Tag: Duran Duran

January 2, 2020

Duran Duran – Burning The Ground (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1989

Originally posted November 5, 2014

“Burning The Ground” is the 20th single by Duran Duran, released in December 1989. It was created as a stand-alone single to promote the compilation album Decade: Greatest Hits but didn’t appear on the album itself. However, its music video was included on the band’s audiovisual compilation Greatest, released in 1999 (VHS) and 2003 (DVD). The song is essentially a megamix of Duran Duran’s history, featuring tidbits of all of the band’s hits of the previous ten years.

Instrumental elements of “Save A Prayer”, “Hungry Like the Wolf”, “Rio”, “The Reflex” and “The Wild Boys”, including the camera flash sound from “Girls on Film”, form the core of the first part of the song, while the “chorus” is built up of alternating chants of “Girls!” (from “Girls on Film”) and “Boys!” (from “The Wild Boys”). The nonsense syllables from several songs, such as the “noh-noh” bits from “Notorious”, the “bop bop bop” from “Skin Trade” and the “tana nana” and the “fle fle fle fle flex” from “The Reflex”, were also incorporated. Elements from “A View To A Kill”, “Notorious”, “I Don’t Want Your Love” and later singles are gradually woven into the mix. Segments of the song are marked by signature phrases taken from other songs: first, “Can you hear me now?” (“Planet Earth”); later, “I tell you, somebody’s fooling around” (“The Reflex”) and “The rhythm is the power” (“I Don’t Want Your Love”). The title derives from a “Hungry Like the Wolf” lyric.

The song also used several sound samples from the film Barbarella, from which the band took their name: “Barbarella?” “Mr. President!” “Your Mission, find Durand Durand!” “Just a minute, I’ll slip something on!”

The remix was created by producer John Jones, with assistance from Dee Long and engineer Chris Potter, in an upstairs room at Olympic Studios in Barnes while Duran Duran was downstairs recording new material for the album Liberty, to be released the following year.

The b-side was another megamix, this one more instrumental in nature, called “Decadance”. The song uses the “why” bits of “The Reflex”, the “no, no” from “Notorious”, “wild” from “The Wild Boys”, the chorus from “All She Wants Is”, the solo from “Save a Prayer” mixed with “Rio”, and a little bit of “Skin Trade”, as well as some of the suggestive screams from “Hungry Like the Wolf”.

The single debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart on February 10, 1990. After spending six weeks on the survey “Burning The Ground” peaked at #23. The single also charted in the U.K. #31 and Italy #17.

SIDE A:
Burning The Ground 4:00
Mixed By – Christopher Marc Potter
Other [Created By] – Duran Duran
Producer – John Jones , John Taylor , Nick Rhodes , Simon Le Bon , Sterling Campell*
Samples – Dee Long

SIDE B:
Decadance (Extended Mix) 7:56
Producer, Mixed By – Ben Chapman , Raine Shine

Decadance 3:30
Producer, Mixed By – Ben Chapman , Raine Shine

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1990	Burning The Ground	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#23

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Capitol Records – V-15546
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic, Pop, Rock
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Artwork By [Sleeve Design] – Abrahams Pants

NOTES:
All tracks sampled from the album “DECADE”
B-side produced and mixed at Pacific & Ezee Studios.

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
DAC/Phono Pre-amp: 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 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:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
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.

October 8, 2019

The Power Station – Some Like It Hot (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

“Some Like It Hot” is a song recorded by English–American rock supergroup The Power Station made up of singer Robert Palmer, former Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Duran Duran members John Taylor (bass) and Andy Taylor (guitar). Bernard Edwards, also of Chic, was involved in the studio side as recording producer. It was the first single released from the group’s 1985 eponymous debut album. Released by Capitol/Parlophone Records in 1985. It was the band’s biggest hit, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The video featured the transgender model Caroline Cossey (also known as Tula). The song was featured in the 1985 film National Lampoon’s European Vacation.

“What we really wanted to do was put this drummer out there in a way that we felt he deserved, so that song particularly was sort of designed to really showcase Tony,” said bassist John Taylor. “I flew to Nassau in the Bahamas, which was where Robert Palmer lived at the time, and played him the demo that Andy and I had written and said, ‘We’ve got this idea that we’re calling “Some Like It Hot.”‘ And he just looked at me and said, ‘And some sweat when the heat is on.’ I was, like, ‘Yes! That’ll do…'”

The Power Station was living a lavish, drug-fueled lifestyle during the recording of the album, which made focusing difficult. “I had to be, like, strapped to the desk if I was gonna get a bass line finished because I was just all over the place,” John Taylor said.

SIDE A:
Some Like It Hot And The Heat Is On (Extended Version) 6:39

SIDE B:
Some Like It Hot (7″ Mix) 3:46
The Heat Is On (Instrumental) 3:20

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	Some Like It Hot	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#6
1985	Some Like It Hot	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#34
1985	Some Like It Hot	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#17

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Capitol Records ‎– V-8631
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Mastered By – HW*
Performer – Andy Taylor, John Taylor, Robert Palmer, Tony Thompson (2)
Producer [Uncredited] – Bernard Edwards

NOTES:
Printed in U.S.A.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: 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

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

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

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

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.