BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987
RE-RIP REMASTER:
I had originally posted this 12″ last January on the old blogger site and was never really happy with it. So when someone requested it I decided to rip it again using some new equipment upgrades that I didn’t have on the old rip. Trust me this rip is way better. Even the artwork scans are new. So grab it while it’s hot!
BACKGROUND:
“It’s a Sin” is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1987.
Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, “It’s a Sin” was the lead single from the duo’s second “proper” album, Actually. Released in June 1987, it became the duo’s second UK number one single. It was also a massive hit across Europe, supposedly the best-selling European single of 1987. In the United States it reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the duo’s third Top 10 hit there. A demo of the track was first cut in 1984 with Bobby O, and the song’s form in the demo remained intact to the final version, although the released production is far more dramatic.
The song is a description of Tennant’s Catholic upbringing and education at St Cuthbert’s High School in Newcastle upon Tyne. The song uses extensive samples from Latin masses (specifically, Tennant reciting a part of the Confiteor, and other sounds recorded at locations such as Westminster Cathedral) and religious imagery throughout to reinforce the feel of the song. Tennant has said that he wrote the lyrics in 15 minutes, purging his emotions in a moment of frustration and anger.
The Latin passage near the end translates as, “I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, act, and omission, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault”.
The dramatic, overblown production style of the song, loaded with synthesizers, orchestra hits and bookended by a non sequitur sample of a NASA countdown, has come to exemplify the most theatrical extremes of the Pet Shop Boys’ musical style. To date, it remains a concert staple, being one of only two songs (alongside “West End Girls”) that has been played during every Pet Shop Boys tour
CONTROVERSY:
At the time of the single’s release, British DJ Jonathan King accused Pet Shop Boys of plagiarising the melody for “It’s a Sin” from Cat Stevens’ 1971 hit, “Wild World”. He made the claims in The Sun newspaper, for which he wrote a regular column during the 1980s. King also released his own cover version of “Wild World” as a single, using a similar musical arrangement to “It’s a Sin”, in an effort to demonstrate his claims. This single flopped, while Pet Shop Boys sued King, eventually winning out-of-court damages, which they donated to charity.
SIDE A:
It’s A Sin (Vocal Mix) AKA “Phil Harding Latin Vocal Mix” 9:14
Keyboards [Fairlight] – Andy Richards
Remix – Pet Shop Boys , Phil Harding
It’s A Sin (Dub) AKA “Phil Harding Latin Dub Mix” 4:20
Keyboards [Fairlight] – Andy Richards
Remix – Pet Shop Boys , Phil Harding
SIDE B:
It’s A Sin (Remix) 8:18
Remix – Ian Levine
It’s A Sin (Disco Mix) 7:39
Mixed By [Additional] – Stephen Hague
You Know Where You Went Wrong 5:49
Producer – Pet Shop Boys , Shep Pettibone
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint
CHARTS:
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1987 |
It’s A Sin |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 |
#9 |
| 1987 |
It’s A Sin |
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play |
#3 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America
Catalog#: V-19256
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Latin, Synth-pop
Credits: Producer [Additional] – Stephen Hague (tracks: A1, A2, B2)
Producer, Engineer – Julian Mendelsohn (tracks: A1 to B2)
Written-By – Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe*
NOTES:
Packaged in 3-track sleeve for 1st 12″, stickered “4 special mixes of ‘It’s a Sin’”.
A1 and B1 “remixed in the U.K. for the USA”
A1 AKA “Phil Harding Latin Vocal Mix”
A2 as “Phil Harding Latin Dub Mix”
Sleeve mistakenly lists:
(Album version can be heard on the forthcoming album, “Jealousy”-ELT-46972)
Helena Springs courtesy of Arista Records.
(Album version can be heard on the LP, “Actually”-ELJ-46972)
“You Know Where You Went Wrong” (Not Available on the album “Actually”-ELJ-46972)
Find The 12″ on DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super 20
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 16bit 44kHz using Adobe batch processing
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi PNG format, resized to JPEG format for posting.
PW: burningtheground
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