Tag: 1985

January 5, 2023

Brenda K. Starr – Pickin’ Up Pieces (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985

“Pickin’ Up Pieces” is the lead single from Brenda K. Starr’s debut album, I Want Your Love, released in 1985 by Mirage Records. The song was produced by Arthur Baker, who co-wrote it with Lotti Golden. The single, released in 1985, was a sizable hit on the Dance/Club Songs chart. It reached a peak of #9 on that chart the same year, and also managed to chart on the R&B chart at the time – reaching a peak of #83.

The single was an early Freestyle release – marked with syncopated rhythms and intense synthetic production. Lyrically, the song is about “Picking up the pieces” and moving on after a failed relationship.

SIDE A:
Pickin’ Up Pieces (Vocal / Long Version) 6:38

SIDE B:
Pickin’ Up Pieces (Dub Mix) 6:28

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	Pickin’ Up Pieces	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#9
1985	Pickin’ Up Pieces	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop	#83

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mirage (2) – 0-96873
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Freestyle, Electro

CREDITS:
Design [Generic Atlantic Jacket] – Lynn Dreese Breslin
Lacquer Cut By – sf
Producer, Executive-Producer, Written-By – Arthur Baker
Written-By – Lottie Golden

NOTES:
Special version of Mirage LP 90284 – “BRENDA K. STARR”
Printed in U.S.A.

This variation is for the Specialty pressing.

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable:Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: 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)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

October 12, 2022

Wham! – Freedom (Long Mix) (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985

NEW 2022 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Restoration!

Originally posted April 16, 2014

++The U.S. “Long Mix” is an alternate mix which is about one minute shorter than the “Long Version” released in Europe and Japan.

“Freedom” is a hit song by British pop duo Wham!. “Freedom” was number one in the UK for three weeks, and featured on the album Make It Big, which was issued at the same time. “Freedom” was the 10th biggest-selling single of 1984. This song also reached number 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in the US in September 1985. The music video, coinciding with the 1985 US release, features the band touring around Beijing, China.

The song finds George Michael telling a girl that he wants to fully commit to her, and not have one of those relationships where they can see other people.

When Wham! went to China in April, 1985, they became the first Western Pop act to play a concert in that country. While there is absolutely nothing political about the song, footage from the trip was used to make a music video for the track, implying a more global meaning of the title.

The video opens with about a minute of the band talking under clips of the Chinese people and the countryside. Wham! was one of the biggest acts on MTV at the time, but the network, fearing the short attention spans of their viewers, wanted to cut out the intro (this was before Michael Jackson changed the game with “Thriller”). The band’s manager, Simon Napier-Bell, refused, and MTV ended up airing the full video. Napier-Bell apparently found the negotiations with MTV much easier than those with the Chinese government.

In an interview with the Christmas 2009 issue of THE BIG ISSUE, Michael said of this song, that when he wrote it he knew he had arrived: “When I was 19, I wrote Freedom – the original version – and I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’ve just done that!’ I was absolutely thrilled. Because until then I had no real understanding of my abilities, but with Freedom, I started to take myself seriously as a writer.”

SIDE A:
Freedom (Long Mix) 6:17

SIDE B:
Heartbeat 4:42
Freedom (Instrumental) 5:04

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	Freedom	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#3
1984	Freedom	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia ‎– 44-05238
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Arranged By, Producer – George Michael
Written-By – G. Michael*

NOTES:
Taken from the Columbia LP: “MAKE IT BIG”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

September 30, 2022

Whitney Houston – How Will I Know (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985

NEW 2022 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Restoration!

Originally posted February 29, 2012

“How Will I Know” was released by Arista Records in November 1985 as the third single from Houston’s self-titled debut. It debuted at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100, on the December 7, 1985 issue. Nine weeks later, it peaked at number one on the issue dated February 15, 1986, becoming Houston’s second number one single in the US. It displaced Dionne Warwick’s “That’s What Friends Are For”, and was displaced by “Kyrie” by Mr. Mister. It stayed on the peak for two weeks. The song also debuted on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs at number 60 and later peaked at number one, a peak it maintained for one week. On the issue dated January 25, 1986, “How Will I Know” entered the Hot Dance Club Play charts at number 30 and later peaked at number three on the February 22, 1986 issue. It also peaked at number one on the Adult Contemporary charts. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single Gold on December 6, 1995, for shipments of 500,000 copies or more. It ranked number six on the Billboard Year-End charts. In Canada, the song debuted at number 80 on the RPM Singles chart on the issue dated December 14, 1985. It later peaked at number one on the week dated March 1, 1986, becoming Houston’s first number one single in Canada. It was later certified Gold by Canadian Recording Industry Association on May 1, 1986, for shipments of 200,000 copies or more.

The song performed well in other countries. In United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 36, on the week dated January 25, 1986, and later peaked at a position of number five. It was also certified Silver by British Phonographic Industry (BPI). According to MTV UK and Ireland, the single has sold about 280,000 copies in the United Kingdom. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 35 on the Singles chart and later peaked at number 19. In Austria, the song reached a peak position of number 28, while reaching a peak of number 12 in the Netherlands. The song also reached number two in Norway and Sweden, while charting at number 11 in Switzerland. According to Allmusic, “How Will I Know” has sold about one million copies worldwide.

SIDE A:
How Will I Know (Dance Re-Mix) 6:30
Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez

SIDE B:
How Will I Know (Instrumental Version) 4:39
Remix –John “Jellybean” Benitez

How Will I Know (LP Version) 4:26
Mixed By – Michael Barbiero

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

YEAR END CHARTS:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	How Will I Know	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#6
1985	How Will I Know	U.S. Billboard Black Singles	#29
1985	How Will I Know	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	#46

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: rista – AD1-9449
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, Stereo, Indianapolis Pressing
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Michael Barbiero (tracks: B2)
Engineer [Assistant] – Fernando Kral (tracks: A1, B1)
Engineer [Remix-engineer] – Michael Hutchinson (tracks: A1, B1)
Photography By [Cover] – Steve Prezant
Producer – Narada Michael Walden
Written-By – George Merrill, Narada Michael Walden, Shannon Rubicam

NOTES:
Tracks A and B1 re-mixed at Sigma Sound Studios, NY
Track B2 from the LP “Whitney Houston”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.

September 21, 2022

Ministry – The Nature Of Love (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985

“The Nature Of Love” is a 1985 non-album track recorded by by American band Ministry, both written and produced by Al Jourgensen. The single was released on Wax Trax! Records in the U.S. and Europe.

“The Nature of Love”, which came out in June 1985, became Ministry’s final single on Wax Trax!; in July 1985, the band was signed to Sire Records.

SIDE A:
The Nature Of Love 7:00

SIDE B:
The Nature Of Love (Cruelty Mix) 5:53

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Wax Trax! Records – WAX 009
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: EBM

CREDITS:
Cover – Brian Shanley (2), Jim Nash (2)
Remix [Remixes] – Jon Mathias (tracks: B), Sturm (4) (tracks: B)
Vocals [Additional] – Patty J., Richard 23
Written-By, Producer – Alain Jourgensen

NOTES:
Jacket made in Canada

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!

Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.