BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984
“Self Control” is a song by Italian singer Raf, released in 1984. It was written by Giancarlo Bigazzi, Steve Piccolo, and Raf. The song was covered the same year by American singer Laura Branigan. Her version first hit no. 1 in Germany on June 15, 1984. Raf’s version first hit no. 1 in Italy on June 23, 1984. Both versions of the song were popular across Europe during much of the summer of 1984 and were the most successful single of the year in Switzerland. Branigan’s version peaked at no. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and also went to no. 2 on the dance chart.
The song has become one of the defining songs of the 1980s, with a number of remakes recorded each year. Notable covers include Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin in 1993, a hit dance remake by Branigan in 2004 and two 2006 versions that hit the Top 5 in various European enclaves, by Danish dance group Infernal and Spanish singer Soraya Arnelas.
Raf, born as Raffaele Riefoli, co-wrote the song “Self Control” with Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo. His version of “Self Control” peaked at no. 1 in Italy. It also notably edged into no. 1 in Switzerland between runs at the top spot by Laura Branigan’s version of “Self Control”, and peaked at no. 2 in Germany, no. 7 in Austria and at no. 40 in France. Raf released an extended dance mix of the song, like Branigan, but Raf’s version featured a rap (performed by two other rap vocalists), relatively rare for a white artist at the time.
He would release several more tracks in English and re-release his debut 1984 album Raf in 1987 under the title Self Control, featuring two of these tracks. Although his English-language album and especially the singles proved to be quite successful in Italy and elsewhere, he began releasing his later albums in his native language, almost all of which received better in Italy than the English-language albums; many of them entered Italy’s Top 10 album chart.
SIDE A:
Self Control (Special Maxi Version) 6:09
SIDE B:
Running Away 5:40
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Carrere – 8.338, Carrere – 8338
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: France
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Italo-Disco
CREDITS:
Arranged By – C. Valli*
Artwork – Grafica Solari
Other [Make Up] – Claudio Dereira
Photography By – R. Bastianoni*
Producer – G. Bigazzi*
Written-By – A. Primadei* (tracks: B), G. Bigazzi* (tracks: A), R. Riefoli*, S. Piccolo*
NOTES:
Made in France
Special Thanks to Anna Chu e Francesca Lotti
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
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
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
