Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985
NEW 2022 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Restoration!
Originally posted April 16, 2014
++The U.S. “Long Mix” is an alternate mix which is about one minute shorter than the “Long Version” released in Europe and Japan.
“Freedom” is a hit song by British pop duo Wham!. “Freedom” was number one in the UK for three weeks, and featured on the album Make It Big, which was issued at the same time. “Freedom” was the 10th biggest-selling single of 1984. This song also reached number 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the US in September 1985. The music video, coinciding with the 1985 US release, features the band touring around Beijing, China.
The song finds George Michael telling a girl that he wants to fully commit to her, and not have one of those relationships where they can see other people.
When Wham! went to China in April, 1985, they became the first Western Pop act to play a concert in that country. While there is absolutely nothing political about the song, footage from the trip was used to make a music video for the track, implying a more global meaning of the title.
The video opens with about a minute of the band talking under clips of the Chinese people and the countryside. Wham! was one of the biggest acts on MTV at the time, but the network, fearing the short attention spans of their viewers, wanted to cut out the intro (this was before Michael Jackson changed the game with “Thriller”). The band’s manager, Simon Napier-Bell, refused, and MTV ended up airing the full video. Napier-Bell apparently found the negotiations with MTV much easier than those with the Chinese government.
In an interview with the Christmas 2009 issue of THE BIG ISSUE, Michael said of this song, that when he wrote it he knew he had arrived: “When I was 19, I wrote Freedom – the original version – and I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’ve just done that!’ I was absolutely thrilled. Because until then I had no real understanding of my abilities, but with Freedom, I started to take myself seriously as a writer.”
SIDE A:
Freedom (Long Mix) 6:17
SIDE B:
Heartbeat 4:42
Freedom (Instrumental) 5:04
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Freedom | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #3 |
| 1984 | Freedom | U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | #4 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia – 44-05238
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
Arranged By, Producer – George Michael
Written-By – G. Michael*
NOTES:
Taken from the Columbia LP: “MAKE IT BIG”
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
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FANTASTIC work as ever Paul, many thanks.
On a sidenote, Ray of Sunshine has had numerous plays this weekend, for no reason other than both the versions I know, are just so great. Especially as the leaves are turning golden…..Thanks again. Have a great week fella.
Por este e muitos mais: GRATO!
Excited to see this! Thanks so much!
Thanks for this! Any chance of remastering Joe Jackson’s You Can’t Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)?
Ooooo, seconding this as something I’d love to see too at some point!
yeah!
Oh wow! I didn’t know the US and the UK (Long Version) were different from each other. Thanks for reposting this US version.
Great Music. Thanks so much.
You’re welcome, Adrian 🙂
I didn’t discover George Michael until Listen Without Prejudice was released in 1990.
Since that time I’ve come to appreciate his varied musical talents and I’ve become a fan. Not a super fan, but a fan nonetheless 😉
Thank you Paul, for Freedom.
“Listen Without Prejudice” is a great place to start on a George Michael journey probably my favorite of his solo work.
‘Listen Without Prejudice’ is the work by George Michael that I always return to. Besides music you can listen or dance to, ‘s sends clear and profound messages with his lyrics. I think if most people were honest, they’d admit to having their own closets where they hide secrets, shames and fears. I’d even wager that some people, like flag-waving family values-types probably have several closets. ‘Listen Without Prejudice,’ and ‘Freedom’ in particular, is very sentimental for yours truly. ‘Freedom’ arrived at a time in my life when I was in a lot of pain and seriously reexamining my life… Read more »
Thank you for sharing your private thoughts with us. This really is why I wanted to start this site in the first place so that we can all be touched by music.
It’s so important that you revisit these classic records, Paul. You get new fans in the process and remind us old fans the greatness that was Wham! Still, this is such a fun record. I only wish that George could have recaptured that enthusiastic vibe of his old band’s music!!
Jeff
Thank you, Jeff 🙂
Thanks Paul, one of my, if not my all time favorite Wham! single! In meticulous quality of course!
My favorite too Retro Hound 🙂