Tag: 1983

March 10, 2014

Kraftwerk – Tour De France (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Tour De France” is a song by Kraftwerk. It was first issued in June 1983, peaking at number 22 in the UK singles chart. It is notable for the use of sampled voices and mechanical sounds associated with cycling that were used to supplement a simple electro-percussion pattern – an approach Kraftwerk have used on earlier tracks such as “Metal on Metal” (from Trans-Europe Express) and “Numbers” (from Computer World). The music is credited to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider and Karl Bartos; the lyrics are credited to Ralf Hütter and Maxime Schmitt, a French label associate of the band. The melody appears to quote a fragment of the opening section of Paul Hindemith’s “Sonata for Flute and Piano” (“Heiter Bewegt”).

For Kraftwerk, Tour De France was a departure from the technological tone of the two previous albums, The Man-Machine and Computer World. Instead, the song is a joie de vivre celebration of cycling, marking the group’s increasing interest in the sport. Of the current line-up, Ralf Hütter and Fritz Hilpert have been known to take part in cycling events.

The track was originally recorded with the intention of being included on the subsequently abandoned Techno Pop album. The single was originally released on seven and twelve inch vinyl, and as a cassette-single. It has the most complicated set of variants of any Kraftwerk song, having been variously edited and remixed to the point that there is no completely definitive version.

The sleeve design depicted the band on road bikes in a paceline, superimposed across an angled representation of the French national flag. The design was adapted from an image that had appeared on a 1953 Hungarian postage stamp, one of a sport-themed set commemorating the opening the Népstadion (People’s Stadium) in Budapest.

The piece was also included in the 1984 film Breakin’, also known as Breakdance internationally. Although the song did appear briefly in the film, Kraftwerk did not let the song appear on the movie soundtrack; instead, a cover version of the song was released by a group called “10 Speed”.

SIDE A:
Tour De France (French Version) 6:45

SIDE B:
Tour De France (Remix) 6:47
Engineer – Larry Alexander
Mixed By – François Kevorkian, Kraftwerk
Remix – François Kevorkian

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Tour De France	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– 0-20146, Warner Bros. Records ‎– 20146-0 A
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Electro, Synth-pop
Credits: Lyrics By – Schmitt*, Hutter*
Music By – Schneider*, Bartos*, Hutter*
Producer – Kraftwerk

NOTES:
Made in U.S.A.

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
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: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
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

March 3, 2014

Thompson Twins – Watching (UK 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Watching” is a 1983 song by the British New Wave/synthpop band Thompson Twins. It was released as the fourth single from the album Quick Step and Side Kick (which was renamed Side Kicks in the U.S.), and the song peaked at #33 on the UK singles chart. In the United States the single was not released and therefore did not chart.

“Watching” was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. The singer Grace Jones (who had worked with Sadkin on three of her albums by that time) made a guest appearance on the track “Watching”, though her vocals were not included on the track when it was remixed and released as a single in mid-1983.

SIDE A:
Watching (7″ Remix) 3:48

SIDE B:
Dancersaurus (7″ Remix) 4:44

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Arista ‎– TWINS 1
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Jul 1983
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, New Wave
Credits: Cover [Cover Design From Ideas From] – Alannah*
Design [Cover Design] – Satori (14)
Engineer – Phil Thornalley
Mastered By – Arun*
Photography By – Paul Cox (5)
Producer – Alex Sadkin, Tom Bailey
Written-By – Alannah Currie, Joe Leeway, Tom Bailey

NOTES:
Remixed from album and double-take cassette “Quick Step And Side Kick”.
Made In England.

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

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

February 20, 2014

Peter Schilling – Major Tom (Coming Home) (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Major Tom (Coming Home)” (German: Major Tom (völlig losgelöst), translation: “Major Tom (totally disconnected)”), is a song by singer Peter Schilling from his album Error in the System. With a character unofficially related to “Major Tom”, the theme of David Bowie’s 1969 album Space Oddity, the song is about the character being caught in an accident in space.

The song was originally recorded in German, and released in West Germany on January 3, 1983. It reached #1 in West Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The English version was first released in the United States on September 24, 1983. It reached #1 in Canada, #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart in late 1983, and #4 in South Africa. The English-language version of the song also reached number two on the dance chart in the U.S.

SIDE A:
Major Tom (Coming Home) (English Version) 5:00
Written By [English] – David Lodge

Major Tom (Völlig Losgelöst) (German Version) 5:00

SIDE B:
Major Tom (Coming Home) (Special Extended Club Version) 8:05
Remix – John Luongo
Engineer [Remix] – Jay Mark
Written By [English] – David Lodge

Major Tom (Coming Home) (Special Instrumental Version) 4:47
Remix – John Luongo
Engineer [Remix] – Jay Mark

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Major Tom (Coming Home)	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#14
1983	Major Tom (Coming Home)	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#2

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Elektra ‎– 0-66995
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Art Direction – Karen Katz
Music By – Peter Schilling
Photography By [Front Cover] – Brian Hagiwara
Producer – Armin Sabol, Peter Schilling
Written-By – Peter Schilling

NOTES:
From the forthcoming album “ERROR IN THE SYSTEM”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

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

February 14, 2014

Rita Coolidge – All Time High (The Theme Song From Octopussy) (Italy 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“All Time High” is a 1983 single release by Rita Coolidge introduced as the theme song for the James Bond film Octopussy.

“All Time High” marked the return of regular James Bond theme composer John Barry after his absence from the For Your Eyes Only soundtrack. The lyrics were written by Tim Rice and recording and mixing of the track is credited to Stephen Short.

Prior to Rita Coolidge being assigned the Octopussy theme a contender was Mari Wilson, a British singer whose retro-image evoked the mid-’60s when the Bond series originated, but Wilson’s lack of a US-profile led to a negative decision.

The producers of Octopussy were known to have been in negotiations with Laura Branigan, then a top-ranking hitmaker in the US and Europe.

The ultimate choice of Coolidge – whose career peak had occurred some six years previously – was a surprising one. Coolidge recalls that Barbara Broccoli, the assistant director of Octopussy, was a fan of Coolidge and made a point of playing Coolidge records around her father, Cubby Broccoli, producer of the films, until “one day [he said], “Who is that? That’s the voice I want for the movie.’…in the studio [Tim Rice] was still finishing the song. We were waiting for the lyrics as the track had already been done.”

Rice made no effort to incorporate the film’s title but the lyric: “We’re two of a kind” is a line spoken by the title character (played by Maud Adams) to James Bond (Roger Moore). The song’s title “All Time High” parallels Coolidge’s #2 hit “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher” whose lyric “When you wrap your loving arms around me I can stand up and face the world again” is echoed by the “All Time High” lyric “We’ll take on the world and win”.

The music video shows Coolidge in soft focus in what purports to be an Indian palace (it is in fact the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, England).

In the US “All Time High” reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1983. Adult contemporary radio was much more receptive, with that genre allowing “All Time High” four weeks at #1 as ranked by Billboard magazine. Coolidge had previously topped the Adult Contemporary chart in 1977 with “We’re All Alone”.

In the UK, “All Time High” rose no higher than #75 and remains the lowest charting James Bond theme. However the track became a major hit in several European countries: Austria – #14; Finland – #11; Germany – #13; the Netherlands – #8; Sweden – #8; and Switzerland – #7: Coolidge had previously only charted in one of these six countries, that being the Netherlands (with “We’re All Alone” – #15/1977) which was also the only one of the six countries where she’d chart again. “Stand in Wonder”, #56/1999). Additionally “All Time High” afforded Coolidge a chart record in Australia – #80; Canada – #38, New Zealand – #26, and South Africa – #8; also the track was ranked at #48 in the annual hit parade tally for 1983 in Brazil.

SIDE A:
All Time High (The Theme Song From Octopussy) 3:02

SIDE B:
All Time High (The Theme Song From Octopussy) (Extended Instrumental Version) 3:50

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	All Time High	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#36
1983	All Time High	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	#1

RELE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records ‎– AMS 9286, A&M Records ‎– AM 007
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: Italy
Released: 1983
Genre: Pop
Style: Pop/Rock, Vocal
Credits: Arranged By, Conductor, Producer – John Barry
Lyrics By – Tim Rice
Written-By – J. Barry*, T. Rice*

NOTES:
From the motion picture soundtrack “OCTOPUSSY”

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

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