990; the LP sleeve always seemed to be perched at the front of KG Discs’ racks and the sounds from the Dave Fanning show as he played many tracks from it. I write this review on 26 April 2020, 30 years to the day after buying the album. Following are Peter Gabriel and Youssou N’Dour with their fantastic duet Shakin’ The Tree, the 1989 mix – nice. The following year, a “g” was added along with some new vocals to promote Peter Gabriel’s interesting Best Of. 12 or 16 Golden Greats depending on your choice of format. In the wake, U2’s One and Seal’s Future Love Paradise; the latter in longer EP version (5:32 vs the album’s 4:20). Another welcome 7″ edit is The Christians’ Ideal World; fourth single from November 1987. Speaking of Japanese remix albums, you need the band’s Trinity CD in your life.

Lionel Richie’s first solo compilation was Back To Front in 1992. It had three unreleased tracks; one of them – the underrated #52 smash Love, Oh Love – is here. Building a better world for the future, maybe sow some seeds of love – you guess what’s next; and it’s the single mix. Hurry up with that Seeds Of Love Super Deluxe Edition though. And if you’re suffering withdrawal systems by the omission of Bob Marley’s One Love / People Get Ready from the Now That’s What I Call Music 3 CD. You can read my ongoing analysis of that doomed reissue campaign here – Now CD errors. Keep it nasal with Maxi Priest’s earnest Prayer For The World. Next the uplifting Great Heart from Johnny Clegg & Savuka before Labi Siffre’s immense (Something Inside) So Strong. The token obscurity is Chris Birkett’s plaintive Where Do We Go From Here, a bang up to date ’93 tune that also came out as a single on the Polygram TV label. Also rare is Paul Brady’s compelling Light In The Dark, which came out as a cassette-only charity single in Ireland the previous year. The CD ends on a massive high: the full length Brothers In Arms; Dire Straits finest moment. “The minimal-yet-deep lyrics, the almost-whispered singing as if mourning a loved one, the crying guitar riffs that sting the heart in perfect contrast to the restrained singing, the church-like synth cords, the soft drumming and caressing bass line.” (Anon)

Favourite tracks
World Party – Put The Message In The Box

Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms

Lest we forget
Paul Brady – Light In The Dark