Tag: Germany

Boy George – Whether They Like It Or Not (Germany 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989

“Whether They Like It or Not” was the third single taken from Boy George’s third solo album “Boyfriend” titled “High Hat” in the USA. The single failed to have any chart success. For this single Boy George worked with Harlem, New York City producer Teddy Riley.

SIDE A:
Whether They Like It Or Not (Extended Remix) 4:33

SIDE B:
Little Ghost (Remix) 5:18
Little Ghost (Scratch Mix) 3:39

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– 612 464-213, Virgin ‎– 612 464
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Germany
Released: 02 Jun 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Arranged By – Teddy Riley (tracks: A1)
Producer – Gene Griffin (tracks: A1), Stewart Levine (tracks: B1 & B2)
Remix – Jeremy Healy (tracks: B1 & B2), Vlad Naslas (tracks: A1)

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.

Brother Beyond – The Harder I Try (Germany 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

“The Harder I Try” is a single by British boyband Brother Beyond. It was released in 1988 and is considered their breakthrough single.

In 1988, top British producers Stock Aitken & Waterman auctioned off their services for the Young Variety Club of Great Britain charity. Label EMI won the auction, and British boyband Brother Beyond was selected by Pete Waterman to be produced by the trio. The group had met Waterman previously and the producer liked the band.

Brother Beyond was by then a struggling pop act, with their first four singles only making the lower reaches of the UK top 75 singles chart. EMI saw this as their much-needed breakthrough and agreed with Waterman on producing the group.

The resulting song, “The Harder I Try”, had a distinctive Motown-esque sound, and sampled the drum intro to The Isley Brothers’ “This Old Heart of Mine”. When released in July 1988, it became an instant success, peaking at #2 in the UK for two weeks, becoming the band’s best-selling single. The song was kept off from the top spot by Yazz’s “The Only Way Is Up” in the first week and by Phil Collins’ “A Groovy Kind of Love” in the second week. The single topped the Irish charts and was mildly successful when released worldwide.

As a result, of the group’s success with the song, EMI asked the producers to write and produce another track for the band, resulting in the song “He Ain’t No Competition”, a song that again featured a Motown sound. It was released as the band’s next single and it became another big hit for the group, peaking at #6.

Brother Beyond’s album Get Even had by the time of the release of the single already been released in Japan. It was repackaged for its release in the rest of the world, including the two Stock Aitken & Waterman-produced tracks, and omitting two of the band’s self-penned songs from the original release. This version was released in November 1988, and the album was also a top 10 hit.

SIDE A:
The Harder I Try (Extended) 6:07
Engineer – Mark McGuire
Mixed By – Mixmaster Pete Hammond*
Producer, Written-By – Stock/Aitken/Waterman*

SIDE B:
Remember Me (Extended) 6:48
Engineer, Mixed By – Kenny Jones (3)
Producer, Mixed By –Brother Beyond

The Harder I Try (Instrumental) 3:45
Engineer – Mark McGuire
Mixed By – Mixmaster Pete Hammond*
Producer, Written-By – Stock/Aitken/Waterman*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Parlophone ‎– 060 20 2792 6, Parlophone ‎– 20 2792 6
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Germany
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

NOTES:
Made in EEC
Printed in Holland

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.

Al Corley – Square Rooms (Germany 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

NEW 2020 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!

Originally posted April 18, 2012

“Square Rooms” is a song by American singer and actor Al Corley. It was the first single from his debut album of the same name. First released in 1984, the song was a hit in some European countries and had moderate success in the United States in 1985.

After two seasons playing one of the first gay leading characters an American TV series, Dynasty, Al Corley left the nighttime soap opera to become a singer. With Harold Faltermeyer and Peter John Woods, he composed the lyrics of his first song, “Square Rooms.”

The media-savvy singer affected the brooding look and attitude popular among pop stars and GQ models at the time: pouty, dark glances and tousled hair. His choice of the image worked best in France, where his television performances elicited the unbridled enthusiasm of teenage girls. However, according to Elia Habib, a French chart specialist, his success was not only based on his physical appearance. Indeed, “Square Rooms”‘ music had a large popular appeal and had a production designed for the dance floor. It was produced and composed by the German musician Harold Faltermeyer, who had previously arranged “Self Control”, a worldwide pop and dance-floor smash for Laura Branigan in 1984 which featured a similar vocal hook. Faltermeyer would achieve his greatest personal success later the same year, composing, performing and producing the score to Beverly Hills Cop, a 1984 film directed by Martin Brest, including its hit instrumental theme, “Axel F”.

“Square Rooms” was released first in Switzerland, where it was a hit, peaking at number 6 on 21 October 1984, and staying in the top 30 for ten weeks. The single debuted at no. 47 in the French Singles Chart on 5 January 1985. It climbed quickly and was no. 1 for five nonconsecutive weeks, from 9 March to 13 April 1985. After its peak, it lingered on the charts until its 27th week, on 20 July 1985. The song also achieved success in Italy (no. 12), Germany (no. 13) and Austria where it reached no. 15 in April 1985. “Square Rooms” was released last in Corley’s native US, where the single was only a minor pop hit, reaching no. 80 on the Hot 100 on 1 June 1985. American dancefloors were more receptive than its airwaves; Corley reached no. 26 on the Billboard dance chart the week of 22 June 1985.

The 12-inch (long) version includes an entire additional verse prior to the first chorus. This verse is excised in both the single and album versions of the song.

SIDE A:
Square Rooms (Long Version) 8:02
Written-By – Al Corley, Harold Faltermeier*, Peter Woods*

SIDE B:
Square Rooms (Single Version) 3:40
Written-By – Al Corley, Harold Faltermeier*, Peter Woods*

Don’t Play With Me 4:20
Written-By – Al Corley

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year Single Chart Position
1985 Square Rooms U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #80
1985 Square Rooms U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #26

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mercury ‎– 822 241-1, Mercury ‎– 822 241-1 Q
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Germany
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Management – Alex Grob
Producer – Harold Faltermeier*

NOTES:
Made in West Germany

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.

Pet Shop Boys – West End – Sunglasses (Germany 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“West End – Sunglasses” is a medley of a cover version of Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses At Night” with a remix of the 1984 Bobby Orlando production of “West End Girls”. It was first released in 1984 and was reissued in 1988. The track includes Bobby Orlando on vocals performing the Corey Hart segment.

SIDE A:
West End – Sunglasses 7:32
Written-By – C. Hart*, M. Tennant – L. Lowe*

SIDE B:
One More Chance (Dub Mix) 4:45
Written-By – Orlando*, Tennant*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Labe: ZYX Records ‎– 5196
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Germany
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Bobby Orlando
Remix – Mach 2 (2)

NOTES:
Recorded at On Line Studios.
Made In Germany

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.