Burning The Ground Exclusive 1987
NEW 2024 Transfer
New Meticulous Audio Restoration
Originally posted November 3, 2011
“Point of No Return” is a single by the American pop group Exposé. Written and produced by Lewis Martineé.
Exposé was initially formed in 1984 when Lewis Martineé, a Miami disc jockey and producer, decided to form a dance-based group. Working with his partners Ismael Garcia and Frank Diaz at Pantera Productions, talent scouts hired Sandra Casañas (Sandeé), Alejandra Lorenzo (Alé), and Laurie Miller as the group’s lineup, under the title X-Posed. The next year, the trio recorded “Point of No Return” for Pantera Records as a 12-inch vinyl single, which became a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song helped to introduce a still-popular genre of music that became known as freestyle, which often features keyboard riffs, a sing-along chorus, and electro-funk drum-machine patterns in the music arrangement. The success of “Point of No Return” quickly led Exposé to sign with Arista/BMG Records, which promptly assumed distribution of the 12-inch vinyl single.
During the recording of the group’s first studio album Exposure, the personnel of the group changed. Reports vary based on the source. According to People magazine, one of the original singers quit while two of the girls were fired midway through the recording of the first album, but according to Billboard, all three were fired. Arista Records felt that the three original singers lacked star potential. Martinee states that he made the decision himself to replace the three girls, while Miller maintains it was all their choice, and Jurado confirms that Lorenzo wanted to leave. Shortly thereafter, Casañas pursued a solo career and Lorenzo pursued other ambitions; they were replaced by Jeanette Jurado and Gioia Bruno. Miller began a solo career; she was replaced by Ann Curless.
In February 1987, the new lineup of Exposé released its debut album, Exposure, on Arista Records. Notably, unlike many classic girl groups, Exposé alternated lead vocals among its members. During the summer of 1987, a re-recorded version of “Point of No Return” was released, with Jurado performing lead vocals, and it topped out at #5 on the Hot 100 in July 1987. While the initial distribution of Exposure to Suppliers contained the original 1984 version of that song, subsequent pressings contained the new vocal version; this has led to the original pressings of the album being considered a collector’s item.
“It’s just a little song about loving somebody to the point of no return,” said songwriter Lewis Martineé when asked if there was a deeper meaning to the song. “I just liked the title ‘Point Of No Return,’ so I decided to write a song around that. Then I started coming up with the beats and the synthesizer lines and then both melody and words. I wrote that song so fast it was crazy, like, literally 15 minutes. But then I didn’t like the bridge and I changed it. I’m glad I did because the bridge actually came out really good at the end.”
The music video for the song was directed by Ralph Ziman, and included the new 1987 lineup of Jeanette Jurado, Gioia Bruno and Ann Curless receiving heavy rotation on MTV and VH-1.
- “Dub Of No Return (Strikes Again)” was not included on the 2015 Cherry Pop CD Deluxe Edition of the LP “Exposure”.
SIDE A:
Point Of No Return (Extended Mix) 9:42
Mixed By – Lewis A. Martineé, Mike Couzzi, Rick “Billy Bob” Alonso*
SIDE B:
Point Of No Return (Crossover Mix) 5:48
Mixed By – Chris Lord-Algé*, Lewis A. Martineé
Dub Of No Return (Strikes Again) 6:33
Mixed By – Lewis A. Martineé, Mike Couzzi, Rick “Billy Bob” Alonso*
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Point Of No Return | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #5 |
| 1987 | Point Of No Return | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles | #39 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Arista – ADI-9580, Arista – AD1-9580
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Freestyle, Electro, Hi NRG, Latin
CREDITS:
- Executive-Producer – Francisco J. Diaz
- Producer, Arranged By, Written-By – Lewis A. Martineé
NOTES:
Produced & arranged for Pantera Productions.
A1 & B2 mixed at Criteria Studios, Miami.
B1 mixed at The Hit Factory, NYC.
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
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