Category: George Michael

December 4, 2014

Wham! – Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special U.S. Re-Mix) (UK 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be another remix of Wham!’s 1982 classic Wham Rap!. This UK 12″ promo contains an exclusive remix on the b-side called “Special U.S. 7″ Remix”. The mix has a very interesting drumstick countdown during the intro. The 12″ comes in a plain white sleeve with a custom hype sticker. The labels are plain white with handwritten track titles.

SIDE A:
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special U.S. Re-Mix) 6:43

SIDE B:
Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do) (Special U.S. 7″ Remix) 3:33

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– XPR1227
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, White Label, Promo
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Bob Carter
Remix – George Michael
Written-By – Andrew Ridgeley, George Michael

NOTES:
Side B is an exclusive mix.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: 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

September 16, 2014

Wham! – Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) (Netherlands 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)” is a 1982 song by British pop duo Wham! Released in June 1982, this was the pair’s debut single. Credited to Panos/Ridgeley (ie George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley), it was produced by Bob Carter on the Innervision label.

According to Rob Jovanovic in his 2007 biography of George Michael, the song “depicted the world as they saw it” although it was “hardly a rap as we know it today.” The message is that if you’re young and unemployed, have fun. Of course, most people who are faced with especially long term unemployment find life a struggle, but youthful optimism certainly paid off for this dynamic duo. David Austin and Paul Ridgeley (Andrew’s brother) added backing vocals.

The first DJ to play “Wham Rap!” on BBC Radio was Peter Powell; it was chosen by the music paper Sounds as its single of the week, but could reach only #105 in the UK chart.

This 7″ includes the original 1982 version on the A side which is the video version. Side B is the “club mix” whic is an edit of the “social mix”.

SIDE A:
Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) 3:30

SIDE B:
Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do) (Club Mix) 4:02

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– EPCA 2442, Inner Vision ‎– A 2442
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Bob Carter
Written-By – Ridgeley*, Panos (2)

NOTES:
Printed in Holland

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
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

August 5, 2014

Aretha Franklin & George Michael – I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (UK 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” is a Grammy Award-winning #1 song performed by Aretha Franklin and George Michael as a duet in 1987. It was written by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan. It also stands as Aretha’s biggest hit at Adult Contemporary radio, spending several weeks at #2. Despite selling more than a million US copies, the single was never certified.

The song was not originally written as a duet. Climie and Morgan pitched the song to Tina Turner as well to Aretha Franklin and Arista Records head Clive Davis. It was Davis’ idea to get Franklin and George Michael to record the song as a duet.

Narada Michael Walden, who worked with Aretha on her Who’s Zoomin’ Who album, produced this track. He also produced the song this displaced at the top spot of the Hot 100: “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship. This made him the eighth producer in the Rock Era to score back-to-back #1 hits.

The “Instrumental” only appears as the b-side of the 7″ single releases.

SIDE A:
I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) 4:00

SIDE B:
I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (Instrumental) 4:00

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1987	I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)	U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	#2
1987	I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs	#12
1987	I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)	U.S. Cashbox Top 100 Singles	#1

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– DUET 2
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 19 Jan 1987
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, Soul

CREDITS:
Producer, Arranged By – Narada Michael Walden
Written-By – Morgan*, Climie*

NOTES:
From the LP “ARETHA”
Produced for Perfection Light Productions.

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
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

July 9, 2014

Wham! – Club Fantastic Megamix (UK 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Club Fantastic Megamix” was a single released by Wham! in 1983, and was the last single release for the duo on Inner Vision Records. The single was released in both 7″ and 12″ formats. The 7″ contains a rare edit of the 12″ mix.

*A note about this transfer. The b-side “A Ray Of Sunshine (Instrumental Mix)” is taken from the UK 12″. I did this because the 7″ sounded pretty bad I usually do not do this but in this case it was necessary.

SIDE A:
Club Fantastic Megamix (Edit Version) 3:57
Mixed By, Arranged By – Megamix Club, The

(A.1) A Ray Of Sunshine
Written-By – George Michael

(A.2) Love Machine
Written-By – W Griffin*, W Moore*

(A.3) Come On
Written-By – George Michael

SIDE B:
A Ray Of Sunshine (Instrumental Mix) 5:40
Written-By, Arranged By – George Michael

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Inner Vision ‎– A 3586
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design [Sleeve] – Shoot That Tiger!
Photography – Chris Craymer
Producer – George Michael, Steve Brown

NOTES:
The album “FANTASTIC” also available on cassette.

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
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