BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983
NEW 2019 Transfer!
Meticulously Remastered!
Originally posted October 8, 2012
“(Whisper to a Scream) Birds Fly “, given the reversed title “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)” in some markets, is a song by the British band The Icicle Works. It was released in 1983 as the first single from the band’s 1984 debut eponymous album The Icicle Works. The song was written by Ian McNabb, the band’s lead singer, and produced by Hugh Jones.
The recording initially was released as a single in Britain in June 1983 as “Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)” on the Situation Two label. This initial release hit #2 on the UK independent charts and scraped the lower reaches of the overall UK national charts at #89.
After The Icicle Works’ next UK single “Love Is a Wonderful Colour” hit #15 on the UK charts in late 1983 and early 1984, Beggars Banquet Records re-released “Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)” on March 1984 with a new cover and B-side. This re-release climbed to #52 in the UK.
The group’s U.S. label Arista Records refused to release the record unless some changes were made. The track was remixed slightly in order to remove a brief spoken-word overdub on the opening bars of music. (The woman performing this intro was identified only as “Mariella” on the original Situation Two single sleeve.) Also, the song title was reversed, becoming “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)”. Finally, Arista shortened the band’s name to Icicle Works. With changes, the song reached #37 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and #34 on Cashbox’s singles chart in the summer of 1984. The song also reached #18 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and #15 on Radio & Records Album Oriented Rock chart.
SIDE A:
Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (European Version) 5;21
Remix – Hugh Jones
SIDE B:
Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (Extended Club Remix) 5:27
Engineer [Assistant] – Rick Kerr
Engineer [Remix] – Jack Nuber
Remix – Steve Thompson
Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) (Single Version) 3:49
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
CHARTS:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #37 |
| 1984 | Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) | U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | #18 |
| 1984 | Whisper To A Scream (Birds Fly) | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | #13 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Arista – ADP-9187
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, New Wave
CREDITS:
Producer – Hugh Jones
Written-By – McNabb*
NOTES:
Promo that comes in a white generic die-cut sleeve with a black info sticker on it.
From the debut album “ICICLE WORKS”
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, 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)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
Username: btg
Password: burningtheground
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