Genesis – Mama (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE

“Mama” was the first single from Genesis’ 1983 self-titled album. It is recognizable for its harsh drum machine introduction composed by Mike Rutherford, which leads into minimalist synthesizer lines in minor keys and finally Phil Collins’ reverb-laden voice. It remains the band’s most successful single in the UK, reaching No.4 on the UK Singles Chart. It also made the top 10 in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was less popular in the United States, only reaching No.73 on the Billboard Hot 100. A 1992 re-release of the single managed to scrape into the Top 40 in Germany.

A live drum kit, modified with the “gated reverb” effect, is used in the final verse.

The song resurfaced in 2007 as part of the Turn It On Again tour, albeit transposed down a tone to account for the deepening of Phil Collins’ voice as he grew older.

The song’s theme involves a young man’s longing for a particular prostitute. On the DVD The Genesis Songbook, the band and producer Hugh Padgham revealed that the inspiration for Collins’s laugh came from rap music pioneer Grandmaster Flash’s song “The Message”.

SIDE A:
Mama (Long Version) 7:28

SIDE B:
It’s Gonna Get Better (Long Version) 6:28

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	mama	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#73
1983	Mama	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#5

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin – MAMA 1-12
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock
Credits: Cover – Bill Smith (19)
Engineer – Hugh Padgham
Producer – Genesis, Hugh Padgham
Written-By – Rutherford*, Collins*, Banks*

NOTES:
Special Versions From The LP “GENESIS”

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

January 2, 2013

Blancmange/West India Company – Lose Your Love/Ave Maria (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

R E Q U E S T

“Lose Your Love” is a 1985 single by English synthpop duo Blancmange. The song was released as the second of three singles from the band’s third studio album Believe You Me.

After the previous leading single “What’s Your Problem?” peaked at #40 in the UK, “Lose Your Love” showed a big decline in Blancmange’s popularity, with the single peaking at #77 for a total of 2 weeks in the UK. It fared better in America, where it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart.

In the official American Billboard Magazine of December 14, 1985, the song was listed under the Hot Dance/Disco section, based on club play and sales. The song was listed under “Breakouts”, explaining that the single had future potential, based on club play for the week.

In the 1986 Sci-Fi film Flight of the Navigator, Blancmange appear on David’s TV with the music video for “Lose Your Love” when he is introduced to music videos by Carolyn, played by a young Sarah Jessica Parker.

“Lose Your Love” was remixed for the single version, instead of using exactly the same version as the album version. The single’s B-Side was the instrumental album track “John”, also taken from Believe You Me. Like “Lose Your Love”, the track was also written by Arthur and Luscombe.

The single was released in the UK, Canada, Japan and all throughout Europe via London Records, whilst it was released in America through Sire Records.

In America only, a specially-priced maxi 12″ vinyl single featured the “Extended Version” of “Lose Your Love”, whilst the B-Side was by West India Company, a band relating to Blancmange, and featuring Luscombe. The track was an “Extended Version” of “Ave Maria”, featuring Vince Clarke as guest musician on pyrotechnics. “Ave Maria (Om Ganesha)” was originally the West India Company’s debut single in 1984.

SIDE A:
Blancmange – Lose Your Love (Extended Version) 10:12
Backing Vocals – Katie Kissoon, Stevie Lange
Drums – Justin HildrethEngineer – Gary Hellman
Engineer [Assistant] – Renney Hill*
Guitar – David Rhodes
Mixed By, Edited By – John Luongo
Producer – Stewart Levine
Written-By – Neil Arthur, Stephen Luscombe

SIDE B:
West India Company – Ave Maria (Extended Version) 7:30
Featuring – Vince Clarke
Producer – Pandit Dinesh, Stephen Luscombe
Written-By – Asha Bhosle, John Sutton Talbot, Pandit Dinesh, Stephen Luscombe

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	Lose Your Love	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#2

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – 0-20412
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Artwork By – Steel / Assorted Images

NOTES:
‘Ave Maria’ by West India Company features Vince Clarke as guest musician on pyrotechnics

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

December 31, 2012

Wang Chung – Everybody Have Fun Tonight (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

Happy New Years Eve!

“Everybody Have Fun Tonight” is a song by Wang Chung from their album Mosaic. It was released as a single in 1986, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, behind “Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles.

After their breakup in 1991, Wang Chung reunited in 2005 to perform this song on the television show Hit Me Baby One More Time.

The song is featured on numerous 1980s compilation albums and still receives some radio airplay across the United States.

It has appeared in the “#2s” episode of VH1 Classic’s One Hit Wonders series, even though the band had one more top 10 single, “Let’s Go”, in April 1987.

SIDE A:
Everybody Have Fun Tonight (12 Inches Of Fun) 6:45
Engineer [Remix Assistant] – Scott Mabuchi
Engineer [Remix] – Michael Hutchinson
Remix – Jellybean*

Everybody Have Fun Tonight (Edit) 4:13

SIDE B:
Everybody Dub Tonight 6:02
Remix – Jellybean*

Fun Tonight: The Early Years 4:12
Producer – Wang Chung

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Everybody Have Fun Tonight	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#2
1986	Everybody Have Fun Tonight	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#25
1986	Everybody Have Fun Tonight	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#4
1986	Everybody Have Fun Tonight	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Single’s sales	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records – 0-20551
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop
Credits: Design – Lynn Robb
Mixed By – Brian Malouf (tracks: A1 to B1)
Producer, Arranged By – Peter Wolf (3) (tracks: A1 to B1)
Recorded By – Brian Malouf (tracks: A1 to B1), Peter Müller* (tracks: A1 to B1)
Written-By – Peter Wolf (3) (tracks: A1 to B1), Wang Chung

NOTES:
Tracks A1 & B1 remixed for Jellybean Productions, Inc.
Tracks A1 & B1 remixed at Right Track Recording.
Track B2 recorded at Hampstead West.
Original version appears on the Wang Chung album “MOSAIC”

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