Category: David Bowie

January 19, 2016

David Bowie – Loving The Alien (US Ltd. Edition 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Loving the Alien” is a track from the album Tonight by David Bowie. One of two tracks on the album written solely by Bowie, the song was released as a single in May 1985, nine months after the release of “Blue Jean” as a single, and eight months after the release of the album. The single performed well, reaching No. 19 in the UK. Although released as a single in the US “Loving The Alien” failed to chart.

As a demo track, the song was simply called “1”. Bowie said “‘Alien’ came about because of my feeling that so much history is wrong – as is being rediscovered all the time – and that we base so much on the wrong knowledge that we’ve gleaned.” He recorded the demo in Montreux, Switzerland. He would later comment that the production on the song undid the power of the lyric, saying he preferred the demo version.

Bowie performed the song on his 1987 Glass Spider Tour. On the Reality Tour in 2003 and 2004, he again performed this song, but this time a stripped down version with only Bowie on vocals and Gerry Leonard on guitar; in the film of the tour, Bowie remarked that this arrangement was perhaps “the way it should have always been done.”

SIDE A:
Loving The Alien (Extended Dance Mix) 7:26
Written-By – David Bowie

SIDE B:
Don’t Look Down (Extended Dance Mix) 4:50
Written-By – I. Pop*, J. Williamson*

Loving The Alien (Extended Dub Mix) 7:13
Written-By – David Bowie

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

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– VG-7858-1/2
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM, Limited Edition, Gatefold
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Artwork [Album Artwork Concept] – Mick Haggerty
Artwork [Art Direction, Design] – Shoot That Tiger!
Engineer [Assistant] – Alex Haas
Music Consultant – Carlos Alomar
Photography By – Steve Rapport
Producer – David Bowie, Derek Bramble, Hugh Padgham, Hugh Padgham
Producer [Additional Production On Remix] – Steve Thompson
Remix – Steve Thompson And Michael Barbiero*

NOTES:
Includes full color poster
Album versions can be heard on “TONIGHT”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: 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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

January 18, 2016

David Bowie – When The Wind Blows (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“When the Wind Blows” is a song from the soundtrack of the film of the same name, performed by David Bowie.

It marked the second contribution from Bowie to a film based on a Raymond Briggs book – he contributed a filmed introduction to The Snowman in 1982. Bowie’s song was the result of a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Erdal Kizilcay, who would work with Bowie in the future, most notably on The Buddha of Suburbia.

The single peaked at UK No. 44, promoted by a video that featured a montage of clips from the film, with Bowie’s animated face overlaid. Since then, the song has become something of a rarity, appearing rarely on reissues and best-of compilations.

Unlike most instrumental B-sides from the 1980s, the instrumental version of “When the Wind Blows” is not simply a version of the song with vocals dubbed, but a completely different orchestral recording.

SIDE A:
When The Wind Blows (Extended Mix) 5:40

SIDE B:
When The Wind Blows (Instrumental) 3:47

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– 14VA-9019
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Composed By – Erdal Kizilcay
Illustration – Meltdown Limited
Producer – David Richards
Producer, Composed By – David Bowie
Typography – Assorted Images

NOTES:
Taken from the film of Raymond Briggs “WHEN THE WIND BLOWS”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

January 15, 2016

David Bowie – Underground (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Underground” is a song from the soundtrack of the film Labyrinth, performed by David Bowie.

The track was something of an experiment for Bowie, dabbling in gospel music to a small extent, helped by a large chorus of backing vocalists and blues guitarist Albert Collins, but retaining use of synthesizers. The song also featured backing vocals by Cissy Houston, Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross and others.

The single reached #21 in the UK Singles Chart. In the US the single reached #22 on the Billboard dance chart.

SIDE A:
Underground (Extended Dance Version) 7:51
Keyboards [Additional – Remix] – Ed Terry
Producer [Additional], Remix – Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero

SIDE B:
Underground (Dub Mix) 5:58
Keyboards [Additional – Remix] – Ed Terry
Producer [Additional], Remix – Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero

Underground (Instrumental Version) 5:54

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Underground	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#22
1986	Underground	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#18

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– V-19210
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Alto Saxophone–Bob Gay
Arranged By – Arif Mardin, David Bowie, Robbie Buchanan
Art Direction–Henry Marquez
Backing Vocals – A. Marie Foster, Beverly Ferguson, Chaka Khan, Cissy Houston, Daphne Vega,Eunice Peterson, Fonzi Thornton, Garcia Alston, James Glenn, Luther Vandross, Marc Stevens (2),Marcus Miller, Mary Davis Canty, Rennele Stafford*
Design – Carol Chen
Drums [Effects] – Steve Ferrone
Engineer [Assistant] – Eddie Garcia
Keyboards, Synthesizer, Programmed By – Robbie Buchanan
Lead Guitar – Albert Collins
Mastered By – Herbie Jr.*
Mixed By – Jeremy Smith (2)
Mixed By [Assistant] – Phil Castellano
Piano [Acoustic], Organ [Hammond B-3] – Richard Tee
Producer – Arif Mardin, David Bowie
Programmed By [Additional] – Andy Thomas
Recorded By – Michael O’Reilly
Rhythm Guitar – Nicky Moroch*
Written-By – David Bowie

NOTES:
Mastered at Frankford/Wayne, New York.
From the motion picture soundtrack “LABYRINTH”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

January 13, 2016

David Bowie – China Girl (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“China Girl” is a song co-written by David Bowie and Iggy Pop during their years in Berlin, first appearing on Pop’s album The Idiot . The song became more widely known when it was rerecorded by Bowie and released on his album Let’s Dance (1983) and as a single.

Paul Trynka, the author of David Bowie’s biography, Starman, claims the song was inspired by Iggy Pop’s infatuation with Kuelan Nguyen, a beautiful Vietnamese woman.

The UK single release of Bowie’s remake reached #2 for one week on 14 June 1983, behind “Every Breath You Take” by The Police, while the US release reached #10. david Bowie’s version features guitar by Nile Rodgers and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The long version of “Shake It Up” is exclusive to vinyl.

SIDE A:
China Girl (Long Version) 5:32
Written-By – D. Bowie*, I. Pop*

SIDE B:
Shake It (Long Version) 5:21
Written-By – David Bowie

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	China Girl	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#10
1983	China Girl	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#51
1983	China Girl/Shake It	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#3

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– 7809
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Producer – David Bowie, Nile Rodgers

NOTES:
From the LP “LET’S DANCE”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi