Year: 2019

Red Flag – If I Ever (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989

“If I Ever” is a song by the American synthpop band Red Flag. It was released in 1989 as the third single from their debut album “Naive Art”. The song charted highly on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, peaking at #12. The song was remixed by Razormaid Remix Service founders Joseph watt and Art Maharg.

SIDE A:
If I Ever (12″ Dance Mix) 6:50
If I Ever (LP Version) 3:40

SIDE B:
If I Ever (Instrumental) 4:43
If I Ever (Dub Mix) 6:38

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1989 If I Ever U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #12

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Enigma Records (3) ‎– 7 75527-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer, Mixed By – Joseph Watt
Producer – Paul Robb
Remix – Art Maharg
Written-By – Reynolds*, Reynolds*

NOTES:
Taken From The Enigma Release “Naive Art”
East engraved clockwise in the spindle area on the B side (as shown) <=E ^=A >=S v=T

Mastered by Capitol.

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

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

The Communards – Don’t Leave Me This Way (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Don’t Leave Me This Way” is a song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. First charting as a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass, an act on Gamble & Huff’s Philadelphia International label in 1975, “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was later a disco hit for Motown artist Thelma Houston in 1977.

The song was covered by British group the Communards in a Hi-NRG version. This recording topped the UK charts for four weeks in September 1986, becoming the biggest selling record of the year in the process. The featured guest vocalist was the female jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris. The song became a Top 40 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Dance chart. In 2015 the song was voted by the British public as the nation’s 16th favorite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.

The album liner notes dedicate the song to the GLC (Greater London Council).

SIDE A:
Don’t Leave Me This Way (Mega Mix) 11:32

SIDE B:
Don’t Leave Me This Way (The Gotham City Mix) 13:34
Don’t Leave Me This Way (LP Version) 4:50

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1986 Don’t Leave Me This Way U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #40
1986 Don’t Leave Me This Way U.S. Billboard Hot Gance Music/Club Play #1

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA-23665
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, Hi NRG

CREDITS:
Design – Accident (8)
Engineer – Carl Beatty
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Fernando Kral
Featuring [With] – Sarah Jane Morris
Keyboards – Richard Coles
Lead Vocals – Jimmy Somerville, Sarah Jane Morris
Photography By – Mike Prior (2)
Producer – Mike Thorne
Written-By – Cary Gilbert, Kenneth Gamble, Leon A. Huff*

NOTES:
Original version appears on the MCA LP, MCA-5794, “Communards”
Recorded in England

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

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

Erasure – The Circus (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“The Circus” is a song by British synthpop duo Erasure, released in September 1987 as the band’s seventh single overall. It is also the title track on their second album, The Circus.

The album version clocks at 5.30 minutes, so the song was remixed for the single release to a much more radio-friendly 3:50 minutes. Mute Records issued it as the fourth and final single from the album.

Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, “The Circus” was a departure from the shiny pop of their six previous singles, creating a more down-tempo and melancholy mood. Essentially a synthpop track, the music is accentuated by acoustic guitar and a continuous circus-like accordion. The lyrics touch on social issues, rare for the duo, and center on the lament of “working men”, whose bright futures and job securities are left shattered in the modern world of greedy corporations and technology.

The song’s distinctive and unusual sound is said to have been inspired by Bell hearing a record being played backward.

Despite its haunting quality and dark lyrical content, “The Circus” became Erasure’s third UK Top 10 hit, peaking at number six.

SIDE A:
The Circus (Gladiator Mix) 6:08
Remix – Dave Powell

The Circus (Decay Mix) 5:33
Remix – Paul Kendall

SIDE B:
The Circus (Bareback Mix) 6:36
Mixed By – Pascal Gabriel

The Circus (DJ Mix) 3:52
Remix – Flood

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire ‎– 0-20822, Mute ‎– 0-20822, Sire ‎– 9 20822-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Artwork – Company Me*
Backing Vocals – Derek Smith (3), Steve Myers
Mastered By [Side 2 Runout Etching ⁀⁀ ⁀⁀] – Brian Gardner
Producer – Flood
Written-By – Clarke/Bell

NOTES:
A1 remixed at Konk.
A2 remixed at Blackwing.
B2 remixed at Trident Studios. Flood’s DJ Mix is an edit of the album version that is faster and pitched higher.

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

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