BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989
“You Surround Me” is a song by Erasure that was issued in 1989 by Mute Records as the second single from the band’s fourth studio album Wild!. Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it is a heavily-synthesized ballad with a dramatic chorus featuring Bell’s falsetto. Clarke has stated that this song was his attempt at writing a James Bond film theme. Upon release, “You Surround Me” became Erasure’s tenth consecutive Top 20 hit on the UK singles chart, peaking at #15. It reached #10 on the Irish singles chart and became a Top 40 hit in Germany, where it reached #38. The song was not released as a single in the United States.
This release has become more notable for the B-sides that were included with “You Surround Me”. First was a cover version of Cerrone’s environmental anthem “Supernature”. The song, also previously recorded by Lene Lovich, led to a collaboration between Erasure and Lovich for the song “Rage”, which later appeared on a PETA benefit album. Erasure’s recording was remixed by William Orbit and became a popular hit in dance clubs. Also included on the single as a B-side is “91 Steps”, an instrumental with complex synthesizer programming and unusual time signature. The track utilizes repeating cycles in which the first seven bars use a 7/4 time signature, followed by one bar in 3/4 time.
SIDE A:
You Surround Me (Remix) 7:32
Mixed By – Mark Saunders
Written-By – Clarke/Bell
SIDE B:
Supernature (William Orbit Remix) 7:14
Engineer – Victor Van Vugt, Wendy (4)
Mixed By – William Orbit
Written-By – Alain Wisniak, Marc Cerrone*, Lene Lovich
91 Steps (6 Pianos Mix) 5:25
Engineer –Wendy (4)
Mixed By – Gareth Jones
Written-By – Clarke/Bell
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mute – INT 126.921, Mute – L 12 Mute 99
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Germany
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Cover – Me Company
Producer – Erasure, Gareth Jones, Mark Saunders
NOTES:
Track A: Recorded at Swing & Church Studios. Mixed at Maison Rouge Studios.
Track B1: Recorded at Worldwide & Swing Studios. Mixed at Guerilla Studios.
Track B2: Recorded st Swing Studios. Mixed at Tritonus Studios, Berlin.
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
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
Password: burningtheground
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A fabulous record from A to Z. One of by all-time Erasure favourites with a great cover version on its flipside. Great post, Paul. Thank you.
Good to see you back. I hope you are warm and comfy again 😉
s´n´d
This is beautiful! One of my favorites Erasure songs… Enjoying it right now!
Love you Paul!
This is one of the BEST remixes ever done for Erasure. In fact, Vince Clarke actually uses it as the basis for the live arrangement on tour these days!
This is a great 12″ that everyone ought to own. Thanks for the rip~
These are the two best mixes of each song (91 Steps excluded), in my opinion. I got the original release on 3 inch CD single but I have not had a CD drive that would play that format for many years. This is certainly a welcome post. Thank you, Paul.
Although it may be snowing in NJ, this record has warmed me up. Karen is quite excited by this post too. And we love the William Orbit remix on the flip-side. Truly intoxicating, it’s probably my favorite version of “Supernature.” Those who aren’t familiar with the song will be enraptured by this mix.
Thanks BIG TIME Paul!!!
Jeff
You’re welcome, Jeff. We have experienced Supernature for sure the last couple of weeks. You guys stay warm 🙂
That Supernature mix by Orbit did make the US CD maxi for Blue Savannah, but it always saddened me that Saunders’ A side mix didn’t tip the scales for this single to have a US release. It certainly was worthy after listening to it.
hi paul,
another great track from erasure. a lesser known one though.
dont think it got released over here.
supernature is the awesome standout remix here, you can’t
go wrong with the classic sound, and william orbit.
the piano song is a weird one, and is just for fun.
thanks so much for going back to synthpop sounds from
one of the best bands out there, and they are still going
strong even now, with albums, singles, and remixes too.
later
-1
One of my favorite Erasure singles which should have been released in the USA. Very underrated in my opinion. Supernature is superb in every way 🙂