Meet The Ortofon 2M Bronze

Meet the Ortofon 2M Bronze! I bought this new stylus last week and received it over the weekend. My old Ortofon 30 stylus was beginning to wear and after talking to the guys at turntableneedles.com decided that the Ortofon 2M Bronze would be a great replacement. You will be hearing the first rip with it later today.

The 2M Bronze features a nude Fine Line diamond stylus, which is particularly suited for demanding applications. The slim profile of the Fine Line stylus will track even the highest frequency information, making it a must for discerning listeners. Additionally, its larger footprint ensures reduced distortion and record wear.

The cartridge body used for the 2M Bronze is manufactured from a newly-developed Lexan DMX Piano Black, a revolutionary material which ensures high rigidity while eliminating unwanted resonances.

We have optimized the design for ease of mounting the cartridge, and the weight and size to fit the most common turntables on the market today. The 2M Series provides excellent compatibility when used in an assortment of playback systems and with a wide variety of phono preamps.

The 2M Bronze uses a special upgraded engine, featuring split pole pins with a silver plated copper wire.

December 16, 2016

Wham! – Last Christmas (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

I originally posted this festive 12″ on December 12, 2010, wow six years ago. Since then I have really upgraded my equipment and fine tuned my ripping skills. I also stopped using ClickRepair and now manually remove every click/pop myself, the results are much better since using ClickRepair can degrade the audio. This year I wanted to bring new life into this 12″ so I gave it a brand new transfer. If you happen to have the old rip in your collection I think you will see this is the definitive transfer.

The mix used on this 12″ omits a verse and has additional backing vocals from George Michael and some slightly different keyboard arrangements towards the end. The record itself is labeled as (Pudding Mix) (Long Version) it is actually an alternate edit of the “Pudding Mix”.

I really hope that you enjoy the new transfer Seasons Greetings.

~ DjPaulT (December, 2016)

“Last Christmas” is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1984, on a double A-side with “Everything She Wants”. Originally written and produced by George Michael, it has been covered by many artists since its original release.

Wham! had been a dominant force in the UK Singles Chart in 1984 and news that they were planning a Christmas single meant that a battle for the coveted Christmas #1 spot in the UK seemed set to be between Wham! and the year’s other big act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who had achieved a third #1 in early December with “The Power of Love”. However, the Band Aid project, helmed by Bob Geldof, produced the #1 single. Wham!’s offering peaked at #2 for much of the period, although George’s involvement in Band Aid meant that Wham! still had an input. Wham! subsequently topped the monies raised by Band Aid by donating all of their “Last Christmas/Everything She Wants” royalties to the Ethiopian famine appeal.

“Last Christmas” did make #1 in various other countries.

The single sold well over a million copies and became the biggest selling single in UK chart history not to reach #1. A year later, it was re-issued for Christmas again (this time without a billed flip-side) and got to #6. A second re-issue at Christmas 1986 – by which time Wham! had split – stalled outside the top 40.

The song gradually sold in Japan, and finally became the best-selling single that did not reach that country’s top-10 chart, selling more than 600,000 copies and peaking on the chart at #12 in 1992.

“Last Christmas” has sold 1.8 million copies as of June 2016 and is the biggest selling single in UK chart history not to reach number one.

Due to perceived similarities between “Last Christmas” and the song “Can’t Smile Without You” as popularised by Barry Manilow, an out of court settlement was reached in which the first year’s royalties were donated to the one-year-old “Band Aid” charity.

The video to “Last Christmas” saw George and partner Andrew Ridgeley accompanying girlfriends to see friends at their home in an unspecified ski resort, although the cable-car that can be seen in two shots is from Saas-Fee, Switzerland. It became clear early on, however, that Andrew’s girlfriend had previously been in a relationship with George, and it was to her character the song was aimed. The video also featured the duo’s erstwhile backing singers Pepsi and Shirlie and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, the boyfriend and future husband of Shirlie Holliman.

SIDE A:
Last Christmas (Pudding Mix Edit) 4:45

SIDE B:
Credit Card Baby 5:09

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic/Sony – 12·3P-575
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 21 Dec 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer, Arranged By, Written-By – George Michael

NOTES:
Released with a lyric insert and obi strip.
Side A is listed as “Pudding Mix” “Long Version” but actually plays the 4:45 version.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
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 14, 2016

Grace Jones – Party Girl (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

REQUEST

“Party Girl” is a single by Grace Jones released in 1986.

“Party Girl” blends pop and funk music, with an addition of Caribbean sound to it. It was released as the second single from Inside Story, an album Grace co-wrote and co-produced along with Nile Rodgers, in December 1986 in Europe and 1987 in the United States. The song was remixed by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero for single release.

The song made little impact on music charts, however, it became a top 20 dance hit in the US.

SIDE A:
Party Girl (Extended Remix) 7:22

SIDE B:
Party Girl (Dub Version) 5:00
Party Girl (7″ Edit) 3:35

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	Party Girl	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#19

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Manhattan Records ‎– V-56050
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Electro, Downtempo, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design – Jackie Murphy
Photography By – Greg Gorman
Producer – Grace Jones, Nile Rodgers
Producer [Additional Production], Mixed By [Mix] – Steve Thompson And Michael Barbiero*
Written-By – B. Woolley*, G. Jones*

NOTES:
From the album Grace Jones: “Inside Story”.
Mastered at Sterling.
Designed @ Koppel & Scher.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

December 6, 2016

The Nails – 88 Lines About 44 Women (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

REQUEST

“88 Lines About 44 Women” is the name of a hit single by the new wave band The Nails. Originally recorded for their EP Hotel for Women, the song was re-recorded and released to critical and commercial acclaim on the band’s 1984 album Mood Swing. Along with the track, “Let It All Hang Out”, “88 Lines About 44 Women” peaked at number forty-six on the US dance chart in March 1985.

Marc Campbell and David Kaufman of The Nails wrote “88 Lines About 44 Women” in a Manhattan loft. The rhythm track on the song was a preprogrammed track on Kaufman’s Casio keyboard. Campbell wrote the lyrics to the song and has noted that “[s]ome of the women [referenced in the song] are real, some are made up.” Campbell wrote the song in two hours on a manual typewriter and the band recorded it the next day. The Nails never produced a music video for “88 Lines About 44 Women.”

The Nails filed several lawsuits over use of “88 Lines About 44 Women”, including a successful lawsuit over use of the song to promote the television show Dexter, as well as use by the state of Massachusetts in an anti-drinking advertising campaign.

SIDE A:
88 Lines About 44 Women (X Rated Version) 4:53

SIDE B:
88 Lines About 44 Women (“Edited” Version) 4:53

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	88 Lines About 44 Women	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#46

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: RCA ‎– JD-14091
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Michael Frondelli
Executive-Producer – Bruce Harris
Producer – Gregg Winter
Written-By – Marc Campbell, The Nails

NOTES:
From the LP “MOOD SWING”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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