Tag: 1987

September 21, 2021

Duran Duran – Meet El Presidente (The Presidential Suite) (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1987

“Meet El Presidente” is the 16th single from Duran Duran and the third single from the Notorious album.

According to a studio report in Star Hits magazine, one of the early drafts of this song was called “One of the Faithful.” A demo version by that name can be found on several bootlegs.

The album version of the song is considerably different from the single and video versions, and from all the remixes. The former’s original key and tempo are maintained, but mixes elements of the master to differing degrees for the single release, the main ones being a more emphatic, up-front mix for the percussion, brass, and backing vocal tracks, throughout the song.

“Meet El Presidente” was backed by the album track “Vertigo (Do The Demolition)”. This was the second single from Notorious to have an album track as a b-side.

“Meet El Presidente” peaked at #24 in the UK on April 25, 1987, in the United States the song reached #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart on May 2, 1987.

SIDE A:
Meet El Presidente (The Presidential Suite) 7:12
Edited By – Carlos Berrios, Omar Santana

Meet El Presidente (Meet El Beat) 5:30
Edited By – Carlos Berrios, Omar Santana

SIDE B:
Meet El Presidente (45 Mix) 3:40
Edited By – Carlos Berrios, Omar Santana

Vertigo (Do The Demolition) 4:43
Engineer, Mixed By – Daniel Abraham

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	Meet El Presidente	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#70
1987	Meet El Presidente	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	#40

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Capitol Records – V-15294
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Synth-pop, Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Design – Frank Olinsky
Edited By – The Hit Squad (2) (tracks: A1 to B1)
Engineer – Eric Calvi (tracks: A1 to B1)
Keyboards [Additional] – Ed Terry (tracks: A1 to B1)
Percussion – Bashiri Johnson (tracks: A1 to B1)
Photography By [Cover Photo] – Matthew Rolston
Producer – Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers
Remix, Producer, Engineer – Mark S. Berry (tracks: A1 to B1)
Written-By – Taylor, Rhodes, LeBon

NOTES:
Additionally produced and remixed for MSB Records. Ltd.
Recorded in England.

Original version can be heard on the album, NOTORIOUS

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL 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

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

Password: burningtheground

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

September 20, 2021

Duran Duran – Skin Trade (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1987

“Skin Trade” is the second single from Duran Duran’s Notorious album and the band’s 15th single in total. It was released in January 1987, reached #22 on the UK Singles Chart, and #39 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The music for “Skin Trade” was written long before Simon LeBon finally finished the lyrics. The title for the song was derived from the Dylan Thomas book Adventures in the Skin Trade which John Taylor had on him during the recording of the album. It was shortened to “Skin Trade” and LeBon eventually wrote the melody and lyrics for the track while spending an evening in Taylor’s Upper West Side Manhattan apartment. The lyrics reflect on how everyone is selling themselves, and “there’s a little hooker in each of us”.

The single was quite a departure for the band. Simon LeBon sang in falsetto, Le Bon admits he was channeling The Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger on their song “Emotional Rescue”. A horn section played a prominent role in the track, as played by The Borneo Horns. The band persevered with the single and many aspects of their future business took inspiration from “Skin Trade”. They called their publishing company Skin Trade Music Ltd. and the Notorious tour was called the “Strange Behaviour Tour” (a reference to that line of the song). Likewise, a 1987 remix EP and a 1999 double CD collection of remixes were also called Strange Behaviour.

Andy Taylor was no longer an official member of Duran Duran by that time, but he was credited as a session guitarist on this song, although apparently, he did not participate in the recordings. Meanwhile, the new guest musicians, Steve Ferrone and Warren Cuccurullo played the drums and lead guitars respectively. Nile Rodgers played some lines of the rhythm guitar.

In a retrospective review of the single, AllMusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco praised the song. He wrote: “The music lends contrast to the angry tone of the lyrics by creating a sultry, mellow melody that juxtaposes verses with a soft, hypnotic ebb and flow with an ever-ascending chorus that revs up the song’s inherent drama.”

The b-side to “Skin Trade” was the only original b-side released during the Notorious era. Entitled “We Need You”, it was written and recorded in 1986 while the band awaited the return of Andy Taylor for a recording session. It was the first recording to feature just the three remaining members of Duran Duran – Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Simon Le Bon.

Two further mixes of “Skin Trade” (S.O.S. Dub & Parisian Mix) were completed, but not released commercially during the “Skin Trade” release cycle. They appeared on a US 12″ promo and on a UK 12″ promo, backed with remixes of the next single “Meet El Presidente”. The “Parisian Mix” was also released on the promo-only Master Mixes EP.

SIDE A:
Skin Trade (Stretch Mix) 7:41
Mixed By – Daniel Abraham
Remix – Larry Levan

SIDE B:
Skin Trade (Album Version) 5:57
Mixed By – Daniel Abraham

We Need You 2:51

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	Skin Trade	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#39

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Capitol Records – V-15274
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Designed At – Manhattan Design
Engineer – Daniel Abraham
Producer – Duran Duran, Nile Rodgers (tracks: A, B1)
Written-By – Taylor, Rhodes, Le Bon*

NOTES:
Recorded in England.

…i love the smell of vinyl in the morning…

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

Password: burningtheground

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

August 11, 2021

ZZ Top – ZZ Top Club (Japan Mini-LP)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1987

In memory of bassist Dusty Hill 1949-2021. Dusty Hill joined ZZ Top in 1970 and played on all of the band’s albums, the last of which was La Futura in 2012. Along with bass, Dusty Hill also contributed to keyboards and backing, and lead vocals.

“ZZ Top Club” is a twelve-Inch mini-LP released only in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand on vinyl and cassette. The limited-edition project includes rare remixes from the band’s 1980s output. Three of the tracks were US Billboard Dance Hits Legs #13 (1984), Velcro Fly #43 (1986), and #41 (1986).

This project was released to coincide with the Japan tour of that period as shown on the obi-strip in Japanese (来日記念盤).

Unlike many Rock bands, ZZ Top embraced the Twelve-Inch single format releasing many during their long career. ZZ Top has sold over 25 million albums in the US with additional sales internationally.

SIDE A:
Velcro Fly (Extended Mix) 6:33
Legs (Special Dance Mix) 7:50

SIDE B:
Sleeping Bag (Extended Mix) 6:12
Stages (Extended Version) 5:04
Velcro Fly (Dub Version) 5:46

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
OBI: Mint
Insert: Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records – P-6249
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Mini-Album
Country: Australia
Released: Feb 16, 1987
Genre: Rock, Blues
Style: Pop, Rock

CREDITS:
Design –Yasuo Mochida
Engineer [Assistant] – Mark Roule
Photography By – Hiro Ito
Producer – Bill Ham
Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez (tracks: A1, B3)
Remix, Engineer – Michael Hutchinson

NOTES:
A Lone Wolf Production

Includes OBI, and Insert

Find the Mini-LP at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

Password: burningtheground

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

July 9, 2021

Siouxsie & The Banshees – The Passenger (Llllloco-motion Mix) (US 12″ Promo)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1987

“The Passenger” is a song written by Iggy Pop and Ricky Gardiner, recorded and originally released by Iggy Pop on the Lust for Life album in 1977.

English rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees covered “The Passenger” in 1987 for their all-cover-versions album Through the Looking Glass. The group revamped the song by adding brass arrangements. Released as the second single from that album, it peaked at number 41 in the UK singles chart.

Iggy Pop praised their version and stated: “That’s good. She sings it well and she threw a little note in when she sings it, that I wish I had thought of, it’s kind of improved. The horn thing is good.”

The song was featured at the end of Tonya Harding’s biographical film I, Tonya (2017).

SIDE A:
The Passenger (Edit) 3:49
The Passenger (LP Version) 5:11

SIDE B:
The Passenger (Llllloco-Motion Mix) 8:05

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records ‎– PRO-A-2731
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Goth Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Design – Crocodile (2)
Photography By – Joelle Depont*
Producer – Hedges, Banshees
Written-By – I. Pop, R. Gardiner

NOTES:
From the album Through The Looking Glass.

Promotional Copy Not For Sale

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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

Password: burningtheground

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