Tag: Japan

December 19, 2017

Wham! – Club Tropicana (Japan 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1983

“Club Tropicana” is the fourth single taken from the debut album FANTASTIC by British duo Wham! released in July 1983.

The single peaked at #4 in the UK, going on to become the 39th best selling single of 1983.

The “Edited Version” of “Club Tropicana” is exclusive to this Japan 7″ release and is basically the album version with the fade intro removed. This release also comes in a unique poster bag picture sleeve.

SIDE A:
Club Tropicana (Edited Version) 3:47

SIDE B:
Blue (Armed With Love) 3:54

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 07・5P-241, Inner Vision ‎– 07・5P-241
Format: Vinyl, 7″, Single, Poster Bag
Country: Japan
Released: 1983
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer – George Michael, Steve Brown (tracks: A)
Written-By – Andrew Ridgeley (tracks: A), George Michael

NOTES:
Housed in a unique Poster Bag.

Find the 7″ on 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

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

November 8, 2017

Benjamin Orr – Stay The Night (Japan 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

REQUEST

“Stay the Night” is a song by The Cars vocalist and bassist Benjamin Orr. It was included on his 1986 solo debut album The Lace, and released as a single in the end of 1986. “Stay the Night” reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the beginning of 1987, becoming Orr’s only Top 40 hit as a solo artist.

Prior to recording his solo album, Orr had been a founding member, along with singer and songwriter Ric Ocasek, of The Cars. The Cars’ first Top 40 hit, “Just What I Needed”, featured Orr on lead vocals, as did their biggest hit, “Drive”, from 1984’s Heartbeat City.

Following The Cars’ 1985 Greatest Hits release, the band split up to pursue solo projects, with both Orr and Ocasek releasing solo albums in 1986, lead guitarist Elliot Easton having released one in 1985. Weeks before “Stay the Night” entered the US Top 40, Ocasek himself was in the Top 40 with his own solo hit “Emotion in Motion”. In both cases, those would become the only US Top 40 solo hit for both Cars members respectively.

The band reunited to record 1987’s Door to Door, which produced “You Are the Girl”, their last Top 40 single.

Sadly Benjamin Orr died of pancreatic cancer on October 3, 2000 at age 53.

SIDE A:
Stay The Night 4:26

SIDE B:
That’s The Way 4:08

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	Stay The Night	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#24
1986	Stay The Night	U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	#6
1986	Stay The Night	U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks	#2

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Elektra ‎– P-2187
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Japan
Released: 1986
Genre: Rock
Style: Prog Rock

CREDITS:
Producer – Benjamin Orr, Larry Klein, Mike Shipley
Written-By – Benjamin Orr, Diane Grey Page

NOTES:
Warner-Pioneer Corporation Tokyo, Japan
From the Elektra album “Benjamin Orr: The Lace”

Find the 7″ on 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: Sovtek 12AX7LPS Vacuum Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
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

September 18, 2017

Dead Or Alive – Rip It Up (Flip Out Mix) (Japan 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

Originally I posted this one back on July 26th, 2012. But for those who may have missed it or if you are a new reader just discovering BTG. I decided to give this one a new 2017 transfer. I have also included as a bonus the Hot Tracks remix of “Brand New Lover”.

Here is the MEGA RARE 1987 Japanese PROMO-ONLY 12″ “Rip It Up (Flip Out Mix)” from British band Dead Or Alive. This is one of the most sought after Dead Or Alive promos… very few in existence and very rare. This 12″ was used to promote the album “Rip It Up” and has never appeared on any other Dead Or Alive release. There were only about 100 copies of this 12″ made making it one of the rarest Japanese Dead Or Alive items.

Japanese PROMOS are by far the rarest of all promotional format. When finished with the vinyl, radio stations would either smash or throw away the promos to prevent resale. Japan stopped pressing vinyl mainstream in the mid 1990’s and switched to the CD format for most releases. The very existence of a Japanese PROMO is itself rare, much less a promo from Dead Or Alive!

SIDE A:
Rip It Up (Flip Out Mix) 8:10
A.1 Brand New Lover
A.2 Something In My House
A.3 I’ll Save You All My Kisses

SIDE B:
Rip It Up (Flip Out Mix Edit Version) 5:16
B.1 Brand New Lover
B.2 Something In My House
B.3 I’ll Save You All My Kisses

BONUS TRACK:
Brand New Lover (Brand New Edit) 6:30
Edited By – Jim “Hip Hop” Hopkins*
Hot Tracks Remix Service Series 5, Issue 11

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– QY・3P-90105
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Mixed, Promo
Country: Japan
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Yo-Yo
Producer – Stock, Aitken And Waterman*
Remix – Dead Or Alive
Written-By – Dead Or Alive

NOTES:
Japanese 12″ promo produced For PWL. Around 100 pressed and issued to top Japanese radio stations.

Unique tracks and artwork found on no other Dead Or Alive release.

‘Not for sale Epic/Sony Inc.’

“Brand New Lover (Brand New Edit) taken from Hot Tracks Issue 5, Series 11.

Find the 12” on 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 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
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

April 5, 2017

Culture Club – It’s A Miracle/Miss Me Blind (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Miss Me Blind” is a song by English new wave band Culture Club. In the U.S. it was the third single released from Colour by Numbers, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1984. This gave the band its sixth consecutive Top 10 hit.

The single was also released in Canada (where it also reached number 5), Brazil, Australia and Japan. It was also the band’s biggest R&B hit, reaching #5 on Billboard’s ‘Soul’ chart.

The song includes a reference to the title of Culture Club’s previous album. Lead singer Boy George states in the song “But you know, I’m never really sure, If you’re just kissing to be clever”, the name of Culture Club’s debut album.

“It’s a Miracle”, was released on it’s own as the fifth and final single from Colour by Numbers. The song became the group’s sixth top-five hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four. It reached number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top five in Canada. It was the band’s first US release to miss the Top 10; however, the song still received considerable airplay there during the summer of 1984.

A very popular 12″ was issued, gaining big success in American clubs and elsewhere. The popular extended 12″ version contained extracts of the other Culture Club hit of the spring, “It’s a Miracle”. In the US, the “Miss Me Blind” / “It’s a Miracle” 12″ single reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in May 1984.

Backing vocals on “Miss Me Blind” were performed by R&B singer Jermaine Stewart.

The B-side is a live rendition of “Love Twist”, a track from their first album. It was recorded in December 1983. An additional live track, “Melting Pot” (a cover of the song by the group Blue Mink), from the same show was available only on the 12-inch single.

SIDE A:
It’s A Miracle / Miss Me Blind (US Remix) 9:09
Composed By – Culture Club, O’Dowd*, Moss*, Craig*, Pickett*, Hay*
Producer, Remix – Steve Levine

SIDE B:
Love Twist (Live) 4:24
Composed By – Culture Club
Engineer – Paul Hulme, Peter Wandless*
Mixed By – Steve Levine
Producer, Mixed By – Jon Moss

Melting Pot (Live) 4:30
Composed By – Culture Club
Engineer – Paul Hulme, Peter Wandless*
Mixed By – Steve Levine
Producer, Mixed By – Jon Moss

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

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	It’s A Miracle/Miss Me Blind	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#10

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin ‎– VIP-5916, Virgin ‎– VIRG-5196
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Limited Edition
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Gordon Milne
Mastered By – Tim Young (tracks: TY & timtom)
Photography By – David Levine (11)
Sleeve – Assorted Images
Vocals [Female] – Helen Terry

NOTES:
Multimix
Made In Japan
Also available the LP “COLOUR BY NUMBERS”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: 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)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi