Burning The Ground Exclusive 1988
“Ritual” is the debut single recorded by American Rock band Dan Reed Network formed in 1984 by Dan Reed in Portland, Oregon. The band signed to Mercury Records with the help of Derek Shulman and was managed by Bill Graham. In late 1987, the group released their eponymous debut album, produced by Bruce Fairbairn and mixed by Mike Fraser at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia. “Ritual” was released as the first single peaking at #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1988. “Ritual” became the band’s only top-40 single in America.
This single was not released in the UK
The video was filmed on New Year’s Eve at the Starry Night Theater in Portland, Oregon. Lawrence Jordan directed the video – he had directed videos and concerts by The Who, Sting, Mariah Carey, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, and the top-rated series “Live by Request” for the A & E Channel.
Lawrence Jordan wasn’t the only director in consideration for “Ritual”. DRN’s manager Bill Graham approached his good friend Francis Ford Coppola about working with his new band. Unfortunately, Francis had just lost his son and needed time to grieve.
*Denotes vinyl-only
SIDE A:
Ritual (Extended Dido Slam)* 7:08
SIDE B:
Ritual (Club Single) 4:06
World Has A Heart Too (Boom Box Jam) 6:39
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Ritual | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #38 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mercury – 870 244-1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Germany
Released: 1988
Genre: Rock
Style: AOR
CREDITS:
- Art Direction – Mick Brigden, Patti Drosins
- Design – Michael Bays
- Engineer – Henry Falco (tracks: A1)
- Engineer [Assisted By], Mixed By [Assisted By] – Ken Lomas (tracks: B2)
- Engineer, Mixed By – Mike Fraser (tracks: B2)
- Management [Direction] – Bill Graham Management
- Photography By – Phillip Dixon
- Producer – Bruce Fairbairn
- Remix [Remixed By] – The Slam Society (tracks: B2)
- Supervised By [Remix Supervision] – Mario Rios
- Written-By – Dan Reed
NOTES:
Made in West Germany
Nuy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (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
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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Hi Paul, Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever heard this song before and I love it a lot so thank you so much for sharing this with us here. I am listening to it right now and I ma bopping my head to the music. Enjoying it so much. 🙂
I would’ve passed right by this in a 12″ bin thinking they were trying to be some kind of Dead Or Alive rip off with that cover photo! LOL
Thanks very much for sharing another excellent vinyl rip, Paul.
peace,
dj
Thank you, Din Julian.
hey DjPaul, if I want to buy 12 inch on discogs which store do you recommend, one with lots of 12″, extended and remixes.
Thanks
I usually base my purchases on the seller’s feedback. I normally will only buy from sellers with 100% feedback.
Great choice Paul!! Great groove and unique vocals make this a standout. It looks like the Extended mix is in fact longer on this release than on the US 12″. Thank you for this overlooked gem and for your pristine transfer!!
You’re welcome, Retro Hound 🙂
Another band I’m not all that familiar with, but man, this song is funky as hell! And I absolutely love the tribal intro. Hopefully, they incorporated that into the remixes. Can’t wait to listen to this! THANK YOU!!!
This band is unknown to me as well, but you are completely right Martika, that intro is great!
peace,
dj
You’re welcome, Martika. I hope you like the mixes.
Great track off their killer first album. It was available in the UK though as I bought the cd single at the time and it wasn’t an import price. Saw them live last year, still a fearsome live band.
The info I got about it not being released in the UK came from their official site. According to Discogs, the CD single was released in Europe stating it was made in W. Germany.
Thank you so much Paul. So happy to finally get your pristine vinyl rip. Fantastic work, as usually. As far as I know the extended remix was never available digitally. I bought this 12inch single back in 1988 and I always loved the song.
You’re welcome, Daniel I am going to try and get the US 12″ which has a couple more mixes not found on the German 12″ or CD single. You are correct the extended mix is vinyl-only.
The DRN were a fantastic band that should have been massive. So many great songs in their short catalogue. Many thanks for this Paul.
You’re welcome, Jay. I love the band a lot as well.
This is completely new to me,. Paul, and I love the energy of this single. I´ve only listened to the short version, yet, and I wished it would go on for further 10 minutes. Next stop: the extended dido slam. (I first read dildo, naughty me ;-). Have a great 3rd of October which is a National holiday over here.
You are a naughty Song and Dance, but to be honest, I read the same thing at first, lol. Enjoy your holiday.
Ecstatic drumming and frantic dancing are what I want to do while this song is playing!! I am so sorry that I missed this one from back in the day! It’s HOT, Paul!! I can’t wait to hear the version on this twelve!! I adore you for adding this to your site, and I know the rockers in your audience will surely swoon over it. I know I am. Dancing to your music, Paul, is one of my favorite rituals! I want to get naked and sweat to oblivion!!!
Jeff
A very catchy track! I’ve had it playing in my head non-stop this morning. The mixes are fun too. There is a U.S. twelve that has a house mix that I need to find.