Tag: Ian Little

Duran Duran – The Reflex (Dance Mix) (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984

NEW 2022 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Originally posted August 14, 2012

++ Of note the original transfer in 2012 was the USA 12″ of “The Reflex” which was pressed at 33 ⅓ RPM it also did not include the live b-side track. For this NEW 2022 Transfer, I decided to use the UK 12″ which is pressed at 45 RPM for better sound fidelity along with the addition of “Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)” recorded live on the b-side.

“The Reflex” is the eleventh single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released in 1984. The song was heavily remixed for single release and was the third and last to be taken from their third studio album Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983). The single became the band’s first to reach the top of the US singles chart and their second to top the UK singles chart.

“The Reflex” became the band’s most successful single, topping the UK chart on 5 May 1984. It was their second UK No. 1, after 1983’s “Is There Something I Should Know?”, and would prove to be their last. The single entered the charts in America on 21 April 1984 at no. 46, became Duran Duran’s first of two singles to hit no. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 (for 2 weeks) on 23 June 1984 , and was a huge hit internationally. (Their only other single to hit no. 1 in the US was the title song to the 1985 James Bond film “A View to a Kill”.) It was also the first of two songs that kept “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen out of the top spot (the other one being Prince’s “When Doves Cry”). The band wanted it to be the lead single from Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), but their label did not like the warbling singing during the “why don’t you use it” segments, thinking this would hinder its success as a stand-alone single track.

The remixes for both the 7″ and 12″ singles were created by Nile Rodgers, of Chic fame. It was his first work with the band, and he would later go on to produce “The Wild Boys” single as well as the album Notorious (1986) and several tracks on Astronaut (2004).

Producer Ian Little recalled the sound Nick Rhodes came up with on his Roland Jupiter-8 keyboard: “…whenever I hear that steel-drum part it always brings a smile to my face because it’s so out of tune. Steel drums always are, but it was exactly right in terms of rhythm and tone. So a wood-block sound was mixed in to make it even more percussive and, successfully, it did the job.”

The live B-side “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)” is a cover version of a Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel song, recorded 16 November 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon in London, with lead Rebel Steve Harley joining the band onstage.

SIDE A:
The Reflex (Dance Mix) 6:34
Mixed By – Jason CorsaroNile Rodgers
Written-By – Duran Duran

SIDE B:
The Reflex (Dance Mix Edited) 4:22
Mixed By –Jason CorsaroNile Rodgers
Written-By – Duran Duran

Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) 4:55
Mixed By – Ian Little
Written-By –Steve Harley

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHARTS HISTORY

Year Single Chart Position
1984 The Reflex U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #1
1984 The Reflex U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #15

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI – 12DURAN 2, EMI – 12 DURAN 2
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: Apr 28, 1984
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Lacquer Cut By –  Arun*
Producer – Alex Sadkin (tracks: A, B1), Duran Duran (tracks: A, B1), Ian Little (tracks: A, B1)

NOTES:
Track B2 recorded live in November 1982 at Hammersmith Odeon.
Manufactured In The UK By EMI Records Limited.

From the LP “Seven And The Ragged Tiger”

Buy 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.



Belouis Some – Target Practice (UK 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984

“Target Practice” is a song by British singer and musician Belouis Some, which was released in 1984 as his first major-label single after his 1981 debut “Lose It to You”. The song was written by Some, and produced by Peter Schwier and Ian Little.

“Target Practice” was re-recorded in New York in early 1985, with Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero as the producers. This new version was included in Some’s 1985 debut album Some People. It was also released as a single in 1986 and reached No. 16 on South Africa Springbok Chart in 1986, which was his third consecutive top 20 hit there. A music video for the 1986 release was directed by Brian Travers and produced by Annie Croft for PMI.

Track B1 is listed as “Some People” on the sleeve, and as “Somepeople” on the vinyl label. It´s the original 1984 version, different from the 1985 releases.

SIDE A:
Target Practice (Extended) 7:23
Mixed By – Steve Thompson

SIDE B:
Somepeople 4:17
Target Practice (Revisited) 7:40

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
Poster: Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI ‎– 12EMI 5462
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Co-producer – BelouisIan LittlePeter Schwier
Mastered By – Nickz*
Photography By – Sheila Rock
Sleeve – C·More·Tone*
Written-By – Belouis*

NOTES:
‘Includes Free Poster’ sticker on sleeve. Manufactured in the UK.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL 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


Password: burningtheground

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

Duran Duran – Union Of The Snake (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Union of the Snake” is the ninth single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 17 October 1983.

“Union of the Snake” was the lead single from the band’s third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), and preceded its release by one month. It was originally titled, “The Union at Stake”, when the band was interviewed on The Oxford Road Show in March 1983 before their first performance of “Is there something I should know?” on U.K. television. It became one of Duran Duran’s most popular singles, hitting number one on the US Cash Box and peaking at number three on both the US Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks at the end of 1983. Further chart movement was prevented by “Say Say Say” by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson and “Say It Isn’t So” by Daryl Hall and John Oates. It also reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.

After a songwriting session near Cannes in France, much of the band’s third album was recorded at George Martin’s AIR Studios on the Caribbean island of Montserrat with producer Alex Sadkin, then mixed at 301 Studios in Sydney. Mixing for “Union of the Snake” was done right up to the last minute before the tapes had to be turned over to EMI for pressing.

Lyricist Simon Le Bon (notoriously reticent about explaining his oblique lyrics) hinted in the Duran Duran lyric book The Book of Words that the borderline might be one between the conscious and subconscious minds. In later interviews, he proclaimed that it was a reference to Tantric sex.

Drummer Roger Taylor stated that the beat and drum track was based upon David Bowie’s 1983 single “Let’s Dance”.

The B-side to “Union of the Snake” was the atmospheric piece “Secret Oktober”. Twenty-four hours before the master tapes of the single were to be delivered to EMI for distribution, singer Simon Le Bon and keyboardist Nick Rhodes wrote and mixed the B-side “Secret Oktober” in an all-night recording session.

**The “Super Mix” contained on this Japan 12″ single is also titled “Monkey Mix” on other releases.

SIDE A:
Union Of The Snake (Super Mix) 6:23

SIDE B:
Union Of The Snake (Single Version) 4:20
Secret Oktober 2:45

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
Obi: Near Mint
Insert: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1983 Union Of The Snake U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #6
1983 Union Of The Snake U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #2
1983 Union Of The Snake U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #33

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI ‎– EMS-27008
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Liner Notes [対訳]山本安見*
Photography By – Jeff Hornbaker
Producer – Alex Sadkin
Producer [In Association With] – Duran Duran, Ian Little
Sleeve – assorted iMaGes*
Written-By, Arranged By – Duran Duran

NOTES:
Track A termed (Super Mix) on the back sleeve, also referred to as (The Monkey Mix) on other releases (116bpm).
Track B1 termed (Single Version) on the back sleeve, (7″ Version) on the label.

With obi and single-sided lyric/info insert.

〄 MADE IN JAPAN

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
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

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

Duran Duran – New Moon On Monday (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“New Moon on Monday” is the tenth single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 23 January 1984 in the United Kingdom.

The second single to be taken from the band’s third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), the song was another success, reaching the top-ten on both the UK and US charts. On 11 February 1984, the single reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and on 17 March, it reached number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, after entering on 14 January 1984 at number 56. It did not chart well in Australia and Scandinavia, territories where its predecessor, “Union of the Snake”, had been a big hit. This trend was reversed with the next single, “The Reflex”, which became a worldwide number-one hit.

In a retrospective review, “New Moon on Monday” was praised by Allmusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco, who wrote: “The music holds the unusual lyrics together by wedding effervescent verse melodies that bounce high and low to a triumphant-sounding chorus with a rousing feel.”

The music video for “New Moon on Monday” was filmed by director Brian Grant during the icy first week of January 1984, in the village of Noyers in France. It has a loosely sketched storyline in which the band appear as members of an underground rebellion called “La Luna” (the name is one of the few connections between the video’s content and the song lyrics), organizing a revolt against a modern (1980s-era computers are used) oppressive militaristic regime, apparently in France.

“We set out to make a little movie”, recalled Grant. “I’m not sure we succeeded.” He was not the first choice to shoot the video, as Russell Mulcahy, director of many of the band’s other videos, was unavailable.

Several versions of this video exist. The longest is a 17-minute “movie version” which includes an extended introduction before the song starts (including a scene of dialogue between Simon Le Bon and the story’s female lead, played by Patricia Barzyk, winner of the Miss France title in 1980; a brief snippet of “Union of the Snake” is also heard on a radio), and is set to an extended remix of the song. A shorter version, with a spoken French-dialogue intro, was originally submitted to MTV, who then later requested an even shorter version without the prologue.

Yet another version was produced for the Dancing on the Valentine video collection, showing blue-lit scenes of the band members in front of a full-moon backdrop. All but one of the versions were included as easter eggs on the 2004 DVD compilation Greatest.

Both Andy Taylor and Nick Rhodes say this is the band’s least favorite video. “Everybody … hates it, particularly the dreadful scene at the end where we all dance together”, Taylor wrote in his memoirs. “Even today, I cringe and leave the room if anyone plays [it].” He recalls that they were miserable since their Christmas holiday had been cut short to shoot the video, and spent most of the day on the dark and cold set drinking, to the point that he was “half cut” by the time the last scenes were shot. “It’s one of the few times I’ve seen Nick dance”.

“New Moon on Monday” was backed with a remix of the instrumental “Tiger Tiger” done by Ian Little. The original version of the instrumental was found on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger album. The release was rounded out by an extended version of the title track.

SIDE A:
New Moon On Monday (Remix) 6:04
Remix – Ian Little

SIDE B:
Tiger Tiger (Remix) 3:25
Remix – Ian LittleIan Little
Saxophone – Andy Hamilton (7)

New Moon On Monday 4:16

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1984 New Moon On Monday U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #10

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI ‎– 12 DURAN 1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 04 Feb 1984
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Arranged By, Written-By – Duran Duran
Photography By – Rebecca Blake (2)
Producer – Alex Sadkin, Duran Duran, Ian Little
Sleeve [Sleeve Produced By] – Assorted iMaGes

NOTES:
From the DURAN DURAN LP “SEVEN AND THE RAGGED TIGER”

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