"Open Your Mind" is a song by Italian

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music group

U.S.U.R.A. U.S.U.R.A. was an Italian electronic dance music group active from 1991-1998, best known for their crossover hit "Open Your Mind". History U.S.U.R.A. was started by Time Records owner Giacomo Maiolini, producers Walter Cremonini and Alessandro ...

, released as the debut single and title track from the group's only album, ''Open Your Mind'' (1993). Released in 1993 through Italian Style in Italy and through

Deconstruction Records Deconstruction Records is a British record label founded in 1987 by Pete Hadfield and Keith Blackhurst, together with Mike Pickering of M People. According to ''DJ Magazine'' it is "best remembered for marrying underground credibility and diver ...

across the rest of Europe and Australia, it samples the song "New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)" by Scottish band

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United St ...

. Following a period of underground popularity, "Open Your Mind" became a mainstream hit in early 1993, reaching the top five in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland and the top 10 in Germany, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. A 1997 remix by

DJ Quicksilver Orhan Terzi (born 28 June 1964), better known by his stage name DJ Quicksilver, is a German-Turkish DJ and music producer. His stage name derives from his days taking part in DJ contests, where a mercury column would gauge audience reaction. Ea ...

failed to replicate the success of the original.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

of ''

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'' magazine called the track a "fast'n'furious romp, overflowing with stately strings, shoulder-shaking percussion, and more than a few imaginative vocal samples", citing the song's melody as the most productive component. In a later review, Flick doubted the song's commercial potential because of the lack of additional remixes, but he went on the write that "Open Your Mind" was "strong enough to merit a recurrent spin or two". On the 1997 release, he described it as a "

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

-splashed twirler that is light on lyrics (think "open your mind" over and over and over) but heavy on rubbery rhythms and keyboard loops that permanently stick to the brain upon impact." He added, "Not likely to be a long-lasting entry but certainly a memorable one." In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

wrote, "Just to show that nothing is ever what it seems, even at a time when hardcore dance is losing its chart edge, a

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track can come from nowhere into the 10." A reviewer from ''

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'' magazine described the song as having a "pace worth keeping up" and characterised it as a "stomper". Chris Finan from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update gave the 1997 remix four out of five, adding, "More cosmetic covering of the original without too much playing around has resulted in a definite commercial club-friendly track with the all-important crossover potential." Joe Muggs of ''

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'' listed the track in his 2014 list of "35 stunners from back when progressive house wasn't terrible", calling it "Crass but brilliant – as is the none-more-nineties video".

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. It features images of

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and

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Track listings

"Open Your Mind"

* Australian CD and maxi-CD single # "Open Your Mind" (Restricted Mix edit) – 3:40 # "Open Your Mind" (classic mix) – 5:16 # "Open Your Mind" (Fishpop Mix) – 5:14 # "Open Your Mind" (Tatata Mix) – 5:18

"Open Your Mind '97"

* European maxi-CD # "Open Your Mind '97" (

radio edit) – 3:02 # "Open Your Mind '97" (original radio cut) – 3:01 # "Open Your Mind '97" (DJ Quicksilver Remix) – 6:07 # "Open Your Mind '97" (De Donatis Remix) – 7:45 * Australian maxi-CD # "Open Your Mind '97" (DJ Quicksilver radio mix) – 3:57 # "Open Your Mind '97" (original radio cut) – 3:01 # "Open Your Mind '97" (T.S. Triponphunky Remix) – 6:53 # "Open Your Mind '97" (De Donatis Remix) – 7:46 # "Open Your Mind '97" (M.U.T.E. Remix) – 4:50 # "Open Your Mind" (original classic mix) – 5:18

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Reflist 1992 songs 1993 singles 1997 singles Animated music videos Deconstruction Records singles Songs written by Charlie Burchill Songs written by Derek Forbes Songs written by Jim Kerr Techno songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles