Category: Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson – Say Say Say (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

NEW 2020 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!

Originally posted August 29, 2013

“Say Say Say” is a song written and performed by English musician Paul McCartney and American singer Michael Jackson, released in October 1983 as the lead single to McCartney’s 1983 album Pipes of Peace. Produced by George Martin, the song was recorded during the production of McCartney’s 1982 Tug of War album, about a year before the release of “The Girl Is Mine”, the pair’s first duet from Jackson’s album Thriller (1982).

After its release in October 1983, “Say Say Say” became Jackson’s seventh top-ten hit inside a year. It was a number one hit in the United States (his sixth number-one single there), Canada, Norway, Sweden, and several other countries, reached number two in the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten in Australia, Austria, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and over 20 other nations. In 2013, Billboard magazine listed the song as the 41st biggest hit of all time on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. It has also been voted the ninth-best collaboration of all time in a Rolling Stone readers poll.

The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in December 1983, representing sales of one million copies. The single was promoted with an influential music video directed by Bob Giraldi. The short film centers around two con artists called “Mac and Jack” (played by McCartney and Jackson).

SIDE A:
Say Say Say (Special Version) 5:41
Performed By – Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
Remix –John “Jellybean” Benitez

SIDE B:
Say Say Say (Instrumental Remix) 7:00
Performed By – Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
Remix –John “Jellybean” Benitez

Ode To A Koala Bear 3:45
Performed By – Paul McCartney

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1983 Say Say Say U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #1
1983 Say Say Say U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary #3
1983 Say Say Say U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #2
1983 Say Say Say U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles #2
1983 Say Say Say U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #24

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia ‎– 44-04169, MPL (2) ‎– 44-04169
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: Oct 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, Pop/Rock

CREDITS:
Illustration – Jeff Cummins
Photography By – Linda McCartney
Producer – George Martin

NOTES:
Michael Jackson appears courtesy Epic Records
Special versions from the Columbia LP:
“PIPES OF PEACE”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – Ebony And Ivory (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

NEW 2020 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!

Originally posted March 18, 2012

“Ebony and Ivory” is a 1982 number-one single by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 29 of that year. The song is featured on McCartney’s album Tug of War. A self-empowerment hit that struggles issues of racial equality, the song reached number one on both the UK and the US charts. In 2013, Billboard ranked the song as the 69th biggest hit of all-time on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

At the simplest level, the song is about the ebony (black) and ivory (white) keys on a piano, but also deals with integration and racial harmony on a deeper, human level. The title was inspired by McCartney hearing Spike Milligan say “black notes, white notes, and you need to play the two to make harmony, folks!”. The figure of speech is much older. It was popularized by James Aggrey in the 1920s, inspiring the title of the pan-African journal The Keys, but was in use from at least the 1840s.

The B-side of the single, the song “Rainclouds”, is written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine, though on early pressings of the single the song was credited only to McCartney.

SIDE A:
Ebony And Ivory 3:43
Vocals [Additional] – Stevie Wonder

SIDE B:
Rainclouds 3:08

Ebony And Ivory (Solo Vocal) 3:43
Vocals [Solo] – Paul McCartney

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1982 Ebony And Ivory U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #1
1982 Ebony And Ivory U.S. Billboard US Hot Adult Contemporary Chart #1
1982 Ebony And Ivory U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles #8
1982 Ebony And Ivory U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream rock Tracks #34

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Parlophone – 12R 6054
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Producer – George Martin
Written-By – McCartney*

NOTES:
A-Side: From The Album “Tug Of War”
Stevie Wonder courtesy of Motown Records Inc.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp:
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

Band Aid – Band Aid Special (Japan LP)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

Probably my biggest undertaking to date since I usually do not transfer full albums. I have been working on this off and on over the last rew days and I think it turned out nicely. The Japan pressings always sound very good. I realize this album was released on CD however I prefer vinyl and for those of you who share that love I really hope you enjoy this collection.

Happy, Merry Christmas! -DjPaulT

“Band Aid Special” is a 1985 album compiled by Mercury Records in Japan, released on March 31, 1985 a few months after the release of the single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”. This compilation contains all three mixes of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”that were originally released on 12” single. The rest of the album was filled artists that were involved with the recording of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, along with other artists to fill out the album.

The album was re-issued in December 1985 under the title “Rock ‘Now” 12 Hits!”.

Band Aid is a charity supergroup featuring mainly British and Irish musicians and recording artists.was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia by releasing the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” for the Christmas market that year. On 25 November 1984, the song was recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, and was released in the UK four days later. The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release. The 12″ version was mixed by Trevor Horn.

SIDE A:
Band AidDo They Know It’s Christmas? (12″ Mix) 6:13
Engineer – Trevor Horn
Producer – Midge Ure, Trevor Horn
Remix – Trevor Horn
Written-By – Geldof*, Ure*

Big CountryIn A Big Country 3:52
Producer – Steve Lillywhite
Written-By – Big Country

Marilyn Calling Your Name 4:04
Producer – Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
Written-By – Marilyn, Caplin*

Status QuoMarguerita Time 3:27
Producer – Quo*
Written-By – Frost*, Rossi*

The Boomtown Rats Tonight 3:53
Producer – The Boomtown Rats
Written-By – Bob Geldof

GenesisThat’s All  4:23
Producer – Genesis, Hugh Padgham
Written-By – Genesis

SIDE B:
Band AidDo They Know It’s Christmas? 3:53
Engineer – Steve Lipsom*
Producer – Midge Ure, Trevor Horn
Written-By – Geldof*, Ure*

BBon JoviRunaway 3:51
Producer – Lance Quinn, Tony Bongiovi
Written-By – G. Karak*, J. Bon Jovi*

Elton JohnSad Songs (Say So Much) 4:48
Producer – Chris Thomas
Written-By – Elton John & Bernie Taupin

ABCThe Look Of Love 3:29
Producer – Trevor Horn
Written-By – ABC

Tears For FearsMothers Talk 3:54
Backing Vocals – Stevie Lange
Producer – Chris Hughes
Written-By – Ian Stanley

Band AidFeed The World 4:16
Engineer – Steve Lipsom*
Producer – Midge Ure, Trevor Horn
Written-By – Geldof*, Ure*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
OBI: Near Mint
Insert: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mercury – 25PP-161
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: Japan
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Alternative Rock, New Wave, Pop Rock, Synth-pop

NOTES:
Among super hits of prominent names included on this special compilation album are songs by The Boomtown Rats, Big Country, Genesis, Status Quo, and Marilyn who participated in the Band Aid project.

℗ 1985 Phonogram International, B.V.
Manufactured and Distributed by Nippon Phonogram Co., Ltd.
Made in Japan

Find the LP on DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp:
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube:
Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard:
Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Ferry Aid – Let It Be (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

Although this single was recorded to help victims of a 1987 tragedy. Today we pray for those affected in Manchester, England.

Ferry Aid were a British-American ensemble group, brought together to record the song “Let It Be” in 1987. The single was released following the Zeebrugge Disaster, which had occurred on 6 March 1987 involving the capsizing of the MS Herald of Free Enterprise ferry, which killed 193 passengers and crew. All proceeds from sales of the single were donated to the charity set up in the aftermath of the disaster. The recording was organised by The Sun newspaper, after it had sold cheap tickets for the ferry on that day. “Let It Be” was written by Lennon–McCartney and originally recorded by The Beatles in 1969.

Garry Bushell, then with The Sun newspaper, organised the recording of the song by recruiting record producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman. They then put an invitation out to the music industry for artists to contribute their vocals to the song. Although many stars were initially reluctant to join forces with the newspaper, eventually artists such as Boy George, Kate Bush, Gary Moore and Mark Knopfler agreed to take part. Original writer, Paul McCartney also contributed to the song, although his performance (and section in the accompanying video) were recorded independently in his own studios. In fact, it was later revealed that McCartney used his voice of the original recording of the 1970 Beatles track and added it to the Ferry Aid recording. The song was recorded over three days between 14 and 16 March 1987 and the single was released on Monday 23 March 1987. The first artist to record his part was Mark King (who also played bass guitar on the song) on the Saturday morning, while the last was Paul King on Monday evening.

In the original Beatles recording George Harrison did the guitar solo but for the purposes of this song – as shown in the video – the solo was divided with Gary Moore first, then Mark Knopfler, then back to Gary Moore with Moore’s parts being more ‘rock’ and Knopfler’s being more laid-back.

“Let It Be” reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week on 4 April 1987, and remained at that position for three weeks. It was the 13th best selling single of the year in the UK; it was certified gold for shipping over 500,000 copies. The single was also a number one hit in Norway and Switzerland, and reached the top 10 in several European countries.

Artists to have contributed and performed solo spots on the song are as follows:

Paul McCartney
Boy George
Keren Woodward and Nick Kamen
Paul King
Mark King
Jaki Graham
Taffy
Mark Knopfler (guitar solo)
Andy Bell
Pepsi & Shirlie
Mel and Kim
Gary Moore (guitar solo)
Kim Wilde and Nik Kershaw
Edwin Starr
Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot
Ruby Turner
Kate Bush

The closing choruses of the song feature an ensemble choir featuring many of the above performers as well other recording artists. The back-up chorus consisted of:

The Alarm, John Altman, Debee Ashby, Al Ashton, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Simon Bates, Alison Bettles, Jenny Blythe, Errol Brown, Miquel Brown, Bucks Fizz, Jay Carly, The Christians, Nick Conway, Linda Davidson, Hazell Dean, Anne Diamond, Difford and Tilbrook, Doctor and the Medics, The Drifters, Drum Theatre, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Roy Gayle, Go West, Carol Hitchcock, Felix Howard, Gloria Hunniford, Imagination, Jenny Jay, Ellie Laine, Annabel Lamb, Stephanie Lawrence, Loose Ends, Linda Lusardi, Ruth Madoc, Bobby McVey, Suzanne Mizzi, The New Seekers, Sadie Nine, The Nolans, Hazel O’Connor, Mike Osman, Su Pollard, Tim Polley, Pamela Power, Maxi Priest, Princess, Jimmy Pursey, Suzi Quatro, Mike Read, Sally Sagoe, Nejdet Salih, Ray Shell, Mandy Smith, Neville Stapleton, Alvin Stardust, Steve Strange, Sylvia Tella, Terraplane, Bonnie Tyler, Maria Whittaker, Working Week.

SIDE A:
Let It Be 6:30
Engineer – Mark McGuire
Mixed By – Burni Adams, Jamie Bromfield

SIDE B:
Let It Be (Mega Message Mix) 6:11
Mixed By – Jamie Bromfield

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Profile Records ‎– PRO-7147
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Pop
Style: Pop/Rock

CREDITS:
Bass – Mark King
Drums – A. Lynn
Guitar – Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler
Keyboards – Matt Aitken, Mike Stock
Producer – Stock/Aitken/Waterman*
Written-By – Lennon/McCartney*

NOTES:
Recorded at PWL Studios.
Special thanks to: Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp:
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube:
Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard:
ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning:
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi