Tag: Joseph Watt

December 1, 2016

Sylvester – Someone Like You (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

Today is World AIDS Day an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988. I thought it fitting to feature one of the many artists who were taken from us in the 1980’s by this horrible disease.

“Someone Like You” is a 1986 dance single by Sylvester. The song was written by Len Barry and McKinley Horton. It was produced by Ken Kessie and Morey Goldstein. The single was Sylvester’s second and last entry to reach number one on the dance charts, where it stayed for one week. “Someone like You”, also went to number nineteen on the soul chart, and was Sylvester’s highest chart entry, since 1978.

An activist who campaigned against the spread of HIV/AIDS, Sylvester died from complications arising from the virus in 1988, leaving all future royalties from his work to San Francisco-based HIV/AIDS charities.

The single sleeve was designed by artist Keith Harring who was an American artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s by expressing concepts of birth, death, sexuality, and war.

Haring’s work was often heavily political and his imagery has become a widely recognized visual language of the 20th century.

The theme of AIDS permeates Haring’s late work, most likely because it had a heavy influence on his personal life. Midway through Haring’s journals there is mention of the disease claiming his friends’ lives, and later passages show Haring worrying increasingly about his own HIV status.

Haring died on February 16, 1990 of AIDS-related complications.

WEST SIDE:
Someone Like You (Remix) 6:15
Mixed By – Ken Kessie, Marty Blecman

Someone Like You (Joseph Watt Remix) 5:40
Engineer – Joseph Watt
Remix – Joseph Watt

EAST SIDE:
Someone Like You (Larry Levan Remix) 6:01
Engineer – Robert Kaster
Mixed By – Larry Levan

Someone Like You (Larry Levan Dub Remix) 6:36
Engineer – Robert Kaster
Mixed By – Larry Levan

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Someone Like You	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1986	Someone Like You	U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles	#19

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records – 0-20548
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco

CREDITS:
Executive Producer – Marty Blecman, Sylvester
Illustration – Keith Haring
Producer – Ken Kessie, Morey Goldstein
Recorded By [Originally] – Ken Kessie
Written-By – Len Barry, McKinley Horton

NOTES:
Original version available on Sylvester’s album “MUTUAL ATTRACTION” on Warner Bros. Records.

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

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

October 6, 2016

Red Flag – Russian Radio (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989

“Russian Radio” is a song by the American synthpop band Red Flag. It was released as a single in 1988. The song charted highly on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, peaking at #11. Released at the time of seminal new wave/synthpop group Depeche Mode’s greatest success, it drew comparisons as being stylistically similar to that group’s recordings, featuring extensive use of synthesizers and dance beats, and vocals that were generally deep and gloomy in mood. “Russian Radio” was taken from the band’s debut album Naive Art.

SIDE A:
Russian Radio (Razormaid Club Mix) 6:13
Remix – Joseph Watt, Razormaid

Russian Radio (Fresh Club Mix) 3:41
Remix – Joseph Watt, Razormaid

Russian Radio (12″ Dub Mix) 6:44
Edited By – Art Maharg
Remix – Joseph Watt, Razormaid

SIDE B:
Russian Radio (Glasnost Club Mix) 7:28
Remix – Paul Robb

Russian Radio (Tremont And Webster Mix) 4:40
Remix –Paul Robb

Russian Radio (Radio Moscow Edit) 3:43
Remix – Paul Robb

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1989	Russian Radio	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#11

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Enigma Records (3) ‎– 7 75519-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Jon St. James
Producer [Additional Post Production] – Paul Robb
Written-By – Reynolds*, Reynolds*

NOTES:
Original version appears on the LP “NAIVE ART”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

February 15, 2016

Erasure – Sometimes (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“Sometimes” is a song by British synthpop duo Erasure, released in October 1986 as their fourth single overall.

After three commercial flops from their debut album Wonderland, “Sometimes” became Erasure’s first bona fide hit, peaking at number one in South Africa, number two in their native United Kingdom and in Germany, and becoming a huge international hit. The song became Erasure’s second Top 5 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, where it charted alongside “It Doesn’t Have to Be” and peaked at number four.

Written by band members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, “Sometimes” typifies the Erasure “sound” — an uptempo, dance-oriented pop tune accentuated by Clarke’s analogue synthesizers and Bell’s lyrics about being in love. The music video showcases Erasure on a building rooftop — Clarke playing an acoustic guitar and Bell singing — as they weave through white sheets hanging from a laundry line; near the end of the video rain starts to fall on the duo.

“Sometimes” spent seventeen weeks in the UK singles chart — the duo’s longest chart run for a single in that country — and was included on Erasure’s second album The Circus, released six months later in March 1987.

SIDE A:
Sometimes (Shiver Mix) 5:50
Remix [Uncredited] – Rico Conning

Sometimes (Extended Mix) 7:30
Edited By – Joseph Watt
Remix – Rico Conning

SIDE B:
It Doesn’t Have To Be (The Boop Oopa Doo Mix) 7:13
Remix [Uncredited] – Phil Harding

Sexuality (Private Mix) 5:56
Remix – Rico Conning

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	Sometimes	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#4
1987	Sometimes	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	#37

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire ‎– 0-20614, Sire ‎– 9 20614-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Flood
Written-By – Clarke/Bell

NOTES:
Tracklist of Side A is incorrectly identified on back cover and center labels as:
A1 Sometimes (Extended Mix)
A2 Sometimes (Shiver Mix)

“Sometimes (Extended Mix)” is a longer version of the “Shiver Mix”.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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