Tag: Japan

April 22, 2025

Duran Duran – The Wild Boys (Japan 12″) (1984)

Burning The Ground Exclusive

NEW 2025 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Original post date: December 22, 2016

In late 1984, Duran Duran unleashed “The Wild Boys,” a pounding, futuristic anthem that marked a darker turn for the band and became one of their most iconic singles of the era. The track was conceived as part of a proposed film project based on the William S. Burroughs novel The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead, with the idea pushed by director Russell Mulcahy (who had helmed many of the band’s most lavish videos). While the film never came to fruition, the song and its accompanying video pushed boundaries—and budgets—at the time.

Produced by the legendary Nile Rodgers, “Wild Boys” was the only studio track on the band’s live album Arena and perfectly fused the band’s pop sensibility with Rodgers’ cutting-edge production and dancefloor sensibilities. The result was a sonic assault of heavy synths, aggressive guitar stabs, tribal drums, and Simon Le Bon’s defiant vocal delivery.

The Extended Mix takes the drama up several notches, building the tension with a long, cinematic intro that recalls the dystopian atmosphere of the video. The breakdowns and effects-laden passages give the song more room to breathe and further highlight Rodgers’ intricate production.

Chart-wise, “Wild Boys” was a smash. It reached #2 in both the US and UK, blocked from the top in the US by Hall & Oates’ “Out of Touch.” It also gave Duran Duran their first #1 in Germany and South Africa, proving the band’s international staying power as they transitioned from New Romantic heartthrobs into global pop powerhouses.

Fun fact: Simon Le Bon nearly drowned during the filming of the video, which featured the band tied to a windmill and submerged in a water tank. It’s a miracle the band made it out intact—both literally and figuratively.

The B-side, “(I’m Looking For) Cracks In The Pavement (Live),” was recorded during the band’s 5 March 1984 show at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This is the same concert where the video for “The Reflex” was filmed—capturing the band at the height of their early-’80s hysteria with screaming fans and high-voltage energy. The live track offers a grittier, rawer take on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger album cut, giving fans a peek into the band’s powerful live presence during their Sing Blue Silver tour.

“Wild Boys” remains a touchstone of mid-80s maximalism: all attitude, danger, and style. It’s the sound of a band pushing their limits—and taking us along for the ride.

SIDE A:
The Wild Boys (Wilder Than Wild Boys) (Extended Mix) 8:00
Producer – Nile Rodgers

SIDE B:
The Wild Boys (45) 4:18
Producer – Nile Rodgers

(I’m Looking For) Cracks In The Pavement (1984) 4:10
Engineer [Live Recording] – George Tutko
Engineer, Mixed By – Jason Corsaro

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

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	The Wild Boys	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#2
1984	The Wild Boys	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music / Club Play	#27

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI ‎– S14-102
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Japan
Released: Nov 21, 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Engineer – Jason Corsaro
Photography By [Front] – Francesco Scavullo
Producer, Arranged By, Written-By – Duran Duran
Sleeve [Sleeve Producer] – Assorted Images

NOTES:
From the LP “ARENA”

Track B2 was recorded live on tour 1984.
Mastered at Masterdisk.

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 25 (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 donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

August 28, 2024

Go West – True Colours (Japan 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1986

“True Colours” is a song by British band Go West, released on November 17, 1986, as the lead single from their second studio album Dancing on the Couch. It was written by Peter Cox and Richard Drummie, and produced by Gary Stevenson. “True Colours” reached No. 48 in the UK and No. 22 in Ireland.

The song was not released in the United States.

SIDE A:
True Colours (The Snake Charmer Mix) 5:04

SIDE B:
True Colours 3:56
XL5 2:52

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

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Chrysalis – S14-163
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: Japan
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Design – John Pasche
Engineer – John Gallen
Management – Blueprint Management Ltd.*
Photography By – Brian Griffin (3)
Producer – Gary Stevenson
Written-By – P. Cox*, R. Drummie*

NOTES:
‘True Colours’ Taken from the forthcoming album “Dancing On The Couch”

“Do not play table tennis before listening to this record”

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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 donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

July 17, 2024

Mark Holden – Who Do You Love? (Japan 7″ Promo)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1983

“Who Do You Love?” was the second single taken from the self-titled fourth studio LP by Australian singer-songwriter Mark Holden. The album would also be his first release on American label Casablanca Records. “Who Do You Love?” was co-written by Holden, and only released as a single in Australia, and Japan failing to chart. Richard Carpenter covered the song for his solo album “Time” (1987).

Holden was a pop star in the 1970s and had four top 20 hit singles, “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” (May 1976), “I Wanna Make You My Lady” (September), “Last Romance” (November) and “Reach Out for the One Who Loves You” (October 1977). Holden regularly appeared on the national pop music show, Countdown. Holden is remembered for his good looks and clean-cut image.

In the 1980s he worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles providing material recorded by Meat Loaf, Joe Cocker, Gladys Knight, Bob Welch, and Steve Jones. He was one of three original judges on the television series Australian Idol (2003–07) and the first season (2005) of The X Factor. In 2023, Holden voiced “The Old Man” in the narrative video game RoboCop: Rogue City.

After the lack of success of Mark Holden (LP), Holden focused on becoming a songwriter and music producer. He formed a company called Multimedia with Anthony Curtis and Dan Wilson and over the next decade co-wrote two top ten hits on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for the Temptations, “Lady Soul” (June 1986) and “Look What You Started” (1987). There were also hits with Tracie Spencer, Joey Lawrence, Will Downing, a #1 dance hit with Kathy Sledge, and over 50 cover recordings of his songs from artists as varied as Belinda Carlisle, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, The Manhattans, Donny Osmond, José Feliciano, Fleetwood Mac, David Hasselhoff, Scarlett and Black and Branford Marsalis.

SIDE A:
Who Do You Love? 3:36
Written-By – Gary Pickus, Mark Holden, Peter Hamilton (8)

SIDE B:
Hey Little Girl 1:55
Written-By – Mark Holden, Peter Hamilton (8)

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Casablanca – 7S-100
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single, Promo
Country: Japan
Released: 1983
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: New Wave, Pop

CREDITS:

Mastered By – Ken Perry
Producer – Mark Holden, Peter Hamilton (8)
Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Chris Brunt

NOTES:
Recorded At – Indigo Ranch Studios
Mixed At – Indigo Ranch Studios
Mastered At – Masterfonics

From the LP “Mark Holden”

Buy the 7″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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 donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.

June 6, 2024

Cyndi Lauper – She Bop (Japan 12″)

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1984

NEW 2024 Transfer!
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration!

Originally posted May 21, 2015

Cyndi Lauper, renowned for her groundbreaking contributions to music, activism, and LGBTQ advocacy, epitomizes the ethos of pride, inclusivity, and resilience.

“She Bop” is a song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, released as the third single from her debut studio album She’s So Unusual. It reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in September 1984. Worldwide, the song is her most commercially successful single after “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time”, reaching 46 on the UK Singles Chart and 6 on the ARIA Singles Chart. “She Bop” was her third consecutive Top 5 on the Hot 100.

The song was considered controversial, as it dealt with the subject matter of masturbation. It was also included on the Parents Music Resource Center’s “Filthy Fifteen” list, due to its sexual lyrics; this led to the creation of the Parental Advisory sticker. (Other songs on the “Filthy Fifteen” list included tracks by Madonna, Prince, and AC/DC.) In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Lauper stated that she recorded the vocals of the song while nude.

Lauper said she wanted little kids to think the song was about dancing, and to understand the real meaning as they got older. It could receive airplay as she never directly stated in the song what the meaning was.

Lauper stated at a concert during her 2013 She’s So Unusual anniversary tour that she recorded the song topless in a dark room and tickled herself under her arms, which is why her laughter is on the track.

“She Bop” was released on July 2, 1984, and became a success. The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #52 in the issue dated July 21, 1984, and spent a total of twenty-five weeks on the chart, reaching a peak position of #3 in the issue dated September 8, 1984. It was the third single from Lauper’s debut album to make the top 10 of the Hot 100. The single also reached number ten on the Hot Dance/Club Play Songs chart the week of September 15, 1984, and placed at 34 on the Billboard year-end chart of 1984. On April 17, 1989, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the shipment of a million copies across the United States.

SIDE A:
She Bop (Special Dance Mix) 6:26

SIDE B:
She Bop (Instrumental) 5:21

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

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	She Bop	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#3
1984	She Bop	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#10

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Portrait – 12・3P-543
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:

Design – Janet Perr
Engineer – Walter Turbitt
Executive-Producer – Lennie Petze
Illustration – Mark Marek
Producer [Produced By] – Rick Chertoff
Remix – Arthur Baker
Written-By – C. Lauper*, G. Corbett*, R. Chertoff*, S. Lunt*

NOTES:
Special versions from the LP “SHE’s SO UNUSUAL”
Manufactured in Japan.

Buy the 12″ On DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

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 donating using PayPal. I appreciate your help.