Tag: Alex Sadkin

May 29, 2019

Arcadia – The Flame (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“The Flame” is the fourth single released by the Duran Duran offshoot band, Arcadia. It was released by Parlophone Records in 1986 and was the group’s third UK single. It reached number 58 in the UK Singles Chart. In the U.S. the single was released on Capitol Records and did not chart.

The campy, slapstick video was made in the retro style of an Edwardian-era drawing room murder mystery, à la Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock. The storyline revolved around a series of comic disasters that befall an awkward, nerdish character (played by Simon Le Bon) and his girlfriend while visiting a haunted house. Nick Rhodes plays the debonair host of the dinner party at the house, and he frequently uses Le Bon as his comic stooge for a number of macabre and mildly sadistic sight gags. Various unsavory bits of business ensues with revolving walls, trapdoors and mysterious assassins hidden behind paintings and within exotic taxidermied animals. The slapstick comic interplay between Rhodes and Le Bon is faintly reminiscent of Abbott and Costello.

At one point, John Taylor (at the time a member of The Power Station, the other Duran Duran side project) comes out of the closet with a contract for the band to sign. This is an especially pointed inside joke, as it was around this time that the three remaining Duran Duran members were preparing to write and record their next album, Notorious, while in legal negotiations with their now-estranged guitarist Andy Taylor.

The video’s treatment is said to have been written by Rhodes and the various near-fatal pratfalls that occur to Le Bon’s character was intended as punishment for his decision to enter the Fastnet yachting race that almost cost him his life in August 1985.

In fact, Le Bon was in the middle of the South American leg of the 1986 Whitbread Round the World yacht race when he had to fly to Spain in April to shoot the video. He then flew straight back to rejoin his team in Uruguay.

The video was directed by longtime collaborator Russell Mulcahy.

SIDE A:
The Flame (Extended Remix) 7:16
Mixed By – Nile Rodgers

SIDE B:
Flame Game (Yo Homeboy Mix) 2:48
Mixed By – Nile Rodgers

Election Day (Early Rough Mix) 9:05
Mixed By – Larry Alexander

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Parlophone Odeon Series ‎– 12 NSR 3
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – James Farber
Engineer [Second Engineer] – Knut Bohn*
Photography By – Dean Chamberlain (2)
Producer – Alex Sadkin, Arcadia (3)
Sleeve [Sleeve Produced By] – Assorted Images
Written-By – Rhodes*, Taylor*, Le Bon*

NOTES:
2-digit numeric code on front sleeve reads:
52 02 24 46 00 32 42 02 44 00 40 12 00 26 38 16 40 24
= S T E P _ I N T O _ M Y _ F L A M E

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Schiit Mani
Soundcard: ESI Juli@ XTe Audio Interface
Monitiring: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
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

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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March 5, 2019

Arcadia – Say The Word (Theme From “Playing For Keeps”) (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“Say The Word” was the fifth and final single released by the Duran Duran offshoot band, Arcadia. Recorded for the soundtrack of Playing for Keeps, it was released as a single in the US by Atlantic Records.

Various session musicians perform the other instruments, including bass (likely Mark Egan), guitar, and possibly drums, as it is unclear whether Roger Taylor had already left the band prior to the song’s recording.

This record was only released as a promotional 12 inch in the United States. No stock copies were ever made.

SIDE A:
Say The Word (Theme From “Playing For Keeps”) (Vocal/Extended Remix) 6:30

SIDE B:
Say The Word (Theme From “Playing For Keeps”) (Instrumental Extended Remix) 5:45

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Atlantic ‎– PR 939
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer [Remix] – Michael Hutchinson
Producer – Alex Sadkin, Arcadia (3)
Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Shep Pettibone
Written-By – Rhodes*, Lebon*

NOTES:
Additional Production & Remix for Mastermix Productions.
Extended Remix Version of the Original Soundtrack of the Universal Picture “PLAYING FOR KEEPS”

Promotional Copy – Not For Sale

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Schiit Mani
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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

September 5, 2018

Cyndi Lauper – Boy Blue (Remix) (Japan 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“Boy Blue” is a pop song written by Cyndi Lauper, Stephen Broughton Lunt, and Jeff Bova for Lauper’s second album True Colors (1986).

It was released as the album’s fourth single in 1987. The single version is a remix (which cuts much of Lauper’s more impressive vocal wailing, presumably an effort to make it more commercially accessible). Charting at #71 on the US Billboard Hot 100, it was Lauper’s first solo single that failed to make a real impact on the charts. Proceeds from the sale of the single were donated to AIDS organizations.

The official video was a live clip of the song in Paris, France and it was pulled from the concert video of Cyndi Lauper in Paris. The video received heavy airplay on MTV when the single was released (during June and July 1987) and was rarely played after. A live version of “Boy Blue” was later released as the B-side of her single “Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)”.

Thematically like “True Colors” on the album, Lauper wrote this song for a friend who died of AIDS, and the title comes from a poem by Eugene Field called “Little Boy Blue”.

SIDE A:
Boy Blue (Remix) 3:56
Mixed By – Alex Sadkin, Phillip Thornalley*

SIDE B:
The Faraway Nearby 3:00

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1987	Boy Blue	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#71

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Portrait ‎– 07・5P-482
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 22 Jul 1987
Genre: electronic
Style: Pop/Rock, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Executive-Producer – David Wolff
Producer – Cyndi Lauper, Lennie Petze

NOTES:
Remixed From the LP “TRUE COLORS”

Find the 7″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Mullard 12AX7 Preamp Vacuum Tube Pins
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

August 10, 2018

Duran Duran – New Moon On Monday (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“New Moon on Monday” is the tenth single by the English new wave band Duran Duran, released on 23 January 1984 in the United Kingdom.

The second single to be taken from the band’s third album Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), the song was another success, reaching the top-ten on both the UK and US charts. On 11 February 1984, the single reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and on 17 March, it reached number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, after entering on 14 January 1984 at number 56. It did not chart well in Australia and Scandinavia, territories where its predecessor, “Union of the Snake”, had been a big hit. This trend was reversed with the next single, “The Reflex”, which became a worldwide number-one hit.

In a retrospective review, “New Moon on Monday” was praised by Allmusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco, who wrote: “The music holds the unusual lyrics together by wedding effervescent verse melodies that bounce high and low to a triumphant-sounding chorus with a rousing feel.”

The music video for “New Moon on Monday” was filmed by director Brian Grant during the icy first week of January 1984, in the village of Noyers in France. It has a loosely sketched storyline in which the band appear as members of an underground rebellion called “La Luna” (the name is one of the few connections between the video’s content and the song lyrics), organizing a revolt against a modern (1980s-era computers are used) oppressive militaristic regime, apparently in France.

“We set out to make a little movie”, recalled Grant. “I’m not sure we succeeded.” He was not the first choice to shoot the video, as Russell Mulcahy, director of many of the band’s other videos, was unavailable.

Several versions of this video exist. The longest is a 17-minute “movie version” which includes an extended introduction before the song starts (including a scene of dialogue between Simon Le Bon and the story’s female lead, played by Patricia Barzyk, winner of the Miss France title in 1980; a brief snippet of “Union of the Snake” is also heard on a radio), and is set to an extended remix of the song. A shorter version, with a spoken French-dialogue intro, was originally submitted to MTV, who then later requested an even shorter version without the prologue.

Yet another version was produced for the Dancing on the Valentine video collection, showing blue-lit scenes of the band members in front of a full-moon backdrop. All but one of the versions were included as easter eggs on the 2004 DVD compilation Greatest.

Both Andy Taylor and Nick Rhodes say this is the band’s least favorite video. “Everybody … hates it, particularly the dreadful scene at the end where we all dance together”, Taylor wrote in his memoirs. “Even today, I cringe and leave the room if anyone plays [it].” He recalls that they were miserable since their Christmas holiday had been cut short to shoot the video, and spent most of the day on the dark and cold set drinking, to the point that he was “half cut” by the time the last scenes were shot. “It’s one of the few times I’ve seen Nick dance”.

“New Moon on Monday” was backed with a remix of the instrumental “Tiger Tiger” done by Ian Little. The original version of the instrumental was found on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger album. The release was rounded out by an extended version of the title track.

SIDE A:
New Moon On Monday (Remix) 6:04
Remix – Ian Little

SIDE B:
Tiger Tiger (Remix) 3:25
Remix – Ian LittleIan Little
Saxophone – Andy Hamilton (7)

New Moon On Monday 4:16

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	New Moon On Monday	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#10

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI ‎– 12 DURAN 1
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 04 Feb 1984
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Arranged By, Written-By – Duran Duran
Photography By – Rebecca Blake (2)
Producer – Alex Sadkin, Duran Duran, Ian Little
Sleeve [Sleeve Produced By] – Assorted iMaGes

NOTES:
From the DURAN DURAN LP “SEVEN AND THE RAGGED TIGER”

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7 TubeGold Pins
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi