George Michael 1963-2016

I am so saddened and shocked that we have lost one of the true greats in music history. George Michael was an inspiration to many of us 80s kids that grew up with his music. George also helped us to be who we are. Rest In Peace George Michael.

December 23, 2016

Various – Selections From Yulesville and Winter Warnerland (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND HOLIDAY EXCLUSIVE

I couldn’t really figure out what to post for Christmas this year so I decided to put together a selection of tracks taken from two seperate Warner Brothers Christmas compilations. “Yulesville” (1987) and “Winter Warnerland” (1988). Most of the tracks were exclusive to these records at the time of their release. The selections that I chose are some of my favorites from these two records. I hope that they will become favorites for you too. Merry Christmas!

“We Three Kings” is a Christmas carol that was written by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. in 1857. Produced by the prodigious Flood, who has worked with artists such as Erasure and Depeche Mode, Book Of Love’s holiday offering is positively regal, and should whet the appetites of kings, queens and everything in between..

“Silent Night” performed by British synth-pop band Erasure who at the time had just released their LP “The Circus” added not only a Christmas message but their own Erasurized version of this holiday classic.

“Blue Christmas” is a Christmas song written by Billy Hayes and Jay W. Johnson and most famously performed by Elvis Presley. Former LEMMON KITTEN, Danielle Dax who at the time had just relesed her album “Dark Adapted Eye” which featured the UK smashes “Cathouse” and “Big Hollow Man”. recorded her version of “Blue Christmas” which is so good, it ought to keep Elvis from coming back for more…(oops, did I say that?)

“I Believe in Father Christmas” is a song by English musician Greg Lake with lyrics by Peter Sinfield. Canadian band Honeymoon Suite recorded the song exclusively for the “Winter Warnerland” compilation and it’s a beauty.

Both tracks taken from the original vinyl release.

YULESVILLE:
Book Of Love – We Three Kings 3:17
Producer – Flood

Erasure – Silent Night/Erasure Christmas 0:54
Producer – Erasure

WINTER WARNERLAND:
Danielle Dax – Blue Christmas 1:35
Producer – Danielle Dax
Recorded by Danielle Dax and David Knight
Recorded at Fortress Dax Studio

Honeymoon Suite – I Believe In Father Christmas 3:06
Producer – Honeymoon Suite
Engineer – Michael Sarracini

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– PRO-A-2896, Warner Bros. Records ‎– PRO-A-3328
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Compilation, Promo, Red/Green Transparent
Country: US
Released: 1987/1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, Alternative

CREDITS:
Engineer – Lee Herschberg, Marc Craue
Executive Producer – Greg Lee, Kevin Laffey
Mastered By – Bobby Hata

NOTES:
Taken from promotional compilation LP’s “YULESVILLE” and “WINTER WARNELAND”.

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

December 21, 2016

Howard Jones – No One Is To Blame (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“No One Is to Blame” is a song by British musician Howard Jones. The song, in its original version, can be found on his second studio album, Dream into Action, which was released in 1985. Following the success of the previous singles taken from the album, the original track for “No One Is to Blame” was re-recorded to give the song a more radio-friendly sound. Phil Collins and Hugh Padgham produced the re-recording, with Collins adding his own backing vocals and drum work. This new version of the song was included on the 1986 US EP Action Replay as well as the CD version of Jones’s 1986 studio album, One to One.

“No One Is to Blame” was released as a single in March 1986 and became Jones’s biggest hit in the United States, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also became the first of his two #1 songs on the U.S. adult contemporary chart (“Everlasting Love” would top this chart in 1989). The song was also a top 10 hit in Australia and a #16 hit in the U.K..

The song is about unfulfilled attractions, saying that they’re normal and commonplace (“We want everyone – no one ever is to blame”). It uses a number of metaphors, such as “You can look at the menu, but you just can’t eat” and “It’s the last piece of the puzzle, but you just can’t make it fit,” to describe the frustration of experiencing attraction but being unable to act on it, for whatever reason. On a deeper level it describes the frustration and pain of unfulfilled desires and dreams inherent in the human condition.

“The Long Mix” is significantly shorter than the single; it is actually not a remix, but an entirely different piano and vocal-only version of the song recorded in session for the BBC Radio 1 Janice Long show.

SIDE A:
No One Is To Blame (Extended Mix) 5:14
Backing Vocals – Afrodiziak
Bass – Mo Foster
Drums, Vocals – Phil Collins
Engineer – Hugh Padgham
Engineer [Assistant] – Paul Gomershal*, Steve Chase*
Guitar – Phil Palmer
Keyboards, Vocals – Howard Jones
Mixed By – Steve Nye
Music By, Lyrics By – Howard Jones
Producer – Hugh Padgham, Phil Collins

SIDE B:
The Chase 2:54
Mixed By – Mike Roarty
Music By – Howard Jones
Producer – Howard Jones

No One Is To Blame (The Long Mix) 3:09
Music By, Lyrics By – Howard Jones
Producer – Barry Andrews

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	No One Is To Blame	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1986	No One Is To Blame	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#20
1986	No One Is To Blame	U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: WEA Records Ltd. ‎– HOW 9T
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 15 Mar 1986
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Artwork [Hand Colouring] – Tansy Spinks
Design [Sleeve] – Stylo Rouge*
Photography By – Trevor Rogers (2)

NOTES:
Track A: Recorded at The Farm, Surrey, England.
Track B2 produced for Radio 1 Janice Long Show. Released by arrangement with BBC Enterprises Ltd ℗ BBC Enterprises Ltd.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

December 20, 2016

Camouflage – The Great Commandment (John Luongo Mixes) (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

REQUEST

“The Great Commandment” is the debut single from German synthpop band Camouflage, taken from their debut album Voices & Images. The single had originally been recorded three years prior and was re-recorded in 1987, giving Camouflage their only number one dance hit. “The Great Commandment” stayed at the top spot for three non-consecutive weeks. The single became popular on independent stations and crossed over to the mainstream American pop charts, peaking at number fifty-nine in 1988. In their native Germany, “The Great Commandment” went to number fourteen, and reached the top ten in over twenty countries.

This US 12″ contains remixes by American dj/remixer John Luongo. I added as a bonus track the “Extended Radio Mix” which I transfered from the German 12″.

SIDE A:
The Great Commandment (12″ Mix) 6:14
The Great Commandment (Dub Mix) 7:52

SIDE B:
The Great Commandment (Extended Dance Mix) 6:00

Pompeji
Producer – Heiko Maile
Recorded By, Mixed By – Axel Henninger*

BONUS TRACK:
The Great Commandment (Extended Radio Mix) 5:40

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1988	The Great Commandment	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#59
1988	The Great Commandment	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#1
1988	The Great Commandment	U.S. Billboard Hot Alternative Songs	#3

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic ‎– 0-86530
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Co-producer – Axel Henninger* (tracks: A1 to B1)
Edited By – John Luongo (tracks: A1 to B1)
Photography By [Back Cover] – Jacques Sehy
Photography By [Front Cover] – Franz Wagner (4)
Producer – Camouflage (tracks: A1 to B1)
Producer [Additional Production], Mixed By – Gary Hellman (tracks: A1 to B1)
Production Manager [Additionel Production], Mixed By, Edited By – Gary Hellman (tracks: A1 to B1)
Written-By, Performer – Heiko Maile, Marcus Meyn, Oliver Kreyssig

NOTES:
Special Versions from Atlantic LP “Voices & Images”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi