Elton John/Millie Jackson – Act Of War (Remix Number Two) (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Act Of War” is a 1985 single with lyrics by Elton John’s longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, this song uses war as a metaphor for a stormy interpersonal relationship. It was the era of the Cold War, when the United States and Russia had nuclear weapons ready for attack. Explosions appear in the song to encourage the theme, and the video opens with the United States president answering his phone near the “button” which would supposedly launch the missiles. The jelly beans he eats are a reference to Ronald Reagan, the real president at the time who enjoyed the treats. It’s a catchy and upbeat tune from a resurgent Elton John, perhaps with an anti-nuclear sentiment similar to “99 Luftballons,” but it couldn’t get traction in America, where the song was ignored. “Act Of War” was a top 40 hit in the UK reaching #32.

Elton duets with soul singer Millie Jackson on this song. Jackson is an R&B star well known in the black community, but just under the mainstream radar. Like Tina Turner, who was first offered the duet but turned it down, Jackson has impressive looks and a stunning voice, and she could have crossed over to the Pop world had things gone a bit differently. In an interview with Millie Jackson, she explained: “Didn’t happen. Don’t care. In America I think in order to be a pop star you’ve got to have management. And I always managed myself. I was never looking to become that crossover pop star. Let white folks cross over to me. I call myself the poor people’s queen. Because once you get to the top there’s only one way to go.”

“Act Of War” was released only as a single, but later it was added to Elton’s “Ice on Fire” CD, having been recorded the same year. The song also features guitar by Nik Kershaw.

Several remixes were released for “Act Of War” this UK only limited edition contains exclusive remixes by Australian remixer/producer Julian Mendelsohn.

SIDE A:
Act Of War (Part 5) Vocal 7:30

SIDE B:
Act Of War (Part 6) Instrumental 4:20

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: The Rocket Record Company ‎– EJSR 812
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Limited Edition
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – Gus Dudgeon
Remix –Julian Mendelsohn (tracks: A), Stuart Epps (tracks: B)
Written-By – Bernie Taupin, Elton John

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
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

January 21, 2015

Olivia Newton-John – Heart Attack (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Heart Attack” was one of two new songs recorded for the 1982 (Double Platinum) greatest hits package titled Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2. The song was the first single released from the album. The success of “Physical” led to an international tour and the release of her second hits collection, the double platinum Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (No. 16 Pop), which yielded two more Top 40 singles: “Heart Attack” (No. 3 Pop) and “Tied Up” (No. 38 Pop). In 1983, Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their TV series episode “Angelic Alvin” (with new lyrics created for the episode).

The song features American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble the L.A. Express Tom Scott on horns. An innovative music video directed by Brian Grant recieved heavy airplay on MTV.

Even though there are no remixes or edits of “Heart Attack” I still wanted to post it for those of us who love hearing these tracks in their vinyl glory. I also wanted to bookend it with yesterdays “Tied Up” post. Olivia was an important part of 70’s & 80’s pop music paving the way for artists like Madonna and Taylor Swift. Olivia’s music video’s were innovative and pioneering winning the first ever Grammy for a long form video album in 1983 “Olivia Physical”.

SIDE A:
Heart Attack 3:05
Written-By – Paul Bliss, Steve Kipner

SIDE B:
Stranger’s Touch 3:47
Written-By – John Farrar, Tom Snow

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	Heart Attack	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#3

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA-52100
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Photography By – Herb Ritts
Producer – John Farrar

NOTES:
A-side: From the MCA LP “Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2”
B-side: From the MCA LP “Physical”

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

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

January 20, 2015

Olivia Newton-John – Tied Up (Edited Version) (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Tied Up” was one of two new songs recorded for the 1982 (Double Platinum) greatest hits package titled “Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2” the song was the second single released from the album following “Heart Attack” (US #3) the other new track recorded for the package. “Tied Up” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on January 15, 1983 peaking at #38. The song also features American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble the L.A. Express Tom Scott on horns. Scott was also the opening act for Olivia’s 1982 “Physical” World Tour and appears in the songs music video.

The b-side features an album track from Olivia’s 1981 LP Physical. “Silvery Rain”, which was written by The Shadows member Hank Marvin and released as single in 1971 by British singer Cliff Richard has lyrics denouncing the aerial application use for pesticides to exterminate insects. A music video directed by Brian Grant was filmed for the song and included on the Grammy winning video album “Olivia Physical”.

As with many of Olivia’s 7″ singles the edited version of “Tied Up” has never appeared on CD or any compilation.

SIDE A:
Tied Up (Edited Version) 4:12
Written-By – J. Farrar*, L. Ritenour*

SIDE B:
Silvery Rain 3:40
Written-By – H. Marvin*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Tied Up	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#38

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA-52155
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Photography – Herb Ritts
Producer – John Farrar

NOTES:
A-side: From the MCA LP “Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2”
B-side From the MCA LP “Physical”
Management: Roger Davies Managemrnt
For Buffalo Music

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

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

January 19, 2015

Clivillés & Cole – Pride (In The Name Of Love) (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1991

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (US)

“Pride (In the Name of Love)” is a song originally recorded by Irish rock band U2 in 1984 Written about Martin Luther King, Jr.

In 1991, successful record producers and remixers Clivillés + Cole, released acover version of U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, but it was the B-side song “A Deeper Love”, featuring vocals by Deborah Cooper (a long time Clivillés and Cole vocalist) and Paul Pesco that proved to be a hit, peaking at No. 15 in the UK. Deborah Cooper performed “Deeper Love” various times, including on Saturday Night Live with Clivillés and Cole’s C+C Music Factory. Both sides charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1992: “A Deeper Love” peaked at #44, while “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” reached #54. The video for these songs was actually one long featurette, beginning with “Deeper Love” and then continuing into “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” halfway through the video. The video was labelled “Pride (A Deeper Love)”. Some networks preferred to show the videos separately while others played the whole length. In 1992 as Clivillés + Cole an album was released called “Greatest Remixes Vol. 1” featuring remixes of other artist songs by the duo.

In 1994 Aretha Franklin covered “A Deeper Love” from the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Franklin actually hired Clivillés + Cole to produce the album version as well as the remixes. Thus, the song was a hit for the duo twice in two different incarnations within a 3-year time span.

SIDE A:
Pride (In The Name Of Love) (Techno Remake Club Mix) 7:57
Written-By – U2

SIDE B:
A Deeper Love (Underground Club Mix / Let’s Go Chanting Mix) 12:18
Written-By – Robert Clivillés- David Cole*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1992	Pride (In The Name Of Love)	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#54
1992	Pride (In The Name Of Love)	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#13
1992	A Deeper Love	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#44
1992	A Deeper Love	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#11

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia ‎– 44 74135
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1991
Genre: Electronic
Style: House

CREDITS:
Arranged By [Keyboards, Vocals], Backing Vocals, Drums, Mixed By, Percussion, Producer, Written-by – Robert Clivillés
Arranged By [Vocals], Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Mixed By, Percussion, Producer, Written-by – David Cole
Backing Vocals – Carol Sylvan*, Craig Derry, Deborah Cooper, Karen Bernod, Will Downing
Edited By – Albert Cabrera, Ricky Crespo
Engineer [Recording] – Bruce Miller
Engineer [Recording], Mixed By – Acar S. Key*
Lead Vocals – Deborah Cooper, Paul Pesco
Mastered By – Herb “The Pump” Powers*
Programmed By – Alan Friedman

NOTES:
Recorded at Axis Studios. Mixed at Axis Studios
and Skyline Studios, NYC.
Mastered at DMS.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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