BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Eyes” is the third and final single from the album Cats Without Claws by Donna Summer. Edited in length from the original version on the album, the single peaked at No. 97 for one week on the UK charts.

A remix of the calypso-ish “I’m Free” from the Cats Without Claws album was included on the B-side of the UK release of the “Eyes” 12″ single. “I’m Free” was performed by Donna and her back-up band on a Dick Clark’s American Bandstand 1984 Christmas special and Soul Train, indicating that this had originally been intended to be the next single.

SIDE A:
Eyes (Extended Mix) 6:58
Engineer [Mix] – Michael Hutchinson
Mixed By – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Engineer [Assistant] – Sabrina Buchanek

SIDE B:
I’m Free 6:18
Engineer [Mix] – Michael Hutchinson
Mixed By – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Engineer [Assistant] – Sabrina Buchanek

It’s Not The Way 4:22

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records – U 9103 T
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: May 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Producer, Arranged By – Michael Omartian

NOTES:
Original version of “Eyes” and “It’s Not The Way” available on the Warner Bros. album “Cats Without Claws” (2 50806-1)

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

PW: burningtheground

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

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Supernatural Love” is the second single from Donna Summer’s 1984 Cats Without Claws album. The typically 1980s synthesised song was remixed for its release as a single and became a minor hit in the US. It was accompanied by a very colourful video again featuring Donna and husband Bruce Sudano as a star-crossed couple chasing each other through time – from the stone age into current 80′s New Wave.

SIDE A:
Supernatural Love (Extended Dance Remix) 6:12
Remix – Juergen Koppers*

SIDE B:
Face The Music 4:14

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records – 0-20273
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Written-By – Bruce Sudano, Donna Summer
Written-By, Producer – Michael Omartian

NOTES:
Original version of Supernatural Love available on the album “Cats Without Claws”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

PW: burningtheground

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

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)” is a hit single from Donna Summer’s self-titled 1982 album.

Summer’s 1980 The Wanderer album – the inaugural release on Geffen Records – had been certified gold in America although it did not enjoy numerous hit singles as some of her ’70s releases had enjoyed. Summer had prepped her next album, I’m a Rainbow – a double set which continued her association with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte , but David Geffen, compelled by the need for what he considered a guaranteed smash, had shelved I’m a Rainbow and assigned Summer to record an album with producer Quincy Jones. Jones was a much sought-after producer at the time, particularly due to his association with Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall album.

“Love Is In Control (Finger On the Trigger)” was the lead single off the Jones’ produced album Donna Summer. It was written by Jones and Rod Temperton – who’d also written Jackson’s “Rock with You”. Summer reports that the recording process for this album was challenging, as she was pregnant at the time and unhappy over I’m a Rainbow’ being shelved by Geffen Records.

The single was issued in three different versions: the 7″ single release (3:42), the LP version (4:19), and a 12″ single version (7:04). The 12″ version features an instrumental saxophone by Ernie Watts on the B-side.

“Love Is in Control (Finger On the Trigger)” became a major hit, peaking at #10 on the US Hot 100 in the summer of 1982, giving Summer her sixteenth top 40 hit, and reaching #4 on the US R&B Chart. It was Summer’s best R&B showing since “Bad Girls” in 1979 — even using police whistles in the song as in Bad Girls. Although the parent album was certified gold in the US, it did not produce any more major hits and did not prove the powerhouse album Geffen Records had hoped for.

Ironically, Summer would have her biggest success in the 1980s while on Geffen’s roster with her next album She Works Hard for the Money and its title cut – which were released by Mercury Records in a one-off arrangement to settle Summer’s split with the soon-to-be-defunct Casablanca Records, whose catalogue now resided with Mercury and Casablanca’s parent company Polygram Records.

SIDE A:
Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger) (Extended Remix) 7:03

SIDE B:
Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger) (Instrumental) 7:03
Featuring Saxophone By – Ernie Watts

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

CHARTS:

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records
Catalog#: 0-29938
Format: Vinyl, 12″
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic
Style: Disco
Credits: Producer – Quincy Jones
Remix – Bruce Swedien, Craig Kostich

NOTES:
Remixed From The Original 4:20 Version
Available On The Geffen Album Donna Summer (GHS 2005)
B: “Instrumental featuring Ernie Watts on saxophone solo)”
Ernie Waters Appears Courtesy Of Qwest Records

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 20
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

PW: burningtheground

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

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1977

Since it’s  the first day of winter, I thought this song would be very fitting.

“Winter Melody” is a song by Donna Summer released as a single in late 1976 from her Four Seasons of Love album. It became a top 30 hit in the UK, where it peaked at #27.

By this time Summer was making her name as the queen of disco music, though this song is a soul ballad. The song represented the “winter” phase of the concept album, and speaks of a woman struggling to come to terms with the fact that her relationship has ended. As with much of Summer’s material at that time (particularly with songs found on her concept albums), the song played for a considerable amount of time (over six minutes), however, the song was edited for its release as a single.

SIDE A:
Winter Melody (Edit)  3:58

SIDE B:
Spring Affair (Edit) 3:39

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

CHARTS:

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“Dinner with Gershwin” is song written by Brenda Russell. It was first recorded by Donna Summer in 1987, which Russell co-produced with Richard Perry.

“Dinner With Gershwin” was the first single off Summer’s All Systems Go album which was Summer’s first album of new material released in four years. “Dinner With Gershwin” returned Summer to the Billboard R&B Top Ten – at #10 – for a final time but became the first lead single off a Donna Summer album of new material since 1978 to fall short of the Pop Top 40, peaking at #48.

“Dinner With Gershwin” was better received on the UK charts entering the Top 30 in November 1987, with Summer’s 19 November appearance on Top of the Pops – her first – assisting the track to a #13 peak.

Brenda Russell later recorded her own version of the song for her 1990 album Kiss Me With The Wind.

DISCOGS LINK

RELEASE/PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Label: Geffen Records
Catalog#: 0-20635
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Co-producer, Written-By – Brenda Russell (2)
Design – Janet Levinson
Engineer [Additional] – Steve Peck
Engineer [Second] – Ken Felton , Scott Maddox
Mixed By – Jim Tract
Mixed By, Engineer – Glen Holguin
Photography – Tony Viramontes
Producer – Richard Perry

NOTES
Recorded at Studio 55, Los Angeles

SIDE A
(A) Dinner With Gershwin (Extended Version) 7:43
SIDE B
(B) Dinner With Gershwin (Instrumental Version) 4:52

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 20
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

PW: burningtheground

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