Tag: Nile Rodgers

Peter Gabriel – Red Rain (Europe 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

“Red Rain” is the first track on Peter Gabriel’s 1986 solo album So. In the USA, it reached #3 on Billboard magazine’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Stewart Copeland from The Police played the hi-hat for the rain-like background sound; the rest of the drumming was handled by Jerry Marotta.

The song is a combination of several inspirations. The lyrics directly reference a recurring dream Gabriel was having where he swam in his pool drinking cold red wine. Another version of the dream had bottles falling from a cliff, and the bottles were in the shape of people. When they were smashed on the ground, the people-shaped bottles had red liquid coming out, and then it began to rain the same red liquid.

Earlier in his solo career, Gabriel had an idea for a movie, Mozo. In it, villagers were punished for their sins with a blood red rain. “Red Rain” was to be the theme song. This idea was eventually scrapped, although there was a mention of Mozo in the song “On the Air” in Peter Gabriel (II). “Down The Dolce Vita”, “Here Comes The Flood”, “Exposure”, and “Big Blue Ball” are also reference the Mozo story, as well.

According to the sleeve notes from the remastered version of So, it is also a reference to acid rain. Based on one interpretation of some of the lyrics it is also thought to refer to nuclear fallout.

SIDE A:
Red Rain 5:35
Producer – Daniel Lanois, Peter Gabriel
Written-By – Peter Gabriel

SIDE B:
Ga-Ga (I Go Swimming Instrumental) 4:28
Producer – Steve Lillywhite
Written-By – Peter Gabriel

Walk Through The Fire 3:31
Producer – Nile Rodgers, Peter Gabriel
Written-By – Peter Gabriel

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
CHARTS:

Year Single Chart Position
1987 Red Rain U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #3

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin – 609 240
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Europe
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Classic Rock
Credits: Painting, Design – Peter Saville Associates
Photography By – Trevor Key

NOTES:
Printed in Western Germany

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Madonna – Angel (UK 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

REQUEST

“Angel” is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her second studio album Like a Virgin. It was released on April 10, 1985 by Sire Records as the third single from the album. Written by Steve Bray and Madonna, it was one of the first songs developed for the project and, according to Madonna, was inspired by a girl who is saved by an angel, and she falls in love with Him. “Angel” was released as a 12″ single with “Into the Groove” in some countries and charted likewise. A music video was initially planned for the release, but was later cancelled. Instead a promotional video comprising clips from her previous videos was released in the United Kingdom.

Musically “Angel” consists of three chord ascending hook, which serves for the verse and chorus. It has vocal harmonies beneath the main chorus and the lyrics repeat the angel-like image of Madonna’s saviour. Critics gave mixed review of the song, with one group denoting it as a classic while the others felt it was sub-par compared to the other Madonna singles. “Angel” became Madonna’s fifth consecutive top-five single on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top of its dance charts. It was also able to reach number-one in Australia and the top-five of the charts in Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom. Madonna has performed the song only once, on her Virgin Tour in 1985.

“Burning Up” (Alternate Album Version) is used for the Vinyl edition of Madonna – The First Album and has a duration of 4:48. This version is actually the original album version, before being replaced with the final mix (also used in the video version). This version also appeared as the b-side fof the 7″ and 12″ versions of “Angel” in European markets.

SIDE A:
Angel (Extended Dance Mix) 6:15
Producer – Nile Rodgers
Remix – James Farber, Nile Rodgers
Written-By – Madonna, Stephen Bray

SIDE B:
Burning Up (Alternate Album Version) 4:48
Producer – Reggie Lucas
Written-By – Madonna

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year Single Chart Position
1985 Angel U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #5
1985 Angel U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks #5
1985 Angel U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play #1

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – W 8881 T
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Photography By – Herb Ritts

NOTES:
Side A from the album “Like A Virgin”
Side B from the album “Madonna: The First Album”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Madonna – Holiday/Over And Over (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

Super Madonna Weekend continues on BTG! It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and the New England Patriots are three-point favorites in tonight’s big game. My pick is that Madonna will win the game as she performs during tonights Super Bowl XLVI halftime show.

This is the third and final 12″ promo from the 1987 “You Can Dance” project. The classic anthem “Holiday” gets the remix treatment by John “Jellybean” Benitez and the Like A Virgin album track, “Over And Over”, gets a makeover by Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero.

The 12″ exhibits exclusive front cover artwork and a plain white back cover. Tracks A1 & B1 are exclusive to this promo and are completely unmixed with no fades at the beginning or end of the tracks.

SIDE A:
Holiday (Extended Remix) 6:59
Producer – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez

Holiday (Dub) 6:57
Producer – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez

SIDE B:
Over And Over (Extended Remix) 7:11
Keyboards [Additional] – Jack Waldman
Percussion [Additional] – Jimmy Maelen
Producer – Nile Rodgers
Producer [Additional], Mixed By – Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero

Over And Over (Dub) 6:43
Keyboards [Additional] – Jack Waldman
Percussion [Additional] – Jimmy Maelen
Producer – Nile Rodgers
Producer [Additional], Mixed By – Steve Thompson & Michael Barbiero

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – PRO-A-2907
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 RPM, Promo
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

NOTES:
Tracks A1 & B1 are exclusive to this release. They are complete and unmixed with no fades at the begining or end of the tracks.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi