The Star Sisters – He’s The 1 (I Love) (German 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

The Star Sisters were a female Dance/Pop trio from The Netherlands that were very popular during the 1980s, most notably as the ladies who performed the chorus as members of Jaap Eggermont’s studio act Stars on 45 and in a spinoff in which they performed as The Andrews Sisters in a medley that charted internationally in 1984.

The members were Sylvana van Veen (B. 1950), Patricia Paay (B. April 7, 1949) and Yvonne Keeley (B. September 6, 1952). Paay and Keeley are sisters in real life. In 1984, they performed a song (during the film’s end credits) on the Japanese film The Return of Godzilla.

Between 1983 and 1987 the group released only six hits in Europe, including their best known hits “Are You Ready For My Love” in 1986 and “He’s The 1 (I Love)” in 1985.

SIDE A:
He’s The 1 (I Love) (Dance Mix) 8:02

SIDE B:
He’s The 1 (I Love) (Dub Version) 7:34

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: CNR ‎– 883 389-1, CNR ‎– 883 389-1ME
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 45 RPM
Country: Germany
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Pop, Hi-NRG
Credits: Producer, Arranged By, Recorded By, Mixed By – Eric van Tijn and Jochem Fluitsma*
Written-By – J. Fluitsma / E. van Tijn*

NOTES:
Produced & arranged for Red Bullet Prod.
Recorded & mixed at Artisound Studios, Amsterdam.
Made in Germany
From the album “DANGER”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
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

March 29, 2013

Linda Clifford – If My Friends Could See Me Now (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1978

DISCO FRIDAY!

Linda Clifford (born June 14, 1948, New York) is an American R&B, disco and house music singer and actress, who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably “If My Friends Could See Me Now”, “Bridge over Troubled Water”, “Runaway Love” and “Red Light”.

“If My Friends Could See Me Now”, with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, is a number from the 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity. In the musical, the character of Charity, played in original New York cast by Gwen Verdon, reflects on her charmed life as she spends time with Vittorio. In the 1969 film adaptation of Sweet Charity, “If My Friends Could See Me Now” is performed by Shirley MacLaine.

In 1978 Linda Clifford released an album entitled If My Friends Could See Me Now featuring a disco version of the Sweet Charity number of that name. Clifford – who had been an extra in the filmation of Sweet Charity – originally responded negatively to the suggestion – made by a secretary at Curtom Records – that she record a dance version of “If My Friends Could See Me Now” “because I thought it would be sacrilegious. I’ve always been a theatre buff, so this [would be] a no-no….Then they recorded [the backing track] anyway and brought it to me, and I said, ‘Ooh, I like that.’ Once I heard the music I was like, ‘It’s different but it’s the same.'” Clifford would recall how subsequent to her success with “If My Friends Could See Me Now” Cy Coleman would “[call] in to a radio station that I was being interviewed on and thanked me over the air for doing his song and bringing it to the masses.”

“If My Friends Could See Me Now” in tandem with two other album tracks: “Gypsy Lady” and “Runaway Love”, hit #1 on the Billboard disco chart dated April 29, 1978 remaining at #1 for a total of five weeks. Released as a 7″ single in August 1978 – “Runaway Love” having been the lead 7″ single from the If My Friends… album – “If My Friends Could See Me Now” reached #56 on the Billboard Hot 100 with an R&B chart peak of #68. In the UK “If My Friends Could See Me Now” was issued as the A-side of a 7″ single – with “Runaway Love” as the B-side – in May 1978 failing to become a major UK hit with a peak of #50 on the UK chart dated June 24, 1978.

SIDE A:
If My Friends Could See Me Now 10:12
Written-By – C. Coleman*, D. Fields*

SIDE B:
Gypsy Lady 9:58
Engineer – R. Anfinsen*
Producer – Curtis Mayfield
Remix – J. Simpson*
Written-By – C. Mayfield*, G. Askey*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint (generic)

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1978	If My Friends Could See Me Now	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#54
1978	If My Friends Could See Me Now	U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles	#68
1978	If My Friends Could See Me Now	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Disco	#1

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Curtom ‎– DISCO PRO-A-709
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1978
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Disco
Credits: Producer, Arranged By – Gil Askey

NOTES:
Special Disco versions taken from the LP,
“If My Friends Could See Me Now”

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

March 28, 2013

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – One Mad Day Mix (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1991

Euro-Mixx is a US based label that had formerly released bootleg singles under the name ON-Usound. This 12″ is a nicely done Megamix titled “One Mad Day Mix” of British New Wave group OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark).

Founding members, Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England. The band rose to fame with their fourth single “Enola Gay”, which became a major hit throughout Europe in 1980, and achieved worldwide popularity the following year with their third album Architecture & Morality. Regarded as the band’s seminal work,[1] it spawned three international hit singles and propelled them to superstar status in their home country. OMD, whose music frequently eschewed traditional pop music arrangements in favour of experimentation, were retrospectively described by AllMusic’s Ned Raggett as having been “in the enviable position of at once being creative innovators and radio-friendly pop giants.”

Record sales began to decrease in the UK during the latter half of the 1980s, as did critical support, but the group remained popular. Concurrently, they reached their US peak and had a series of hits, the most notable being 1986’s “If You Leave”, written for the film Pretty in Pink.

On April 16, 2013 the band will release their twelfth studio album “English Electric”, featuring the first single “Metroland” which is out now.

SIDE A:
One Mad Day Mix (Part One) 12:25
Pandoras Box
Speed Of Light
Call My Name
Locomotion
Secret
So In Love
If You leave
Sailing On The Seven Seas

SIDE B:
One Mad Day Mix (Part Two) 15:10
Secret
If You Leave
So In Love
Talking Loud And Clear
Locomotion
Genetic Engineering
Tesla Girls
Telegraph
Enola Gay
Electricity

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint (generic)

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Euro-Mixx ‎– OMD-24
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM, Mixed, Unofficial Release
Country: US
Released: 1991
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

NOTES:
For Radio Play 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

March 27, 2013

Kim Wilde – Go For It (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

Re-Rip Remaster

Originally I posted this one on August 10, 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 30 stylus. This 12″ is also being posted in 24 bit flac for the very first time!

This is the North American release of the single “The Second Time” re-titled “Go For It”. The single also contains different mixes than what appeared on the European release.

“The Second Time”/”Go for It” was also the first Wilde song of which there were several remixes released both commercially and promotionally on the 12″ format.

In the US the single reached #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a top 40 dance track reaching #31. The song was also used on season 4 of the US television show “Knight Rider” on the episode titled “Knight Racer”. In addition “Go For It” was also used on the TV show “Misfits Of Science” bothe shows aired on NBC just weeks apart.

SIDE A:
Go For It (Extended Dance Version) 7:17

SIDE B:
Go For It (Dub Version) 9:32

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint (promo stamp)

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	Go For It	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#65
1985	Go For It	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#31

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA-23533
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Producer – Marty Wilde, Ricki Wilde*
Written-By – M. Wilde*, R. Wilde*

NOTES:
Recorded at Select Sound Studios.
Mastered at Sterling.
Taken from the Kim Wilde LP, “Teases & Dares” MCA-23533

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