Tag: Prince

April 28, 2016

Sheila E. – The Glamorous Club – Dance EP (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“The Glamorous Club – Dance EP” is a Japan only remix album by American singer, songwriter, actress, percussionist, and drummer Sheila E. The EP was released on March 25, 1986 and contains several of her biggest hits including “Love On A Blue Train” which was only released as a single in Japan. The set also includes the smash hit “The Glamourous Life” (US #7), “Sister Fate” (US R&B #36) and “The Belle Of St. Mark (US #34).

SIDE A:
Love On A Blue Train (Full Version) 7:38
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Sheila E.

The Glamorous Life (Club Edit) 6:35
Directed By – Sheila E., The Starr * Company
Written-By – Sheila E.

SIDE B:
Sister Fate (Extended Version) 5:47
Producer, Written-By, Arranged By – Sheila E.

The Belle Of St. Mark (Dance Remix) 7:43
Directed By – Sheila E., The Starr * Company
Written-By – Sheila E.

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Bros. Records ‎– P-6229, Paisley Park ‎– P-6229
Format: Vinyl, 12″, EP, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 25 Mar 1986
Genre: Latin, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Funk

CREDITS:
Art Direction [Art Design] – A. Furukawa*

NOTES:
Printed in Japan [sleeve]
Comes with OBI strip and insert with lyrics in English and Japanese.

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

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 27, 2016

André Cymone – The Dance Electric (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1985

Originally posted January 15, 2011

“The Dance Electric” is the first track on André Cymone’s third studio album A.C., and, four weeks before the album’s release, The Dance Electric was released as the album’s first single. This track is the only studio collaboration between Prince and André Cymone during Cymone’s solo career following his departure from Prince’s band.

Initial tracking for Prince’s initial version took place on 17 August 1984 (two days before The Screams Of Passion) at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA (listed on the album as “Paisley Park Recording, Somewhere in Minnesota”).

Prince reportedly gave the song to André Cymone after Cymone’s mother asked Prince for a song (Cymone himself was too proud to do so). André Cymone recorded lead vocal overdubs between late 1984 and Summer 1985 at one of four studios (which one is not known): Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA, USA; Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA; Celestial Sound, New York, NY, USA; or Metro Studio, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Prince also referred to “the dance electric” in the song God, recorded three days later.

“The Dance Electric” became a hit single on the U.S. Dance chart peaking at #8 and #10 on the R&B chart.

Cymone later married Jody Watley going on to co-write and produced several hits for her, including “Looking for a New Love”, “Still A Thrill”, and “Real Love”.

SIDE A:
The Dance Electric (Long Version) 5:41
Producer – André Cymone, Prince
Written-By – Prince

SIDE B:
The Dance Electric (Edited Version) 4:08
Producer – André Cymone, Prince
Written-By – Prince

Red Light (Edited Version) 4:57
Producer – André Cymone
Written-By – A. Cymone*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	The Dance Electric	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#8
1985	The Dance Electric	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles	#10

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Columbia ‎– 44 05249, Columbia ‎– 44-05249
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Electro, Funk

CREDITS:
Art Direction – Lane/Donald
Design – Cindi Z. Stark
Executive-Producer – Wayne Edwards (2)
Photography By – Randee St. Nicholas

NOTES:
Also available: “ANDRÉ CYMONE” on Columbia
Records and Cassettes.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

April 26, 2016

Sheila E. – The Glamourous Life (8 Minute Version) (UK 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

Originally posted August 11, 2011

“The Glamorous Life” is a song written by Prince in 1984 and first recorded by singer/percussionist Sheila E. The dance song has lyrics which reflect a cynicism for the decadence and materialism of the song’s protagonist, referred to in the third person, who “wants to lead a glamorous life”, although she is aware that “without love, it ain’t much”.

“The Glamorous Life” was originally intended to be recorded by the short-lived replacement act for Vanity 6, girl group Apollonia 6. Prince allegedly had several tracks lined up for the trio to record for their 1984 debut album (and by some accounts, their follow up album as well), but abandoned the idea when he learned that lead singer Apollonia Kotero had no desire to stay in the group beyond her contractual obligations as designed for her movie role in Purple Rain.

Prince decided to give the song to Sheila E. who was fresh off her duet on Prince’s “Erotic City”. “The Glamorous Life” would be recorded by Sheila E. and go on to launch her solo career.

“The Glamorous Life” was the title track and closing song on Sheila E.’s debut solo album, and reached number 7 on the U.S. pop charts, as well as number 1 on the U.S. dance charts, and earned a Grammy Award nomination. Internationally the song reached number 2 on the Dutch Top 40 and number 76 on the U.K. Singles Chart.

Sheila E.’s live performances of the song became memorable events, most notably for her percussion solo towards the end of the song. Depending on the occasion, she would either spin around several times while drumming without missing a beat during the rigorous solo, place one highly elevated foot on a snare while standing on the other leg mid-solo, or perform with glow-in-the-dark drumsticks. While the solo featured in the song helped to bolster Sheila E.’s fame, all subsequent versions of this song have no drum solo.

SIDE A:
The Glamorous Life (8 Minute Version) 9:02

SIDE B:
The Glamorous Life (Part II) 3:15

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1984	The Glamorous Life	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#7
1984	The Glamorous Life	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#1
1984	The Glamorous Life	U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles	#9

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Warner Music UK Ltd. ‎– SAM 196
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1984
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Funk

CREDITS:
Co-producer – Jamie Starr
Directed By – Starr * Company, The
Producer, Directed By – Sheila E.

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

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

April 21, 2016

Prince 1958-2016

We are grieving once again the loss of a superstar. Prince, legendary music artist whose influence spanned 4 decades, has died at age 57.

The singer, songwriter, arranger and instrumentalist broke through in the late 1970s with the hits “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?” and “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” and soared over the following decade with such albums as “1999” and “Purple Rain.” The title song from “1999” includes one of the most widely quoted refrains of popular culture: “Tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999.”

He’s sold more than 100 million records and is on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 greatest artists.

Rest In Peace, Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016)