Tag: Japan

January 20, 2017

Time Zone Featuring John Lydon & Afrika Bambaataa – World Destruction (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

Inauguration Day

“World Destruction” is a single by electro band Time Zone headed by Afrika Bambaataa.

In December 1984, Time Zone released their most well-known single, “World Destruction”. A collaboration between Bambaataa, ex-Sex Pistol/Public Image Ltd. leader John Lydon, and producer/bassist Bill Laswell. The “World Destruction” single was arranged by Laswell after Lydon and Bambaataa had acknowledged respect for each other’s work:

Afrika Bambaataa: “I was talking to Bill Laswell saying I need somebody who’s really crazy, man, and he thought of John Lydon. I knew he was perfect because I’d seen this movie that he’d made (Copkiller), I knew about all the Sex Pistols and Public Image stuff, so we got together and we did a smashing crazy version, and a version where he cussed the Queen something terrible, which was never released.”

John Lydon: “We went in, put a drum beat down on the machine and did the whole thing in about four-and-a-half hours. It was very, very quick.”

Bernie Worrell, Nicky Skopelitis, and Aïyb Dieng also played on the single, which was released by Celluloid Records on December 1, 1984. The track peaked at #44 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1985.

Although this single did predate Run-DMC and Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way”, it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the first rap-rock record. This is not true as Run-DMC had incorporated hard rock guitar into songs, most notably “Rock Box”, in April 1984.

There are no mix titles given on sleeve or labels for each mix.

SIDE A:
World Destruction 5:32

SIDE B:
World Destruction 6:27

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Celluloid ‎– 12AP 3018, CBS/Sony ‎– 12AP 3018
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 05 Mar 1985
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop, Rock
Style: Electro

CREDITS:
Bass, Drum Machine [Dmx] – Bill Laswell
Guitar – Nicky Skopelitis
Management [Administration For Material] –Roger Trilling
Mastered By – Robert Musso
Mixed By – Robert Musso
Mixed By [Assistant] – Mark Procopio
Percussion – Aiyb Dieng
Photography, Design – Thi-Linh Le
Producer – Afrika Bambaataa, Bill Laswell, Bill Laswell, Material
Recorded By – Rob Stevens
Recorded By [Assistant] – Hanh Rowe*
Synthesizer – Bernie Worrell
Vocals – Afrika Bambaataa, John Lydon
Written-By – A. Bambaataa*, B. Laswell*

NOTES:
Mixed by at RPM Studio
Recorded by at Evergreen Studio
Mastered at Masterdisk

Afrika Bambaataa is an exclusive artist of Tommy Boy and appears with their permission
Afrika Bambaataa courtesy of Tommy Boy Records
John Lydon courtesy of Elektra/Asylum Records

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

December 16, 2016

Wham! – Last Christmas (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

I originally posted this festive 12″ on December 12, 2010, wow six years ago. Since then I have really upgraded my equipment and fine tuned my ripping skills. I also stopped using ClickRepair and now manually remove every click/pop myself, the results are much better since using ClickRepair can degrade the audio. This year I wanted to bring new life into this 12″ so I gave it a brand new transfer. If you happen to have the old rip in your collection I think you will see this is the definitive transfer.

The mix used on this 12″ omits a verse and has additional backing vocals from George Michael and some slightly different keyboard arrangements towards the end. The record itself is labeled as (Pudding Mix) (Long Version) it is actually an alternate edit of the “Pudding Mix”.

I really hope that you enjoy the new transfer Seasons Greetings.

~ DjPaulT (December, 2016)

“Last Christmas” is a song by English pop duo Wham!, released on Epic Records in 1984, on a double A-side with “Everything She Wants”. Originally written and produced by George Michael, it has been covered by many artists since its original release.

Wham! had been a dominant force in the UK Singles Chart in 1984 and news that they were planning a Christmas single meant that a battle for the coveted Christmas #1 spot in the UK seemed set to be between Wham! and the year’s other big act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who had achieved a third #1 in early December with “The Power of Love”. However, the Band Aid project, helmed by Bob Geldof, produced the #1 single. Wham!’s offering peaked at #2 for much of the period, although George’s involvement in Band Aid meant that Wham! still had an input. Wham! subsequently topped the monies raised by Band Aid by donating all of their “Last Christmas/Everything She Wants” royalties to the Ethiopian famine appeal.

“Last Christmas” did make #1 in various other countries.

The single sold well over a million copies and became the biggest selling single in UK chart history not to reach #1. A year later, it was re-issued for Christmas again (this time without a billed flip-side) and got to #6. A second re-issue at Christmas 1986 – by which time Wham! had split – stalled outside the top 40.

The song gradually sold in Japan, and finally became the best-selling single that did not reach that country’s top-10 chart, selling more than 600,000 copies and peaking on the chart at #12 in 1992.

“Last Christmas” has sold 1.8 million copies as of June 2016 and is the biggest selling single in UK chart history not to reach number one.

Due to perceived similarities between “Last Christmas” and the song “Can’t Smile Without You” as popularised by Barry Manilow, an out of court settlement was reached in which the first year’s royalties were donated to the one-year-old “Band Aid” charity.

The video to “Last Christmas” saw George and partner Andrew Ridgeley accompanying girlfriends to see friends at their home in an unspecified ski resort, although the cable-car that can be seen in two shots is from Saas-Fee, Switzerland. It became clear early on, however, that Andrew’s girlfriend had previously been in a relationship with George, and it was to her character the song was aimed. The video also featured the duo’s erstwhile backing singers Pepsi and Shirlie and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, the boyfriend and future husband of Shirlie Holliman.

SIDE A:
Last Christmas (Pudding Mix Edit) 4:45

SIDE B:
Credit Card Baby 5:09

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic/Sony – 12·3P-575
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 21 Dec 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Producer, Arranged By, Written-By – George Michael

NOTES:
Released with a lyric insert and obi strip.
Side A is listed as “Pudding Mix” “Long Version” but actually plays the 4:45 version.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
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

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

October 7, 2016

Michael Jackson – Thriller (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Thriller” is a song recorded by American singer Michael Jackson, composed by English songwriter Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the seventh and final single released by Epic Records from his 1982 studio album Thriller. A 14-minute video showing Jackson in a Halloween-themed performance premiered on November 14, 1983. It was first shown on MTV on December 2, 1983. The song was not released as a single until January 23, 1984.

The song features a rap by actor Vincent Price.

In the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard, and the lyrics contain frightening themes and elements. “Thriller” received positive reviews from critics and became Jackson’s seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from the album, while reaching the top of the charts in France and Belgium and the top ten in many other countries.

Sadly on 5 October 2016, songwriter Rod Temperton’s death was announced after what was described by his music publisher as “a brief aggressive battle with cancer”. Temperton had died in London the previous week and his funeral had already taken place. The exact date of his death was not announced. He was 68 years old.

The European 12″ included a “special edit” which omitted the Vincent Price rap. I have included it here as a bonus cut.

SIDE A:
Thriller (Special Long Mix Version) 5:57

SIDE B:
Thriller (Instrumental) 5:57

BONUS CUT:
Thriller (Special Edit) 4:09

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Thriller	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#4
1983	Thriller	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary	#24
1983	Thriller	U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles	#3
1983	Thriller	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#1

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Epic ‎– 12・3P-492
Series: Michael Jackson Jumbo Single Series 3
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Co-producer – Michael Jackson
Producer – Quincy Jones
Written-By – R. Temperton*

NOTES:
Special versions from the LP “THRILLER”

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

July 28, 2016

Culture Club – Mystery Boy (Japan 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

I am going to see Culture Club live tonight at The Joint located at the Hard Rock Hotel/Casino here in Tulsa. It’s the original band line up with Boy George, Jon Moss, Michael Craig and Roy Hay. Their current tour has been getting great reviews so I am excited to see them live for the first time.

“Mystery Boy” was a single only released in Japan in 1982. The mix on this single, and the Japanese album “Kissing To Be Clever” is an alternate version than what appeared in the US and UK where the song was a b-side. This alternate mix includes a piano break which was removed from the US and UK releases. The song was also used in a Japanese TV ad for Suntori brand whiskey with “Hot Whiskey” lyrics.

SIDE A:
Mystery Boy 3:35

SIDE B:
Murder Rap Trap 4:24

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label:Virgin ?– VIPX-1667
Format:Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single
Country:Japan
Released:1982
Genre:Rock
Style:New Wave

CREDITS:
Producer – Steve Levine
Vocals – Captain Crucial (tracks: B)
Written-By – Culture Club

NOTES:
Japanese only release in plain paper sleeve with full color lyric insert.
This version of “Mystery Boy” is an alternate version to the mix released in Europe and North America.

Find the 7″ on DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi