Burning The Ground Exclusive 1982
So today is my birthday, and I wanted to try something different—sort of an experiment, but also fun. I have been tinkering with the idea of recording audio from some of my VHS tapes, which are analog and fit perfectly with my audio transfers of 12″ vinyl and cassette tapes. The tracks I chose to work on today are, of course, ONJ. These two tracks did not make it to the remastered Deluxe Edition of her 1981 LP “Physical,” which I helped work on back in 2021. I dusted off my Emerson Hi-Fi 4-head VCR, and the results turned out rather well.
The video mix of “Landslide,” which was also featured on Olivia’s 1982 ABC TV Special “OLIVIA PHYSICAL,” which also aired on my birthday, February 8, 1982, The video mix includes an extended synth and drum intro lasting about 20 seconds. There are also some sound effects at around the 2:30 mark (sword fighting) and glass breaking. The track also has an earlier fade than what appears on the LP and single versions. The video was directed by Brian Grant and also features Olivia’s first husband, Matt Lattanzi. “Landslide” was released as the third single from the LP “Physical.” peaking at #52 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The second track, “Rolling,” is an instrumental written by Olivia’s longtime producer, John Farrar. This instrumental plays during the opening sequence of the Physical TV special showing Olivia running and working out on the beach.
The TV special was later edited down to just include the music videos, mostly from the Physical album, and released on home video. Olivia was a pioneer in making this full-length video album, which was one of the first of its kind. This was pre-MTV and won Olivia the 1982 Grammy for best long-form video album.
Said to cost half a million dollars to produce, it was filmed in California (at Olivia’s Malibu home), London, and Hawaii.
In addition, I also created custom artwork for this special post. I know many ONJ fans will be delighted to finally have both tracks digitally.
SIDE A:
Landslide (Video Mix) 4:28
SIDE B:
Rolling 1:17
VIDEOCASSETTE GRADE:
Video Cassette: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | Landslide | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #52 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Home Video – 55050
Format: VHS, Compilation, Stereo, NTSC
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Pop
Style: synth-pop
CREDITS:
- Producer, Written-By – John Farrar
NOTES:
From the video album OLIVIA-PHYSICAL
Artwork: DjPaulT
Buy the VideoCassette at DISCOGS
VIDEOCASSETTE AUDIO TRANSFER & RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
VideoCassette Deck: Emerson EWV601 Hi-Fi 4-Head Video Cassette Recorder
DAC/Phono Pre-amp Line In Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
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:
VideoCassette transfer was recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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Happy belated Birthday Paul! I’m always happy to see new Olivia posts. Rolling is a great edition will make a great opening for my deluxe album. As this is a video rip it made me think about my Soul Kiss video tape, I swear that the mix of The Right Moment was different on the video tape, I have it in my head that it was an extended version with a long outro that played over the end credits. Am I crazy? Have they given up on the reissues? I was really hoping they would at least do Totally Hot,… Read more »
Thank you, HeBop
You have me curious I will now have to check my copy I don’t remember if “The Right Moment” is longer or not. They did re-issue “Totally Hot” on CD and vinyl without any mention of it being remastered, they also released “Soul Kiss” as an odd picture disc.
Thank you so much for this! I love the idea of pulling from VHS! If you were ever so inclined, I’d love to hear what you could do with Janet Jackson’ Rhythm Nation 1814 Short film VHS.
Happy belated birthday Paul! Thanks for putting this together to commemorate your birthday!
Thank you, Nubben 🙂
Happy Birthday Paul! thx for ONJ
Any chance you could get posted Robert Marlow 12″s: I just Wanna Dance and The Face Of Dorian Gray? many thanks in advnce
Thank you 🙂
Many thanks for your wonderful work Paul, hope you had a happy birthday!!
Thank you, Dino 🙂
Belated Happy Birthday Paul! Many thanks for these Olivia Special songs. Great quality and a thrill to now be listening to them. Cheers!
Thank you, Ian 🙂
!!! Happy Birthday Paul !!! I’m excited to see what other cool things you can conjure up from your VHS archive.
Thank you, Jasmin 🙂
This is a cool idea for a post, and this is is one of my favourite ONJ music videos too. I still remember MTV airing it originally.
Love the artwork too.
Hope you had a great birthday, Paul 🙂
Thank you, Marco 🙂
Kate and Olivia on the same week… I LOVE February!
Happy Birthday Paul!
That made me smile, Simon. Thank you 🙂
Happy Birthday Paul. This is some “hardcore” lost ONJ. Love stuff like this found on odd formats. Hope you have/had a great Birthday Day.
Thank you, Joey 🙂
I wish you the HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY and an AMAZING YEAR! 🎉🥳🎂 🤩
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-MedNg9j0E
Thank you sooo much, Martika 🙂
Feliz Cumpleaños mi amigo Paul. Gracias por llenar de excelente y grandiosa música nuestras vidas. Un gran abrazo a la distancia. Saludos desde Chile.
Sending you a big hug too 🙂
Thank you, Paul, for resurrecting these rare and obscure ONJ tracks from a forty-two years old video tape. And they sound excellent!
Wishing you the happiest of birthdays!
Thank you, David 🙂
Happy Birthday, Paul 🙂
Thank you, Dirk 🙂
I’m not really a big fan of Olivia Newton John. The music is nice to listen to and also a pleasant change. What the price of the video means, that can certainly be the case. I know from some videos made a year later that they are in the same price range. As for your project: A great idea. You should be offered a lot more. Because the video versions in particular (without sound effects) are often never found on any sound medium. At least from the 80s. And even rarer on vinyl (I only remember “Control” by Janet Jackson… Read more »
Thanks for commenting, Ingmar 🙂
Wow Paul, just wow!!! You’ve really outdone yourself today. First, I’m so excited for this, as there are many artist video albums long out of print with exclusive mixes. Second, this ONJ post is extra special knowing today is your birthday… Happy Birthday!! I hope you’re enjoying your special day. This must have been quite a fun project to work on, and I’m really looking forward to it in your ultra high quality transfers. Such a thrill to be the beneficiary of your creativity! Thank you and enjoy the day!!
P.S. I love your custom artwork. It looks fantastic!!
Thank you so much, Retro Hound 🙂
Hau‘oli lā hānau, Paul! And thank you for this special treat!
Thank you, Kym 🙂
Happy birthday, Paul! Have a great day
Thank you, Erik 🙂
Most excellent fun! I have done audio transfers from videos many times because of rare stuff or just wanting the audio to listen to in the go, for instance the Cure Show VHS had an epic encore that never saw release on the album versions! Love it! Thanks 😊
You’re welcome, ING 🙂
Happy birthday Paul, hope you’re having a great day.
Thank you, Liam 🙂
Happy birthday, Paul!
Thank you, David 🙂
Hi Paul.Happy Birthday.Thank you for all that you do.Have a great day/evening.
Thank you, DJBD 🙂
Congrats Paul!
Thank you, Martin 🙂
Happy birthday my dear friend and hero! If I´m not wrong, this is your first post on your birthday. And this post is very special but it could only be about ONJ. Have a wonderful day!
Thank you, Daniel 🙂
Happy birthday to you! Fabulous work here! Thank you for this.
You’re welcome, Lupine 🙂
Happy Birthday, dear Paul!! What a great way to celebrate your birthday with a very cool and exciting presentation of her “Landslide” music track! This is indeed something special and it is more special because today is your birthday! Thank you for the blessing that is you. You are a tremendous person and we love you very, very much!
Jeff and Karen
Thank you, Jeff and Karen 🙂
Happy birthday Paul. Another stellar post with rare material. Love it. Have a great day today. Cheerio!
Thank you, Stefano 🙂