BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984
“Freedom” is a hit song by British pop duo Wham!. It became the group’s second number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and reached number three in the United States. It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo.
Wham! had already enjoyed a successful 1984 by the time “Freedom” was released in August of the year. “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” had given them their first UK number one and had then reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. George had then gone to number one with a solo single, “Careless Whisper”. Then after, Wham! had their second American number one song with “Everything She Wants”.
SIDE A:
Freedom (Single Remix) 5:19
SIDE B
Freedom (Album Version) 5:02
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Freedom | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #3 |
| 1985 | Freedom | U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | #4 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – CAS 2122
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Pop
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Producer, Arranged By, Written-By – George Michael
NOTES:
From the album “MAKE IT BIG”
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
Phono Pre-amp: Schiit Mani
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
Username: btg
Password: burningtheground
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TY
As far as I can tell, these are the only Wham!-related, vinyl-only releases yet to be digitized:
Going for It (short 7″ version) (Young Guns 7″ B-side)
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special U.S. Remix Part 2) (7″ B-side) – this one might be the same as the Special Club Re-Mix?
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Extended Version) (Philippines 12″ single)
Careless Whisper (Instrumental Sound Shower Mix) (Japan 12″ promo single)
Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas? (1985 single re-release remix by Trevor Horn)
David Austin – Turn to Gold mini-album
Am I missing anything?
well, wham! did not put so much effort in their 12” singles, and this one is not an exception….
…ok, is it just me that’s curious on what the heck both of them are looking at? George especially has a WTF? look on his face… 🙂
Thanks for this one Paul ! Hey check your email for kaex i sent you something the other day 🙂
Thank you for this! Another great 12” promo done justice by you!
Thanks so much, Paul! I have not heard these 2 particular mixes before, just the long 7+ minute mix. Quickly listening to these 2, I don’t know what the difference is other than time. I don’t hear any different arrangement or instrumentation, at least again, with quick listens. It’s also interesting that they would release a 5:19 “single” version when a)it’s longer than the album cut and b)pop radio rarely plays anything longer than 4 minutes.
The arrangement is different Fred with the remix sounding much fuller. The ending is also different with additional ad-libs by George. Radio definitely played it reaching #3 on Billboard. The 7″ also clocks in at 5 min plus. to me, the “Album Version” sounds more like a stripped down demo.
To me the most striking difference is the single remix has some positively aggressive tambourine pounding that is not in the album version at all.
Thank you Paul for these promo remixes. I love Wham! and early George Michael. Very fun and innocent, in a way.
Jeff
You’re welcome, Jeff 🙂
thank you for this. Heartbeat should’ve been a single!
i agree mattNYC loved that track 🙂
Thanks Paul. For me, the Fantastic era singles were superb as there were many more remixes available. Any chance you might have some early remixes that you’ve not posted yet?
I think I have pretty much posted all of my Wham! stuff in the past.