BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

NEW 2020 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!

Originally posted March 26, 2011

“The Living Daylights” is a song performed by Norwegian pop group A-ha for the 1987 James Bond film of the same name. It was written by guitarist Pål Waaktaar. After first appearing in the context of the film, a revised version was included in the band’s Stay on These Roads studio album, which came out in 1988.

John Barry was listed on the credits as co-writer and producer, and the initial release of the song was his version. A second version of the song, re-worked by A-ha in 1988, later appeared on their third album, Stay on These Roads.

When interviewed on a late-night show in 1987, Barry said that he found working with the band exhausting secondary to the band’s insistence on using their own version of the song for release. In an interview with Hot Rod Magazine, keyboardist Magne Furuholmen said that “[the band’s] fight with Barry left a rather unpleasant aftertaste. Apparently, he compared us to Hitlerjugend in a newspaper interview.” Waaktaar stated that although Barry produced the track, he never contributed to the songwriting process and should not have been credited as such (the band Duran Duran made similar claims after they worked briefly with Barry on the theme to the previous Bond film, “A View to a Kill”, in 1985). However, Waaktaar has also said: “I loved the stuff he [John Barry] added to the track. I mean, it gave it this sort of really cool string arrangement. That’s when it, for me, started to sound like a Bond thing.”

“The Living Daylights” was released in the summer of 1987. The song peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number one in Norway. In the United States, the single failed to chart.

The song remains one of A-ha’s most played songs in live concerts and has often been extended into a “sing-along” with the audience, as featured on the live album How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head. In live performances, Paul Waaktaar often included the main James Bond Theme in his guitar solo.

SIDE A:
The Living Daylights (Extended Version) 6:50

SIDE B:
The Living Daylights (7 Inch Version) 4:15
The Living Daylights (Instrumental) 4:41

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– 920 736-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Germany
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design – Bill Smith Studio
Lacquer Cut By – JK (28)
Photography By [A-ha Photography] – Paul Rider (4)
Producer – Jason Corsaro, John Barry, Mags (2), Pal Waaktaar*
Written-By – John Barry, Pal Waaktaar*

NOTES:
From the album “The Living Daylights (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: 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 USED:
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

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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