Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Sounds Like a Melody

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Released
  
14 May 1984

Genre
  
Synthpop

Format
  
7" single12" maxi

Label
  
WEA

B-side
  
"The Nelson Highrise (Sector One : The Elevator)"

Length
  
4:45 (album version)4:29 (7" single)7:42 (12" maxi)

"Sounds Like a Melody" is a song by the German group Alphaville, from the group's debut album Forever Young. The single was released on 14 May 1984.

Contents

The song was a big success in continental Europe and South Africa, reaching the Top 10; it topped the charts in Italy and Sweden, and was certified Gold in Germany.

Song background

Originally, Alphaville had planned to release "Forever Young" as their second single, to follow the success of "Big in Japan". However, record studio executives requested that Alphaville release an additional song between the two singles, and as a result "Sounds Like a Melody" was written and arranged in just two days. Of the experience, singer Marian Gold said "the whole affair felt like an insult to our naive hippie instincts. Writing music exclusively for the sake of commercial success seemed like the sell-out of our virtual beliefs. On the other hand, did this not open up possibilities for wonderful games to play in the brave new world of pop music?" This corporate pressure caused the band to dislike the song and they refused to play it live for over 10 years.

Track listings

7" Single WEA
  1. "Sounds Like a Melody" – 4:29
  2. "The Nelson Highrise Sector One: the Elevator" – 3:14
12" Maxi WEA
  1. "Sounds Like a Melody (Special Long Version)" – 7:42
  2. "The Nelson Highrise Sector One: the Elevator" – 4:12
  • The 7" and 12" versions differ greatly from the version released later on the album.
  • The B-side is commonly referred to simply as "The Elevator," and a remix appears on 1999's Dreamscapes.

    • Other releases

  • In 1999's Dreamscapes, Alphaville included an early demo of this song as well as a reggae-inspired live version recorded in 1997
  • 2001's Forever Pop includes a new remix (the "Staggman Mix")
  • 2003's CrazyShow includes another new remix ("MaXx Mystery's 80's Remix")
  • 2014's so80s presents Alphaville includes both the original "Special Long Version" and the b-side ("The Elevator")

    • The Nelson Highrise

    This single contains the first of 4 songs that Alphaville have designated as part of "The Nelson Highrise". The other three are:

  • The Nelson Highrise Sector 2 is "The Other Side of U," the B-side to 1986's single "Dance with Me"
  • The Nelson Highrise Sector 3 is "The Garage," the B-side to two 1986 singles, "Jerusalem" and "Sensations"
  • The Nelson Highrise Sector 4 is "The Scum of the Earth," from 2003's CrazyShow

    • Cover versions and samples

    Parts of this song sometimes appear in dance music. In 1993 an Italian Eurodance duo group Cappella made a club hit "U Got 2 Let the Music" by sampling this song.

    It was also covered by the dance group Lichtenfels.

    In 1998, the Serbian Eurodance group Tap 011 released a cover version of this song on Serbian language, with lyrics "Sto dana u mesecu" ("One hundred days in the month"), from their fourth studio album "Igra" ("The Game").

    References

    Sounds Like a Melody Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA