Burning The Ground Exclusive 1988
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NEW 2024 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration
Originally posted December 19, 2016
Summer Dreams of Winter Days 🙂
“Crackers International” is a Christmas EP released by English synth-pop duo Erasure in November 1988, in between the albums The Innocents (1988) and Wild! (1989). The EP reached number one in Denmark and Argentina and peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Additionally “Crackers International (Part II) was released in the UK by Mute Records in a very limited-edition, seasonal pressing. Released originally in 12” vinyl with extended versions of “Stop!” and “Knocking on Your Door”, both remixed by Mark Saunders, it also added the holiday standard “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”.
To promote the EP “Stop!”, which was released as a single in the US, it barely made an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 (number 97). On the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart “Stop!” / “Knocking on Your Door” peaked at number four as a double-sided entry. “Stop!” also reached number 2 on the UK singles chart.
A simple music video was released for “Stop!” showing Clarke and Bell performing the song on a stage surrounded by “stop”, “no entry”, “give way” and similar road signs.
SIDE A:
Stop! (Mark Saunders Remix) 5:46
Producer – Erasure
Remix – Mark Saunders
Written-By – Clarke/Bell
SIDE B:
Knocking On Your Door (Mark Saunders Remix) 6:04
Producer – Erasure
Remix – Mark Saunders
Written-By – Clarke/Bell
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 3:10
Arranged By – Erasure
Mixed By – Mark Saunders
Written-By – Trad.*
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S.CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Stop! | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #97 |
| 1989 | Stop! / Knocking On Your Door | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music / Club Play | #4 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mute – L12 Mute 93
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, EP
Country: UK
Released: Nov 28, 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
- Design, Art Direction – Me Company
- Engineer – Alan Moulder
- Engineer [Assistant] – Cameron Jenkins, Jock Loveband
- Illustration – James Marsh
- Lacquer Cut By – Jonz*
- Plated By – P (29)
NOTES:
Recorded At – Power Plant Studios
Mixed At – Power Plant Studios
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
So strange that “Stop” wasn’t a bigger hit. I thought it was one of their best dance songs. I know I played the heck out of it.
I loved Stop! I thought it was bigger too 🙂
awesome
Thank you, Carlos 🙂
A beautiful job, Paul! Overall, Crackers was just a gorgeous release. While we don’t get an extended version on Pt. 2 (shame) of She Won’t Be Home from Pt. 1 (one of the best Erasure tracks ever conceived), Mark Saunders’ Stop! extension is truly great. That said, Crackers nixed the planned 4th Innocents single which was a bitter pill to swallow, and there’s some controversy about the art used for this and the original Crackers release being…inspired by other media (A Russian postage stamp, and then a detergent advert). Parody? Homage? That decision is in the eye of the beholder.… Read more »
I agree this was a perfect release in my opinion I also wish they had extended “She Won’t Be Home”.
Cracking post, Paul. 🙂 As you know, I LOVE Erasure. Of course I do. “Stop” is one of my favourite singles by the boys. Ok, nothing will surpass “Drama” for me but “Stop” is way up there. Thank you so much. PS: we had 90 degrees (F) yesterday and will have that again as of tomorrow, and as air conditioning in the house is unusual to non-existant over here I will cool myself down by staring at the sleeve for a long time. 🙂 All the best to all you music lovers.
I am dreaming of cooler days myself. It has been a hot summer here with temperatures above 100(F) for several days now. Even though we have air conditioning it still makes it hard to want to go outside. “Stop!” and “Drama” are probably my two favorite Erasure singles.
Crackers International! The many variant Erasure release!!! I have a 3” CD that has the regular versions plus God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Then there’s the US CD release that I THINK has the 2 remixes contained here plus the single fade of Stop! ( a pointless version as the regular hard stop ending is seconds longer) plus the 2 other tracks that very length and mix wise between it and the UK 4 track version…. 😵💫🤯❤️. It’s hard to keep track of! Thanks for this … off to compare ! 🤓
Actually I take that back, it seems She Won’t Be Home is the same on both sides of the pond…. 😝
I hope you enjoy it ING 🙂
“Stop” was one of my favourite Erasure singles, although i have yet to hear this remix.
This release is a real treat overall.
Thanks Paul 🙂
You’re welcome, Marco 🙂
Karen and I are thrilled you’ve done Erasure for today’s post! This is such a great EP and we are grateful for the brand-new spin!! The cover is a great respite from this awful summer heat. Thank you, Paul!!!
Jeff
You’re welcome, Jeff. 🙂
Ha Ha, I think you’re getting ahead of yourself a bit! This would have been a great “Christmas in July” release!
Thank you for another meticulous transfer of a super rare 12″. It’s always amazing to find yet another 12″ by Depeche, PSB, or Erasure that was missing in my collection. It seems that all their early vinyls were released in dozens of different formats!
Oh well, Christmas in August lol I am ready for winter 🙂 I hope you are ok in Fla. 🙂
I wouldn’t know the difference… lol … we only know it’s winter when we see snow on the News.