Tag: 1988

Barbie – Barbie Dance Club (US Cassette Single)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1988

BTG BARBIE Rewind: Bubblegum Pop Inspired by BARBIE!

“Barbie Dance Club” is a cassette single released in 1988 featuring three exclusive songs written for Barbie herself that were included as part of a 30-minute direct-to-video promotional VHS tape released in 1989. The video featured a Dance Club consisting of kids, ranging from 8-12 years of age, essentially giving promotion to outfits for the Mattel Barbie doll. There was also a special line of Dance Club dolls released all wearing club fashions the dolls included Barbie, Ken, Kayla, and Devon.

In the video you could learn to do the Barbie dance created by pop mega-star Paula Abdul. Watch the video

Singer/songwriter Stacey Piersa who would later write “Didn’t I Say I Love You” (from the Paula Abdul single “My Love Is For Real”) with Elliot Wolff appears in the video as a dancer. Elliot Wolff wrote Paula Abdul’s hit songs, “Straight Up” and “Cold Hearted.”

I was not able to find any information on who the female vocalist is on these tracks. None of these songs have ever been released digitally.

SIDE A:
Doin’ The Barbie (Dance Mix) 4:14

SIDE B:
Our Game 2:16
Dreamin’ 2:12

Cassette Grade:
Cassette: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mattel – none
Format: Cassette, Single
Country: USA & Canada
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Dance-pop, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

NOTES:
Made in Hong Kong

Buy the Cassette at DISCOGS

CASSETTE TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Cassette Deck: Nakamichi BX-300 Discrete 3-Head Cassette Deck
DAC/Phono Pre-amp Line In 
Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Artwork Scans:
Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
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:
Cassette transfer was recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at

**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.



Nia Peeples – Trouble (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1988

BTG BARBIE Rewind: Bubblegum Pop Inspired by BARBIE!

“Trouble” is a song originally recorded by La Toya Jackson in the late summer of 1987, but it was not included on her subsequent album, La Toya.

In 1988 singer/actress Nia Peeples released the song as the first single, taken from her debut album Nothin’ But Trouble. The single reached #71 on the Hot Black singles chart and #35 on the Hot 100 singles chart. The song was most successful on the dance chart reaching #1 for one week in early summer 1988.

Peeples decided to venture into the music industry after she came to recognition as a regular cast in the musical television series Fame.

SIDE A:
Trouble (12″ Remix) 7:21
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] –  Shep Pettibone

Trouble (7″ Version) 4:17

SIDE B:
Trouble (Dub Mix) 6:26
Remix, Producer [Additional Production] –  Shep Pettibone

Trouble (Instrumental) 6:30

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year Single Chart Position
1988 Trouble U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #35
1988 Trouble U.S. Billboard R*B/Hip-Hop #71
1988 Trouble U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play #1

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Mercury – 870 154-1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single, 49
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop, New Jack swing

CREDITS:

NOTES:
“49” on labels denotes a Specialty pressing.

Additional production & remix for Mastermix Productions
From the Mercury album “Nothin’ But Trouble”

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
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
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.



Debbie Gibson – Super-Mix Club (Japan Mini-LP)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1988

BTG BARBIE Rewind: Bubblegum Pop Inspired by BARBIE!

“Super-Mix Club” is a Japan-only Mini-LP released by American female singer, songwriter, producer and actress Debbie Gibson featuring remixes from her debut album “Out Of The Blue”.

A child prodigy, she started writing songs when she was 5 years old and learned record production at the age of 12. She studied classical piano at New York’s Juliard School of Music and has appeared in several Broadway stage productions, most notably, “Les Miserables” and in the London theatre production of “Grease”.

Gibson released her debut album Out of the Blue in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. One of those singles, “Foolish Beat”, made Gibson the youngest female artist to write, produce, and perform a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single.

Gibson is the sole songwriter on all of her singles to reach the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. She was recognized by ASCAP as Songwriter of the Year, along with Bruce Springsteen, in 1989.

After years of writing and producing her own material, a demonstration tape of Gibson’s submitted to a radio personality was eventually shared with an executive at Atlantic Records. Based solely on Gibson’s original song, “Only in My Dreams”, she was signed to a development deal and began a promotional tour of club venues throughout the United States.

Gibson spent much of 1986 and the beginning of 1987 building her songwriting catalog, while continuing to play club dates. During her promotional tour, Gibson continued attending classes at Calhoun High School in Merrick, New York, where she later graduated as an honor student. Diane Gibson, Debbie’s mother and manager, accompanied her daughter on many of these track dates. “We played dance clubs, straight clubs, and gay clubs,” Diane has said.

The single “Only in My Dreams” was released in December 1986 and landed in the Billboard Hot 100 chart beginning in May 1987, peaking at number four that September. Atlantic Records and Gibson worked to complete her first album as a result of the good showing by the single.

Following the success of “Only In My Dreams”, “Shake Your Love” was released as the follow-up single and reached the Billboard top five. The “Shake Your Love” video was choreographed by Paula Abdul and was the first time MTV had visited Gibson on a video shoot.

In 1987, while performing at nightclubs throughout the United States, Gibson recorded her debut album, Out of the Blue. Along with producer Fred Zarr, Gibson wrote, recorded, and produced it in four weeks. Four singles from the album reached the top five of the Hot 100 chart: “Only in My Dreams”, “Shake Your Love”, “Out of the Blue”, and the number-one hit “Foolish Beat”, followed by “Staying Together”, which performed more modestly, reaching number 22. “Foolish Beat” set a record, making Gibson at 16 the youngest artist to write, produce, and perform a Billboard number-one single, as cited in the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records. She remains the youngest female artist to have done so. Out of the Blue became a hit album, and she had success in the UK and southeast Asia, filling stadiums with her Out of the Blue tour. By the end of 1988, Out of the Blue had gone triple platinum.

SIDE A:
Shake Your Love (Club Mix) 5:54
Out Of The Blue (Drumapaella) 4:05
Only In My Dreams (Club Mix) 6:32

SIDE B:
Foolish Beat (Extended Mix) 6:44
Out Of The Blue (Club Mix) 5:52
Shake Your Love (Bassa Pella) 3:33

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

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic – P-6269
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Mini-Album
Country: Japan
Released: Jun 25, 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Freestyle, Synth-pop

CREDITS:

NOTES:
Includes insert with lyrics in English and Japanese.

Buy the Mini-LP 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
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
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.



Elton John – Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters (Part Two) (US 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1988

Gay Icon Elton John made sure to send a message to people who were cast out like him. He reassured people who were not fitting in that they would eventually find their place. Over the years he has been working for AIDS prevention. He also established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which has raised more than $400 million. As well as an annual high-profile Oscar party which also raises money for AIDS prevention.

“Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)” is a song by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin from the album Reg Strikes Back. It was released as a 12″ single in 1988 only in the United States.

Although not a particularly popular song, some critics judged it as a “most intriguing” song or the “brightest moment” of the album. John said: “That’s probably my favorite track on the album. It just has a great New York feel”. He played both versions of the song sequentially in concerts from the release of “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters (Part Two)” in 1988 through to 1993.

The song is about New York City and is a continuation of the song “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” from the 1972 album Honky Château. Although the song follows the same meaning of its predecessor, it has a very different tempo and instrumental arrangement and is in many ways a more complex song, with a variety of key changes and unusual chords throughout the song. A brief homage to the Beatles’ song “Drive My Car” can be heard during the trumpet solo, where Elton and the backup singers interject “beep beep, beep beep, yeah!”.

SIDE A:
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters (Part Two) (The Renaissance Mix) 6:18
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters (Part Two) (The Da Vinci Version) 4:47

SIDE B:
A Word In Spanish 4:38
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters (Part Two) (The Self Portrait Instrumental) 4:56

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records – MCA-23917
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Pop
Style: Synthpop

CREDITS:

NOTES:
Original version appears on the MCA LP, “Reg Strikes Back”.

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
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
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.