Category: Steve Winwood

Steve Winwood – Valerie (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

A.-Front1

“Valerie” is a song written by Steve Winwood and Will Jennings and originally recorded by Winwood for his third solo album Talking Back to the Night, in 1982.

The song deals with a man reminiscing about a lost love he hopes to find again someday. Will Jennings reportedly wrote the lyrics while thinking about Valerie Carter, singer songwriter, whose career was declining because of drugs. On its original release, the single reached number 51 on the UK Singles Chart and number 70 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

In 1987, a remix by Tom Lord-Alge was included on Winwood’s compilation album Chronicles. The remixed version of “Valerie” was released as a single and climbed to number 9 in the US Billboard Hot 100 in late December 1987, and also reached number 19 in the UK. Both versions also reached #13 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Eric Prydz sampled the song in 2004 for a house music track and presented it to Winwood. Winwood was so impressed with what Prydz had done, he re-recorded the vocals to better fit the track. The 2004 remix was released under the title “Call on Me”.

SIDE A:
Valerie 4:08
Producer – Steve WinwoodTom Lord Alge*
Remix – Tom Lord Alge*

Talking Back To The Night (Instrumental Version) 4:15
Producer – Steve WinwoodTom Lord Alge*
Remix – Tom Lord Alge*

SIDE B:
The Finer Things (12″ Remix) 8:30
Mixed By – Tom Lord Alge*
Producer –Russ TitelmanSteve Winwood

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1987 Valerie U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #9
1987 Valerie U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #13
1987 Valerie U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary #2

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Island Records ‎– 12 IS 336
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Written-By – Steve WinwoodWill Jennings

NOTES:
Track A1 & A2 Remixed at Sixteenth Avenue Sound, Nashville.
‘Valerie’ is taken from the forthcoming compilation ‘CHRONICLES’.
Available on Compact Disc, Album & Cassette.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

B.-Back1

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi