Tag: Olivia Newton-John

August 7, 2015

Olivia Newton-John – Magic (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1980

Happy 35th anniversary “XANADU”!

On August 8, 1980 the film “Xanadu” starring Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck and Gene Kelly was released to theaters in the US. Not a financial success, Xanadu earned mixed to negative critical reviews and was an inspiration for the creation of the Golden Raspberry Awards to memorialize the worst films of the year. Despite the lacklustre performance of the film, the soundtrack album became a huge commercial success around the world, and was certified double platinum in the United States. The song “Magic” was a U.S. number one hit for Newton-John, and the title track (by Newton-John and ELO) reached number one in the UK and several other countries around the world. Now 35 years later “Xanadu” is even more popular than when it was originally released showing at midnight movies becoming a cult classic.

“Magic” is a 1980 song performed by Olivia Newton-John, from the soundtrack to the film Xanadu. The song was number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks beginning on August 2, 1980.

“Magic” became Newton-John’s biggest Adult Contemporary hit to date, spending five weeks at the top of that chart. It was also her biggest pop hit until “Physical” ruled the Hot 100 for ten weeks beginning in November 1981. Billboard magazine ranked “Magic” as the third most popular single of 1980, behind only “Call Me” by Blondie and “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II” by Pink Floyd. The song also reached number 4 in Australia and number 32 in the UK.

The B-side “Fool Country” was featured in the film but did not appear on the soundtrack. The song did finally appear on CD for the first time on the Olivia Newton-John compilation Gold released in 2005.

On Saturday August 8, 2015 Olivia will premiere her new music video for the dance re-make of “Magic” titled “You Have To Believe” which she recorded with her daughter Chloe Lattanzi at the Share night club in Las Vegas. The track is produced by Grammy nominated remixer/producer Dave Audé.

SIDE A:
Magic 4:25

SIDE B:
Fool Country 2:23

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1980	Magic	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1980	Magic	U.S. Billboard hot Dult Contemporary	#1
1980	Magic	U.S. Billboard Hot 100 End Of Year	#3

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA-41247
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: May 23, 1980
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Pop Rock

CREDITS:
Producer, Written-By – John Farrar

NOTES:
From the Original motion picture soundtrack for “XANADU.”

Find the 7″ 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

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

April 22, 2015

Spirit Of The Forest – Spirit Of The Forest (US 12″)

BTG EARTH DAY EXCLUSIVE 1989

New 2015 Re-Rip!
Meticulously Remastered!
First time in 24bit Flac!

Originally posted April 22, 2011

In celebration of Earth Day I thought it would be great to re-rip this gem from 1989 I really hope that you like it and that you get it’s message.

The first-ever collaboration of top musical artist to help rescue the Earth’s fast disappearing tropical rainforests. “Spirit of the Forest”, conceived, written, and produced by the English environmentalist band, Gentlemen Without Weapons, is a heart-wrenching anthem designed to draw international attention to this unparalleled global environmental crisis.

Over the course of several recording sessions in Los Angeles, New York, London, Rio, and the Brazilian rainforest itself (with native Caraja Indians), the final version of the song was completed. Among the artists heard on the record are David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Olivia Newton-John, Belinda Carlisle, Ringo Starr, Thomas Dolby, Mick Fleetwood, Brian Wilson, Kate Pierson of the B-52’s, Donna Summer, Taylor Dayne, Deborah Harry and Joni Mitchell. In addition, Brazilian artists Ivan Lins, Gilberto Gil, and Djavan have also joined in.

Although covering just 7% of the world’s land surface, the equatorial rainforest belt contains half of all known species of plants and animals, and acts as a global atmospheric regulator. As third world nations, like Brazil, continue to burn, harvest, and plough under the forests for short-term human corporate gain, the Earth faces increasing danger from global greenhouse warming and desertification. Additionally, deforestation drives indigenous peoples from their ancestral homes. Scientists around the world agree that destruction of the rainforest is a planetary catastrophe of the first magnitude. The aim of “Spirit of the Forest” is to alert people everywhere that this is an issue of utmost importance to all life on earth.

Every minute, an expanse of rainforest the size of twenty football fields is destroyed. That equals an area the size of the state of New Hampshire every day! The release of “Spirit of the Forest” is designed to raise both the voices and funds in this unprecendented challenge to all life on Earth.

The power of music is very strong – the message of this record is very direct:
LET IT BE HEARD.

SIDE A:
Spirit Of The Forest (12″ A) 5:16
Solo Vocals:

Chris Rea
Mr. Mister
XTC
Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Brian Wilson
Joni Mitchell
Ringo Starr
Fish
Belinda Carlisle
Deborah Harry
Bonnie Raitt
Kate Bush
Little Steven
Jon Anderson
Sam Brown
The Escape Club
Olivia Newton-John
Louise Goffin

SIDE B:
Spirit Of The Forest (12″ AA) 5;09
Solo Vocals:

Iggy Pop
Ramones
Donna Summer
Chris Rea
Thomas Dolby
Was (Not Was)
Kim Wilde
Taylor Dayne
Brother Beyond
Richie Havens
Louise Goffin
Jon Anderson
Rita Coolidge
Lacy J. Dalton

Theme To Spirit Of The Forest (12″ Mix) 5:48

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Cover: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Virgin – 796551-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Maxi-Single, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Electronic
Style: Vocal

CREDITS:
Producer – Gentlemen Without Weapons
Backing Vocals: Africa Bambaata, Amy Sky, Andy Fairweather-Lowe, B-52’s, The, Big Country, Bruce Foxton, David Clayton-Thomas, Dolette McDonald, Fleetwood Mac, Gentlemen Without Weapons, It Bites, Johnnie Warman, Jungle Brothers, LL Cool J, Lenny Kravitz, Lisa Bonet, Marc Jordan, Michael De Barre, Plasmatics, Raging Hormones, Shikisha

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: 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

January 21, 2015

Olivia Newton-John – Heart Attack (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Heart Attack” was one of two new songs recorded for the 1982 (Double Platinum) greatest hits package titled Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2. The song was the first single released from the album. The success of “Physical” led to an international tour and the release of her second hits collection, the double platinum Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (No. 16 Pop), which yielded two more Top 40 singles: “Heart Attack” (No. 3 Pop) and “Tied Up” (No. 38 Pop). In 1983, Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their TV series episode “Angelic Alvin” (with new lyrics created for the episode).

The song features American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble the L.A. Express Tom Scott on horns. An innovative music video directed by Brian Grant recieved heavy airplay on MTV.

Even though there are no remixes or edits of “Heart Attack” I still wanted to post it for those of us who love hearing these tracks in their vinyl glory. I also wanted to bookend it with yesterdays “Tied Up” post. Olivia was an important part of 70’s & 80’s pop music paving the way for artists like Madonna and Taylor Swift. Olivia’s music video’s were innovative and pioneering winning the first ever Grammy for a long form video album in 1983 “Olivia Physical”.

SIDE A:
Heart Attack 3:05
Written-By – Paul Bliss, Steve Kipner

SIDE B:
Stranger’s Touch 3:47
Written-By – John Farrar, Tom Snow

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	Heart Attack	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#3

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA-52100
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Photography By – Herb Ritts
Producer – John Farrar

NOTES:
A-side: From the MCA LP “Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2”
B-side: From the MCA LP “Physical”

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
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

January 20, 2015

Olivia Newton-John – Tied Up (Edited Version) (US 7″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1982

“Tied Up” was one of two new songs recorded for the 1982 (Double Platinum) greatest hits package titled “Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2” the song was the second single released from the album following “Heart Attack” (US #3) the other new track recorded for the package. “Tied Up” debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on January 15, 1983 peaking at #38. The song also features American saxophonist, composer, arranger, conductor and bandleader of the west coast jazz/jazz fusion ensemble the L.A. Express Tom Scott on horns. Scott was also the opening act for Olivia’s 1982 “Physical” World Tour and appears in the songs music video.

The b-side features an album track from Olivia’s 1981 LP Physical. “Silvery Rain”, which was written by The Shadows member Hank Marvin and released as single in 1971 by British singer Cliff Richard has lyrics denouncing the aerial application use for pesticides to exterminate insects. A music video directed by Brian Grant was filmed for the song and included on the Grammy winning video album “Olivia Physical”.

As with many of Olivia’s 7″ singles the edited version of “Tied Up” has never appeared on CD or any compilation.

SIDE A:
Tied Up (Edited Version) 4:12
Written-By – J. Farrar*, L. Ritenour*

SIDE B:
Silvery Rain 3:40
Written-By – H. Marvin*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1983	Tied Up	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#38

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: MCA Records ‎– MCA-52155
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1982
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Photography – Herb Ritts
Producer – John Farrar

NOTES:
A-side: From the MCA LP “Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol. 2”
B-side From the MCA LP “Physical”
Management: Roger Davies Managemrnt
For Buffalo Music

Find The 7″ On DISCOGS

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