Burning The Ground Exclusive 1988

Gay Icon Elton John made sure to send a message to people who were cast out like him. He reassured people who were not fitting in that they would eventually find their place. Over the years he has been working for AIDS prevention. He also established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which has raised more than $400 million. As well as an annual high-profile Oscar party which also raises money for AIDS prevention.

“Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)” is a song by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin from the album Reg Strikes Back. It was released as a 12″ single in 1988 only in the United States.

Although not a particularly popular song, some critics judged it as a “most intriguing” song or the “brightest moment” of the album. John said: “That’s probably my favorite track on the album. It just has a great New York feel”. He played both versions of the song sequentially in concerts from the release of “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)” in 1988 through to 1993.

The song is about New York City and is a continuation of the song “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” from the 1972 album Honky Château. Although the song follows the same meaning of its predecessor, it has a very different tempo and instrumental arrangement and is in many ways a more complex song, with a variety of key changes and unusual chords throughout the song. A brief homage to the Beatles’ song “Drive My Car” can be heard during the trumpet solo, where Elton and the backup singers interject “beep beep, beep beep, yeah!”.

SIDE A:
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters (Part Two) (The Renaissance Mix) 6:18
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters (Part Two) (The Da Vinci Version) 4:47

SIDE B:
A Word In Spanish 4:38
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters (Part Two) (The Self Portrait Instrumental) 4:56

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – MCA-23917
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Pop
Style: Synthpop

CREDITS:

• Design – Wherefore Art*
• Management – Connie Hillman, John Reid (8), Steve Brown*
• Mastered By – Ted Jensen
• Producer – Chris Thomas
• Remix – Shep Pettibone (tracks: A1, A2, B2)

NOTES:
Original version appears on the MCA LP, “Reg Strikes Back”.

Buy 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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