Echo & The Bunnymen – Bring On The Dancing Horses (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

Happy Easter

“Bring On the Dancing Horses” is a single by Echo & the Bunnymen which was released on 14 November 1985. It was the only new single to be included on their 1985 compilation album Songs to Learn & Sing. According to the liner notes that accompany the CD release of the album, the song was recorded specifically for the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink, the soundtrack of which also includes it. The song reached number 21 on the UK Singles Chart and number 15 on the Irish Singles Chart.

In a retrospective review of the single, Allmusic journalist Stewart Mason said that the layers of synths on the song and Ian McCulloch’s overdubbed vocals on the chorus add to the “psychedelic haze of the track”. Mason wrote: “Bring On the Dancing Horses has a dreamily catchy chorus and a nice melody.”

This US 12″ promo comes housed in a custom Sire records sleeve the image appears only on one side.

SIDE A:
Bring On The Dancing Horses (7″ Version) 4:00

SIDE B:
Bring On The Dancing Horses (Extended Mix) 5:48

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire ‎– PRO-A-2398
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave

CREDITS:
Producer – Laurie Latham
Written-By – McCulloch*, Pattinson*, De Freitas*, Sergeant*

NOTES:
From the LP: “SONGS TO LEARN & SING”
Promotional Copy Not For Sale
Made In U.S.A.

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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 Removeal: 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

April 2, 2015

The Police – Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86 (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Don’t Stand So Close to Me” is a 1980 song and hit single by the British rock band The Police. It concerns a schoolgirl’s crush on her young teacher which leads to an affair, which in turn is discovered. The Police won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for this song.

In 1986, a re-recorded version of the song was released as “Don’t Stand So Close to Me ’86”. The song was re-recorded in 1986 with a new, brooding arrangement, a different chorus and a more opulent production. The new version appeared as “Don’t Stand So Close to Me ’86” on the album Every Breath You Take: The Singles, and was released as a single, reaching number 24 in the British charts. It also reached number 11 in Ireland, number 14 in New Zealand, number 19 on the Netherlands MegaCharts Singles Chart (number 20 on Dutch Top 40), number 27 in Canada and number 46 on Billboard Hot 100 (number 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks).

Because of the decrease in tempo, a slight lyric change is found in the line “Just like the old man in that book by Nabokov” (the word ‘famous’ was added). A new music video was produced for the reworked song by Godley and Creme, notable for its early use of animated computer graphics.

Because drummer Stewart Copeland had broken his collarbone and was unable to drum, he opted to use his Fairlight CMI to program the drum track for the single. While singer/bassist Sting pushed to utilize the drums on his Synclavier instead, the group’s engineer found the Synclavier’s programming interface difficult—and it ended up taking him two days to complete the task. Copeland ultimately finished the drum programming and claimed that the Fairlight’s then-legendary “Page R” (the device’s sequencing page) saved his life and put him on the map as a composer. In a Qantas inflight radio program named “Reeling in the Years”, Copeland was quoted as saying that the argument over Synclavier versus Fairlight drums was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” and that this led to the group’s unraveling.

As the Police had already disbanded by the time the 1986 single was released, this, aside from the then-unreleased “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da ’86,” was the last recording before the band’s reunion and the most recent studio recording the band has released.

SIDE A:
Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86 (Dance Mix) 6:24
Producer – Laurie Latham, Police, The

Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86 4:51
Producer – Laurie Latham, Police, The

SUDE B:
Don’t Stand So Close To Me (Original Version) 4:00
Producer – Nigel Gray, Police, The

Don’t Stand So Close To Me (Live) 4:01
Mixed By – Kim Turner

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#46
1986	Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#10

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records ‎– AMY 354
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1986
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Mastered By – Timtom*
Photography By – Peter Mountain
Written-By – Sting

NOTES:
Track A2 taken from the forthcoming compilation album
“Every Breath You Take – The Singles”

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

April 1, 2015

The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry (New Voice Club Mix) (Germany 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Boys Don’t Cry” was the second single to be released by the Cure, released in June 1979. It was released in the UK as a stand-alone single, and was included as the title track on Boys Don’t Cry, the American equivalent to Three Imaginary Boys.

In April 1986 it was re-released under the title “New Voice · New Mix”, in which the original track was remixed and the vocals re-recorded. The new version has not appeared on any subsequent release by the Cure, but can be heard in the music video for “Boys Don’t Cry”. It was released to promote Standing on a Beach; however, the original version of the song appears on the album.

SIDE A:
Boys Don’t Cry (New Voice Club Mix) 5:28

SIDE B:
Pillbox Tales 2:53
Do The Hansa 2:40

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Fiction Records ‎– 883 937-1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 45 RPM
Country: Germany
Released: 08 Apr 1986
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Post-Punk

CREDITS:
Producer – Parry* (tracks: A), Allen*, Smith*
Written-By –Tolhurst*, Dempsey*, Smith*

NOTES:
Made in Germany by Metronome Musik GmbH
Track A resung & club mixed February 86, originally released June 79.
Tracks B1 & B2 previously unreleased, originally recorded February 79, remixed February 86.

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

March 31, 2015

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Genetic Engineering / Telegraph (Canada 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Genetic Engineering” is a song by British band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released as the first single from their fourth studio album Dazzle Ships. Frontman Andy McCluskey has noted that the song is not an attack on genetic engineering, as many assumed at the time, including veteran radio presenter Dave Lee Travis upon playing the song on BBC Radio 1. McCluskey stated: “I was very positive about the subject. People didn’t listen to the lyrics…I think they automatically assumed it would be anti.”

Charting at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart, “Genetic Engineering” ended the band’s run of four consecutive Top 10 hits in the UK. It was also a Top 20 hit in several European territories, and peaked at number 5 in Spain. It missed the United States Billboard Hot 100 but made number 32 on the Mainstream Rock chart. US critic Ned Raggett lauded the “soaring”, “enjoyable” single in a positive review of Dazzle Ships for AllMusic, asserting: “Why it wasn’t a hit remains a mystery.”

Critics in prominent music publications have suggested that the first 45 seconds of the song were a direct influence on Radiohead’s “Fitter Happier”, which appears on that band’s 1997 album OK Computer. Theon Weber in Stylus argued that the Radiohead track is “deeply indebted” to “Genetic Engineering”.

SIDE A:
Genetic Engineering (Extended Version) 5:10

SIDE B:
Telegraph (Extended Remixed Version) 4:42
Remix – Rhett Davies

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Genetic Engineering	U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	#32

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– VSX 1170
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM, Limited Edition
Country: Canada
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – OMD*, Rhett Davies
Written-By – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

NOTES:
From the Virgin LP “DAZZLE SHIPS”

Find the 12″ On DISCOGS

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