Burning The Ground Exclusive 1981
- NEW 2022 Transfer!
- NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!
- Originally posted September 4, 2012
“Menergy” is a 1981 dance single by producer Patrick Cowley.
“One day, while we were recording that album,” Marty Blecman, a former disc jockey and Cowley’s business partner, wrote before his death in 1991, “We got high and I added an ‘M’ in front of title track called ‘Energy,’ and we came up with all these completely gay lyrics for it. In the end, that’s what we used.”
Along with the song “I Want to Take You Home”, “Menergy” spent two weeks atop the Billboard Dance/Disco chart in October and November 1981. It was Cowley’s most successful single of four Top 10 dance chart hits, all of which occurred within the span of 15 months. As with Cowley’s other singles, “Menergy” did not place on any other chart in the USA. In 1984, a posthumous version of “Menergy” was released where Sylvester’s vocals were featured.
It was used in 2009 in the trailer for the video game Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony, as well as the in-game radio station K109 The Studio.
Cowley recorded in a style that has drawn comparisons to that of Giorgio Moroder and is often credited with pioneering electronic dance music.
SIDE A:
Menergy 8:44
Written-By – M. Blecman, P. Cowley
SIDE B:
I Wanna Take You Home 7:25
Written-By – P. Cowley*
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Menergy/I wanna Take You Home | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Disco | #1 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Fusion Records – FPSF 003
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG, Disco
CREDITS:
Lacquer Cut By – js*
Producer – Patrick Cowley
Producer [Associate] – Marty Blecman
NOTES:
Mastered At – Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs
Find the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
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
**24bit FLAC only available for seven days!
Password: burningtheground
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There was a time in my younger days when you’d hear “Menergy” at every club you’d stumble into.
Did you know the billing for Sylvester’s smash bar anthem “Do You Wanna Funk” (Megatone Records) is technically “Patrick Cowley feat. Sylvester”?
“Menergy” and “I Wanna Take You Home” were added to the classic album Megatron Man on CDs manufactured after 1991.
Discogs has all of Patrick’s family photos. It’s worth checking out this amazing producer and synth pioneer’s life. Cowley also produced the #1 club anthem “Right On Target” for Paul Parker among many other releases.
Thanks, Paul, for this great transfer of Patrick Cowley’s “Menergy”. The bass really booms in the hi-res version and the vocals and high notes come through so clearly, yet with warmth. The other version I have of this song is Ben Liebrand’s 1994 transfer and mastering on his Grand 12-Inches 4-CD compilation. Your transfer raises the men-ergy through the roof!
And I wish you and everyone who enjoys your work a very happy Pride!
Thank you, David. It’s always nice to hear positive feedback 🙂 Happy Pride!
There are 2 different Versions.
The “original” (Demo) Version can be found on Grand 12 Inches.An absolute rare treasure.
Pauls Version is the “official” Version.
If you compare both versions, you will hear the differences.
Different Arrangement/Sound/Instruments.
Original Version ~124.6BPM Key Cm.
Official Version ~126,8BPM Key G.
As a DJ I prefer the “original” Version.
Thank you, Toxicaudio, for this information. I’d only done brief duration sample comparisons at select times in the tracks between the Grand 12-Inches version and Paul’s version, just to compare the sound tonality and dynamics. But I did notice that I wasn’t hearing the exact same passages of the song when listening from the same time points on both tracks. And the placement, prominence and pitch of the background vocalists was noticeably different between the two. I was thinking the differences I’d noticed may have been due to different transfers and mastering and the formats, hi-res vs. CD, but it… Read more »
Geeeeee! Paul, I LOVE Patrick Cowley´s records, and “Menergy” is an absolute favourite of mine. The new transfer is FABULOUS, needless to say. I hope my neighbors will enjoy it as much as I do – they will co-listen to it a couple of times over the weekend 😉
Have a great weekend, Paul and Jeff and everyone else around here at BTG. 🙂
Play it loud! my friend that is when it shines 🙂 I hope you have a great weekend 🙂
Hot Damn, Paul!!! This is such a phenomenal record!! When I first heard it, I had goosebumps and my heart was pounding!! I had almost thought that it was Giorgio Moroder on first listen. It soon became, once I found out who it was, that Mr. Cowley was heir apparent to Giorgio Moroder. This was the future of dance music, happening NOW!!! Right before my ears. So sad about his passing. I still mourn his loss. Today, I can’t think of anyone who did what Patrick Cowley did. This record is a great introduction to his music for the newbies… Read more »
Patrick Cowley is a phenomenon! Have a great weekend 🙂
Yes, the first time I heard it I thought it was Moroder. I used to have it on a playlist with his Metropolis soundtrack, where it fitted exceedingly well.
Everyone download this quick before the Supreme Court bans same-sex music.
Ha!
This comment would be funny before recent SCOTUS events. Let’s hope it doesn’t foreshadow the future! (Has anyone else noticed the acronym “SCOTUS” resembles the word “scrotum”? Just sayin’…