Olivia Newton-John & Electric Light Orchestra – Xanadu (Australia 7″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1980

So Xanadu week has finally come to a close and I have saved the best for last. The origins of this 7″ promo are unclear. A friend of mine who lives in Australia sent me this record a few months back he told me that it was an Australian test promo. However the record label and sleeve do not mention the country of release. The front cover is similar to the Spain 7″ but there is no Spanish text anywhere. This promo does contain an interesting version of “Xanadu” on it’s b-side. I think this version is the sampler version found on a rare Japanese promo. Either way I am just very lucky to have it to share with you.

“Xanadu” is the title song from the album Xanadu, the soundtrack to the 1980 film of the same name.

The song is performed by the Electric Light Orchestra and Olivia Newton-John. Newton-John sings the primary vocals, with ELO adding “parenthetic” vocals in the style of their other songs on the “Xanadu” soundtrack, along with providing the instrumentation. A rare collaboration for ELO, the single reached no.1 in several countries and was the band’s only UK #1 single when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

SIDE A:
Xanadu 3:30

SIDE B:
Xanadu (Special Disco Version) 4:48

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	Xanadu	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#8
1980	Xanadu	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	#2

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: JET Records– JET 181
Format: Vinyl, 7″ Promo, 45 RPM
Country: Australia
Released: 1980
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Jeff Lynne

NOTES:
Special Dj Copy From “XANADU”

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

August 12, 2015

Electric Light Orchestra – I’m Alive (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1980

“I’m Alive” is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released as a single in May 1980. It is featured in a sequence near the beginning of the feature film Xanadu. The song also appears on the soundtrack album Xanadu. In the UK the single peaked at#20 in the US #16.

In the film the song is heard as the Muses emerge from a graffiti-like portrait; Olivia Newton-John, playing Kira (Terpsichore), emerges last. The film’s version of the song contains a fairly lengthy instrumental introduction, a small segment of which is used for the album version.

The song has been recently updated in the version of Xanadu on Broadway.

Included in the song’s closing coda is Morse code which spells out “E.L.O.”, they did something similar to this on two of their other songs, “Ocean Breakup” from 1973’s On the Third Day and 1983’s “Secret Messages”.

The b-side “Drum Dreams” is also featured in the film “Xanadu” in a slightly different version and is played during a skating sequnce with Gene Kelly during the film’s finale, although the song is featured in the film it does not appear on the soundtrack LP or CD.

SIDE A:
I’m Alive 3:46

SIDE B:
Drum Dreams 3:00

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	I’m Alive	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#16

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA-41246
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1980
Genre: Electronic
Style: Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Jeff Lynne
Written-By – Jeff Lynne

NOTES:
From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack “XANADU”

Recorded in Europe

Find the 7″ on DISCOGS

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

August 11, 2015

Olivia Newton-John & Cliff Richard – Suddenly (Netherlands 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1980

New 2015 Re-Rip!
Meticulously Remastered!
First time in 24bit Flac!

Originally posted February 3, 2012

“Suddenly” is a song from the soundtrack album Xanadu, and is the love theme from the 1980 film of the same name. The song is performed as a duet between Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard. It was written by John Farrar who also produced the record. It was released on Jet Records and reached No. 15 in the UK charts in October 1980 and reached No. 20 in the US.

“Suddenly” is a 1980 duet by Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard from the soundtrack album “Xanadu”. “Suddenly” was written and produced by John Farrar. The single debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on October 25, 1980 peaking at #20. In the Uk the single reached #15.

The b-side “You Made Me Love You” performed by Olivia Newton-John was written by James V. Monaco, the lyrics by Joseph McCarthy. The song is featured in the film “Xanadu” but was not included on it’s soundtrack. “You Made Me Love You” has never been released on CD.

SIDE A:
Suddenly 4:00
Vocals – Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John
Written-By, Producer – John Farrar

SIDE B:
You Made Me Love You 3:04
Producer – Barry Devorson*
Vocals – Olivia Newton-John
Written By – J.McCarthy, J.Monaco

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	Suddenly	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#20
1980	Suddenly	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Jet Records ‎– JET 12 7002
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1980
Genre: Pop
Style: Ballad

NOTES:
From the Motion Picture Soundtrack “XANADU”
Made in Holland

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

August 7, 2015

Olivia Newton-John – Magic (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1980

Happy 35th anniversary “XANADU”!

On August 8, 1980 the film “Xanadu” starring Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck and Gene Kelly was released to theaters in the US. Not a financial success, Xanadu earned mixed to negative critical reviews and was an inspiration for the creation of the Golden Raspberry Awards to memorialize the worst films of the year. Despite the lacklustre performance of the film, the soundtrack album became a huge commercial success around the world, and was certified double platinum in the United States. The song “Magic” was a U.S. number one hit for Newton-John, and the title track (by Newton-John and ELO) reached number one in the UK and several other countries around the world. Now 35 years later “Xanadu” is even more popular than when it was originally released showing at midnight movies becoming a cult classic.

“Magic” is a 1980 song performed by Olivia Newton-John, from the soundtrack to the film Xanadu. The song was number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks beginning on August 2, 1980.

“Magic” became Newton-John’s biggest Adult Contemporary hit to date, spending five weeks at the top of that chart. It was also her biggest pop hit until “Physical” ruled the Hot 100 for ten weeks beginning in November 1981. Billboard magazine ranked “Magic” as the third most popular single of 1980, behind only “Call Me” by Blondie and “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II” by Pink Floyd. The song also reached number 4 in Australia and number 32 in the UK.

The B-side “Fool Country” was featured in the film but did not appear on the soundtrack. The song did finally appear on CD for the first time on the Olivia Newton-John compilation Gold released in 2005.

On Saturday August 8, 2015 Olivia will premiere her new music video for the dance re-make of “Magic” titled “You Have To Believe” which she recorded with her daughter Chloe Lattanzi at the Share night club in Las Vegas. The track is produced by Grammy nominated remixer/producer Dave Audé.

SIDE A:
Magic 4:25

SIDE B:
Fool Country 2:23

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	Magic	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1980	Magic	U.S. Billboard hot Dult Contemporary	#1
1980	Magic	U.S. Billboard Hot 100 End Of Year	#3

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA-41247
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: May 23, 1980
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Producer, Written-By – John Farrar

NOTES:
From the Original motion picture soundtrack for “XANADU.”

Find the 7″ on DISCOGS

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