Further to our vigorous discussion of Talk, a nice bit of trivia from the good old NFTE:
Greetings all. Over the weekend before Talk came out, I picked up the promo CD single for "The Calling" from my local rarites dealer. It contains three different edits of the song plus the original version. Imagine my surprise a few days later when I found that the original version of the song is not on the album (not on the US release, anyway). The four tracks are: Radio Edit (5:58) The only version that I have heard on the radio. An apt title, I suppose then. Edited out are the funky guitar/keyboard break (occurs about 3:00 into the original version) and the long quiet part that immediately follows. Single Edit (4:39) Like the radio edit, but with the harmonized vocal intro edited out (that is, the first verse starts where we would expect the harmonized intro to start), and an very early faded-out ending. Album Edit (6:55) You guessed it, the same version that is on the album. Like the original version, but with the long quiet part (for lack of a better name) edited out. Silly me, I was puzzled for a few days as to why they called this the "Album Edit", but now I know. Original Version (8:06) This is the version some have heard on the radio, and I believe it was played at the premiere party. There is a soft quiet part right after the guitar/keyboard break. To give those who haven't heard it an idea of what it sounds like, I halfway expected Anderson to start singing "Awaken" during it. The cover to the cardboard sleeve is exactly like that of the album (minus the word "Talk", naturally). Stranger still is the fact that the words "The Calling" do not appear anywhere on the cover. The spine reads "Yes - The First Track From Talk". The back cover reads "The First Track From Talk", and "Start TALK-ing now!" (duh). Was there perhaps some indecision over what the first single would be? The number on the spine is CDP 1178, if that helps anyone, and I paid $4 for it.

The first time I heard “The Calling,” a rock radio station in Northern California played it, and it was the extended version. I was a bit disappointed to not hear that version when the album came out.
I’m not sure my thoughts on it merit an entire review, but like many, I love the bookends of the album, namely “The Calling” and “Endless Dream,” but I always thought “Walls” was a fine single. The only tune I never was a fan of was “State Of Play,” which I thought was better suited for a Rabin solo album.
I get why people who narrowly define prog as a sound/feel/structure from the 70’s would dismiss the Rabin era, but I think it’s just as progressive as the 70’s Yessongs. Why? It dared to be different, it dared to declare that if the 80’s material sounded like the 70’s, then it wasn’t a step forward.
Anyone can write a lengthy track, but being able to combine solid songwriting and great playing in a tighter song format…that’s not easy. Rush did it, Asia did it, GTR did it, 3 did it, Yes did it, Toy Matinee did it, and Mr. Mister – yes, Mr. Mister – did it. It Bites does it now, which probably explains why “The Tall Ships” was my favorite album of the last decade.
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Great find, Chris! Love this extended version – bolsters my theory that they were trying to meet halfway between their legacies of the 70’s and 80’s.
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