BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Cool Places” is a song recorded by American duo Sparks in collaboration with Go-Go’s member Jane Wiedlin.

The song was released as the lead single for Sparks’s 1983 album In Outer Space. At the time Sparks were at their most popular in US, their two previous albums had dented the lower reaches of the Billboard 200 album chart. The single reached #49 on the Hot 100 in April 1983. The song’s success followed on from the success of their previous single and only other Hot 100 entry “I Predict”.

Sparks recorded “Lucky Me, Lucky You” with Jane Wiedlin for the same parent album. Jane Wiedlin also helped promote the album on tour and appeared at a few gigs to perform the duets.

The song is a bit of an anomaly in Sparks back catalogue, being one of the closest examples to a novelty song. Sparks have often been labelled a novelty act throughout their career. The song is at least representative of the style and content of their work in the mid eighties.

Wiedlin’s band, The Go-Go’s, performed the song on their 2006 tour, employing a more rock-driven style. The song continues to be a part of their live set.

SIDE A:
Cool Places (Long Mix) 4:40
Engineer – Brian Reeves
Vocals – Jane Wiedlin

SIDE B:
Sports 3:24
Engineer – Dan Lacksman

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Underdog (5) ‎– 8245
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 45 RPM
Country: France
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer, Written-By – Ron Mael, Russell Mael

NOTES:
Produced for Giorgio Moroder Enterprises Ltd.

Jane Wiedlin, courtesy of I.R.S. Records, Inc.

Special version from the LP “IN OUTER SPACE”

Find the 12″ On DISCOGS

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 Removal: 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