Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984
“Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)” is the seventh single released by British pop band Scritti Politti, issued in the UK on 24 February 1984 by Virgin Records. It later appeared on the band’s second studio album Cupid & Psyche 85 (released in June 1985) and was produced by Arif Mardin. The song’s subtitle is a reference to “I Say a Little Prayer”, Aretha Franklin’s biggest UK hit; Mardin had also produced Franklin.
The single was Scritti Politti’s breakthrough hit on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 10 in a 16-week chart run. It was also a Top 30 hit in Australia and New Zealand. In the United States it reached No. 4 on the Billboard Dance Chart.
Two music videos were shot for the song. The first, shot in 1984, was directed by John Scarlett-Davis, who also directed the videos for “Absolute” and “The Word Girl” and features the dancing of Michael Clark. A second music video was released for the US in 1986, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and featuring model Veronica Webb (who also appeared in the video for “Perfect Way”). Both versions were featured on a video compilation simply titled “Scritti Politti”, released on VHS, Betamax and LaserDisc by Virgin Music Video in 1986. The 1984 version is simply titled “Wood Beez”, while the 1986 version is titled “Wood Beez – USA”.
SIDE A:
Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) 4:48
SIDE B:
Wood Beez (Version) 5:57
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Wood Beez | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music Club’/Play | #4 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin – VS 657-12
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: Feb 20, 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
- Arranged By – David Gamson, Green*
- Backing Vocals – B.J. Nelson, Fonzi Thornton, Tawatha Agee*
- Drums – Steve Ferrone
- Guitar – Paul Jackson Jnr.*
- Management – Bill Gerber, Lookout Management, Partisan Management Ltd., Robert Warr
- Mixed By – Jason Corsaro
- Producer, Edited By – Arif Mardin
- Synthesizer – David Frank, David Gamson, Robbie Buchanan
- Synthesizer [Fairlight Assistance] – Ned EBN*
- Vocals, Written-By – Green*
NOTES:
Artwork:
1984
273cm x 273cm
Honeycomb, copper, cotton, acrylic, photo, beeswax, wood.
Recorded + Mixed at: Power Station + Atlantic Studios, New York.
Manufactured in the UK.
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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