Laura Branigan – Moonlight On Water (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1990

A. Front

“Moonlight on Water”, also known as “Moonlight on Water (Sex on the Beach)”, is a song written by Steve Kipner, best known for writing Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical”, and Andy Goldmark.

The song was originally recorded by Kevin Raleigh for his 1989 album Delusions of Grandeur and was released as a single. It reached #60 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 24 June 1989.

The song was covered by American singer Laura Branigan and was the first single taken from her self-titled album released in 1990. The song was only a minor hit in the U.S peaking at #59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #44 Hot Dance/Club Play charts.

SIDE A:
Moonlight On Water (Sex On The Beach) (12″ Mix) 7:55

SIDE B:
Moonlight On Water (Sex On The Beach) (Sex On The Beach Dub) 5:52
Moonlight On Water (Radio Remix) 4:05

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1990 Moonlight On Water U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #59
1990 Moonlight On Water U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play #44

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic ‎– 0-86195
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1990
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro, Garage House

CREDITS:
Engineer – Frank Heller
Producer – Richard Perry
Remix – David Frank, Mojo Nicosia*
Written-By – Andy Goldmark, Stephen Kipner*

NOTES:
Tracks subtitled ‘Sex On The Beach’ on the label, but not on the sleeve.
From the Atlantic album “LAURA BRANIGAN”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

B. Back

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
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 Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
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

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David
David
February 2, 2015 9:00 am

thanks so much for posting this. I have this 12″ and have always loved this mix of this song. I haven’t heard it since I was in high school some 20 years ago. It is so nice to hear it again. Love Laura and love the Laura Branigan album.

Thanks again!

woz
woz
September 16, 2014 6:56 pm

Thanks!

Jeff
Jeff
August 28, 2014 5:58 am

Paul, you know I love you and I really love your fans as well. You guys have said some wonderful things about Laura. I too feel bad that she wasn’t appreciated the way she should have been. I don’t really know why. That voice was phenomenal!! Oh what I wouldn’t give for her to be alive today and recording again. Thank Goodness that we have her recordings and these vinyl rips of yours Paul. What an ultimate tribute to have them in our collections thanks to you. I’m buying the reissues as soon as they go out. Like one of… Read more »

spoinny
spoinny
August 27, 2014 8:56 pm

great song, i do remember it getting some airplay, but only for about 2 weeks! The accompanying album was pretty good too. It seems that Laura Branigan’s career never really took off like it should have, which is too bad as she had an amazing voice.

Paulo Lima
Paulo Lima
August 27, 2014 7:44 pm

Thank you again Paul!!! Hugs to you directly from Brazil!
Para Sempre Laura Branigan!

Chris
Chris
August 27, 2014 6:18 pm

Paul, Thank you so much for the Laura Branigan postings the past 2 days. I always liked Moonlight on Water and Shattered Glass. Laura was one of my absolute favorite artists and I felt so sad the day she passed away. Her voice and music had such emotion and passion. I felt she was never given the credit and appreciation that she deserved. She passed away way too soon, but she will live on through her many recordings. Self Control is my favorite song of her’s and her version of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow is the ultimate version… Read more »

ex15
ex15
August 27, 2014 4:53 pm

A good track, despite whats been said, Self Control will always be her best..

Thanks as always Paul, for the rip.. 🙂

Matracas
August 27, 2014 4:36 pm

Reading the text added by DJPaulT got me thinking ¿Has anyone else noticed that Laura Branigan was handed many songs that had already been recorded (and even charted) by others? It was pretty rare for Laura to record & release something not already tried by others.

¿Any thoughts on why?

Mark Z
Mark Z
Reply to  DjPaulT
August 27, 2014 9:28 pm

Hi Paul: another superb rip! Don’t forget Laura first recorded ‘I Found Someone’ and ‘How am I Supposed to Live Without You’, later hits for Cher and Michael Bolton (in fact, I believe it was Laura who gave Dianne Warren and Bolton, the writers of these songs), their first hits! And her actual covers are more often than not songs originally recorded by men, so I count that as a ‘first’ also!

Stefano
Stefano
August 27, 2014 1:52 pm

Thanks for these Branigan 12 inches Paul. Much appreciated.

gianni
gianni
August 27, 2014 1:25 pm

I have this on a US promo cd, except it did not include the “Sex On The Beach Dub”, which was one of the few dub mixes that I played in the clubs. Thank you, Paul.

omar
omar
August 27, 2014 1:06 pm

Thanks Paul.

DanaDotCom
DanaDotCom
August 27, 2014 1:05 pm

Terrific song, one of her absolute best–performance wise, production wise, song quality wise, everything about “Moonlight On Water” works! Too bad that by 1990 Top 40 radio was filing Laura’s records with Sheena Easton’s records. She captured the same nuance with this track she captured in “Self Control”. However, this is one of those instances when the LP version is far superior to the remixes. Richard Perry provides the listener with a stunning visual–moonlight shimmering on water! Mojo Nicosia and David Frank turned out amateurish sounding mixes that ended up removing any of that, which unfortunately may be why so… Read more »

VanceMan
Reply to  DanaDotCom
August 27, 2014 2:01 pm

Totally agree; this song deserved a better fate.