BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988
“Theme from S-Express” is an acid house song by English dance music band S’Express, from their debut studio album, Original Soundtrack. It peaked at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1988 for two weeks.
One of the landmarks of early acid house and late 1980s sampling culture, the single became an instant hit upon its release in April 1988. Written and produced by Mark Moore and Pascal Gabriel the song samples liberally from many songs, including heavy sampling from Rose Royce’s “Is It Love You’re After” and TZ’s “I Got the Hots for You”. The hi-hat is sampled from an aerosol spray.
The track’s “S express” refrain makes reference to the 42nd Street Shuttle, or, as it is sometimes known, the “S Express”, a well-known line on the New York City Subway.
The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in April 1988. It fared less well in the United States where it scraped into the Billboard Hot 100 at number 91, but it reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. It peaked at number 11 in Australia and number two in West Germany and the Netherlands.
The song prominently sampled Karen Finley’s “Drop that ghetto blaster” vocal. The song’s predominant “I’ve got the hots for you” hook has been described as “campy”.
PLATFORM 1:
Theme From S-Express (12″ U.S.A. Mix) 5:57
Theme From S-Express (7″ U.S.A. Mix) 3:56
PLATFORM 2:
The Trip (Microdot House Mix) 5:41
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Theme From S-Express | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #91 |
| 1988 | Theme From S-Express | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #1 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Capitol Records – V-15377, Rhythm King Records – V-15377
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Acid House
CREDITS:
Arranged By [Strings & Orchestration] – Mark Moore
Artwork By [Sleeve Assembled By] – Kay-Ray-Zee At Bite It!
Engineer [Noise Engineer] – Mark M*, Pascal*
Hihat [Hairspray], Vocals [B Vox] – Jocasta (3)
Photography By – Kevin Davies (2)
Producer – Mark Moore, Pascal Gabriel
Trumpet [Noise Boogie Factor] – Mark D
Vocals [Vox], Clarinet [Microdot] – Michellé
Written-By – M. Moore*, P. Gabriel*
NOTES:
S-Express samples courtesy of:
Karen Finley “Tales Of Taboo”
T-Z “I Got The Hots For You”
Crystal Grass “Crystal World”
Debbie Harry “Feel The Spin”
Rose Royce “Is It Love You’re After”
Yazoos “Situation”
Rhythm King Music
Recorded in England
Printed in U.S.A.
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
