Category: Pet Shop Boys

September 29, 2021

Pet Shop Boys – So Hard (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1990

“So Hard” is a song by English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990). The song is about “two people living together; they are totally unfaithful to each other but they both pretend they are faithful and then catch each other out”. It peaked at No. 4 in the United Kingdom and reached the top three in at least seven European countries, including Finland, where it reached No. 1.

In the United States “So Hard” was a huge club hit peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Dance Chart on December 7, 1990, after spending fourteen weeks on the survey, “So Hard” also reached No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart respectively.

SIDE A:
So Hard (Extended Dance Mix) 6:37
So Hard (Single) 3:59

SIDE B:
So Hard (Dub) 7:34
Edited By – Danton Supple

It Must Be Obvious 4:24
Engineer, Mixed By – Danton Supple

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1990	So Hard	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#62
1990	So Hard	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI USA – V-56194
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: Oct 4, 1990
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Brian Reeves (tracks: A1 to B1)
Mixed By – Julian Mendelsohn (tracks: A1 to B1)
Producer – Harold Faltermeyer (tracks: A1 to B1), Pet Shop Boys
Programmed By [Additional] – Dominic Clarke
Written-By – Neil Tennant And Chris Lowe*

NOTES:
Printed in USA.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
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

June 17, 2021

Pet Shop Boys – It’s A Sin (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1987

Celebrating Pride 2021

NEW 2021 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Restoration!

Originally posted March 20, 2013

“It’s a Sin” is a song by English synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, Actually (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album’s lead single. It became the duo’s second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks atop the chart. Additionally, the single topped the charts in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, while reaching number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100.

A demo of the track was first cut in 1984 with Bobby Orlando, and the song’s form in the demo remained intact to the final version, although the released production is far more dramatic.

The dramatic, overblown production style of the song, loaded with synthesizers, orchestra hits, and bookended by a non sequitur sample of a NASA countdown, has come to exemplify the most theatrical extremes of the Pet Shop Boys’ musical style.[3] It remains a concert staple, being one of only two songs (alongside “West End Girls”) that has been played during every Pet Shop Boys tour.

The band stated at the time that they had been keen for Stock Aitken Waterman to produce the song, as they were huge fans. Neil has stated that Pete Waterman hated the demo so they turned instead to SAW’s remix engineer Phil Harding to remix the song for the US release (which went uncredited on the sleeve). They would work with him again on “I’m Not Scared”, the single they wrote for the Patsy Kensit band Eighth Wonder and remixes of “Always on My Mind”.

Bursting with melodramatic orchestral stabs, a NASA countdown, and huge-sounding, sweeping synths “It’s A Sin” secured itself in Gay culture permanently becoming a Pride Anthem.

SIDE A:
It’s A Sin (Phil Harding Latin Vocal Mix) 9:16
Keyboards [Fairlight] – Andy Richards
Remix – Pet Shop Boys , Phil Harding

It’s A Sin (Phil Harding Latin Dub Mix) 4:22
Keyboards [Fairlight] – Andy Richards
Remix – Pet Shop Boys , Phil Harding

SIDE B:
It’s A Sin (Remix) 8:16
Remix – Ian Levine

It’s A Sin (Disco Mix) 7:42
Mixed By [Additional] – Stephen Hague

You Know Where You Went Wrong 5:51
Producer – Pet Shop Boys, Shep Pettibone

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	It’s A Sin	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#9
1987	It’s A Sin	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#3

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– V-19256
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: June 15, 1987
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, Hi NRG, Freestyle

CREDITS:
Mastered By – Herbie Jr. :^)*
Producer [Additional] – Stephen Hague (tracks: A1, A2, B2)
Producer, Engineer – Julian Mendelsohn (tracks: A1 to B2)
Written-By – Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe*

NOTES:
Packaged in 3-track sleeve for 1st 12″, stickered “4 special mixes of ‘It’s a Sin’”.

A1 and B1 “remixed in the U.K. for the USA”
A1 AKA “Phil Harding Latin Vocal Mix”
A2 as “Phil Harding Latin Dub Mix”

Sleeve mistakenly lists:
(Album version can be heard on the forthcoming album, “Jealousy”-ELT-46972)

Helena Springs courtesy of Arista Records.

(Album version can be heard on the LP, “Actually”-ELJ-46972)

“You Know Where You Went Wrong” (Not Available on the album “Actually”-ELJ-46972)

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Password: burningtheground

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

February 23, 2021

Pet Shop Boys – Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) (Version Latina) (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” was originally released in 1985. The song was written during the Pet Shop Boys’ formative years, in 1983. According to Neil Tennant, the main lyrical concept came while in a recording studio in Camden Town when Chris Lowe asked him to make up a lyric based around the line “Let’s make lots of money”.

The first version of the song, recorded with the duo’s first producer, Bobby Orlando, was not released; upon signing with record label Parlophone, they re-recorded the song with J. J. Jeczalik (of Art of Noise) and Nicholas Froome. Parlophone released the original “Dance Mix” along with a second 12″ which included “Version Latina” and “Dub For Money” featuring additional remixes by The Latin Rascals. Many of the 12″ single releases were mispressed with incorrect mixes on the records along with incorrect mix titles on the sleeves and labels.

The 1985 version peaked at #116 in the UK, and #63 in Australia not charting in the USA.

The sleeve on this 12″ incorrectly lists “Dance Mix” on the A-side which is actually “Version Latina”, “In The Night” is not included on this release the b-side actually plays “Dub For Mobey”. The original “Dance Mix” is included on the Canada 12″ which I previously posted.

SIDE A:
Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) (Versión Latina) 5:28
Producer – J.J. Jeczalik, Nicholas Froome, Ron Dean Miller
Remix, Edited By – The Latin Rascals

SIDE B:
Opportunities (Dub For Money) 4:49
Producer – J.J. Jeczalik, Nicholas Froome, Ron Dean Miller
Remix, Edited By – The Latin Rascals

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Parlophone ‎– 12 R 6097
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Mispress, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Composed By – Tennant/Lowe*
Photography By – Eric Watson (3)
Sleeve – XL Design

NOTES:
Remix titles not listed on the labels.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
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

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Password: burningtheground

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

February 22, 2021

Pet Shop Boys – Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) (Canada 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

NEW 2021 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!

Originally posted March 21, 2017

“Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” is a song by UK duo Pet Shop Boys, released as a single in 1985 and then in 1986, gaining greater popularity in both the United Kingdom and the United States with its second release, reaching number 11 in the UK Singles Chart and number 10 in the US Billboard Hot 100.

The song’s indirect attack on its subject matter has come to exemplify the Pet Shop Boys as ironists in their songwriting.

This 12″ is for the 1986 re-release which became a worldwide hit and features remixes by noted 1980s producer Shep Pettibone.

Shep Pettibone did not mix “Was That What It Was?”; he was booked to do so but missed his plane, and his manager, Jane Brinton, mixed the song in his absence. It is unknown if Shep Pettibone was consulting the manager over the phone. This fact went unnoticed until Pet Shop Boys revealed it in the liner notes for the Alternative anthology of B-sides and rarities (1995), though Jane Brinton gets a “Thanks to” mention on the 12″ cover.

After a Super Bowl ad featuring the song, it re-entered the Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart at No. 1 on February 20, 2021.

** The original transfer that I did in 2017 had a mastering error in the vinyl that created a 2-second gap of silence at around 4:00 on track B2. I have corrected this error for this transfer.

SIDE A:
Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) (Shep Pettibone Mastermix) 7:18
Engineer [Mix] – Andy Wallace
Producer [Additional Production] – Stephen Hague
Producer [Original Production] – J.J. Jeczalik, Nicholas Froome
Recorded By [New York Overdubs By] – Ron Dean Miller
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] – Shep Pettibone

Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) (Reprise) 4:27
Engineer [Mix] – Andy Wallace
Producer [Additional Production] – Stephen Hague
Producer [Original Production] – J.J. Jeczalik, Nicholas Froome
Recorded By [New York Overdubs By] – Ron Dean Miller
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] – Shep Pettibone

SIDE B:
Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money) (Original Dance Mix) 6:45
Producer – J.J. Jeczalik, Nicholas Froome

Was That What It Was? 5:14
Mixed By – Shep Pettibone
Mixed By [Uncredited] – Jane Brinton
Producer – Pet Shop Boys

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#10
1986	Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#3
1986	Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	#16
2021	Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)	U.S. Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales	#1

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– S 75146
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Canada
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Sleeve – Mark Farrow, P.S.B.*
Written-By – N. Tennant-C. Lowe*

NOTES:
A1, A2, and B2 remixed for Mastermix Productions

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Password: burningtheground

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