Tag: Mark Saunders

August 6, 2024

Erasure – Crackers International (Part II) (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1988

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NEW 2024 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

Originally posted December 19, 2016

Summer Dreams of Winter Days 🙂

“Crackers International” is a Christmas EP released by English synth-pop duo Erasure in November 1988, in between the albums The Innocents (1988) and Wild! (1989). The EP reached number one in Denmark and Argentina and peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Additionally “Crackers International (Part II) was released in the UK by Mute Records in a very limited-edition, seasonal pressing. Released originally in 12” vinyl with extended versions of “Stop!” and “Knocking on Your Door”, both remixed by Mark Saunders, it also added the holiday standard “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”.

To promote the EP “Stop!”, which was released as a single in the US, it barely made an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 (number 97). On the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart “Stop!” / “Knocking on Your Door” peaked at number four as a double-sided entry. “Stop!” also reached number 2 on the UK singles chart.

A simple music video was released for “Stop!” showing Clarke and Bell performing the song on a stage surrounded by “stop”, “no entry”, “give way” and similar road signs.

SIDE A:
Stop! (Mark Saunders Remix) 5:46
Producer – Erasure
Remix – Mark Saunders
Written-By – Clarke/Bell

SIDE B:
Knocking On Your Door (Mark Saunders Remix) 6:04
Producer – Erasure
Remix – Mark Saunders
Written-By – Clarke/Bell

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 3:10
Arranged By – Erasure
Mixed By – Mark Saunders
Written-By – Trad.*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S.CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1989	Stop!	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#97
1989	Stop! / Knocking On Your Door	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music / Club Play	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mute – L12 Mute 93
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, EP
Country: UK
Released: Nov 28, 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Design, Art Direction – Me Company
Engineer – Alan Moulder
Engineer [Assistant] – Cameron Jenkins, Jock Loveband
Illustration – James Marsh
Lacquer Cut By – Jonz*
Plated By – P (29)

NOTES:
Recorded At – Power Plant Studios
Mixed At – Power Plant Studios

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: 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:
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

April 4, 2023

Erasure – Blue Savannah (US 12″ Promo)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1989

NEW 2023 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Originally posted, June 16, 2014

“Blue Savannah” is a song by British synth-pop duo Erasure that was issued as a single on 26 February 1990, from their fourth studio album, Wild! (1989). The song was written by members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. Mute Records released it in Europe as the album’s third single, and Sire Records released it in the United States as the album’s second single. Considered one of the band’s signature songs, the duo still perform it regularly in concerts. It has been described as an uplifting love song; the instrumentation is crisp and heavily synthesized, accented with sweeping, programmed piano.

“Blue Savannah” became one of Erasure’s most successful singles, peaking at number three on the UK singles chart. It also returned the band to the Top 20 in Germany, where the song hit number thirteen. The release of the single brought about the usual array of remixes and B-sides. Although several club mixes of “Blue Savannah” were issued commercially, the US promo only Shep Pettibone “Out of the Blue” mix proved to be most popular in dance clubs.

In the US “Blue Savannah” peaked at #44 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Chart.

The Shep Pettibone mixes were only originally released on this U.S. promo.

SIDE A:
Blue Savannah (Out Of The Blue Mix) 6:44
Blue Savannah (Remix/Edit) 3:52

SIDE B:
Blue Savannah (Blue Dub) 6:42

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1990	Blue Savannah	U.S. Billboard Hot Maxi-Singles Sales	#12
1990	Blue Savannah	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#44

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire ‎– PRO-A-3801
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Edited By – Tony Shimkin
Engineer [Remix] – Goh Hotoda
Producer – Erasure, Gareth Jones, Mark Saunders
Producer [Additional], Remix – Shep Pettibone
Programmed By [Uncredited] – Alan Friedman
Written-By – Clarke/Bell

NOTES:
From The Sire/Reprise Album WILD!
Promotion Only.
Not For Sale.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

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

February 18, 2021

Erasure – You Surround Me (Remix) (Germany 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989

“You Surround Me” is a song by Erasure that was issued in 1989 by Mute Records as the second single from the band’s fourth studio album Wild!. Written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it is a heavily-synthesized ballad with a dramatic chorus featuring Bell’s falsetto. Clarke has stated that this song was his attempt at writing a James Bond film theme. Upon release, “You Surround Me” became Erasure’s tenth consecutive Top 20 hit on the UK singles chart, peaking at #15. It reached #10 on the Irish singles chart and became a Top 40 hit in Germany, where it reached #38. The song was not released as a single in the United States.

This release has become more notable for the B-sides that were included with “You Surround Me”. First was a cover version of Cerrone’s environmental anthem “Supernature”. The song, also previously recorded by Lene Lovich, led to a collaboration between Erasure and Lovich for the song “Rage”, which later appeared on a PETA benefit album. Erasure’s recording was remixed by William Orbit and became a popular hit in dance clubs. Also included on the single as a B-side is “91 Steps”, an instrumental with complex synthesizer programming and unusual time signature. The track utilizes repeating cycles in which the first seven bars use a 7/4 time signature, followed by one bar in 3/4 time.

SIDE A:
You Surround Me (Remix) 7:32
Mixed By – Mark Saunders
Written-By – Clarke/Bell

SIDE B:
Supernature (William Orbit Remix) 7:14
Engineer – Victor Van Vugt, Wendy (4)
Mixed By – William Orbit
Written-By – Alain Wisniak, Marc Cerrone*, Lene Lovich

91 Steps (6 Pianos Mix) 5:25
Engineer –Wendy (4)
Mixed By – Gareth Jones
Written-By – Clarke/Bell

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mute ‎– INT 126.921, Mute ‎– L 12 Mute 99
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Germany
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Cover – Me Company
Producer – Erasure, Gareth Jones, Mark Saunders

NOTES:
Track A: Recorded at Swing & Church Studios. Mixed at Maison Rouge Studios.
Track B1: Recorded at Worldwide & Swing Studios. Mixed at Guerilla Studios.
Track B2: Recorded st Swing Studios. Mixed at Tritonus Studios, Berlin.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

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

Password: burningtheground

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

July 7, 2017

Charles B. – Lack Of Love (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989

“Lack Of Love” is an acid house single by Charles B who hails from Chicago and is known as The Grave Digger due to his spiritual and religious background and his ability to sing in descantes. Well known in the gay scene, Charles B. wrote his own songs by singing them to musical accomplices like Adonis.

The record was produced by acid house pioneer Adonis who made his name with the classic 1986 tracks “No Way Back” and “We’re Rockin Down The House”.

The “heiy” vocal sample comes from “In the Morning Time” by Tramaine originally, from ’86. The “Heiy” sample is actually the “Ha” syllable of a vocal “Sing Hallelujah”, messed around with a bit. “Sing Hallelujah” vocal from “In the Morning Time” was also sampled as the main refrain in Dr Alban’s “Sing Hallelujah”.

“Lack Of Love” was the only single ever released by Charles B..

SIDE A:
Lack Of Love (Club Mix) 6:20
Remix [Mixed By] – Mark Saunders

Lack Of Love (Ivory Mix) 5:04
Engineer – Gary Wilkinson

SIDE B:
Lack Of Love (Garage Mix) 5:03
Remix [Mixed By] – Mike Cameron*, Troy Patterson

Lack Of Love (Garage Dub) 4:41
Remix [Mixed By] – Mike Cameron*, Troy Patterson

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Desire Records ‎– 873 163-1, PolyGram ‎– 873 163-1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Acid House, Deep House, Garage House

CREDITS:
Producer – Adonis
Written-By – Adonis, Charles B

NOTES:
Printed in USA.

Find the 12″ on 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: 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: 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