Pointer Sisters – Neutron Dance / I’m So Excited (Japan 12″ Promo) (1984)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

BTG fans have spoken.

Ladies Of The 80s: Soundtrack Edition is officially returning for a fourth week!

To begin, we have the Pointer Sisters, one of the most successful and versatile female groups of the 1980s, with “Neutron Dance” from the blockbuster soundtrack to Beverly Hills Cop.

And because one Pointer Sisters classic is never enough, the flip side contains “I’m So Excited.”

Today’s record is a rare Japanese promotional 12-inch that pairs special extended versions of both hits. It is an unusual coupling that appears to have been created exclusively for the Japanese market.

What a way to begin week four.

“Neutron Dance” first appeared on the Pointer Sisters’ 1983 album Break Out. The album became the biggest commercial success of their career and produced an incredible run of singles, including “Automatic,” “Jump (For My Love),” “I’m So Excited,” and “Neutron Dance.”

Written by Allee Willis and Danny Sembello and produced by Richard Perry, “Neutron Dance” featured Ruth Pointer on lead vocals, with Anita and June supporting her.

Ruth was not immediately convinced by the song.

The word “neutron” made her think about bombs, violence, and the threat of nuclear war. Allee Willis encouraged her to stop worrying about the title and sing it with the same gospel spirit Ruth had developed in church.

That advice changed everything.

Ruth’s performance gives the track its soul. She does not simply sing over the electronic production. She attacks it with the force of a gospel performance, turning a strange title into a celebration of survival, determination, and joy.

The verses describe frustration and hardship, but the chorus refuses to surrender. Ruth sounds as though she is determined to keep moving no matter what happens around her.

Sometimes the best answer to trouble is to dance through it.

The song’s path to Beverly Hills Cop also involved a strange twist.

“Neutron Dance” had already appeared on Break Out when Allee Willis received a package from the movie’s producers. Inside was a copy of her own song, along with a request for new music that sounded like it.

Willis and Danny Sembello wrote Patti LaBelle’s “Stir It Up” for the film, but the producers also decided to use “Neutron Dance” itself.

Apparently, no one could write a better “Neutron Dance” than the original writers.

The song plays during the wild opening chase in Beverly Hills Cop. Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley is caught in the back of a speeding truck as it smashes through traffic and leaves destruction across Detroit.

The scene moves fast.

The song moves faster.

Released in December 1984, Beverly Hills Cop became one of the defining comedies of the decade. Its soundtrack was equally successful, featuring Glenn Frey’s “The Heat Is On,” Patti LaBelle’s “New Attitude” and “Stir It Up,” Harold Faltermeyer’s “Axel F,” and the Pointer Sisters’ “Neutron Dance.” The album later won the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media.

The movie gave “Neutron Dance” the push it needed to become a major single.

It reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1985, becoming the fourth Top 10 hit released from Break Out and the final Top 10 pop hit of the Pointer Sisters’ career.

The music video continued the Beverly Hills Cop connection. Ruth, Anita, and June appear as unhappy movie-theater employees while scenes from the film play around them. Bronson Pinchot, who appeared in the movie as Serge, also joined the fun.

The record captures the Pointer Sisters at their commercial peak.

Ruth’s gospel-powered lead vocal is surrounded by synthesizers, electronic drums, handclaps, and a rhythm that never stops pushing forward. It sounds mechanical and human at the same time.

Then we turn the record over.

“I’m So Excited” had already lived more than one life before appearing on this Japanese promo.

Written by Anita, June, and Ruth Pointer with Trevor Lawrence, the song was originally released in 1982. That first release reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A remixed version returned in 1984, was added to later pressings of Break Out, and climbed to number nine. It became one of the group’s signature recordings and remains nearly impossible to hear without singing along.

While “Neutron Dance” features Ruth out front, “I’m So Excited” belongs to Anita.

She begins with a controlled sense of anticipation, but that control does not last long. By the chorus, the sisters are practically exploding out of the speakers.

The Japanese promotional 12-inch gives both songs extra room.

“Neutron Dance” was mixed by Bill Schnee and edited by Michael Brooks. The extended arrangement stretches the introduction, emphasizes the electronic rhythm, and allows Ruth’s vocal ad-libs to build toward the chorus.

“I’m So Excited” was remixed by Gabe Veltri and Jim Tract, with Trevor Lawrence credited as associate producer. Their version expands the percussion, vocals, and instrumental passages without weakening the song’s immediate pop appeal.

This is not simply a soundtrack single with an unrelated B-side.

It is a snapshot of the Pointer Sisters at the height of their powers.

One side gives us the gospel-charged electronic rush of “Neutron Dance.”

The other gives us the unstoppable celebration of “I’m So Excited.”

The Pointer Sisters had already traveled through gospel, jazz, country, funk, soul, rock, and disco before conquering 1980s pop. Few groups could move between so many styles while keeping their identity intact.

That range makes them perfect for Ladies Of The 80s.

Week four is here.

The readers are excited.

The Pointer Sisters are excited.

And somewhere in Detroit, Axel Foley is hanging from the back of a runaway truck.

Let’s do the Neutron Dance.

SIDE A:
Neutron Dance (Special Extended Version) 5:36
Edited By – Michael Brooks
Producer – Richard Perry
Remix – Bill Schnee

SIDE B:
I’m So Excited (Special Extended Version) 5:41
Producer – Trevor Lawrence
Remix – Gabe Veltri, Jim Tract

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Single	Chart	Peak Position
Neutron Dance	Australia (Kent Music Report)	4
Neutron Dance	Canada Top Singles (RPM)	1
Neutron Dance	Germany Singles Chart	18
Neutron Dance	Ireland Singles Chart	14
Neutron Dance	UK Singles Chart	31
Neutron Dance	US Billboard Hot 100	6
Neutron Dance	US Billboard Hot Black Singles	13
Neutron Dance	US Billboard Adult Contemporary	23
Neutron Dance	US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	4
I’m So Excited	Canada Top Singles (RPM)	21
I’m So Excited	Ireland Singles Chart	6
I’m So Excited	UK Singles Chart	11
I’m So Excited	US Billboard Hot 100	9
I’m So Excited	US Billboard Adult Contemporary	25

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Planet (15) – PLR-12002
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop, Soul

NOTES:
Track A: From the Paramount motion picture “Beverly Hills Cop.”

Special Extended Version 45 RPM

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.

August 3, 2026

Are You Ready for Week Four?

When I started Ladies Of The 80s: Soundtrack Edition, I planned to make it a single-themed week.

Then one week became two.

Two became three.

And somehow, there are still plenty of soundtrack singles waiting in the wings.

Over the past three weeks, we have revisited familiar favorites, uncovered forgotten gems, explored rare 12-inch mixes, and returned to a few movies whose soundtracks were far more memorable than the films themselves.

The response has been wonderful, and I have enjoyed reading your memories, stories, and personal connections to these records.

So, I have one question.

Are you ready for a fourth week of Ladies Of The 80s: Soundtrack Edition?

There are still more ladies, more movies, more remixes, and more vinyl waiting to be heard.

Wednesday will be an off day because I have a few doctor appointments, but the series will return on Thursday.

Let me know in the comments.

Do you think the series should continue?

July 31, 2026

Pretty Poison – Catch Me (I’m Falling) (US 12″) (1987)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

NEW 2026 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

For today’s Ladies Of The 80s: Soundtrack Edition, we are heading back to 1987 for a record that seemed to be everywhere once it caught fire.

Pretty Poison’s “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” was featured in the comedy Hiding Out and became one of the biggest dance-pop crossover hits of the late 1980s.

This is also another new 2026 transfer.

I originally posted this single way back in January 2014. More than twelve years later, I returned to the vinyl and recorded it again from scratch using my current equipment and restoration process.

This is not a remaster of the files posted in 2014. It is a completely new transfer.

Pretty Poison formed in Philadelphia in the early 1980s, with Jade Starling on lead vocals and Whey Cooler as one of the group’s principal musicians and songwriters. Their early material leaned toward new wave before they moved into the electronic dance sound that would bring them national attention.

They had already found some club success with “Nighttime,” which reached number 14 on Billboard’s Dance chart in 1984.

But “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” changed everything.

Written by Jade Starling and Whey Cooler and produced by Kae Williams Jr. and Kurt Shore, the song became a regional hit around Philadelphia, selling roughly 20,000 copies through the independent Svengali label. Its success caught the attention of Virgin Records, which gave the record a much larger platform.

Its appearance in the 1987 comedy Hiding Out helped push it even further.

Directed by Bob Giraldi, Hiding Out stars Jon Cryer as Andrew Morenski, a twenty-nine-year-old Boston stockbroker hiding from organized crime who disguises himself as a high-school student named Maxwell Hauser.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Jon Cryer is a twenty-nine-year-old stockbroker pretending to be a teenager.

Only in the ’80s.

The soundtrack was actually quite strong, with Boy George, Public Image Ltd., Hue & Cry, Scarlett & Black, and Roy Orbison with k.d. lang joining Pretty Poison. “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” appears during a roller-rink sequence, which is about as perfectly 1987 as anything could be.

The song itself is pure late-’80s dance-pop and freestyle.

Electronic drums hit hard, synthesizers sparkle, and a thick bassline drives everything forward. Over it all is Jade Starling, delivering a playful, urgent vocal that sounds as though falling in love is happening at full speed.

The chorus is ridiculously infectious. Once “Catch me, I’m falling” gets into your head, good luck getting it back out.

The timing was perfect. Freestyle was moving from the clubs into mainstream pop, and Pretty Poison fit naturally into that world while still sounding like themselves.

The club audience got there first.

“Catch Me (I’m Falling)” reached number one on Billboard’s Dance Club chart in September 1987. Pop radio soon followed, sending the single all the way to number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 by December.

For a group that had recently been selling records independently around Philadelphia, reaching the national Top 10 was quite a leap.

The single had less impact in the UK, peaking at number 85 in early 1988. It later appeared on Pretty Poison’s 1988 debut album, also titled Catch Me I’m Falling.

For 12-inch collectors, however, the single is where the real fun begins.

The 12″ Mix runs approximately 6:10, while the Dub Mix runs about 5:05. Both received additional production and remixing by New York DJ Bruce Forest, with Frank Heller engineering. The Dance Mix and Radio Mix retain the original production by Kae Williams Jr. and Kurt Shore.

Bruce Forest’s 12″ Mix gives the record more room without losing what made it work. The intro stretches out, the rhythm moves forward, and the electronic details have time to breathe before Jade takes over.

The Dub Mix pushes further into the production, breaking the track apart and spotlighting the percussion, keyboards, vocal fragments, and effects.

It is easy to hear why DJs embraced this record.

Even surrounded by all that production, Jade remains the center of attention. Her voice has enough personality to cut through every drum hit and synthesizer.

That may be one reason the record has aged so well.

It is completely, unapologetically 1987.

The drums are huge.

The synthesizers are bright.

The hair was probably even bigger.

Perfect.

Pretty Poison would score another Hot 100 hit with a new version of “Nighttime,” which reached number 36, but “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” remained the song that defined them for the widest audience.

For this new 2026 transfer, I went back to the vinyl and started over. My goal was to preserve the punch of the percussion, the depth of the bass, the layers of synthesizers, and Jade’s soaring vocal while bringing out as much detail as possible.

Pretty Poison may have started with a regional Philadelphia dance record, but “Catch Me (I’m Falling)” refused to stay regional.

The clubs caught it.

Virgin caught it.

Hiding Out caught it.

Then Top 40 radio caught it.

Now, more than twelve years after I first posted it on Burning The Ground, I’m catching it one more time.

Are you ready?

Here it comes.

CLUB REMIX SIDE:
Catch Me (I’m Falling) (12″ Mix) 6:13
Engineer – Frank Heller
Producer [Additional], Remix – Bruce Forest

Catch Me (I’m Falling) (Dub Mix) 5:18
Engineer – Frank Heller
Producer [Additional], Remix – Bruce Forest

RADIO MIX SIDE:
Catch Me (I’m Falling) (Dance Mix) 5:54
Engineer – Mr. Mitch

Catch Me (I’m Falling) (Radio Mix) 4:23
Engineer – Mr. Mitch

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Chart (1987–1988)	Peak Position
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
US Billboard Hot 100	8
New Zealand Singles Chart	26
UK Singles Chart	85

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– 96752-0, Virgin ‎– 0-96752
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, Freestyle, Dance-pop

CREDITS:

Featuring – Jade Starling, Whey Cooler
Management – City Lights Management, Inc.
Performer – Pretty Poison
Producer – Kae Williams Jr., Kurt Shore
Words By, Music By – Jade Starling, Whey Cooler

NOTES:
Recorded at Kajem/Victory Studios, Gladwyne, PA
Remixed at Sound Track Studios, NYC / Electric Lady Studios, NYC

Manufactured & distributed by WEA through arrangement with Atlantic Records

Taken from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of the DEG film “Hiding Out.”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

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.

July 30, 2026

Carly Simon – Why (Extended Version) (UK 12″) (1982)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

After two visits to the Two Of A Kind soundtrack, Ladies Of The 80s: Soundtrack Edition moves to another movie whose music proved far more lasting than the film itself.

Today’s selection is Carly Simon’s “Why,” from the 1982 motion picture soundtrack Soup For One.

On paper, Carly Simon working with Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers might have seemed like an unusual match. Carly was closely associated with the thoughtful singer-songwriter sound of the 1970s, while Edwards and Rodgers had created the sleek dance-floor sound of Chic.

Once the needle drops, however, the question is not why they worked together.

The question is why they did not record an entire album.

“Why” was written, produced, arranged, and conducted by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. Chic recorded the instrumental backing track, while Carly supplied the lead vocal. The result is not a typical Carly Simon record with a disco beat added to it. It is a full Chic production built around one of pop music’s most recognizable voices.

Soup For One was a 1982 romantic comedy written and directed by Jonathan Kaufer. The film follows a New York bachelor searching for the perfect woman. It failed to make much of an impression at the box office, but the soundtrack assembled an impressive collection of R&B, pop, and dance recordings produced by the Chic Organization.

Along with Carly Simon, the album featured Chic, Debbie Harry, Teddy Pendergrass, Sister Sledge, Fonzi Thornton, and the Chic Organization itself.

The film may have disappeared.

The soundtrack refused to go with it.

“Why” was a dramatic change of direction for Carly. The record leaves behind the piano-driven pop and confessional songwriting most listeners associated with her. In their place are Bernard Edwards’ elastic bass, Nile Rodgers’ clipped guitar, soft keyboards, handclaps, and a relaxed rhythm that sits somewhere between post-disco, reggae, funk, and dub.

The groove is light, but the emotion is not.

Carly sings about a relationship filled with mixed signals. She sounds hurt, confused, and increasingly frustrated, but the production never becomes heavy. Her repeated cries of “Why?” float above one of the most effortless grooves Edwards and Rodgers ever created.

That contrast is the magic of the record.

The lyric is heartbroken.

The music makes you want to dance.

Carly does not attempt to sound like a traditional disco singer. She keeps the conversational quality that made her earlier recordings so personal. Her pauses, sighs, and changes in tone make the performance feel spontaneous, as though she is working through the argument while the tape is running.

Edwards and Rodgers surround her with space.

Nothing feels crowded. The bass carries the melody, the guitar slips quietly through the rhythm, and the keyboards add just enough color. Even when stretched beyond eight minutes, the track never feels rushed or overworked.

The single performed modestly in the United States, reaching number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, however, “Why” became a genuine hit. It reached number 10 and remained on the chart for eighteen weeks.

Its story did not end in 1982.

“Why” later found a new audience in British and European clubs, becoming associated with the Balearic sound that grew during the late 1980s. The song returned to the UK chart in 1989, reaching number 56, and its bass line and rhythm continued to influence DJs, producers, and hip-hop artists.

Decades later, the record no longer sounds like a strange detour in Carly Simon’s career. It sounds ahead of its time.

Pitchfork included “Why” in its list of the 200 best songs of the 1980s, another sign that the record’s reputation eventually grew far beyond its original chart performance.

The song also received a music video filmed on the streets of New York City. Carly’s daughter Sally Taylor makes an appearance, pouring a bottle of wine over a man’s head. The playful clip matches the record’s mixture of romantic frustration and cool detachment.

For this post, I am featuring the original UK 12-inch single.

Side one contains the Extended Version of “Why,” running approximately 8:09. Side two contains the Instrumental Extended Version, running approximately 7:06. The instrumental is credited to Chic, confirming that the musicians behind the groove were not simply studio players hired for a Carly Simon session. This was the Chic Organization at work.

The Extended Version takes its time establishing the rhythm before Carly enters. Once she does, the mix allows her vocal phrases to drift in and out of the arrangement. The extra length gives Bernard Edwards’ bass line even more room to work its magic.

This is not an extended mix filled with dramatic edits, added effects, or sudden changes.

It does not need them.

The strength of “Why” is the groove itself. Edwards and Rodgers understood that the best thing a remix could do was stay out of its way.

The Instrumental Version reveals just how complete the backing track is without Carly’s vocal. The bass, guitar, percussion, and keyboards form a hypnotic Chic recording that could easily stand on its own.

Still, Carly’s absence leaves an unmistakable space.

Her performance is what transforms the track from an elegant groove into a conversation, an argument, and a heartbreak song.

“Why” is one of the great unexpected collaborations of the 1980s. Carly Simon brought vulnerability and personality. Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers brought the rhythm, precision, and unmistakable Chic sound.

Soup For One may not be remembered as a classic movie.

Its soundtrack gave us a classic record.

Why?

Sometimes the strangest combinations make the most perfect sense.

SIDE A:
Carly Simon – Why (Extended Version) 8:11

SIDE B:
Chic – Why (Instrumental (Extended Version)) 7:05

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

Year	Chart	Peak Position
1982	UK Singles Chart	10
1982	US Billboard Hot 100	74
1989	UK Singles Chart (Reissue)	56

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: WEA – K 79300T, Mirage (2) – K79300T
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Reggae, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Disco, Funk, Downtempo, Soundtrack

CREDITS:

Photography By – Lynn Goldsmith
Producer, Arranged By, Conductor – Nile Rodgers And Bernard Edwards*
Written-By – Bernard Edwards And Nile Rodgers*

NOTES:
From the original motion picture soundtrack album Soup For One – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack K99236

Produced, arranged and conducted for the CHIC Organisation Ltd.
Carly Simon appears, courtesy of Warner Brothers Records

Manufactured in the UK

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND

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.