BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

Re-Rip Remaster

Originally I posted this one on Blogger back in January of 2010. But I have made some upgrades to equipment since then and decided that this 12″ need to be on this blog and it would fit nicely along side the previous “Smooth Operator” post. I hope that you like the new transfer.

“Hang on to Your Love” is a song by the English group Sade from their debut album, Diamond Life (1984). It was released in late 1984 as the album’s first U.S. single.

SIDE A:
Hang On To Your Love (Long Version)   6:00

SIDE B:
Hang On To Your Love (Short Version)   4:19

Vinyl Grade:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

CHARTS:

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Portrait
Catalog#: 4R9-05122
Format: Vinyl, 12″
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Funk / Soul, Jazz, Rock
Style: Lounge, Soul-Jazz, Soul, Contemporary Jazz
Credits: Producer – Robin Millar
Written-By – Adu* , Matthewman*

NOTES:
Special Version From The Portrait LP: “DIAMOND LIFE” BFR 39581.

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

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

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Smooth Operator” is a song by the English group Sade, released as the fourth and final single from their debut album Diamond Life (1984).

This was Sade’s first Top Ten hit in the U.S., peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks in May 1985. The song spent thirteen weeks in the Top Forty, and also topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks. Although “Your Love Is King” remains Sade’s biggest hit in the UK to date, “Smooth Operator” is the band’s breakthrough hit on the U.S. charts, and their most successful single internationally.

Ray St. John, who co-wrote “Smooth Operator” with Sade Adu, was previously a member of Adu’s former band Pride, although he was not a member of the band Sade. The pair co-wrote the song in 1982 while still members of Pride, yet did not get around to recording it because St. John left Pride shortly after Sade joined. St. John later went on to play guitar with the band Halo James, which scored a UK Top Ten hit with “Could Have Told You So” in February 1990.

“Smooth Operator” is about a fashionable man who lives a jet-set lifestyle. He is popular with women and breaks many hearts. The lyrics “Coast to Coast, LA to Chicago, Western Male, Across the north and south, to Key Largo, love for sale” imply that he uses women to sustain himself. It is also clear that he does not return the affections of these women, as Adu sings near the end, “His heart is cold.”

This song is noted for Sade’s spoken recitation in the song’s introduction. Some radio edits have omitted the spoken Introduction, and proceeded with the opening sung line of the title of the album, “Diamond Life”. Some radio edits have shortened the instrumental saxophone solo, as well as the first repeat of the lines that come after the Chorus portions.

The US 12″ promo contains an exclusive nearly nine minute version.

SIDE A:
Smooth Operator (Long Version)   4:54
Smooth Operator (Short Version) 3:47

SIDE B:
Smooth Operator 8:50

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Mint (generic)

CHARTS:

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Portrait
Catalog#: AS 2013
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul, Jazz
Style: Soul-Jazz, Downtempo
Credits: Producer – Robin Millar
Written-By – St. John* , Adu*

NOTES:
Taken From The Portrait LP: “Diamond Life” BFR 39581
Demonstration. Not for sale.

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

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