Tag: George Michael

January 3, 2017

George Michael – Killer/Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (P.M. Dawn Remix) (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1993

I originally posted this 12″ on June 25, 2013 which was George’s birthday. I would have never guessed that three years later we would be mourning his death and celebrating his music. I was never happy with my original transfer so I am happy to be able to give this single a brand new 2017 remaster.

“Killer/Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” is a 1993 single by British pop singer George Michael. The “P.M. Dawn Remix” was the version released as a single to promote the EP “Five Live” recorded at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, held on 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium. “Killer” was originally a song by British acid house producer Adamski. Written by Adamski and Seal. “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” is a psychedelic soul song, written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong as a single for Motown act The Undisputed Truth in 1971 and later that year The Temptations. Both songs were blended into a mash-up by George Michael becoming “Killer/Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”.

George Michael’s version peaked at #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 24, 1993 after spending seven weeks on the survey.

This Side
Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (P.M. Dawn Remix) 4:30

That Side
Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (P.M. Dawn Remix) (Extended Version) 9:15

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1993	Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#69
1993	Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#5

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Hollywood Records ‎– HR-66289-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1993
Genre: Electronic
Style: House

CREDITS:
Guitar, Keyboards – Herbie Tribino
Remix – P.M. Dawn
Written-By [Killer] – Tinley*, Seal
Written-By [Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone] – Norman Whitfield

NOTES:
Printed on info label:
“All artists royalties and record company net profits from this single will be donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust for the distribution to AIDS charities worldwide in memory of the incomparable Freddy Mercury”.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: 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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

January 2, 2017

George Michael – Killer/Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (Bonzai Mixes) (US 121″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1993

In 1991, George Michael performed “Killer” live at the Wembley Arena in a version that was released on the 1993 EP Five Live. “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” was also recorded and released on the same album. The two songs were blended together in the live performance, then remixed several times. In the U.S. the single peaked at #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 dance. In Canada the single reached #19 on the RPM Singles Chart.

George Michael shot a video for the release, in which he did not appear personally. It was during the time when Michael refused to exploit his outward look, which he thought would distract the audience from the music, his main concern. The video was directed by Marcus Nispel.

This U.S. 12″ promo contains exclusive remixes.

SIDE A:
Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (N.Y.C. Club Mix) 6:59
Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (Very Vocal Club Mix) 6:27
Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (Killer Papa Dub) 6:10

SIDE B:
Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (Killer Techno!) 5:15
Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (X-Tended Mix) 6:32

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1993	Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#69
1993	Killer / Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#5

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Hollywood Records ‎– ED-10329
Format: Vinyl, Promo, 12″
Country: US
Released: 1993
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: House, Techno

CREDITS:
Keyboards [Additional] – Andy Marvel
Producer, Vocals – George Michael
Remix – “Bonzai” Jim Caruso*
Written-By – Tinley*, Seal, Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong*

NOTES:
Original version can be heard on “FIVE LIVE”.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

December 16, 2016

Wham! – Last Christmas (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

I originally posted this festive 12″ on December 12, 2010, wow six years ago. Since then I have really upgraded my equipment and fine tuned my ripping skills. I also stopped using ClickRepair and now manually remove every click/pop myself, the results are much better since using ClickRepair can degrade the audio. This year I wanted to bring new life into this 12″ so I gave it a brand new transfer. If you happen to have the old rip in your collection I think you will see this is the definitive transfer.

The mix used on this 12″ omits a verse and has additional backing vocals from George Michael and some slightly different keyboard arrangements towards the end. The record itself is labeled as (Pudding Mix) (Long Version) it is actually an alternate edit of the “Pudding Mix”.

I really hope that you enjoy the new transfer Seasons Greetings.

~ DjPaulT (December, 2016)

“Last Christmas” is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1984, on a double A-side with “Everything She Wants”. Originally written and produced by George Michael, it has been covered by many artists since its original release.

Wham! had been a dominant force in the UK Singles Chart in 1984 and news that they were planning a Christmas single meant that a battle for the coveted Christmas #1 spot in the UK seemed set to be between Wham! and the year’s other big act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who had achieved a third #1 in early December with “The Power of Love”. However, the Band Aid project, helmed by Bob Geldof, produced the #1 single. Wham!’s offering peaked at #2 for much of the period, although George’s involvement in Band Aid meant that Wham! still had an input. Wham! subsequently topped the monies raised by Band Aid by donating all of their “Last Christmas/Everything She Wants” royalties to the Ethiopian famine appeal.

“Last Christmas” did make #1 in various other countries.

The single sold well over a million copies and became the biggest selling single in UK chart history not to reach #1. A year later, it was re-issued for Christmas again (this time without a billed flip-side) and got to #6. A second re-issue at Christmas 1986 – by which time Wham! had split – stalled outside the top 40.

The song gradually sold in Japan, and finally became the best-selling single that did not reach that country’s top-10 chart, selling more than 600,000 copies and peaking on the chart at #12 in 1992.

“Last Christmas” has sold 1.8 million copies as of June 2016 and is the biggest selling single in UK chart history not to reach number one.

Due to perceived similarities between “Last Christmas” and the song “Can’t Smile Without You” as popularised by Barry Manilow, an out of court settlement was reached in which the first year’s royalties were donated to the one-year-old “Band Aid” charity.

The video to “Last Christmas” saw George and partner Andrew Ridgeley accompanying girlfriends to see friends at their home in an unspecified ski resort, although the cable-car that can be seen in two shots is from Saas-Fee, Switzerland. It became clear early on, however, that Andrew’s girlfriend had previously been in a relationship with George, and it was to her character the song was aimed. The video also featured the duo’s erstwhile backing singers Pepsi and Shirlie and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, the boyfriend and future husband of Shirlie Holliman.

SIDE A:
Last Christmas (Pudding Mix Edit) 4:45

SIDE B:
Credit Card Baby 5:09

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic/Sony – 12·3P-575
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 21 Dec 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer, Arranged By, Written-By – George Michael

NOTES:
Released with a lyric insert and obi strip.
Side A is listed as “Pudding Mix” “Long Version” but actually plays the 4:45 version.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

March 31, 2016

George Michael – Freedom (Edit) (UK 7″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1990

“Freedom ’90” (also known simply as “Freedom”) is a song written, produced,and performed by George Michael, and released on Columbia Records in 1990. The “’90” added to the end of the title is to prevent confusion with a hit by Michael’s former band, Wham!, also titled “Freedom”.

It was the third single taken from Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, “Freedom ’90” was one of a few uptempo songs on this album, it was also a major hit and went to #8 in the US. The song is referring to George’s past success with Wham! but also shows a new side of himself as a new man, who is more cynical about the music business than he had been before. Michael refused to appear in the video and let a group of supermodels appear instead, lip-syncing the lyrics.

George Michael performed the song during the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

“Freedom (Edit)” is exclusive to this UK promo.

SIDE A:
Freedom (Edit) 4:33

SIDE B:
Fantasy 5:01

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1990	Freedom	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#8
1990	Freedom	U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	#27
1990	Freedom	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#16

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic‎– PRO 609
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Promo
Country: UK
Released: 1990
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Downtempo, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design [Sleeve Design] – George Michael, Simon Halfon
Engineer – C. Porter*
Photography – Russell Young
Producer, Arranged By, Written-By – George Michael

NOTES:
For Promotional USe Only

Find the 7″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi