Burning The Ground Exclusive 1982
NEW 2023 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!
Originally posted December 12, 2012
“Der Kommissar” (German: [deːɐ̯ kɔmɪˈsaːɐ̯]; “The Commissioner”) is a song originally recorded by Austrian artist Falco in 1981. The song was written by Robert Ponger and Falco.
In mid-1982, British rock band After the Fire recorded an English version, also titled “Der Kommissar”, and released it as a single, but the record floundered. Coming off a tour opening for Van Halen, After the Fire was working on material for a new album when in December 1982, the group announced onstage during a concert that they were disbanding. Both the After the Fire and Falco versions were rising on the Canadian charts at the time, but neither had cracked the US pop charts. Around that time, American singer Laura Branigan began working on her second studio album, Branigan 2, and she recorded “Deep in the Dark”, a new song written over the melody and arrangement of “Der Kommissar” which was prepared for release. Then the After the Fire version finally hit the US Billboard Hot 100 on 22 February 1983, and started rising. Though its version barely nicked their home country’s Top 50, in 1983 the song’s music video received extensive airplay on MTV propelling its popularity on US radio. The song entered the US top 40 on 5 March 1983, peaking at No. 5, and spending a total of 14 weeks in the top 40. The single was released under the Epic Records label. Amidst all this renewed attention to the composition, Falco’s own version, which had done well in some US markets but not charted nationally, was re-released, but the German-language record remained essentially a novelty hit there, charting concurrently with the After the Fire version but not rising above No. 74 on the Cashbox chart.
In Canada, Falco’s version had peaked at No. 11 the same late-January week that After the Fire’s version peaked at No. 12. After the Fire’s record company, CBS, pleaded with the band to regroup, but to no avail. While UK promotional singles for “Deep in the Dark” were pressed (the After the Fire version missed the UK top 40 and the Falco version failed to chart there), Branigan’s record company, Atlantic, officially released “Solitaire” in the United States, where that song peaked at No. 7.
SIDE A:
Der Kommissar (Special Extended Remix) 5:43
SIDE B:
Der Kommissar (Dub Remix) 4:50
Engineer [Remix] – Michael Frondelli
Remix [Remix By] – Bruce Harris, Gregg Winter, Jane Brinton
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Der Kommissar | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #5 |
| 1983 | Der Kommissar | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #4 |
| 1983 | Der Kommissar | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | #17 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic – 49-03490
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
NOTES:
Special Version From The Epic LP: ATF
Though not specifically labeled as such, side A is an extended remix and side B is a dub with chorus vocals only.
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: 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:
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
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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