May 5, 2015

Madonna – La Isla Bonita (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“La Isla Bonita” (English: The Beautiful Island) is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fifth and final single from her third studio album, True Blue, on February 25, 1987, by Sire Records. The instrumental version of the song was first offered to Michael Jackson before Madonna both accepted it and wrote the lyrics and melody. “La Isla Bonita” is noted for being the first Madonna song to have a Latino influence in it, with arrangements of Cuban drums and Spanish guitar, maracas, harmonicas and a mix of synthesized and real drumming. The lyrics of the song tell about a beautiful island and was a tribute to the beauty of the Latin people according to Madonna.

Following its release, “La Isla Bonita” received positive appreciation from critics. It also achieved worldwide popularity, topping the record charts in countries such as Austria, Canada, France, Germany and Switzerland. It became Madonna’s fourth number-one single in the United Kingdom, giving her the record for most number-one singles among female artists. In the United States, it reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

SIDE A:
La Isla Bonita 3:59

SIDE B:
La Isla Bonita (Instrumental Remix Edit) 4:24
Remix – Chris Lord-Alge

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	La Isla Bonita	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#4
1987	La Isla Bonita	U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks	#1
1987	La Isla Bonita	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#10

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire ‎– 7-28425
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Latin, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Photography By – Herb Ritts
Producer – Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Written-By – Bruce Gaitsch, Madonna, Patrick Leonard

NOTES:
From the Madonna album “TRUE BLUE”

Find the 7″ 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

May 4, 2015

Pat Benatar – Hit Me With Your Best Shot (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1980

REQUEST

“Hit Me with Your Best Shot” is a song written by Canadian singer/songwriter Eddie Schwartz, and recorded by American singer Pat Benatar in 1980. In 1980, it was released as the second single from her second album Crimes of Passion. It hit #7 in Cash Box, and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first Top 10 hit.

“Hit Me with Your Best Shot” sold well over a million copies in the US, achieving a gold certification by the RIAA. The song is one of Benatar’s most recognizable.

**The 7″ single contains a slightly remixed version with more prominent guitar not heard on the album release. This has not appeared on CD as far as I know.

SIDE A:
Hit Me With Your Best Shot (7″ Mix) 2:50
Written-By – E. Schwartz*

SIDE B:
Prisoner Of Love 3:07
Written-By – S. Sheets*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	Hit Me With Your Best Shot	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#9

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Chrysalis ‎– CHS 2464
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1980
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Producer – Keith Olsen

NOTES:
From the Chrysalis album “Crimes Of Passion”

Made in U.S.A.

Find the 7″ On DISCOGS

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

April 28, 2015

Annabella – War Boys (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“War Boys” was the first single taken from former Bow Wow Wow lead singer Annabella Lwin’s debut solo album Fever. Produced by American musician and record producer John Robie “War Boys” debuted on the US Billboard Hat Dance Music/Club Play chart on April 5, 1986 spending six weeks on the survey peaking at #28.

SIDE A:
War Boys (Extended Mix) 7:37
War Boys (Single Edit) 3:50

SIDE B:
War Boys (Dub Version) 7:36
War Boys (Robie) 7:18

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	War Boys	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#28

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: RCA Victor ‎– PW-14288
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Mark Berry
Keyboards [Additional] – Manuel Parrish*, Michael Rudetsky
Producer – John Robie
Producer [Additional Production], Mixed By – Robie* (tracks: B2), Raul A. Rodriguez (tracks: A1, A2, B1)
Written-By – Annabella Lwin, John Robie

NOTES:
From the LP “FEVER”

Tracks are listed incorrectly on Side B they should be:

B1 War Boys (Robie) aka Rough And Toug Mix
B2 War Boys (Dub Version)

Find the 12″ On DISCOGS

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

April 27, 2015

Few Boys – Secret Times (Germany 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Secret Times” is the only single released by new beat/synthpop band Few Boys. In 1985, they entered the studio to record this classic which was produced by Axel Henninger (Camouflage). The tracks starts with a spinet intro taken from a work of Johann Sebastian Bach before it evolves to a uptempo synthpop track, similar to many of the 80s Synthpop bands like Depeche Mode and Red Flag. The single was an independent club hit but never made it to a wider audience, failing to have any chart success.

The band never recorded a full album and fell into obscurity after this singles release.

SIDE B:
Secret Times 5:23

SIDE B:
Secret Times (Secret Dub) 5:26

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Westside Music ‎– WESTSIDE 21009
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Germany
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design – Dr. Morbus (2)
Photography By – Dieter Völker
Producer – Axel Henninger*, Michael Münzing, Westside (4)
Written-By – F. Bülow*

NOTES:
Recorded and mixed at Dynaton Studio

Special Thanks:
Our Parents, Brothers & Sisters,
Friends & Westside
Extra Thanks:
Johann Sebastian Bach
for Intro Inspiration;
Pumuckl for having made
the Boys have a good time

Find the 12″ On DISCOGS

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