BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

R E Q U E S T

“Der Kommissar” is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981.

Originally written by producer Robert Ponger for Reinhold Bilgeri, Bilgeri turned it down as he felt the song was too soft, so Falco reworked the song for himself instead.

Falco wanted to release “Helden von heute” as the main side (A-side), but the record company wanted “Der Kommissar” (“the commissioner” or police captain) to be released, because they felt it had more potential. The record company decided upon a double A-side release and was vindicated when “Der Kommissar” reached No. 1 in German-speaking countries in January 1982. After this big success, Falco’s management decided to release “Der Kommissar” (as an A-side) in other countries as well.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, Falco’s hit didn’t fare as well, despite topping charts throughout Europe and Scandinavia during spring and summer 1982. In the summer of 1982 the British rock band After the Fire recorded an English version of the song, also called “Der Kommissar”, and released it as a single, but the record floundered. Coming off a tour opening for Van Halen, After the Fire was working on material for a new album when in December 1982 the group announced onstage during a concert that they were breaking up. Both the After the Fire and Falco versions were rising on the Canadian charts at the time, but neither had cracked the U.S. pop charts.

One of the songs recorded for the b-side side of the record, the pop-rock “Helden von heute” (meaning “heroes of today”), is a tribute to David Bowie’s “Heroes”. Recorded in Berlin, Germany, Falco claimed in an interview that he went to Berlin to follow the “tracks” left there by David Bowie, with his albums Heroes and Low.

“Der Kommissar (The Commissioner)” only reached No. 74 in the US Cash Box Charts in 1983. and did not even chart in the UK, but Falco would break through with major hits in those countries two albums later, with “Rock Me Amadeus” and “Vienna Calling” in 1986.

SIDE A:
Der Kommissar (The Commissioner) 3:50
Written-By – R. Ponger*

SIDE B:
Auf Der Flucht (On The Run) 4:04
Written-By – R. Ponger*

Helden Von Heute (Today’s Heroes) 4:06

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Very Good Plus

CHARTS:

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records ‎– SP-12053
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Producer – R. Ponger*
Producer, Written-By – Falco

NOTES:
Promotional Copy Not for Sale

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
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