Tag: Pride Month

George Michael – Outside (US 12″ Promo)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1998

After George Michael was outed by the media, he returned to music with “Outside”, satirizing his arrest for lewd conduct in an L.A. public restroom,
and sending a statement to anybody who thought he might retreat back into the closet.

Its video was set in a men’s bathroom complete with a disco ball and light-up floor, with Michael dressed as an LAPD police officer.

“Outside” is a song by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 19 October 1998 as the lead single from his first greatest hits album, Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael (1998). It was released through Epic Records and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Michael’s most recent UK top-three hit. In Greece, Hungary, and Spain, the song peaked at number one.

The song was Michael’s first single since his arrest for engaging in a lewd act six months earlier by an undercover police officer in the public lavatory of the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California – an incident that prompted him to declare his homosexuality, which had been rumored for some years but never publicly confirmed.

Michael disparaged the incident in the lyrics, claiming he wanted an alfresco sex life because he was bored with lovemaking behind closed doors. Reference to the Beverly Hills affair came with the line “I’d service the community, but I already have, you see” (he was sentenced to 80 hours of community service for the offense) and direct samples of radio reports of his arrest.

In a 2004 interview with Adam Mattera for UK magazine Attitude, Michael reflected: “I felt that lightening the stigma around cruising was the most immediately beneficial thing I could do. I know for a fact that when I was 16, 17, when I started cruising, watching the Outside video would have taken some of the weight off my shoulders.”

The song was recorded at Sarm West in London with a string section and arrangement by Andrew Skeet.

“Outside” peaked at number one in Greece, Hungary, and Spain. In addition, it reached number two in the United Kingdom, number three in Italy, number four in Denmark, number five in Iceland, number seven in Ireland, and number eight in Finland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, “Outside” reached number three in November 1998. Outside Europe, the song reached number three on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, number 11 in New Zealand, and number 13 in Australia.

**This 12″ Promo contains vinyl-only U.S. remixes.

SIDE A:
Outside (Hex Hector 12″ Vocal Mix) 8:48
Engineer, Keyboards, Programmed By – Mac Quayle
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Hex Hector

Outside (Sharp “Unlocked” Remix) 8:28
Engineer [Mix Engineer] – Kevin White
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – The Sharp Boys
Remix – Sharp*

SIDE B:
Outside (Razor-n-Guido Orange ‘e’ Dub) 9:56
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Razor-n-Guido*

Outside (Album Version) 4:43

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1998 Outside U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #3

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic Dance – EAS 41703
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1998
Genre: Electronic
Style: House

CREDITS:

NOTES:
Album version from the LP “Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael”

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

**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.



Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive (Us 12″ Promo)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1979

NEW 2023 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

Originally posted August 13, 2012

The song that really fought to find its audience, I Will Survive first surfaced as the B-side to a long-forgotten single before eventually becoming a Studio 54 anthem. Its status as one of the best LGBTQ+ Pride songs is tinged with sadness – arguably a last stand against the backlash of homophobia that would secure disco’s first demise and add so much extra suffering to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, then just around the corner. This transatlantic chart-topper would overwhelm Gaynor’s career but, as defining moments go, it’s in a class of its own.

“I Will Survive” is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, Love Tracks (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular disco anthem, as well as being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Originally released as the B-side to a cover version of the Righteous Brothers song “Substitute”, “I Will Survive” became a worldwide hit for Gaynor when disc jockeys played that side of the record instead. New copies of the record were eventually pressed with “I Will Survive” as the A-side (“Substitute” itself peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, equaling to number 107 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart).

As a disco number, the song was unique for its time by virtue of Gaynor’s having no background singers. And, unlike her first disco hits, the track was not pitched up to make it faster and to render Gaynor’s recorded voice in a higher register than that in which she actually sang. Most disco hits at the time were heavily produced, with multiple voices, overdubs, and adjustments to pitch and speed. “I Will Survive” had a much more spare and “clean” sound. Had it been originally planned and released as an A-side, it would almost certainly have undergone a substantially more heavy-handed remix.

The song received the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980, the only year the award was given. It is ranked #492 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, and ranked at #97 on Billboard magazine’s “All-Time Hot 100”. In 2000, the song was ranked #1 in VH1’s list of the 100 greatest dance songs.

SIDE A:
I Will Survive 8:02

SIDE B:
Yo Vivire (Spanish Version) 7:52

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1979 I Will Survive U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #1
1979 I Will Survive U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks #9
1979 I Will Survive U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1
1979 I Will Survive U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles #4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Polydor – PD D 512
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo, 56
Country: US
Released: 1979
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Disco

CREDITS:

NOTES:
Produced for Grand Slam Productions

Promotion Copy – 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
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

**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.



Pride Month

Pride Month is here, and everyone knows that some of the best parts of Pride are the music. The best Pride songs can make you pump your fist in the air, wave a flag, dance, or cry—because at their core, they convey universal and unique feelings to the community. This month I will be featuring some of my favorite Pride records from LGBTQ artists and allies. Let’s all celebrate the music. 🏳️‍🌈
 
-DjPaulT

Patrick Cowley – Menergy/I Wanna Take You Home (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1981

  • NEW 2022 Transfer!
  • NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!
  • Originally posted September 4, 2012

“Menergy” is a 1981 dance single by producer Patrick Cowley.

“One day, while we were recording that album,” Marty Blecman, a former disc jockey and Cowley’s business partner, wrote before his death in 1991, “We got high and I added an ‘M’ in front of title track called ‘Energy,’ and we came up with all these completely gay lyrics for it. In the end, that’s what we used.”

Along with the song “I Want to Take You Home”, “Menergy” spent two weeks atop the Billboard Dance/Disco chart in October and November 1981. It was Cowley’s most successful single of four Top 10 dance chart hits, all of which occurred within the span of 15 months. As with Cowley’s other singles, “Menergy” did not place on any other chart in the USA. In 1984, a posthumous version of “Menergy” was released where Sylvester’s vocals were featured.

It was used in 2009 in the trailer for the video game Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony, as well as the in-game radio station K109 The Studio.

Cowley recorded in a style that has drawn comparisons to that of Giorgio Moroder and is often credited with pioneering electronic dance music.

SIDE A:
Menergy 8:44
Written-By – M. Blecman, P. Cowley

SIDE B:
I Wanna Take You Home 7:25
Written-By – P. Cowley*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1981 Menergy/I wanna Take You Home U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Disco #1

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Fusion Records – FPSF 003
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic
Style: Hi NRG, Disco

CREDITS:
Lacquer Cut By – js*
Producer –  Patrick Cowley
Producer [Associate] –  Marty Blecman

NOTES:
Mastered At – Frankford/Wayne Mastering Labs

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
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

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

**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.