Tag: Canada

The Human League – Hard Times / Love Action (I Believe In Love) (Canada 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1981

“Love Action (I Believe in Love)” is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League, released as a single in the UK in July 1981. It became the band’s first Top 10 success, peaking at number three in the UK Singles Chart.

The song was written jointly by lead singer Philip Oakey and keyboard player Ian Burden. It features a lead vocal by Oakey, female backing vocals by Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall, and analog synthesizers by Jo Callis, Philip Adrian Wright, and Ian Burden. Drum machines, sequencing, and programming were provided by producer Martin Rushent and his then engineer and programmer David M. Allen. One of the most notable synths sounds on the recording makes use of the pitch-to-voltage converter and envelope shaper on the Roland System 700 modular synth. Jo Callis’ guitar strumming was fed into the synth and used to shape and trigger the sounds, producing an unusual choppy, strumming synth patch.

“Love Action (I Believe in Love)” was the second of three songs from the Dare album to be released in advance of the album itself in 1981. It was released as a double A-side single with the non-album track “Hard Times”. In the US, “Love Action (I Believe in Love)”/”Hard Times” made the dance charts twice: in 1981, the tracks first peaked at number thirty-seven, and one year later, re-entered the dance chart and peaked at number fifty-seven.

The release of the single was widely advertised in the music press in early August 1981 with prominence given also to the B-side “Hard Times” as well as the A-side, and to the fact that a “limited” 12″ single would also be made available as “Hard Times/Love Action” in “Disco Mix and Odd Mix” although these names were not used for the actual release. The single was designated ‘Red’ on the Human League’s short-lived self-imposed labeling system of ‘Blue’ for pop songs and ‘Red’ for dance tracks.

The single made number 3 in the UK charts and placed The Human League at the forefront of media attention. It also renewed Virgin Records’ faith in the band and guaranteed the release of the album that was to become Dare, just four months later.

The song was ranked at number 5 among the top ten “Tracks of the Year” for 1981 by NME.

SIDE A:
Hard Times/Love Action (I Believe In Love) 10:10

SIDE B:
Hard Times/Love Action (I Believe In Love) (Instrumental) 11:04

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1981 Hard Times/Love Action (I Believe In Love) U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #37

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– VSX-1134, Virgin ‎– VSX 1134
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Limited Edition
Country: Canada
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Coordinator, Layout – Ken*
Design [Cover], Photography By – Adrian*, Philip*
Lacquer Cut By – Al*
Producer – Martin Rushent, The Human League

NOTES:
Made in Canada.

Artistic subtitle/descriptor for this release is “Red” as indicated on jacket and labels.

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

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

Great Nation – Beat The Wall (Canada 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Beat The Wall” is a 1986 single by Canadian new wave band Great Nation released on Wide Angle Records. This is the only single released by the band and there is really no other information about them. It’s a shame really because this record really is pretty good and they could have gone further. But for whatever reason, they disappeared into obscurity.

SIDE A:
Beat The Wall (Dance Mix) 6:38

SIDE B:
Beat The Wall 3:45
Criminal 3:24

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Wide Angle ‎– TTW 8672
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Canada
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Bass, Keyboards, Vocals – John Schech
Drums, Percussion – Robert Browne
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – Paul Aaron (3)
Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Synthesizer – Michael Ross Shephard
Mixed By – David Rivkin
Producer – Dale Goulet, Great Nation

NOTES:
Jacket printed in Canada

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

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

Marsha Raven – I Like Plastic (Canada 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982



“I Like Plastic” is the 1982 debut single by American Hi-NRG singer Marsha Raven released on Red Bus Records. Marsha Raven came into show business as a Tina Turner imitator. After recording “I Like Plastic” she scored her only Billboard dance hit with “Catch Me (I’m Falling In Love)” on Passion Records, produced by hot shot dance producer Ian Anthony Stephens. She recorded more singles and eventually fell into 80s obscurity.

SIDE A:
I Like Plastic (12″ Version) 5:56

SIDE B:
Angel 43 (12″ Version) 4:37

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Red Bus Records ‎– RED-800
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Canada
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi-NRG

CREDITS:
Producer – Pierre Tubbs, Steve Rowland

NOTES:
Made In Canada

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 
Phono Pre-amp:
Schiit Mani
Soundcard:
ESI Juli@ XTe Audio Interface
Monitiring:
Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
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: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

They Never Sleep – Bite The Bullet (Submission Mix) (Canada 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“Bite The Bullet” is a 1987 single by Canadian Hi-NRG/New Wave group They Never Sleep. The group was formed by Canadian house music producer, DJ, and composer Joe Silva. “Bite The Bullet” was later covered by Canadian synth-pop duo Kon Kan for their 1989 debut album “Move To Move”. They Never Sleep only released this single and then fell into 80s obscurity.

SIDE A:
Bite The Bullet (Submission Mix) 9:17

SIDE B:
Bite The Bullet (Instrumental) 9:10

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Contagious Records (9) ‎– CON 1201
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Canada
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG, Synth-pop, New Wave

CREDITS:
Arranged By [Vocal Arrangement] – Jane Clark (3)
Concept By – Synaesthesia (6)
Design – Work Ant Industries
Engineer – Dave Roman
Mixed By – Stronium 90
Performer [They Never Sleep] – Anvil Cobalt Atlas, Asia Minor (3), Neves Silva
Photography By – Lyle Stafford
Producer – Roman Panchyshyn
Sleeve – Neil Minuk
Written-By – Silva*, Panchyshyn*

NOTES:
Recorded at Maddock Studios.

“Prescription For Pleasure” Made In Canada

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 
Phono Pre-amp:
Schiit Mani
Soundcard:
ESI Juli@ XTe Audio Interface
Monitiring:
Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
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: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.