BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1981
-DjPaulT Recommended 12″
“Ghosts” is a 1981 single by new wave band Comateens formed in 1978 in New York City by bassist/vocalist Nic North and guitarist Ramona Jan. Soon after, Lyn Byrd joined on vocals and synthesizer, and the duo became a trio. When Jan departed in 1980, North’s brother Oliver joined on guitar, completing the final lineup. The band’s debut album became a cult favorite among college hipsters, especially the band’s remake of “The Munsters Theme”.
Lyn Byrd designed the sleeve for the US 12″. The dancing skeletons on the cover is the engraving “El Jarabe En Ultratumba” (A Jig Beyond The Grave) by 19th-century Mexican artist JOSÉ POSADA, and copied from a 1958 art magazine belonging to Nic and Oliver’s Dad.
The band’s British manager PETER LEAK was drafted to speak a line during the intro of the “Ghosts” remix, which ultimately caused some confusion regarding the bands NY roots.
SIDE A:
Ghosts (Remix) 5:30
Engineer – Don Wershba
Remix – Ray “Pinkie” Velasquez
Written-By – L. Billman, N. Dembling*, O. Dembling*
SIDE B:
Late Night City 3:01
Engineer – Don Wershba
Remix – Ray “Pinkie” Velasquez
Written-By – N. Dembling
The Munsters 1:52
Written-By – B. Mosher*, Jack Marshall
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Cachalot Records – BIG 4
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave
CREDITS:
Producer – Comateens, Fabrice Nataf, Ray Velasquez*
NOTES:
LYN BYRD: Vocals, keyboards
NIC NORTH: Vocals, bass, keyboards, percussion
OLIVER NORTH: Vocals, guitars
ROLLY: Drums
Remixed by RAY VELASQUEZ at Unique Studios, New York October 1981
Cover design by Lyn Byrd
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: Mullard 12AX7 Preamp Vacuum Tube 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
Thanks you for the 24 bits sir paul ♥
love Comateens, but I’ve never heard this remix before, great pick Paul!
Beg pardon? We were never called “hipsters” in college in the 80s. Not even ironically. But for the record, I was a fan of the Comateens before they were cool.
Ooh, I forgot all about the Comateens. Loved them back in the day … thanks so much for posting this one.
Great find! Thanks, Paul.
Thank ye! I love Comateens.
The Cover art of Comateens record and Hot!House album is a piece (Relief engraving) called ‘A Jig Beyond the Grave’ (El Jarabe en Ultratumba) circa 1888 by the mexican artist called José Guadalupe Posada (1852 – 1913),
José Guadalupe Posada was a Mexican political printmaker and engraver whose work has influenced many Latin American artists and cartoonists because of its satirical acuteness and social engagement. He used skulls, calaveras, and bones to make political and cultural critiques. Among his famous works was La Catrina.
This Relief engraving is in the MOMA Museum in New York.
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/68963?artist_id=4707&locale=en&page=1&sov_referrer=artist
Funny…the british band Hot House used the same piece of art by José Guadalupe Posada for their second album Movers & Shakers: https://www.discogs.com/HotHouse-Movers-Shakers/master/439837
Never heard of Comateens before…until now. 😉
Interesting 🙂
Thank you Paul, what a wonderful surprise, I like it a lot when you go to the underground scene, although in its original time it was not underground, in any case Comateens was an incredible band, thank you very much!
I really like these surprises! (yesterday was and is fantastic FAD GADGET!!!!)
Rafa
Thank you so much Rafa I love it when you guys dig the obscure stuff 🙂
This is (was) completely unknown to me. It´s a great find. The sleeve is absolutely wonderful. I´m thinking about printing it and putting it on one of the walls in my “vinyl room”. My centrepiece is the man with the sledge hammer in the Swiss mountains: it´s a poster from the first vinyl edition of depeche Mode´s Construction Time Again. Love it. And I love the gem you are presenting today, Paul. Just great.
That sounds so cool Song And dance I bet that will look marvelous 🙂
this is wonderful Paul. Thanks.
You’re welcome Omar 🙂
When it comes to October and All Hallows’ Eve, Paul you are a revelation to me. You always have impeccable tastes when it comes to the perfect tracks to put on a Halloween playlist! I’m so excited about this 12-inch. I do know the Comateens because their tracks “Get Off My Case” and “Cinnamon” were played on NYC radio a couple of times. I know their very cool “Munsters” theme because of the fantastic CD “New Wave Halloween” but I never heard of “Ghosts” so I’m very, very excited. I love the cover art. You do beautiful scans of your… Read more »
I love this record so much. Jeffs guys are way cool in my book. Hope you end up adding this one to your favorites list 🙂