Culture Club – It’s A Miracle/Miss Me Blind (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Miss Me Blind” is a song by English new wave band Culture Club. In the U.S. it was the third single released from Colour by Numbers, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1984. This gave the band its sixth consecutive Top 10 hit.

The single was also released in Canada (where it also reached number 5), Brazil, Australia and Japan. It was also the band’s biggest R&B hit, reaching #5 on Billboard’s ‘Soul’ chart.

The song includes a reference to the title of Culture Club’s previous album. Lead singer Boy George states in the song “But you know, I’m never really sure, If you’re just kissing to be clever”, the name of Culture Club’s debut album.

“It’s a Miracle”, was released on it’s own as the fifth and final single from Colour by Numbers. The song became the group’s sixth top-five hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four. It reached number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top five in Canada. It was the band’s first US release to miss the Top 10; however, the song still received considerable airplay there during the summer of 1984.

A very popular 12″ was issued, gaining big success in American clubs and elsewhere. The popular extended 12″ version contained extracts of the other Culture Club hit of the spring, “It’s a Miracle”. In the US, the “Miss Me Blind” / “It’s a Miracle” 12″ single reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in May 1984.

Backing vocals on “Miss Me Blind” were performed by R&B singer Jermaine Stewart.

The B-side is a live rendition of “Love Twist”, a track from their first album. It was recorded in December 1983. An additional live track, “Melting Pot” (a cover of the song by the group Blue Mink), from the same show was available only on the 12-inch single.

SIDE A:
It’s A Miracle / Miss Me Blind (US Remix) 9:09
Composed By – Culture Club, O’Dowd*, Moss*, Craig*, Pickett*, Hay*
Producer, Remix – Steve Levine

SIDE B:
Love Twist (Live) 4:24
Composed By – Culture Club
Engineer – Paul Hulme, Peter Wandless*
Mixed By – Steve Levine
Producer, Mixed By – Jon Moss

Melting Pot (Live) 4:30
Composed By – Culture Club
Engineer – Paul Hulme, Peter Wandless*
Mixed By – Steve Levine
Producer, Mixed By – Jon Moss

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
OBI: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1984 It’s A Miracle/Miss Me Blind U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #10

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– VIP-5916, Virgin ‎– VIRG-5196
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Limited Edition
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Gordon Milne
Mastered By – Tim Young (tracks: TY & timtom)
Photography By – David Levine (11)
Sleeve – Assorted Images
Vocals [Female] – Helen Terry

NOTES:
Multimix
Made In Japan
Also available the LP “COLOUR BY NUMBERS”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
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 Removal: Manual
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

Michael Jackson – Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson recorded for his sixth studio album Thriller (1982). It is the opening track of the album and was released as its fourth single on May 8, 1983 by Epic Records. The song was written, composed and co-produced by Jackson, and was produced by Quincy Jones.

The song’s lyrics pertain to strangers spreading rumors to start an argument for no good reason. Musically, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” evokes the disco sound of Jackson’s previous studio album, Off the Wall, released in 1979. The song is characterized by a complex rhythm arrangement and a distinctive horn arrangement. “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” has been covered and sampled by multiple recording artists since its release. Aside from Thriller, the song appears on multiple compilation and greatest hits albums by Jackson.

“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” was generally well received by contemporary music critics. The song was also commercially successful, charting within the top 20 and top 30 in several countries. It became Jackson’s fifth consecutive top 10 single in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number five, and later re-entered charts in 2008 after the release of Thriller 25. Following Jackson’s death in June 2009, the song re-entered music charts worldwide, mainly due to digital download sales. Unlike previous singles from Thriller, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” did not have a music video to accompany it, but was performed by Jackson on world concert tours, as both a member of The Jacksons and as a solo artist.

SIDE A:
Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Long Version) 6:32

SIDE B:
Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Instrumental Version) 6:32
Beat It 4:18

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
OBI: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1983 Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #5
1983 Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles #5

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 12・3P-491
Series: Michael Jackson Jumbo Single Series 2
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Funk, Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Co-producer – Michael Jackson
Producer – Quincy Jones
Written-By – M. Jackson*

NOTES:
OBI states:
Side A: Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Unpublished Long version)
Side B: Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Karaoke Version)
Beat It (Special Mix)

A side: Special Version from the LP “Thriller”
B side: From the LP “Thriller”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
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 Removal: Manual
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

Belouis Some – Some People (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Some People” is a 1985 single by British artist Belouis Some, from his 1985 debut album Some People. The song reached the Top 40 in the UK, peaking at #33 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1986. In the U.S., the song reached #67 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A cover version by Murray Head was recorded and released as a single in 1986.

*The “Club Remix Edit” is exclusive to U.S. and Canada releases.

SIDE A:
Some People (Club Remix) 7:37

SIDE B:
Some People (Club Remix Edit) 4:00
Some People (Dub Version) 6:34
Edited By – Bruce Forest

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1985 Some People U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #67
1985 Some People U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #8

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Capitol Records ‎– V-8649
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Peter Schwier*
Producer, Remix – Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero
Written-By – Belouis Some

NOTES:
From the LP “SOME PEOPLE”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
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 Removal: Manual
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

Nina Hagan/Lene Lovich – Don’t Kill The Animals (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

In 1986 Nina Hagen and Lene Lovich teamed up to record this protest song for animal rights. These two women deliver a song that is infectiously danceable, yet puts forth a very strong message. The song originally appeared on the compilation album Animal Liberation (1987) and later on Tame Yourself (1991) both to benefit PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

SIDE A:
Don’t Kill The Animals (Disco Version) 6:12

SIDE B:
Don’t Kill The Animals (Instrumental) 5:36
Don’t Kill The Animals (7″ Version) 4:28

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Arista ‎– RIST 2
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Sam Smith, Sid Wells
Written-By – Karl Rucker, Lene Lovich, Nina Hagen

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
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 Removal: Manual
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