Burning The Ground Exclusive
After beginning week four with the Pointer Sisters and Beverly Hills Cop, Ladies Of The 80s: Soundtrack Edition continues with another movie song that became inseparable from its film.
Today’s selection is Cyndi Lauper’s “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” from the 1985 adventure classic The Goonies.
This is also a completely new 2026 meticulous audio transfer and restoration.
I previously posted this record in 2020. For this edition, I returned to the vinyl and recorded it again from the beginning using my current equipment and restoration process.
This is not a remaster of the files shared in 2020.
It is a new transfer from the Japanese 12-inch pressing.
The Goonies was directed by Richard Donner from a story by Steven Spielberg. The film follows a group of children who discover an old treasure map and set out to find the lost fortune of the pirate One-Eyed Willie. Along the way, they encounter underground tunnels, elaborate traps, a pirate ship, and the criminal Fratelli family.
It is one of those movies that could only have come from the 1980s.
The children are allowed to disappear for hours without mobile phones, tracking devices, or adults hovering over them.
They simply find a treasure map and go looking for a pirate ship.
Cyndi Lauper was asked by Steven Spielberg to serve as musical director for the soundtrack. She helped assemble a varied collection that included the Bangles, REO Speedwagon, Philip Bailey, Teena Marie, Luther Vandross, and the Goon Squad. The Bangles were still early in their career when Cyndi brought them into the project.
“The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” was written by Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Broughton Lunt, and Arthur Stead. It was produced by Cyndi and Lennie Petze. The song was reportedly written under the simpler title “Good Enough” before the movie’s name was added for promotional purposes.
The finished record sounds unmistakably like Cyndi at the height of her early success.
The synthesizers are bright, the drums are enormous, and the melody rises with the same colorful energy that made She’s So Unusual such a sensation. Cyndi’s voice moves from playful and vulnerable to powerful and determined, often within the same line.
The lyrics are not really about pirates, treasure maps, or underground caves. Instead, the song deals with expectations, self-doubt, and the feeling that something must be real before it can be good enough.
That gives it a life outside the film.
At the same time, the chorus fits the Goonies perfectly. These are young outsiders constantly being underestimated, yet they refuse to give up on one another.
Goonies are good enough.
The single became another major hit for Cyndi, reaching number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It was her fifth solo Top 10 single in the United States and also reached the Top 10 in Australia and Canada. Surprisingly, it did not enter the UK Singles Chart.
The music video may be even more excessive than the movie.
Directed by Richard Donner, it was presented as a two-part mini-adventure lasting roughly thirteen minutes. Cyndi attempts to save her family’s business while crossing paths with pirates, professional wrestlers, and members of the Goonies cast.
The wrestling lineup includes Captain Lou Albano, Roddy Piper, Wendi Richter, the Fabulous Moolah, the Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Freddie Blassie, and André the Giant. Steven Spielberg appears, while the Bangles turn up as a group of female pirates.
Cyndi’s mother even joins the adventure.
It is part music video, part wrestling event, part movie trailer, and completely over the top.
In other words, it is perfect.
Cyndi’s relationship with the song was complicated. She kept it out of her concerts and off her major compilations for many years. Fan demand eventually persuaded her to bring it back, and it finally appeared on The Essential Cyndi Lauper in 2003.
Sometimes an artist’s audience hears something in a song that the artist cannot immediately hear.
For many fans, “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” was never simply a soundtrack assignment. It became tied to childhood, friendship, adventure, and the belief that being different could be a strength.
For this post, I am featuring the Japanese 12-inch pressing, complete with its colorful cover artwork and obi.
Side one contains the “Dance Re-Mix,” running approximately 5:26.
Side two contains the “Dub Version,” running approximately 5:36.
Both versions were remixed by Arthur Baker, one of the most important producers and remixers of the decade.
The Dance Re-Mix expands the rhythm while keeping the song’s pop structure intact. The percussion hits harder, the instrumental passages are extended, and Cyndi’s vocal is given more space to build toward the chorus.
Arthur Baker does not remove the song’s personality.
He makes everything larger.
The Dub Version travels further into the production. Vocals appear in fragments while the synthesizers, drums, effects, and backing voices take control. Without the full lead vocal guiding the arrangement, it becomes easier to hear how much detail is packed beneath the surface.
The two mixes make a perfect pair.
The Dance Re-Mix gives us the adventure.
The Dub Version lets us explore the hidden tunnels underneath it.
For this new 2026 transfer, I wanted to preserve the excitement of the Japanese vinyl while bringing out the weight of the drums, the layers of synthesizers, and the full character of Cyndi’s vocal.
This record is loud, colorful, slightly strange, and overflowing with personality.
Just like Cyndi.
Just like The Goonies.
I may have first posted it in 2020, but some treasures are worth digging up again.
After all, Goonies never say die.
SIDE A:
The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough (Dance Re-Mix) 5:26
Edited By –The Latin Rascals
SIDE B:
The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough (Dub Version) 5:36
Edited By –The Latin Rascals
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
OBI: Near Mint
| Chart (1985) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 8 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM) | 9 |
| West Germany (Media Control) | 49 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 22 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 10 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 | 14 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Portrait – 12·3P-647
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: Aug 1, 1985
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop
CREDITS:
- Producer – Cyndi Lauper, Lennie Petze
- Remix – Arthur Baker
- Written-By – A. Stead*, C. Lauper*, S.B. Lunt*
NOTES:
Taken from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack LP: “The Goonies”
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
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Priceless upload of Cyndi’s “Goonies R Good Enough”, thank you. I always loved her contributions to the Goonies OST, including this track and “What A Thrill” (where she always sounded like she was having a ball during the recording session!). Never heard this Dance Re-mix of the G R Good Enough, though… amazing! 🙂
As mentioned this song is definitely not readily available on 80s compilations, especially these remixes. I noticed that the only place I have it in my collection is The Essential Cyndi Lauper. I probably passed on Deadly Cyns because its omission.
Thanks so much Paul!
Thank you so much, Mikey-D! The song has always been surprisingly difficult to find on Cyndi compilations, and the Arthur Baker remixes are even more elusive.
The Essential Cyndi Lauper finally gave the original song a proper home, but its absence from Deadly Cyns was a major omission. I can certainly understand why that might have made you pass on the collection.
I’m glad to bring both 12-inch mixes back with this new transfer. Thank you again!
This is so much fun, Paul! I love the record for all that went into it! Arthur Baker always made a dance remix so amazing! I also loved how he recruited the Latin Rascals to incorporate their razor-sharp edits into the production! These are records that stood out for me because they had a lot incorporated into them. Arthur Baker is indeed a pioneer and a legend in what he does! Great reading the info behind the record, Paul, as well. I remember that whole wrestling thing in the 1980s. Such colorful, if not bizarre personalities back then. Although my… Read more »
Thank you so much, Jeff! Arthur Baker and the Latin Rascals were a powerful combination. Baker knew how to make a record larger, while the Latin Rascals added those razor-sharp edits that made the rhythm jump out of the speakers. There is always so much happening in these mixes. The video is pure 1980s madness. The wrestlers were larger than life, and Cyndi fit perfectly into that colorful world. From what she has said more recently, there was a creative misunderstanding with Steven Spielberg over how the video should be made, which may have contributed to her complicated feelings about… Read more »
Actually Paul… “Originally posted: October 15, 2010”
That was the first time I posted it. Previously, it was 2020
It was so annoying this was left off her Deadly Cyns compilation… maybe it was just too poppy for her tastes at the time, but for many an 80’s teenager it was an anthem. Because of the movie and perhaps because the lyrics were not really about the movie, they were bigger than that. Artists often seem to have an attitude about some of their biggest pop hits that they can’t escape. I guess I get it, but honestly the fans just love what they love! I always thought it was funny that the “video” showing on the TV in… Read more »
ING,
I was upset with its omission from the “Deadly Cyns” compilation too! A great song that isn’t a novelty record. At least Miss Lauper has reintroduced it in concerts and music collections! This Dance Remix is so much fun! They really don’t make remixes like this anymore. They’re more like acapellas or vocal fragments laid over music beds that don’t bear any resemblance to the song at all. I lament the passing of the “golden age” of remix culture!
Jeff
Thank you so much, ING! I agree that leaving “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” off Deadly Cyns was frustrating. Whatever Cyndi’s feelings were at the time, the song had already become an anthem for a generation of fans. You also make a great point about the lyrics. They are not tied closely to pirates or treasure maps, which allowed the song to grow beyond the movie. It became about feeling overlooked, proving yourself, and deciding that you really are good enough. Artists sometimes become tired of the songs audiences love most, but fans attach those records to real memories. Once… Read more »