Vacation Time!
After four weeks of Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition, I’m taking a little break.
Burning The Ground will be on vacation for the next two weeks while I recharge, relax, and give the turntable a well-earned rest.
Thank you again for all the incredible support during the series.
I’ll see you when I return!
-Paul
The world lost one of its brightest lights today.
Dolly Parton, the legendary singer, songwriter, actress, and humanitarian, has passed away at the age of 80.
It is difficult to imagine a world without Dolly in it.
For more than six decades, she was a constant presence in American music and culture. That unmistakable voice. The big hair. The rhinestones. The wonderful sense of humor. And behind all of it was one of the finest songwriters popular music has ever known.
Dolly could break your heart with just a few words.
“Coat of Many Colors” told a story of childhood poverty with pride and tenderness. “Jolene” turned jealousy and desperation into one of the most recognizable songs ever recorded. And “I Will Always Love You,” written as a farewell to Porter Wagoner, became something far greater than its original story. Dolly recorded it herself more than once before Whitney Houston carried it to another generation.
Then there was “9 to 5.”
When Dolly crossed over into movies in 1980, she did it the way she seemed to do everything. Completely on her own terms. She starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, wrote one of the biggest songs of her career for the film, and proved that the woman many people had dismissed as simply a country singer could seemingly do just about anything.
Country. Pop. Gospel. Bluegrass. Movies. Television. Broadway. Dollywood.
Somehow, through all of it, Dolly remained Dolly.
She also understood something that fame can sometimes make people forget. Success means very little if you cannot use some of it to help somebody else.
Her Imagination Library placed books into the hands of millions of children. She supported education, health care, disaster relief, and countless other causes, often without making herself the center of the story.
That generosity became as much a part of Dolly Parton as the music.
Perhaps that is why her passing feels different.
There are famous people. There are superstars. There are legends.
And then there are those rare people who somehow become part of our lives, even though most of us never met them.
Dolly was one of those people.
Her songs were played at weddings and funerals. They came through car radios, jukeboxes, record players, cassette decks, CD players, and streaming services. Parents introduced her music to their children, who eventually introduced it to theirs.
Generations grew up with Dolly.
She survived changing musical tastes, changing fashions, and an entertainment business that repeatedly tried to decide what women were supposed to look like, sound like, and become as they grew older.
Dolly simply kept going.
She never stopped writing.
She never stopped dreaming.
And thankfully for us, she left behind an enormous body of music that will continue speaking for her.
Today there will be plenty of Dolly Parton songs played around the world.
But one will probably mean a little more than all the others.
“I Will Always Love You.”
Today, those words belong to Dolly.
And millions of us are saying them back to her.
Rest in peace, Dolly Parton.
1946–2026
-DjPaulT
Burning The Ground Exclusive
Well, here we are.
Four weeks.
A whole lot of movies.
A whole lot of vinyl.
Extended mixes, dubs, instrumentals, bonus beats, promo pressings, gophers, summer schools, weird science, and more soundtrack trivia than any reasonable person probably needs.
And now the closing credits are about to roll.
For the final entry in Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition, I wanted something big.
Something legendary.
Something with enough energy to send us out properly.
So how about the Queen of Soul taking on the Rolling Stones?
Today’s selection is Aretha Franklin and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” recorded for the 1986 Whoopi Goldberg comedy of the same name.
That should do it.
Directed by Penny Marshall, Jumpin’ Jack Flash stars Whoopi Goldberg as Terry Doolittle, a computer operator at a New York bank who unexpectedly begins communicating with a British intelligence agent trapped behind the Iron Curtain.
Remember when computers were mysterious enough that Hollywood could make almost anything happen through one?
Apparently Weird Science was not the only movie taking advantage of that.
Terry becomes caught up in espionage, secret codes, assassins, and government agents while trying to help the mysterious man using the code name “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.”
Naturally, the Rolling Stones song becomes part of the puzzle.
The Stones’ original recording is heard in the film, but when the closing credits arrive, the microphone is handed over to Aretha Franklin.
And Aretha does not exactly tiptoe into the room.
Her version of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” was produced by none other than Keith Richards.
Yes, Keith Richards produced Aretha Franklin singing a Rolling Stones song.
The 1980s really could make some wonderful things happen.
Keith also plays guitar on the recording, joined by fellow Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. The session included Randy Jackson on bass, Chuck Leavell on keyboards, Steve Jordan on drums, and Aretha herself on piano.
That is quite a band.
Steve Lillywhite engineered the session, adding yet another major name to an already impressive list of credits.
And then there is Aretha.
She does not attempt to imitate Mick Jagger.
Why would she?
She takes the song, plants both feet firmly on the ground, and turns it into an Aretha Franklin record.
There is gospel in it.
There is soul.
There is rock.
There is attitude.
And there is that voice.
Keith Richards gives the record plenty of grit, but Aretha takes complete ownership of the song.
The connection to the movie continued with the music video, which was directed by Penny Marshall and features Whoopi Goldberg alongside Aretha, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood.
Whoopi even gets pulled into the action with Aretha, making the video feel like a playful extension of the film rather than simply another promotional clip.
With Aretha Franklin, Whoopi Goldberg, and two Rolling Stones all sharing the screen, subtlety was clearly not the goal.
And thank goodness for that.
Interestingly, despite being recorded for Jumpin’ Jack Flash and playing over the film’s closing credits, Aretha’s version was not included on the original soundtrack album.
There is another one for the soundtrack-collector mystery file.
The song instead appeared on Aretha’s 1986 album Aretha and was released as a single by Arista.
It became another solid chart success for her, reaching No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 20 on Hot Black Singles, No. 33 on the Dance chart, and No. 36 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Yes.
Aretha Franklin on the Mainstream Rock chart.
I love that.
The single also charted internationally, including the UK, Germany, and Switzerland.
Then we get to the US 12-inch.
And this is where things become interesting for collectors.
The US promotional 12-inch was issued by Arista under catalog number AD1-9529, but there are two variations of the record circulating with the same catalog number.
Both sleeves list the Album Version among the tracks.
One pressing actually contains it.
Mine does not.
Even though the sleeve says it is there.
My copy contains four mixes of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” with the Album Version completely absent from the record itself.
You have to love vinyl collecting.
Sometimes even the record does not know what is on the record.
What my copy does give us is a terrific group of alternate mixes that take Aretha’s rock-and-soul performance into much more rhythmic territory.
Additional production and remix work was handled by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero, a team whose names will be very familiar to anyone who spent time reading the fine print on 1980s 12-inch singles.
The Street Mix pushes the rhythm forward and gives the track a tougher, more contemporary mid-’80s feel.
There is also a shorter Street Mix Radio Edit, bringing that same treatment into a more compact form.
Then we get the Master Dub Mix and Beat Dub Mix, where the record begins to come apart in all the ways we 12-inch collectors love.
Drums move forward.
Vocals appear and disappear.
Guitars, percussion, and little pieces of the arrangement suddenly have room to breathe.
Aretha Franklin.
Keith Richards.
And a dub mix.
That alone might explain why I have been doing this series for four weeks.
This record also seems like an appropriate place to finish because it represents so much of what Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition has been about.
A major artist doing something unexpected.
A song connected to a movie in a slightly unusual way.
A 12-inch with mixes that tell another part of the story.
And, in this case, even a pressing variation that can make two supposedly identical copies something quite different.
That is the fun of collecting these records.
You think you know the single.
Then you flip it over.
Read the label.
Compare the sleeve.
Listen closely.
And discover there is still another story hiding in the grooves.
When I began this series, I originally planned to do it for one week.
Then you wanted another.
And another.
And another.
So here we are four weeks later.
I want to thank everyone who followed along, downloaded the transfers, shared memories, corrected details, added stories, discovered records they had never heard before, or rediscovered something they had forgotten.
Your enthusiasm turned a one-week idea into something much bigger.
Tomorrow I begin a two-week vacation, and the turntable will be taking a little break along with me.
But this is not goodbye to Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition.
There are still plenty of records left.
And as we established earlier…
This is the ’80s.
Everything gets a sequel.
So someday, the ladies will return.
For now, though, the lights are coming up.
The theater is emptying.
The final record is spinning.
Four weeks.
Dozens of records.
One last blast from the soundtrack.
And who better to take us home than Aretha Franklin?
It’s all right now.
The closing credits are rolling.
And Jumpin’ Jack Flash is a gas, gas, gas.
SIDE A:
Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Street Mix) 6:10
SIDE B:
Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Street Mix-Radio Edit) 4:39
Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Master Dub Mix) 4:35
Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Beat Dub Mix) 4:11
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
| “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” Chart Performance (1986) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Germany Singles Chart | 42 |
| Netherlands Dutch Top 40 | 48 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 43 |
| Sweden Singles Chart | 14 |
| Switzerland Singles Chart | 19 |
| UK Singles Chart | 58 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 21 |
| US Billboard Hot Black Singles | 20 |
| US Billboard Dance | 33 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Rock | 36 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Arista – ADI-9529
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
NOTES:
The sleeve lists “Album Mix” as track A1, but that track is omitted from this pressing.
From Aretha’s album “Aretha”, and the Twentieth Century Fox film, “Jumping Jack Flash”
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2
Phono Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
Audio Interface: MOTU M4
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Cleaning Solution: Turgikleen Record Cleaning Solution
Scanner: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (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
PLEASE READ
There are two 24-Bit links; if one does not work, try the other
**24-bit FLAC Only Available For SIX Days!
Password: burningtheground
You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal.
I appreciate your help.
Burning The Ground
Yesterday we went back to Summer School.
Today we are…
Running Scared.
And longtime readers of this series may be thinking, “Haven’t we been here before?”
Yes, we have.
Earlier in Ladies Of The 80’s: Soundtrack Edition, we visited the 1986 film Running Scared for Kim Wilde’s “Say You Really Want Me.”
Apparently one trip to Chicago was not enough.
For the second-to-last entry in the series, we return to the soundtrack for Klymaxx and “Man Size Love.”
Running Scared, directed by Peter Hyams, stars Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal as Chicago police detectives Ray Hughes and Danny Costanzo, two wisecracking partners who decide they have had enough of police work and plan to retire to Key West.
Naturally, there is one more case to finish first.
Because retirement in an ’80s buddy-cop movie is never that easy.
The film was released on June 27, 1986, and also stars Jimmy Smits, Steven Bauer, Darlanne Fluegel, Joe Pantoliano, and Dan Hedaya. It went on to earn more than $38 million at the US box office.
Then there is the soundtrack.
This was no collection of leftovers.
Rod Temperton played a major role in the project, with Temperton, Dick Rudolph, and legendary engineer Bruce Swedien producing the soundtrack album. Temperton also wrote several of its songs.
And look at the lineup.
Klymaxx.
Michael McDonald.
Ready For The World.
New Edition.
Patti LaBelle.
Kim Wilde.
Fee Waybill.
There is a lot happening on this record.
“Man Size Love” opens the soundtrack, and it was written by Rod Temperton, the man whose résumé includes Heatwave’s “Boogie Nights,” George Benson’s “Give Me The Night,” and, of course, Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” and “Thriller.”
So expectations are already pretty high.
Temperton produced “Man Size Love” with Dick Rudolph and Bruce Swedien, giving the record the kind of polished pop, R&B, and dance production you would expect from that team.
Big synthesizers.
A funky bass line.
Those unmistakable mid-’80s drums.
And Klymaxx coming at the song with plenty of attitude.
Subtle?
Not particularly.
But with a title like “Man Size Love,” subtle probably was not on the agenda.
Klymaxx were already enjoying a major breakthrough by this point. Their previous single, the ballad “I Miss You,” had climbed all the way to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Man Size Love” proved they could follow a big ballad with something completely different.
The single reached No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 43 on the R&B chart, and No. 18 on Billboard’s Dance Club chart. It also reached No. 55 in Canada.
Across the Atlantic, the single received another chance in early 1987 and reached No. 86 on the UK Singles Chart.
There was also an official promotional video for the song, giving Klymaxx plenty of visibility during the summer of 1986.
But, of course, we are here for the 12-inch.
And this one does not disappoint.
The US 12-inch takes “Man Size Love” far beyond the soundtrack version, with an Extended Remix and Instrumental on one side before things become considerably more adventurous with the Man Size Mix and Son Of Man Size Mix.
Whoever named these mixes understood the assignment.
The Man Size Mix stretches the track to nearly nine minutes, while the Son Of Man Size Mix gives us another alternate treatment. Louil Silas Jr. was involved with the extended remix work, with Taavi Mote engineering the remix.
Once again, the 12-inch becomes more than simply a longer version of the hit.
The rhythm gets pulled apart.
Vocals move in and out.
Percussion gets extra room.
Little pieces of Rod Temperton’s arrangement that pass quickly in the regular version suddenly get their own moment.
This is exactly why I love these records.
The soundtrack gives you the song.
The 12-inch lets you climb inside it.
“Man Size Love” was later included on Klymaxx’s self-titled 1986 album, but its original identity remains strongly connected to Running Scared.
And it was not the only hit the movie produced.
Michael McDonald’s “Sweet Freedom” reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, while New Edition’s “Once In A Lifetime Groove” became a Top 10 R&B and Dance hit.
For a buddy-cop comedy, Running Scared certainly knew how to fill a dance floor.
So here we are.
Four weeks.
Dozens of movies, singers, remixes, dubs, bonus beats, gophers, summer schools, and more 12-inch vinyl than any sensible person should probably own.
And now only one entry remains.
But before we roll the final reel tomorrow…
Klymaxx has one request.
No small love.
No medium love.
Today…
we’re going Man Size.
SIDE A:
Man Size Love (Extended Remix) 4:43
Engineer [Remix] – Bruce Swedien
Man Size Love (Instrumental) 4:39
Engineer [Remix] – Bruce Swedien
SIDE B:
Man Size Love (Man Size Mix) 8:41
Engineer [Remix] – Taavi Mote
Remix – Louil Silas Jr.
Man Size Love (Son Of Man Size Mix) 6:47
Engineer [Remix] – Taavi Mote
Remix – Louil Silas Jr.
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
| “Man Size Love” Chart Performance 1986 | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM Top Singles | 55 |
| UK Singles Chart | 86 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 15 |
| US Billboard Hot Black Singles | 43 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance/Disco | 18 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – MCA-23642
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: Jul 1986
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop, Electro
CREDITS:
NOTES:
Theme from the Motion Picture, “Running Scared”
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Ject Tube Box DS2
Phono Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
Audio Interface: MOTU M4
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Cleaning Solution: Turgikleen Record Cleaning Solution
Scanner: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (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
PLEASE READ
There are two 24-Bit links; if one does not work, try the other
**24-bit FLAC Only Available For SIX Days!
Password: burningtheground
You can help show your support for this blog by donating using PayPal.
I appreciate your help.
