The Rolling Stones – Too Much Blood (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Too Much Blood” is a single released only in the United States by The Rolling Stones taken from their 1983 album Undercover.

Credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, “Too Much Blood” is largely a Jagger composition. The song is a reflection of the many influences the Stones would have during their career in the mid-1980s. Jagger said at the time of its release, “I had made out a very honest burden of mind before everyone had arrived one night. It was just Charlie [Watts] and Bill [Wyman]. And one of our roadies called Jim Barber, he was playing guitar on it too. And I just started playing this riff I had, with this middle part, I didn’t have any words to it and then I just suddenly started rapping out these words which are the ones you hear.” (“Mick asked me if I could do an ‘Andy Summers’ on the track” – Jim Barber).

The song itself deals with the growing depictions of violence in the media at the time and the case of Issei Sagawa, with Jagger saying, “Well there was this scandalous, murderous story in France – it was a true story – about this Japanese guy who murdered this girl and it sort of captured the imagination of the French public, and the Japanese. The Russians wanted to make a movie out of it. So that was the first bit and then I started becoming more light-hearted about it, movies and all. …it came out as a sort of anti-gratuitous cinema of violence. And it’s a kind of anti-violent thing.”

“Did you ever see “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre”? Horrible, wasn’t it. You know, people ask me “is it really true where you live in Texas, is that really true what they do around there, people?” I say, “yea, every time I drive through the crossroads I get scared, there’s a bloke running round with a fucking chain saw. Oh! Oh! oh No, he’s gonna cut off, Oh no. Don’t saw off me leg, don’t saw off me arm.”

Jagger uses a half-hearted rap delivery for some lines, saying at the time, “I’m not a great rapper… It’s just made up on the spot as well. It’s completely extemporized, as well, most of it. A couple words I cleaned up. I don’t mean clean up, just made better sounds. That was just rap off the top of my head. I didn’t write it down, even.”

Recording took place at Paris’ Pathé Marconi Studios and New York City’s Hit Factory between October and November 1982. With Jagger on lead vocals, he also performs electric guitars with Barber and Richards. Horns are provided by Chops and percussion by Sly Dunbar.

A dance version of “Too Much Blood,” remixed by Arthur Baker, was released as a twelve-inch single in December 1984. A music video, directed by Julien Temple, was produced in support showing the band performing the song as well as Richards and guitarist Ron Wood chasing Jagger with chainsaws. The trio also appear, without chainsaws but still in character, on the record sleeve for the single. The video opens with an excerpt from the first movement of the String Quartet Number 3 by Béla Bartók. “Too Much Blood” has never been performed live by the Stones and appears on no compilation albums.

In the US the singles peaked at #44 on the Billboard Dance Chart and #38 on the Mainstream Rock Chart.

SIDE A:
Too Much Blood (Dance Version) 12:46
Edited By – Latin Rascals, The
Engineer [Remix Assistant] – Tom Lord-Alge
Engineer [Remix] – Chris Lord-Alge
Producer – Glimmer Twins, The
Remix – Arthur Baker

SIDE B:
Too Much Blood (Dub Version) 8:00
Edited By – Latin Rascals, The
Engineer [Remix Assistant] – Tom Lord-Alge
Engineer [Remix] – Chris Lord-Alge
Producer – Glimmer Twins, The
Remix – Arthur Baker

Too Much Blood (Album Version) 6:13
Mixed By – Chris Kimsey
Producer – Chris Kimsey, Glimmer Twins, The

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Too Much Blood	U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	#38
1984	Too Much Blood	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#44

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Rolling Stones Records ‎– 0-96902
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Dub
Credits: Art Direction – Bob Defrin
Mastered By – Greg Calbi
Recorded By – Chris Kimsey
Written-By – Jagger-Richards

NOTES:
From the album “UNDERCOVER”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

October 1, 2013

New Order – Run 2 (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989

“Run 2” was New Order’s third and final single from their 1989 album Technique. The album version was listed as simply “Run”.

“Run 2” was remixed by Scott Litt from the version on Technique, hence the appendage of “2” to the title. The main difference is that the song has been made more radio-friendly by editing down most of the long instrumental run-out and appending it with a final repeat of the chorus. Litt’s mix strips back much of the echo and layers of synthesizers, and in place centres the mix on Sumner’s vocal and the bass guitar of Peter Hook. Despite the effort taken to produce a radio single, only 20,000 of the Factory 12″ release were ever pressed. 500 7-inch records were also pressed, for promotional use. The single was only released in the UK.

John Denver’s publishing company filed a lawsuit, alleging that the guitar break in “Run” too closely resembled Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane”. The case was settled out of court. The song has since been credited to New Order and John Denver.

“Run 2” is backed with the B-side titled “MTO”. This song recycles the line “You’ve got love technique” from the group’s previous hit single “Fine Time” (this is the only lyric in the track). It is speculated that “MTO” is an acronym for “Mid Tempo One” or “Much Too Old”, though it is also quite possible that the initial-ism’s usual meaning, “Made to Order”, is implied as a self-deprecating joke by the group. An extended mix of “Run 2” with additional beats by Afrika Islam and an alternate ‘minus’ mix of “MTO” by Mike ‘Hitman’ Wilson appear as B-sides on the 12″ version of the single.

Peter Saville, the single’s cover designer, claimed to have been inspired by the design of laundry powder packaging. The tiny print on the back of the sleeve says, “Cover by Peter Saville Associates after Bold.”

SIDE A:
Run 2 3:37
Remix – Scott Litt

Run 2 (Extended Version) 5:22
Drum Programming [Additional Beats] – Afrika Islam
Remix – Scott Litt

SIDE B:
MTO 3:43
Engineer – Chris Andrews
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] – Mike ‘Hitman’ Wilson*

MTO (Minus Mix) 5:24
Engineer – Chris Andrews
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] – Mike ‘Hitman’ Wilson*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Factory ‎– Fac273
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: Aug 1989
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Leftfield, Acid House, Indie Rock
Credits: Cover [After Bold] – Peter Saville Associates
Mastered By – MAX*
Recorded By – Michael Johnson
Written-By, Producer – New Order

NOTES:
Limited edition of 20,000 copies.
MTO Additional Production and Remix for Real House Productions.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

September 30, 2013

Various – Hot Tracks Series 1 Issue 11 (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

While no longer in busines Hot Tracks was the LONGEST-RUNNING DJ Remix Service in the World! Based here in my home town Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Hot Tracks for years and years was carried in THOUSANDS of DJ’s Crates, as the goto service for remix edits and creative ideas on the dancefloors. For a while HOT TRACKS was known for being one of the most creative, and interesting remix services available to DJ’s. Hot Tracks was an invaluable service and an important piece of HISTORY!

This issue was released for the Christmas Season 1982 hence the inclusion of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by Steve Algozino who gives the traditiona carol contemporary space age madness. Probably the most sought after remix in this set is “Nasty Girl” retitled “Nasty Nasty Girl” by Vanity 6. This song inclines towards the highly suggestive and downright dirty lyrics. Hot Tracks didn’t help matters any by creating “Nasty Nasty Girls”, by rearranging the entire song to enhance the already enthusiastic synthesized strings, bass line and lyrics. The new mix runs almost 8 minutes and moves quickly with a 7 inch introduction.

This set also includes “It’s A Shame” by The Spinners a Motown classic taken from The Best Of The Spinners LP released in 1973. The track has been lenghtened with new percussion tracks and equalization so that it can be mixed easily with today’s down tempo material.

Hope that you enjoy this great set of remixes from Hot Tracks.

SIDE A:
Double Discovery – Can He Find Another One? 8:19
Written-By – B. Midney*, J. Burgess*, K. Meyer*
130 BPM

Private Lives – Memory Of Your Name 7:49
Remix – Rob Kimbel
Written By – Lane, Leiderman
Written-By – Adams*
136 BPM

SIDE B:
Vanity 6 – Nasty, Nasty Girls 7:51
Written-By – Vanity
121 BPM

Steve Algozino – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 5:37
Written-By – H. Martin*, R. Blane*
124 BPM

Spinners, The* – It’s A Shame 4:25
Written-By – L. Garrett*, S. Wonder*, S. Wright*
106 BPM

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Hot Tracks ‎– SA 1-11
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Limited Edition, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Disco, Synth-pop, Soul

NOTES:
Released fro Christmas 1982
For DJ Use Only

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

September 26, 2013

Olivia Newton-John – Physical (France 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1981

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Re-Rip Newly Remastered + Bonus Track!

Originally I posted this one on May 4, 2010. But for those who may have missed it or if you are a new reader just discovering BTG. I decided to give this one a new rip with my newer Ortofon Super 30 stylus. This 12″ is also being posted in 24 bit flac for the very first time!

“Physical” is a song by Australian recording artist Olivia Newton-John for her twelfth studio album Physical. It was released in September 1981, by MCA Records as the lead single from the project. The song was written by Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick, who originally intended to offer it to British singer-songwriter Rod Stewart, while production was handled by John Farrar.

The song was an immediate success, shipping 2 million copies in the United States, being certified Platinum, and spending 10 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately becoming Newton-John’s biggest American hit. The song reached number 7 on the UK chart in November. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and won the Billboard Award for Top Pop Single. “Physical” went on to become the biggest-selling single of the entire decade in the US.

Recorded in early 1981, it first rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in America in November 1981 and stayed there for 10 weeks, until near the end of January 1982. In terms of chart placement, it was the most popular single of her career in the U.S., as well as her final number-one (to date). Billboard ranked it as the number one pop single of 1982 (since the chart year for 1982 actually began in November 1981), and it was also the most successful song on the Hot 100 during the entire decade of the 1980s. The famous guitar solo is performed by Toto’s guitarist Steve Lukather.

“Physical” was both preceded and followed in the #1 chart position by recordings of the duo Hall & Oates. “Private Eyes” yielded its top spot to “Physical” in November 1981, and “Physical” yielded to “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” the following January. “Physical” held “Waiting for a Girl Like You” by Foreigner at #2, off the top of the Hot 100 for nine weeks, and “I Can’t Go For That” held Foreigner’s hit at #2 for the tenth and final week.

The single, slightly edgier than she had been known for in the past (such as her songs from Grease and her country-pop ballad “I Honestly Love You”), proved to be immensely popular both in America and in the United Kingdom, despite the fact that the song was censored and even banned by some radio stations; due to its sexual content, for example the line: “There’s nothing left to talk about unless it’s horizontally”, in spite of Newton-John’s status as the reigning queen of soft-rock music at the time, “Physical” peaked at only number twenty-nine on the AC chart (its follow-up, the slightly softer-edged “Make a Move on Me,” found more acceptance at AC radio and went to number six AC as well as number five pop.) The song was a big dance hit, crossed over to the Billboard R&B chart peaking at #28 there, and spawned a music video.

The music video was directed by Brian Grant.

The video featured a lusty Olivia, dressed in a tight leotard, as a gym teacher trying to make several overweight men healthy. She repeatedly tries to make the men lose weight, but her plans fail and she leaves the room to take a shower. Suddenly, the men work out on their own, and they transform into muscular attractive men. In one part, one muscular man glances at his overweight self. Olivia is shocked when she sees this, and starts to flirt with them. At the end, two of the men secretly go out, holding hands, implying they are gay. Olivia is surprised to see this, and so she and one of the overweight men play tennis. The gym setting may have been partly an attempt to divert attention from the overt sexual connotations of the term “physical”. This was further emphasized by the twist comedy ending of the video, when the transformed men who are now oblivious to Newton-John’s advances are ultimately revealed to be gay (this was also a source of controversy; MTV frequently cut the ending when it aired the video, and the sometimes sensuous nature of the video also led to it being banned outright by some broadcasters in Canada and the United Kingdom).

The Olivia Physical video (where “Physical” music video was included) won a Grammy Award for Video of the Year in 1983. The video was featured on Pop-Up Video on VH1 and was the first video to air on Beavis and Butt-Head, on which they changed the channel to “I Wanna Be Sedated” by The Ramones.

A Newton-John duet with Jane Lynch aired on the “Bad Reputation” episode of the television series Glee on May 4th, 2010 on the FOX television network in the US. Newton-John and Lynch recreated the songs music video for the episode. This version charted at #89 in 2010.

ABOUT THE 12″:
Released only in France and Mexico this 12″ contains the only official “Long Version” of “Physical”. As a bonus I included the “Extended Live Version” of “Physical” which was released as the b-side of the “I Honestly Love You” UK 12″ re-issued in 1983 to promote the album “Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2”. “Physical” was recorded live during Olivia’s 1982 Let’s Get Physical World Tour.

SIDE A:
Physical (Special Disco Mix) 7:04
Written By – Steve Kipner , Terry Shaddick–

SIDE B:
The Promise (The Dolphin Song) 4:30
Written By- Olivia Newton-John

Physical (Extended Live Version) (Bonus Track) 7:33
Written By- Steve Kipner , Terry Shaddick–
Recorded Live In Concert 1982

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1981	Physical	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1 (10 Weeks)
1981	Physical	U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles	#28
1981	Physical	U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	#29
1981	Physical	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#22
Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	Physical	U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Year End	#1
1980-89	Physical	U.S. Billboard Hot 100 End Of decade	#1

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label:Pathé Marconi EMI, EMI – 2C 052 52904 Z
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: France
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic
Style: Pop Rock, Synthpop
Credits: Producer – John Farrar
Mixed By – David J. Holman
Photography – Herb Ritts

NOTES:
Original version appears on the MCA album:
“PHYSICAL”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi